Tag: female-entrepreneur

3 Top Tips on How to Start a Beauty Business

Beauty never goes out of fashion. Year in, year out, consumers clamber to purchase the latest cosmetic products, which means there will always be a call for new businesses in this industry. If you have a passion for beauty and want to forge an authoritative reputation for yourself within this field, why not answer this call by heeding the advice laid out below…

Here are three top tips on how to start your own beauty business

Get qualified

Even if you are a self-confessed self-taught cosmetics expert, you will still need to earn official credentials before you can start your own beauty business. Getting qualified will showcase the fact that you have the experience and expertise required to provide a succinct, seamless, and streamlined beautification service.

Worried that you won’t be able to balance working full-time with earning your official beauty credentials? Fear not, as you could always enroll in an online course. This will allow you to retain complete control over how, where, and when you study.

If you think you would benefit more from the hands-on experience you get from face to face training, there are plenty of flexible options to get the training you need. You will find in-person beauty training courses that will give you the skills and qualifications you need, which you’ll be able to complete over just 1-2 days.

Attend beauty expos

Attending beauty expos is one of the best things you can do when starting your company, because it will help you increase your network. The more people you talk to about your business, the more likely you will be to encounter potential clients, partners, and investors. Ultimately, this will aid you in your attempt to improve both your brand image and your profit turnover.

When you decide to attend beauty expos, making use of a corporate travel booking tool is advised. With AMEX by your side in this instance, you will have the opportunity to unearth travel and accommodation solutions that work for you. This will help you to avoid blowing your budget on unnecessary and unsatisfactory corporate travel.

Attract more clients

Establishing your beauty business within its niche field is only half the battle. If you’re serious about becoming a leading figure within the cosmetics sector, taking your company to the next level is highly recommended.

When aiming to improve your beauty business’ standing within its market, attracting new clients is a no-brainer. This is never, however, a straightforward task to undertake. Generating fresh leads and converting them into fully-fledged customers requires determination, dedication, and diligence over a sustained period of time.

To attract new clients in today’s competitive cosmetic environment, you are advised to:

1. Create a referral program

2. Target different clientele (men, for example)

3. Generate valuable cosmetic content on a regular basis

4. Keep your website updated

5. Offer discounts and promotions

6. Engage with prospects via social media

7. Run contests and offer giveaways

8. Enhance your SEO endeavors

9. Hand out marketing material (flyers, brochures, etc.) in physical spaces

10. Get involved in local volunteer initiatives

The beauty industry is constantly developing and growing more profitable. If you wish to enter this burgeoning field and grab a slice of this incredibly lucrative pie, be sure to put the advice and guidance laid out above into practice.

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7 steps to starting a successful equine business 

If you love horses, you should consider turning that passion into a business. From selling equine equipment to running your own stables, here are 7 steps to starting a successful equine business. 

Find a Profit Motive

To run a successful business, you need to make sure that the revenue from your products or services is greater than your combined expenses. The types of equine businesses you can start will depend on the products and services you plan to offer. For example, if you want to sell horse-related equipment, you might have a harder time getting started as a business than someone with a skilled service such as horse training or farrier work.

Make a Business Plan

Once your revenue and expenses are known, you’ll need to create a business plan that will help you run your equine business. The business plan should include information such as the market research for the product or service, competitive analysis of your competition, and financial information like your monthly revenue and expenses projections. 

Grow Your Business

After you’ve started up, you’ll need to grow your equine business. Hiring employees or freelance workers to help you is one way to increase the amount of work that your company can do for clients. Advertising through social media, print ads, and even the local news are also good ways to draw attention to your company. 

Get Feedback

To ensure that your equine business is successful, you should work with a financial advisor from time to time. They can help you make sure that your company is on track to meet its growth goals and review your business plan and offer suggestions forimprovement. In addition, talking with customers about their experiences with your products or service will give you valuable insight into how you can make your company even more successful.

Prepare for the health impact

Running an equine business can have both positive and negative effects on your health. If you are sitting behind a desk all day, working for yourself may cause stress because of making sure that clients get what they need from your company. On the other hand, being around horses is one of the best ways to reduce stress and get exercise, but it can also be dangerous. Visit Website to find out about recovering after a horse-riding accident.

Be Different

There are many companies out there that offer products and services related to horses. Your business will need to stand apart from its competitors by providing the best possible experience for customers to be successful. Even if you start small with just one product or service, you should work hard to ensure that each customer has a great experience when working with your company.

