How to Automate Your Small Business

One of the latest buzzes that is in the world of business is the automation of business operations. For instance, any business enterprise that has a shopping cart in their site, an automated phone system or an automatic emailing system that can send Merry Christmas and happy New Year messages, is already taking part in the automation revolution. Since the start of the 21st century and especially in the last decade, companies have been using a variety of ways to market their products to increase their market share. However, the most recent technological innovation for small business enterprises which has proven to be very affordable is automation. In this article, we are going to highlight the ways that you can incorporate into your company to further automate your business operations.

Automated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system

You can significantly improve your sales and make your marketing strategies more efficient by the use of an automated Customer relationship management system popularly known as CRM. The CRM system stays connected with how the consumers interact with your business, recording every contact. This may be in the form of emails, queries on technical problems or phone conversations with customer care agents or sales representatives. Commercial real estate CRM will also inform you of consumers who had reached the point of purchasing a certain property and then changed their mind and the reason why they the purchase did not happen. An automated customer relationship management system sends the right marketing materials to potential consumers and keeps track of the needs, tastes and preferences of the customer for you. As long as the business ownership or management provides the necessary data, the automated CRM system does the rest of the job.

Outsourcing

Some firms will assist you in outsourcing just about anything but for a fee. For instance, if you need to market your blog using high-quality content, you can always outsource a writer through the numerous content mills found on the internet today. If you need to do some product promotion to boost your sales, multiple advertising firms can do that for you. Some may not view outsourcing services from other companies as automation. However, it achieves the same purpose by making your business operations more efficient, reducing the cost of doing business and ensuring that you focus on the primary goals and objectives of your firm.

Automatic payments of bills

The bills that your company accrues to service providers can also be paid automatically the same way you do for your personal bills. However, business owners should not confuse the automation of bill payment and pay your bills electronically. Automatic payment of bills takes up the whole procedure of having the bill paid without the need for your input. Electronic payment of bills is also a form of automation, but it requires you to input figures and takes control of the entire system.

Lead nurturing and collection

Automated marketing and sales software are engineered to collect business leads from sources found online like form websites, social media platforms, and all the received emails. The automated lead collection and nurturing system may also convert the leads acquired into loyal consumers of your business enterprise. There is infinite number of options that small business enterprises can take advantage of when it comes to nurturing and collecting their business leads in an automated system. Many owners and managers of small business enterprises do not have the time to collects and nurture leads hence using a software that does the job just fine is always the best solution.

Automating the hiring process

There various software and services found online that can assist your business in automating the hiring process. Once you have created a specific employment advertisement, your automated system can have it posted on multiple platforms simultaneously. Technology has given birth to systems that can store and sort online employment applications and keep the database for referral in case of future job opportunities.

Safety Tips to Ensure Your New Child Stays Safe Outdoors

Being a new parent is one of the scariest things in the world. There are hundreds, if not thousands of potential dangers in and around your house you’ll need to be aware of, and as you’ll soon find out, your curious baby will find all manners of getting at them. The good news is that it isn’t all that difficult to keep your new child safe, as long as you take the time to keep them away from the various hazards. With this in mind, we’ll now take a look at some simple outdoor safety tips all new parents need to be aware of.

Keep Hazardous Chemicals Out of Reach

If your home is like the vast majority, you likely have numerous potentially hazardous chemicals lying around your home and yard. Just as it is essential that you keep any hazardous chemicals inside your home locked away or out of reach, it is just as important to make sure your child can’t get to any dangerous chemicals outside. This definitely includes chemical pesticides, fertilizers and weed killers, but you should also make sure that even organic compost and fertilizer is kept out of reach. All pesticides pose some level of danger, even organic products, so it is essential that you keep them out of reach.

Beware of Potential Pest Problems

If you’re going to let your child play in the yard or even spend much time outside, it is always a good idea to regularly monitor and inspect your yard for any potential pest problems. Bees, wasps and biting ants are all things you’ll definitely want to keep away from your child. This means that if you do identify any potential pest problems, its best to seek professional help to fully eliminate them. In this sense, fire ant control and other forms of professional pest control are definitely something every new parent needs to consider when necessary.

