TONIKA BRUCE

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business ideas

Scale Your Business with a Strong Team

Building a Strong Team: If you want your organization to reach its full potential, you need to build a strong team that can help your company scale successfully. Whether you’re just beginning or you’ve been operational for several years, this article is for you. However first, you need to understand high-performing teams.

What Makes a Team Strong?

Building a strong team in a company requires more than simply working with the right people, setting clear objectives, and having excellent communication. A high-performing group is one that works as a single unit, with all members working together to achieve common goals.

This involves creating an environment of trust and shared regard among team members, managing conflicts with compassion and understanding, motivating collaboration through open dialogue, and commemorating successes together.

Similarly,  being able to learn from current inadequacies to prevent making the same mistakes in future. All of these components are essential for any business to prosper in today’s competitive environment.

6 Steps to Building a Strong Team

As a leader, it’s your job to combine the right people and provide them with the tools they require to be successful. The following steps will help you succeed in this role.

1. Specify Your Business Goals

Setting long-term and short-term objectives for your company is vital for success, as it offers a structure for tracking development and measuring success. When specifying your objectives, consider what metrics you need to track with time to measure the impact of your choices.

For example, you can track performance versus development goals utilizing metrics like:

  • Sales and orders
  • Customer retention rate
  • Conversion rate
  • Cost per acquisition
  • Earnings per user/customer
  • Lifetime value of a client
  • Staff member turnover rate
  • Net promoter score.
  • Profit margin and operating margin.
  • Market share.

Keeping short-term goals achievable, reasonable, and measurable will ensure you’re setting yourself up for success along with keeping your team encouraged and focused. Short-term wins encourage teammates, inspire creativity, and offer everybody in the business a sense of function towards attaining their long-term objective.

That said, do not forget the big picture by setting ambitious yet achievable long-lasting objectives– due to the fact that those are the ones that will form the future of your company!

2. Examine Team Member Skills and Strengths

Examining staff member skills and strengths is a necessary procedure for any organization. It enables training to be tailored to specific needs and spending plans to be utilized most effectively. Start by identifying each team member’s specific ability and strengths; from there, training goals can be established that concentrate on filling inany skill gaps.

Additionally, this assessment procedure makes it easier to identify which teams would gain from cross-training– sharing their knowledge and experience with associates in various departments or functions. Taken together, this kind of planning makes sure that training financial investments develop a confident and capable group that drives productivity and helps the business scale.

3. Develop a Cohesive Team through Effective Communication

Efficient communication is necessary for a team to work cohesively. It includes internal communication– setting expectations amongst members and comprehending one another’s roles– along with external interaction with clients, customers, or suppliers outside the company.

In order for reliable cooperation to occur within a team, internal interactions ought to be regular, clear, prompt, and transparent. Tools Google Drive, Dropbox, Zoom, Basecamp and Google Meet are excellent options that will help enhance internal communications in an efficient way.

External interaction is just as crucial to make sure everybody involved understands expectations properly. Investing in the right tools for external and internal communications can help departments remain linked, build trust among team members, and make organizations more successful in the long run.

4. Team Conflict Resolution 

Managing team conflict with respect and empathy is important to a team’s success. Dispute between team members can become dissentious and disruptive, leading to decreased performance and spirits, along with long-lasting negative influence on jobs and relationships.

Thankfully, there are ways to manage conflict resolution processes. Start by identifying the problem and leading negotiations in between team members to find commonalities.

Taking proactive steps to attend to any prospective locations of conflict guarantees positive results and stronger group connections going forward.

5. Encouraging Team Collaboration 

An environment of trust and shared regard is important for effective team building. By holding members liable for satisfying deliverables and timelines, setting clear milestones, and defining roles and obligations, expectations can be set up-front and everybody can concentrate on tasks more effectively.

Likewise, it’s essential to recognize any prospective obstacles that could obstruct development, which can hinder success even with a merged synergy. When team members take ownership, guarantee their responsibility, regard others’ viewpoints, and build each other up through cooperation, success will follow.

6. Celebrate Team Successes and Learn from Failures

Celebrating team successes is essential in producing a strong team spirit. 

It’s vital that nobody tries to finger point and pass blame when things don’t go according to plan, as this only works against group performance. In addition, take time each day or week to appreciate and acknowledge big and little wins attained by the group. Doing so motivates collaboration between team members, which is necessary for a team to attain its goals.

Key Takeaways

It’s up to you to build a high performing team if you want to scale your business. That implies hiring the right people and setting clear goals and objectives. However it also means being versatile and seizing chances as they arise. Communication is crucial!

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business ideas financial strategies

Five Ways Entrepreneurs Can Build Resilience for Tough Times

Entrepreneurs Can Build Resilience: Tough economic times lead to dwindled customer confidence and diminished sales. Although all businesses suffer during economic recess, entrepreneurs are specifically vulnerable. Entrepreneurs encounter numerous obstacles like market uncertainties and financial insecurities that threaten their existence.

The current economic climate looks bleak with market insecurities, recessions, war, and the pandemic. Previously, entrepreneurs focused internally on their business, but now they must pay attention to world markets.

Entrepreneurs who continuously build their resilience have a better chance to excel. Here are five ways entrepreneurs can develop adaptability for tough times.

1. Adapt to Change

Adapting to change as an entrepreneur means that you view adversities as opportunities. Changes allow entrepreneurs to grow and expand their perceptions, philosophies, and performance.

The journey of entrepreneurship is that of constant change where companies experience challenges from inception to maturity.

