It’s not easy to check through all of the SaaS accounting software options. There’s a lot of platforms to choose from across every operational aspect of your company. Onboarding each of them requires a ton of setup and spending the time to learn their nuances. Then, of course, there’s the cost of purchasing licenses to consider. And finding the best accounting software for SaaS companies is doubly hard: You have even more options than other types of small business owners do, and figuring out the differences among all these accounting software packages is tricky at best.
However, there are a couple of key things that differentiate the best SaaS accounting software options from the rest of the crowd. They are:
Scalability: Most SaaS companies are growth-minded, meaning you need accounting software that can keep up with your business as it expands.
Automation: SaaS is a fast-paced industry. Nobody wants to spend all their time doing accounting, so you need a solution that is as high-tech as the service you provide. Automation allows you to focus less on your books and more on your business.
Multi-Business Support: SaaS encompasses a wide range of business types. Your software needs to provide a solution that can account for that.
Best Accounting Software for SaaS
Now that we know what to look for, here is our top pick for the best accounting software for SaaS companies:
QuickBooks Online
Quickbooks online
One of the top options for the best accounting software for SaaS companies is QuickBooks Online. You’ll have a hard time finding a platform that’s as scalable as QuickBooks Online: The software offers different levels of support that accommodate your company’s evolving needs as it expands. Plus, the setup is easy and the bookkeeping is intuitive.
Quickbooks dashboard
Getting more specific, there are several reasons QuickBooks Online is such a good option for SaaS companies. They are:
Requires No Manual Data Entry.
Grows with Your Business.
Makes It Easy to Track Your Financial Health.
Has a Helpful Virtual Community.
Best for small businesses seeking accounting software suitable to their size. QuickBooks pricing starts at $5.00 per month, per user. There is not a free version of QuickBooks but QuickBooks does offer a free trial.
According to NetSuite’s website, it offers a financial management solution that expedites daily financial transactions, accelerates the financial close and ensures compliance. Its cloud-based single platform architecture ensures complete real-time visibility into the financial performance of the business from a consolidated level down to the individual transactions.
NetSuite’s cost depends on several factors including the selected product configuration, add-on modules required, total user count and contract duration. Taking all this into account, NetSuite’s base license pricing begins at $999 per month with general user access listed at $99 per month. Advanced NetSuite feature modules are available which can be a beneficial enhancement to a standard platform license. Add additional users as needed by purchasing individual access via any browser on a universal cloud-based platform.
NetSuite licenses operate on a subscription model and may be renewed annually or over longer durations. There are several pre-bundled vertical editions, which can be useful in quickly identifying the necessary package and modules needed. You decide which one is best and when you are ready to add more capacity.
FreshBooks is designed specifically for small businesses, so if your SaaS company is still in its early stages, this could be a good option. FreshBooks offers three different small business accounting solutions—Lite, Plus, and Premium. Each option is designed for businesses in different stages of growth, with the Lite plan being the least expensive and the Premium plan being the most expensive.
FreshBooks pricing
The features you get with FreshBooks depend on the plan you sign up for, but all plans come with the following features, which are essential for SaaS accounting:
Invoicing (including recurring invoices and late payment reminders)
FreshBooks Double-Entry Accounting tools help you make choices based on actual business data and insights.
Invite your accountant to your FreshBooks account with just a few clicks. Your accountant will get exclusive access to the financial information and reporting they need to support your business, whenever they need it.
FreshBooks is available at a price that is comparable to QuickBooks, and it features very similar accounting functionality. This makes it a great alternative to consider for those looking for SaaS accounting.
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Zoho Books is an online accounting software that allows you to easily manage the money flowing in and out of your business. Manage your customers and invoices, while keeping expenses in check. Record, monitor and reconcile your bank accounts and transactions, and collaborate with your accountant in real-time. Most importantly, Zoho Books helps you make better, more informed decisions and stay on top of your business.
Zoho books pricing
Features at a glance:
Create GST invoices in seconds.
Give your customers online payment options and get paid faster.
Create and send purchase orders.
Keep track of inventory levels at all times.
Organize your inventory with vital information like SKU, cost, and stock on hand.
Set up rules to categorize your banking transactions for easier reconciliation.
Create, edit, and manage your customer and supplier contacts from within Zoho Books.
There are three pricing options for Zoho Books – Standard (₹2,499 per Organisation/Year, 3 Users), Professional (₹9,999 per Organisation/Year, 4 Users), and Premium (₹19,999 per Organisation/Year, 7 Users).
Conclusion
Whether you’re just forming your SaaS company, or have begun to hit your stride and need a seamless way to manage your finances, accounting tool provides a robust way to manage your company’s money from top to bottom. No matter which software you choose for your SaaS accounting needs, before you set out on your search make sure you know precisely what you need your accounting software to do for your business. So, which tool are you using for accounting? Please let us know in the comments section below.
SaaS accounting is a model for accounting software whereby the application is hosted by a service provider. Instead of installing and maintaining software locally, SaaS software is securely accessed through a PC or mobile device.
Is QuickBooks a SaaS?
Yes, QuickBooks – This is the tool for all your accounting needs. They also have a free trial so you see if it meets your need! Salesforce – A CRM software that can be used to scale business.
What accounting software do startups use?
One of the top options for the best accounting software for SaaS companies is QuickBooks Online.
Larry Ellison is an American Entrepreneur, Investor, and Philanthropist. He is the co-founder, Executive Chairman and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Oracle Corporation, an American multinational computer technology corporation. He was also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Oracle Corporation from 1977 to 2014. In November 2016, he bought NetSuite for $9.3 billion and owns 35% of the company’s interests. Forbes magazine listed him as the fourth-wealthiest person in the U.S and as the sixth wealthiest person in the world, on October 2019 with a net worth of $69.1 billion. In 2021, Larry Ellison is one of the $100 billion-dollar people in the world with a net worth currently around $110 billion-dollar
Larry Ellison- Biography
Name
Lawrence Joseph Ellison
Born
17 August, 1944
Birthplace
New York City, U.S.
Age
77 (2021)
Nationality
American
Education
University of Illinois; University of Chicago
Profession
Entrepreneur, Investor, Philanthropist
Position
Co-founder, Executive Chairman and CTO of Oracle Corporation
Larry was born to a Jewish maiden. His biological father was an Italian-American United States Army Air Corps pilot. Larry corrugated pneumonia at the age of nine months and his mother gave him to her aunt and uncle for adoption.
He moved to Chicago South Shore and his adoptive mother was warm and loving contrary to his distant adoptive father. At age 22, he moved to Berkeley, California in 1966. He has been married and divorced four times.
Larry Ellison- Education
Larry completed his elementary studies at South Shore High School in Chicago. He was later enrolled as a premed student from the University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign. He was entitled science student of the year at Illinois.
He withdrew from the University without appearing for final exams as his adoptive mother has just died. He was then admitted to the University of Chicago for one term to study physics and mathematics. He did not appear for any exams in Chicago and first encountered computer design.
