Tag: Common

10 Most Common Uses of the Internet

Since the internet has become popular, its being used for many purposes. Through the help of the World Wide Web and websites, the internet has become very useful in many ways for the common man. Today internet has brought a globe in a single room. Right from news across the corner of the world, wealth of knowledge to shopping, purchasing the tickets of your favorite movie-everything is at your finger tips.

Here is the list of some common uses of internet

1) Email: By using internet now we can communicate in a fraction of seconds with a person who is sitting in the other part of the world. Today for better communication, we can avail the facilities of Email. We can chat for hours with our loved ones. There are plenty messenger services and email services offering this service for free. With help of such services, it has become very easy to establish a kind of global friendship where you can share your thoughts, can explore other cultures of different ethnicity.

2) Information: The biggest advantage that internet offering is information. The internet and the World Wide Web has made it easy for anyone to access information and it can be of any type, as the internet is flooded with information. The internet and the World Wide Web has made it easy for anyone to access information and it can be of any type. Any kind of information on any topic is available on the Internet.

3) Business: World trade has seen a big boom with the help of the internet, as it has become easier for buyers and sellers to communicate and also to advertise their sites. Now a days most of the people are using online classified sites to buy or sell or advertising their products or services. Classified sites saves you lot of money and time so this is chosen as medium by most of people to advertise their products. We have many classified sites on the web like craigslist, Adsglobe.com, Kijiji etc.

4) Social Networking: Today social networking sites have become an important part of the online community. Almost all users are members use it for personal and business purposes. Its an awesome place to network with many entrepreneurs who come here to begin building their own personal and business brand.

5) Shopping: In today’s busy life most of us are interested to shop online. Now a days almost anything can be bought with the use of the internet. In countries like USA most of consumers prefer to shop from home. We have many shopping sites on internet like amazon.com, Dealsglobe.com etc. People also use the internet to auction goods. There are many auction sites online, where anything can be sold.

6) Entertainment: On internet we can find all forms of entertainment from watching films to playing games online. Almost anyone from any age group can find the right kind of entertainment for themselves. When people surf the Web, there are numerous things that can be found. Music, hobbies, news and more can be found and shared on the Internet. There are numerous games that may be downloaded from the Internet for free.

7) E-Commerce: E-commerce is the concept used for any type of commercial maneuvering, or business deals that involves the transfer of information across the globe via internet. It has become a phenomenon associated with any kind of shopping, almost anything. It has got a real amazing and range of products from household needs, technology to entertainment.

8) Services: Many services are now provided on the internet such as online banking, job seeking, purchasing tickets for your favorite movies, and guidance services on array of topics in the every aspect of life, and hotel reservations and bills paying. Often these services are not available off-line and can cost you more.

9) Job Search: Internet makes life easy for both employers and job seekers as there are plenty of job sites which connects employers and job seekers.

10) Dating/Personals: People are connecting with others though internet and finding their life partners. Internet not only helps to find the right person but also to continue the relationship.

Why a Common Man Like Me Wants the World Expo 2020 in Dubai

The alliteration of Dubai with Dreams is not accidental. Dubai is very much the stuff fantasies are made of. More importantly – it is in Dubai that dreams melt into reality with a seemingly effortless grace. The first time I came to this Wonderland, it simply took my breath away. What majesty! What magnificence! What magic! I was besotted, utterly and completely. Dubai, to me, became not a city but a phenomenon. All the dreams that I had dreamt about my future came to fruit in this Eden on Earth and newer, bigger dreams now fill my mind.

It is true that I can count the number of years I spent on Dubai soil on my fingers – but when I attempt to enumerate the gifts this magical city gave to me in these two years, I find myself wishing for many more fingers. The multi-ethnic work culture here gave me inspiring insights into several cultures across the globe, even as I made friends galore from the Diasporas of so many nations breathing the Dubai air.

Working in the employer-friendly ambience of the Dubai workplace, my professional experience grew manifold. The reliability of the city’s sophisticated, state-of-the-art infrastructure gave me the wonderful opportunity to hone my work-skills without petty troubles to distract me. The vibrant, pink-with-health economy of Dubai allayed even the worst of my trepidations regarding my finances… Really I can go on and on… Above all, such was the warmth and tenderness with which Dubai welcomed me that I am ashamed to say I hardly felt homesick at all.

