Credit Union

Image via Flickr by kenteegardin

Credit Unions are very localized. They are not national chains, and because of this, they may not be able to offer you the same incentives that larger banks can. Credit Unions, however, are known for having good interest rates on their savings accounts.

• Have requirements for membership – some Credit Unions are localization based, others only allow membership for employees of certain companies, etc.
• Good interest rates on savings accounts.
• Good interest rates on other accounts, such as mortgages and car loans.
• Members get special promotions, such as discount tickets to local shows or amusement parks.
• Many Credit Unions require minimum deposits and/or minimum balances.

Traditional Bank

Image via Flickr by kenteegardin

Many people today see traditional banks as the bad guy. However, traditional banks are a great way to invest your money in high interest accounts. With these accounts, you can walk into the bank and make deposits and withdrawals. Traditional banks generally do not have as many restrictions as Credit Unions.

• No membership requirements. However, for some banks, you may be required to pass a background and/or credit check.
• Though you can get good interest rates on savings accounts, the rates are usually not as high as those from a credit union.
• Interest rates for other accounts like car loans and mortgages are comparable to credit unions.
• There are usually not many special promotions associated with traditional banks. Occasionally, you may get special perks for signing up, such as a bonus in your account. This is very dependent on the bank itself.
• Traditional banks are the most well-known for requiring minimum deposits and minimum balances. If the minimum balances are not met, they charge monthly fees, or in some cases close the account.

Online Bank

The newest trend in banking is online banks. One of the great things about online banks is that you can get great high interest accounts and do quick and easy high interest savings account comparison online. Online banks are known for their flexibility.

• There are generally very few requirements for online bank accounts.
• The interest rates for savings account are the highest in the industry.
• With an online bank, you can get very good interest rates for other accounts, such as car loans and mortgages.
• Though you may get special promotions such as a sign up bonus, you will not get local promotions.
• Minimum deposits may be required to open the account, but the amount is generally very low. There is usually no minimum balance or fees.

When looking for a high interest savings account, it is important to do your research. Find an account that works for you and your situation. What works well for one person may not be the best solution for everyone.

So what are the pitfalls that startups need to avoid in the first 6 months? Let’s take a look at some of the biggest mistakes that startups need to carter to, and the dangers of not avoiding these holes;

1.  Poor management

Even though Bachelors or Master degree in Business Administration teaches about the theories related to corporate business level operations, it doesn’t really teach individuals practical business skills on how to run a business.

Poor management can lead to several problems for startups. They may work on a strategy that is weak, failing to bring ideas to validation before working on product development. A poor management team can also face execution problems, which would lead issues in the product manufacture or the time of manufacture. If the management at the top is poor, the effect will go on to lower levels and new employees coming in.

Poor management can also lead to problems and violations in business contracts, but this can be avoided by opting for contract management software like Contract Logix.

Great resources for learning practical skills include Small Business Administration and sometimes the local Chamber of Commerce. There should be continuous study of market research, while customer data should be analyzed and examined frequently. Successful management does well when it comes to strategic thinking, and have the skills to convert a vision into reality.

2. Low start-up capital

Lack of capital for operating the business in the long-run is a common reason why many startups fail. The owners fail to calculate how much capital was required, and as a result, they close down even before the business had a fair shot at gaining some attention.

Lack of sufficient capital means the business will realize poor cash flow sooner or later, making way for pending bankruptcy, and even the headline ‘Start-up business goes bankrupt within the first few months.

It would be wise for startup business owners to have at least 24 months of expenses covered for operations whether through borrowing or saving as most startup businesses take a year or two to get going. This would mean the business has enough funds to cover operational costs until it starts realizing sales to reach the breakeven point and cover the expenses from the revenue made.

3. Lack of planning

Success for a startup business requires a well-thought out, logical plan. Lack of planning is one of the major causes of startup failure within the first 6 months. Failure to set realistic goals and planning with over expectations is what makes a business suffer the ultimate demise–bankruptcy.

A proper plan includes the identifications of problems that may arise and how they would be solved, the needs of the workface, the vision and goal of the business required for success, competition analysis, marketing and promotional strategy, cash flow analysis, forecast of revenue and expenses, income statement and everything else that needs to be kept in mind.

