Launch. Grow. Thrive.

Tag: business growth

  • How To Build The Perfect Team For Your Startup

    How To Build The Perfect Team For Your Startup

    Working with a bad team can be fatal for a startup. Many business owners and managers will agree that their biggest human resource challenge is finding and assembling the right team to work with. With the global talent shortage increasing, there is an increasing demand for talent, making it even more difficult to find the right talent to work with- especially as a new business. So, how can you attract the right people and build a perfect team? The following tips can help.

    First, you need to decide who fits into the category of a perfect team member. What kind of worker are you looking for? What skills do you want to attract? Do you need someone full-time or on a contractual basis? If you already have a team you’re working with, find out what missing gaps you want to fill and the skills needed to fill them. 

    1. Create the right bait

    Once you know the kind of worker you’re looking for, it’s time to bait them to apply. Everyone wants to work in a perfect work environment. This includes flexible working hours, freedom to be creative and innovative, reasonable leave periods to recuperate, attractive remuneration, opportunities for personal development, and so on. Such factors are likely to attract the right candidate to apply. But it will also lure almost anyone looking for a job, and that’s why the next point is equally important.

    1. Be able to spot talent

    Your ability to spot the right employee from the large candidate pool during your screening process is crucial. You already know what you want in your ideal team, but how do you spot them? Find out what they know about your industry, what ideas they have that can bring value to your business, and the potential they have to grow. Additionally, take the time to communicate your expectations to them as clearly as possible. 

    1. Understand the strengths of each individual

    Your potential candidates will likely come from various backgrounds. They will have different strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. You have the task of understanding the strengths of each individual and how they can benefit your business and allow for growth. Focus on assembling a team of various strengths and personalities, and find ways to ensure that the personalities complement each other.

    1. Look for action takers who get the job done

    A great idea is just what it is – a great idea. Without action, an idea cannot become a reality. While you need people with bright ideas, you also need people who can take the effort required to make an idea successful. You want to build a team that is capable of accomplishing things beyond the spouting of ideas.

    1. Use a recruitment platform

    Finding the right talent is less complicated than it was, thanks to various recruitment agencies. All you need to do is find a reputable company with a track record of identifying talent and work with them. Or you can also take advantage of online platforms, depending on the industry your business operates in. For example, if you run a startup that deals with medical services, you can consider using Cornerstone Medical Recruitment services to help you find suitable employees in the field. 

  • 3 Things You Need When You Grow Into A Medium-Sized Business

    3 Things You Need When You Grow Into A Medium-Sized Business

    If you are one of the hundred businesses around the world that is about to grow from a small business to a medium-sized business, you will be learning about some very exciting but complex things. To grow into a medium-sized business, you require a large network, more funding, great sales, a bigger team and of course, your own headquarters. In other words, you need more of everything, and in some respect, some totally new things. Some of the things we are going to mention, you can do without to some extent. But you can also take some of the things we mention, as mandatory. 

    Your own finance team

    Now that you are growing into a medium-sized business, you need to consider your very own finance team. Up until now, you have probably been working with a finance management and investment management service. Now, you need to bring everything in-house. You don’t have to make a large finance team, but they should be able to take care of the basics. This will be revenue management, making sure that too much of it is not wasted on expenditures. The finance team will also work with legal, so you can know how much a court case over patents is going to cost. A couple of financial advisors can also help to improve project funding, invest in technologies and manage your money when it comes to taxes.

    Your own office

    One of the most memorable moments any business has, is when construction workers hoist your new building sign up. When large banks like HSBC and Morgan Chase had their names hoisted up in large lit signs, they knew they had made it. If you want to create your own office, work with a company like TPM Builders who can assist in everything from design, planning, construction, project advice and building tendering. So you can design your own office, completely bespoke. If you want to create your very own look, style and design, you need to work with a design and construction team, as they can give you advice of what is actually possible in your ideas. 