Larry Ellison- Professional Life
Larry initially worked at Ampex in the early 1970s, he was highly influenced by Edgar F. Codd’s research on relational database design. This was the design that led in 1977 to the establishment of what became Oracle. He initially started off by naming the firm as Software Development Laboratories (SDL) along with two other partners. He established the company with a personal investment of $1,200 of the total $2,000.
The company was renamed in 1979 as Relational Software Inc. and in 1983, it officially became Oracle Systems Corporation after his flagship project named Oracle Database. In December 2018, he became a Director on the board of Tesla, Inc. after buying 3 million shares in 2017.
Larry co-founded Oracle Corporation with Bob Miner and Edward A. Oates. The company was founded on 16 June 1977 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States. Larry is the Executive Chairman and CTO of Oracle Corporation.
It is an American multinational computer technology corporation that sells database software and technology, cloud engineered systems and enterprise software products. In 2019, Oracle was the second-largest software company on the basis of revenue and market capitalization.
It also provides tools for database development and systems of middle-tier software, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, Human Capital Management (HCM) software, customer management (CRM) software, and supply chain management (SCM) software.
Larry Ellison- Philanthropist
Larry donated $5 million to seed the Lawrence J. Ellison Musculo-Skeletal Research Center. The following year the health care centre opened another medical centre with the seed amount. He further donated $100 million to his own charitable foundation.
In 2004, Forbes’ list of charitable donations made by the wealthiest 400 Americans stated Larry had donated $151,092,103, about 1% of his estimated personal wealth. In 2007, he donated $500,000 to reinforce a community centre in Sderot, Israel after discovering that the building was not fortified against rocket attacks.
In August 2010, it has been reported Larry was one of the 40 billionaires who had signed “The Giving Pledge” campaign, pledging to contribute the majority of his wealth for philanthropic causes. In May 2016, he donated $200 million to the University of Southern California for launching a cancer research centre.
He played a brief cameo appearance in the 2010 movie Iron Man 2. He is a licensed pilot and has owned several aircraft. He owns at least two military jets, a training aircraft designed in Italy and a decommissioned one, which the US government has refused him permission to import. He also owns the Indian Wells Tennis Garden located in California and the Indian Wells Masters tournament.
Moreover, he ended his ownership of the 12th largest yacht in the world, called Rising Sun. He also competes in yachting through his Oracle Team USA. He founded BMW Oracle Racing to compete for the 2003 Louis Vuitton Cup. In 2002, his Oracle team introduced kite yachting into the American Cup environment.
The crux of the success of any idea or innovation is the resources and the platform which provide a much-needed boost to it in a highly competitive marketplace. Kuberan’s House is an event that provides that light to startups which helps them in developing, streamlining, and connecting business ideas and innovations with a sleuth of potential investors and venture capitalists.
Being one of the biggest players in this industry, it was delightful for us to catch up with the founder of Kuberan’s House event, Mr Sanjeev K Kumar himself. In our small conversation with him, we were able to take away some very insightful knowledge about the domain.
India’s Biggest Startup Showcase – The Motto and the Appeal
The main motto of Kuberan’s House being a platform that is indeed India’s biggest startup showcase is to provide the opportunity to every Indian with a vision and an idea to realize their dreams. Empowering people from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to realize their goals, and supporting indigenous businesses is another motto and appeal of Kuberan’s House. Providing this platform for Indian startups are Mr Sanjeev K Kumar, Mr Ram Gowda, and Mr Ranjith Royal.
Q – What kind of startups can apply to the event?
We are open to startups of any sector like FinTech, HealthTech, Logistics, e-commerce, SaaS, Consumers Services, etc.
Q – What is the whole process of applying and selection?
Ans – Our registration process is that every ideator (company not registered)/ entrepreneur has to apply on Kuberan House to participate.
All applications received in the Kuberan’s House website go through a three-stage filtering process which includes exhaustive checks on background, tech specs, business module, originality, and the feasibility of the proposed business idea.
Once the application is submitted it is sent to one of our 500+ screeners and multi-level screening happens by domain experts.
Once the top 500 startups are selected and notified. Further filtering of 500 to prime 100 is done through a stringent filtering process and these 100 startups get ‘The Kuberan’s Fellowship’ certificate as a seal of Merit.
The members of the ‘Fellowship’ are rewarded with value-added services and resources from the KH partners and gain access to the internal team of accelerators.
Then we have a holistic and exhaustive workshop conducted for the top 100 start-ups and is a 3-day comprehensive initiation module. Consisting of an exclusive panel of professionals in corporate, finance, strategy, chartered accounting, fund management, legal and public speaking, this workshop aims to project, explore and impart each and every aspect of making a successful pitch to the investors.
Q – What are the things you will look in a startup for selection?
Startups across all stages can apply to Kuberan’s House for getting short-listed to the list of eligible winners.
Q – How many startups will be given prizes and what Benefits will they receive?
Top 500 will get certificates, merits and other add ons
Prime 100 will be empanelled in the Kuberan’s House’s ‘Hall of Fame’ of start-ups every season and each of them is handed ‘The Kuberan’s Fellowship’ certificate as a seal of Merit.
They are rewarded with value-added services and resources from the KH partners and gain access to the internal team of accelerators and possible mentorship.
Final 60: In addition to the above are Trained and Groomed by industry experts and each stand a chance to get up to 10 Cr in funding.
Top 500 – Scholarship and access to our incubation and accelerator expertise.
Top 100 – Complete holistic workshop with domain/business/legal/presentation experts
Top 60 – Will be especially groomed for presentation and pitching skills.
All the shortlisted Start-ups will get other benefits in terms of value-additions.
Conclusion
Now that you have all the information you need at your hand to participate in the new age phenomenon for startups, all that’s left is to visit the website, and give it a shot.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on.
Medication non-adherence is a major reason for people failing to recover from chronic diseases. World Health Organization reports that 50% of patients with chronic diseases do not take medication as prescribed. One of the crucial reasons for medication non-adherence is forgetfulness. Though there have been technological advancements, much has not been done to address the issue of forgetfulness.
Criador Design Labs has come up with a solution to address this problem of forgetting to take medicines. The company has come up with an innovative smart water bottle that helps patients by reminding them to take medications on time. Besides this, Criador Labs is also helping different companies to design various innovative products.
StartupTalky interviewed Criador Labs co-founder Abhishek Reddy. Know about Criador Design Labs Company Profile, Founders, How it Started, Business Model, Revenue Model and Challenges faced.
Criador Design Labs is a product design firm that develops new innovative hardware technology products for consumer healthcare sectors.
The recent product by Criador Labs include EVE Health – A smart water bottle designed to improve medication adherence amongst chronic disease patients. It helps patients to stay aware of their dosages and reminds them when it’s time to take their medication. The bottle holds a patent-pending technology, with the sensors tracking all medication intake and the Wi-Fi chipset sending the live data to the servers. The data is analyzed, and custom notifications and reports are sent to caretakers, hospitals, and insurance companies for taking proper actions.
