The location of your business determines how much money you will save while running the business. Depending on the type of business you have, you need to figure out a number of things that directly impact your pocket. Analyzing the location that suits your business needs is one of the important factors that every business owner should consider.
Here is a detailed and to-the-point article to help you to decide the best location for your business. So, without further ado let’s get started.
There are many factors that can influence your business location decision, and the success of your business depends on each decision you make. So despite talking about so many influential things, the three major factors that influence the business location are
Proximity to labour
Proximity to consumers
Proximity to raw materials
Proximity to labour refers to how close your business is to having the skilled workers you want in your business. For example, some companies want so many labourers to work in their firm and to fulfil this requirement they set up their plant near a location where they can get skilled labours at a cheaper rate.
The most prominent example of this is Bengaluru, where most of the IT companies are headquarters. IT companies choose Bengaluru because they easily get a relevant skilled workforce to work with them. Companies do not need to take care of the accommodation for the employees if they are local. The same is true for the IT hub in California.
Similarly, proximity to consumers is for businesses that want to position themselves closer to their target customers. Proximity to materials for businesses that require extensive raw materials to use in their firm. The closer your business is to your requirement the more money you will save and earn while running the business.
Nature of Your Business: Retail, Manufacturing and Service-Based
Just like a doctor who recommends various tests and after analysing the test report, prescribes the medicine. Similarly, you also need to know your business in-depth, and based on the requirement of your business, choose the location. The first thing which should be recognized is the nature of your business.
So to analyse the best location for your business we have categorised the business into three types based on its nature and evaluate each business with three parameters of proximity to labour, consumer, and material.
Location for Retail Business
If your business is a kind of Retail business then it needs to be closer to its consumers. The priority of this kind of business is to supply all the essential goods to consumers in a feasible way. You can find a relevant crowd for your business by analysing the people around your desired business location and identifying their needs. If their daily requirement supports what you sell, then that location is good for you.
For the retail category, the area should be crowded and busy. If that area is suitable for your business then it might be suitable for other retailers also, hence you can see your competition nearby. Proximity to labour and proximity to material doesn’t play an important role for this kind of business but proximity to its consumer is the most important aspect.
For example, restaurants and cafes need to be situated near a busy area where there is a sufficient crowd.
Location for Manufacturing Business
Proximity to raw materials is the most critical factor for manufacturing businesses as it saves a lot of money and time in transportation and storage. Manufacturing businesses may also be located near the place where they get skilled labour at a cheaper rate. This is the reason, most manufacturers build their plants outside the town and cities.
In India, most of the manufacturing businesses like iron and steel plants are situated in the state of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh in the cities like Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Bhilai, Rourkela, etc. The reason is simple, easy accessibility to raw materials and labour. Proximity to customers is not the most influential factor for such kind of business.
Location for Service-Based Business
Service-based business is not material-intensive hence it doesn’t need to be set up outside the city and towns. You will find restaurants, cafes, schools, colleges, carpenter shops, etc within your city. Location may vary depending on the service your business provides, for example, if you are a videographer you don’t need to think much about your location but if you are a restaurant owner then location is very important. The location of the service-based business should be closer to its customers, the other two factors (labour and material) don’t have that much influence.
Impact of the Internet: eCommerce Business
The Internet has changed the way of doing business. Today, so many businesses have their existence just because of the internet. One of the most well-known examples is the Ecommerce business.
The target customers for this business are not limited to any particular region rather the seller can sell their product to anyone across the country. The market is open and possibilities are limitless. Location doesn’t matter a lot for such kind of business as it can be operated from anywhere.
Demographics and Purchasing Power of Customers
Every business owner should be aware of the demographics of their audience, and businesses should be near their potential customers. A successful business knows, who is the target customer and what they like to consume.
The revenue you generate will depend on the customers visiting your store and their purchasing power. If people in an area have more purchasing power then they consume more goods and more services.
Therefore, having an idea of the demographics and purchasing power of your potential customers around your business location would be beneficial for your business.
The Demand for Products and Services
What will happen when you open a non-veg restaurant in an area where everyone is vegetarian? Of course, this will affect your sales and therefore your revenue.
There must be demand for the product or service you sell at your desired business location. This aspect should be considered as it affects the overall sales volume. Demand determines the price you can charge for the product, if demand is high you can charge more and if demand is low then you have to charge low.
Conclusion
It becomes very important to choose the best location for your business as it has the potential to affect your business revenue in the long run. So take your time to analyse the location of your business and consider all the points mentioned above.
When you are just starting out, be smart and secure the place to operate your business. Also, keep in mind that your location may vary depending on the type of business and industry you are in.
FAQs
How to choose the right business location?
Consider the following factors before choosing the best business location
Competition
Demographics
Foot traffic
Infrastructure
Overhead costs
Is Location plays an important role in the success of your business?
Yes, location plays an important role in business development and profit-making as it directly influences the condition and environment of your business.
What kind of location would be best for your business?
The key to finding and choosing a good location is to evaluate factors such as footfall, labour and raw material availability as it will increase the number of customers and lower the cost of functioning.
What are the factors that affect the business?
The following are the factors that can affect the business
Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini
Robert Cialdini laid down the concept of pre-suasion in his book – Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade.
Pre-suasion is the practice of influencing the minds of your customers and making them sympathetic about your product even before you start pitching it.
In the words of Cialdini, “It is what you say immediately before you deliver the message that leverages your success tremendously”.
You don’t need to necessarily say something.
You can even create an environment where your customers subliminally start liking your product.
A guy got 3 great jobs by saying something before the interviewers start asking him the question.
In each of these interviews, the guy asked the interviewers – What was it about my qualifications or qualities that made you attracted to my resume?
Due to this question, the interviewers started focusing on the positive qualities of the person.
Cialdini describes two more instances where pre-suasion made people say yes.
The first is when a guy goes to shopping malls to get girls’ numbers as they pass by the stores. One of them was a shoe store and another one was a bakery.
