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  • How to Make Hire Slow Fire Fast Work for Your Organization

    How to Make Hire Slow Fire Fast Work for Your Organization

    Many companies in the U.S have experienced hiring struggles in the U.S. since the start of the COVID pandemic.  There has been a shift in the job landscape that is putting a larger focus on how companies are hiring and firing their employees.  

    Almost 75% of employers have said they hired the wrong person for a position.  Amazon fulfillment centers offer full-time employees as much as $5,000 to quit but with the caveat of those quitting not being allowed to work at Amazon again.  Better.com fired 900 employees on a Zoom call in December 2021, which was criticized and considered harsh by many on social media.  Companies like these follow an old concept in business that employers should be slow to hire but quick to fire. 

    What does hire slow, fire fast really mean? Hiring slowly means that you give yourself time to carefully consider your needs and expectations, draft a new job description based on business goals, describe the skills and attributes needed for long-term success, and consider how well candidates will complement team dynamics.  

    Firing quickly doesn’t have to happen in an extreme situation.  Sometimes you end up through the firing process if you hire the wrong person.  However, you can avoid firing often if you try to forgive mistakes, think of firing as a hiring mistake and confront it head-on, focus on the long-term benefits, and approach employees with compassion while aiding their transition.  

    However, there are a few things hire slow, fire fast does not mean. It doesn’t mean hiring the right person when you find them.  Be sure to give yourself time to consider and not just hire the person because they applied early.  It also doesn’t mean to expect the perfect hire to drop right into your lap because most employees that fit your criteria can be trained to be excellent in their role.  

    All at the Right Pace

    Hiring slowly and firing quickly does not involve firing employees on a whim.  Fast firing is not a replacement for training, coaching, or changing roles to better suit a good employee.  It doesn’t signify having overly specific expectations as well.  Selective hiring is a luxury; employers still need to create a company where people want to work.  

    Hiring and firing at the right speed is good for employees and employers.  They maintain positivity and good company culture because teams that naturally work well together could be made.  Finding a good hiring and firing speed can ensure company success as well by minimizing bureaucracy and bloat while keeping the company agile.  

    The best benefit is the better long-term success for everyone.  If an employee is a bad fit, they won’t be happy staying which will negatively affect the rest of the team.  

    In Conclusion

    November 2021 saw more than 4 million people voluntarily leaving their jobs.  With all of the changes happening in the job market at the moment, it is more important now than ever to hire slowly so employers can find people who will help the company in the long run while making employees happy at their new job.

  • 4 Benefits of Investing in Next Generation Wi-Fi for Your Business

    4 Benefits of Investing in Next Generation Wi-Fi for Your Business

    Online connectivity was something to marvel at when it first became available for home and commercial use. Now it’s the backbone of nearly every company’s day-to-day operations. Without the internet and Wi-Fi, businesses wouldn’t be delivering many of the conveniences consumers depend on.  

    But like any technology, Wi-Fi remains in a state of evolution. New standards and infrastructure capabilities keep pushing the limits of what tech can do. Businesses that don’t keep up with the latest developments put themselves at risk.

    Slow and outdated Wi-Fi networks prompt more than short-term delays and frustrations. They can cause your business to get left behind as customers flock to competitors that offer the latest amenities. Outdated internet technology can also leave your company vulnerable to cybercriminal activity. Before you decide to put off adopting next-gen Wi-Fi, consider these four benefits.

    1. Adaptable Signal Strength

    If you have a larger or multi-story home, you’ve probably experienced poor Wi-Fi signal strength in more than one room. Perhaps you’ve tried a booster or extender, hoping to put a stop to the random disconnects and buffering. But these solutions didn’t do the trick, and you’ve still got a few slow spots where it’s difficult to connect.  

    The same scenarios happen in businesses due to sluggish Wi-Fi, resulting in lost productivity and patience. A small business Wi-Fi solution with the latest AI-driven technology can help prevent those slow and dead spots. Instead of just sending out signals, the network learns how and where you need connectivity the most. Over time, the technology adapts to your location’s usage behaviors and needs.

    Your back office might be hustling and bustling at 9 a.m., requiring the most capacity your Wi-Fi can muster. By noon, the front reception area needs all the signal strength it can get. And at the end of the workday, the staff cubicles are placing the highest demands on the network. Adaptive Wi-Fi can handle all of it by sending more signal strength where and when it’s necessary.

    2. Support for IoT and Additional Devices

    Although recent supply chain problems and shortages have lowered projections for Internet of Things (IoT) device adoption, market analysts still predict growth. The number of connected IoT gadgets is expected to reach 27.1 billion worldwide by 2025. The Internet of Things includes smart devices, wearables, and sensors. Some of these sensors help businesses manage inventory, fleet vehicles, and other assets. Farmers also use them to automate precision agriculture techniques.

    The next generation of Wi-Fi comes with increased capacity to accommodate the bandwidth IoT devices require. When there are more gadgets online, they start competing for available space on the network. It’s not just your POS systems, office computers, and employees’ smartphones that are vying for throughput. The smart locks on the doors and the sensors that monitor movements and appliances can’t function without enough bandwidth.

    Built into the latest Wi-Fi standards is the ability to divide a single channel into a larger number of subchannels. More devices can sustain a connection on a single access point without experiencing latency, freezing, or spotty service. Two-way or synchronous communication is also possible between access points and devices. This means more seamless and steady connections for all the machines businesses rely on.  

    3. Improved Power Management

    One of the benefits of a Wi-Fi connection is the freedom to move around with mobile devices. You’re not limited to using the internet and your web-based applications at your desk. That said, mobile gadgets rely on battery power to run. And although manufacturers have made strides in improving battery life over the years, batteries still require monitoring and recharging.

    Next-gen Wi-Fi reduces the strain on batteries through a capability called Target Wake Time. This feature puts the wireless signal on a device or access point to sleep until it’s needed. When it’s time to send or receive data on the network, the internal hardware responsible for communicating wakes back up.

    When wireless cards are constantly in “on” mode, they can drain battery life. During sleep mode, mobile devices save battery power. You can set your tablet down and keep it connected to the network. You won’t have to plug in a few hours later when you’re ready to start using the tablet again.

    4. Faster Speeds    

    According to industry reports, the latest Wi-Fi technology is three times faster than previous standards. Increased speed capacity allows for better video conferencing and streaming in 4K. If your business uses smart TVs to display entertainment, upgraded Wi-Fi can contribute to enhanced customer experiences.

    You’ll also notice quicker download and upload times when sending files or retrieving information online. Your team’s efficiency will get a boost since they won’t spend as much time waiting in front of their screens. Although a few seconds or minutes might not seem like a lot, those wasted moments add up. With faster response times, staff will feel more capable and productive, which can motivate them to keep moving forward.

    Similar to some previous wireless standards, the latest generation accommodates more than one frequency. Because next-gen Wi-Fi is backward-compatible, devices that run on 2.4GHz frequencies can take advantage of increased speeds. While those speeds may not reach the full potential of the newest wireless technology, improvement will still be noticeable. So if your business has devices that don’t operate on higher frequencies, you won’t have to ditch them.

    Conclusion

    Wi-Fi connections are sometimes taken for granted. You think about keeping your laptops and other devices up to date because your business stops working when they do. But outdated network solutions can slow you down and end up hurting productivity, customer service, and brand appeal.

    The benefits of next-generation Wi-Fi are plenty, including adaptive signal strengths and faster speeds. These advantages keep your business in the game and allow you to offer the resources employees and clients expect. Investing in current network technology is a move you can’t afford to overlook.                                       

  • How to Gain SEO Traction in a Saturated Market

    How to Gain SEO Traction in a Saturated Market

    We live in an era of content shock. Quite simply, there’s a lot of good content out there and it’s difficult to stick out in saturated markets. Whether you’re facing saturation in the “real world” or online, the more competitors you have, the more work you need to put in. Fortunately, with the right tricks and tips, you can succeed even in saturated markets.

