Tips & Advice

The world's capital of technology start-ups teach that we must learn to rely on instinct.Successful executives are never guided by the interns. If you want to learn to be the best in a discipline, you must approach the experts. When it comes to successful business, connoisseurs are in the technology industry.The project has gained strength worldwide, but its centre of excellence remains, without doubt, in Silicon Valley. The capital of innovation with regards to investment start-ups created legendary companies such as Apple, Cisco, Facebook, Google, and Intel.Everyday companies like PayPal, Netflix, Uber, Tesla, and Airbnb challenge the status quo, transforming old industries and changing the lives of people in profound ways.If you are interested in establishing, growing, and running a start-up, the best advice you can take is to talk to experts. Here are some lessons to be gained from Silicon Valley.

1.Software is eating the world.

Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, said it best: the programs are transforming the competitive environment in almost every industry on the planet. The lesson for all to learn when managing start-up programs is to find a partner that you can program.

2.There are no working hours.

If you want to succeed as an entrepreneur, you must be prepared to be aware of your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is the main reason why you should love what you do. Otherwise, you will not survive the brutal schedules, workloads, and the challenges of building a real business.

3.No man is alone.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak of Apple, Andy Grove and Gordon Moore of Intel—the world of technology is full of stories of powerful partners and large workgroups. The Solopreneurs rarely achieve the same level of success. You need to support and encourage your partners.

4.You cannot grow without capital.

A common mistake many start-ups and SMEs make is running out of cash. Like many companies, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Alibaba began with little money but soon needed investment to grow. Remember this equation: Passion + investment = start-up founders. Trying to grow your business without enough money, will quickly kill off your ambitions.

5.No one will do anything for you.

You may have a great idea but have zero chance of success unless you get up, get to work, and get your product into the hands of people.

6.The customer experience is sacred.

Consumer satisfaction generates commitment and traction. That is what prompted the growth of Tivo, Uber, and iPhone. It is also where many business opportunities arise. Mac became a successful product thanks to its graphical interface, and the Netscape browser is responsible for the initial success of the Internet.

7.Your first thought is not sacred.

Companies do not always achieve success with their first business idea. Twitter was invented as an alternative product of start-up Odeo. Furthermore, the market research of the internet was highly fragmented when Google decided to take a gamble on AdWords in October 2000. That was what gave them financial success, not the search engine itself.

8. Differentiate or Die.

There is a popular belief that it is easier to make quick business on the Internet with mobile platforms. Sure, the web has equalled the ground, but not just for you. It also improved the chances of other entrepreneurs, so the competition is brutal. Today more than ever, your product must be better than the other options on the market if you want to succeed.

9.Trust your instincts.

Every start-up should focus on one priority at a time. First is to demonstrate the concept, then launch the product, win the audience's attention, and begin to grow. Of course, you must raise capital on the fly, but you must also learn to focus and say no when necessary. That said, when the right opportunity arises, you should be able to recognise and to know how to say yes when necessary.How can you tell the difference between times when you have to slow down and when you must move forward? You have to learn to trust your gut. Behind the success of each start-up is a founding member or two who had the courage to face the unknown and take the leap. That is the essence of a Silicon Valley-style venture.

Are you good to start your new digital journey?You have already decided to undertake a business project and believe that the digital platform offers the best possibilities for your project. Once you have defined your business model, what are the next steps?Here we discuss the keys that every entrepreneur should keep in mind to start and consolidate its digital business.

• Innovate, but do not venture too far 'out there'

In a highly competitive environment like this, it might seem that innovation is the ultimate goal of any product or service. However, every innovation should start from a real market need. Take for example, a company aiming to meet the high demand for wedding tables of virtual gifts, but who choose to put a spin on their project: Instead, they base it on a model of crowdfunding, or collective financing. Thus, the guests bring a certain amount of money, and at the end of the collection, the couple receives cash instead of gifts. Many brides or grooms do not like the idea of asking for money from guests and prefer to do it through a website that disguises the situation. That's where the real innovation lies.

• Find Funding

Starting a business, albeit through a digital medium, can be a strong investment that includes software development, site design, promotional campaigns on social networks, formation expenses, and hosting. There are currently several options for funding for technology start-ups, including crowdfunding and Venture Capital.

• Attend events as they cross your path

For financial support, creators are recommended to attend partnerships that invest in similar start-up industries. Here you can meet up with representatives and begin to go to other relevant networking events organised in several cities across the UK. You never know who might be interested in your project and potentially provide you with funding for your marketing campaign as well as support for the design of your site.

• Promote yourself with friends, family and everyone you know

At first, a digital business must earn the trust of the people, and this is only possible through word of mouth.At the dawn of a project, friends and family will play a very important role: they will test your product or service, you will be offered feedback, and if they are satisfied with the result, they will share with their own circle. Thus, they will become your main promotional vehicle.In launching your website, you can offer promotions to your friends. They then can recommend the service to their own friends and gradually widen the circle.