Market, Market, Market

Choosing the right markets to sell your product or service is essential for starting a successful business. You’ll need to think about where your customers are, how much it will cost you to reach them, and what you can offer in terms of products or services they’re willing to buy. By studying your market, you’llbe able to develop a competitive edge against your competition.

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How Cross-Cultural Communication Drives Workplace Success

 

Cross-сultural сommunication is the interaction between representatives of different peoples, including verbal and non-verbal aspects of communication. In the modern world, to face the need for intercultural exchange, it is often not necessary to leave the home country. Today, economic globalization has led to many companies having their branches in various countries and, accordingly, recruiting staff around the world. Almost all companies have foreign partners, and often engineers have to consult or carry out joint projects with foreign colleagues.

 

Why study intercultural communication?

A multifaceted cultural businessman knows how to find a common language with representatives of different races, age categories, sexes, social conditions, and lifestyles. He can successfully motivate them and conduct business in a culturally heterogeneous environment, taking into account other countries’ characteristics, including their national and cultural aspects.  Let’s take for example you want to expand your company in China and with the services of a China company register firm you want to establish your company there. In order to become a multicultural businessman there, you will need to build relationships with representatives of a wide variety of cultures. This intercultural communication skill is also essential because large organizations often hire people with work experience abroad for leadership positions.

Suppose a businessman can develop a sense of culture. In that case, he will understand some of the nuances in the tradition that will help him build closer relationships with people who have cultural roots different from his own. Developing a sense of culture takes time, as does developing intuition. You will need to combine your own experience and long-term observations. A businessman who has a keen understanding and awareness of culture develops an excellent ability to lead the most diverse groups of people necessary for a business. After all, the more people with different opinions and experiences, the better it is for your company. Knowing various cultures, mastering intercultural communication, a businessman, thereby, raises his authority in the eyes of his subordinates.

 

Don’t neglect professional services

Everyone benefits from using professional services to translate materials for your expatriate employees. You should consider working with a translation services company for guaranteed results. Do all this without considering intercultural differences; you can create conflict situations when all employees must work on a common cause to provide business with products and services during demand. It would be a good idea for representatives of other countries who work for your company to translate vital documents into their native language. With all the knowledge of the English language and the ability to speak and read in English, it would be much more convenient and pleasant for labor migrants to receive critical information in their native language.

The issue of translating documents into their native language also applies to foreign companies that have localized their production on the territory of an English-speaking country. Of course, it is convenient for them to have staff who speak, read and write in English. Still, it is not difficult for them to make several important documents and instructions in their native language to facilitate the employees’ work in these companies. Doing so would be one of the signs that multicultural people in business and executives run companies. Many such examples show that intercultural communication is very important in modern business.

 

An example of successful intercultural communication

At one time, Germany was well prepared to receive the Turks and integrate them into its business. The Germans learned to write instructions and rules and “draw” them in icons, signs, and comics that did not require knowledge of the German language. It was not easy to do this, but as pedantic, consistent, and hardworking managers, the Germans achieved success when they got down to business.

The United States of America is also an unsurpassed master of intercultural communication, from where a similar term came to culture and management. The country has also been and will be multicultural, multicultural, multinational, thus making significant progress due to the synergy from different approaches to solve its problems in business. Coworking spaces are also on the rise right now especially because it enables people of different work positions and backgrounds to work together.

 

Conclusion

The leader must be prepared to perceive the differences that arise to communicate with representatives of a different culture successfully. If there is a need to develop business abroad or attract foreigners to work in industry, there is a need to communicate with representatives of other cultures and nationalities. Intercultural communication is of great practical importance for business. Its knowledge and understanding help a business person to start a successful business with foreigners.

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About The Author

Freya is a Math teacher, Yoga enthusiast, and a beloved mother of three lovely daughters. She is always looking for ways to grow and help others around her thrive through self-learning, meditation, and physical fitness. When she is not teaching or spending time with her family, Freya regularly writes on topics related to self-improvement and women empowerment.

