Getting More Bang For Your Bucks When Running A Small Business

Getting More Bang For Your Bucks When Running A Small Business

By Sharon Jones

When you’re running an SME budgetary concerns are never far from your mind. You have to do a lot with a little, and make sure that each design you make positively affects the company cash flow. With that in mind, read the advice below that deals with getting more bang for your buck in the business world.

Employees

Getting more bang for your buck with employees can be tough. After all, you don’t want to ask more of them than is reasonable, but at the same time, you want everyone to be working to full capacity and pulling in the same direction for the success of your business.

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One way to ensure that your investment in people is a good one is to pick folks that are interesting in learning about other parts of the business, and willing to be a little bit flexible in their approach. For example, you may have someone working in sales, that is also fascinated by being organized and getting the admin side of things right. If so, you can use this person a bridge between the two departments improving the processes in both, and so getting them to run more efficiently, saving you time and money. All this without having to employ someone separate to come in and audit or consult for a fee.

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Marketing

As marketing is a rapidly developing area of business, it can be easy to sink a lot of on money into new strategies and technologies without seeing a good return on your dollars.

Combat this by using a company that acts as a middleman to help you deal with web and app advertisement, as well as online marketing. This means you only have to deal with one point of contact, instead of hundreds and you still get access to loads of different ad providers that can disseminate your content and brand materials. Thus reducing your overheads, as well as the time spent on getting the right provider for the markets you are targeting. Something that will definitely allow your buck to have a little more bang.

Business premises

Business premises are notoriously one of the highest costs, and a drain on your finances when running a small business. To deal with this, you can do one of two options.

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The first is to look for a premises that isn’t in a premium area, so the fees are lower. This work well for office based companies and ones that don’t rely on customer footfall to generate business. The second option is to embrace remote working. This means abolishing the notion of having a head office, or indeed any office. Letting your employees work wherever they choose, as long as they complete their projects on time.

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Of course, if you do this you will have to brief them on secure networks to ensure that your company and customer data isn’t at risk. Although you can save a fortune on not having to pay any overheads in this way, so the benefits do outweigh the risk.





Should You Soar Into The Clouds? Pros & Cons Of Cloud Computing

Should You Soar Into The Clouds? Pros & Cons Of Cloud Computing

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By Lina Martinez

Cloud computing might have been born in 1999, but it’s true birth was years later with the arrival of the cloud. Since then, storage has never been the same and businesses have never looked back, until now. Although cloud storage has held the status quo for a decade or so, the industry is beginning to turn its back. Is it as helpful as people like to imagine? Can the company survive without it? What are the alternatives? These are all questions which need answering, and the best way to do it is a list of the pros and cons.

Pro: Unlimited Storage

As businesses now rely on the Web, storage is becoming more and more important. Also, the rise of data and Big Data, in particular, means companies need more storage space than ever before. The great thing about the cloud is that it has unlimited space, and it is still growing. All the supplier has to do is add more servers and RAM to power the expansion and hey presto. So, as long as it is in agreement, there is no reason to worry about finding places to store sensitive information.

Con: Security Flaws

However, one reason companies are turning their backs is that of security issues. In the past, incidents such as the Celebrity Hacking scandal have made people aware of the ease with which hackers can access data. It is even worse if the cloud a business uses is a public one and is not on a private server. Of course, there are additional cloud data security measures that the company can put in place that deals with security. However, when businesses pay a fee that is bound to last a lifetime, most feel the product should be faultless.

Pro: Connectivity

Thanks to the accessibility aspect of the software, a business can connect to the server at any time, anywhere. The implications of this are massive. To begin with, it allows the company to more productive as well as efficient. With access to files outside of the business, the organisation can generate and follow up on leads anywhere in the world. Also, it helps with communication. The fluidity of information is essential for modern businesses, and the cloud means people have the data at their fingertips. Too many bosses, this positive is enough to outweigh the majority of the negatives.

Con: Lasting Cost

Simply put, there is no reason to build a business version of the cloud. For one thing, it is too expensive to create and too much hard work, not to mention the hassle. Plus, it is a pointless task as suppliers provide an affordable product at a high standard. So, what’s the issue? The problem is that the cost will last forever, which businesses owners don’t like. The reason is two-fold. Firstly, there isn’t the freedom to cut costs should things take a turn. The fee is set in stone and that is final. Secondly, it means there is a reliance on a third-party which means they have leverage over the company.
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To make a final decision, you have to weigh up the positives versus the negatives.