• Remove the idea that everyone will do everything

Of course, there must be a definition of roles. At first, it is more likely that all team members have to do everything—solve technical issues, oversee accounting matters, answer emails, attend events, and deal with customers.At this stage, the small amount of partners still do everything. But the idea is that as the project takes shape, you can distribute responsibilities.

• Hire an accountant

Save money whenever possible, but never in administrative matters. It is the foundation of any business, and if not handled with all the care it deserves, could bring down the whole project. If you have no knowledge of accounting, hire an accountant to keep a thorough check of the revenues and expenditures of the company, as well as tax payments.

• Earn the trust of the people

This is one of the great challenges of the emerging business and especially of technology start-ups. Most consumers trust department stores and established businesses. Why would they give their money to a stranger? The strategy is, again, going to family and friends to recommend the business, thus forming a chain of trust.

• Looking closeness with your customers

A digital business requires a large investment of time and effort to build a close relationship with customers. It is important that, while face to face is never seen, you make them feel that behind the screen there are people of flesh and blood. Find a way to personalise the experience of your website to give them confidence in your brand.

• Lean on digital tools

One of the great benefits of digital business is that can be managed from anywhere. It can also be a double-edged sword if you are not well organised with tasks and not communicating with the rest of the team.Digital tools are a must for every entrepreneur who works from home. What are the basics? Dropbox for file sharing, Evernote to organise your tasks, and Slack to keep in touch are all very good starters.

• Forms partnerships with affiliates in your area

Detect the authorities of your country, the so-called influencers, and approach them to establish alliances and expand the prestige of your brand. Perhaps create an affiliate program that benefits both parties. Contact all those associated with your area of industry —in short, people who are in the middle—and offer them to work for you. Give them a code and, if they recommend you to their clients, give them a percentage of profits. So everyone wins.

Only the owners of a company limited by shares are legally allowed to remove profits made by the business.Even after this, certain steps must be followed. This is because of the separate legal identity of companies limited by shares. This implies that unless the profits are disbursed to shareholders and directors, the money belongs to the company.You can remove all company gains as pay for director; however, it is smarter tax-wise to take out smaller pays and make up whatever remains of your wage as shareholder profits. The most ideal approach to do this is to take a pay up to your Personal Allowance, which is free from taxation. This will likewise guarantee you save your entitlement to state benefits and pension.You can offer profits to yourself, based on pro-rata in connection to the rate of organisation shares you possess, whether that is full, half or any percentage. This can be carried out as much as needed, so far the firm still has enough held-up post-tax net income. On the off chance that there are no remaining profits after settling these bills, you can't share out profits in form of dividends. If this is disregarded and you go ahead to issue out dividends, you could attract serious legal action from the HMRC. On the other hand, even if your company is experiencing a loss in its business transactions, you could still pay salaries because this is regarded as an expense an must be settled.

Step 1: Declaring dividends

The balance sheet has to be printed out, covering periods from when the interests will be disbursed.Dividends come in 2 forms – interim and final. Interim refers to the dividends that are to be settled at intervals and this is done all through the year. Note that it is dependent on whether the company has profits or dividends to be distributed. On the other hand, final dividend refers to the profits disbursed on a yearly basis. Both must be paid at a period that doesn’t exceed nine months after the company closes it’s annual books. This date is popularly referred to as Accounting Reference Date (ARD).Organisation executives must hold an executive meeting to authoritatively "announce" interim profits. This must be done, even if you alone are the shareholder and director of the company – it appears to be completely irrational; however, it is a legal obligation that must be done.Shareholders must pass an ordinary resolution in writing or at a general meeting to show their consent, before the final dividend is issued.It is advisable to have a copy of profit and loss records as well as the balance sheet for the period for which the dividend is to be shared. This will guarantee that profit disbursement doesn’t go beyond the profit made by the company.

Step 2: Working out dividend payments

The gross profit is the whole you will incorporate into your Self-Assessment tax returns.In the event that your organisation has any extra gains after settling liabilities, expenses and taxes, you are permitted to issue these profits to shareholders based on their rate of shares possession.For instance, if you own half of the shares of your firm, you are entitled to half of the profits made. If £2,000 was made as profit by your company, you are entitled to £1,000.A 10% notional tax is applicable to this dividend because 20% of the profits must have been deducted as corporation tax. This gross dividend will then be reported self-assessment every year, notwithstanding your wage as a director as well as any other sort of income.To compute the tax payable on profits, you are to find the product of 0.9 and your net income. This will then equate to the gross income, credit tax of 10% inclusive. Your Self-Assessment tax return will include this gross profit. It is from this that personal tax liability and aggregate yearly income can be calculated.Case study: a gross dividend of £1,111.11 is gotten by computing the net profit of 0.9 x £1,000 (10% tax credit equates £11). You will get net £1,000 profit from the organisation, yet this will be equal to £1,111.11 when you are working out your yearly tax obligation to cover the organisation has officially paid on these money. You will be taxed 2 times if the notional tax credit is disregarded. Firstly as corporation tax and secondly as Income Tax.

