Yes, business ventures are a lot and generally, there’s no business that is easy to run. Still, there are some businesses that are, if nothing else, relatively simple to run.

Maybe you have a busy schedule and can only handle so much on your plate. Perhaps you’d like your first business to be low maintenance. Or maybe you’re a senior in need of assistance because of limited mobility.  

Drop shipping E-commerce Store

Whatever your reasons, here are 3 low maintenance business ideas for you.

Drop shipping is relatively simple to run; this means you don’t need to invest in or manage inventory. Often, you want to purchase the product from the supplier only when you make a sale. This way, it reduces the upfront costs and inventory management complexities associated with traditional retail.

How to start?

• Choose a niche or product category you’re interested in, and often you want to conduct market research to identify potential products with demand
• Set up an e-commerce website using platforms like Shopify or Woo Commerce
• Find reliable suppliers who offer drop shipping services. Often, this means partnering with suppliers like Ali Express 
• Implement marketing strategies to attract customers like social media advertising, content marketing, and search engine optimization
• Provide excellent customer service to handle inquiries and resolve issues

Consulting or Coaching Services

Consulting or coaching services are simple to run because they leverage your expertise and knowledge. You don’t need physical inventory, and this way, your business can be operated remotely.

To start: 

• Identify your area of expertise or passion, whether it’s business consulting, life coaching, fitness coaching, or any other field
• Understand your target audience and often, you want to understand the demand for your services.
• Create a professional online presence through a website, social media, and professional profiles on platforms like LinkedIn
• Use networking, content marketing, and referrals to find clients
• Provide personalized consulting or coaching services to your clients, either through one-on-one sessions or group workshops

Mobile Car Wash

A mobile car wash business is relatively simple because it’s a service-based business that doesn’t require a physical storefront. You can offer convenient car washing at your customers’ locations for example. 

How?

• You want to invest in the necessary car wash equipment, such as pressure washers, cleaning products, and a water source
• Check local regulations and get any required permits or licenses for operating a mobile car wash
• Determine your pricing structure and the range of services you’ll offer; often, this means deciding on services like exterior washing, interior cleaning, and detailing
• Promote your services through flyers, social media, and partnerships with local businesses
• Manage appointments and travel to customers’ locations to provide the car wash service

It’s wise to try to make more money with entrepreneurship; or to get some hands-on professional experience. It’s also wise to opt for low-maintenance businesses, so consider these three. 

With everything going digital these days, it’s no surprise that cybersecurity is more important than ever. But what you might not think about as much is how this affects older folks – especially when it comes to using biometric authentication. 

This kind of tech uses physical or behavioral traits (like fingerprints or facial recognition) to ID people. It helps keep things secure while also making life easier for users. Here are three reasons why aging adults, in particular, should be paying attention to this stuff!

Enhanced Security

If you’re trying to keep your online accounts extra safe, using biometric technology like fingerprints or facial recognition might be a good idea. This kind of security is way better than typical password-based systems since it’s harder for scammers and hackers to fool the system. 

For older folks who are often targeted by these sorts of schemes, adding biometrics can be a real lifesaver! These features are really hard (if not impossible) to copy, making them an ace in the hole when it comes to staying protected from cybercrime.

Ease of Use

Let’s be real – remembering lots of different passwords can be tough, especially as we get older. But biometrics is a great solution to this problem! Instead of trying to remember all those complex codes, people can just use their fingerprints or faces (or whatever other traits the system uses) to log in and access their stuff. 

This is helpful for people who might not have the best memory anymore – like people living in memory care facilities where cognitive abilities may be slipping a bit. With biometrics doing the heavy lifting, they can get into their devices and see important information without any hassle or stress about forgetting passwords!

Personal Independence

When it comes to technology, biometric authentication is a real game-changer for older adults who want to stay independent. It’s just way easier and more secure than other ways of logging in! With this kind of tech at their fingertips, they can do all sorts of things online. 

They can shop, bank, and stay social without feeling restricted or overwhelmed by complicated security measures. And best of all – using fingerprint recognition means that they don’t have to compromise between ease of use and safety since both are baked right in!

Conclusion

The bottom line is that the tech world needs to keep up with people of every age as we get older. Luckily, biometric authentication is a pretty great solution! It’s easy to use and way more secure than other options out there. Plus, it gives people more freedom in their personal lives too. 

For aging adults especially, this kind of technology can make a huge difference in staying safe online and controlling everything they do digitally. So, if you’re looking for an essential tool that’ll help you stay on top of your digital life no matter what, biometrics are definitely worth considering!

