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How contractors could be vital for your business in 2021

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Development Article |Contractors|How contractors could be vital for your business in 2021The Covid-19 pandemic has forced businesses to change much about the way that they operate. Certainly, a company must be willing to adapt and change with the times in order to ride out the crisis. And in this regard, it is unsurprising that independent contractors have become in-demand through the pandemic.

Contractors offer a range of benefits to your business that are especially relevant in 2021: here are some of the ways that contractors could be vital to your company.

A more flexible workforce

Perhaps the most crucial quality that contractors can bring to a business is flexibility. The situation regarding Covid-19 changes so often that it is necessary for businesses to be able to be agile, and open to changing up their ways of working.
If you are used to working entirely with a salaried base of in-house staff who come to work 9 to 5 – this may no longer be ideal for the duration of the pandemic. It can be necessary to work differently, and contractors offer you a way to do this.

Keeping salaried costs down

In 2021 it is more important than ever that businesses look for ways to minimise their outgoings. It is the case for the majority of companies that salaries actually make up a huge amount of the overall costs to the company. It is also a fact that bringing in salaried staff is expensive, especially over time. Depending on the sector, businesses can use up to 80% of their gross revenue on salaries.

Using contractors is actually a really useful way to lower your salary costs. Yes, typically contractors will demand a comparatively higher hourly or daily rate than staff – but as they are used infrequently and only on specific tasks, this can make them effectively far more cost-effective.

The exact expertise you need

“Contractors are typically brought in because they are able to offer specific expertise that a business only requires for a single project or for a short time,” says Giles Knights, General Manager at ClearHub, a specialist contractor recruitment agency “this could include everything from DevOps specialists to digital transformation consultants”.

One of the major benefits of working with contractors is that you are getting their very specific specialism for the duration of a short period or over the course of a project. Rather than hiring a member of staff with more general skills or paying for a specific expert full-time to carry out tasks outside their field, this allows you to get the exact person you need for the job.

It also means that when the next project comes along and you need a different form of expertise, you can get it easily.

Suited to a remote working environment

Contractors are perfectly suited to the environment of remote work that has been necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many contractors actually prefer the flexibility and ease of working from home and might be very used to it.

Unlike hiring members of staff who might prefer an office environment, or simply don’t have a great deal of experience outside of it – contractors are regularly asked to work remotely.

Additionally, being able to recruit remotely means that you have access to a much broader range of talent. Now that you are more likely to have the kind of systems in place to allow for simple remote working, it is easier than ever to hire contractors who are based a long distance from you. This can make the task of finding the right person not as arduous as it may have been previously.

More talent available

There is another fact about contractors and the workforce generally that Covid-19 is having an effect on. Functionally, as there are fewer opportunities, there is a greater workforce available. This means that it is both easier and more cost-effective to get the contractor that you need for the job.

Clearly, it is important for businesses to be able to bring in the staff that they need if they are going to have a successful 2021. The fact that there are more contractors looking for work gives organisations the opportunity to carefully select not only for the right skills but also the people who come in at the right time.

Final thoughts

Contractors can be hugely beneficial to businesses of all sizes through 2021. They not only provide specialist skills in a cost-effective way, but also they are perfectly suited to the ever-changing working environment of the Covid-19 pandemic.

How to Save Money on Image Resizer

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Image Resizer|How to Save Money on Image ResizerPeople’s eyes gravitate toward beautiful things. That’s a fact of life! Hence, whether you’re a businessman looking to promote products online, a student making slideshows, or a mom looking to share vacation photos, you need to ensure your images look amazing so your intended audience looks at your work. No matter how great your composition is, it won’t translate well in your chosen medium if the image is not sized proportionately to the given space. Thankfully, you can count on an image and photo resizer to help you scale down your photos without compromising the quality.

If you think this digital solution will cost you an arm and a leg, put off that thought. Gone are the days when you needed a professional designer to help you edit, crop, or compress your photos. With the help of an image resizer, you can now do everything on your own without breaking the bank. Should you still feel reluctant to use this digital solution for content marketing, now is the time to quash that myth. Take a look at how you can save loads of money by using an image resizer:

Save Time, Conserve Money

Time equates to money because you spend on things using your life hours to earn your paycheck. Thus, when you save time, you save money. An image resizer assures seamless photo editing with its easy user interface. Unlike the coast’s complex software, today’s photo editors come with a seamless dashboard where everything you need can be accessed in one go. For example, it comes with sizing suggestions for various social media posts or web pages. Simultaneously, you can also customize any photo by putting in the specific size you want.

Today’s digital image resizers come with seamless tools that make it easy for you to compress your photo files without breaking into a sweat. Just drag and drop your chosen image, and it will convert it to the size you need with a few clicks of your mouse. Take a look at the following features of an image resizer:

  • Offers suggested size templates.
  • Allows batch resizing to save time.
  • Assures well-proportioned images.
  • Permits use of images from other URLs.
  • Proffers easy download or sharing directly on social media.

