Category: Business

Client accounting services (CAS) is a cutting-edge method of outsourcing accounting services that you should definitely consider. For a small business owner, chances their strongest assets are their own skill and competence as an accountant. Depending on the size of the accounting firm, they can either provide basic accounting services or specialize in some of the more complex aspects of the industry.

The tasks that CAS would take on are similar to the ones that your own, in-house, accounting. In other words, we’re talking about basic bookkeeping, bill payment, handling account receivables, processing payroll, managing cash flow, and even preparing financial statements. With that in mind and without further ado, here’s how small business owners can use CAS to improve their revenue.

1.   Pricing

It is incredibly important to get your pricing system in check. First of all, you need to understand that the cost of your products/services may determine your competitiveness, appeal, and even be your unique sales proposition (USP). Second, you need to understand that the cost of the product cannot be determined arbitrarily. First, you have the cost of production. Second, you have the marketing costs. Then, you have taxes, operational expenses (necessary to get it on the shelf), and so on. These are tasks that you definitely need some help with.

There are different pricing strategies that you could apply in order to increase your revenue. For instance, some start with a high price and then lower it over the course of time. This allows them to “milk” all the demographics for the maximum amount of profit. Others use low initial costs to penetrate the market and then gradually increase the cost as they get some brand recognition. You see, while completely opposite, these two strategies are known to give results in different scenarios. With some professional help, this will be a lot easier.

2.   Business advice

One of the main reasons why people outsource their accounting services, instead of sticking to common bookkeeping, is the advisory function of an accountant. Sure, a professional business advisor and an accountant are not the same things. However, on top of handling your accounting, an accountant can provide you with invaluable insight into a professional. They can help you get an outsider’s view, help you analyze the available data (especially profit-based data), and even offer actionable advice.

Sometimes, you just need to talk to someone who is more familiar with the subject matter. For instance, you need to know if something is legal. You may also wonder whether something involves potential penalties and fines. Remember, these fines could seriously offset your profitability. Then, when you decide to expand your business and hire other services, you can consult your accountant in order to figure out how all of this fits into your already existing business model. Overall, there’s a lot of value from hiring a single specialist or outsourcing to an accounting agency.

3.   A new perspective on your spending

From the standpoint of an entrepreneur or a manager, the most obvious money drains are not necessarily as obvious. An accountant keeps records of all your transactions and even analyzes them in order to see if there are areas in which you’re habitually not spending effectively. What does spending effectively mean? Well, tying your capital by buying more supplies than you’re spending in a couple of months is an example. Sure, bulk buying may lead to a discount but it also ties your capital.

Second, it’s essential that you understand that there are so many ways to cut representation expenses. For instance, meeting with clients face-to-face is great from the standpoint of effectiveness but what if you’re attending too many meetings which are not necessarily giving any reward. In the 21^st century, digital meetings are more than acceptable. Why not make a combination of the two or start with an online meeting before heading out to meet them in person? This is just an example of a suggestion that you may get from an accountant in an advisory role.

4.   Managing various resources

One of the things that the majority of entrepreneurs have trouble with is resource management. Why is this such an issue? Well, because they have a hard time differentiating between all the resource types that are crucial for their success. Money is just one of these resources. There is also time, manpower, and even those more abstract resources like return customers. Now, while your accountants won’t help you with all of this, what they can help you with is assume a part of these other responsibilities. This frees you up to focus elsewhere.

Also, you need to understand that the majority of the time that people spend on DIY accounting goes to data checking. Even here, an accountant is more efficient. This also means that by hiring an accountant, you’ll be more likely to avoid major errors. In the financial world, errors lead to fines, penalties, and even serious legal trouble. Therefore, hiring an accountant sounds like a sensible move. Keep in mind that when it comes to time management, an accountant can do an accounting task a lot faster than you would be able to. This means that the time-saving aspect of this trade is exponential.

5.   Efficiency through technology

We live in an era where automation isreshaping numerous industries and accounting is not an exception. Through various accounting platforms, a lot of people have taken control of their own finances. This enables real-time record keeping, storage of all receipts and instances of card use, as well as many other things. The key thing you need to keep in mind is that while these tools are potent on their own, in the hands of professionals, their potential is off the charts. This is another reason why you want to look for the right client accounting services.

Now, the best part is that you don’t even have to pick the right tool. The list of accounting software is quite long and the nuances might elude the layman. While outsourcing, you can trust professionals to choose the right tools. Moreover, these tools are already integrated into their business model and they already have trained staff to handle it. It’s as simple as it gets. Onboarding alone can be a tedious process, which is why, any help in avoiding it, makes a massive difference. Higher corporate efficiency has an easy way of translating into higher revenue.