    A larger network

    The most amazing brands have to continuously network among other brands. Brands like Apple and Google have been so successful with other brands, because they continuously host events, invite management of other businesses and executives to parties and award ceremonies. So it’s a good idea to host events whereby you invite micro, small, medium and large businesses. Here they can all have their say, talk about the industry but also, where you can meet entrepreneurs and talented individuals who you could possibly work with, or even hire. You should also be going to more and more business conferences and events, so your brand and your voice can be heard and recognized within the industry.

    It’s a great time to expand as the world begins to get back to normal. These are just some of the things you require when you expand into a medium-sized business, but there are a lot more. Can you think of any?


  • Business Owners: 5 Ways you can prevent a Supply Chain Disruption

    Business Owners: 5 Ways you can prevent a Supply Chain Disruption

    The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the significant factors that has upset the global supply chains and left many companies on their feet. And since a supply chain is usually delicate, just a small link of disruption can significantly impact your business. So are there steps you can take to maintain the business endurance and lower the impact of unpredictable disruptions?

    While there might not be an excellent answer to preventing a supplier’s chain disruption, the key thing to do is be prepared and minimize its effect. Fortify your logistic operations and be prepared.

    5 ways you can prevent a supply chain disruption

    There are various strategies that you can use to combat a disruptive situation.

    Know the risks of a supply chain disruption and have a proactive contingency plan

    This will make you flexible to adjust your operations whenever faced with irregularities swiftly. Besides, business continuity plans handle emergencies only after they have happened. So, ensure that you are aware of the risks and prepare yourself if an adverse event affects your key suppliers. For instance, it is a good idea to have a car accident attorney by your side in case your supply chain is disrupted by an accident.

    Diversify your supply base     

    You can protect your business from supply disruptions from one supplier by dividing sourcing activities between numerous suppliers. However, it is essential to note that there are some costs associated with this strategy, just like with any other one. Therefore, you can engage various supplies in different locations to reduce economies of scale and increase monetary costs. Also, you must ensure that the cost needs are balanced with the value of the disruption impact.

    Have an emergency management centre

    A supply chain disruption can be caused by natural disasters, artificial problems like fire, cyber security, geopolitical events, or financial and company feasibility. Therefore, you must have centralized information and decision-making functions during any of these times. All your data should come to a single place to all decision-making easier.

    In case of a pandemic like the coronavirus, you can have most of your business functions done virtually. So, have one team focus on the employees’ worries while the other is taking care of the business ecosystem, taking care of suppliers and your clients.

    Have good communication

    When it comes to any crisis, communication is the key. Your company should be ready to communicate with all the stakeholders, including the employees, customers, shareholders, media, analysts, and the community.

    The critical thing here is to speak with a unified voice and get someone who will share correct information about the crisis and what the company is doing. That single voice has to tell everyone precisely what is going on.

    Manage product demand

    If you find it too difficult to implement the above strategies, there is an alternative way to prevent a supply chain disruption, manage your product demand. There are two alternatives when it comes to managing your demand, rationing, and switching.

    Bottom Line

    You must carefully deliberate these strategies when coming up with a risk management plan for your global supply chain. And while there is no one way to prevent or minimize all the possible disruptions at once, you should carefully consider a strategy that uses various approaches acting in harmony to prevent these disruptions and have a speedy supply chain.


  • Enhancing Your Business Through Your Employees

    Enhancing Your Business Through Your Employees

    Looking for ways to enhance your business? We highly recommend that the first place you look is to your employees. You might think that this sounds silly and that you should start with the supply chain or your marketing, but we promise you your employees are the best place to start. The reason for this is that your employees are the very heart of your business, and without them nothing is going to function properly. In this article, we’re going to be looking at how you can enhance your business through your employees, so keep reading if you would like to find out more.

    Work On Their Customer Service

    The first thing that we recommend is that you take a look at their customer service. Now, it’s very rare that customer service can’t be improved in at least some capacity so you need to look carefully. It might look alright when you don’t look too closely, but the whole point of this is that you are clamping down on the finer details. It might be a case that you send all of your customer service advisors on a training course to fine tune their skills a little better. You can look at digital courses and learning at a site like https://www.learningbank.io/platform/digital-learning/ if you don’t want to send them to physical classes.

