Reuben's Blog: July 2016

Wednesday, 27 July 2016

4 Important Team Building Tips for Small Business

Employees are the lifeblood of any business and investing in your workforce will ensure you have the skills to drive your company forward. Team building is an integral part of this, enabling you to ensure employees are working towards the same goals as you and identify areas for improvement. However, in the commotion of a typical working day, training staff can often get left by the wayside. After all, planning the agenda and finding a suitable location can be difficult (Find out more about a great training venue here). Yet failing to properly develop your team could impact upon your business’ output and ability to retain staff over the long-term. Here are a few reasons why it is important to focus on team building.

Most office apps can be easily identified, be it word processing, browsers, or email clients. They come in different packages but operate mostly the same, regardless of the brand. Take Word/Google Docs/Open Office writer for example, they may have different appearances and some different features, but they are still, essentially, word processors.

How Supporting a Charity Can Benefit your Business

Many businesses find success solely through offering great products and services. But it’s the businesses that go above and beyond that truly thrive. Leaders should aim to add depth to their organisations by using their position of power to make a difference in the community.

Doing so doesn’t just make you feel good – it can genuinely boost your bottom line too! Here are a few examples of how supporting a charity will benefit your business.

How to Keep your Employees Happy: 5 Ways

Research shows that people spend over 30% of their entire lives at work. Spread out over 30 to 40 years of employment, the aforementioned percentage translates into some pretty hefty working hours indeed. This partly explains why nowadays people prefer to hop from one position to the next in search of the right job for them instead of sticking with any one place for the entire duration of their careers.

If a company is truly interested in keeping its employees happy and content, here are the five measures they must take in order to ensure their wellbeing:

Before you go into "Get Rich Quick Scheme", MMM, HELPING HANDS AND CO. READ THIS

Mathematical proof Ponzi Pyramid Scheme Will Fail

Cape Town - Faced with empty wallets and rising costs, thousands of South Africans are placing their faith in “get rich quick” schemes that lure desperate consumers with promises of unrealistic investment returns.

However, whether a Ponzi or a pyramid scheme, it can be mathematically proven that such schemes will eventually collapse and leave investors with nothing.

4 Ways to Reduce Noise Pollution in the Workplace

Some businesses are constantly filled with a barrage of noise that can be very damaging to the health of its employees. Noise pollution is something that can’t always be avoided due to the nature of the work taking place. Heavy machinery is loud to maneuver, and complex equipment whirrs at a constantly pulsating tone. There are ways to reduce those high volume levels, though, as we’re about to explore.

The age of constant contact between places of work and employees is here, and this can mean tasks are completed quickly and businesses can handle more and more clientele. But, with all of this communication, employees can become quickly overwhelmed and stressed due to not feeling as if they can escape work pressures, although technically, they’re not “on the clock.” Here are a couple of ways that you, as an employee, can find a better work life balance even with the tightest of work schedules.

4 Tips to Help Your Small Business Prevent Cyber Crime

The need for more complex security practices and strategies is clearly needed for today’s business due to the growing adoption of cloud and utility computing services. There are often headlines about breaches of security among large businesses, yet there isn’t much heard about smaller ones. That doesn’t mean the threat for small businesses isn’t very real – phishing campaigns targeted small businesses 43 percent of the time in 2015, according to new data from Symantec’s 2016 Internet Security Threat Report.

The problem is that small businesses often lack the necessary resources and security policies to defend against the cyber attacks. That makes small businesses an ideal target for hackers. Ideally you’ll work with an IT security expert to determine your needs.

Automation is like the fabled king Midas, whose touch could turn everything into gold. All the industries that have embraced automation, changed beyond recognition. In the retail industry, the changes are visible.

Cardless Cash - 70,000 ATMs in the U.S Will Soon Allow You to Withdraw Cash with Your Smartphone

Mobile payments will soon be coming to an estimated 70,000 new ATMs in the United States.
Earlier this year Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) announced that Android Pay, an innovative digital wallet platform developed by Google to power in-app and tap-to-pay purchases on your smartphone, was coming to Bank of America ATMs. Well, now a similar state-of-the-art cardless solution is coming to more ATMs across the United States.

