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How You Can Outsource Talent On a Budget

If you’re a small business or startup, or just simply operating on a small budget but you have a particular project that needs to be completed you might be considering outsourcing it. Outsourcing talent can be particularly valuable if there’s some level of specialization required for the project, and you don’t have the need to bring someone on full-time to tackle it.

Finding talent via outsourcing

While outsourcing is a more cost-effective alternative to the overhead costs of a full or even part-time employee, that doesn’t mean it isn’t somewhat costly.

One of the biggest reasons a lot of outsourced projects fail is because the company doing the hiring didn’t think about the budget ahead of time, and tried to hire the least expensive freelancer, rather than trying to balance quality and price.…

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Can London’s Small Businesses Weather the Storm of Business Rates Increases?

London’s small businesses are expected to receive special bail-out fund to help weather the storm of business rates increases, but is it enough?

London busy high street

On Monday 6th March, The London Evening Standard announced plans for special bail-out fund for the capital’s small businesses, which are set to be among the hardest hit in April’s business rates revaluation. “Traditional retailers and firms facing crippling increases of 50 per cent or more are expected to be favoured in funds totalling ‘hundreds of millions’ of pounds” the front-page article reported.

For London’s small businesses, the overdue 2017 rates revaluation threatens to increase business rates by an estimated £7.5 billion.…

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How to Choose the Best Trade Show Booth for Your Business

Would you ever consider opening a dollar store on Rodeo Drive? Of course not. No self-respecting ‘Rodeo-ite’ would be caught dead walking into a dollar store after stepping out of their Aston Martin that only gets driven on Tuesday!

They’d instantly become the laughing stock of all their friends, and celebrity gossip columnists would have a field day, right? Location is important. Location, location, location.

Here’s how to choose the perfect trade show booth, to maximize exposure and brand impact on all who’ll attend your next event:

Study the floor plan prior

If you have no clue how trade shows work, find someone who does who can go over the floor plan in advance with you and your team.…

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4 Business Insurance Tips Agents Don’t Want you to Know

There are many different types of insurance policies available to small and medium-size business owners. There’s so much to consider, much of it being industry dependent, and also depending on what risks you, your employees, and customers undertake while doing business together.

Of course, if you’ve done any research to this point, you’re probably interested in seeing if you qualify for a comprehensive Business Owner’s Policy (BOP), which is great if you qualify and in fact need all that a BOP policy can cover. However, a BOP only scratches the surface of what most businesses need in terms of coverage.

Business insurance agent

So, how to get the best insurance coverage for your business, given the facts that your insurance agents may know something that you don’t know – and might use that knowledge to take advantage of you?…

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Choosing a Domain Name that Works for You and Google

If your business is just starting out or going through a radical rebrand, you’ll be only to aware of the importance of choosing a domain name that works for both internet users, and search engines. This balance isn’t always easy to achieve. Humans respond better to domains that are short, memorable and unique, while search engines respond to domains that are semantically relevant to your service and industry.

Domain name

Whether through social media or search, the Web is where a huge number of prospective customers will first discover your business. In order to make the most of the opportunities afforded to you by these platforms, businesses must appeal to user psyche, while also supplying search engines with the topic relevancy needed rank highly in search engine results.…

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Better Leadership through Community and Social Work

Leadership is one of the must-have skills for business owners. Whether you’re running a home business with just one employee or a growing startup that’s starting to hire more team members, showing strong leadership and knowing how to keep the team working efficiently can help take the business to new heights.

Business leadership

It is also worth noting that leadership is a skill; one that can be learned and mastered. There are different ways to sharpen your leadership skills, but working in communities and doing social work are among the best ways to do it.

Becoming Community Leaders

A lot of business and startup owners went as far as going back to school to study social work specifically.…

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What are The Fastest Growing Industries for 2017 and Why?

In a world increasingly dominated by interconnective technology, emerging industries are creating new markets and investment opportunities almost every day. Capitalising on these new, fast growing business opportunities by investing or starting your own business is a surefire way to success; assuming you do the work too.

Corporate wellness class

Here are three of the biggest growth industries to get into in 2017:…

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5 Business Expenses a Startup can do Without

It can be so easy to get carried away during the initial phases of setting up your own business, but it’s vital that you keep your head. Many new company owners waste thousands that they haven’t earnt yet on illogical expenses, so here are just a handful that you should avoid.

Fancy business car

1. Extravagant “image” purchases

The last thing you should be spending your money on is a fancy suit or designer watch; you can certainly get a smart-looking, good quality suit to match whatever your budget is. As long as you look professional, your client won’t know or care where your clothes are from.…

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7 Awesome Ways to Get More Instagram Followers

Do you want more Instagram followers –silly question, of course you do. More Instagram followers mean more exposure for your blog, site or business and more eyes on your business mean more publicity for you. So, follow these tips below to see how to grow your following.

Instagram on smartphone

Tell People About Your Instagram Account

If you have a large following on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or have a blog, tell people to follow you on Instagram for more content. Don’t hesitate to tweet a link to your Instagram account or to add a link to your Instagram in your blog or YouTube channel description.…

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5 Marketing Campaigns That Helped These Small Businesses Grow

The goal of a marketing campaign is to help your audience understand the brand, increase awareness and engagement, and of course, generate sales. The best marketing campaigns go above and beyond to resonate with consumers by playing into emotions and generating excitement for a product or service.

Marketing strategy

Regardless of the industry you’re in, there are always unique ways to create effective and relevant marketing strategies. One of the best ways to help business owners think outside of the box is by working with marketing firms like Polar Mass. Often, it’s difficult for entrepreneurs to step outside their comfort zone and devise research-backed solutions to their problems.…

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