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Ecommerce Conversion Tips
eCommerce Guide

Skyrocket Your Ecommerce Conversions With These Essential Tips

branex-logo Team Branex
The Internet is full of blogs talking about eCommerce conversion strategies and almost half of them are focused on boosting sales but offering nothing of much value. However, when we asked eCommerce store owners around the globe. It appears they are a bit overwhelmed and exhausted reading stuff off the Internet which offers nothing much of value. Besides, instead of getting a sure-fire solution, they often felt mind-boggled in deciding what areas of the eCommerce store they should be paying attention to.  To take the burden off your shoulders, I have done my part by performing adequate research and finding a few of the best possible ways to increase your store’s sales exponentially.  Today’s article is going to help you find some actionable and proven eCommerce strategies that will help your eCommerce store stand out from the competition.  Read on. 

Reverse Engineer the Customer’s Buying Journey 

Whether it’s creating interest in your niche, developing awareness of your brand, or delivering more information about your product for better purchase decisions, a customer journey plays a significant role. In most scenarios, the customer journey makes the process appear simple. However, it’s more linear and usually gets performed in 5 stages. eCommerce Customer Journey These stages range from awareness to post-purchase. 
  • Awareness: Customers identify a need and discover your brand through various channels.
  • Consideration: Customer researches and evaluates different options, comparing products and reading reviews.
  • Decision: Customer decides on a product or service and prepares to make a purchase.
  • Purchase: Customer completes the transaction, including checkout and payment.
  • Post-Purchase: Customer experiences follow-up support, delivery tracking, and evaluates their satisfaction with the purchase.
The reality of the customer journey is basically a whole lot more complicated than it appears. Buyers usually skip steps and they rush to purchase, especially when they have found what they are looking for on your eCommerce store. They simply leave your eCommerce store page and never revisit your site again. To learn more thoroughly about customer interaction, there are analytical tools which help store owners better understand customer behavior. Such tools allow an easy understanding of where visitors enter an eCommerce store, where they drop off, and the path they select to finally make a purchase.  Google Analytics is a popular tool that allows just that and in fact, more.  With Google Analytics, you create custom dashboards that help you visualize how a visitor moves within your eCommerce site. It tells you which landing pages helped your average customer discover your products, and where they eventually lost interest and decided to leave & drop off. By reverse engineering, store owners eventually learn which areas of the store require iterations. 

Simplify Navigation on Your eCommerce Store 

Navigation for eCommerce Store What makes an eCommerce store better? The answer lies in navigation.  The easier it is for a customer to find their way around different products in your store, the more accessible your eCommerce store is going to become for customers. If you go exploring the different eCommerce stores, you will find that the navigation for many of them is flat. What does it mean by a store being “Flat”? It refers to the design of the eCommerce store having as few layers as possible.  An eCommerce store serves best when everything is only three clicks on the homepage.  After all, you want to make your eCommerce store as simple as possible for visitors to get from the core landing pages to the product pages and the checkout page.  This, in turn, makes the online purchase as seamless as possible.   Complex navigation is the same as having an eCommerce page with a longer load time. For example, a person might decide to leave your website just because they get stuck in the labyrinthine site design which can be overall frustrating and eventually leads to cart abandonment.   There are several things that eCommerce store owners can do to optimize & improve site navigation. Start by including breadcrumbs, simplifying the option on the menu, and prioritizing other elements.  Amazon is a prime example of an eCommerce store that optimizes navigation for its users.  Despite having millions of products, Amazon uses a flat design to make sure everything is accessible in just a few clicks. The website’s homepage features categories and search filters, while breadcrumbs allow users to track their path through different pages. For example, when shopping for electronics, customers can quickly narrow down their search by using filters like brand, price range, and customer reviews.  This ultimately reduces the complexity of finding specific products. 

Offering Personalized Shopping Experience 

Creating Personalized Shopping Experience Customers today usually demand shopping experiences customized to meet their preferences.  The more data you can collect on them, the easier it becomes for you to offer them personalized shopping experiences. You will eventually find it easier to predict what they are looking for and then optimize the shopping experience. Let’s say, even if you are only getting started, target the low-hanging fruits. Showcase similar/frequently bought together product items to optimize purchases. It’s a successful way to start because it doesn’t require data collection, but rather creates a new way to collect information.  However, with an eCommerce business, you can take it a step further.  Imagine a Shopify-based clothing store using user cookies, geo-targeting, and augmented reality in eCommerce to enhance the online shopping experience. When a returning customer visits the site, the store can display items based on their previous browsing history. For example, if the user recently looked at winter coats, the homepage will highlight related products like scarves or boots. Besides, geo-targeting can be used to display location-specific products or promotions. If a visitor from Florida lands on the site, the store may showcase lighter, summer clothing, while someone from New York might see recommendations for warmer, seasonal outfits.