EVE Health – smart water bottle
In medicine, compliance (also adherence, capacitance) describes the degree to which a patient correctly follows medical advice. Therefore the lack of could result in possibly dangerous situations for people suffering with chronic diseases. We have a patent pending technology for our systemic approach of solving this problem. We spent a lot of time on understand the reasons of non-adherence. Apart from the one reason of missing medication on time due to forgetfulness, we tried to address other major reasons which includes psychological issues, knowledge issues, laziness issues and few others –says Abhishek explaining the product
Criador Labs has worked with a lot of doctors and patients in India and the USA for the validation of their idea of the smart bottle. It’s been a journey of 1.5 years for Criador Design Lab to proceed from ideation to prototyping. Initially, it was challenging and still continues to be a challenge for them to interact with people not related to their field of work.
We had to do a lot of studies during that time. It was a great learning curve for all of us. We initially spoke with a few chronic patients, doctors (India and Abroad). They were in need for a product of this nature and wanted us to work on this – Abhishek speaks about the prototyping stage.
Besides, Criador Labs’ services wing provides wide range of services related to Industrial Design, Engineering Design, Brand Identity Design, UI/UX Design, Technology development, Rapid prototyping and Manufacturing Consultancy to its clients. It helps its clients take their ideas from design to production and ensures that the product created is functioning with efficiency.
The size of the consumer healthcare market is about 27,000 crore and is growing at a CAGR of 10 to 11 percent year-on-year. The market is expected to reach 50,000 crores in the next 7-8 years (as per Euromonitor Research).
Criador Design Labs – Founders and Team
Abhishek Reddy and Hitesh Devara co-founded Criador Design Labs.
Abhishek Reddy and Hitesh Devara
Hitesh Devara, is the CEO of Criador Design Labs. He Manages the Finance and Operations at the startup. He is a B.Tech Mechanical (2014) graduate.
Abhishek Reddy, handles Product Management at Criador Labs. He is a B.Tech Mechanical graduate from IIT Dhanbad(2014). He was a Co-founder at Divine Design Factory (2016-17) and worked as an Operations Analyst at Vdeliver (2014-15), and did Enterprise Management at IBM(2015-16).
Abhishek and Hitesh worked together on another startup called Divine Design factory before starting Criador Design Labs.
Criador Design Labs currently has a team of 12. They maintain a healthy work-life balance for all of their employees with a strict – 5 days 9-hour job – and no extra work. In order to provide a conducive environment for their employers and keep them satisfied, sponsors the birthday parties of their employees.
We hire people based on attitude to work in a startup environment, quick learning skills and cultural fit. Technical Skill for us comes later once a person matches the above requirements.
Criador Team
Criador Design Labs – How it Started?
Hitesh’s passion for design pushed him to start Criador Design Lab. He started back in 2014 with the name of Divine Design Factory, as a mechanical design company. Later, his introduction with Product Design fascinated him about the process of new product development. Later, he shifted to Bangalore in 2016 to explore more about design. Abhishek’s love for entrepreneurship made him join Hitesh in his venture in Bangalore. Both of them started Criador Labs in 2017. Later in 2018, they pivoted the business by adding a product division with their first product being ‘Eve’.
Our name Criador means Creator in Portuguese. We are the creators of innovation and hence the name.
Criador Design labs Logo
The Logo was meant to show the hardware company elements like 3D Models. And the Yellow signifies freshness, happiness, positivity, clarity, energy, optimism, enlightenment, remembrance, intellect, honor, loyalty, and joy.
Criador Design Labs – Business Model and Revenue Model
Criador Design Labs’ ‘Eve’ has a simple revenue model. They charge their customers on:
Hardware product (Mobile App included) – One-time cost (Used by patients) – 79 USD/ unit
Web SaaS platform (API included) – Recurring subscription cost (Used by Hospitals, Insurance firms, Pharmacies) – 99 USD/ user/ year
Criador Design Labs – Startup Challenges
One of the major challenges Criador Design Lab faced while designing EVE – the smart water bottle was concerning the form factor of the product. To integrate such a complex technology into the compact form factor was an uphill task for their engineers. It took them five months to work on integrating the technology. Further, they had tested out a lot of pill container shapes for enhancing user experience. Criador Design Lab had to test 20 different shapes before deciding upon the present shape and form.
Dhanpat Raj Dhariwal, Ex- CEO Adithya Birla Group of companies for 20 years is mentoring Criador Design Labs.
Criador Design Labs – Future Plans
Criador Labs has so far worked on 72 inventions, 500k products and have secured 128 satisfied clients. The company is aiming to leverage their huge expertise in product development to create a line of innovative consumer healthcare products that can reach to the masses and impact their lives positively.
This pandemic has completely changed the way we communicate, work, and attend college. Some of it was for the better, while others, not so much. Work from home has become the new norm, and online classes have taken over the traditional classroom teaching. Even meeting friends and distant family has been reduced to video calling them, at best. Video conferencing in online classes, as well as professional meetings has served as a viable replacement for traditional meetings.
While there are many platforms for online video conferencing, some more popular than others, Skype and Zoom definitely bag the title of ‘two of the most recognized video conferencing applications‘. There have been a lot of debates and arguments regarding which is the better conferencing application among them. Here we present to you a comprehensive analysis to compare each of their aspects, features, and pricing plans, to find the one more suited to you.
Skype
Skype Video Conferencing Application
Skype is one of the more powerful and popular Video Conferencing Applications, and allows you to video call your friends and family even if you haven’t signed up. With a plethora of features, you can either download Skype directly from the official website, or you can use it directly on your browser as SaaS. In the wake of this pandemic, use cases of Skype have skyrocketed, and it is the preferred platform for Online interviews for professionals, as well as virtual family reunions.
Zoom
Zoom Video Calling
Zoom is a video conferencing application, mostly known for conducting online classes and conference rooms. It allows for online meeting rooms and chat, virtual webinars for marketing events, conference rooms, and even managing a marketplace with the help of some required integrations. Zoom is more popular for conducting online classes, as major institutions use it for the purpose, while Microsoft has come up with another platform for virtual classes.
Meet Now is a features offered by Skype which allows you to schedule a meeting without any sign ins or even installing the application. You can invite up to 99 people, and all you need is just a browser.
Skype Manager helps users manage groups. It comes in quite handy when allocating credits and managing features business and family groups.
Alexa calling via Skype is also made available for users, where all you need to do is say, ‘Alexa, call… on Skype’; and the call is forwarded via Skype to the concerned person or group.
Content Creators can integrate Skype calls to their podcasts, live streams, and vlogs by going to the advanced settings and allowing ‘NDI usage’.
Skype for Business can also be used as a communication tool with the professional meeting solution. Microsoft also offers Teams platform for more formal meetings and even online classes.
Zoom
Meetings and Chat can be initiated and partaken any where on any platform and from any device. It lets you experience HD video call, audio call, collaboration, and chat.
Rooms and Workspaces such as conference rooms make it easy for users with a one touch joining option. Wireless shares and meeting security are other features of Zoom workspaces, which make it all the more viable.
The Cloud Phone Solution offers users premium features by streamlining communication, enhanced centralized management, along with secure and reliable calls.