Watch Out for Water Hazards

Ponds, fountains and other outdoor water features pose one of the greatest threats to young children due to the risk for drowning. Similarly, even a bucket with a small amount of water in it can pose a serious threat. Drowning is the third-leading cause of unintentional injury deaths among children aged 1 to 4, and it is imperative that parents take extra precaution to protect their children from this serious hazard. This means making sure your child is never around water unsupervised and also keeping buckets and any other containers free of water.

Keep Tools and Garden Equipment Locked Away

When your child is extremely small, the lawnmower and other garden equipment usually doesn’t pose that much of a risk. After all, it is highly unlikely that you’ll ever allow your child anywhere near these pieces of equipment when they are running. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that your child is fully in the clear. Garden shears, hedge trimmers, rakes, shovels, saws and other tools and garden equipment can easily cause your child great injury or harm if you’re not careful. For this reason, you should also make sure that you keep all of these items locked away or out of your child’s reach. This way you should be able to prevent cuts, scratches, scrapes and other injuries that could result if your child attempts to play with your tools or equipment.

Be on the Lookout for Poisonous or Toxic Plants

One final thing that you’ll need to do before you let your new child out into your yard is to ensure that there are no toxic or poisonous plants present. Your local Poison Control should be able to provide you with more information about any dangerous plants present in your area, and there are also various signs that can help identify most poisonous plants. If you do find that you have any of these plants on your property, it is important that you either remove the plants or fence them off in such a way as your baby can’t get to them and possibly ingest or play with them.

As you can see, baby proofing your yard is nearly as complicated and time-consuming as baby proofing the interior of your home. Of course, it is all well worth the effort if it means your child will stay safe and out of harm’s way. Therefore, it is important that all new parents follow these steps closely to ensure their outdoor environment is fully conducive for their family’s new addition.

Are You Financially Ready to Get Married?

Every good marriage has transparency, honesty and open communication at its foundation. So if you want your marriage to get off to a good start, it’s time to start talking with your fiancé about money. Studies have shown that money is the number one cause of stress and arguments in a marriage. Take that to heart, and don’t make the mistake of thinking that your marriage will somehow be immune to financial mismatches.

Take the following four tips into consideration, and use them as a launchpad for ongoing conversations with your partner about how you will manage your personal finances together.

1. Discuss What it Means to Live Within Your Means

An ideal place to begin that conversation is with the topic of living within your means. If you are spending more money than you earn every month, you are heading toward a bad place.

Most American families are barely surviving, are living paycheck-to-paycheck, have no retirement savings and are carrying thousands of dollars in credit card debt. Obviously, something is wrong with this picture. Many couples wait until their finances are in trouble before they even begin to talk about how to manage their money. But by then it is often too late.

So take the initiative before you even tie the knot. Talk with your fiancé about your financial goals and how you expect to achieve them.

2. Create a Budget Together and Stick to It

Couples who fail to track their income and spending and incorporate those numbers in to a monthly budget are destined to experience financial difficulties. No matter how much money you make, you will find a way to spend it all — plus a little more — if you are not planning out a realistic budget and disciplining yourself to stick to it.

There are many way to create a budget. You can use computer programs and smartphone apps that will track every penny that comes and goes. You can also securely link your bank accounts, credit and loan accounts along with your investment accounts, enabling you to look at your entire financial picture at once. With your smartphone, you’ll be able to scan and organize receipts which will automatically update all the numbers as you progress through the month.

You can also just use a spiral notebook and a pen and log it all in by hand once a week or so. Either way, the idea is the same. Track everything. Check the numbers every week with your partner so that you always know where you’re at and what bills and purchases are coming up. By closely watching your finances and communicating with your partner, you’ll avoid surprises, late fees, NSF fees and all the arguments that come with them.

3. Commit to a Saving and Investing Plan

Recent surveys have shown that most Americans don’t even have $500 set aside for emergency savings. That is a scary statistic, because something will always go wrong. As a result, people turn to credit to bail them out. But then they end up paying interest for months and years to come. Before they even have a chance to pay off one financial emergency, another comes along, and the debt compounds.