Using Scarcity & Urgency to Increase Business Sales

Scarcity and Urgency to Increase Business Sales Emotions play a vital role in increasing eCommerce sales Many brands have upscaled their businesses to earn significant profits by simply capitalizing on emotions. The two emotional drivers that helped many e-commerce businesses increase their sales over time are none other than scarcity and urgency. By showing your stocks are limited, you increase the chance of online purchase solely because it’s marketed as a product available in limited edition.  A sense of urgency shows that a particular product on the market is only available for a short period. Customers often find the need to purchase a product, just because they fear losing out on the great offer. 

Add Live Chat Support to Your Website 

Having your questions answered or getting your queries resolved, especially when you’re dealing with a salesperson at a store, is much easier than dealing with a person behind a virtual storefront with Live Chat Support, you can offer this liberty to all your customers.  Live Chat Support to Your Website More than 70% of the customers prefer to purchase from stores with live chat support. They prefer this mode of communication much better compared to any other, such as emails and social media.  With Live Chat support on your website, it’s bound that no customer will leave your store. If they have any questions for which they seek answers, they can simply ask a customer support agent. Live Chat offers immediate solutions. If a shopper has any issues related to product return policy, seller information, or anything else, there’s always an expert available to offer reassurance. 

Lastly, Don’t Forget Product Reviews 

Don't Forget Product Reviews BigCommerce reveals that 69% of online shoppers want eCommerce stores to share more product reviews. This is because people trust other online purchasers more than they believe existing store owners.  Buyers are always looking for social proof before they make up their minds about purchasing a product.  When there are customer reviews on a certain product, it eventually improves the credibility of the store & instills legitimacy of the products. People eventually become more inclined to shortlist the products and ensure they are investing in stuff that’s worthy of purchase. It wins their vote of confidence. 

Concluding Thoughts 

To ensure your eCommerce store stands out from the rest of the competition and brings in more sales, we have put together some of the best eCommerce conversion strategies within a single article.  By following these steps, we believe you will be better equipped to streamline the customer journey, simplify invitations, and offer a more personalized experience to your customers.  Adding chat support to your website, displaying product reviews, or simply taking steps such as simplifying navigation or adding scarcity or urgency are just a few steps.  Want to build an online store to offer increased conversions?  Well, here’s how you can achieve it and much more. At Branex, a custom website development company, we believe in building eCommerce solutions that go a long way! 
Website Development Cost
Infographics Web Design & Development

How Much Does It Cost to Create A Website? Everything You Need to Know

branex-logo Team Branex

How much does it cost to build a website? The easiest answer to this question is “It depends.” Several factors determine how much money you might have to spend to get a website for your business. Knowing about these factors is very important to ensure that you don’t get ripped off when getting a business website.

I don’t know about you, but in my school of thought, starting a business is considered lucky, and those people who leave their jobs to start a business are appreciated well. Imagine having an unlimited amount of time to do anything you want and money that can help you buy anything you want. Now, imagine can you achieve all of this by doing a 9-5 job all your life. I don’t think so! Sooner or later you have to start your own business if you are planning to earn the right and make your family financially secure.

These days starting a business is all about selling online. Brands with physical stores now have an online store. Even grocery stores are now offering delivery services online. The main thing here is that everyone has a website.

Before you quit your job, I need to inform you that to sell anything, you need a website. And to create a website, you must know how much it will cost.

How to estimate the cost of the website? This is the natural question which you will ask before you think of anything else.

There is no short answer to how much your website will cost. It depends upon the requirements of your business. Website functionality will depend upon the terms, the purpose of the site, and the audience that it is developed for.

Predefined pricing and cost won’t do any justice to your website. Every business is unique, which is why it is necessary to have something that can calculate or estimate the cost of the website in real-time. That’s why it is essential to know about the website cost for various businesses.

When you get an idea of how much your website will cost, you can plan your budget accordingly, and you will also know when you can afford to develop a website, instead of planning on developing a website and running out of budget.

The good news is that we have done more than half of the work for you. We’ve created this infographic that will help you choose the right form of website that you need for your business. We have a team of experts, innovators, and genius-level developers who will help you plan out your website without wasting your precious budget.

This infographic will give a ballpark figure that is necessary to create a website. However, the website cost estimation calculator mentioned above can give you accurate figures on your required website project.

We do realize that as a startup, there is a lot of pressure and financial strain on the owner. This is why it is a blessing to get a website cost calculator that will accurately devise how much you need to develop a professional website. It is not rocket science, but yes, it takes some serious thinking to learn how much the estimated cost of the website will need to jump-start your business.