    So let’s look at how Search Engine Optimization works and why it’s important. We’ll also cover how you can use SEO to stand out even in saturated markets.

    Understanding The Importance of Search Engine Optimization

    Many people now use their laptops, smartphones, and other devices to conduct research before purchasing a product or service. Whether someone is looking for “the best criminal defense lawyer in Atlanta” or the “top air fryer in 2022,” there’s a good chance they will start by searching around on the web.

    Search Engine Optimization can be a big help. With SEO, you make your website and content more attractive to search engines such as Google or Bing. How? It helps to understand what search engines are trying to accomplish. Simply put, search engines want to present users with the best content available related to their search inquiries.

    So, if a user types in “best DUI defense lawyer in Boston,” Google will scan various web pages, rank them, and then present them. In this case, Google will likely present a variety of law firm and attorney websites for people and practices located around Boston. The search engine may also present aggregate websites, like Findlaw.com, expertise.com, and others. These websites typically list lawyers and may provide client reviews as well.

    By the way, while we’re focusing on law firms right now, the same remains true for other areas of business. If a user is searching for the “best burger in Chicago,” he or she will get presented with a list of local restaurants, review sites like Yelp, and content from eatery magazines.

    Fortunately, if you’re a localized business operating in a specific town, county, or wherever else, you can often cut through the noise more quickly with a strong SEO strategy. Meanwhile, national search terms, say the “best business laptop”, are typically more difficult to rank for.

    How to Stand Out With The Right Keywords

    These days, there’s so much content available online that you might think that Search Engine Optimization is a waste of time and resources. Writing content can feel like shouting into a hurricane and no matter how hard you scream, you won’t make yourself heard above the storm.

    Fortunately, in some ways, SEO now arguably favors smaller businesses. If you sell toothpaste at grocery stores across the country, you’ll struggle to beat out the other big dental supply companies publishing content. Large organizations (e.g. Colgate) often have big marketing teams that produce a lot of SEO content.

    That said, if you run a dental practice or law office in Ames, Iowa, you’ll mostly be competing with other small businesses in that market. These companies likely won’t be producing as much content as a huge company like Colgate. Knowing how to adjust general SEO strategies to dentistry in particular is a great way to drive more traffic to your practice.  

    Looping back to our law firm example from earlier, localized niche Search Engine Optimization strategies, such as those laid out in Law Firm SEO, often present the best opportunities. This specific reference is just one example of many resources you can use to your advantage in your niche marketing plan. 

    By crafting keyword-rich, relevant, and high-quality content, you can start to build up an audience, and over time, you can drive conversions. Great content tends to draw in organic traffic, which is of especially high value. With organic traffic, people are in need of your specific products or services and thus are more likely to convert.

    You’ll want to start by finding keywords that are relevant to your business and your customers or clients. Fortunately, you can use Google Ads to generate keyword ideas. Using Google Ads Keyword Planner for “Criminal Defense Attorney” in Miami generated the following list:

    • criminal lawyer
    • defense attorney
    • criminal lawyers near me
    • criminal defense lawyer
    • DUI attorney
    • criminal attorney
    • DUI attorney near me
    • criminal defense attorney near me

    These keywords offer a great starting point. To go further, a criminal defense lawyer specializing in certain things, say fighting DUIs or representing children, can also focus on related terms to the specialization.

    Crafting High-Quality Keyword Rich SEO Content That Stands Out

    By peppering the above keywords (DUI lawyer, criminal defense attorney near me, etc.) into your content, you can begin to attract search engines. You’ll also want to use basic SEO guidelines, such as:

    • Keyword-rich headers
    • Images and corresponding keyword-rich alt-text
    • No grammatical errors
    • A fast, responsive, and mobile-friendly website

    Google also pays attention to length and generally seems to rank longer content higher (~1,800 words). Google values “backlinks”, which are links on other websites that lead to your website. Let’s say you’re an attorney and digitally publish an article in the local newspaper. If that article links to your site, Google will notice the backlink and take it into account when determining your authority.

    Backlinks from highly reputable websites are very valuable and could greatly increase your ranking. It’s wise to build a backlinking strategy and to start reaching out to other websites to see if you can publish content and also place links back to your website. You may also consider hiring a professional who specializes in building backlinks.

    Is SEO Right For My Company?

    SEO is an effective strategy even in saturated markets. That said, not all SEO campaigns will perform equally. In some instances, localized niche companies such as local attorney practices, veterinarians, and other geographically confined businesses will enjoy better results. Even then, the difference between a well-thought-out SEO strategy and an amateurish effort can be dramatic.

    If you are going to use SEO to grow your business, you should either study content marketing and Search Engine Optimization or work with someone who knows the industry. Quite simply, it’s easier to stand out in saturated markets if you have the right skills and assets.

  • 4 Ways You Can Actually Make Your Business Work Smarter, Not Harder

    4 Ways You Can Actually Make Your Business Work Smarter, Not Harder

    The fast-paced nature of modern society has everyone trying to get more done in less time. Business owners especially have a lot to juggle, whether it’s brainstorming in a strategy meeting or mentoring a newly hired executive. Owners also want to keep an eye on operations, offering direction and motivation when things veer off track. Keeping your output at the highest levels possible seems formidable, even with endless cups of coffee by your side.

    Despite the sheer number of tasks on your plate, all humans have limits. There will never be enough hours in a single day to accomplish everything. That’s why embracing the principle behind the phrase “work smarter, not harder” can help you be more productive. By approaching responsibilities and operations from a strategic mindset, you and your company can realize more efficient outcomes. Here’s how to make working smarter a reality.

    1. Rely on Automation

    Technology and artificial intelligence don’t have to replace everything employees do. However, tools that automate repetitive assignments and provide insights can enhance workers’ jobs. Automation and analytics save time and redirect employees’ focus to critical, complex tasks. From contact center software to apps that automate routine emails, there are plenty of AI-driven tools to streamline daily work.

    When deciding what to automate, look for assignments and activities that don’t require complex thinking. Responsibilities that happen frequently or according to a predictable schedule are also good candidates for automation. 

    For instance, contact center agents might type similar case notes for every call. Built-in templates and transcriptions can pre-populate most of the words, letting agents concentrate on serving clients. Meanwhile, interaction analytics help reps quickly assess clients’ sentiments about their experiences with the company. Agents can instantly shift their approaches and tactics to lower the temperature or enhance lukewarm engagement.  

    2. Delegate What You Can

    Business owners and leaders can fall into the trap of thinking that they have to do everything themselves. Or that if they’re not doing it themselves, they need to keep a close eye on someone else’s every move. However, maintaining a tight grip on every assignment, emergency, or business function will actually lower your effectiveness. Micromanagement also reduces your staff’s output, as they become fearful of making decisions or acting without your authority.

    Research shows that delegation skills can actually help leaders generate more revenue. CEOs who have higher delegation skills produce 33% more revenue than their peers who don’t delegate well. An owner’s delegation abilities thus play an important role in ensuring company success.    

    While it might be challenging to let go, look for matches between responsibilities and employees’ interests and skills. Trusting staff with higher-level and stretch assignments builds confidence, redundancy, and a leadership pipeline. Others can step in and keep the business running, allowing you to focus on the most important decisions.  

    3. Hold Purposeful Meetings

    Meetings are necessary to coordinate initiatives involving several departments, generate collaborative ideas, and determine action steps. At the same time, too many meetings or those without clear agendas will sidetrack anyone’s day. Productivity is lost due to conversations that lack direction or are simple announcements better handled by other means.

    Sometimes bringing groups together to go over information or reiterate previous discussions is overkill. Before you schedule a meeting, use a set of criteria to determine whether it’s essential. Once you figure out the main purpose of the get-together, you may realize it’s better to share the information another way. If the objective is to communicate procedural updates, it might be more efficient to point employees to a shared document. Managers can then handle any questions that might arise.

