Business

When you’re a busy entrepreneur, a virtual assistant may be the secret to keeping your small business afloat. Virtual assistants could reduce your operating costs by 78% and be 13% more productive than your office employees. 

Being an entrepreneur is no easy job and can be a real juggling act. And, you know what they say “time is money”. So, with time being one of your most essential resources, any task that wastes your time is holding you back from helping your business grow.

Lucky for you, it’s never been so easy to unload some of your time-consuming tasks. How? By hiring a virtual assistant to help you with various functions that keep you from completing the core processes of your business. Data shows that a VA can help you cut operating costs by 78%, be 13% more productive than their office-bound counterparts, and can also become your full-time employee if you need long-term help as 59% of VAs worldwide are full-time employees.

So, what is a Virtual Assistant? As the experts from Virtalent  explain ” VAs can be independent contractors or work as part of a larger organisation like ours, offering support to businesses, just like a regular assistant or secretary would, but from a remote location.” There are many tasks that a virtual assistant can handle for you when you are a busy entrepreneur, but here are the five tasks they care of most commonly.

Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/kUqqaRjJuw0

Receptionist

You may be surprised how much time answering the phone can make you waste, especially when some calls are wrong or intrusive such as wrong numbers or insistent telemarketers. Answering the phone to clients, partners, suppliers, etc. will make you waste a lot of time you could have spent on getting more important things done.

Luckily, this is the type of tasks that a VA can easily handle for you while you get the time to focus on core tasks.

Scheduling

Think of all the time you’d waste to send emails, trying to agree on a time and date for a meeting. When you are a busy entrepreneur, you can’t really afford to lose all this time. The good news is that a VA would take care of scheduling meetings, appointments, and all your calls.

Email

Just like answering phone calls, emails can also be a huge vacuum for your time. And, when you are a busy entrepreneur, you most likely receive hundreds of emails every day. A virtual assistant can help by managing your inbox and sort and filter all the emails you receive, respond to those that are important and delete the spam ones.

Database maintenance

No matter what sector your business is in, keeping spreadsheets and databases are an essential part of keeping track of your business information. But, from centralizing all the information to analyzing it, everything takes a lot of time. So, leave it to a VA who can handle all these tasks for you.

HR and recruiting

Recruiting is a very time-consuming business process but also an essential one to the success of any business. A VA is the perfect person to manage all the tasks, including posting job ads, interviewing, and handling paperwork.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Business category

In the wake of the recent pandemic, some may have been looking for ways to supplement their income or create their own remote business opportunities in lieu of the traditional 9-to-5. Arguably one of the most popular and promoted ways to accomplish this is by setting up your own eCommerce shop.

Starting a small business is only a successful endeavor if you make sure that you have all of your bases covered in terms of your business operations. If you are missing out on critical aspects of your day-to-day operations, it is certainly a possibility that your business could potentially go under. Whether you are in the planning and launching stages of your business or are currently experiencing some issues, here are five small things your business shouldn’t go without that can help you become more successful in the long run.

If you’ve searched this article, it’s very likely you’re thinking about starting your own cleaning business in the UK, but you have a small budget.

Don’t be discouraged if you’re in this situation. The best thing about starting up a cleaning business is that most of your start-up costs are going to be marketing, and most of your essentials are going to be in your home anyway.

We’ve developed this guide to help you set up your company, with all the specifics of where to start and the cost estimates for starting.

1. Research your market

This might be as easy as looking at other home cleaning businesses in your local area and studying what they’re offering as well as looking at the area where you want to operate to assess the market.

Market research is important for any business; it will help you to determine what the needs in that area are any weaknesses that your competitors may have that you can use to your advantage.

2. Write a business plan

As a matter of fact, every business needs a business plan. Before you go any further, you need to really think about where your company is heading and how it will develop in the future.

Any genuinely effective company has a strategic plan that covers market analysis, distribution techniques, and future financial forecasts. Setting it out step by step will help you compile all the processes you need to compose a strong business plan.