Step 3: Issuing dividend vouchers

A profit voucher is a receipt that gives the critical insights about the profit.For every profit an organisation shares, a profit voucher must be made and offered to the shareholder. This voucher is in some cases called 'dividend counterfoil'. It is not an uncommon sort of document, it’s essentially a sheet of paper or an e-document usually pegged with electronic mails. This document contains information about profits such as:

• Company name
• Registration number of the details.
• Issuance Date
• Name and address of receiving shareholder
• Class of Share
• The figure of the dividend being received by the shareholder
• Tax credit figure
• Authorising officer’s signature

How often can I issue dividends?

You can issue profits as often as you want: every day, week after week, month to month or yearly.You can offer profits as frequently as you want – day by day, week by week, month to month, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly, or every year – so far the organisation has adequate held-up profits to do such. Because of the required paperwork for the profits, interim dividends are often recommended by most accountants because the records will be easier to maintain; more so, because it coincides with VAT payments. You must understand that you can issue it every week if you are cut out for the work involved.Then again, you may feel the need to issue profits on a yearly basis at the conclusion of each tax year or sporadically all through the tax year just when your organisation gains a specific level. It's totally at your digression.Profits give an amazing chance for efficient planning of tax. You can defer the sharing of profit to the next year, which is helpful on the off chance that you need to keep your wage inside of the essential tax rate, or you intend work for one year and take time off the next year.

You have an idea that excites you?

You've talked to friends and family, and you're even thinking about the possibility of quitting your job to become an entrepreneur. You are about to establish your company, but you need to achieve success with capital. You cannot invest all the money yourself.Your natural inclination is to go out and seek funding as quickly as possible to take advantage of the momentum of your business. That level of passion and enthusiasm is admirable, but if you start looking for financing before you are ready, you could waste time and become disappointed.Before seeking financing, either by an angel investor, venture capital, or platform crowdfunding, you should make sure you meet the following requirements.

• Have a complete business plan

This is the first item on the list because it is by far the most important. Without a business plan, you cannot have a business. It is the foundation on which your company must be based. You can have multiple points that will list below, but the important thing is to present a summary of what your business and how you plan to make money with it.

• Market research

This is the verifiable information that demonstrates the validity of your idea. Without it, your concept can only be good in theory. You may have to pay for this information or do research yourself, but you need a real number based to meet your growth potential.

• Financial Models

This should be a natural part of your business plan, so you should not underestimate the level of detail that some investors require in this section. You need spreadsheets with projected costs, acquisitions, profit margins, growth rates, and payback time. This is proof that your business actually can make money.

• Plans for one, three and five years

Do not focus exclusively on how to start a business. You need to project what growth in the early years. Most investors seek long-term solutions.

• Leads

Market research must prove that there is a theoretical customer base for your idea, but potential consumers move you toward financing. Investors are more interested in your product or service if you can gather several testimonies from prototype customers.

• Real Skill

You also need to make sure you can personally handle the early growth of your business. It's okay if you have industry experience, but if you're new, you should be sure to receive the necessary training. Study and prepare.

• Investment exciting

Potential investors like when you yourself have invested your business. Gather some money from your savings and recruit your family and friends to show investors that you already have some financial support.

• A mark

Typically, your brand must market your business before financing. However, a strong brand can sell the potential and character of your business. It is a demonstration of identity that can help present your idea.

• A goal

Before leaving to seek financing, you need to know exactly how much money you need and why. There is a big difference between saying, "I need money for my idea," and, "I need £4,000 for equipment, £1,000 for marketing and £2,000 for the first batch of products." The second idea shows a plan that you know exactly where the money will go.

• Reward

Last but not least, you must have a clear idea of when participants could expect a return on their investment. For platform crowdfunding, it can mean examples of products or rewards for different levels of investment.No matter if you need a point or two on the list, make sure you have most of these requirements before leaving to seek financing. If your idea resonates with people, you will have no problem getting the capital you need.

10 Strong Businesses in Economic Crises

I do not want to be alarmist, but even a stable economy may face times of lean. The world is surfing great uncertainties in this area today.The truth is that real entrepreneurs do not fear changing economic situations. However, they should be more careful when choosing their type of businesses. Constant consumption usually better withstands financial shock during a recession.Here's a list of industries and businesses that you can consider.