Webinars allow you to host online events with up to 100 active participants with custom branding, easy set up, and CRM integrations.
App Marketplace can be used to find applications which help make your Zoom meetings and calls even more efficient. The applications can be found via category, and easily downloaded and integrated.
Skype vs Zoom: Pricing comparison
Skype
Skype has most of its services free of cost and users can benefit from these free services. This also gives Skype an edge over Zoom. However, Skype does offer subscription based calling plan for direct Skype calling.
Other than this, users can enjoy premium Skype features with Microsoft 365 plans which offers a suite of tools and services including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher, and other Microsoft services. The personal suite of features in Microsoft 365 comes at a cost of Rs 4199, while the Family suite costs around Rs 5299 with user limit of 6 members.
Zoom
Zoom comes with a range of products and services and varying costs and plans. This includes Zoom Meetings, Phone, Video Webinars, and Zoom Rooms. While the purpose is pretty much the same, features vary according to the use cases. Here we discuss the pricing plans of Zoom Meetings.
Basic Version
Pro Version
Business Version
Enterprise Version
Free of cost and used for personal meetings
Can be used for small teams, and costs Rs 13200 per year per license
Can be used by SMEs and costs Rs 17700 per year per license
Used by bigger enterprises and costs Rs 21200 per year per license
Allows you to host up to 100 participants
Allows you to host up to 100 participants
Allows you to host up to 300 participants with single sign on
Allows you to host up to 500 participants with unlimited cloud storage
Allows for up to 40 minutes of meetings
Allows for group meetings for up to 30 hours
Offers recording transcripts and managed domains
Offers recording transcripts and and dedicated customer success manager
Offers unlimited one-on-one meetings
Offers up to 1GB cloud recording per license
Offers an option add-on of India Audio Premium Toll
Offers an option add-on of India Audio Premium Toll
Skype vs Zoom: Features Offered
Skype
Skype offers its users Audio and HD video calling experience with both group calls as well as individual calls along with call reactions.
On call features include smart messages and mentions, call recording and live subtitles along with screen sharing and end to end data encryption.
One click meeting creation without the need to sign in make it really easy and productive. You can interview anyone, from anywhere in the world.
You can use Skype Credit to call any landline phone at low call costs, and you can also choose a subscription based program for the same.
Skype numbers, available in 25 countries can be used for unlimited calling with a subscription based plan including SMS.
Zoom
Zoom offers Video communication services for hybrid classrooms and has temporarily suspended the 40 minute limit on video conferencing as a need of the hour.
Zoom offers HIPAA/FERPA compliance to meet the security standards, and also offers a 256 bit encryption for data security.
Offers integration with various software and services such as Moodle, Canvas, and Blackboard for seamless usage.
Zoom also offers Cloud Conference Room Connectors, along with Emergency Preparedness and system notifications for important announcements.
You can also incorporate hardware for a better teaching and learning experience along with any technical needs.
Skype vs Zoom: Languages Used
Skype
Skype is one of the best online video communication tools when it comes to remote working with a plethora of supported languages. Among the languages that it supports are French, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Arabic, Chinese, Turkish and others. You can choose any of them as the default language and enjoy working with your native language. The list of languages supported by Skype can be viewed on the official website.
Zoom
Zoom has a relatively smaller bandwidth when it comes to supported languages, but a diverse range nevertheless. These languages include English, German, French, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish among other. Other languages supported by Zoom are available on the official website.
Skype vs Zoom: Pros and Cons
Skype Pros
Skype offers an easy to use interface with single click meetings, without the 40 minute meeting limitations.
The video calling is great, specially the one-on-one calls.
The international calling feature is quite affordable compared to standard rates.
Skype offers excellent team collaboration features including Q&A, polls and others.
Skype Cons
A high speed internet connection is required to make video calls, specially high quality calls.
Owing to its popularity, Skype can be a target for hackers to steal private information.
Some users claim that the support is not up to the mark.
Zoom Pros
Offers solutions and products ranging from education and healthcare to government and finance.
User experience is simple, intuitive, and efficient.
Customer support is quite decent with email and phone call.
Supports various third party integrations including Google services such as Drive, Dropbox, and Salesforce.
Zoom Cons
Zoom group video calls are sometimes blurry and of poor quality, hence not up to the standards.
Security and user privacy are some other concerns for Zoom users.
Zoom can be a bit expensive for larger teams, and since most Skype features are free of cost, it has an edge over Zoom in this area.
For scaling up every business, marketing is necessary. Without marketing any business can not be able to generate much revenue. Marketing is important to engage customers. With marketing, any business helps to build and maintain the company’s reputation. Marketing helps to build a relationship between a business and its customers. Every business whether it is small or large wants to boost sales. For small businesses, they don’t have much capital to market their business on large scale. So, there are many inexpensive marketing ideas for a small business that will be affordable. As marketing helps the management team to make informed decisions. Good marketing beats the competition, delights the customer, and returns well in comparison to investment.
Growth of Marketing
In this article, we will discuss all the low-cost marketing ideas for small businesses so that small businesses should implement these ideas and look for a great profit.
1. Publish Great Content
Content doesn’t just mean posting lengthy reports or news posts, content can be videos, blog posts, slideshows, or images. Content helps you attract, engage, and delight prospects and customers, bring new visitors to your site, and ultimately, generate revenue for your company. Content marketing brings in 3X as many leads as traditional marketing and costs 62% less. Companies that publish about 16 blog posts per month get 3.5X more traffic than those that post four or fewer posts per month. A good starting point for your content strategy plan is to set out a content marketing mission statement.
A content marketing statement contains the following points:
Your target audience
The content you’ll use to reach them
The benefit they’ll get
Your goal about publishing great content must contain the following aspects:
Improving more revenue
Making more sales
Getting more traffic to your site
Gain influence and authority
SEO success
Always reduced marketing costs as much as possible
Social media engagement
2. Website
Making a website is one of the important marketing tools. Any website with valuable content and great visuals keep your business far from your competitors and increase your revenue. Simply website marketing means promoting a business website to bring more visitors. Website marketing strategy needs to focus on getting more people to your site in the first place.
Website marketing strategy must include the following points:
Optimizing your website for search engines so more people can find you
Promoting your website on social media
Advertise on social media platforms (Instagram or Facebook ads etc.)
Offer a webinar or sales demo (live or recorded)
Offer downloadable educational resources like white papers, e-Books, ultimate guides, etc.
According to a recent TechSmith study, 53 % of people reported watching two or more instructional videos per week. Instructional videos are the best delivery method if you’re serious about teaching others, growing your business, or building an online course. You should learn about your target audience and its main points. You must set a clear learning objective. Short instructional videos that focus on teaching one specific topic.
4. Business Partnerships
A business partnership is a way of organizing a company that is owned and sometimes run by two or more people or entities. Creating the partnership agreement and setting up the proper entity/structure for the partnership are the two most important steps in the partnership process. The best structure for a partnership is the limited liability company (LLC).
Types of partnerships:
General partnership: A general partnership is the most basic form of partnership. It does not require forming a business entity with the state. In most cases, partners form their business by signing a partnership agreement.