A business plan would also be helpful to secure additional capital after few months of operation if the need may arise.

All these potential problems don’t mean startups can’t succeed in the first 6 months. Frequent planning and openness to new things by everyone attached to the business will help avoid most mistakes and increase the chances of business success.

If so, you might want to do yourself a favor—bring yoga into your life.

Yoga will let you stretch and lengthen your muscles, brains included. Start or end the day, or maybe take a lunch break, with yoga. Plan a fun day and kick it off with yoga. Organize a day of learning with workshops with yoga at the center.

Studies show that yoga in the workplace brings the following benefits:

• increases creativity and efficiency
• promotes team work, camaraderie and supportive employee interaction
• provides employees with tools to cope with stress and the challenges at work
• improves company and personal performance
• reduces sick days
• improves morale and job satisfaction
• makes your start-up more attractive to potential employees

In the end you’ll experience:

• less stress and tension
• better focus, concentration and memory
• less head, neck and back strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, insomnia, high blood pressure and work-related injuries from repetitive motion and/or lifting and moving objects
• stronger overall physical and mental health, posture and flexibility
• a brighter outlook, inspiring a better day!
• sharper concentration, decision-making skills and ability to multi-task
• more alertness and productivity and ability to react more calmly in demanding situations
• better customer service
• nicer attitude and outlook
• well-being in the workplace

What do you think?

Have Multiple Bank Accounts

Image via Flickr by kenteegardin

Never, ever combine your household money and the money from your business in one bank account. You need to ensure that you keep separate accounts. This will help ensure that the money is kept separate. It will make it more difficult to access the business money. It will also take away a lot of temptation to use business money for personal funds.

Keep Track of All Income and Expenses

Make sure you keep all receipts for the business. It’s also a good idea to keep your personal receipts, as well. However, keep them separate. On top of keeping receipts, you need to track all income for the business. It’s smart to use a business software to help you track all of this, so that you don’t forget things, or lose information. If you invest money for the business or personally, videos by Fisher Investments can help you understand how to track this as well.

Have a Separate Credit Card for the Business

Image via Flickr by Andres Rueda

A business credit card is extremely helpful for keeping business and personal separate. You will be less tempted to use personal money for business expenses if you can use the business card. Though most people are generally concerned about using business money for personal items, too frequently it goes the other way, as well. With a business credit card, you are able to minimize or eliminate this problem. On top of that, a business credit card can help build the credit of the company, helping you even more in the future.

Give Yourself a Salary – And Stick to It

If you don’t profit from your business, what is the point? When you are running a business, the best way to make money from it is to give yourself a salary. Decide on an amount, and stick to that. Don’t change the number constantly; consistency is key. The salary you give yourself should be paid like any employee from the business account into your personal account. This will help you keep that company/personal line a little stronger.

Keep Records and File Taxes

Image via Flickr by Jason Dirks

Keeping proper records of everything is important. It will help you when it comes time to file taxes. And when you do file taxes, it is good to be able to show how you have kept business and personal finances separate. This will help keep you from being audited (though, of course, there is never a guarantee).

Your money is important, both to your personal and professional life. Keeping track of your finances, and keeping business and personal separate will ensure that you know where your money is going and can look ahead to any possible problems in the future.

But on the contrary, we all have the tendency to do that. And when I give it a closer look, unfortunately, I do too.

So before you stop reading simply because this is one of the more ridiculous introductions you’ve ever seen, let me tell you what I exactly mean by complaining.

First of all, there’s not going to be any obvious stuff here (at least I hope), so you’re not going to see things like “I don’t have any money” or “my site has no visitors.” Complaining actually goes much deeper.

The first rule is this: Complaining is not about noticing reality (like “I don’t have money” – it’s hard to argue with such a statement). Complaining is about thinking that you’re not in a position where you can change things (like “I don’t have money and it’ll stay that way”).

Essentially, complaining is staying in your comfort zone. It’s doing things that we’re comfortable with because going out and opting for change seems too risky.

Do you still not believe me that you’re a strong player in the art of complaining too? Check out these scenarios and be honest with yourself; Are you guilty of doing any of the following?

Complaining that someone else is at a higher stage

This is the most basic type of complaining and one that we actually feel good about. The whole idea is to complain that other people are more advanced at something than we are.