    Other things to take into account are the urgency of an issue and the scope of information. Matters that require quick decisions probably aren’t discussions to have through email. However, consider who needs to be involved and whether it’s the right time for them to make meaningful contributions. 

    For instance, network engineers might be considering a planned outage that will impact a group of customers. But if they don’t have a schedule in place yet, it’s not the right time to include the folks in marketing.

    4. Define Objectives and Focus on Results

    Spending time trying to solve poorly defined problems or chasing multiple solutions without clear objectives will rarely produce effective results. If you haven’t found the root cause of a problem or specified your goals, any efforts may be little more than busywork.

    In some cases, the actual problem might get worse or amplified. If the team isn’t sure why customers are losing internet service, for example, applying a solution may only replicate the issue. The time that could be spent isolating the real culprit will be wasted on implementing a non-fix.

    In the long run, it’s more efficient to document troubleshooting steps and permanent solutions. The next time the team runs into the problem or something similar, they can refer back to those steps and solutions. They’ll save themselves the trouble of reinventing the wheel by getting to work applying known fixes. 

    Likewise, formulating precise goals helps define what to work on and what to ignore. A business can’t be everything to everybody, an approach that is likely to cause burnout.   

    Conclusion

    Working smarter instead of harder is a technique business owners can use to boost efficiency and productivity. The philosophy and its methods often involve stepping back and critically examining what you’re doing and why. By automating, delegating, and defining problems and purposes, you can significantly improve your company’s operations.   

  • Best Business Phone Features for Small Business

    Best Business Phone Features for Small Business

    One of the most important pieces of hardware or software for small business people is their communication system. The fact is that you’ll almost definitely be using it on a regular basis, and if you choose the right one, it might provide you with a considerable competitive advantage.

    At the end of the day, every company needs a corporate communication network that is supported with a robust phone insurance plan. Establishing clear channels of conversation with clients, suppliers, and employees is essential, and small businesses can execute this task just as well, if not better, than large enterprises.

    These are the best features that small business phone systems must have to improve your business communication:

    Automatic Attendant

    Small businesses can benefit a lot from using an automatic attendant (also known as IVR) system. Tools like formal greeting, call forwarding, extension selection, and others are deployed using an IVR system.

    While many companies prefer personal interactions with their customers, an automatic attendant can help increase support efficiency, reduce waiting times, and also give a high level of customization and personalization. For example, with automatic call routing, your IVR can greet your customer by name and transfer the call to his account manager.

    This technology is perfect for working in a small office environment since it gives small businesses a more professional look. You can set your IVR to answer simple questions so your clients might get in touch with your small business 24/7.

    The advanced capabilities of an auto attendant must, without a question, be included in your current small business phone system.

    CRM Software Integrations

    Connecting with customer relationship management (CRM) and other business intelligence technologies is crucial for small businesses. In order to stay competitive, firms must identify and leverage every potential feature to increase their efficiency. Screen pop-up when looking for incoming Calls information, click-to-call, and professional phone appearance are just a few of the features available when your phone system is integrated with your CRM. Such features provide unparalleled effectiveness.

    Conversations Recording

    Recording calls is a useful feature for various small businesses. Not everyone can understand the advantages of this feature or will benefit from it regularly, but if you conduct business over the phone, having audio recordings is important because it allows you to evaluate discussions over time to enhance your effectiveness, and also refer back when you need clarification or reminding what was discussed.

    It is possible to use call recordings for several objectives, like collecting evidence for key concerns raised by a client over the phone or evaluating discussions to identify how to improve a sales presentation in the future.

    Conference Calling

    It is not always feasible to bring individuals together in person since business is now also performed remotely. Conferencing is simple, and you can have real-time conversations with as many people as you need. Simply put your caller on wait, choose a new line, then hit the conference option to attend the other lines. It is that easy! 

    Call Forwarding

    Having the ability to transfer conversations fast and easily is critical for properly managing inbound calls. One of the primary reasons firms switch to the most up-to-date, feature-rich phone systems is indeed the opportunity to do this more efficiently. Every phone user may easily send calls to other members of the team using the right phone system, which can be done with a single tap. Additionally, since you’ll have at least two phone setups, somebody else may be in a conversation at the same moment as you are.

    The Bottom Line

    The cloud-based characteristics of phone solutions provide a great deal of value to businesses. It’s hard to imagine a workplace without corporate phone services, whether it’s basic functions like call waiting or call forwarding or more sophisticated ones like CRM integrations, and also, they can be used for secure remote working. For big and small companies alike, this and the cost advantages over traditional landlines technology makes them an appealing alternative.

  • Airbnb: The Newest Way to Send Relief Aid to Ukrainians

    Airbnb: The Newest Way to Send Relief Aid to Ukrainians

    The tech industry has been caught in the war between Russian and Ukraine, but Airbnb is emerging as a platform for humanitarian aid.

    Many tech companies have been pulling their services and products from Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, essentially imposing their own sanctions on the country. In the case of Airbnb, however, customers are making reservations in Ukraine despite having no plans of using them. The goal is merely to use Airbnb as a platform for sending money to those who may need it.

    According to Business Insider, one of the main motivations is concerns about charitable and humanitarian efforts that have been put in place. Many individuals are leery of such organizations, doubting whether their money will really make to those in need, or disappear into a quagmire of bureaucracy. With Airbnb, in contrast, a specified amount of the rental fee is guaranteed to make it to the intended recipient.

    “I see politics being played out and I understand why NATO cannot go in, but I feel very sad and heartbroken for the people … being slaughtered,” Yan Asmann, an associate professor at Mayo Clinic who booked three nights in Kiev, told Insider. “It’s very hard to watch day-by-day.”

    The innovative use of Airbnb is another demonstration of the democratizing effect tech platforms can have, even on something as basic as humanitarian aid.

  • How the Tech Sector Propels the Californian Economy

    How the Tech Sector Propels the Californian Economy

    During the Covid global pandemic, the tech sector’s financial success helped propel California to reach a $15 billion tax surplus for the next fiscal year. This proved to be a sharp turnaround from the previous year’s projected $54 billion deficit. The stock prices of tech giants such as Apple, Facebook, Alphabet, and Netflix had soared—reaching all-time highs. Shares of the widely used video conferencing company Zoom had seen a fivefold increase in value— as it became a household name.

    A key reason behind California’s successful economy remaining stronger than the majority of the nation’s can be attributed to the fact that it has a higher percentage of exceedingly productive businesses than most states in the U.S. The Golden State’s tech sector, which bolsters GDP faster than any other industry, has been expanding at an impressive speed—more than that of the state’s other major industries. 

    Last year saw California’s GDP reach $3.35T, this amount represented 14.6% of the entire economy in the United States. As a result, if the state of California had to be viewed as a country on its own; it would prove more productive than countries such as the United Kingdom and India—as the 5th largest economy in the world. This makes the state the perfect climate for new businesses to startup as California is business-friendly and a hub for successful startups.

    Capitalizing on California’s Economy

    Due to the growth in the state’s economy, new businesses will be able to capitalize and use the market to their advantage. By setting up a business in the Golden State, business owners will benefit from the business-friendly climate. Starting a Limited Liability Company in California is relatively easy and can be broken down into the following steps: 

    Naming a California LLC

    Creating a solid brand name is a vital step in the startup process. However, this goes beyond just finding something that is catchy and creative. The name is required to follow the naming guidelines that the state of California has laid out. For a complete list of naming rules in the state, entrepreneurs should research California’s Code of Regulations.

    Choosing a Qualified Registered Agent

    Appointing a registered agent is a federal requirement that needs to be fulfilled prior to the formal registration of a business. Also known as a California Agent for Service of Process, this individual or business entity will be a direct line of communication between the state and the business. They are the official recipients of important tax forms, all legal documents, any notice of lawsuits, and other official government correspondence on behalf of the business.