3. Budget for everything

This step is particularly important for anyone who works on a small budget.

If you start it on your own, then you won’t have to pay wages initially, and you can concentrate on putting all your profits back into the business. However, you need to think about your marketing costs (which will be the biggest cash drainer in your start-up business) and your growing client base.

4. Hunt for clients

Social media is certainly going to be your best friend at this point in your business. After you’ve set up your social media channels, you’ll want to let everyone know about your brand, up and coming business. Facebook and Twitter are wonderful social sites where you can pay to meet the target market.

If you start a home cleaning company, you would usually need to target older people rather than teens and young children as homeowners.

5. Regularly be on the lookout for new and advanced tools and techniques

When operating a business, you’ll likely need to start recruiting staff sometimes soon, so even if they don’t have the qualifications you want to make sure their cleaning is up to par. This is particularly important if you want to maintain a high cleaning standard or even improve it.

Cleaning isn’t just as straightforward as having a brush and a dustbin. By taking these steps on board, you will be on your way to starting a successful cleaning business.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Business category.

The spread of the COVID-19 has brought businesses to a standstill. Most business owners are now homebound and all they have left is hope. Currently, it is not easy to tell when the pandemic will be gone. As a business owner, you just can’t wait for this nightmare to be over so that you can be back to your work. Probably all your marketing strategies are also currently on a standstill. This does not, however, mean that you should not strategize on the way forward after the Covid-19 crisis. Among the most relevant marketing strategies in modern-day digital marketing is SEO. If you had already started your SEO strategy and had to stop because of the pandemic you are probably wondering how to restart once the pandemic is over. Here are some tips to help you re-start your SEO strategy after the COVID-19 crisis.

Review site

After the crisis, every business person is going to do all they can to stay afloat. Your competitors are probably thinking ahead of you. It is time you also commence your strategy. There are so many things you can do to your site to make it better. If you had lamped all your services or products on a single page, try and separate the pages so that each service has its details on its page. This usually makes it easy for those searching for specific products and services to find you. Also, take this chance to have lead pages on your website. Mostly this is how you get more clients to sign up for your services. Various SEO companies are out there looking to help you strategize for the times ahead. Always look for best SEO companies in Houston if at all you are looking for excellent strategies.

Also, purpose to make your site an exciting place to be. Most clients usually look for ways sites that give them real-life shopping experience. Things like shopping carts will make potential clients visiting your site to have a good time while at it.

Effective use of social media

Most businesses that are not operational during this crisis have gone mute. This is not the time to keep quiet. This is the time to use your social media platforms to your advantage. If for example you run a hotel business and you are open for taking away only. You can let your social media audience who also happen to be your potential clients about any steps you are taking to ensure safety. Post about the measures you are taking to keep your employees safe. Also, let your audience know what measures you are taking to ensure when they walk in for taking away they will be safe. Let your clients know the potential changes in bookings or menus that might come up. This way you get to keep your business active even during the pandemic. Also if you are unsure about the best information to put on your site, you can ask for help from the best SEO companies in Houston. With the level of expert services these experts offer, your business will be placed in the position of priority once the pandemic is gone.

Invest in local SEO

Currently, the services that are sought after by most clients are those that are within their locality. Ensuring that your business has a presence when it comes to local SEO is the greatest justice that you can do to your business right now. If you are easily traceable on the local SERPS now, your presence will for sure be felt even after the COVID-19 crisis.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Business category.

Many people are looking for new ways to create passive income. One of the best ways is through vacation rentals through a popular service called Airbnb. Whether you use AirBnB or do something similar to it, there are a few aspects to keep in mind in order for your business to be successful. This article will discuss those aspects, so you can have the best chance of success.

What is the Airbnb Business Model?

Before you can succeed, you need to understand how the business model works. Airbnb allows everyday people to invest in properties that they turn into rentals. These rentals could be as simple as an extra apartment, a guest house, or a separate living space entirely. Those individuals then rent the living space out to vacationers for a set value of money each night.