And like I said, the sole fact of noticing this is not destructive. What’s problematic is when it paralyzes our actions or makes us think that the ultimate goal is unattainable.

It’s mainly due to the impression that there’s no place left on the market. For instance, if there are four successful big competitors in your niche already then you might feel that getting to a similar level might not be possible anymore. On the contrary, if four people are successful, this only means that customers are interested in what they’re doing and that there’s surely a place for the fifth one.

Or you know what, picture this, does the fact that Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world means that you shouldn’t train to be a sprinter? Of course not! Even if he’s way ahead of everybody, it doesn’t mean that someday, someone won’t be able to beat him.

In a nutshell, no matter how much more advanced someone is, you can still be better.

Complaining that someone else is to blame

Unfortunately, taking the responsibility is a long forgotten art. These days, we don’t like to feel responsible for anything. Especially for our failures.

Our business has no clients? It’s the competitors fault! Our sites go down all the time? It’s our hosting provider’s fault! Our car was taken? It’s the bank’s fault!

Well, sorry to be the one to break this, but it’s always our fault. No matter what happens.

It’s our fault that we’re not as good as our competitors. It’s our fault that we didn’t choose a quality web host. It’s our fault that we kept buying things we couldn’t afford and so on.

I know that admitting to failure hurts a bit, but it also gives us the chance to take control and learn from our failures.

Picture this, if you’re complaining and blaming other people, you’re effectively admitting that you’re in no position to change anything. But if you take the blame then you also take control of the situation which allows you to change it.

Remember, don’t complain that someone else committed the mistake. Rather, admit that you let them do it.

Complaining that Google is impossible to work with these days

Yeah, I know. There were algorithm updates, bans and other things that Google has brought upon us in the recent months. But this doesn’t actually change anything for anybody.

First of all, remember what I said about taking control and not blaming anybody. Secondly, whenever an update rolls out some sites get dropped but others thrive. And since there still are sites sitting at top spots, it means that some people still know how to work with Google. Hence, you can be one of them too.

Even if your site went down hard, you have to keep in mind that Google doesn’t hate you personally or anything. They are still more than willing to work with you if you just learn how to comply with their new set of rules.

Complaining about the haters

Having to deal with haters is one of the best things that can happen to you. Period.

And I don’t even mean that you should pay attention to other people’s opinions and always try to get some constructive criticism out of every message. No. You don’t.

Here’s what a hateful comment actually means: It means that the person who wrote it was moved by your work enough to devote their time to write a response and call you all sorts of different things. For me, this is great.

Instead of complaining that some people hate you, enjoy others who love you. I don’t know how about you, but I’d rather be hated by 10 people and loved by 10, than be the “okay kind” for the whole 20.

I’m doing quite a lot of writing and publishing on the internet and to be honest, one of the comments that I’ve enjoyed the most was when someone asked me if I was “f*** serious” about what I just wrote (literally what they said) and gave a shout to the admins of the site asking if there’s an editor in the house (probably so they can take the article down or something). Ah, great times.

Even though the comment was ultra-negative (basically, the person was just disagreeing with my point of view … only in harsh words), I was the one who was in charge (like the Writers in Charge movement teaches), so I knew I was doing something right.

Complain about the 24-day

Actually, this is about complaining about yourself and your poor time management and productivity skills. You know, it’s when you say something like “I wish the day had more than 24 hours, there’s so much to do.”

Hey, we all get the same 24 hours and somehow, some people can make millions during theirs while others can only accumulate debts in the same period.

Instead of putting yet another sticky note on your monitor, try to learn a time and work management methodology (like Getting Things Done). And this goes for all niches and professions.

Literally, there’s not a line of career in the world that couldn’t benefit from some good time and work management approach.

Also, try some tools out. By far, my most favorite one is FreeMind for mind mapping. Quite literally, I wouldn’t be able to get anything done without that tool. (Remember The Milk is cool too.)

Complaining you can’t get clients

Come on, 7 billion people on earth. ‘Nuff said.

So what do you think? Admit it, have you really not complained about the above things even once in the recent months?

I know I have, probably even in the recent week. But hey, nobody’s perfect.

