Landon Eckles of Clean Juice, a rapidly growing juice bar franchise that has over 30 locations open and more than 100 in development across 16 states joins Enterprise Radio.

This episode of Enterprise Radio is working in association with the Franchise Channel.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Landon Eckles discuss the following:

1. Tell me about Clean Juice. How did the concept come about?
2. Why did you decide to franchise the concept?
3. You recently won the International Franchise Association Foundation’s NextGen in Franchising Global Competition. How has winning that competition helped Clean Juice grow?
4. Where are you looking to expand and who is your ideal franchisee?
5. What’s your advice for millennial entrepreneurs considering starting their own business and, particularly, those considering the franchise business model?

Husband-and-wife team Landon and Kat Eckles recognized the growing trend where people are now investing in their health, often spending more money on food than clothing. The entrepreneurs founded Clean Juice, the only USDA-certified organic juice bar franchise, with the mission of inspiring others to be healthy in body and strong in spirit. Products include acai bowls, juices, juice cleanses, smoothies, oat bowls, custom toast products, and other healthy snacks.

Clean Juice now has over 30 open locations, with more than 100 in development, and an average unit volume of $1 million (per Franchise Disclosure Document, Item 19, 2017). By 2021, Clean Juice Franchising expects to have 500 stores nationwide.

Website: www.cleanjuice.com

Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cleanjuice
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clean.juice

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Markets today are incredibly competitive, no matter the particular sector. Pricing must be carefully strategized to keep pace with other firms, and even the slightest excess can lead to a real loss of sales.

For profit to be expanded in such tight competition, it is most likely that companies look to cost-cutting strategies so that their margins can be wider. Businesses based in retail, information, and service can achieve some level of success with this, but the manufacturing sector carries even more potential for reducing cost on the front end so that profit can be higher on the back end, all without an increase in what they charge customers.

Firms in cutting-edge industries, of course, have a real advantage over emerging competitors in that their processes and products are more innovative. However, they too would be wise to begin exploring ways to reduce costs so that they can remain efficient and profitable as other firms get into the business.

Regardless of their tenure in the field, there are a few ways that companies can cut their manufacturing costs.

Savings on Machinery

For a firm that manufactures a physical object, there is some amount of machinery, tools, and equipment involved in the process of fabricating or otherwise creating the final product. Machinery that wears out too quickly can increase maintenance costs, cause downtime, and contribute to output that does not meet standards, wasting raw materials and increasing production time.

The A.J. Weller Corporation specializes in one aspect of improving this situation. They manufacture alloys that tolerate frequent and high-pressure movement, allowing machinery to stay in operation with fewer interruptions. Proper worker training and a vigilant maintenance program also contribute to savings in this area.

Streamlined Sourcing

Another big area of wasted money in manufacturing is management of the inputs required to build products. The more time they spend on site before being used, the greater the costs associated with storing them. This is especially true of bulky, fragile, or hazardous inputs.

Managers can efficiently manage this area if they are allowed to make it a priority. They can compile input needs, determine delivery times, calculate storage costs, and build in margins for error so that everyone on the line has what they need when they need it, without the materials having to languish in a warehouse where they are costly to store, and where they could break, spoil, be spilled, or fall victim to theft.

Energy Efficiency

Utilities are a huge drain on revenues, so any improvement that can be made in this area is very beneficial. The great thing for companies that make efficiency improvements on their utility consumption is that those changes can yield benefits for years, maybe even indefinitely.

The machinery we’ve already discussed can be part of this. Poorly-maintained and worn-out equipment uses more energy, so good equipment can go a long way. But many other strategies can work as well; things that homeowners use like programmable thermostats and added insulation can help, but some industry-only things will help. Equipment like air compressors will run less if the lines connected to them are tightly sealed since leaks will release pressure and cause the unit to operate even when the air isn’t being used. And any equipment that can be scheduled for use only outside peak hours will cost less even without using less energy.

Manufacturing can only be competitive in the market when it is competitive with itself. Anything that a company can do to make its machinery last longer, to lower costs associated with raw materials, and to reduce energy expenditures will allow a given sale price for products to yield more profit. When markets are intensely competitive, those simple strategies can often be the edge the company needs to stay ahead of the pack and to remain profitable even as others struggle or fail.

Steve Frazier, President of Frazier Investment Management, a Rhode Island-based financial services firm specializing in advising entrepreneurs, families and businesses across the country joins Enterprise Radio.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Steve Frazier discuss the following:

1. How did Frazier Investment Management get into this niche area of advising? Describe what you mean by lifestyle based?
2. How does one plan and budget for a living within this type of lifestyle?
3. Are there any special budgeting/planning tools or technologies people can use to help keep them on track?
4. Do clients ever get lost or fall off track when planning and budgeting?
5. Do you have any tips and advice for people about common money mistakes they’re making and how to avoid/stop them?

Steve Frazier, AIF is president of Frazier Investment Management, a Rhode Island-based financial services firm specializing in advising entrepreneurs, retirees, families and businesses across the country.

Steve’s passion for investing began alongside his grandfather, hand charting stock prices at an early age. Upon graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of Rhode Island with a finance degree, Steve dove head first into e-commerce business development; expanding a North American manufacturing business, learning how to use resources efficiently and maximizing financial resources.

In 2012 Steve took this valuable experience and went back to his two true passions, investing and people. Working with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. he built incredible client relationships and a practice based on trust and understanding.

Frazier Investment Management continues these trusted relationships and builds on the client experience by using modern financial tools, top tier research and truly independent and objective advice. Steve is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary, certified specifically for his ability to follow a fiduciary process with his clients’ best interests at heart.

Website: www.frazierim.com

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Securities and financial planning offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC. Frazier Investment Management and LPL are separate entities and not affiliated with the Entrepreneur Podcast Network. The opinions voiced in this program are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult with your attorney, accountant, and financial advisor or tax advisor prior to investing. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Jeff Cohen, Partner and CMO of Seller Labs, a leading provider of software and resources for businesses who sell on Amazon joins eCommerce Radio to discuss the rise and evolution of Amazon advertising and how it’s changed and how brands can leverage advertising to increase their bottom line.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Jeff Cohen discuss the following:

1. Over the past few years advertising has grown on Amazon.  How has this changed and what opportunities exist for brands on the Amazon website?
2. What does it take for a brand to successfully run an advertising campaign on Amazon?
3. Amazon Prime was a huge game-changer for the online shopping/delivery experience.  Why has Amazon dominated the market so much its putting brick and mortar retailers out of business and why can’t Walmart.com and other online retailers compete?
4. Tell us about Seller Labs. What does it provide to businesses that sell products on Amazon?
5. How do Seller Labs offerings make the company different from its competitors? What type of companies do you work with?
6. What are three takeaways to grow and run a successful business on Amazon?