Limited partnership: Limited partnerships (LPs) are formal business entities authorized by the state. They have at least one general partner who is fully responsible for the business and one or more limited partners who provide money but do not actively manage the business.
Limited liability partnership: A limited liability partnership (LLP) operates as a general partnership, with all partners actively managing the business, but it limits their liability for one another’s actions.
Limited liability limited partnership: A limited liability limited partnership (LLLP) is a newer type of partnership available in some states. It operates like an LP, with at least one general partner who manages the business, but the LLLP limits the general partner’s liability so all partners have liability protection.
5. Marketing to Existing Customers
Marketing
From survey found that marketers spend on average just 21 % of their marketing budgets on existing customers. The more customers that you can keep and continue to sell to, the more likely you are to achieve your business goals. According to Marketing Metrics, the success rate of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is only 5-20%.
The benefits of customer marketing:
Better customer retention
More referrals and positive word-of-mouth
Customer marketing means social proof
Satisfied customers can provide a steady stream of referral business
Better conversion rates from existing customers
Golden opportunity to improve your offering and customer satisfaction rates
According to Bain and Company, attracting new customers will cost your company 5-25 times more than keeping an existing customer
6. Local Marketing
Local marketing is a beautiful mix of search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing, content marketing, and social media advertising. You can reach out to local reporters. Local marketing is a strategy that targets potential customers within a specific radius. Local marketing is especially important for small and medium-sized businesses that rely on people visiting their physical location to purchase goods or access a service, including shops, dentists, physiotherapists, bars, restaurants, and car dealerships. In local marketing, you can go to shop for your digital and print advertisements.
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Social media marketing is a powerful way for businesses of all sizes to reach prospects and customers. Social media marketing includes activities like posting text and image updates, videos, and other content that drives audience engagement, as well as paid social media advertising.
Facebook: Best for brand awareness, advertising
Twitter: Best for public relations, customer service
Instagram: Best for natural-looking media, behind-the-scenes, and user-generated content, advertising
LinkedIn: Best for B2B relationships, business development, and employment marketing
YouTube: Best for brand awareness, entertainment, and how-to videos
Snapchat: Best for brand awareness, advertising
Pinterest: Best for visual advertising, inspiration
Benefits of Social Media Marketing:
Increase brand awareness
Generate leads and boost conversions
Learn from competitors
More inbound traffic
Higher conversion rates
Better customer satisfaction
Gain marketplace insights
Faster and easier communication
Networking & Partnerships become simple
Customer feedback
Impress potential customers
8. SMS Marketing
SMS Marketing is sending promotional campaigns or transactional messages for marketing purposes using text messages (SMS). Text messaging is a very effective and direct line of communication to the customer. SMS marketing offers vast opportunities for engaging with the audience, limited only by creativity and the size of the phone number list. SMS campaign takes 3-6 seconds for the delivery. Speed is an essential factor in SMS marketing efficiency.
9. Google My Business
A Google My Business account lets you show up in search results when people are looking for you online. It’s free, which makes it an affordable marketing tool for small and big businesses alike. A Google My Business account lets you keep customers informed. Customers are 70% more likely to visit businesses with a Google My Business listing. Google My Business reviews help in building trust. Google finds that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Email marketing is the process of targeting your audience and customers through email. Email marketing helps you connect with your audience to promote your brand and increase sales. You can do a lot of things with emails, like sell products, share some news, improve your rating, or tell a story. There are 3.8 billion email users worldwide, so if you’re looking for a way to reach your customers, email is the perfect place to find them. When it comes to customer acquisition, email is 40 times more effective than Facebook and Twitter combined.
Pamphlet distribution is a paper flyer that is inserted into the newspapers. With newspaper insertion, you have the most cost-effective method of advertising. Leaflets can grab attention in better ways than digital marketing like tweets and emails cannot. Leaflets can showcase your product or service to new customers also increase attendance for your events and exhibitions.
12. Newspaper Advertising
Newspapers are released daily. Newspapers are a suitable medium for goods requiring mass advertisement. Newspaper advertisements must be ‘catchy and attractive’. Local newspaper costs tend to be relatively low and focus your ad on a specific geographic market. Advertising costs do increase with national newspapers, but the audience is so much wider than the value offsets the extra investment. Newspaper advertising allows you to place your content wherever you want. Newspaper advertising typically costs less per thousand readers than television, radio, and direct mail advertising.
A basic theory by David Mayer (as published in Harvard Business Review) is that a good salesman must have at least two basic qualities: empathy and ego drive. Are you a salesperson? Or just want to learn to sell for your own product. Selling is a skill which will help you not only in business but for the whole life. A salesperson is not just an employee of the company but they are as important as CEO.
According to a report, 80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls after the meeting. Selling things is one of the most difficult things. It is very difficult to convince someone to buy a thing. That is why it is one of the most required and highly paid jobs in the industry. You have to be soft and confident in your approach. Success in this field can only be achieved by having a positive approach towards your customers. Good communication skill is another important skill a salesperson should have. You can never be let down by failures but need to improvise with each. Here are Good Salesman Qualities which every salesman should have.
Good Salesperson Qualities- Must Have as Salesperson
Feel Your Customer
While it is not very important to agree with the feelings of the customer, a great salesperson makes an empathetic connection with the customer to understand their standing completely. It is a central quality to be able to sell him a product or service, which must be possessed in large measure. A salesman simply cannot sell well without the invaluable and irreplaceable ability to get powerful feedback from the client through empathy.
A Driving Force
The second of the basic qualities of salesperson absolutely needed by a good salesman is a particular kind of ego drive that makes him want and need to make the sale in a personal or ego way, not merely for the money to be gained. His feeling must be that he has to make the sale; the customer is there to help him fulfill his personal need. In effect, to the top salesman, the sale—the conquest—provides a powerful means of enhancing his ego. His self-picture improves dramatically by virtue of conquest and diminishes with failure.
Know Your Product
While many tricks in the past have worked for reps, the increasing access to information has made it tough for people to be fooled. Hence, it has become increasingly important to know your product in and out as much as you can before you make the pitch. Nothing is more off-putting for a buyer than to find an ignorant sales rep.
Be An Active Listener
Active Listener | Salesperson Skills And Qualities
It is human nature to wait for your turn to speak in any conversation, but a smart sales rep listens deeply for multiple reasons. Listening leads to forming stronger bonds and trust with the client. Also, the information contained in the conversation can help them position the product or service better to the customer in real-time.
Work Hard Than People Can Think
There’s no such thing as a born salesperson. Great sales reps make it look easy, but superior performance usually indicates a salesperson has taken the time to hone their skills and is constantly iterating to better help their prospects.
Follow Up
Hubspot CRM for Salesperson
Even if you think sending a proposal will fetch you a reply, a quick follow up call can open many unsure doors for the salesperson. Many times, the sales rep don’t know if their email was opened by the client. Hubspot sales help with this issue, letting salespeople know when and how often a prospect opened an email. With this information, they can follow up at the optimal time.