So what makes this city tick? I’d think there are three mainstays of the Dubai phenomenon – the warm, mellow hospitality that welcomes citizens across the world with open arms, the super-efficient and well oiled infrastructure, and the respect for law and discipline that contains all the diverse elements of this international city with order and method.

Dubai is like the globe condensed into one city as nearly 200 nations of the world reside here and work in unison. It is like a beautiful rug, the fabric of which contains the threads and colours of nations round the world. It is that neutral ground where millions of international relations are made every day. It is the cauldron where global ideas meet, churn and fuse to evolve newer and better ones each day. Science, technology, culture – it is the hub of all that matters.

Wait a minute, am I describing Dubai, or am I describing the World Expo? You see – what better place than Dubai to host the World Expo 2020 when the city is exactly like an ongoing World Expo itself?

Especially when the World Expo 2020 theme is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ as this is what Dubai has been doing since so long – connecting minds and creating the future!

The 3 Most Common Mistakes Freelancers Make (& How to Remedy Them)

Recently, I attended a conference given at my local Chamber of Commerce. It was entitled, How to Bring Your Business to the Next Level. The reason I mention it is that the speaker covered several points that tie in with the 3 most common mistakes freelancers make, outlined below.

1. Not Targeting a Market: I call this lack of freelancer focus. Do you drive without a destination? Probably not. Most of us know where we’re going when we get in our cars, on the train, on the bus. We have a specific destination in mind.

Because editorial and creative freelancing encompass such broad categories, it can be difficult to focus. Eg, writing. Huh? For what – magazines, e-zines, newspapers, websites, newsletters, brochures, direct mail, etc., etc., etc.

What type of writing for what sector? Legal, medical, technical, scientific, real estate, financial, general (what does that mean?), etc., etc., etc.

What type of client? B2B, B2C.

As you can see, your choices are endless. And, you may be talented enough to write in many sectors. However, you will have a hard time selling this to potential clients, and you will almost always be beaten out for assignments by those who specialize and have the body of work to prove it.

I know this first-hand. I owned Inkwell Editorial, an editorial staffing agency in New York City, from 1996-2004. When I was recruiting for clients, I ALWAYS chose freelancers who had a background in the discipline for the assignment. Why? Because clients demanded it and they made me look good. I mean, when you think about it, why would I choose someone who was a generalist when I had 15 or 20 just as qualified candidates who had years of experience in what I was looking for? It was a no brainer.

That’s why I’m adamant that freelancers should specialize. It’s not that you can’t go outside your speciality, but if you target a specific market, you build your client list that much faster and can service them better. Once you have your bread and butter clients, you can choose a secondary market – if you feel it necessary.

So, choose a niche market and focus all of your marketing dollars on it. Feel free to take other things as they fall in your lap, but give your chosen market your “laser focus,” eg, ad dollars, promotional efforts, etc.

2. Not Creating a Business Plan: Don’t shut down! Come back. Focus. Pay attention. This is not more corporate mumbo jumbo – I promise. I’m not saying spend 6 months to a year writing a 30-page document that has to be presented to a venture capitalist.

BUT, I am saying that you need the bones of a business plan in front of you. Eg, who’s your target market; how will you reach them; via which advertising medium; what servies will you offer; how much will you charge; how much will it cost you to provide the service (remember, as an editorial/creative worker, your “product” is time); what is your ad budget; how much will you need to reach your goals (eg, quit your job, bring in an extra $x/month)? All of these questions – and some more – should be answered.

Many freelancers fail at freelancing because they don’t do this type of detailed thinking before starting out. You can take one weekend and flesh all of this out and be done with it. Just be sure to write it down and REFER TO IT OFTEN.

3. Not creating a marketing plan. If you are building your business on the cheap, as many do just starting out, it will take much more time than you realize.

So, you will need to map out a plan of what you’re going to do on a daily, weekly, monthly basis to reach your financial goals. Trust, trust, trust me that if you don’t, you will make less money and become frustrated with what could be a wonderful career. It ALWAYS takes longer than what you think.