This is a vicious cycle that destroys marriages, and it is one that you must avoid at all costs. Making the commitment to live within your means is one of the most important decisions you will make, and setting money aside in savings is a necessary part of that concept. Start small if you have to, but don’t put it off for later.

4. Make Sure You Have Adequate Insurance Coverage

Insurance is another necessary expense these days. When a major catastrophe strikes, having the wrong type of insurance, having inadequate insurance coverage or having no insurance at all is a financial death sentence. One car accident or one broken water pipe can alter the course of your life, and having proper insurance coverage is the best thing you can do to prepare and protect your assets.

Even if you have no assets, the courts can take money straight from your paychecks for years to come if you are found to be legally liable for damages. So insurance really can be a lifesaver.

Talk with your partner about your insurance coverage. Consult an insurance specialist and get some cheap insurance quotes to find the right coverage to meet your needs.

Getting married is a major life event. As you prepare to spend the rest of your life with a partner, you must make responsible financial decisions, as these decisions will affect both of you. Follow these financial tips and make open communication about finances a regular part of your relationship.

Top Business Simplification Tools

All businesses should desire to simplify their operations. Doing so can lead to increased productivity, less employee confusion and fewer mistakes being made. Aside from employee improvement, there are plenty of tools available that can simplify your business. In fact, there are so many that deciding on the best ones and in what combination can be overwhelming. Below is an overview of some of the top tools, both free and paid, that you can use to simplify your business.

Cloud File Storage

Cloud file storage offers a number of advantages as opposed to traditional file storage. Employees can access them anytime. It will save on paper and printing costs as well as be good for the environment. It also helps boost productivity, because employees will be able to access files and collaborate on them from anywhere. Another significant benefit is you won't have to worry about losing all of your files in the event of a disaster, such as a fire or flood at your office. Be sure you subscribe to a service that has adequate security. Free options are generally not secure enough for standard business operations.

Square

Square makes it much easier for small business to accept credit cards and other electronic forms of payment. It offers a number of different types of hardware and services depending on the size of your business and its needs. The basic card reader, which plugs into a smartphone, is free. Most businesses that aren't artists or small vendors, however, would do better to get a Square Register, which acts like a digital cash register. They also have new Square for Retail tools that simplify the checkout process at small retail stores. There are no monthly fees - just a small percentage of each transaction.

QuickBooks

A dedicated accounting software is practically necessary in today's business world. QuickBooks is the most common and fully-featured, although there are alternatives to explore. Whatever you decide, accounting software simplifies your business operations by automatically generating revenue and expense reports, easily creating and sending invoices, simplifying tax preparation and more. Accounting software can also help prevent errors that can turn into audits, so it's worth it to see what is available.

Slack

Good communication is imperative in business operations, and Slack is designed to make that as easy as possible. It is essentially a workplace instant messaging platform. You can speak privately with someone, or with the entire team. You can send files through it. Slack is also available and optimized for mobile devices, making instant communication while on the go easier. When your entire staff is on the same page, workflow becomes considerably easier, simpler and more streamlined.

Trello

Trello is a popular project management program that simplifies project management. Many project management programs are feature-rich but can also add more complexity than they relieve. Trello set out to change all of that with a simple interface that lets you organize projects by boards, lists and cards. It is also ideal for keeping everyone in the office in the loop regarding changing plans, new ideas and last-minute adjustments. It allows employees to view what their colleagues are doing. Understandably, it is ideal for people who are more visually-oriented. Best of all, it can even be fun to organize and customize your thoughts and plans in this manner.

Other Software

There is software to aid in nearly every aspect of your business, and new options continue to come out. It is important for business owners to know what is out there and then decide which programs are right for their business operations. For example, your company might find business resource management software a worthwhile investment. It can help you keep track of all resources your business has, whether manpower, financial or supplies. Always use trials to get a feel for new software before you decide to purchase.

Look into these products and always be on the lookout for new ones as technological offerings continue to develop. If you can find and use the right tools to simplify your business operations, you and other employees can give your full attention to running and growing your company.

