Business Tech

As a business owner, you are very careful when it comes to hiring people to work for your company. You want to ensure that they are the perfect fit and that they have the specific skills you are looking for. Your business depends significantly on the people you hire, which is why you keep your eyes open for the best you can employ. Once you have come up with your dream team, you will naturally want to retain them for as long as possible.

One of the things you need to be looking for is loyalty, which can only be achieved if you give your employees all the reasons to continue working with you. There are several ways of keeping your employees content, and as an employer, you should utilise these ways. Successful business owners have methods of displaying appreciation, which is something that employees look for. One practical way is planning an office party to celebrate excellent work, along with a funfair stall for hire to complete the party atmosphere. Apart from this, there are other ways to retain the services of your employees.

Entrust them with responsibility

Micromanaging is a common practice of business owners who want to make sure that every task needed for the business is accomplished precisely the way they want it. This is understandable, but it also makes an employee feel like they are not trusted enough. The reason you hire people is to make them work on specific areas of your business where you feel they excel. An employee will appreciate being given the responsibility and trusting that it will be done accordingly. It goes without saying that you must also be there to help when needed.

Give them respect

Employees are just like anyone else who cannot be happy in a place where they are disrespected. Treating your employees with respect shows that you recognise their talents and hard work. If there is any need to speak to them about certain issues concerning their work, it is best done in privacy to avoid embarrassment. The manner of communication should be one that is professional and by no means degrading. Respect also means listening to explanations and whatever else they need to express. It is always best to keep in mind that there could be reasons behind any issue.

Allow them time to relax

Employees also need to have some time to relax. While you expect them always to provide their best performance, certain circumstances may call for a bit of time out. Breaks in between working hours are necessary so that employees can take a breather and have the chance to recharge and perform even better. No matter how efficient anyone can be, there is a point where things can get overwhelming, and productivity can suffer. It is also good to provide them with enough time to recover from illnesses or to take vacations.

An employee who knows that their employer cares about them and their well-being will always think twice about leaving. A higher salary offered by another company may not even be enough to entice them when they are content with where they are.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Business Tech category

Sometimes situations arise where the HR department needs help in solving issues to make sure there aren’t any legal problems down the line. But what are the situations that should be handled by an employment lawyer?

We’ll walk you through five situations when you should hire an employment lawyer to sort out a business issue below.

1. Call An Employment Lawyer For Terminations

Not all employee dismissals are clear cut cases. Some are very murky and need an expert eye to make sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed.

A wrongful dismissal case can spell disaster for a company by tieing up time in courts and dishing out payouts. Making sure your dismissal is airtight is something an employment lawyer can help you oversee.

2. Contract Reviews

When an employee requests a contract review, some instances may be an easy thing to take care of by your HR department. But bigger issues like negotiating terms and conditions should warrant a call to employment lawyers and business lawyers.

The employment contract is the legal bond between an employer and employee so making sure that there isn’t any confusion or omittance in the wordings can be the difference between a great mutual contract, and a legal disaster.

Employment lawyers will also make sure that any statute and legal references in the employment agreements are up to date and current to make sure sections are always valid.

3. Workplace Harassment

These days workplace harassment is not taken very lightly. In more cases depending on the severity, an employee can be fired for harassment claims.

In these cases, an employment attorney will be able to walk you through calculating severance packages, compensations filings, and whether or not the harassment claim meets the threshold for termination.

4. Legally Filed Complaints

Often times courts will refuse to interact with or hear from a business regarding filed claims unless they have legal representation. Before these issues even hit the courts, it’s best to get an employment and business lawyer on hand immediately.

The lawyers will be able to assess the complaint and determine the best course of action for your business and can potentially save you costly court fees by discussing settling out of court.

5. Negotiating & Providing Settlements & Severances

Any payment that a business makes outside of regular norms can be scrutinized legally on a level of fairness on the basis of quite a few criteria.

Terminating long-term employees without cause factors in employees’ age, job type, and marketability of their skills in getting a new job. This will determine how much more you may be on the hook for in paying employees for settlements and severances.

