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The Role of Private Equity Firm in the 21st Century Economy

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Private equity is something that many of us have heard of, but few of us really understand. We know that it is important in the financial market, because it is constantly mentioned in financial bulletins and reports. However, it is also a confusing term with few people understanding just what its principles are, and how people view it. One of the reasons for this is because these types of investments are controversial, as investors like Bob Stefanowski are very aware of.

What Do Private Equity Specialists Do?

People like Bob Stefanowski look for companies that have a medium- to long-term potential of becoming highly profitable. Private equity investing is an art, as it means having to be able to find firms that are currently struggling, to the point of going under, yet that have excellent management teams in place and have the potential to become great again. Stefanowski’s role is to make sure that the route to profitability is identified as quickly as possible, so that an exit strategy can be employed and the private equity firm earns a profit.

Stefanowski’s role is not just to find companies to invest in, however. It is also to find sources of funding, which are private rather than public ones. This includes pension funds, high net worth individuals, and so on. What brings these funding sources together is that they all want to make a quick profit on any investment they make.

The Importance of Private Equity Firms

It is a known fact that private equity firms contribute greatly to the overall economy. Research has shown that they make companies a lot more competitive, and that discipline in the market is increased. In the United Kingdom, for instance, over £80 billion has been invested in this way since 1983, helping 29,500 different businesses.

So why is private equity so controversial? Essentially, some feel that this type of investment is far too harsh on a firm that is failing. Commonly, a private equity firm will sell off any assets the company has, completely disregarding how this affects the workforce. The redundancies that follow “asset stripping” are harsh, and cause individuals huge problems. This, in turn, affects the community as a whole. Furthermore, the negotiations in private equity are private, meaning others do not know what is happening.

However, although private equity investments do usually mean job losses, they also mean company growth. And when companies grow, new jobs are created. That is the harsh truth of capitalism, meaning some have to suffer in the short term, so that everybody can gain in the long term. The reality is also that, if private equity firms did not invest in struggling companies, they would go under, meaning that everybody would lose their job, rather than just a percentage of the workforce.

For people like Bob Stefanowski, one of the greatest stresses of the job is to balance the human impact and the business impact, no matter how difficult that is.

Inspirational Quotes to Keep Your Business Mind Right

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I have been a small business owner for a couple of years now and whenever I get the chance I love nothing more than going to watch someone successful in business talk about tactics and methods to take business to the next level. Last year I went to a business seminar where Curtis Luckett III was speaking and it was truly inspiring. One of the best pieces of advice that he gave us was on the theme of inspiration and how reading quotes from successful business leaders each morning, could act as excellent daily motivation tools. For that reason I wanted to share some of my favorites quotes on business in the hope that they can offer you some inspiration.

Sara Blakley, Spanx founder

“Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things different from everybody else.”

Arianna Huffington, Huffington Group

“Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.”

Ben Silbermann, Pinterest founder

“Don’t take too much advice. Most people who have a lot of advice to give — with a few exceptions — generalize whatever they did. Don’t over-analyze everything.  I myself have been guilty of over-thinking problems. Just build things and find out if they work.”

Mary Kay Ash, Mark Kay Cosmetics founder

“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.”

Jack Ma, founder of AliBaba

“Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine,”

Warren Buffett, Investor

“You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong”

Denis Waitley, Inspirational Speaker

“The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have or would have done, or what they can’t do.”

Nolan Bushel, Electrical Engineer and Businessman

“The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer”

Vince Lombardi, Football legend

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing”

What are some of your favorite quotes about business? Let us know in the comments section below.

Ideal Ways Freelancers Can Help Your Business

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If you are running a business on a budget, you might find it hard to hire permanent staff to help. However, you still have tasks you need to complete; all that need to be completed to a deadline. Thankfully, the world of freelancers has become a lot more widespread than previously.

There are a few areas of your business that can benefit from using freelance workers. Here are some of the ways you can use them to help you and your business.

Design

If you are planning a new email marketing campaign or a new advertising poster, then you might need the help of a graphic designer. There are many designers online that can do freelance work for a reasonable price.

Usually, they can take on a new design and have it ready in a few days. You might need to liaise with them a couple of times to finalize the design, but it can save you money on hiring a designer to come in-house.

Data Entry

A lot of companies will have data that they need to have transferred onto spreadsheets to work on them. It isn’t a very hard job, but it can be time-consuming which isn’t easy when you have a lot of other things to do.