Leland Sandler has provided executive coaching help for businesses over the years and strives to create the meaningful and lasting experience companies need to thrive. Startups benefit especially well from Sandler’s assistance due to their willingness to push to the next level. Any startup that wants to achieve a higher level of success may want to work with Sandler or other executive coaches in their field.

Leland Sandler Can Help Startups Achieve Higher Success Levels

Leland Sandler has experience with startups in just about every field and market. Their success with these firms is based on the reality that startups often experience many of the same challenges while not fully understanding their strengths. Startups may have the flexibility, innovation, and energy to push to the next level but may not have the experience necessary to achieve top-level success.

For instance, Leland Sandler has noted many startups have great ideas and know what they want to achieve but lack the knowledge to achieve it. These issues may center on things like long-term strategy, effective logistics, or synergizing a firm’s processes into a coherent whole. Many startups fizzle out for these reasons: they simply don’t have the focus needed to thrive once their initial success wears off.

Thankfully, Leland Sandler fully understands how to coach these firms and make them succeed. For example, it is critical to know what strengths and weaknesses a startup possesses and how to overcome them. Disadvantages may include a lack of presence in specific markets, troubles with planning shipping platforms, complications with product management, and much more.

Beyond these benefits, executive coaches can also help companies and leaders plan for significant changes, create better goal-setting methods, create more substantial leadership confidence through expert training programs, identify blind spots (such as a firm’s inability to recognize a poor employee), and enhance company culture by creating a better HR team that works with executives more expertly.

It is benefits like these that make Leland Sandler and other experts so critical for startups. Young companies that need a little extra help often find executive coaches to give them a little extra professionalism. By taking their business more seriously, they can push it to a higher level and provide the high-quality step-up in expertise that makes sense for a company trying to thrive.

Just as importantly, executive coaches can provide other services that companies may not expect. Many can perform general business assessments to gauge the quality of their clients’ services. The goal of this step is to create a meaningful exchange between the clients and the coach. For instance, they can learn more about how a company operates and its many unique service and product options.

Just as importantly, executive coaches like Leland Sandler can push startups to the next level. Man startups are run by people with minimal business experience. While they may have a great idea and intelligent leadership in place, they may not understand deeper business issues, like logistics and long-term planning. Executive coaches can help them get around these seemingly impossible hurdles.

For instance, an executive coach can teach a leadership team how to plan for crises, highlight difficulties with a current business model, train HR teams, provide support for strategic management, and offer any assistance that a company needs. All of this help can ensure that a startup takes things to the next level and becomes a competitive and high-quality business surprisingly quickly.

Whether you are a bride or groom-to-be or you are helping a loved one plan their wedding, you know firsthand just how stressful it can be to plan such a big and important event. No matter what your budget is, it is really hard to make sure that you don’t go overboard with spending because as it turns out – weddings are really expensive! 

From flowers to catering to gowns, suits, favors, and alcohol, there is a lot to consider. If you’re on a tight budget this may mean having to give up some of the things you want. Need some help? Here are 3 tips for keeping your wedding under budget. 

Think Practically 

Thinking about you wedding through a more practical sense is another good way to ensure that the total amount you spend ends up being under your original budget. For instance, you might have a vision of your wedding party coming in on a helicopter or hiking to a remote location in the mountains in order to get the most stunning photos. However, if you have family members who are of retirement age, it may not be plausible for them to be physically able to do this. If you opt-out due to practicality, you will also end up saving money – so think about that. 

Compare Rates

You may believe that you have found your dream wedding venue or the perfect catering company, but slow down on making big choices and you could end up saving yourself a lot of money. Compare rates from all the different options in your area before making a decision. 

If the venue you like the most happens to be twice as expensive as other places, for example, you should probably go with your second choice. On the day of, you will be just as happy, and without any big financial regret. 

DIY As Much As Possible 

DIY-ing is quite popular these days when it comes to weddings. As a matter of fact, you may be able to do a lot more than you ever thought possible and the savings will be incredible. With a few simple YouTube tutorials and a little more research, you’ll be amazed at what you can create with your own two hands and will be pleased with the result. 

You can DIY floral arrangements, decorations, party favors, and so much more. Enlist the help of your wedding party or other friends or family and you can have some extra fun doing it – or use it as a bonding activity with your fiancé leading up to the wedding. 

Keeping your wedding under budget might feel stressful right now, but it doesn’t have to be! There is so much you can due to have the wedding of your dreams without going into debt. Hopefully these simple tips are just what you needed! 

