Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are businesses with no more than a certain number of employees, usually taken to be no more than 250 for medium-sized businesses, and no more than 50 employees for small businesses. SMEs outnumber large firms by a considerable margin. Small businesses accounted for 99.3% of all private sector businesses in the UK at the start of 2018, and a total of 99.9% of all businesses are either small or medium-sized.

One of the main challenges of launching a new SME is often finding funds to get the business started. Luckily, there are several viable options that are available for SME owners these days.

Here are five of the best ways you can fund your SME:

• Self Funding 

The majority of SME business owners start by funding their venture themselves. Also referred to as bootstrapping, this strategy helps businesspersons to bolster the growth of their projects for some time until there is formal funding available to grow the business. This way forward takes considerable hard work and dedication, and can include using credit cards, leveraging personal assets and using savings, but it isn’t always enough. In which case…

• Your Friends and Family can Help with Fundraising.

One of the most effective ways to receive funding for your small business is through your friends and family.  The closest people to you will believe in your vision more than those who need convincing from a distance. They will also believe in your ability to transform that vision into a reality. Perhaps the major downside to this is that you’ll be risking a personal relationship if the business fails and the agreement is not structured correctly.

• Equity Funding  

Equity financing is one of the best ways to raise extra funding for your small business. Here, you can sell your company’s ownership. You’ll receive funding from investors. However, you’ll have to part ways with some portion of your ownership as well as some level of control in your business. Investors could be from your family, angel investors, or venture capitalists. But you’ll reap a significant amount of benefits by using equity financing, including accessing mentorship programs, experience, and advice and guidance from experienced entrepreneurs who have a real vested interest in you doing well. One other disadvantage to this method of funding however is that you’re in a relationship for the long-term, so you need to make sure it’s right for you.

• Selling Shares 

New investors will want to know the value of your business including how much it could increase in value if they purchase shares. To accomplish this, they will want to know how much their funding will increase your sales as well as profitability, so you need a good business plan and solid figures to make this work. You need to provide prospective investors with an updated financial model that indicates the following: How the business is going to invest the money in different departments to increase sales. And how the initial cost to the business will impact the cash flow.

• You Can Take a Business Loan

Banks offer business loans for many different reasons including to help business owners finance equipment, real estate, vehicles and for a business cash advance. The loans are often for the short term, but it can sometimes be over the longer term. The duration may vary based on the level of financing needed. Many such loans require collateral. Often, this is the product being purchased.  In this case, the investment will have a low-interest rate compared to one that has no insurance. Some banks will only offer such loans for a significant amount. Therefore, if you should need to borrow less than the minimum provided, you need to seek a different financial institution that will provide that level of credit.

When starting an SME, it’s easy to sometimes get carried away with a lot of spending. The current tax deductibility may even tempt you. Although tax breaks will help cut down on the costs for your business, they will not make it possible for you to purchase for free. You’ll still need to pay for the bulk expenses that a start-up requires.  With that said, it’s vital for you to know how you are going to get that extra funding needed to make a real go of your SME.

Are you trying to keep your warehouse flowing as best as it can? When you’re busy and trying to move forward with things, it’s likely that you are looking at new technologies to try and make things easier. Which techs work well for what you may need?

If you work with pallets, then you may be looking at Pallet Flow racks as an option that makes sense for what it is that you need to do. These specialized racks stack pallets in a manner that allows your employees to easily use and access pallets at your warehouse. But, why do they work well? Here are a few considerations.

Helps Your Employees to Work Faster, Not Harder

Speed is of the essence in a warehouse, but you don’t want speed to get in the way of doing your job well. Pallet flow racks have been built to make the work flow go much more quickly because they allow your employees to get pallets and keep going without hesitation or stopping.

Wastes Less Storage Space than Other Options

Storage space is at a premium in most any warehouse, and anything that saves space can be a huge help. These racks have been designed to help you stack more pallets vertically and keep them out of the way. Ease of access and extra storage space? That sounds like a win-win.

Safer Option for Storing and Getting Pallets

Safety is key when you’re in a warehouse, and it’s really important to take the time to find ways to keep the assembly and packaging lines as safe as they can be. Not only can you stack pallets higher with these, but it also holds everything in place in, preventing them from falling onto unsuspecting employees below. These racks add a new level of safety, making it easier for you to keep things in order and adhere to safety regulations and other concerns that may otherwise come up.

Find the new technologies out on the market and see what a big deal that it is for you to make considerations and see what there is for you to do in order to make a difference. Seek out the solutions, find out what others are doing, and know that you’ve got everything in order so that you can get the best results.