Wrap up

At the end of the day, hiring professional help in the form of outsourcing is always a good solution. You get to the desired level of efficiency in the quickest possible time frame. It really is as simple as that. Even more importantly, you take a ton of administrative tasks off your back and get to provide yourself and your company with some much-needed legal liability protection.

Seeing as how accounting services are specific and require a ton of experience/expertise, the necessity for outsourcing is even higher. Still, choosing who you outsource to is never an easy task. Do you offshore, onshore, or nearshore? What kind of plan are you going to take and what kind of collaboration are you going to establish? What is your outsourcing budget? All of these, however, are questions for another time.

 

A transition into a remote workforce was mandatory in a lot of places during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this only made numerous industries realize just how big of a potential this business model actually is. Even without the pandemic, the remote employees require less space, don’t need commute compensation, and have more flexible work schedules.

Other than this, remote work is mostly cloud-based, which makes it quite sustainable. In a scenario where we’re facing everything from fossil fuel shortage to an actualpaper shortage, this kind of business world revolution might end up being a massive game-changer.

Still, these changes aren’t affecting everyone equally. Here are the top five industries that benefit the most by using virtual employees.

1.   Marketing

John Wannamaker once said that while half the money he invested in marketing is wasted, he can never know which half. This is one of the main problems with traditional marketing, but it no longer holds true. In digital marketing, you know exactly where your audience is coming from, and even why they chose you over your competitors.

Now, digital marketing tools are all cloud-based which is why there’s no objective reason why a marketing team should be situated on-site. Sure, a lot of businesses still have on-site marketing teams, but more and more enterprises choose for 100% remote team each day. The effectiveness of these remote teams depends more on the digital arsenal available to the team, as well as the talent within the enterprise than anything else.

Moreover, in digital marketing, there’s a huge demand for a temporary workforce. You can hire content writers, copywriters, designers, etc., to participate in a massive project. This allows you to adjust your workforce to your current workload. Such a method is scalable, and it promises cost-effectiveness in the long run. As of today, virtual employees are not just a trend in digital marketing. They’re the backbone of the industry.

2.   Accounting and Finances

The majority of accounts are linked and easy to track digitally, which means that you no longer have to submit the receipts to your accountant in person. Moreover, there are so many budgeting apps that you can use to take photos of receipts, while your digital and card payments can be monitored in real-time.

Modern accounting platforms are mostly cloud-based, which means that collaboration on a massive scale is possible. This, on its own, also ensures a much higher level of scalability. One of the reasons why this is so relevant for digital employees is that technology is there to support, not replace accountants. Sure, it’s easier for people to do their own accounting, but the majority of people will still stick to hiring professionals.

With finances, in general, it’s much easier to keep track of market fluctuation in real-time. The stock market provides instant feedback, and with so many digital tools, apps, and platforms, everything moves far more quickly. While stop orders are more sophisticated than ever before, all of this still requires human oversight and confirmation.

3.   Real Estate and Property Management

Real estate requires a lot of administrative work, which is why more and more real estate experts are hiring virtual assistants. Creating and managing property listings, managing websites, managing the calendar, all sorts of data entry, and more are just some examples of work that virtual employees can do in the real estate industry.

According to experts behind a virtual property management company, this field is also seeing huge growth. You need to understand that the three pillars of virtual property management are:

• Scheduling
• Marketing
• Maintenance

All three of these aspects can be vastly improved via digital means. A skilled property management virtual assistant can keep track of your schedule, maintain your website, keep track of the maintenance checklist and even do some outreach with various professionals. They can get in touch with the local landscaping company, contact your local emergency electrician, etc.

Property management software and overall automation also make a world of difference in this field. This is why hiring someone with skill and experience in this field may make a world of difference. Automating maintenance requests will save a lot of time, which will elevate the overall value of the property and tenant satisfaction by a significant margin.

4.   Education

Education has greatly migrated into the digital environment, and it did so in many different forms. First of all, you have the concept of microlearning. When they need to learn a simple skill (how to tie a tie), people are more likely to watch a YouTube video than they are to enroll in an actual course. Still, online courses are more popular than ever, which is why virtual tutors are in higher demand than ever before.

In the field of education, it all comes down to the competence of tutors and the quality of learning materials (seeing as how personal aptitude and motivation of students are a standalone issue). This is why the ability to hire professors from all over the globe means that digital educational institutions have a superb talent pool. Therefore, students have a chance to get the optimal education at the moment.

As we’ve already mentioned, there are many different industries that are going more digital by the hour, and organizations and both corporate training and onboarding are easier in a digital environment. If you’re running a remote team, remote education is really the only way to facilitate their professional growth. Overall, there are so many things you can do in order to boost your presence.