    Customer service is one of the most important parts of your business, and customers will usually not use a business that is known for theirs not being up to standard. If your employees work on their skills in this area, your business will be all the better for it.

    Get Them Motivated

    You need to get your employees motivated to work. Do this by any means necessary. Some companies set goals and then give out prizes or rewards to the person who does the best job. Some companies offer people for their employees to talk to if they are having a hard time so they don’t feel alone. Sometimes all it takes is asking about their day or inquiring about their lives to make them see that you do care about them. When you take the steps to show them that they are cared for, they become more motivated to work for you and succeed.

    Making people want to work for you and motivating them to do so come hand in hand. You have got to be an employer who cares about their wellbeing, cares about when they find things hard and goes out of their way to help them etc. You can find out more about how to motivate your employees on a site like https://squareup.com/gb/en/townsquare/how-to-motivate-your-employees. 

    Hopefully, you have found this article helpful and now see some of the things that you can do in order to enhance your business through your employees. It’s important to understand that your employees are the backbone of your business, which is why you need them to do their best for you. We wish you the very best of luck, and hope that you start seeing positive results in your business soon.


  • Negotiation Skill Techniques

    Negotiation Skill Techniques

    Learn how to negotiate your way to success!

    Negotiation is a two sided event, if you want to be known as a good negotiator then you have to build a reputation for this. 

    As with any reputation you have to allow others to trust you. This cannot be done successfully if you negotiate by using cheap tricks and bad business ethics.

    So how do you build a good reputation for negotiation? The key to this is to understand what trust is all about. We have all met people that we trust along with those that we don’t.

    The key factor to remember here is that you are negotiating with or on behalf of someone. After all negotiating is all about reaching a common and satisfactory solution for all parties.

    It is going to be very difficult to reach a deal or solution with someone you ultimately don’t trust. You won’t ever be happy with anything they suggest.

    Both negotiators need to be able to trust each other, this is basically the only way a good deal will be struck. Once a deal is done everyone involved has to know and trust that the other party will deliver. 

    There is no point going through a ton of agony or heartache wondering if the other side is going to come through for you.

    Inside this guide, you are about to learn the following information:

    • Basic Negotiation Tips
    • Is a Negotiation Ever Truly Finished
    • Negotiation and Your Reputation
    • Negotiation not Desperation
    • Negotiations from Around the World
    • Personal Negotiations
    • Real Life Negotiations
    • The Basic Skills You Require for Negotiating
    • What are Negotiation Skills
    • When Its Just Not Going to Work

  • How to Buy and Improve a Failing Business

    How to Buy and Improve a Failing Business

    Most entrepreneurs decide to start new businesses from scratch and hope to build them into profitable and successful brands. Others may already have companies and decide to purchase smaller yet successful firms to boost their productivity.

    But did you know that some savvy entrepreneurs decide to purchase failing businesses with an aim to turn them around into profitable ones?

    If you’re up for a challenge and feel that you can give the Midas touch to even the most unsuccessful business, here’s how to buy and improve a failing business:

    Choose a Viable Business

    The first thing you need to do in your quest to turn around a failing company is select one with viable products and services. For instance, a gardening accessories business makes more sense than a company selling old-fashioned cylinder (reel) lawnmowers.

    You must be absolutely sure that the business you’re thinking of saving has the potential to grow, develop, and expand in the future. Otherwise, you will be wasting your time and money and ultimately messing around with the fates of the company’s employees.

    Make Sure You Have Enough Money

    Next, you must determine you have plenty of capital available to buy the business and keep it operating while you take immediate and actionable steps to save it. If you don’t have the money available, consider financing your idea through a loan or venture capital funding.

    If this is the first time you’re buying a failing business to turn around, you should know that it will likely take a lot of time to make it profitable. That’s because you have to spend a lot of time reviewing existing processes and improving them to turn the business to profitability.

