Running A Business With Your Partner - #career #careeradvice

If you are thinking about starting up a business with your partner, this is one of those situations that you really need to approach sensitively and carefully. After all, you don’t want to end up in a place where it is affecting your relationship, and a lot of people have made this error in the past, so it could happen to you. In this post, we are going to take a look at some of the common pitfalls around running a business with your partner that you might want to be aware of, and what you might do about them.

Getting On Board With The Idea

First of all, you need to make sure that you are both on board with the idea that you are going for in the business. If you are not, then it could spell disaster before you have even begun. For instance, are you both happy with the product you will be selling? Always be upfront. Before you begin to accept payments for hemp products, for example, make sure that your partner is happy with that too. This is something that you need to keep checking in about at all times, just to make sure.

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Being Open About Money

Of course, you should never hide anything from one another at all, and that is certainly especially important when it comes to the finances involved in the business. If you are ever tempted to hide something financial from your partner, it’s likely that this is going to end up in a poor way, so that is something that you should bear in mind from the start. Make sure that you are as open as possible, and that you both keep records together, so that there is no room for anything hidden.

Working Together Well

Some couples work together better than others, and it is something that you will soon discover for yourself whether or not you two are going to work well together. It’s something that is going to be hugely important for the future success of the business, so you should make sure that you’re making an active step to work together as positively and proactively as you possibly can. As long as you do that, you’ll find that running the business with your partner is a much easier and simpler thing, and much more enjoyable as well, which is just as important.

Planning Together

Whenever you are making future plans, it’s vital that you are planning together as well as you can too. If you find yourself planning without them, or vice versa, then it can very quickly mean that you are not going to be able to work together, or that the business is going to fall apart. It’s vital that you are planning everything as a team. Make sure to commit to that ideal at the start – that way, you are much more likely to make it stick, and you’ll find that it makes all the difference in the world.

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Running A Business With Your Partner - #career #careeradvice
4 Ways To Become Your Own Boss - #career #careeradvice

Many people talk about being their own boss and how great it can be. There are definitely some clear advantages to this way of life: being able to choose your own hours, deciding when you want holiday and just taking it, and not having to answer to anyone else, just to name a few. There are also downsides of course (holiday pay, anyone?) but overall it’s a good way to work. So how can you get a slice of this lifestyle for yourself? Here are some of the best ways in which you can become your own boss this coming year.

Consulting

This one is a great option for anyone who has a huge amount of experience in a particular field, and wants to be able to make use of that in helping other people and businesses to succeed. Consulting often gives you the chance to charge a fairly high price per hour rate, so it can be quite a lucrative way to earn a living. What’s more, you are going to enjoy the feeling of having people come to you for help, and there is something very satisfying about this job most would enjoy.

Creative Work

There are so many jobs you can do in the creative arts, and this is actually an industry that is looking to strengthen right now. Whatever it is that you might have as an ability, being able to make the most of it is something you can do to really provide a great job for yourself – and in a way where you are always going to be your own boss in every sense of the word. Creative work can be hard to get up and running, however, so be ready for a long, hard process to be able to make a living from it.

Crafts & Skills

Perhaps you have a particular craft or skill that you are keen to make a living out of? This is another great way to develop this kind of self-led lifestyle. It is perfectly possible to do this as long as you know how best to approach it. Let’s say that you have a particular knack for baking bread. You could offer short-term bakery courses to people, set up your own bakery, or simply sell your bread at the local market. It’s up to you how you do it, but making money from your skills is always doable.

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Open A Franchise

Franchises are a great in-between and best of both worlds scenario where you can run your own business, but you don’t have to put the work in of starting the business in the first place. If you open your own franchise, you are going to find that this can really be a very rewarding way to work, so that is something that you might want to bear in mind if you have not thought about it already. It could be that this is the single best way to become your own boss in the coming year.

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4 Ways To Become Your Own Boss - #career #careeradvice
5 Obstacles You Should Be Ready To Overcome In Business (and How) - #career #careeradvice

When starting a business, you need to build a mindset that focuses on the positives. Nonetheless, expecting things to run smoothly without a single bump in the road would be very naive. It is almost certain that some obstacles will surface. Knowing how to stop them detailing your progress is vital.

The list of potential obstacles is virtually endless. Some of the most common are listed below.