Branex Reviews on Clutch
announcement

Clients Love Branex 5-Star Reviews on Clutch

branex-logo Team Branex

Excellent digital agencies can be hard to come by. In a world where reviews and information are widely available and easily accessible, the playing field sometimes leans in favor of agencies that rely on gimmicks and cheap solutions rather than exceptional services. These agencies are all about shenanigans and will inevitably make costly mistakes that will make you lose thousands of dollars.

Nowadays, there are a few platforms that help businesses navigate through the waters of unreliable service providers and find the best digital agencies in the business. One such platform where customers can get connected with award-winning, premium digital agencies is Clutch.

Clutch is a verified reviews platform that helps customers make informed decisions by providing them with honest reviews that agencies have received from their existing clients.

Branex is also one of the top agencies associated with Clutch. We’re proud to be ranked as one of the top digital service providers in the Alabama region. Although our position is already noteworthy, we plan to keep adding reviews on the site to continually distinguish ourselves as a reputable and experienced digital agency.

clutch reviews

We recently received a review on Clutch from one of our clients, a digital marketplace located in Puerto Rico.

For this project, we’ve spearheaded the custom web design and development of the client’s website. The president of the company was happy to share his positive experience of working with us!

The project management was self-arranged, which was very effective” – President, Puerto Rico and The World LLC.

Like so many of our clients, the team from Puerto Rico and The World LLC saw the value in our unique approach. Our continued success comes, in part, due to the way we prioritize empathy.

Our team is skilled at fully understanding the needs of our clients. And our approach to customer service is second to none. We are a customer-focused, future-oriented team of eager, smart creatives who are ready to disrupt.

In each of our projects, we aim to create happiness, value our clients, provide sound advice, tell a great story, and deliver exceptional communication. With the help of Clutch, we hope to show the world how successful we are in achieving those goals.

Aside from being featured on Clutch, we are also listed on The Manifest. A site that functions as a company list blog, sharing useful information in an easy-to-read format. Although we are specifically focusing on distinguishing ourselves among agencies in Alabama and Toronto. The website provides information about digital service providers in locations across the globe.

In addition to The Manifest, Clutch also creates profiles for companies on Visual Objects. A platform that showcases creative and visual work. We would love to have you join us in our effort to build our portfolio on each of these sites!

Will Robots Take Over My Job
Artificial Intelligence Guide

Will Robots Take Over My Job? Lifesaving Tips To Stay Employed in the Future

branex-logo Team Branex
Is there any chance that you have been to a McDonald's Job in New York on Third Avenue at 58th Street? If not, here is how things go by. You enter McDonald's. You place an order on a touch screen. Your order is cooked by a McRobot and served by a McRobot too. As surprising as it might seem, this is quite alarming for unskilled employees. Also, in some cases, even professional employees are being replaced by automated robots. A recent study predicts that automation will eliminate 73 million jobs by 2030. If you're not worried yet, you should be. If you’ve not yet seen Black Mirror, a Twilight Zone-esque anthology TV series about technological anxieties and possible futures.  I would suggest you log into Netflix, grab some popcorn, and binge-watch all five seasons. From the first episode of Season 5, where AI took over the feelings of an average human being to the third episode, namely, ‘Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too’ where a famous popstar was replaced by her AI robot. Yes. A clear indication that robots are taking over our jobs. Robots are now performing automation jobs more efficiently and accurately, a task once assigned to manual labor. Companies are investing billions in automating jobs. The jobs which were once performed by a real person are now being handled by machines. Do you pump your gas? Buy groceries from a self-service shelf. Alternatively, even consult an AI-based doctor to prescribe you meds. More and more jobs are assigned to robots. Automation is not a bad thing. It is smart to replace the back-breaking work that even injured employees, or plainly worn-out workers, do. Sadly, it is replacing unskilled labor such as cashiers. Instead of charging manually on credit cards, payments are made via Apple Pay or Google Pay. Even the task of flipping burgers can be assigned to robots who are making patties by pressing them between two hot rollers. Automation-Job JPMorgan is using software that figures out which of the documents are relevant to a case in a matter of seconds, something that used to take lawyers more than 360,000 Hours of hard work. Before you start rushing to check if your current job is at risk, there is a tool for that as well. Ironically. Will Robots take my job, and will they help you figure out if you need to switch or pursue your career or not?