    Deal With Any Negative Press Online

    One thing you will find with many failing businesses is they often have a negative online reputation. It could be due to not fulfilling customer orders, for example, or having an appalling customer service track record.

    Whatever the reason, hire an online reputation management agency to deal with any negative press. Doing so will ensure when you relaunch the brand, the negative comments and reviews won’t come back to haunt it.

    Focus on Cash Flow – Not Revenue

    When you’re trying to get a business back on track, you need to spend some time focusing on building a regular, consistent cash flow. One thing you should never do is focus solely on revenue.

    Why? The answer is simple: revenue doesn’t necessarily mean you will have money available to pay your company’s expenses each month, such as bills and all employee salaries.

    When you’ve got your cash flow sorted out, you can look at how to grow the business and bring it back into profit.

    Have a Plan B

    Last but not least, it’s not always possible to save a dying business for various reasons, some of which might be out of your control. That’s why it makes sense to have a “Plan B” in place.

    Your backup plan should include the sale of all assets or perhaps selling the business to someone else.


  • The Basics of Real Estate Investment

    The Basics of Real Estate Investment

    Investing in property has many benefits. The first is that it can provide you with a steady income stream, as well as the potential for capital appreciation. 

    If you are looking to invest your money wisely,  then real estate investing might be perfect for you! 

    This blog post will discuss what investing in property entails and how it can help take care of your financial future.

    What Is a Real Estate Investment Property?

    A real estate investment property is a residential or commercial property that an investor purchases to make money. 

    Money can be made through rental income, selling the property for more than what they paid, or by renovating it and flipping it. The owner of the investment property can be either a private individual or company.

    The Different Types of Investments 

    One of the most common ways to invest in real estate is by purchasing a single-family home and renting it out to tenants for income. The value of this type of property will depend on location, size, condition, and amenities offered such as a pool or garage. 

    If you live in an area where there are plenty of renters looking for housing, then your chances for success with this type of investment are high so long as you get good tenants who pay promptly.   

    Multi-unit buildings are another type of building you can invest in. They can be either apartments or commercial spaces consisting of multiple units that rent to different tenants. 

    Commercial spaces are assessed based on the income they generate, while apartments are usually more expensive to purchase but less costly for maintenance and upkeep of the property. 

    Set Your Budget Before You Start Looking 

    If you have a strict budget, it will be much easier to stay within your limits. This doesn’t mean you should ignore homes a little outside of your budget.

    If there are properties out of your price range that look promising, ask the seller for more information. Find out how much similar properties are selling for in your area.

    Find Out the History of Sale Prices

    It’s important to have a look at the history of sale prices in an area over time so you can get an idea of whether or not property values will continue increasing or decreasing. 

    This is pretty easy if there is good data available online because all houses sold within certain date ranges let their previous owners put information about purchase price publicly on websites like Zillow. 

    It’s really important to have this information because it tells you if the area is going up in value or down. If there are properties on sale for less than what they were bought for, that means values are dropping and not likely to go back up anytime soon – which isn’t good news! 

    Similarly, if prices start increasing rapidly after having been at their lowest point recently then that might be an indication of over-inflated property prices so take note of how quickly things changed before deciding whether or not you want to invest your money.

    Look Into Renovations

    You might want to look into whether or not a property has been renovated recently and how much work needs to be done.

    This can be useful for finding out more about what kinds of things might need maintenance down the road and gives an idea of whether or not renovations will increase your investment return. 

    It’s also important not to get too excited by properties in bad shape because while they might save you some money upfront. This is because any work done, could easily cost more than what the current value of this property is, which means you’re losing out!

    Home Inspection

    A home inspection is a thorough examination of the condition of the property. It includes an exterior inspection as well as an interior inspection. The inspections are done with a professional eye and are very thorough.

    A home inspection can also help you avoid costly surprises. It provides you with the opportunity to inspect the general condition of your potential property.

