Author: Reginald Chan

How Corporate Cards Can Help You with Your Startup Company

If you’ve decided to open a startup company then this is an exciting time in your life. You probably have some big ideas and hopefully, a reasonable plan that will allow your business to grow and develop. More than half of new startups fail in the first five years and the predominant reason is that they try to scale too quickly.

One of the things that can help you with handling your business in a more productive manner is corporate credit cards. Although obtaining one can be very difficult for a startup, more and more providers are focusing on this part of the business sphere. Let’s see how you can get a corporate credit card and how helpful it can be.

What are Corporate Credit Cards?

They function pretty much in the same way as standard personal credit cards all of us use. The difference is – they are issued to specific employees by their employer for business-related expenses. You can use them to buy tickets for work-related tips, to acquire office necessities, or something similar. Instead of waiting for the worker to report the expenses, the money will be immediately deducted from the firm’s funds. This way you won’t have to rely on the statements of those working for you to have credit card reconciliation. However, in most cases, you will have to provide a finance team with proofs of purchase, for tax reasons.

This will make the whole situation less stressful for everyone involved. You will have regular reports when it comes to the financial standing of a company while your employees won’t have to worry about payment charges and debt. Most of the corporate cards offer various perks for those who use them such as airport lounge access and travel emergency services.

There are also certain drawbacks when it comes to using this type of card. Those using them might be less inclined to spend the money reasonably since it’s not theirs. Noticing something like this can be more difficult, that’s why you need to have an agreement with those who use them as well as with your financial team. Overall, this is definitely a more practical alternative to filing endless expense reports and waiting to be reimbursed. It’s something you should include in the work practice of your company right from the get-go as it will bring a lot of benefits down the road.

How Does It Work?

We don’t have to say how important it is to manage your finance in a proper manner, especially if you’re just entering the market with a startup company. As experts from https://www.tribal.credit/ know well, the banking sector is not providing this part of the economy with what it needs. The traditional financial system doesn’t look at startups too kindly but more and more providers are focusing on covering the needs of these young entrepreneurs and helping them reach their goal.

Corporate credit cards seem like a good solution for several reasons. First of all, you will be able to separate personal and business expenses. This is important and should be done from the very start. This will not only make it easier to track where your money is going but it will also be very helpful when the time comes to do your taxes.

Another perk is that you don’t have to wait ‘till the end of the month to see the list of expenditures. Many providers are now giving you an opportunity to follow your team’s spending as it happens and get an instant overview of all payments.

Young entrepreneurs very often hear ‘No’ from traditional banking systems when they want to obtain a corporate credit card. Given the fact that they represent completely new businesses, they don’t have credit histories. However, there are more and more providers entering the financial scene directing their services towards startups specifically.

Many of them will allow you to register and submit all the necessary documentation via online application. Understanding the situation these companies are in, they will not judge you by person or by company credit history. Even more than that, you will be able to set and adjust individual spending limits for every member of your team. And if anyone steps over the line and uses more money than needed, you can in one click freeze cards.

Also, having a balanced cash flow is usually difficult for startups. This way, you will get access to higher credit limits which means not worrying about unplanned expenses all the time. Basically, you will be borrowing money now to pay it back later. This kind of leeway will give you more room to create a successful business story. Plus, a higher limit means a lower ratio which also helps improve your overall score.

Are You Familiar with Virtual Cards?

As technology moves forwards and the rhythm of our everyday lives gets faster and faster, we are looking for more practical solutions that will be able to make us more productive and time-efficient. Physical credit cards are something all of us are familiar with but what about virtual ones?

Virtual credit cards can be used for shopping, just like the regular ones, but they are issued on a temporary basis. This option will be good for any startup as they eliminate the waiting period and your team can start using them immediately.

Differently from plastic ones, virtual cards represent random 16-digit numbers with expiration dates and CVV codes. Another benefit of using them is that they add another level of security. If a hacker somehow gets hold of your information, you don’t have to close the whole account. Thanks to spending limits, you will feel safer when it comes to hidden or unauthorized charges.

Getting a corporate credit card will make life easier for those who are managing a startup company. Not only will this allow entrepreneurs to separate personal from business spending but it will also give them a better insight into their financial situation overall. Expenditures will be immediately available to them via online application so they can take the necessary steps if money is being used unreasonably.

