Which entrepreneur doesn’t fantasize about starting a business and see it venture to something big without any mishaps?

While this is a great vision, most business owners have one stumbling block: money. In fact, according to SBA (Small Business Administration) in a 2020 report, small business owners borrowed $645 Billion to help support their businesses.

When the need for money exceeds the cash-at-hand, many areas are negatively impacted, and you need a plan B. Here is the good news; there are many financial solutions that you can opt for to help you evade the financial hitches caused by inadequate funds.

Here are some of the best financing solutions that you can approach.

The Different Types of Small Business Financing Solutions

You can never run short of small business financing options for businesses. However, each has different policies, and not all of them are perfect for your business’s financial needs. Take time to understand the types of financing for business and it will help you pick the best. They include:

SBA Loans

SBA is a loan program ideal for business owners who want a low-cost government loan. Additionally, they are recommendable if you have a good credit score and you need a long-term loan.

Unfortunately, they have many qualifications and take a long time to process. The loan can take about three months after you apply, meaning they are not a solution if you need urgent financial assistance.

Term Loans

Term loans are loans where you receive a large amount upfront and repay it with interest over time. They are the best business loans if you need a large amount of money for reasons such as business expansion.

To get these loans, you need to have a good credit score and a well-established business. Term loans may have higher costs when compared to other loans such as bank loans. Additionally, you may require collateral or a personal guarantee to get these loans.

Invoice Financing/AR Financing

Invoice financing, which is also called accounts receivable financing, involves getting advances from your lending companies. They give a quick cash advance of about 85% of your invoice.

When you receive your payment, you get the remaining percentage minus the weekly charges from the invoice financing company.

This is the best financing solution that can help avoid inconveniences caused by late payment from a customer. Additionally, the lender checks the customer’s repayment behavior and not yours, meaning that a poor credit score cannot affect you.

Business Credit Cards

Business credit cards work like personal credit cards but are designed only for use by the business. They have lower interest rates than personal credit cards.

To get these credit cards, you and the company ought to have a good credit score. They will be situation-savers when you need a small amount within a short time.

Business Requirements for Alternative Financing Options

Alternative financing options are all other non-bank options through which you can get a loan. Unlike banks, these do not have a lot of requirements to help you get the loan. Additionally, the requirements differ based on the alternative financing option that you choose.

To help you know what you need, ask questions such as how do small business loans work, and their answers will help you prepare the requirements.

The Benefits of Alternative Financing Solutions

Some of the reasons why alternative financing solutions are better than traditional banking loans are:

i. Approval, Even on Bad Credit – While banks insist on good credit, it is not a must-have in most alternative financing solutions.

ii. Unsecured Loans – You don’t need collateral to secure your loan to get the best financing solution.

iii. Rapid Approval – You can get the loan even within hours after you send in your application.

iv. Short Payback Period – You pay back within a short time, thus reducing debts and financial pressure on the business.

Where to Find Business Financing Advisors to Help

When thinking of how to get a small business loan, it is not easy to select the best choice among the many available. Your best bet is to get a financial advisor for advice on choosing the best financing option. Some of the ways to find an advisor are such as:

• Through existing advisors
• Recommendations from friends and other business persons
• Through the National Association of Personal Financial Advice
• Accredited Financial Counselor Website
• By conducting online searches in different search engines

How to Apply and Get Offers

• Choose your loan type – you can choose the best financing solution based on the amount you intend to borrow and the use of the loan.
• Complete the loan application – after you narrow down to your ideal financing option, gather what is needed and apply.
• Make your case – prove to the business loan lender why your business is worth the loan.
• Wait for approval – ask the lender how long you need to wait before receiving the loan and wait.

Get a Financial Solution for Your Business!

Don’t wait to see the effort you have put in your business go down the drain due to financial hurdles. Instead, please choose any of the above financing options for businesses and use it as a bridge over this troubled water of finances.

Consulting a financial advisor will also help ensure that you don’t get a financing solution that ends up causing more harm than good.

Share with me how you found the best financing solution for your business. Use #FinancingSolution on  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram. 

If you’ve been in your business or career for a long time, you might be feeling bored or burnt out. It happens to most people who have been working at one thing for a long time. Or, maybe it hasn’t been all that long, but something just isn’t clicking.

If you’re finding yourself stuck in a rut, now might be the time for a change. Let’s talk about when it’s time to start exploring new business opportunities.

​​Change Isn’t Always a Bad Thing

Maybe you feel the need for a change, but fear is stopping you. Will you be able to transition to something new? Can you get new clients to your new business? Do you have a unique business idea?

These are all good questions to keep in mind when considering your small business opportunities. But they shouldn’t stop you from taking steps forward.

Change can mean fresh ideas, new territories, and a new and bigger business. Change is how you grow and also improve your work. Be cautious, yes, but don’t stop growth.

Remember, change doesn’t need to happen overnight. You can transition out of a current niche and into a new one slowly as you gain confidence and new leads.

Tips On Finding New Business Opportunities

Exploring new business opportunities can be daunting, especially if you know you want something new, but you’re unsure about what direction you want to go.

Do your research. Find those sexy new business ideas by spotting the hottest trends in the area you’re most interested in. For example, given the current pandemic, most people are looking for small business opportunities from home, but starting a business in this climate, or expanding upon an existing business, can be challenging.

Observe your ideal customer. You may not know exactly what you want but you might know who you want to work with. If there’s a customer you know you want, you can partially build your business around that concept. Find out what they like, as well as what problems they need solving. Then, become the company that can provide those solutions better than anyone else.

Transitioning to a New Niche in Your Business

You don’t have to throw out everything. If you have good people on board, you should retrain your staff for your new niche. If you’re a solo operation, consider hiring someone with skills or experience you don’t have to help you grow. The money spent on hiring and training will be made back as you grow. A good staff is the key to a growing business.

Phase out the old business while building the new niche. Don’t just drop your business off the face of the Earth. Finish old projects while taking on others in your new niche. This way you still have work and cash flow while you’re transitioning.

Let go of old clients. At some point, if your business is completely changing, you’re going to have to cut ties. Firing a good client isn’t anyone’s idea of a fun time, but you’re going to have to do it as you grow. If they keep you on work outside your niche, how can you concentrate on your new business venture?

