1. Have an adaptable business model
2. Diversify supply chain operations
3. Create an omnichannel customer experience

1. Organize your business documents
2. Have a scalable technology plan ready
3. Plan to spend money to earn money
4. Prepare to outsource tasks
5. Create a blueprint for business continuity
6. Develop a strategy for balancing work and life
7. Build your team

Arguably the most critical aspect of digital transformation, digital payments ensure that small merchants or kiranas can continue to accept or send money and preserve cash flow in an increasingly contactless world.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented financial ripple effect in nearly every industry but hit the small businesses that define America the hardest. Throughout the first six months of the pandemic, more than 60 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance. That’s 23 million more than the 37 million who filed claims during the 18-month Great Recession.

By now, many small-business owners who made the difficult decision to shrink or temporarily pause are rebuilding. As they have already learned, though, rebuilding your business is not as easy as flipping a switch and watching your business rebound to its pre-Covid-19 state. As a small-business owner, your plan to rebuild should focus on rehiring employees who can fulfill your immediate needs while simultaneously paving the groundwork for growth in the new norm.

Finding and keeping the best talent has never been easy. It became the top concern for HR professionals this past year, with more than two-thirds reporting struggles with their recruitment and retention efforts. While the reasons for those struggles run the gamut, they often relate to attracting qualified candidates (49%), retaining star employees (49%) and issues with the talent-culture fit (42%).

For small and midsize businesses (SMBs), any difficulties with finding talented hires end up wasting precious resources. Worse yet, the cost of a bad hire is equal to 30% of the hires first-year salary – without factoring in the potential losses in revenue and time associated with onboarding the wrong person for a job.

Pivoting has become one of those hot topics in mainstream business media. When an economic crisis arises, countless think pieces are written about how to pivot your business to respond to the external environment. But pivoting is a huge gamble, requiring deep resources and the ability to fail with minimal consequences (hence why the term is often associated with venture-backed startups). And, one must ask oneself if there’s even a solid reason to pivot.

As a small business owner, while you might feel pressure to look anywhere and everywhere to increase your top line, resist the urge to pivot. Instead, focus on your mission.  

Define your mission
In the college admissions space, disruption is something we are used to. While high-profile recruiting scandals and a renewed focus on racial inequities have dominated headlines recently, a larger cultural shift was quietly occurring.

The accelerated churn rate of the S&P 500 indicates that at least half of todays top U.S. companies will get replaced by someone new over the next decade. That is a mind-boggling market value of $13.5 trillion up for grabs. And the craziest part is who replaces the old market leaders: It is often companies that, just a few years before, were considered scrappy little startups.

To unseat a champion, a smaller company has to play by a completely different set of rules.

1. Change the basis of competition.
2. Exploit taboos.
3. Optimize for power.
4. Dramatic simplification.

The United States has seen an increase in new businesses formed this year. According to the United State Census Bureau, in week 50, there were over 86,000 new business applications nationwide — representing a 38% increase over filings during the same week in 2019. The challenges small businesses have experienced in 2020 have led to some core lessons that those in the business community need to apply — whether they own an established small business or a newly formed one.

Minimum wage is a complex issue for small businesses, says the Small Business Development Center in Binghamton.

The SBDC adds that, typically, small businesses have a close relationship with their employees and if they could pay them more originally, they would.

They add that they believe some business owners may have to pick up the slack in order to keep costs low.

In a world in which e-commerce has become a necessity for nearly every retailer, it can seem they have only two options: list their goods on marketplaces run by giant companies, or sell to consumers directly, hoping they will make more on each transaction despite fewer sales. In other words, either join a dominant marketplace like eBay , Walmart or Amazon —which by itself represents 38% of U.S. online sales, according to Digital Commerce 360—or hope they can find customers through advertising and word of mouth.

For many small- and medium-size sellers, a third option has emerged, embodied by the rising star of e-commerce, Shopify . This approach gives merchants access to cloud-based third-party services such as payments and fulfillment, but lets them maintain more control of their branding and customer relationships than the biggest marketplaces offer. Shoppers might not even know they’re buying something from a Shopify-powered retailer, and that’s the point.

In addition to making goods available on sellers’ own sites, these software companies—which also include BigCommerce and Magento—can perform the laborious task of listing merchandise on the giants marketplaces. By becoming hubs for managing sales through multiple channels, including social-media platforms, they represent real competition for Amazon and its ilk, potentially giving merchants more leverage when dealing with those entrenched giants.