• Alcohol

Most companies built around beer and wine can avoid moments of crisis. The most expensive drinks tend to suffer, but the average price of spirits remains.This is due to a basic principle: people do not leave a real habit only because the outlook has darkened. If they really like, they will continue watching football with a cold beer. Consider a convenience store or a distributor.

• Cosmetics

It is much easier to enter the beauty industry than to sell alcohol. When the going gets tough, makeup may encourage many people. No matter what the reason, cosmetics support recessions well. There are many ways to get into the business, from distribution catalogues like Mary Kay or selling products online.

• Cinemas

Movie tickets tend to thrive in hard times. It is difficult to compete with large chains, as they have the rights to the most important premieres, but why not consider a room specialising in independent films that combines them with dinner? This can be successful in a small town.

• Healthcare

Healthcare is an industry that is very difficult to get into. However, it is also true that the Baby Boomers are nearing retirement and may be a growing market. Look for fresh ideas, but remember to stick to health laws in your country.

• Specialised food stores

Today there are many food trends and specialty food stores can become very popular in certain markets. For example, you can create a line of vegan products and sell them online with home delivery.

• Sweets and desserts

In the same way that people do not stop drinking because there is an economic crisis, they do not abandon things they like to eat. A few years ago, when the UK was in a sharp economic downturn, cupcakes became popular. You can combine this idea with the former or try sugar-free, vegan, or gluten-free desserts.

• Repair Shops

When the economy is in lean, people do not buy microwave ovens, refrigerators, or new cars; they repair what they already have. Check items in your local market that are not covered.

• Charity Shops and Flea Markets

In the same way that no new things are purchased during recessions, many people visit charity shops or flea markets looking for deals. Look for offers or specialise in retro items.

• Funeral services

Funeral services are sought even in the worst financial times. Even in the worst economic crises, there are two certainties: death and taxes.

• Tax Services

Good accountants know their way in difficult circumstances. In these times, people seek to preserve every pound they can, while the Treasury seeks to maintain order in taxes. This creates ideal conditions for tax advisory services.

If you plan to or already operate a business from home, consider these factors to successfully develop your company.

Enjoy what you do

For a project to be successful, it is important that you like it, believe in it, and enjoy it. When a person performs a job that excites them and makes every effort to get it right, the customer perceives this clearly. This, over time, becomes steady cash flow.

Look like a pro

If you are a selling beauty products, look flawless daily. If you market or represent a health food company, it is best to have a good figure and let people see you eat your products. This earns the trust of your prospects and will keep captive to those who already bought your products. No matter what you do, you should always have a good appearance. That makes the difference between a professional and someone who is just trying their luck, especially when you run your own business.

Prepare to be the best

If you work independently, subscribe to specialised publications and newsletters. Investigate how to develop your own strategy of sales, administration, marketing, and advertising. Analyse your competition.

Design and build your space

If you live in an apartment, for example, you do not have to invest huge amounts of money. Choose a separate space to have as your own, be it an office or warehouse.If you market your clothes or have a cosmetics case, it is best to keep that clean and tidy so that your customers feel they are dealing with a professional space. Do not forget to ask your family to respect your work area.

Take your office wherever you want

Virtual offices Services are a growing trend. Renting a smart phone with unlimited Internet will range from £30 to £80. This depends on the company that you contract with. Mini-computers or notebooks market for £500+ and are equipped with basic tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, and wireless Internet.

Customise your offer

One of the advantages of having a home business is that you have the ability to provide a service tailored to each person. Since you are delivering orders under the specified conditions, send emails announcing packages designed exclusively for each of your customers. Anything goes.

Add value to your offer

We are in an era where people value their time—a car wash in 15 minutes, 30 minutes or the pizza is free, and so on. Therefore, it is important that your current and potential customers see your products or services as the way to solve a problem and make life easier.

Sell only benefits

When you talk about your product or service, always begin with the testimony of your current customers. Market flyers, websites, blogs, newsletters, and social networking profiles to include feedback from your satisfied buyers.

Create personal ties

Make your customer feel that your concentration, effort, and creativity are on the project for which you were hired, just so you stop being a supplier to become an expert advisor.

Organise your time

One of the recurring problems of entrepreneurs operating from home is lacking a working method. Results: work late, delayed deliveries, holiday and time off at midnight. Hence the need to set working hours, as if they work for a company. You also have to design efficient processes to eliminate unnecessary steps in your daily operations.

Put a price on your work

If your product sells or lends items to catalogue services, calculate how much you invest to produce or generate your offer, then check the prices of your competitors and you'll have an idea of the correct rate. Even if you work on your own, remember: you're a professional, and your work has added value. When setting the price, you should consider your studies; you've invested in your preparation and accumulated experience to become the best.