On that note, don’t burn bridges. You may not be able to work with all your old clients if you no longer offer the services they need, but you should stay in touch. Just because you can’t help them doesn’t mean they can’t help you.

Networking is necessary to grow a business and they might know someone who needs your new service. A glowing referral from a previous client is invaluable in building your reputation in your new niche.

Adding a New Niche to Your Business

Business opportunities in 2021 are going to look different from those in the past. Sometimes it’s not about changing completely, but growing with the times.

Adding a new niche is a little different than fully transitioning. If your new niche is related to what you currently do, there’s no reason to completely change your business structure.

If you’re in an area affected by remote working, then you should make it clear your business can handle this new reality. If, for example, you can find a way to more efficiently run your small business with remote tools, promote yourself as an expert on that. This is an example of finding a niche currently un- or under-addressed and filling it.

Adding a new niche to your business doesn’t have to mean a huge overhaul. Rather, it can be more about growing what you already have. So, you can keep your team and your old clients as you’re adding new services instead of dropping old ones. Change your messaging and marketing strategies to make sure people know your business covers your new niche.

Always Continue To Grow

When changing your niche it’s important to always be looking for new growth opportunities. You’re in new waters and you may need to make quick changes the more you learn.

Pay attention to new trends and change strategies accordingly. Hire new people who have experience in areas where you have none. And, most importantly, don’t be afraid to keep changing.

A steady business can be safe for a while. But in the digital world, an online business that’s stagnant is one that’s not going to be around for much longer. People will move on to the next new thing extremely quickly. Online business opportunities are rapidly changing: Make sure you can keep up.

New Opportunities Can Lead to More Success

Starting a new business venture can be frightening. But, not doing it can be worse if your current business is slowing down, or you’re slowing down because you’re disinterested.

If you’re coming out of a business that’s served you well, then you already have all the tools you need to enter a new niche. Whatever you did the first time is still going to work for you. Make sure you know what else you need to do.

Don’t be afraid to change course. Just make sure you’re observant of trends, well-informed, and well-staffed. With the right tools, change is possible!

Employee mental health is directly tied to the success and livelihood of your business. Leaving mental health in the workplace unaddressed and stigmatized at any time is a quick way to cripple your company and the human beings who dedicate their time to it.

Let’s look at some ways you can provide support and accommodation for employees in a changing and modern world.

Mental Health in the Workplace in 2021

Not only are your employees responsible for keeping your business running efficiently, but they’re people who are under your care and supervision. They might be adults, but they deserve a safe and comfortable environment to work in.

Employee Mental Health Statistics

Mental health in employees has taken a nosedive since 2020, and in 2021, a report from Mental Health America shows that 9/10 employees experience decreased mental health and stress directly from their job.

Of that total, only 5% of employees said they even felt comfortable expressing mental health issues to management. Most workplaces don’t show much support for mental health in a time where it’s more important than ever.

People spend more time at their jobs than at home, which is troubling if they’re constantly miserable and looking for a job elsewhere. Their mental health affects how they work with each other, their productivity, and their interactions with your valued customers.

How the Pandemic Affects Employee Mental Health

COVID-19 has left many people isolated, sick, or fearful of becoming ill. There was an unprecedented loss of employment that upheaved entire lives all across the country. People were left without knowing where their lives would go and if it would ever be the same.

The pandemic has caused a sharp rise in depression and anxiety. Some of these were already present but magnified exponentially so. A more open online presence of people talking about their mental health has made it normal to talk about your mental health.

The pandemic has created a lot of loss, but it also allowed us to be more empathetic with one another. We understand what others are going through and can show support in our personal and professional lives. Employee mental health during Covid-19 is essential to acknowledge for this reason.

Mental Wellness for Yourself and Your Team

You wouldn’t force an employee into a position where they have to walk a lot if they broke their leg. The same goes for mental illness. The tricky part is, because of stigma, many people have to walk on a broken leg mentally, no matter what.

There needs to be an environment in the workplace where employees can feel comfortable addressing what’s hurting and holding them back. If they had a physical injury, the goal would be to get them healthy again to come back to work.

There are multiple ways you can start the process of creating a mental health-inclusive workplace.

Address Your Own Mental Health

A manager’s transparency and accountability let your employees know they are safe to speak about their own health. Managing a business in these times can be stressful and take its toll on all of us.

Learn the Signs

Take the time to learn about the most common mental illnesses and the side effects they give people. Pay attention to your employees and how they act. Sometimes substance abuse happens because of an untreated mental illness.

Send Out Weekly Emails

Many people don’t know that they aren’t alone in the struggle. Send a weekly check-in email with information on the company’s resources and employee mental health programs. This way, employees can have access to links and critical information.

Check on Employees Individually

At the end of the day, you know how your employees tend to act at work. It means a lot when someone shows interest and care, pushing beyond a simple “Hi, how’re you?” This can also mean sending out a mental health email to employees.

Creating Employee Benefits for Mental Health

Snapping your fingers won’t make problems disappear, but hard work and genuine consideration for the well-being of your employees go a long way. They’re people with lives and stressors, many of which are money.

Here are some of the benefits you can consider for helping keep people mentally healthy and productive while on the job.

Cover Mental Health in an Insurance Policy

Simply covering mental health for an employee can change their life for the better. Insurance is difficult and expensive, and many have to choose between paying rent and helping their crippling depression.

Offer Mental Health Days

Sick days are offered, so why not allow an employee to rest and recharge with a mental health day? The culture of shaming and guilting someone over taking time to recover rather than work keeps people from ever resting at all.

Managing and supporting mental health at work means allowing your employees to recover and rest when needed.

Pay a Living Wage

Living is expensive and stressful in modern times. Simply having enough money to feed themselves and their family will reduce stress exponentially. Employees are more willing to work if they know the job they’re working will take care of them.

Conduct Anonymous Surveys on Where to Improve

One of the best ways to know where your company lacks is to have your employees submit reviews, concerns, and ideas for improvement through a questionnaire.

Final Thoughts

If you’re wondering how to support employees during the pandemic and outside of it, taking care of your employees should be your top priority. This care means addressing and helping them through problems you can’t always visually see.