    This includes a close look at what could be under the floor, in the attic, or the basement. The home inspector will also lead you through your potential purchase and look for any issues that could damage or devalue your investment.

    The inspector will look at anything from a structure’s foundation, roof, plumbing, electrical system, and also the functionality of items such as windows and doors. This is not only to ensure the structural integrity of the property but also to identify any safety concerns or risks associated with living in the space.

    Find a Good Real Estate Agent

    Finding a trusted real estate agents is an important step in buying an investment property. There are many agents to choose from, so you must know what to look for when interviewing agents.

    Key questions you’ll want to ask include:

    • How long they’ve been working in the profession?
    • What marketing strategies do you use?
    • How much do you charge?

    Real Estate Investors Club

    For new and existing real estate investors alike, an online membership where you can learn how to build cashflow from real estate assets to empower generational wealth and join an online community for support and guidance.

    Online Access to:

  • Building Business Legacy

    Building Business Legacy

    Your business is your legacy. The amount of time it took, months or years to get it to this point was excruciating. You have sacrificed a lot, but the end result is worth it. Even if you are a start-up company, your end goal is to grow your business and make it your legacy. But even as you are standing on top of your achievement mountain, just one slip will make you tumble all the way down. It’s not a threat. Instead, look at it as a strong warning. Success is not fixed and flawless. If you want to stay on top of your achievement mountain, the hard work has only just begun.  

    You Are Only Human

    You are not a robot. You are a human with thoughts and emotions. Although it is your human right to have an opinion, in business, it’s a bit more tricky than what it is perceived to be. Emotional overload can happen even to the toughest of CEOs. How you act on those emotions will determine if your slip can be salvaged by a quick pick-up or if you are going down the slopes. 

    All Part Of The Brand

    You are an extension of your brand. Every business meeting you enter, a conference you attend, or a gala, you represent not only yourself but your brand too. The same applies to all your employees. Suppose it is known that they work for your company or attend an event on behalf of your company. In that case, they need to realize that they are brand representatives. Anything they say or do is a reflection of your brand and company. If you have any affiliations, you’re both each other’s brand representatives. If the one party looks good and grows the brand trust, the same will be reciprocated to the other brand. On the flip side, if your party decides to do a faux pas and tarnish their brand, it will also spill over to the other side.

    Join a group to empower success

    “Taking personal responsbility by taking action no matter how small you think it is. Join a group either online or offline because the humanity and humility comes from sharing and working towards a collective goal that will sustain civilisation for the next generation” – Lena Benjamin, MBA founder empowerbusinessclub.com and realassets.biz

    Find out about Home Business Action Plan

    Technology Is A Blessing And A Curse

    Cyber and the digital world are both a blessing and a curse. The speed at what information travels is mindblowing – always remember this. The blessings of cyber are the infinite possibilities there are to grow your brand and at incredible speed. That is why you have the best PR and digital marketing company onboard. But a simple thing like a retweet or comment on your private Facebook account, which is not very favorable, will make your reputation score plummet. Same for your employees and affiliates. Even if they are doing something wrong in their personal time or social media account. The backlash will be felt if the link that connects them to your company can be found. All cell phones have cameras. Pictures and videos where such an event occurred will spread like wildfire in cyberspace. Always make sure that you keep yourself in check because you might never know who is watching. 

    Before you make any decisions, speeches, or reactions during business hours or in your private time. Always ask the questions, how will this look on social media? Will I be proud of it? If your answer is no, rather swallow those emotions and words, it will be profitable and worthwhile in the end. 


  • Avoid These Zoom Meeting Mistakes

    Avoid These Zoom Meeting Mistakes

    Zoom is a great platform that you can use to grow your business. Unfortunately not everyone uses it right and they end up with Zoom events that do not achieve their goals. In this article we will discuss the most common mistakes that people make with Zoom meetings so that you can avoid them and get the best results.

