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The Skills Every Entrepreneur Should Have

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Entrepreneur Skills|The Skills Every Entrepreneur Should HaveAn entrepreneur is someone who starts their own business and is responsible for building it up from the ground. As you might imagine, this is by no stretch of the imagination, but if you are determined to make it work, you have every chance of doing so.

Something else that will help you to have the best possible chance of succeeding as an entrepreneur is having the right skills. Some of the most common skills that entrepreneurs require are inherent, but most of them can be learned, so if you are willing to put the time and effort in, you could acquire abilities that will help you to run a much more successful business in the future.

With that in mind, here are some of the most important skills every entrepreneur should have:

Inquisitiveness

In order to come up with great new ideas and solve pressing new problems, you really do need to have an inquisitive mind that is always thinking about things, how they work and how they could be improved. This is probably the most important skill to have.

Communication

Successful entrepreneurs like Jonathan Sears, and Bill Gates if you want to be successful in business, you need to learn how to communicate as effectively as possible. From being able to pitch an idea to investors to directing employees how to handle a work project, and of course, dealing with customers, you are going to be doing a lot of talking one way or another, and the more eloquently you can put your point across, the more successful you are likely to be.

Time management

When you are turning a business, there really aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything that you need to do. It is your job as an entrepreneur to find the time, which means you need to have excellent time management skills, Of course, you can hire other people to help you (and you should) but if you aren’t able to fit everything you need to do into your daily schedule as efficiently as possible, you really will struggle.

Resilience

Being an entrepreneur is hard. Not all of your ideas will land, some of your big dreams will fail, and you will fall short of many of your goals. If you cannot handle those things, you will ultimately be unsuccessful in business and feel terrible in your personal life. If, however, you can handle the rejections, stresses, and bad times and learn from them, you can come back better and stronger and ultimately lead your company to great success.

Mathematics

If you want to do well in business, you need to be able to raise funds, create business plans, work out your bottom line, and a million other things that require the ability to think mathematically, Obviously, there are lots of tools that can help you with this these days but if you have an innate understanding of mathematics, you will find it a whole lot easier to succeed.

If you have all of these skills or are able to work towards developing them, then you are fsr more likely to succeed as a modern entrepreneur.

4 Signs It’s Time To Find A New Job

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Time to find a new job|4 Signs It's Time To Find A New JobSometimes, there comes a moment in your life where you realize that your current job isn’t right for you. Moreso than that, you realize your whole career just isn’t right for you at all. It’s time to make a big change and find a new job. The key is learning how to identify when this time is right. As a result, you’ll avoid wasting months of your life working a job that you will eventually leave. Instead, you can spot the warning signs early, leave as soon as possible, and use that extra time to train or find a new job right away.

With that in mind, what are the telltale signs it’s time to find a new job?

You’re not appreciated by your employer

Arguably the biggest sign it’s time to leave your job is if your employer pays you no attention. Ironically, so many people remain in jobs when they’re underappreciated. Why? Because you convince yourself that it’s greedy or selfish to want some attention from your boss. In reality, you deserve it! If you do a good job, you deserve to get a slap on the back and a well done now and then. More than that, you deserve a bonus, a raise, or a promotion. Have you ever got any of these or know anyone in your business that has? If not, the employer doesn’t value their employees, so why bother working for them? You can find the same job in a different company and enjoy much better benefits and appreciation, with room to grow and earn more money or gain promotions.

You’re on an awful benefits program

Benefits were mentioned in the previous sentence, and they play a big role in deciding if you should quit your job or not. As an employee, you deserve certain employee benefits. The very least of which should be a pension of sorts. Your employer should set up a fund for you and pay some of your wages into it every month. Alongside this, they should make a monthly contribution, helping you save for retirement. If you don’t have one of these at your job, it’s a big sign to find a new one that offers a good pension.

Furthermore, the more benefits a job can provide, the better. Some careers will have better benefits plans than others. For instance, a lot of healthcare jobs come with lots of good benefits that you wouldn’t find in an office job. Likewise, teaching jobs come with loads of days of holiday and great pensions. If you currently receive very little in terms of employment benefits, it could be time to look elsewhere.

Your job is too dangerous

Does every day present significant risks to your health & wellbeing? You’ll be amazed at how many jobs out there are just really dangerous. Even simple ones, like being a truck driver, can be bad for your health. You spend a lot of time driving a massive vehicle that can easily cause accidents on the roads. And good luck getting legal help when injured in a truck accident as the courts usually favor the drivers of smaller cars. Construction workers are another common example of people doing dangerous or high-risk jobs. There are so many ways to hurt yourself on a construction site; every day could be the day you end up in hospital.