For instance, the number of employees will change, management strategies will change, technology will advance, and even the globe is transforming. Currently, tough economic times are amplifying these challenges. Clever entrepreneurs do not resist changes, but they embrace them.

Resilience is the capacity to bounce back from setbacks and embrace unanticipated circumstances. Resilient entrepreneurs have made adapting to changes more accessible, preparing them for unforeseen situations.

Resilient entrepreneurs who embrace changes and view adversities as growth opportunities are likely to succeed even in a harsh economic climate. At the height of the pandemic more businesses came into existence than before.

2. Focus on Core Proficiencies and Business

As an entrepreneur and business leader, there is a huge temptation to spend business funds on multiple unbudgeted needs or business expansions.

During tough economic times, some entrepreneurs try to add other products and services to their offerings in the name of diversification. Often, these random reactions end up wasting funds and time.

Worse, they can destroy the main business by removing the necessary focus and resources from the core proficiencies. Resilient entrepreneurs focus on their principal competencies even during tough economic times.

Tough economic times demand that entrepreneurs reduce their unnecessary expenditures. Unnecessary expenditures include luxurious company dinners, extravagant retreats, and profligate trips.

During turbulent times, the business will incur financial losses if they continue spending money on unnecessary outflows. Resilient enterprises must focus on the fundamental purpose.

Similarly, entrepreneurs ought to be driven by well-defined business plans to overcome the challenges of a harsh economic climate.

3. Keep the Business and Marketing Campaigns Running Even Through Credit 

During economic recessions, most entrepreneurs shy from investing in their businesses.

Some entrepreneurs slash off the marketing budget or even abolish it entirely. However, the company needs all the support it can get during these tough economic times. Resilient entrepreneurs take huge risks by inputting more funds into their businesses and marketing campaigns.

Investing in your business and marketing operations can help your enterprise grow exponentially during an economic downturn. Despite tough economic times, clients seek opportunities to acquire new products or services. Therefore, entrepreneurs who borrow funds to finance their businesses and marketing campaigns make enormous profits despite the harsh economic climate.

4. Invest in Personal Well-being 

Diminished sales, unavailability of credit, pay cuts, dwindled profits, and other financial struggles of recession can lead to stress and depression.

Although stress is a personal issue, it can affect your business negatively. Stressed entrepreneurs tend to lose their business-friendly traits. For example, often-depressed leaders are rude to clients, lack the zeal to offer quality customer service, are always late to work and make numerous mistakes.

At this point, stress becomes a business issue, as the entrepreneur is highly inefficient, and the business can easily make huge losses under the leadership of a depressed businessperson. Hence, despite tough economic times, entrepreneurs must prioritize their well-being.

Business owners and leaders must find healthy ways to cope with stress.
Examples of methods that businesspeople can employ to cope with stress include; eating healthy meals, getting plenty of sleep, avoiding alcohol, and exercising regularly.

5. Optimize on Current Customers and Entice the Competitor’s Customers

Resilient entrepreneurs are clever enough to make the most of current customers because they know the struggle of getting clients during tough economic times.

Making the most of current clients means selling more products without spending on marketing and advertising. The secret here is having excellent customer service that ensures all clients are satisfied (more on adopting a customer-centric approach). Identifying customer needs and fulfilling them retains and draws clients from your competitors.

Summary

Although there is no prescribed method to build resilience or insure your business against financial struggles associated with recessions, employing the above techniques will ensure that your business survives through a harsh economic climate.

Furthermore, implementing these strategies can help you make profits even during a tough economic time. The techniques focus on analyzing the current work plan and finding methods to enhance it.

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business ideas

What Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Must Know about Post-Covid and The Metaverse?

What Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Must Know about Post-Covid and The Metaverse?​

There are quite a number of people who already believe that the internet is already undergoing a paradigm shift. But this is not just about the internet. It is about our interactions online and consequently, how businesses can tap into the opportunities that exist within this meta moment.

What’s more interesting is that this paradigm shift is happening when the pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges globally. Thankfully many small businesses are already adapting to this newly formed digital landscape even amidst the pandemic. With the increasing trend toward remote work and online business, the pandemic has set the stage for metaverse operation.

What Is The Metaverse?

What Is The Metaverse

The metaverse has been around for a really long time, no doubt in the form of virtual reality. But it’s no longer just about the virtual world of augmented reality. The Metaverse is more about the immersive and interconnectedness between the physical and the digital. Well, thanks to augmented reality and virtual technology.

 

Instead of experiencing the virtual world through a digital screen, you can enjoy the experience right around you, interacting with it immersively in a way your senses are entirely involved. So, in the metaverse, you can attend events, work, and invest in real estate by selling or buying virtual lands.

 

What does this mean for businesses, and what opportunities await them post COVID?

Marketing In the Metaverse & Post-COVID [Opportunities]

Marketing Opportunities In the Metaverse

The nature of work has never been the same since the beginning of the pandemic. Similarly, the way we interact online has shifted. This is well reflected in the skyrocketing nature of online purchases and many brands transitioning into remote working.

Likewise, the metaverse is introducing a new wave of opportunities for businesses to thrive.

Examples of Creative Marketing Opportunities for Businesses in the Metaverse

Creative Marketing Opportunities

Virtual store experience

Let customers do virtual fitting and testing of products. Gucci is already doing this with their sneaker brand-Gucci virtual 25.

Digital collectibles

Utilize the rise of digital collectibles like  NFTs. Companies like Gucci and Nike are creating collectible NFTs.


Virtual influencers

Take a page from big brands by creating a digital doppelganger of real life influencers or avatars for your brand.

