The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed our lives. All of us are grappling with the logistical, psychological, emotional and financial complexities of this “new normal”. Lots of us are working from home at reduced pay. Some of us may have spouses who are now out of work and unable to contribute towards household bills. Even if you’ve recently received a stimulus check, you know that the money isn’t going to be enough of a buffer to protect you from financial uncertainty. Every penny counts. So it’s vital that you avoid these 5 money mistakes while on lockdown…
These are unprecedented times. But that doesn’t mean that you can afford to relax your normal safeguards that protect your household’s financial health. Be sure to keep using your household budget template. Without it, all the little sundry expenses can quickly add up. And every time you check your bank balance you could be met with a profoundly unpleasant surprise.
Paying over the odds for auto insurance
If you still need to use your car, don’t make the mistake of assuming that your car insurance provider will reward your loyalty when your policy rolls over. Be proactive and look for other auto insurance providers who will be able to get you a better deal that is better suited to your recently altered needs and budget. Furthermore, if you’re no longer using your vehicle at all while you’re on lockdown, you don’t need to insure your vehicle at all so long as it is kept in the garage or on your driveway. Take a look at this advice on suspending car insurance while on lockdown.
Panic selling your investments
Your investment portfolio probably doesn’t make for comfortable reading right now. Nonetheless, resist the urge to panic sell. This may create way more problems for you down the road than it could ever solve now. The economy is in a state of flux. However, it’s bounced back after bigger hits than this.
Underinvesting in your home productivity
Finally, now might be a good time to look at your current phone and broadband package. It may be bottlenecking your bandwidth and, as such, preventing you from carrying out your business tasks efficiently. Now’s the time to invest in a more robust package that’s faster and free of bandwidth of download restrictions. Yes, this will mean paying a little more each month. But given that a slow internet connection can cist up to 40 minutes a day’s worth of productivity, it may be sheer false economy to under invest now.
Suspending payments into your savings account
Finally, when money is tight, the temptation to stop paying into your savings is understandable. However, this is the very essence of false economy. Your savings are now more important than ever. Neglect them at your peril. You’ve no idea when you may need to rely on them. By all means, reduce your direct debits into your savings account. But don’t let your savings account go without anything.
The worldwide COVID-19 lockdown has dealt a savage blow to the way in which we live our lives. It has placed a cloud of uncertainty over our futures, our livelihoods and our financial health. Yet, it also has brought its share of opportunities. None of us are missing the stressful and smog filled commute to and from work. And when we’ve overcome the learning curve, working from home can be very satisfying and actually improve our productivity. Moreover, all that time we’re no longer spending in rush hour traffic can be dedicated to creative endeavors. Many of us have fired up the laptop and opened that old manuscript, or dug the canvases and paintbrushes since the lockdown was initiated. Or maybe we’ve just dedicated more time to the creative aspects of running a business.
However, while creative endeavors can be extremely fun, fulfilling and rewarding, creativity is not a tap that we can just switch on and off at will. If the creative well runs dry, it can be extremely frustrating. But if you’re to get to the bottom of it, you need to identify the reason…
You’re worried or distracted
We’re all worried and distracted at the moment. Most commonly about our health and finances. And this can be a real impediment to creativity. Still, getting proactive can help to allay your fears and worries. Start looking at cheaper gas, electricity, broadband and auto insurance providers. Download a household budget template and vow to stick to it. Ensure that you’re sticking to social distancing guidelines and taking extra precautions like wearing a face mask when going outside.
When you feel in control of the variables that sense of nagging doubt and worry will begin to abate and the creativity is more likely to flow.
Your expectations of yourself are unrealistic
You may end each day annoyed and frustrated at yourself that you didn’t complete 1000 words of your novel, or finish putting down the base colors on your painting, or decide on a final color scheme for your new logo. Still, this mentality is only going to impede your future efforts and make you feel more nervous and frustrated. We’re in the middle of a global pandemic. Adjust your expectations of yourself accordingly.
You’re making yourself more frustrated
There’s nothing more creatively frustrating than spending hours staring at a blank screen or canvas, waiting for your creative block to subside. After a while, you start to become your own biggest problem. Remember that even under lockdown you can still take a walk, get some fresh air and seek some inspiration from nature. The act of walking really is a tonic for getting the creative juices flowing.
You’re forgetting to ingest before you create
Speaking of inspiration, no great piece of art is born in a vacuum. Everyone draws inspiration from someone. So don’t expect to be able to create something amazing unless you’ve first ingested something amazing. Read a few chapters from a favorite book. Look at some paintings online, listen to some of your favorite music.
All great creative endeavors need some sort of stimulus!
For perhaps the first time in US history, the government is mailing practically everyone in the country checks to help them get through what is a challenging time. Getting virus-related money to people is a massive logistical nightmare, and the opportunities for abuse are substantial. With the economy in lockdown, though, there’s no choice. Millions of people need money to live.
The current government systems, however, clearly aren’t up to the task. Sending out checks in the mail is a hopeless solution in a situation where people need money right now.
Fintech companies rightly see an opportunity. The current crisis is a chance for them to showcase just how much better life is when people choose to use their services for their transactions compared to traditional channels.
Even before the crisis struck, there was evidence that fintech firms were having an impact. Companies were making it possible for domestic B2B clients, for instance, to open a euro bank account without any of the usual fees. These kinds of services will likely become more mainstream. Banks closed their branches nearly a month ago now.
Some fintech companies are helping people get access to their stimulus money faster. One fintech firm called Chime, for instance, is providing its customers with a one-thousand-dollar advance that they can use while they wait for their official money from the IRS. The free overdraft feature for its customers allows them to get access to credit today. Chime will simply wait for the government to pay its customers and then recoup the money.
