Business Documents

To stay competitive in a business environment where everyone makes similar products, you have to find a way to differentiate your company from its competitors. Your first instinct may be to offer better prices than everyone else, but that is never a good strategy for two key reasonsfirst you may be tempted to reduce your production cost and this could lower your product quality, and second, you may be dealing with competitors who may have the resources to undercut you, and youll have a full fledge price war in your hands. So prices aside, how can you outshine your competitors? Well, you can find your point of difference and leverage it to make yourself more attractive to customers. A point of difference is a specific quality that makes one product distinguishable from other similar products. Essentially, it's a characteristic that is unique to your product, service or brand and has the ability to sway an objective customer towards your product.

So, how do you go about finding your point of difference? Here are the key things that you should consider.

Do you have any expertise or experience that makes your business special?

You should dig deep to see what it is you may know that other businesses dont. If you have been in the industry for longer, your experience could be your edge. If you have a specialty, you may use it to create a niche within the market and secure more customers. If your business offers a product or service that you personally use, your experience as a consumer may put you in a unique position to be able to improve the product or service.

Are your processes superior in one way or another?

If theres a difference between the way you create your product and the way your competitors do it, you can make that your point of difference. Anything, including where you source your raw materials, how fast you deliver your services, or the individual processes that go into developing your product, could be what makes your product special. You have heard of products that are "triple-refined", or "hand stitched". Consumers regard such products highly just because of one extra detail.

Are your products or services personalized?

This angle often works well for small businesses that are competing with huge corporations. If you are able to interact with your customers and provide personalized service while your competitors are big businesses that are essentially faceless, that could be your point of difference.

Does your brand support environmental or social causes?

If you are passionate about community projects, environmental conservation, or charity causes, you could use that to distinguish your business from its competitors. People like companies that care about sustainability and giving back to the community. You could set up a system where give a certain percentage of your profits to charity. Your more benevolent customers will appreciate you giving them the opportunity to contribute to a worthy cause. To find out more about the kinds of causes that your business can take up, read this article.

Are you faster in your service delivery?

People value their time, and they reward businesses that deliver their goods and services the fastest. If you are in e-commerce or in the food delivery business, your point of difference could be fast delivery. You could feature time guarantees in your promotional material.

Is your product or service of a higher standard?

If you are able to find conclusive proof that your product or service is of a higher standard than those of your competitors, you can use that as a point of difference. Even when two or more products are similar and serve the same purpose, theres always a chance that one works faster, lasts longer, looks better, uses less energy, is safer, or smells nicer. Remember that when consumers are faced with a choice between two similar products that they have never used before, even the slightest qualitative difference can determine their choice.

Do you offer products or services of a wider range?

If you offer a wider range of products or services compared to your competitors, make sure to use that as a point of difference. Your selling point could be that your product comes in multiple colours, styles, materials, fabrics, or shapes. If its an electronic product, you could point out that is has more add-on features, its available on more platforms, or its compatible with more devices.

To find a point of difference that works well for your product or service, you need a bit of creativity. Try to think of the whole thing from the point of view of the customer. What is he or she looking for? What point of difference will she respond to? You can test several 'point of difference' strategies on focus groups before you settle on the one that works best.

Working for yourself can be a very rewarding adventure and there's a lot to learn to go from being an employee to being able to effectively cause a steady stream of business to keep your venture stable, profitable and bringing you the benefits of being in charge. Many have tried and failed and many more have tried and struggled, never quite reaching their potential. There are many facets to being successful in business whether you're a small home-based business or are building a giant multinational empire. You will never stop learning new perspectives and new ways of doing things once you set out on the path of being an entrepreneur. In this article, we have tried to give you some of the top tips for getting started.

Make Sure You Have Enough Cash in Reserve

You know the old adage, hope for the best, prepare for the worst... While you are planning all the details of how you are going to make your future business a success, put aside as much cash in reserve as you can. New businesses are frequently confronted with times of low to no cash flow as they build up their client base and their reputation. Having money that can cover your living expenses and keep you afloat while you are in that building up phase will be a great insurance policy.

Know Your Target Market

There is nothing worse for a new entrepreneur in a young business than the unpleasant discovery that you've invested your blood, sweat and tears in an idea that your market just doesn't want. Save yourself the heartache and survey a representative group of prospective clients. You may want to do this a number of times as you develop your ideas and offers so that when you do invest your time and money and open your business officially you can really hit the ground running. Also, make sure you gather the details of the people you survey so you can start to get offers in front of them and hopefully orders coming in quickly in response. These people are likely to be quite pleased if some of your offers cater directly to the feedback they've shared with you. This can help you to begin building a loyal customer base.

Think About Systems

If you want your business to give you time freedom and money freedom, then the only way to do this is to enable others to fulfil roles in a way you can rely on to deliver great results consistently and the only way to do this is with well-developed systems. Thinking through all the nitty gritty details of systems can be tedious but the benefits can be extraordinary.

Having all your processes be straightforward, simple and repeatable will help you to do three things. First, it will help you have consistent quality. Second, it will help you to identify where breakdowns occur, so they can be catered for in the procedure and prevented from recurring. And thirdly, it will help you to scale far more easily as your business grows.

Never Stop Learning

These tips we've shared above are some of the most important keys to being successful in running your own business but of course, there are many more. We wish you great success in what it is that you would like to contribute through your enterprise and hope you will continue to read and benefit from our articles.

Each and every day there are people who are accused of driving negligently. Whether you are guilty or not, it is important to find a solicitor that will offer you the best representation during trial. Unfortunately, finding legal help is easy, but locating those who are the best at what they do is far more difficult.

