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How to Minimize Business Disruption When Upgrading Tech

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | How to Minimize Business Disruption When Upgrading TechWith technology moving at such a rapid rate these days, you can’t afford to allow your hardware and software to become old and stale. However, when you do get round to upgrading your technology, it is all too easy for it to cause business disruptions. In turn, these can be problematic by costing you potential sales and even causing your clients to look elsewhere. So, you want to make a special effort to minimize disruption as much as possible, and here are some of the ways that you can do so.

Hire the Right Tech Team

While your business relies on technology to operate effectively, this doesn’t mean that you are an expert in the field. Therefore, you need to have the best team behind you, whether through in-house staff or an outsource agency like Iconic IT. Whoever you choose to put your trust in, they need to be reliable and competent. If you are hiring someone, you need to check their references closely. If you are relying on an outsourced agency, you should get a personal recommendation if possible or review their case studies closely.

Plan and Test

When you first decide to upgrade your tech systems, this is where you need to make a plan involving how long this is going to take and when you can do it to minimize business disruption. You need to work out whether you should inform your clients to let them know about the impending disruption. Within your timetable, you also need to set aside some hours for testing. After all, you don’t want to get the system up and running, only to find that it didn’t work as well as you expected. This is the time that you can use to iron out any issues and sort them out before the big launch.

Keep Security in Mind

Online security has never been more important, and you don’t want to risk your systems going down as a result of not taking the proper precautions. While your old systems may have been protected, you need the same to be said of your newer technology too. To grant you extra peace of mind, it may be worth hiring someone to test your systems out. Some businesses even find it useful to hire ‘friendly hackers’ who attempt to hack into their systems to make sure everything is watertight.

Prepare for Future Upgrades

While it may present a challenge, you should do your best to invest in technology that it is as ‘futureproof’ as possible. While your new bit of kit may be useful now, is this still going to be the case in the next six months. If you are not sure, look at the direction of the company and how well they have done in keeping their products fresh and innovative. You do not want to waste a lot of cash upgrading to a technology that is going to become obsolete in the very near future!

Simple Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs|Simple Marketing Tips for EntrepreneursEveryone knows that entrepreneurs, working on their startup enterprises, have a lot of different tasks to juggle. As well as representing their firm in business meetings and conversations with clients and customers, the entrepreneur is also asked to oversee all elements of their business – from their accounts and finances through to the strategy and planning that leads an industry toward its goals. As such, entrepreneurs need to know the shortcuts and the tricks to each part of their business – and this article is all about getting the most out of your marketing strategy without spending undue time on advertising and marketing.

Use Apps and Programs

Many entrepreneurs choose to outsource all of their marketing responsibilities to those businesses that they can trust to build them a workable strategy. While this works in practice, in principle, it can sometimes be a waste of money in the early lifespan of a startup.

A better solution is to make use of the digital tools available to generate shortcuts for your team when they’re marketing your brand and your products. Simply search for marketing tools, and use them to cut down your research, content design and strategy development time when marketing.

Or, you could get the best of both worlds by using AI marketing services. These companies, rather than taking over all of your marketing responsibilities completely, offer an automated AI-powered marketing tool that uses deep learning to analyze your customer’s interests. This data can in turn be used to create a strategy tailored to your marketing objectives and your brand. If your business is growing and you’re struggling to keep up with the marketing needs of your company, this may be a good option.

SEO Boosts

Another element of your marketing strategy that it’s crucial to get right is the SEO approach. If you have a marketing professional on your team, this is one of the primary areas of focus that you’ll want them to concentrate on throughout the week.

Above and beyond the usual marketing tips for SEO, though, it’s worth considering investing in Spanish SEO assistance – so that your firm can tap into the millions of Spanish speakers in the US and abroad. Competing in this space is far easier – a great way to conquer this large market.

Social Media

It’s incredible how much you can achieve with an hour on social media when you’re looking to share your product and your brand with a specific demographic of consumer. You can target adverts incredibly specifically on the likes of Facebook and Instagram, and you can get into the feeds of your target consumer on YouTube with ease.

All of this takes a little investment in targeted advertising, but this is the sort of investment which pays off almost immediately, with big hits on your website and your social media pages. For time-pressed entrepreneurs, social media is a great ally in your attempts to market your products.

Website

Finally, it’s incredibly important that you’re proud of your website. You should certainly hire a trustworthy professional to help you build out your site, ensuring that you’re on-trend and looking professional for consumers who visit your corner of the internet.
Remember, too, that this is your home on the internet. It’s the foundation that you’ll build upon. As such, it pays to get some aspects of your website right the first time – like the page structure and the color scheme and branding. Invest in this part of your business to see your traffic convert to more sales over time.

Busy entrepreneurs should make use of the above tips to ensure their marketing is second-to-none in their first few months of business.

Common Violations of Employment Law You Need to Know

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | Entrepreneurship | Overtime | Common Violations of Employment Law You Need to KnowSeveral people in the United States have fair and excellent employers. However, we have some employers who violate the rights of their workers every single day. Some of them include break and rest violations and underpayment. In such a case, you have to know your rights and find a good employment lawyer to help you out.

Some employment law violations are common in the United States. The first one is failing to pay for overtime workers. These laws vary from one state to another but The Sattiraju Law Firm, P.C. can help you calculate your overtime hours and seek compensation. You are entitled to overtime pay unless you meet the set overtime exemptions. Some employers pay for overtime, but the amount of money they give is far much lower than what is legally acceptable. In such a case, you will need a highly skilled wage and hour dispute lawyer to help you out.

As an employee, you may also get compensation for not taking a non-paid meal period or any other rest breaks that you need to have legally. Some states expect employers to pay their workers extra for these services. If your employer frequently expects you to skip an unpaid meal or rest breaks, you must look for the help of wage and dispute hour attorneys to guide you. The Sattiraju Law Firm, P.C will make sure that you get full compensation for the working hours.

