You have got the loan needed to open your new shop in the mall or on the high street. Great! You have a business plan in place and have staff lined up to take the roles needed to make your shop a success

Now, all you need is the customers. Yes, it may sound easy, but attracting people to a new shop is not as simple as it seems. Many people can and do shop online, so your store has to have something unique and interesting to offer.

So, how can you hope to attract more people to your store? Read on for some guidance.

A Bold Sign

You want your business to be spotted easily, so the first thing you will need is a bold sign. This can be tricky to design yourself unless you have a degree in graphic design, so it is well worth hiring creative sign experts to help with this. 

Then, you have to think about the position of the sign; do you want it at the top of the shop or midway down the window? Do you also want a 3D option? Do you want the sign to be backlit? A lot to consider, and a lot to plan, so this is one area that is crucial to attracting people to your shop.

An Attractive Window Display

Research into sales in stores has found that having an attractive window display goes a long way to attracting people to your store. Have you ever walked past a bookstore and seen a layout showcasing books on green or red velvet with lights overhead, highlighting the books? This is going to work better than simply having the books stacked in the window where people cannot see them. 

So, experiment with different window displays and, if possible, ask for feedback from people walking past your store.

An Online Store With In-Store Pick Up

A lot of stores in malls or on high streets are able to offer online purchases and in-store pick-up. This is an effective way to get people to come into your store and have a look around as they wait for their order to be bought out.

In a similar vein, you can showcase items online that are listed as ‘only available in-store,’ which will certainly increase traffic if the product is genuinely desirable!

Host Events

Have you ever walked past a shop and seen a sign that says ‘workshop held here at 1 pm Tuesdays’ or something similar?

Hosting events, even if they are not directly related to what you sell in your store, can be a great way to bring people to your shop. If your store has a social media page, then you should post the events on your page and make sure you have a sign created for the front of your shop that is eye-catching, with all of the information displayed clearly.

Have Friendly Staff

Most people have visited a shop and have been put off from going back to it due to a member of staff.

Of course, some customers can be difficult on purpose, but if you have staff members who are not engaging with customers, do not smile, or appear to have a bad attitude, this is not going to help your new shop. Aim to send your shop staff to training courses before they begin working on the shop floor, as this will help to provide the best service for your customers.

Customers are at the heart of your business, and if they are not happy and content, you will know about it. This may mean you receive negative feedback, or it may mean you lose customer numbers. Improving customer service and setting standards should, therefore, be something that you focus on. So, what does great customer service look like, and what elements must it contain?

Evaluating the Current Customer Service Approach

To begin with, you must look at evaluating the current customer service you have in place. How are you approaching customer service and care, and what are you doing? When you can evaluate what is great (and not so good), you then have something to build upon. What protocols and approaches do you have in place? Are you reaching out to customers and are you listening to them? Are you welcoming feedback (positive or negative)? Evaluating what you are doing will then help you move forwards with plans.

Looking at Other Industries and Learning

Moving forwards with plans is often easier to do if you can look (and learn) from other industries. For example, you can look at industries that are not even connected to yours, to see what they are doing, and what impact it has on customers and customer service. For instance, you can start understanding the air transport industry customers and seeing what they expect and want, as they can be more demanding than those in other industries. Or, you can start understanding what hospitality customers expect and want. When you look at other industries, you learn you can then create a sustainable approach within your own business. You can start setting standards, and of course, working towards them.

Listening to Your Customers and Clients

To understand more about how you can give great customer service each time, you must listen to your customers. Reach out to them regularly, and find out what they need and want. When you can listen to your customers you can then see where you have gaps in your existing approach. For example, customer feedback may well tell you that they do not feel you are connecting with them enough. It may also tell you that you are using the wrong channels to communicate with them.

Personalize Service Where You Can

Setting the standard in customer service can mean that you have to look at personalizing what you do. This may mean that you personalize how you contact customers, or it may mean you personalize elements of your customer service approach. When customers feel that something is more tailored and suited to them, they will come back for repeat business, and they will speak fondly of your business and your customer service. This will, of course, be beneficial to building your business brand and reputation.

Exceeding Customer Expectations

At all times, you should be aiming to exceed customer expectations. If you are not exceeding expectations, you are simply offering mediocre service and this will not set any sort of standard. To exceed customer expectations you need to put yourself in the position of a customer, and think about what you would want to see or experience.