March 22, 2025
You Might Be Texting the Wrong Way: Here’s How to Improve

Texting is nowadays one of the most common ways to communicate. Research indicates that users of mobile devices are texting more than they are making calls, with text messaging set to overtake calls. Communicating via text is fast, efficient, and convenient, but you need to get it right. Numerous text messaging tools available such as SMS, MMS, VoIP chats, and chat apps offer users a great opportunity to connect with other people at home, school, or even at work. Businesses are now increasingly using text support technology to communicate with clients and prospects.

Here’s how you can improve your texting game.

Timing Is Important

If you are intent on improving your texting game, always remember that time has a great impact. Different audiences have different time boundaries that need to be respected. One of the best ways to approach time in texting is to consider yourself first. Would you want to be bombarded with text messages when you have just fallen asleep at midnight? Unless it’s an emergency, businesses should send text messages within business hours. If you are texting friends and family, you could perhaps text into the night. However, too much texting and one might feel as if you are invading their private space.

You also need to respond promptly. Often, the text messages are meant to elicit a quick response. Don’t wait 12 hours to respond to an urgent message. Even if you don’t have an immediate response, just acknowledge receipt of the message and promise to get back to them soon. In case the recipients have not responded yet, be patient, and avoid bombarding them with follow up messages.

Follow Etiquette Rules

Etiquette starts with using respectful language. In texting, words and characters are your primary forms of communication. Foul or abusive language should always be avoided even if the response is not as desired. Slang is common in text messages, but if you have to use it, ensure it is for the right audiences. Some older family members and friends could, for instance, feel left out when you use slang. Equally, businesses using slang to text their clients might be getting it wrong.

Be sensitive to cultures and communities. Your message could be understood differently by different cultures. Avoid sharing private information, being too aggressive or demanding in your texting.

Be Proactive

Being proactive in texting means you meet your end of the bargain before sending the message. Texting professionals over at VoxDirect.com advise that if your texts are full of grammar and spelling mistakes, you risk appearing rushed and careless. Conduct a full spelling and grammar check before sending the text message. There are numerous online tools that you can use to proofread text messages and improve readability.

Slang, social media abbreviations, and emoticons are a nice way to spice up your texts. However, you may want to steer clear of them when texting your employer or clients. You also don’t have to publicly broadcast an issue that you could address privately with the relevant recipient.

For businesses, audience research is crucial. Learning more about an audience will give you demographic data such as age, location, language used in texting, if they send text messages and how often they send them, and the kind of content they would want in the messages. Audience analysis will enable you to determine the frequency, tone, and content of a text message program. You will also know whether it is the right audience for the program.

Also, ensure that you use autocorrect appropriately. Autocorrect might easily miss some business terms and industry-specific jargon that you may want to include in your message. You should also avoid using all caps because it sounds as if you are shouting or angry.

Know Who Is on the Other End

It is important to think about who will see your message. The effort you put in texting can bear more fruit if the target audiences find them relevant and useful. Receiving a text message is a personal experience because the audience receives the text messages privately. Therefore, you need to consider your audience and how they might perceive the message to get everything right.

Be Concise

Text messages are unlike emails or letters. Audiences might not appreciate long paragraphs and the meaning therein risks being lost. You should aim to make complex information simpler and better understood by your audiences. Don’t risk texting long explanations because the intended message might be lost. Lengthy texts also discourage immediate response.

Some texting platforms limit the number of characters that you can use at one time. The character limit underscores the hallmarks of texting, as a short-format, high-priority communication format which has a close to 100% open rate. A brief text message with a sentence or two is more effective than a long paragraph crammed with details. Long paragraphs have lower readability and readers might have a challenge deriving information from such texts. If you need to include more information, it is best to send more short messages than one long paragraph.

Be Personal

When you personalize texts, the recipients feel appreciated. Blanket messages sound generic and bland. Businesses can achieve better ROI from a texting program through personalized messages. Messaging individual recipients can be a good way to start. The recipients will be surprised and delighted and they are more likely to engage a brand. You can also address them by their name. Addressing recipients by their name breaks the ice and sets an approachable tone.