In neither of them, he was able to get the girl’s numbers.
Although, when he tried asking girls for their mobile numbers near a flower shop he got very successful.
Flower shop worked because they get the girls in the mindset of romance.
In the second instance, a furniture-selling company tested one of their advertisement by changing its background image.
In one advertisement they displayed their furniture on clouds and in another one they used the image of coins.
When people saw the advertisement with clouds in the background they searched for comfortable furniture on the company’s website.
On the other hand, when people saw the coins in the background they searched for cheap furniture on the website.
As you can see, even with an image you can influence the minds of people.
Instead of directly selling your products you subconsciously make them like your product first and then start selling them.
Demonstrate Your Expertise and Knowledge
An Example- The website My Assignment Expert showcasing its years of existence along with other factors
You should always speak about your expertise first before you start telling the main idea.
When people know that you are someone who has a lot of experience and knowledge they will listen to you more carefully.
Speak about your famous clients, awards, and the books you have written.
If you are selling a product you can tell how many years your company has been there in the market and the total number of happy customers they have made over the years.
In this way, your chances of getting yes would increase.
Demonstrating your expertise can drastically change how the audience perceives your idea.
Get Them to Like You
Numerous research has proved that we feel connected and more likely to say to those we like.
A group of psychologists conducted an interesting experiment to test out this principle.
They sent survey forms to a group of strangers that had a note attached from the sender.
The sender’s name was either similar or dissimilar to that of the recipient.
Let’s take an example from a popular book “The Little Book of Yes How to win friends, boost your confidence and persuade others”, a person called Robert Greer might get the survey from someone named Bob Gregar, and a woman named Cynthia Johnston might get the survey from someone named Cindy Johanson.
Others received a note from a sender with a non-similar sounding name.
Those receiving the survey from someone with a similar-sounding name were nearly twice as likely to complete and return it compared to those who received a survey from a dissimilar name.
Now, likability doesn’t get limited to the sound of the name.
You can find shared interests, similar values, and common hobbies between you and the other person and use it as a tactic to get a yes.
Take your time and find genuine similarities between you and the other person.
Give Reason
Ellen Langer – A Harvard psychologist
It is very important to have a legitimate reason for why you are making the request. Always use the word because.
In the 1970s Harvard psychologist, Ellen Langer experimented to test the principle of reasoning.
Her research examined the circumstances under which people would be willing to allow a complete stranger to pushing in front of them in a queue.
To conduct this experiment Langer chose a busy office, specifically, by the photocopy machine.
In her first experiment. Langer arranged for someone who was part of the study, and a complete stranger to those to whom they were speaking, to approach whoever was next in line to use the photocopier and simply ask, “Excuse me, I have five pages, may I use the Xerox machine?”
When faced with this rather direct request, six out of ten people said yes.
This means that 60 percent of people said yes to the request.
When the stranger’s request was followed with a reason – “Excuse me, I have five pages, may I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?”- compliance jumped to 94 percent.
This means that when you give reasons to people for your request they are more likely to say yes.
The study also found out that even if you give a bizarre reason to people they might end up saying yes.
When the stranger asked “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make copies?”
A whopping 93 percent simply said “OK, go ahead”, despite the fact that the reason was complete nonsense.
Although, when Langer increased the size of the request to strangers from five copies to twenty, the willingness of people to say ‘Yes’ dropped dramatically.
This means that giving reasons is not enough.
If you have a very big request you also need to give them an incentive.
The incentive could be monetary or you can tell them that you would help them in their future projects.
Before you ask someone for something make sure you know why you are asking it.
Create Scarcity
An Example – A product showing a limited stock alert on the selling page
The fear of losing out on exciting things can drastically increase the chances of getting a yes from your prospects.
Most people won’t take any initiative unless there is some scarcity.
The principle of scarcity is widely used everywhere while selling products.
You must have noticed that when you view the products on Amazon or Flipkart you see a limited-time discount or get a limited stock notification.
All these create urgency in the minds of the people and they quickly buy the products.
Point out to your audience what is genuinely rare and unique about your product. You can use this same principle in your day-to-day life as well.
For example, your friend might be more likely to join you if you tell them you are only free this Friday evening for the rest of the month.
Similarly, you can tell your colleague that if they help in doing your project they would learn new things and can add the project to their portfolio.
Trust me creating scarcity is one of the most effective ways to get a yes from people.
Principle of Reciprocity
The principle of reciprocity is a social rule that demonstrates the willingness of people to give back to others in the form of behavior they have first received themselves.
Remember the times when your neighbor or friend gave you a nice birthday present?
In such a scenario you would get an inner feeling to give them a present in return.
When companies give you free samples of their products in malls or newspapers they are using this same principle.
Research shows that when people use a free sample they are more likely to buy the product.
At the core of reciprocity lies the art of giving. If you want others to say yes to your request you need to do something good for them first.
When you provide help with an element of personalization the other person gets obligated to say yes.
The psychologist Randy Garner found that he was able to double the number of people who would complete surveys he sent them just by accompanying his request with a short handwritten message on a post that included their name.
A handwritten letter stands out because someone has taken the time and trouble to personalize it.
Thus, it encourages people to take the time and trouble to respond.
Get into the habit of asking, “Who can I help” rather than “Who can help me”.
‘Foot in the Door’ Technique
Example of Foot in the Door Technique
This is one of the salespeople’s most effective and popular techniques.
Here, you first ask for a small request and then later on move towards the bigger request.
The first small request should be something that a large number of people are capable of doing. It should also be very easy to use.
Most of our friends use this technique all the time.
They will first ask for a small amount of money and after some time they will ask for a larger sum.
In sales, you can ask your prospects to sign up for a questionnaire or a webinar first and then pitch the product.
Allow your prospects to fulfill a smaller request first that builds a commitment in your relationship. Later, on smartly ask for a bigger request.
As per the data published on Lifehacker, this technique has been found effective after doing a review of 42 psychology studies on 22,000 people.