You can hire a data entry freelancer to help you transfer all that important data, and to ultimately save you time. They are usually people who have a great attention to detail so errors should be kept to a minimum.

Depending on the amount of data you need transferring, it can take a day or two for them to transfer it. However, this is a lot less than hiring permanent in-house staff.

Virtual Assistant

The virtual assistant is one area that many companies turn to, especially if they are looking to streamline their processes. The advantage of using a freelancer is that they can work when you need them, and the rest of the time you are saving money.

They can typically help with many tasks including booking flights, arranging your calendar, dealing with emails, and even creating and sorting with invoices.

For this type of role, you need to be aware of each other’s time zones or communication could be a little difficult.

Marketing

In general, you will already have a marketing campaign in place before you begin your business. However, you may need to have it amended or reviewed at certain times so that your business is still going in the right direction.

With a freelance marketing expert, you can call them in to look at your campaign, and they can suggest ways it can be improved. They can also help you to implement some of the changes for you to save you time.

Freelance workers are becoming a normal way of doing business for many companies now. If you use the right channels, you can get a professional freelancer that can save you a lot of time and money. You can then use that money to grow your business.

Revolutionising The Workplace With Technology

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Working in healthcare can be incredibly rewarding, especially if you’re working as a nurse or doctor or some other form of hands on job. Even if you aren’t, working behind the scenes can be not just exciting, interesting and rewarding, but incredibly educational as well. Sometimes you can run into situations in the office and laboratory, even in the hospital or clinic that are less than great, but with the technological advances in things like scheduling and communication, problems are becoming fewer and further between. So what are some ways to help maximise the efficiency of your workforce? Read ahead…

Be Flexible and Fair With Employees and Colleagues

Flexibility in the workplace is one way to really help maximise efficiency and productivity of your workforce, but be careful to not appear to be favouring any one person in terms of flexibility over another. For example, always giving a parent the opportunity to work from home but denying the same requests from other employees who may ask only occasionally can cause a rift in the team. Flexibility in scheduling if you work in a shift environment can additionally be beneficial, allowing people to have the time off they request within reason and providing as much adherence to preferences can help your employees understand that management does care about their individual lives and is willing to help them maintain their dedication to their role within the organisation as well as their role outside of it in their individual lives. Providing this kind of support to employees and colleagues can help them to be happy in the role they are in and helps them want to go the extra mile for the business, which in turn increases productivity and efficiency on the job.

Take Advantage Of Technology

Technology in the medical profession is always changing and always improving, which helps employees to improve the way they work as well. This helps to maximise efficiency in the workplace and with companies such as IDBS.com now providing some amazing solutions to working, it has never been easier to get the most out of projects and communication in the clinic, lab or office. With new tablets being developed that have specifications geared toward sharing spreadsheets, schedules, and the like, it is helping take collaboration, communication and efficiency to the next level with ease, especially when everyone has their own dedicated tablet capable of accessing work related information or intranets on the go.

Brainstorm, Collate and Evaluate

It’s no secret that the more you get together with your colleagues and superiors to discuss new ideas and suggestions, the more you will be able to bring beneficial changes to the table and actually implement them in a work setting. Not only will your colleagues and employees have their voices heard over potentially great ideas and improvements being implemented but you can get everyone on board and help create an overall work environment that everyone can enjoy and look forward to coming into. Improvements are always possible in every work environment whether it’s within a lab, hospital, clinic or office and so getting colleagues together to brainstorm can help everyone create the ideal place for themselves to thrive. Hold regular follow up sessions after idea implementations to see how it’s working for everyone for added workplace benefit.

In all, technology has been revolutionising the workplace through the easy access of data and sharing said data. Bog businesses throughout the world, regardless of their specialisation can benefit from the use of data sharing to help drive sales, business and to help improve efficiency. Even if a company doesn’t specialise in sales of any kind, the use of big data can help promote a more streamlined, efficient network of colleagues that bring out the best in the business in the long run. Try implementing some of these ideas from this article into your work place and watch how it starts to blossom into a productive powerhouse, seemingly overnight!