5.   IT

The IT industry spearheads innovation when it comes to remote work and hiring virtual employees. In fact, even before the pandemic, there’s been a massive surge in the number of remote employees in the IT industry. The main reason behind this is the competitiveness in the field, which means that hiring remote employees dramatically expands your talent pool.

Second, the IT industry was the first to embrace concepts like remote access software, collaboration tools, cloud-based platforms, etc. This means that the progression into a partially-remote industry was only natural, and once the pandemic started, a huge part of the industry was already in the digital environment. Keep in mind that a remote workforce costs less (by default), which proved to be a massive boost to the industry’s sustainability in a difficult economic environment.

The key issue of the IT industry is the shortage of skilled labor, seeing as how the training and experience-gaining is a slow process, while the industry expands at an alarming rate. Moreover, the wages in this field are astronomical, and by hiring from a country with a much lower purchasing power parity, you have a chance to achieve higher competitiveness at a lower cost.

In Conclusion

The thing you need to keep in mind is that this is not some sort of projection or forecast – these industries already heavily rely on virtual employees. This model is simple, sustainable, cost-effective, and reliable, which is everything you need in a modern business world. The progress in these five industries happens to be the most rapid because of the growing demand and a facilitated modernization of different work-related processes. The benefits are great, which ensures that this trend of hiring virtual employees will continue its growth.

 

With the arrival of 2022, the market will undergo a series of changes in order to evolve and adapt to the world and its business operations. In this sense, in today’s article, we are going to discuss 8 of the trends that will mark the market of 2022. Don’t miss out!

1. Sustainable and resilient operations

All oranisations should aim to eliminate or reduce the environmental costs of their operations. Decarbonising the supply chain is a reasonable starting point, but forward-thinking companies are looking beyond the supply chain to improve sustainability across all business operations. And, of course, sustainability is linked to resilience, as resilience means being able to adapt and survive in the long term. Any business that ignores sustainability will not succeed in this age of conscious consumption.

2. The balance between human workers and intelligent robots

Today we have increasingly capable robots and artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can take on tasks previously performed by humans. This leaves employers with some key questions: how to find the balance between intelligent machines and human intelligence? Which functions should be handed over to machines? Which functions are better suited to humans?

There is no doubt that automation will affect all sectors, so business leaders must prepare their organisations – and their employees – for the changing nature of work. 

3. The changing talent pool and employee experience

The way we work is evolving, with more young people entering the workplace, more freelancers and more remote workers. In their book The Human Cloud, Matthew Mottola and Matthew Coatney argue that traditional full-time employment will be a thing of the past, as organisations move to hiring people on a contract basis, and those contractors will work remotely.

One of the companies that is going to be part of this trend is Lidl UK. In addition to having Lidl offers this week and every other week, it is going to have its employees very much in mind. Thus, Lidl is going to bet on the training and talent of its employees to offer the best customer experience.

4. Flatter, more agile organisations

Traditionally, organisations have been very hierarchical and rigid in their structures. But this is changing, as leaders recognise the need for flatter, more agile structures that allow the business to quickly reorganise teams and respond to change. It is also, in part, a response to the changing nature of work, particularly the proliferation of freelance and remote workers.

This is the era of flatter organisational structures, which look more like flexible communities than a top-down pyramid structure.

5. The authenticity

Today’s consumers are looking for a more meaningful connection with brands. And this need for connection has given rise to authenticity as a business trend in its own right. Authenticity helps foster human connections because, as humans, we like brands (and business leaders) to display important human qualities such as honesty, trustworthiness, empathy, compassion, humility, and perhaps even a little vulnerability and fear. We want brands (and leaders) to care about the issues and stand for more than just profit.

6. Business with purpose

Linked to authenticity, this trend is about ensuring that your organisation exists to serve a meaningful purpose, not just to deliver profits to shareholders. Purpose defines why the organisation exists (not what the organisation is or what it does or for whom). Therefore, purpose is different from mission and vision). It is important that a strong purpose holds the promise of transforming or striving for something better, whether it is a better world, a better way of doing something, or whatever is important to your organisation.

7. The competition and integration

We live in an age where virtually everything can be achieved through outsourcing. The global business world has never been so integrated. And it’s a good job, because the need to work together to solve the biggest business challenges (let alone the biggest challenges facing humanity) is great. Indeed, in the future,it will be increasingly difficult to succeed without really close collaboration with other organisations. In practice, this means greater supply chain integration, greater data integration and data sharing between organisations, and even cooperation between competitors.

8. The new forms of finance

The ways in which companies can generate finance are also changing. New platforms and mechanisms have emerged to connect companies with investors and donors: think crowdfunding, initial coin offerings (ICOs), tokenisation and special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). Many of these new methods are driven by the decentralised finance movement, where financial services such as lending and trading take place on a peer-to-peer network, through a decentralised public blockchain network.

