Author: Min Tang

Categories
Finance & Capital

Japan’s Cashless Vision Is Arriving 

Cash has always been king in Japan—and continues to be the primary payment method used. But over the past year, the country has made inroads into becoming more of a cashless society via significant investments in the mobile payments space.

We forecast there will be 23.9 million proximity mobile payment users in Japan this year, making up 21.5% of the country’s population. That’s a sizable increase from 2019, when 19.1 million people in Japan made a mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) transaction.

By 2023, that figure will grow to 27.6 million, which means that a quarter of the population will have used their device to complete an mPOS transaction.

This shift is captured in polling by Line Research published in February 2020. Roughly 38% of smartphone users in Japan surveyed said they used their mobile device to make a payment at a physical store in 2019. That’s an increase of 25 percentage points from the year prior.

While it certainly seems that many consumers in Japan are becoming more comfortable with transacting this way, there’s a lot of room for growth. According to the same Line Research poll, the number of respondents who reported using cash at physical stores decreased by nearly 10 percentage points in 2019 from 2018, but a sizable 62% of respondents said they still used this payment method as of December 2019.

The Japanese government has taken steps to encourage consumers to use mobile payments—like its cashless rebate program, which it rolled out last year. “The rewards program was launched to offset the impact of the consumption tax hike in October 2019,” said Cindy Liu, eMarketer senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence. “Under the program, consumers who used cashless payments at specified outlets could receive cash back or reward points worth up to 5% of the value of those transactions.”

QR code payment systems, including PayPay and Line Pay, are also driving growth.

“Japan is betting big on QR codes as consumer payment preferences begin to change,” Liu said. “QR codes don’t require huge investments from vendors, and it is also simple and easy to use for consumers.”

This year was supposed to be Japan’s big cashless push, with the Summer Olympics and its partnership with Visa aimed at bolstering mobile payment adoption in Tokyo and the rest of the country. Due to the pandemic, however, the games have been postponed to 2021.

“COVID-19 has accelerated the push toward cashless payments as consumers avoid the use of cash and plastic cards,” Liu said. “And with the Olympics pushed back to 2021, we can expect the Japanese government to continue to invest in mobile payment technology as part of its measures to keep the games safe.”

Japan’s Cashless Vision Is Starting to Come to Fruition [E Marketer]

Categories
Work Life

The Future of Hybrid Working 

Work as we know it has undeniably changed and most businesses have had to adapt to working remotely. However, with the future still unclear, it’s important to adjust your business to fit working remotely indefinitely, returning to work, or a mix of both. And while this means new challenges such as a lack of visibility on employees, possible productivity issues, and even risks to security and safety, businesses must focus on their core principles, seek out unified technology solutions, and adapt to rapidly changing work environments of the future.

For businesses that cannot survive remotely, safety and security measures must be in place before allowing employees to return to work. Along with remote work challenges, many businesses have obviously experienced financial downturn. Based on an SMB Group study, “53% of SMBs’ revenue has decreased since March when the COVID-19 pandemic began.” This means organizations need to re-think traditional models and cut ineffective processes to survive. Understanding that no one knows what’s to come, it’s critical that businesses use this time to develop updated strategies and implement new technology, learning from businesses who are thriving during this difficult time.

Avi Levinson, director of property management at Royal York, has found new ways to thrive including embracing remote work with no plans to return to the office. Royal York specifically handles property management for single-family homes, meaning they work with a large amount of homeowners and tenants. As a business reliant on in-person engagement, it’s hard to imagine a world where Royal York can succeed without conducting in-person showings—human connections are critical in this kind of business. Yet, they’ve defied the odds by creating new processes and using technology to empower their workforce. Instead of continuing to operate the way they used to in an environment where it clearly wouldn’t work, Royal York utilized technology to quickly adapt. Through automating various pieces of their customer journey and enabling staff with the information they need both in the office and while working with customers (through virtual showings and more), they’ve been able to reinvent traditional property management and increase internal productivity so they can handle more business with the same amount of staff. This increase in revenue has allowed them to expand business and even hire new employees to keep pace with growth.

Royal York was able to take their entire business remote, putting extra emphasis on collaboration and communication processes and tools. For companies that are unable to go fully remote, collaboration is still key and tools need to be integrated with relevant business applications to ensure teams have the right context to be effective. Fully integrated tools can automate manual and repetitive tasks, whether that’s automating project management or your customer journey. For example, if you’re using spreadsheets to track sales or a project and you have to update details and notes separately in your CRM, this will contribute to low-value time sucks and hold your business back from operating leaner. Continuing to automate customer touch points throughout their lifecycle will also help with retention and revenue growth.

For businesses choosing to return to work, their model must mold to fit both an office workplace and employees still working from home, but collaboration tools are just one piece of the puzzle. Most businesses are finding that their employees are still successfully communicating and collaborating, but their technology needs to go beyond and contribute to business results rather than simply productivity. Royal York was able to do this by using collaboration software in the context of a new work paradigm that brings collaboration, productivity, and communication tools into other business processes.