Why You Must Take Steps to Manage Your Online Reputation

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If you have a business, you need an online marketing strategy. There is simply no way to survive anymore in this day and age without being digital. And one of the key things that should be part of your online marketing strategy is reputation management. The ultimate goal is that you should never have to use reputation repair tactics, because your management operations are working so well, in other words. You will not be the first business to forget about reputation management, however, not in the least because online marketing is already such a broad, varied, and highly complex field. However, you should include it in your strategy, not in the least because some of the tactics also fit in with your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tactics.

How Reputation Management and SEO Come Together

Very simply put, reputation management is exactly what it says on the box: making sure you are in control of your reputation. It is vital that the world, but particularly your employees, your business partners, and your existing and prospective customers, see you as a great company. Building a positive reputation can take years to achieve, yet destroying it takes just a few days. In fact, in today’s world, it takes minutes. A single well-written complaint about you can easily go viral, particularly if you do not strategically manage your reputation. That is the danger of the internet and you have no control over it.

While it may be easy to overlook how important it is to properly manage your reputation, the reality is that doing this could mean your business going under. The way your business is perceived makes all the difference for customers. If you look bad in their eyes, they will simply go elsewhere. After all, there is plenty of competition to choose from. The best way to combat this is by investing in a professional reputation management solution, meaning that an external company will focus on making sure you look good to others. Yes, this costs money but, at the end of the day, it will also help you earn money as it ensures you retain and attract more customers.

So how does this link to SEO? SEO is all about getting your website found on the internet. Reputation management, meanwhile, is all about making sure the positive things about your website are found on the internet. As such, they are one and the same thing. Indeed, a professional reputation management consultant will ensure that any positive comments that exist about you (reviews, press releases, blog posts, and so on), are pushed to the top of the search engine results. They will do this in such volume that any negative posts about you are pushed back to the third page of Google or beyond. Nobody ventures there anymore, meaning it is basically invisible.

Consider that 77% of consumers will search for online reviews before they decide whether or not to shop somewhere, and you will instantly see how important your reputation is.

Recognize Your Employees if You Want Them to Innovate

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There is something really special about innovators, something that sets them apart from others. According to expert, what makes them special is that they are explorers and, if you want to use that passion to your advantage, you need to learn how to unlock it. Having innovation management software for businesses in place is only the start of that.

You must learn, first of all, to recognize who they are. A true explorer is the individual who loves change, and who will volunteer to make changes, believing that they will create something positive. You can recognize them, therefore, by finding the people who do that. But that is only half of the job. The second part is that you show them that you appreciate what they do.

A recent study completed at Harvard University by Professor Teresa Amabile showed just how important official recognition is. In fact, she says that innovative cultures are also cultures in which efforts are recognized. People love to be told they did well, be that in public or in private. And, when they are, innovation levels automatically increase as well. When people are recognized for their efforts, they are motivated intrinsically. Providing prizes or financial rewards only motivates extrinsically. Yet being intrinsically motivated is far more enduring.

How to Recognize Your Innovators

Once you have identified your innovators and explorers, you need to be ready to recognize them in a way that they appreciate. Some things to think about include:

  • Having a platform available. You should have regular meetings where people can talk about what they have done and how they intend to innovate. Make it clear that the sessions are all about sharing, and about recognizing efforts.
  • Peer to peer recognition should be encouraged across the board. An innovation award program works, but this is usually managed by a senior. Instead, you should get peers to recognize each other, which is far more appreciated in real life. Not just that, peer to peer recognition can happen at any moment, rather than once a year, at the office party.
  • Make sure that you recognize people whenever they make an innovation. Don’t wait until you have a place in your diary that you have dedicated to celebrating innovation, but do it as and when things happen. This makes it look genuine and has the greatest impact.

Recognition is said to be part of what is called the “innovation formula”. There are many other elements involved in that formula, but this is one of the biggest ones. People will be keen to try innovation for the first time, but unless their efforts are rewarded in a way other than a prize here and there, they will quickly stop their efforts. Innovative employees are engaged employees, and engaged employees are more productive employees. These are the people that genuinely care about the organization and will therefore go the extra mile for the business as a whole as well. The cumulative effect of this is tremendous.

Why Do Scaffolding Prices Differ so Much

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There are many reasons why the cost of scaffolding, be that for sale or for rental, varies. When you look for scaffolding for sale, the first thing you must consider is how big your project is. This will determine how wide and long the area that you intend to work on will be. All other factors are linked directly to this consideration. For instance, how many people will work on the project and how much weight does the scaffolding has to support, are all factors linked to the size of your project.