    File the California Articles of Organization

    In order to successfully register a business in California, entrepreneurs will have to file Form LLC-1 – Articles of Organization with the California Secretary of State. The state has made the process flexible in that business owners have the choice of registering either online, by mail, or in person.

    File the Initial Statement of Information

    All LLCs in the Golden State are obliged to file an Initial Statement of Information (Form LLC-12). This needs to be completed with the California Secretary of State within the first 90 days of formation. The process can be done online, in person, or by mail.

    Create an Operating Agreement

    An operating agreement is a requirement for all business owners when forming an LLC in California. This legal document comprehensively explains the ownership and operating procedures of the company— reducing the risk of future conflict between members of the organization.

    Get an Employer Identification Number

    An Employer Identification Number is an equivalent of a social security number that every business is required to have. An EIN is assigned to businesses by the IRS so that they are able to identify the business for taxation purposes.

    For more information on starting an LLC in California, here is a suggested resource.

    Final Thoughts

    The Golden State is home to some of the world’s largest companies, and a wide host of leaders in the tech industry have set up shop in the state. This has opened up the market to now allow other smaller businesses to follow suit. In order to operate in California, entrepreneurs should conduct thorough research to ensure that their business complies with all local, state, and federal government regulations.

  • 5 Resources Every Startup Needs For A Great Start

    5 Resources Every Startup Needs For A Great Start

    The initial phase is always the most difficult and intimidating for entrepreneurs who wish to pursue new and innovative ideas through startups in the United States. Statistics show that almost 90% of startups fail, and 10% of startups do not survive the initial year, failing to see any type of growth. This rightfully scares wide-eyed entrepreneurs who want to establish themselves in the market and solidify their name and brand.

    Luckily, there are ways to ensure the best possible start, and that is to utilize some of the best and most useful resources available to entrepreneurs. A large variety of resources can help entrepreneurs and startups learn new strategies and techniques and these resources can aid in the formation and the handling of finances, transactions, and web development.

    This article will break down some of the most notable resources that entrepreneurs can use to get a head-start in the market so that their startup begins on the right foot for a seamless and successful business journey. 

    Sufficient Money To Launch The Business

    While it might seem obvious that initial funds and capital are very important for the establishment of a business, many entrepreneurs dive headfirst into business ventures with some funds, but not enough to carry them across a longer period of time.

    Entrepreneurs need to carefully plan their finances and take the long game into account. This is why starting businesses in states such as Virginia or Texas is beneficial, as these states have adequate venture capital and investment plans to fund small startups that have much potential. By having the right backing and funds, startups will be on their way to a good start. 

    Limited liability Company (LLC) Formation Service 

    If entrepreneurs are planning on creating a startup through an LLC, then it is beneficial to hire a professional formation service to get the job done adequately and thoroughly. While the LLC establishment process is fairly simple, hiring the best LLC companies to get the job done can ensure that entrepreneurs will have peace of mind knowing that all the bases are covered. 

    Having a company handle the logistics of the regulations and rules behind establishment ensures that a startup will have a legal and formal start, meaning that entrepreneurs can begin to operate almost immediately. Startups will not run into any trouble down the line as the formation services will get everything done when it comes to filing documents and articles and getting the best-registered agents on board. 

    Free Online Business Websites 

    Free online business websites are very useful for entrepreneurs who still need to learn the different tricks of the trade. These free websites can offer lessons and tutorials that detail how entrepreneurs should market and what steps they should take when beginning a business. 

    It is never too late to learn for entrepreneurs, and they can do so for free utilizing these informative websites that can teach new business owners how to maintain their current startup. Learning new and important lessons will ensure a startup begins in the best possible manner. 

    Finance management Tools 

    To have a good start, every small business needs to look into some sort of software or application that can handle the accounting side of the business. By having a program or allocation, finances will be neatly organized and startups will not be lost in the flood when it comes to managing their accounts. 

    Website Creator 

    In this digital day and age, startups can benefit a lot from having a great quality website that can display important information relating to social media links, news updates and even online stores where consumers can buy from the comfort of their home. Small businesses can have a great start if they have a well designed website to promote their business.

    Takeaway 

    With these valuable resources, entrepreneurs can be well equipped to tackle the market and get their small business up and running on the best possible note. Utilizing these key resources is vital during the establishment process of the business and startups can greatly benefit from these small additions.

  • Small Business SEO: Land More Leads with Long-Tail Keywords

    Small Business SEO: Land More Leads with Long-Tail Keywords

    Have you ever traveled off the beaten path? Didn’t you enjoy escaping those crowds of noisy tourists, finding entire beaches all to yourself? If you’re interested in SEO, sometimes it’s also better to walk the lesser-used paths to reach your goals. This means exploring the surprisingly lucrative land of long-tail keywords.

    According to Compare Camp, 50% of all organic search phrases are composed of four or more words. These longer keywords are known as the long-tails. They tend to be very specific terms, easy to create content for, and also far easier to rank for. So why do so few small businesses target them?

    Are You Following the Herd?

    When a small-business owner first learns of SEO, their eyes usually go straight to the primary keywords of their industry. They see tens of thousands of monthly searches and start salivating, imagining the copious floods of traffic, if only they can make it to page one.

    If your market was Persian rugs, for example, the primary keyword would likely be ‘Persian rugs,’ and a few similar rug-related words.

    The thing to remember, however, is that every other rug dealer in the country is looking at that same keyword. They’re all competing for it. And the companies that have already battled their way to page one have enormous SEO budgets, well-established national brands, aged domains, and backlinks galore.

    It would cost you an arm and a leg to get anywhere near page one for ‘Persian rugs,’ or whatever the primary keywords of your market are. Most likely, you’d never make it. But don’t worry. There is another way.

    A Shift in Your SEO Mindset

    Rather than trying to be a small fish in a big ocean, become the big fish in a small pond. Or rather, become a big fish in many, many small ponds. Our intrepid rug merchant would be better served to create content that targets dozens of phrases like these:

    ‘Best Persian rug for a small room’

    ‘Traditional Persian rug with tassels’

    ‘How to clean stains in a Persian rug’

    These are his market’s long-tail keywords. Each phrase may only get 10 or 50 or 100 searches each month, but they’re easy to rank for. If he followed the five tips below, then over time he’d certainly gain his floods of targeted traffic and leads, all from long-tails.

    This is how small business owners are successfully competing in SEO today. And you can do the same. Here are five important strategies when seeking to dominate the long-tail keywords of your industry.

    1. Target Large Quantities of Long-Tails

    You can use keywords tools such as Ahrefs, SEMRush, and KWFinder to find hundreds of suitable long-tails in your niche. When you really start researching and digging down to uncover these gems, you’ll be surprised at how many excellent long-tails there are.

    Go after the best of them, one by one. Treat this as a long-term project. Keep pumping out high-quality content, week after week, where each new post targets one particular long-tail keyword. Aim to slowly take over your market in this way, keyword by keyword.  So, don’t just myopically chase trophy keywords and ignore the long-tail ones.  

    Accidental Ranking

    What you’ll find is that a single page will suddenly start ranking well for a few other, similar long-tails that you hadn’t thought of. So even though your main targeted keyword may only have 40 monthly searches, you’ll gain extra traffic from other keywords as well. This can really add up.

    With patience, as you keep publishing and publishing, and the traffic starts flowing, Google will begin to recognize you as a reputable brand and site. Once this happens, you’ll find it easier to rank for even tougher, higher-volume keywords.

    2. Go After the Very Least Competitive Keywords First

    Even among long-tails, there are more competitive keywords and less competitive keywords. When you’re just starting out, go for the very lowest hanging fruit. These are the keywords no one else is paying any attention to.