Use FREE Digital Tools

In today’s modern world, you can optimize technological advancements to make your life easy. Luckily, you can save money because you can use many free image resizers online. This means you can edit your images to your heart’s content without breaking the bank. Take a look at the top 3 free image resizer companies online:

1. Promo.com

This company does as its name says by assuring you can promote your best work no matter your purpose. Whether you are a businessman looking to share news on social media or a student making a PowerPoint presentation, you can use this resizer to edit any photo. Most importantly, it allows bulk resizing for social media posts, web pages, emails, or other documents.

Hence, you can readily pick what photo dimensions you want, saving you the trouble of doing it one by one. It comes with so many suggestions, such as Facebook cover, IG square post, Twitter header, LinkedIn background, and more. Undoubtedly, with its easy user interface, you can enjoy the following:

  • Drag and drop capabilities
  • Personalize resizing to suit your requirements
  • Template suggestions for social media, web pages, and other documents
  • Select photos from any URL
  • Allow direct download for saving or instant sharing.

2. BIRME

This acronym means Batch Image Resizing Made Easy, and it does exactly as it says. You can efficiently and effectively resize images without any hassle. Moreover, you can resize multiple photos simultaneously, assuring you can finish your task swiftly. With this tool, you can do the following:

  • Include photo borders
  • Select pixel size
  • Look at previews

3. Free Image and Photo Optimizer

The producer of this editor is no other than Shopify. Thus, you can rest easy knowing your pictures will look amazing. However, it only allows you to load a maximum of six images you can upload from your device or any webpage. You can also only edit the photos into three possible sizes:

  • Large (4472 x 4472)
  • Medium (2048 x 2048 pixels)
  • Compact (1024 x 1024 pixels)

No Need to Buy Expensive Gadgets

With a free online image resizer, you don’t need to buy any fancy computer to accommodate the software. This works on your laptop, desktop, or any mobile device. In addition, you don’t have to purchase more memory because you’re not downloading the software but using it virtually. Best of all, with an image resizer, you can compress the photos without compromising quality. This means when you make presentations, you will not consume so much memory on your hard drive or flash disk as the files have become smaller.

Save on Professional Fees

Back in the day, only professional designers can edit photos. Today, if you feel like cropping or sprucing up your images, you can do it from any gadget, no matter where you are. Moreover, you don’t need technical skills to get things done. The image resizer tools of this modern world come with an effortless learning curve. Furthermore, you don’t need any special training to use it. Best of all, if you encounter any problems, just contact the company for help.

Make Projects That Convert

Every penny saved is a penny earned. When you compress your photos with an image resizer, you create more engaging images. Firstly, you can assure that the images you showcase on your site will not take a long time to load. Unfortunately, “netizens” possess reduced attention spans, so if your pics take too long to load, they will leave your page. Secondly, an image resizer helps you edit your photos for any project. Whether you’re making a brochure, printing a newsletter, or printing photos, you can use this tool to make sure your pictures fit in the space.

Final Thoughts

Above all else, this digital solution assures you can optimize all your photos on your social media profiles without compromising the quality. With this, you can create a better connection and engagement with your audience. With such beautiful images, you can even monetize your accounts. How cool is that?

Key Things to Remember When Setting Up Your Business Website

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Business Website|Key Things to Remember When Setting Up Your Business WebsiteYou’ve decided it’s time to set up your business website, but what are your next steps? A business website is a big opportunity, but there are plenty of things you need to remember when it comes to planning your online presence.
Here are some important things to remember when setting up your business website.

User Experience

It’s easy to focus internally on your business when creating a website, but you’ve always got to remember the user is one of the most important aspects of this process.

You can make your website do all these fancy things, tracking analytics, helping you create leads, and so on, but if you’ve not got a good user experience, then it’s all going to be for nothing. As a consumer, you know how frustrating websites with a poor UX can be, so don’t let your website be one of them.

Security

Security is a huge priority for any modern business. When it comes to your website, you’ve got to make sure you’re protected, and your users are too.

If your website fails to protect its users from things like cross-site scripting, then it can do huge damage to your brand and seriously affect your business. We see big security incidents on the news all the time, and it can happen to any business if it is not investing in cybersecurity.

Invest in Quality

There’s no point in creating a bare-bones website. If you’re going to have success with it, then you need to build it out properly and invest in your content.

Your website is always evolving and growing, and this reflects your brand. As soon as you stop updating your site, it will lose some relevancy, so it’s best to keep investing and keep growing what you’re doing.

Get Your Site Ranked

No matter how big or small your business is, you have the ability to rank your website in the search engines. This can bring in targeted, sustainable traffic, so it’s well worth focusing on your search engine optimization and following the right steps.

SEO might seem like something very technical, but in reality, it’s not. It’s just about following good practices and making sure your website appeals to the right audience. If you can do this, then you will find you start to have success in the search engines.

Share Your Work

If you’re doing amazing work with your website, then share it with as many people as possible.