Factors to Consider

There are other factors to consider as well. For instance, you must think about the type of scaffolding that you require. Those with heavy components tend to be more expensive as well. For example, if you want to build a concrete wall, then you will need something that is able to carry the weight of concrete blocks.

Next, you have to consider how long you want to use the equipment, although this only matters if you want to rent, rather than purchase. Renting is a popular option for those who only require a scaffolding tower for a short period of time. However, if there are regular projects, which means scaffolding has to be rented again and again, then purchasing will be a better option.

Another factor that may affect the cost is whether it is scaffolding for home use, or whether it must be industrial strength. Industrial strength scaffolding is, naturally, more expensive. They are stronger, bigger, heavier, and made of more high-quality materials. To keep the cost down, renting sections of this type of scaffolding may be an option. However, if there is a lot of construction going on, then this may turn out to be more expensive again. Home use scaffolding towers tend to be much smaller. They are in high demand during springtime, when people start to renovate their properties. The rental price may go up if you book it last minute rather than well in advance.

Lastly, the materials used in the scaffolding are factors of importance. Usually, they are constructed of wood and metal, with metal (aluminum or steel) used for the tower itself, and wood for the floorboards. However, some structures are made completely out of wood. These t end to be more expensive due to the material itself. Considering they are also less safe, harder to set up, and more complex to use, they are slowly being taken out of circulation. Rather, people tend to now opt for aluminum towers, which are flexible, durable, strong, and lightweight. They are also far less expensive, particularly if you are happy to purchase a second-hand tower.

These are the main factors that will influence how much your scaffolding purchase or rental will cost. Take your time to compare the different providers, requesting at least three different quotations. This will ensure you can find the best value for money, which is not necessarily the cheapest option.

The Best POS Solution For Easy Payment

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Everything is changing fast in today’s modern world. Whether it is a small scale business or big corporate business, businessmen have to keep up with the latest technology. In order to keep up with the pace and not lose out to their rivals or competitors, businessmen cannot afford to do business the same old way as before.

Since the existence of information technology, the business sector has been working towards a paperless system of management. Sending letters and memorandums through emails, whatsapp messages, etc. is now the normal way of communication in government offices as well as in the corporate world. Even big corporate companies have been going paperless in their business dealings.

The transition from the old fashioned way to the modern paperless system has not been without any resistance from the old fashioned minded businessmen. Those who are willing to entrust their businesses to the younger generation with their modern way of doing business are now enjoying the benefits of good profits.

In the old days, people only buy when they have the cash. Now, people are carrying less cash because it is no longer safe to do so. Instead of carrying cash, people are now carrying credit cards or other payment cards. In order to cater to the convenience of your clients, adjustment to accept cashless payment has to be made. Many businesses are now running on a Clover POS system for business management and easy payment for their clients.

A Clover POS system is a powerful point of sale system and it accepts payment by credit cards, debit cards, chip cards, etc. It is able to process quick payments at food trucks, festivals, pay-at-the-table restaurants, and etc. where people are in a hurry. Payments are possessed quickly and safely. Check out the types of systems to suit your business’ requirement and get the best pos system to help you run your business with ease and in style.

A good POS system running on advance software helps manage your business by tracking inventory, making of payments, running of reports and printing of document, etc. For more details, you can check out the various websites available or visit MerchantAccountSolution.com to start your search for the right POS solution.

Top Tips for Hosting Your Own YouTube Channel

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Have you been looking at all the successful YouTubers and wondering how they got started? Do you have a great idea for a YouTube channel and have been holding back out of fear? Maybe you’ve already started your own channel, but you just aren’t enjoying the success you had hoped it would bring about.

With so much interest in YouTube as of late, there is even more competition out there, which means if you’re hoping to succeed, you’re going to need as much help as possible. Here’s a look at a variety of tips and information that can help take your YouTube channel from a fun little hobby, to something much more serious.

Draw Viewers in with the Thumbnail

While it’s great to think it’s the content that draws people to your videos, in reality it’s usually the thumbnail. The thumbnail is what viewers see as they scroll through search results, and more times than not they’re going to click on the video with the most intriguing and interesting thumbnail.