Some Airbnb hosts go above and beyond for their clients. They may offer to cook meals for them, provide them with fine wine, shuttle them around the area, or just leave them alone in peace if their guests wish it. How you choose to operate your own business is entirely up to you. Just keep in mind that the added service could warrant an increase in their nightly stay cost.

Many people choose to rent small cabins, homes, guest homes, and even apartments for their vacations because it gives them some autonomy. At a hotel, they’re always reliant upon the hotel staff for doing things for them. They’re also typically crammed into a smaller space with a lot of people around them.

Vacation rentals give them room and privacy. They’re able to feel like they’re at a resort without paying for the resort prices. For some vacationers, they may feel more like the locals, which is the kind of experience that they’re going for.

This business model is a great method for being in passive income because it allows the hosts to pay for the cost of the house out of the money that the business makes. It also gives them enough of a profit to use themselves.

Hospitality can be a booming business if you know what aspects to look out for in order to boost your return on investment. Here are a few of those aspects.

1. Know City and State Regulations for Your Business Model

Depending on what state and city you live in, you may have regulations that govern how big the vacation rental has to be. There may also be other regulations that dictate whether or not you can rent a space out if it rests on the property of your primary residence.

If you intend to build a vacation rental, then you also need to make sure that the construction follows all of the regulations of the city and state. Even your local township may have rules about its construction.

Taxes, especially, are important to understand. Real estate income taxes can be difficult to understand. You’ll want to make sure that your city and state doesn’t demand a ridiculous cut of your profits through taxes alone.

2. Calculate ROI

As with any business, you’re going to invest a great deal in it. This might mean renovating certain parts of the rental to make it brand new. Most vacationers will want to stay in a home that looks clean and new. This is especially true if you’re going to charge a high price for their nightly stay.

Some additional investments that you may consider are putting in a hot tub, a small pool, or a game room. These added amenities can bring in a lot of traffic to your rental. However, if the cost of putting them in takes a heavy toll on your returns, you may not be able to make enough money for those investments to pay off in any great way.

You’ll also need to consider costs like electricity, water, sewer, property taxes, and other costs that you’ll have to pay for. While the business should pay those off itself, if you’re not making a return in the 5-10% range, then your investment isn’t exactly worth it.

3. Property Taxes

When choosing a place to either buy or build a vacation rental, you’ll also need to consider property taxes. These can be hefty prices that will drive up the monthly cost of owning the rental. If you’re not seeing a lot of traffic in the rental throughout the year, you might have to pay those taxes and monthly costs out of your own pocket.

It’s a good idea to try and find a place that has low property taxes. However, if you can find a sweet spot in an area that has a lot of tourists, then you might be able to take on higher property taxes as long as you have a steady flow of vacationers using your rental.

The gamble is ultimately up to you.

4. Location, Location, Location

Perhaps the most important decision you’re going to make is where to place your rental. You’ll want to choose an area that has a heavy tourist flow like Old Town Scottsdale in Arizona. This area should see tourists, but it should have a heavy business flow.

Businesses should hold regular meetings at a conference center nearby. This allows you to attract not only vacationers but also business executives who have to travel to the area for their meetings. In this way, you can diversify your renters and ensure you have a steady income throughout the year.

Another aspect to consider is having a rental close to a conference center for comic cons. Every year, thousands and thousands of nerds travel across the country for comic conventions. Many of the hotels quickly become filled up. These travelers are eager to find a space where they can stretch out and have fun while attending the comic con. Your rental could be the perfect choice for them if it resides close to a convention center.

City and downtown areas also offer a lot of opportunities for bachelor and bachelorette parties. You could market your rental as the place to party and prepare for a wedding. You could even take it a step above their expectations and give them bridal or groom gifts as a token of appreciation for choosing your rental. They’ll likely remember the gesture and use your rental again in the future.