Doing even a scractch marketing plan will make you feel accomplished – especially if you are doing something every day to market your business. It could be as simple as writing one article a day, pitching 10 potential clients whose info you found on the web, submitting one press release a week.

Imagine if you did just the above, that would be five new articles, 50 client pitches and one press release – all in one week. Now, multiply this by four (a month); 12 (a quarter); 52 (yearly) and you can see how just garnering even a 2% response rate would net you 52 new clients a year (50 client pitches/week x 52 weeks x 2%).

I could go on and on on this topic because it can’t be repeated enough. Many freelancers think that they can just get a website, put in a marginal effort and things will happen. And sure, it will, but it will be in trickles, dribs and drabs.

If you want to make a real go of freelancing, treat it like a real business from the get-go, and you exponentially increase your chance of success.

5 Common Digital Marketing Mistakes That Today’s Business Owners Must Avoid

If you are a business owner and have plans to start a digital marketing campaign, make sure you avoid making some common mistakes. First of all, knowing the fact that digital marketing is not a simple task is important. Since it involves a lot of things like paid advertising, content marketing and SEO, making mistakes is quite common. This article discusses some common mistakes that you must avoid making if you want to make your campaigns be successful. Read on.

1. Not having Realistic Goals

If you don’t have a focused digital marking plan, you can’t create an effective marketing campaign. Without some goals in place, you are not going to get anywhere. Since your campaigns won’t be focused, you won’t be able to hit your goals in the given time period.

In the absence of realistic goals, your business won’t grow at all. The thing is that unrealistic goals are a source of discouragement. This type of goals is not achievable no matter what you do.

Also, you need to track your goals to find out how much success you have gained so far. This will also help you identify areas that require improvements. So, make sure your goals are specific, measurable, realistic, time sensitive and achievable.

2. Not Targeting the Relevant Audience

Not targeting the right audience is another common digital marketing mistake. Similarly, if you are going to focus an overly broad audience, you will get your desired results. Since you want to reach as many people as possible, you may be discouraged when you won’t see them buying your products or services.

Targeting the wrong audience is not a good idea and you will end up wasting a lot of time and money. What you need to do is provide relevant content with the relevant audience. Before you target your campaign, you must consider the following parameters:

  • Buying habits
  • Hobbies
  • Interests
  • Demographics

3. Ignoring your Website Design

In this digital age, having a user-friendly is a must, especially for businesses. So, you don’t want to end up ignoring this aspect of your business website. In other words, your website must be easy to use and it should offer valuable information. Not optimizing your site is bad when it comes to user experience, and you will be left behind in competition.

A good website should feature a simple search bar, a shopping cart, pictures, and call-to-action buttons.

4. Not Working on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO helps you look for your business on major search engines, especially Google. So, if you don’t consider this aspect when optimizing your web content, you will lose a lot of prospective customers and clients.

One of the biggest online marketing mistakes that businesses make with SEO is not giving it enough time to start showing results. SEO requires patience. In return, your campaign will grow over time and drive the results you desire.

Apart from incorporating relevant keywords in the content, you must follow some good SEO practices. Some of them are listed below:

  • Optimization of title tags
  • Optimization of the page load time of your website
  • Delivery of informative, targeted content

5. Not Focusing on Existing Customers

If you are trying to attract new customers only, you are making a grave mistake. You also need to focus on your existing customers to enjoy a higher conversion rate.

In short, these are 5 common digital marketing mistakes that you must avoid as a business owner in 2021.

Common Mistakes When Planning Your Medical Spa

Everything starts with a business plan: If you don’t have one. Write it. A good business plan will help you get a handle on all of the things that get glossed over in the excitement of starting a new business. It’s also a usual requirement for getting financing.

Remember that this is a medical business and comes with special requirements. Non-physicians can not employ physicians, medical oversight, HIPPA compliance, and a host of other regulatory issues need to be addressed. Play fast and loose with these rules and you’re asking for trouble. (One of our local competitors in Utah was not providing adequate physician oversight. The state walked in one day, confiscated all of their technology and patient records and closed them down.) All lenders want to know how you’re going to handle these issues. ADVERTISEMENT

Financing is easy. Financing smart is hard: Speak the words “medical spa” as a physician and you’re everyone’s best friend. Banks, lenders, technology companies will all have big smiles on their faces and papers in their hands, ready to lend money or finance everything you need. If you’re not a physician it’s going to be harder.