The Latest Tech Trends Innovating Your Beauty Business

 

If you run a beauty business, you stand a better chance of flourishing if you adopt the latest salon technology. There are many salon software tools that you can utilize for better client and employee management, as well as beauty mobile apps that help you customize your services. By using flexible appointment scheduling systems, you can automate your booking process, provide top-notch customer experiences, and build strong customer relationships. Modern salon tech innovations will help you improve efficiency and functionality in your salon, upscale your marketing, manage your inventory better, and consequently grow your revenue. To give you an idea of what technology can do for your beauty business, this article explores 7 tech trends that are reinventing the hair & beauty industry:

Appointment and client management systems

A hair salon software is your game changer! It is the last and most important part of your digital marketing puzzle. For instance, once you convince a social media user to check out your services, or if an online searcher stumbles upon your website on Google, how do you ensure that they convert? Remember you have a very slim window for convincing them to schedule an appointment with you. If they can’t book an appointment at the very first contact they have with your business, there is a good chance that you will lose them forever. And knowing how unpopular phone calls are in this digital age, you can bet that most of your potential clients won’t be too comfortable speaking to you personally. That is why an online booking system is necessary.

Your booking system tells your online traffic where you are located, the hours you are open, and the date & time you’re free. They then can book an appointment at their convenience and make payments if necessary, all in a few quick clicks. That improves your online conversions and revenue. On top of that, your system will help you keep track of online clients’ contacts and other personal details. If there is anything you need to know about a client before you meet them in person, you can ask on the booking page. That includes their hair type, beauty interests, hair color or makeup preferences, and what their expectations are. Having this information on hand allows you to customize your services and make successful follow-ups (and appointment reminders) when necessary. That is good for customer retention.

 

Virtual imaging

Gone are the days of trial and error in the beauty industry. Clients now don’t have to invest in a hair or cosmetic makeover and then cross their fingers hoping that the “after look” is exactly what they had in mind.  Augmented Reality (AR) technology has made virtual imaging a possibility. Virtual imaging allows clients to try out different makeups and hairstyles for a sneak peek of their most probable “after look” style before they commit to a makeover. It gives you a better shot at customer satisfaction.

 

Mobile applications

There are a ton of salon solution apps that you can leverage to grow your beauty practice. Apps for salon managers and stylists include Salon Iris, Beautylish, Milano Connect, and TapStyle, among many others. They are one-stop solutions for most of your salon and customer management challenges. You can, for example, access a community of salon owners and stylists through these apps. That makes it easier for you to find and hire top talents, network with your peers, and find answers/solutions related to salon products and equipment. Some apps, e.g. TapStyle, will even help you manage schedules and booking.

 

Personalized skin care

Good examples of this hot trend are L’Occitane en Provence and Perso by L’Oréal. It is one of the hottest trends in beauty tech, for many good reasons.  This smart tech will help you assess clients’ skins through AI if you want to customize the perfect skincare regimen for them. The tech can also analyze local weather conditions (e.g. UV saturation and pollution) to determine how an individual’s skin is affected by their surroundings.

 

Loyalty program software

This tech trend allows you to create and manage loyalty programs for your online audiences. You can use your software to award points, give rewards, and offer tiered membership options to loyal clients. Consequently, the software helps you drive customer engagement, incentivize quality clients to come back, and give clients a reason to spend more in your salon. You can customize your loyalty program around one of these 3 systems:

  • Points-based system: Every time a customer orders a product from your online store or pays for a service through your online booking system, the loyalty program software awards them points automatically. When the points accumulate to your chosen amount, clients can redeem them for exclusive discounts or vouchers.
  • Tiered memberships: This reward system works by categorizing clients based on how loyal they are to your business. You can, for example, offer a platinum-tier level for new clients and a gold level for your most loyal clients, with silver and bronze membership levels in between. Rewards go to clients who work hard to climb up the ladder.
  • Referral system: A customer can also earn points upon referring a paying customer, posting a positive review online, or doing any other online activity that you deem beneficial to your online marketing.

 

QR codes

QR codes provide detailed information about an item or a service when scanned. You can use this technology in your salon to provide clients with as much information as they want regarding your hair & beauty products. Instead of telling clients that your products are organic, for example, you can provide them with a QR code that links to unlimited resources (YouTube videos, research articles, or even case studies) about the product. You just need to put up customized codes on products’ packages and encourage clients to dig in for more info.

 

Contactless payments

Contactless payment is a hot trend for businesses especially due to the lessons learned during the pandemic. Salons must now leverage mobile payment systems such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay.