You need something, you buy, borrow or acquire it one way or another. As long as there’s a population (which is growing very fast), trade will continue. Buying goods from one another is the essence of business in whatever form. When you need products that aren’t within your local country, they ah veto be exported, and the products are very many. The export and import business is lucrative. You bring in what people want, sell it via your supply chain and earn your returns. Simple, right? The simplicity lies in your business model, and if you are interested in the import and export trade, you need to up your game.

How to Start an Import/Export Business

Prepare yourself for a ton of logistics, and that is not all, you’ll have to come to terms with international economics and much more. It may be a great idea to possess an excellent background in business, international relations, and global finance. With such data, you are going to comprehend processes that you need to go through before you can sell or purchase a product from an overseas supplier. You need to possess knowledge that goes beyond borders. Some things like the price of any Export containers need to be at your fingertips.

• Choose a business name and establish a website: Since the network is vital in the import and export business, you need to possess a perfect site that creates your global link. The main aim here is to balance the flow of correspondence, sell your products online or offline and build your customer base.
• Settle on a product to import and export: Well, you cannot do everything in the export and import business; choose a product and settle on it.
• Locate the appropriate market: Now that you possess a product, choose where you want to sell it. Utilize current trends in the sale of this product to spot the perfect market.
• Set a price for the product: The price needs to be set based in the volume as well as the commission on that volume.
• Locate customers for your business: You can do this via numerous means like SEO optimization and other physical means.
• Create a safe logistics department: This will cater for transporting the products to where it needs to be so that it can be sold.

Which Business Model Is the Best? 

Well, in the export/import business, people typically charge based on a commission or a retainer. Via the commission structure, you get a percentage rate for any trade deal that you complete. On the other hand, if it is through a retainer, your client is going to pay you a monthly fee. There’s also an alternative model whereby you can simply purchase and sell goods and make a margin. When you figure that a certain product will be straightforward to sell, choose a commission model. Of course, a retainer would be more appropriate for products that are hard to sell. Those who are confident in their business skills, can go for the alternative model and take all the risks. The import/export business is quite impressive. After you get the hang of it, you will make a lot of money no matter what business model you settle on.

Warehouse safety is important for several reasons. First, the health of employees is important. If they are frequently injured, soon there will be no one to work in the warehouse. The goods themselves are important, too, as they must be stored and moved without being broken or damaged.

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Sensible stacking

Sometimes you need to pile items high to fit them all in, but the heaviest items must always go on the bottom of the stack. You don’t want lighter items crushed by heavy loads, nor do you want them toppling over and injuring or killing people. Amazon has received some bad press for its warehouse practices. To learn more, see this report in The Guardian.

When stacking, the height of the stack should be noted. There are usually rules governing stack heights, and these should be observed to avoid accidents and breakages.

The right stack for the job

Different items may need to be stacked in different ways. Pay attention to the goods being stacked, and choose the right method for the safest result. Types of stacking include brick, block, pinwheel and plywood.

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Stack materials according to what they are and any hazards they may represent. For example, stack pipes upright so no one can trip over or collide with them. Lumber should be checked for nails that could damage goods or people.

As you stack, pallets should also be checked for damage. Identifying a pallet that is suffering from wear and tear and replacing it is always a better idea than letting a stack collapsing because the pallet has splintered or fallen apart. At the same time, keep an eye on the state of your shelving. It may need to be upgraded to cope with greater loads. If you want to find out more about options for shelving Ireland, you can start by consulting a reputable provider such as rackzone.ie/shelving/industrial-residential-shelving, where you can get advice and all the guidance you need on shelving Ireland.

Warehouse safety must always be viewed as a priority. By being vigilant in your maintenance and choosing materials that are made well and of good quality, many safety issues should be identified and rectified before they cause significant damage. Preventing accidents tends to cost less than clearing up the mess that they cause.

New Zealand’s coworking spaces are as diverse as the country is with many spaces offering businesses a range of options from which to choose. Auckland, especially, is seeing a surge of new and different types of spaces offering assistance to digital nomads, non-profits, and an assortment of professionals. For professionals working in this environment, finding space to work is no problem.

In fact, one could argue the coworking model is a good fit for the New Zealander whose business culture is one that promotes respect and trust. The coworking space, conversely, provides a platform that encourages an already positive attitude for building business relationships. Those looking to join a coworking space in Auckland will find the guidelines for appropriate office behaviour align with the cultural attitude related to work.

Continue reading to learn more about kiwi working etiquette if you’re interested in coworking in Auckland.

