5 Professional Business Gigs Your Company Is Missing

Every business owner knows that there are certain functions of their company that need to occur in order to survive. Most of these functions may vary from company to company, but there are some functions that companies either try to tackle themselves or completely ignore that can be damaging to their success. If you want your business to be successful, the following are five professional business gigs that you simply cannot ignore.

1. Transcription Services

Audio and video transcription is a professional service that most businesses overlook, but it can be extremely valuable to your company. Transcription services can be a great way to provide a hard copy of company or client meetings, brainstorming sessions or even audio notes that were taken about an upcoming project. Having a hard copy of these events can be extremely beneficial in case of technical errors or issues.

Transcription services can also be extremely beneficial for your company’s SEO efforts. If your company has a large amount of audio or video on your website, having these items transcribed and placing the transcription on your website can provide the search engines with the necessary keywords they use to rank your site. This can help improve your overall ranking.

The best part of transcription services is that you can generally hire a third-party company to do this for you instead of hiring a full-time (or part-time) transcriptionist for your company.

2. Copywriting Services

Content marketing has increased in popularity over the years, and without strong content, whether on your website or other marketing collateral, your company is not going to be very successful. Using a professional copywriter can greatly help your company.

A professional copywriter has the expertise to provide your business with the content you need to reach your audience. They provide a clear and concise message, and they ensure that the copy, tone and style of writing are consistent between all channels. Having clear and consistent content is a great way to strengthen your branding efforts, and providing error-free content shows your audience that you believe in quality.

There are plenty of freelance copywriters throughout the world that are ready and willing to help your business succeed, or you can always hire a full-time copywriter as part of your staff.

3. Graphic/Web Design

By now, you know just how important having an online presence is to your business. Today’s consumers are turning to the Internet to research products, services and companies before making a purchasing decision, and if your audience can’t find you online, your chances of earning business are slim.

Some companies take the cheap route and use a website design site such as Wix.com to create their business website. These companies choose from a variety of templates, add in their own copy and consider their website complete. While these boxed design sites are easy and cheap, hiring a real graphic and/or web designer is much more beneficial for your business.

Using a graphic/web designer allows you to create a site that is truly customized to your needs, and it will help you stand out from all the other companies using boxed websites. Your company can either opt to use a freelance graphic/web designer or hire one for your staff.

4. Community Manager

Social media has made a big impact when it comes to business marketing. Some companies have yet to jump on the bandwagon, and some that already have are still struggling to manage and maintain their site effectively. This is why it’s essential that your business hire a community manager.

A community manager is an individual (or a team of individuals) that is dedicated to maintaining and monitoring your company’s social media accounts. This person will set up all your company’s social media platforms, post regularly to these accounts and engage with your audience, perform customer service and make you aware of anything that occurs on these sites that could help or hurt your brand.

Having a community manager ensures that someone is constantly watching your online presence and communicating with your audience. It also keeps the rest of your employees from guessing who’s supposed to be monitoring these accounts and allows them to get back to, and stick with, their normal job responsibilities.

5. Blogger

Blogging is important to the online success of your business, and while some companies put the responsibility of the blog in the hands of the copywriter or community manager, you can also opt to hire a professional blogger to tackle this responsibility.

Blogging requires a certain writing art form that is different than other writing styles. Content needs to be engaging, concise and informative, otherwise it’s not going to be effective. Having a blog for your company is a great way to share your company’s knowledge and expertise and attract consumers to your company. Plus, it’s a great tool for search engine optimization.

Regularly changing the content on your website keeps the search engine crawlers coming back to your site. The more keywords these crawlers find, the better your site will be ranked. If you don’t change the content on your website often, having a blog attached to your website can help ensure that your website and blog remain highly ranked, increasing your visibility.

Having a blogger on staff can ensure that your blog is regularly updated and well maintained, and it can give your company an advantage over other companies that have yet to start blogging.

About the Author: Frank Simmons is a freelance writer and avid blogger. He writes articles that are informative and engaging and often focuses on business and blogging.

Top Tips To Start A Courier Business

Courier services are really relevant in today’s business world and there is a lot of need for a professional courier service. Setting up your own business is always a challenge and a courier business isn’t any different.

License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://officeimg.vo.msecnd.net/en-us/images/MB900387571.jpg

But with these top tips you can set up your own courier business and make sure all the important areas are covered.

Make Sure You Are Up For The Work

The best courier businesses are the ones that know what they are doing and that have the passion to deliver. Thus make sure you are up for the challenge and get some basic knowledge about the industry.

You need to know the positives and negatives and be prepared to work hard to gain reputation. Start Ups provides links to companies that can help you start your new business with some financial help and some of these companies will also provide you with great mentoring possibilities.