Create social media accounts and get your message in front of a large audience. You can build your website and hope people find it, or you can be active and make sure people find it. Sharing your work is easy to do, and it can be a great way to introduce people to your brand.

You have gone to the effort of creating the content, so make sure you get the most value out of each piece by sharing it on multiple platforms.

How to Become a Successful Property Developer

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Property Developer|How to Become a Successful Property DeveloperProperty development is an exciting way to start your business. Thanks to popular TV shows, developing property is often seen as a get-rich-quick scheme. However, making money from property is demanding and may take more time than expected.

It takes a bit of risk and lots of hard work to break even in the real estate market. But the good news is that starting a property development business can be relatively exciting. It offers flexible working hours, and no formal qualifications are needed.

If being a property developer appeals to you, then this article will help you. We have outlined tips on how to become a developer with a decent income.

1. Choose Your Path

Property development comes in all shapes and sizes. Hence, you must choose the route you want to take. You may have plans to grow in the future, but you must have a place to start.

Do you want to develop residential or commercial properties? Will the final project be for rent or sale? Or do you want to renovate run-down properties and give them a new resale value?

Knowing what you want helps you in making strategic decisions. You can also understand the kind of loans to take or where to get funds.

2. Develop a Plan

After choosing your path, come up with a business plan. The plan will help you get the funding for the success of your business. It also helps break down finances, potential income, and costs.

Creating a business plan gives you a map of how to start your business and its growth projection.

There are several business plan templates you can download based on your goals and business type.

3. Get Your Finances in Order

Developing properties, whether from scratch or renovating old houses, is a hefty investment from the start. To get a sufficient amount, you need to assess how extensive the project is, the costs involved, how long it will take to complete it, and the projected income.

Due to uncertainties, create the best and worst-case scenarios and set aside at least 30% contingency if the cost spirals.
You may choose to get a mortgage based on your property plan. Buy-to-let mortgages are easy to get, though you’ll have to deposit 25% or more. When seeking finances, research the local market and pay attention to inflation, interest rates, and employment rate in the area.

4. Choose the Right Location

When it comes to property development, location plays a crucial role. Look for an upcoming community as the property will be cheaper with a great potential to deliver good ROI. You may hire a general contractor to advise you on what to avoid when developing property in a specific area.

Some places might need more work on ground leveling. The type of soil will also determine the location of developing a property.

5. Don’t Get Personal

Remember, this project is for a property and not your home. You should develop a property that suits the market and not your taste.

The Bottom Line

Property development is a lucrative business for both long and short term goals. Approach it with care and a good strategy, and you’ll thank yourself for starting it.

Everything You Need To Know If You Want To Sell Online

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Selling Online|Everything You Need To Know If You Want To Sell OnlineThanks to technological innovations, selling online has become easier than ever. And because it’s scalable, it’s precisely the type of business that entrepreneurs need to get themselves into. Instead of trading your time for money, you can just increase the number of units you shift over time, generating massive returns.

If you’re currently selling on Shopify or any of the other platforms, this post can help you. Remember, flogging goods is about more than setting up a website. It’s also about putting the systems in place that will allow sales to happen.

Here’s what to do.

Choose Where You’ll Sell

The first thing you’ll need to do is choose where you want to sell. There are lots of platforms out there, each with advantages and disadvantages.

Remember, if you choose one of the larger e-commerce vendors to host your goods, you’ll have to pay them a commission every time you make a sale, so your margins will always remain depressed.

If you go down the hosted route and sell independently, you’ll get bigger margins, but you’ll also have to do more marketing. Thus, it all comes down to where you think your competencies lie.

Choose How People Will Pay

Payment systems are the most complicated aspect of setting up an ecommerce business. Just displaying goods and writing descriptions is easy. But connecting your site to POS and banking is much more challenging.

Fortunately, most platforms now provide tools that do this automatically for you. For instance, the Shopify FFL checkout allows you to sell restricted goods safely. Other services use their own methods.

Where possible, you want to offer a variety of payment methods. Try to include PayPal if you can, as people who haven’t been to your site before are much more likely to trust this method.

Start Marketing Your Online Store

The next step is to start marketing your online store.

This is more challenging than you might expect. You can have a great ecommerce platform. But if you’re failing to reach out to the community, you won’t get anywhere.

Social media is perhaps the best place to start drumming up business. It’s relatively inexpensive and a great place to begin getting people interested in your services.

Work Out How You’re Going To Do Shipping

Shipping is one of the most challenging aspects of e-commerce. Finding a system that allows you to deliver the right goods to the right customers on time is a notoriously challenging process.

The best option here is to simply outsource the task to a fulfillment provider. These services store and then distribute your goods on your behalf when customers order them.

Please note that these solutions aren’t just “cutting into your margins.” For many new companies, they’re a necessity. You simply don’t have the systems to bring distribution in-house, unless you’re selling just a couple of dozen items a day (and even then, it can be a hassle).

In summary, selling online has never been easier, but it requires a degree of patience and strategy.