Nicole

3 ways to increase your customer success this season for at-home businesses

This post is sponsored by Diamond Bloggers. All opinions are my own.

Feeling like you’re treading water with your small at-home business and not making progress towards your goals? Or are you having trouble choosing business goals to propel your business ahead in the remaining quarters of this year? If you do, you’re not alone. As all business owners are looking for ways to be more successful. But how do you get there? So if you want your small business to be more profitable than ever before, here are three suggestions on how to make it happen.

Focus on Customer Service

According to a 2017 survey conducted by American Express, 78% of consumers have canceled or declined an intended purchase due to poor customer service. Other studies have shown that it takes nearly ten positive customer experiences to make up for one negative one.

Given that loyal customers are much easier to sell to, its paramount to make good customer service your greatest priority. Do this by examining your current customer service and make the changes that need to be made to ensure that your small business is providing service superior to that of your competitors, whether it be investing in staff training, revamping your return policy, or basic improvements such as responding promptly to voice mail or email from customers. Whether you operate your business in a small community or from home, word of mouth traffic will always be more important for your business. Most consumers turn to the net to search for reviews of businesses before deciding where to shop, so building a good reputation is vital to the success of your business.

And how do you get positive word of mouth? By providing good, professional service, and gaining publicity by giving back to your community by supporting and sponsoring local organizations, houses of worship, and charities.

Build Your Online Presence

One of the best ways to build an at-home business is through gaining an online presence. Particularly in the pursuit of creating a professional looking blog, business website and dedicated, curated social media presence. Methods that can be quickly and easily help to generate traffic and income to your small business need. Which is particularly important as it’s estimated that more than 73% of consumers research purchases online before buying in a store.

Keep in mind that your website should describe who you are, what you do, and how to contact you will suffice for many small businesses. At a minimum, your site should contain your logo, business name, a detailed summary of what your intended products and services will be, contact information, mission statement, and depending on your target market, a curated view and links to access your social media accounts online.

Software

If you do nothing else this year for your at-home business, you need to make sure that your online presence, including your business software, is mobile friendly and is proactively helping to generate traffic to your business endeavors online. For the right customer success software lets you achieve customer success by helping users develop an immediate understanding of and connection with your product from the start. We help you do that in a data-driven, scalable and customizable way. There’s a whole range of software strategies you could be using to reach your target market with great effect, from text message advertising and mobile display ads through having an app designed for your own business. Chose options best suited for your business at home.

If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this article, it’s this; success is not a given. If you want your small business to be more successful this year, you need to make the necessary changes to bring that about. That work may be as simple as investing in a new tool or as difficult as changing your thinking about some of your business processes. But you haven’t brought your business this far to just let it stagnate, have you? Here’s to your best year ever! And remember; building a successful business is a marathon, not a sprint! What will you be trying from this post at home this season? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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Break Free From The Embarrassment Cycle

Something awkward happens to you, and suddenly you find your cheeks turning bright red. How much you wish you could vanish from the spot! You feel everybody’s eyes on you. It hurts as if they were burning tiny holes in your skin just by looking at you. If only people could stop looking! If only nothing has happened! If only nobody had noticed! The French have a saying that says, roughly translated, that with enough “ifs” you could put Paris in a bottle. In other words, it’s time to break away from the damaging and self-hurting cycle of “ifs.” You can’t undo what’s already done or said, but you can undoubtedly manage how you respond to it. And as the French put it, there’s no point getting hung up on the ifs of a situation. Take concrete actions to stop it from affecting you – besides there is no if on earth that can cure embarrassment!

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You are your worst enemy

You’re familiar with the little voice at the back of your mind that criticizes you when you least expect it. From saying you feel fat to worrying that a piece of clothing was not made for your body type, you’re letting the little voice inside body-shame you. Unfortunately, everybody has an inner critic – and more often than not, it’s a harsh and heartless critic too! As a result, you might also accidentally say something hurtful to others too, if you apply the same expectations of perfection to them than you do to yourself. But, more importantly, you are bringing yourself down repeatedly, questioning your appearance – weight is a major source of worry for most people, which is why it also becomes the most common cause of embarrassment. But if you want to break free from the embarrassment cycle, you need to stop the voice inside your head from criticizing yourself.