If you need money or a line of credit for needs other than technology, a bank will probably be your first stop. Banks will provide the best rates but are the most rigorous in investigating borrowers and have the least tolerance for risk. Banks will require that you have spotless credit and that the entire loan is secured. In most cases, everyone who owns 10% or more of the business will be personally responsible for the loan and have to provide two or more years of tax returns. Be prepared for a blizzard of paperwork. Banks will want to see financial statements, cash flow, a business plan (although they don’t read it), and have a little visit.

The bank is going to want to know what the funds are intended to be used for. They want to see tangible assets that have a market and can be sold if the business fails or you can’t make the payments. They don’t want to hear that you need more money for marketing and advertising or salaries that don’t have any resale value.

The money that banks will lend you will take the form of a loan, or a line of credit. Loans have a set schedule and payments. A line of credit is somewhat different. The idea is that the bank extends a line of credit that you may draw on. Interest is paid only on the amount of money that is used. However, banks usually require that the entire balance is paid off and unused for one month every year to ensure that the business is liquid. If you can’t meet this requirement, the entire line reverts to a loan.

Some bankers are helpful and some are not. In one instance a branch manager told one of our accountants that wanted some information that “he didn’t need our business and we could just live with that”. Avoid these types if you can. A friendly banker can go a long way in securing loans and providing a little flexibility if things don’t go exactly as you planned. If you find a great banker, send him a Christmas card and some cookies once in a while.

If you are in the fringe of what a bank can tolerate risk wise, they will often suggest or apply on your behalf for an SBA (Small Business Administration) loan that’s partially guaranteed by the government. (sba.gov/financing)

Half of something is better than all of nothing: If you’re going to need more money than you have in assets, you still have a couple of options. These involve partnerships, joint-ventures, venture loans or equity.

Most start-ups involve some form of equity trade. Partnerships are a good example. Sweat equity in the early stages provides ownership in lieu of payment or salary. It’s very common for entrepreneurs to take little or no money, sometimes for years, until the business is on its legs. Sweat equity at this stage usually extends only to the founders but may extend to badly needed partners. When we started Surface, I took more than an 80% reduction in income.

Equity: The simple rule is; the more money you need and risk you entail, the more equity you’re going to give up.

Angels: This is the first stop for most entrepreneurs. Angel financing (also called seed money), is usually raised from friends and family or “high net-worth” individuals. In some cases you may find “Angel Groups” that meet together and look for investments. Angels are usually found a the early stages of a business and are often bought out when larger investors come in.

Venture Debt: A recent surge in venture debt has made its way into the market and is worth discussing. Venture debt is basically a venture loan. The lender charges a higher interest rate than banks are allowed to (often around 14%) and accepts more risk in return. In addition, you will have to give up a small percentage of your company in what are called warrants. This small percentage (usually less than 5%) allows the lender to share in any potential upside. Venture debt is worth considering if you’re sure of success and you don’t want or need to give up a large equity position in you company. But you’ll still be personally responsible.

Venture Capital: When most people think of raising large amounts of money, they’re thinking of venture capital. For most start ups, venture capital is not an option. VC money has some downsides though. It is hard to get and extremely expensive. When you add up the entire enchilada, you’re looking at about 80% compounding interest each year in return for that money. VC’s are looking for an investment term of three to five years and a ROI (return on investment) of 700% or more. Whew. You’re also going to loose complete control of your company and have someone constantly looking over your shoulder. There are cases where this actually makes sense. Many VC are extremely well connected and bring these resources to the table.

So, now you’ve got the money you need. What are you going to do with it?

Most medical spas have grown out of an existing physician practice. The idea of having technicians producing revenue, low additional overhead, increased patient flow, and the feel that “I could do that” is attractive to a large number of doctors who are tired of the grind of medicine. (We’ve been approached by a surprising diversity of physicians looking to enter this market including; anesthesiologists, cardio-thoracic surgeons, and even podiatrists.)