In the end, the point of this article was not to take a look at our complaining nature and point out how crappy we are, but to realize that we’re in control and the earlier we realize it, the quicker we can stop complaining about anything.

The truth to the matter is that we all start somewhere. And no matter what stage we’re in, it’s just a step towards the next level. While complaining is simply taking us one step back.

Let’s make “power” the official word for online businesses and websites in 2013. Don’t complain that others have power, claim it yourself. Because the worst case scenario is that, eventually, complaining can kill your whole undertaking.

With a rapidly expanding population (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a full 65% of Americans are either overweight or obese), weight has become more than a personal issue. Where concerns about an employee’s weight and overall fitness were once limited to airline stewardesses, athletes and movie stars, businesses both big and small are feeling the pain from unhealthy employees.

This impact can be felt in more ways than one. I assumed that the cost of health care would be significantly higher for companies with a lot of heavy employees—and I was right. According to data from Policy Analysis Inc, a company that specializes in burden-of-illness studies, paid sick leave for obesity related conditions alone cost an estimated 2.4 billion in extra expenses for businesses in a single year—1994.  By 2018, obesity related health expenses including health care, missed days and disability insurance expenditures are expected to reach a staggering 344 billion per year.

What I didn’t realize was the other ways a business can be impacted by overweight or obese employees. Everything from buying a second airplane seat for each supersized employee to stocking the company coffee and donut cart adds significant expense to the bottom line.  Not surprisingly, employees who are obese can negatively impact a business by chronic absenteeism, usually related to health conditions triggered by an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity.

So, what can a business owner do? If you know you have a problem—and let’s face it, you are likely picturing one or two plus sized employees right now—what can you do? While you obviously can’t dictate the weight that your employees should be for a variety of reasons both legal and moral, you can offer better choices in the workplace, and support healthy habits. Here are some great ways to help your employees live healthier, longer, happier lives, and boost your bottom line at the same time.

Offer Healthier Food Choices in House

Google knows better than any other employer how diet may affect workforce performance, which is why it has invested in an amazing food program for its staff, designed to improve employees’ health, productivity, and lifespan. If you pay a visit during lunchtime near San Jose, at the search engine giant’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View, CA, you will see employees dining on dishes of fresh sushi, Japanese style udon noodle salad, and roasted black bass with parsley pesto. On Thursdays, if you happen to come by, you will notice a Farmers Market that aims to  provide seasonal  fruits and vegetables exclusively to the 10,500+ “Googlers”. Being aware of how beneficial for a company is to invest in employee health and wellbeing, Yahoo’s new CEO Marissa Mayer has created a “Google” cafeteria experience in the Yahoo workplace, too.

Clear out the Vending Area

You won’t make many strides in reducing your businesses weight overload by offering salty, sugary, preservative packed snacks in your coffee or vending area. It will help if you stock these areas yourself or use a meal delivery service, replace the chips, pastries and candy with better choices like whole grain crackers, fresh fruit and yogurts. If you make healthy food more available, your employees are more likely to eat it—or at the very least they’ll have to go to more trouble to grab junk food during that 3pm energy slump.

Healthy Catering

If you host meetings, make sure that the food offered at meeting times is healthy. Your meal delivery service, if you use one, will be delighted to pull together box lunches or breakfast buffets that are both tasty and healthy. Switch to low fat milk on the coffee bar, and offer mini bagels and fruit instead of donuts for your Monday morning meeting. Replace ice-cream and pizza with Greek yogurt, humus and carrot sticks on Friday’s Happy Hour. Modeling healthy eating behavior may go a long way towards supporting your workers as they get healthy.

Reward Healthy Choices

In addition to offering healthy food choices, you can encourage your employees to get fit by rewarding healthy behavior. Consider offering health insurance incentives for employees who fall within healthier guidelines (if my employer offered this, I’d probably hit the treadmill a little more often!). Offer incentives for wellness programs. Reward employees that participate in a health activity or enroll in a gym, fitness class, or wellness program. Reward those who reach their health goals. This will reduce health care costs and will increase ROI.  Make sure your incentives are geared towards rewarding employees who are doing well as opposed to punishing those who are not. Herd mentality should kick in and everyone will get a little more fit as they respond to the rewards.