SUMMARY: Over the past few years advertising has changed and grown exponentially on Amazon. If you are a seller, take advantage of Amazon advertising. Many opportunities exist for brands on the Amazon website to increase the bottom line. Selling on Amazon is impactful.  Seller Labs help businesses navigate Amazon’s advertising offerings, manage the ever-evolving Amazon online sales platform and support increased sales. Tools for keyword research, sponsored products advertising, product discovery and inventory management are so important to a company’s sales success on Amazon.

Jeff Cohen has over 15 years of ecommerce experience.  Currently, Jeff is CMO and Partner at Seller Labs where he works with more than 50,000 Amazon sellers providing software solutions and expert advice helping to build world class brands.  As an International speaker, Jeff is often asked to share actionable intelligence on how Amazon works and how brands can improve their business.  Working with Amazon brands has given Jeff a unique perspective on what it takes to be successful on the Amazon platform

In 2007 Cohen founded Textbooks.com.  Before joining Seller Labs in 2014 as the head of business development, Cohen was the CEO of Campusbooks.com.  He attended the University of Missouri where he received a Bachelor’s of Business Administration and Management degree before earning his Masters of Business Administration at Lindenwood University.

ABOUT SELLER LABS:

Seller Labs journey is unique. Veteran Entrepreneur Brandon Checketts founded the company in 2013 after he developed a software tool to resolve seller feedback problems for his thriving Amazon used book business. After successfully creating a solution that automated buyer-seller messaging, Seller Labs was born. The business has grown to include several tools that help Amazon businesses improve sales – from inventory management to keyword search, advertising and product discovery. Its suite of offerings is branded as Ignite, Pro Suite and Feedback Genius. Seller Labs is headquartered in Athens, Georgia and has been named one of the most innovative start-ups in the Atlanta region.

Website: www.sellerlabs.com

Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sellerlabs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SellerLabs

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Companies of different genres come to a point when they need to consider hiring a consulting firm. Such is the time when they are facing challenges or aiming to raise the business level up a notch. Sometimes, companies undergoing these trials still find it difficult to decide upon hiring a consulting firm for fear of feeling inadequate to manage their own company while some would consider hiring one as a welcome respite and an answer to the problems the company is facing. There are a number of consulting companies Minneapolis has to offer, including the Project Consulting Group which has clients across the US and has projects across the globe. Find a reliable partner in your chosen consulting firm which has years of experience and gets the results you want. Here are five benefits you can get when you hire a consulting firm that fits your company’s needs.

1.  Outsider’s Outlook

Hiring a consulting firm is mostly advantageous to companies which are family-run because it saves them the need to discuss important matters in an awkward way especially when there is bias or just simply does not see the problem. Sometimes, a company needs outside intervention which can point out where the problem lies and why the business does not soar as it should. That is when a consulting firm comes in; the neutral ground which can openly speak about the challenges a company is facing without being reproached.

2. Knowing the Outside Market

A consulting firm, to be beneficial to your company, must have great expertise in the marketplace and must be knowledgeable of the market trends. Their wide experience comes from working with a wide variety of companies which may be of the same nature to yours. A consulting firm can give recommendations based on their experiences and knowledge of the market which will be beneficial for your company to become more competitive.

3. Enough Time to Plan and Strategize

Usually, solving a company’s problems through strategic planning falls into the hands of the managers which have specific tasks and duties of their own. Adding extra work of planning and other projects for the company to grow needs extra time and dedication. If a consulting firm is hired to take care of projects which require time for research, gathering data and eventually presenting the options which can give the best benefits; the managers will be able to do their tasks properly while the consultant will be in charge of looking for better results for the company.

4.  Incorporating New Skills

Knowing the current business trends, strategies, and methodologies is a big chunk of a consultant firm’s job. How the consultant came up with the conclusion that these vital skills can help the company progress should be explained clearly to the top ranks in the company.

5.  Achieving short-term goal

Executing a planned strategy may be daunting to some employees who are used to doing the same tasks daily. They may not welcome the additional task or the change in their routine which a short-term goal based on strategic planning entails. Hiring consultants who are experts in this field can help in executing the strategy and training employees with proper motivation to reach a short-term goal.

Day-to-day tasks at work can be pretty daunting already. If there is a need to keep up with the business trends or your company wants immediate growth, hiring an experienced consulting firm would prove to be most beneficial as it can save time and bring profit to your company as well.

A lot goes into creating a business from the ground up, especially since just getting your idea off the ground isn’t enough. When you’re ready to open your doors, you have to make sure everyone knows that your doors are open!

There are a lot of ways to do that. You can purchase ads on the internet, you can do some cold calling, and you can depend on word of mouth. However, one of the easiest methods to make sure everyone you meet knows who you are and what you do is to pass out business cards.

But just any old business card won’t do!

Don’t waste your money on business cards that don’t work. Here are a few tips that will help you get the most out of your business cards.

Choose the Right Brand

The quality of your business cards matters. That’s why you have to be very careful about where you have your cards printed.

Avoid printing them yourself. Although it’s something that can easily be done with today’s technology, you’re likely to end up with cards that don’t look very professional.

Instead, choose a company that has been around for a while. A site like Vistaprint is a good choice because tens of thousands of businesses have used them over the years. In addition, Deal News says, “Vistaprint is the one-stop shop for all your business printing needs,” so they have the capabilities to print your business cards and much more.

Get a Good Deal

Business cards aren’t what they used to be. They no longer simply list the name of the business and contact information in black ink. Many cards look more like mini pieces of artwork!

That means business cards can get expensive.

Take your time to see if you can find a good deal on cards. Most websites, like Vistaprint, which was mentioned above, are always having deals. Unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll save big.

“Vistaprint nearly always has a large selection of coupon codes. The site also hosts regular sales and one-day specials, which result in frequent savings of at least 50% off,” according to Deal News. “However, Vistaprint only allows one coupon per order, so you have to be strategic about picking the right codes.”

No matter who you order cards from, it is well worth your time to do a little research online to find the coupon that will save you the most money.

Less Is More

With so many options for business cards today, it can be tempting to cover every inch of your card with information. This may sound like a good idea, but too many business cards already end up in the trash. You’re just asking for your card to be tossed immediately if it is cluttered with information.

Instead, keep the information on your business card simple. Include basic info like:

• Your name or your business’s name
• A short business description or tagline
• Contact information

It’s also a good idea to include your company’s website. That way, if the person has questions about your business, they have a quick and easy way to learn more.

Get Creative About Handing out Your Cards

Handing out business cards isn’t hard, but just handing someone a card in passing isn’t likely to get your business noticed. Instead, get creative about how you hand out those cards and people will want to take a closer look.