Specific PPP provisions of the new law include:

Appropriates an additional $7.25 billion to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for the PPP program

Expands PPP eligibility to include:

~ Additional tax-exempt nonprofits, such as 501(c)(5) labor and agricultural organizations and community locations of larger nonprofits, whose lobbying activities do not comprise more than 15 percent of its activities
~ Internet publishing organizations assigned a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code of 519130 and engaged in the collection and distribution of local or regional and national news and information
~ Adds COBRA premium assistance as an allowable payroll cost under the PPP program.

Invoice financing is a type of business funding wherein the business sells its outstanding invoices or account receivables (A/R) to financing companies to get an immediate cash flow boost. The financing company takes over the invoices, and sometimes be in charge of collecting customer payments (as in invoice factoring).

Invoice financing is a popular financing option for businesses that have to wait 30,60, or 90 days to get their clients payments.

A survey of small businesses conducted by Appalachian State University in coordination with Selective found that cybersecurity and technology issues were growing concerns for 44% of survey respondents due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, only 20% of survey respondents have cyber insurance coverage.

The findings highlight an awareness gap among small businesses about the risks they face from cybercrime. Twenty-eight percent of data breaches impact small businesses, and phishing attacks account for over 30% of breaches, making them the biggest cyber threat for small organizations.1 Cyber coverage from Selective can help small businesses manage and mitigate risks with comprehensive coverage options and cyber threat education.

Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?

1 — Google plans to scrap third-party cookies by 2022.

Google announced this past week that it plans to stop the use of tracking cookies on Chrome by next year and— instead— will replace cookies with a profiling system

2 —Recruiting startup SeekOut raised $65M to take on LinkedIn and other talent acquisition companies.

3 —Small business owners adopted new software in 2020 and increased tech budgets in 2021.

The data on business startups and closing show a mixed bag across the United States. Some states have seen an increase in new business applications over the past year (February to February) and some states have shown a decline. The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are among the weakest regions, with Virginia showing a 3.5% decline in year-over-year applications.

Business closings are harder to track month to month because small business operators do not always file documents when they shutter their doors, and it is hard to distinguish between permanent and temporary closings. Closings do show up eventually in tax filings and articles of incorporation.

This month almost 135,000 businesses are showing strain, as the impact of a year of Covid-19 restrictions reverberates.Businesses in the services and retail sectors accounted for almost three-fifths of those showing distress, said Mazars. Sectors allowed to reopen were faring better, with construction and manufacturing businesses making up 7.9 per cent and 6.7 per cent of those in distress respectively.

For some of the smallest businesses that applied for forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, waiting just a few days or weeks would’ve gotten them thousands of dollars more.

But they had no way of knowing what was coming.

The Biden administration in late February announced a slew of changes to the loan program, which offered forgivable loans in return for keeping employees on a company’s payroll, after it reopened in January with $284 billion in funding. Those amendments included an adjusted loan formula that would mean larger amounts for sole proprietors as well as expanded eligibility for small business owners with certain criminal records, were delinquent on student loan debt or were non-citizens.

The Small Business Administration has extended deferment periods for all of l its disaster loans made either in 2020 or 2021, the agency announced on Monday.

The extended deferment includes the SBAs Economic Injury Disaster Loan – or EIDL – program, which many businesses that did not qualify for Paycheck Protection Program loans or other funding used to bridge the losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All SBA disaster loans made in 2020 will have the first payment due date extended from 12-months to 24-months from the date of the note, the agency said. Disaster loans made in 2021 will have a first payment due date extended from 12-months to 18-months from the date of the note.

Every business was considered small at some point in its history. Some go big, but some stay small and do quite well. The size of a business in common measurements (revenue, employees, locations) is less relevant than the size of your customer base and the corresponding loyalty of customers.

Millions of businesses across the country are struggling, yet many are not taking the latest version of government aid: a second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. This is not happening because businesses are better off than they were last year; it is because the PPP still contains structural blockers that are stopping businesses from obtaining the aid they urgently need.

A recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank found that 30% of U.S. small businesses — totaling 9 million — fear they will not make it through 2021 without more government assistance. And yet, many are not applying for aid. The Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that seven weeks after round two of PPP began, nearly half the funds remain, and only 31% of 2020 PPP loans have been forgiven to date.