Sticking close to tourist hotspots, conference centers, and in areas that see a lot of seasonal traffic is a great way to ensure that your rental sees traffic throughout the year. Take the time to research an area to determine just how active its city center is before you make an investment.

5. Affordable Property Value

One final thing to consider is the property value. You don’t want to spend all of your money on just buying the rental. This won’t leave you much for renovating it to suit the needs of your guests.

However, the investment might be worth it if you can find a rental that’s close to the city center or a conference center. This is because you might be able to charge higher nightly costs. People are willing to pay more if they’re closer to the shops and activities that they’re there for in the first place.

One good way to ensure you keep seeing business is to lower your price just that of the popular hotels in the area. Those looking for a deal will choose you even if it’s only a few dollars cheaper than the hotel.

If you happen to be looking in the Scottsdale, AZ area to start in Airbnb, look up the Scottsdale realtor team The Kay-Grant Group. They specialize in this type of investment property.

 

As a real estate agent your brand is everything. Developing your brand should be your primary focus when you are starting out as a real estate agent. The competition is fierce and you are constantly facing the ever-changing landscape that is being developed by experienced, seasoned professionals who are always looking for cutting edge advantages and techniques that make them stand out from the crowd.

There are a number of methods that the most successful realtors in the business employ that you should embark upon right at the start of your career. These tried and true methods will help you establish a foothold in the business and will propel your career onward and upward.

Digital and Social Media Marketing

Many realtors that are beginning in the business already have social media accounts. Take advantage of your personal following and begin to transition them to a business page you will create for yourself as a real estate agent. Do not take for granted the fact that your friends and family know you are a real estate agent. You will be surprised how many people have no idea what you do for a living-you must make it a point to specifically tell them. Do this by launching a campaign on your social media accounts announcing that you are now working as a real estate agent and are actively soliciting buyers and sellers for their business. Take the time to create a professional-looking business page on all of the available social media and digital platforms. Do the research as to which ones are the most effective and invest the time. The more time you invest in developing your own business, the more results you will see. You are now an entrepreneur and “if you don’t make the deposits, you cannot make the withdrawals“.

Interact heavily with your audience-post your business card and any listings you may have frequently. Always develop fresh content so that people continue to follow you and come back for more. Engagement is vital, so set up “frequently asked question “forums and live broadcasts so that people can get to know you virtually. Having a first-time home buyer question and answer session on Facebook or Instagram live is a great way to draw traffic to your professional pages. This is only one of the many methods you can employ as a realtor to generate interest in your brand and to develop a genuine and transparent reputation.

Word of mouth

Everyone you see is a potential client. This is because pretty much everyone you interact with lives in a house of some sort. Present homeowners might be looking to list their home or have friends and family that might be doing the same. Renters might be looking to purchase a home for the first time. Do not take for granted that anyone you meet is outside the scope of your sphere of influence. When you go to the grocery store, introduce yourself to the person behind the counter and tell them what you do. Spread the word to the local community constantly-every single person you meet is a potential client or knows a potential client. You will be surprised how many people do not know a reputable real estate agent and will say to you “I was looking for a realtor – I am happy I met you”. Collect as many business cards as you can and immediately enter the full contact information into your cell phone. Create a separate section of contacts in your cell phone for professional relationships. Organize your business cards and send out text messages regularly to stay in front of them. The “open” rate of text messages is much higher than that of emails. Almost every single text message is opened and you should take advantage of this.

Little wrinkles such as sending birthday cards to your clients, anniversary cards and small reminders go a long way. Very often, homeowners who you represent when they purchased the home will come back to you to list their home at the time of sale simply because you remain in touch with them through the years. Do not discount this – it is a very real circumstance that successful professionals make use of on a regular basis. Stay in touch with your clients because they will refer their family and friends to you and your network will grow rapidly.

Local community activities

Join your local Rotary club and begin looking into local charities that appeal to you. Make your presence felt in person at all of these events. This is great public relations for you and your brand. Giving back to the community is essential, not only as a real estate professional but as an overall theme. Do you want to push to write a professional wholesome image and become ensconced in your local community? Making friends with local business owners and contributing to their local businesses is essential. Visit with as many local business owners as you can and become involved in as many personal appearances at local community events as possible.