We’re not talking about small sums of money either. According to a Business Insider report, Chime also already distributed more than $1 billion to its 600,000 customers. And that number is likely to rise if the administration decides that it wants to keep people under lock and key for longer.
Interestingly, fintech is also giving users more options. The vast majority of people need the money from the government, but they don’t necessarily want it all at once. Instead, they want to stagger it over the weeks so that they can remain frugal and on a solid financial footing as the crisis unfolds. A bunch of companies, therefore, are enabling their clients to receive assistance in tranches of their choosing.
Fintech is also providing people with answers for how much money they’re likely to get in the post when it does eventually arrive. TurboTax – one of the country’s most popular accounting software developers – says that it will include features that will give people a sense of how much they’re likely to get paid. The system is free to use, too, meaning that anyone can sign up for more information on how they should budget.
Fintech, therefore, has an opportunity to prove its worth in the current crisis. Finally, there’s a compelling reason to make financial transactions faster. People desperately need money right now. They can’t afford to wait another week or month for the check to arrive. It has to happen today. And that’s what fintech is all about.
Taking your brand overseas is tempting, with the growing number of people making their purchases online. However, international expansion can also be overwhelming. You need to establish a new customer base, learn new laws and regulations, find reliable partners in another country, and familiarize yourself with local customs.
Are you ready to go global?
One of the first questions you have to ask is if your business is ready to succeed in an international market. Overseas expansion consumes a lot of time and resources, regardless of the size of your organization.
Evaluate your finances and determine if you have the funds to support and sustain business abroad. Monitor your share in the market and the status of your industry in the country of your choice.
Consider if you can build a solid customer base abroad. Just because your products sell well in your home country doesn’t mean it has the same appeal to an international market.
What challenges will you face when expanding internationally?
Major business decisions come with hurdles, but global expansion involves a different set of obstacles. Below are some of the challenges you have to anticipate before expanding overseas.
1. Language and cultural differences
You need a local staff member or outsourced customer service to translate the language and explain how things work in their country.
2. Foreign regulations
Business regulations and tax codes differ from one country to another. You also need to set up your business and a bank account to handle transactions more efficiently.
3. Product development and distribution
Some countries require packaging to be localized. It means you have to come up with a different package containing instructions in the country’s language and other guidelines.
4. Shipping
If you’re shipping items overseas from your country, you must come up with a way to eliminate the effects of shipping costs and taxes to encourage customers to buy. Will you be sending the goods directly to the local headquarters before dispatching to customers?
Or maybe it’s more cost-efficient to hire a package forwarding service? For example, buying from the US and shipping to the Philippines through a forwarding service reduces customs taxes and time spent on red tape.
5. Local competition
You need to convince customers to buy from you instead of the local business.
Best practices for a successful international expansion
After doing your research, you’ve finally decided that your business is ready for global expansion. Are you looking for guidance on how to do it? Here are some of the best practices from business leaders:
1. Learn about the market
Use available government data to learn the strength of your industry in terms of exports. If budget and time permits, visit the country where you plan to expand and talk to competitors, customers, and distributors. Doing so will help you learn if your product is feasible and if you can manage your business in the local setting.
2. Manage and understand customer expectations
Make your process clear to your customers. Let them know how long it takes to complete an entire transaction, from initial purchase to delivery.
3. Leverage relationships with influencers
Look for industry influencers in your target country and develop a relationship with them. As your relationship grows, they can be your mentors or guides toward your resources.
Expanding your business internationally is appealing but it comes with a set of challenges you won’t encounter when promoting locally. Research, research, and research. Make sure you’ve got all your bases covered before you launch, to ensure a successful venture.
Money: It’s great when you have it and not so great when you don’t. This is true in your personal life, and it’s very true in your business life too! If you mismanage the money you have in your possession, and if you make more losses than profits, then you might struggle to keep your business open.
For this reason, you need to be a money-savvy business owner. Through wisdom and common sense, you will place your business on a safe and stable footing, and you shouldn’t have to struggle unduly.
So, consider the following suggestions and make them a reality for you and your business.
#1: Save money when it is right to do so
Especially when you’re starting out in business, finding ways to save money is a must. If you spend too much too quickly, you will start to struggle if expected profits don’t come in, and your business could fold as quickly as it began. However, even when you do start to make money, frugality is still key. By taking positive steps in the right direction, such as finding ways to save money on your utility bills and office supplies, you will have more money to put into your reserves, and have more money available to you should you need it an emergency situation.
Check out these money-saving tips from our website:
Frugality can save your business, but in some cases, it can also destroy it. If you’re reliant on older technologies, for example, not only will you face less efficiency from your employees, but your business might also become outdated. And if you decide to reduce your number of hires because you want to save money, you might encounter problems when there are too many skill gaps within your operations. Sometimes, you have to spend money to make money, and this is especially true where new technologies and hires are concerned, so don’t be too Scrooge-like in your spending. Think carefully, and if the extra spending could profit your business, then go ahead if you have the funds to help you do so.
#3: Take advantage of tax savings
Tax season is never a pleasant time for business owners, not only because they have to deal with all of the necessary paperwork, but also because they have to come to terms with how much money they owe their local government. Thankfully, you can alleviate your pain and suffering in two ways. Firstly, hire an accountant or a tax consultancy firm to help you with the paperwork. Secondly, find ways to reduce your tax obligations. You can do this by listing your taxable expenses, claiming tax relief on your charitable donations, and by applying for tax credits.
To find out more (and to receive the help you need), get in touch with the professionals. We have provided a link for you below.
A money-savvy business owner is a successful business owner, so be sensible with the money you have in your possession. By finding ways to save it, and by spending it when it is appropriate to do so, you will protect the needs of your business. Commit to further research to learn more.
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