Interesting.  I’ve been an HSBC business customer for 10 years, and was surprised to find out that they are no longer interested in small businesses in Canada.  Their new focus, I was told on the phone, is international businesses with sales over 3 million dollars. So, while they’ve graciously ‘grandfathered’ my business account, I can’t … Continue reading HSBC not interested in small businesses in Canada →

Show your support for freedom of thoughts and actions with the Legalize Freedom Small Poster - Left Wing, Right Wing, Conservative, Liberal, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, it just doesn't seem to matter much any more. They all are trying to pass more laws one way or another to dictate how we think, how we live, restricting how they think we should think and how they think we should live. It doesn't matter anymore if you agree with conservative or liberal ideals. Having different ideas, thoughts and attitudes is what use to make the United States terrific. We didn't use to have the politicians shoving their personal beliefs down our throats. We use to be able think and act for ourselves. We use to be able to be responsible for our own lives and our own decisions. Freedom use to be legal. Freedom of choice use to mean something. The freedom to choose anything is almost non-existent anymore. Left Wing, Right Wing, Conservative, Liberal, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, it just doesn't matter any more, all of their beliefs that they try passing laws on telling us how to think, breath and live will only lead to one thing eventually... socialism and communism... UNLESS it is stopped before it is too late. Legalize Freedom! Enough is enough already!! Stop restricting us! Stop telling us how you say we should think! Stop telling us how we should live! Stop trying to protect us from us! Let us think for ourselves! Let us act for ourselves! Let us be responsible for our own lives! Let us be responsible for our own decisions! LEGALIZE FREEDOM!!

This Small Poster will help you show your passion and dedication to your martial arts discipline and that it truly is better than therapy - For some there's therapy, for the rest of us there's martial arts. Who needs therapy; when the martial arts are your outlet? There can be several reasons of why you do not need therapy when you use martial arts as therapy. In martial arts, whether it is taekwondo, karate, kung fu or jujutsu, there is a physical and mental level of discipline that is achieved that overflows into every area of your life, helping you to be able to have respect for others, maintain focus to achieve other goals and also to help overcome problems and situations. Then there is the physical release that martial arts bring whether it is working on your forms, during sparing or breaking boards. Another way that martial arts helps bring tension release and peace top the mind and body is the mental preparation and focus bring a single mind to the task at hand creating self-control, self-restraint and a mental readiness to handle potentially stressful situations and diffuse them easily.

WARNING: Approach With Caution Small Poster - Let other people know that you need to be approached with caution with the "WARNING: Approach With Caution" 3D Industrial Metal Looking Sign Mega Cool Shirts, Sweatshirts, Clocks, Stickers, Mugs And More. Makes an excellent gift for those that are slighty tempermental too!

THE cheapest two-year fixed-rate mortgages in more than a year were launched last week, heading straight to the top of the 'best-buy' tables. But borrowers should not be dazzled by the headline rates and assess all-round value when picking a...

Do you want to build a portfolio website for your small business or personal project but don't know how to get started? Find the answer in the free eBook.

The post How to Create Portfolio Website for Your Small Business [Free eBook] appeared first on MonstersPost.

Royal Air Force Station West Malling or RAF West Malling was a Royal Air Force station located 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south of West Malling, Kent, England and 5.2 miles (8.4 km) west of Maidstone, Kent.

Originally used as a landing area during the first World War, the site opened as a private landing ground and in 1930, then known as Kingshill, home to the Maidstone School of Flying, before being renamed West Malling Airfield, and, in 1932, Maidstone Airport.

During the 1930s many airshows and displays were held by aviators such as Amy Johnson and Alan Cobham, flying from a grass runway.

As war approached, the airfield was taken over by the military, to become RAF West Malling in 1940, serving in the front line against the Luftwaffe. The station saw further service after the war, first with some of the RAFs first jet squadrons, and later as a US Naval Air Station.