You slipped and fell in public

Everything was fine until you slipped on a wet patch in the shopping mall and fell in front of everyone. You tried to ignore the physical pain you’ve sustained to get up and hide. You felt like everyone was laughing at you. In reality, most people would have probably been caught by surprise and wanted to check that you were okay. More importantly, you shouldn’t blame yourself for the incident. A slippery surface is the responsibility of the management team, and personal injury lawyers can help with the situation. You should never feel too ashamed to ask for help, especially when there was nothing you could have done to prevent the incident. Don’t feel embarrassed; it wasn’t your fault!

Understand what is driving other people’s criticism

Sometimes, people say hurtful things that make you feel ashamed of who you are. But don’t let their words affect your mood without understanding their underlying message. You’ll be surprised to know that some people can be harsh without even realizing it. Indeed, emotional intelligence and soft communication are not skills that everybody has mastered! Maybe they were trying to help you and didn’t express themselves adequately! Another typical situation is when someone feels threatened by you. They try to hurt you intentionally. Accepting the shame means you let them win!

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You’re not perfect. Nobody is

Guess what? You are flawed. If you’ve been worried about your body, your skills or even your personality, you need to face the truth: Some parts of you are not as perfect as you wish they were. But nobody is perfect. We all have quirks we would rather erase forever. However, it’s a good thing because your imperfections make you precisely who you are. You can work and improve some elements – such as boosting your skills or even trying to keep your cool in stressful situations. But for most parts, you are stuck with who you are. And there’s nothing to be ashamed about. Perfection would be dull!

What’s behind your embarrassment?

Embarrassment is a powerful sensation that can only be explained by a split of personality. Indeed, there is the part of you who has a vision about who you should be, and then there is your true self. When the vision doesn’t align with reality, you experience embarrassment. At its core, it’s a useful feeling as it can stop you from doing something that goes against your values. But most of the time, it’s a painful reminder that you can’t and shouldn’t be both the actor and the judge in the scenes of your life.

Oh no, what have I just done? Everybody knows the feeling, accompanied by a facepalm gesture. But, in truth, embarrassment is the result of a flawed behavior, either because you have impossibly high expectations on yourself or because you feel guilty for the things that were done or said to you. Breaking free from this handicapping emotion is about understanding where it comes from and how to react.

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4 Online tools your blog need this season

As a small business owner, we know that in order to succeed, yourself and your team must be equipped with not just a dream needs the technology to make those dreams a reality. Because in a results-driven economy, one of the biggest challenges small business owners face is how to do all that needs to be done when there are never enough hours in the day. And why opting to use the best software for your blog and small business a paramount in today’s business world.

Sometimes it can seem that the most difficult part of running a small business is selecting the proper software to take care of the more tedious details for you. Sure, your predecessors just sharpened pencils when it came time to take care of the books, but this isn’t conducive to today’s business climate anymore. These days, there are many products available to streamline the process for you, like making money.

Deciding which is the best product for you is a matter of zeroing in on your business’s unique needs and perhaps identifying what business-related tasks you have zero tolerance for. Then you can select software to lighten your load. Want some help? Read on to see which programs are best suited to your needs. So if you are deciding which software might be the best fit for your business this season, here are four applications that serve to help automate business processes, save time, increase productivity and stay focused on the most valuable activities.

Trello

Ideal for small organizations, Trello is an organizational app that works as a team task-board. Users tasks and assign steps to individual team members to complete said tasks. Trello promotes productivity by small business maintain real-time visualization of what’s been finished already, and what new deadlines are approaching. Moreover, most of Trello’s best features are free to use. Find out more about this program here.

HootSuite

This app allows small businesses to schedule social media posts on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and the like. With HootSuite, you can listen to social media and get involved in emerging conversations in your niche, helping to grow your followers and position you as an authority. HootSuite saves you time by letting you schedule posts in advance, so you’re not constantly having to push your brand on social media. For work smarter, not harder method of scheduling social media, starting at only $19.00/month, check out this service here.

