Posts in category: Advisory

6 Ways to Avoid the Holiday Blues

Despite the never-ending flurry of merry salutations, the holidays can be emotionally challenging — if not downright depressing. Here are a few practical ways to take care of yourself during this time of year. 

Set a Budget. When you’re out shopping, it’s so easy to cave to “spending sprawl” – irresistible gifts that seem to call your name, obliterating any control you thought you had before you left the house. Truth is, you can’t buy happiness with an avalanche of gifts. Instead, you might want to make something for someone (cookies or a homemade ornament), organize a gift exchange and set a spending limit, or donate to a charity in a person’s name. Another way to save money and infuse your gifts with meaning is to barter. For example, you might offer to weed someone’s garden in exchange for organizing your pantry. Design a website in exchange for painting your house. The list goes on and on. This way, you strip the season of its suck-your-wallet-dry tendency and replace it with the true meaning of the season, which is not about things at all. 

Learn to Say No. Saying yes to a holiday party or event when you really want to say no can breed resentment, which is never a good thing. Give yourself permission to decline invitations. Your friends will understand. Besides, a little alone time during the holidays might help you enjoy the things you do participate in that much more. 

Step Outside Your Comfort Zone. If you find yourself longing for companionship or are in a new city where you don’t know anyone, select some holiday events in your neighborhood or city, take a deep breath and show up. Chances are, you’ll meet others who might be in the same situation and make some new friends. 

Carve Out A Bit of ‚ÄúMe” Time. December is month that is notoriously busy, but you don‚Äôt have to be. Do something that celebrates you: get a massage or facial, read a book that‚Äôs been on your list, put on your favorite music and enjoy a cup of tea or take a walk and look at the stars. You‚Äôll feel refreshed and centered.¬†

Move Your Body. If you’re an exerciser, don’t abandon your routine. Keep up the good work. Getting your heart rate up and sweating not only helps get rid of cortisol, the stress hormone, it also triggers the release of endorphins – neurotransmitters that interact with your opiate receptors in the brain to generate positive feelings. If you’re not an exerciser, don’t worry. A simple 20-minute walk can help reduce cortisol and alleviate anxiety. But that’s not all. Walking can also help reduce your risk of heart disease and strengthen your bones, among many other health benefits. 

Acknowledge Your Feelings. If you’ve lost a loved one or recently gone through a divorce or break up, accept that feeling sad and lonely is normal. It’s okay to cry, get angry and grieve. As difficult as these emotions may be, getting them out might be the best remedy for healing. If you feel you need a little extra help, you can always try light therapy. Like exercise, these light therapy devices release endorphins by emitting UV-free light. Your mood and sleep pattern will improve, and best of all, they’re affordable. Varilux sells them starting at $40. However, if you feel that you’re really spiraling downward, pick up the phone and call a friend, a relative or a professional. Just being able to release what you’re feeling and hearing someone’s voice can be comforting and dilute what you thought was an impending disaster. 

Remember: Keep your chin up. The holidays are temporary and will be over before you know it. Soon you’ll be into a new year with a fresh start.

Keeping Your Company Secure During The Holidays

As the holidays approach, cybercriminals are looking for opportunities to exploit your employees and your business.

This article discusses a few ways you can keep your business secure this holiday season.

To view this article, click the following link to access the original content.

https://smallbiztrends.com/201…

How To Communicate With Your Ideal Customer

Finding and communicating with the right customer is a basic necessity for any small business.

This article discusses tips you can use to find ideal customers and improve your marketing communications strategy.

To view this article, click the following link to access the original content.

https://smallbiztrends.com/201…

Surviving Through Multiple Generations

Although family businesses boost the economy and make up more than fifty percent of the nation's GDP, they struggle to survive past the second generation.

This article discusses a few ways family businesses can thrive through multiple generations.

To view this article, click the following link to access the original content.

https://www.contractingbusines…

Creating a More Effective Sales Call

Cold-calling may seem out of date, but many small businesses rely on personal connections to get customers out of the cold calling stage and into prospective clients.

This short article discusses the trick to a more effective sales call.

