How to Organize Seamless Business Trips in 2020

/in /by

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Business Trips|How to Organize Seamless Business Trips in 2020One of the perks of working in a large company, with several senior responsibilities, is that it’s often left to you to travel to different destinations in order to hammer out contracts, seal deals, check up on suppliers, or help with your distribution network. These business trips are essential for the functioning of your company, and crucial to help you build your professional profile and wide set of skills and contacts. In this article, you’ll learn how to make business trips seamless, with the following easy-to-follow steps.

Diary

Get your schedules right before you look to book anything. You should know the key factors that feed into your trip, such as:

  • When do you have permission to leave the office on your trip?
  • Which methods of transport, in which classes, are you able to use?
  • When are your important meetings?
  • What else will you do in your destination, other than these meetings?

Only with the answers to these four questions can you make a solid plan, based on a diary of what you’ll be up to on your trip. From this point, you’ll be able to think carefully about the time of day that your travel, and the check-in times that you will cite to hotel staff.

Transport

While some business trips are across country, and it’s possible to take a train or a bus on that kind of route, it’s usually preferable to fly. Indeed, the vast majority of business trips – especially those that take travelers from coast to coast – are undertaken in the skies.

As such, it’s your responsibility to not only book your flights, but to book your transport to the airport. Use ParkON to book your parking space at the airport of your choosing, and use flight comparison websites to find the best rates on business class seating, ensuring that you’re getting a good deal for you and your company. You can also click Show More for further details on business and first-class flights.

Hotel

Where you stay should also be a central part of your considerations when it comes to your business trip. If you stay close to the locations of the meetings you’re likely to attend, you may be more likely to prolong these meetings, and more flexible to have a drink or a walk with colleagues and partners after the conclusion of the meeting.

Meanwhile, though, you want to ensure you get the right amount of sleep when you’re staying in a hotel, which means you should find those which are specifically business-friendly, and those which you can see are set up for single traveling adults, and not loud, noisy families.

Packing

Finally, all smart businesspeople know how to pack to impress. You need to look at your best when you arrive at the scheduled meetings – and certainly not like someone who has just spilled off a plane and hasn’t had a wink of sleep. Ensuring that you pack your suitcase in a smart way, to avoid creasing, is a deeply important element to the success of your trip – and should be treated with great care before you fly.

These tips are important for modern day business travelers who are looking to streamline and make seamless their business trip experience.

The Importance of Establishing Multiple Sources of Income

/in /by

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Multiple sources of income|The Importance of Establishing Multiple Sources of IncomeEstablishing a secure financial future can be challenging for people that aren’t aware of how to stabilize or diversify their income. If you’re trying to support your family, then having multiple sources of income can greatly help with the future. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize how they can establish several sources of income, or they find the idea daunting to say the least. So to help you out, we’re here to explain the importance of establishing multiple sources of income, and we’ll also show you how to get started.

Job security can be difficulty in uncertain times

Given recent global issues, it’s clear that there is no such thing as certain times in our lives anymore. Regardless of how safe you think your job is, you could lose it or end up with reduced work no matter your position. Entire companies can fold due to one or two stupid decisions by someone managing you, and it’s incredibly difficult to bounce back financially when you only have a single source of income. Having multiple streams of income means that you won’t be so reliant on a single job or salary, meaning you can protect yourself from financial ruin.

Locating business opportunities on the internet

You’d be surprised at the number of business opportunities available on the internet. Whether it’s job opportunities on social media or work listings on freelance websites, we highly suggest that you sign yourself up to social media and job boards to look for work requests and positions that need filling. However, it’s also a good idea to look for business opportunities such as looking for tenders. While tenders can be a lot more complicated, they do offer self-employed business owners and individuals with strong connections in the industry to find excellent business opportunities. However, if you don’t try to diversify your income, you won’t be able to take advantage of these unique opportunities in life.

Paying off your debts faster

Debts such as mortgages and student loans can weigh us down mentally. With the right approach, it’s possible to pay off those debts quickly by utilizing multiple streams of income. With more and more graduates leaving school with mountains of debt, it’s become incredibly important to try and pay off everything as soon as possible in order to secure your financial situation for the future. By establishing multiple sources of income, you can quickly pay off long-term debts without incurring massive amounts of interest.

Getting out of your comfort zone

Breaking from your comfort zone is a fantastic way to learn more about yourself. Taking risks, engaging in different jobs and generally diving deeper into the things you’re interested in can reveal a lot about you as a person. When you learn to diversify your income by taking on multiple jobs or setting up side hustles, it’s the perfect opportunity to chase your passions and grow your experiences and skills. If you stay in your comfort zone and refuse to adopt any changes, then it can be difficult to break out of the monotony of an unfulfilling career.

