Author: Pamela Swift

Categories
Business Ideas

How to Successfully Launch a Mobile App

The Mobile Apps business is currently booming and expanding, and so the competition is getting cutthroat. If you are an app developer, it is essential to make sure that your app is highly visible. You have to carefully decide the approach you want to use to promote your new app if you’re going to attain success.

Companies like Car Accident Lawyers Chatham Ontario know that a systematic approach is what gives you the desired results. Here are systematic and attainable steps you can follow to launch your mobile app successfully:

Choose the genre of your Mobile App

It is crucial to think of the importance of your app before launching it. Consider whether the app is solving any problem, entertaining or educating people. By questioning your mobile app, you will be able to fight the odds. The aim is to make your app stand out and outdo existing Apps.

Choose Your Target Audience

You need to decide the kind of audience you want to reach with the App. While you consider your audience you all need to consider the type of mobile device they may be using, the terrain they live in, their sex, income, and age. The idea is to find an audience that will use your app in the long-run.

Choose Your Platform

There are four platforms you can explore, Google’s Android, App Store, HTML, and Microsoft’s and you have to choose your preferred platform. The platform will be influenced by the audience you are trying to reach. Choose a platform that suits the users.

Have a Monetization Plan

There are various models you can use to earn money. You can make the App free for users and chose to make the payment through advertisement. You can also incorporate in-app purchases where the users will have to pay for perks like virtual currency, extra games live or others.

You can also have a paid App where users will have to pay to download the app.  Or you can also use the subscriptions options where the users will pay at different intervals. Choose the monetization plan that suits your App the most.

Expand App Distribution

You should consider going beyond Google Play. It is not wise to restrict your App to one or two platforms. If your App is of high quality and you’re sure about that, then other app stores will crave for your app. Expanding your distribution will increase the number of reaches, users, and downloads.

Go Social

It is crucial to make sure that your app has a robust Social Media presence. Social media can be the best platform to allow your users share their experiences and interact directly with your brand. The most popular social media channels that will enable two-way communication between you and your users are Facebook and Twitter.

Blog about the App

If you continually blog or write new articles about the App, you will keep it alive. If you have a website make sure that you continuously generate new content in the form of articles and blogs to keep your audience interest and also improve the SEO ranking of your App.

Categories
Operations

Top 5 Benefits of Automating Asset Tracking and Inventory Processes

Article Contributed by Sanjay Darji

As your business grows, your team expands. With the expansion of the team, the overall assets of your company also increase. In the process of growth, companies must have the resources to access all their asset details. It is also extremely important for the business to maintain their every asset because it also affects their employee efficiency.

Inventory management is an extremely time-consuming and tedious task. There is a higher chance of missing out on many things if the task is performed manually. For the benefit of employee efficiency and better work productivity, businesses have started using Asset Management Software which automates the process of asset tracking. Inventory management software has also been widely accepted by the businesses for smooth inventory process.

Here are the top benefits of automating asset tracking and inventory processes.

  1. Save time:

An asset management software saves all your asset information, which means you can find any information regarding your assets in seconds. It gives all the maintenance details of your fixed assets, so you can plan your production/manufacturing on that particular day. You will not face any sudden breakdowns as you already know the upcoming dates of the maintenance.

Putting the inventory in a smooth workflow with inventory management system will help you a lot. First of all, it is obviously faster than managing it manually. Second, the system offers various shortcuts where you can save a lot of time with repetitive tasks.

  1. Be more accurate:

The system will let you know various operational and maintenance dates of a particular asset. With the right date of maintenance, you can plan the whole production with higher accuracy.

As we all know, human errors are very common. On the hand, systems are very effective with predefined tasks. For a process like inventory management, automation is highly suggested because it will reduce the number of errors in minor operations. In inventory management, information like purchase date, release date, no. of items, weight, and other such small details can be noted down incorrectly at times. But by automating this task, you can finish it in few minutes with greater efficiency.

For most of the times, we use spreadsheets for such processes. Even though spreadsheets are easy to use and consume less time, there are still chances of a mess which creates unnecessary complications. A software, on the other hand, will directly generate accurate and precise reports with the help of automation.

  1. Increase Accountability:

You will sense the difference when you automate your asset management process. This step will actually help you with your fixed assets accountability in following ways:

  1. Asset management software automates the process of asset shifting from one place to another.
  2. It helps you in changing requests or details from the asset manager, and smoothen the process.
  3. It can track the movement of your assets and gives you the real status of the asset.

Same can be seen in the inventory process where you can leave the entire process to the software. All you need to do is check the important details. The same process would have been very tedious and less trustworthy if it was handled manually.

  1. Set up a workflow:

When you automate the process of asset tracking and inventory, it will automatically set up a workflow. There will become a definite process where incoming documents will be generated quickly, no. of items will be calculated with precision, invoices and material incoming-outgoing papers will be generated quickly.