    Ahrefs provides a keyword difficulty (KD) rating for keywords. Go for phrases with under five KD. Other tools provide similar metrics to guide you. Many of these lengthy keyword phrases are under-served by Google, and so over time, you can often get to page one even without any backlinks.

    3. Provide Top-Notch Quality

    This long-tail strategy is not a case of quantity over quality. Rather, you need to have both quantity and quality. For every piece of content you create, analyze the content that already exists on page one for the targeted keyword. Think of how you can do better than the competition.

    Write posts that are ‘complete guides’ to the topic. Make sure your posts are 10 to 50 percent longer than your competitors. Include images, links to extra resources, tables of content. Give your readers a great experience and they’ll stay to explore more of your site. Google will see this and reward you with a higher ranking.

    Backlinking is a powerful part of any SEO strategy, even with long-tails. You’ll find, however, that you need far fewer backlinks to rank with these low-volume phrases. Better yet, if you’re creating truly high-quality posts on these rare topics, then people will start to share them and your backlinks will grow organically.

    4. Try a Different Seed Keyword

    Searching for long-tails is like digging for gold. It’s often best to take your spade to a slightly different location from all the other miners.

    With keywords, this means considering your seed keyword. This is the keyword you type into Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to see what comes up.

    Most other business owners and SEO experts aware of this long-tail strategy are inputting the same seed keywords (like ‘Persian rugs’) into Ahrefs, and then seeing what long-tails they can find in the results provided.

    Append Extra Words and Phrases

    Instead of doing the same as everyone else, change your seed keywords by appending common words onto them, at the beginning or the end. For example, you might search for ‘best Persian rugs’ or ‘best Persian rugs for.’

    The simple use of ‘best’ and ‘for’ will likely uncover many interesting long-tails in your niche. For example, you might come across:

    ‘Best glue for broken watch strap’

    ‘Best case for Kindle reader’

    ‘Best travel insurance for elderly couple’

    ‘Best Halloween costumes for plus-sized people’

    There are endless other extra words to append, which vary depending on your niche. If your niche is ‘plumber,’ then your appendage words might include, ’emergency, in my area, DIY, qualified, for leaky pipes, to check boiler, etc.’

    As you begin searching, you’ll come across many ideas for appendage words as you see what people are really searching for. Collect these extra words and use them to dive deeper and deeper into your goldmine.

    5. Borrow Keywords From Your Competition

    The final tip is to study your competition. Use Ahrefs or SEMRush to find which long-tails they are already ranking for. Take a good look at those keywords, and see how good their content is. If you think you can beat it in length and quality, then go for it.

    Another twist to this technique is to find competitors in your niche with a lower domain authority website. This means their website isn’t yet old or established, and doesn’t have many backlinks. See which long-tail keywords these weaker websites are already gaining traffic from.

    Those keywords are almost guaranteed to be easy to rank for. You can then create better content and swoop in to steal their lunch. It’s a rather sneaky tactic, granted. But all’s fair in love and SEO.

    In Conclusion

    Put these five strategies into action, and you’ll soon be laying claim to the long-tails of your industry. Your website will be popping up everywhere. Best of all, your competition will have no idea how you’re doing it.

  • Starting a Business? Everything You Need to Know About LLCs

    Starting a Business? Everything You Need to Know About LLCs

    An LLC is a cross between a corporation and a partnership; it is a common middle ground. Starting an LLC allows business owners to reap the benefits of both a sole proprietorship/partnership and a corporation, allowing them to reduce personal liability while gaining tax and operational flexibility. LLCs are recognized as legal business entities in all 50 states. LLCs are used by business owners to avoid personal financial risk while retaining tax simplicity.

    LLCs are becoming increasingly attractive among small and medium-sized business owners. They are much less formal than corporations and provide for more flexibility in terms of ownership and management. There are various factors to consider when forming an LLC, including whether or not to form one, the costs, the filing requirements, and so on.

    LLCs have several advantages that appeal to many entrepreneurs in a variety of industries, so it is critical to examine what sort of business structure to form. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages to help you determine what will be best for you.

    Taxes

    Any profit generated by the LLC is immediately distributed to the owners. The owners then record their profits on their own tax returns. When it comes to taxation, LLCs have the best of both worlds; they can choose to be taxed as a sole proprietor, partnership, S corporation, or C corporation – whatever works best for them. The IRS will tax LLCs as either partnerships or sole proprietorships, based on whether they have one or more owners. It’s as simple as filling out paperwork to change this classification to whatever best suits the owners’ purposes. This also allows LLCs to escape the double taxation that C-corporations experience. 

    While taxes can be an advantage for LLCs, they can also be a disadvantage. Unless you want to be taxed the same as a corporation, you will very likely be subject to self-employment tax. The problem is that these taxes are much greater than they would be if business profits were taxed at the corporate level rather than being passed through to the owners. It is critical to evaluate your individual scenario when considering how your LLC will be taxed (and it is always a good idea to seek the guidance of your accountant) in order to avoid paying more taxes that you may be able to avoid.

    Paperwork

    The process of forming an LLC is simple, and there is minor paperwork required when compared with other businesses. LLCs are also not required to have official officer responsibilities, keep a record of company minutes, make resolutions, or hold annual meetings, however, if you intend to form an LLC with multiple members, you will need to draft an operating agreement to safeguard your members from any legal conflicts.

    Some administrative obligations can also apply to LLCs that do not apply to single proprietorships or partnerships. You’ll need to file some papers with the state and pay the fee for registration, but the filing is minor when compared to forming a corporation. One key worry for LLC owners is keeping personal matters apart from the operations of the LLC. This means that the LLC must keep its own records, have a bank account, and keep track of any meetings held by the owners when key corporate decisions are made.  They must keep their personal affairs separate from the operations of the LLC. 

    Structure

    The management structure of an LLC, like taxes, has both pros and cons. In contrast to corporations, which often have directors, officers, and managers, LLCs are not required to have official positions. While this is useful in that it provides for greater flexibility in how the firm is run, it can lead to problems and confusion regarding who is responsible for what in company operations. In a corporate operating agreement, it is critical to clearly identify roles and responsibilities so that there are no hitches in business operations and no concerns about who has the power to make specific decisions that would affect the organization.

    Because an LLC is a bit more formal than a partnership or sole proprietorship, it lends credibility to the business. Forming an LLC also helps you to establish a credit score for your company, which opens up the possibility of obtaining lines of credit and loans. LLC owners will not liable for any lawsuits or debts that may affect the LLC if they have not participated in any fraudulent or criminal activities. 

    Takeaway

    All in all, an LLC has some significant benefits, especially when compared to a sole proprietorship or partnership, and it can be the ideal organization for many small businesses.

  • How Do You Measure the Success of a Content-Driven Marketing Strategy?

    How Do You Measure the Success of a Content-Driven Marketing Strategy?

    Content marketing is reshaping ecommerce for companies large and small. That’s because marketing is about trust first and foremost and marketers are realizing that quality content builds trust quicker than traditional advertising. Tim Turner Forman of a new startup called The Tot and Matt Osias of Hawke Media recently discussed how to start a content-driven marketing strategy.

    Why is it important to resist the urge to have your content do the selling?

    Tim: What we do at The Tot is provide trust and advice and mindfully curated products. For it to be considered trusted advice it needs to come from a credible real place. It needs to be authentic and it needs to come from experts, people who know what they are talking about. At The Tot we work with a network of experts around the globe to create parenting content. What first-time parents are looking for most is information and they are just as likely to turn to a website as they are to go to a doctor and they are even more likely to go to a website than to ask their own Mother. If we are able to develop and curate content of moms sharing to other moms, that develops a relationship and provides values for them.

    How do you measure the success and performance of a content-driven marketing strategy?

    Matt: When you consider measuring in general, there are so many different formats that are out there that people can leverage. Oftentimes, people are saying… well I want articles for my blog. What type of article are you looking for? What is the goal of that piece of content? Are you trying to drive organic search and bring in new audiences so they can learn who you are or are you trying to engage them a bit more with videos and infographics? Every single format has a very specific measurement.