To view this article, click the following link to access the original content.

https://www.inc.com/ford-trans…

Bright Future For Family Businesses

Family businesses can compete with other businesses who may have more capital, manpower, and resources that their disposal.

This article discusses the advantages family businesses have, and how family businesses can use these advantages to stay competitive.

To view this article, click the following link to access the original content.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/a…

Cyberattack Prevention Planning

Every year we experience new challenges in the world of computer hacking —as well as new solutions. Cyber hackers have become aggressive, so business owners must be more vigilant. Because clients are the source of your revenue, it is critically important to ensure their data never gets into the wrong hands. 

According to a recent survey conducted by the Better Business Bureau, more than half of small business owners reported they would no longer be profitable just one month following a data breach. 

According to Bill Fanelli, the chief security officer for the Council of Better Business Bureaus and co-author of the report, a primary vulnerability for small businesses is the carelessness of its employees. In fact, Fanelli observed that one of the most cost-effective prevention tools — employee education — is used by less than half of the companies surveyed. All it takes is for just one employee to click on a nefarious link or open an infected attachment for a cyber attacker to walk through an open door to your business. 

In many cases, business owners simply need to make employees aware of the types of behaviors that enable hackers to breach system security. To this end, the easiest prevention plan is to periodically conduct brief training sessions to reiterate the importance of: 

• Choosing a strong password
• Changing the password often
• Installing software updates as soon as alerts are received
• Avoiding opening suspicious emails or online links
• Never downloading unauthorized software or apps on company computers or smartphones¬†

Firms should conduct a full assessment to protect their business from data breaches at least once a year. Also, it is recommended that business owners ensure all transactions are secured through solutions such as: 

• Automated Clearing House payments ‚Äì an electronic network for financial transactions
• Secure Point of Service terminals ‚Äì an electronic device used to process card payments¬†

One way to help protect your financial transactions is to consult with a small business banker for a review of your current transaction management services to ensure you’re doing all you can to protect your business and your customers. 

How to Develop a Cybersecurity Plan

Consider using this five-step approach to help prevent your firm from being vulnerable to a data breach: 

1. Devise a step-by-step written communication plan detailing how your firm will conduct ongoing monitoring and maintenance, and recover normal operations should a cyber attack occur;
2. Identify at-risk assets, such as systems, data and financial operations;
3. Protect each asset with tools such as IT security, off-site/cloud backup and vendor protection measures;
4. Develop an automatic alert system to detect incidents that indicate current or imminent threats to system integrity and lost or compromised data; and
5. Create a response plan that encompasses worst-case scenarios and contingency planning, staff training, written procedures, reporting and outreach communications to staff, vendors, customers and the public, if necessary. 

Cybersecurity might not be your area of expertise, but your customers rely on you to keep their data safe. It’s important to take precautions to minimize your risk from this ever-growing danger.

8 Ways to Stay Healthy When You Sit All Day

According to Dr. James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic, sitting is the new smoking. In his study that spanned 15 years, it was determined that spending more than six hours a day on your behind contributes to unhealthy blood pressure, obesity, depression and some types of cancer. And that’s just for starters. Here are a few simple things you can do every day to combat these potentially life-threatening conditions. 