Your employees will have a better disposition and life quality if you’re being open and transparent, fighting stigma, and offering better benefits and pay.

Take a look at your business and see where you can improve your employees’ work experience by helping their mental health in these trying times.

You almost bought that salad for lunch from a drive-thru, but then you realized you have groceries at home to make a salad. You needed to buy sugar, and you chose the brand with better packaging even though it was thirty cents more.

These are both examples of customer buying behaviors, and we are constantly doing them. We make buying decisions several times a day, every day, and we often don’t even realize it.

But this customer buying behavior is a big part of us and who we are as a consumer-and paying attention to this information can offer a huge boom to your branding.

From the business side of things, understanding your customers’ buying behaviors can help you build a customer journey that matches them, aligns with what they want, and creates a better experience for them.

Ultimately, this puts more dollars in your pocket when you’re able to cater intimately to what your buyers wants and needs.

In this article, I’ll explain customer buying behavior and why it matters so much to brands. I’ll also share tips on how to learn better from your customers and modify your service to align with their needs.

Ultimately helping you build a better customer journey based on the factors that influence customer buying behavior.

What is a Customer Buying Behavior?

Customer buying behavior is the study of consumers and the processes they rely on to select, consume, and dispose of various services and products. It takes into account all of their responses, whether emotional, behavioral, or mental.

Customer buying behavior is a conglomeration of many different fields of study, including biology, psychology, economics, and even chemistry.

Some of the fundamental characteristics of consumer behavior include:

• Bargaining
• Measuring value vs. price
• Brand-consciousness
• Changing patterns of consumption due to education or increased standard of living
• The shifting role of women in buying decisions
• The power of complaining

Tips on How You Can Learn from Your Customers

The importance of consumer behavior in marketing cannot be undermined.

Marketing is, essentially, the art of understanding the consumer and convincing them that your product or service is the right solution for them at that time. And if you don’t understand who they are and how they make decisions, how can you provide them with the “right” solution for them?

The first step to improve your marketing strategy through customer buying behavior is to learn from your customers.

How do you do that?

1. Let them speak. You can’t listen or learn if you’re the one talking, so make sure your reps remain silent while the customer speaks.

2. Stay patient. It can be frustrating working with a new customer or an unhappy one, but without patience, you won’t be able to understand where they are coming from to learn how you can improve.

3. Engage on their preferred channels. You’ll get the most information if you listen to where they already spend their time. Social media and chatbot conversations are two great examples of where the younger millennials and Gen Z spend their time and engage with customer service.

4. Practice active listening. This means repeating the issue back to the customer to ensure you’re understanding it correctly from their perspective before you try to address it further.

5. Pay attention to the person, too. Each person should be dealt with uniquely, so paying attention and noticing how they react and what emotional state they are in can provide highly valuable tactical information.

Modify Your Products or Service to Align With Your Customers Behavior

If your customer buying behaviors aren’t what you want them to be (i.e., you’re not seeing the sales you expect), then it might be time to listen and make some changes to better align your services and products with your customer behavior and decision making.

For example, you may need to optimize your pricing to keep up with changes in brand expectations over time. While your product may have been high-value at one point in time-perhaps while it was trending-it might not be as highly sought-after a year or two down the line.

Being able to see that your product should get a lower price point will remove the price barrier that’s holding customers back and allow you to generate more revenue.

You may also decide to change aspects about the product or service itself, such as adjusting the packaging due to a design flaw that frustrated customers or adding a new feature that you hear a lot of feedback about.

Being agile, flexible, and willing to make these changes is a key part of long-term company success.

Build a Customer Journey That Matches Your Customer Behavior

It’s not just the product and the price that you should consider when using customer behavior data to shape your business offerings. You should also take into account the customer experience you’re creating for everyone that buys your products or services.

You may learn that your marketing emails aren’t nurturing your list in the right ways, creating a change in your email campaigns that instead focus on exclusive offerings and sales.

Another example might be developing relationships with more retail stores rather than focusing solely on e-commerce if you learn that customers are frustrated by not being able to test the products in person before buying.

As long as you’re listening closely, you’ll be able to identify the experiential changes your brand needs to make.

Factors That Influence Customer Buying Behavior

So, what drives customers to make the decisions they do?

The primary factors influencing consumer behavior are:

• Marketing campaigns-yes, their effectiveness matters
• Economic conditions-a healthy economy makes consumers more confident
• Personal values-morals, priorities, and preferences
• Group influence-peer pressure from colleagues, classmates, family, and friends
• Purchasing power-how much money consumers have to spend

Using Customer Buying Behavior Data for the Good of Your Business

With the capabilities to gather data around customer buying behavior, there’s a wealth of knowledge you can access to improve both your products or services and your customer journey.

By listening closely, understanding why people make the decisions they do, and developing insights based on customer feedback and behavior, you’ll be able to create a tailored experience for your customers.

What are you waiting for? Boost your sales by tapping into the power of customer buying behaviors, and improve your business’s revenue and success.

Almost everyone is using search engines like Google multiple times throughout the day. Yet you’d probably be surprised to learn how many businesses don’t add to or claim their Business Profiles on Google. Further, for those business owners who are taking advantage of Google My Business, many aren’t using appropriate keywords to reach their ideal clients or customers.

Why is it important for people to find your business on Google?

It’s simple: Those customers or clients who need your products and services must be able to find you. As you know, there are countless competitors out there, so it’s up to you to help them locate your business–and then distinguish your services from all the others. You can fulfill these goals through top-notch search engine optimization (SEO).

Google remains the most popular search engine by far: together with its subsidiary, YouTube, it receives more than 90% of all internet searches. Approximately 3.5 billion Google searches are taking place every day. With Google My Business, you’ll be able to use local SEO to drive new customers and clients to your business, link directly to your website, provide a map to your location, and enable them to call you directly from your Google listing.

Research has shown that approximately 50% of potential new customers visit businesses the same day they conducted local searches, e.g., “hairdresser near me.” Further, if your contact information isn’t current or inconsistent between Google and other search engines, eight in 10 consumers lose trust in your business. Therefore, once you’ve claimed your Google My Business profile, keep your listed contact information current and consistent across all your search engine listings, business website, and social media channels.