They Personalize Their Approach
To learn as much as you can about the prospective client and then using that information in your conversation with them can be effective in understanding the real pain-points people are facing at the time and help build their product up to suit the needs of the client.
Always Sell
As they leave the office, their selling practice goes beyond the hours and they engage with the prospective clients at dinner, parties, social gatherings and even a barbers shop if the opportunity presents itself. Bottom Line: It is not a job anymore, it is in fact a habit to sell.
Having A Positive Attitude Throughout
A good salesman is a person who never gets affected by others behavior or performance. It is very important to mind your own business and never gets into trouble by entertaining other’s problems. You need to focus on the job you have got in your own hand and never let others affect you in any kind of way. You should always be dealing with your customers with a smile, irrelevant of the mood they are in.
Maintaining A Good Relationship With Your Customers
Customer Relationship
Now this is believed to be one of the most important qualities of a good salesman in Marketing. There is always more than just buying and selling, is the bond you share with the people you are dealing with. Having a healthy relationship with your customers is one of the most important things for you to become a good salesman. You have to be patient about the work you are doing. A good bond with your customers will always help to boost your business profits. They will be willing to refer your product and services to their contacts. Yes, of course, it’s important to maintain a good business relationship so as to make your business to the next level.
Being Disciplined About Your Work
One thing you have to keep in mind is that you can’t be successful without being punctual or serious about your job. You can never get things served to you on a silver plate. You have to work hard for every single thing. You have to always lead by an example and be a good colleague and a person to another.
Knowing Your Work
A good salesman should always know what he is selling. There should be perfect clearance in the mind as a seller. You should never try to fool your customers as it can prove to be bad for the bond,
A good salesman should always know what he is selling. There should be perfect clearance in the mind as a seller. You should never try to fool your customers as it can prove to go wrong by all means. You should always try to create an impression by being soft-spoken and polite. You must know your customer will agree to buy. On that way, you have to talk differently with the different customer as well. By speaking softly and polite they can add more and more customers in their kitty, this will not only build their customers but also maintain they are personalized brand as well. So keep maintaining good relation is most important for every salesman
Always Act Like A Professional
Being a salesman can turn out being a difficult job. As it can never be easy for having so much knowledge about the work you are doing. You can’t be unprofessional. You should never try to fool your customers as it can prove to go wrong by all means. You should be able to provide deals which can pique the interest of the customers, hence making them impossible to refuse the deal. A good salesman should always be a step forward, you should be able to improvise and thus engage the customer in a good deal. Every day would agree with me that the salesmen job is difficult for sure. They got tired easily. But it’s important for them to act professionally. Good salesmen should always take the first step nicely to look forward to the customer they are working. They should keep in mind that the customer is their first priority. Maintaining a bad relation with the customer can ruin their professional life.
Improvise
A good salesperson is the one who knows how to improvise. You can’t always work on a given plan. There will be situations when you will get outsmarted by the person on the other end. The only thing you can do is to hold your end tight. You should never try to fool your customers as it can prove to go wrong, by all means, Focus on your own strengths and you will get your our self of the moment. You have to always learn to be focused on the work. You will always succeed in your mission.
Take Your Unique Approach
Everybody wants to give 100% to their career goal. But selling a product required a unique approach. This varies from person to persona and product to product. most common is that you need to be polite while talking to customers who have no liking for the product even. You have to be very patient till then. So being focused is the first way to achieve your career goals. You can say after using this product, you can think differently better then I keep telling you about good or bad about it.
A company stands there because its products are selling. If their products stop selling, will they standstill in the market for a long time? And the only person product selling depends on is, salesperson. But, the salesperson does not always succeed. They do fail. And in this post, we will see some reasons for salespeople’s failure.
They See It As A Job
Most of the salespeople do this as their job. They have no personal interest in selling. They do it all because they have to do it. You cannot succeed in something you are not passionate about. So, if you don’t like to sell, don’t do it. You are just ruining the whole company’s image.
Shut Up!
We have two ears and one mouth, that means, we should listen twice as much we talk. Don’t talk more but listen more. Listen to and analyze what your customer is interested in. No one likes to listen, neither your customer. Try to make them happy. Just shut your mouth if there is no necessity to talk.
No Confidence
This is a very important part of life. If you lack confidence in yourself, you lack everything. People are not gonna buy from a person who is not sure about himself. So, as they say, fake your confidence till you make it. It might not make any sense, but confidence makes the perfect sense. So, work on your confidence before going into the sales field.
You are not a magician. But you are a salesperson, who is no less than a magician. Try to figure out what the customer is interested in? What they really want? If you don’t know your customer, you can’t sell anything. Read their minds, talk to them in their mother tongue, analyze their behavior and then pitch the perfect product for them.
They Manipulate
Many people fail in selling because they always try to manipulate customers to buy the product. People may buy that product from you, but they will never come back to you. So, do not manipulate the customer, pitch your product instead.
I know More Than You” Attitude
The worst thing you can do to your customers is to underestimate them. Never underestimate your customers. They might know much more than you. For instance, when a computer engineer goes to buy a laptop, he knows exactly what he wants. But the salesperson still acts like they know more than them. So, listen to the customer, if they are wrong, then correct them. But don’t show off your knowledge.
They Do Not Follow The Process
Although selling is an art there is a proper process a salesperson has to go through while pitching the product to customers. Most of the good companies provide training to salespeople. But most of the salespeople don’t follow it while selling. The process is made after very deep research, so don’t think it’s just a theory. Follow it while selling the product.
Lack Of Patience
Many salespeople give it up after some attempts and failures. Selling is not an easy skill to learn. You cant learn to sell just in 2 or 3 months. Even a year is very less to learn it. Give it some time. Polish your pitching skills. Work on your confidence. Be patient. You can be a great salesperson, you just have to give it some time just like any other skill. Unlike skills like football, cricket, dancing, etc. you don’t do selling from your childhood. So consider yourself a child, and a 5-year-old cannot compete with big players. It will take time but will show the results for sure.
How to Improve As A salesperson?
These are the successful sales techniques to improve as a salesperson:-
Understand Your Market.
Focus on the Right Leads.
Prioritize Your Company Above Yourself.
Leverage Your CRM.
Be Data Informed.
Really Listen to Your Prospects.
Build Trust Through Education.
Focus on Helping.
Conclusion
Persistence is the key to unlock the bonus treats in the business. A good salesperson hits their quota, most of the time. Great skills of a salesperson knock it out of the proportion with their quarters. They do make mistakes but if they repair their mistakes on time, they can excel in the skill.
Business is not everybody cups of tea. It’s not like a job in which you can come at home to 5 pm, and have fun after that. It is something which needs to think differently. It takes your mind to think deeply. You have to work really hard to get your good results soon. You can never be lazy with your work. You have to always learn to be focused on the work. So it’s up to you what you want in that. So go and sell your product!
Ability to identify and react accurately to the behavior and emotions of customers. Identify other people’s feelings/frustrations objectively without necessarily agreeing with them. Ability to establish rapport easily and put people “at ease” in their presence.
What are the strengths of a salesperson?