It’s critical to look beyond the surface-level capabilities of these tools and make sure they integrate well into whatever ecosystem your teams already use, extending access to the information and tools they need – where they need them. When your sales team is viewing a customer record in CRM, for example, they should be able to see more than just customer information. They need to have a clear picture that includes everything from their last payment and any open support tickets to the last time they were on your website to what they rated you in a recent survey. By providing this information all in one place, you’ll not only automate processes, but you’ll help employees do their jobs better, especially if they’re remote.

It is completely understandable to be overwhelmed with new hybrid work environments and what’s to come. However, whether your business chooses to return to work in the office soon or work remotely indefinitely, collaboration and productivity tools in conjunction with a dynamic strategy to improve employee experience and productivity will enable growth. It’s apparent that collaboration software is at the forefront of aiding hybrid work environments, but let’s look beyond that. Using this technology in the context of a new work paradigm to establish consistency of data throughout your organization will allow for easy adaption and new growth in a shifting work environment.

The Future of Return to Work: Adapting to Hybrid Work Environments [Smallbiztrends]

Categories
Finance & Capital

Diversifying Your Investment Portfolio 

Anyone who has studied finance, even for just one day, could tell you that building a diversified investment portfolio is critical to success, primarily by minimizing risk and maximizing opportunity. Nevertheless, smart diversification is easier said than done. Your investment strategy now could determine your financial success for years to come. Making the wrong diversification choices can easily end up being just as risky as not diversifying at all. So how can you gear your portfolio toward financial success? These six tips might help.

1. Quality over quantity

Simply claiming a large number of investments doesn’t necessarily mean your portfolio is properly diversified. If you typically focus on U.S.-based stocks located, you may want to expand outward into bonds and international opportunities. Two of the most important factors in building variety are value and growth. Some investments are lucrative because they are already valued highly. Others are valuable because of their potential for growth. Be sure your portfolio covers each.

2. Smart investors have cash

In addition to stocks, bonds and real estate, a truly secure investment portfolio will include a large amount of cash. Cash provides security and stability and protects your other investments from unforeseen circumstances. Too many investors have become so aggressive that they leave themselves with no cash on hand to weather difficult economic situations.

Not only does cash provide stability, but it also allows investors to quickly take advantage of unique situations. For example, in 2015, Warren Buffet — who is famous for keeping large amounts of cash in his portfolio — was in a position to purchase 1.6 million shares of Wells Fargo when the stock price suddenly dropped.

When you build security and liquidity in your portfolio through cash, you’ll not only be able to come out on top amidst even the most difficult economic downturns, but you’ll also be able to beat other investors to the punch when the right opportunities present themselves.

3. Limit guesswork through franchising

Franchising is a tried-and-true investment strategy with low risk and high potential, given that owners borrow from systems with pre-existing brand recognition and proven success rates. In fact, according to a paper by Seth Lederman of Frannexus, which works with career professionals on franchising opportunities, “Most new businesses take a huge risk when they start out with untested concepts and practices. With franchises, guesswork is reduced to a minimum, and the chance of lasting success and wealth creation is significantly increased.”

Franchises come with their own marketing, customer loyalty and even employee-training systems already in place. New business owners can save large amounts of money when they franchise rather than create new, independent businesses.

4. Real estate investing adds variety

Real estate investment functions differently, and because of this, some investors feel cautious about entering the market. But the advantage of real estate is that there are a number of ways to benefit from it, as it can create wealth through rental income, tax benefits, equity for other investments or an immediate profit from the reselling of property. The inherent diversity in real estate investments makes them a smart bet.

5. Keep flashy investments to a minimum

Every so often, an industry comes along that seems like an easy path toward getting rich quick, but it’s important not to let this temptation take hold. If anything, put a portion of money toward those flashy investments, but keep one hand active in other industries.

An example of when too many investors put all their money into a rising trend was during the dot-com bubble burst circa the year 2000. The internet seemed like a dream, and many investors failed to maintain smart strategies, subsequently squandering money when a vast swath of these companies turned out to be overvalued and their stocks crashed.

6. Don’t make investment decisions on autopilot

Just because you think you’ve created a beautifully diverse portfolio doesn’t mean you can let your investments run on their own. It’s imperative to stay informed about each market that you’re operating in. The more involved you are, the easier it will be to notice warning signs. You’ll also be able to tell when you need to pull out of an investment or patiently wait out a tough stretch. People rarely make money by accident. Don’t let your investments run on autopilot.

6 Savvy Ways to Diversify Your Investment Portfolio [Entrepreneur]

Categories
Entrepreneurship

Never Too Late To Start Your Business

Most people George Zweig’s age are long retired. But for the 78-year-old — who has enjoyed a wildly successful and varied career as a physicist, military strategist, CalTech professor, inventor, software entrepreneur and hedge fund investor — not working isn’t an appealing option.