A few ideas include:

• Placing them in goody bags with freebies
• Drop cards in lobbies, buses, taxis, and more
• Ask for a business card when you hand yours out
• Hang them in gyms, community centers, and churches

Pass out Info Cards Instead

Unfortunately, business cards aren’t nearly as effective as they once were. After all, what are you likely to do with a business card when you are handed one? Chances are, you toss it in the trash can.

If you’re looking for an alternative, consider an info card instead. Print a powerful quotation, interesting industry statistic, or useful tips and tricks on the card. Then, include your name and contact information. This kind of card is more likely to get read before it ends up in the garbage.

Business cards are as popular as ever, but if you want yours to work hard for your business, you have to make sure it stands out from the crowd. With these tips, you can ensure more eyes read the information on your card, which will certainly translate into more business for your budding company.

If your business has been classified as high-risk, it can be hard to get a fair payment processing account.  Many of the normal merchant services providers will not work with high-risk businesses and you are left looking at high-risk merchant service providers.  These providers will generally not offer the best terms because of the risk that your business poses to them.  However, this does not mean that you should simply accept the poor rates that you are going to be offered.  There are a number of ways that you can try to get the best rates from high-risk merchant services. 

Look At Normal Merchant Services

Before you start looking for the best merchant services companies, you need to look at the normal merchant accounts.  This is important because each merchant provider will have different approval guidelines.  This means that one provider may class your business as high-risk, but another will not.  

If you find a normal merchant services provider that you like, you should try applying anyway.  It is possible that they will accept our business if they have more lenient guidelines.  Of course, it is important to note that there are certain types of businesses that are always deemed as high-risk and not normal merchant services provider will open an account for you.  You need to know what these businesses are and determine if you fall into these categories.  

Avoid Accounts With Preset Limits

If you are unable to get an account with a normal merchant services provider, you have to look for certain points when comparing high-risk providers.  The first point is the limits that are set on the account.  To get the best rates, you need to avoid high-risk merchant services that have preset limits on the account.  

The preset limit might seem like a good idea to any new business as you will not have many transactions.  However, as your business grows, your transaction volume will grow and this will be a problem.  Once you start to exceed the limits which have been set, you will be charged a penalty fee and this will quickly increase your rates.  

It is better to look for a merchant account that offers unlimited transaction volume.  This will ensure that the rates you are getting now will still be the best when your company starts to grow.  Future proofing your merchant account rates are important because you do not want to be charged penalties or have to change accounts too often. 

Be Upfront With The Provider

As a high-risk business, there is always the temptation of lying or misrepresenting yourself when you apply for a merchant account.  This is something that you need to avoid at all costs because it will not help you get the best rates.  If you do not fully disclose the services or products that you offer to the provider, they will close your account without notice when they do find out.  In these cases, honesty will be the best policy. 

When you are honest and upfront with the provider about your business, they will know the risks that you pose to them.  This will help them better determine the applicable rates for your business.  In these cases, you will often get the best rates for your type of business because the provider is well informed about everything your business does.  

Provide Your Previous History

If you are not starting a new business and you have previous business history, you should give this to the merchant service provider.  This will help them see that your business has a good track record and that you are not as high-risk as they may think. Doing this can often decrease the rates that you are going to pay because your risk level is lower.  

This is something that you should do even if you have been denied services or dropped in the past.  Your track record is important because it shows the type of business that you have.  History shows that your business is profitable and that you do not have major issues which will put the merchant services provider at higher risks.  

Keep Your Chargeback Ratio Low

If you are already trading, you need to take some steps to manage your chargeback ratio.  If you are a new business, you have to put a system into place for this as it will help you get the best rates in the long-term.  There are a number of steps that you can take to manage your ratio. 

The first step is to have a clear refund policy which stipulates that the customer should contact you first if they are dissatisfied.  When they do this, you will have the chance to talk to them about the problem and potentially find a solution that does not result in a chargeback.  Having a clear refund policy will also help you win when there are invalid disputes where customers contact their credit card provider and not you.  

You should also set up a follow-up system as part of your sales funnel.  After a sale, you should contact the customer to ensure that they are happy with the product or service you provide.  This will help you reduce the number of chargeback requests because you know when there is a problem and can take steps to remedy this.  

Renegotiate The Rates Later

If you have started a new business, it will be very hard to get the best rates when you first apply for a merchant services account.  This is due to the lack of business history and the fact that new businesses are seen as having a higher risk of closing and other teething problems.  This is why you might need to be patient when it comes to getting the best rates and be willing to wait to negotiate them. 

Once you have an account, you should wait for a few months to build up a track record of transactions and business dealings.  Once you have this history, you can contact the merchant services provider and renegotiate your rates based on this.  Most providers will review your history and come back to you with amendments that they are willing to make which could result in you getting the best rates possible. You can visit here for further information.

Dr. Barbara Provost, Founder of Purse Strings, provides free resources and information to help women make smart financial decisions and pairs them with financial professionals who have been trained and vetted by Purse Strings on how to reach, engage and earn the female dollar joins Enterprise Radio.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Dr. Barbara Provost discuss the following:

1. Can you explain the Purse Strings model and how you came up with the idea?
2. How did you determine if Purse Strings would be a viable business?
3. What were some of the first steps you took to build the business?
4. Sounds like a lot of resources; how did you pay for the expenses?
5. You’ve come a long way in 3 years – but what did you learn and what would you have done differently?

Tip: Creating a business can be thrilling one day and bring you to your knees the next.  You may hear from a great prospect who seems really interested, only for them to ghost you.  I learned that you can’t ride that emotional roller coaster because your heart can’t take it.  It’s a business and you need to treat it as such.  Keep a small support group people around you who will be honest and help you muster through the tough times and celebrate when you have the signature on the contract – not before.

No stranger to hard work and challenges, the Founder of Purse Strings LLC, Barbara Provost, has leveraged her strong experience, active research, and continuous data gathering activities, to solve a problem. Barbara found that women are consistently overlooked by insurance and financial institutions, to the tune of leaving a possible 14-trillion dollars of untapped sales on the table.  Not only is this buying power being ignored for lack of tailoring to women, this powerful demographic is underserved and under-planned for their financial future.  With that sole purpose in mind, Barbara developed expertise on what these institutions need to reach and engage women, creating the first empowerment, education, and training tool to earn the vast spending power of the female dollar

In addition to Purse Strings, Barbara Provost is President of Provost Consulting Inc.  She and her team have decades of experience working with insurance and financial organizations developing training programs that make learners competent and confident in the work that they do.  She believes, “When those who work within organizations are able to perform their roles at top performance – the whole organization is successful.”