12 Helpful Aspects of Formal Business Plans for First-Time Founders

What aspect of a formal business plan can still be helpful to first-time founders and why?

The following answers are provided by members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launchedBusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

When I used to work in a tech shop, the cloud was a new concept and many people, especially businessmen and legal professionals, would have a lot of questions concerning the security of their documents when stored in the cloud. I would do my best to explain that only they had access to their account, but as the cloud was still a fairly vague concept to many people, explaining the benefits would often mean breaking down the features in the most rudimentary of ways.

By now, everyone has discovered the joys of niche, target marketing. Targeting a base of customers is always going to be high on any list of the right marketing strategies for your business.

As it turns out, that fact alone is not enough to constitute a marketing strategy. There is a lot to learn about target marketing beyond the basic fact that you need to be doing it. Plenty of businesses engage in rather involved and expensive niche marketing campaigns that don’t work.

If you are new to investment and have never bought gold bullion before, you may wish to do some homework before you commit your money. There is a wealth of information available with very informative blogs. Taking the time to educate yourself before investing is something that is worth your time and effort. You may just end up saving yourself a lot of time, hassle, and money by gaining a little knowledge.

Developing High Performing Talent Developing High Performing Talent

The most valuable asset of any successful business is the human talent that executes day to day operations. Remove the individual team members, and you invalidate the role of leader or manager. Leadership becomes a title with no purpose or usefulness.

13 Reasons to Consider Your Exit Strategy When Launching Your Startup

What’s one reason new entrepreneurs should be considering their exit strategy at the beginning of their startup’s life?

photo credit: Heath Brandon / Flickr

After four years of stellar achievements in the African e-commerce landscape, the Africa Internet Group has announced the incorporation of all its ventures under one conglomerate called Jumia Group. This move led to the renaming and general rebranding of all its seven ventures. It comes at a point where the Jumia Group has grown in Africa like the Amazon for North America or Alibaba for Asia...

The trouble with Talent

As entrepreneurs the thing is, we can see talent. The moment it walks in front of us, we know that this person has exactly what we are looking for. The problem with talent is that if the person has it, they inevitably want to use it. There is a fine line between being a person who requires little oversight and being a rogue employee who thinks they know everything. So how do we balance that talent so we don’t lose our best chance at creating an innovative solution or approach?

It’s ok to change your mind
It happens, sometimes you start on one path and realize part way down the road that it may not have been the best choice, or something else would be a better fit for the puzzle of your life.

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make regularly is trying to force themselves into a puzzle that they don’t quite fit into. They do it simply because they feel they have put too much time or effort or sometimes money into their current endeavor and they don’t want to change course midway through, so they keep trucking along hoping things will get better, or their feelings will change. Most of the time this is not the case, if you aren’t happy, you aren’t happy.

Almost every business conceivable has a digital presence today, from the cheap noodle shop next door to the massive upscale supermarket an hour’s drive away. But simply having a website isn’t going to cut it anymore.

The Unseen Risks of Social Trading

For beginners, the foreign exchange (Forex) market is the most accessible place to start trading. It’s easy to understand, not bound by place or time, and the internet provides a wealth of information to get you started. There are also many innovative new platforms available for trading Forex.
First we need to talk about social trading in the Forex markets, then assess social trading binary options. These platforms make trading easier, but also come with certain risks.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs need to wear a lot of hats. They may be called on to handle bookkeeping, sales, marketing, strategic planning, and custodial work over the course of a day, and we all know it’s not easy to cultivate expertise in all these areas.