A workplace mishap is the most feared of the many concerns plaguing business owners as they manage their enterprises. Accidents don’t happen every day or every week, but the possibility of one looms, so it is always better to be careful than not. You might be unable to operate your business successfully through retirement without ever seeing a mishap. If you have questions about how much money you should get from a workers’ compensation back injury settlement, you are on the right track.

A workplace incident could impact a company in ways you may not have even thought about. Running a business means controlling safety and health. Companies must conduct a risk assessment to identify workplace hazards and dangers and implement appropriate control measures to ensure that these risks cannot endanger employees.

One, it is a disruption of work.

The worker’s injury has a depressing effect on all employees, which lowers their productivity. The extent of the injury determines how long the interruption lasts and disruption of a few hours is conceivable if it is substantial. This is a significant loss of productive time for the company. 

A single day of disruption results in lost productive time, and blaming one another in the workplace can be possible. That will add to the increasing tension of the work that is already disrupted by a workplace injury. As a result, this portends poorly for business. Therefore, a business owner’s top concern becomes a job disruption brought on by accident at work. 

It has a financial impact on the company as well.

Any business’s ability to make money depends on how well it runs. Productivity is severely impacted if a workplace accident disrupts normal operations. The employer cannot use the injured employee, and individuals involved in the incident lose time they could have used for work. 

This indicates that workers are not available to answer questions from potential clients who may be attempting to contact them at this time. Additionally, it implies that the staff members must remember to make crucial calls or close deals. As a result, the business loses clients and, consequently, revenue.

A worker who is preoccupied with a task produces less.

Delivery of goods or services may be delayed due to diminished output. If the business misses the deadline, it risks losing the contract at worst or, at best, incurring significant fines for the delay. All of this has a negative financial impact on the company because it reduces profit margins. Additionally, its effects could last for up to a month.

A business’s reputation is tarnished.

When an accident occurs at work, the company typically faces negative publicity and has its reputation tarnished. Naturally, a severe workplace accident is required for this to happen because less serious accidents are common and do not harm people’s reputations. 

When a severe accident occurs, the media fires the first shot at the company’s reputation. A regional newspaper or a major TV network may cover the accident. Additionally, their reportage frequently favors the injured while painting the firm as the bad guy. The second shot is fired by the rumor mongers, who greatly embellish the truth to make it seem true.

If you are a book lover or a recent college graduate, you’re sure to have too many books that sometimes take up more space than your house can afford. But instead of letting them lie around in piles and collecting dust on your shelves, you can give them a new life and even get some of the money you spent on them in the past.

If you’ve never thought about it, selling used books can help you earn some money. You don’t necessarily have to sell rare book collections; college textbooks are always in great demand, and so are fiction and kids’ books. Surely enough, you won’t get filthy rich; however, by selling a few books you no longer need, you can get some extra cash and spend it on something nice, like gifts for your family and friends. In this guide, we’ll tell you about the five best ways to sell used books.

Sell to a Used Bookstore

You can check your local bookstores and thrift stores first. You are in luck if you live close to Half Price Books, but don’t neglect small local bookstores. Every city and town has a thrift bookstore; large cities have thousands of them. These stores may not take all of your books; however, you can come and check what type of books they accept and how much they are ready to pay. If you have books you are ready to part with without getting any cash, consider donating them to local libraries, hospitals, churches, and even prisons.

Sell to a College Bookstore

If you’re a recent college graduate or a college student, you can sell your textbooks at a college bookstore. Such bookstores usually accept used textbooks on different subjects (most commonly twice a year); however, you may refuse if they have filled their supply quota for this or that textbook. Besides, they never pay much even for books in like new condition. They will hardly accept a  thickly highlighted or too worn-out used textbook. Yet, we encourage you to check your college bookstore nonetheless.

Sell on a Yard Sale

If you have time and inspiration, you can offer your used book collection at a yard sale. A yard sale or a garage sale is a fantastic place where you can find many exciting things, from old and antique furniture to books of all sorts and sizes. You can also sell everything you want, from clothes to silverware. You can participate in a local yard sale organized by your city’s or town’s authorities or by your local church or any organization. Alternatively, you can organize your own yard sale and sell the stuff from your house right from your doorstep—everything, not just your books.

Sell on eBay, Craiglist, or Facebook Marketplace

If you prefer to do most things online, you can list your books on eBay, Craiglist, or Facebook Marketplace. These platforms are relatively easy to use; you’ll be able to manage them pretty fast. However, you should keep in mind that each platform works differently and has its own rules (with eBay, you may have to list your books as an auction, for instance). Besides, you’ll have to ship the books yourself, pay for the shipping, get the payment from the platform, pay fees, etc. Therefore, selling like this may be time-consuming and not really worth the trouble. Though, if you have rare or old books, eBay may bring you a good bid.