5 Ways Technology is Transforming Business 

With the constant development and progress of technology, it’s no surprise that business is evolving alongside it. The way we do things now is so different from the way we did things 20 years ago. 

Indeed, the one thing we can rely on when it comes to technology is that change, and progress is constant – it’s all about embracing what’s new and making it work. Business has a lot to gain from technological advancements, and these are 5 of the most significant ways in which technology is changing business. 

1. Communication and Sharing Information

One of the most significant influences that technology has had on business is enabling communication on a far larger scale than before. Indeed, this has changed the face of business and the ways in which companies can operate. Extended communication has allowed for the democratisation of information like never before, encouraging the sharing of intelligence and innovation and pushing for collaboration that would never have been possible in the past. 

2. Remote working

Different jobs and industries have varying requirements when it comes to being in office or having the ability to work remotely. However, one thing’s for certain and that is that technology has allowed remote working to become far more common and effective. 

Indeed, with efficient means of communication and the fact that most people have internet access at home, in restaurants and all over, the idea of a traditional office or workspace has changed drastically. The possibility of working remotely can increase productivity and be an overall positive for employee health and happiness too. 

3. Boosted Efficiency and Productivity 

To put it simply, technology just makes things easier and quicker. Things that used to take forever can now be done in an instant with no more than a click of a button. Increased productivity is a win for business in general, because time is money. If you can afford to spend less time on something while still producing the same – if not better – results, your business is sure to be more successful and profitable in the long run. 

4. Cloud-Based Data

Moving away from paper-based records to having almost everything on the cloud has changed the face of business in a plethora of different ways. Not only are physical records risky in terms of potential damage, but they also take up space which costs money, and the organisation of such records is time consuming, difficult and involves more risk. 

These days, having most of your data on the cloud means that it’s safer, in some ways, and easily accessible from anywhere at any time. Of course, cybersecurity risks are always a concern, but overall, using the cloud is a massive advantage for business. 

5. Improved Access to Information

With the way in which technology has progressed, anyone – or those with permission, at least – can access information and data from anywhere at any time. Whether that’s information specific to the business or by means of the internet where you can also easily find everything from new shoes to an online casino sign up bonus, this opens up so many doors and allows for endless possibilities going forward. 

One of the most challenging parts of being a manager is maintaining productivity among team members. According to the Interim VP of engineering, Trevor Harwell, it’s becoming even harder and harder to increase the overall team performance. Harwell, who has always been fascinated by technology for many years, believes that technology could be the solution managers need to ramp up productivity in the workplace. By simplifying simple tasks, improving communication, and automating repetitive tasks, managers can help their teams work more efficiently. Here are the five ways by Trevor Harwell managers can use technology to increase productivity.

1. Use engagement software to get teams involved

An efficient employee engagement software provides you with an outlet to recognize employees that go above and beyond. As a manager, you want to ensure that your employees enjoy working with you by appreciating their efforts, training, and giving positive feedback. Trevor Harwell recommends investing in software that allows your coworkers to work together, encourage one another and even appreciate their colleagues for helping them with specific projects. This helps promote a more robust culture of coloration and teamwork, which motivates employees to give their best.

2. Bring employees together through efficient communication systems

Effective communication is crucial for team productivity, yet many companies don’t see the need to create reliable communication systems for their teams, says Trevor Harwell. They end up dealing with significant losses due to poor or lack of communication. With so many technological solutions available for communication, managers can improve communication among their teams. Some reliable communication software includes Slack, Flock, Chanty, Zoom Treat, and Tribe.

3. Organize workflows with the cloud-based project of task management software

Working with computers means constantly dealing with computers breaking down important files, losing important documents, late submissions, and low internet speeds. All these can be detrimental to your company’s productivity. That’s why Trevor Harwell suggests using project management tools and saving all your projects in the clouds, which makes it easy to access the same documents using different devices. That means if a computer breaks down, nothing stops.

4. Track productivity with reliable time tracking tools

If you can’t measure your productivity, it’s impossible to improve it. To help increase performance and productivity in your workplace, Trevor Harwell recommends learning your work clock and creating a realistic plan. He suggests identifying the common distractions among employees to determine productive hours and using time tracking tools to improve efficiency and productivity. He also advises addressing all employees’ problems, including their mental health, leave days, work-life balance, remote working, and work breaks to ensure they are comfortable at work.

5. Declutter your digital workplace

Proper planning and organization plays a significant role in productivity. When you and your employees work with a well-developed plan, you can complete projects on time and efficiently—clutter and, on the other hand, limit the ability to focus. According to Harwell, the best way to declutter your digital space is to break down your projects into smaller bits and award every employee with a specific task. You can do this by creating a structured spreadsheet with employee names and tasks. This makes it easy to follow up and know which tasks are complete and which ones need more effort.