Lifesaving Tips To Keep You On The Job In The Future

Here are some lifesaving tips to keep you on the job soon:

1. Always be Learning:

Japanese use the word Kaizen, which means constant growth. If you dream of having a prosperous life in the future, you must invest your energy in growing slowly every day. Education doesn’t end at the age of 22, nor does it end at 82. CEOs of today and successful people prefer reading books over spending their free time on vacation. Companies like Zappos and Amazon give their employees extra credit if they learn something other than their core field. Always-Learning-For-Job In a federal report in the year 2017, it was concluded that more than half a million Americans are unemployed just because they won’t accept a job which is below their skill level. Figure out ways to help employees learn new skills. Develop a culture of lifelong learning.

2. Stay Curious:

Technology is moving at an enormous rate. The interns, the CEOs, and even the managers must prepare themselves for the future. The only way to survive is to stay curious. Evolve. Widen your skillset. You might be good at analyzing data. However, if you are not willing to put in your blood, sweat, and tears to learn, you’ll end up in the dungeons with the dragons. Stay-Curious-About-Job It’s necessary to exercise the Curiosity Quotient (CQ). To stay relevant, you must ask the right questions. If you keep a company of diversified people, they will generate new ideas and even contradict your opinions, which will help you to learn something new. It’s fantastic how great of an impact passionate curiosity combined with diverse, inclusive teams can have on the success of a leader, team, and business as a whole.

3. Negotiation and Persuasion:

According to Oxford research, people who have mastered arts, creativity, negotiation, persuasion, social perceptiveness, or are adept at assisting or caring for others, are in the least danger of being overtaken by Schwarzenegger-like T-800 cybernetic beings. Unfortunately, those with cramped workspaces or those who deal in tasks entailing manual/finger dexterity are most likely to be assimilated by the Borg. Neuromarketing can help you learn about the buyer’s intent and help you take the necessary actions to persuade the potential consumer to buy from your brand. Robots cannot do any such thing. The more questions you ask your customer, the more feedback you’ll be able to gather. Moreover, based on that feedback, you can judge the emotional state of the customers. Sure, robots can take data and apply some logic to analyze the situation. But robots can’t understand the feelings of customers.

4. Psychology Tricks to Persuade Anyone:

Alibaba Founder Jack Ma said at this year's Bloomberg Global Business Forum that artificial intelligence will lead to new opportunities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL1nyEi7VwY There are some jobs that are safe from robots, which are difficult to replace.

Imagine, Because Robots Cannot

One trait that cannot be learned by robots is imagination. AI currently works by taking existing data and making logical inferences based on the parameters we give it. Imagination and dreaming are not programmable skills. Activists, entrepreneurs, visionaries, thought leaders, authors, speakers, and others have a distinct advantage over technology in this arena, and that isn't going to change any time soon. The revolution of going back to the basics of humanity is about bringing each of those skills back to our reality at home, school, and work. It is impossible to answer ‘Will robots take my job?’. However, what each one of you can do is take these skills seriously and get yourself immersed in the habit of learning and growing. It is because of those skills that we have evolved over thousands of years. Moreover, it is because of those skills that we will continue to survive and thrive in times of technological disruption.
Optimize Website Content For Voice Search
Infographics

5 Ways to Optimize Your Website Content To Rank Higher On Voice Search

branex-logo Team Branex
With voice-based devices such as smart speakers flooding the market, we will see the rise of voice search. These smart devices will change the way we used to search for information. You don’t have to type in a keyword in the search bar of search engines for a website to get the results anymore. You can do it with a simple voice command. Well, who will try to type in the keyword when they can perform the same action with their voice? Yes, you guessed it right, no one. The voice search era is upon us. Is your website ready for it? Do you know how to optimize your website for voice search? If the answer to both these questions is no, then you are at the right place. Here is an infographic that tells you how you can optimize your website content to rank higher on voice search. Optimize Your Website
Restaurant Marketing Tips
Business Tips Digital Marketing

4 Restaurant Marketing Tips You Must Follow In This Competitive World

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As of the year 2016, more than 25% of the people owned at least one restaurant app installed on their phone. In a survey, it was concluded that 85% of the people As per a 2016 Adweek survey, 25% of people have at least one restaurant app on their phone. As per another survey, 85% of those who search for food on their mobile phones go on to complete a purchase. Mostly, customers don’t just stop searching for the restaurant and forget it. These days, customers are buying everything online. Give them a delicious experience, and you’ll get a boost in your restaurant marketing. Modern-day consumers don’t just click on the pictures and leave the website. They take this liberty; in fact, they consider it their social responsibility to share any food that looks delicious to them from WhatsApp to Facebook and Facebook groups. It doesn’t matter if your restaurant is online or not. If your restaurant marketing is not clear, it will give your customers a chance to share any reviews online. To survive and flourish in today’s market, you must focus on an online strategic strategy to build, amplify, and drive customer engagement globally across your target customers. So, here we outline some restaurant marketing ideas and strategies that will help you come up with a restaurant marketing plan that will lead to a higher chance of success. Marketing Tips for Restaurant

Stand on the Shoulders of Giants

What to do when you cannot see a way beyond what is in front of your eyes. You stand on something higher. This is what you need to do. One of the simplest ways to market your restaurant is to list your restaurant in Yelp or Zomato. These platforms with more than a million visitors every month have the potential to scale your restaurant name. The core idea is to grab the attention of your audience where they are already present. Platforms like Yelp and Zomato will help you to reach your target audience faster.