Sell to a Book Buyback Site

Selling to a buyback site is a great alternative to all the aforementioned methods. Booksellers like BooksRun have great book buyback programs with great price offers and free shipping. You can enter the book’s ISBN and immediately check how much you can get for this or that book. You can sell both used textbooks and fiction books here. In case there is no good offer on BooksRun at the moment, you can check other online booksellers with buyback offers (e.g., TextbookRush, AbeBooks, etc.)—there are plenty of various options available nowadays. It’s easy, it’s convenient: you can pack and ship all your books at once. You also get paid really fast. Besides, you can usually rent and buy new and used books on such websites.

Conclusion

Now you know how to get rid of your used books most profitably and effectively. You can choose any method that you like best or that suits you at the moment. Remember that used books you’ve long rendered useless can be useful once more—with some of your second-hand books, you can even get half or more of their price back (this is especially true for textbooks). Also, keep in mind that the books that you can’t sell can find a new life if you donate them to people or charity organizations.

Investing is a prudent way to build wealth, but how we use our money as investors has an impact on the world around us. With that said, it’s important to know how your investments align with your ethical values and principles. 

While some institutions embrace being socially responsible, others do not. So, if you want to invest wisely, you need to be able to identify what type of investing aligns best with your ethical values. After all, only then will you be able to sleep soundly at night knowing that what you do benefits society rather than hurts it. 

In this article, we look at 7 aspects about humankind that should be considered when investing ethically. 

1. Many Investors Prioritize Profits over Impact 

Investors typically value companies based on how much their shares are expected to return. After all, the primary objective of investing money is making profits. However, this mentality may lead some investors to neglect other key considerations when evaluating potential investments, including their social impact.

If you’re thinking of exploring new companies as potential investments, you may want to take note of these overlooked considerations first.

2. We Need Investments That Create Employment

Investing is a great way to build wealth, but it’s also important to remember that wealth is not always a good thing. The truth is that too much wealth leads to social issues like inequality, political instability, and health-care costs that are out of control. 

That’s why we need investments that create employment. These investments play a huge role in helping to reduce income inequality, increase access to affordable health care, as well as food security. 

3. Equality Is Key

Let’s face it:we live in a very unequal world where people are discriminated against for their gender, race, and ethnic background.

As such, investments that promote equality are important so that all members of society can have access to equal opportunities of generating wealth. These investments can help reduce income inequality, help prevent social issues due to wealth disparity, and improve access to affordable food for all. 

4. We Start Best from the Ground Up 

One of the best ways to promote an ethical and prudent investing approach is to incorporate ethical and prudent investing principles into children’s education. That way, they’ll learn how to think about the impact that their decisions have on the world. 

5. There’s No Business Without the Environment

While many people are still uncertain whether global warming is real, the reality of investing in a world that is warming due to the effects of human activity is a reality. That includes increasing CO2 emissions, as well as other greenhouse gasses like methane and nitrous oxide that have a negative effect on the environment and pose health risks to human health.

Therefore, you have to be careful when choosing the type of investment vehicle that you choose to incorporate into your portfolio. 

6. Humans Need Each Other

Humans can be complex and weird, but they can also be beautiful and amazing. As such, we need to remember that humans need each other. That includes people, the environment, and nature. 

Therefore, we need investments that protect human rights, promote the equal treatment of all people, and ensure the safety of nature.

7. We Have the Potential to Make a Difference through Ethical Investments

Investing is a great way to build wealth, but it’s also important to remember that how we use our money shapes the world around us. 

Ethically minded investors have the potential to make a difference by putting their money in investments that promote social impact and have a positive impact on the environment.

In Summary

At the end of the day, it’s important to know how your investments align with your ethical values and principles. This will ensure that you’re investing wisely and responsibly by choosing the right investment vehicles. 

We hope that this article has helped you to better understand how you can incorporate ethical and prudent investing principles into your investment strategy. From there, you can use this information to make better investment decisions, build wealth, and tackle those risks associated with investments.

Boosting employee performance at work is essential for the success of any business. 

By helping employees perform to the best of their abilities, you can increase productivity, customer satisfaction, and overall business outcomes. 