According to this technique, after making a request you tell the other person that he/she has complete freedom to either accept or reject the offer.
See, most of us don’t like when someone forces us to do something.
We all want to make our own decisions and that is why you should always allow the other person to reject the request.
Show Social Proof
An Example – Sharda University sharing its students’ testimonials on its website as a social proof
Let’s say you have gone on a holiday to Mahabaleshwar. This is your first time visiting this place.
You are hungry and in search of good restaurants. You reach a place where you find two restaurants in the opposite direction.
One is jam-packed with people and in another one there are only 2-3 people.
Which restaurant will you go to?
The one which is filled with people right?
Similarly, when you are buying products online you would most likely buy the one which has a 5-star rating.
Many times we have to make decisions without knowing what the right choice is. At such times we follow others as we have done.
In terms of marketing, it is known as social proof.
The trick is to show the social proof of people that directly resembles your current prospect.
For example, if you are selling an online MBA course you should tell the stories of students of similar age and income levels.
When you persuade others, the advice is to highlight the fact that many other people are already doing what you would like them to do.
Tell Stories and Humanize Information
It is always a good trick to give facts and figures to your audience when you are persuading them.
But, at the same time, you should include stories in your pitch.
We as human beings are fascinated by stories.
When you tell stories your prospects get transferred to a different world.
Even politicians craft stories in their campaigns to get more votes.
Teachers and even motivational speakers use the art of storytelling to capture the attention of their audience.
According to psychologists when people are exposed to numbers they become very critical of what has been told to them.
Although when you tell a compelling story that connects with them emotionally their ability to detect inaccuracies in what is presented is often reduced.
You need to remember that your product or service would be used by a human being. So, have a warmer tone when you speak to them.
Instead of always presenting charts and numbers use pictures of real people. People become more attached to a subject when they see photos of real people.
A medical study investigated if doctors would conduct a more thorough analysis of a patient’s condition, order more tests and detect more abnormalities if a patient’s photograph was simply attached to an X-ray or CT scan compared to when it wasn’t.
By all accounts, the answer is yes. This shows that humanizing information will help you in getting a yes.
Understand your goal and bring it to life using a story. Find characters your audience can relate to and show their motivation and desires.
Labeling
Labeling is a technique of assigning a trait, attitude, or belief to a person before making a request. The request that you make should be consistent with the label.
Let’s say you have a colleague in your office who doesn’t deliver projects on time. Imagine that some of your colleagues are giving the wrong labels to that struggling colleague.
They are saying things like “he is not capable of doing any word” or “he can never submit a project on time”.
If the person hears such things he will lose his confidence and in the end deliver projects late.
Although if you remind them how hard-working and dependable he is the person will eventually deliver the projects on time.
Once he submits the project on time you can give him compliments like “I always knew that you were a reliable person”.
These compliments will further motivate your colleague and he will always give you high-quality projects on time.
Sometimes, it’s not necessary to give a person a label.
Instead, you can simply encourage them to ‘self-label’ by allowing them to confirm that they do in fact possess such desirable traits.
Get into the habit of genuinely labeling people with the sort of traits that are consistent with the request you are about to make.
We as human beings are self-centered and we like when someone compliments us.
One study found that people were more likely to respond favorably to a colleague’s request if that colleague had complimented them immediately before making the request.
Numerous other studies have found that giving genuine compliments can increase the chances of getting a yes.
Waiters get a bigger tip after complimenting diners for their excellent selection of dishes from the menu.
Similarly, hairstylists get a bigger tip when they tell their clients how much they liked their new hairstyle.
Even though a lot of people know that people usually give compliments to get work done for them, they still say yes to most things.
Although don’t give compliments too often since it will look fake. Don’t give generic compliments as well.
Before asking someone to do something for you, think of one good thing about them and include a compliment in your conversation.
Implementation
Even if you convince someone to do a task or buy your product online the chances of them actually doing it are very slim.
This is because making a promise and fulfilling it are two different things.
The boom of social media and the internet has made a lot of people, including me, big-time procrastinators.
Only making a to-do list won’t be enough. To really commit to a task we need to make an implementation plan.
When people make a concrete plan where they clearly mention what, when, and how they will do the task they are most likely to complete it.
Researchers called a group of voters and asked them if they will vote in the upcoming election.
Most of them said yes yet, on the day of the vote they didn’t show up.
On the other hand, they asked another group of voters at what time they will cast their vote and how they would get to the polling station. This group of voters showed up on the day of the vote.
The research proves that when people make a concrete plan they act upon it.
To make an implementation plan you can make the If…When…Then plan.
For example, if you wish to exercise more you can write – If it is Saturday and Sunday when I get home from work, then I will go for a run.
When you are persuading others, encourage them to make a plan on how they will achieve the goal on a piece of paper.
End On a High Note
Have you noticed how singers perform their most popular songs at the end of their concerts, rather than at the beginning or during the middle?
They do this because they know if they sing their popular songs at the start their fans will instantly get happy and leave the concerts before it ends.
I am not saying first impressions don’t matter. They do matter since they pave the path to the rest of the conversation.
But, at the same time, you need to end your conversation on a high note.
What happens at the end of an experience is much more important and memorable.
Do you remember your presentation was going very well until your colleague dropped a jug full of water on the laptop?
Your holiday trip was memorable until your return flight got canceled and you had to spend half of your night finding a good hotel.
If you make subtle changes to how your conversations end your chances of getting a yes will increase tremendously.
Try to save the best news until the last. It will have a much bigger impact on people.
So, here are some of the most effective ways to get a yes from the people.
Before making a request, clearly understand your goal first.
Don’t be too pushy when making the request and always give them the opportunity to say no to your offer.
FAQs
How do you convince someone easily?
Establish your authority and speak with confidence. Try to find out some commonalities between you and the prospect and bring them up in your conversation.
Integrate stories in your pitch and make a smaller request first and then make a bigger one later on.
Show testimonials and create scarcity for your offer. Don’t be too pushy and give them the complete freedom to say no to your offer.