Direct Mail

Making use of direct mailing websites such as Wisepelican.com, who specialize in postcards for realtors, will grow your client base at a very fast pace. Using wisepelican.com, you will be able to create custom mailers and launch campaigns anywhere in the country. This platform will manage your email lists and track the campaign delivery for you. The mailers themselves will display your picture and photographs and details of your listings. This will introduce you to a wide range of buyers and sellers across your geographical region. This is a consistent source of marketing that is employed by realtors throughout the country. At just $.70 per post card, which includes postage, and no minimum order, you can create a custom campaign that suits your budget and preferences.

Putting the aforementioned strategies into practice from day one is essential to the success of your real estate brand and business. Commit yourself to at least 2-3 hours per day to build your brand. At the outset, it will require an investment of your time but it is worth it. People are looking for genuine, authentic, approachable individuals who they can trust when it comes time to sell or purchase a home. Do not discount this and be certain that you are fully transparent with everyone you interact with. Hand out your business cards, attend functions in person and follow up with your clients regularly. Be engaging, cheerful, upbeat, smile, have a firm handshake, be on time and arrive in a vehicle that is always clean and neat. These are very important factors to keep in mind. If you make use of this message, you will see that more and more referrals will come your way and your brand will build organically over the years.

Join the discussion on this topic with Piccolo Universe by visiting our contact page.

Headhunting is becoming common among different companies these days. It’s a strategy to allow you to bring into your team someone who works for another company. Apart from crippling your competitors, you’re also boosting your company. However, it’s not easy to convince employees to move to the other side. Some of them already established loyalty to their employers, and they don’t want to leave because they received an offer from your company.

If you really want to attract these employees, you can consider these steps.

Partner with head-hunters

You can find firms that specialise in headhunting. They know how to convince employees of different companies to work with a competitor. They don’t only study these potential candidates, but they also determine if they perfectly match with your business. They also have different tricks to make these employees believe that moving to a different company would be in their best interest.

Offer a competitive salary

The best way for you to convince these employees to work with you is to offer a competitive salary. Some of them might feel frustrated with their current employer because they’re not getting enough pay. By giving higher pay, they will consider moving. They don’t want to stay with the same company that doesn’t recognise their value. You need to know the current average salary for the same post so you can determine how much more you’re going to pay to attract the employee.

Offer opportunities for growth

Some of these top employees remain loyal to their employers because they don’t want to start over again. However, they also recognise that they are already becoming stagnant due to the lack of opportunities for growth. By giving them different options for personal and professional development, you might persuade them to move to your company. Sometimes, top employees are not only after how much they’re getting from the job but how much they can really grow as a person.

Offer a leadership post

One of the ways to show that you value an employee is by offering a leadership post. Some employees have been around for a long time, but are yet to receive an opportunity to lead a team. If you’re offering them a salary bump, and a high post in the company, it might be enough to convince them to move over to your side.

Highlight the relaxing work environment that your company has

Another reason why employees might leave their job is that they don’t like the work environment. If they can find a new job where they don’t have to deal with the same toxic workplace all the time, they might grab the chance. Therefore, you have to talk about how relaxing your workplace is, and how much your employees love working with the company. For instance, if you’re organising a fairground activity, it might be an excellent way to entice these potential employees. It’s unusual for a company to host this event, but it can be a lot of fun. Partner with a company offering fairground rides for hire if you are yet to try hosting such an event.

With these tips, there might be an excellent chance that you can convince someone else’s employee to move to your company.

To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.

Online educator Nine University offer one of the best courses on the web where students are able to learn about how to launch an Amazon FBA business. In fact just looking at the Nine University reviews it is clear just how in-depth and high quality this course is.