Discounts at Local Businesses

Pair with local businesses to offer healthy options for your employees. Most gyms are happy to give a corporate discount, and you can pass the savings on to your team.  Vegetarian or healthy restaurants nearby might consider offering a discount, if you promote them in your office. Neither of these options cost you a dime, but they benefit your employees—and your bottom line in the long run.

Rely on Teamwork

Pull together a company volleyball team, 5K club or other fun, fitness related activity. If you have the room, consider adding an onsite workout facility—you don’t have to invest a lot, and employees can get a workout in before they head home for the day. The United Way in Dallas offers Zumba classes in house, while employees of computer giant Microsoft have shed 61,000 pounds due to health initiates launched in the last decade. That’s some great employee teamwork, there!

By following the lead of big companies like, Google, Microsoft and the United Way you can reduce your business’s bottom line. Having healthy employees is great for everyone—your workers will be happier and less prone to illness and depression, and you’ll reap the benefits of having a happy, healthy workforce. Healthier, fit employees are a win-win situation for both parties. (photo source)

I don’t want to give a full-throated defense of the still unproven CEO’s decision. It certainly does seem heavy-handed on the surface, but the debate has stirred up the dissatisfaction that many managers have with offsite workers, and there are some legitimate criticisms of remote workers. Providing perks like telecommuting is a balance between attracting talent and maintaining communication, which is really about ensuring productivity. Every CEO, manager and entrepreneur has to make that assessment for themselves.

Benefits of Telecommuting are Hard to Measure

People are eager to tout the technology that supposedly should allow people to work from anywhere, avoid distractions that happen in a busy office. It’s no surprise that individual workers report feeling more productive when they work at home, but are they really?

Sure, it seems logical that, in the often noisy, cramped confines of a field of cubicles, you’d feel like you can get a lot more done in your quiet home office. And if you’re truly not just replacing work distractions with home and family ones, I don’t doubt you can get a lot done. How much more is debatable, though.

So-called “distractions” aren’t always a bad thing. There are a lot of little conversations that simply don’t happen when you don’t bump into people in the office, or when you miss impromptu meetings. At many startups, this type of communication happens spontaneously (or it should), and a telecommuting team member is cut out of the loop. It’s also hard to build and maintain a company culture when everyone is fragmented.

Pushing Accountability for Telecommuters

What I’ve found is that whether or not telecommuting “works” as a method of doing business depends somewhat on the job of the person who wants to work from home, and a lot on the person themselves. Underachievers abuse the privilege to fly under the radar (something which Yahoo should really be concerned about given the quality of many of their products, not to mention that the firm can’t really decide what it wants to be). It’s harder to make those people accountable when you hardly ever see them. Out of sight. Out of mind.

A lot of the concern about employees goofing off when they should be working is really just reflecting that a manager isn’t doing their job of ensuring that their employees deliver value. It can be difficult to measure the output of individual employees, and some people misidentify trying to measure performance as micromanaging. Even if Mayer brings her telecommuters home to roost, however, it doesn’t guarantee productivity gains.

Big Talent Demands Flexibility

Given the concerns I just mentioned, it’s still a fact of life that valuable talent working at Yahoo is probably going to notice how green the grass is on the other side of the fence at the many startups and tech giants who would probably be happy to have them. Mayer may just have forced a bunch of developers, designers and marketing gurus to update their LinkedIn profiles.

With Google and Facebook constantly poaching one another’s employees, I’ll bet headhunters are licking their lips when they see a big Internet company making such an unpopular move. The fact is, talented people are in high demand, and telecommuting is a way to reward them while simultaneously helping to keep them plugged in for more hours of the day. If these and other changes the CEO has initiate are as superficial as they seem on the outside, you could see high-profile people leave out of frustration over management as much as the annoyance of lost perks.

Will our increasingly mobile existence force us to adapt solutions for telecommuting’s weak points so that we can truly realize the imagined benefits, reduce overhead costs and integrate team members no matter where they are? And if we’ve gone too far over to the edge of making our workplaces mobile, can moves like Yahoo’s bring us back from the brink? I hope so. But we’re a long way from it right now.

Here are six skills that you should constantly strive to improve upon as a business owner. As you read, ask yourself which skills you’re maintaining well and which ones you might be neglecting.

