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  • Finance 0

    How to Work with a Boss Who Needs Company to Feel Comfortable

    When I was a young exec, one of my bosses would call me into his office whenever he needed to write significant memos. I would have to sit quietly in a chair across from his desk while he wrote on a yellow legal pad. We would speak for barely a minute or two when I walked in, and then he would work silently, while I watched him and tried not to mutter to myself. Only occasionally did he want to discuss what he was writing. It felt strange and awkward being there, and I would stew over the work on my desk that wasn’t getting done. Yet despite the weirdness of the situation, I learned years later that it was actually an example of something c...
    On July 31, 2021 / By
  • Finance 0

    3 Productivity Hacks Successful Entrepreneurs Use to Stay Productive

    As an entrepreneur, staying positive throughout your journey can be challenging. Despite fluctuating markets and ever-changing consumer behaviours, the need to keep your business or idea growing while innovating within the means of new products and services aligning with demands can feel draining, to say the least. Thanks to the covid-19 pandemic, we have seen an influx of start-ups and new businesses born, launching at unprecedented rates in the past year. However, in all trueness, many new companies do not withstand the test of time as they cannot make it past the first year. A staggering 60% of new businesses don’t make it to their third...
    On July 31, 2021 / By
  • Finance 0

    Annuities 102: Fixed Annuity

    In the first installment in this occasional series of blogs, we wrote about annuities and provided a 101 guide and introduction. In that blog, we covered what an annuity is, the contents of the basic annuity, and also discussed the basic types of annuities. In this blog, we take a deeper dive and look at the fixed annuity. What is a fixed annuity? There are generally three types of annuities- 1) fixed, with the goal of paying you a fixed amount based on an interest rate provide for in the contract, 2) indexed, which permits the annuitant (the contract holder) to be credited by the insurer for the return of a stock index, such as the S&P 5...
    On July 31, 2021 / By
  • Finance 0

    How to Retain Talent If Your Business Can’t Go Remote

    As vaccination rates grow, more and more businesses are lifting COVID-19 restrictions and are coming back to the office. However, recent studies have revealed striking statics: Only 10 percent of employees want to come back full time 39 percent would consider quitting if their employer isn’t flexible about remote work (49 percent among millennials and Gen Z) 41 percent of employees would take a pay cut to work remotely part of the time. These numbers indicate that businesses that don’t adjust to the new preferences of employees, will face headwinds retaining talent. What if the nature of your business doesn’t let you completely switch t...
    On July 31, 2021 / By
  • Finance 0

    We Must Quit Our Unhealthy Obsession with Leads

    We live in a world obsessed with leads. But are they actually worth your time and bucks? Does sales really care about the magnitude of leads marketing generates? Let’s break this down to see if leads have the impact that we’ve been brainwashed to believe. (Spoiler alert: they don’t.) What Even Is a Lead? Is it an email offering? A nurtured email? An MQL? An inbound request? …Yes. Basically, a lead is anyone who shows an interest in your offering. However, whether collected from form submissions, a purchased list or an event, less than 1% of all leads turn into sales. When they’re nurtured, 20% more turn into customers. (So roughly 1...
    On July 31, 2021 / By
  • Finance 0

    Tardigrades Question Everything

    This article is the next installment in a series on the characteristics of a Tardigrade brand. A nimble, capital-efficient, resilient brand must have a team that embraces and leverages growth hacking. Growth hacking is the process of challenging assumptions. It is about constantly asking the right questions that can help you propel your business forward. In the last article, we discussed the development of a growth hypothesis. Foundational to a growth hypothesis are the assumptions made. These include pricing architecture, trade spend, velocity, account types, acquisition costs, ROAS, and LTV. It also includes your marketing budget, SG&A,...
    On July 30, 2021 / By
  • Finance 0

    How to Generate Leads Without Cold Calling: 10 Tips to Fill Your Pipeline

    Raise your hand the last time you enjoyed receiving a phone call from an unknown number. In fact, more likely than not, you simply reject them. And in the event that you do answer a cold call, you likely look for an excuse — any excuse — to get off the phone as quickly as possible. At the end of the day, if you want to buy something, you do some research, ask some friends or colleagues for recommendations, and maybe let it simmer on the back burner until you actually have to make a decision. This realization may make you feel uneasy. If you’re a business owner, sometimes it feels like cold calling is one of the best ways to generate lea...
    On July 30, 2021 / By
  • Finance 0

    The Challenge of Startup Networking – Conversation

    Networking is not simply a way of meeting new people, it is a means to further your startup. The key to successfully networking is that all parties must be involved for mutual benefit. Having said that, networking may not always go as you planned. It depends a lot on how you approach the individuals that you meet. From your side, have a clear purpose in mind and make good use of your time when networking for your startup. When it comes to startup networking, there are a few challenges that people face. What to talk about? How can one begin a conversation with a stranger? This is a common problem that people face when networking. It can be har...
    On July 30, 2021 / By
  • Finance 0

    Happy Customers Make The Best Brand Advocates

    Who are these people called influencers, and why do we put them up on pedestals? A lot of them are celebrities with huge followings on social platforms like Instagram. B2C brands (businesses that market directly to consumers) partner with these influencers. Brands pay them to mention and endorse their products (think shoes, jeans, makeup, sports gear) in their social posts. Kylie Jenner has 106 million Instagram followers. According to IZEA, she gets paid around $400,000 per sponsored post. B2B brands (businesses that market to other businesses) also use influencers. It requires a different approach because of the nature of the products (thin...
    On July 29, 2021 / By
  • Finance 0

    Do You Need to Hire a Financial Advisor?

    Each person on this planet has their own job, profession, and strong qualities. Doctors are needed to look after our health, mechanics for our cars, and teachers to teach us the way of knowledge. Because money is an important part of our lives, it begs the question: Do I need a professional who can help me manage my finances. Financial advisors provide financial advice and assistance to customers. They can also be called money managers (help manage your money), financial advisors (help plan and distribute your resources correctly), wealth managers, and many other names. However, many people don’t trust professionals to manage their finances...
    On July 29, 2021 / By