Learn the Essentials of SEO

Do you know that the keyword ‘restaurants near me’ gives 1,180,000 results on Google? This fact alone gives you the importance of learning a thing or two about SEO. Here are some tips which can increase the strength of your brand and make it rise high in the Google search result pages.
  • Homepage Title: Ensure that your title is complete. For example, on your homepage follow the following format, ‘Double D's Pizzeria - St. Louis, 13150.’
  • Google Business: List your business on Google Business. Adding your restaurant business to the Google directory will maximize your chances of getting recognized in the local directories of Google.
  • Match both addresses: You must ensure that the address on your website and the address that you’ve submitted on Google Maps are the same.
  • Dedicated pages for specific items: You’re running a restaurant business. The only way you can make a new customer trust you is to list every tiny detail of the product that you’re referring to. If there are customer experiences, you must share them. Your customer wants to know the description of specific items.
  • Connect with websites that serve the same target audience: If you have some brands which are located near your business, you can consider doing cross-promotion with those brands.
There are many things which you can do other than these tips. You can make a blog and publish items which are related to food. It would help if you justified the ROI of your brand by taking adequate steps to strengthen your SEO.

Don’t Ignore Feedback from Customers, Handle Them

It is said that 92% of customers check and read online reviews before purchasing anything. In restaurant marketing, feedback from customers should be your top priority. What are the customers talking about? The angry customers might not share everything because they are busy being angry. You, on the other hand, must listen to those customers and understand between the lines. When you listen to a problem, don’t just hear or note down that problem. They are looking for some solution, not just some sympathy. Listen to what is troubling them and solve their problem or give them the exact time when their issue will be resolved. The good thing or bad thing about restaurant marketing is that everything is on social media. There are Facebook groups dedicated to food reviews, and if the customers share their concerns, people listen to them. Keep your reputation clear.

Go for the Website

A website is a digital representation of your brand. People see your site and make the perception of your brand. A professional digital marketing company will help you develop a website that can help your restaurant reach more customers. A website will give you a boost to restaurant marketing. It can highlight your restaurant culture to your new customers. However, don’t just develop a site just because everyone is doing it. Develop a website to build trust in the eyes of customers. When customers see videos, testimonials, and professional product photos, it will be easy for customers to enjoy a luxurious, unique experience even before they visit your restaurant.
How to Create E-commerce Website
eCommerce Infographics

How To Create a Perfect E-Commerce Website? 10 Best Practices to Hop On

branex-logo Team Branex
Online shopping and the E-commerce industry is gaining ground globally. The initial fears that hindered buyers from purchasing products online are long gone. Many new businesses are hopping onto the E-commerce bandwagon, which has led to an increase in competition. With so many E-commerce stores out there and many more joining the fray, how could you make your E-commerce store stand out to get noticed? How to create a perfect E-commerce store that attracts, converts, closes, and delights online shoppers all at the same time? If you are looking for an answer to this question then, you are at the right place. Here is an infographic that will show you how to create a perfect E-commerce website by following some best practices. Create a Perfect E-Commerce Website
Kid Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship Guide

How To Train Your Kid To Think Like An Entrepreneur and Develop a Million-dollar Mindset?

branex-logo Team Branex
Teaching kids to think like an entrepreneur raises creativity, resilience, and problem-solving skills from an early age. Encouraging curiosity and allowing children to explore their ideas builds a mindset of innovation. “You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” ~Richard Branson Evan started his YouTube channel and managed to earn $1.3m in his annual revenue. Now, for the interesting part. Evan was just 9 years old when he made his first million. Yes, Evan is just one example. There are tons of kids like Evan. Ryan ToysReview has more than 12m subscribers serving dollops of cuteness, while smart and loud-mouthed 2-year-old chatty Mila can easily drive more than 800,000 views on her adorable witty rants. I mean, who can forget when Mila had budgeting blues, or when someone kept kicking her seat at the movies? Who wouldn’t want to vent out after that!!! Think Like An Entrepreneur Who are these kids? These are ordinary kids with an Entrepreneurial mindset drilled into them. Just like adults, some kids are destined to make it big. Curiosity, self-confidence, and creativity are just a few traits that turn ordinary kids into prodigies. Can your child be a budding Entrepreneur? Well, that depends on how serious you are about teaching your kids to think and act like one! Here are 8 skills that you need to inculcate in your kids to help them become boss babies!