Learn to collect

It seems obvious advice, but in practice not all know it. For starters, sell your products or offer your services among your acquaintances, friends, and family. Design collection strategies according to each profile. Set deadlines for receivables; they must be 15 to 30 days maximum. Remember that as you find new consumers, this work will be easier.

Make a self-sufficient business

A big mistake is to finance projects of your customers with your own resources. It is best to ask for a deposit—usually 50 percent of the total—and the rest in cash once the contract concludes or the goods are delivered. On the other hand, to make an inventory, the bank applies for a microcredit. Even one of your suppliers should always have enough units to meet the demand of your customers. Rule of thumb: one thing is the business money, another your money and another destined to your home.

Design multiple forms of payment

You will not have to go to the office or home to charge your customers. One option is to open a bank account intended only for revenue of your business. Your customers can deposit or make a transfer via electronic banking. Another way to ensure steady cash flow in your business is to design different payment schemes, for example, weekly, biweekly, or monthly payments. It is better to not give extensions, but this is just the exception, not the rule.

Pay your taxes

Receipts of fees can work for large companies. Just do not forget to pay your taxes on time and at the end of the fiscal year, you can even get a refund for what you are due. To streamline this task, hire the services of an accountant to help you keep your accounts in order.

Opening your own business is a challenge that requires motivation, determination, and discipline. Before starting any endeavour, you should consider factors that will affect the decision before committing to starting a business.Ask yourself the following 10 questions to lay the foundation for the success of your business:

Do I have what it takes to be a business owner?

Being an entrepreneur is not a job but a lifestyle. It not only takes commitment, passion, and conviction for your enterprise, but also skills, energy, money, staff, and knowledge to start a business.It will be important to know your strengths and turn them into engine of your business. It is imperative that you feel supported by your family, as many successful entrepreneurs have recognised the support and encouragement they receive from their families as a key to business success.

Why do I want to start a new business?

Either because you had an innovative idea, because you want to enhance an existing service, or because you want to take control of your life. You need to define what you want to do and what is the end. One of the essential characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is that they all wanted to change the world, improving it with their business idea. In any case, you should be prepared to spend time, money, and resources to start your business.

Is my idea feasible/viable?

Identify the business you want to start. Describe the product or service you're trying to sell. To be on the right path, enter your product or service in a market where demand exceeds supply, fill an unmet need, or be competitive based on quality, price, and location.

Who will be part of the business?

Before adding people to your project, you should be clear whether it is really appropriate, if skills are complementary, and if you can work together. It is important that the entrepreneurial team is aligned in objectives and expectations to be able to pass through difficulties. After all, the main factor that will determine the success or failure of an enterprise is the people who run it later.

What is my market potential?

Before investing time and money in the business, know your market. To acquire knowledge of the market you have to analyse it. The market analysis is to obtain information about potential customers and determine the demand for your product or service. The more information you obtain, the better you can promote your business and the better your opportunities to capture market share.

What is a business plan and why do I need one?

Knowing where we are going and how we will get there is essential to guide us in difficult times. The business plan is a basic tool of management, acting as a compass to lead. This plan establishes a commitment to the actions of the company, allows tracing operations, the organisation of people, material resources, tasks to be carried out, and how results will be measured.

How much money do I need to start my business?

When companies are taking their first steps, they require significant resources. Entrepreneurs must first define up to how much they are willing to risk, whether in money, time, contacts, or resource utilisation. You must consider that future business will not generate immediate returns and accounts must ensure that you have sufficient financial reserves to keep your family and business for eight months at least.

How can I finance my business?

The most common way is to use equity or borrow money from relatives and/or friends. Another way is to borrow money from the bank or other financial institutions. Another option is a partner who wants to share the business risk. If you go to investors, make sure you stay with most of the shares. A final option is to participate in contests on business projects developed by government agencies, universities, or other means, where the best business idea is awarded with full or partial funding of the project.

Have I sought advice on the legal and accounting aspects of my business?

Be sure to select a solicitor and accountant to determine how you will manage your business, where you will situate you company, and how many employees are needed. You might need accounting software and other computer systems. You'll have to keep sufficient records to support your business in order to generate financial statements and file tax returns.

How do I incorporate my business?

Define which legal structure suits your company. The scenario will be different if you're planning to work as an independent contractor or as an entrepreneur and business owner, if you will join with family and friends, if you want to formally establish a partnership, a corporation, or other legal entity.Answering these questions will allow you to begin to launch your own business. They are basic and general points to start a business. As you evolve the business plan, you can think about more detailed aspects directly related to the type of business in particular.

Developing a successful online business is not an easy goal.

In this article, we present 13 key points to increase sales in an online store and improve performance. These 13 useful tips cover the different aspects that must be taken into account when designing a successful online store

• Title

The title should reflect the content of the web page. This way the user realises immediately if they are interested in the product or service offered.