Additionally, if you want them to sign a release agreement, you will need to ‘sweeten the deal’ for them to do so.

The Necessity of Employment Lawyers

Employment lawyers have a unique set of skills and knowledge in the legal area of business and employee dealings that your HR department may not have. When it comes to any legal matters its always best to consult a lawyer for advice.

Like what you’ve read? Be sure to check out the rest of our site for more informative content for you and your business!

One of the latest and greatest from the Adobe Creative Cloud community is Spark. It’s a helpful tool for anyone looking to create better social media graphics.

While editing photos in Spark, you might need to flip an image to make sure it’s oriented in your graphics layout correctly. Here’s a quick guide on how to flip an image using Adobe Spark.

Getting Started with Adobe Spark

Graphic designers default to apps like Photoshop and Illustrator where they can quickly make changes to images that result in print-ready masterpieces. But Adobe Spark is comparable in its ability to create market-ready graphics for your audience.

There’s a bit of a learning curve since the interface is set up for social media and web page design, but it’s simple once you get started. Change the orientation of images easily using the main graphics toolbar.

Note that once you flip an image in Adobe Spark it won’t change its original file. You’ll have to use editing software like Photoshop if you want the original image permanently changed.

In Adobe Spark, you can Flip Your Images but need to ‘Save As’ to maintain the image’s new orientation.

How to Flip an Image

The first step to flip an image using Adobe Spark is to upload your image to Spark Post. This is the area you use to create new graphic content in Spark.

The photo opens on the right-hand side of the viewing window. You’ll notice three separate tools in the left-hand toolbar.

Scale, Rotate, and Flip. The Scale feature appears first with a sliding toolbar next to it.

This is the tool you use to make your image larger and smaller. Slide it from left to right to watch your image grow or shrink in size.

The second option below Scale is Rotate. Again, the sliding bar allows you to spin the image around on a y-axis. This feature is helpful for times when you need to correct the horizon or change the eye line of your subject.

The Rotate feature works well with the Flip function. Flip always changes the orientation of everything in the photo. It helps you use templates better since you can control where the weight of the photo is located.

For example, if your photo is composed using a golden ratio, the subject is located in the lower third of the image. You can swap the subject to the opposite end of the photo so that text or a logo can appear with ease.

To flip an image, click the double triangle icon. There’s an option to flip horizontally or flip vertically depending on where you need your subject to end up in the frame.

Adjust the rotation is the balance photo is thrown off by making the image flip.

Editing Software Like Photoshop

Adobe Spark doesn’t get nearly enough credit. It’s a fantastic tool for marketers and entrepreneurs to quickly create content without an extensive background in graphic design.

Think of it as the iMovie of graphic design. You can flip an image using a few plug-and-play options without the need for long tutorials to help you get started.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Business Tech category

Most people have a lot of queries regarding the sales tax and the queries are not really one time problems. Most of the small business owners come up with such questions again and again and quite very often. Here, is a one-time solution, you can look for the best questions as of now and know their answers. Today, here I will give you some of the solutions which will be helpful for you majorly in your whole career of sales tax filing.

Saving More Time

Keep all your information in one file, when you have everything ready in one place then you will be able to save more time. Time is money, as they say, filing sales tax anyways consumes a lot of money so if you manage to save some time by keeping all documents in a single file then it will help you to use your time even more efficiently. Things that you can do beforehand keep it up to date such as,

• Sales tax rates,
• Appropriate Taxability Status
• Collection on Due Dates
• Put all Sales Tax related questions in one place

Stay Organised

Now no longer you find any table stacked with sales tax files, it is just one paper that you need to keep ready and handy so that whenever you need it, you get in along. When you have a better tax solution, you will have everything organized and handy, this will alos save some time and some money.

Lower Your Risks

You must have the ability to identify a problem before it arrives and solve a problem before it actually becomes a problem. All the updated information must remain up to date in your file. Find out the kind of risks that you might face and then solve the risks even before they become a risk to you.