Resilience

A study conducted by Stefan Korber identifies six behaviors that guarantee Entrepreneurial success and one of them is resilience. No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness. Resilience Skills in Entrepreneur Kid Kristen Hadeed in her book, Permission to Screw Up talks about her relationship with her father. “When I discussed my company name with my father, he told me to check if anyone else is registered with that name.” “I chucked his warning out the window and registered my company anyway. One week later, I was holding a notice in my hand, with an order to dissolve my company name, as it was already assigned to someone outside our state. At that moment I looked towards my father to hold me and comfort me with warm nothings. But, my father strictly told me to “learn to deal with my demons on my own.“ As parents, it falls on us to teach our kids to get back up on their own after each fall. Instead of acting like a shield, let them become self-sufficient. Let them fail and learn things on their own. Also Read: 10 Signs That You Are A Born Entrepreneur

Creativity & Innovation

Creativity in Entrepreneur Kid "I spent all my summers on his ranch, from the age of 4 to 16, and [Jeff's grandfather Pop] was incredibly self-reliant. You know, if you're in the middle of nowhere, in a rural area, you don't pick up the phone and call somebody when something breaks, you figure out how to fix it yourself. So, as a kid, I got to see him solve all these problems and be a real problem solver... We learned a lot of things from watching him because he would take on major projects that he didn't really know how to do and then figure out how to do them." ~Jeff Bezos Most Entrepreneurs didn’t know what to do at the onset. But, one thing they all had in common was an inherent sense of wonder and curiosity to innovate and find new ways to do old things. As an Entrepreneur, you’ll be forced to solve multifaceted problems on a day-to-day basis. And if you don’t teach your kids to move away from their comfort zone and get their feet wet with something new, you’ll not be able to bring out the best in them. Instead of rushing to jump in every time you see them struggling, let them play, let them burn the midnight oil figuring out how to do something until they get it right. You’ll be surprised by the amount of energy these kids will put into unraveling out-of-the-solution solutions.

Industriousness

“In my first few years of the university, I used to code for 18 hours at a stretch.” “I slept in my office and started work the next day from where I had left off. “ These are not just statements. These are moments of inspiration that young people can garner from well-established Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial Skills Taught in Young Age To build a solid work ethic, kids need to learn the value of hard work. Nurture a sense of independence among kids by assigning them certain responsibilities, even as small as drying out the dishes daily or mowing the lawn. Instead of showering them with needless gadgets, give them podcasts to listen to or success stories to while away the time, to inspire and motivate themselves. Ensure that your kids learn to do the day-to-day activities well so that when things go south, they can always surface on top of the wave.

Curiosity

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” ~Pablo Picasso When consulting with entrepreneurs and executives, I start with something I call the Clearing Process, a route I developed to help people step more fully into the expanded possibility. The Clearing Process begins with clarity, and sometimes this is a challenge for new business leaders who are eager to launch their businesses without doing their diligent homework in earnestness. “Oh, I’m very clear about my goals,” they tell me. “I’ve spent years thinking about opening my own company.” “Great!” I smile at them. “What greater purpose do you see your company fulfilling?” Silence. The reason most modern-day Entrepreneurs don’t know what their company stands for is that they are not curious enough. Entrepreneurs are life-long learners. Encourage your kids to try & learn new things, instead of settling into a routine. Try to take them out to tech-free outings. Take them to a museum, to a new country, or even to activity centers periodically to keep their creativity fueled. Curiosity in Kid

Empathy

“Empathy makes you a better innovator. If I look at the most successful products we [at Microsoft] have created, it comes with that ability to meet the unmet, unarticulated needs of customers.” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Successful Entrepreneurs know the importance of being empathetic. Empathy is the core difference between a leader and a boss. Being empathetic not just towards other entrepreneurs, but even the employees of your start-up, is indispensable as it helps them foster a sense of team spirit. Empathy With kids, don’t just wave off their ideas on-spot, no matter how silly and child-whimsical-fantasy they may sound. Listen to them, discuss with them, and teach them about the pros and cons of their ideas like grown-ups. If you listen to your kids with full attention, it can help build empathy in them, right from a tender age.