 

Conclusion

Any smart hair and beauty salon owner or manager knows how important technology is to business growth. It gives salons a competitive edge by allowing them to reach bigger audiences and serve clients better.  We only discussed a few examples of the trends you need to keep pace with. Now keep your eyes open for any hot trends that may disrupt the hair and beauty industry in the foreseeable future.

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About The Author

Freya is a Math teacher, Yoga enthusiast, and a beloved mother of three lovely daughters. She is always looking for ways to grow and help others around her thrive through self-learning, meditation, and physical fitness. When she is not teaching or spending time with her family, Freya regularly writes on topics related to self-improvement and women empowerment.

 

How to Create a Profitable Website

When you’re reading about web celebrities making tons of money and becoming millionaires overnight, like many people, you might fantasize about becoming wealthy yourself online. However, maybe you dismiss the idea as being completely impossible. But what you might not realize is that the idea of making money online today is more realistic than most people think. While you might not become a billionaire in a day, it’s entirely possible to earn a significant stream of income from a website, often enough to be your primary source of income. With many online resources and technology now available cheaply or free of charge, it’s possible to build a website with low start-up costs and start making money from it.

Choosing a Niche:

Choosing a niche with a significant audience will not only make it easier for you to make money from your website, but it is also one of a variety of site specific factors that will be considered if you want to sell your website for a profit later. When choosing your niche, be as specific as possible. For example, instead of simply targeting women, dig deeper into who your audience are as people. Do they have kids? How old are they? Are they married? What are they interested in? While this might limit the total number of people that you can target, it will also increase the relevancy of your website for that audience and help you grow faster.

Build Your Site Content:

The next step involves building your site with valuable, detailed, insightful, and original content. This is a hugely important part of the process since it is your website content that will enable you to successfully retain your audience. Produce content consistently and get feedback from your audience to make it easier for you to get ideas for future content that they are going to be interested in. It’s worth spending some time learning the basics of content marketing.

Promote Your Content and Build Your Audience:

To build your audience, you will need to start promoting your website. You can do this by guest posting on authority websites in your niche and submitting your content to news sites. You can also promote your website on a variety of different social media networks and optimize your site for search engines to make it easier for members of your audience to find the site.

Monetize Your Website:

Once you have built a reliable audience for your website, it’s time to find a way to monetize your traffic. This is often easier than it seems on the surface since the good news is that you can make money from a site with lots of traffic in several ways. Some of the most popular ways include selling products, digital downloads, or offering consulting services that are related to your niche. You can also sell advertising space on your site or use affiliate links in your blog posts to earn passive revenue.

Continue Improving:

When turning your website into a profitable venture, it’s important to understand that your website is something that is never fully finished. When it comes to what a website can do, there are infinite possibilities, and with trends changing all the time, there will always be something new that you can do to ensure that your website continues to stay appealing to your audience. Continuous testing, improving, redesigning, and adding new content to your website is often essential to your success.

Making money from a website is easier than you think. With the right niche and content that provides value, there are several things that you can do to monetize yourself and create a passive income stream.

 

5 Tips to Increase Productivity While Working Remotely

We all wish that the “working from home is perfect and you can save so much time” myth were true. In theory, home-based work eliminates all the time we spend going to and from the office, and it lets you organize your own schedule, eat home-cooked meals, and so much more. So why is it so difficult to focus and work while you’re at home?

First of all, you’re dealing with all kinds of distractions, your brain isn’t used to the environment that you normally perceive as anything but professional, and chances are, family. Luckily, there are ways to deal with all that and so much more that might be playing havoc with your ability to work remotely. Let’s check out a few useful tips to boost productivity.

Limit digital distractions 

Our online habits are different when we’re at home or at work. It makes sense to feel the urge to go on Facebook or Instagram, but there are tools to help you minimize these distractions. For example, the Chrome plugin called Mindful Browsing lets you know when you’re being unproductive, but without sounding judgmental. Instead, you get to see some lovely nature photos and get a reminder to focus on work.

Tools like Freedom, on the other hand, can be connected to a wide array of digital devices and you can block apps and sites that distract you during a designated time of day. Block off your work hours with such apps, and you won’t be procrastinating that easily soon.

Amplify your Google Workspace

In addition to what you’re not supposed to do while working, there are things that you can do better to be more productive. Like most professionals using Google Workspace, you likely communicate with your colleagues via email and other tools regularly, but you also need to swap contact details with each other.