How to Plan a Sales Tax Filing?

There re no such specific ways, but there are some ways in which you can try to organize your work which will make your work easier.

Choose the Correct Platform

These are some of the things that you must work on if you wish to maintain your sales tax filing very easily. Most states initially send preprinted tax returns to taxpayers unless the taxpayer has registered for e-file status. These are solely determined by the state where the company has been established. If you have any questions in mind regarding the types of business or the kind of form that should be filled, then you can contact the state to confirm.

Entering the Data

Sales tax reporting are tough unless you do them all by yourself, it will be your decision to determine what to include in the filing and what not. If someone represents the sales of your company then you should have an open chat and discuss how things are happening and where do you need to take an extra edge. Be very careful while entering the data in the system because the misplace of one number or one data can cost you enough.

File the Return

Last but the most important step is to make the file and conclude it properly. Paper filing is fine who have a very small business and a very small amount of sales tax to be filed. When when we talk of the giant fishes, it becomes not very normal to file on paper. In such cases, you do need a soft copy and some more paper to keep as proof of hard copy.

Conclusion

These are the basic information that you need to keep in mind while filing the tax, but apart from that, you can also check the sales tax filing rules of the state where you are eligible. The sales tax varies from state to state hence check which state are you eligible for.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Business Tech category

I am often inspired by those around me and one person who has certainly been an inspiring future to me since I launched my business is the highly successful CEO Fred Brisker. Fred has worked in a number of businesses and he is widely seen as a fixer, someone who can come in and turn a company’s fortunes around. Fred is someone who I have always kept an eye on because he was actually born not too far from me, and that is why I have tried to become inspired by people like him.

To me there is something about being inspired by someone who you ‘know’ rather than someone who appears untouchable like a Warren Buffett or a Bill Gates, and here is how Fred got to where he is.

Relationships

Worked for Fred very briefly when I was younger and he was always ready to offer some sage advice to those who would listen, and I can always remember him telling me about the importance of relationships in business, something which I try to remember myself. The idea is that the more friendships and positive relationships which you have in business, the better you will be, even if they are your competition. This has served Fred very well throughout his career.

Basics

Everyone who I have ever ran into who has worked alongside Fred has told me about how simple his method of working is and how this is what helps him to rescue so many companies. The reasons why so many companies go wrong is because they forget the basics of business and sales, simple principles which if remembered, will form the core of the company.Some businesses however will forget this and that is where they have difficulty. Fred is someone who has these beliefs and basic values ingrained in him and that is why he has gained such a great reputation for helping companies out. His business principles can be clearly seen when you think of the range of sectors which he has worked in, it doesn’t matter if they sell cars, buildings or school books, he can use his principles to help out.

Hard Work

Something else which you will often hear about Fred is that he has a work ethic which is unshakable and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is a large part of the reason that he is where he is. We talk about this a lot in business, the need to work hard, but the reality is that so few do and they expect to find success without first putting the effort in. Fred is proof of the fact that if you are prepared to put the hard yards in, then success is more likely to come your way.

Fred has taken tough decisions, for good or bad, he has worked hard and that is how he has managed to get to the very top.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Business Tech category

Every business, no matter the size, needs to have a well-structured background in order to make sure all business processes go as smoothly as possible. Since we live in an informational era, humans are not capable of keeping track of everything that is going on in the company.

That is where the personalized business software comes in. It can improve the way you run your business and also make it much more efficient. Today, we will highlight some of the benefits that can come from well-structured business software for your business.

Customer management

The world is evolving, and there are different things that matter now compared to a decade ago. For instance, customer management, or gathering data from the people that are interested in your business is more important than ever.

Remember, the value of data surpassed the value of oil and became the most valuable resource on the planet. You don’t need software to gather information from people, and the job can be done using your social media or website. However, all the gathered data will be worthless if you don’t know how to read it.

Fortunately, there is specialized business software that will allow you to analyze your data, which will help you in the decision making process.