Win-driven: They have a self-derived motivation to win (or not lose) that transcends compensation plans, campaigns, and coaching efforts.
Client-loyal: They are driven to understand what success means for their clients and to actively contribute to that success.
What are the five basic principles of selling?
The 5 Undeniable Principles of Selling:
Value comes with a price tag.
Consumers only buy products and services that benefit them.
The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
Credibility is dependent upon two factors, trust and expertise.
Throughout the long term, there has been a sharp expansion in the assortment of PaaS administrations accessible for customers. Netlify and Heroku are two famous specialist co-ops with clients across a different scope of industry verticals. The Netlify Vs Heroku banter seethes on as both the arrangements offer various highlights and evidently various advantages.
On the off chance that you are pondering which of these two might be reasonable for your association, investigate the data given beneath.
What is Netlify? Evaluating, Features, Advantages
What is Heroku? Estimating, Features, Advantages
Netlify versus Heroku | Comparison
So let’s start the comparison
What’s Netlify?
Netlify works in forefront web facilitating and computerization answers for organizations. It empowers clients to set up sites quickly. Organizations that have a Netlify record can start facilitating their site on the stage. Netlify allows clients to have sites by relocating segments from their PCs onto its web application, or by straightforwardly bringing in their Git vaults.
Netlify clients can determine branches to be referred to have when utilizing a git storehouse. They are additionally ready to determine run orders whenever considered significant. Netlify makes a live site accessible to clients immediately through an adaptable space and offers them a liberated from cost SSL. The stage makes it simple for clients to dispatch web ventures with no arrangement and upkeep concerns.
Netlify Pricing
Starter – The Starter Netlify bundle is free for singular use. It offers 100GB transfer speed/month, constant arrangement, and extra access highlights.
Professional – The Pro bundle is estimated at $19/month. It is a group arranged bundle permitting 3 colleagues admittance to 400GB data transmission/month, 1000 month to month fabricate minutes, and a few different highlights.
Business – The Business bundle is offered by Netlify at costs beginning at $99 every month. It very well may be utilized by in excess of 5 colleagues, offers SLA-driven execution advantages, and as much as 600GB transfer speed/month.
Netlify works in forefront web facilitating and computerization answers for organizations
Netlify Features
Branch sending – Netlify empowers clients to convey in branches, and encourages branch include building, genuine climate testing, and exploring. You can make adaptable branch-explicit organizations with it.
Relevant form orders – The Netlify PaaS administration allows clients to utilize logical form orders for advancement. Logical orders significantly disentangle the specialized part of custom turn of events.
Free SSL – Netlify offers simple HTTPs arrangements for custom areas with choices for custom SSL, oversaw SSL, and devoted SSL. Clients can without much of a stretch set up free SSL gave by Let’s Encrypt, which consequently reestablishes every year.
Netlify Advantages
Convenience and Simple estimating Netlify is known for its wonderful usability. It saves a great deal of time for clients who require quick custom site facilitating. This advantage can impact your choice with regards to thinking about this stage.
Quick organization – Netlify venture arrangements are very quick and helpful. The simplified usefulness extraordinarily decreases sending time.
Streamlined resources – Netlify lets clients consequently enhance venture resources with a scope of cutting edge execution upgrade alternatives.
Consistent turn of events – The persistent advancement include is enacted naturally for Git archive arrangements.
Netlify offers simple and free HTTPs arrangements for custom areas
What is Heroku?
Heroku is a PaaS stage that offers uphold for a few programming dialects. It presently bolsters Node.js, PHP. Java, Python, Go, Scala, and Clojure. Heroku runs applications in virtual frameworks that can be modified dependent on the prerequisite of customers. The virtual PC frameworks of Heroku are known as dynos. These can be adjusted whenever dependent on the changing necessities of clients. Heroku clients can add more assets through even or vertical scaling.
Heroku charges clients month to month contingent upon the quantity of virtual PCs they use. This PaaS stage and all applications based on it are completely facilitated on top of AWS. It makes improvement more advantageous and simpler for designers. Clients can use the stage’s natural dashboard to handily perform activities dependent on necessities.
Heroku is a PaaS stage that offers uphold for a few programming dialects
Heroku Pricing
Free – Heroku offers a Free plan that begins at $0. It is appropriate for engineers who are intrigued to send non-business applications, including MVPs, evidence of ideas, and individual sort ventures.
Creation – The Production plan begins from $25 every month and the expense can go up dependent on extra prerequisites. This arrangement is reasonable for associations that are centered around making business applications including APIs and web applications.
Progressed – Heroku offers an Advanced arrangement that begins at $250 for organizations with more complex turn of events and convenience needs. It is appropriate for mission-explicit applications with modern capabilities and offers top execution.
Endeavor – Heroku likewise offers an Enterprise bundle for clients who are searching for tweaked valuing for their adaptable necessities. This arrangement is most appropriate for enormous associations that have more noteworthy requests for consistence, coordinated effort, and security.
Heroku Features
Heroku DX – Heroku DX alludes to an application driven conveyance approach that empowers designers to pick up better concentration and independence from interruptions while making and sending applications.
Heroku Runtime – Applications on the Heroku PaaS stage are run inside compartments called dynos. Clients get a completely overseen runtime climate with help for code written in a few programming dialects.
Heroku OpEx – OpEx is a significant Heroku include that empowers investigating and fixing basic issues inside applications. OpEx additionally empowers clients to alter activity streams instinctively.
Heroku clients can add more assets through even or vertical scaling
Heroku Advantages
Adaptable – Heroku dyno holders are advantageous as clients can without much of a stretch recreate them dependent on their asset necessities. Flat scaling is empowered by just clicking a catch and clients can make the same number of cases of their application as required.
Straightforward – Heroku is favored by clients around the globe for its straightforwardness, which makes it a simple to-utilize stage. It offers a basic interface and simple a single tick arrangements. Delivering new programming renditions is additionally very helpful utilizing Heroku.
Secure – Heroku makes your applications secure consistently and decreases the requirement for monotonous security fixing. It guarantees total security for your resources paying little heed to how complex your necessities are.
Netlify Vs Heroku | Comparison
Netlify is a fit to reason arrangement that will permit designers to quicken site sending and facilitating. It gives consistent coordination apparatuses just as a completely implanted CDN administration. The administration is engaged towards frontend engineers.
Then again, Heroku is a more nonexclusive stage that permits different kinds of organization (counting site sending) under a huge set o programming dialects (Java, Node.js, Scala, Clojure, Python, PHP and Go). The administration is engaged toward backend designers.
Choosing Netlify and Heroku relies upon a few components like:
Kind of undertaking being worked on
Levels of adaptability you need
Financial plan
Netlify is a computerization stage for web extends that is engaged toward frontend designers. The primary highlights incorporate ceaseless combination out of the case, free SSL, and CDN. The stage is extraordinary of the simple of utilization, quick organization, and constant combination.
Heroku causes designers to assemble, run, and work applications completely in the cloud. It is engaged toward backend advancement and permits web/versatile undertakings organization. The primary highlights incorporate pre arranged compartments called Dynos and a completely oversaw runtime climate. Focal points are the adaptability and security conventions.