Fulfillment by Amazon is not necessarily a new service which the global retail giant offers, but it is a medium which is gaining more and more popular as each year passes, hence the desire by many to learn from the likes of the team at Nine University. So what is it exactly that excites people when it comes to launching a business with Nine University? Let take a look.

Business Dreams

Something which Amazon FBA is particularly good for is helping those with dreams of launching a business turn this into an easily reachable reality. The obstacles which many face when launching their own business is hiring and training of staff, heavy investment into storage and shipping. Amazon takes care of all of this and many of those who have a business with FBA, have started it for less than $1000.

Stories of Success

When people see the chance to make some money online they generally remain suspicious until they have actually seen the evidence that supports the claim. In the case of Amazon FBA there are simply too many success stories to ignore, this is clearly no scam. The point is that by and large more people are waking up to the fact that Amazon FBA could be their route to making a solid living online, and this is a key factor as to why more and more people want to gain deeper knowledge of Fulfillment by Amazon.

Work From Home

Since the dawn of the internet the dream of working from home full time has become a reality for so many people. No longer do people need to find jobs which have a home office option, previously offered in only a small number of positions, as now they can start their very own business online. What Amazon FBA is able to do for those people is give them a viable option by which they can launch their own business, which helps to remove some of the common obstacles that exist for new businesses.

Low Cost

Setting up an Amazon FBA business can be done for as little as $1000 and there are many who are able to use just a small amount of capital to get their products off the ground. This low cost route to market can’t be found anywhere else and it is yet another reason why Amazon FBA works for so many. Businesses can of course launch with more capital and go heavy into the marketplace, but it is the fact that this isn’t mandatory that appeals to so many.

To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.

Crypto currency ATMs are become a more popular way of accessing cryptocurrency as well as purchasing cryptocurrency. With over 3000 ATMs now available its worth considering for you business whether it is worth buying a cryptocurrency ATM for sale. Cryptocurrency can be a lucrative business with transaction fees close to 8-9% per transaction.

Cryptocurrency ATM For Sale

There are two paths to being involved in crypto ATM transactions, either offer your retail location as a space for a crypto ATM, where you will be paid a ground rental for the machine likely on a monthly basis, or buy an existing ATM from a provider and then you will receive a percentage of the transaction values. Either way with ATMs few and far between you will receive additional trade and extra income from having a crypto ATM at your retail outlet.

What You Need to Know About Crypto ATMs

Cryptocurrency such as bitcoin is growing in popularity and more people and companies are willing to use these currencies to make everyday purchases and sales. Several large retailers now accept crypto currency purchases and among online retailers this is a fast growing trend. You find that with such trends once a large number adopt it, the large majority follow. Think of online shopping, free returns on online shopping and home delivery of groceries, these have all become the norm after a few years where only a couple of early adopters pioneered them.

Crypto ATMs are a fast way of transacting cash and cryptocurrency. They allow a buyer or seller to exchange between currencies quickly and securely. Without an ATM, a person with cash would need to deposit their cash with their regular bank, then carry out an online transaction the next day to purchase their cryptocurrency, whereas with an ATM the whole transaction takes minutes if they are already an established user with a crypto account and wallet.

The ATMs carry out the full functionality of the transaction that a bank teller would including taking identification checks, scanning QR codes, and sorting, counting and transacting cash. Connected to the ATM provider’s network via either Wi-Fi or cell connection there is no requirement for you to do anything with the machine beyond having it sit there on your premises and perhaps occasionally clean it!

How Will Crypto Users Find Your ATM?

Once you have an active ATM your ATM provider will include your location on their ATM map and you will probably find you get customers using it quite frequently after that. More map operators are now including crypto ATMs on their online maps as well so you will likely be listed by the ATM provider and soon find that you appear on Google maps, Apple maps, and many others to be found by anyone who wants to use a Crypto ATM or just see what one looks like!

Cryptocurrency is a growing trend, and the pattern of making it more readily accessible through ATMs will only grow. Being an early adopter will give you a loyal customer base.

To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.