Once they say yes, tell them to make a concrete plan which has all the information regarding how and when they will do the task.
How do you convince a deal?
The method of convincing is different for different persons. Some of the common techniques to apply are to be specific, have a background check done before the deal, select a good time, have patience, and be polite.
What is the best way to persuade someone?
Some of the ways to persuade someone are to be consistent yet polite, have a proper selection of words while persuading, introduce logical points in the debate to increase onside weight, highlight the benefits of the opponent, and remain confident during the whole process.
How do you convince a customer to say yes?
Some of the simple tips to apply in order to convince a customer to say yes are to be consistent, have a logical conversation with the customer, show reciprocation and commitment, and present them with certain social proof.
If you are tired of working for somebody else’s business and feel ready to become your own boss, start reading to find out what you need to launch a successful electrical contracting company.
After a couple of years of the trade school and apprenticeship, every electrician starts dreaming of becoming independent and investing time and money only in their own business. If this idea seems alluring to you, too, it’s time to take the first steps toward your dream. In this article, you will learn how to properly plan, prepare, and start your first-time business in the electrical contracting industry.
Why starting an electrical business is a good idea?
Becoming an entrepreneur may seem like a challenging and long path to go. But don’t get discouraged right away! You can overcome any trouble and achieve your goals if you clearly understand all the benefits it will bring to your life. Let’s look at some of them:
Electrical businesses always have a lot of work. Today, we all rely on electrical devices and cannot imagine everyday life without properly functioning electrical systems.
A skilled electrician that provides a high level of service always finds clients. Residential and commercial clients need electrical services, you just have to specialize and decide who it is better for you to work with.
A good source of income. Independent electrical contractors are paid well, especially if compared to other trades. Moreover, you can double or even triple your business’s profit when your business grows.
Freedom to select what to do and who to work with. Whether you like installing new wires in buildings, working with electric cars’ charging stations, or repairing malfunctioning electrical systems like fire alarms, you can choose your specialization and your clientele. And change your mind at any time.
Cost of opening and operating an electrical contracting business
Now, we are going from dreaming straight to numbers. Every business requires a solid financial ground so you have to assess what budget you will need at the start and later each month. Your startup costs will vary depending on your area and available assets (e.g., power tools, a van, and an office).
As a professional electrical contractor, you may have collected the necessary tools to do the job properly, so your equipment costs will be low. An exception is if you want to specialize in the area where you need unique equipment. When purchasing new tools, pay attention to their quality, as it is crucial in keeping yourself safe and offering excellent service.
As electrical services are mostly mobile businesses, you will need a vehicle to travel to the client’s side and carry your equipment. If branded, your truck can also be an additional marketing tool. So, don’t forget to factor in this investment.
There will also be some overhead costs that you have to be prepared for. These include rent of property for your office, utilities, insurance, and certification renewals. Subscriptions to digital tools also fall into this category. These are business management software for electrical contractors, online accounting solutions, job scheduling tools, etc.
To cover your startup investments, you can use your personal savings, ask friends or family to support your new venture, use small business loans, find an investor, or apply for a government grant.
Work hard on your first business plan
Writing a business plan aims to make you think through all the aspects of running a company and prepare for possible challenges and opportunities.
Although you will need to show this blueprint to lenders and investors, preparing it is more valuable than the final document. Remember the following points to review when writing your business plan:
Your business goals and objectives. Outline achievable results you want to achieve from a short and long-term perspective. Be sure to plan your business development as well.
Finances. You should prepare a detailed analysis of how your business will generate money. Calculate your break-even point, cash flow and sales forecasts.
Marketing strategy. Here, you should describe your target audience and how you will attract potential customers.
If this is your first business plan, this task will seem overwhelming, so don’t hesitate to ask for professional assistance. Remember also that you should regularly review your business plan to track progress and adjust it accordingly.
Prepare everything you need for legal operation
The legal aspects of creating a business are worth taking your time to study carefully. Electrical businesses are highly regulated, so you must receive licenses and permits before working with electrical systems. To get everything set up right from the start, do good research or consult specialists regarding the following points:
What are government regulations in your area?
What are the requirements to obtain a business license?
What kinds of insurance policies do you need? Would business insurance and property insurance be enough?
What is the best business structure for your future business? Should it be a limited liability company, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship?
What taxes should you pay? How can you optimize small business taxes?
This part of the work is not fun, so be prepared for it to take some time. As a result, you won’t worry about your business being fined for not complying with the law.
Decide on prices for your electrical services
Charging the right price is a pain point for many business owners. You want to be competitive while getting profits and delivering a good quality of service. To find the balance between winning more jobs and doing a better job, follow these tips:
Calculate your ideal price per hour and compare it to the average one on the market. What would you offer your customers as additional value if you want to price higher than your competitors? Why should they choose you over other electricians with the lowest prices in the area?
After you put together your list of services, you should track what jobs bring in more profit, what is prevalent among your clients, and what you can stop providing. According to the Pareto principle, you should dedicate 80% of your time and resources to the most profitable jobs.
Prepare to defend your estimates. When pricing an electrical job, you should be confident about your prices and be ready to explain to clients what value they get for the price they pay.
Take the first steps towards starting your own electrician business
The essential part of every planning is the actions you take after. Success starts with small steps, so be brave to take your first ones. Depending on your business strategy and goals, your to-do list may vary but some tasks remain essential for every entrepreneur:
Let your family and friends know that you are working solo from now on. This will help you build your network and get referrals.
Find reliable suppliers of electrical equipment and inventory.
Purchase the necessary tools and consumables, and prepare your office and van.
Create a website and social media accounts and get listed on maps and small business listings.
Print out business cards and necessary marketing materials.
Open a bank account to divide your personal money from your business.
Sign up and configure the software and services you need to keep track of your work and finances.
Join professional associations and find a mentor to support you.
And the most important is to keep doing what you love despite any challenges you may face on your exciting road as a business owner. Celebrate every win and treat failures as opportunities.
