Everything There Is To Know About Buying A House

/in /by

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Buying a House|Everything There Is To Know About Buying A HouseBuying a property is definitely one of those things that is on many people’s bucket lists of things they want to do in their lives. At some stage, you may even start planning to do it yourself. But often you need that little push to make it happen and to take that leap of faith of actually buying somewhere. After all, it is one of the most expensive purchases you will ever make in your lifetime, sounds scary when you put it like that doesn’t it? But when it is your first time, how do you know exactly the right steps to take or what is needed when it comes to buying a property? There is so much to think about, and in many cases, it can be less than straightforward. So with that in mind, here are some of the steps involved when buying a property and everything that is to know about it. I hope it helps you in the future.

Finding the right house and considering what you want and need

One of the first things you need to think about is finding the right house and considering what you want and need from it. This is when it could be a real good idea to sit there with a pen and paper and writing down everything you need from your new place, everything you would want or like to have, and the non negotiables. This will help you decide on the best course of action and help you to research and search out the right place for you. Looking online will help you figure out some of the other aspects. It isn’t just about the house either, you could also do with considering the area you want to live in, the outside space and other factors like the commute to work, schools, and local shops and other amenities. A house is the main aspect, but everything else has to be right as well in order to be living exactly what you imagined it to be.

Knowing what your budget is and if extra funding is needed

The next thing you need to think about, now that you know exactly what you want and need from a house and location, is to figure out the budget you have. In some cases this can be the hardest and more emotional side of the decision making process as the financial side of things will indicate whether or not you can afford what you want. A good idea would be to look at mortgages and seek out the best home loan for your purchase. Once you know this important factor, you will be able to refer back to your wants and needs on your list and hopefully be able to keep things on there or perhaps make some changes to it as your budget dictates what you can afford to spend.

Having a plan on what you want to achieve

Having the right plan is so important. You need to make sure you plan every aspect of this house move from start to finish. This is so you are not left with any nasty surprises when it comes to moving. The plan can include everything, from how you plan to find the right property to how you intend on progressing through the process of buying and selling. Searching online is one of the most common ways to find properties these days, and many websites will show you a range of potential properties from different agents, saving you from having to look from one website to another. You might also want to plan for any contingency funds that may need to be spent such as fees for the legal side of things, or agent fees, as well as funds for anything works that might need to take place once the house sale has gone through.

Having a solicitor that is good

It is also important for you to have a good legal aid on your side when it comes to navigating the home buying process. There is a lot to think about, and there is also a lot of paperwork and checks involved to make sure that a house sale can go through. A good solicitor will be able to highlight these areas and also ensure that all paperwork is in order before the house sale completes. These people will also handle the money transactions and ensure all gets paid, so it is vitally important for you to make sure that you pick the right solicitor to help you with your house purchase. There are also fees involved so as mentioned earlier you may need to factor in these costs so that you are not left stuck at the final hurdle.

Allowing for the timescales involved with the process

There is a lot involved in buying a home. Once you have put your offer in and had it accepted you signify a chain of events that can take time. Initially, any mortgage company will want certain checks taking place on the property to ensure it is in good condition. This is to identify structure issues, damp or other aspects and tend to be very common on older properties. These checks can take time and some companies may ask for further checks to take place, or even certain works to be done before a full release of a mortgage can be had. A solicitor will handle this for you. You also need to think about other people involved, which brings me on to my final point.

Being aware of the chains you can end up in

In many home buying processes you are not the only one involved and this can mean that you enter into a chain. The chain needs to complete at the same time in order for one person to move from one place to another. If the person you are buying from can’t move into their home then you can’t move into theirs, if that makes sense. This is when it can get time consuming and the process can last longer than it needs to.

Let’s hope that highlighting some of these steps will help you when it comes to buying a property right now or in the future.