Since Google Workspace doesn’t have that feature built into the system, you can share Google Contacts with the help of a dedicated add-on called Shared Contacts. Once activated, it lets you seamlessly exchange contact details with your team members, assign editing rights, and organize your contact base properly. You’ll no longer waste time searching for contact details, but have everything at your fingertips and ready for your teams.

Organize a dedicated work area

As we’ve mentioned before, your work setting has an impact on how productive you’ll be. So, if you’re spending your work hours stuck in an uncomfortable chair, slouched over a desk that’s too low, and without proper lighting, you’re bound to have issues.

Design your home office to be adapted to your work needs, so add a well-organized file cabinet, a supportive chair, and don’t forget a LED lamp. This should help you feel good while you work and avoid all kinds of strain that would lead to a lack of focus.

Choose a smart project management tool

With so many digital outlets you’re using, you could be feeling overwhelmed with messages, tasks, and managing everything flooding your inboxes. Getting a project management tool like Zoho Projects can simplify the entire process significantly, keeping it all under one roof, with automated alerts and notifications.

Organizing your projects and tasks can be much simpler with one tool to do it all. Then, you can check your progress, see which milestones you need to meet, and what you can delegate to free up some of your time.

Stick to a work schedule 

Just like your evening routine can help you amp up your mornings to be energized and refreshed, setting a clear and detailed work routine will allow you to focus properly. When we work remotely, we’re tempted to spend most of our time checking our personal social media pages, doing some laundry, and enjoying the occasional cup of coffee. All that’s natural, but when it’s time to work, you should be able to avoid finding all the other chores that suddenly need to get done.

Create a schedule that gives you an overview of what needs to get done each hour of your workday. That alone will help you grasp how much there is to finish, and how much time you really need for each task. The schedule can then help you refine your hours based on performance and give yourself the chance to get more done.

Finally, we need to say goodbye to the idea that productivity can or should be a constant state. It fluctuates and you’re allowed to be a little slow on some days, especially when you don’t get enough sleep or you’re handling a particularly tedious project.

Despite it all, you can use these and other tips inspired by them to improve your ability to focus and get more done in less time, no matter where you are or who’s around you.

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Ten Solid Reasons To Get A New Job. Like Right Now!

Work is a huge part of our daily lives. And after over two years of pandemic chaos, working from home, remote learning, mask wearing and zoom dates with friends potential suitors and family. The time for a career change is now.

 

1.) You are bored.

Boredom is a real problem in the workplace. Even if you are hustling and bustling and earning a decent wage, boredom is a signal that your gig is not sustainable. You are cooler than a boring job, am i right?

 

2.) They are no longer allowing you to work from home.

You got into this working remote lifestyle. Coffee brewed by you, and working in your PJs while having Netflix on in the background increased your productivity. True story.

 

3.) You miss your coworkers in the workplace and loathe being so isolated.

This pandemic definitely divided us. Maybe you are a super social gal who likes those lunches with your work wife and miss the days of actually dressing up for the office. As more and more companies mandate vaccines, working at an office is also an option.

 

4.) The job market is booming!

You are in a great position right now to look for work, or get recruited in a higher paying salary opportunity with more responsibility and perhaps at a company you always wanted to work for.

 

5.) You want an easier commute.

If this pandemic has taught us anything about working at an office is that a commute can take so much from your day. So look for a job that is closer to home and easier to head out after to take that in person yoga class or grab happy hour with friends.

 

6.) You want a change of scenery and to be challenged in your career.

Honestly, that is enough to start looking for a new job. Sometimes the grass is always greener and through the interview process we may find that we prefer to stay where we are. But knowing your worth and taking a good look at whats out there will keep you at the best job for you at the moment.

 

7.) You are seeking a lifestyle change.

There are travel abroad jobs, like teaching English in another country or other nomadic jobs that can be a full lifestyle change. Maybe the restaurant world has exhausted you due to COVID-19. And you want an office job. Whatever you are interested in there are job recruiters out there looking to get you onto your next career path.

 

8.) You want to contribute

There are so many ways to contribute to society that fall outside of the normal career paths most of our friends have taken. Working for a non profit, or getting into nursing or the fitness sector can bring you a new level of job fulfillment. So choose a passion career now.

 

9.) You have an idea that you want to see executed.