If you have struggled to make professional, interesting, and trendy thumbnails in the past, then you’re going to want to check out the YouTube thumbnail maker from Adobe Spark. This tool is filled with ideas in the inspiration gallery that are sure to match up to your video. Some people even work in reverse and use the inspiration gallery to generate ideas on what kind of videos to film.

By choosing an intriguing, interesting, and professional looking thumbnail, you will be setting a great first impression, which is sure to pay off.

Create a Schedule and Stick to It

It’s also very important to stick to a schedule for posting videos and stick to it no matter what. Your viewers will expect videos to appear at those set dates and at a set time each week. If you start ignoring your schedule, you can bet your viewership will suffer.

It’s a good idea to aim for one video a week when you are just starting out. As you build more of an audience, and the need for more content starts to develop, then you can start posting more videos. Just be careful not to over-extend yourself, as that’s how you end up missing postings.

Another tip where scheduling is concerned is to film in advance any time you will be unable to post on the set dates. If, for example, you plan on going away on vacation for a week, then you will want to pre-film those videos and schedule them to publish on their regular days.

Make Sure the Video Quality is High

There is nothing worse than watching a YouTube video that is blurry, off-center, or has poor audio. Anything you post needs to be top quality.

Don’t Worry About Long Videos

The last tip is to focus on short videos rather than longer ones. Most people just don’t have 30 minutes spare to sit down and listen to a makeup tutorial. However, if you condense that same material into a 10 minute video, suddenly people have the time to watch.

Expect Things to Start Slow

It’s important to go into your channel with realistic expectations. Just because you aren’t an instant overnight success doesn’t mean you are failing, it means you are going about things in a slow and steady manner, building a loyal following instead.

How to Start Your Own HVAC Air Conditioning Business

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The book “The Millionaire Next Door” found that most people with a million dollar plus net worth had dull-normal jobs. Less than 20% had inherited any money, and fewer had earned more than $200,000 a year in any profession. About two-thirds of millionaires had built up their businesses and become wealthy that way. A few were doctors or

lawyers who controlled their spending and built a practice that earned more than their own labor. Far more were pest control specialists, auctioneers, welders and HVAC professionals who started out in the field and built up a business from scratch. If you think you have what it takes, here is the process of starting your very own HVAC air conditioning business.

Learn the Trade

You can’t work in HVAC without the necessary knowledge. You’ll need to invest a year or two in an HVAC training school to get CDL and HVAC training. Now you can begin to work in the field and learn the true ins and outs of the business.

Work in the Field

Before you try to start a business and hire employees, you’ll want to work as an employee in the field. You’ll learn the intimate details of the job. You’ll learn what other HVAC technicians want in a boss and management techniques from your own bosses. You’ll observe what customers want and how those needs are met. Perhaps equally important will be saving part of your salary so that you can open your own business one day while minimizing the debt required to do so.

A side benefit of working for others for a few years is the ability to tell clients that while your business is brand new, you personally have five or more years of experience working in HVAC. Work on getting higher levels of certifications with HVAC equipment like the universal EPA 608 certification that lets you work on all types of equipment, whereas Type 1 can only service small appliances like humidifiers. The NATE certification is nationally recognized, and techs with this certification earn more money.

If you can install HVAC equipment as well as repair it, this could be a lucrative skill when you’re working on your own.

Consider the Type of Business You Want to Open

There are regionally and nationally recognized HVAC franchises you could buy, and a few of these have a clear path for HVAC techs to rise to franchise assistant manager before being given help setting up their own franchise. The benefits of a franchise include brand recognition and sometimes corporate benefits for you and your employee. The downside includes franchise fees often due at the start and a percentage of revenue whether or not you turn a profit.

The other option is going your own way. You could start by buying the necessary tools and chemicals and then working on the side. Be careful not to work on the side with clients your employer services, or the employer could fire you and even take you to court. Once you have a few customers and word of mouth going, you can quit the job and work for yourself. This route requires having general liability insurance in your own name or that of your newly incorporated business. Your state may require certain licenses and permits to work in HVAC, but it is your responsibility to learn about them and acquire them.

You should research your options for selling HVAC systems as well as installing them and servicing them. If you can sell HVAC systems for a dealer, you’ll earn a commission on every HVAC system sale and likely the business to install it and maintain it for the first few years, as well.

Once you start hiring help, you’ll need workers’ compensation insurance. Continue to expand, and you’re on your way to becoming a successful business owner with the potential of becoming wealthy.