Coworking Conversations

The coworking space provides ample opportunity for professionals to chat with others in the space. Just by virtue of the way these offices are organised, they encourage conversation. Workstations often place professionals in close proximity, and even if renting more private space, the chance to engage others in the space is ever present. Servcorp Coworking Auckland is a perfect example of how many coworking spaces promote social interaction.

At the same time, this proximity can also breed behaviours that can disrupt normal workflow. While a convivial atmosphere, the space is still a professional environment, so conversations that are too lively interfere with others in the space. If you are someone who loves the social part of coworking, keep conversations quiet, or better yet, if you feel the conversation is going to be lengthy consider taking it to one of the designated areas.

Respectful Boundaries

The coworking space is a public space, and because there are no walls, it is very easy to traverse other boundaries, and worse yet, crowd other’s space. Whether it is talking too loud at the workspace, borrowing other people’s paper clips, pens, staplers, etc., or helping yourself to other people’s unattended snacks, do not assume that everyone in the space welcomes your intrusions. If the person does not offer or you do not ask, then consider the item off limits until the person has offered it to you. While it might seem a trifling thing to quibble over, people traverse boundaries in a million ways before a big blow out occurs.

Clean Space

The great benefit to sharing space with others is it can create a comradery that engenders both friend and business relationships. In many cases, it also creates a bond among people who work in the space. At the same token, this same closeness can create a situation where people feel free to treat the space the same way they would treat personal space.

Leaving personal items behind, not discarding empty food cartons and packaging, and not making sure that the space is left clean can create annoyance among your coworking mates. While it might seem like common sense, treat the coworking space much like you would treat a conventional office. Personal items, including garbage, should be discarded at the end of the workday, and foods that might spill or are greasy should be eaten in a designated space, whether it is a lounge or a café. Ultimately, your coworking space is a great place to share because it does reflect professional space, and cleanliness contributes to this professionalism.

Finding Your Space

Because coworking spaces generally define their own character, you can find these enclaves to be very different in culture to each other. However, within this culture, many of them encourage inclusivity, which in turn builds opportunities for relationships. At the core of this idea is an office etiquette that emphasises respect for everyone in the space.

Preparing for parenthood is not just small clothes and touching ultrasound photos; it includes a lot of financial preparation. To say that life changes drastically after the arrival of a baby is sarcasm. The surge in delight is in tandem with the increase in expenses, the emotional and physical turmoil at par with the monetary stress. While one takes quite a few measures to stabilize the mind and body, unexpectedly very little financial preparation is undertaken to cope with the new development. It is important to keep in mind that there will be some apparent turns for example marriage, job, children, and retirement in the life that will generate changes in the financial plans. Then there may be some other twists in between such as job loss that will need even more careful handling.

While there is a rise in expenses after the baby, there is an increase in the period leading up to the delivery too. Apart from the medical check-ups and diagnostic tests, the beginning of saving for the transition can take a big portion out of the budget. After that, certainly, one needs to realize about insurance cover and maternity leave.

Larry Polhill , being an expert in financial planning says that prior to embracing parenthood it is very important to speak about funds with one another. This is helpful in building each other’s money related requirements and liabilities. Talking about money related objectives to the financial exchange professionals is additionally extremely basic. Considering the high charges for hospitalization and medical tests, and poor maternity advantages in health plans, it would be sensible to put away a small amount each month in a liquid fund just after one decides to have the baby. In addition to these recurring costs such as child care, diapers and baby food will change the household expenses for years to come. Thus, it is important for the couples to plan for them now so that they are not caught off guard.

Larry further states that adding a new member to the family comes with a lengthy list of duties, so do not try to do them all right away. Prioritize and deal with the most significant items on the financial to-do list initially. As insurance claims and medical bills will be some of the first financial obligations one will encounter while expecting, it is better to start from there. Then gradually one should move on to budgeting for pregnancy and the first few months of the baby’s life.

Larry Polhill is a renowned property owner of Photocircuits Corporation and has worked as the President of the Board and Chairman at ‘APFC’ or American Pacific Financial Corp. Mr. Polhill has worked as a director of Capital Foods, LLC and also as Chairman in addition to President Emeritus at Cafe Valley, Inc. and worked as its CEO. He has extensive background in Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Finance. With greater than twenty five years of business experience at APFC, he has been associated as an officer, director in addition to financier of a wide-ranging variety of businesses.