1. Set a timer. When you’re engrossed in your work, time can slip away. You glance at your watch and you’ve been sitting for two hours. This can take a toll on your health. Set a timer for every 30 minutes. Get up, stretch, go the restroom, drink water, take a lap around the office while your files are downloading or step outside and get some fresh air. The more you move around during the day, the better your overall health — both physical and emotional — will be.
2. Wash your hands. Those pesky germs are everywhere: door knobs, keyboards, conference rooms, you name it. They’re invisible and potentially harmful. And, as much as you may (or may not) like them, your coworkers are also a source of infection, with their sneezing and coughing. Keep some hand sanitizer at your desk. Even better, get up and wash your hands in the restroom, the latter of which is doubly healthy because you’ll be moving your body.
3. Walk and talk. You’ve seen those movies where the boss says, “Walk with me.” It turns out this dynamic has some merit — and health advantages. Instead of sitting down with someone, ask them to take a walk with you to discuss the subject at hand. If it’s a phone meeting, get up and pace. Moving those legs is a good thing.
4. Drink plenty of water. Hydration is key to keeping yourself in tip-top shape. But know this: thirst doesn’t always signal that you need liquids; it can also be a sign of hunger, at which point you might be tempted to grab a sugary snack. Solution? Drink water instead to quell your grumbling stomach. Thirst is also a symptom of lack of sleep, which leads us to the next tip.
5. Get a good night’s sleep. When you don’t have enough sleep, everything has the potential to be off-kilter: your mood, attention span and your sense of being satiated. In case you feel hungry, drink water — or even hot tea. When your stomach is full, you minimize the chance of overeating or eating something that’s full of fat or sugar, which can lead to weakening your immune system in its already compromised state (sleep deprivation).
6. Invest in a pedometer. Getting steps in is not just for people over 65. Everyone needs them. Pedometers are generally affordable — between $15 and $35. According to an article in Prevention magazine, after one woman increased her daily activity to 9,950 steps a day, she lost five pounds and lowered her cholesterol 24 points. Get steppin’ for feeling better and staying well!
7. Check your posture. If refrains of “sit up straight” from parents and teachers are circling through your head, don’t push them away. Turns out that bad posture can lead to all kinds of detrimental effects: sore muscles, spinal curvature, blood vessel and nerve constriction, not to mention depression, low energy and stress. No one needs that. Instead, adjust your backside so that it touches the back of your chair. Look at the ceiling to stretch your neck. Raise your arms and reach for the sky. Relax your shoulders. And lastly, breathe.
8. Adjust your monitor. Sitting too close to your monitor can cause eye exhaustion, burning and muscle aches. And when your monitor is too high or low, it can lead to headaches, double vision, difficulty focusing your vision, nausea and dizziness. Here’s the remedy: sit about an arm’s length away and align the top of your screen with your eyes so that you look down a bit at your monitor. This should alleviate any irritations that might arise.

So, the next time you’re sitting at your desk and are in between tasks, give these tips a read. See if one of them applies and give it a try. One small tweak to your daily routine could make all the difference for your health and well-being.

Will Billionaire Investor Ray Dalio Be Correct Again?

The majority of the mainstream financial media steers investors to news stories that have little bearing on intermediate and long-term returns. The stories often have a short-term focus, centering on the problem of the day and how it will impact the stock market. Many experts, including the legendary investor Ray Dalio, believe the average investor would be better served by ignoring daily news headlines and focusing on metrics with insight into where we are in the economic cycle.

Dalio’s Start and Accomplishments

Born in Jackson Heights, Queens, Ray Dalio became hooked on investing at the age of 12, when he used $300 he saved from caddying and other jobs to invest in Northeast Airlines because of what he overheard on the golf course. Dalio later went on to graduate from Harvard Business School and trade commodity futures on Wall Street before starting his own investment management firm, Bridgewater Associates, in 1975. Today, Bridgewater is one of the largest hedge funds in the world, with more than $160 billion in assets under management. Dalio himself is personally estimated to be worth approximately $16 billion to $18 billion.

Investment Approach

Dalio employs an investment approach called “global macro,” which means large-scale investing based on broad systematic factors. He studies market history, looking for events and causations that were previously thought to be impossible. He uses this historical perspective to anticipate changes in currencies, commodity prices and inflation. He also is a strong believer in understanding the psychological factors that influence markets and company management.

Past Prognostications

Dalio is perhaps best known for foreseeing the Great Recession of 2008-2009. Back in 2006, Bridgewater Associates figured out that the total debt service in the United States was exceeding income and that as a consequence, economic de-leveraging was inevitable. Then in 2007, Dalio saw the housing boom coming to an end and met with the Secretary of the Treasury to warn him that the big banks were in danger of becoming insolvent. As a result, the fund made significant investments in Treasury bonds, gold and the Japanese yen. Finally, in the spring of 2008, his fund pulled out of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, a mere week before the latter failed.