Mail Chimp

As you gain customers, you’ll need a way to stay in touch with them. As one of your growing businesses’ greatest resources, a working means of communicating news about your company and the latest deals and offers. Such as a scheduled newsletter. Which is were Mail Chimp can help. This service lets you organize and store your own mailing lists and provides you with templates that you can use to quickly create e-mail newsletters for your customers. Mail Chimp is the best way to keep track of, and communicate with, the people who matter: your customers! Check them out here.

An MDM vendor

In order to take your blog and mall business to the next level this season, you should invest in the services of an MDM vendor. Experts in unlocking analytical insights on strengths and cautions for all 14 MDM vendors. With a focus on sales momentum, market understanding, and product vision as well as pricing and deployment options. Steps that help take your business from niche to experienced this season and increase your profit margins for the foreseeable future. Vendors such as gartner mdm.

Friends, I hope you’ll take advantage of this list of software applications that can help you accomplish more with your small business. Let us know how these applications are working for you in the comment below!

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Set Digital Ground Rules For Your Kids With Google Family Link

This post has been sponsored by Family Link App from Google in partnership with Forward Influence. All opinions are my own.#sponsored #FamilyLink

I always joke with my friends about the days before devices and tablets became commonplace in our lives. Days when dinners consisted of more than the sound of chomping and chirping notifications. Now, if I was being completely honest, though, I don’t really think life was better, easier, or more civilized before such things came into existence! And I’m not even sure I would want such times to return. As much as I miss clear, corded phones and game boys, having to have a separate caller identification box to see who’s calling my phone or having to print out map directions before places are things I hope to never have to go through again! I’ll take seamless technology instead, thank you!

Especially when it comes to mindful technology and parenting. While we need to be protective of younger children, we also need to strike a balance between invocation and exploration. And if you’re a parent who feels the same, you’ll be glad to find out about Family Link from Google. Because it can be overwhelming to navigate technology as a parent. Which is why many families feel that this service helps them to more seamlessly set digital ground rules for their kids at home and manage their online content too! With Family Link, parents are better able t manage the content their kids see, set adequate screen time limitations, and start proactive conversations centered around the concept of having a healthy, long-term relationship with technology.

The Family Link App from Google helps families manage the content our kids see on their devices and set limits. As well as allowing parents to guide children to learn, play, and explore online. The app also allows parents to remotely approve or decline apps your kids want to download from the Google Play Store as well, hide apps you don’t want to be displayed on kid’s devices, lock devices to allow for only calls to be made, set bedtime timers, and to restrict what content your kids can see in the Play Store by maturity rating. Even track your child’s location, when devices are on or with your child. All without having to worry about in-app purchases bills. Measures that can help you better keep an eye on what they’re viewing on their device.

The app also allows parents to curate a listing of family-specific sites, with applied filters, that help to protect children from mature content in the family Link’s Family Link settings. And setting up the app (Android phone or tablet for your child that runs Nougat or ios device), just download the Family Link App from the App Store or Google Play Store and after installation, link your account to your child’s device account, then just follow the on-screen directions and set up your child’s device and begin to monitor their online progress. You can also invite other family members to join your family too!

The Family Link App from Google helps manage the content kids see on their devices and set limits while allowing little ones to have fun while maintaining digital habits at home. Check out the #parenting benefits! #sponsored #FamilyLink for more details! With Family link from Google, families can better manage the content kids see on their devices and set healthy internet limits. Friends, do you use Family Link by Google at home? And how do you set digital ground rules at your home? Leave your tips in the comments below!

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Safe Driving with the New Uniden R7 Radar Detector

Disclosure: This review is sponsored by Best Buy. All opinions about safe driving are 100% my own.

Safe Driving. Its a concern for so many of us. With so many things that could go wrong. Things we all take for granted. Especially for parents of new drivers just getting their learner’s permit and got behind the wheel of a car. Which makes arming your new driver, by way of information and plenty of practice while in the car with younger drivers. Helping bring parents more peace of mind.

Including lessons concern speeding. In almost all the cases that we hear about teen driving accidents, speeding is a factor. So when teaching new drivers about the basics of driver safety a lot of discussions need to involve driving too fast This is why I love the Uniden R7 radar detector.