 

Virtual challenges

Take the social media challenges a notch higher by shifting to more intimate digital campfires that enable virtual experiences such as Roblox and Discord.

With that said, check out a few things to consider to prepare your business for the meta transformation now and post COVID.

Stay Relevant Through Agility

Agility focuses on getting your business prepared to thrive under any circumstances. Let’s get this straight, we’ve been talking about digital transformation, flexibility, and agility for years. We all believe it’s been heading our way for so long.

The bottom line is, at this point, any business not already fully utilizing existing online marketing strategies has missed a vital digital transformation. And the next one is already here.

The fact is, another digital transformation is already here, and the metaverse has solidified its existence. The pandemic has adjusted the nature of work and how we interact with businesses into a new normal.

Marketing Metaverse & Post-COVID
image: Envato Elements

McKinsey & Company advised preparing your business for unforeseen disruption by building agile teams and processes. To build agility in the next normal of post-COVID-19 and the metaverse landscape, you must be ready to embrace digital transformation.

Additionally, you must prepare to establish structures that will allow for rapid decision-making and clear communication in the new era of doing business.Most companies with remote employees have integrated apps that help collaborate on projects online in their systems.


Silicon valley giants such as Google and Twitter are already trendsetting and Walmart has used virtual reality to test and train employees for tasks.

Empower Teams Using Technology

The pandemic set the pace for the trends that will define the nature of work in 2021 and beyond. Flexible organizations were able to quickly adapt to the changing business dynamics to embrace the ‘next normal’, stayed afloat through remote working, online ordering and scheduling, and smart workforce digitization in the midst of a rapidly evolving digital era.

Empowering teams to embrace technology begins with seamless and borderless communication and collaboration through remote working. This enables your team to engage in an agile way and deliver products and customer service with improved pace and quality.

Leverage A Culture of Social Relevance

It’s time to join the masses on the social relevance of diaspora though it sounds noisy. This is not just about social media marketing. This is about initiatives that improve the lives of people on the planet.

 

Socially responsible organizations are well-positioned for better brand recognition, reputation, and customer loyalty. Moreover, access to information on new business opportunities is an added advantage of organizations being socially responsible.

Put Customers First

To do this successfully, you need to reimagine customer experience within the concept of the metaverse. That is, think about the vast possibilities of how customers want to engage with your brand in the digital world.

 

It involves creatively delighting customers at the emotional level anytime they engage with your brand through technology. You can begin with simple online ordering and scheduling features to boost customer satisfaction.

 

Also, imagine customers shopping in the metaverse through augmented reality with layers of experience, outstanding mixed reality with enough information, choices, and expectations.

customer experience

Gamify Your Brand

Customers want a little more fun, although they rarely talk about it. The concept of gamification is not new at all. You have seen it a couple of times in marketing campaigns. For instance, you’ve probably had to compete to win points for leaving comments on a blog post. Imagine scratch to win contests and more.

Gamify Your Brand

The essential goal of brand gamification is to boost customer loyalty and engagement through fantastic gaming tools. Loyalty programs, exciting contests, and highly immersive content are simple tools to gamify your brand.

The TakeAway

The metaverse is an entire digital universe that can be used for work and play in virtual worlds. The potential impacts on marketing strategies for businesses are endless, with business meetings and after-work activities such as going out for movies, spending time with friends, or virtual concerts possible within this new world framework.

 

Is your business prepared for the post-COVID era and the age of metaverse amidst the rumors and speculations? It’s time to get flexible and benefit from the rapidly evolving business landscape.

 

Learn more about utilizing your digital marketing strategies creatively in the current online landscape? Connect with our team at Lead Nicely, Inc.

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business ideas

7 Book Recommendations on Entrepreneurship Success

7 Book Recommendations on Entrepreneurship Success

As an entrepreneur contemplating launching a business, you need a significant balance of insight, strategy, and practical advice from individuals who have been through the entrepreneurial journey. For instance, setting up a business requires guidance on the challenges to expect, the key activities to prioritize, and how best to budget resources to run a business. 

Although some entrepreneurs quickly apply for classes, training sessions, and seminars, books are the most affordable and convenient method to begin learning. In addition, well-authored books highlight the blunders previously made by startups and offer professional advice on averting similar mistakes. Therefore, despite the nature of business you aspire to venture into, here are seven insightful and recommendable books to read before you begin.    

1. Relentless Pursuit: Tips for Unlocking your Potentials by Tonika Bruce

Relentless Pursuit compiles proven tactics that can help in unlocking the unexploited potential within an entrepreneur and eventually propel them to victory. The strategies in the book will guide you on how to handle business challenges, identify vision, and build networks to succeed against all odds. The guide emphasizes that to be successful, people must overcome their challenges, and in the process, explore their creativity, becoming prosperous business owners. Furthermore, the book inspires relentless success that individuals enjoy after accomplishing their objectives despite the obstacles. The author’s goal is to help people find true success by elevating their self-confidence, happiness, and fulfillment.   

2. Zero to One by Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel, a legendary investor, and entrepreneur elaborates on the significance of businesses developing new products or services. The reading explains how the current companies are focusing on creating new products or enhancing the existing products. As the book title suggests, the author appeals to all entrepreneurs to take the world from a state of nothing to something by developing entirely new solutions and merchandise that add more value. Inside the pages, he details some actionable guidelines for entrepreneurs to follow when starting a business and developing a new product or solution. “Zero to One” is one of the best entrepreneurial books for anyone thinking of starting a business. 

3. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

Eric Ries wrote this book for aspiring entrepreneurs who have viable business ideas they would like to develop. The book acts as a validation to start the business when the entrepreneur has an assurance that the market will pick and has gathered all necessary resources to facilitate it. Additionally, the book outlines a procedure to emulate, ensuring that you invest smartly by averting unnecessary risks. It also outlines a build-measure-learn process that advocates for creating and testing a prototype rather than making assumptions of how the product will perform in the market. Eric suggests following this procedure continuously while improving and adjusting the product according to the clients’ feedback.

THE 7 TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

4. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

This writing by Dale Carnegie is a necessary read for any aspiring entrepreneur or leader. The author designed a book for people who wish to develop their people skills and nurture relationships that will make them thrive at work. It lists all the vital ways an entrepreneur can use to create friends and connect with potential clients. The author also explains how entrepreneurs can win over their business competitors, potential investors, or even individuals who do not believe in their business concept. Making friends is an effective and affordable way of expanding your business or dealing with the competition; therefore, this book offers wisdom that all entrepreneurs need to know. 

5. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown

Entrepreneurs live hectic lives. They have to acquire new skills, liaise with clients, monitor their competition, negotiate, read endless books, and market their products to succeed in their ventures. Not to mention, they are also human beings who have to keep fit, live healthily, and spend time with family. As such, they barely have enough time to execute their schedules, so they must learn how to prioritize their time. The book explains how best business owners can maximize their time and make the most out of it. It is a practical guide for all entrepreneurs struggling with time management. 

IF IT ISN'T A CLEAR YES, THEN IT'S A CLEAR NO.

6. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

“Think and Grow Rich” is a renowned business book that has helped numerous entrepreneurs in developing and implementing successful business plans. The author provides aspiring business leaders with wise advice on professional and personal development. It guides entrepreneurs on how to seek answers from within and alter their mindset. Furthermore, Napoleon Hill gives a valuable lesson on how to set an objective and accomplish it. Evidence indicates that most successful entrepreneurs have read and implemented the knowledge of this book. 

7. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

Most business owners quickly get lost in the details of running a business and often get overwhelmed. The author of “Getting Things Done” teaches practical tips on dealing with the stress and upholding perspective on your business. The book provides wisdom to help entrepreneurs remain relaxed and have a clear mind when making business decisions vital for success and productivity. 

Conclusion

Entrepreneurial books have been offering invaluable wisdom to business owners when they need advice on how to improve their investments. Although entrepreneurs are typically busy, successful business owners create time to read and update their knowledge on current affairs. Therefore, you should also set up daily reading routines because entrepreneurs are lifetime students. These books are an excellent starting point for anyone thinking of launching a business.

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business ideas

Why Building a Work Culture of Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging Is Essential Today

Why is Building a Work Culture of Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging Essential Today?

Why is Building a Work Culture of Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging Essential Today?

Inclusion, diversity, and belonging are three words that have become a hot topic within professional circles and sometimes even used only for political correctness- with the implication and necessity lost. What do they mean? And what does it mean to build a workplace culture of inclusion, diversity, and belonging?

In this blog post, we will answer these questions so you can create an inclusive work environment!

We want to dive a little more into applications of workplace inclusion in 21st Century companies. We will also consider the reasons why this is crucial for business success.

Let’s start with these words themselves.

Understanding Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Understanding Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

The whole concept of inclusion, diversity, and belonging is about ensuring all people who want to work for your company can do so, regardless of their background or personal identity, and have a voice. That includes age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and more.
However, although these three terms are interconnected, they do not imply the same thing and can not be used interchangeably.

Here’s a quick look at each.

Diversity is the level of representation or make-up of your workforce. A diverse team allows for different perspectives and experiences, which improves the quality and innovation of ideas.

Inclusion is how well contributions, perspectives, and ideas of each group get integrated into the workplace. It is very much possible to have a diverse workplace without inclusion.

Leaders must be careful to balance diversity and inclusion

An organization may have employees from different nationalities, genders, races, or religious beliefs, but only the perspectives from certain groups influence the company decisions and drive change.

Belonging is the cord that ties the two into a harmonious work environment. When the contributions of every representative in a diverse work environment are valued, it creates a sense of belonging and emotional investment in the work.

 

Why Is Belonging Important?

Being part of an organization means people feel like they belong at their workplace.

People who don’t feel comfortable or welcome will either leave or become disengaged. It makes it more difficult for leaders to grow their talent pool, thereby impacting business goals.

What Does Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Look Like?

Diversity is not just about numbers. It’s also about the different talents, perspectives, and backgrounds that employees bring to work. And also an equitable reward of work excellence and capability, regardless of the person.

Inclusion focuses on belonging-creating an environment where each of the different employees can feel at home. It means giving every one of these diverse groups equal opportunities to contribute at all levels. And it can be in simple acts like acknowledging the multicultural needs of your team, such as religious and holiday celebrations.

Marrying the two is important.It is good to have a workforce cutting across diverse cultures and affiliations, but even better is giving them equal chances to be heard and succeed.

You may have 50% women in your company; great overall diversity, but not in executive or leadership positions. Or maybe you have an excellent representation of color, yet all are in a particular job or department. Such scenarios can be tell-tale signs of how well a company applies diversity and inclusion.

Why Building Diversity and Inclusion Is Essential for Your Team and Business

5 Reasons why diversity and inclusion in teams work better for business

Creative Problem-Solving

Having diversity in the workforce can help companies tackle many problems, such as how do we reach more demographics? How about focus groups for new products or services where everyone feels valued and heard when sharing thoughts on what they want within their company.

Employee Retention

Companies with higher diversity and inclusion report lower levels of employee turnover. Women view companies with women in leadership as fair and are likely to show interest in them. A Diversity hiring survey by Glassdoor revealed that 67% of job seekers look for diversity in companies.