What are the negatives if you don’t have a Google My Business account?

If you don’t claim your Google My Business account, you have zero control over the information that appears in your Business Profile. This means that if consumers locate your Business Profile on Google but you haven’t established a Google My Business account, your profile may contain inaccuracies. Also, note the following:

·

• Your Business Profile may have a subheading that says “Add Missing Information,” such as “Add business hours” and “Add a website.” It may also say, “Be the first to ask a question” or “Be the first to leave a review.” These are all big red flags that may give potential customers the impression that you’re not taking care of your business. Most will immediately move on and go directly to your competitors.
• Your profile may simply list a generic industry for your business, rather than a specific business description that you’ve crafted, along with providing your town or city and state (key for local business searches).
• You won’t have the opportunity to respond to any Google reviews you may receive on your Business Profile. This can be disastrous, particularly with negative reviews, since you won’t be able to manage your online reputation. Further, reviews influence buying choices and are a key Google ranking factor, so being able to manage your reviews on Google is an absolute must.
• Google determines the position of Business Profiles in search results based on quality. Therefore, if you don’t have a Google My Business account, you’ll lose out on the ability to use SEO to reach potential customers with relevant keyword searches that can help you rank above your competitors on a search engine results page (SERP).

How do you create a Google My Business listing to get on Google Maps?

The good news is that you can easily create a free Google Business Profile that will help consumers locate you on both Google Search and Google Maps. You’ll have the ability to personalize your profile with the following:

• your business’ contact information
• link to your website
• description of your services or products
• photos of the outside and inside of your business
• photos that highlight your offerings
• frequent customer questions and answers
• a “Reviews from the web” section where customers can review your products or services–and importantly, where you can respond to both positive and negative reviews in a manner that may ultimately serve to enhance your online reputation
• special offers

To create your Google My Business listing, you’ll first need to have a free Google account that gives you access to Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and more Google applications. If you’re currently using Gmail, you already have the necessary free Google account. Many business owners have two free Google accounts, one for personal use and the second for business purposes.

Your Business Profile is the free listing that appears when you conduct a Google Search or a search of Google Maps. A Google My Business account is the free account that you’ll need to create to claim your Business Profile, where you’ll receive access to a dashboard to manage, customize, and enhance your Business Profile.

What are the specific steps to create a Google My Business account?

First, ensure that you have a Google Account for your business. If you don’t, simply go to accounts.google.com/, click on “Create an account,” and select “To manage my business.” Then complete the required information.

As discussed above, Google Business Profiles can exist on their own without Google My Business accounts. You’ll want to search to determine whether there is already a Google Business Profile for your business. The chances are that your Business Profile already exists since it simply serves as a location on Google Maps that any individual or computer can add.

Accordingly, go to Google Maps, and search for your business name. If you locate your business name with an address on Google Maps, your Business Profile already exists.

If your business doesn’t come up in your search, you’ll see “Google Maps can’t find [Your Business Name]. Should this place be on Google Maps?” You’ll have the option to click on “Add a missing place” and will then be prompted to fill in a dialog box called “Add a Place” with the following information:

• Business name
• Business category
• Address

However, do not do so here since you still need to set up your Google My Business account. Follow these steps to set up your Google My Business account:

• Log into your standard Business Google Account (not your personal Google account).
• Go to google.com/business, and select “Manage now.”
• Enter the information that Google requests, including business name, address, phone number, website, and category. You’ll have the option to claim your business in the same dialog box.

Once you claim your Business Profile and connect it with your Google My Business account, your dashboard will make additional fields accessible so that you can begin to customize your Business Profile.

Connecting your Google My Business account with your Google Business Profile

Last, you’ll need to verify your business with Google to connect your Google My Business and Business Profile accounts:

1. Search for your Business Profile on Google Search, and your Business Profile should appear on the right side.
2. Click on the “Own this business” option, which will take you to a screen headed with “Manage this business so you can reply to reviews, update info, and more.”
3. Click on “Manage now” and go through the prompts to claim your Business Profile. As you’re doing so, ensure that you’re logged in with your standard Google Business account.
4. If you created the Google Business Profile, you might be able to validate your business immediately. However, if you didn’t create the Business Profile, Google will send you a 5-digit verification code through snail mail, text, or email that you’ll need to enter into your Google Business dashboard.

Once you enter your verification code, you’ll obtain full ownership of your Google Business Profile and can take the necessary steps to achieve the following:

• update contact information
• provide details of your business that distinguish you from your competitors
• manage customer or client reviews
• respond to reviews 
• take proactive steps on your website and social media platforms to encourage your customers to leave reviews
• choose robust keywords for SEO that will drive local traffic to your site

Importantly, remember to visit and update your Google Business Profile often to keep it current and relevant and ensure that it stands out from the rest.

Google Analytics and Core Web Vitals

Now that you’ve listed your business on Google My Business and own your Google Business Profile, you can also use several additional Google applications. For example, Google Analytics provides the necessary tools to track, extract, and evaluate informational data, including which keywords are most successfully driving your site traffic, where visitors accessed your site, how long they stayed and more.

In May of this year, Google also introduced its “Core Web Vitals” report, with the goal of fixing poor user experiences on your website. The report shows how your website’s pages perform based on real-world-experience metrics, such as how quickly a page loads, stabilizes and becomes interactive. Essentially, such reporting will help you assess the user’s (and potential future customer’s) experience when visiting your site to learn about your products and services, enabling you to take additional measures to improve your ranking in Google searches.

Contact Google My Business Help to obtain further information about Google My Business and additional steps you can take to enhance your Google Business Profile and increase your local business traffic.

Regardless of the size of your business, it would be best if you prioritized cybersecurity. The last thing you want is to experience a data breach or hack, which is why providing employee cybersecurity training is so important.

Starting a business amid the COVID-19 pandemic can be difficult, but that doesn’t mean you should skimp on cybersecurity. Making sure all of your employees understand cybersecurity and have access to free cybersecurity awareness training materials will help keep them and your customers safe. Fortunately, as you will see, training employees in reliable security practices is easy and free.