LOS ANGELES, CA / JUNE 13, 2022 / Leadership is a critical element of one’s success in the software industry. Interim VP of Engineering Trevor Harwell recently discussed how to become a better team leader in software development.

“Leading any type of work team requires several skills, but there are also qualities of excellent leaders specific to the field of software development,” Harwell said. “Contrary to popular belief, a successful leader doesn’t need to be born with these traits. He can acquire them through dedication to the field and his team’s success.”

Be a Problem Solver

Problem-solving is critical to success in software development. A seasoned software developer like Trevor Harwell will assure others that things don’t always go as planned in this industry. That’s why It’s essential to adapt to new needs whenever they arise. 

Projects change direction quickly in software development and can stray far from the initial plan. A successful software development leader is up to the challenge and ready to solve the problem while empowering her team to approach the issue with a positive attitude. 

Communicate Well

Leaders across all industries must have excellent communication skills. Most CEOs and executives will state that solid communication is an essential trait of a successful leader. 

Communicating effectively also means ensuring each team member knows their roles, responsibilities, and expectations. They effectively relay the client’s desires to the development team, so the result meets and exceeds client expectations. 

Equipped with In-Depth Technical Capabilities

Software development is a field that requires intense technical knowledge. A successful team leader must be at the top of their game regarding technical skills in testing, design, implementation, deployment, debugging, and other tech areas.  

“The team leader must ensure complex coding requirements are met on time and at the highest quality level,” Harwell said. “They must also be up-to-date on the lasted technologies and those on the horizon. Business opportunities pass quickly if team leaders don’t know about the hottest new technologies.”

Trevor Harwell and Software Leadership

Harwell is currently in the field of software leadership as the Interim VP of Engineering at a successful tech company. He quickly moved from a front-end developer to a full-stack developer to a development manager and his current position. 

His love for technology began at a young age, so entering the industry was a no-brainer. He has a passion for solving business problems through technology. His passions and hard work toward becoming a successful leader led to a career in leading software development teams and building sustainable solutions via technology.

Cryptocurrency was created to accommodate a fully-decentralized, global economy. Still, as new blockchains continue to pop up year over year, many don’t consider how their chain will interact with those that already exist. This issue defeats the purpose that many of these digital assets set out to achieve. WanChain’s goal is to solve this issue by connecting the isolated blockchains and allowing the world’s digital assets and data to flow freely between the various chains.

WanChain So Far

WanChain first released its ICO in October 2017. With the assistance of their fundraising specialist, Benn Godenzi, WanChain raised an impressive 122,000 ETH during its ICO phase. 

WanChain swiftly began working on its cross-chain infrastructure after its ICO phase, and in December 2019, WanChain switched from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus to proof-of-stake (PoS). Their move to PoS made the project more environmentally conscious than before. Alongside the change in consensus, Wanchain released a proof-of-stake-enabled desktop wallet.  

In early 2021, WanChain introduced the world’s first decentralized bridge between BTC and ETH. The BTC-ETH bridge was the culmination of nearly five years of hard work, and shortly after, in August 2021, WanChain officially released its WanChain Web tool. WanChain Web gives users the ability to initiate cross-chain transactions without the need for intermediary networks. WanChain Web supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOSIO, Binance Smart Chain, Litecoin, Wanchain, XRP Ledger, Moonriver, Avalanche, and over a dozen other cryptocurrencies.

Most recently, WanChain partnered with Polygon to build a layer-2 cross-chain bridge for Polygon and Arbitrum. The partnership was announced in December 2021 and marked the first time a cross-chain bridge will utilize decentralized liquidity pools to power the bridge. Liquidity pools are essential but often misunderstood tools that many decentralized-finance projects need to run smoothly. Centralized exchanges often use a “maker and taker” model in which buyers and sellers are matched on either side of the transaction for people to buy and sell assets. Alternatively, liquidity pools serve as an automated way for people to process these transactions without needing a buyer or seller to accommodate the trade.

Blockchain Interoperability Alliance

In 2017, Benn Godenzi helped WanChain, Aion, and ICON launch the Blockchain Interoperability Alliance; this alliance allowed the three interoperability-focused companies to assist each other in creating a brighter future for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. 

