Category Archives: Small Business

4 Things to Consider Before Going into Business With Someone You Know

Guest post in our entrepreneurial series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

Business partnerships between people who already know each other can be incredibly fruitful. They involve banding together and sharing capital, expertise, and experience to create a thriving enterprise. Partnering up with a friend or family member may seem like an excellent idea. However, you need to exercise caution when going into business with someone you are close to. Business partnership and friends do not always mix, and incompatibility in business can lead to strained relationships and broken friendships. Here are a few things that you should consider before choosing a business partner.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels

Do You Share a Similar Vision?

If you are considering starting a business, you probably already have some idea about the product or service you would like to provide, the industry you want to be in, and the type of business you want to run. When it comes down to company identity, it is essential that you both share a similar vision for your brand. In order for it to succeed, business partners need to unify to fulfill brand promises, enforce standards and live up to the company beliefs and values.

Have You Worked With Them Before?

Having a strong connection with someone in a personal way does not always mean you will work well together in business. Being comfortable with your business partner and having the ability to be honest and straight with them is important. However, possessing existing experience working with them already will help you gauge their work style and what they will be like as a partner. If you lack this experience, try working together on a smaller project to see how you work together as a team.Continue reading→

Modernising Business Payment Systems: Fiat or Crypto?

Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

If you’re in business, you might be considering your options vis-a-vis payment systems. Modern-day businesses are required to keep pace with the pulse of the market. In recent months, a veritable explosion in cryptocurrency adoption has taken place. Institutional traders have poured into the crypto market en masse, bolstering substantial interest among retail traders. At one point, the market capitalization was well above $2 trillion+. 

This begs the question: Should SMEs implement changes to their payment systems to accommodate cryptocurrency usage? 

Modern-day payment processing solutions encompass a wide range of options, notably: Google Wallet, Apple Pay, Venmo, Square, Amazon Payments, Stripe, PayPal, NeoSurf, Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express, Bank Wire, et al. The popularity of these payment solutions is growing by the day for a range of activities. For instance, NeoSurf cash voucher pre-paid cards have become popular for casino transactions online. According to Statista, the most popular payment methods by the percentage of total e-commerce transactions volumes worldwide in 2020 included the following:

Image Source: Pixabay No Attribution Required 

  • Digital Payments Mobile Wallets – 44.5% of global transactions
  • Credit cards – 22.8% of global transactions
  • Debit cards – 12.8% of global transactions
  • Bank transfers – 7.7% of global transactions
  • Cash on delivery – 3.3% of global transactions
  • Charge cards and deferred debit cards – 3.3% of global transactions
  • Pre-paid cards – 1.1% of global transactions

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Five Ways Customer Feedback Can Improve your Business

Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

The best way to improve your business is to ask your own customers directly how they feel about your products. As a result, customer feedback is an essential part of any modern business. If you are thinking about either starting a process of customer feedback or looking for ways to boost its use in your business, we have created a list of five ways that customer feedback can improve your business:

Increase Customer Accountability 

Customers want to be listened to and to feel that their complaints are legitimate. A feedback survey is a great way to allow them to air their grievances, in the process making them trust your business far more. It doesn’t matter how big or small you are: Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, currently the world’s richest man, has created a new job role just for people’s Twitter complaints directed at him. As a result of creating this sense of trust, your business will become one that people will like more and want to do more business with. This doesn’t necessarily have to be just for customers either — feedback is also a great way to learn more about your employees and what processes they want the business to put in place in order for them to improve.   

Image Ref: Pexels.com

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Seven Main Ways Millennials are Changing the Definition of Leadership in 2020

Contributed article in our business series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

Millennials are “rebellious path-breakers” who shun everything traditional and believe in making their path. And over the years, it is the millennials have collectively transformed the way we communicate and conduct business.

This is the generation that reconciles logic and emotions. The millennials are both educated and empathic, and they want to make the world a better place. And it is this optimism that reflects the way they lead business ventures as well.

Here are seven ways in which Millennials are redefining leadership in 2020

REF: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-woman-wearing-eyeglasses-3184405/ 

Personalised Professional Workplaces

Gone are the days when people separated their personal and professional spaces. The millennial work culture is more flexible, intuitive, and interactive. And the office spaces and workstations are an extension of this attitude.

Most of the start-ups that we see around have a very vibrant, friendly vide to it. Even big shot corporations like Google have incorporated the millennial culture. A millennial leader is not dogmatic or dominating. Instead, they focus on building a personal connection with their team.

However, that being said, millennial work culture also stresses on work-life balance. Effective time management, flexible working hours, home-based working options are more prevalent than ever.

Transformations > Transactional Leadership

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