Category: Business

Last update on

Why You Have to Target Non-US Markets For Higher Profits

Currently, the United States is the world's largest national economy. Its GDP for 2016 is $18,56 trillion, hosts the majority of the biggest companies in the universe (that we know of), and is notoriously known as the "land of unlimited possibilities." [caption id="attachment_12254" align="aligncenter" width="730"] GDP for the US over the years - source[/caption] It's only natural to target the US market when selling services, or products, and aim for a higher percentage of visitors, users, and customers living in the States. It's the goal of many entrepreneurs and a target for their marketing teams. A study quoted by Reference.com… Continue Reading
Last update on

Beginner’s Guide to Starting as a Freelance Content Writer

Blogging has been around since the late 90s and there are millions of bloggers earning a good living thanks to their writing efforts. Business owners, marketers, college students and everyone else is actively publishing online. With social media prevailing, a good percentage of the population is now actively producing content online. But what is the difference between a successful writer and a hobbyist? Generating Revenue Through Content Writing There are various ways to generate revenue through content writing. Being a full-time writer or a journalist is the obvious choice. But engaging content writers can build the right audience for each… Continue Reading
Last update on

Why Clients Shouldn’t Ask for Discounts and How Companies Should Handle Negotiations

Haggling for a lower price is so common that it could even get very challenging to tell the truth from the usual bargain. However, it should rarely be the problem of the salesman, business owner, or entrepreneur. Most of the time, it is the prospect’s problem. In this article, we are going to discuss the reasons why you should not ask for discounts as a customer and how you should handle price negotiations as a company. The graph above by HubSpot shows that there is a dramatic disconnect between the needs of the customers and what most sales reps tend… Continue Reading
Last update on

7 Reasons Why I Avoid Estimates

Every time I need to do estimates, I cringe a little. I no longer do estimates for small and medium clients since it creates false expectations and takes a huge amount of time. Estimations, by their very nature, are educated guesses. But the word "guess" doesn't inspire much confidence. Predicting a project's exact amount of time, resources, or costs can be like trying to forecast the weather weeks in advance. Variables change, unexpected challenges arise, and the landscape of a project can shift drastically from inception to completion. [caption id="attachment_11618" align="aligncenter" width="682"] Useless estimates[/caption] Which is why I talk about pricing and… Continue Reading
Last update on

Practical Tips for Selling a WordPress Platform to SMBs

Selling a WordPress-driven platform to small or medium-sized businesses (SMB) is a major challenge for freelancers and small businesses. Every SMB is unique, with its requirements, goals, and visions. A generic pitch might not resonate with them. Customization and understanding individual business needs are crucial to making the WordPress platform appealing. Not all SMB owners or decision-makers are tech-savvy. Simplifying technical jargon and presenting the benefits of WordPress in an easy-to-understand manner can be the difference between locking the deal or losing a potential client. During my last research, there were over 2 million freelancers offering WordPress development services on… Continue Reading
Last update on

10 Reasons Your Business Needs Core Values

I’ve been quoted in hundreds of roundups on all sorts of management and leadership questions—from ways to build resilience (Forbes) through identifying toxic cultures (Inc) to warning signs for new hires (Small Business Trends). While looking for the “Philosopher’s Stone” (or the next “Golden Rush”) is a normal human trait, there’s a deeper problem to identify first.   There Are Endless “Right” Answers When I speak about company culture, management traits, or building effective teams, I always refer to the ideal individuals as “proper human beings”. My definition is broad, but it taps into core principles such as honesty, integrity, passion,… Continue Reading
Last update on

7 Ways to Teach Your Staff ROI: The Pivot to Billable Activities

Building a successful organization requires a comprehensive business strategy across each of your departments. It is also closely related to your business model, the industry you belong to, the status of your finances, the available opportunities, and—of course—your team. While your senior management team may be aligned with the company goals and vision, you want to build a culture of self-managed rockstars. Otherwise, you'll fall into the trap of micromanagement. My guiding light is ROI.  Often, your resources are only limited. You do not have all the time to spend and disperse across hundreds of initiatives. There is always a… Continue Reading
Last update on

22 Ways to Have More Energy (And Boost Your Efficiency)

Resilience is among the mandatory traits for career growth. Regardless of whether you're striving to be an exemplary entrepreneur or grow the career ladder across management and director tiers, sustaining loads of work, weekend deliveries, flying from a tradeshow to an event with high velocity is a prerequisite to building high-performing teams. But maintaining these levels of pressure and both physical and mental load is not an easy feat. Just as the best athletes invest a ton in their physical conditioning, you have to ensure that your body, mind, and spirit work as efficiently as possible, and push them through… Continue Reading
Last update on

The Problem With Having To Educate Your Customers

John Locke wrote an article named "There are no Clients from Hell" referring to the popular site for freelancers - Clients From Hell. I've been following the site for some time and there are plenty of educational stories, both for freelancers and clients. What John says in his post is: This site encourages the idea that clients who make non-constructive requests or unreasonable demands deserve to be lambasted and mocked online. This reinforces the fallacy that the designer is always right, and that clients are better seen and not heard. I find this false sense of smug superiority to be… Continue Reading
Last update on

Mentorship – Invaluable Advice From Competitors

"Mentorship" is a vague term. Great mentors are successful industry leaders who are your indirect competitors (or at least a few years ahead of time). Someone may pick their own mentor when they are a public figure and consume every bit of information they produce. If you choose a mentor who is only a few years your senior in the same industry, the rewards can be just as significant. Their advice is more relatable and immediately applicable because they've just overcome the issues you're presently facing. Plus, their insights are contemporary, making them highly relevant. Virtual Mentors On mentorship by… Continue Reading