About Uniden R7 Radar Detector

The Uniden R7 radar helps track up to four signals simultaneously for greater awareness as you drive. Enabling drivers, new and old, to be able to avoid getting speeding tickets. With the Uniden R7 radar detector, it is fall about safe driving, by way of mindfully keeping a safe driving speed. with a large OLED display includes arrows that identify the direction of incoming threats and change color on a scale of green to red to indicate the signal’s strength.

Monitoring Your Speed

With voice notification capabilities and a MAX speed warning system, drivers will be able to hear when you exceed the preset speed without taking your eyes off the road. Enabling new drivers to maintain a safe driving speed. Keeping eyes on the road with minimal distraction. another great feature is the system’s directional arrows indicate where the radar signal is originating from on the large screen allowing drivers to quickly and easily read variable information while maintaining your focus on the road ahead.

Uniden R7 Radar Detector Specs

Voice notifications – This allows drivers to focus on the road.
Works with most vehicles – You can get real-time alerts in your existing vehicle.
Color OLED display – The easy-to-see information display provides a clear view.
Long-range detection – High sensitivity on all conventional and instant-on radar bands.
K-Filter and Ka-Filter – Filter noise from the K and Ka bands to prevent false detections.

Friends, you can learn more about the new Uniden R7 radar detector at Best Buy or stop by your Best Buy and pick up the Uniden R7 today. Now I want to ask, do you use or plan to use radar detectors while driving this warm weather season ahead? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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Better Ways To Finance Graduate School This Season

This post was sponsored by College Avenue Student Loans. All opinion expressed are my own, thank you.

“You’ll never make it,” they said. “You’re just not smart enough,” they explained. Those were the comments I heard from my extended family growing up when the topic of me attending college was discussed. And though their words were meant to demoralize and discourage, they became my personal anthem of progress when it came time for me to not only attend but to flourish and ultimately graduate from my university. With not just one but two collegiate degrees.

Their words also propelled me to make the decision to attend graduate school. I could provide myself with not only a large and more diverse educational background but also provide myself with a way to better differentiate myself in today’s increasingly competitive job market.

Luckily, I’m not the only one who considers attending graduate school a no-brainer. According to the Federal Reserve, earning an advanced degree offers a substantial payoff, with graduate degree holders earning 30 percent more than those with only a bachelor’s degree. And with the ever-changing needs of employers across various private and public sectors desiring professionals who continually upskill themselves, graduate programs can help new students and returning students alike in immeasurable ways.

Also, by obtaining your master’s degree, you develop transferable skills that apply to various jobs, organizations, and industries, such as analytical, interpersonal, organizational, communication, and advanced technological skills. Skill sets that are often transferable and can help you become both a versatile employee and a more valuable asset to hiring managers and recruiters.

A graduate degree can also help you move into more senior roles, including management and leadership. Many companies not only recognize the benefits of earning your master’s degree but encourage their employees to get one through tuition reimbursement. In fact, 38 percent of employers nationally require applicants to have previously obtained a graduate degree as part of their educational requirements.

For these reasons, you may already be considering expanding your educational opportunities to include graduate coursework. Which leaves one of the largest and final decisions in attending, wondering if a graduate degree is worth the financial cost?

For me, it was. It was a key investment in my financial plans for the future. I’d like to say that I was able to pay for my continued education out-of-pocket, but this was not a reality in my world. I was not in a position to take on non-traditional payment plans and graduate student loans were my most viable financing option. Which is why I implemented the use of graduate student loans to obtain my degree.

My graduate student loans allowed me to borrow enough money to attend school and by doing so, I was also to obtain a degree that gave me the opportunity to implement new lucrative career opportunities in place. I knew I would not be borrowing more money than I expected to make in my first year at a firm. Coupled with setting a personal goal of working while attending school in an effort to pay down accrued interest, I felt at peace with borrowing money for school. And why, despite being a debt-free blogger, I’ll always encourage people to take out graduate student loans if they make financial sense to attend graduate school this season.

