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Are there Benefits of Cloud Computing for Businesses?

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If you’re fairly new to business, then there is a lot to learn. Of course, it will vary what you need to know, depending on the kind of business that you have. But one aspect that can universally benefit businesses is cloud computing. This is where data is stored and managed, as well as processed, and it is all done using a network of servers that are hosted remotely. This kind of computing and storage for business data is popular with business users for a number of reasons. It offers some savings, as well as a large capacity of storage. So if you’re still not sure, here are some of the reasons why cloud computing could be just what your business needs.

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Save money

There is one thing that a lot of business owners have in common, and that is that they will always be on the lookout for different ways to save money. And for any business that is looking to use technology, and see if it offers any value, won’t have to look too far from cloud computing in terms of getting a good return on their investment. Cloud computing means that you don’t need your own hardware as everything is hosted elsewhere, which can be a good saving. Plus, if you look for a cheap VPS (virtual private server), then you will be able to save even more. Cloud computing means that you won’t have to cover the costs of security, power, and insurance for this kind of thing, as it is all taken care of remotely.

Strategic competitive advantage

The time in cloud computing is low, and any applications that are needed for growth and success can be found online nearly instantly. This helps to give you a strategic competitive advantage over any competitors, especially those that have not yet got on board with those kinds of cloud technology. It also means that as a smaller business, you’re not at a disadvantage compared to large businesses. You can all be on the same playing field when it comes to data and storage.

Lightning fast performance

If you want to stay competitive, then you need to have cloud service providers that will help to update technology to then meet the demands of the business customers. This can mean that cloud computing gives great performance which can be a huge benefit for business. Cloud computing also uses load balancing to make sure that no server suffers with any performance problems.

Flexible working

Cloud computing is something that will provide much greater flexibility in the way that employees work. It can mean that no matter where people are working from, they will be able to access the same information, as it is all internet based. Flexible working, especially in recent weeks, has improved so much, and more and more businesses are seeing that it can help their business, so it is definitely something that is here to stay. Using cloud computing can help your business as people work more flexibly, as it will keep everyone up to date.

Online Businesses Popular for Senior Citizens to Start

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | Online Businesses Popular for Senior Citizens to StartRetirement does not need to mean the end of work for senior citizens if they don’t want it to. There are many businesses that even those in need of in-home senior care can start. These businesses can give retirees extra income while still allowing them the flexibility to enjoy their retirement.

These 6 online businesses are good for retirees to start.

Senior Citizens Can Start an Online Genealogy Researching Business

Genealogists research the history of a family, and they can use the Internet to access genealogical records and create a detailed family tree for clients. This work is research-intensive so people are willing to pay others to do it for them. This makes it an ideal home business for retired seniors with time on their hands.

Although much of the research can be done online, genealogists sometimes need to go to libraries, churches or courthouses. They may also need to conduct interviews with people. This part of the job is excellent for seniors who enjoy getting out and socializing with others.

Starting a Virtual Assistant Business Can Help Retirees Earn Money

Virtual assistants are like administrative assistants who work remotely. They can help a business with a variety of tasks such as research, social media management, bookkeeping, data entry, managing email, booking travel, calendar management and more.

Senior citizens who want to start an online virtual assistant business need to assess the existing skills that they can offer and then decide if they want to learn new skills to add them to their offerings or just focus on the ones they already have.

Retirees Can Start a Writing or Blogging Business

There is a great need for quality content online, and senior citizens who want to start their own business can call upon their years of experience and knowledge to write that content. In fact, writing is an excellent home business for seniors who want to work entirely from home because all writing, research and telephone interviews can be done from the comfort of a home office.

Retirees who want to start a writing or blogging business should create a website with samples of their writing, perhaps creating their own blog that touches on the subjects they can write about. This will give them a portfolio to point potential clients to.

A Photo Business is Great for Senior Citizens with Tech Skills

For an older adult who knows their way around Photoshop or other photo enhancing tools, starting an online photo business is ideal. The business can offer services such as photo restoration of old or damaged photos, digitizing slides, negatives or prints, touching up digital images and more.

An investment in some hardware and software may be necessary for a senior citizen to start this business. Once that investment is made, a creative senior can make extra retirement income helping others enhance and preserve their photo memories.

Retired Teachers and Professionals Can Start an Online Tutoring Business

The ability to connect with others through video chat makes online tutoring easy. Former teachers and other professionals can offer their expert knowledge in subjects that students need to be tutored in and do that tutoring online.

This is one online business seniors can start that they might be able to get underway just by word of mouth. An older adult who announces on social media that they would like to tutor others in a subject they qualify to teach may find students very quickly.

Senior Citizens with Web Design Experience Can Start their Own Business Designing Websites

There are many website building sites such as WIX or Squarespace that make it simple to get a website up and running quickly. Tech-savvy seniors who take the time to get to know a couple of these sites can start a business that builds websites for others.

A senior who wants to open a company that helps other retirees may even consider starting a website designing business for other senior citizens that want to start their own online businesses.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Kelsey SimpsonKelsey Simpson enjoys writing about things that can help others. She lives in South Jersey and is the proud companion to two German Shepherds and spends her free time volunteering in dog shelters.