5 Crucial Steps Every Tech Entrepreneur Should Take

Deciding to become an entrepreneur is scary, especially in technology. With the high amount of competition, it may seem as though you will never be able to build a successful business. How can your ideas stand out from all the others? Every tech entrepreneur must take crucial steps to build the successful business that they want.

1. Learn Everything

The very first step every tech entrepreneur should take is to learn everything and then keep learning. You should never think that you know everything about a subject. Use your passions to guide your learning. Your business should center around what you are passionate about and your learning will stem from there. Study how competing companies work and the projects they are creating. You should also closely examine their mistakes and understand how you would improve them. You can even take some courses like a website development bootcamp to build your knowledge of the tech world.

2. Create a Brand

Before you create a product, build your business, or start marketing, it is crucial that you create a brand for yourself. Start by deciding which niche of technology you would like to focus on. Again, pick from your passions. You don’t want to be in a business arena that you hate. Once you decide what your company will stand for and the type of products it will create, you can create a logo, a website, and social media profiles for your brand. Social media sites will also help you to connect with the niche world you’re in.

3. Build a Business, Not a Product

Key leaders in the tech community know that it is an important step to build your business as a business and not as a product. The two keys to any successful business are great leadership and good customer relations. When you build a business, instead of a product, you lead your employees, instead of treating them like cogs in a machine. You want employees to know how they fit into your business and that they’re important for the company.

Customer relations are equally important. Use social media to actively connect with your customers and build lasting bonds. These bonds will gain customers’ trust and make them more likely to continue buying from you as well as recommend you to others. Customer service is another way to maintain customer relations.

4. Market Yourself and Your Products

If you don’t know how to market, learn. If you don’t know how to market yourself or to write persuasively, you won’t succeed with your business. For many tech entrepreneurs, marketing can be a major stumbling block because of a lack of confidence. Learn to become confident in yourself and the product you are creating. A huge step in marketing that many fail to make is to start marketing early. As soon as the creation of an idea is made, begin marketing that idea. This will build excitement and a following for your product that translates into sales when the product launches.

5. Accept You Will Fail

Everyone fails sometime in their life, especially entrepreneurs. What you need to understand is that failing is 100% okay and necessary. The only problem that can come from failing is when you get stuck on the failure and give up. Instead, your failure is there for you to learn from and move on. Accepting you will eventually fail will help keep your stress and fear low. Keeping these low will help you to move forward without holding yourself back.

Becoming a tech entrepreneur may sound scary, but you can be successful by making sure to take the right steps. You must build a strong foundation for your business to stand on or it will come crumbling down. However, these are not difficult steps. You can create a great tech company from scratch with only a little effort, as long as that effort is consistent. Take the necessary steps to grow as a tech entrepreneur today.

5 Books that Will Increase Your Well-Being and Happiness

The right books can make all the difference as you look for meaning in your life. Here are just five titles that will help you conquer your fears, improve your prospects and emerge from your cocoon as a happier, more well-rounded person.

1. Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin

You've probably heard of Gretchen Rubin's first book, The Happiness Project, but this one takes a closer look at why some people are happier, more successful and more fulfilled than others. According to her research, it all boils down to habits. If you start following a series of small, positive habits that build up over time, you'll improve your life by degrees without needing a big epiphany or emergency to motivate change. Gretchen even gives you a template to start with by identifying four basic types of people (Upholder, Obliger, Rebel and Questioner) and helping you determine your path based on your personality type.

2. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown

Daring Greatly isn't always an easy book to read. It will ask you to really think about things like love, worth and acceptance, and it will prompt a lot of soul-searching as you figure out where and how these things are missing from your life. For example, if you don't feel loved, is it because you don't feel lovable? Are you struggling with inadequacies that make you feel unworthy of love? Would you be able to accept love even if it appeared on your doorstep tomorrow? They're tough questions, but if you have the bravery to confront your demons, you'll find Daring Greatly a great resource during your pursuit of happiness.