The History Of Marijuana

Regarding marijuana, there has been a huge turn around in policy in different regions of the United States of America. In 1937, the federal government made marijuana illegal by passing the Marihuana Tax Act. Ever since the early to mid-20th century, loads of anti-marijuana propaganda has been churned out in the form of movies, television shows, public service announcements, advertisements, textbooks and other methods. It was accused of being just as bad as harder substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, opiates, opioids and alcohol.

In reality, marijuana users do not experience the same severe effects as people who consume those harder substances. There are some experts who say that heavy, habitual marijuana use—particularly among those who start young—results in brain swelling and cognitive defects. However, anything is bad if obsessively consumed. In fact, there are people who eat too much food and suffer from health problems and death because of it. Does that mean that we should outlaw various foods? Some foods have very high amounts of added sugar and fat. Does that mean that we should start to outlaw candy, cake and ice cream? There are also some people who say that smoking marijuana gives people cancer. However, the cancer comes from inhaling smoke, not from the marijuana, itself.

Over the years, marijuana has been taboo and talked down about, though it has also been joked about quite a bit. The frequency of its use and the general, apparent lack serious, long term affects has raised questions about whether it should really be illegal. There have been numerous studies that show the health benefits for both healthy people and those with ailments.

Legalization

California made a land-mark decision in 1996 to allow medical marijuana. In 2014, another landmark happened when Colorado made recreational use legal. Numerous other states followed. So, now there are some states that only allow medical marijuana and some states that allow both medical and recreational marijuana.

Nevada

Different states have their conditions for selling and using marijuana. In Nevada, a person must be 18 years old to legally do medical marijuana, and 21 years old to use recreational marijuana. According to Green Bits, a person who runs a marijuana store can stay open at any time. In Las Vegas, it is common for marijuana shops to be open all of the time.

People who plan to open marijuana shops should understand the fact that they have to invest a lot of money in the safety of their businesses. In Nevada, they have to be ready to spend at least $100,000.00 on mandatory security measures. It is understandable why a pot shop would have to spend money on the best security measures.

In Nevada, there are annual licensing fees that climb into the tens of thousands. How much a license costs depends on the service. For example, cultivation facilities pay $30,000, product manufacturers pay $10,000.00, testing facilities pay $15,000 and retail stores pay $20,000.00. These are only fees for the state, and people who plan on getting into the marijuana business in Las Vegas have to pay separate fees to the city—in addition to the fees that they have to pay to the state.

According to the OSHA, in the year of 2016, there were about more than 5,000 workers who have lost their lives on the job in the United States. The average amount of people who have lost their lives while working was about fourteen people every single day. There are many different reasons for why people get injured and or have lost their lives on the job. Some of the most common causes for work-related fatalities include accidental falls, getting struck by an object of some kind, electrocutions and getting caught in-between two large pieces of materials. It is very unfortunate that there has been such a high number of work-related deaths in the United States. It is critical that workers become more aware of the possibilities of injuries in their workplace. Getting injured in the workplace can cause a significant amount of hardship in your life. If you are no longer able to work because of an injury, you will no longer be able to support yourself as well as your family. Getting fair compensation for your injury at work is something you truly deserve. If you are facing a severe injury from work, you may want to consider getting a lawyer to help you through the legal process.

According to CNBC, the ten most dangerous jobs currently in America include: landscaping, electrical power line installer, farmers, truck drivers, steelworkers, recyclable collectors, roofers, flight engineers, fishing workers and logging workers. The fatal injury rates for these types of jobs are significantly higher than most other jobs in the United States. Out of these jobs listed, the number one most dangerous industry involves the logging workers. The logging workers had an injury rate of 132 per 100,000 people. No matter what type of job you decide to work in, it is most important to practice safe measures to prevent yourself from getting hurt. Sometimes, no matter how safely you practice, getting injured at work is inevitable. Many times, it may be the industry that you are working in. Also, it may be the company that you are working for. Sometimes, there is a lack of safety procedures and protocol that some companies fail to abide by, putting you at greater risk for injury.

If you are currently facing an injury in the workplace, you will need a lawyer to help you. Many times, once you are severely injured it is almost impossible to perform the same responsibilities you once use to do. For example, if you injured your back at work and your main responsibility was lifting heavy boxes, you may have to take a break or end your career. Because of the injury that you encountered, you will be left with a significant reduction in income or possibly no income at all. At this point, it is critical that you connect with the lawyer to help you get the compensation you fairly deserve. You can contact a lawyer, by searching for: Personal Injury Law Firm.

Overall, getting injured at work and be extremely frustrating. You never know what to expect after your injury. You could possibly be out of work for quite some time or even permanently, leaving you to experience financial hardship.