5 Sure-Fire Ways to Increase Your SEO Rankings

/in /by

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, 5 Sure-Fire Ways to Increase Your SEO RankingsNo matter what sector your business operates in, online visibility is essential to your success. As well as building credibility and gaining trust, online visibility enables you to acquire new customers and retain existing ones.
Having a functional, well-designed website is the first step to building an online profile, but this alone isn’t sufficient. In order to drive traffic to your site and facilitate brand recognition, you’ll need to rank highly on search engine results pages (SERPs) for keywords and terms that are relevant to your business.

The only way to increase your rankings is with consistent search online optimisation. With an evidence-based SEO strategy, you can ensure your webpages are the first thing users see when they search for relevant terms. While there are hundreds of factors to consider, you can get started by using these five sure-fire ways to increase your SEO rankings:

1. Increase Page Loading Speeds

The functionality of your website is important in terms of user experience (UX), but it also has a significant impact on your SEO rankings. With loading speeds between 1-3 seconds, bounce rates average around 32%. However, just a one second delay sees bounce rates skyrocket to a staggering 90%. As loading speeds have such a significant impact on user behaviour, they’re a critical factor when it comes to ranking webpages on SERPs.

Remember – Google wants to deliver an optimal UX. Anything which detracts from this is likely to have a negative impact on your rankings. Conversely, improving UX via page loading speeds and other factors can boost your SERP rankings.

2. Publish Original Content

Your content marketing strategy is critical to the success of your overall SEO campaign. To achieve high rankings, your website needs to feature fresh content on a regular basis. Furthermore, this content needs to be fully optimised for relevant keywords and terms. This is how search engines can determine whether your content is relevant to a user’s search query, so it’s vital that you tell Google what your content is about.

Many businesses use blog posts and articles as a way of sharing original, unique and relevant content. While these are certainly an excellent way to increase your rankings, there are other types of content to consider too. Videos, images, infographics, white papers and podcasts can all be used to engage users and improve your rankings.

StrategyDriven Online Marketer & Website Developer Magazine

3. Work with an Agency

Managing your SEO in-house can be a drain on your resources, particularly for start-ups and smaller enterprises. There are hundreds of ranking factors which are taken into account when determining where your webpages will appear on SERPs. To secure a place on the first page of Google, you’ll need to stay up to date with the ranking factors that matter most and gain access to the tools you need to modify your own position in the listings.

Fortunately, you don’t have to handle this yourself. Working with established SEO professionals, like this agency, gives you access to the expertise and experience you need. As the #1 Perth SEO agency, PWD is adept at devising and executing successful SEO strategies on behalf of their clients. From keyword research and content creation to site optimisation and local campaigns, outsourcing your SEO needs can be the best way to achieve your commercial goals.

4. Secure Backlinks

Every website has a score, ranging from 1-100, known as its domain authority. The higher your score, the higher your webpages are likely to rank on SERPs. Securing high-quality backlinks is one way of successfully increasing your domain authority and, therefore, your SEO rankings.

When your links are featured on an external site, it acts as an unofficial endorsement and tells Google that your content is credible, trustworthy and reputable. This encourages Google and other search engines to rank your content more highly, in order to deliver a better UX.

Of course, where your backlinks are placed has a significant impact on your own rankings. Securing backlinks on a website with a high domain authority will have a positive impact on your own domain authority score, for example. Conversely, low-quality backlinks can have a negative impact on your score and cause your rankings to drop. While backlinks are essential to SEO success, a strategic approach is necessary.

There are several ways on how to secure backlinks. According to the SEO management team at Invicta Agency, backlinks can be acquired on-page and off-page through various strategies including maximising the content of your website through its keywords.

5. Use Local SEO

Local SEO is a great way for businesses to target certain geographical regions. By modifying your keywords and terms to include locations, you can respond to search queries that are focused on a particular area.

Furthermore, local SEO enables you to achieve results more quickly and offers a more cost-effective SEO option. When you’re targeting the key term, ‘SEO Perth’, for example, there is going to be less competition than if you attempt to target the key term, ‘SEO’. This means you can successfully rank for the local term with fewer resources, thus lowering costs. Similarly, less competition ensures you’ll notice a positive impact on your rankings more quickly.