Much like WanChain, Aion builds trustless technologies that pass assets from one blockchain to another without intermediaries. Likewise, ICON aims to solve the same problem as WanChain and Aion. It makes sense that the three entities would work together to improve blockchain interoperability. Still, before forming the Blockchain Interoperability Alliance, WanChain, Aion, and ICON were taking three different approaches to solve the problem.

Since the Blockchain Interoperability Alliance came to be, all three companies have made tremendous progress towards true interoperability. There’s no doubt that WanChain owes a portion of its success to the information-sharing and collaboration from the alliance.

The stock market has had a long great run but recent events have investors nervous. Inflation, negative economic performance, the Russia-Ukraine war and continued supply-chain disruption, delays and shortages and other factors are all contributing to the daily ups and downs of the market. 

How Do You View the State of the Market?

There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to investing in the market. There’s the old adage on Wall Street that the market climbs on a “wall of worry.” When everything seems like it’s all doom and gloom, stock prices start rising when investors begin to show the first glimmer of confidence. Instead of simply looking at Q1 2022 economic data, analyze the reasons behind the data. For instance, inventories fell in comparison to Q4 2021 because there was a huge buildup of inventories last year. Government spending was also down when pandemic-relief efforts were scaled back.  Add to this, the fact that consumer spending and business investments were both up in Q1 2022. This view has some continuing to invest, particularly when they can buy stocks at a lower price.

On the other hand, some analysts predict that the market will continue to suffer massive losses – or at the very least, will experience a significant correction. Some argue that public companies have produced an overpriced stock market, excessive corporate debt, and insufficient levels of investment. Furthermore, these analysts believe the reason that U.S. stock valuations have remained high for so long is due to the Federal Reserve’s support of Wall Street via low interest rates and successive bouts of quantitative easing. Inflation is changing this picture because as interest rates rise faster than corporate cash flows, businesses are being forced to de-leverage and cut investments. Following this mindset, the valuation of U.S. stocks could plummet.

Assessing Investments in a Volatile Market

• Don’t sell solely based on current market movements. Shut out the noise, calm the fear and stay the course while evaluating your portfolio. 
• Gauge your risk tolerance. How well positioned are you to handle large swings in the market? Do you have enough cash on hand to meet your immediate goals? If not, look at moving some of your investments. 
• Diversify and rebalance your portfolio if needed.  Swings in the market can uncover the need for your portfolio to be better diversified and the mix of stocks rebalanced to better reflect your intended total asset allocation. Market fluctuations can also cause your allocation strategy to deviate from its original goal. Assets that have appreciated in value will account for a larger portion of your portfolio over time, while those that have declined will account for less. Rebalancing entails selling positions that have become overweighted in comparison to the rest of your portfolio and reinvesting the proceeds in positions that have become underweighted. 

Robert Tweed is primarily involved in real estate investing. He has purchased and flipped a ton of properties, including both single-family and multi-family homes. While most of the investments that Mr. Tweed has made have been positive, there have been a few times where he has lost money. Fortunately though, it wasn’t completely a loss, as he gained valuable lessons, and he has been able to take what he has learned and avoid those mistakes down the road. Here are a few of the lessons Mr. Tweed learned when he lost money and how you can avoid making the same mistakes he did.

Robert Tweed Explains a Key Mistake He Made Was Assuming Real Estate Always Increases

Robert Tweed says that one of the biggest mistakes he made when it came to real estate investing was assuming that real estate always increases in value, but never decreases. The real estate market crash was rough on many investors, including Mr. Tweed. Up until that point, real estate had not declined in some time. While it is rare that real estate decreases in value, it can happen, so investors always need to watch the real estate market and look for signs that the market may be cooling or prices may be declining.

Robert Tweed Details How Overspending Leads to Losses

Robert Tweed says another lesson he learned when he lost money on real estate investments was that you can over-improve some properties. While marble floors or quartz countertops may look beautiful, they may not be great choices for starter homes or homes in cheaper neighborhoods. You need to always know comps in the area where you are looking to flip a home and be mindful not to overspend, or you may not get all of your investment back.

Robert Tweed States That Not Knowing Tax Code Also Caused a Loss

Robert Tweed explains that the final lesson he learned is that you need to talk to an accountant or tax professional before you start investing in real estate. A great tax professional or accountant can help you realize what write-offs you may be able to claim and how to defer capital gains. Taking advantage of these types of things can help you save a ton of money on your taxes, which ultimately leaves you with more money in your pocket.

Robert Tweed knows that investing in real estate can be a great investment most of the time, but, if you are not careful, it can lead to losses. Learning from expert real estate investors, such as Mr. Tweed, can help you avoid common mistakes and help you to maximize the gains from your investments.