1. Organization and Time Management: Time management is essential to productivity throughout your day and the workweek. Organization and effective work habits are key, and this can be especially challenging for startup founders who are not used to making their own schedules. Faithfully keeping a calendar — especially an online version that syncs between your computer and smartphone — can help. Taking the time to get organized and stay organized will save you headaches in the long run.

2. The Ability to Lead Others: A business is like a team: a group of people working together toward a common goal. If you manage employees, getting in “head coach” mode is essential. The members of your team need to be inspired and motivated, and they must receive constructive criticism from their leader.

The first step to becoming a good leader is to simply get to know your personnel. What are their special talents? Maintaining an active interest in your employees will help you place them in the situations and roles to which they are best suited. Conveying your passion and work ethic will boost company morale enormously. It’s also important to learn how to provide good criticism and how to say “thank you” and mean it. Becoming a good leader is a process, and it’s something you should actively pursue on a daily basis.

3. A Constant Desire to Learn: In the evolving landscape of technology and social communication, a business owner can never stop learning. Businesses change, people change, and needs change, so you will have to change, too. Continually educate yourself on the latest technology, business models, and marketing channels so you’re always one step ahead. By keeping an open mind to new approaches, you will be prepared to adapt to keep your business relevant and profitable.

One way to not only adapt, but to stay profitable from year to year, is to have a proper understanding of financial reporting. Every business owner needs to know “how to play the game of business,” and knowing how to read and understand the language of accounting and other financial reporting is a crucial part of playing that game. Maybe you were never formally taught accounting practices; however, having a constant desire to learn should drive you to adapt to this particular aspect of the business world. This needs to be a priority.

If you don’t have good financial reporting or you don’t know how to interpret and read reports to make adjustments, you are flying a plane with no dials or levers. There are so many owners who have quality financial reports, but they do not know or understand the language of accounting. Thus, they are flying their plane blindfolded and are one step behind in the game of business.

4. Creativity: “Imagination,” Albert Einstein once said, “is more important than knowledge.” It’s true — especially in the business realm. Creativity encourages growth, something a business cannot survive without in a competitive marketplace. As a business owner, make it a priority to occasionally remove yourself from your daily routine to give yourself time to think and create.

5. Networking Skills: A good business owner must be able to talk to anyone and effectively communicate thoughts and ideas. Always be on the lookout for people who can help your business grow: new clients, investors, new talent, mentors, and people who will recommend your services. You never know where a business introduction or a simple conversation in the grocery store checkout line can lead.

6. Constant Fear-Fighting: We all have fears, but a good business owner must be able to recognize these fears and make adjustments to manage them or eliminate them altogether. For example, you may have a fear of selling. This could be a big problem: If you have a great product you cannot sell, then you do not have a business. To beat the fear in this scenario, you’d either train yourself to become a good salesman or hire someone to sell for you. Figure out your fears and address them either by developing your skills in that area or by hiring someone who can do it for you!

How do your skills as a business owner stack up to this list? If you are lacking in one or more of these areas, never fear: Even the most successful entrepreneurs usually struggle with one or more areas of business. The key to eventual success is recognizing your shortcomings and working to improve upon them.

I’m here today to tell you that this box is meant to be broken.

In total, 12 long years of my life were dedicated to obtaining my PhD in chemistry, and I loved every second of it. I published over 15 pieces in international journals, and I won a couple of outstanding research achievement awards. However, like many people, I realized that my future opportunities and interests weren’t aligned with what I thought they would be when I selected my major — and that’s okay. In my field of research, nanotechnology, it takes about 20 years before any work reaches end users. I’m a little too impatient for that. I wanted to do something where I could see the value — and impact — more quickly.

Additionally, I always found myself attracted to the analytical thinking and problem-solving aspects of chemistry, but not necessarily the content. So while I might not be combining ammonium hydroxide and nitric acid on a daily basis, I use my problem-solving skills every day. In other words, my education did not go to waste.

Bonding Two Unrelated Subject Matters

I can guarantee that you’ll be surprised how connected the skills you learn in college are — regardless of your major. These days, it’s not just about the subject.

No field is studied in a vacuum. Whether your major is English or accounting, you will acquire many applicable skills that will help you in a variety of scenarios. Stay on your toes; you never know when these skills will come in handy.