• Teaser

It is important to put the products and the most popular and relevant categories in the foreground. The more visible they are, the more likely that the user considers them the most important information and therefore comes to it more directly

• Simplify the Structure

The basic structure of the website must be configured for the user to navigate through it quickly and easy. It should be very intuitive and communicate clearly through images, indexes, and bullet points. Only if the user shows real interest you should have access to a more in-depth explanation.Navigation should be set horizontally and highlight the main categories. The golden rule is: the fewer clicks needed = less discouragement to continue visiting the web = lower bounce rate = higher conversion rate

• Less is More Design

In this regard, both the quality of the images and the texts are very important. It is essential to maintain a clear and simple design. Do not overwhelm the user with unnecessary information; less is more! It is essential that the colour, contrast, shading, font, size, and shape are in tune.

• Post Customer Reviews and Elements of Trust

We recommend using the website elements of trust as seals, certifications, and customer reviews. You need to convince new customers they can buy safely. For this reason, it is important to place the elements of trust in a visible place

• Benefits and USP

Avoid the Unique Selling Proposition (USP), competitive advantages, and differentiating values. What makes you better than the competition? What makes your store unique? Note the deals; these products help increase your level of visibility and recognition among customers

• Limit Product Availability

Consumers have been always found products or services with limited or poor availability more intriguing when compared to those with easy accessibility. If availability is limited to a specific offer, the potential customer feels the need to buy the product as soon as possible

• Use the Thank You Page to Increase Sales and Cross Selling

It is important to try to cross sell complementary products. Cross selling, or upselling, increases the value of the sale. Promote similar products on the Thank You page displayed after customers have made a purchase.Customers especially like discount codes, and this is a formula for reinforcing shopping on subsequent visits.

• Chat Support

You can increase conversion rates by offering immediate assistance through web chat. Use personal conversations to sell in an active way. Customers are more likely to make a purchase when they have the chance to interact with a person. Also, the purchase dropout rate is minimised.

• Telephone and Contact Information

Company information and contact details that are clearly visible on the website are vital. Users should see that they can easily contact the online store.

• Purchase Facility

The purchase of the product must be quick and easy to avoid abandonment. The user must make the fewest possible clicks to carry out the purchase.

• Payment Options and Shipping Cost

Having a wide range of products increases the likelihood of purchase, but it is also important to have various payment options. Many customers buy only when they have made several alternatives to pay. In addition, these payment options must appear highlighted in the web and inform the user clearly about the order, shipping time, and costs. It can be negative if a customer discovers additional charges not clearly disclosed on the website.

• Site Optimization for Phones and Tablets

The usability of the online shop must be global, and not only in the process. The online store has to be adapted to any type of device, either through the Responsive Web Design (RWD) or adaptation of the device itself, as you never know how potential buyers will access the store.

Having a virtual office is the best way to make your business transcend borders. Likewise, virtual offices give your company the presence you need to gain the trust of your potential customers abroad.A virtual office is a workspace that a business professional can rent for a certain period of time to use as a professional office, fully equipped and ready to develop commercial and entrepreneurial activity.You can buy a business presence immediately, only paying a fraction of what you would pay for a physical office. Also gain tax addresses, virtual addresses, and a business address, which ensure an excellent image to its customers and control over their movements, contracts, and negotiations.Hiring a virtual office is easy to grow your business in other countries without spending money on travel and full-time employees. We provide virtual secretaries responsible for carrying out agendas and keeping books. Bilingual receptionists are also available.

Characteristics of a Virtual Office

Virtual offices are a convenient alternative when you want to rent an office space.Some specialise only in one specific area, while others combine two, three, or four areas to provide virtual office services with full features. The following are those features:

Physical Office Service

A virtual office provides physical office services such as conference rooms and a reception area, plus office equipment such as printers, projectors, telephones, and computers. Customers can usually either rent office space on the site and share these services with other tenants, or they can work from elsewhere, such as home, and use these services only when necessary.

Correspondence Address

Guests can rent office space on the site and share these services with other tenants, or can work from elsewhere, such as at home, only making use of these services as needed while using the physical address as a mail forwarding service for customer correspondence only.

Answer and Call Forwarding

Many virtual offices offer a telephone receptionist to answer calls in a professional manner with a personalised greeting on behalf of the client. Messages and calls can be sent to the home or office, depending on customer requirements and availability.

Support Staff and Technical Equipment

Virtual support staff is one of the most convenient features of a virtual office. Besides the reception services, support ranges from secretarial and administrative services to accounting, a library for developing web sites, network administration, and technical support. These services save customers the need to hire employees or outside contractors to handle such tasks and frees up time for the customer to focus on their work.

What Makes Up a Virtual Office?