In addition to these eight trends, there will also be transformative technology trends in 2022, such as artificial intelligence and increasing digitisation, for which every company must be prepared. Technology is advancing very fast!

The restaurant business has gone through a lot of changes during the past few years. If you would like to open a restaurant, now might be a good time to do so; however, you also need to make sure you put your restaurant in the best position possible to be successful. Because there are a lot of challenges in the restaurant field, it is important to start planning as early as possible. What are a few key tips you need to follow if you want your restaurant to be a success? Keep in mind that this is not something you need to go through on your own. There are professionals who can lend a helping hand to those in need.

Decide on the Focus of Your Menu

The first thing you should do to create a successful restaurant business is to decide on the focus of your menu. If you have ever been to a restaurant that has a book for a menu, you understand how confusing this can be. If you serve too many items, it may take your patrons a while to decide what to order. This could slow your table turnover, making it hard for you to make enough money. Furthermore, if you have a menu that is too large, people may think that you do everything okay but nothing well. This could make it hard for you to establish a foothold in the industry. Even though you want to provide several options for your guests, you do not want your menu to be overly broad.

Invest in the Right Furniture

When people die in a restaurant, they aren’t just paying for food. They are also paying for an experience. You need to give them the entirety of this experience by investing in the right furniture. You want your furniture to be durable yet comfortable. For example, you may want to provide not only comfortable chairs but also comfortable restaurant booths. Then, you need to think about how your furniture will match the rest of the decor of your restaurant. Do you want to have a bunch of sports memorabilia on the walls? Do you want to have a bunch of pictures that represent the part of the world your food comes from? Think about how you can create a comfortable experience for your guests.

Diversify Your Supply Chain

You also need to make sure you diversify your supply chain. Even though you might have a good relationship with a single supplier, you need to hedge your risks. What happens if that supplier has difficulties? What happens if they need to shut down? Are you going to have a hard time providing food for your guests? That is why it is important for you to think carefully about how you operate your supply chain. If you have a lot of suppliers, you can ask them to pick up the slack for each other if something happens with one of them. Your supply chain is critical for keeping your restaurant open.

Build a Successful Restaurant Business

These are a few of the most important tips you need to keep in mind if you want to build a successful restaurant. There are plenty of opportunities for success in the restaurant industry, but you need to be careful not to spread yourself too thin. Even though you would like to provide as much food as possible, it is better to keep your menu focused. Then, make sure you have furniture that matches your restaurant’s specialty. Remember to reach out to professionals if you would like help in establishing a successful restaurant business.

 

The online gambling industry is one that has grown in leaps and bounds over the course of recent decades. This growth was further stimulated by the ongoing global pandemic, which forced populations across the globe to retreat away from public spaces, including land-based casinos, and into their homes. Naturally, those with a penchant for a flutter had to find alternative ways to get their fix, which positively impacted online gambling portals.

On the flip side, however, this increased demand for the services provided by online casinos also led to the rise of lots of news portals. As such, online casinos operating in such a saturated market have been forced to implement measures that would ensure that their portal stood out from the crowd. While some casinos offer potential customers enticing welcome offers or exclusive casino bonuses, others have turned to celebrity endorsements to attract new clients.

In this exciting and recently announced partnership between M88 Mansion and Maria Ozawa, players can look forward to the launch of ‘Maria’s Room’. This is an online portal specializing in a selection of casino games as well as exclusive offers. And if you’re stuck on which casino offer is suitable for you, fret not because NoDepositFriend is available to guide you and provide you with useful tips and tricks when playing such exclusive games.

Meet Maria Ozawa

A well-known name within the gaming community, Maria Ozawa, a celebrity entrepreneur who hails from Japan. A serial entrepreneur, Osawa also has interests in the entertainment sector as she co-owns Bar Drunk in Tokyo and Singles Bar at Resorts World Manila in the Philippines. Most notably, however, Ozawa has long recognized the investment potential to be found in the online gambling sector.

In her most recent move to partner with M88 Mansion, Maria Ozawa took a real interest in the design and development of this online portal which offers gamers a range of excellent casino games in addition to some enticing exclusive offers.

Before her interest in the gaming sector, Osawa had a successful career as a model and actress, and M88 Mansion has made some acknowledgement of this through the games available in Maria’s Room. These games include titles like Bikini Part, Ladies Nite 2 and Football Baby. So, fans who have been following Osawa for a while will be in for a real treat.

An Exciting Partnership Full of Possibilities

In a recent interview with M88 Mansion’s Creative Director, Carlos Lopez, he remarked that: ‘we partnered with Maria Ozawa because she is a well-known celebrity within our market.’