Do Market Research

All great businesses need to have done market research in their field to ensure they have gained enough clients. Look around to see what your customer base is and all the special services people are looking for. There is a lot of need for instance, for motorcycle courier businesses these days as well as the need for specialist couriers in antiques.

Proper market research will save you from setting up a business in an area that can’t handle a new courier service because it is already crowded with reputable service providers. It can also help you find that special niche area in which you can set up your business and really boost your business prospects.

Gain Good Reputation To Market Your Business

The best way to market your courier business and gain more customers is to ensure you deliver fast and safely. Thus always retain a good business code and give your customers a pleasant experience. It is essential that you always provide what you have promised; empty promises are the worst way to run your business.

You can start your business alone but if you run it with someone else or you will employ other people, make sure they are trustworthy as well. Train all your couriers well and ensure that they retain the same level of professionalism as you.

Get Proper Insurance

The most essential thing is that before you start working you get proper courier insurance. There are different types of courier insurances available so search carefully to make sure you choose the right one for your business. Carefully discuss these options with your service provider before purchasing the insurance.

As well as having multiple insurance options there are also differences in the vehicles that can be insured. Courier insurance at XYZ for example, can be purchased for motorcycles, vans and cars.

With the above tips you can be certain that you have all the relevant information to start your courier business or look into starting one. Make sure you do your research and look around for different options before you start up.

About the Author: Jill has experience in helping new businesses to set up. When she isn’t providing help for new entrepreneurs she loves to enjoy a quiet night with her two dogs and a glass of wine in her hand.

Why Your Promotional Flyer Is Going Straight In The Bin – And What You Can Do About It

You have spent a lot of money on a promotional flyer to advertise your business, you have printed it on good quality paper and you have paid a distributor to hand them out all over your city. Unfortunately, as soon as your flyer is pushed through the mail slot of 99% of doors, it will be headed straight to the rubbish bin or recycling box. All of your hard work has gone to waste to create something that will probably only used by your customers to line the bottom of their birdcages.

Why are your promotional flyers destined for the bin? Is there anything you can do about it?

Take a Close Look at Your Flyers – Are They the Best They Can Be?

Take a look at the flyers that you have been distributing and ask yourself whether you can really blame your customers for throwing them away without a second thought. Do they stand out from all of the other advertisements, or are they boring and ordinary? It can be difficult to look at your flyers objectively because you are emotionally invested in your business, but try to look at them from the perspective of someone who has never heard of your company or what you do. Would the flyer pique their interest?

Unfortunately when you are distributing flyers for your business you will have a lot of other promotional mail to compete with. Unless your flyer has a great offer or is very interesting and eye-catching, you can’t really blame most people for recycling it with the pile of other junk mail.

Tips for Improving Your Flyers

The good news is that there are a number of ways you can improve your flyers and make it more likely that your customers will pay attention to them and save them. Here are a few tips to apply to your flyers to help them avoid a one-way trip to the rubbish bin.

Make the largest text eye catching. The headline or the largest text on the page should be something that makes the reader look twice. Too many flyers simply state the name of the company, which won’t catch the customer’s interest.
Use a large and impactful font for this big headline, which will make it more readable and make it stand out in a pile of papers from across the room.
Most of the time, people look at images first and then read text. Use an interesting main graphic or a vibrant colour image to grab the attention of the reader. Make sure that it is obvious how the image is related to the text.
Follow up the headline with strong and simple points that outline what you have to offer. Focus on the benefit of your product or service for the customer… what’s in it for them?
Avoid too much text. People will get bored reading the flyer and you will lose their interest.
Include a call to action at the end. Perhaps you want them to visit your website and sign up, or request a free report, or order a free trial. A leaflet or a flyer with no call to action is a wasted opportunity.
Take a random sampling of all of the other common flyers that come through your door. Does your flyer look like every other one? Think about how you can make it stand out, such as using an unusual colour or printing it on a shiny or textured surface.

These are just a few of the main ways that you can make it less likely that your promotional flyer will end up going straight in the bin and instead be read by your potential customers.

About the Author: Paula Whately is a blogger and entrepreneur in London who recently had a new flyer designed for her business. With the new design in flyer distribution, London customers were calling her at a much higher rate than usual.

6 Business Documents You Must Have Translated If Doing Business Internationally

International business offers wonderful opportunities for your business to access new markets and grow your profits. It can be the key to your business’ success. But, being able to communicate with your business partners and potential clients is key no matter where they are located. When you are doing business internationally, accurately translating core documents is essential.

An accurate translation does more than just translate your document word for word. It translates the intent of your document because let’s face it, every country has its own social nuances. Talking about a donkey in one country may get you a chuckle and in another it may get you punched in the face. It is vital you have these six documents correctly translated when you are doing business internationally. Because, no one wants to get punched in the face.