You may also include their pet names, car make, and model and product they purchased in the text message. Consider sending a personalized birthday wish or gift card on their birthdays as well. Audiences might trust brands with personalized messages more than those who send blanket text messages.

With more individuals and businesses embracing texting, there is a need to get everything right. The moment you press send, there is no going back. Sending follow up messages to correct errors is not only costly, but also has a negative impact on the intended message. When writing text messages, always ensure that you are empathetic and helpful to the target audience.

March 22, 2025
Why You Need to Backup Your Business Data (and How to Do It)

Losing data is always a conundrum, let alone how damaging it can be for a business. As a business owner, you are not responsible only for your staff’s data but also for your customers. This makes data loss or corruption a pitfall you must avoid at all costs.

Technology is a capricious thing; one moment, your systems may all be up and running, and the next, you might find that your local data copies have been lost. Luckily, creating another copy of your important files is not as hard as it sounds. Check out the following points to learn why backing up data is vital for businesses and how you can make the process a breeze.

Why Are Data Backups Important?

Access Files Remotely

Long gone are the days when employees had to be on-site to access business data. Nowadays, most people take work back home with them or rely on their smartphones to finish up tasks. This makes having a cloud copy of your company’s data a must, not only to improve workflow but also to allow employees to set their own work hours, which is extremely important in the COVID-19 era. So, if you want to have full control over your files even when you are not in the office, definitely invest in data backups.

Decide Which Files to Keep

Realistically, not every file is worth backing up. However, finding out which ones are can be challenging, especially if you have thousands of files to go through. Because the amount of data you want to create a copy of directly affects the cost of the process, particularly when it comes to cloud backup, you have to make sure that you are not just copying all the files you can find. To make the process a bit easier, ask the head of every department to find the data that is worth keeping. This way, you can keep important files protected without going over your budget.

Avoid the Woes of Power Cuts

Even if you have the best generators on the market, they may still not be enough to power up your systems during blackouts. This is especially the case if your business is based in an area that experiences wacky weather and frequent power cuts. Why go through all the trouble of finding a professional to retrieve important data when you can always be sure that your files are safe and sound? Creating backups can help you avoid the worst-case scenario and allow you to get some peace of mind.

Add an Extra Layer of Protection

To blindside you, hackers are getting increasingly craftier with the way they plan their attacks. They exploit any security loophole that your system may have to assume control of your data. By gaining access to sensitive files, they can also employ extortive means to sell them back to you for thousands of dollars. Because you certainly do not want to give these nefarious individuals that much power, backing up your data often will help you prevent these sticky situations from ever happening.

Free Up Space

If you own a startup, you may not have enough money to invest in expensive storage solutions, which makes destroying old data a necessity. However, by sacrificing this data, you may end up making things harder for your staff. After all, you never know when you might need to retrieve a certain file. Instead of continuously getting rid of files to free up space, why don’t you create another local or a cloud copy? Most solutions do not even cost that much, so you will not have to break the bank to keep your data protected.

Keep Customers Satisfied

Losing your staff’s data is one thing, but losing your clients’ information is a different story altogether. Customer satisfaction is always most business owners’ top priority, so it only makes sense that you may want to go above and beyond to keep your clients happy. This is particularly important if you have an e-commerce business where storing credit card information and other sensitive data is mandatory. Even if a power cut happens and you lose your local copy, you can ensure that your clients will never be cut off from your services as you try to fix the problem.

How Can You Create Data Backups?

Set a Budget

You can try many solutions if you want to create data backups for your business, but not all of them cost the same. This is why you need to set a budget before choosing a method. Generally speaking, the fewer data you need to back up, the lower the cost will be. However, this cost can go up if you decide to hire professionals to handle this process. For this reason, startup business owners who have enough tech knowledge or a strong IT team are advised not to seek a professional company when creating backups to keep the cost down.

Find a Method

As we’ve mentioned, you can choose from a plethora of options when it comes to data backups. The easiest way is to purchase a few external hard drives and USB sticks. Although this is usually seen as an outdated method, it still works pretty well, especially if you have a limited budget. Just make sure to keep these storage devices off-site in a safe place. You can also go for cloud storage. Yet, when picking a cloud storage provider, make sure that they have an intricate security system because you definitely do not want hackers to get to your data. Moreover, to guarantee that you will be able to access your business files anywhere, cross-platform support is a plus.