Tracking

One of the best ways to improve your business is to boost productivity in your company. As in any organization, not all employees are giving 100% all the time. That is where the productivity tracking software comes in.

This software will allow you to track your employee productivity levels throughout the day and find a way to improve them. Additionally, it gives you the capability to hire people who are in a different part of the world. That way, you will have a much wider work-talent to choose from.

Some might argue that the time-tracking software is too much, but it is an excellent tool for mapping employee’s work throughout the day. It is all for a good cause, so no harm will be done.

Finances

We come to a sensitive part where even the smallest mistake can cause big problems in your company. That is why every company needs well-structured software that is capable of managing all finances.

Your job is to find the software that meets your requirements. There are many different extensions or apps that you can use for online payment and invoice maker just to make your accountant’s job much easier.

Your software must be capable of generating a financial overview as an analytic tool just to have a better understanding of where your business is going.

Bill of Materials

Just to avoid turning everything into chaos, you need to install software that is capable of tracking your manufacturing process and every product’s journey. If you are manufacturing, you need to pay close attention to all the parts and costs that go into the finished product. It is the only way to apply a good margin on all of your products and come out profitable.

How to Choose the Right Software

Choosing the right software for your business is a process that requires highlighting all the things you need. First of all, you need to add all the parameters that are important for your business and niche.

Bear in mind that the software might not be upgradable with additional apps, which is why you need to pay close attention before choosing your software.

Research is crucial. There are thousands of software available for businesses, and finding the right one is entirely based on your research. You should ask people’s opinions just like you research for NBA betting advice on BetAmerica.com or find online reviews for some of the best travel experiences on Tripadvisor.

Choosing software can determine your business success. All business procedures need to be aligned in order to make all processes run smoothly. Remember, after installing your latest software, and you need to go through in-depth education for every employee in your company. It is the only way to make you use the software’s full capacity.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Business Tech category

If you’re curious about learning a few smart business strategies that brands have implemented in order to thrive during the Coronavirus pandemic, simply continue reading. As you’ll get to learn about how BooHoo, Cote Brasserie and SkyBet experienced growth, despite the recent pandemic.

The story of brands that have survived pandemics:

SkyBet:

You may be surprised to learn that SkyBet has grown from strength to strength, even during the recent international Coronavirus pandemic. Although, SkyBet is a sports betting business and most sports where temporarily put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SkyBet has flourished due to its wise business decisions during the pandemic.

How did SkyBet plan for a resurgence? Firstly, SkyBet started to work on smart campaigns to promote their under forming markets. Secondly, SkyBet captured their target audience’s attention by offering live polling and new content. As a result as some sports have started up again, SkyBet’s profits have skyrocketed. As an example, SkyBet has broken their record for bets on the German professional soccer league the Bundesliga.

Businesses who want to flourish during pandemics, should follow SkyBet’s lead and should use pandemics in order to prepare for the future and to come up with new marketing strategies and products, to engage their target audience. As pandemics actually offer businesses an opportunity to rethink their business strategies.

BooHoo:

BooHoo which is an online fashion retailer, which is based in the UK but ships worldwide managed to successfully drive traffic to their website, by changing their marketing campaigns. While BooHoo typically features ad campaigns which focus on selling party wear, during the recent coronavirus pandemic, BooHoo started marketing home wear options. Such as comfortable track pants, hoodies, leggings and oversized t-shirts.

As BooHoo’s marketing team realized that their target audience would be more likely to spend money on lounge wear and active wear, during their lockdowns, then party gear. BooHoo also wisely chose to create ads which featured their pyjama range as individuals also brought more pyjama sets during the Coronavirus lockdown, then ever.

Businesses who want to increase their sales during pandemics, should consider following BooHoo’s lead and should look at new products to market to their target audience. As audiences preferences and wants, change drastically during pandemics.

Cote Brasserie:

Cote Brasserie is a French cuisine chain. While some of Cote Brasserie’s main competitors were placed under receivership during the Coronavirus lockdown, Cote Brasserie was quick to adapt to the changing economic climate and thrived throughout the lockdown.