Website: www.pursestrings.co

Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/befinanciallyfearless
Twitter: @pursestringsco

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In this era, all businesses need websites since consumers are increasingly looking for goods and services on the web. Your business website can be compared to your online brick and mortar store where customers come over when they need anything. Imagine a situation where clients come to your physical store and find that you are closed or not available. This is undesirable for any firm, and you should always be there when your clients come knocking. How do you ensure that your website is always up and running? The best way of doing it is by getting a reliable uptime monitoring service that will keep track of your site and inform you when it is down so that you can act within the shortest time possible and get it back up. 

If you search the web for an uptime monitoring service, you will get a plethora of options and they might be overwhelming for you when you try to pick the best one.  Doing it should not be a hard thing for you if you know what to look out for. Read below and check out some useful tips for selecting the best uptime monitoring service for you.

Analyze Your Needs

When choosing an uptime monitoring service, you will usually be required to choose between the active and passive monitoring services. The active ones are suitable for businesses whose websites are profit-oriented such as those owned by online retailers, and there are more serious concerns on why the site should be up. The passive monitoring services are suitable for sites that are not really profit driven and where customers mainly go to the website for basic information and other things. Before you select, it is good to assess what your business needs are and make a choice based on your determination. It is evident that the passive monitoring will naturally be less costly than the active one and you should not invest too much in these services if it is not necessary. In a nutshell, have a clear idea of what you expect from an uptime monitoring service before looking for one so that you do not land on something that is irrelevant to you.

Experience

Due to the increased demand for uptime monitoring services, it is evident that you will come across services that are less than a year old. Keep in mind that while some of these new entries might be good, it is safe to lean towards the experienced monitors. Uptime monitoring is a sensitive thing and you should entrust it to a form that has been around for some time. This experience is crucial since it gives one more knowledge on the loading times and other things that can help to improve your website’s performance and reduce its downtime. Services that have been around for more than ten years are the best since they have performed several checks and you have somewhere to go and find out if their services are up to the required standards or not.

Location Of The Servers

It is essential to know where the servers of the website monitoring services are located. It is not advisable to go for a service whose servers are located in one location due to several reasons. Having a single server in one place is like putting all your eggs in one basket. What will happen if there is a power interruption in that area? What happens if there is an error with that server? An excellent service should have multiple servers located in various locations so that you are assured that your website is monitored even if one of the servers blows up or stops working due to some reason. Your site should not left be unmonitored if you have paid for the services as a couple of hours could translate in massive losses for firms that deal with a lot of traffic and visitors.

Communication Methods

You should always find out how the firm in question will communicate the server downtime if it happens. This is essential since it determines the amount of time that your site will be down. Typically, the primary forms of communications that the services have are through email, text or calls. Taking a situation where your site goes down in the middle of the night, receiving an email might be undesirable since you might not listen to the alert while sleeping. You will, therefore, wake up the following morning and check out the notification before acting, something that implies that your site may be down for a couple of hours. A reliable service should communicate any case of downtime through text and phone calls so that you do not waste any time and act promptly to rectify the problem.

Frequency Of The Checks

Understanding how often your site will be checked is the other thing to look at when determining the best services. The service usually pings your site and waits for a response before deciding whether it is running normally or not. Every single minute of downtime counts, and it can translate to massive losses for companies such as the online retailers. A service that pings your site every fifteen minutes is undesirable since your site may be down for the entire time before it discovers it. A reliable service should be checking for downtime every minute so that your site does not go down for more than a minute before you are informed.

Lastly, it is vital to look into the payment terms stated by the service. You may have an active website in place being hosted by a reliable platform and expect that the instances of downtime should be far-fetched every month. In such a situation, it might be undesirable to pay a flat fee for your service since you will be investing money and not receiving the value for it. It is best to choose a service that offers you a flexible payment plan where you are required to pay a small fee and an additional one for every instance that your site is down.

Deciding on performance monitoring services that is ideal for you should be done after taking all the considerations carefully. Remember that the best service should offer you reliable monitoring services while still provide you value for your money.

The media is awash with motivational, success stories of entrepreneurs who have made the big time and all seemingly with nothing more than a kitchen table, a computer and, of course, an internet connection. However, there is an equal number of reports of the high number of startups that fail within the first five years and the tough economic market that prevails. There seems to be no middle ground.  If you are considering starting your own business, it’s understandable if you feel intimidated by the many stories that circulate, so to help you, here’s a guide to getting started.

• Self-evaluation: what’s your motivation?

 Answer this question honestly:

Why do you want to start your own business?

Your answer will shape what kind of business you should pursue. If it is purely an economic reason, you may be better placed to ask your current employer for a rise. If you identify that you want more freedom, perhaps a new, flexible line of employment is the answer. After all, running your own business is both hard work and time-consuming, especially in the early years. Understand clearly what motivates you so that you can create a business that plays to these strengths.

Think about the skills that you have: can you transfer them into your new business, and where may you need additional help if you have weak spots in your skill set? You need to honest about your capabilities from the start. 

• Evaluate your business idea

If you already have spotted a gap in the market that you want to exploit, you need to evaluate your idea beyond the initial tagline. There are essentially three types of new business:

1. A remedy – are you providing a fix to an ongoing problem? Is your business going to provide a solution to a customer’s problem? 
2. A new outlook – are you providing an innovative approach to an industry? 
3. A better and cheaper product/service – are you providing a more efficient product and service for a better price? 

Each new business type, although different, requires you to understand the same information:

• What are the benefits of your services or products?
• Who are your target customers?
• Who are your competitors?

Thorough market research will not only confirm your business idea’s viability but will help to shape your business plan and future marketing strategies. There are many online resources which you can take advantage of to help you learn marketing and business best practices. The hard work, dedication, and time that you put in now will pay dividends in the future.

• Write a business plan

A business without a realistic, achievable plan is like a sailing boat without a rudder; it helps you to manage and control the direction that you are taking your business in so that each decision you make will be the best for the company. Your business plan needs to define your goals and the objectives that need to be completed to achieve them. Include the ways and the methods that you will use to track your progress, the execution, and marketing strategies, your financial plan and forecast figures.

Starting a business is no easy walk in the park, but by devoting time to fully understand your motivations and the industry in which you are entering, the customers, best practice and the competitors, you will be better set to make a success of it. 

Guy Yalif, CEO at Intellimize, a software company that uses artificial intelligence to help businesses convert more leads and improve the profitability of their website joins Enterprise Radio.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Guy Yalif discuss the following:

1. What is Intellimize?
2. Why did you start the company/ What is the founding story?
3. When we think of AI, it’s common to think of robots and smart devices. What does AI mean in this context?
4. How is it used by different parties? What are the business applications?
5. What is predictive personalization and how is it used?
6. How does predictive personalization (in the context of conversion optimization) differ from things like A/B testing or CRO?
7. For someone new to AI, what are some simple ways they can start incorporating it into their stack?
8. If you could give a business owner or CTO one piece of advice about the use of AI, what might that be?