1- Financial Shortfalls

A large percentage of businesses failed even before the pandemic. However, the odds are truly stacked against companies in this era. Even experienced companies have faced financial shortcomings due to reduced revenue. Now is the time to bounce back. Business loans may be required to make this happen. Keeping a tight grip on your finances at all times will allow you to form calculated decisions time and time again. Accounting software is a pivotal asset that will provide transparency.

Stop wasting money and you will feel far more confident too.

2- Staff Absences 

As a business owner, it doesn’t take long to appreciate the importance of employees. They are the driving force behind every company. Unfortunately, absences can cause major problems, not least for your bottom line. Travel nurse staffing agents can help medical firms overcome this problem. Maintaining the best patient care is the only solution for care teams. Companies from other industries must also take staffing seriously as it could impact your ability to serve customers. 

Once you lose their loyalty, they may never return.

3- Power Outages

Unplanned downtime costs businesses huge sums of money. Therefore, taking the necessary precautions to prevent them is vital. You can’t affect the grid, but knowing that your circuit boards are in good health will make a difference. This can stop tripped wires and related issues. Furthermore, you can prepare for outages by having backup generators. Thanks to modern tech like 5G tech and backup power supplies, the switch during a power outage is automated and instant.

Aside from preventing downtime, it can protect valuable assets.

4- Standing Out

A great business model is nothing without customers. As such, branding and marketing should be considered a priority. Nobody knows the business quite like you. Nonetheless, hiring outsourced marketing teams is often a smart move. They can view your company like a customer would. This helps them spot USPs and find ways to engage potential clients. Social influencers are another great solution. When supported by testimonials and a strong web presence, you won’t go wrong.

Once you win a client, be sure that your service keeps them coming back.

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5- Outside Attacks

Attacks on your business could take many forms. In today’s climate, most companies worry primarily about cyberattacks. Likewise, you may have planned carefully to prevent break-ins. In reality, intellectual theft may be the biggest danger of all. Prevention is the best form of protection, which is why non-disclosure agreements are key. It is also highly advised that you take out the right copyright documents to protect your concepts and products. Nobody but you should benefit from them.

Running a company is tough, but these steps will give you a serious boost.

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5 Obstacles You Should Be Ready To Overcome In Business (and How) - #career #careeradvice

Some people just seem destined to work as a personal trainer. They’ve been working on their own fitness for more years than they can remember; they’ve got their qualifications; and they have a true desire to help people become the best version of themselves. However, while these things will provide you with a solid platform upon which to develop a personal trainer business, it’s not as if these traits will do everything. In this blog, we’re going to take a look at a few tried and tested methods for growing and developing your business.

Find Your Niche

We talk about ‘personal trainers,’ but really, that probably doesn’t do the scope of the profession all that much justice. There are many different fields based on that career. For example, you could help people gain as much muscle as possible, or you might help them lose weight. Your clients can be more focused, too. You might want to help right at the beginning of their journey, or pro athletes who are looking to squeeze that little bit more from their performance. Alternatively, you might focus on working with people who have one sort of issue or another, such as a disability. It’s all about thinking about what you really want to do and then building your business around that niche.

Your Online Presence

The internet will be one of the best tools that you have when it comes to developing your business. You’ll want to ensure that you have a reputable website and that you’re actively managing your social media channels. Your website doesn’t have to be advanced, it’s just about keeping things professional and giving people the information they need, such as your services and contact information. Your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages will be a little different. There you should offer tips and other pieces of information that’ll help to establish your expertise and bring people on board.

Word of Mouth and Testimonials

While there’s plenty that you can do to bring people on board, perhaps your best marketing asset will be your existing clients. People always trust the word of people that they personally know more than they do the voice of the company. When you’re still developing your business, you can encourage your happy clients to tell their friends and family about your services; you’ll find that many of your new clients come to you via this method. You’ll also want to get written testimonials from your clients, which you can then showcase on your website. 

Get the Right Systems

Personal training has come a long way in recent years. This is mostly because so many people are taking a more active hand in their physical condition, so there’s a bigger market. While it’s fine to offer the basics of the profession, you’ll find that you will have more success if you dive a little deeper and offer your clients something truly special. To do this, you’ll need to have the right systems to help you. The best online personal training software will allow you to provide workout templates, host videos that show how to do workouts correctly, and track your client’s progress, among other features. All of this will allow you to offer a more detailed and sophisticated level of service to your clients. 