6 Practical Strategies to Take Care of your Financial Future.

/in /by

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Financial Security|6 Practical Strategies to Take Care of your Financial Future.Everyone loves to work with the assurance of a secure future. However, to make it a reality, you must take some serious steps or measures that will build your financial security. An excellent place to begin would be to write down your financial goals. Wondering how to get started? Learn about this and other great strategies that will help you take charge and secure your future financially.

Have a financial plan

A financial plan is a strategy that allows you to manage your finances so as to observe financial health and achieve your goals. It provides guidelines and strategies that will help you achieve your goals. A plan forces you to budget, manage your debts, plan for your retirement, save, and invest. Without a plan, it is impossible to exercise discipline and stay focused on the goals. If you’re having trouble on your own, check out the best source for financial advice in Canada for more tips.

Tip: Set financial goals that are (SMART) Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

Live within your means

Most of us love to keep up and fit into the demands of society. What we forget is that such acts take a toll on our finances. If you have to borrow money to have the latest iPhone or bag in the market, you run the risk of failing at your financial goals. Spending money on things you do not need alters your financial plans and eats from what could be your savings. To avoid this, have a personal budget to keep you in check. A budget will help you stick to your initial plan and help you fix problems that accrue quickly. Keep in mind that avoiding debts at all costs is a healthy practice for your financial goals.

Deal with tax problems

The inability to pay taxes owed in full is always a threat to our financial security. As you know, tax evasion is a federal crime. While not all tax problems are self-inflicted, we are still held accountable for them. The good news is that all is not lost. There are methods to settle back taxes with tax authorities successfully. All you have to do is find a tax attorney who understands the law to get you a plan that works in your favor. With the help of an attorney, you can reduce the amount of taxes you owe through a resettlement plan. This will allow you to organize your finances and achieve your long term goals.

Manage your credit cards

Do you manage all your bills or make purchases using a credit card? If you do, you are aware of the beauty and the technicalities of credit cards. Credit cards work best if you pay your balances on time and when you keep you’re spending at a low level. On the other hand, if you default payments, then things might not be rosy. You are looking at increased interest rates, late payment fees, and credit damages. Remember, a bad credit score is a nightmare to your financial plans. Other than being denied loans by banks, you risk lawsuits by creditors.

Additionally, when you are using a credit card to make purchases or take a loan, ensure to look at the interest rates. Remember, the longer you stay with a balance on the card, the more money you will pay. This affects your future because of the years and vast sums of money spent on clearing one loan.
Tip. Try to go for lower interest rates anytime.

Practice saving

Most people experience difficulty in setting aside money to pass as their savings. When you fail to save, you fail to think about the future. You cannot have a secure future if you have nothing to spend at that time. Think about what you wish your life after retirement to look like, or the short term goals that you wish to finance. It is essential to open a savings account and throw in some coins. If you have different streams of income, you can talk to your financial institution or financial advisor on the best saving plan to adopt.

Invest your money

One way to create wealth is through investing. Yes, building a portfolio of quality investment can be a significant step in achieving long term financial goals. Putting your money to work to earn better returns helps you prepare for hard economic times and also enjoy financial freedom. For example, inflation impacts on our financial well-being and one way to beat it by investing in assets that offer capital growth and higher incomes. Remember what to invest in will depend on your savings or income. You can always talk to an expert to ensure you are venturing into something that will offer you Return on Investments (ROI).

Final thoughts

Creating a secure future from a financial perspective is a huge personal step you should take. It requires developing a realistic financial plan and committing to the measures devised to achieve the goals set. You can use the tips we have shared and tailor them to suit and meet your financial goals.

What staff can do to help boost agency profits

/in /by

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article | What staff can do to help boost agency profitsWorking in an agency can be a fantastic experience, but unless you work in sales or account management it can feel like there isn’t much you can do to help the company achieve better profits. Actually this doesn’t have to be the case at all, and there is plenty that you can do help your company be more of a success financially.

Make yourself accountable

There can be a problem at all levels of agencies where members of staff do not feel like they are accountable for the success of the company. In fact, everyone at the business has a role to play in ensuring the success of the organisation, and it is up to individuals to make themselves accountable to this fact.

For managers, the issue may be that there is no one to check to make sure they are accountable to the things they say they are going to do. For other members of staff, they may not feel that what they do can have a financial impact. However, as we will see, this is not true.