For employees and entrepreneurs whom must occasionally travel in the course of their duties keep an excellent track of their business mileage, but for the rest of the rest of us, however, this can be an overwhelming task. But if you fail to keep track of these records the right way, this could mean missing out a significant tax deduction. Similarly, you might be lucky and take away the inferences and get audited successfully. However, when it comes to the actual deductions, you will have to prove your mileage to IRS with documentation. Therefore, to make the inferences, you must capture all vital information in your millage since you cannot deduct what can’t be proven.

The Right Way to keep commercial Mileage Records

The IRS requires that you have accurate and timely records. This implies that you need to keep a daily log to show miles covered, endpoint and the business purpose. To this end, automating such process can be helpful to keep track of your travels and record the required data. This way you, you can also note the date you are traveling, the starting points and destination. You can also note down the actual mileage or add it to an online map program available through the internet. Attentively, it is advised that you include all expense like parking and gasoline as well as the amount spent especially if you opt for actual auto expenses, instead of claiming IRS mileage deduction.

Separate Your Business Miles

If you are well connected to your smartphone, various track and trace system pharmaceutical applications are available to help you keep track of your mileage. For the poised options, they will even help you to separate the personal and business miles. If you happen to be using the same vehicle for personal and commercial uses, it is required that you keep track of your mileage in the begging and the ending of every year. This measure allows you to work out the business-use in percentage. For instance, if you have logged a total of 24000 miles and the business purpose log indicates that you covered 6000, then your business use is 25%.

Reporting your Mileage

The next step entails covering the obtained information on your schedule C in your commercial tax returns. When it comes to communicating your mileage, there are two primary methods, which include the standard and actual approaches. For both methods, each has its takeaways and drawbacks and some restrictions for the actual reporting. If we can use actual auto expenses, you will have a 25% dedication if you happen to have covered 6000 out of 2400 miles for the business. Otherwise, this would mean that you would have to multiply the 6000 figure by a standard IRS rate to obtain a value close to 54% as per 2018. To this end, it is evident that it is possible to earn significant returns through the tax deduction. Therefore, it is vital that you keep a record of this vital information by ensuring that you always keep track of your mileage the best way possible.

Are you a fan of movies about love and happy endings? Or maybe you prefer something that has you gripping the edge of your seat in terror? Perhaps, you are a fan of the old classics, where a hero slays his dragons and saves the world? Even avid horror movie fans have to admit, there are days that the darkness doesn’t do it for you. You want a monster but the kind of monster who has you laughing your heart out. A movie that offers a bit of both world is nice every now and then. We dug into the dark and bright side and selected 5 of our favorites movies to get you started.

GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

This psychological thriller follows a disgraced financial reporter who seeks a chance to redeem himself in his latest assignment. He has been called in to investigate a murder/disappearance that happened 40 years ago and is believed to be perpetrated by a family member. With the help of a young female investigator, and hacker, a sordid tale of murders, rape and serial killings is uncovered, and the identity of the true killer is revealed. The short-lived affair between the journalist and the hacker was rather disappointing but the movie was exciting to watch.

THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE

A supernatural horror film begins with the discovery of the corpse of an unidentified woman in what appears to be a bizarre homicide. The coroner and his son are asked to conduct an autopsy to determine cause of death and things get even weirder. While there are no physical signs of external injuries, what they find on the inside belies the horror the Jane Doe must have suffered. But before the coroners can make sense of the situation, strange things begin to happen in the morgue. There is no happy ending here. Just a promise that the horrors are just beginning.

KAALA LATEST INDIAN MOVIE

A former drug lord (Hari Dhadha) under the guise of Union leader schemes and bullies his way into stealing from the poor but hard-working people of this slum community. As he attains a more influential position of Minister, his ambitions become more insidious. The only thing standing in his way now is leader of the people, Kaala who has firmly opposed him for years. Kaala encourages the people to protest and after many deaths and killings, HariDhadha is finally destroyed.

BREAKING IN

A mother travels to her father’s home with her children after his death to settle his estate. But what should have a been a short emotional trip down memory lane quickly became a nightmare as her kids are held hostage by a group of 4 thieves who believe money is hidden in the house. Their plan was to steal and leave quietly but when one member of the team kills, things go south from there. This mother must find a way to save her children.

SHERLOCK GNOMES

Johnny Depp plays the wacky character of Sherlock Gnomes who has been called to investigate a case of missing gnomes. His mission is to find them and bring them home. Bumbling their way through clues, Gnomeo and Juliet team up with Sherlockto uncover this treacherous plot and save all the gnomes.

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