One thing that you should consider is the fact that there are some solicitors who are general practitioners. This means that they are willing and able to help people with all kinds of cases. The problem with this is that they tend to have a lack of experience when it comes to certain offences. Ideally, you should look for someone who only handles this kind of case. That means they will be well-versed in the law and aware of any recent developments that could sway your case in your direction. For advice on choosing specialist driving offences lawyers, this page will help you.

Rates are another area where solicitors differ greatly. There are those who charge lower fees because they want to appeal to more potential clients, those who want to charge exorbitant rates because they believe it shows they are higher caliber, then there are those in between who are reasonable and expect to be paid what they are actually worth. Always remember that you generally will not find a grade-A solicitor if you are not willing to spend money. This is not the time to be a tightwad.

You have to be on the lookout for solicitors that are willing to take on more cases when they already have too much on their plates. It is common for legal professionals to have numerous cases on their roster; however, you do not want to get less attention than you deserve because someone is too busy trying to juggle any case they can get their hands on. When you are meeting with solicitors for the first time, make it a point to ask about the number of current cases they are assigned to.

If you are having a difficult time reaching someone by phone, text or email, this is never a good sign. Yes, they are expected to be busy, but not so much that all of your calls are ignored. In the event that you have tried contacting someone more than 2-3 times with no response, you would be better off hiring someone else.

As you should know by now, all solicitors are not the same. Taking heed and following this advice means you will likely end up with one of the best possible options available.

What is business insurance?

It is a policy that you purchase from a financial institution like Momentum to provide you with coverage for your business. Whenever your business face an unfortunate event like an lawsuit due to a mistake made by your company, you can put a claim in at your insurance company to provide you with the finances you need.

Why is it important to have business insurance?

Each and every company has it's own risks that can evolve in huge financial losses and lead to bankruptcy if you do not have additional finances to help you. For instance, a client buys a burger from a certain take-away place and gets extremely ill from the burger. The person decides to contact the owner and sue the take-away place. The client will win a case of negligence and life endangerment due to health and safety regulations that was not followed by the employees of the take-away place. People do not get ill from food that is fresh and prepared under the right conditions. It was a mistake made by an employee and it falls under the business. So, when you have business insurance you can either take action against the lawsuit or just compensate the client for the bad experience.

What does a business cover plan protects?

• Interruptions in companies (store with physical address)
• Company vehicles like trucks, taxis, cars and more
• Theft and fire
• Various types of equipment (office, workshops and more)
• Inventory or stock protection
• Liabilities
• Financial losses due to various reasons

There are various of companies in South Africa willing to assist you in getting the right business insurance type for you and your firm. You can follow this link directly to an informative website of ours. There you can read more about business insurance and all it's aspects. The more information you read and knowledge you build, the chances of you getting right coverage is good. Make time and make sure that you and your business are covered!

Businesses hire consulting services primarily for the following reasons:

* Changing market trends - Consumer demand and the industry itself are constantly evolving.

* Control of both external and internal friction - Issues inside and outside the business constantly threaten operations and relations.

* Staying ahead of competitors - A business always needs to have an edge over the rest, in order to grow and succeed.

* They provide additional professional service. In a manner of speaking, such a service is an extension of services that you can provide to your employees and clients.

* Particular challenges are addressed. The consulting firm can provide a firm focus on specific situations.

* They can give your company fresh ideas and more effective and efficient procedures. They can provide valuable, objective insights on your branding, operations, sales, and more.

* They can teach you how to build a consensus, and firm adherence to corrective actions.

* They can lessen the pressures brought about by challenges. Have you reached a point wherein you can no longer handle the tension? The consulting firm will show you how to properly deal with stressful situations.

* They can teach you how to set goals with the positive expectation to grow individually, or increase growth of the company.

* They are focused on needs. They can provide new solutions that are tailor-fit to your company and situation.

* They have in-depth knowledge and experience of your business and industry. Usually, startups grapple with the how questions. Here are some of the questions that you might be asking:

- How do I set up my business?
- How can I get to know my market well?
- How should I address my audience?
- How can I generate revenue?
- How can I propel this business on the right path?
- How can I achieve growth for my business?

A business consultant can help you find the right answers to such questions. It's not unwise to assume that an experienced business consultant has previously dealt with the problem that you now face. It's also only right to expect they'll provide you with effective and cost-efficient suggestions.

Expect them to show you new business concepts which you have never heard of before. These ideas can be self-generated, or something that they have learned from others. Either way, you stand to benefit from these ideas and become a better entrepreneur yourself.

Of course, choosing the right business consultant will depend on several factors, such as budget, experience, skills, expertise, and availability, etc. Take your time reviewing prospective consultants, to ensure that you find the right fit, not just for you, but for the business as well. After all, investing in a consultant is one way of securing your companys future and success.

Company law is something that you need to keep up to date with if you run your own business. These laws will impact the working of your business and how you maintain your market presence. Fortunately, there are a number of ways that you can stay up to date with company law news.

Enrol In Newsletters

One of the best ways to keep up to date with company law is to enrol in newsletters from legislators. HMRC, Company House and many law firms offer you newsletters which will tell you when a change to the law is coming. These newsletters will also give you information on how the changes to the law will impact your business. These newsletters will also provide you with other information which will be beneficial to your company.

Set Up News Alerts

If you have specific company laws that you want to keep track of or certain aspects of company law that you want to know about, you should look at news alerts. These alerts are generally free to set up and you can use a number of different providers. These alerts will tell you when there is news related to a specific keyword you have provided.