Keep on Learning

You’ll have a lot of useful knowledge that allows you to do your job extremely well. But it’s not as if you should just sit back and rest on your laurels. There are always new fitness approaches and techniques coming out, as well as new tools that help people to achieve their goals. If you’re going to be the best personal trainer that you can be, then it’s important that you carry on learning and progressing. This will ensure that you don’t fall behind the times; remember, competition for clients is tough, so it’s important to show that you’re always at the top of the game.

Go Above and Beyond 

Ultimately, you’ll get out of your personal training business what you put in. It’s important to keep in mind that your business exists for the benefit of your clients, so it’s all about making them happy. Remember that doing this doesn’t just mean providing the cold, hard facts about personal training. It’s about showing that you care. One of the best soft skills that a personal trainer can have is interpersonal skills, which will allow you to connect with your clients on a deeper level, and ensure they feel comfortable with you. 

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How to Grow and Develop Your Personal Trainer Business

One of the biggest mistakes people make when going into business is not really knowing how to start or run a business. Many people seem to think the process is quite straightforward, which is often their biggest downfall.

It is imperative that you know that most new businesses will never make it through the one year mark. While this may seem like fear-mongering, it’s important that you know the facts so you can avoid making big mistakes.

Two things that new business owners often overlook is contracts and health and safety concerns. 

The Contracts

When it comes to starting a business, there will eventually come a time when you need to employ a few people. Now, whether these people are family, friends, or strangers, there is one thing you need to do and do right, that’s the contracts.

One of the most basic errors employers make in the early days is giving shoddy contracts to employees, and a lot of the time, this can backfire on the business. You need to remember that a contract is there to protect the employer most of all, so get it right.

You should be turning to a professional to draw up your contracts and have them checked by a legal body before handing them out. Getting this right will protect you and your business as time goes on, so while it’s basic, it is essential.

Health and Safety

The second thing we are going to be looking at is health and safety. It seems that it matters not how much importance is placed on it, it’s still something that goes ignored. 

If you want the best for your business, you should be employing somebody to run the health and safety of your business. Having somebody that will either file an injury report for injured members of staff or make sure all risk assessments are carried out could save your business from a lot of hassle.

You need to remember that health and safety is there to protect your team and your business, so ignoring it should never really be an option.

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SWe live in a world where there is a product for everything imaginable. And yet, although we think that someone has thought of everyone, every year more and more products hit the shelves of stores all around the world. There seems to be an ever-growing demand for products that meet a demand that has not yet been imagined. 

If you have the creativity and foresight to come up with a great idea that you know people will want, then you should be a product designer. If you hit on the right idea and find the right route to market, your product design could earn you a serious amount of money. 

Turning Your Dreams into a Reality

If you have a great product idea floating around in your head, you will need to get it out before you do anything else. This will mean creating drawings that will help you to find investors and may also be used by manufacturers to create the item. The more detailed these are the better, and if you the technical information you can include in your initial designs, this may be of great help. 

If you are not a natural artist, be sure and use the skills of someone who is. Having a well-drawn example of your product could make the difference between success and rejection. 

Registering Your Intellectual Property

Before you do anything else, you should register the designs that you have created. At any point in the future you may find that someone else has stolen all or part of your product concept. If it is quite clearly based on your design, then you may have a strong case against them. You should ensure that you list all patents, and copyrights as soon as possible. If you need support, hire an intellectual property consulting firm to ensure that you have the fullest of protection surrounding your product. 

Pitching Your Products

Once you have some designs it is time to go off to various companies and try to get them to invest in your product. Pick companies that you believe your product will suit well. Create a professional pitch which uses powerpoint in order to give a full impression of the product that you are offering. Make sure that you get all of the unique selling points out there into your pitch. 

A company may choose to take the design, or they make want both you and the product. 

Getting Your Products Manufactured 

If you don’t get your product bought by another company, you could think about having the item made in for you by a manufacturing company. Once a factory is set up correctly, they will be able to handle the designs that you have made. From this, you can sell your products to a number of suppliers, or you could open up your own online store to sell them. Becoming an independent product designer could be the change in life that you are looking for right now. 

Please meet guest blogger Rae Steinbeck, freelance writer for Funding Circle. In this article, Rae shows us tips for business loans.

Rae is a graduate of Tufts University with a combined International Relations and Chinese degree. After spending time living and working abroad in China, she returned to NYC to pursue her career and continue curating quality content. Rae is passionate about travel, food, and writing. 

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It’s a great feeling getting approved for your first business loan. With the money now available, you are eager to move forward with plans to grow your business.