    Beyond that, your measurements are somewhat different than your basic media buying for example, where you spend a dollar and hope to make back three, or some version of that. When we are looking at content marketing, especially when it is brand agnostic, the real important ideal there is to think about how can I actually give something to my audience that resonates with them, teaches them and solves a problem. Then ultimately, your brand is there waiting for them.

    Awareness, Engagement, Advocacy

    The three things that I look at are awareness, engagement, and advocacy. The first thing you would want to do in building a content marketing strategy is to consider the idea of awareness, giving awareness to the people you are working with. Then having intent-driven content. People are asking questions in Google all the time and they are getting answers. If your site has the answers in its content, especially if it’s early stages, then that’s going to do something that most (ecommerce) sites aren’t doing, which is to put eyes onto your site, without the brand and product coming into play at first.

    With this brand agnostic content, the bulk of your content is primarily text-based content. With measurement I look at eyes on site and what they are doing when they get there. Are they jumping around to different pages or are they bouncing right away? When you bring in somebody to your site where it is solving something you have to have something that is engaging to keep them there and keep them coming back.

    Tim: We definitely watch inside of Google Analytics to be able to see the pageviews, what people are doing, and how they move from the editorial side of the site to the product side of the site. We also use content as part of our marketing program. It’s definitely an upper funnel prospecting piece.

    Quality Content is Just as Important as Ad Spend

    Tim: As somebody who came from an ad agency working with clients who had large ad spends and then coming to a start-up to help them grow and find customers, we didn’t have a large ad budget. What we did have though is this wonderful bank of content. This quality content has become just as important as the ad spend. Every month we put together a new prospecting campaign with a variety of articles and then we keep some evergreen pieces of what performed and that gives us a really good indicator of the type of people we are able to draw and attract to the site. It’s very contextually targeted so somebody that is clicking and looking at an article titled, “9 Ways to Prepare for a New Baby,” is probably going to be our customer.

  • Amazon Pushes Its Own Brands at the Expense of Others

    Amazon Pushes Its Own Brands at the Expense of Others

    Amazon is being accused of pushing its own products at the expense of more popular, better reviewed products from other companies.

    Amazon is the world’s biggest e-commerce site, but the sellers that use it often have a love/hate relationship with the company. Many sellers have long suspected Amazon favors its own brands, something the company denied in testimony to Congress in 2019.

    According to The Markup, however, Amazon does favor its own brands, or brands that are exclusive to its platform, even if that means promoting them over other brands that are more popular or have more reviews.

    The Markup cites the example of Robert Gomez, founder of 4Q Brands, who worked tirelessly to get his Kaffe coffee grinder ranked in the top three Amazon search results. Gomez even paid Amazon $40,000 a month for advertising. Once Amazon introduced its own competing coffee grinder, and started carrying a partner exclusive, both of the competing grinders almost immediately started showing up in the top three search results.

    Further exacerbating the issue is that many listings for Amazon brands or exclusives are not explicitly listed as “sponsored,” despite showing up in the part of the site reserved for search results. This is also in direct contradiction to a statement from company spokesperson Nell Rona, who said the company adds “Amazon brand” to its own products. The Markup found that only 23% of the Amazon-branded products it researched had that tag.

    This behavior could land Amazon in hot water, according to Bill Baer, former director of the Bureau of Competition at the FTC, as well as former assistant attorney general in charge of the DOJ antitrust division.

    “If basically you’ve got somebody with market power that is restraining competition both in terms of site access or where things appear on the site,” he said, “that is potentially problematic.”

    Despite Amazon’s ethically — and potentially legally — questionable behavior, few sellers are willing to speak up. Blake Adami, VP of Government Relations, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, explained the problem to The Markup in an email.

    “Our members are still very hesitant to speak out against Amazon for fear of retaliation, even anonymously.”

    The Markup’s full report is well-worth a read, especially for anyone in the e-commerce industry, and illustrates why legislators are increasingly looking to crack down on anticompetitive behavior.

  • Stop Making These 7 Online Marketing Mistakes and You Will Crush It, Says Neil Patel

    Stop Making These 7 Online Marketing Mistakes and You Will Crush It, Says Neil Patel

    If you avoid these seven online marketing mistakes and you follow these tips you’re going to generate more sales, says popular digital marketing expert Neil Patel. A common theme of Neil’s tips is creating a brand. “Google doesn’t want to rank sites that aren’t brands,” he says. “There’s an issue out there called fake news and that’s why they’re pushing brands over anything else.” Patel says that if you follow these tips you’re going to crush it!”

    Neil Patel, digital marketing expert and founder of Neil Patel Digital, discusses the seven online marketing mistakes in his latest video release:

    Stop Making These 7 Online Marketing Mistakes

    I’m going to break down seven online marketing mistakes that you need to stop. You’re probably wondering you’re doing all these things but why aren’t you seeing results? Even if you’re doing the right things, if you’re also doing the wrong things at the same time it’s going to hurt you and it’s going avoid you from getting the results that you deserve.

    Mistake 1: Not Collecting Emails

    The first mistake you are making is not collecting emails. It doesn’t matter how good you are with SEO or marketing only a very small percentage of your visitors are ever going to convert into customers. By collecting emails not only can you get people to come back to your site but you can convince them to convert over emails.

    The moment someone gives you their email address think of that as a micro-commitment. They’re much more likely to convert into a customer because they committed, they already gave you something. That’s why you want to collect emails. You can do this through sliders or exit pop-ups. You can do this for free using tools like Hello Bar.

    Mistake 2: Not Collecting Subscribers Through Push Notifications

    The second mistake you’re making is you’re not collecting subscribers through push notifications. There are free tools like Subscribers.com that’ll make it easy. Just add in a JavaScript or a WordPress plug-in and then when people come to your website they will automatically subscribe through the browser. Then anytime you have new content or products or services that you want to sell then you can notify them through Subscribers.

    Mistake 3: Not Building a Brand

    The reason tip number one on collecting emails and tip number two on getting more push notifications subscribers are really important is because you need to build a brand. This gets you into the third mistake. Google doesn’t want to rank sites that aren’t brands. Why is this? There’s an issue out there called fake news and that’s why they’re pushing brands over anything else. It’s not just going to be Facebook and in Google. Eventually, it’s going to be Twitter and LinkedIn and all the sites out there.

    When you get people back to your site seven times you’re much more likely to build a brand. It’s called the Rule of Seven in marketing. So with your site, you want to provide an amazing user experience. When you provide an amazing user experience, create a great product, create a great service, it’ll help you build a great brand over time.

    Mistake 4: Not Interlinking

    The fourth mistake you’re making is not interlinking. You may notice on Google I’m ranking for terms like online marketing on page one. You’re probably wondering how do I do this? A lot of it comes out to interlinking. In my sidebar, I link to my most popular pages of content. When I write blog posts related to online marketing I link back to the online marketing guide that talks about what online marketing is. By having all these links it helps me rank higher.

    Mistake 5: Just Focusing On Text-Based Content

    The fifth mistake I have for you is just focusing on text-based content. The future of digital marketing is moving to video. It doesn’t mean you should stop doing text but it means you should also be doing video. When you do video you’re going to get more traffic because everyone’s lacking it. LinkedIn wants it right now. YouTube wants more of it. Facebook wants it. Instagram even wants it.

    Why is this? They want to crush the television networks. You look at things like the Oscars or traditional movie theaters and they’re not doing as well. You look at traditional TV and they’re going to get crushed. Why? It’s because of Facebook. It’s because of Google. It’s because of Netflix. If you’re there creating that video content you can be part of it and you’re going to get extra traffic. They want as much help as possible to crush these big old-school companies.