Put it this way: you shouldn’t have to worry about your health when at work. If it’s got to a point where you’re tired and sore every day, you may consider leaving. Find a job that’s safer and less dangerous to your health for a better work/life balance.

You feel unfulfilled

Lastly, look at how you feel when you think about work every day. When you leave your job and go to sleep at night, do you feel fulfilled? Does your job excite you – do you enjoy it? If you hate your job and believe it brings you nothing but a paycheck, it could be time to look for something new.

This is something that indicates if you should change careers. A sense of unfulfillment can be down to the job you perform; it just might not be the right one for you. Instead, you can change careers and embark on a journey to find a job that leaves you fulfilled. Even if it pays a little less, you’ll feel so much happier doing something that brings you joy.

If you notice any of these signs, you should reassess whether or not this job is right for you. It might mean quitting and finding the same job at a different company. Or, it could mean you pack in this career and find a better and more rewarding one.

The Ultimate Way To Increase Your Brand Awareness

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Brand Awareness is important for increasing your company’s revenue. Whether you’re a small business with only one product or a large corporation that offers a full line of high-quality goods and services, it’s essential to let people know what you have to offer.

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | The Ultimate Way To Increase Your Brand Awareness

There are many ways to increase brand awareness, but none as effective as,

Social Media Marketing:

Use Social Media Platforms

Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to promote your brand and content. Not only will these networks allow you to spread the word about your products/services, but they’ll also allow visitors to rate and review your products allowing other visitors to better understand the value of what you’re offering. In addition, social media can be used not just to push out your message but also to receive feedback, which is important for building trust.

Use Youtube To Share Videos Of Your Products/Services

This will give viewers an up-close look at what you have to offer before deciding whether or not to buy, increasing the chance that they will follow through on their purchase. You can also use YouTube’s annotation feature to encourage people who are watching your video (and especially subscribers) to visit your website and explore more videos like it.

Post pictures of your company events or work environments on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram. Make sure to hire a professional corporate event planner for your company events. These pictures will encourage viewers to learn more about who you are as a company, encouraging them to follow your brand.

Regularly Update Your Blog With New Content

Not only should you write about current events occurring in your company, but you should also write posts related to industry news and trends, as well as topics of interest for your target audience. By doing so, you’ll establish yourself as one of the go-to sources for industry information which will build trust among potential customers.

If You Do Not Have A Website Yet, Create One Now!

A website lets people know who you are and what services/products you have to offer without putting down their credit information first – they can take their time to learn about the benefits of your product. Then, if they like what they see, they can subscribe to your channel to receive updates when new posts are published.

Link All Social Media Platforms Together

i.e., post images on Pinterest that link back to Facebook, use hashtags that tie Twitter into the picture; this way, people who visit one site will be able to explore more content across other platforms. This is great for building traffic and increasing brand awareness by exposing potential customers of various demographics to various content related specifically to their interests.

Utilize Paid Ads On Social Media Sites

Media sites such as Facebook and Google Adwords to get your brand in front of a wider audience at a lower cost than conventional advertising methods. While social media marketing is highly effective in and of itself, it’s also a very cost-efficient method for getting your name out there, especially if you’re still working on establishing your brand.

Managing your time more effectively as CEO

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Managing your time more effectively as CEOThe responsibilities of a Chief Executive Officer are seemingly endless. From managing strategic direction, evaluating group and company operations to communicating with various stakeholders – the daily schedule of a CEO can be relentless. There are never enough hours in the day, and for business leaders this is certainly true. So, if you’re a relatively new CEO or you’ve been at the helm for a while – how can you manage your time more effectively?

Master Delegation

The most important thing any business leader can do to manage their time more effectively is improve their delegation skills. It can be tempting to control and oversee every aspect of a business, particularly if you’ve built it from nothing, but it’s impossible to do this as a company grows. In order to delegate effectively, you must have the right team around you and an appropriate structure beneath you to support this. This includes people that you trust to get the job done, and competent employees that you can rely on.

Travel Smart

CEOs can spend a significant amount of time traveling between meetings, offices and partners. Therefore, being smart with this time is an absolute must. For example, you could opt for private jet rental instead of commercial flights to save time by avoiding busy airports, and give you more flexibility when it comes to multi-destination trips. It’s also important to make best use of the time while traveling to free up space elsewhere in the day. You could use your travel time to power through some emails or catch up on some work that doesn’t require much collaboration.

Reserve Time

Much is demanded of CEOs from others in the organisation, and as such, a large proportion of their day can be filled with meetings and other scheduled commitments. It’s essential that you reserve some time each day or week for your own priorities, work or even just for a 10-minute breather. Pockets of time here and there can help to boost productivity and break up the day. Reserving time for yourself also relies on delegation – if someone else can take one of your meetings per day, you’ll automatically create more time for yourself to work on other projects.