Inclusion is also a defining factor for people of color in the choice of workplaces.

Report by Catalyst.org shows statistics on inclusion and employee performances.

Employees’ experiences of inclusion are a result of a leader’s approach to leadership.

See the table below on inclusion experience and the employees outcomes at the company.

Inclusion experience

Feeling valued

Being trusted

Acceptance and authenticity

Psychological safety in expressing oneself

Impact on the employee (%)

Team problem-solving 49

Work engagement 35

Willingness to stay 20

Ability to innovate 18

Fosters Innovation

Diverse teams bring new ideas that lead to higher revenue and profits. The most innovative businesses like Google, ExxonMobil, Apple – value diversity because they know it leads to better products and services that appeal to more customers.

Employee Satisfaction 

Employees who feel included on their team are happier than those who don’t. That creates a positive cycle of productivity – happy employees produce quality results.

 

Practical Ways to Improve Diversity & Inclusion

To build a culture that includes diverse people with your team, you must ensure inclusion and belonging.

Understanding inclusion starts with having conversations around race, gender identity, and identity. Taking this step will help discourage prejudices and increase acceptance.

Having a diverse workforce that is in synergy will help your company grow. You want to have people on board who are not only skilled but who are also passionate about the job at hand.

Some ideas to employ are:

  • diversity-focused development and mentoring programs for your team
  • Employee networking groups
  • communication
  • HR Policies centered on inclusivity

There are many ways of creating a diverse workplace culture – one example could be hiring interns from underrepresented groups to gain valuable experience within your company.

It is a fact that teams are more innovative, productive, and creative when there’s diversity. To achieve this, create incentives for employees from underrepresented groups. It can be by offering them growth opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise get without being with your organization.

Lastly, note that building diversity within your workplace does not necessarily mean hiring from underrepresented groups just because that’s where society spotlights. It’s about looking at the needs within your organization.

Metrics for Measuring the Success of Diversity and Inclusion Efforts

Most companies are already incorporating different ways to boost their efforts in this area. Even more interesting is how many of them have measures in place to track their progress and success. If you are looking at methods to track your diversity and inclusion efforts, here are three popular ones by organizations from a study by Forbes.

  • Productivity
  • Engagement
  • Turnover

Now you know what it takes to build an inclusive workplace culture and practical ways to improve diversity and inclusion. If you enjoyed reading this article, be sure to share it, follow me on social media, or leave feedback.

You may also like: Tips on How to Motivate and Inspire Your Employees.

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business ideas leadership

5 Self Development Tips to Make Winning Your Lifestyle

5 Self Development Tips to Make Winning Your Lifestyle

The most significant accomplishment in life is to live out the best possible version of yourself. The most significant accomplishment in life is to live out the best possible version of yourself. It takes self-development, a process that involves building upon the structure of your social, personal, and professional life.It means reaching towards your potential to become a better person than you were yesterday. When you focus on doing this, your life and the circumstances around it improve.

How do you start doing this? In the book relentless pursuit, I share the importance of mindset shift and how to achieve it in the journey towards unlocking your potential and eventual success. I want to echo the same sentiment here. The journey of self-development begins with looking inwards to change how you act outwards.

In this article, we have rounded up five revolutionary self-development tips that will transform your life from that of self-pity to robustness and fulfillment. Look at them as nudges to move from a defeatist to a winner’s mindset.

1. Practice Self-Acceptance

 5 Self Development Tips to Make Winning Your Lifestyle - Practice Self-Acceptance

Self-acceptance is the birthplace of all magic. When you look at yourself without judgment, then real growth begins to happen. How many stay stagnant in life because of the perceived limitations they have. When you accept who you are;

  • You don’t take ailure and rejection personally.
  • You recognize your value and appreciate your weaknesses.
  • Your self-esteem heals.
  • And the healthy image you have becomes essential to your development.

2. Create Milestones

5 Self Development Tips to Make Winning Your Lifestyle ​- Create Milestones

Don’t work blindly. It never works. You have goals, great. Now you need to align those with milestones. You see, goals are like small signposts that lead to the milestones you set for yourself. As you pass these signposts, you know how much progress you are making towards them. And that translates to growth and development.

3. Make the Most of Time

Successful people spend time wisely.

Consider this. How much time do you spend on fun or tasks that have little impact on the future you want for yourself? It’s okay to have fun but remember there is an opportunity cost in life.

If you take more time surfing the internet randomly, and catching up with friends three times a week, it means you have less time to focus on your goals. You can predict success by considering the amount of time you spend on activities that make you money. Bruce Lee once said if you love life, you will not waste time because it constitutes life.

4. Focus on Personal Growth

Success in career and social life is superb. But don’t forget to add in a few personal goals as well. Working on becoming a better human being makes you feel good about yourself and boosts your confidence.

5. Out with the Negative, In with the Positive

Thoughts and self-talk play a significant role in self-development. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

If we are talking about development, your mind must think and believe in your ability to progress for you to act. Be aware of your thoughts: they matter. Any time a negative one springs up, counter it with a positive one. It will take time, but like all habits, it will catch on. Remember, you can’t live a positively abundant life if your mind is in a dark, self-deprecating place.

The First Step

The first step is knowing where to start. Now you do. It’s time to start changing your life. If you are willing to work on your self-development, success will be yours.

If you enjoyed the list, please share your comments below. Click the link here to get a free copy of more success habits you can incorporate into your life today for your personal development.