Are you a “femmepreneur?” We had a lot of time to sit and think about ideas and to daydream when we were all in lockdown. Take your idea to the next step and build a small business.

 

10.) You know your worth.

Stuck at a job that does not seem to pay you, promote you, value you or give you the respect that you feel you deserve? Shopping yourself around will not only give you leverage with your current employer to negotiate a raise and promotion, but it will also help you decide what you are looking for.

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How To Find Out If You Are Entitled To Workers’ Compensation Benefits

If you have been injured, or if you are experiencing symptoms of a work-related illness, it is important to know whether or not you might be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. If your injury happened at work and was caused by an accident that someone else could have prevented, then the employer should cover the cost of your medical bills and other expenses related to your injury. Workers’ compensation covers both lost wages and non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. Entitled employees will also receive death benefits if they die from their injuries. Look into these options to find out if you are legible.

What Are Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

Workers’ compensation benefits are paid by an employer to employees who have been injured or become ill while on the job. Entitled workers usually receive medical care, disability payments, and death benefits in most cases of a work-related injury or illness. You have this workers’ compensation timeline to help you understand more about workers’ compensation benefits and how to deal with them. There is no cost directly associated with filing for workers’ compensation, but there may be some costs associated with your attorney.

 

Entitled benefits are paid regardless of who is at fault in the accident, and workers’ compensation does not require an injured worker to prove negligence on part of their employer or co-workers. Most states have a “no-fault” system when it comes to workplace accidents that lead to injuries or illness. In some cases, an employer’s workers’ compensation insurance will deny your claim if you are found to be partially at fault for the accident.

Understand The Requirements For Workers’ Compensation Benefits Eligibility

In general, employees who are injured on the job may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. But not every worker employed in a paid capacity is covered by or eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Entitlement depends upon an individual’s employment status and relationship with the employer at the time of injury or death.

 

Some employees not eligible for workers’ compensation benefits are Independent contractors, volunteers unless they were paid more than $500 in the preceding calendar year. And Employees of various federal agencies, such as law enforcement officers working on special detail at an hourly wage. Workers’ compensation claims are generally classified as either “inherently hazardous jobs” or “non-hazardous jobs” that can vary by state laws on who is eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

Check Your State’s Workers’ Compensation Laws

he process of finding out if you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits varies from state to state, so it is best to check with a lawyer or the department of labor for things not to get confused later on. However, there is generally a form that you have to fill out to be considered for workers’ compensation. The best thing that you can do is check with your employer first to see if they are willing to file the necessary paperwork, as it will save both of you time and stress later on. Once the claim is submitted it will either come back approved or denied by your state’s workers compensation board, so keep in mind that this process can take up to several months depending on how busy they are at any given time.

Find Out What The Filing Process Entails

There are many ways that employees can become injured at work, some of which enable the employee to receive workers’ compensation benefits. These include illnesses caused by toxic fumes or chemicals on-site, injuries sustained while moving heavy objects, and accidents arising out of defective equipment.

 

The filing process will vary depending on the type of accident. For example, someone who is injured by defective equipment may file a report with their employer and request that they fix the piece of machinery in question. If it’s not repaired within one week, then the employee can apply for workers’ compensation benefits to get further assistance.

Consider Applying For The Benefits

You’ll be asked to complete and submit a WCC-101 form. When this is sent in, the insurer will review your claim, and determine whether or not they can accept it. It may take some time for them to get back to you on how much of your medical bills they are willing to cover. You should also know that you can file a claim even if the accident wasn’t your fault. In this case, as long as it happened on the job and is work-related, you are entitled to compensation from workers’ compensation insurance coverage.

 

Workers’ compensation is a vital component of any employment contract. If an on-the-job accident occurs, you need to know that your employer will cover the costs of medical care and time off work while you recover. Unfortunately, many people are unaware that they have workers’ compensation until after their injury has already occurred. It can be hard to navigate this process without help so feel free to work with a lawyer or law firm who can assist with navigating these complicated waters!

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The Way We Move: Meet Molly Bingaman Of Ladybird Styling.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit,  it was a tough road ahead for many small business owners. For Molly Bingaman of Ladybird Styling in Kansas City, it was a struggle to navigate her styling business and to keep those dreams alive. Spacemob Studios, a fast growing, large scale production company wanted to share Molly’s relatable story to a wide audience.  Hours, of cinematic footage, raw interviews and stills developed into a full scale production titled, The Way We Move. A limited series that reveals the raw and authentic side to small business struggles in the wake of the current pandemic. You can watch it on the Docurama channel.  We sat down with Molly and asked her some questions about her female owned business, her show, The Way We Move, and the future of Ladybird Styling.