Conclusion
Starting a small electrical contractor business is an attractive career path for skilled electricians. The demand for this service is consistently high, so you shouldn’t be concerned about missing jobs. There are many things to do before you can operate on your own: planning, financing, registering, licensing, marketing, and executing your strategy. If you do everything right at the start, you will avoid many pitfalls and build a profitable business.
SSL certificate is used by websites across the globe to ensure data security for their users. The websites with SSL certificates are identified as secure and reliable by the search engines due to which they are pushed to better ranks in the search results and more traffic is drawn towards them.
Therefore, depending on the kind of website you own it is very important to get the relevant SSL certificate. In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about SSL certificates including how to get a free SSL certificate for your website.
SSL or Secure Socket Layer Certificate is a protocol that encrypts internet traffic and also verifies the server identity. It helps keep the user’s information private through secure data transfer between a user’s browser and your website.
The three types of SSL certificates and their price range vary depending on the extent of security they offer to your website. Below we have listed them in order from most to least secure (or most to least expensive):
Extended Validated (EV): For websites that involve the most sensitive information such as the financial details of the user.
Organization Validated (OV): For websites that collect random information such as small business websites collecting user information for lead generation.
Domain Validated (DV): It is for sites that do not exchange any user information. For example blog websites.
When an SSL certificate is enabled for a website a lock sign appears towards the left side of the website’s URL. A user can easily check the SSL certificate for a website by clicking on this lock icon. The information included in an SSL certificate is as follows:
The domain name (for which the certificate was issued)
Name of person, organization, or device to which it was issued
Issuing authority (Certificate Authority)
Digital signature of the certificate authority
Date of issuance
Date of Expiration
Associated subdomains
Public key
Why do you need an SSL certificate?
Trust is the foundational quality on which a business can grow stronger in every dimension. As per a survey by Accenture, 62% of customers are inclined toward companies that exhibit ethical values and authenticity.
As you move your business online it’s not just your responsibility to keep users’ information secure rather it is also necessary to grow your business. As per a survey by Statista, almost 15 million data records were exposed worldwide during the third quarter of 2022. An SSL certificate ensures data safety during transmission and is highly crucial for a website as it is considered a symbol of trust and authenticity across the web.
Here are a few of the major reasons why you must obtain an SSL certificate for your website:
Encryption: SSL certificate facilitates a public-private key pairing that makes SSL encryption possible. Here, a secure connection is established between a user’s system and your website, and the information exchanged is coded and decoded between them. The data is protected from any outside viewer through encrypted language.
Authentication: SSL certificate helps users to identify your website as genuine. This means a user can verify that he has connected to the rightful owner of the domain. It is especially useful in avoiding domain spoofing and other similar attacks.
HTTPS: The “S” in HTTPS stands for “Secure”. This indicates that your website is SSL encrypted and thus, safe for the users to share their information. A website without an SSL certificate is marked as “Not secure” and is given a red flag by search engines.
SEO Ranking: Google uses “HTTPS” as one of its ranking features i.e. it gives a boost to the ranking of websites having SSL certificates. Recently, Google has also begun imposing penalties on websites that do not own an SSL certificate.
PCI DSS requirements: If you own an e-commerce website or any other website that requires online payments your website must comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). One of the major requirements amongst the 12 primary requirements set by the industry for data security includes having an SSL certificate.
How to get a free SSL certificate for your website?
SSL certificate is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA). It is a trusted third party or outside organization that also signs the certificate with its key. Most of the Certificate Authorities charge a fee for issuing the SSL certificate while a few also offer it for free.
Once obtained the certificate should be installed and activated on the website’s server. Post which the “HTTPS” status becomes available for the website and the online traffic gets encrypted and secured.
Once you have chosen the type of SSL certificate depending on the requirement for your website, you can follow the steps given below to get a free SSL certificate for your website.
Verify your website’s WHOIS information:
Whois Homepage
WHOIS is the internet record that identifies the owner and related information of a particular domain. Recently, it has been replaced by Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP). These help access the internet resource registration data.
Several tools can be used to verify your WHOIS or RDAP information such as Icann lookup, Arin, Securitytrails, etc. Before applying for the SSL certificate it is important that you update this information and also match it with what you are submitting to the Certificate Authority.
Generate Certificate Signing Request (CSR):
A website offering CSR Generation
As the name suggests, it is a message (an encrypted text) sent by the applicant to the Certificate Authority providing them with the required information such as domain name, organization name, country, etc.
A CSR can be generated through your server, your cPanel, or through an online CSR generator. The last option is least preferred as it is not directly connected with your server, cPanel, or hosting service.
If you find difficulty in creating your CSR, you can easily approach your hosting company to guide you through the process specific to your website. Once your CSR is ready you will have to submit it to the Certificate Authority to validate your domain.
The price of getting the SSL certificate depends upon the level of security you require for your website. However, certain CAs offer low-level security SSL certificates for free. Some of them include:
Letsencrypt.org: This is an automated and open Certificate Authority and is operated by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG). It offers a free Domain validated SSL certificate, valid for 90 days. Post 90 days you can easily renew the certificate again for free, for the next 90 days. Their certificate is recognized by all major browsers such as Chrome, internet explorer, firefox, etc.
Cloudflare.com: It is a CDN and security company, recognized worldwide for its products. It is used by many popular sites such as Mozilla, Reddit, etc., and is known to make the site faster and more secure. Their SSL certificate, depending upon the level of security, is available at the cost of $0 to $200 per month.
SSLforfree.com: It is also a nonprofit CA and is recognized by all major browsers. Their SSL certificate is available for free but has to be renewed every three months.
Zerossl.com: They also offer free SSL certificates for 90 days that can again be renewed for the next 90 days. Alongside this, they also provide automated ACME integrations and a full-fledged REST API.
Install the certificate on your website:
Once you have received your SSL certificate from your CA it is required to be installed on your website. You can easily do it yourself on the cPanel. Under Security, you will find SSL/TLS section. From here go to Manage SSL sites and upload your certificate.