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business ideas

Why Building a Work Culture of Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging Is Essential Today

Inclusion, diversity, and belonging at work are more important than ever before. Today, companies must foster an environment where people feel valued and appreciated for their individuality, considering how technology has broken down geographical barriers. More businesses are working with people from across the world thanks to remote working.

Inclusion, diversity, and belonging are three words that have become a hot topic within professional circles and sometimes even used only for political correctness- with the implication and necessity lost. What do they mean? And what does it mean to build a workplace culture of inclusion, diversity, and belonging?

In this blog post, we will answer these questions so you can create an inclusive work environment!

We want to dive a little more into applications of workplace inclusion in 21st Century companies. We will also consider the reasons why this is crucial for business success.

Let’s start with these words themselves.

Understanding Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

The whole concept of inclusion, diversity, and belonging is about ensuring all people who want to work for your company can do so, regardless of their background or personal identity, and have a voice. That includes age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and more.

However, although these three terms are interconnected, they do not imply the same thing and can not be used interchangeably.

Here’s a quick look at each.

 

Diversity is the level of representation or make-up of your workforce. A diverse team allows for different perspectives and experiences, which improves the quality and innovation of ideas.

 

Inclusion is how well contributions, perspectives, and ideas of each group get integrated into the workplace. It is very much possible to have a diverse workplace without inclusion.

An organization may have employees from different nationalities, genders, races, or religious beliefs, but only the perspectives from certain groups influence the company decisions and drive change.

 

Belonging is the cord that ties the two into a harmonious work environment. When the contributions of every representative in a diverse work environment are valued, it creates a sense of belonging and emotional investment in the work.

Why Is Belonging Important?

Being part of an organization means people feel like they belong at their workplace.

People who don’t feel comfortable or welcome will either leave or become disengaged. It makes it more difficult for leaders to grow their talent pool, thereby impacting business goals.

What Does Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Look Like

Diversity is not just about numbers. It’s also about the different talents, perspectives, and backgrounds that employees bring to work. And also an equitable reward of work excellence and capability, regardless of the person. 

 

Inclusion focuses on belonging-creating an environment where each of the different employees can feel at home. It means giving every one of these diverse groups equal opportunities to contribute at all levels. And it can be in simple acts like acknowledging the multicultural needs of your team, such as religious and holiday celebrations.

 

Marrying the two is important. It is good to have a workforce cutting across diverse cultures and affiliations, but even better is giving them equal chances to be heard and succeed.

 

You may have 50% women in your company; great overall diversity, but not in executive or leadership positions. Or maybe you have an excellent representation of color, yet all are in a particular job or department. Such scenarios can be tell-tale signs of how well a company applies diversity and inclusion.

Why Building Diversity and Inclusion Is Essential for Your Team and Business

 

Creative Problem-Solving
Having diversity in the workforce can help companies tackle many problems, such as how do we reach more demographics? How about focus groups for new products or services where everyone feels valued and heard when sharing thoughts on what they want within their company.

 

Employee Retention
Companies with higher diversity and inclusion report lower levels of employee turnover. Women view companies with women in leadership as fair and are likely to show interest in them. A Diversity hiring survey by Glassdoor revealed that 67% of job seekers look for diversity in companies.

Inclusion is also a defining factor for people of color in the choice of workplaces.

Report by Catalyst.org shows statistics on inclusion and employee performances. Employees’ experiences of inclusion are a result of a leader’s approach to leadership. See the table below on inclusion experience and the employees outcomes at the company.

 

Fosters Innovation  
Diverse teams bring new ideas that lead to higher revenue and profits. The most innovative businesses like Google, ExxonMobil, Apple – value diversity because they know it leads to better products and services that appeal to more customers.

 

Employee Satisfaction 
Employees who feel included on their team are happier than those who don’t. That creates a positive cycle of productivity – happy employees produce quality results.

Practical Ways to Improve Diversity & Inclusion

To build a culture that includes diverse people with your team, you must ensure inclusion and belonging.

Understanding inclusion starts with having conversations around race, gender identity, and identity. Taking this step will help discourage prejudices and increase acceptance.

Having a diverse workforce that is in synergy will help your company grow. You want to have people on board who are not only skilled but who are also passionate about the job at hand.

 

Some ideas to employ are:

1. Diversity-focused development and mentoring programs for your team

2. Employee networking groups

3. Communication

4. HR Policies centered on inclusivity

There are many ways of creating a diverse workplace culture – one example could be hiring interns from underrepresented groups to gain valuable experience within your company.

It is a fact that teams are more innovative, productive, and creative when there’s diversity. To achieve this, create incentives for employees from underrepresented groups. It can be by offering them growth opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise get without being with your organization.

Lastly, note that building diversity within your workplace does not necessarily mean hiring from underrepresented groups just because that’s where society spotlights. It’s about looking at the needs within your organization.

Metrics for Measuring the Success of Diversity and Inclusion Efforts

Most companies are already incorporating different ways to boost their efforts in this area. Even more interesting is how many of them have measures in place to track their progress and success. If you are looking at methods to track your diversity and inclusion efforts, here are three popular ones by organizations from a study by Forbes..

  • Productivity
  • Engagement
  • Turnover

Now you know what it takes to build an inclusive workplace culture and practical ways to improve diversity and inclusion. If you enjoyed reading this article, be sure to share it, follow me on social media, or leave feedback.

You may also like: Tips on How to Motivate and Inspire Your Employees.