3. Design Your Day: Be More Productive, Set Better Goals, and Live Life on Purpose by Claire Diaz-Ortiz

It can be difficult to change your life when your only goals are vague ones like "be happier" or "spend more time with the kids." In Design Your Day, you're given a much simpler task: Structure your next 24 hours to be the best that they can be. Claire Diaz-Ortiz has a number of suggestions for making this happen, and they include things like:

- Learning how to prioritize your time by making lists of "things you can do" versus "things other people can do"
- Dividing personal goals into different categories like work, family, finance and church
- Using the S.M.A.R.T. method to accomplish tasks

Whether you're hoping to achieve something specific or just become a more organized person, Design Your Daycan teach you how.

4. The Zen Commandments: Ten Suggestions for a Life of Inner Freedom by Dean Sluyter

In this thoughtful, philosophical book, Dean Sluyter offers a modern analysis of rules that you've probably heard before. To give an example, one of his commandments is resting on Sundays, but he explains its benefits for both spiritual and non-spiritual readers: When you take a sabbath to disconnect from "worldly" objects like calls, texts, emails and voicemails, you open yourself up to "unworldly" concepts like peace and balance. Drawing inspiration everywhere from religious leaders to ancient inventors, The Zen Commandments will teach you a whole new way of looking at the world.

5. The Bible

It's the most popular book in the world, and it can be a great help on your journey of self-improvement and self-acceptance. That said, there's nothing wrong with admitting that the Bible can be dense to read. It's why there are hundreds of translations and interpretations out there, and it's why people turn to things like SDA Bible commentary online to help them truly understand what they're reading. If you're interested in studying the Bible, don't be afraid to take things slow. Read carefully, think about meanings and take extra time with verses that speak to you.

These are just five books that might serve as valuable stepping stones on your way to a happier life. There are many more, of course, and they're out there for additional reading if you need them. Good luck!

Easy Steps to Build Your Dream Home

You may have been envisioning your dream home for years, and over the years, you may have built this concept up in your mind so much that it has seemed unattainable at times. Now that you are ready to move forward with the construction of your dream home, you may understandably be filled with excitement as well as trepidation. You want everything to be perfect, but the process of building a home may seem daunting. Building a home from the ground up may be a new experience for you, but it may not be as difficult as it initially seems. In fact, when you walk through these steps, you will be well on your way to enjoying life in your dream home.

Have a Vision

The first step to take when you are ready to move forward on your home construction project is to define your needs and wants. Even if you have been dreaming about building a home of your own for years, you may have never formally defined your vision. Make a list of the functional and practical things that you need an ideal home, and also make a second list of the features that you would prefer to have in the home. Your vision will guide your efforts going forward.

Set a Budget

The next important step to take when you are ready to start building a home is to establish a functional budget. This budget should be aligned with the financing that you are pre-approved for as well as with a monthly loan payment that is affordable for your budget. Remember that your housing expense, utilities, property taxes and more will all affect your finances after the construction process is completed. If you plan to install a pool and hot tub, you should research inground pool prices for installation as well as for ongoing maintenance.

Hire a Contractor

After you have taken these two important steps, you are ready to get serious with your building efforts. A general contractor is usually hired to facilitate all aspects of the construction process. This includes finding and contracting with subcontractors, ordering supplies and more. Because your general contractor will play a major role in the experience of building your home as well as in the finished project, you need to spend ample time interviewing experts and checking references before you decide which general contractor to hire.

Find a Desirable Location

The land that you choose to build on can affect the cost of your project in several ways. For example, if utilities are not run to the property currently, you will have to pay more money to run them. If the land is heavily treed, you may need to pay more for demolition and clearing. If the land is steeply graded, you may need to pay for a thicker foundation. You need the location to be desirable and functional, and you also need the land to be affordable to purchase. However, you also need to focus on these other factors that affect building costs.

Create a Beautiful Design

Your home design will incorporate all of your needs and wants into a style that is perfect for your unique preferences. It also will have a reasonable price tag that works well with your budget, and it may even take advantage of some of the features associated with the specific plot of land that you found. For example, you may choose to install huge windows in the living room if your land comes with a beautiful view.

There are numerous additional steps that are required to complete the construction of your home, but your general contractor will guide you through the rest of the process. Getting started is often the most difficult aspect of building a home, and you can see that these steps are actually rather easy for most people to complete. In fact, you can get started with your needs and wants list today.