“I’ve still got it,” he told The Wall Street Journal, adding that without work, “life can be very boring.”

And so instead of joining his peers in their leisure-filled golden years, Zweig is entering a world typically reserved for men and women less than half his age: He’s starting a hedge fund.

As the WSJ notes, the cutthroat industry, known for its low startup success rate, is a notoriously tricky one to master, even for founders at the prime of their career.

But Zweig feels he’s up for it. “It’s a fantastic challenge,” he told the outlet.

As a man of a riper vintage, Zweig is not alone in chasing (and finding) success later in life. While Silicon Valley may fetishize youth — a bias compounded by Hollywood’s embrace of the dorm-room-startup narrative — the reality is more nuanced. For many, the big breaks arrive long after the crow’s feet.

Unconvinced? Charles Flint founded IBM at 61. Ray Kroc opened McDonald’s in his early 50s and Harland Sanders started KFC in his 60s. At 44, Sam Walton wasn’t exactly old when he founded Walmart, but he was far from a college-aged teenager.

Still skeptical? A recent report by the Kauffman Foundation found that most people who became new entrepreneurs last year were in the 45 to 54 age bracket, followed next by those in the 55 to 64 demographic. Pair that with another study (which examined 502 successful engineering and technology companies and determined that the median age of their founders was 39), and there’s a solid case to be made that experience, not youth, is the key to entrepreneurial success.

As he embarks on his next chapter, Zweig will certainly tap into his extensive library of life experience, particularly with algorithms: His hedge fund plans to differentiate itself from competitors by developing software that turns large amounts of data into visual images, the WSJ reports, which can be used to uncover patterns and predict movements in the market.

For more examples of entrepreneurs who started businesses well after they graduated college, check out this infographic, embedded below, from startup organization Funders and Founders and information designer Anna Vital.

It’s Never Too Late: At 78, This Former Physicist Is Starting a Hedge Fund [Entrepreneur]

Categories
Starting Up

Asking For Favors When Launching A Startup 

Starting a new business, particularly in the early stages, is a big commitment. In making the leap into entrepreneurship, would-be entrepreneurs would do well to leverage their network of people — their family, friends and business associates — as a critical resource. Here are five favors that all new entrepreneurs should call in during the early stages of their startup journey.

1. Try out my prototype.

Starting lean is the reality for most entrepreneurs. Making a large investment in a fully developed product or service offering may not be possible, let alone a good strategy. Eric Reis, in his book The Lean Startup, popularized the concept of the minimum viable product — the most basic useable prototype. Friends and family can be a great resource, willing to review or try out an early prototype and provide critical feedback to the design process.

Gathering as much information as you can early on can reduce the amount of uncertainty around a potential business. It clarifies the extent customers would be interested in what you want you have in mind. It will also indicate how much design work would be necessary to get your product or service to a level of interest sufficient to consider launching a business.

2. Help me write a business plan.

It can be very tempting to avoid writing a business plan. The excitement of a new idea, inexperience with the process, and, in some cases, ready access to funding can make it seem as if the best course of action is to get started offering your product or service to the market as soon as possible. Taking the time to write one, however, can be critical to understanding how best to bring your business to market. You can have a fantastic product or service design, but if it is not launched with sufficient financing, a sound operating model and a compelling market strategy, it likely will not gain the traction necessary to succeed. A third-party perspective of your network is a great way to help you uncover needs in the market and to size-up opportunities. As the saying goes, goals without plans are nothing more than wishes.

3. Make an investment.

In the early stages of an entrepreneurial venture, it can be very difficult to gain access to funding from venture capitalists or angel investors. A business loan or a business grant may be possible, but they come with added costs: interest in the case of a loan and an arduous application process for a grant. When entrepreneurs are unable to finance the startup on their own, family and friends are an historically significant source of early stage financing. Family and friends invest upwards of $60 billion annually in startups.

4. Help me manage myself.

Starting a new business is time-consuming and extremely stressful. Busy founders can get so absorbed in the day-to day needs of the startup that they struggle to manage their own well-being, both physically and mentally. In fact, they may not even be aware of the toll their business is having on their health. Having a spouse, family member, trusted friend or advisor willing to meet regularly to act as a sounding board for ideas and struggles, and to help provide some balance between work and personal life can be extremely valuable. It ensures that founders are taking care of themselves and are thus well-positioned to take care of the business.

5. Be my business mentor.

Generally startups are built up around a new idea, but these ideas are most often launched into established markets. It can take a very long time to learn the best practices and subtleties of the industries in which you want your new business to compete. Having someone familiar with the target industry is extremely valuable for positioning your startup to take on already established competitors.

As the founder of a potential new startup, you have a lot of work ahead of you. The good news is that you don’t have to go it alone. Reach out to the resources you already have in your network and put them to good use.

5 Favors to Call in When Launching a Business [Entrepreneur]