    Mistake 6: Sticking To Just a Few Marketing Channels

    The sixth mistake that you’re making is you’re really sticking to just a few marketing channels. Marketing is competitive. People raise venture capital hundreds of millions of dollars just so they can compete in marketing and sales. You need to do more than one or two or three marketing channels. The more you do the better off you’re going to be.

    Mistake 7: Not Asking For the Sale

    The seventh mistake I have for you is not asking for the sale. Whether it’s a lead or whether it’s getting people to buy your product, there’s nothing wrong with asking people to buy from you. If you don’t you’re not going to generate any sales. Everyone’s like I get all this traffic through my online marketing but no one’s converting. Why? Because you’re not asking for a sale.

    Stop Making These 7 Online Marketing Mistakes and You Will Crush It, Says Neil Patel


  • Ford and Salesforce Partner on VIIZR, Small Business SaaS Tool

    Ford and Salesforce Partner on VIIZR, Small Business SaaS Tool

    Ford and Salesforce are partnering on VIIZR, a Software as a Service (SaaS) tool designed for small businesses.

    VIIZR is designed for small businesses, especially those whose workers operate in the field. Electricians, HVAC personnel, plumbers, and the like are ideal candidates, with VIIZR designed to help with scheduling, invoicing, and more.

    The tool is built on Salesforce Field Service, as well as Ford Pro, Ford’s commercial vehicle and service business. The two companies hope to take advantage of the field service management market, estimated to be worth $3 billion annually in the US alone. The market is projected to double in the next six years, potentially making the two companies’ collaboration a major payoff.

    “For more than 100 years, Ford has been the backbone of commercial business,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said. “Salesforce is the global leader in CRM and together, Ford is excited to bring advanced digital tools to the trades to help drive the productivity of their business.”

    “Small business owners are the foundation of our communities, and every day across America plumbers, electricians and landscapers step into their Ford vehicles to build our economy,” said Marc Benioff, chair and co-CEO of Salesforce. “We’re thrilled that our incredible new partnership with Ford will help energize millions of entrepreneurs in the trades with the power of Salesforce so they can deliver for their customers and take their businesses to the next level.”

  • UK May Sentence Execs to Jail Time for Their Platform’s ‘Crimes’

    UK May Sentence Execs to Jail Time for Their Platform’s ‘Crimes’

    Regulators in the UK are taking the gloves off, considering legislation that would impose jail time for execs whose platforms are guilty of “crimes.”

    Social media and online platforms are increasingly under scrutiny around the world for their role in abusing user privacy, interfering in politics, endangering minors and spreading misinformation. Regulators have been struggling to come up with solutions that will effect change, with little results so far.

    According to Gizmodo, UK regulators have proposed adding penalties to the Online Safety Bill that could land executives in jail if their platforms are found to be causing “online harm.” The recommendations were made by Ofcom, the parliamentary group that oversees the telco and broadcasting industry.

    Unfortunately for tech companies, the bill has been accused of being so broad that it could encompass virtually anything thought to be “harmful,” with little clear guidelines of what that may be. The bill would also penalize any website that allows individuals to post content and/or interact with each other online, not just the Big Tech platforms. Ofcom does seem to address some of this, recommending more narrow definitions of what “online harm” may be covered.

    Whatever the outcome, if the bill becomes law it will have profound implications for how companies do business in the UK.

  • The Next Corporate Real Estate Trend: Climate-Proof Locales

    The Next Corporate Real Estate Trend: Climate-Proof Locales

    The global pandemic has significantly changed the corporate real estate scene, but climate change may be poised to have an even greater impact.

    According to Axios, multiple companies are beginning to change locations, move headquarters or acquire new real estate in areas believed to be insulated from the effects of climate change. Conversely, this has meant that some locations that have been home to iconic businesses for years are seeing them move out.

    For example, Charleston, SC has seen an iconic hospital moving from its downtown home of 165 years to higher ground, after multiple floods impacted it.

    Similarly, Hewlett Packard Enterprise is moving from hurricane-vulnerable Houston to Spring, TX after it experienced flooding in 2016 and 2017.

    Spirit Airlines is also adding a campus in Orlando, FL, to compliment its Miramar location. Not only will the new location be less vulnerable to hurricanes, but Axios says the new campus will be hardened specifically to resist any hurricanes that might hit it.

    With scientist warning that many of the effects of climate change may be unavoidable at this point, it’s a safe bet that climate change will increasingly factor into the corporate decision-making process. While this may come at a significant cost for coastal areas, inland locations may be poised for a real estate boom as companies move inland.

  • Why Businesses Need Liability Insurance

    Why Businesses Need Liability Insurance

    Buying insurance is not on top of any business owner’s list of favorite things to do. 

    There are just too many kinds of insurance from too many providers. And, of course, you don’t get to benefit from having insurance unless a crisis comes along. 

    However, if that crisis does occur, proper insurance cover can make or break your business. 

    Liability insurance is one of the most basic forms business coverage, though there are different variations. Here’s the run-down to help you get an overview and decide what kind you need to protect your business – or if you need any at all. 

    What is Liability Insurance? 

    In general, it protects you if someone brings a legal claim against you for accidents, injuries, and negligence. 

    It will cover your obligations as well as your legal defense. 

    The classic example of when you need liability insurance is a customer getting injured on your business premises. For instance, they could trip over that floorboard you haven’t gotten around to securing. Or they could get an electric shock from that piece of wiring you’ve been meaning to fix. 

    Consequently, you could be facing a potentially ruinous lawsuit. In that case, having coverage has your back. Often, liability insurance is included with a standard business owner’s policy, or BOP.

    However, there are different types of liability insurance – some of which go far beyond this classic case. 

    What Different Types of Liability Insurance Are There? 

    To start with, general liability insurance covers all injuries and property damage that customers, clients, delivery people, and other non-employees may suffer on your premises. They typically cover legal fees as well as settlements and judgements. 

    Next, professional liability insurance covers you against claims for negligence or malpractice. It’s also sometimes known as errors and omissions insurance. For instance, if you’re a financial consultant and your advice leads to someone losing considerable amounts of money in investments, this type of insurance will protect you in potential lawsuits. 

    Another type of liability insurance is employment practices liability insurance. This helps you deal with claims brought against you by current, former, and potential employees. For example, if someone sues you for harassment in the workplace, or discrimination during the hiring process, employment practices will cover you.

    One of the newer types of liability insurance is cyber liability insurance. This kind of insurance protects you against legal claims by customers and clients if you fall victim to a cyber breach. 

    Imagine your computer systems getting hacked because one of your team members used a weak password. Now you have to contact all of your customers to let them know that their data is in the hands of cyber criminals. Not only will this lead to a monumental loss of confidence in your business, it can also result in legal claims. 

    Cyber liability insurance covers the costs of notifying customers and monitoring their credit. It also helps you deal with legal expenses and potential extortion claims from criminals. 

    Does Your Business Need It? 

    In general, what type of liability insurance you need – or whether you need it at all – really depends on what sort of business you are running. 

    If you ever welcome anyone onto your business premises, general liability insurance is strongly recommended. This holds even if you run your business from your home. Your homeowner’s insurance typically doesn’t cover injuries or accidents of people who come for business purposes. 

    Say you’re a freelance architect, and you’ve re-designed a few rooms in your home as an office and a space to meet clients. You also have a puppy that can get carried away when playing with someone new. A simple dog-bite accident and the resulting legal claims can bring your entire business to the brink of ruin. 

    In contrast, if your business operates primarily online or handles sensitive client data in the virtual sphere, cyber liability insurance is a sensible investment. Especially considering the rising rates of cyber crime since the start of the pandemic. This particularly applies to digital professionals such as web designers and SEO specialists, as well as anyone who handles personal, financial, or tax information. 

    When it comes to employment practices liability insurance, you can see the number of people you employ as a proxy for how likely you are to need it. The more people are in your team, the more likely it is that one of them might bring a lawsuit against you. 