Top 4 Highest Paying Careers In Healthcare Today

Top 4 Highest Paying Careers In Healthcare Today

By Nigel Hilton

As the old saying goes; money can’t buy happiness. I know this, you know this, everyone knows this. However, money can buy a sense of comfort in life. It can allow you to stop worrying about bills, be less stressed out, and give you the funds to provide for yourself and your family. We may not like thinking like this, but money makes the world go round.

Which is why money is a key factor when choosing your career. You want a job that pays a good salary so you can live without financial trauma. This brings us onto the topic of today’s article; careers that pay extremely well. But, these aren’t just any careers, these are health care careers. Why? Because this is an industry that’s long been associated with high-paying careers. Largely, this is because most healthcare jobs require lots of training and education beforehand. So, all that hard work gets rewarded with a big salary. Not to mention the fact most jobs contain loads of responsibilities too.
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People have always said that if you want a career with a good salary, work in healthcare. I’m going to illustrate this point by showing you the highest-paying healthcare jobs so you can see how much you might earn.

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Physician

Everyone knows that physicians earn a lot of money, and if you become one now you could be sitting on an annual salary of over $180,000. That’s an awful lot of money, but it’s a salary you will most certainly earn the hard way. Physicians have to consult with patients and diagnose their various illnesses and medical problems. Then, it’s up to them to prescribe the right course of treatment and ensure the problems are solved. They also have to carry out general medical examinations and screenings, such as testing patients for various forms of cancer.

The path to becoming a physician is very long and difficult – as you would expect for a job that’s so important. You need to start out by obtaining a bachelor’s degree, passing the MCAT test to get into medical school, spending four years in medical school, then completing around three to seven years of residency training. After all of that, you can get your medical license to become a full-on physician. Essentially, if you’re thinking of a career change and want to become a physician, you better make the decision as early as possible in your life!

Nursing Practitioner

You might be surprised to find a nursing job on this list as they’re usually the forgotten people of the healthcare world. However, if you make your way up the nursing career ladder, you’ll find a role that can pay upwards of $100,000 per year. A nurse practitioner is different from a regular nurse in that they have more responsibilities and a higher role within the organization. They can take on specialist roles and work with select portions of the population such as children or the elderly.

How do you become a nurse practitioner? To start, you have to become a Registered Nurse with a BSN. You can do this by getting a diploma or associate’s degree and then going on an online RN BSN program. Or, you can simply study for a BSN at a university of your choice. After this, you need to gain a good couple of years experience as a Registered Nurse. Then, you need to pursue a postgraduate degree and get a Masters of some kind in the nursing field. After this, you can gain certification by a nursing board to be a registered nurse practitioner.

Psychiatrist

Healthcare careers exist outside hospitals as well, with a psychiatrist being a very popular job for many. Could the popularity be down to the whopping annual wage of over $220,000? Possibly, but this isn’t a career you can enter for the fun of it. A psychiatrist has a very serious job diagnosing people’s mental illnesses and helping those in need. A lot of the work involves counseling sessions and therapy that’s designed to help break through mental barriers and improve patient’s mental health.

Becoming a psychiatrist is almost identical to becoming a physician in the path you take. Again, you need a relevant bachelor’s degree, then you have to pass the MCAT exam, then go to medical school, residency training, before finally being licensed. The difference is obviously that you will be studying for this particular field of healthcare, so you’ll learn a lot of different stuff. Plus, you need to get certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology before you can start practicing properly.

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Pathologist

Pathologists are essentially physicians with a lot more responsibilities and a much harder job. If you’ve even been to see a doctor and they’ve taken blood, urine, or skin sample from you, they send it off to the pathologist. Here, the pathologist will look at the samples they’ve been provided and test them for various diseases. In doing this, they can diagnose the problems a person has, and give their findings back to the physician. It’s a very stressful and demanding job, as people’s lives can depend on the results of the pathology work. As such, it’s no surprise that the annual salary is well over $250,000!

To pursue this career, you need to become a qualified and licensed physician beforehand. So, follow all those steps up until you begin your residency. Here, you have to take part in additional pathology training. Once this is done, you can get your medical license, but you also need to become board certified. After this, you’re a proper pathologist, but you need to maintain your certification as you will be re-tested throughout your career.