I noticed something very powerful about utilizing different skills while I was a teaching assistant at Penn State University. Every week, I held office hours, and roughly 10 students showed up. Interestingly, most of these students asked me the exact same question. I could have done the usual and spent my time answering the same question 10 times. But I decided to use a technology product that would allow me to collect students’ questions in advance and answer them via video. That way, students could get their answers in a convenient way, and I could use my office hours for more complicated or unique problems. The solution was simple, but the implications were huge. Connections like these lead to innovative products, businesses, and career opportunities.

Your Major Is Nobody’s Business

You might find yourself wondering whether your lack of a formal business education will prevent you from succeeding in the business world. Let me tell you, from experience, that that statement couldn’t be falser.

While the necessity of a formal education is still extremely important, there’s no better teacher than life itself. Today’s top business leaders have learned their trades by doing. Surround yourself with people, decisions, and energy that provide an entrepreneurial feel. Whether that means joining a startup, working for free, or interning, the best way to learn is to get involved in any and every way possible.

In my opinion, business school is a better place to network than to gain practical experience. No amount of education can replace the hands-on experience of actually working in an organization. What you learn on the job is priceless. Armed with the knowledge and confidence necessary to succeed, you’ll be a much better candidate when future positions open.

Don’t Be Boxed In

No matter your major, there are three skills you’ll gather throughout your time in higher education that will be critical to your future success. I will give some simple examples to demonstrate how we use these skills, but might not relate tasks back to these skills.

• Data collection and analysis: Every student goes through the process of figuring out where to buy the cheapest textbook, or which app to use to take notes in class. This is simply an exercise in collecting information and analyzing it for a) price or b) convenience. You continue doing this more often and getting better at it until you’ve earned a lifelong skill.
• Structured thinking and planning: Ask yourself: How did you plan your schedule amongst dozens of courses? You have a goal in mind: You want to graduate in four years with a degree, and you plan backward from that.
• Persistence, with which comes experience and efficiency: Did you get better at managing your homework, picking classes, choosing professors, and making excuses for missing deadlines? This is persistence. When you do something more often, you get better at it. This is true for any skill in life, but the realization that this happens will prove very valuable as you take on a new project, job, or career.

While I was working toward my PhD, it required all three skills. With the foundation of these three skills, experience and life will teach you the rest, regardless of the major listed on your degree.

I can mix chemicals like a boss, but now I can also be a boss. I didn’t let my major dictate my future, and neither should you.

Online coupons can be used to attract new customers who may not be aware of your business and existing customers who either need a reminder to come back, or should be rewarded for their loyalty to help turn them into a champion of your business (especially on social media).

In fact, combined with an effective marketing distribution strategy, coupons are some of the most effective tactics available to you.

Online Coupons Make Customers Happy … Science Proves It  

Recent research has correlated coupons directly with brain chemistry linked to happiness. People who receive $10 coupons have 38 percent higher Ocytocin levels, 32 percent calmer breathing rates, 5 percent slower heart rates, and 20x less sweaty palms. You can’t make this stuff up.

And certainly customer satisfaction matters. Happy customers rate you better on review sites like Yelp, FourSquare and Google+Local. They are more likely to come back. More likely to sign up for your email list (quid pro quo, Dr. Lechter) or like your Facebook page.  These are all positive outcomes for your business.  There are numerous studies that show the impact of positive social media reviews on your business and you should be monitoring and improving your local and social reputation aggressively.

Did you know that 60 percent of people are willing to post about a product or service if you offer them a discount?

How Do You Choose the Right Online Coupon for Your Business?

Choosing what to offer depends on your local business’ economics and what is attractive to customers. We like to start with your cost of acquisition. How much are you currently spending to acquire a new customer and what is their average lifetime value (the profit you see from a customer from their first visit to their last)?  Those are metrics that many local businesses don’t track, but can be calculated on the back of an envelope pretty readily.

What would you be willing to pay to get a new paying customer to walk through the door right now?  That’s a good baseline.

Then look at how often your customers come back and how much they spend over that time and subtract your variable costs (i.e. the costs associated with every new customer, not your fixed costs like rent). What do your numbers look like?