The other employment law violation takes place when employers classify statutory as ‘independent contractors.’ It will deny the worker several rights that he should be receiving like overtime, minimum wage, and other protections that the federal and state law provides. Some employers miscalculate the overtime amount genuinely. It can be a well-planned move that the employer uses to increase his profitability. You can clear out this issue by using a reputable employment law attorney. These legal experts will help you to determine whether your employer has misclassified you under the independent contractors.

You may also be entitled to some meal times and rest breaks that your employer doesn’t provide. Some of them may also fail to provide vocational pay and hence the employee will take home far less than what they deserve while the employee is benefiting unjustly. If you suspect that the employer is violating your rights, it is wise to seek legal help.

The incidences of violating the rights of workers in the United States are prevalent. However, some of them are not known because employees don’t know their rights. The cases range from miscalculating the status of employees to denying workers overtime pay. You may end up with more extended working hours, fewer breaks, and less income than is legally acceptable.

As a worker, you need to know your rights and seek professional assistance to defend you when there is the need. It will lead to a fair working environment that will see employees working safely and securely. You have to make sure that you are receiving adequate compensation depending on the services that you offer to the company.

5 Key Considerations When Buying A Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | 5 Key Considerations When Buying A Business

Building a business from scratch is a challenging and lengthy process. Many professionals prefer to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams by purchasing an existing business. Perhaps you’ve been considering this venture and are wondering how to take the first steps? To help you get started on your journey, take a look at these five key considerations when buying a business.

1. Determine your needs

Before you start looking for businesses to purchase, it’s important to determine your needs. Your criteria will likely include several different factors:

  • Size: Are you looking to purchase a small, large, or mid-sized business? Large businesses may appear more attractive (profit wise). Small businesses are usually easier to manage.
  • Location: Which location are you looking to buy in? Remember that the location will have a direct impact on the company finances.
  • Industry: Which industry are you looking to purchase in? It’s wise to work with professionals who deal with buying and selling within your chosen industry specifically. For example, BSF specializes in the purchase and sale of funeral home businesses.

2. Prepaid expenses

Usually, prepaid expenses will not be included as part of the purchase price. You’ll need to separately determine what these expenses are. Failing to gain the correct info about prepaid expenses could severely affect your budget. You’ll want your budget to be air-tight from the get-go, so it’s essential to factor in all costs.

3. Assess growth potential

When you are considering buying a business, you will need to assess its potential for growth. You can do this by completing market research and by closely studying the future profit projections. When you’re liasing with the sellers, it’s important to establish the reason for the sale. Determine any problems which you may encounter when attempting to grow this business in the current market.

4. Due diligence

Due diligence is one of the most important aspects of any business sale. The process involves a full investigation of the legal and financial aspects of the company. Typical areas of investigation include real estate, employees, contracts, and finances. You should not enter into a contract until a trained lawyer has completed your due diligence process. The business in question will likely use a data room so that both parties can access the documents that they need. At this stage, you can draft a letter of intent; this letter should state the potential agreement. The letter of intent is not a contract, and the contract should not be signed until the due diligence process is complete.

5. Hire a business broker

Perhaps you’re having trouble finding a business that meets your needs? In this case, it can be useful to use a business broker. A broker will help you to pre-screen businesses, and negotiate deals. You’ll need to exchange plenty of data throughout the process, and it can be useful to have professional support.

Buying a business is a huge decision, and so no aspect of the procedure should be rushed. With the right team of professionals behind you, the decision-making process is far easier.

What Happens If You Make A Mistake On Your Tax Return?

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | What Happens If You Make A Mistake On Your Tax Return?

Contractor accounts can be just as complicated as any other kind. There will be incoming money as well as outgoings, and there may even be subcontractors to pay. A tax return accountant will be able to organize all of this into a coherent tax return. You will know it is time to complete a return when you receive a form.

What Happens If You Make A Mistake?

Mistakes can easily be made on a self-assessment tax return if you are not used to completing one. Contractor accounts can be made up of many different elements, and it could be that something is missed out. Something that is easy to rectify – and notice – is if the address on your return is wrong. If you have moved, you should let the government know immediately so that they can update their records. If you don’t, you should let them know once you realize there is an error on the form.

Other mistakes may be harder to identify. If you do realize something is wrong, the government need to know straight away. Otherwise, you could be penalized and if the government believe you used the wrong figures on purpose, you can even get a criminal conviction.

Checking and re-checking your tax return before you send it off is essential. Or, if you are worried that you might make a mistake (and it does happen easily), engage an accountant to complete the return for you. Many people leave their tax returns until the last minute because filling it in is a hard task, and a laborious one too. But getting in touch with a contractor accountant will make the work much quicker and easier, and will prevent you from getting a fine or worse. It makes sense to hire an expert to get the job done, leaving you with much less worry. You would hire experts for other aspects of the business, so why not this one? This is especially important if you have gone through a year of change, for example, if you are in the process of acquiring a competitor or you have a second income coming from a different source.

Is It Possible To Avoid Penalties?

If you miss the deadline for sending in your self-assessment tax return, you will generally be fined. However, if you have a ‘reasonable excuse’ for being late, you may be exempt if it was entirely out of your control. Hiring an accountant should mean you never have to have this problem, but if you do your excuse must be made as soon as possible. Examples of reasonable excuses could include documents being lost due to a fire or a flood. Equally, if documents are stolen and you are unable to replace them, this may also count. If you suffered from a life-threatening illness and you had to stay in hospital and where therefore unable to complete your tax return, this will usually also count. So too does the death of a partner just before the filing date (although you may be asked to show that you had started preparations to complete the return before it happened).