Follow a Schedule

Routine backups are very important. That said, you do not have to create one every day. Experts agree that backing up files once a week is usually enough. Nevertheless, if there is sensitive information you are afraid you might lose or your area experiences frequent power outages, it is best to incorporate this practice into your daily routine.

Business data loss is a nightmarish scenario. However, you do not have to spend thousands of dollars on fancy professionals who claim that they can retrieve lost files when you have a more straightforward solution at your disposal. By investing in creating several copies of important information, you can rest assured that your business remains on top of the food chain and give your customers the best possible experience.

March 22, 2025
How Workplace Design Can Impact the Success of Your Business

When it comes to running a profitable business, what do you think of? Most people will answer with productive employees, smart business models, and competitive pricing. While all of these answers are correct, they forget one major area that impacts success. This is your workplace design. While it might sound strange, studies have shown that a good workplace can greatly increase the profitability of your business. In what ways can it do this? Here is how your workplace design can impact your business and make it more successful.

Open Layout Boosts Morale

The first thing to look at when it comes to workplace design is the overall shape of the office. Are you having your workers work in cubicles? Are they segregated off from everyone else? While you might think this is a great way to minimize distractions and increase productivity, statistics have shown the exact opposite. Offices that are more open concept allow employees to feel more free to get their work done. Instead of feeling imprisoned, they can move around and work. Having the ability to speak with one another will greatly boost morale, which will keep your workforce happy.

However, accomplishing these goals might be difficult as there is plenty of furniture in the office along with desks and files that will have to be taken care of. In certain situations, a lot of this stuff might even be destined for the garbage. If you are unsure what to keep and what to get rid of, you can get some experts to assist you in the matter. Replacing this furniture and equipment is a great start, according to the experts at Vestra Workspace fitouts, who continue to add that clearing everything up is the first step to achieving the design that you are looking for. The best part about bringing on a team is that they can help fulfill the vision that you have. They will consult you every step of the way and work with you, so the space that you are creating is one that you will truly be happy with. An open concept will be great and will increase the morale of your staff.

Better Productivity

The next best thing about improving your workplace design is that you can expect better productivity as a result. As morale gets boosted, so does your employees’ drive to work. They will complete their tasks that much faster, and the quality will be higher as well. A properly designed workplace will also have a breakroom, which will help with this.

How does a breakroom help with workplace productivity? Employees are not mindless workers who have the ability to slave away all day. They will burn themselves out if they work too hard, and their productivity will greatly decrease. Having a breakroom will give them the chance to step away from their desk and refresh themselves mentally. It will also give them the opportunity to catch up with their coworkers and have a conversation. After their break is done, they will return to work and jump right into things. The break will do wonders for their brain, and they will once again operate at high efficiency for the rest of the day.

Improved Communication

When it comes to running a business, you have to make sure that all departments are in constant communication with each other. If there are any setbacks, people have to know early so they can react accordingly. A well-designed workplace allows people to communicate easily with each other, allowing for important information to be delivered quickly and effectively. The faster information can be conveyed, the better it will be for your business.

A Safer Environment

Worldwide, there are hundreds of thousands of work-related injuries each year. A lot of these are caused by the workplace being designed improperly. Taking the time to come up with a design to make things safe will allow your employees to feel much safer when they are working around the office. You’d be surprised at how much more success a safer business can bring.

What are the repercussions if you do not do this? If your employees are nervous about their work environment, they will not output work at an acceptable rate. An even worse situation would be if an employee were to get injured at work. You will be held responsible for the injury and will have to pay a large sum of money to the employee, putting your business in a financially dangerous situation. Safer workplace design is a better workplace design for both you and your employees.

Better Mental Health

An office that is full of clutter takes a mental toll on those around it. A mess creates stress, and as it continues to build up, it will affect your employees more and more. By taking the time to clean your office, you can keep all of your employees relaxed and feeling good. What are the other benefits of this? Employees who feel healthy and fit are much less likely to take sick days. This means that you will be operating at 100% each and every day instead of having to worry about who is going to call in sick. Proper workplace design will enrich your employees’ mental health and keep them in the office.