Why Your Business Needs an Online Presence

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, Why Your Business Needs an Online PresenceThere are many ways available to market your business. Discovering which media is best to reach your customers takes patience and research. Some of the most popular avenues to explore today involve the internet and social media. Here are a few reasons to try online marketing.

Bigger Audience

Your Orlando web design gets more views from around the world than an article in the paper will. Customers can shop your company at any time of the day whether you are open or closed. If you have merchandise for them to select and pay for, they can do this on their own time. They can also schedule an appointment with you there if you offer a service instead of goods. If they are pleased with what they find on your site, they will share it with family and friends. Their word of mouth will bring in more sales and revenue into your company. You are able to reach new customers on their schedule with little help from your sales staff. However, be sure to add a link so that you can be contacted with questions from those people who want to work with you.

Stay Competitive

Nearly every organization has either a website, social media site or both. To stay up with your competition, you need a spot for your customers to find you and learn about your company. Put as much information as you can concerning your business on your sites so that your clientele can learn what you have to offer them. If they are local, they will visit your physical store after they shop your virtual one. Also the higher you can get your name on a Google search, the more traffic you will drive to your internet presence.

Builds Relationships With Customers

Having a spot on the internet where clients can review the products you sell or the services you provide can be intimidating. However, the way you work with them also displays how great your customer service can be. Customers that are pleased with your company will leave critiques that tell the world what they like about your business and why they recommended it. If you do get evaluations that state problems that a customer had, you have the opportunity to address them online and offer to make it right for them. When you do this, others who are reading these reviews will see that your client’s happiness is a priority to you.

Affordable Advertising

Another benefit of online marketing is that it costs less to reach more people than the mediums you normally know. Hiring someone to design your website can be expensive. However, when it is finished, the fee to keep it on the internet is minimal. It can be even cheaper if you or a staff member has the ability to assemble it and upload the final product. Putting an advertisement on social media is a fraction of the cost of a television or radio ad and reaches a much larger audience. It can also post at all hours of the day, drawing potential clients to shop your company even while your physical store is closed and your staff is gone. Marketing on the internet and by social media lets your advertising dollar go farther and reach more people.

Change Plans In an Instant

Online marketing allows you to use trial and error in your advertising that traditional methods are unable to do. You can promote a certain product to a select demographic on social media to see if it will work. If the results are slow, you can change up what you are trying to sell or widen the criteria of customers you want to reach. This can be done within hours of your first post. You can extend a campaign that is working or shut down one that is having issues. The option to tweak your ads until they work is in your hands. This also works for your website as well. If you receive feedback from customers that your site needs more photos, videos, or colors, you can make these changes before your client looks at it again. Constantly adding to and changing your social pages and website will bring people back over and over to see what is new.

4 Tips to Lead an Effective Marketing Campaign for Your Store

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, 4 Tips to Lead an Effective Marketing Campaign for Your Store

Executing an excellent marketing campaign is even more critical for brick and mortar retail stores than it is for other types of businesses, such as those that operate solely online. With the majority of American consumers now buying their shopping over the internet, retail stores need to be able to keep up with the market by creating an efficient advertising strategy. If you are looking to lead a marketing campaign for your store, read on for some top tips that are available.

Don’t Forget Physical Marketing Strategies

Although many new retail businesses choose to focus their energies on developing sophisticated marketing strategies online, you should not forget that the central location and driver of your campaign is your store. From the layout of your retail space to the roles of cashiers in driving sales, most of your marketing needs to be based on physical strategies. For instance, to entice customers into your business, you should consider investing in custom window decal printing services. They can help to develop eye-catching visual art that can spark the interest and imagination of potential customers and freshen up the look of your business to customers who have been with you for a long time.

Advertise All Year Round

Although many retail stores focus their campaigns around the most competitive times of the year, such as during the holiday period or at the same time as a big sale, you must be able to drive sales all year round. This can be beneficial to your company as advertising throughout the year will enable you to attract the attention of consumers when there is less competition for their attention. Not only this, but they will be able to remember your business when they need it during the high seasons, allowing you to generate and nurture leads that you can then capitalize on in the future.

Track and Analyze Your Campaign

However, as a leader, it is paramount that you can drive your campaign to success by analyzing the effects of each of your methods. Not only will this show you whether your methods have been effective but tracking your metrics and KPIs can also help you to make effective changes to your strategy. You can do this by focusing on the channels which have garnered the most interest from potential customers. You can track your campaign by using marketing applications, hiring a digital marketing company, or by simply looking at the stats that are provided by website generators, such as WordPress.

Get Your Employees Involved

As a manager, you should be able to motivate your employees to have a proactive and positive effect on your campaign. Marketing is a team effort, and your employees are likely to be the individuals that are in direct communication with visitors to your store. This allows them to push sales to customers, including add-ons and deals. They can also participate by sharing your business’s online campaigns on social media websites, contributing their ideas, and even adding content, such as guest posts for your blog.