After closure as an operational air station in 1969, West Malling acquired a more civilian guise, hosting several major Great Warbirds Air Displays during the 70s and 80s, until eventually closing completely as an airfield. The site is now developing into a new village community of mixed residential, commercial, and civic amenities, but still retains several features of its military aviation heritage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_West_Malling

ClickBank Mall Authorized ClickBank Marketplace Income System: "The 1stPromotion Pro2 System - A Perfect Marriage Of Technology & Opportunity

1stPromotion.com, the trusted source of ClickBank utilities and premium work-at-home opportunities, announced today the introduction of their newest web mall and affiliate income portal. "

ClickBank Mall Authorized ClickBank Marketplace Income System: "Are You Ready To Take Total Control Of Your Future?
Are Your Ready To Break Out Of The Plug-In Income Mold?
Now You Can Have Your Very Own Custom Money-Making Site And Complete
Dynamic Income System...
That's Absolutely Perfect For You! "

If you have passion for anything, whether it is your professional experience, hobby, or knowledge, you could turn it into par-time, or full time job online through the biz guide on this page.

Whether you’re just starting out and need a brand new website for your small business, or you already have a site up (but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything for your business), you could benefit from determining what your website actually needs. Just having a site is not enough. Remember, a website is your most important digital asset and should be your central, online marketing piece. So putting some extra thought into that is [...]

The post How do you know what your small business website needs? appeared first on Create + Design + Market.

Giant sized football on a full football pitch in a shopping mall for FIFA World Cup.

Small apartments may feel restricting for many who love working out from home, but there are a few ways to ensure you have the best gym in your abode.

ClickBank highest-rated income generating system. From the desk of the Operations Manager at ClickBank - I regularly refer affiliates that are searching for these tools directly to 1stPromotion Pro. The 1stPromotion Pro system offers a very comprehensive Clickbank search tool. Their storefront and search box plug-in offer 100% search capability of our Marketplace with great accuracy, and they continue to develop serious tools for serious Clickbank affiliates. Best Regards, Jennifer J., Operations Manager, ClickBank.

Find information on small business crm application.

For a limited time, any Electronics, Software and Accessories order purchased will receive FREE 3-5 Day Shipping and Handling

[263Chat] South African Amapiano giant Kabza De Small is set to serenade Harare fans on the night of Friday, November 22, with his latest hits in the genre that has lit up the world.

In the dynamic landscape of small businesses, the need for professional tax specialists is often underestimated. While larger corporations may have dedicated teams to navigate complex tax rules, small businesses can greatly benefit from the expertise of tax specialists. This article explores why engaging a tax specialist is essential for the financial health and success [...]

The post The Crucial Role of Tax Specialists for Small Businesses appeared first on Braves News World.

A motorhome on a shoestring budget? It's possible if you're brave and creative. Here's how one blogger turned his dream of life on wheels into reality.

(Telecompaper) Beyon Money, part of the Beyon Group and City Centre Bahrain, a popular lifestyle and shopping destination in Bahrain have announced a strategic...

(Telecompaper) Vodafone reported higher revenues for the first half of its fiscal year, as growth in Africa and Turkey helped offset the slowdown in its biggest market, Germany...

It’s been nearly four years since Nissan brought the Magnite to India, and the compact SUV has shouldered the responsibility of establishing the Japanese brand's presence in the country. The X-Trail is a recent addition, serving more as a brand statement than a bread-and-butter model. Over the past six months, Nissan has despatched more than 12,000 units of the Magnite to its dealers (over 2,000 units every month) and has exported over 30,000 made-in-India models to international markets in the past four years.That the compact SUV will have to soldier on here, combined with the company's aim to export nearly 1 lakh units to 65 left-hand and right-hand-drive markets by 2026, underscores that a lot is riding on this facelift.

Nissan Magnite facelift: exterior, design

While the changes to the Magnite facelift’s design may seem insignificant when seen individually, together they add a dose of ruggedness to the compact SUV. The addition of a piano black appliqué that connects the grille and headlights makes the former look larger. The front bumper gets contrasting silver bits that protrude slightly, adding to the muscular appearance and also serving as fog light housings.

The new, smart-looking dual-tone 16-inch alloys add some freshness to the sides of the Magnite. The tail-lights get new 3D LED signatures that are quite attractive. Also, the Sunrise Copper Orange exterior colour is new and suits the Magnite well, especially with the contrasting black roof.

Nissan Magnite facelift: interior

It’s a similar story on the inside – there are small changes, but the effect is notable. The Magnite facelift’s cabin looks and feels far more premium, thanks to the copper-coloured leatherette finish on the dashboard and door panels, especially compared to the outgoing model’s nearly all-black plastic finish. The steering now gets an all-black finish that contrasts well with the dash, and the seats in the top-spec Tekna+ variant come in dual-tone copper-black leatherette covers that help keep one’s back and bottom cool, especially in conjunction with the strong automatic climate control system.