Drive Sales

If you deal with customers who come to your business, you want to ensure that it is presented in a way that is conducive to the business that you are doing. If your customers are unhappy with your layout, they might end up taking their business elsewhere. Everything matters when it comes to closing a sale. Find a design that is welcoming towards your customers so that they are more willing to speak with you and purchase from you.

All of these are great reasons as to why you should improve the design of your workplace. By taking the time to implement some of these tips, you will notice that the productivity and morale of your employees will improve greatly. A final recommendation is to speak to your employees about what changes you can make around the workplace. As they are the ones working in it every day, they will know what is best for it. What changes do you plan on making to the workplace?

March 22, 2025
4 Best Universities to Study Marketing

In America, the marketing profession was born with the birth of the market economy. A marketer is a specialist who promotes a company’s products and services. His/her goal is to build a sales system that will bring the company the most profit. The name of the profession translates as “market research” because the marketer identifies the needs of potential customers in order to offer a product or service that will meet those needs. Marketing seeks to build long-term communication with the client so that the buyer becomes loyal to the brand and buys again and again in the future. Now a marketer is a very popular profession and therefore universities offering training in such a profession are extremely popular. However, since there are so many of them, you can get confused about the choice. Luckily for you, we’ve put together a list of the best universities in marketing, so read on!

Why Should You Study to be a Marketer?

Marketing is one of the highest-paid professions in America. Careers in this industry are developing rapidly, which guarantees a stable and high level of income. But the main thing to remember: promotion is given only to the most hardworking and attentive employees. A marketer is one of the most promising professions. You get a lot of opportunities that are just waiting for the moment when you decide to use them. Indeed, in addition to simple highly specialized positions, the doors to the top management are opening before you. Marketers always have something to strive for and where to grow. This is important and allows you to constantly improve yourself, even while at the very top of success.

One of the main advantages of this profession is its youth and a wide range of responsibilities. After all, having such a huge amount of knowledge, skills, and abilities, even with a failed career as a marketer, you can easily find yourself in a number of more narrowly focused specialties.

1. York St. John University, UK

York St. John’s University is known not only for its wide range of marketing and business programs but also for its diverse internship and practical experience options. Not surprisingly, as many as 95% of university marketing program graduates find employment abroad within 6 months of graduation. The university offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in marketing with specializations in subjects such as hi-fi management, hospitality, international marketing, sports marketing, etc. At their will, students can study abroad during the year or undergo an internship in one of the marketing agencies. However, you should understand that studying at the university can be too difficult at times and you should remember useful services such as an essay writing site that will help you with choosing marketing essay topics and much more.

2. Liverpool University

The University of Liverpool is one of the top marketing universities. The Liverpool Marketing Course offers a wide variety of complementary units. Marketing is a topic that deals with product advertising. The school provides a good faculty and learning environment. Many students from different countries come to study at the Liverpool School.

3. Charles University, “Marketing Communications and PR”

The Institute for Communication Research and Journalism, where this specialty is studied, belongs to the Faculty of Social Research. The undergraduate program is designed for 3 years. The main goal of the university is to provide quality education, both at a theoretical and practical level, in which the graduate can apply in professions related to communications: from a press secretary to a senior level in PR.

Education is built on the principle of holistic education of the individual, therefore, students receive a broad knowledge of professional ethics and the consequences of working with the public. After that, there is an opportunity to continue studying in related fields or start serving in government agencies, commercial and non-profit organizations.

4. University of California, Irvine

The Department of Continuing Education at the University of California, Irvine offers a wide range of programs for students. Opportunities provided include superior marketing instruction, postgraduate certifications, and comprehensive training to successfully teach undergraduate and graduate students.

Summing up

The profession of internet marketer ranks 6th in the list of the most in-demand professions, right after the IT sector. Today, more specialists are required than the labor market can offer – over the past 2 years, there have been 2 times more vacancies, and the facts indicate that the demand from the business will only grow. Experienced internet marketers can earn amounts comparable to top executives’ salaries. A large number of competencies that marketers must have and the areas that must be mastered, as well as the fact that demand still exceeds supply, in this case, explains the high salary. So stop thinking, it’s time to act! Apply to one of the universities on our list.