The keyword that you provide should be related to the company law that you want to know about. You can set an alert for company law in general, but you will often get multiple alerts which do not relate to your company. This option is really best for people looking for specific company law information.

Attend Seminars And Conferences

Seminars and conferences in your industry are a great way to stay up to date with all information as well as company law. These conferences will generally have information about any legal changes that could affect the industry as a whole. The primary issue with this option is knowing when a conference or seminar will be held. This is also a more expensive option as you have to pay to attend these events.

It is also important to note that you should not attend every conference and seminar you find. You should only look at ones which affect your company and that will likely talk about any law changes. Not all conferences will bring up legal changes because that is not the overall focus of the conference.

There are a number of ways that you can stay up to date with company law. The best and easiest way is to enrol in newsletters from legislators. News alerts and attending conferences are also good options.

When you're depending on an expert cleaning agency to produce a sterilized, 'spic and span' work environment every day for the whole year through, experience truly counts, along with quality communications, together with superior systems and a focus on implementation. These are the important things that give an expert housekeeping agency the capacity to back up enthusiastic promises with actual real-world results. Experience is even more essential in fields where legal regulations and necessities around health and hygiene standards can have ramifications on licensing requirements, for instance in controlling infectious diseases in age care or medical centres, which are routinely reviewed to ensure the conditions of licensing are being honoured.

Hygiene: Proven hygiene practices are likewise vital in certain other retail settings, like eateries and resort servicing, as a matter of fact anywhere you engage with people or prospective patrons, the appearance of sanitation processes will certainly affect how your organization is viewed.

Experience: Any potential candidate can claim they'll clean your establishment reliably day after day, though it's considerably more difficult back up with deeds, consistently, day in day out. It's very important that your requirements for cleaning and sanitation are duly noted and that your cleaning service can show systems and operations that are put in position to guarantee your cleaning standards are kept and complied with perpetually.

Security Concerns: Direct exposure to theft is always a worry when cleaning employees are operating in your establishment after closing time, so is safety. Cleaning services need to unlock as well as lock your buildings so it's important that they're done by people of reputable character. If not, you inadvertently place your assets, equipment and even your IP in jeopardy. So do not be shy. Ask about police checks, and whether the cleaning provider's team are put through this process.

Legal Liabilities: Any time cleaning personnel are at your premises it's possible you can be made vulnerable to legal and financial liability, which is why, as a minimal amount, a cleaning service company really should hold at least a $10M public liability policy, so if an accident befalls, it won't be your insurance premiums. Also, you will want to ask whether they possess an up to date workcare policy.

Management: Your cleaning service provider should have clear, detailed communications mechanisms in effect, so you can be positive they're sufficiently professional to reply to any kind of comments you provide, as well as to take action on any type of different or rare cleaning conditions, if they should come to light.

Scope of Works: The core of your contract with the cleaning specialist is the scope of services and cleaning timetable, and it has to be very clear, written and precise as this is the paperwork that you are going to direct attention to in the case of an issue or misunderstanding. Make sure the salesperson understands precisely what you desire. Make sure each and every place in your facilities that require to be cleaned and sanitized are clearly laid out in the scope of works, and that the regularity as well as the specification of each cleaning task is in a clearly intelligible timetable. Make certain that there aren't any allowances or estimates offered, you want all numbers clear, explicit and in black and white.

Service Agreement: A clear documented arrangement is preferable as it shows exactly what's been agreed to be cleaned, and what price you will pay for it because there are a variety of grey areas in an agreement for contract cleaning that you won't want to surprise you down the track. So, when it's time for you to check a tendered agreement ensure it covers the following points:

1. Clearly details the agreed fees with any relevant taxes incorporated.

2. Clearly lists requirements you approved in the scope of works and cleaning schedule with each particular component broken down into every day, weekly, and regular monthly cleaning tasks to keep both parties on the same page.

3. Clearly spells out a course of action for the resolution of problems in case of misunderstandings or disputes.

4. See to it that there is an ability to enable you to revoke the understanding and a specific procedure, so you have the option to legitimately opt out in case the business doesn't do what they promised. You should take note, many reliable firms will certainly have a provision that authorizes you to withdraw from a contract by giving a plan to do just that, in writing, 30 days before the final scheduled clean. If this provision is absent from the arrangement you've been given alarms ought to be warning you.

5. Make sure the terms of payment are plainly portrayed in the contract so that you're informed of the frequency which they anticipate account payments to be made.

The UK retail market has started the year on rough footing with more and more businesses in this market segment going into administration. Even more worrying is the fact that this trend is expected to continue during the year. As more large retailers go into administration, the impact is further compounded and one has to ask, was the administration of Toys R Us inevitable?. Read on to find out what this means for all involved.

The devaluation of the pound after Brexit, a higher minimum wage rate, and higher taxes and decreased consumer spending; have all been identified as some of the main factors responsible for the increase in costs and overall financial pressure retailers face. These combined with stiff competition from online entities have spelt doom for some of the largest retailers in the UK.

Now lets look at the direct impact of large companies going into retail administration.

Unemployment

The workforce is among the first to be affected once a company goes into administration. Administrators usually consider trimming the workforce in a bid to save on wages, and ultimately cut their costs. Administration usually aims at looking into ways to save an entity facing financial troubles without having to completely shut it down. This may succeed in saving part of the business; however, some employees will still end up without a job.

Suppliers and Creditors

Once a company goes into administration, suppliers and creditors face the risk of losing part of the value of the products already supplied. The supplier and creditor accounts are frozen as of the date of commencement of administration. The debts owed by the company may be repaid, in part or in full, depending on the outcome of the administration process.