Find cost savings

There is a misconception around company profits with members of staff, and this is that the easiest way to boost them is by making more money. Of course, no-one is doubting this as a concept, but it hides the fact that there are other opportunities. One of the most important ways that you, as an employee, can improve your company profits is by spending less money.

If you can find cost savings in your department or your role, those savings act as pure profit for the company. That is money that was being spent before and is now no longer being spent. Consider where you and your department spends its money and look for ways you can reduce it.

Provide management with ideas and information

Don’t lose sight of the fact that you are the person who does your job every day, which means that you understand it better than anyone else in the company. That means those things that might seem completely obvious to you, may also be completely obscured to those in management. This puts the onus on you to provide your management with any ideas and information that could help you do your job, or help the business succeed.

Often it is the day-to-day activities that actually make the biggest difference to a business’ bottom line. So don’t be afraid to voice your opinion on matters, good management will find it extremely valuable.

Be dedicated and go the extra mile

No matter what your job entails you have options with how you perform it. You can go through the day doing the bare minimum, or you can actually show hard work and dedication. Businesses love engaged staff and it is not just because this means more productive employees – when you show your dedication to the business you are showing your potential for the future.

This means that being that person who goes the extra is not only a great benefit to the company, it also provides you with far better career prospects.

Request training that you’ll actually benefit from

Ask yourself: how many times have you been on a training course where there really doesn’t seem to be much point at all to it? Too often when businesses provide training, they are have actually just followed the ideas of someone who doesn’t really understand what will be a benefit to your team.

Instead you should be proactive. Talk to your manager about the kind of training that you would actually benefit from. Once again this will pay dividends in that you will get the training that can help the business, but it will also provide you with valuable tools and skills to make it easier for you to advance your career.

“One of the biggest issues I see in owner-managed agencies is the gulf in understanding between top managers and their employees/managers. If you hope to bridge this gap, you have to invest in training your future leaders.”

Da Costa Coaching

Stop overservicing

Interesting details from the State of Agency Workflow Management report revealed that nearly half of all agencies revealed a loss of 11% due to overservicing. Overservicing is a term that means that those agencies were delivering work for clients that they were not getting paid for – and that is a major problem.

The old adage ‘time is money’ is never more appropriate than when talking about agencies, and if you are spending your time doing work that no-one is paying you for, then you are wasting both your time and your money.

Protecting Investments for the Novice

/in /by

Not everyone enters the world of financial investments with the confidence and know-how of a finance expert, despite what folks want you to think. Many of us have spent years scrabbling together savings, and learning as we go.

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article | Protecting Investments for the Novice | Personal Investing | Personal Finance

No matter how you came by your investment portfolio, whether you’re new to the world of finance or not, the most important thing is how you choose to protect your assets. For the financial amateur, this can be a daunting task, but with a few simple tips you can protect your financial investments and ensure that your assets are safe.

Patent Management

Portfolio management, or patent management, is a great way to protect your investments. It works in much the same way as having a money manager who oversees your investments and financial decisions.

You’ll sit down with a team to discuss your long-term goals, and the patent manager will oversee your investments, keeping an eye out for unique opportunities, as well as risks and pitfalls. They’ll oversee any changes to your investments and maintain your portfolio. They’ll go over strategies and ideas to grow your investment and will guide you every step of the way as you grow your assets.

Cut Your Losses

Many novice investors make the mistake of becoming too attached to certain investments, or refusing to cut their losses when numbers are dwindling. Or, they’ll wait to get out of a bad investment until after it’s far too late to recover from the loss.

One thing that savvy investors know is that you get out quick when you see the signs of a loss. Sentimentality or hope that things will recover is a fool’s errand. Cut your losses while you can and don’t look back.

Buy Stocks

Some investors refuse to buy a stock if it’s “going down” on the charts, but many successful investors know that that’s exactly when you should be buying them. Buying stocks that are coming out of a price consolidation can grow your numbers exponentially.

Choose Investment Accounts Wisely

This is something you’ll want to speak about with your money manager or patent/portfolio manager. Saving money for retirement is an excellent idea, but there are so many different types of investment accounts to choose from, it can be hard to know which is the best option for you. 401k, traditional and Roth IRA plans, and more. Talk to your manager about which option is best for your retirement savings, compare the risks and rewards, and make a sound decision.

Mutual Funds

Mutual funds are another great option for the novice investor. These funds can help diversify your investments and allow you to purchase stocks, bonds and other investments all at once. They are a convenient and low-risk way to diversify your wealth.

If you take the time to follow these tips, you’ll be well on your way to securing the safety of your investments, and even seeing some real growth! Talk to your money or patent manager today.