Giving Back

True Entrepreneurs are veracious givers. They understand the importance of social responsibility. They don’t just work for themselves, they take what they do and work hard to give back to people in unimaginable ways. Be it Bill Gates, who dreamed of every home using his windows, or Steve Jobs who revolutionized the way we listen to songs or use our smartphones, every Entrepreneur was a visionary once who set aside his feelings and did something for the greater good. Sharing Kids Teach your kids to help their friends and neighbors for a start. Pass on to them the habit of giving out a charity or helping the elderly while they are crossing the street. This will develop in them the spirit of giving back. And once this habit is well-established, kids can use it in their ventures to deliver the impossible. In the end, even if your kids don’t succeed as Entrepreneurs, these skills can help them in different areas of their lives. As parents, you must train your kids well. Even if your parents didn’t train you, it is your job to ensure that your kids grow with the right Entrepreneurial outlook.
Leadership vs Management
Innovation Productivity

Leadership vs Management: What Sets Them Apart and Who is the Real Winner?

branex-logo Team Branex
Leadership vs Management…. It’s a never-ending debate… A leader or a manager... which one is more successful? Can a manager be a great leader? What is the real difference between a leader and a manager? Unfortunately, not every manager is a leader. Unlike managers, leaders focus on people, inspire trust, originate, accept challenges, and always do the right thing. Leadership and management are not the same thing, but they both must go hand in hand. If truth be told, they are interconnected and complementary. Any attempt to separate the two is likely to create more predicaments than it can solve. Still, a lot of time has been spent by many entrepreneurs, thought leaders, business owners, and marketers in defining the true difference between leadership and management. “Management consists of controlling a group or a set of entities to accomplish a goal. Leadership refers to an individual's ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward organizational success. Influence and inspiration separate leaders from managers, not power and control." - Harvard Business Review Remember, not every manager is a leader. I firmly believe that a successful manager can lead and manage interchangeably. Without excellent leadership qualities, a manager will not be able to accomplish the goals necessary for his business growth and success. In this age, empathetic, trust-based human leadership is critical to leading a team and running a profitable company. Here are some enormous differences between leaders and managers that every entrepreneur should know.

Managers Have Objectives, Leaders Create Vision

Many people believe that the primary task of a manager is to run business operations smoothly. There are standard processes and expected results from each process that a manager is responsible for. They focus on setting, measuring, and achieving ROI. They strive hard to reach or exceed their objectives. However, when it comes to leadership, it’s an entirely different story. They paint a clear picture of what they think is attainable and seek to inspire and engage their team in realizing that vision into reality. Leaders think beyond what their team members can do. They always motivate people to be part of a greater achievement. They truly understand that high-functioning teams can achieve more by working together than by working individually. Great leaders allow people to design their own jobs as much as possible put their own stamp on their job, and don’t take credit for their achievements. “Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal or any goal” -Vince Lombardi Leadership

Leaders Innovate, Managers Administer

Leaders are always looking for ways to innovate and come up with something effective even if things are working well. They always find advanced and better solutions for their teams. They believe that changes to the system do wonders in helping their business reach unprecedented heights of success. However, managers stick with the standard processes that work, and polish systems and structures to make them better. “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether that ladder is leaning against the right wall”  - Stephen Covey

Leaders are Original, Managers Copy

Leaders work actively to build a unique personal brand. They stand out due to their authentic and transparent nature. On the other hand, managers mimic the competencies and actions that they have learned from others and adopt their leadership style instead of coming up with their own. “Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do. Leadership is about inspiring people to do things that they never thought they could.”  - Steve Jobs Steve Jobs

Managers Accept the Status Quo, Leaders Challenge It

Leaders are always willing to take risks even if they fail miserably. They don’t hesitate to make mistakes as they know that failure is the first step on the path to success. While managers make every effort to mitigate risks, they focus their concentration on controlling the situation, instead of embracing it. “Management is all about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.” - Tom Peters

Leaders Think Long Term, Managers Work on Short-Term Goals

Leaders always stay motivated to achieve big, distant goals. They remain determined without the lust for accolades. However, managers work on short-term goals and look for regular rewards and appreciation. “The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. Warren G. Bennis

Leaders Motivate and Inspire, Managers Assign Duties

Leaders know fully well that employees who work for them are efficient enough to perform their tasks. They see their people as highly competent and optimistic about their skills. Instead of taking over the reins, they give their employees the freedom to do their tasks on their own. They don’t micromanage and direct people on what to do and how to do it. On the flip side, managers take matters into their own hands and dictate to their team members the best way to accomplish a task. “You don't lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership.”  - Dwight D. Eisenhower Boss vs Leadership Leaders Inspire Trust, Managers Rely on Control Leaders focus on people, they trust them to be the best that they can be. They build loyalty and trust by consistently believing in their competencies. Managers focus on the structures required to set and achieve objectives. They always ensure that systems are in place to attain the best results. They know the consequences if their workers get out of line. “The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.”  - Warren G. Bennis Whether you are an entrepreneur having to contend with juggling all the major responsibilities of your company and becoming the jack of all trades in turn, or aspiring to become a great leader in the future, learn these important differences that set leaders apart from simple managers.
Importance of Collaborative Working in Digital World
Business Tips Productivity