Visits to food trucks may have been down in 2015, according to data collected by Foursquare. But food trucks remain a low overhead, popular business. Here’s a simple guide to setting up a food truck business.
Learn How to Start a Food Truck Business by Following These Steps

Inspiration and Advice for Women Entrepreneurs

It seems like every week the news is profiling a new entrepreneurial success and with increasing frequency those stories are about women. Like so many other areas of the business world, entrepreneurship is no longer simply a man’s game. In fact, a 2016 study on global entrepreneurs showed that women in the field were “more ambitious and successful” than their male counterparts. This should serve as both a challenge and inspiration to other women seeking to be successful business owners.

5 Signs You Are a Creative Person

In this new ‘entrepreneurial age’, creativity is an attribute which is increasingly regarded as the key to success. This is no real surprise, given that its dictionary definition is ‘the use of the imagination or original ideas to create something’. But how exactly can you tell if you are a ‘creative person’?

The day-to-day hustle of running a company can leave you with little time for new ideas. It’s far too easy to get wrapped up in just keeping things running smoothly, but without the occasional burst of inspiration, you may find that your business is just coasting along rather than charging forward.

If you’ve been reading up on digital marketing strategies lately, then you’ve probably heard about website localization.
But if you think it only applies to large multinationals or companies with production units overseas, then think again.
If you sell your goods or services online, then the very nature of that gives you access to international markets.
Even if the majority of your furniture, software, or party favors are bought locally, you should be thinking about international visitors who reach your site willing to give you their business.

The chances are, you’re already pretty savvy about search engine optimization. I mean, post or perish, create killer content, build back links, speed up your site… Right? I could go on, but if you’re running an online business, then by now, you’re probably already a pro.

Secrets to Instant Business Success Revealed

Every new business that has ever existed started out with one common goal: be successful. Yours is no different, and you should be eager to earn it as soon as possible.

Many business guides will tell you that it’s impossible to become an overnight triumph. But we’ve seen far too many examples to dispel that myth. If you follow the right pathway, there’s nothing to stop you achieving success almost immediately.

When it comes to digital marketing, content will always be king — and when it comes to content, Gawker Media used to rule with an iron fist.

10 Hot Startups You’ve Never Heard Of (But Can Model Your Biz On)

While startups like Airbnb, Dollar Shave Club, Snapchat, Uber and Dropbox get all the attention, there are thousands of other startups that deserve to be placed in the spotlight. Whether you’re a business owner or a consumer wanting to stay on top of the latest trends, here are 10 hot startups you may not have heard of but definitely should get your attention.
Here Come the Hot Startups

Win up to N90,000 cash on the 945 Game Show

Are you a game-lover or just someone who loves free prizes? If so, the 945 Game Show is one you will definitely be excited about participating in! Launching live on WEMA Bank’s Facebook page on July 14th at 9:45PM, the game show will reward 3 lucky users of the new *945# service by giving them a chance to win up to N90,000 in cash for the next 24 days.

Keeping equipment in good shape should be a priority for all small business owners. As the saying goes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Taking a short cut on the maintenance can make you pay even more in the long run. For example, if you want your extractor fan to go the distance, you need to make sure it is properly maintained and serviced. In fact, some 70 percent of commercial kitchen fires start because of faulty ducting and ventilation. That’s because grease and fat tend to build up, making kitchen duct cleaning a necessity.

With plethora of mobile phones hitting the market, you will be bewildered at the new launches and updates releasing frequently. Even if you buy a brand new phone today you are guaranteed that it will become obsolete within few months. This is a bitter truth that most mobile phone owners are living with. For example, if you bought a Samsung S5 today, you will be elated, but will you feel the same after seven or eight months?

What if someone told you that you can improve the productivity of your employees by up to 25% simply by making few changes in your work environment? I know, I wouldn’t believe them either. But it is supported by studies and facts that the office space and surroundings can have profound impact on how well employees collaborate and contribute to the success of the business they work for. No wonder,

Whether you’re operating a brick-and-mortar retail store or running a consulting firm from a home office, as a small business owner, you are constantly looking for new ways to improve and streamline your day-to-day tasks. In the digital age, this means finding and implementing the right technology to manage your behind-the-scenes operations, so you can focus on the real reasons you started a business in the first place.