As you can see, all of these careers provide huge financial incentives. They’re all at least triple the average salary in the US. Granted, getting into one of these careers requires loads of effort and education. But, if you want a career that pays extremely well, these are four that you may want to consider.





The Biggest Global Political Issues Right Now

The Biggest Global Political Issues Right Now

By Sharon Jones

The global society is currently at somewhat of an unstable stage. Many different political events are happening all around the world at the moment that will shape civilization for the next few decades. It’s impossible to predict how things might pan out, but it’s important that everyone understands the situations as they are right now. The events and issues mentioned in this article could make or break the countries involved. So, it’s possible that people will see some significant power shifts during the next few years.


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Threats made by North Korea against the US

North Korea is one of the most fascinating countries in the world according to most experts. That is because it’s an isolated nation that doesn’t seem to have evolved for the last forty years. Those who visit the country claim it’s like traveling back in time to an era best left in the past. However, there is no getting away from the fact that leader Kim Jong Un invested a lot of money in weapons recently. He’s also made some pretty violent threats against Donald Trump and the American people. If the conflict of words descends into war, millions of people could die. Indeed, with Russian and Chinese backing, North Korea could essentially start World War 3.

Britain voting to leave the European Union

The British people recently voted to leave the European Union in a referendum. While experts like Antonio Horta-Osorio from Lloyd’s Bank say the EU will survive, there is a lot of confusion at the moment. Nobody knows how the UK will design their final deal, or whether the country will manage to leave without sending millions in compensation payments. However, the way in which the situation plays out could affect every nation on earth. It’s important to remember that the UK government has a hand in almost every economy on the planet. So, any financial problems could affect less wealthy countries and ruin their trade relations.

France falling victim to hundreds of attacks

Most people will have seen some of the terrorist attacks happening in France since just after Brexit on their TV screens. The people living in Paris and similar areas will only take so much before they begin hitting back. That could mean individuals who identify as Muslim could soon face immense persecution if they choose to reside in France. Indeed, the country has already banned the burka, and far right groups are on the rise. Naziism has once again become a problem in Europe, and many other societies might have to worry if that philosophy begins to spread.

The political situations outlined in this article will shape the future of the planet for the next generation. While it’s important to remain positive, there is no getting away from the fact that things look set to take a turn for the worse. Still, there is always a way to solve problems of that nature without resorting to blood and conflict. It’s down to political leaders to use their intelligence rather than their weight to address those issues for the rest of the people.





Keeping Your Business In The Green

Keeping Your Business In The Green

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Keeping your business afloat can be difficult; you’re going to have to avoid debts and spending money where you don’t need to, if you find yourself running out of money then it could spell doom for your company so you need to know how to make sure that your business has a good financial standing, but how do you do it? Well, read on to find out!

Get Investors

Investors are one of the best ways to fuel your business, and whilst it’s mainly aimed at startup businesses it still applies to big ones too. Investors are either companies or people, who will approach your business with an investment deal. This could be anything as there are no strict guidelines with investment, but it’s going to result in your company being given money in exchange for a promise. This can excellent for your business as it can give you the money that you need to stay out of any financial woes. You can get into contact with investors here, and it’s well worth doing, especially if you’re a startup business because if someone invests in you then you’ve got the money to be successful!

Have A Good Credit Score

Part of being in business is taking out loans and dealing with other companies, but how do they judge whether or not they want to deal with you? Well, like every person, companies too have credit scores. They are a numerical representation of how good you are at paying back money, and it’s inevitable that some businesses are still going to have poor ones because they’ve needed to borrow lots of money to get them off the ground. This is where sites like credit.repair come into play. These sites are able to improve your business’s credit score, giving you a better chance of getting a business loan or setting up trade agreements with other companies.

Office Space

This is the silent killer of businesses and you need to be made aware of it. Your single biggest outgoing until your business becomes huge is going to be your office space rent. This is going to cost a lot of money and it can utterly destroy your business’s finances if you’re paying too much. The danger comes in when you’re not using the space that you have; you’re going to be over paying for the office space that you’re not using, which means that your outgoings are going to be higher and you’re going to be literally wasting money on space you don’t need! When you’re looking for an office space use websites like regus.com as they can find you an office space that is exactly what you want, so don’t settle for anything less!

Do all of these things and you simply cannot go wrong. Get a good credit score so other businesses will be more willing to deal with you, get investors on board to keep your cash flow up and make sure your office space is right for you so you’re not overpaying for it!




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