The Dangers of Cybersecurity for Your Small Business

Many small business owners think hackers won’t target them because their businesses are too small. However, that is a grave mistake, as hackers will target any business, especially if it has weak cybersecurity protocols.

Malware and viruses can infect your computers and steal important company information, such as bank account details, employee information, and even customer details. The last thing you want is for your customer data to get leaked, evaporating any trust you worked so hard to build.

Another common threat is ransomware, which is a type of malware that takes over your computer system. Hackers then demand you pay a ransom, usually in Bitcoin, for them to give you back control.

Cybersecurity training for staff can help employees understand the importance of using robust antivirus software and how to avoid phishing attempts and malware when browsing online.

Protect Your Employees’ Sensitive Information

Protecting your employees’ sensitive information helps shield them and you. Hackers who gain access to employee information, such as birth dates, Social Security numbers, and even credit card information, can use that data to steal money, blackmail employees, and more.

It would be best if you protect your software and your hardware. Secure your network, but also protect your physical laptops so nobody can steal them. Of course, when it comes to employee data, your staffers will also need to be careful they are not entering their data on a phishing site or otherwise exposing it.

Online cybersecurity awareness training for employees can help your staff spot harmful websites and provide awareness about things not to do, such as entering passwords on an open Wi-Fi network.

Protect Your Company’s Sensitive Information

There are several types of sensitive information you need to safeguard. We already talked about employee data, but it goes beyond that. You need to take stock of all the data you store and categorize it as sensitive information or not.

For example, do you store customer credit card details? That is an example of highly sensitive information. In general, you should treat any customer data with the utmost care.

Some ways to protect sensitive information include:

• Using a firewall to protect yourself against hacking attempts
• Installing a VPN (virtual private network) on your computers or otherwise encrypting your network data
• Installing antivirus and antimalware software on your computers (make sure they monitor and scan for viruses and malware periodically)
• Making sure all software and hardware you use are updated regularly
• Requiring multi-factor authentication for employee and customer accounts
• Using secure passwords that contain random letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and symbols
• Not reusing passwords
• Monitoring government updates to learn about new data privacy rules or guidelines
• Providing free cyber training for employees

One thing that can help keep your information safe is limiting who has access to what information. If an employee leaves your company (especially if they are fired), make sure to delete their accounts immediately. If you can’t delete an account, change the password right away.

How to Train Employees on Cybersecurity

You can’t expect your employees to be cybersecurity experts until you train them. Remember, your employees can make or break the customer experience, and the same is true when it comes to protecting customer data.

Training can help employees understand things such as:

• What makes a password secure
• How to use a VPN to secure their network
• How to protect their data if using a public computer or Wi-Fi network (such as when working at a cafe)
• How to use antivirus and antimalware software on desktops and smartphones
• The most secure type of 2FA and how to use it
• How to dispose of old computers and phones

Most importantly, team training can help employees work together to ensure the entire network is secure.

Where to Find Free Training For Employees

Let’s go over some of the best cybersecurity training for employees, including free government cybersecurity training. The following resources are all free.

• ESET: ESET is an antivirus company that provides free on-demand employee training for cybersecurity. It covers all the basics and more. ESET recommends your employees complete the course once a year to refresh their memories. The free course takes only 60 minutes. The paid course provides real-time gamification and exercises to help employees put best practices into action.
• FTC: The FTC provides several resources for small businesses concerned about private security. You can share those resources with your employees as well. In addition to the training materials, there are quizzes you can use to check if your employees truly understand what they learned.
• HHS: On this page, you can find courses from the Department of Health and Human Services on cybersecurity essentials, cybersecurity awareness, and phishing.
• NICCS: The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies provides an extensive catalog with more than 6,000 training courses for cybersecurity professionals. Courses are available online (self-paced and with an instructor) and in person. There are many advanced courses available.

Final Thoughts

Making sure your employees are fully aware of cybersecurity risks at all times is critical. You can’t neglect cybersecurity, even if your team is small and your company doesn’t have many customers.

Over time, as you grow, your cybersecurity risks will increase as well, which is why you need to build a solid foundation and implement strict guidelines that will protect you in the future.

An organization is only successful if it understands how to communicate with its employees, customers, and vendors. Useful information helps people do their work better. Sharing thoughts and ideas help companies innovate. Providing value to customers is what keeps them coming back.

This article examines the importance of effective communication in business and what it looks like for your company. We also highlight tips on establishing better communication with your employees, customers, and vendor network.

What Does Effective Communication Really Mean?

The role of communication in business is to share information between internal team members and external stakeholders. When your business effectively communicates, everyone interacts in meaningful ways that support the mission and goals of the company. It means that each message will bring your company closer to a specific objective.

Yes, everyone has different methods of communicating. However, the best companies can convey critical information to all personality types. The main goal of effective communication is to keep team members knowledgeable, eliminate errors, and enhance company best practices.

Effective communication involves understanding the different flows of information too. There are four critical areas of communication that a strong organization can master:

• Communication from the bottom toward the top
• Communication from the top toward the bottom
• Lateral communication between employees who are on the same organizational level
• Communication to external parties like customers and vendors

When effective communication happens, people will feel inspired to do better work, live a happier life, and be motivated to execute the company mission.

Why is Effective Communication Important in Your Business?

The importance of communication in business organizations touches all internal and external stakeholders. There are several reasons why your company needs to improve its communication flows.

Boosts Employee Engagement

A company is only as good as its people. The importance of employee communication goes hand in hand with innovation. When team members share ideas and valuable information, it keeps them curious and engaged. Internal leaders have a responsibility to instill the need for communicating among the employees.

Elevates Productivity

Employees have different levels of experience and knowledge about specific subjects. If a team member does not know something, there is a good chance that another person in the organization has the answer. Instead of wasting time researching the answer online, internal communication allows team members to pass on knowledge to one another.

Increases Customer Retention and Satisfaction

When businesses communicate better, it means more happy customers. Customer-facing employees need to convey useful information to clients. If an organization lacks communication, these internal stakeholders will not have the required resources to boost satisfaction. Elevating the customer experience involves cross-departmental communication and synergy.