However, not everything is perfect. The new ambient lights do add to the ambience, but the execution could have been a bit more seamless. In addition, the steering column is visible in the footwell, and the accelerator and brake pedals are placed a little too close together.

In terms of practicality and comfort, the Magnite facelift retains its ability to carry four passengers with ease – though three seated abreast in the back will find shoulder room lacking – and comes with a 336-litre boot, which is good enough for a couple of large suitcases, and expands to 690 litres with the rear seats folded.

Nissan Magnite facelift: features

The faceliftcomes with a slightly expanded feature list. The Magnite has always been a well-equipped compact SUV, and it now adds goodies like engine remote start, auto headlights, an auto-dimming IRVM (the frameless unit picks up fingerprints and smudges too easily), a cooled glove box, and a USB C-Type port for rear passengers. The updated 7-inch digital instrument cluster is less gimmicky than that of the outgoing model, yet it displays the same amount of information, making it a welcome upgrade.

The standard safety kit on every Magnite variant includes six airbags, three-point seat belts for all passengers, ISOFIX anchors, ABS, traction control, a tyre pressure monitor, and a hill-start assist. The higher Techna and Techna+ variants also get a 360-degree camera, which doesn’t have the best resolution but works effectively.

Nissan Magnite facelift: performance, ride and handling

The Magnite is still offered with either a 72hp, 1.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine or a 100hp, 1.0-litre turbo-petrol unit; we’ve driven the latter, and it’s just as enjoyable as before. This three-cylinder unit has a strong mid-range punch and works well with the smooth CVT to mask any lag at lower revs. Speaking of the CVT, at low and medium engine speeds, there’s barely any of that typical ‘rubber band’ effect, but if you drive with a heavy right foot, it will set in. Cabin insulation has improved marginally, but the three-pot engine’s clatter is still audible, and it gets boomier as the revs rise.

At slower speeds, there is an underlying firmness to the Magnite’s suspension setup, but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable at any point. On the highway, the suspension does a much better job of filtering out road undulations, making it an able cruiser. What also helps is the steering that weighs up as the speeds rise, and the 195/60 tyres offer a decent amount of grip, instilling confidence when going through twisty ghat sections. On the other hand, despite doing a good job, the brakes don’t lend as much confidence as they should as the pedal feel is mushy, and there’s some slack before the brakes bite.

Nissan Magnite facelift: price, verdict

On the face of it, it may seem like not much has changed with the Magnite facelift, but that’s not true. It retains all the qualities of its predecessor –brilliant design, comfort, a sporty feel, and a well-equipped interior, all with an attractive price tag– while showing marked improvements in areas such as interior ambience and feel-good features.

Other than the visible cost-cutting and the lack of a sunroof at this price point (models such as the Venue, Nexon, and XUV 3XO offer one at the Rs 11.50 lakh that this top-spec Tekna + variant retails for), the Magnite is a more than competent package, especially when one considers that you pay just Rs 23,000 more for it compared to the outgoing model’s top-spec trim. The Magnite model should help Nissan maintain a foothold in India, at least for the near future.

All prices, ex-showroom, India

Also see:

Nissan Magnite: new versus old

Nissan Magnite facelift price, variants, features explained

From versatile furniture to clever spatial arrangements, here are some ways architects redesign interiors to make more of less

Juan Diego Celemín Mojica just explained this well himself, but it was perhaps hidden a little bit under a headline about Colombia and various other details. This point is one that I’ve been waiting for, and we’ve seen the market building toward this with the expansion of BYD into more ... [continued]

The post It’s Leapfrog Time For EVs In Smaller Auto Markets appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Fr. Stephen turns our thoughts during this week of the Nativity to the "smallness" of God. God has come to save us through His "weakness" as St. Paul says and invites us to share in that humility.

In which Nicole dreams small and introduces her theme word for 2022. Learn more about Nicole’s trauma-informed coaching services (nicoleroccas.com/coaching). Connect with Nicole on Instagram or Twitter (@NicoleRoccas). Mentioned in this episode: Nov 2021 Talk by Dr. Rima Nasrallah (councilofchurches.ca/news/new-video-available-we-saw-the-star-in-the-east-by-the-rev-dr-rima-nasrallah) The intro and outro of this podcast are the songs "Idea" and "Remedy for Melancholy" by Kai Engel, available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.