And I wasn’t alone. According to the College Board, in 2015-16 alone, 5% of master’s degree recipients, 20% of doctoral degree recipients, and 50% of professional degree recipients borrowed $100,000 or more to fund their graduate school study. As many MBA programs can cost tens of thousands of dollars for each potential student, and the average medical school degree can set students back upwards of $180,000.

Which is why, like me, you’ll likely need to borrow to help pay for a graduate degree after all scholarships, grants, and personal savings options have been exhausted. This makes private graduate student loans one of your next best bets to finance your educational pursuits for graduate school.

For those looking to find smarter graduate student loan opportunities, I encourage you to consider College Ave Student Loans as an option when financing your graduate degree.

College Ave offers new and returning students a better overall loan experience. From helping you find your best graduate school loan to providing borrowers with budget-friendly repayment options, this company makes borrowing fast and easy. They also provide applicants with a simple-to-use application process. It’s so simple that you can complete your application from any mobile device in minutes and find out instantly if your loan approved. Plus, borrowers can choose the loan term that works best for them and their budget with clean, concise borrowing terms upfront.

Graduate student loans are designed with students in mind, and College Ave takes the stress and guesswork out of paying for college or graduate school by putting you in charge of how your student loan will best fit within your budgetary needs this season. Coupled with helpful online tools, no origination fees, and great customer service, these loan programs can be one of your best bets for obtaining private loans for postgraduate, masters or professional degrees to help advance your educational career paths too!

When it comes to balancing the cost of school with other financial priorities and going to graduate school, you’ll be faced with big decisions that require even bigger investments. Which is why borrowing from College Ave can help make your graduate school dreams a reality. Leaving you more time to learn, study, and grow as a student in your own right.

Now, friends, I want to ask, are you considering getting your graduate degree this season? And if your educational future includes student loans, what are your biggest concerns in securing this type of educational funding? Leave your comments below!

This post was sponsored by College Avenue Student Loans. All opinion expressed are my own, thank you.

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Getting Over Financial Stress

Financial problems are the biggest cause of stress in America. It creates anxiety and has been known to lead to mental breakdowns.

The uncertainty surrounding the country’s economic state, and whether they will still have a job to go to does not help some people’s situation. There are many that are desperate to get out of debt, but first of all, they need to learn to cope with the stress, or it will be counterproductive and all their efforts could be in vain.

Identify Which Debt Causes The Most Stress

Start by making a list of everything you owe, including who it is to and how much. Then mark them in the order of which ones cause you the most stress, as that is the first one you should tackle. If, for instance, it is a bank loan or a credit card, try to pay just a few dollars extra each month. You may be surprised how quickly the balance comes down when you do this.

When you have got rid of that debt, look at the next most stressful, and the money you were paying off the first one add to the payments of the second. The debts will start to reduce quicker than you might think, and each time you cross one off that original list you will have a great feeling of accomplishment.

With credit cards, it can also help if you take advantage of zero interest offers, as at least then the payment you make is reducing the debt instead of only paying off the interest each month. Checking out card guru is possibly the easiest way to find the best deals for credit cards. Just makes sure you use all of the right information to make an informed decision.

Be Realistic And Positive

You need to be realistic about how long it will take you to clear your debts, and think of it in a positive way. Don’t tell yourself that you will never be debt-free. If it is going to take five years, then think how happy you will be when the five years is up. Also remind yourself that as each of those five years pass, the amount you will owe will be reduced, and that has to be a plus.

Negative thinking will not help your situation at all, and the debts will make you even more stressed unless you are positive about your plan to clear them.

Making small steps towards your debt-free life is the secret to Strategic Financial Solutions. If you do not expect your dent to reduce in huge amounts each month, you will not be so disappointed when they do take time to pay off. But never forget what your aim is, and be proud of yourself for each small achievement you make.

Make The Most Of Your Income

Believing that your income is not enough to pay your way is the first step toward financial ruin. Focus on using your income wisely. Only spend what you really have to and try to reduce your living expenses. Simple things such as buying supermarkets own brands and having less meat in your diet can reduce your shopping bill significantly, and that spare money could go toward clearing your debts.

Friends, do you have steps you take to getting over financial stress at home? Leave your tips in the comments below.

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