Stronger Company Culture

Effective communication in the workplace will play a key role in improving the culture. More communication means more transparency with employees. Team members will feel more inclined to speak up, which makes for a healthier atmosphere. When there is no communication, employee engagement will suffer, more employees will quit, and productivity will drop.

Tips to Communicate With Your Employees

Successful employee communication comes in many forms. Below are some tips and business communication examples that leadership can use to transform company culture.

Be Clear, Concise, and Sincere

Whether written or verbal communication, team members should avoid using fluff, technical jargon, and complex phrases. Everyone has different levels of knowledge within the organization, so this could cause confusion. It is best to communicate in simple terms and convey clear expectations.

Understand How Employees Communicate

Each organization has different audiences. Some people may learn through visual means, while others need to understand specific examples. Maybe some team members like bulleted lists in emails. Regardless of the personality type, effective communication starts with discovering how different team members digest information.

Follow Through With What You Say

Words mean nothing without the actions to back them up. When employees do what they say they will do, it builds trust among team members. The root of effective communication is trusting that the other person will follow through on what they say. If a leader promises to send feedback to the other employee by Friday, it needs to happen.

Prioritize Face-to-Face Interactions

Although more companies are transitioning to the remote working style, it is essential to emphasize face-to-face interactions.

When employees interface in this way, it allows for nonverbal cues to come into play. Without body language, over half of a message’s meaning is lost. If you sit in the same building, try to meet face-to-face. If you are remote, try your best to build in teleconferencing methods.

Opening the Line of Communication With Your Customers

• Accuracy – Delivering accurate information to customers is vital, which is why you must utilize internal resources and cross-functional departments to find the information you need.
• Patience – Keep your composure if someone calls in for a complaint, but also recognize that the quality of your response is more critical than the quickness of it.
• Be proactive – As you learn from past mistakes and customer inquiries, always have answers and services ready, such as an FAQ page on your website.
• Seek to understand – Avoid interjecting when your customers are talking, take the time to listen with all your patience, and put yourself in the customer’s shoes

Don’t Forget About Your Vendor Relationships

Any healthy relationship starts with effective communication, and that includes your vendors. When you interact with your vendors in a meaningful way, it will improve your overall business operations. As you communicate with your vendors, remember these critical behaviors:

• Be direct – Avoid technical jargon, stay honest, and communicate consistently.
• Ask meaningful questions – Your vendors have information about areas you do not, so be curious and inquire about the necessary information.
• Establish clear expectations – You will get the most out of your vendor network by being upfront with what you expect.
• Be timely in your response to emails and calls – Much like you would expect a timely response from someone else.

Wrap Up

As you can see, strong communication is the root of any successful venture. Effective communication keeps employees motivated and engaged. Sharing ideas with customers builds trust. Consistently interfacing with your vendors means better business relationships. If your company establishes a culture of healthy communication, great things will happen.

Knowing your competitors as a business owner, salesperson, product developer, or any other business person is not enough. You need to go the extra mile and extensively monitor your competition. This entails gathering as many details as possible about who you’re up against.

But why is this necessary? Of course, the competition affects businesses. Whether it’s coming from industry’s powerhouses or new entrants who might bring in new ideas challenging your already established brand, you need to be wary. It’ll impact how you operate your business – the marketing, selling, branding, everything. In fact, it’ll determine whether or not you succeed.

Pay Attention to Your Competition

It’s crucial to regularly monitor your competition if you’re to stay ahead of your business rivals. But where do you begin?

There are probably thousands of businesses dealing with the same products or services like yours. Therefore, the first step in competition tracking is to establish the competitors worth monitoring.

The two types of competitors you need to pay attention to are:

Direct Competitors

Direct competition comes from businesses offering products or services that are similar to what your firm provides. They are the Pepsi to your Coca-Cola.

Prospective customers analyze you based on how your price, availability, and product compare with your competitors.

Since direct competitors are the imminent threat, they should be your top priority when tracking your competition. The only way to gain an edge over them is to make sure your products offer something they’re yet to.

Indirect Competitors

Indirect competition comes from companies that offer different products and services from yours but to the same customer base.

Though they’re not as much of a threat as direct competitors, it’s good to keep track of what they’re up to. They may develop new ideas that can help you and your direct competitors transform your businesses into a better thing.

What You Can Learn From Your Competitors

You’re probably thinking, “Why monitor my competitors?” Well, you get to learn a few things that you can use to improve your business.

Keeping track of your competitors helps you to:

• Interpret the collected data, analyze it, and come to conclusions, helping you avoid crises.
• Improve on your managers’ way of doing things. To create new strategies, they’ll not just do it from nothing, but from complex data, improving how you deal with industry matters.
• Improve your sales and also ROI. You’re continuously analyzing data from competitors. This enables you to adapt to industry changes continually and improve your performance.
• Boost the overall performance of your business. By carefully monitoring how your rivals are trending, you’re able to put measures in place that ensure you strengthen your industry and market position.

How to Find Your Competitors Online

Do you know who your online competitors are? These are the websites competing for visibility in the search engines with you.

Your key phrases answer questions like how to find competitors to a website and how to find your competitors.

Once you’ve established these phrases, you can identify who your competitors are in several ways, including the following free tools to find competitors:

#1 Googling Your Key Phrases

The best way to establish the competition that ranks at the top online is to use Google. Simply google the key phrase, and websites ranking the best will appear. Then, make a list of the domain names and firms ranking at the top with your keywords.

Remember, these competitors will include those whose ranking is natural and those who find their way to the top through online advertising.

#2 Try Using the “Related:” Search Operator

Google has the related: search operator that you can use to find top sites that google ranks with yours. Since it identifies them as similar to yours, these could be your potential competitors.

#3 Check for Listings in Directories

Another way to identify your competitors online is by using directories. Of course, this will be easy if you’ve already submitted your business to your local area directories. Then, you’ll only need to check who else is offering the same products or services in your area or niche.

#4 Try SEMRush

SEMRush is one of the website competitor analysis tools that you can use to research your competition online. After subscribing to the service, you’ll have access to traffic data and keyword ranking. Questions like “How to find your competitors customers,” or in other words, “Who are your primary competitors?” are now easily answered using this tool.

It’s one of the best company competitor finders there is. Mind you, SEMRush also offers a free version, albeit with limited data.