Cote Brasserie launched an online menu and used geo location based ads to target individuals who lived in their delivery range. Cote Brasserie’s new online menu Cote at Home offers a wide range of chilled meats, bistro meals, and desserts. As well as a large wine selection. As Cote Brasserie knew that individuals would be keen to order in, during the lockdown. Especially as individuals would no longer be able to enjoy meals out.

So if you’re interested in picking up handy business techniques that will help any business thrive during a future pandemic, hopefully you learned from the stories of the 3 international companies which are listed above!

To read more on topics like this, check out the Business Tech category

There is a common saying in business that if you do not innovate you will die, that is what has happened to many huge leaders in the retail sector and it continues to happen through the business world. This is certainly not the case with Jeff Bezos and Amazon who continuously push forward to provide solutions for business such as Amazon EDI, solutions for consumers and solutions for young businesses with the Amazon FBA service.

Amazon have, and continue to keep on pushing the envelope as to what is possible in business and they, much like many of the modern tech companies, have become leading lights as to what is possible in a revolutionary new world, where almost everything is based on tech.

Beginnings

There are a great many people around the world who absolutely recognize what Amazon are and have done, but there are even more who may not remember that this was a company which began as a book store. Amazon eventually began to branch out into e-readers like the Kindle, which it continuously upgraded, they jumped into the tablet market with the Fire, the streaming market with the Fire stick and then Amazon Prime, and they of course turned that book store into the world’s biggest online marketplace, To now see the company branching out into the likes of electronic data interchange and the Fulfillment By Amazon branch, we can see that there is really no end to the company’s talents, or ambitions.

Future

When some companies or individuals talk about future plans, more often than not you take it with a pinch of salt, when the likes of Google, Amazon or SpaceX however discuss future plans, it is highly likely that they are going to happen. Amazon are set to completely renovate the world in which we know it and they have already begun to discuss ideas such as staffless stores, drone drop deliveries, food delivery service, home robots and possibly their wildest dream will be to enter the healthcare market and use AI for solutions in the medical world. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that Bezos and the Amazon team will not be able to come good on what they are planning.

Big Year

Many of the plans which Amazon will have had on the burner may be set back as a result of the events of 2020, but whilst that may have created some delay, their online marketplace has seen more sales than ever before and there is absolutely no doubting the fact that Amazon are the year’s winners in terms of how much money they have made, and will continue to make. As more businesses face troubles, the likes of Amazon may be ready to swoop in and continue to grow their kingdom.

This is the perfect example of how to take a business and make it multi-channel, and highly successful, this is what innovation looks like.

 

If you are in the need of some corporate housing then the smartest way would be to identify the best corporate housing companies in the area and then contacting them to see what properties they have on hand. There is a certain level of expectation which you should have when you are seeking out these businesses and the properties which they have available and today we are going to take a look into exactly what those expectations should be. No matter if you are planning to stay for 3 months or 6, you need to ensure that the place where you stay is comfortable, safe, and which meets your requirements.

Management

When you are renting somewhere like this long term you don’t need someone there all the time to make sure that you are doing alright but it is necessary to have some level of support for anything that you need. This is why you need to ensure that whoever you stay, there is a point of contact who you can speak to should anything go wrong or should you need some support.

Location

The idea of the cooperate housing is that it is somewhere that you can both work from and enjoy a comfortable life away from work. This is why it makes sense to find a corporate housing company which has a range of locations for you to look at, which will be able to offer you the chance to get to work easily, but also enjoy some fun in the new location in which you are staying. There are some corporate housing which is just too close to business parks or airports, and far away from the vibrancy of that destination.

Flexibility

It is not unfair to expect a little bit of flexibility from the place where you are staying around your own requirements. For example you may wish to bring your pet along with you, you may need to stay longer or for less time and you may also need additional requirements such as bring friends and family. All of these requirements are easy to offer which is why a corporate housing company should be flexible when you request things like it.