1.) Tell me a little bit about Ladybird- What made you think of it and how did it become a business? 

I started Ladybird when I realized that a lot of my awesome and amazing friends felt confused and insecure about fashion. It surprised me to learn that the intelligent, beautiful, and otherwise confident women I knew were feeling shut down, or like they were ‘missing something’ in this area. I could really see the affect it was having on their self-esteem. After hearing enough of these stories I thought “Okay. This is not okay. This is solvable. I’m going to do something about this.”  From there, it became about creating an approachable environment for women to get sound advice. 

2.) What is your background? Fashion? Technology? Styling? 

I have a background in Fine Art, but after graduating I often wondered “why didn’t anybody tell me not to get an art degree!?” It wasn’t until years later, when I immersed myself into styling that it all came full circle and I was able to appreciate and use what I’d learned about the language of design. My initial styling training was with Stacy London of “TLC’s What Not to Wear.” At the time she was working on a national styling company that matched women with personal stylists in their area. I was a new stylist and this was a great boost of confidence and credibility for me as I was just getting started.  Later I dug deeper into the “image consulting” industry and learned the foundation of what we teach today. 

3.) What would be an ideal client for Ladybird Styling? Is it mostly women? Or is it for men too?

The ideal Ladybird client is any woman who is sick of looking to outside sources to inform herself of her very own sense of style. She feels the itch that there’s a well of un-tapped creativity inside her and she’s ready to explore it. At Ladybird, the name of the game is authenticity, and this is what we draw on when we teach a women how to style herself. We’ve worked with quite a few men in the past, but we are currently focused on serving women. 

4.) Why do you think so many people regret having a closet full of items they don’t actually wear? Or need? Why do people often shop for the WRONG items? 

Chaos in your closet comes from too many mixed signals. When your clothing doesn’t vibe together, and it doesn’t vibe with you. The stuff that works is always going to ‘move the way you do’, but it’s hard to see that stuff when there’s so much clutter. So it’s all about culling all of that stuff out so that you can really start to see and build upon what IS “vibing”.  There are a ton of reasons we acquire things that don’t actually suit us—it could be that we are distracted by trends, or influenced by a friend that we shopped with. Or, it could be just the feeling that you can’t wear “x” because of your size, age, gender, or whatever.  Ultimately, it’s better to have a really small wardrobe filled with only the items that you love, instead of one that’s busting at the seams with items that you can’t actually see yourself in. 

5.) What is the most universal “must have” single item for women to have in their wardrobe? What about for men?

The most universal item a woman must have in her wardrobe is something that makes her feel alive, comfortable, like herself. It’s not a certain kind of piece—like a little black dress, or white button down—it’s whatever the go-to standard is for her. Something that every time she puts it on, or even every time she looks at it hanging in her closet—gives her energy, and reminds her of her own spirit.  Same applies for men. 

6.) What is the funniest experience you had with a client— be discreet but —do tell!

I’ve had clients say some hilarious things during the process of finding their vibe. Someone once told me (when she was wearing something particularly uncomfortable) that she felt like “a ten ton sausage in a 5 ton bag.”  Another memorable quote: “I want to feel edgy and cool – but remember I drive a Subaru, not a mustang.”

7.) How about the most frustrating? What are some of your pet peeves when helping people find their style?

It can be frustrating when someone is fighting hard to hold onto an old mindset that is clearly not serving them.  Our approach requires people to give up the old ways of assessing style—it’s not about a trend or keeping up with fashion culture—it’s about putting that down to learn to tune into the quieter intuition inside. Sometimes people are so used to the noise, and are living such “loud” lives, that it’s really hard to get them to slow down so that they can feel their real signal. 

8.) Describe a memorable client experience where you saw one of the best transformations through a wardrobe/styling makeover from Ladybird styling.

We once worked with a woman, who weeks later, lost her husband in a freak electrical accident. She wrote us the day of the funeral to say how she felt like her experience had not only transformed her, but that she was able to pick something out for the funeral that  felt like the “armor” she needed to get through it. That felt special. 