Lopez then went on to further elaborate on the M88 Mansion’s decision by saying: ‘We created Maria’s Room because we want to present Maria in a new light. She is more than just an on-screen personality. She is very business-minded, and at the same time, she likes to have fun. This is the side of her that we want to present.”

From the other side of the partnership, Maria Osawa expressed her excitement about embarking on this new project with M88 Mansion as she said: It is my first partnering with a gaming company, and I am thrilled with Maria’s Room as I have never tried anything like this before. I play my favorites when I have free time, and if players are lucky, they will also get to play with me.”

This exciting new partnership between M88 Mansion and Maria Ozawa looks to be a natural fit and is expected to be beneficial for both parties. While Ozawa’s involvement in the project and her endorsement is expected to provide M88 Mansion with access to a captive audience amongst her impressive celebrity fanbase, the partnership will also help Ozawa grow her existing following as she’ll be working with one of Asia’s most popular online gambling portals.

In short, the launch of Maria’s Room looks to be fruitful not just for its namesake, Maria Osawa but also for M88 Mansion. What’s more, we have no doubt that Maria’s celebrity fanbase, as well as avid gamers in general, will also have lots of fun playing the new games on this online portal.

 

Eight Galaxies B.V., a company registered and licensed in Curacao, has launched the world’s first charity Bitcoin online casino called Bitcoza.com.

The Bitcoin online casino donates half its revenue to charitable organizations that rescue and protect endangered species of wild animals. Bitcoza.com is a crypto-only online casino supporting Bitcoin, Tether, Dai, Ethereum, Bitcoin cash, Litecoin, and Dogecoin.

Bitcoza provides a safe and secure online gambling experience to Bitcoin players while simultaneously donating half its revenue to charities like IWAF and WWF. The online casino prioritizes customer satisfaction and game fairness and awards players the biggest wager-free bonuses in the industry.

Fully licensed and regulated, Bitcoza accepts several cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and a variety of Altcoins including Ethereum and Litecoin. With so many Bitcoin Casinos making a name for themselves, Bitcoza has certainly set the bar high after announcing that 50% of its revenue will be going to charitable causes supporting endangered species on the brink of extinction.

How Bitcoza Was Born

A group of businessmen got to know one another and decided to open a Bitcoin online casino in 2018. They received an online casino gaming license and underwent an audit in 2019. They could not launch their online casino product in 2020 because they were in quarantine in Australia.

In the winter of 2021, the founders signed agreements with charitable foundations focusing on protecting endangered wild animals. Bitcoza finally went live in the spring of 2021.

Unique Loyalty Program

Bitcoza is home to the World’s Charity Loyalty Club, a unique loyalty program that rewards you for playing real money games. If you participate in this loyalty club, you stand the chance of earning wager-free bonuses of up to €15,000. At the same time, you can help the online casino support wild animals on the brink of extinction.

Here are six benefits of participating in the loyalty program:

• €15,000 in bonuses
• Wager-free bonuses
• Half the revenue donated to charitable organizations that support endangered species of wildlife
• 12 levels named after endangered animals
• Special presents and unique offers for loyal players

If you reach the highest level of the loyalty program, you can earn wager-free bonuses worth €15,000. You can withdraw the bonuses or wager them on online casino games.

The online casino has given the name of an endangered animal to each level of its loyalty program. The highest level bears the name of the Elephant Turtle. You can view details of the 12 endangered creatures by clicking on the respective level.

Here are the various levels and their benefits:

• Snow Leopard – 20% cashback, €1 bonus
• Crested Penguin – 20% cashback, €5 bonus
• Panda – 21% cashback, €10 bonus
• Amur Tiger – 22% cashback, €20 bonus
• Sifaka – 23% cashback, €50 bonus
• Himalayan Bear – 24% cashback, €100 bonus
• Blue Ara – 25% cashback, €250 bonus
• Dama Gazelle – 30% cashback, €1200 bonus
• Red Wolf – 35% cashback, €2000 bonus
• Vaquita – 40% cashback, €3500 bonus
• White Rhino – 45% cashback, €8000 bonus
• Elephant Turtle – 50% cashback, €15,000 bonus

More about Bitcoza Casino

Many exciting things happen at Bitcoza Casino.

The most generous Bitcoza player of the month receives a written message from IFAW or WWF.

When you sign up and fund your account for the first time, the online casino awards you a bonus of €25. And even before that, you can claim a no-deposit welcome bonus of €5. You only have to register an account to qualify for it.

You can contact Bitcoza Casino by emailinginfo@bitcoza.com. The Bitcoin online casino offers customer support from Monday to Friday, between 7:00 and 15:00 UTC.