What Does Dalio See Coming Now?

Recently, Dalio said he thought that the U.S. economy was in the seventh inning, and that now is the time to starting shifting to a more defensive position in the market. Why does he believe this? There are three main economic metrics that tie into this thesis.

The first is the NFIB Small Business Confidence index. Right now, small business confidence is at an all-time high. This suggests that small businesses are hiring, expanding and investing. These are all good things, but the fact that we are at an all-time high leads many to believe that we are also at the peak and the only place to go from here is down.

Two other metrics to consider are the ISM Manufacturing Index and the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index; they are at 14 -year and 18-year highs, respectively. These metrics suggest that manufacturing and consumer confidence are also near peaks and indicate nearing the top of another economic cycle.

Conclusion

The simple fact that these three measures are at or near all-time highs doesn’t mean that a recession is imminent. It does mean that the economy has a high probability of seeing growth slow before reversing. Essentially, Dalio is suggesting that we are not at the end of the cycle, but we are getting close. Unfortunately for investors, being too early is the same as being wrong – so there are no easy answers or we’d all be billionaires like him.

Phone App to Enhance Staff Productivity

Is your staff spending too much time in meetings and not enough time working independently? If so, you’re not alone. Since 2008, the amount of time that firms spend in meetings has been increasing. It is now projected that organizations spend an average of 15 percent of company time in meetings. 

It could be that meetings have become more prevalent because of all the bells and whistles that new technology has brought to the conference table. These advances include slick presentations with video and talking heads as well as interactive face time with offsite staff and clients. It’s no wonder companies are investing in meeting technology. 

However, technology that was meant to make workers more productive has, in many cases, just placed them in meetings for longer periods. Perhaps it’s time to start using technology for more efficacious purposes. 

Enter: Meeting apps. Instead of inviting loads of people to a meeting to get up to speed, how about just invite the folks necessary and record the meeting for all those who just need to be aware of what’s going on. There are now phone apps that record a meeting and then transcribe the dialogue into meeting notes to be distributed after the fact. 

One such example is an AI-powered app called Tetra, introduced in 2017 and continually being updated with new improvements. The key feature of the app is to eliminate the need for anyone to take notes, which enables participants to stay focused on the content being discussed. The app not only records the phone call, but also transcribes the call into a text document using deep learning and natural language processing (NLP). 

A full transcription of the discussion is delivered within minutes after the call, complete with features that make it easy to search for specific terms in order to review exactly what was said. For example: 

• Search for keywords across all conversations
• Listen to a specific piece of audio by tapping on those keywords
• Generate a call summary by manually tagging key moments during a call
• Save highlights and action items with a single tap
• Share notes with colleagues who are not present through the Tetra mobile or web app¬†

How It Works

Tetra allocates a dedicated Tetra number to be used for all outgoing and incoming calls over Wi-Fi or 4G. Once each call is completed, the VoIP app generates notes a short time later. 

Price

In terms of cost, the app offers an initial trial of 60 free minutes in the first month. Thereafter, the user signs up for a specific plan based on projected time. 

• Plus ‚Äì $9/month for a total of five hours of call time per month
• Pro ‚Äì $29/month for a total of 10 hours of call time per month
• Business ‚Äì $99/month for unlimited call time each month¬†

Compliance

One common question regarding recorded phone calls is whether it is illegal. To legally comply with the issue, the Tetra app issues a default announcement to participants that the call is being recorded. The app offers the option for a user to disable this announcement as long as the plan subscriber agrees to ask for recording permission where necessary to stay compliant with local laws. 

Also, Tetra utilizes industry standard encryption and Amazon Web Servers (AWS) to store data that’s been collected. Note that the transcription function is generated automatically by artificial intelligence and no humans are involved, so all meeting content remains confidential. 

The meeting recording market is starting to expand. There are currently numerous apps, such as Zoom, clark.ai, Scopist and NoNotes, that record calls and save them to a cloud for easy retrieval. However, the transcription service is relatively new and adds a striking dimension to enhance productivity – allowing more employees to keep working outside of meetings.