Power Sessions

Being a CEO is all about imagining and developing the big picture, but you can still get caught up in the intricacies of operations. Use power sessions, or periods of intense focus, to blast through the more mundane or administrative tasks that you will undoubtedly have to do every once in a while. The same goes for emails – reserve a time slot to power through your inbox and you will almost certainly clear it quicker than if you have your mind on other things.

The Impact of Packaging on Your eCommerce Sales

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | The Impact of Packaging on Your eCommerce SalesPackaging is one of the most crucial elements of an eCommerce store and it can determine the level of success your business experiences. The way you package your product goes a long way to attracting potential customers, appealing to your target audience and differentiating your brand from the competition.

With an eCommerce business, you don’t have the benefit of customers being able to pick your products up or to talk to them face to face about your offerings, so you’re reliant on first impressions. That’s where packaging comes in to win new customers, retain existing ones and boost sales.

A rising demand for sustainable packaging

Sustainability has become an increasingly prominent issue for customers in recent years, and consumers want the products they buy to be packaged in a sustainable, environmentally-friendly way. eCommerce businesses need to be sure they’re not overpacking their products which will contribute towards excess and unnecessary waste. They also need to ensure that the materials they use are recyclable or compostable to ease the burden placed on our planet.

Sustainable packaging comes in various forms and there are many packaging strategies for eCommerce businesses to try, from shipping in smaller packages to using biodegradable alternatives and plant-based solutions. These options improve your brand’s reputation, lower shipping costs for your business and increase sales.

Increased scrutiny from consumers

With the rise in online purchasing, businesses need to do all they can to connect with consumers on a personal level. In eCommerce, a customer’s perceptions of a brand are primarily based on their initial unboxing experience, so they’ll be checking for packaging damage, whether the item arrives in good condition and how the delivery experience was for them. Damage and faulty goods can negatively affect your reputation and lead to customers going to a different supplier, so the way in which you package your items makes all the difference.

This is even more important with food products. Customers have much higher standards when it comes to consumables, so you need to think about the item you’re selling and how best to package it to preserve the integrity of the product. For example, serving up one of the nation’s most popular drinks, tea bags are sensitive to light and moisture. As such, businesses in this niche need to choose packaging that provides a barrier to these elements to ensure the customer receives the product in the same condition as when you packaged it. Likewise, a company selling bath products needs to be sure the contents of a customer’s orders will remain intact and won’t absorb moisture.

The importance of visual appeal

While it’s true that packaging serves a practical function, there’s also a fantastic opportunity for eCommerce businesses to play with the design of their product and shipping packaging to elevate their brand presence and entice customers to buy. On average, customers form an opinion about a product in just 3 seconds, so you don’t have long to get their attention and keep it. Visuals are essential for representing your brand in the right way and could be the difference between a customer choosing to buy from your online business versus another.

You can use packaging design to convey your unique brand identity and messaging in a clear and concise way, so customers are immediately aware of what your business is about. Make sure your colours and fonts are cohesive with your brand and that you’re clearly displaying your business name, logo and trademarks so consumers instantly know that it’s your brand they’re purchasing from and will recognise your products from their aesthetically appealing designs.

Greater customer loyalty

Great packaging could spell the difference between a customer using your business again or switching to someone else, so it pays to take this into consideration. Consider if someone is purchasing a gift for a friend or relative. The packaging of your product could have a significant impact on whether they’re likely to consider your brand or someone else’s, and whether they’re likely to consider you again in the future.

Customer loyalty is an argument for considering custom packaging for your eCommerce goods, setting your products apart from the rest of the industry and making the design unique to your brand. Custom packaging is an underused marketing tactic that would put you a step ahead of your competition, but it also gives you the opportunity to really hone in on what your customers are looking for and provide it to them. Getting creative with the design, from the size, shape and functionality to colours and finishes, will delight your customers and encourage them to think of your business when they need to make a purchase.

Key takeaways

eCommerce businesses have to take packaging into account for a number of reasons, particularly if they want another effective method of boosting their online sales. Packaging plays an important role in protecting the interior items, providing a great service to customers and improving brand reputation and loyalty. There are so many opportunities to make packaging a focal point of a product, from playing with different designs to make your items stand out on the digital shelves to choosing sustainable materials that will give you eco points with consumers.

The main goal when it comes to increasing sales through packaging is to ensure that the style of packaging you choose is suitable for the products you’re sending out to customers and that the appearance matches up with the impression you want to give your customers.