The online casino helps you to gamble safely. You can request a cool-off period or a standby. If you are experiencing gambling harm, you can request a self-exclusion.

Bitcoza Casino also guides problem gamblers to the non-profit organizations Gambling Therapy and GamCare, where they can get the required support.

Opening a startup can be an overwhelming, exciting, and exhausting experience. While you’ll probably be looking up a ton of resources for starting a business, there’s one big decision you’ll have to make pretty early on into planning the opening of your new venture. Where should you open a startup?

Geographically, there are tons of locations around the world where you could open a start-up company and the internet provides more options. Check out what our experts had to say about the best places to open your startup.

These places are located within the U.S. and in cities around the world. Depending on where you’re coming from and what your startup is looking to achieve, one of these options could be the best place for you to open your startup.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This might surprise you, but our experts recommended this capital city in Malaysia over cities in nearby Singapore and Thailand which have been popular locations for start-ups in years past. Here’s why:

“Singapore and Thailand are great, but I’d have to recommend the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, before either of those,” says Sheila Chaiban, CEO of One Ocean Beauty. “I think Kuala Lumpur has a beautiful mix of cultures with a mix of people from India, Thailand, China, and, of course, Malaysia. Having this diverse market of Asian cultures and nationalities gives a start-up a great test market to work out the kinks before they progress into a larger company. There’s a reason many organizations and universities are now offering study-abroad programs in this country. It’s definitely on the up-and-coming list of places to be if you want to make it big.”

Provo, Utah

Utah is probably not a place you’d think of when it comes to starting a business, but it’s becoming one of the top places to do just that. With a young population that’s driven to push startups into the community, it’s becoming the place to be. 

“Provo has boomed over the past years. Most people know that Brigham Young University is there, but that’s about it. There’s so much more to it, though. It’s been in the top lists for cities to live in and raise a family for a few years and now the startups are booming,” says Eymel Daniel, Co-Founder of ForChics. “There are collaborative spaces for startups, hubs for networking and projects, and even offices that can be rented out for startups to use. It’s really the dream environment for young entrepreneurs looking to start their own brand. Provo has all the key ingredients of a startup environment without the big city prices like you’d have in places like LA or DC.”

Los Angeles, California

Speaking of Los Angeles, LA has been a go-to for start ups that are looking to make it in the big leagues right from the get-go. With it being a diverse environment that gives startups the opportunity to make those networking connections with so many industries, it can be the ideal place for some startups.

“LA is like this hub where everyone from big name brands to start-up companies can come to make connections and get their name out there,” says Jason Wong, CEO of Doe Lashes. “There are so many networking opportunities and partnerships that can be formed just by knowing where to meet the right people. It also helps that a ton of social media influencers are in the LA area so it’s convenient for making those connections for sponsorships too.”

Bangalore, India

India has become a bit of a hub for entrepreneurs and innovators around the globe. Many are drawn to the bustling cities with high populations and low-cost for starting a business within the cities. Bangalore, specifically, was recommended by our expert.

“India as a whole has become an entrepreneur’s dream; especially if you’re into tech or electronics,” says Matt Seaburn, Partner and President of Rent A Wheel. “Bangalore is unique because there’s actually a lot more going on than a great environment for start-ups. There are organized start-up launches happening regularly and there’s an incredible start-up networking system that seems to almost run itself at this point. Entrepreneurs who launch a start-up in Bangalore are able to experience the height of that rush that you get from starting your new business to the highest degree.”

Online Platforms

Today, you don’t have to have a physical storefront to launch a business. You can use the internet to reach your consumers and make sales without the overhead of a building. Online networking communities make it possible to foster connections around the globe from the comfort of a home office or shared office space.

“We live in a great time where launching a start-up can happen earlier than in the past because you don’t always have to invest so much up front,” says Chris Hetherington, Founder and CEO of Peels. “Even though there’s still risk involved, as there is with any business decision. Depending on the product and industry, you can absolutely utilize the online platforms that are out there to launch your start-up from anywhere in the world.”

Houston, Texas

Houston has been in the top few places for several years now for a variety of reasons. It’s a large city with a diverse population and a home to many other startups.

“One of the reasons people look to start businesses in an area with a lot of other startups is because there’s a market for those types of venues,” says Nicholas Vasiliou, CEO of BioHealth Nutrition. “The people of Houston are seeking out small businesses to support and it really contributes to a great test market for new brands.”

Seattle, Washington

Like Houston, Seattle has been in the top few cities to start a business for a number of years. Millennials specifically have been drawn here to create a culture and environment that really supports small businesses.

“I don’t know what it is about Seattle, but it just works for startups,” says Jacques-Edouard Sabatier, Co-Founder and CEO of JOW. “There are so many networks and communities that new brands can find their niche in. As we all know, networking is something that’s really important in those first few years. Seattle seems to have a great community that fosters those connections.”