When it comes to inventory, there is a lot of paperwork to be handled. By simply using software for this purpose, can set up the whole workflow in an efficient way.

  1. Save money:

Of course! By saving a lot of time in these processes, you’re obviously saving a lot of money. You may require a lot of staff to perform these activities manually. But, with the automation through software, you are effectively cutting down your cost.

You may not realise it immediately, but when you make a human error in asset tracking and inventory management, it can cost you in the long run. By using the software, you are saving a lot of money by eliminating these errors.

Effectively managing your data saves your time and cost, and that’s what the system does for you.

Bottom Line:

By using an asset management software and inventory management system, you can achieve success in two of the most important processes of your business. These systems will set up a workflow and all the tasks will be carried out more efficiently.

Author Bio:

Sanjay Darji works as a software analyst at SoftwareSuggest. His interests include asset management software, online CRM software, inventory management software, and. In his spare time, he likes to spend time with his son and catch up on the latest technologies. You can follow him on twitter at @sanjaydarji01.

Categories
Business Ideas

Should I Look Into Kickstarter? Is It For Everyone?

Article Contributed by Corinne Ledling

Kickstarter is often used as a great example of a place where you can gain funding for a project, but many people feel that it might be too big for them to try it out. Actually, this crowdfunding platform can work for anyone, and there have been plenty of projects that came from obscurity and yet were fully funded. Here’s why you should give Kickstarter a chance – and how to make it work for you.

Search the projects

The first thing that you will want to do is to search the projects that are already on Kickstarter. Take a look around to familiarise yourself with what kind of projects get featured on the front page and seem to be doing well, and then use search terms that you would apply to your own project. If there are lots of similar projects in process, it might not be the best bet for you. If your project seems fairly unique on Kickstarter, however, then you’re in with a good shot.

Pursue original ideas

Whether you are unique on Kickstarter or not, it’s really important that you come up with original ideas. To take a silly example, let’s say that you wanted to start a project about printing out Google Maps onto paper for tourists to use. Most people wouldn’t want to back your project because printed maps already exist – this wouldn’t be a new idea! To make it original you have to add your own twist, like creating personalised maps for each traveller, or drawing your own maps with insider info that only locals know.

Offer good reward tiers

No one will pledge to your Kickstarter unless it has two things. The first is an original and worthwhile idea, as we have already discussed. The second is reward tiers that will make them feel they are getting something out of it. You could allow people to pre-order your product at a much lower price, print their name somewhere on it, give them exclusive goodies that won’t be offered ever again, and so on. You can also offer things not related to the Kickstarter if you are already known for something else. For example, if you have a successful podcast, you could offer to give supporters shoutouts in one of your episodes.

Give people reasons to pledge

Pledging money to a project is a big deal, particularly if some of your tiers are on the higher side. You’re asking someone to trust you to take their money and use it to produce something spectacular. Don’t write just a basic description and expect it to do all of the work for you. Explain in the text why people should pledge, and give them reasons to. Tell them how your project will improve their lives, or someone else’s. Let them know why they should choose your project instead of pledging to someone else. Don’t waste that description space! Provide regular updates, too, so that they can see their money will be put to good use and you are serious about finishing the project.

Share socially

After posting your campaign, be sure to share it as much as possible on social media. Encourage friends, family, and current pledgers to do the same so that the word spreads as far as possible. The more people see your project, the more chance there is that you will get the funding that you are looking for.

Kickstarter can work for almost everyone – so long as you have a good, original idea and know what you are doing before you start.

Corinne Ledling is a businesswoman who’s very passionate about her job. She’s a Content Manager at Bizstats.co.uk and loves to share career tips and tricks.

Categories
Teamwork & Leadership

6 Leadership Mistakes First-Time Entrepreneurs Make

Article Contributed by Julia Morison

If you believe that your 9 to 5 job is hard, then you have never been so wrong in your life. Your boss life would seem to be charming with all the liberties and the money to spend an ideal life which you wish for. But on the back of it, there are the years of hardships with immense mental pressure and sleepless nights which make them what they are today. Among all this, there are mistakes too which makes their path to success harder.

The mistakes are bound to happen to everyone especially if you are trying to set up anything big. For a businessperson, mistakes can cost lives and when you are a first-time entrepreneur, you are more exposed to some of the silliest mistakes that can make you a joke in the industry. That is why it is better to know the things before acting so you can save yourself from the harassment you can face due to your mistakes.

For the young entrepreneurs out there who are trying to set up their first startup, I am writing this article in which I am going to discuss six of the most common leadership level mistakes that they make which hurt their path to success and make things worse for them.