Guy Yalif is the CEO and co-founder of Intellimize. Prior to Intellimize, he held a number of senior marketing positions at major media and technology companies, including Vice President of Global Marketing at BrightRoll and Head of Global Product and Vertical Marketing at Twitter, as well as leadership roles at Yahoo, Microsoft, Boston Consulting Group, and Tradeweave.

Guy is a recognized marketing expert who has written for various industry publications and has spoken frequently at industry conferences internationally. Guy holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and a BSE in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University where his thesis was coding artificial intelligence for airplane design.

Website: www.intellimize.com

Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/intellimize
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intellimize

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Harry Sanders from StudioHawk, a Google Partner Specialist, Search Engine Optimisation company out of Melbourne, Australia joins Enterprise Radio.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Harry Sanders discuss the following:

1. What is SEO & why is it so important for business?
2. What made you get into SEO and why are you passionate about this, what drives you  everyday?
3. What is the current state of SEO in 2018? – changes to algorithm, things to look out for.
4. What’s the difference between SEO and PPC methods like Facebook ads?
5. What influence is the rise in Facebook ad and Google ad cost having on organic search?

Tip:  Page speed is an important ranking factor in 2018. Check your page speed and find ways to  optimise images and compress files to improve loading times for users.

StudioHawk is a Google Partner Specialist agency focused on search engine optimisation. We offer responsive, ethical, and authentic SEO services tailored to your website’s unique needs. We have a team composed of passionate professionals who come from diverse backgrounds and offer simplified solutions to complex online marketing challenges.

Our Services Has:

• A proven track record: We’ve helped multiple companies accomplish their SEO goals and maintained a 300% average ROI
• Ethical practices: We use 100% white hat SEO to make sure your site succeeds without putting it at risk from Google penalties
• Value for money: We offer specialist services at reasonable rates
• Credible management: Our knowledge is vetted by Google every 12 months to maintain specialist status.
• Complete Transparency: We offer full campaign visibility and comprehensive monthly reporting to give clients the peace of mind that they deserve.

Website: www.studiohawk.com.au

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In order to run a business efficiently, one should consider the latest trends in business operation and technological developments so as to incorporate changes that will help grow the business. At https://generate-fs.co.uk you can learn some of the latest trends in business operations. The key considerations to make include the human resource management, and financial planning. Through such services from professional consultants, the creation of wealth in business and its management will become easier. Some few tips highlighted below on running a business will help you to smoothly handle issues relating to operations and the necessary legislation compliance for the business.

Here are 5 tips to running your business:

1. Manage finances

Business stakeholders need to learn how to manage their finances well. Whether they are agencies or business contractors, business management should know how to process their payments first through the latest payroll technology. In case they need advances, there should be an avenue through which they can get interest-free advances in order to remain motivated. For more productivity, business owners should ensure their employees and all other stakeholders remain motivated.

2. Expertise

This is crucial especially in matters relating to employee and tax compliance. This will enable you to operate the business smoothly without interference by the local authorities. There are various firms that offer expert services in payroll processing, accounting and tax filing for the business which is compulsory for every business. This ensures that you spend more time in core business activities and this will lead to business success.

3. Diversify your business options

One of the main reasons why businesses fail to grow is because the entrepreneurs do not diversify their business. This is one of the ways through which you can minimize risks. But most entrepreneurs do not want to take risks especially if they lack technical know-how and experts in a certain area. Through recruitment specialists and industry players, a business entrepreneur can easily find the relevant employees to work with. Generate is one of the companies that focus on specialized services that can benefit every business. Through the tailor-made solutions for employee management and financial management, a business will benefit from such services and this leads to business growth

4. Enhance savings

How does one maximize on savings on routine work in business? Again, at Generate their partners get various discounts, travel savings, and shopping plans. There are also gym discounts for the enhanced health of your employees or the team of directors. Remember when business costs are reduced, then the profit margins are also increased.

5. Outsource

Generate has partnered with various agencies to ensure businesses looking for various services can easily outsource. Some of their partners offer services relevant to various business. Through Generate, it is easier to identify the relevant services you require and even after hiring, it is possible to outsource payroll services including contractor payments so that you get more time to focus on business development, marketing and making more profits.

Most companies offering business solutions recommend that entrepreneurs implement the latest and advanced business solutions in order to run their businesses successfully. This is especially so for non-core business aspects such as law compliance, payroll solutions, and contracting services. Such services can be outsourced from reputable companies.

If you enjoy riding at night, then you will need to invest in a good set of lights. Riding in the dark without lights, whether that is on the roads or on the trails, is a dangerous proposition. Here’s a quick look at how to find the best mountain bike lights that will help you to stay riding as the nights get darker.

Finding the Right Brightness

The world of lighting technology has its own jargon which can make it hard to figure out what you should be buying. There are lots of lights to choose from, but the specifications are hard to interpret. Your priority should be picking a light that is “bright enough” but that will also last long enough for you to get through the typical ride that you like to do.

It can be tempting to buy the brightest light that you can find, and there’s certainly a lot of value in having good lighting for the more difficult parts of your ride. If you’re someone who rides on rather mixed trails, instead of powering up a hill then descending at high speed, then you’re going to need a good light for the whole ride.

The problem is that bike lights are battery powered, so you have to think about the battery life. If you’re only able to run your affordable bike light at 50 percent power most of the time, then the maximum specification of the light is not really all that useful to you. It might be better to have a ‘weaker’ light that you can run at full power after all.  Consider the example of a 1,500 lumen light – running that at 750 lumens will be noticeably dimmer than having a 1,000 lumen light that is putting out its full power.  Battery life tends to deteriorate over time, so having a stronger battery will give you longer life and extend the useful period for that battery too.

In addition, remember that you won’t always want a blindingly bright light. If you cycle in foggy or wet conditions, then the light might be reflected creating glare, and a too-bright light might make it hard to see. Riders that use overly bright lights may have more trouble seeing.  It’s rare that you’ll decide that your light “isn’t bright enough” if you purchased a good quality standard lamp.

Finding The Right Fit

The first thing that you need to consider is whether the light that you’re interested in is going to fit on your bike at all. If you have a set of 35mm handlebars or a carbon fiber frame, then you might find that some of the basic lamps won’t fit as well as they should. No matter how good a lamp is, if it twists or shakes loose and points the wrong way then it is going to cause a lot of problems for you. A badly positioned light can be worse than having no light at all. Make sure that the lights will fit securely, and that they will work well with the curve of your handlebars.