Many people assume local SEO is only beneficial for local business, but this isn’t the case. While local SEO is certainly essential for local firms, national and even international businesses should be capitalising on local SEO too. With the opportunity to target specific areas, raise your profile in particular regions, achieve results more quickly and increase your ROI, local SEO is a tool that all businesses should be using.

Grow Your Business with SEO

As you can see, there are many facets to a successful search engine optimisation campaign. This means you’ll need to consider numerous factors to create and execute a successful SEO strategy. Furthermore, you’ll need to monitor your SEO activities, measure your performance and analyse the results in order to maintain and improve your rankings.

Search engine optimisation isn’t a one-off activity. A consistent approach is required if you want to boost your online visibility, outperform competitors and grow your business. Due to this, it’s important to access the expertise and skills that can help your business to implement effective, long-term SEO strategies. By doing so, you can increase your market share, generate higher profits and gain unrivalled online visibility.

Digital Office Security: 4 Ways to Protect Your Documents

/in /by

StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Digital office security|Digital Office Security: 4 Ways to Protect Your DocumentsNearly every office has gone digital, but many still live in the dark ages when it comes to protecting their documents. Before you save your next presentation or proposal, make sure you do whatever it takes to keep the information inside confidential. Here are the top tricks to protect your digital documents:

1. Outsource Technology Management

While you may be a pro at problem-solving or managing a team, computers may not be your specialty. Many companies find this out the hard way. In the beginning, it’s not uncommon for a business owner to tackle multiple departments themselves, including IT. It’s better to hire managed IT services to help reduce your workload and protect proprietary information.

IT management is much more complicated than many business owners assume. Security breaches are more prevalent than ever, and without a professional IT team, it’s only a matter of time before your company becomes a target. Outsourcing technology management will ensure every document you create stays out of the wrong hands.

2. Create an Encrypted Password

People have passwords for just about everything, but some companies forget to password-protect their digital documents. Others simply don’t know how to add one. Luckily, creating an encrypted password only takes a few clicks. A password may mean the difference between keeping a document secret or having it go public without your permission.

To add a password to a Microsoft Word document, simply select this feature in the “Protect Document” tab. Choose a password of your liking, but make sure it’s something you’ll be able to remember. Strong passwords include a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. The more complex the password, the harder it will be for a person or bot to decode it.

3. Mark the Document as Read-Only

Sometimes co-workers make unintentional changes to a document without realizing it. After creating a digital document, there are ways to protect it from unwanted editing. When saving the document, be sure to indicate you want to share it in read-only mode.

A read-only document means viewers can only read the information included in the file. Read-only mode prevents anyone from overwriting or deleting any critical information contained within a document. If someone wants to edit anything, they’ll have to request permission from the author first. Some programs let the author assign editors to the document, while others only allow the author to make changes.

4. Update All Software

Hackers are always on the hunt for software vulnerabilities. Developers routinely update their software to protect customers and reduce any security risks. There’s a misconception that updates are only important for financial software, but that’s simply not true. Even your digital documents may become a target if the software is outdated or the company server becomes compromised.

Check for new software releases at the end of each day. Don’t put off upgrading, either. It only takes a few minutes to download an update, and it will prevent any confidential documents from getting into the wrong hands. Since many employees choose to work from home, be sure to train your staff on how to keep their personal devices updated.

Protecting Your Documents Means Protecting Your Business

Every company has private information it doesn’t want leaked, but it could damage your business if a document ends up in malicious hands. Protecting digital documents is a must. Outsourcing IT management, adding passwords, saving as read-only, and updating software will ensure your documents remain confidential.