As more companies go into administration, creditors and suppliers in the retail industry are bound to tighten their credit terms in a bid to safeguard their position.

Acquisitions

Administrators are tasked with the responsibility of finding a way of keeping an entity in operation. This usually involves looking for investors who are interested in buying into the entity and providing the necessary investment required to keep it alive.

In many cases, administration usually signals the imminent death of a company and with it the loss of employment for a huge number of workers. To remedy the situation, and prevent the fall of more large companies in the retail industry in future, lasting solutions to the causes of the current challenges have to found.

Put simply, a living document is one which is constantly undergoing edits or updates. There are many terms for this, from 'evergreen documents' to 'dynamic documents', but they all mean the same thing and have the same benefits to the company producing them.

Having a document in a living state provides many advantages for businesses and governments, and is a great way of keeping policies on the table instead of set in stone. The main advantage for the company is that if a policy needs changing, then it can be expedited quickly and efficiently, without republishing or rewriting the entire document. These types of docs are mostly meant for businesses which have corporate policies which may cause legal or staffing issues, such as the tax threshold, wages, and even their policies on what is allowed on company premises.

For a startup company, having their policies as a living document means that they can quickly adapt. A business might state that the premises close at a certain time, which means that staying after hours would be an offense. However, as the business grows it might be necessary to have somebody there after hours for security or as a point of contact, so they can change the policy within days, instead of weeks with a non-living document. This is one of the major keys to growing a business today.

Another key benefit to a living document is that legal issues and loopholes can be fixed before they get exploited. A famous fringe example is one corporate firing policy; a company fires a staff member who works from home, but because there is nothing in the contract saying that the staff member has to give back company property, the worker keeps all of their equipment. If the policy is fully made, then there is no recourse for the company. However if the policy is living, they could change it before firing the worker, or after one to minimize losses.

One of the downplayed issues with living documents is that any changes must be authorized in the same way that any policy has to be; parties involved have to agree to the new terms. This could be staff members, or more likely just upper management. This does help when having issues with senior staff, as otherwise they could change policy as and when they liked. There is rarely a sole policy maker in a company, as that level of power is best spread over a few responsible staff members.

As always when designing a living policy, it is best to consult with an expert in business law and/or accounting to make sure there are no loopholes, and that everything is 'above board'. Many companies have been fined recently for unfair practices and policies in the workplace, and the main offenders are usually regarding unfair dismissal or breaks. It does depend on the company and their desired image, but legal practices are always necessary. Living policies can even cover the amount of productivity a staff member needs to reach or exceed in order to stay in the company. This is a changing factor, as success is hard to measure, but if the document wasn't living, then the company could not adapt to changes.

The types of goods which can be advertised on the radio is extremely limited, hindered by a number of factors which most people have simply become too used to. The obvious first example is that there is no visual attached to radio; no view of the product, service, or even logo. This makes marketing a product very difficult, as people naturally like seeing something before they purchase or test it. The lack of a visual also makes maintaining a brand image much more difficult, and consistency will be much lower for radio-only adverts. When considering advertising through radio, two main components of sales must be weighed; can my product be advertised without a visual, and what demographic is this advert going to be reaching.

Let's face it, in this day and age not many people actively listen to the radio. Most radio listeners are either in transit, such as for work or on the way to work, or are listening while at work such as a painter or decorator. There are few businesses which use the radio as their main source of music, and those that do need a music license. The target audience is naturally much smaller than say, television or internet advertising, but the market can still be there and such ads are relatively cheap.

For radio ads, alot of thought and effort must be put into making a clear and friendly representation of your product. Best accomplished anecdotally or with 'catchy music', this can be a difficult first hurdle for many advertisers. There are many services available locally and online for helping with this, but having a suitable product for radio can still be niche. For instance, you wouldn't hear an advert for a new iPhone on the radio, as the whole concept of this is having a sleek and elegant visual, however you might remember a radio advert about a local builder, as the service is more relevant and less visual than the iPhone.

One thing that most people do not consider when airing an advertisement is when will the advert actually be aired? A local store having a back-to-school sale may have a brilliant and catchy theme, but if it's airing at 5.30pm then few relevant people will hear it. The best time for this example would be during school-rushes, so around 8-8.30am and 3.30-4.30pm. The demographic for this advert would be much larger at these times, and would naturally maximise effectiveness. Conversely, an advert for a motorway service station could be aired at any time, as their demographic changes throughout the day. Early morning or late afternoon it might be targeted at commuters, while afternoon or late night might target people going on trips, or delivery drivers.

Radio endorsements are in the same vein, but are very different. An endorsement is where a host will talk about your product or service, and though not always available, this form of advertising can be very effective when used correctly. Some radio presenters have a massive following, and an on-air endorsement can do wonders for a brand image. As always with any advertising, it's important to analyse a market before trying anything, but radio can be used to great effect for non-visual products or services.

One of the main roles of an accountant in bankruptcy proceedings is that of a final financial analysis of the company or person in question. By going over past sales, projections, budget reports, and tax records an accountant can produce an insolvency report for the court. This report will highlight the areas of the business which lead to the downfall of it, often showing methods in which this could have been avoided. If nothing else, this is a great learning experience for anyone, showing precisely which incident or collection of incidents caused this. This report can also often be the difference between a company going bankrupt, and the owner going bankrupt.