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business ideas

5 Business Ideas with Low Investment and High Profit

Five Business Ideas with Low Investment and High Profit

The thought of investing large sums in a business that yields none to minimal returns is a nightmare for every aspiring entrepreneur. However, it is a fact that not all business investment ideas require a high capital base. In this era, online work is the trend. The best business ideas to start with investments as low as $100 and high returns will be those that only require an internet connection, a laptop, and virtual clients. Here are some suggestions:

1. Coaching

Coaches train people to be better in the area where they are experts. The initial cost for starting a coaching business can be relatively low. The main startup requirements are support tools like video conference and data collection software to help manage the program.

With more experience and measurable results, a life coach can bag high returns.

Business coaches with proven and effective coaching strategies can attract high-quality clients that are willing to pay a premium for these services. In addition, coaches can easily and cheaply find their clients online and deliver the coaching services to the customers via virtual means. Lastly, business coaches can learn how to increase their clientele using digital marketing strategies by reading this eBook.

2. Freelancing

The investment for this business is time. Offering freelance services is a great and low-cost way to transition from that 9 to 5-hour job to self-employment. It gives one the time and flexibility to work with more than one client.

On-demand skills like digital marketing, graphic designing, writing, virtual assistance can turn into a service-based business.

The beauty is that it’s a scalable opportunity and one gets to charge what they are worth. The most sought-after freelancers can charge very high rates for their services. Moreover, most freelancers claim that they make more income working in their current online setups than they were making working for traditional employers.

According to a report by Upwork and Freelancer’s Union, about fifty-eight million people freelanced in 2017 and it is anticipated that the majority of the world’s workforce will be freelancing by 2027.

You already have a business? Use this digital marketing resource to find, nurture potential clients and build a customer database: Dominate Your Market

3. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is an order fulfillment trading method where stores or shops do not stock warehouses with the product they sell. The stores and shops purchase their merchandise from the manufacturer or third-party supplier and then ship the products directly to the customers. The major difference between traditional retail and dropshipping is that the merchants in dropshipping do not require their inventory or stock. According to Forbes, Shopify is the best platform that facilitates the dropshipping trading model.

Selling goods online does not always need a high cash influx to buy stock and pay for warehousing. Dropshipping cuts through these costs allowing new business owners to own virtual stores, make sales, and pass orders to the suppliers. The business owner doesn’t handle any products, he can source products from more than one supplier into your online store. The suppliers fulfill the orders on behalf of the store owner. The only responsibility of the dropshipping business owner is to market the products and make sales.

4. Selling Digital Products

Today there is an endless list of digital products that one can create and sell online such as templates, online courses, music, graphics, photos, and video. All they need is expertise and knowledge of the market demand. The idea is to find a product that is useful enough for the customers to download. Once up and running, profit margins remain high because there are no recurring manufacturing costs.

Creating software-enabled merchandise or service that provides a certain form of utility to people or solves human problems can be a profitable business. Some of these digital products require very little capital and skills to begin. Examples of these digital products include eBooks, internet radio, downloadable music, streaming media, and internet television.

The first benefit of selling digital products is that it is a cost-effective trade that does not require heavy financial investment in product manufacturing or inventory. The second merit of dealing with digital products is that there is no cost of transportation or logistical issues. Softwares are downloadable from anywhere in the globe, thus, increasing accessibility and reducing the time wasted on transport.

Finally, according to sellfy, another advantage of selling digital products is that they offer endless possibilities. An entrepreneur can always develop new digital products for any audience or market. In addition, entrepreneurs like Microsoft can sell a single digital product like a windows operating system to millions of customers.

Watch the video for more ideas on online businesses and startups

5. Monetizing an Audience

Owning many followers does not fit the category of business investment ideas but, that is how influencers get rich while seemingly doing nothing. Many businesses are willing to pay for a big audience because numbers can convert into sales. As one of the more unique business ideas on this list, it can become a business with multiple avenues for income generation by featuring sponsored posts for brands, creating a brand on Patreon, and selling products.

According to a Forbes report published in 2021, young influencer, Addison Rae Easterling, monetized her large TikTok following to sell products on Spotify, American Eagle, and Item Beauty. The influencer is estimated to have made over five million dollars from utilizing her online audience.

Conclusion

Every entrepreneur dreams of venturing into a business that requires little investment but is capable of generating huge profits. Therefore, they must brainstorm every possible idea to have the enterprise run slickly and enhance profitability. Typically, there is a misconception that only huge investments can generate significant profits. However, this article has proven that there are smart business ideas that require small input capital but can churn huge profits.

These business ideas are great because they require very little investment. But like any other business, what brings in the returns is how they differentiate from the competition.

Get help building your online startup or freelance business, contact us here.

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business ideas financial strategies

5 Wrong Attachments in Life that Limit Your Success

Attachment is the number one obstacle on your journey to success. Almost all negative emotions and failures link to attachments that need to go for you to live a fulfilled life. In this blog post, I want to explore the limiting connections and attachments that are actual obstacles to your growth. 

As someone who has gone through failure more times than I can count, I started noticing a pattern. The undeniable relation between our “life baggage” and the motivation to reach for higher goals. In my book Limitless Success I talk candidly about these bad breaks and the lessons that pushed me forward.  

Here are five attachments that are holding you from reaching your full potential.

Attachment to the Comfort Zone

Comfort comes from the familiar, but it does not bring change.

The desire for comfort can reduce productivity, leading many people down an unfulfilling path only by their standards or those set out before them – without any room left open for creativity and discovery. Consider this. When are you most successful? When you are uncomfortable. When the basics of life become too hard, we often find ways to make life more interesting, like binge-watching on Netflix or spending more time on social media. 

These comforts seem harmless but keep you from pursuing meaningful goals in life. 