Five Ways to Positively Disrupt Your Career During COVID

/in /by

StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Disrupt your career|Five Ways to Positively Disrupt Your Career During COVIDEconomists and entrepreneurs often tout economic recessions as an optimal time to launch a new business. When markets are down, they become ripe for disruption and roll out the red carpet for innovative services, solutions, and products. Which makes me wonder, do these same truths hold true for individuals (and their careers!) during an economic downturn? My answer is an unequivocal yes! The recipe is simple: a little reflection and a dash of connection, sprinkled with objective, expert guidance will allow you to positively disrupt your career trajectory before the market, or burnout, disrupts you. Take a peek below for some foundational strategies to launch your new career path:

1. Reflect on Your Strengths, Values, and Interests

I can feel the collective eye roll of folks reading this article as they say, “Reflection, really?” Yes. Reflection. Really. I encourage you to carve out five minutes every day to reflect on your values, interests, and strengths. At the intersection of these identity components and what the world needs, is the career path you are meant to start walking. Unsure when and where to start? You are not alone. The next time you find yourself mindlessly scrolling on your phone, set a timer for five minutes and pick a prompt below to get curious about:

  • When I am experiencing joy, what am doing? Who am I alongside? Where am I?
  • Consider your most successful moment(s). How did you get there? What skills did you leverage? Who lifted you up?
  • What gives you energy throughout the day? How do you positively utilize that energy when your tank is overflowing

2. Get Acquainted with the Informational Interview

After a few days of reflection, begin looking for emerging themes. Does your joy seem to stem from a particular set of activities? Do the folks that lift you up embrace similar values or work in a particular industry? Have you rediscovered new interests, but are unsure where to start? This is your chance to acquaint yourself with the informational interview. Start by identifying folks that work in a field that piques your interest or hold positions at places where you’ve considered submitting a resume—then reach out and ask to buy them a virtual cup of coffee. Nervous to make that connection? Here’s a little secret: people love talking about themselves and feeling like their helping someone along. Just be sure to prepare a solid set of questions to ask and be ready to answer some questions about yourself too. Remember, be both interested and interesting! These folks may have an opportunity available for you one day—wouldn’t it be great to be on top of their mind?

3. Cultivate Your Dormant Network

Remember your high school and college friends? The former colleagues at former jobs you commiserated alongside? The super cool professors, bosses, and acquaintances you always wanted to get to know better? Now is the time to reconnect. Our dormant network, comprised of folks we knew in another season of life, is one of the best places to begin expanding and building the community that will support your next career step. Not convinced? Take a peek at this article by Adam Grant, Wharton Faculty and world- renowned organizational psychologist.

4. Revamp Your Resume (and Create a Functional Resume)

When was the last time you updated your resume? As a Board Certified Career Coach, I encourage my clients to update their resumes constantly. Learned a new skill? Add it to the resume. Met a workplace benchmark? Add it to the resume. Began supervising employees? I think you get the picture. When we wait to polish our resumes until we choose (or are forced) to leave our current role, so many of our accomplishments get missed, forgotten, and ultimately left of the resume. Start this process today so when the time comes for you to disrupt your career, you’ve already captured the very best of you! Additionally, if your reflection, informational interviews, and network cultivation have you ready to make a 180-degree career pivot, consider building a functional resume that showcases the transferability of your skills. Take a peek here to learn more about the functional resume.

5. Engage with a Career Coach

Feeling overwhelmed by the previous suggestions? You are most certainly not alone. Exploring our strengths, identifying our values, and creating a new professional path is work that often requires support. Engaging with a Career Coach not only provides an objective lens to see your career in a new way, but ensures that you will have champion and thought partner in your corner throughout the job search process. Updating your collateral materials (resume, cover letter, LinkedIn, etc), searching job boards, and preparing for interviews becomes much more tolerable when you have someone holding you accountable and cheering you along! Want to get started? (en)Courage Coaching would love to meet you! Learn more about us here and connect today!

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor |Katie O’MalleyKatie O’Malley, M.Ed., BCC, is Leadership Coach and Educator with fifteen years of professional experience serving the nonprofit, corporate and higher education sectors. Across these workplaces, Katie noticed her strengths and values consistently steered her toward the support and development of others. In 2013, Katie translated this observation into action and pursued a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Board Certification in Executive and Career Coaching.