1. Financial Documents

Do you think numbers are the universal language? Hold the calculator. There is a lot more to financial documents than just ones and fives. Financial documents tell the story of your business’ financial record. While they do use balance sheets and expense reports, they also have:

Statements of change that explain why your business’ equity has changed throughout a given period.
Statement of cash flows that outline what your business’ cash flow has been throughout a given period.

Are ones and fives used in these? Yes, but sentences are too. And, once sentences come into play, language nuances control whether or not your audience or international business partners understand you and your business.

2. Instruction Manuals

Nearly every product sold comes with an instruction manual. Why? Because your customers need to know how to use it, down to the very last little gizmo attached. When you are selling products internationally, not all of your customers are going to speak the same language, but they are all going to want the same information in a language they can understand.

3. Marketing Materials

You are in business to sell. If you are doing business internationally, this is no different. While marketing in many countries has seen dramatic changes, consumers’ purchasing behaviors are still affected by marketing. If your potential consumer can’t understand your marketing materials, chances are pretty good they won’t be able to understand your product and will not buy it.

4. Informational Brochures

Informational brochures are significant piece of your advertising success in today’s Social Media driven market. They provide the raw details consumers are now demanding. Whether your brochure is shared online or through hardcopy, it needs to do more than just tell your audience to buy – it needs to educate them. To do so, it needs to speak their language and paint pictures they can understand everything correctly.

5. Contracts

A contract is a legally binding document stating each party’s obligations and the consequences for not meeting those obligations. When you are dealing with someone from another country, even if they speak the same language, their interpretation of the law can differ. Your contracts need to be translated so they make sense culturally. So, make sure that you have business translation done on any contracts that you want to make sense to your customers or business associates who speak another language.

6. Insurance Documents

Insurance protects your business against unfortunate events. If you are doing business internationally, don’t you want to be protected there too? Protecting yourself in one country and not the other is a lot like only buying auto insurance for your head and not the rest of your body.

About the Author: The writer of this article, Nicole, is a freelance writer who has been writing about international business practices for years.

Disabled Access Considerations When Moving Your Business To The High Street

These days, thanks to modern technology, many businesses start their lives online. It is a good way of keeping costs down while the business becomes established. As it grows over time the natural move is to have permanent headquarters or a retail outlet that is physical rather than digital.

As online entrepreneurs know one area that is now under UK law is ensuring the website is disabled access friendly. If the site isn’t accessible your business could face legal action and be sued for discrimination. As you move into permanent premises you must also carry over the accessibility and this is an area you can work on right from the moment you get handed the keys.

A Large Task But It Doesn’t Have to be Daunting

Now you may feel a little out of your depth when it comes to improving the accessibility of your new premises. However, just because the task may seem huge it doesn’t mean that you can afford to ignore it or push it to the back of your to do list. By failing to conduct suitable changes to make the property more accessible you leave yourself open to being sued by employees or customers that feel you are discriminating against them.

There is help available out there so don’t go thinking that you need to read the Equality Act inside and out. The experts will be able to give you the information you need based upon your business, the size and location of your premises and be able to use your budget as a guideline to work out what is affordable. If it is impossible to make dramatic changes all at once the expert may be able to help you by establishing what needs to be worked on as a priority, how you can save money, where to source affordable goods, equipment and labour and what could wait a bit longer.

Doing Renovations Before You Move In?

When you undertake any renovations you must consider the disability access. This is why working with an access consultant right from the get go will benefit you greatly. You can hire them for very little money and their services can help you in many different areas. Make sure that you hire a consultant who is more than happy to discuss any necessary work with your architects and designers. This saves time and money by reducing the need to redo work later for additional costs.

You may have to request planning permission and this can be a long and drawn out process. After months of waiting many applicants have their plans turned down, another frustration. Access consultants are able to help you through the planning permission process. Showing that some parts of the design are required to provide a much better service for the community, by allowing improved access, can help to push through successful planning applications. So when you come to looking for a professional expert to help you, ask them whether they would be happy to help you in this area should it be necessary in the future.

Thinking of the Needs of Everyone

As a modern online business you made sure that your website was user friendly. Now as you have grown and decided to open a physical business you must carry those work ethics and legal responsibilities over to your new premises. Use the consultants to conduct an audit and they will be able to help you spot urgent and required improvements that will allow everyone to make use of your services successfully. By doing so you ensure that your doors are open to everyone and you can become a strong player in your community and your industry by refusing to discriminate.

About the Author: Aki Hashimoto is a business consultant and mentor. She has found that using access audits is the simplest way to overcome the legal documentation and start making steps to create improved disability access.