Embrace discomfort. Understand that your uncomfortable feelings mean you’re doing something new. New actions bring new results, which might be what you’re seeking.

Attachment to Your Ego

The need to be right is a close second. The reality in life is that we are wrong about many things. However, if you feel the need to be correct, there’s no room for growth. Instead of wanting to prove you’re right, seek the truth. Spend time building a more accurate view of the world rather than trying to force your current perspective on it. Learn new ideas, develop an open mind and seek other opinions. Even the most successful people learn a lot from their peers.

Attachment to Your Identity

Do you see yourself as an ineloquent person? If so, you’ll never become a great orator. Do you believe you’re naturally a heavy person? A lean, healthy body will always be out of reach.

The limiting self-belief shapes a limited reality.

It’s very challenging to create a reality that clashes with your identity. Why are you attached to your opinion of yourself? Psychology has shown that the body always follows the mind.

If you are attached to the wrong identity, start working on your internal dialogue and self-belief system.

Attachment to Habits

Your life is the ultimate expression of your habits. Depending on the practices we adopt, our lives get a little better or a little worse each day. Over several years, these habits dictate the quality of your life. 

Many success experts believe that the development of new, effective habits is the cornerstone of success. Let go of old habits to make room for the new.

Attachment to Places and People

Many of the best opportunities can be in other locations. Are you attached to your hometown, state, or even country? The world is a vast place. A breakthrough for you might not be within 25 miles of your front door.

We often become attached to places because of our connections. It’s not easy to leave friends and family for the sake of attaining success.

 The people in our lives are also habits. Think of the most successful people you know. Describe the people they spend time with regularly. Compare that to the people in your social circle. Can you see a difference? Moving ahead often means letting go of certain people.

The Bottom Line

Attachment is limiting. If your life seems to be stagnant, your attachments are part of the challenge. Examine your tendencies and determine which are impeding your progress. Be willing to change and accept another viewpoint. Many attachments are pleasurable in the short term but detrimental to progress in the long run. Let go of the wrong attachments to enjoy success.

These ideas are a summary of lessons from Limitless Success by Tonika Bruce. Get and read it here..

Read article: 5 Self-Development Tips to Make Winning Your Lifestyle

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business ideas financial strategies

How to Make Networking Easy As a Busy Entrepreneur

Networking is one of the most valuable things you can do as a business owner. 

Studies indicate that networking can gain companies up to 20% of their new customers. Having a networking plan can also be the key to finding new investors and partners that will help to grow your business. 

Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to meet new people, especially with a busy schedule. But, successful leaders and entrepreneurs find a way to make networking a part of their business life, and so should you.

Building connections takes time. But, as every entrepreneur knows, time is money. So how do you ensure that you’re still working on your networking strategy when you’re short on time?

In this article, we share some strategies that will save you time and money.

Leverage Existing Connections

Networking isn’t just about building new relationships. 

There’s a good chance that you already have some quality people in your existing network who could help to introduce you to important figures in your space. A great place to start building your network is in the workplace. 

Learn about your teams and their background. Grab lunches with staff when you have the opportunity and look for chances to get to know new people through them too. You might discover that your internal network has a lot more value to offer than you thought at first. 

Getting to know your team could also reveal that certain employees have hidden talents that you could use better in your business.

Make Network a Habit

The more you practice networking daily, the more naturally it will fit into your day. 

Instead of setting aside an hour or two a week for this, use five minutes each day. Take a few minutes of your breaks to send emails to potential business connections and catch up with your peers on social media.

Add phone calls with potential partners and investors into your calendar and work through them whenever you have time. For instance, when you’re stuck in traffic or waiting for something.

Once networking becomes a habit like brushing your hair, then it starts to feel more natural and easier to do.

Make Use of Available Opportunities

If you take part in social activities from time to time, why not use those as part of your networking strategy? If you regularly volunteer at nonprofit organizations, for example, then you can strike up conversations with people in this environment.

Even if you don’t make valuable connections at events, taking the time to connect with people improves your networking skills. The trick is to strike conversations everywhere — from your gym to your laundry place. 

Creating time in your day where you can work on your ability to build emotional links to others is a lot more valuable than most people realize.

Schedule Important Events in Advance

You can also make time for a specific in-person networking event, especially when you have a lot to work on in your business. It will help to prepare well in advance. As an entrepreneur, there is a chance you may not be able to attend most events, but you can go to the important ones by staying organized. 

To build your connections, plan to attend at least one each month – even if it’s an online event. Start by making a list of the events that you most want to go to and add them to your calendar.

However, remember to be selective about the kind of events you choose. These should be those that add value. You do want to spend a lot of time in places where you can not reach people who can benefit you and your business.

Make Use of Social Media

All businesses thrive on networks, not only money. 

Social media is one of the most popular and convenient ways to network these days. 

Make a little time each day to go through your LinkedIn connections and reach out to those who might be valuable to your social circle. The key to success with social media networking is ensuring that you don’t let it eat up too much of your day.

For leaders and entrepreneurs sharing meaningful content on social networks helps to connect with more people and potential buyers.

Keeping up with your online accounts can be tedious so consider consolidating them with a social media marketing tool. That way, you can share content more easily and attract potential connections. 

Another option if you have the cash to spare on marketing is to hire social media marketing managers to handle all your online accounts and keep up with your online connections.

The Conclusion

Networking is vital for your success and that of your business. The ability to perform critical networking activities without it consuming too much time from your schedule is essential. So, try implementing some of these tips to kill two birds with one stone.

 

You may also like Top 5 Tips To Evaluate a Start-up Company.