To identify your company’s top five competing websites, type your domain on the competitor’s analysis dashboard. Then, move down the page to your ‘Main Organic Competitors.’ The list includes the websites that SEMRush considers to be your competitors.

Free Competitor Analysis Tools

Wondering how to find competitors of a company free? Well, marketers prioritize keyword research. And the good news is there are free online competitor analysis tools available.

With such tools and a clear strategy, you can easily identify the keywords your competitors are using. Some of the top free tools to find competitors include:

SEMRush

Most companies trust SEMRush as the best competitor analysis tool. With this tool, you can check the keywords used by your competitors, backlinks, and the audit of SEO in your blogs.

SEMRush helps you keep track of your website’s performance and monitor your social media work.

SpyFu

This tool helps you spy on your competitors’ activity, just as the name suggests.

But what is competitor activity? It’s the details of what’s going on with your competitor’s website. For example, you can download the highest-ranking keywords your competitors are using. You can get all your competitor details, helping you to be a step ahead of them.

Keyword Competitor

Keyword competitor is an online competitor analysis tool for establishing the keyword your competitor is using.

These keywords can help you improve your long-tail keywords’ search performance.

Other Tools

The list of free online competitor analysis tools you can use to keep track of your competitors is endless. Other useful tools include:

• Ubersuggest
• Alexa
• SimilarWeb
• Wappalyzer
• QuickSprout
• WooRank
• BuiltWith

All this monitoring aims at helping you identify information that can be helpful to your company, giving it a competitive advantage. Some of the benefits of the monitoring, especially with these online tools, are:

• You can track your ranking progress
• You can deeply find out who your competitors are
• Compare search traffic and share of voice
• Identify keyword gaps
• Check how competing techs are performing

Ultimately, you get to know the best course of action to take to ensure you don’t lag behind your competitors but stay ahead.

Media monitoring serves you best because it delivers exemplary results. With the right competitor analysis tool, collecting critical competitor data to help you strategize is easier.

Use your sales team, marketing teams, business development, product, and leadership teams to keep in touch with what’s happening with both direct and indirect competitors. It’s the only way to survive and succeed in this ever-evolving, highly competitive business world.

Many new business owners who want to create an online store are often confused and don’t know where to start. If you’re one of them, you’re in luck. Shopify has got you covered on every e-commerce functionality you’ll need to start your online store and make a name for yourself among leading e-commerce platforms.

What Is Shopify & How Does It Work?

Shopify is an online e-commerce platform for building online and offline stores. Shopify is the “WordPress” for store owners if you’re familiar with WordPress for bloggers. Since the company started its operation in 2006, it has grown to the ranks of other platforms like Magento, WooCommerce, Volusion, or BigCommerce. So, how does Shopify work?

The key difference between Shopify and other leading e-commerce platforms is its numerous functionality and ease of use. The platform is user-friendly for new store owners who have not managed an e-commerce store before. It also provides all the features you’ll need for a functional online store without taking a web programming class.

If you’re an advanced user with prior knowledge of programming, you can access the HTML and CSS files and upgrade your Shopify plan to enjoy more features.

Comparing Website Platforms For Your Small Business

Are you wondering what benefits Shopify has over other popular website platforms? Let’s compare with BigCommerce, another big player in the industry.

Shopify shares some standard features with BigCommerce (and many other website platforms), including mobile responsiveness, Blog CMS, sales reporting, custom domain name, reliable hosting, etc. However, Shopify has more than 100 secure payment gateways, better-discounted plans, over 6000 apps, and supports more multimedia features (augmented reality, 3D models),

Why Shopify Is The Best e-Commerce Platform in 2021

Most big-name brands in the world started as small businesses, which most times, people never think will succeed. Nowadays, small business owners can reach customers worldwide using e-commerce platforms like Shopify.

Although there are several similar platforms, Shopify outshines them in several ways.

Low Entry Cost

Most open-source e-commerce solutions that claim to offer free services do have hidden charges. Although Shopify has an entry cost and monthly payments, these prices are lower than most competitors.

Easy to Manage

The Shopify platform provides a frontend and admin system that allows you to control your e-commerce website without learning the complexities of coding. The platform also manages software updates, servers, and several other things that business owners may not want to handle by themselves.

Inbuilt Expandable Tools

This digital platform for small businesses has all the tools you’ll need to start and run your e-commerce business successfully. These features include reports, integrated marketing features, useful add-on integrations, accounting, inventory, shipping, and many more.

Excellent Customer Support

Shopify users have 24/7 access to customer care services via email, live chat, and phone. Besides, the platform has downloadable comprehensive documentation and resources available, making it one of the best e-commerce platforms for startups.

Getting Help To Set Up Your e-Commerce Store

If you need help setting up your Shopify store, you can visit the platform’s Help Center for a beginner guide. The company also has an excellent customer service team because they know how your staff can make or break your customer experience.

How To Start a Successful Shopify Store

Although Shopify is an easy-to-use platform, many users often mistake putting the cart before the horse. In most cases, they’re worried about the wrong things first – like wasting time finding the perfect theme and creating pages before deciding which products to add.

To avoid going down the same path, we’ve listed a step-by-step guide on starting a successful Shopify for small business below:

1. Draft an Offline Plan for Your Store

This stage is probably the most important when creating a Shopify store. It entails drafting out every detail of what your store will look like before starting the actual setup on your computer.

If you handle this stage properly, you’ll spend less time with the actual online setup of your business. What might help is a Shopify setup checklist.

2. Choose Your Store and Domain Name

Your store name is your brand name, so it’s a huge deal. Ensure you consider all options before settling for one name.

Once you’ve chosen your store name, the next step is to create a domain name. Your domain name is your store’s website address or URL. You can register your domain name via third-party domain services or through Shopify.

Note: confirm that a domain is available before settling for a brand name. The Shopify business name generator can help you with this.

3. Create Your Free-Trial Account

Shopify offers you a 14-day free trial on their platform. Visit their signup page and create your account by supplying your name, store name, and email address.

4. Add Your Products

Many people may argue that it’s best to pick a theme first before taking this step. But ideally, your products should determine the design you’ll choose for your e-commerce store.