    For professional insurance, the considerations are different. As soon as you provide services that could cause someone bodily harm, property damage, or a financial disadvantage, you should seriously consider getting this type of insurance. In addition, many larger contracts require you to have errors and omissions coverage before you can sign. 

    Conclusion 

    Liability insurance is one of the cornerstones of a well-rounded business insurance strategy. It can help you defend yourself against legal claims. Also, it and aids your business in overcoming crises such as accidents to data breaches that could otherwise be disastrous. 

  • Stop Making These 5 Deadly SEO Mistakes, Says Neil Patel

    Stop Making These 5 Deadly SEO Mistakes, Says Neil Patel

    After you stop making these 5 deadly SEO mistakes your google traffic is going to increase, says digital marketing expert Neil Patel. Sometimes just making a simple change can dramatically increase your traffic. For instance, Patel says that the moment he took out the dates from his URL his search traffic shot up 58 percent in just 30 days.

    Neil Patel, digital marketing expert and founder of Neil Patel Digital, discusses the five beginner SEO mistakes in his latest video release:

    Mistake 1: Putting Dates in URLs

    The first mistake is putting dates in your URL. I used to do this with NeilPatel.com. What a huge mistake. My URL structure used to be NeilPatel.com/year/month/TitleofmyBlogPost. The moment I took out the dates from my URL guess what happened to my search traffic? Within 30 days it went up by 58 percent. I’m not talking about taking my search traffic from a 1,000 visitors to you 1,580 visitors. I had hundreds and thousands of visitors from Google already each month with dates in my URL. The moment I removed them I saw an additional 58 percent increase in my search traffic.

    So whatever URL structure you have just make sure it does not have dates. Reason being is when you have a date in your URL, Google thinks of your site as being relevant to that date. You write a blog post and they’re like oh, this blog post must be related to January 12, 2025, or whatever the date is today. If you want your content to continually rank as evergreen content you can’t put dates in your URL.

    Mistake 2: Thinking of Your Site as a Silo

    The second mistake that you’re making is you’re thinking of your site as a silo. It doesn’t matter how many different sections you have or categories, it’s still one site. It’s on one domain name. For example, my blog is about marketing, so when I create content I link to all the other marketing posts (on my site) that are relevant to the posts that I just released.

    You should consider thinking of your website as one big site versus different silos so when you write content you should link to other pieces of content that are relevant. That way all of your pages are going to be interconnected and they’re going to rank higher.

    Mistake 3: Thinking of SEO as Just SEO

    The third mistake that you’re making is you’re thinking of SEO as just SEO. It’s not just about on page code. It’s not just about building links. It’s not even just about getting social shares. It’s about building a brand. Eric Schmidt, the ex-CEO of Google, once said that brands are the solution. What he’s talking about is that when Google was trying to figure out what sites to rank higher than others he decided as well as ton of other people in Google that if you have a brand you should rank higher.

    Why is that? You’ve heard of this thing called fake news. It’s a great way to combat that. It’s not just Facebook who’s concerned about fake news. It’s also Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, and all of the major platforms out there. Building a brand does wonders for you especially when it comes to SEO. You can do things like collecting emails to get people to keep coming back to your site. You can use tools like HelloBar to do that for free. You can use tools like Subscribers to do push notifications so that when people come to your website within one click they can subscribe. Getting all of those people to keep coming back will help reinforce your brand to them. That’ll help you climb in the rankings in the long run.

    Mistake 4: Just Writing Content

    The fourth mistake is just writing content. I know you’re that content is king, how is that a mistake? Writing content isn’t a mistake. It’s writing content and then not updating it, and that’s what most people do. They just write content and they write more new content then after that they write more content and guess what they do after that they write more new content. If you update your content Google’s going to see it as fresh, hip, new, and still relevant, and rank it higher.

    With over a billion blogs out there Google likes picking brand new updated content versus old outdated content. This doesn’t mean you have to rewrite the whole article. It could just be paragraph or two or a few lines. It could just be reviewing an article and making sure it’s still up to date where you make no modifications because it’s still good to go.

    Mistake 5: Not Thinking About the User

    The last mistake you’re making is not thinking about the user. Google looks at something called user metrics. Whether it’s the browser or the toolbar Google wants to make sure people have an amazing experience. They’re using all those platforms to track how and when people come to your website and how they perceive it.

    They can’t talk to them by serving them or anything like that. What they can see is when someone performs a Google search, clicks on the listing landing on your site and within a second they are they clicking the back button. If they are it tells Google your website or that web page isn’t relevant. By putting the user first instead of putting SEO first it’ll help you climb to the top.


  • YouTube Nixing the Dislike Count

    YouTube Nixing the Dislike Count

    YouTube is removing the visible dislike count in an effort to combat harassment of content creators.

    Likes and dislikes are an important part of YouTube’s platform, playing a role in the algorithms that decide what content gets recommended. Dislikes can be problematic, however, as some creators find themselves on the receiving end of “dislike attacks,” where users try to drive up the number of dislikes, effectively tanking a video. Smaller channels are especially vulnerable to this behavior.

    We also heard directly from smaller creators and those just getting started that they are unfairly targeted by this behavior — and our experiment confirmed that this does occur at a higher proportion on smaller channels.

    To address the issues, YouTube says the dislike button will still be available for people to use, but the number of dislikes will no longer be publicly visible. The count will still be available privately for the content creator to see.

    Based on what we learned, we’re making the dislike counts private across YouTube, but the dislike button is not going away. This change will start gradually rolling out today.

    https://youtu.be/kxOuG8jMIgI

  • Bosses Can No Longer Text Employees After Hours in Portugal

    Portugal has taken a major step toward protecting remote workers, making it illegal for employers to text employees after hours.

    The pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation and the move toward remote work. While many employees have embraced the change, and don’t want to go back to the office, working from home has blurred the line between personal and professional life. This, in turn, has negatively impacted quality of life for many workers.

    Portugal has taken a major step to help improve remote workers’ quality of life, making it illegal for employers to text them after work, according to Vice.

    “The pandemic has accelerated the need to regulate what needs to be regulated,” said Portugal’s Minister of Labour and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho.

  • Judge Denies Apple a Stay on App Store Changes Pending Appeal

    Judge Denies Apple a Stay on App Store Changes Pending Appeal

    The judge in Apple’s case versus Epic has denied the company a stay on implementing court-ordered App Store changes until appeals are exhausted.

    Apple was the clear winner in its legal spat with Epic. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple was not a monopoly and agreed with Apple that the company’s App Store approach likely results in a more secure environment for its customers.

    The only point Epic won, out of 10 counts, was to force Apple to allow developers to place in-app access to outside payment methods, making it easier for customers and developers to bypass Apple’s payment system. Despite Apple’s overwhelming victory, the company appealed the one count it lost and wanted a stay that would allow it to continue operating unchanged until the appeals process is exhausted.

    Judges Rogers has shut down Apple’s request, saying the company must implement the changes while it pursues its appeals.

    “In short, Apple’s motion is based on a selective reading of this Court’s findings and ignores all of the findings which supported the injunction, namely incipient antitrust conduct including supercompetitive commission rates resulting in extraordinarily high operating margins and which have not been correlated to the value of its intellectual property,” Judge Rogers writes, via AppleInsider.

    Not surprisingly, Apple plans to appeal Judge Rogers’ decision not to stay her decision during the appeal (at what point does appealing decisions about an appeal take on an Inception feel?).

    “Apple believes no additional business changes should be required to take effect until all appeals in this case are resolved. We intend to ask the Ninth Circuit for a stay based on these circumstances,” the company told Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

    Despite being an Apple user and fan for more than two decades, given the current sentiment toward Big Tech, this writer believes Apple should take its win, thank the judge, make the change and drop the appeals. Doing so would likely go a long way toward heading off further scrutiny from lawmakers, and certainly help the company come across as less of a bully to developers.