Lumens

The next thing you need to consider is the lumen output of the light. Note that these ratings are based on optimum conditions, with no heat issues, a fully charged battery, and no circuitry issues. The real-world output of the light could be as much as 30 percent lower.

Even if the power of the light is high enough, if the light is directed in the wrong direction then it’s no use for you. Consider the type of environment that you usually ride in. If you’re doing a lot of riding in straight lines at high speed, then a narrow beam is a good choice. If you tend to do slower, technical terrain then you might want a wider beam. There are some lights that offer a balanced beam, which gives the best of both worlds, but these are more expensive. An alternative might be to get a cheap bar light and a head light, to give you enough illumination for a technical ride.

Batteries

Look for a battery that will give you enough running time for the average ride that you do, with some time to spare. That extra battery life is for two purposes – firstly, for if your ride runs longer than you expect, and secondly to give you leeway in cold temperatures or when the battery gets old. It is not uncommon for battery life to shorten when the battery is older, and if you’re going to be pushing the limits of the battery from the day you buy it then you’re likely to need to replace it fairly quickly.

Some lamps have a battery indicator, which can be useful for letting you know if you need to ration the battery’s power. An indicator is a much better option than an emergency low battery alert, because these tend to trigger too late to make much of a difference. You want to know well in advance if you’re going to ration the use of your lights. Ideally, you want to have a battery strong enough that you will have time to stop to fix mechanical issues without issue, and that will let you run the light on full power for high-speed descents. Note that sub-zero temperatures will massively diminish your battery’s lifespan, so over-buy in terms of battery power if you will be doing long winter rides.

Ease of Use

There are some added extras that are becoming popular in the world of mountain bikes – Outbound Lighting. Things like remote switches and the ability to tune power output. It is up to you whether you would want to pay for those extra features. Many people do find that they make using the light far easier, so if you do a lot of long-distance riding then they are worth considering. Priorities getting something that is robust and reliable, though, and that will fit your bike perfectly. Those added extras are just a luxury by comparison.

If you ever dreamed of tree houses when you were a child, you are not alone. If you still dream of tree houses, then Glamping Hub is for you. The first and only online booking platform of it’s kind, Glamping Hub offers unique outdoor accommodations to the tune of 34,000+ tree houses, tipis, yurts, Airstreams, caravans, igloos, and more. With over 27 different categories of glamping across 115 different countries, Glamping Hub easily allows you to picture yourself in your perfect glamping hideaway. The term “glamping” is a portmanteau for the words “glamorous” and “camping.” Glamping Hub’s mission is to connect adventurers with a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the heart of nature. Connecting guests with places to stay in the great outdoors with all the comforts of home—a real bed, running water, and tons of different activities onsite and nearby.

Business model and marketing strategies

Glamping Hub’s business model is highly scalable and transactional. For each booking made through the website, Glamping Hub collects a 4% commission from the hosts and a 6% to 12% service fee from the guest, which is based on the total amount of the booking. Glamping Hub retains an average of 10% of each booking transaction. Within the vacation rental sector, Glamping Hub is the only platform that is this specialized and transactional. SEO practices, lower rates and costs on average, organic traction, and unique visits all play a major role in this.

Humble Beginnings

Founder and CEO David Troya is originally from Seville, Spain. He had the idea for Glamping Hub in 2011 while studying an MBA at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He first heard the term “glamping” during one of his classes. With two of his friends—the business’ other two co-founders, Ruben Martinez and Talal Benjelloun—the first version of Glamping Hub began as a simple blog. In 2014, Glamping Hub launched as a fully-transactional booking platform with just 200 accommodations on the site.

The main idea behind Glamping Hub was to create a product that provides travelers looking for accommodations that felt “out of reach” and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The inspiration for Glamping Hub began with the term “to-gather,” meaning to congregate with a group of loved ones for that purpose alone.

Finding the Niche

Information for unusual, outdoor accommodations, such as tree houses, tipis, yurts, campervans, Airstreams, igloos, and more, were scattered throughout the internet. There was no “home” for glamping, especially not in the U.S. Troya and Martinez noticed an increasing interest in unique places to stay and that outdoor accommodations close to nature were on the rise.

Biggest Successes and Achievements

One of the biggest achievements of Glamping Hub is market growth and ability to expand into different markets quickly. Last year at this time, Glamping Hub had 8,000 listings (June 2017), and now, there are over 34,000 listings (June 2018). With 27 glamping categories, Glamping Hub is able to provide its users with more options and more inventory, essentially a one-stop shop, for those looking to stay in unique, nature-based accommodations.

Developing ideas and forcast

At present, Glamping Hub’s largest market is the U.S., which makes up 75% of all traffic on the website. The term “glamping” is newer in the U.S. and has given Glamping Hub more control over the marketplace in North America. Glamping in the U.K. is more defined, and the marketplace is already saturated by various companies. A few possible Ideas to expand upon in the future are African safaris, as well as creating a presence in the well-established glamping marketplace of the U.K.

Glamping Hub must continue to stay unique among many other online vacation rental booking platforms. The vacation rental industry is a high-growth field and prone to constant and rapid changes. Glamping Hub must take these changes and trends into consideration in order to continuously provide the right types of accommodations for our users. We must continue to understand the evolving wants and needs of travelers within each marketplace and that every consumer/area requirements will be different. As we increase the volume of listings on Glamping Hub, all listings must uphold the same value for each individual in each market while staying relevant to the concept of glamping globally.

Tom Poland the best selling author of Leadsology©: The Science of Being In Demand joins Enterprise Radio. He shares how to generate a weekly flow of inbound leads.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest Tom Poland discuss the following:

1. Just so we can put this interview in context, can you tell us what good marketing looks like?
2. If that’s what good marketing achieves, what then is a marketing message and where does it fit into the scenario you just described?
3. In your book you lay out a simple formula for creating a marketing message that gets cut-though, can you walk us through that and maybe give us a before and after example?
4. So how do people know that their new marketing message is going to work?
5. Is it possible for an effective message to generate too many leads (that would be a good problem to have) and if so, how do you handle that, and is there an opportunity with that?

Tom Poland is a Marketing Mentor who started his first business at age 24 and has gone on to start and sell four others, taking two of them international. In that time he’s managed teams of over 100 people and annual revenue of more than 20 million.

These days Tom’s thing is “Leadsology: The Science of Being in Demand” which is a blended learning program that gives professional advisors a model for generating a flow of high-quality, inbound, new client enquiries into their businesses almost every week of the year.

Over 2000 business owners across 193 different industries and 4 continents have been through his programs and many have gone on to add millions to their earnings and their testimonials are available on his website

Tom’s work has been published in 27 countries and he’s also shared international speaking platforms with the likes of Michael Gerber of E-Myth fame, Richard Koch from the 80-20 Principle, Brian Tracy and many others.