To add a new product to your Shopify online store,

• Go to Products > Add product.
• Enter your product name and a brief product description
• Upload a picture of the product
• Set your price

You can take care of other aspects later.

5. Create Other Essential Pages

You can now create additional pages like a Contact page, About page, FAQs page, and Policy pages. You can make more pages later if needed.

6. Customize Your Store Appearance

Now that some of your pages are ready, proceed to choose a theme or template that suits your brand name and products. You’ll find tons of free and premium themes on the Shopify Theme Store.

Another vital part of this stage is customizing your homepage, navigation menus, checkouts, and colors.

7. Optimize Your Settings

Shopify’s default settings may be enough to get your store up and running, but you may need to add and change a few details to match your expectations for your new store.

Some basic settings include general settings (like emails and other contact info), payment provider settings, checkout, shipping, account, tax, and legal settings.

8. Add Discount Codes (Optional)

You can also create discount codes for your products if you think it’s necessary. Go to Discounts > Codes to generate your discount codes.

Where To Start

When creating a successful online store and listing it on Shopify, the first step is to create a well-formulated offline plan to serve as the blueprint for your online store. You can apply some of the lessons learned from business to guide your plan.

The next thing is to follow the steps we’ve highlighted above. You can also hire someone to build a Shopify store if you like. But we still recommend that you ensure you take the proper steps to keep your Shopify store growing, and you can add yours to the growing list of Shopify success stories.

Even the best-laid plans sometimes go awry; it happens, folks. If things aren’t going your way despite careful preparation, don’t let it get to you. Of course, it’s going to bother you somewhat. That part is unavoidable, and that’s fine. The important thing is for you to find an opportunity in your current situation. Here’s an overview of how to find opportunity in every situation, good or bad.

Tips To Be An Opportunistic Entrepreneur

First, it’s important to think of yourself as more than a business owner. You should be thinking of yourself as an opportunistic entrepreneur, because that’s what business owners are at the end of the day. You are an entrepreneur engaged in the growth of a profitable enterprise, which means it behooves you to be opportunistic.

Want some tips on how to find entrepreneurial opportunities? You got it! How entrepreneurs find opportunity is all in the name. Opportunistic means you will take advantage of every possible opportunity, which is exactly what business owners should be doing.

The best opportunistic entrepreneurs are the ones that are finding opportunity in a crisis and use it to their advantage without losing their way.

How Opportunities Help Grow Your Business

Business is all about growth, but what fuels growth? Opportunities fuel growth, plain and simple. Knowing how to recognize opportunity in business should be your primary focus as a business owner.

You should know that you can find opportunities in unexpected places. For example, the community fundraiser event might not sound like it can affect your business, but it can.

Savvy business owners always take advantage of such events to get their name out there. On the surface, the idea is to engage with the community, but the real object is to encourage the community to engage with your business.

Keep in mind, some of the best opportunities are cooperative ones. By cooperating with other businesses, you can create a mutually beneficial network that will bring more customers and more profits to all parties involved.

Think of opportunity as a big wave on the ocean. Things stagnate when the water is flat and calm, but when that big wave comes in, you can ride it. The best entrepreneurs are like surfers in that they are constantly searching for those big waves. When they find them, they ride them all the way to the bank.

Some of the best opportunities come from maximizing customer experience. For example, every time customers talk about your brand, it’s an opportunity. The best marketing is word of mouth.

Learning To Identify An Opportunity

Are good opportunities spotted quickly? Well, learning how to identify opportunities in life can be tricky. When trying to determine whether something could be a potential opportunity or not, it’s crucial to think about it in a specific context.

First of all, ask yourself how this possible opportunity could affect you personally. Then ask yourself how it could affect your business, your employees, etc. Finally, ask yourself how it could affect your customers.

The key is to find opportunities that benefit all three. For example, selling essential items at discounted prices might sound like it will hurt your bottom line, but it could bring in a lot of business in the long run.

Businesses today need to understand that they are dealing with a different breed of consumer than several years ago. Today’s consumer wants to keep companies in check. It’s not enough to simply provide a good quality product anymore. In today’s market, you have to attach yourself to various causes, like environmentalism and corporate responsibility, to gain a customer’s trust.

New companies have an advantage here because they are malleable. Older brands are still struggling to adjust their identities to meet the demands of today’s ever-conscientious consumers. In conclusion, if you see a good cause that your customers are rallying to, make it your business to attach your brand to that cause and watch the sales roll in.

Of course, it’s not enough to simply attach your brand to a cause and privately donate money to it; you need to advertise that attachment! You could say something like, “We’re helping the environment. Every dollar you spend on our products is a dollar spent towards preserving this beautiful planet.”

That’s the world we are living in today. If you can take advantage of these conditions, then go for it.

How To Recognize Opportunities During a Crisis

Some of the best opportunities emerge during a crisis. Of course, you have to be careful when leveraging such opportunities lest you be perceived as just another money-hungry corporation. The key is to resist taking advantage of people in a crisis. Rather than take advantage of folks while they’re down, it’s best to help them out.

Try offering special promotions and giving customers special treatment during a crisis. If they weren’t loyal customers before the crisis, they sure will be afterward! People always remember kindness, especially customers.

What to Do When Things Don’t Go Your Way

When things don’t go your way, you should always be looking at the next milestone. Focusing on a setback won’t get you anywhere, but concentrating on finding a way forward will. Always take responsibility and be honest with your employees, as well as your customers.

The best way to limit the damage when things don’t go your way is to have a plan. No matter how confident you are in the opportunities at hand, you should always have a contingency plan.

Another tip would be to be prepared to outsource labor for specific tasks. You should always have a third-party team standing by to cut costs and keep things rolling through times of financial or operational difficulty.

Spotting Opportunities Isn’t Always Easy

Figuring out how to create opportunities for yourself isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be downright difficult. As long as you are actively looking for opportunities, you’ll find them. Opportunity recognition is vital; the only way that you are guaranteed to not find an opportunity is if you don’t try to find one in the first place.

Now that you know more about how to find opportunities, it’s time to get out there and start looking. Never let defeat hold you back. Keep charging ahead relentlessly and remember that with every situation, there is an opportunity to extract.