Multiple Locations: After some initial success, many physicians and MedSpa owners attempt to open additional locations. (For some reason, these second-clinic startups are often opened by a relative, usually a wife or daughter.) These second locations never achieve the success of the first clinic for a very simple reason; their a completely different animal. If you’re thinking of opening multiple locations you’re work load just tripled. Multiple location sites are outside the abilities of most physicians and involve a much greater financial risk. Staffing and human resources, legal issues, medical oversight… most fail within the first year.

Successful multi-location practices are built around systems. If your first clinic doesn’t run without you there, you’re not ready for a second. Expanding to fast is a sure why to overextend your resources. Then you’re in big trouble. If you’ve closed a second clinic, lenders are going to be very wary of lending you money.

The Turn Key Solution: Franchises and consultants love to drop this phrase. The idea is an attractive one. Experts will guide your steps to financial glory. Marketing, financing, training, everything will be delivered in a nice little box with a bow on top. But, knowing a number of franchise owners and the problems they’ve encountered, I would give this advice; beware.

The current crop of franchises have a lot of problems. (One of them in California was shut down for selling medical practices to non-physicians. They’ve since reopened and are among the most aggressive advertisers.) Franchises are attractive because they claim to have all the answers. If you’ll just write the checks all of your troubles will be over. Not so fast. What you’ll really get are some manuals, pre-written scripts for sales, and bad ad-slicks. You’ll also get: locked into specific technologies that might be second-tier (the franchise gets kick-backs), spend money you could use elsewhere, and pay royalties on all of your income. (The franchises that offer a flat fee are an even worse idea. They have absolutely no motivation to help you.)

Big dogs eat little dogs. The next five years will see dramatic and disruptive changes in this marketplace. Large, well-financed medical businesses with smart physicians and high-quality care are going to open up next door to you. (You’re the corner store, they’re Wal-Mart) These businesses will be category killers and if you’re not well established with a broad market presence and multiple revenue streams, you’ll be gone.

The $80,000 towel dryers. Choosing the right technology is one of the things that will let you move ahead a step, or put you in cement boots where you stand. I always think of the way one physician described the pair of IPLs [Intense Pulsed Light devices] that he’d bought; as $80,000 towel dryers. Before you decide on which system to buy you’re going to need to crunch the numbers. How many shots will the IPL heads last for until they need to be rebuilt? How much support is included? What kind of training is provided? Does the device work better than its competitors? Before you sign your next few house payments away, make sure of your technology decisions.

Buy or lease. Leasing is the best way to go if you want to pay for your equipment as you use it while preserving your capital. Many of the technology companies have delayed payment plans as long as six months. Buying used equipment is often the best way to save money if cash flow is not an issue. (We purchase used medical lasers and IPLs online from a broker we trust and sometimes negotiate with our buying power for other physicians.) You can often save up to 40% off the price of a new machine if you have the cash on hand.

Don’t guild the lily: Cash flow is a problem many start-up medical spas face. Revenues and growth projections are commonly exaggerated in the excitement of a new business. Before you invest in embroidered leather treatment tables, make sure you can pay your bills. One medical spa startup spent $350,000 on build out and didn’t have any money left to attract patients. They were out of business in four months.

A few simple finance rules:

o The Golden Rule is actually translated as: He with the gold makes the rules.

o You will end up being personally responsible for the money: Physicians sometimes think that they can use equity in their medical practice or future earnings as security. Nope.

o Be frugal: Take only the amount of money you need. It’s tempting to take as much money as you can get. Don’t. All the money you take will come with strings attached.

o Take enough money: Lenders hate it when you need additional money. They worry something’s going wrong in the original plan.

o Sometimes you can’t get there from here: Competition is fierce. If your market is already “owned” by a competitor, think carefully before going into debt to compete in a market you can’t win.

Tighten your belt: Financing is like anything else. In order to really find the best solutions you’re going to need to do some research. Find a mentor, someone who’s done it before and knows what to avoid. And remember, the most common reason that businesses fail is not lack of capital, its poor decision making.

Resource links for all of the businesses and information discussed in this article are available online at MedicalSpaMD.com

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