Websites: www.leadsology.guru | www.BookAChatWithTom.com

Other Imporant Links:
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Groups/Leadsology
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/TomPoland
Amazon: www.Amazon.com/TomPoland
Linkedin: www.LinkedIn.com/in/TomPoland

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Due to the rising costs of housing in Canada, many government policies have been initiated to try to bring the average home price back down to where the average Canadian can afford it. B.C. and Ontario have attempted to curtail the soaring costs by introducing a tax that is levied against foreign buyers. 

Ottawa has instilled various types of mortgage constraints to stop home buyers from purchasing a home that will put them into financial ruin if they can’t pay. But, the real problem might not be one that can be legislated. The real issue might be the low inventory that the Canadian countryside is experiencing.

Real estate regulation has the best of intentions to slow down the rising prices of owning a house, but they actually might be creating a worse scenario and driving prices higher. All the restrictions that have been put in place, are delaying developers in their endeavor to build new homes to house Canadians. 

How the cost of construction relates to health of the real estate market.

The ideal scenario for a healthy real estate market is that the cost of construction is nearly equal to the price of owning a home. But, what is going on in Canada is not so healthy. 

In Canada, the expense of buying a house often well exceeds the cost of construction, which is leading to a shortening supply of affordable homes. If the trend continues, then the costs to own a home in Canada are likely going to get much higher before there is any reprieve. 

In eight of the cities with the lowest housing inventory, there was an additional $230 thousand added onto the construction costs of development for every single detached home that was built from the years of 2007 to 2016. In Vancouver alone, the average price of a new home is upwards of $640 thousand, which is higher than any other area internationally.

Why prices continue to inflate.

Ontario appears to be the perfect example of what is going on and why prices continue to inflate. Most of the municipalities seek to impose tens of thousands of dollars to new development endeavors on top of the construction costs that it takes to build a new home. That puts developers in an enormous hole before they even break ground. 

There are also many spaces that are zoned for agriculture, which means that the inventory to build is highly restricted. When there is more demand and a shrinking supply, home costs explode out of control, and that is what is happening not just in Ontario, but all across Canada.

The average developer in Ontario, considering all those additional costs, is spending more than $100 thousand just for the privilege of building a new home. If the zoning costs were cut alongside the development add-ons, the price of a new house would drop substantially. Estimates are that if things eased up, the average price of a Toronto home would fall as much as $70 thousand, which is an incredible difference to what the average homeowner is facing now.

Conservation a must, but why so much of it?

There is very little debate that putting land aside for conservation is a good idea and a must to preserve the integrity of a city, its ecosystem, and to keep industry pollution away from the places where homes reside. 

But, some considerations should be made to the cost and benefit of conserving so much land and putting zoning restrictions to such a degree that it is out pricing the average homebuyer from being able to purchase a home in which to live.

For new developments in Winnipeg, the most significant costs are wastewater construction and water, but other expenditures can be cut back. Instead of making necessary cuts to make housing more realistic for Canadians, however, municipalities like Toronto are planning on hiking costs for new developments, not reducing them.

It appears that government regulation that was initially supposed to stop the rising costs of homes around Canada might be having the opposite effect. 

New zoning laws going into effect, taxes levied against would-be foreign buyers, and land that is being put aside for conservation all combined might be a recipe for disaster and the reason that housing prices for new developments continue to be outside of most people’s budgets. Perhaps the answer is not more government interference, but less. 

Is your home ready for a hurricane? You might think that if your home is built up to code and you have homeowner’s insurance, then you’re good to go. However, these fierce storms pack a twofold punch. The first is wind damage, which after it breaks windows and knocks holes in your roof can lead to rain damage inside. The second is flood damage, often from storm surge, but it can also happen to back up rivers and streams and even a broken levee. Flood damage isn’t covered by your homeowners’ insurance, and this is a disturbing fact many homeowners might not even find out until they try and file claims after something has happened.

If you live any Gulf Coast state, ranging from Texas to the west side of Florida, then you need to be prepared for an almost inevitable hurricane hit. The same is also true on the Atlantic Coast, from the Florida Keys all the way up to Maine. Even spots that seem immune to direct hits, like the Virginia Beach area or New England, can still eventually see a direct hit or just suffer the heavy rains of a passing storm or its remnants. You also certainly need to be prepared for storm flooding if you live on an island, like in Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, or Guam.

You might feel you’re safe by not being in a coastal state, or possibly being on the Pacific Coast. However, the storms that form on the Pacific side of Mexico once in a while turn right. Also, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico storms are sometimes so potent and powerful that they wreak havoc in inland states like New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The potential for flood damage from an ocean or see storm can happen in more states than not.

So, how do you get flood insurance? What does it cover? What are the limitations? Keep reading to learn answers to these questions and more.

Two abbreviations you need to know are FEMA and NFIP. The Federal Emergency Management Agency might be a government department you’re familiar with in the news, since they respond to many storms and other disasters. They also operate the National Flood Insurance Program, which offers flood insurance through industry agents and brokers. However, flood insurance isn’t actually available everywhere. You have to live in a community participating in the NFIP program, which means a municipality has agreed to both pass and then enforce specific laws regarding floodplain and storm water management.

You can learn if your location qualifies, as well as find an available agent, in one of two ways. Either visit their website at www.FloodSmart.gov or call their toll-free phone number at 1-888-379-9531.

There are maximum benefit levels for an NFIP flood insurance policy. Your property will be covered up to quarter million dollars, and you can also get another hundred thousand dollars coverage for contents. Coverage for property and contents are bought separately from one another. If you’d like more coverage than this, you’ll need to check the private insurance market for excess flood insurance. The typical NFIP flood insurance policy will run you about $700 annually.

In terms of contents coverage, the flood insurance will pay an actual cash value that it takes to replace lost or damage property. That’s not always the same as market value, so if you lose a really high-end television, you might have to shop for a cheaper one that is about the same size. Property damage coverage is more generous, especially if you insure a single-family home that you use as your primary residence. NFIP insurance typically covers 80 percent of replacement property costs, without taking depreciation into consideration.

There are many things that flood insurance won’t cover, however. The following subsections cover these limitations, so you’re not shocked at denied claims after the fact:

Water Has To Be From Outside The Home: If you have an overflowing toilet or burst pipes that create flooding, then this isn’t covered by your flood insurance. These kinds of losses are typically covered by your homeowners’ insurance though. Check with your broker or agent to see what policy covers what specifically to avoid gaps.