After uploading the certificate you will also have to make changes to your WordPress files. In your WordPress dashboard, go to settings and update your URL by adding HTTPS instead of HTTP. Click save changes. Log out and again log in. Make sure all your URLs now display HTTPS. If you notice mixed content errors, find all your old URLs in the database and replace them with new ones.
FAQs
How long is an SSL certificate valid?
This depends on your certificate provider but usually ranges from 3 to 13 months. Most CAs provide the option to automatically update the certificate as soon as it expires.
How long it takes for the SSL certificate to start working?
The average time duration for an SSL certificate to start working ranges between one to three days. Although a few SSL certificates such as Let’s encrypt start working immediately while some may take up to a week.
How much does an SSL certificate cost?
The average price for an SSL certificate is around $60 per year. However, this price can vary considerably from one CA to another. A few certificate providers offer it for free while others may charge as high as $1000 per year.
Can a website work without an SSL certificate?
Any website without an SSL certificate is marked as “not secure” by the search engines, as your visitors are at great risk of data leakage, and its ranking is also lowered considerably. So, even if your website continues working without an SSL certificate it won’t be able to attract much traffic. Moreover, Google has also begun to impose penalties on websites without an SSL certificate.
What can you use in place of an SSL certificate?
Transport Layer Security (TLS) can be used in place of SSL. It is an improved version and successor protocol of the SSL certificate. It also uses encryption to prevent data breaches during the transfer of information from the user to the website.
The effectiveness of every email marketing campaign is dependent on a variety of best practices. Catchy subject lines, appealing incentives, high-quality material, and so on. However, there is one aspect that is frequently forgotten and that every campaign suffers from. That is, your email marketing lists must have correct and up-to-date information. Some believe email hygiene to be the most important aspect of any effective email marketing.
Keeping a clean email list is key to making sure all your connections a legitimate and active. If you don’t practice good email hygiene, you are missing out on potential reach and overall growth for your business.
ESPs are watching
There’s good reason why email hygiene is considered to some the most important aspect of any email campaign. It entails removing any inactive subscribers from prospective email campaigns and verifying that your list only contains active subscribers. Regular email hygiene will help you ensure that you are only sending emails to those who want to hear from you, which will help you avoid having your communications designated as spam.
This is significant because email service providers (ESPs) are becoming smarter and more in tune with what their consumers want to see in their inboxes. As a result, maintaining a clean email list has never been more vital when it comes to ensuring that your emails get delivered and opened. ESPs are paying closer attention to the emails you send and how they are received. ESPs not only check for spam signals and track spam complaints, but they also calculate openings, clicks, inactivity, and unsubscribes to determine if a message reaches the inbox or is routed to spam.
Deliverability is the marker
Keeping a clean list requires an understanding of hard and soft bounce, and list suppression.
A soft bounce indicates that an email address was authentic and that the email message was sent to the recipient’s mail server. It was returned, however, since the service was unavailable or the message was too large for the recipient’s mailbox. It could be that their inbox is full, but this is rare.
When an email is sent to an old or non-existent address, it results in a hard bounce. The emails are eventually placed on a suppression list. Email addresses on a suppression list have been permanently restricted from receiving future communications.
As ESPs are becoming more sophisticated in screening for spam, a clean list is essential for getting emails delivered to the intended recipient. By sending emails to the wrong addresses, or the wrong audience on a regular basis, your total email deliverability rate will steadily deteriorate.
Once someone has opted in for your content, it is critical to track and update data over time. Opt-ins are not guaranteed to last, and even the most enthusiastic subscriber can lose interest over time. Even if your list is entirely generated on opt-ins, 20-30% of email addresses will expire within a year.
Best practices
Other than monitoring your bounce rates and tracking your deliverability rate, here are a few best practices for good email hygiene.
Engagement – Like deliverability, your engagement rate is an important metric when it comes to maintaining good email hygiene. Perhaps the number of opens, click-throughs, and recipients responding to your CTA (Call To Action) is decreasing with each passing week. In this case, sending a re-engagement email is a great way to find out if your subscribers are still interested in receiving your content. This method can also assist you in avoiding an unneeded spam complaint from a subscriber who does not wish to hear from you. A business that re-engages with its subscribers will also positively boost its sending reputation.
Clarity – Permission is required if you wish to ensure consistent deliverability. Sending your campaign to people who haven’t agreed to hear from you puts you at risk of spam complaints. By making it simple for a subscriber who is no longer interested to unsubscribe, you can reduce the possibility of a recipient complaint and possibly prevent legal ramifications.
Content– Because the quality of your email content can trigger a spam filter, you must clear your emails of what could be considered spam content. This can include excessive, consecutive punctuation, especially exclamation marks, and all caps. It is also important to note sending your campaign to “Dear Reader,” etc., is not a good idea. Personalization is essential for developing relationships with your subscribers. Although content is not the deciding element in whether or not your email is delivered to the inbox, it is still crucial to ensure that your communications do not get marked as spam.
Conclusion
Regular email hygiene ensures that you are only messaging people who want your communications, which also helps you avoid having your email designated as spam. By maintaining an active mailing list, you can ensure your marketing campaigns reach their targets to help your business grow organically.
This article looks at the main changes that have occurred in the remote working and sub-contracting or outsourcing sector. It’s an important sector for small and emerging businesses to be aware of and keep up to date with the latest changes, so continue reading to find out more.
Increase in tech and blockchain options for work
Web3, crypto, and blockchain tech and software have become some of the major areas of work and employment in the current age. If you’re looking for contract work or to work from anywhere in the world, then the Web3, virtual and augmented reality, and cryptocurrencies and NFTs are those sectors that are growing fastest at the moment.