Beijing, China

China has long been thought of as a place for big businesses and corporations as well as manufacturing plants. But did you know that China is becoming a go-to place for entrepreneurs today too?

“China is really starting to change in the sense that they’re now seeing the value in smaller organizations and small businesses. Where, in the past, they really prized and valued those top tier companies, they’re starting to understand that small businesses are valuable too,” says Brittany Dolin, Co-Founder of The Pocketbook Agency. “China is even incentivizing these start-ups through start-up tax deductions and other benefits. Opening a start-up here also gives access to one of the largest and most concentrated areas of population in the country: the city of Beijing.”

Washington D.C.

DC has started to draw startups in over the recent years. It’s a great place for people interested in staying on the East Coast to look at starting a brand.

“DC gives people the diversity of a bigger city like New York without the astronomical cost of living that you have in the Big Apple,” says Katie Lyon, Co-founder of Allegiance Flag Supply. “DC isn’t just for politics, there’s a massive market for startups and the diversity among the different areas of the city can really give a brand a taste of how and where to market their product which is a big part of those early days.”

Charlotte, North Carolina

Like DC, Charlotte is a great place for East Coast lovers to take a look at. This city is booming with industry and population growth and it’s a great place for a startup to look.

“Charlotte has exploded over the past decade,” says Amanda E. Johnson, CEO and Chief Marketing Officer for TatBrow. “This is a great place for new startups because it’s city’s government is looking to give assistance to startup venues and entrepreneurs. They’re looking to be more than a hub for manufacturing, banking, and big businesses. They really want to give their residents places to shop, live, and enjoy all that Charlotte has to offer.”

Conclusions

There you have it! 10 cities in the United States and around the world that you can look at starting your own business in. These cities range from major international hubs to cities that are looking to foster the growth and networking community of startups and small businesses. Hopefully this list has given you some ideas to think about as you look for a place to plant your startup and watch it grow.

Coupon codes are one of the go-to marketing tools for online stores in addition to making customers enjoy affordable shopping. Although coupons are almost always guaranteed to make a customer happy, it’s not always the case for online stores if they fail to develop a solid coupon marketing strategy. Given that an ill-managed coupon campaign can put a business at risk, let’s have a look at the pros and cons of using coupon marketing for online stores.

Coupon Codes: The Star of Marketing Trends

It is almost impossible nowadays to spend 5 minutes on the internet without coming across a coupon code. Although the advantage of using coupon codes for consumers can be debated, it is obvious that they have become an indispensable marketing tool in today’s e-commerce ecosystem.

Until recently, coupon codes were only available on special occasions like the holiday season. Offering fewer coupon codes meant that stores were able to manage the campaign better, but it also meant that the customer would get an actual bargain, which is not always the case these days. So, it would be fair to say that customers were more likely to use coupon codes since they knew that the code would get them an actual discount.

How Stores Feel Pressured to Give Coupons

While it was really difficult to get your hands on a coupon a few years ago, it is now nearly impossible to avoid them. Consumers are able to find a coupon code whenever they need them, so they don’t even have to wait for the end-of-season or holiday season. The fact that coupon codes have become so popular is also putting a certain amount of pressure on online stores and brands to keep it going.

The pressure to offer more coupon codes not only reduces the actual value of coupons from a customer point of view, but it also leads stores to implement coupon marketing strategies that are not sustainable. So, online stores who buy into the pressure and use coupon marketing without a solid strategy suffer the long-term and short-term effects, including financial loss. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of coupon marketing for online stores.

Advantages of Coupon Marketing

According to one of Europe’s leading coupon publishers Once Coupon A Time, a solid coupon marketing strategy with realistic targets and consistent methods can offer a lot of advantages for an online store like boost in sales during off-season, attracting new customers, retaining the existing customer base, depleting stocks, promoting new products, etc.

In addition to these advantages, running coupon campaigns on a regular basis will enable online stores to collect data about their customers and create a solid database to be used for marketing and strategy-building purposes. For instance, making it compulsory to become a member to use the coupon code will give the store access to their customer in the future, which means they will be able to maintain the communication through a variety of communication channels. These advantages can really contribute to the success of a business, if and only if they have a well-planned and sustainable strategy. Unless they develop a realistic and sustainable coupon strategy, they run the risk of losing money because a bad coupon campaign will bring more loss than profit.

Risks of Coupon Marketing

If a coupon campaign lacks efficient planning and is not supported by a solid marketing outlook based on reliable data, it will call for risks. Organizing a coupon campaign to boost sales in the short term without considering long-term profit/loss will cause an online store to lose money, let alone make profits.