Getting the Best out of Your Employees

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StrategyDriven Talent Management Article | Getting the Best out of Your EmployeesAlthough everyone faces stress in their jobs from one time or another, for the most part, they should love what they do. As an employer, you need a reliable and positive team of staff that does their best every day; however, occasionally it can be hard to keep employees motivated. Here are some ideas to help you get the best out of your employees and keep them happy at work.

Recruitment

It all starts with hiring the right people for the job. The reality is that you can’t always predict how well an individual is going to work based purely on a resume and interview. Sometimes they can appear to be the perfect candidate, only to be less than impressive when they start the job. It’s worth looking at your recruitment techniques and seeing if there are any ways you can test candidates further before offering them a position. Use recruitment agencies to narrow down the applicants before you set up interviews.

Training

Every office tends to do things a little differently to others. Therefore take the time to train your staff on how you want things done. It could be that you need them to learn how to use a new computer program or a new compliance policy. Your staff won’t feel confident if they haven’t been trained efficiently and this will have an effect on their standards of work.

The Right Environment

Creating a positive working environment is also very important. If the office looks drab and gray, think about adding some color or plant life to make it feel less cold. Make sure that the staff break room is comfortable and stocked with a range of snacks and beverages. Perhaps consider introducing a work sports team that they can take part in recreationally? All of these little touches help your staff feel more comfortable at work and encouraging them to become friends means they can look forward to coming into work each day.

Communication

If you want to get the best from your staff, you need to be engaging in regular conversations with them about their progress. Hold appraisals where you can discuss with them how well they’re doing and in which areas they need to improve. This will also allow them to share any concerns they might have with you.

Also look at how the communication works in the office overall. Make sure your staff can communicate with each other quickly over the networks to complete work tasks faster. Contact IT support experts like Capstone IT Services (Florida) to help improve your business network.

Rewards

Finally, consider implementing a rewards system at work to motivate your staff to hit their targets and work to their best ability every day. This will let them know their hard work is appreciated and they will be recognized for their efforts.

It’s important to keep your staff happy at work. Consider using some of the ideas above to help boost morale in your office.

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Combating the Black Swan

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Effectively prepare, recognize, and respond to unexpected events…


StrategyDriven’s Combating the Black Swan series provides you with the foundational tools to prepare for, recognize, and response to unexpected, catastrophic events… ensuring your organization effectively weathers the storm and arrives stronger than before.

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Principles for Responding to Black Swan Events



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Protocols for Responding to Black Swan Events



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StrategyDriven’s Finding the Black Swan presents the fifteen warning flags of increasing Black Swan event risk and the observable indicators of their existence.


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Real world tested practices enhancing organizational readiness, event response, and recovery.

StrategyDriven Business Plan Development Forum

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Blueprinting the organization’s ongoing operations and strategic initiatives…


As complex entities, organizations are replete with competing interests.  A clear, concise, well-communicated and reinforced business plan helps to quell these competitions by focusing decisions and guiding actions on achievement of established mission goals.

StrategyDriven Budget Development Forum

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Funding ongoing operations and strategic initiatives …


There is never enough money to go around.  Consequently, effective budget development balances the funding of ongoing operations with that of strategic initiatives in order to maximize achievement of the organization’s mission goals within acceptable levels of risk.

StrategyDriven Budget Management Forum

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Fiscal responsibility without being chained…


Effective budget management centers on the responsible, proactive deployment of financial resources to achieve mission goals… not the hoarding of funds or stifling of activities needed for business growth.

Tammy Cline, PhD

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Creative Director
StrategyDriven

and

President and CEO
Envisioned Ideas

Tammy Cline is a certified art educator and arts-based creativity researcher with over 16 years of teaching experience.

She earned her doctorate and master’s degrees in art education from the University of Georgia. Her research, conducted in the US and China, examines the origins and nature of barriers to creativity within an educational context. Her bachelor’s degree in art is from Kennesaw State University. Artistically, she explores the ideas of ethnography and narrative through photography.

Tammy is active in her field and has presented at a number of state, national, and international conferences. As a member of the American Educational Research Association, she is involved in Divison-K Teaching and Teacher Education, the Arts Based Educational Research Group, and the Elliot Eisner group where she serves as secretary on their leadership team. She is also a member of the National Art Educators Association.

Higher education has always been important to Dr. Cline. She believes in the value of pursuing knowledge and experience as a path to meaningful global connection and understanding.

She has four grown children who live in different states and countries. Colton, her oldest son holds a master’s degree in Divinity. Kyle, her middle son, is an independent business owner who also holds a specialized trade school certification in motorcycle mechanics and engineering. Her youngest are twin girls. Natasha holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and intends on pursuing a master’s degree in speech/language pathology. Natalie is currently in China earning her bachelor’s degree in Mandarin and Chinese Studies.

Tammy’s passion is traveling the world. However, it is not the destinations that are important to her – it is the people she meets and the stories they share.

Tammy can be contacted at: [email protected]

View Tammy Cline's profile on LinkedIn

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