Reviews

Before you decide to use any corporate housing company you must ensure that they have a great reputation. You can easily find out what others have said about the company which you are looking into through online reviews and testimonials, and you will be able to use this to spot any signs that the company may not be as great as they say. Remember that reviews are not just abut finding the negatives, it is also about finding companies which are amazing and when you see what others have written about them, it will be a great tool to help you decide whether or not you should use them.

Investigate well now in order to ensure that your long term stay is every bit as comfortable as it should be.

 

Gone are the days when digital marketing could work without involving social media. Today, authenticity and organic engagement can drive more engagement with your business than big ad campaigns. Enter the influencer.

Influencers are people who hold a certain amount of authority within their niche. For example, a fashion influencer has a reputation within the fashion world while a food influencer has built their foundation in the world of food or restaurants.

Depending on what kind of business you own, approaching an influencer to help you promote your business can be an effective way to increase your consumer base and audience quickly.

Who is an influencer and how do you get in touch with them?

An influencer is anyone who has a substantial following and influence on the internet. As long as a person has a strong presence on social media – like a large number of followers, people who listen to them and buy the products they endorse, and quality content that brings in more followers – they can be considered an influencer.

Not everyone who has a following on social media is an influencer. While a person can have a certain number of followers on social media, an influencer’s account is designed to reach new audiences while a standard account may not be. So while a person can have 2000 people they know who follow them on Instagram, an emerging influencer could have that same number but be capable of getting those people to buy the products you want to sell.

Influencers hold authority and can sometimes be considered brands in and of themselves. These are also people with whom audiences interact and are more likely to listen to, should they choose to promote you.

You can get in touch with an influencer by :

• Contacting them on social media if they have a smaller number of followers (typically fewer than 5000).
• Bigger influencers will usually provide a link on their social media which businesses can use to approach them for endorsements.

Influencer marketing is not free. Most businesses provide the influencers they hire either with money or with products from their line. Some influencers may also tell you how much they will charge to market your product to their followers.

How do you incorporate influencer marketing into your business plan?

An influencer marketing plan is important if you choose to go this route. While influencer marketing can be lucrative, you need to measure your return on investment and how likely an influencer is to bring you traction before you approach them.

Before you decide on who you want to approach, you need to go through certain steps that will help you in the long run:

1. Know your audience: If you do not know and understand the people you are trying to market your products to, they will not likely resonate with you. Marketing today is about developing loyalty by building authentic conversations and engagements. The more you know about your customers, the better you will be at engaging them.
2. Build a business plan: Your influencer marketing plan should be a core part of your company’s overall business plan. The reason behind this is that influencer marketing is one of the biggest ways to increase engagements and sell products today. For instance, in creating a gym business plan, think about local and national celebrities or fitness gurus that could help market your business.
3. Approach the right influencer: Not only should the influencer you select fall within your budget, they should also fall within your niche. For a small business looking to expand locally, a local influencer would help you gain better traction than a national one. The better you understand your audience, the better you will understand who and what influences them.
4. Create good content: Content marketing is key to influencers. Sometimes you will have to deliver the content to the influencer yourself, while at other times the influencer might make the content themselves. Someone who posts a review video on YouTube is an example of an influencer who creates their own content, while someone who shares your YouTube video brings you traction on the basis of the quality of your content. If you are going to approach an influencer who makes their own content, you should check out their previous content to make sure their quality standards match what your brand needs.
5. Keep an eye on trends: The influencer you choose will also depend on who is more popular at the time you are choosing to begin your influencer marketing campaign. Someone who has less relevance in recent years will not give you a great return on investment. By keeping up to date with trends, you will know what people are being influenced by and can approach the right person to market your business.

After you have initiated your influencer marketing campaign, remember to keep checking on how much traction your marketing strategy has brought you. An easy way to do this is to make a hashtag specifically for the campaign in tandem with your influencer and track that hashtag to see how well your influencer marketing strategy is developing.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Business Tech category.