In addition to the profit/loss balance, the duration of a coupon campaign can also put things at risk. Given that coupon campaigns are costly, keeping them available for long periods of time means a larger cost item for the store. So, a coupon campaign needs to have strict and well-planned rules and expiration dates, otherwise people will be likely to abuse them, and the business will run the risk of saying goodbye to making profit.

Another common pitfall for online stores is timing. If coupon marketing is the only marketing tool you use to boost sales, and if you take every opportunity to organize a new one, even your most loyal customers will start to doubt your business and its reliability, which can reduce your profit margin.

Obviously, coupon campaigns are one of the most on-demand marketing strategies and they can be really useful for online businesses on the condition that they develop a well-planned coupon strategy based on reliable data. The advantages might be attractive, but the risks can be equally harmful to your business. So, the first step should be to set your goals and create a long-term plan, taking into account your cost tolerance, profit/loss balance, and timing.

TikTok has recently turned into a significant focus among B2C and B2B brands for marketing. Social Media Marketing has become mainstream in the past three years. TikTok being the social application with more than one billion monthly active users has become the primary focus of brands to generate leads. Brands have started to give importance to this application since many are present. So, they feel that they can find the leads that they can convert by having a presence on this social platform. Hence, it is one of the significant reasons why TikTok has become one of the potential applications for social media marketing. Marketers are looking for effective ways to generate potential leads on TikTok. This article will give the techniques that will aid in improving the conversion rate by doing marketing on TikTok. 

 PayMeToo Suggests to Focus on UGC:  

 The primary and most essential factor in convincing a prospect is gaining trust. It is almost hard to achieve through the many marketing tactics we have today. But, it is pretty easier to achieve through User Generated Content. It is imperative to buy real tiktok likes from any primarily paid services to improve the traction of the videos. The User Generated Content (UGC) notable factor is that this form of content is created from the consumer side. This is the primary factor that aids this content form to gain people’s trust. PayMeToo, the commonly used digital marketing company by B2C brands, has stated that UGC has brought down the strain that increases the conversion rate. It also adds that this form of content gives better results quicker than other marketing strategies. Hence, marketers should be robust in implementing strategies and creating User Generated Content (UGC).

The person that marketers choose for this strategy should seem to be genuine. The person who says that your company’s products are effective should be trustworthy. Only then will people consider that product. PayMeToo says that the person you choose to endorse plays a crucial role in building trust for your product among the target audience. So, focus on this aspect as it is the deciding factor in the success of your strategy. Currently, many brands are giving preference to this form of marketing strategy. Hence, they should choose the person for endorsement appropriately.  

 Stay Connected Through TikTok Live: 

 TikTok Live is an ideal way to maintain a bond with the target audience. Live feature has an excellent engagement rate than other TikTok features. TikTok users tend to see Live videos quickly over other forms of videos. Hence, through this, you can understand the potential of this feature. It has the capability to drive people fast towards it over other video forms. If anyone you follow on TikTok goes Live, you will get a notification about it. Hence, most probably, a curiosity will build in you to check what they are streaming live. This is how the engagement rate of the live videos continues to rise. This feature works suitably for product promotions. It is pertinent to mention that the organic reach of the standard TikTok videos has constantly been decreasing over time. This, in turn, has increased the importance of live videos. If you are going to launch any new product in the market, it is ideal for demonstrating it by going Live. Many people will end up watching it. So, the purpose of doing promotion will be fulfilled through this measure. 

 Currently, TikTok has launched a TikTok Live shopping feature. It is a massive advantage for marketers to pitch a product efficiently to prospects. Let me give you an explanation of how this feature will work. Using this feature, you can share your product links with your target audience in real-time. So, you can push your target audience to purchase your products effortlessly. Many companies that do their business on TikTok have commented that the arrival of the Live shopping feature is a great boon to them. They state that through the live shopping feature, they can instantly make their prospects make the purchase. According to the recent surveys, the Live feature almost has over 3x higher engagement rate than the standard videos. Hence, keep these statistics in mind and possibly choose the Live video to upscale your conversion rate. 

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 The Launch of New Features:

 TikTok always surprises its audience by launching new features frequently. Currently, TikTok has officially announced that it is testing the pilot version of the TikTok stories. It has made the feature available for limited users. TikTok will make its next move regarding TikTok stories based on its feedback and engagement from those users. So, marketers should start to think about using TikTok stories effectively for lead generation even before TikTok launches it. Hence, marketers must be ready to incorporate the new features in their strategy to accomplish sales. 

 Wrapping Up:

 TikTok will be the top marketing medium in the coming times, and it is about to sustain its vast user base in the coming years. So, marketers have to keep this in mind and craft their marketing plans accordingly.