5 Simple Strategies that will help you Scale Your Business

Scaling your business with Joe Laforte

You float a company with an awesome product that consumers demand and are ready to pay for. Once your business goes on growing, well-wishers would advise you to look for ways to scale the operations and enjoy further growth of your business. When your business can scale its operations, it means it is able to deal with an increasing amount of sales or work in a cost-effective and capable way. Here are 5 basic strategies that will help you to scale up your business.

Automate and Outsource

It is important that you automate your business processes, and outsource the same as much as you can, so that you have enough time to boost your sales. With outsourcing of important business operations, you can reduce expenses on hiring in-house staffs to manage the same tasks. You can also keep employees free to focus on other areas of business.

Recruit the best people

You have to take care to hire the right people for the right jobs, which can let you save money in the long run. Employing candidates without the necessary skills and qualifications will only lead to wastage over the long term. Take time to hire commission-based sales representatives for your business, and walk them through your entire system of operations.

Use the latest technology

Concentrate on using mobile technology, social networking websites and other popular technologies. Be up with all the newest trends. The use of new technology will let you gain more market share. It can be a nice way to experience growth and expansion of your business, and edge past your competitors. With social media, you can get ample chances to scale your business – regardless of what your business type is.

Have meetings

It is essential that you have a meeting with your marketing team every week, so that you can discuss ways on how to tap more market share and get in touch with more leads, transforming them into customers. You can brainstorm and find out ways to achieve a massive following. You can create ad campaign content that can help you to spread value, and raise visibility and awareness about what you have on offer.

Know your financing options

You should search for the best financing options for your business, and have a proper understanding of each option. If you are serious about business growth, it is essential that you know all the options that you have open for your business.

Financial Obstacles Facing Millennials

Financial Obstacles Facing Millennials

Entering adulthood can seem like a daunting task but with the rapid expansion of technology and ultra-competitive labor market, the Millennial generation has huge obstacles to overcome compared to generations past. Certainly, each generation has their own unique situations, but those situations continue to increase with globalization.

Millennials are choosing to marry later in life and prioritizing renting over home ownership due to the rising cost of living and oppressive student loan debt. This combination is leading to the postponing of retirement saving and while the recession taught this generation some lessons in finance, it still has become difficult progress.

What specifically is holding Millennials back? Here are 4 data points to consider in this new generation.

Financial Constraints

One of the main reasons Millennials are conservative, whether by force or choice, are their financial constraints. Most of the generation stated they lack the money to put towards retirement and furthermore, over half are living paycheck to paycheck. While they realize the earlier you save the better, it simply isn’t in the equation.

Taking it a step further, many Millennials believe that Social Security will cease to exist or play a small role during retirement. This means the Millennial generation will have to account for additional income that was once subsidized by the government. While many from this generation understand the financial implications of postponing certain financial milestones, it simply can’t be done at this moment.

Debt

Secondly and already alluded to earlier is the increasing debt Millennials have obtained through various avenues, with the biggest culprit being the high cost of education. Debt is the killer of not only cash flow but wealth building as well. This combination has a huge negative impact on the financial health of many in this generation. With the promise quality jobs, the market has shifted and become oversaturated with educated individuals, leading to a decrease in wages.

Beyond student loans, consumer debts such as a mortgage or credit cards are among the top debts constraining the ability of this generation to save. These debts combined indicate a significant portion of Millennial’s income goes directly to paying off debt, causing a lack of investing and saving for the future.

Lack of Confidence

All these negative pressures on personal finance is causing a lack of confidence in the economy, job market and the overall economic environment. With the recession in 2007-08, it’s caused individuals to become hesitant to invest their money with fears it might get wiped away. Over half the Millennial generation stated that the stock market was not the best place to invest.

However, for those that do choose to invest in the market they are being conservative compared to their current age. Someone early in life should be taking on more risk to increase returns but instead are opting to play it safe in fear of another market collapse.

Lack of Market Knowledge

Lastly, the lack of market knowledge is hindering the ability of the Millennial generation to invest. Investing and personal finance isn’t talked about in many schools and this is causing issues with basic investing knowledge. One of the common threads among the generation is the purchasing and selling off stocks too quickly when really, they should be holding them for longer periods of time.

The net worth of individuals between the ages of 29 and 34 years of age continues to decrease with time. In 2007 the average net worth was $39,635, but that has since decreased in 2013 to $18,400.

Are all Millennials created equal? The answer is no, and this generation continues to face a challenging labor market and high costs of education. While every generation has their unique issues, Millennials continue to face an onslaught of financial problems that could have a greater impact on the overall economy.

Philadelphia – The Place I Used to Call Home

Philadelphia – The Place I Call Home

The city of brotherly love, Philadelphia is an east coast city that serves as not only a time capsule but is home to many top food and tourist attractions.

Known as the largest city in Pennsylvania, this wonderful city was founded back in 1682. Containing 67 national landmarks, this city has endless history and many flock from everywhere to enjoy it’s heritage. Home to professional sports teams, Philadelphia is up there as one of the most recognize bale names in the United States. Demographically, the city is made up or mostly white (non-Hispanic) and African American individuals, with Hispanic or Latino rounding out the top three.

Philadelphia is also home to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which rivals even the best including the Art Museum of Chicago. If art isn’t your thing then you’re in luck because there are many different places to immerse yourself in culture, food and with the various transit options you can freely move about the city.

Best Bars/Restaurants

If it’s food and drink you’re searching for, then here are a few places to check out before you leave.

R&D

This cocktail bar, formerly wine bar is a perfect spot to enjoy a proper cocktail. The menus to change by season, ensuring you have a proper variety to choose from when you’re in town. Should you decide to go, it’s located a 2016 Frankford Avenue in the Fishtown neighborhood.

The Ripplewood

Another place to explore would be The Ripplewood, which is located in the Ardmore neighborhood. Known for their proper cocktails, this place continues to be a hot spot and can quench your thirst while enjoy the sights and sounds of the city.

Suraya

If it’s food you want then you should check out Suraya, voted #1 place by Phillymag.com. As the restaurant continues to advance and offer more, it has become a must see when in the city. With a healthy option of drinks and food, you are sure to find what you’re looking for.

Parks and Recreation

If you need a place to start you can visit the city’s park and rec page, but for quick reference look to visit Fairmount Park, which is among the largest urban parks in the country. Looking to stay in the heart of the city? You can visit Rittenhouse Square, which is once city block and a wonderful place to simply take in the sites and sounds under a shady tree.

Housing & Transportation

Being a major city, there are a plethora of options for housing and transportation. With such a rich history you can find many buildings that offer more than an average night in the city. From Air B&B’s to high end hotels, there’s something to fit your needs. Transportation is everywhere and from public to ride share, you can count of finding proper transportation.

The city of Philadelphia is a wonderful city to enjoy for a weekend or a lifetime. No matter the season, the city of brotherly love offers a wide variety of entertainment and dining, ensuring you find exactly what you’re looking for.