  1. Going for the big horses:

You are new in the market and trying to manage your investment and spending. In the initial stages of the startup, you need the bulk of cash to burn in the furnace of the company which is not even earning any profits. However, you will be wishing at that point to have the support of someone who is experienced and can setup an entire department for you. Wishing this is an issue for entrepreneur. One, you would not be going to have enough cash to gather such people around your business and to pay them as their worth. Second, because they are many experiences and you are a new guy trying his luck, managing these people would not be easy. Hence, after spending a heavy amount on them, they are going to flee away from your dream with all your money invested in them, and you would be cursing that day you hired them.

  1. Being Egoistic:

There are many stories in which most of the companies only fall due to the ego and self-centeredness of the top management. Imagine these two things destroying big corporates then what they could do with your company which is just an infant. One of the greatest traits of a good leader and manager is to accept his mistakes and flaws and then try to better it. You can only bring this in yourself by killing your ego.

  1. Doing without a plan:

You may be a fantastic employer for your company and a master in your industry. Though, having these achievements cannot ensure your success while setting up a new business for the first time. To work for somebody and to make someone work is totally different things. This needs a lot more things that is why it is better to plan the things thoroughly instead of just jumping on the things.

  1. Blurred revenue model:

You are doing business to make money. However in the first few months, you won’t be making anything but still have a clear revenue model is imperative for a startup. You have to draw the lines first and then play your games within.

  1. Trying to achieve the goal:

We all set big goals and try desperately to achieve it. This is the trait of idealist which for some people is the right thinking. However, it is something which you should avoid while setting up your first startup. In the initial stages of the company, you better care about aligning the things correctly and in order instead of not jumping on consensus and the goals.

  1. Not thinking about protection:

You would be intensively involved in the grooming of your company that there is a chance of missing one of the most important things for the company which is its security. In the days of cybercrimes and frauds, having a compelling and full proof security system is important. Or else someone would take all the things away from you in a whisker.

Author Bio: Julia Morison is a head hunter and a research specialist at US-Based Digital Agency. She loves to help people and is the mastermind behind ieee reference generator.  She is a traveler, a blogger, a techie and a social activist. When she not in her office, she spends her time writing and educating the masses. Follow her on twitter and LinkedIn.

Categories
Entrepreneurs

The Top 5 Skills Needed by Today’s Entrepreneur

Article by Mark Palmer

Many individuals have toyed with the thought of entrepreneurship and starting their own business, some even grapple with whether or not they should pursue a nonprofit business or a for-profit venture. Nonetheless, whichever route they decide to take starting your own business requires five basic skills that every entrepreneur needs today. Whether you’re a new business or you’ve been at it for a while, the following are some areas that you should take to make sure you’re good at, relevant and profitable within your prospective industry. 

  1. Communication

As a business owner, one of the main entryways into your organization is through communication. Because most people’s initial means of contacting a businesses is through online research prior to making business decisions, it’s imperative that you effectively communicate with clients, potential clients and other people of interest within your marketplace. Your channels of communication should be clear, well-written content for those searching online for information that is related to your business. You should also have strong verbal communication skills by both phones and by the use of emails. That way you can properly represent your business and increase the chances of taking on more clients.

Additionally, you need to communicate well internally with staff members, independent contractors, and suppliers as well to run your business effectively.

So in essence, reading, writing, speaking, and listening are the core areas of communication that you need to have as a business owner. 

  1. Business Development and Strategizing

Although many business owners think about the present and what’s currently going on with their business right now, being able to strategize and set short term and long term goals will allow you to strategically develop steps that lead directly to those goals.

Part of that planning, development and strategizing will also consist of setting up action items, monitoring and dealing with issues such as barriers to entry, identifying your target market, your market segment, and your market niche, determining your pricing as well as checking out the competition. Planning and strategizing is a very important element for making sure your business gets and stays on course. 

  1. Accounting and Finance

It’s so important for business owners to have a basic understanding of how accounting and finance work. While accounting has to do with keeping records of financial activity that has already taken place, finance has to do with making sure your business has the funds it needs to function properly.

The best way to track your accounting and finance activities consists of the implementation of either a for-profit or nonprofit accounting systems that allows you to process and evaluate the financial state of your business. This is also important for financial management, recordkeeping and making those important managerial decisions about running your business. 

  1. Sales

As a business owner, as busy as you may be, at the end of the day one of the most important aspects of your business is making sure you’re making sales. Although the way a business owner go about generating sales is one of the primary differences between a for-profit and a nonprofit entity, it is still exceptionally important to learn how to generate a steady stream of income for your business. 

  1. Marketing and Branding

Marketing and branding are by far one of the most important skills that a business owner can have. It is the lifeblood that is needed to establish yourself as an expert and bring an awareness to your business within your specific industry.

This area has to do with getting good at putting your marketing messages on as many social media platforms and other media distribution outlets as possible. This way you can get the exposure you need to capture the right clients for your business.

To sum up, although you may have learned to get good at effectively delivering the product or service that you offer, enhancing your skills with these five additional areas will help you keep your company relevant and stable as you launch and operate your business.