The data gave above can assist clients with getting an away from about the possibility of Netlify versus Heroku for satisfying their PaaS prerequisites. The ideal decision will rely upon the task a work in progress, spending plan, and levels of adaptability you are searching for.
Get ready for lots of stress and countless white nights – if you’ve launched a start-up or are considering doing so, this is one of the warnings you’ll hear the most often.
But what is it about CEOs and sleep anyway? Is there an “entrepreneurial gene” that activates as soon as you start your own company and that prevents you from getting more than four hours of sleep? Well, technically, yes. You can be genetically predisposed to needing less sleep, but this rare gene mutation has nothing to do with business and sleeping habits.
The idea that successful people only sleep for a couple of hours is heavily glamorised, and there are actually many examples of brilliant entrepreneurs who can’t function without a full eight hours of sleep. While there will be times when tight deadlines, events, and eureka moments will keep you up until sunrise, it’s important to remember that you’re human and getting rest is a biological requirement, not a sign of laziness. If you want to be productive and healthy in the long run, good sleep is a must. Plus, as you’ll see below, the sleeping habits of successful entrepreneurs are quite varied and range anywhere from three to ten hours.
Tobias Lutke, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates need eight hours of sleep to be productive.
A profitable business doesn’t necessarily need an insomniac CEO. In fact, there are many examples of famous entrepreneurs for whom sleep is non-negotiable. For example, Shopify CEO and founder Tobias Lutke tweeted last year that he typically sleeps for eight hours a night and that he recommends his employees to do the same. In an industry that’s increasingly prone to burnout, his message was definitely encouraging and refreshing. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also said that he needs eight hours of sleep to feel energised, and Jack Ma said that good sleep is critical to handling stress and problem-solving. Bill Gates talked about his past sleeping habits on his blog and confessed that when he started Microsoft, he often stayed up all night working, although this impacted his thinking because he was pulled into his work and thought that’s what CEOs should be doing. Now, he acknowledges the importance of sleep and advises entrepreneurs to sleep for at least seven hours, even if they think they don’t need it.
Famous entrepreneur night owls
At the opposite end of the pole are the famous night owls who barely sleep at all – either because they’re too busy or because this is what makes them feel more productive. For example, former US President Donald Trump said that he only sleeps for three hours a night, and fashion designer Tom Ford reportedly does the same. Winston Churchill went down in history books for getting about four hours of sleep, although we should also mention that he took a two-hour nap every day. But for most entrepreneurs, life is a combination of normal sleep and the occasional all-nighter before a special launch or event. For example, Elon Musk told the New York Times that he usually sleeps for seven hours a night, but he also worked 120-hour weeks to meet Tesla production targets.
Being an early bird impacts your productivity.
Whether they sleep for three or eight hours, all successful CEOs seem to have something in common: they’re early risers and don’t start their day later than 7 am. Apple CEO Tim Cook even wakes up at 4 am, and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey at 5:30 am, but they’re careful to be in bed by no later than 10:30 pm.
But this is not just some quirky CEO habit, and scientists seem to agree that waking up early is good for your productivity. Because of the way the human brain works, it doesn’t work at maximum capacity immediately and needs about two hours to reach peak performance. So, if you wake up at 6 am, “brain fog” will go away by 8 am and you’ll have enough time until noon to get stuff done. But if you wake up at 9, you’ll start being productive at 11, and only have one hour until lunch break makes you feel sleepy again. Studies have also shown that waking up early is better for your mental health, gives you more energy, and boosts your problem-solving skills – all of which are essential for business owners.
Respect your body and do what works for you
Before you try to copy another CEO’s sleeping habits, remember that everyone is different and that you should first and foremost listen to your body. Although the world has glamorised sleepless nights for years and associated them with success, now things are slowly beginning to change as self-care and mental health awareness take centre stage.
And besides, the quality of your sleep is far more important than the number of sleeping hours. If you want to make those hours count, research the best bed frames and mattresses on the market. Because you won’t do your best during that shareholder meeting if you can only think about a stiff neck and a sore back. Also, before bedtime, try to limit your screen time because that might prevent you from falling asleep. Instead, read a book or listen to meditation music (these are also good disconnecting your brain from the small stresses of the day).
If you’re the kind of person who got used to sleeping for just four or five hours without feeling exhausted, then that’s great. Use that time to work and be creative. But, if you need 7+ hours, don’t feel guilty about it. Work nights only when it’s absolutely necessary, and don’t live off caffeine and adrenaline because your energy levels will eventually be depleted and you’ll crash. Listen to the signals your body is sending and, if you feel that you need a break, go to bed earlier. Exhaustion doesn’t need to be part of a CEO’s life, and there are many other ways to boost your productivity without depriving your body of sleep.
People simply love to listen; from traditional oral storytelling ways of our forefathers to modern ways of expressing creativity using the most advanced digital technologies. Recent years have seen the sound industry grow exponentially. People are getting more and more comfortable with a multitude of mediums in which they can consume audio content. Podcasts, smart speakers are a few elements that go to show that sound has shifted from just being a niche area to growing to a mainstream platform.
Sound whether it’s in the form of spoken word, music, songs or other noises, has become an instrumental feature in the marketing mix. An interesting fact to note is that visual marketing has always been everywhere, however, sound dominates. Sound is known to allow businesses to differentiate themselves in their advertising from others. The role of passive listening cannot be overemphasized in our lives.
Sound management has been faced with its fair share of pros and cons year after year. When it comes to trends, sound technology has slowly revolutionized our lifestyle. For this year and beyond, here are some few top trends one should look out for;
Wireless Revolution
Wireless audio arguably sounds better. Truth be told, wired headphones are dated and becoming a thing of the past. Some challenges come with the headphone jack that causes many of their cords to snap. Startup companies ought to hop onto the wireless way of doing things including planning their sound space and brand. They are encouraged to stock on quality instruments to record their projects be it podcasts or ads like the one you find on radio studios.
Music is an important feature of our lives. It plays a pivotal role in many audiovisual projects. Be it in ads, films or movies, music has always been present to some degree. Music strengthens the relationship between music composition and moving images.
Active Audience Participation
The internet and online accessibility have never been more powerful than it is today. The advancement of technology allows users to actively interact with content that is being put out. Many brands are exploiting ways to let fans be involved in the projects they are working on.
With minimalism taking control in almost all aspects of our lives, the sound has also hopped onto this trend. Devices are nowadays designed to be small and refined. The shape of mobile devices such as phones and iPads for instance, make life practical and easy. Big tech companies have started to take the environment seriously and are designing gadgets that are eco-friendly and sustainably sourced.
Embrace More DIY
Technology has brought about the need for people to grow their craft. Millennials are actively involving themselves with DIY projects to sharpen their skill or simply learn something new. People are no longer shy to experiment with different sounds from a different source, not only those confined in the studio. Some are even going to the extent of creating their own sounds using old industrial machines that capture natural noises. The result of this has led to some adventurous and authentic sounds that are pleasing to the ear.
Rishabh Rathi