Running a business can be as stressful and draining as it is rewarding. Quite often it can be easier and far more efficient to outsource particular roles and services to professionals outside the business. There is nothing wrong with getting a bit of outside help for certain tasks and outsourcing can help save you and your business a lot of time and stress.

With the rise of electronic equipment in today’s business it is inevitable that you will encounter challenges when moving to a new office in terms of setting up the electronics. It used to be simple in the old days when all you had to do was connecting electric wires to get the light and electricity. These days you need to worry about computers, internet, network and so on before you can get your business running.

tarting up a business in Australia or New Zealand is something that can be very rewarding and financially lucrative.

Rejoice, Small Business Owners!! There is a revolution underway in the way small businesses process credit card transactions and use Point of Sale (POS) systems. This is going to help small business owners in a big way by leveling the playing field with large competitors.

In the previous post we mentioned that you need to hear customer and employee stories in addition to looking at formal reports and metrics.
One of the ways you can do this is by asking open ended questions to your customers, employees and other business owners to understand the reasons behind numbers. Below we have identified 10 questions that will get them talking.

Technological advances in this decade have helped small business owners compete with their larger counterparts on the same footing by allowing them to reduce cost and become more efficient. There isn’t a single area of the business that is not impacted by technology. New technology such as cloud computing, big data analytics, internet of things are helping startups and small businesses start and grow rapidly.

What is the Right Marketing Strategy for Your Business?

Businesses obsess over the most effective marketing strategies and miss the crucial point. The point is that an effective marketing strategy is all about the individual company. As every company is different, every company needs to consider different criteria and variables. As a result, there is no one size fits all strategy. Now that you know, you might be in an even bigger quandary. ‘If there is no one size fits all, how am I supposed to choose the right strategy?’ It’s a good question, and you can find the answer below.

They say it’s the people that make a company. If you are reading this article right now, it’s because you realise the importance of your staff and creating the best environment possible to produce quality work.

Unless you have enough money upfront, you will need to work through a car finance broker if you want to purchase a vehicle. These brokers can help you obtain a car loan, which will allow you to purchase a vehicle when you need it, rather than waiting until you have saved enough money. It is important to realize, however, that not all finance brokers are alike, and not all of them are looking out for your best interests.

A happy workplace results in higher productivity, less staff turnover, and better results. So, if you are looking at ways to improve your business, think about focusing on your employees’ happiness. You might just get the results you desire. In today’s guide, we’re going to take you through ten simple things you can do to help guarantee your company is a great place to work. Read on to find out more.

To someone who’s new to small business, marketing can be a fairly confusing part of it. It can be hard to tell what works and why it works. You might feel like you’re shooting blindly and hoping for results. Naturally, if you are to succeed in managing the business, that’s not going to cut it. So in this article, we’re going to help clear things up for you. To help you understand what works and how you can actually make sure it’s working.

What is the most frightening thing you’ve seen on your monitor/screen? Something that immediately creates a heavy feeling in the pit of your stomach? No, it’s not the most recent election news, though that can be quite upsetting. It’s the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) with the words “hard drive failure.”

In this day and age, the most important thing any business needs is an online marketing strategy. Almost everyone is on the internet these days, so the best way a small company can reach new customers is to get online.

Google has become a phenomenon by itself in this century so much so that it is used as a verb when someone wants to find the information on the web. All you have to do is just “Google it.” Starting from its origin more than a decade ago to help people organize and search information on the web Google has come a long way to provide relevant information to users with a simple click of a button.

Wednesday, 27 July 2016

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Friday, 22 July 2016

Monday, 18 July 2016

Sunday, 17 July 2016

Saturday, 16 July 2016

Friday, 15 July 2016

Thursday, 14 July 2016

Win up to N90,000 cash on the 945 Game Show

Sunday, 10 July 2016