However, achieving this is far from easy. You will need to encourage your team to hit goals without them feeling as if they are being pressured or bullied, provide a great work environment without overly pandering to your team, and build a business culture that inspires employees to succeed.

So, how can you improve employee performance at work? Here are some key strategies to consider:

Provide your team with an environment they can thrive in

Your team cannot perform to the best of their abilities if they don’t have the right environment to work in. If individual team members struggle to perform, consider sitting down with them one-on-one and asking them what they need to succeed. 

You will likely be surprised to find that they lack a particular tool (such as G suite tools), software, or funding to hit the targets you set for them.

It may also be that their current work environment is not conducive to productive work. If they would be better served in a different type of environment (e.g. remote work), then this should be strongly considered.

Do your employees know what your goals are?

One of the best approaches to improving employee performance is clearly communicating expectations and goals. 

Ensure employees understand what is expected of them and provide regular feedback on their performance. This can help employees stay focused and motivated and ensure they are aligned with your business goals.

Setting clear and measurable performance goals can help employees understand what is expected of them and provide a sense of direction and focus. 

Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and measure success. Setting clear performance goals can help employees stay focused and motivated and ensure they meet the company’s expectations.

Support your employees and provide helpful resources

Supporting employees with ongoing resources and training can help them perform at their best. Consider offering free access to specialist training and resources such as mentorship programs or performance reviews. 

This can help employees stay updated with the latest skills and techniques and provide them with the support they need to succeed.

It also empowers them to up-skill as they progress in their roles, making the job far more rewarding (and making them more valuable employees). 

Encourage collaboration and teamwork

Collaboration and teamwork can be critical factors in improving employee performance. 

Encourage employees to collaborate, share ideas, and consider implementing team-building activities to foster community and collaboration. Employees can leverage their strengths and skills to achieve better results by working together.

This increases productivity and helps individual team members improve their skill set, develop experience, and master different areas of the job far more quickly. 

Furthermore, it means that your team becomes an extension of you. Instead of employees coming to you as soon as they get stuck with a problem, they can ask their colleagues – which takes the burden off you.

It used to be that you needed to go into a bank to ask for a personal loan. While there, the bank employee would get you started on an application and review your information before determining whether they could advance your funds. 

Since the digital revolution, that process has changed drastically, and more people have borrowed online as technology has gotten more advanced. 

Nowadays, online loans account for some 60% of all personal loans. FinTech services, such as online direct lenders, take up 38% of all unsecured personal loan balances. 

While it’s a matter of personal preference, borrowing money online is convenient. If you need to borrow money, here are just some of the benefits of going online for your next personal loan. 

1. Socially Distanced

With social distance restrictions and mask mandates dropped across the country — and most of the world — it’s up to you whether you feel safe going in person to a bank. 

That said, hospitalizations are on the rise again at the same time flu season has arrived. Plenty of immunocompromised people are limiting how often they go out before the holidays to limit the risk of getting sick. 

Online loans offer an alternative to crowded banks. You can apply for and manage your loan online without ever stepping foot in a physical location. 

2. End-to-End Loans Are More Efficient

Many online direct lenders and banks have automated their lending systems. This means a few things from the borrower’s perspective:

1. Convenience: Applications are available online 24/7, not just during business hours. You can learn if you qualify relatively quickly before moving onto the next step.
2. Speed: AI also increases their approval processing speeds, which makes them faster than manual underwriting. 
3. Accessibility: Some online direct lenders and banks rely on AI to process the disbursement and payments of your loans online. In these cases, you’ll know them by direct deposit loans, as you can set up automatic deposits and withdrawals from your bank account. 

3. Greater Options

The Internet brings the financial world to your fingertips. With the right keyword and a little patience, you can find out almost anything you need to know about the borrowing experience—from money management tips to more specific details about loans online. 

You can also research lenders and loans from a variety of sources, comparing them for the best rates and conditions. You can narrow down your search, personalizing your options according to how much you need to borrow, your credit score, and interest rates. 

Compare this to traditional, in-person banking. Following the old-fashioned way, you would have to go to a physical location to learn about that particular bank’s options. 

If you don’t like what they offer, you have to visit another brick-and-mortar storefront until you find something that works. You could have to visit several banks, some of which may be far away. 

The Takeaway: 

Rapid digital acceleration in the past five years has transformed the way people borrow, and there’s a good chance you can expect even greater changes in the next five. Until then, going online for your next personal loan can help you research your options, streamline your experience, and stay safe.