March 22, 2025
Qualities to Look For in an Answering Service for Your Business

In today’s digital age, most companies prefer to work remotely or outsource services to save time and money. One such remote service is customer and reception service. Today, many companies are hiring answering services, which can positively impact a company’s reputation, sales, and customer reviews. Hence, it is necessary to do your research and hire a competent answering service that is not only more proficient than an in-house customer service department but is also more affordable and manageable. If you are thinking of hiring an answering service for your company to improve customer service, now is the right time. But, how does one choose a qualified answering service? Continue reading on to find out what you should look for in an answering service.

1. Packages Offered

Affordability is one of the most important factors when hiring an answering service. Depending on the size of your business, you will have a designated budget to hire an answering service. You should do your research to determine the cost of their services and look at the packages they offer. Certain answering companies offer additional services along with the basic ones, such as call screening, appointment setting, call forwarding, setting appointments, web access, and some other applications and services. If these align with your company’s needs or could benefit it in some way, such packages should definitely be considered. In some cases, you can even take the plunge and discover new services and witness the way it benefits your company along the way.

2. Training and Expertise of the Staff

Needless to say, the staff of any answering service should be skilled and trained to conduct any type of interaction. Whether your company handles legal matters or manufactures products, it is your right to measure and determine the expertise of the service’s staff since you are entering a partnership for a prolonged period. Question the staff and call operators to ensure that they are adequately trained to handle any questions about your business. While conducting this research, also find answers to questions like – Do they work remotely or at a designated site? Are they aware of your industry values? Do they have prior knowledge about your discipline? Are they quick on their feet? Do they sound polite and professional? Along with expertise, training, and skills, the amount of experience should also be considered.

3. Confidentiality

Every company needs to follow certain ethics, which mainly comprises trust, privacy, and confidentiality. The interaction between a company and a potential customer should be encrypted and kept private, and the same applies to an answering service as well. The skilled operators at TelephoneAnsweringService.org.uk highlight that confidentiality and privacy are key to gaining a customer’s trust. As a company, you are placing your trust in the answering service to maintain customer confidentiality, which is why it is necessary for an answering service to maintain discretion at every step, from the very first introduction to filing the customer claims and requests. Look for an answering service with operators who are trained in maintaining confidential information. If possible, look for a service that specializes in HIPAA-compliant calls.

4. Availability

There is no point in hiring an answering service if it is unavailable during your prime business hours. The service should be quick on its feet and ready to answer all calls at any moment. This is necessary because a single missed call could lead to a major loss. To avoid this, look for an answering service that operates in your time zone or has similar operating hours. Some businesses are more active during the night, which is when an opposite time zone comes to your rescue. Also, some answering services offer 24/7 availability, which is necessary for some types of businesses. Even if the answering service does not operate 24/7, look into the types of emergency plans and backup options that they offer. What is their emergency strategy in case they missed a call? What is their outlook on disaster planning and redundancy?

5. Language Assistance

If your business attracts non-English speakers, you should ensure that the answering service is ready to assist them in the customer’s preferred language. In such cases, a bi- or trilingual answering service is necessary to break the language barrier. It is easy to lose a potential customer who does not speak your language, so taking the time to understand the customer means money saved. Take note of the types of customers you get, relevant reviews, and the language they speak. For example, if a majority of your customers prefer to speak Spanish or English, a bilingual answering service that is fluent in these two languages is preferable. In case you attract many international clients who speak varied languages, look for an answering service that can deal with multiple languages. Even though it may demand some extra expense, it is worth the investment.

6. Connection and Routing Options

All your efforts are in vain if the connection and routing options offered by the answering service are poor. If all calls are managed at one common location, call diverting can be an issue as it often causes confusion and mistakes. It not only causes misunderstandings and probable losses but also affects your company’s reputation. Even if the call is diverted to an expert who works for the same service, human errors are still possible due to poor connection or miscommunication. To ensure that your company’s customer service is lauded, consider every aspect of connection and routing options offered by the answering service.

By choosing a capable and reputable answering service, you can boost your own company’s reputation and convert leads into sales. To find the right service, it is necessary to do a little research, compare different providers, and read customer reviews to ensure that your company is represented by the best customer service representatives. After all, this will directly affect your company’s sales and identity. With hundreds of reliable answering services on the market, you’ll have a myriad of options to choose from.

March 22, 2025