Most current offices need access to all information and applications on the internet to do their work, and above all they need to do it the more convenient, productive and efficient way. They are in touch with their work from anywhere through phone calls, emails, or connecting to the Internet from their mobile devices. This is part of a phenomenon known as virtual office.

The Next Generation: The Virtual Office

This desire to work from anywhere coincides with new trends that have had a strong impact: virtualisation and cloud storage. Office virtualisation separates the worker from the static desktop to introduce a virtual cloud as a more efficient way to develop their work.

Mobility and "Virtualisation"

In recent years, an operator's desk was characterised by a desktop computer, where the worker would spend hours sitting in front of the monitor. Technology has now allowed these workers carry out their activities from the various mobile devices, allowing them to work from anywhere—not just from a desktop.This is the reason why many offices have innovated with virtual projects that any of their employees can easily access through a password account from any device with internet access. The cloud services offer an almost inexhaustible infrastructure stability and reliability at low cost.

Behind the Virtual Office

Because any kind of virtual office includes all possible parts, functions, and characteristics of information technology, including software, wireless networking, and Internet security and support, it ends up being a whole lot of moving parts.Because of the different tools offered by different technologies, the virtual office can handle any office concept, because it uses tools similar to those used in a conventional office.When you save files and tools in an electronic or virtual support, enhanced security is obtained from the physical and conventional desktop. Files in a virtual office may have a restricted access so only registered users can access.The service of a virtual office not only includes a platform for storing files and editing, but also the possibilities of communication via chat, email, or even video calls.As you may realise, the new generation of office workers can now work from anywhere. By streamlining work, however the change from a traditional office to a virtual cannot be so easy. Specialised help may be needed to determine which platform is more useful for the type of work performed.

You can leave the competition in the dust with a good strategy!This then allows you to expand your business. The keys to growing your business are to always keep your customers happy, and to add value to your product offerings and services. To begin, implement the following points:

1.Perspective

Spend time outside the company, look at what you're doing right, and where you can improve. Perform a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to find new ideas and methods to move your company forward.

2. Reviews

Accept the opinions of other people involved in your business. While it is important that entrepreneurs and managers make their own decisions and actions, it is just as important to have the opinions and ideas of others, both internally and externally. You can get valuable information after talking to the production people that are constantly involved in your business. Your employees and suppliers can be a great source of ideas and contacts, so make sure you take into account their contributions.

3. Mentors

As an entrepreneur, you need a support system to share and discuss new business opportunities or potential problems. It is important that you find and develop a relationship with a business mentor to accompany you during the ups and downs that come with owning a business. Of course, it's not easy to find time to meet with a mentor in the endless cycle of urgency in your business. But for help, you have to commit your own time and energy to meet with your mentor. Think of it like exercise, in the end you’ll be glad about the decision and will feel energised when you finish.

4. Equipment

One of the biggest challenges of the leaders in a business is to build a high performance team. Successful businesses have strong processes of selection interviews to hire staff to ensure only the right people. People have a load of initial cost, and it takes time to develop before they are really productive. To compose a winning team, you must integrate your team members, creating synergy and getting the best of each, in order to overcome the desired results. As the owner of your business you need to think carefully about the type of person you want to attract to your business and establish a recruitment strategy.

5. Customers

Consumers are getting smarter today. Mostly driven by the web, buying habits have changed in recent years. E-commerce ensures customers are well informed and this makes them more demanding. It is essential to understand how the virtual world impacts your business and it serves advantage. It is essential that you monitor how your customers arrive to ensure that you meet your needs.

6. Offer

All products have a life cycle and know when you need to renew your product. Not all companies diversify their product offerings significantly, but those who keep their products a specialised focus, keep your business updated, constantly developing and evolving. To diversify supply and add new product lines and services must invest in market research. Discusses what opportunities are available in the market and how you can excel against the competition.

7. Honesty

The business is about people and relationships with customers. As old values ​​such as trust, loyalty and transparency are appreciated more than ever before. People like to deal with people. One of the most important characteristics of a successful business is honesty. If you say you will do something, you must comply. Sometimes you must also say "no" but if you have valid reasons people will understand.

8. Social Media

To attract and engage the fans and followers of social media (and always consider converting them into customers) you have to have an effective plan. These are some basic steps to follow for your company on social networks.

Adapt the content to each platform

Certain types of content generally perform better than others in certain social platforms. For example, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram are substantially visual, so striking images of your products, company events and perhaps "snapshots behind the scenes" of employees in the workplace can be effective options for those specific platforms. Text-only updates in the “status” section on Facebook without bonds or links also works, especially when questions are asked.On Twitter you have to find the balance to send tweets about your business and do retweet others, including messages from your partners and industry influencers. LinkedIn is popular to share company news, tips and articles productivity leadership.It is advisable to shuffle a diverse mix of content types (photos, featured clips, tips, links and questions of interest, etc.) through your social platforms to keep things fresh. You will see that when you do, your fans will come back for more.