9.) Tell me about the series show The Way We Move— 

The Way We Move was filmed during the toughest part of quarantine—the initial lock down. It follows our team through the trials of learning that we had to stop and reassess our business. The series is truly a behind the scenes look at how we struggled and then eventually adapted the business during the pandemic. 

2.) What do you hope the audience takes away from The Way We Move?

I hope the audience sees a glimpse of humanity in the show. We’re just real people, trying our best to do right by our business, vision, dreams and clients. I think it’s easy, when you’re a consumer, to forget that there are real people behind businesses, and that often there are incredibly tough choices that aren’t clear or easy to make. I also just hope it’s entertaining and inspiring to watch. 

10.) What are your long term aspirations for Ladybird?

I want Ladybird available on a super wide scale. That’s always been the dream. Our physical location is in Kansas City, but I’m really excited about the new ways we can work with people virtually. Since the release of my Tedx Talk in January, we now work with women all over the world and that feels great.  Ultimately, I want what we teach about personal style to become common knowledge—for every woman to know what it’s really about, and for life in the closet and in the dressing room to get a whole lot easier and more joyful.   You can find the Ladybird Styling list of services here and be sure to check out her Ted Talk and definitely watch The Way We Move Here
 
 

 

Efficient Ways to Keep Up With the Latest Digital Marketing Trends

In an effort to satisfy customer needs and beat the competition, staying on top of marketing trends is essential for any business. This is especially true when it comes to the internet, as things tend to change quite rapidly online. But although important for the success of your company, staying up-to-date with trends can be quite a challenging endeavor, as finding relevant information before it becomes old news might prove more difficult than you imagined. To that end, here are some of the most efficient ways you could keep up with the latest digital marketing trends and ensure success:

Set up relevant alerts

If you want to know what your audience is currently interested in, Google Trends is a brilliant way to see what users are searching for, allowing you to look at specific keywords, track patterns, and even set up notifications regarding news and updates. Similarly, Google Alerts will also send you notifications of new content and allow you to track topics related to the relevant keywords you have chosen.

While Google might help with specific industry topics, Twitter hashtags could help with providing the latest information regarding subjects of interest. Simply by looking up a relevant hashtag, you will be able to find news and even consumer and industry opinions on important topics, allowing you to predict applicable digital marketing trends.

Be active on social media

Another good way to stay on top of the latest digital marketing trends is by looking at social media platforms. Being active on websites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter will give you the opportunity to follow and connect with people from your industry, giving you more insight into current trends and relevant topics.

As long as you ensure your feeds aren’t cluttered with random, irrelevant content, but rather filled with topics and connections that are relevant and important to your business sector, social media can be a great place for keeping up with key figures and the newest marketing trends, as well as finding some valuable industry advice and resources.

Follow business news regularly

Even though setting up alerts and looking at social media can be quite helpful, in some instances you might need to search for the newest trends and tendencies yourself. In an effort to find the best and most useful information, instead of endlessly scrolling through irrelevant content, the most reliable option would be to follow trusted online resources.

For instance, you could download a reputable business news app to help you stay informed and even get some inspiration regarding the latest industry news. Apart from allowing you to get more familiar with digital marketing trends, such a beneficial application will also provide a personalized content experience tailored to your business needs, leading to new opportunities for success.

Check out your competition

It’s important to remember that you aren’t the only one attempting to get ahead of the latest digital marketing trends; other companies are doing the same, and you might benefit from keeping an eye on them as well.

For example, you could closely follow your direct competitors to see whether they are ahead of you, as well as which marketing tactics are currently working for them. On the other hand, you could also observe some of the largest and most successful businesses in your industry to get a better idea of their marketing campaigns. This will surely give you an insight into the latest trends, and you might even get the opportunity to emulate some of the most successful marketing tactics.

Look to your own business

Of course, you don’t always have to look to outside resources for the latest information. Even taking a deeper dive into your own business could allow you to learn more about emerging digital marketing trends, as well as the wants and needs of your audience.

Simply by collaborating with your employees and teammates you might be able to gather relevant information from other individuals who are looking into the same subjects, while customer reviews and surveys could allow you to get a better insight into marketing campaigns that will have greater success with your target audience.

Even though staying on top of the latest digital marketing trends is never a simple task, looking at industry news, social media, as well as your competitors will allow you to gain more relevant information. This valuable knowledge will then give birth to new ideas, inspiration, and trends that will lead to marketing success.

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