This report contains all of the forensic information a court would need to declare bankruptcy, and it is important that the accountant be given full access to the entire business record. After an accountant has been through all relevant aspect of financial analysis and budget reports, they are able to provide a legal expert witness on behalf of the company. If your business is going bankrupt and it already has an accountant, then it is advised that an external third party be used as a legal witness and investigator. Your original accountant may be called upon by the court to provide their version of the business history, and if bankruptcy is being declared then the accountant should have given you plenty of warning.

The final responsibility of an accountant during bankruptcy y is to ultimately save you from further court proceedings, by acting as liquidators to your assets. This aspect of bankruptcy accountancy is not one that many enjoy, but it is in the scope of greater good. By assuming control of the company and all of its assets, there is no risk that misappropriation or embezzlement could occur. This is a common theme when people are going bankrupt; hiding their assets so that they cannot be seized by the HMRC or bank. This practice is highly illegal, and could result in jail time for the perpetrators. If you or your firm does not provide a 'receiver' for liquidation, then one may be appointed to you by the court. If such an appointee is hired once assets have already been accounted for, then the term given is trustee, otherwise the term is receiver or liquidator.

Though it may not seem the case, accountants can make the process of bankruptcy much smoother than otherwise. If the business is on the cusp of bankruptcy, a special accountant licensed by the Insolvency Act of 1986 can file a 'business turn around process' which may save the company from the worst happening.

So you're having problems in your business. Someone suggested you enlist outside services that can help you fix your problem. Business consultation services are sometimes needed to help a company or business gain perspective and clarity when it comes to improving their business processes.

With as much value as they provide, consulting services are not cheap. If you want to make sure you'll be able to cover everything that needs to be covered in your consultation, here are some ways to prepare for it.

Find the right type of consultant - before meeting with anyone, make sure to find the right consultant for your type of business. If you're in the fashion industry, look for someone with experience in business and fashion. They'll be better equipped at providing you with advice for your business, versus someone whose main expertise is the oil industry for example.

Look for someone whose reputation in your kind of business is impeccable. Ask for references, and look online for feedback and comments about the person's services. Do your homework so you won't waste your time and money.

Once you have a good consultant set a goal. You know that there's a problem with your company, so you hire a consultant. But if you don't have a goal in mind, you and the consultant may be wasting time looking for one. It's one thing to say you want a problem fixed, but what's your bigger end goal besides fixing problems or gaps? A goal will also help measure the success of the changes that the consultant has suggested.

Gather all the data - prior to your consultation, make sure that everything your consultant will need to assess the problem, is present at the meeting. If your problem started 3 years back, give your consultant access to details from that point on. If you're just looking for the data during the consultation, it's a waste of time and money, as most consultants are paid by the hour. Provide adequate space to work in your office - a well-ventilated space, where the consultant won't be disturbed while he works, is ideal. A good working environment makes a consultant, or any employee for that matter, work better.

Make sure to provide access to files prior to the consultation. Time wasted waiting for the consultant's access is money wasted.

Don't micromanage - let your consultant work his magic before jumping in and taking over. You hired him for his outside perspective. Your taking over will defeat the purpose of hiring him, if you're just going to do it yourself. It will also frustrate your consultant every time you reject his ideas in favor of your own.

These simple tips will make dealing with the business consultant a smooth sailing experience. Keep this in mind should you need a consultation in the future. These tips will save you time, money, and effort.

Sexual harassment remains a serious issue for many individuals in the workplace. Because it is based on the protected category of sex, sexual harassment is considered discrimination and is prohibited under the Title VII, The Civil Rights Act of 1964. Once claimed almost exclusively by women, sexual harassment can be claimed by anyone, male, female, gay or straight. If you get in trouble at work for this, there is a good chance that you will get fired and possibly arrested. If arrested, you may need to get bailed out, but that is an entirely different story. Here is what you need to know about sexual harrasment. First, the plaintiff can easily establish his/her protected class since everyone is identified by one sex or another. Whatever sex one claims, male or female, it is protected. Second, the plaintiff must prove the conduct complained of was unwelcome in the sense that the employee did not invite it and that the employee regarded it as undesirable or offensive. For example, if the employee claims that her co-worker made sexual advances toward her by touching her and asking her to come to his home, and she sent him an email stating that the touching was inappropriate and that she had no interest in visiting his home, it is proof positive that she is not welcoming his advances. On the other hand, if there are suggestive emails from the employee to her co-worker suggesting she enjoyed his company and his physical contact, it could indicate that the conduct was welcomed.

Third, the plaintiff must prove that the conduct was based on sex, and not some other reason. Here, if the plaintiff can show that submission to such conduct was made a term or condition of her employment, or that it was used as the basis of an employment decision, it is proof that the conduct was based on sex. The classic quid pro quo harassment (if you agree to sleep with me, I will promote you) creates an offensive environment that would unreasonably interfere with a persons ability to work. Fourth, the conduct must be severe or pervasive. Whether the conduct was severe or pervasive can be determined by examining all the circumstances surrounding the allegations, such as the frequency and severity of the conduct, whether it was physically threatening or humiliating or whether it unreasonably interfered with an employees work performance. The standard is severe or pervasive. An example of severe conduct in this context would be a sexual assault by a manager. If this happened, it would certainly be enough to establish this element because it threatens the physical safety of the employee. On the other hand, conduct is pervasive if many bad acts occur slowly, and over a period of time. For example, one day a manager changes the employees office to be closer to his, then the manager starts to visit the employees office frequently. Then, the manager starts to stand near the employees desk and touch her shoulders. Then the manager starts to make suggestive comments and invites the employee on a date. He tells her that he will promote her if she goes out with him. This scenario shows a slow rise to the bad conducta pervasiveness that will meet this element. In addition, the conduct must be objectively and subjectively offensive such that a reasonable person would find it improper.