If you are looking for new customers, you should be willing to pay that much to get them in.  Use coupons as the incentive to pay that cost of acquisition.  If it’s to increase loyalty, structure it that way like many punchcards and other loyalty type programs.  If you want to increase the customer community you can reach via Facebook, Twitter or email, then make that part of the offer.

What are you trying to achieve with your marketing plan?

Make Online Coupons Attractive for Customers Too

On the other side, think about how to make that cost of acquisition attractive to customers. Is it for a new, exciting product?  Is it for early access to something special?  Is it seasonally relevant (New Years is coming up next week). What cuts through the crowd?

Studies show that there is a vast improvement in effectiveness when you offer at least 20 percent off.  In the age of daily deals, less than that is more easily dismissed.  Customers also like definitive amounts they can value, like $5, $10 or $20 off.  They can understand those offers because they have concrete value.

The Real Coupon Challenge Is About Controlling Distribution

Your most important challenge is not creating the offer, but making sure it gets in front of potential customers.  In fact, that’s why Groupon commands half of a pre-paid offer – they have a 30-million email customer email list and you don’t (yet).  And that of course is why local Internet marketing is more important than ever.

Local businesses have the ability to command distribution more now than in any time in history.  You used to have to spend money on a PR agent, billboard or a large postal mailing to get the word out.  Now you have more inexpensive or free online marketing tools than ever including your website, Facebook, Twitter, email and more.

With a little work and a continuous strategy, you don’t need the same paid resources to achieve distribution.  At LocalVox, we are always talking about the difference between advertising and marketing.  Advertising is an episodic spend to gain traffic, where as marketing is long term strategy to build assets that grow in value over time – your brand, your reputation, your SEO footprint and your distribution channels.

Coupons Improve the Effectiveness of All Your Distribution Channels

Coupons improve the conversion of each and every channel and they should be spread across all of them.  On local business websites, we see 3-4x improvements in conversion by putting your coupons prominently upon them.  We see similar effects on Facebook, Twitter and email as well as one other important effect – loyalty and retention increases.

When consumers opt in to your email list or like your Facebook page, they want more than just information.  It can be a challenge to make every local business update riveting to consumers if it’s just informational.  And let’s be honest with ourselves: We all want to feel special.  We want the oxytocin release a business can give us by telling us we are special and we deserve a coupon.

By offering them as part of your communciation strategy, they’re more likely to pay attention to the next communication and less likely to unsubscribe.  And of course, they are more likely to share a deal than other content – 27 percent of people share deals on social media.

Mobile Geo-targeted Coupons Bring Together Acquisition and Distribution

One great way to use coupons is to combine them with mobile marketing. Our studies have shown that mobile marketing currently has the highest return on investment (ROI) of any channel – even greater than email marketing.  Taking an effective coupon as discussed above, you can target people in your zip code on their mobile devices as they walk or drive by or as they sit on their couches browsing their iPads.

A well-designed mobile deal will require an email address to claim the coupon.  Those emails can be used for future customers mailings to drive repeat business.  Even if an individual person doesn’t initially redeem the coupon (which is a win), you now can continue to market to a highly qualified prospect who has expressed interest in your business – which is a win. Building an email list is one of the most successful tactics local businesses can leverage for marketing success.

Because the mobile ad market has more inventory (supply) than advertisers (demand) and because of its targeting capabilities, we find it to be an opportune time to leverage mobile marketing as a paid channel for distribution.

Go Forth and Coupon!

So that’s the basis of a good online coupon strategy. We think that businesses should always have an active coupon (or coupons) to use across their distribution channels.  Local businesses should always be increasing their email lists with mobile coupons, converting more customers on their website with coupons and offering their loyal customers reasons to come back with coupons. It’s a lot cheaper than the cost of acquisition and builds marketing assets that grow in value.

So what are you waiting for?  Go forth and coupon!

This post originally appeared on the author’s website.

Trevor Sumner has spent ~15 years as a product and marketing executive for cutting edge technology startups from eCommerce and eBusiness in the late 90s to wireless Internet solutions to most recently consumer platforms and local, social and mobile marketing platforms. He founded LocalVox, a rapidly growing startup in NYC. He is an avid fisherman, a native New Yorker, and has scuba dived in all seven continents, including Antarctica.