The Importance Of Collaborative Working In Today’s Digital World

branex-logo Team Branex
Collaborative working allows teams to pool their expertise, foster innovation, and solve complex problems more efficiently. It enhances communication, encourages creativity, and breaks down silos, leading to better decision-making and faster project completion. I love to break my fast on the balcony. It lends me a unique sense of pleasure that I am unable to acquire through the hectic monotony of my life otherwise. When I got down to introspecting why that was so, I realized that it’s the charm of the serene morning sun coupled with the blissful chirping of the birds and the waves of positivity exuded in the wee hours of the morning that combine to instill in me such bouts of tranquility, and not the taste of my humble fare of bacon and eggs. As the holiday season finally encroached upon my life, I was happy to dive right into that time of the year that rejoices me the most. So on the very first day of the season, I woke up a tad early, microwaved my hot English muffin and a cup of black coffee (a rare luxury given my morning bouts of lethargy) and settled down in the balcony, wrapped up in a long coat to prevent the tendrils of winter chill from reaching deep into my bones. Right when I was about to unravel the crisp morning paper, I witnessed something unusual. I saw a pair of nesting sparrows. Since the need to have a safe home to keep out the worst of the weather becomes more crucial in winter than at any other time of the year, I saw both of them working together. One was flying straws and pieces of cotton, cloth, and other construction paraphernalia, while the other quickly weaved them together. Within a few hours, I could see that they had managed to put together a cozy nest that was going to be their shelter for the tough season. Their working together reminded me of what most of us forget to do in the digitally influenced world of today; Collaborative working. Also Read: 5 Surprisingly Wonderful Communication Tools Collaborative working is not a new concept for the working class. However, it’s not widely practiced, unfortunately. In this era, remaining connected is probably the most important factor for anyone and thanks to the marvels of the internet, we are now in a better position to effectively get in touch with people we know and care for or the ones we work with. Importance of Collaborative Working The rising waves of digital influence have rendered the means of collaboration clearer to us. Businesses that capitalize on collaborative working enjoy increased benefits in terms of productivity and effective conflict management and also create a viable workplace that respects the needs of individuals and conforms to the requirements of the team. This, in turn, fosters productivity. It dawned on me that collaborative learning is the dire need of responsible business corporations of today.

4 Benefits of Collaborative Working in the Digital World

Here are the benefits that I believe are going to become the by-products of the action mentioned above:

1. Recognize Individual Talents:

Individual talents are not recognized well until they are assessed within a team environment. Collaborative working challenges each member working within a team and distills their core talents by assessing what they are great at and what they do poorly. Once you are sure about the core competencies of your employees, you will be able to assign tasks to them according to their strengths, which is bound to reap better outcomes.

2. Scalability:

"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much." - Helen Keller. The phrase effortlessly sums up the benefit that collaborative working can introduce to organizations. Problem-solving becomes easier and more effective, when multiple heads are put together, and the results that are achieved by sharing resources and leveraging their core competencies become more transparent and scalable. It gets easier to tap into unexplored markets and helps you in strengthening the connections that you have fostered with your customers. Scalability of Working Collaborative

3. Creative Catalyst:

Collaborative working ignites friction among team members. When more brains work together, more ideas are pooled in, hence the approval or rejection of some ideas takes place. Normally, this is termed team friction and is perceived as a negative. Alternatively, we could also summon this disagreement into something positive and create something that complements each of them. This creativity is more applicable to companies working in the design category. Online website design agencies are the ones that are going to get the maximum benefit from it. Creative Catalyst for Collaborative Working

4. Collaboration Propels Learning:

Collaborative working promotes learning within organizations. As more resources work together to create a probable solution for an issue, each of them optimizes the working capacity of their teammates beyond their comfort zone. This helps to increase the overall productivity and maximizes the learning and development curve of the individuals. Collaborative Working Promotes Learning Thankfully, we have multiple tools available that can be used to leverage collaborative working within organizations in the fast-paced digital age of today. Some of the most effective collaborative working tools are:
  • Online workspaces
  • Forums
  • Blogs
  • Social media &
  • Company wiki
The benefits of using each of these collaborative working tools are pretty obvious and I didn’t find it of much importance to include them here. However, their usage provides comprehensive and easily accessible resources to everyone within the organization. Alternatively, there are digital branding agencies that can help online brands put their best foot forward within their specific industries and can also instill in budding businesses the benefits of collaborative working.

Learn more about modern development technologies at Google Developers .

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