    Not Planning your Zoom Event
    While it is sometimes OK to just have a one to one Zoom call with someone without any planning, it is a different story if you are scheduling a meeting with a number of participants or a webinar.
    You need to decide what you want to achieve with your meetings before you hold them. If you don’t do this then it is very easy to wander all over the place leaving your attendees totally confused.

    Make sure that you have all of your materials prepared prior to your Zoom meeting. This includes presentation slides, web pages that you want to use, applications and so on. A good tip is to have web pages and applications already open on your computer so that you can quickly bring them up when you share your screen. Nobody wants to see things loading.

    The best Zoom events are always well prepared for. You can practice your event on your own before you go live as well and record this so that you can identify weak areas that need to be addressed. If you fail to plan then you plan to fail.

    Get rid of Distractions
    There is nothing worse than a major distraction in a Zoom event. If you are explaining a complex concept and suddenly your phone rings then you are going to lose your audience. You must do everything that you can to eliminate distractions.


    If you are hosting your Zoom event from home then keep your children and your pets away. Screaming kids and barking dogs are not conducive to a good Zoom business meeting. We get it that you love your kids and your pets but they can be a real distraction so do the right thing here.
    Check your background prior to launching your Zoom meeting. Does the room you are using look totally cluttered with stuff? If it is then this will distract your audience and they will quickly form a bad opinion of you that you want to avoid at all costs.


    Be Interactive
    Nobody wants to attend an hour long Zoom event where the host just rambles on the whole time. This is very boring for the participants. Make your Zoom events interactive by getting your audience to participate as much as possible.


    Not Timing your Zoom Event
    The attention span of human beings is getting less and less. Studies have found that people will digest information best in 7 minute chunks so bear this in mind with your events. If you tell your audience that your event will last around an hour then try and stick to this as much as possible.

  • 3 Reasons to Exclusively Use Freelancers for All Business Projects

    3 Reasons to Exclusively Use Freelancers for All Business Projects

    With the rise of the freelance economy, the traditional model of hiring long-term employees has been disrupted. While some might argue that in house employees can have their benefits, these do not stack up compared to making intense use of freelancers. Freelancers are an underutilized resource and come with significant advantages.  

    #1 – Less Red Tape

    One of the benefits of using freelancers is that you can hire them for short-term contracts. This means that you don’t have to go through all the hassle of interviewing a potential employee. Sites such as UpWork showcases the skills of freelancers who will have a long list of reviews and will be given a rating score by the platform. You can filter for the quality of a freelancer and pay exactly what you want to get the job done. Using freelancers is a very easy and safe process, with the typical payment escrow system in place. There is no need to take care of employee insurance, payroll, insurance, or legal issues. The freelancing platform takes care of it all and you are not the employer of the freelancers.  

    #2 – Find The Exact Skills You Need

    When you hire a permanent employee, you are hiring one person with a generic skill set. But an online business often changes and needs different tasks completed. For example, you can find a freelance writer with experience in writing about search engine optimization or short term loans. Or a software developer that specializes in WordPress. You simply hire them for the job that they are proven to be effective at. They do the job, and both parties go their separate ways upon completion. 

    #3 – Far More Cost Effective

    For a number of reasons, using freelancers is more cost effective. The money you pay is going to get you exactly what you want. If not, mediation services are provided for issues in dispute and negative feedback is a serious consequence for freelancers who do not complete the task as specified in the initial contract. Because you are only hiring the freelancers for a one-time project, you do not have to take care of additional expenses. You also don’t have to hire them for a whole year with a fixed wage, regardless of the income of your business. Another benefit is that the freelancer can work on the project while you sleep, as they are located in different time zones across the world. All in all, freelancers are simply a cheaper and more efficient way of getting business projects completed. 


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I’m Lena Benjamin—global growth strategist and author of NIFTY, expanding into sustainable fashion and film. With 25+ years of experience in over 30 cities, I advise on UK buy-refurb-sell property ventures and have worked with startups, corporates, and SMEs. From Amazon interest to FT recognition—let’s unlock your next move.

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