Consider including the following technological solutions in your current Business Plan:

• Check out your website.

Analyse if your website is still tailored to the needs of your business. Is it time to move to an "e-commerce" solution that allows you to market your products or services online?

• Update your applications.

Move your spreadsheet accounting Software as a Service (in English Software as a Service, SaaS). The SaaS today best known example is Google Apps, which offers basic business services such as e-mail or MS Office Saas service platform with a designation as Microsoft Office 365, which lets you access the software through the Internet.

• Duplicates and archives.

Make a backup of documents and archive them. This is a more complex process than it seems. If we copy redundant data, storage capacity is exhausted, and if we do not make a backup of sufficient data, you might miss critical information. Among the most popular backup programs are ArcServer, ZendalBackup, Cobian, SECOFI, and NortonGhost.

• Take a stroll through the "Cloud."

You must have heard the various applications that give you the ability to place your files in the "Cloud.” Working with files in the cloud will allow your team to interact with the information from different points as being connected virtually, each of the computers can be in different places around the world. It also stores information that you consider necessary and indispensable. The application iDriveSync, for example, helps you create such virtual drives on your computer and gives you a capacity of up to 2 GB in its free version.

• Allow yourself to discover.

SEO is an acronym for "search engine optimisation.” Hiring an SEO can improve your site's ranking in Google and Yahoo; certain keywords can lead you to the top in just a few months. SEO is part of the "Inbound Marketing", a new tool that makes your business easy to find through search engines like Google, the blogosphere, and social networks. This tool improves your ranking in Google to get more traffic, produces and promotes blogs for your business, and also strengthens your community on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

• Turn up your "networking."

It is no secret that blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube, among others, are no longer considered only places for entertainment purposes. These tools strengthen your management strategy and the possibility of attracting more potential customers for your business.

• Learn from others.

Search publications and blogs in your industry and subscribe to them via RSS. Interact with relevant experts, including those that can only be partially related. Follow the opinions of business leaders through Twitter. Monitor industry trends through Twilerts and Google Alerts, or make an RSS feed with information relevant to your industry.

• Make every contact sales opportunity.

CRM software (acronym of the English term, "Customer Relationship Management") is a management model based on customer orientation. The main advantage for a company is to increase the information to your customers and prospective customers, allowing the offer to address their wants and needs, thus increasing satisfaction and optimising its life-cycle. Normally, it produces increased sales and reduces the sales cycle.

• It projects the future.

You have to anticipate and respond swiftly and efficiently to market conditions to keep your business from the competition. To achieve this, you need information systems that perform activities flexibly, including all areas of the company, from financial to human resources. Enterprise resource planning allows you to integrate and automate operational activities or productive aspects of your business.

• United we stand.

This consolidates voice, data, web hosting and other computer service provider. Using this, you only pay one bill and contact one supplier with any questions. This will save you time and money.

8 Digital Tools to Help You with Your Business Plan

Many entrepreneurs know that having a good business plan is the key to carrying out their ideas, understanding the viability of their business, and assessing the financial side, among other issues.The Internet has several tools that help you develop a business plan.

Any.do

• Found in iOS and Android
• Free
• Organize and share your business
• Assign tasks and responsibilities lists dates
• Turn words into written text through a microphone

Basecamp

• Found in iOS and Android
• Free and pay
• Keeping track of each cloud archive, meeting and events that you carry out
• Share the project with the team and assign tasks to all members

BIZPLAN

• Found on the Internet
• Available payment
• Software that allows elaboration of your business plan by following simple steps
• Interface includes templates and models that can be edited

Premier Business Plan

• Can be found in iOS
• Available through payment
• Plan objectives
• Define your target and expectations of your company
• Find tips for drawing a marketing plan

Enloop

• Found on the Internet
• Available for free and pay
• Web application that guides users through every step of creating a business plan
• Sales, profit and loss
• Cash flow and balance sheet projections
• Explanatory graphics and other visuals

Evermeeting

• Found in iOS
• Available for free and pay
• Keep track of meetings, classes, conferences and other events in real time
• Record audio and add annotations
• Store data in the cloud

LivePlan

• Found on the Internet
• Available through payment
• A comprehensive tool that puts emphasis on building the financial model of the business
• Provides examples and counselling service a group of experts
• Free version with examples and templates for business plans on the web

Stratpad

• Found in iOS
• Available for free and pay
• Lets you assess the development of your business
• Data and graphs will show income, expenses, sales, product quality and customer satisfaction

These were some of the applications and software that can help you succeed with your business. Have you used any of these applications and tools? Do you know any other digital resource for business plans?