Landscaping And Swimming Pools: Your flood insurance won’t handle issues resulting from swimming pool issues that wind up flooding your home, even though some of that water might be technically from outside your home. You also won’t get reimbursed for flood damage that takes out or hurts your trees, flower beds, and vegetable gardens.

Business Interruption And/Or Living Expenses: If you have to stay in a hotel room until your home is safe for residence again, you won’t get reimbursed. Likewise, if you run a home business that has to stop or slow down operations for a while, your lost profits aren’t covered either.

Documents And Money: Cold hard cash and currency in your safe, along with stock certificates, bonds, and precious metals are all things that a flood might destroy, even in a safe. However, they won’t be replaced.

A Flood That Is Too Small: In order to qualify as a flood, the water that winds up resulting in damage must meet one of two criteria. It must either cover a minimum of two acres, or it must also impact at least one additional property.

Below-Ground Contents And Improvements: Finishing the walls in your basement can dramatically expand the usable square footage in your home, possibly giving you rental income from a lower-level apartment, extra storage, or even a space for your business. None of the structural improvements down there are covered. Nor is any physical property you store or use down there.

The First 30 Days: Trying to get your insurance in order with a storm bearing down on potential landfall? It’s obviously better to do all this before a storm than after, but it also might be too late for flood insurance. Most kinds of insurance apply their coverage on the very first day. However, flood insurance typically has a 30-day waiting period between the premium and coverage starting.

Flood insurance, from Procom Insurance Company-Miami Insurance Agency, will cover things homeowner’s policies won’t, but not everything. It also covers more than just hurricanes though, as you might need it for damage from non hurricane strength storms of heavy or prolonged nature, clogs in storm drainage systems, dam failures, mudslides, and even snowmelt, which is rarely an issue in hurricane-prone states.

We’ve all felt helpless in the face of an overwhelming workload. What separates truly productive people from those who just muddle through is a system — a scalable strategy — for actually getting things done on time, every time.

Real entrepreneurs use these seven strategies (and more) to do just that. Which do you use right now?

1. Clearly Define Projects

Clearly define everything you’re working on — even if you can’t quite articulate it right now.

“To unearth all of your projects, write down everything you’re currently working on and everything you want to be working on,” writes Signet Education co-founder Jay Bacrania. “Then, group that list around specific goals.”

Try this out and watch a coherent body of work emerge before your eyes. Then, get down to it.

2. Keep a Master To-Do List

Collect all your tasks and to-dos on a single list, either written by hand or saved in a neat electronic file. Break down larger items into smaller, more manageable jobs that you can do in a single sitting.

“Any task, even the most difficult imaginable, can be broken down into small, manageable tasks or issues to be resolved,” says Manitoba entrepreneur David Janeson. “I’m a big proponent of working off a master to-do list with which you can measure your progress in real time.”

Remember, nothing says “progress” like crossing a long-lingering task off a written to-do list.

3. Keep a Super-Detailed Calendar

The world runs on appointments. Make sure everyone knows yours — and set yourself up to keep them.

“Put everything on your calendar,” advises digital marketing guru Neil Patel. “Once something is on your calendar, then everyone who needs to meet with you knows that time isn’t available.”

Within your work team, use shared calendars to ensure that everyone is (literally) on the same page.

4. Sequester Your Email Time

This productivity tip is so popular — and so obvious — that it’s impossible to ascribe to a specific person. But, if you need a personified inspiration, you can look to none other than Bill Gates, who’s famous for his relentlessly disciplined approach to email management.

Rather than answer emails as they come in, set aside time at the beginning and end of the day to work through your inbox and address messages that can’t wait any longer. Use a workplace chat tool like Slack to handle more urgent communications.

5. Lock Up Your Smartphone During Peak Productivity Periods

Some entrepreneurs go so far as to get rid of their smartphones altogether. Whether such a drastic step is warranted in your case, you can surely see the utility in (literally) locking down your smartphone during crunch time. Leave it in your (locked) car or in the very back of your desk drawer until your deadline has passed and you have a minute to yourself.

6. Take Enough Time Off

You’ve heard the saying, “you have to spend money to make money.”

The same counter-intuitive logic applies to taking time off. Eventually, a workaholic lifestyle will catch up with you, and you’ll be less productive than a better-rested version of yourself.

“You might not need time off every day or every week, but you do need to take time off,” writes Patel. “If all you do is work, you’ll burn out. Fast.”

Space out vacation periods throughout the year, with longer intervals during the summer and spring break season interspersed with more frequent long weekends. If you ever feel like you’re taking too much time off, remember how much less your counterparts work in places like France and Germany, which basically shut down in August.

7. Constantly Re-Evaluate Your Routine

Optimization is inherently iterative. No matter how efficient you fancy yourself, there’s almost certainly room for improvement. Every month, re-evaluate your routine and determine what, if anything, you need to change to improve your output.

What’s Your Productivity Secret?

If your productivity secret isn’t on this list, don’t sweat it. Just as everyone works differently during “normal” periods, everyone has his or her own secret recipe for getting down to brass tacks. That said, you’ll be an office hero whenever you choose to share your own selected productivity wisdom.

David Sneider, CEO and Co-Founder at Deconet,  a commerce portal for coders, and blockchain powered marketplace for software and development joins Enterprise Radio.

Listen to host Eric Dye & guest David Sneider discuss the following:

1. What is Deconet?
2. Why did you start the company? What market need does it address?
3. Deconet is described as a marketplace. Who are the stakeholders in this marketplace, what roles do they play and how do they benefit?
4. Marketplaces often give rise to new ways of working, for example side-gigging. How do you see this trend evolving?
5. What does the future of work look like for businesses? How can they leverage the power of emerging workforces or economic actors like DAOs?
6. Deconet is a blockchain powered platform. What is the importance of blockchain to the Deconet platform?
7. For someone new to the concept of new forms of labor forces like distributed co-ops or, individual actors, what are some simple ways they can use (and benefit) from this structure?
8. If you could give a business owner one piece of advice about how they can keep up with the future of work and the rise of decentralized marketplaces, what would that be?

David Sneider is the  CEO and Co-Founder of Deconet, a commerce platform for coding and blockchain-powered marketplace for software and development. David is a serial entrepreneur and also founded successful companies including Sendbloom.  David’s interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain is rooted in the ability to create new types of positive sum games. He brings his operational expertise and a deep understanding of customer needs and motivations to the Deconet team. He’s committed to reaching out, asking smart questions, and really getting to the heart of user’s problems.

In this podcast, David discusses the concept of new types of organizations, economic actors and labor classes that are emerging thanks to the rise of decentralized marketplaces. He also looks at how this new wave of value creators will impact current organizations and how businesses can leverage this trend to their advantage.

Website: https://deco.network

Other Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Deco_Network
Telegram: https://t.me/deco_network

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