While it is true that you can now further develop your business plans, you should take note that the manner in which you handle this first business loan can significantly impact the financial future of your company.

With your first loan being crucial to the success of your company, you should take some time to make sure you handle it appropriately. If you handle the loan well, it can open up more financing options in the future and even lower the cost of borrowing the next time you need a loan.

To help new business owners start their borrowing record off on the right foot, the following are five things you should do after receiving your first loan.

Schedule Your Loan Payments

With financing approved, the first thing you should do is make plans to ensure you make your payments on time. Late or missed payments can damage your credit record while also increasing the cost of borrowing in the future. It could also come with penalties that will increase the cost of maintaining the existing loan.

By setting a schedule for loan payments and accounting for it in your monthly budget now, you can take steps to prevent the consequences that come with being late on a loan payment. You could even consider setting up automatic payments from your business bank account to make the process easier.

Watch Your Credit Score

As you probably learned through the process of acquiring this first loan, your business credit score plays an important role in determining which financing options will be available and the interest you will have to pay on your loan. Since your first business loan is going to have an impact on your credit score, it makes sense to keep an eye on this number. Wait until you have made a few payments and then start checking your business credit score with some of the major agencies.

Consider Prepayment Options

You should be aware of any prepayment options that come with your loan. In some cases, the lender might let you make a lump sum payment on the anniversary of the loan or they might allow for extra payments at specific times.

If you can prepay on some of the principal, it could save you a considerable amount of money on the loan. Just be aware that some lenders charge penalties for early payments. Check your loan documents to see what prepayment options are available and plan to take advantage of them if you can.

Think About Refinancing

If you plan ahead and make your payments on time, it might open up opportunities to refinance your loan for a lower interest rate or for a longer term. The actual refinancing would come later, but it is good to plan for the possibility right away. If you take care of your payments responsibly and maybe even grow your business, there will be refinancing options in the future. You might even be able to do well enough to get approved for an SBA loan.

Make the Most of Your Loan

As a final point, you need to think hard about how you use the money you borrowed. Develop a plan that is going to convert the money into added value for your business. Whether it is hiring employees, developing your product, buying new equipment or making your operations more efficient, you need to make sure you are spending the money in a way that will grow your business or make it more profitable.

Please note: No affiliate links appear in this post, and it was not sponsored in any way. The advice and opinions belong to our guest blogger, who we thank kindly for her contribution.

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Your First Business Loan: What to Do Next - #startyourownbusiness #career #perfectlyemployed

It isn’t easy when you are out on your own. Sometimes you can feel like a very small fish in a large pond. In order to stand out, you need to look the part – as well as deliver what you say you will. But there a couple of ways that you can make your business look more professional. You don’t need a huge budget to make your business look much larger than it really is.

Website

Having a website is a must in this day and age. You need to make sure that it has all of your information on and that it is accessible to your audience. It should be clean and tidy. Easy to navigate with a great use of white space. Your logo should be easy to see, and a contact form should be a priority for you. Your mailing list can be your crowning glory – because it is your own personal set of hot leads. Although you must remember that your mailing list should ideally contain your contact details, including your address. If you don’t feel happy having what is likely your home address on there, then you should think about using something like https://physicaladdress.com. You own domain is a must.

Images

If you can’t afford to have your own photos taken, then you need to think really carefully about what you use. Often things that are online aren’t free to be used, but rather they are being shared on a photographers website. You can use sites like Unsplash, Pixabay, or Pexels and find an aesthetic that works for you. Try to get photos that relate in some way to what you do and/or how you do it. If you are a writer or an accountant, you will find simply by searching those terms, you are given plenty of well-fitting options. Try not to go for the ones on the first page though. They are the most commonly used.

Clothing

Your clothing says more about you than you might like. If you have Skype calls or face to face business meetings, it is a good idea to make sure that you are dressed the part. Invest in a smart suit, and some lighter business casual wear. Blazers are typically always a good idea, and they appear professional almost all the time. You can create a small business capsule wardrobe that can be used for years. Pinterest has some great ideas about what you should have in a capsule wardrobe to maximize your investment. Looking polished is simple when you have less to choose from too.

Social Matters

Your social media channels should all match up. The display pictures and the headers or banners should all have your logos and information on. And ideally, in all of your information, you will have a link to your point of sale or website. Ensure that all of the sizes are correct to prevent them from looking stretched

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How to look professional as a solo entreprenuer - #soloprenuer #career #startyourownbusiness