More ways to pay and reward than ever before
The manner in which employees can be paid and rewarded has changed forever. Whether they are rewarded with a unique NFT, or digital assets that hold value in the company, or are paid in crypto, employees now have access to a whole new way of being paid or rewarded for going over and above. There is a detailed explanation of the NFT sector provided by the professional platform OKX, and it is advised that those who are interested in such digital assets as payments should be as informed as possible. As a remote or contracted worker, it is important to look for additional sources and forms of income wherever you can, and being able to diversify the manner in which you are paid will go a long way to increasing the job possibilities that you are ready for.
The metaverse is making a massive change to where we can work
The metaverse is here and with the right tech, virtual and augmented reality has changed not only how we work, but also where we work. The jobs that may have required face-to-face contact have gone virtual, and as such, there will be a whole new range of jobs (and a new way of doing the jobs of old) in virtual or augmented reality. Freelancing and remote work has expanded exponentially as the metaverse becomes a reality. As headsets and the tech to implement a workable version of the metaverse becomes more real it is changing the nature of contract and remote work forever. It may be remote, but you’ll still be able to go into the office.
A better understanding of productivity in remote or outsourced work
The recent pandemic proved our ability to work from home and still be as productive as when working from the office. The tech has been proven, and as such, it is now simply about using it to produce the same quality and standards of work from anywhere in the world.
With the rise in remote and hybrid work, those entering the job market and young professionals are all now looking for ways to work remotely. It is about being able to develop a productive work-life balance, and many find that having the option to work from wherever you are (or simply from home) is one of the best ways to develop and institute a work-life balance that will serve to prolong your health, happiness, and hopefully also create some wealth.
You have come up with a genius product idea that has a solid USP and huge demand in the market.
You invest all of your time, energy, and money in prototyping and developing the product.
After months of hard work when you are about to launch your product you find your innovative idea on a local marketplace or e-commerce store.
You would be very disappointed right?
To avoid such a scenario, after coming up with an idea do rigorous research in making sure that your idea is unique.
Here, are 3 ways to ensure that your idea is actually yours:
Google Search
Google is the biggest search engine in the world which means that it has a huge database of several products and services.
Type in your main product keyword and other keywords related to your niche and industry.
Google will show you all the products that are related to your keyword.
Don’t just analyze the first page of SERP, go beyond that and try to read as many pages as possible.
Google Image Search is another great option to see if your product already exists in the market.
Since you would see dozens of images you will get a better understanding if your product is unique or not.
Online Marketplaces
Try searching for your product on the following marketplaces:
Flipkart
Amazon
Alibaba
AliExpress
Etsy
Oberlo
eBay
Walmart
IndiaMART
Make use of features like ‘similar products’ and ‘people who bought this also bought.
Patent Search
Google’s Patent Search
Try analyzing patent databases such as Google’s Patent Search or Espacenet to see if there were products similar to your ideas that were patented but never made it to market or which are on their way to market.
If someone has already patented your idea then you cannot move forward or if someone is already launching a product similar to yours then also you cannot move to user research and prototyping.
You again have to brainstorm new ideas.
Although, if you cannot find any product similar to your idea don’t get too excited yet!
Does Anyone Really Need Your Product?
An Example- Alex Toby wanted to understand his audience in order to create content, so he offered this form to them
After doing in-depth research you get to know that your product does not exist in the market.
But, maybe there is a possibility that the product is not there in the market because no one needs it.
Your product may help people in solving their problems but, your target audience might not consider the problem big enough to spend money on it.
If a lot of people are interacting with this ad at a low cost per click (CPC) then it means that your product has some demand.
You can redirect the ad to a landing page where you can tell people that the product is in development and ask them what kind of features, look and price they would want in the product.
You can even collect their email ids. In this way, you would also build an audience for your product.
Conduct an Online Survey
If you have identified your target audience demographics and interest you can run a paid advert on various social media platforms that redirects them to a survey form.
In the survey ask questions like:
Do you face this problem every day in your life?
Did you find a solution to it?
Would you spend money to buy a product that solves this problem?
What could be the potential solution for it?
To incentivize people to fill out the form you can give them free products or discount coupons from famous e-commerce stores like Amazon and Flipkart to 3 lucky winners.
Use Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends
Google Trends
Type in your product keyword in Google Keyword Planner and see how many people are searching for this keyword every month.
Higher the volume higher the demand for the product.
Also, see in which countries people are searching for this keyword to understand the demographics of your target audience.
Analyze the other related keywords as well to better understand what people want from your product.
Then go to Google Trends and see how is the trend of your product in the last 90 days or 18 years.
If the trend is constantly going upwards in the last couple of years it means that there is demand for your product.
See in which countries the product is trending to understand where your target audience lives.
Conduct User Research
After defining the product try to research and find out the age, gender, marital status, income level, place of residence, job position, interests, needs, fears, and desires of your target audience.
Let’s say you have come up with an amazing product idea and spent all of your time and money on it for a couple of months.
Later on, you decide to sell it at Rs 100. But, at the prototyping or manufacturing stage, you know that you need to spend 4 times more money to make the product.
To create a profit margin you need to increase the price of the product.
But, the problem here is that you cannot sell the product at Rs 600-700 because you know that people won’t buy it.
It means that your idea is dead and all of your efforts have gone in vain.
To avoid such a scenario, try to decide at what price people will buy the product and what will be the cost of making the product. The figure doesn’t have to be very 100 percent accurate.
If you get to know that the cost of making the product is not very high and you can sell it at a reasonable price and make a profit for yourself you can move forward.
Sketch the Product
You need to take the idea out of your head using sketching.
Now, you don’t have to be Pablo Picasso or Leonardo da Vinci to sketch the product.
The sketch doesn’t have to be perfect but, you will bring your thoughts to life.
Quantity matters here more than quality. Draw hundreds of ideas and then mismatch and make a perfect one later on.
Don’t waste your time drawing a single perfect sketch.
The goal is to get a sense of what your product will look like so, you can explain the idea to your team members or other people.
Before drawing the sketch you should have a customer avatar in front of you.