Fifth, the plaintiff must establish some basis for employer liability. For example, the plaintiff must show that the employer knew or should have known, and failed to remedy the work environment for the employee. This can occur when an employee notifies human resources of the unwelcome conduct, and human resources tells the employee to ignore it because it will wind up badly for the employee if she complains. In this scenario, the employer had direct knowledge of the harassment and did nothing to help the employee.

Running a successful organization today, whether online or offline, is a lot more practical than ever before. For example, utilizing a simple and inexpensive way of accepting payment by phone has transformed businesses.

How can accepting charge cards by phone be beneficial?

Accepting by phone is a brand-new technology which allows a business to accept credit card payments by merely typing the card Number and sale quantity into a telephone. This brand-new service gives the service owner a convenient and inexpensive way of accepting credit cards while increasing profits.

The 3 Key Reasons Include:

Convenience - Strategic Approach - Call To Action

The benefit of accepting a charge card by phone is that business owners now do not have to put the client on hold to get back to their home or office to accept payments for their product and services.

They can remain in their Vehicle, on a job site, in a restaurant or even while at the gym to conduct service as normal with no hold-up. Not only is this helpful for the business owner, the consumer can now relax understanding their purchase has now been processed using a safe and secure environment without any hassle.

A strategic technique specifies the benefit of accepting credit cards by phone utilizing a mind-set supported by focusing on the consumer and their needs at all times. This means getting the best services and products to the right clients at the right time at the ideal price, all while making a profit. Thinking of this all the time keeps your consumers fresh and prepared to do business with you.

Call to action helps define what your business is all about and this produces results from your customers. This enables you to close more sales faster and easier. This will likewise help you pay attention to what works and exactly what does not while forming a practice to be a continuous contributor to your on going marketing efforts. When an individual is ready to buy your products or services, your call to action will assist in convincing your customer that safety and reliability exists.

All this with no equipment or software when you provide a complete service payment option. Your service is easily offered to the consumer at all times. No matter where you're situated, you can accept payments by the touch of your phone.

At the end of the day, security should be your number one concern. As a business owner, make sure you align yourself with a reputable merchant service provider. Ask them questions about their customer service and protection plan for your business. If you dont get satisfying answers, keep looking. If their answers are short or they roll their eyes, time to end the interview and move on!

SEO consultant and their techniques will greatly affect your success in SEO. Search engine optimization, widely known as SEO, is a method that maximizes a site in order to make it extremely search-engine-friendly. A good SEO agency will explain and be transparent about the approach to optimize your website.

SEO can be carried out at the programs level along with at the web content end-- the programming part of SEO tunes the site to the demands of the most up to date internet search engine formulas, while the web content aspect of SEO includes strategically installing sought-after search phrases in the web site content. There are other methods as well-- e.g., web link building, post entry as well as directory entry.

If you desire your internet site to register its visibility in the front of Internet, you've turn to SEO techniques. Otherwise, a site cannot get noticed amongst numerous others in the world wide web. However the problem is that there are several unethical outfits around that promise you fantastic SEO, however all they do to get your website a high page rank on the results page is employ a selection of dishonest strategies (the so called black-hat strategies) to fool the online search engine. If caught by search engines, your site can be blacklisted and also banned for taking on underhanded SEO methods. It is, as a result, absolutely important that a site proprietor works along with an ethical SEO consultant, as well as right here's exactly how you have to select one.

Overview of Choosing An Ethical SEO Consultant

The Internet has actually made the world a smaller sized area as well as an internet site proprietor can deal with SEO professionals based in any part of the world-- there are lots of SEO consultants' websites around the Internet, as well as locating one is not all that hard a job. And right here's just how you should select one:

1. If the SEO consultant is a professional, he has to be accredited by lots of reputable companies such as Google AdWords, Web CEO University, and SEO Pros. If the SEO consultant has even more certifications, well, the extra the merrier. A qualified SEO expert is honest by default. Ethics are built-in into their work code.

2. He must have a remarkable roster of clients who commend him. And he must not be hesitant to give out a couple of references.

3. If the SEO consultant is an expert and is also ethical, that will also shows that he has successful track records. So, go on and check the web sites he has actually carried out SEO on, and check if they place high on internet search engine results web pages.

4. The SEO consultant should be versatile and also he must provide services such as site evaluation, web content writing, keyword research study, web link building, SEO as well as, obviously, adequate reporting back to the client.

5. The SEO consultant should have a clean record, in the sense that he have to never ever have been blacklisted for adopting dishonest SEO methods. Such methods consist of spamming online search engine, trading related to web sites that belong to web link farms, or masking, which means finishing search phrases with the very same color as the site's history as well as packing a whole lot of them on all the web pages. You can learn if the SEO consultant has considered uncertain methods by running a look at him on internet search engine and on message boards. Plus, you can constantly get in touch with his references as well.

That was a little overview on ways to go about selecting an honest SEO consultant. Real, finding an honest SEO consultant will certainly take a bit of time and effort, but it is well worth it. Since an underhanded SEO consultant can eliminate a website, while an ethical professional can help you construct your fortune.

Civil litigation occurs when two parties are locked in a dispute that is not criminal in nature. For example a civil dispute occurs when two parties are arguing over money. Civil litigation cases are normally private disputes and affairs. Sometimes during civil litigation proceedings, the two parties can agree through mediation and negotiation to settle outside of court. However, in situations where the two parties cannot come to an agreement then they must go to court. This is when a civil litigation lawsuit is filed and it is then up to a judge and jury to decide the outcome of the case.

