POST CATEGORY : Economy & Environment

Should Your SMB Chase Government Contracts

Regardless of where you live, the different levels of your government (federal, local) will employ a certain number of people such as doctors, teachers, employees in culture, utilities and so on.

Every now and then, however, the government will have certain jobs that need to be done and that they need to hire outside contractors to get them done. For example, your town might need someone to restore the town fountain or do holiday lights. Or, your state’s government needs a tech company that will upgrade their entire IT system.

Government contracts

The government puts these jobs out to bid and companies compete for these contracts, for a number of reasons we will get into later.…

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The Million Dollar Dog: Pet Industry Gold Mines

Money has gone to the dogs – but in a good way. According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), Americans spent about $62.75 billion on their furry, feathered or finned friends, including dogs.

Dog business

The APPA note that 54.4 million homes have pets. That means that even if home included only one person, over 54.4 million customers are looking to make their pets’ lives fun and healthy.

Why the Increase in Dog Ownership?

The APA do frequent surveys of American households to see what is new in pet trends. In 2013, they noted that dog ownership hit an all-time high of 56.7 million homes.…

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The Baby Boomer Business Continues to Grow

Conventional wisdom has long held that when it comes to making money on a product, it pays to market it to young people. In our youth-obsessed society, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Baby boomer

Companies typically focus on younger demographics not only because they could become customers for life but because they tend to be more tech-savvy and more willing to try new things. As the baby boomer generation enters its golden years, however, a major shift is occurring.

Baby boomers rule!

In 2015, there were more than 75.4 million baby boomers alive in the U.S.–and they aren’t done buying things. According to the AARP, in fact, as of 2013, the U.S.…

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6 Small Business Service Types That Offer a Flexible Work Environment

Telecommuting and freelancing are gaining popularity not only because of the obvious benefits they hold for employees. Recent studies show that employees who are granted the freedom to work remotely have a significantly increased rate of productivity in comparison with office-based staff that reaches around 60% to 85% for an 8-hour work day. Aside from raising motivation and lowering employee turnover, flexibility and teleworking have some important financial benefits for businesses, like saving on annual leaves, sick days, insurance, taxes, and office expenses.

Freelancer works flexible work hours

Yet, not all industry sectors can take advantage of the perks of hiring temporary staff, freelancers and running a telecommuting team.…

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3 Uses of Precision Motion Control in the Food and Beverage Industry

The food and beverage industry is incredibly lucrative, thus presenting many opportunities for streamlining existing processes in innovative ways. Those who own businesses in this field must stay updated on the best methods for optimizing workflows, increasing throughput, and boosting profits.

Bottling company

One way to increase your company’s productivity and efficiency is by investing in state-of-the-art systems to replace outdated old machines. Should you find yourself balking at the initial costs, keep reading to learn how high-quality custom linear stages could result in big returns later on.

1. Bottling, Filling, and Conveying

While the quality of your food or beverage product is important, your packaging can make or break your sales figures.…

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Choosing a Location for Your Small Business

One of the more important decisions that you may end up making as an adult is where to locate your small business, if you choose to have a physical building. This will have a huge impact on your overall success as a business person, so it’s one decision that absolutely should be made with the utmost respect to detail, and not be taken lightly.

Office building

Five things to consider when making this decision would be what the space looks like from a virtual standpoint, what neighborhood the location is a part of, what kind of curb details are present, if the building site has room to scale, and what the history of other small businesses in the area are.…

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This One Industry You’ve Never Heard of Is Crucial to the Global Economy

Lots of industries fly under the radar, free of the glitz, glamor and attention that higher-profile enterprises earn.

That doesn’t mean these industries are any less important than their better-known counterparts, nor that they’re any less likely to attract the best and brightest employees. In fact, some of the most creative entrepreneurs in the world find opportunities where others see only chaos — or, more likely, nothing at all.

Read on to learn about what this one weird industry you’ve almost certainly never heard of does each and every day for the global economy — and don’t forget to pull it out at your next cocktail party.…

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Money: Increasing The Value Of Your Home

CEOs – are you going to sell your home sometime in the near future? If so, you need to take the necessary steps to increase the value of your home.  One way to do that is by renovating your home.

Fixing up your home before selling it will ensure that you receive the highest amount of money from the transaction. Before a real estate agent guides potential buyers through your house, it’s important to make your domicile as attractive as possible.

Money house

Here is a list of simple things you can do to increase the value of your home. This list is geared around pleasing potential buyers, since their opinion of your home is important above all others.…

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Top 10 Places To Shop In The UK

The Christmas shopping season is upon us and that means everyone is scrambling to get their gift list completed. The bad news is – you don’t have much time left! The good news is – you have plenty of time to get it done, if you know where to shop!

UK shopping

We’ve comprised a list of the top ten places to shop in the UK – and yes, you can even order online!

ASOS

If you are looking for a British-based retailer of clothing, jewelry and accessories at a price everyone can afford, ASOS is a sure bet. This company offers more than 60,000 branded products from 850 designers, including their own personal brand.…

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5 Tips for Hiring Better Sales Account Executives

Salespeople play a crucial role in the success of any organization. After all, they are the ones who generate the revenue a company needs to grow. One common mistake that hiring managers make is focusing too much on the numbers and other details that are already on a candidate’s resume.

Job interview

While it is important to know what a sales representative is capable of, taking the time to ensure that he or she is a good fit for the business is even more critical. The key is to use a style of interviewing that draws out themes that give essential insight into the candidate’s motivations.…

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