Currently, Katie works full time as the Senior Associate Director of Leadership Development at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In this role, Katie designs developmental workshops, provides team and leadership coaching, and contributes to the creation and delivery of leadership education curriculum for students in the Full-Time MBA Program. In her spare time, Katie serves as a Coach and Mentor for start-up businesses through the Polsky Center for Entreprenuership and founded (en)Courage Coaching Chicago, a private coaching practice specializing in career and leadership development for underrepresented populations in the C-Suite. Prior to these roles, Katie served as a coach in leadership development offices at The University of Texas at Austin and DePaul University.

How do you start your own business

/in /by

StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start your own business|How do you start your own businessLife teaches us important things. As time goes by, different experiences turn into different lessons. Running a successful business is almost the same. Your business becomes your life and you learn new things in business as you experience different events. However, stepping into the unknown without at least a little bit of help can turn into a very short trip.
Just like parents give lessons to their children, other entrepreneurs offer advice to business owners in order to help them avoid some of the unpleasant circumstances that can place both them and their business at risk, and advice that can help them thrive and succeed. Here are a few business lessons every founder should be familiar with.

Manage a Tight Budget

Most business owners launch their businesses with a limited capital, hoping that profits will be substantial with the right investments. This is true, by making the right choices, a return on investment can become a good source of profit and income. However, investments take time to fully develop, while additional expenses and unforeseen costs can set back your business greatly. Make sure you promote your business and think about different strategies to do that.

Find ways to manage your finances efficiently and effectively in order not to spend your entire capital in one place. Furthermore, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to seek venture capitalism or investors, make sure you do it before you actually need it. You don’t want to put yourself in a situation where you have to beg for money.

Messing With the Law

Many business owners run into legal trouble without even understanding why or what they did wrong in the first place. You might not be aware of the certain taxes or you may not even realize that you need a specific license. Furthermore, the state can legally bind you to acquire surety bond insurance, under the federal law that you might not even know about. The point is that the bureaucracy and red tape can put an end to your business faster than any other issue you might run into. Therefore, learn a valuable lesson from this and make sure you sort out any tax, license or insurance matters if you want your business to run smoothly.

Learn from successful businesses

One of the most lucrative industries is the oil and gas industry and if you want to find a business that is sustainable and a great option, you may want to learn something from professionals. The main thing every startup will learn from big industries is to adapt to all the technological changes. Even big industries need to change with all the new technology and equipment and the use of all the latest upgrades. Things like efficient oilfield equipment are the best way to achieve great results and take your business to the highest level.

Don’t Get Discouraged

Every business has its good and bad days, and so will yours. You may think everything is going well while at one point, results may start to decline. Business fluctuations are completely normal. Furthermore, the market and customer demand are constantly shifting. The important thing is not to give up just because your business has hit a rough spot. Most businesses fail because their founders decide that the risk is not worth the gain and that tough times are too much to bear. However, businesses change all the time and a rough patch may even become an opportunity to shift focus and direction. Your business will constantly evolve and it’s up to you to navigate it from troublesome situations into profitable endeavors.

Hire Smart

Hiring the right people for your business is crucial for its success. A key to a profitable and successful business is a stable and effective workforce. In order for your business to thrive and prosper you must take time and make an effort to hire the right people for the job. Anything less than that, and your business might face employee turnovers, additional expenses and slow or lack of any work progress.

This is an important business lesson because a good employee will help you achieve your goals, while a bad employee will only slow you down. Besides, hiring the right people from the very beginning will develop a suitable business culture and make your job a lot easier from there on.

Planning Ahead

The most important aspect of your business is to plan ahead and always be prepared for the best and the worst outcomes. You can estimate the market and run metrics to calculate the risks. Also, you must always thrive to be at least one step ahead of your game. This will ensure that when the time comes, you are ready to make the right move, invest in a good opportunity or save your business from its downfall.

For entrepreneurs who decide to run a successful business, it will be like learning how to walk – one step at the time. Of course, we learn the best when there is someone there to give us a little push or teach us a valuable lesson, so we don’t make mistakes that can ruin us.