A civil litigation lawyer is someone who represents non-criminal cases. In a civil litigation lawsuit the party that filed the suit is seeking non-criminal compensation. That is to say that they are seeking repayment for damages. This can be either financial payment or a certain act that is deemed repayment by the filing party. A civil litigation lawyer can be hired for a variety of civil cases. These are normally private disputes for example the owner of a rental property filing a civil litigation case against a tenant that has caused property damage.

Types of civil litigation disputes:

1. Real estate 2. Business 3. Employer / employee disputes 4. Environmental 5. Workers compensation 6. Divorce 7. Intellectual property 8. Personal injury 9. Medical 10. Contract disputes

During a civil litigation case, both parties involved must hire their own civil litigation lawyers. This is different to a criminal trial, where one party will be a state hired prosecution lawyer. During a civil litigation case, the attorney for the aggrieved party will file a complaint about the reasons for the civil litigation and what events led to the complaint being filed. From there the party that is alleged to have cause the grievance is contacted and handed a copy of the complaint. They then need to hire their own civil litigation lawyer to handle their defense against the complaint. There are many companies in certain areas that can help with all of these logal needs. If you in North Carolina, there are a lot of local businesses in NC that strive to help resolve civil and crimial cases.

Not all civil litigation cases need to go to trail in the courts, although a civil litigation case needs to be filed in court. If both parties are willing to enter negotiation and mediation this can help resolve the case out of court. Going to trial is costly and can take years for the case to finally be seen by the judge. However, in some civil litigation cases the case goes to trial and a judge and jury decide the outcome. Post trial, appeals can still be lodged if the losing party does not agree with the judges decision.

By doing good research, you can be able to get an excellent commercial energy advisor who you can make use of when it comes to the reducing of your operating costs. Once you find the right commercial energy advisor, you will find that there are a number of financial incentives that you can make use of like high-efficiency equipment, building upgrades as well as a number of energy saving services. You will also be able to find self-assessment tool that is quickly going to deliver different incentives that are customized. The best thing about these customized incentives is that you are going to be able to find one that is going to be the best choice for your business. By making use of these advisors, you should be sure that in no time, you are going to start saving.

Some of the benefits that commercial energy advisors have to your business

* You will be able to get all the information about your energy usage By hiring a commercial energy advisor, you are going to be able to review your monthly, annual and daily energy use. You will also be able to get a complete analysis which will be able to tell you how much you are spending on energy costs. You will also be able to make an estimate of the energy that you make use of in different equipment as well as be able to compare your company with other businesses that are similar to yours.

* You will be able to build on an energy saving plan which will help reduce costs A good commercial energy advisor will be able to help you edit and create your companys energy saving plans as well as get to learn how you are going to be able to cut and reduce your costs. You can also be able to either change or update your information over a given period. This is very beneficial since you are going to be able to customize the results that you are going to be getting for your business.

* You can answer a number of self-assessment questions Depending on the energy broker companies that you decide to hire, you may be asked to answer a number of questions in regards to your facility. You will also get energy-saving recommendations that are customized. You will also be in a position to discover a number of different incentives as well as get to learn on how you can be able to implement them. Commercial energy advisors can be a very important asset for your company or business which is why it is an excellent idea for you to invest in one.

A high local search ranking (that is, a ranking in the maps area just underneath the adverts and just on top of the organic rankings) is the most desirable ranking of all. If your clients could possibly be distinguished as local, say within a state, city, district or suburban area then the local spots are your best option to target, even more powerful than the organic SERPs.

If you plan to build up online traffic from in and around your neighborhood, you must optimize skillfully. Search Engine Optimization for local results requires a targeted focus on appearing more local online, and some techniques that could assist you to do this more effectively are listed here:

Make sure your site loads swiftly

You must see to it that your site loads swiftly, as this will serve to decrease the bounce rate. Bounce rate is how quickly a visitor moves on from a site after visiting it, and a slow load speed on a site will cause your bounce rate to escalate . So aim to make your website as rapid as you can.

To figure out if your website is slow for your end users, you could use online analysis resources such as Google's Page Speed Insights or GTMetrix. Various other resources that will be able to help you to track the condition and issues of your website and domain include Google's Search Console, Analytics as well as Moz Pro.

Make the best use of Google My Business signals

Google My Business (GMB) is essential to the trust factors in Google. It supplies Google with valuable information regarding business name, street address, website URL, phone number, proximity, and which classification your company belongs to. So make certain the details that you provide are accurate and also complete. This supplies Google with the level of trust in your site it requires before it will put forward your business as a potential solution for search queries. Adding top quality photos will also generate an added benefit.

Obtain applicable, authoritative citations

Citations are still important as a ranking factor for Search Engine Optimization. Having said that, you will only make them beneficial if they're trustworthy and fitting. As an example, relevant directories to your particular niche or location are always more suitable. Related, consistent, highly authoritative directories are the best. Your citations need to be identical to precisely what is in your Google My Business profile. Combining the two creates more trust in the algorithm.

Enhance your web link profile

You can enhance your web link profile by creating high quality web links from websites in the neighborhood in a normal way. This will entail connecting your website to as many respectable neighborhood web magazines and websites as you can. You can do that by taking part in local charity drives, regional events, and fundraising, just ensure you request a link from the website or blog of the enterprise you are helping. Be open to possibilities for being a sponsor for a local event or group, which can link their site to your own.

Use excellent quality, appropriate keyword phrases

Increase the number of high quality, pertinent keyword phrases to enhance your presence in search engines. Your target locations name can be a suitable primary key phrase, which can be utilized with other premium quality keywords in your website. Apply appropriate keyword phrases right through the content. Prevent overstuffing the search phrases, as search engines can easily punish this, which could also hurt your Search engine results.

Enhance your organic positions as well as take Advertisements into consideration

Optimized natural and advertisement listings in search engines help to enhance the click through rate (CTR) to your website. When you rank stronger organically in addition to the local results and your site has paid listings, your results can be 'greater than the sum of its parts' because as a consequence, your business's results dominate the search results page which means potential customers not only can't miss you, but are likely to be influenced by your sheer dominance.

Have a healthy method for ratings and review generation

Having a multitude of favorable customer reviews help boost the overall CTR or presence of your website because people check out local evaluations and the review stars in the search results.

Encourage social signals

By drawing in a large list of social followers, and developing a substantial level of engagement, you can enhance your social signals. A good social media campaign connects with your target market and sends a trust signal to Googles algorithm. A prominent social position can enhance your ranking in local maps. Lots of business websites draw in a more substantial number of followers by connecting with prominent individuals on social media sites and developing remarkable well-executed web content.

SEO keeps evolving to stay current as Google frequently alters its search algorithms. Even so, the ideas mentioned here, are the cornerstones of maximizing your rankings in local. Obtaining a stellar local position is easily worth the energy and effort to make right, particularly if most of your clientele reside in a particular nation, state or district.

The US Postal Service has a strong message for everyone integrate direct mail service into your business marketing, and saturate your prospects with your powerful message. The strategy has always worked wonders for businesses, according to the organization.

Key Benefits of USPS Direct Mail

Ask successful marketers and they will tell you that direct mail is a necessary ingredient for effective marketing. They can tell you their stories about how direct mail benefited them. The descriptions of direct mail below were taken straight from the mouths of such people.

* Highly-targeted Mail goes straight to the target consumer. With that advantage in mind, the marketer can be guided by variables like gender, geographic location, and income. Only those who are most likely to respond to his message warrant being recipients.

* Measurable Not every single thing you do receives a favorable response. Know what works, and discard what doesnt. You gain knowledge as you go along, and will know better what to do by the time you launch another campaign.

* Tangible Mail is a thing people can hold with their hands, and refer to when they need vital information to remember. Things that can be touched are easier to connect to, than those that cannot.

* Personalized People are hungry for attention. By using personalized mail, addressing your customers by their name, and using the proper salutation, you send the message that you know them personally and that youre interested in them.

* Flexible Mail can be formatted in multiple ways. Theres always a good option that will match your objective and budget.

* Cost- effective Because your strategy is highly-targeted, your mail will go only to consumers who need your message. Theres a low risk that your materials will only end up in the waste basket, unread.

Direct Mail Best Practices

The USPS is an organization that cares about its customers. For businesses, the agency has a couple of things to say about best marketing practices with direct mail. Consider these suggestions:

* Explore the option of working with a direct mail printing service. These services have good ideas on how to integrate mail into existing media campaigns.

* Every mailing-piece must feature an offer prominently presented on the front. Its one way to increase readership and response.

* Focus on the ROI more rather than on the cost. Ask the printing service which format has proven to give the highest return.

* Always target recipient engagement. Use attractive and informative visuals.

Heres more from the USPS. With direct mail, you can easily achieve three of your business goals acquire customers, communicate with patrons, and build relationships. It maintains the connection. Its the tool that salvages the relationship, where other forms of media had left off.

Creating an acid fracturing treatment is similar to establishing a fracturing treatment with a propping agent. In proppant fracturing, a propping agent is utilized to prop open the fracture after the treatment is ended up. In acid fracturing, acid is utilized to "engrave" channels in the rock that consist of the walls of the fracture. Hence, the rock has to be partly soluble in acid to enable the channels to be engraved on the fracture walls.

The application of acid fracturing is limited to carbonate tanks and must never be used for sandstone, shale, or coal-seam tanks. Long etched fractures are challenging to obtain because of high leak off and quick acid reaction with the advancement.

Acid-Fracturing Choice Acid fracturing fits well in a shallow, low-temperature carbonate tanks. The best potential wells are drilled shallow, where the reservoir temperature is less than 200 ° F, and the optimum efficient stress on the fracture will be less than 5,000 psi. Low temperature reduces the reaction rate in between the acid and the advancement, which enables the acid to penetrate much deeper into the fracture before becoming spent. Because limestone reservoirs are ductile, a low effective tension on the fracture is had to preserve appropriate fracture conductivity over the life of the well. In deep limestone tanks, in which issues exist with high bottom hole temperature level and high efficient stress on the fracture, water-based fluids with propping agents can be used effectively to promote the development. In deep dolomite reservoirs, where there are less ductile than limestones, acid fracturing may work satisfactorily; nevertheless, proppant fracturing with water-based fluids may work also.

Acid-fracture fluids with propping agents are not advised. When the acid reacts with the carbonate development, fines are constantly launched. If a propping agent is used with acid, the fines plug up the propping agent, leading to exceptionally low fracture conductivity. When choosing to promote various carbonate tanks, the expenses and advantages of an acid fracture treatment must be compared with a method that uses water-based fluids bring a propping representative.

There could be a few applications where acid fracturing could be the preferred treatment in a deep, high-temperature carbonate tank.For example, specifically in the deep Dolomites which consist of an abundance of natural fractures, acid fracturing may work better than proppant fracturing. In such tanks, it prevails that some fractures are opened when pumping begins. With various splits, no single fracture ever gains sufficient width to accept big concentrations of propping agent. In this cases, acid fracturing may work better than proppant fracturing.