Basically, you should know the age, gender, marital status, income level, place of residence, job position, interests, needs, fears, and desires of your target audience.
If you don’t have the above information, conduct user research first and then come back to this stage.
Don’t make a product for everyone.
Once you start drawing you will get tons of questions about your product like:
What will be the size and color of my product?
What sort of texture will it have?
What materials will be used?
How will the target audience use it?
Write these questions on a piece of paper and try to answer them in detail.
If you have a lot of mechanical parts in your product you can draw them separately from the main product to get more clarity.
Create a Virtual 3D Model
Now, you need to transfer your sketches to 3D modeling software. This will help you to understand the size, shape, and design of a product in a much better way.
Another benefit of a 3D model is that you can explain your concept to team members more clearly.
Once you make the 3D model you can continuously make changes to them and make your product structure perfect.
You can integrate the 3D model with augmented reality apps like Augment to visualize how your product will look in real life.
To convert your sketches into 3D models you can use software like:
Proof of Concept (POC) tries to prove that your product idea is feasible and can be developed.
Now, POC is different from the prototype.
POC shows if your product can be built or not while the prototype tells how it will be developed.
Here’s how you can make a POC.
Describe the Need for the Product
First, prove the need for the product.
It means that you need to tell who your target audience is and what problem they are facing.
You need to describe the pain points of your target audience in detail.
You also need to prove that people will buy your product to solve the problem.
To prove this you can release survey forms or conduct interviews with people and ask them what problem they are facing, did they find any alternative product to solve the problem, what desired solution they want, and whether will they pay money to buy the product.
You need to give facts and not assumptions.
Get Feedback
In the 2nd stage, you need to describe the solution that you have found to your target audience and ask them if they liked your product or not.
You can show the 3D model to your audience to make them better understand what they will get in the future.
Collect as much feedback as possible and make changes to your product.
Tell the Features, Cost and Profit Margin of the Product
Now, you need to tell the dimensions and feel of the product along with the features and benefits that the product will have.
Then tell the product’s rough cost, price, and profit margin.
You also need to describe the project’s timeline and what technology you will use to make it.
Prototyping
The prototype is an early functional sample of a product which is further enhanced and tested to develop a final working product.
Prototyping will help you test and develop ideas and understand the design flaws.
The goal is to test the idea of failure. This means that you really want to know where your design exactly works and where it doesn’t.
You also need to make sure that every prototype is better than the last ones, eventually ending with the best one that provides an excellent user experience and compels them to buy the product.
Types of Prototypes
Display Prototypes
Display Prototypes are primarily used in Fashion Industry
As the name suggests, the display prototypes focus on the look and feel of the product. These prototypes may not even function but they try to mimic the design of the actual product.
Functional Prototypes
Functional prototypes try to show the functions of the actual product as closely as possible without accounting for the design and feel of the product.
Miniatures
A shopping cart as a miniature prototype example
Miniatures prototypes focus both on the display and functional aspects of the actual product.
Although they are very small they don’t work at full capacity and may not accurately demonstrate the features of the actual product.
3D printing is used to develop miniature prototypes.
Rapid (Throwaway) Prototype
A mobile application as a paper prototype is a good example of a throwaway prototype
In the rapid prototype method, the prototype is developed in a very short period of time and in a cost-effective way.
It is also called a throwaway prototype because the prototype is constantly modified based on user feedback.
Once all the stakeholders are satisfied the prototype is used for reference. Once the next prototype is developed the initial ones get thrown away.
Rapid prototyping is usually conducted using 3D printing.
Evolutionary Prototyping
Computer software is a good example of evolutionary prototyping
In evolutionary prototyping, a functional prototype is developed from scratch and new refinements are made continuously.
Once a first prototype is built that has some basic functionality it is presented to the users.
Feedback is collected from all the users and based on the suggestions changes are made to the prototype.
After making the changes the prototype is again presented to the users and again feedback is taken.
This cycle keeps on repeating until the users reach a point where they like using your product.
At this point, you stop refining your product. Since your product evolves at each stage this method is called evolutionary prototyping.
In this method, the focus is more on functions rather than design.
Evolutionary prototyping is suitable if you fully don’t understand the requirements of the project.
You can also use this product if you are developing a new product or technology that your target audience doesn’t know about.
In this scenario, your target audience won’t be to give feedback unless they start using your product.
Once they start using it they will better understand your product and give you feedback.
Incremental Prototyping
If you are developing a product that has a lot of complicated technical components or if you are aiming to build a massive product then you should use incremental prototyping.
In this method, you develop separate small prototypes of your product simultaneously.
After developing different prototypes you test and refine them and then merge them together to make one comprehensive whole product.
Since each part and feature of the product is evaluated separately you are able to understand the intricate details of the product.
You also get the freedom to innovate your product instantly.
Although the problem with incremental prototyping is that you may develop prototypes that look and function like completely different products.
To avoid this your design and developer’s team must come up with some principles in order to keep the aesthetics and function of the prototypes consistent throughout the prototyping stage.
I will run you down the most used ones that are incorporated while building plastic, rubber, metal, wood, and electronics products.
3D Prototyping
Example of a 3D prototyping
3D prototyping allows you to conceptualize your product ideas quickly without making a hole in your pocket.
It is a technology that allows you to create a three-dimensional solid object from digital files using CAD software and a 3D printer.
In this method, a fabricator starts building the design from the bottom and builds up successive layers until the product is finished.
Depending upon the structure and dimensions of your product the 3D printer might create your product within a few minutes or hours.
If you have a large model you can leave the 3D printer switched on overnight. In the morning your prototype would be fully developed.
Back in the day, 3D prototyping was very expensive. Now, you can easily buy a 3D printer at a low price.
Using websites like Shapeways and 3DHubs you can easily print the parts of the product and get them delivered to your house at a very low cost without the up-front investment of buying your own 3D printer.
CNC Machining
CNC machine work example
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) is a process where machines are controlled by computers.
You just need to make a 3D model of your product using CAD and then input the details into the machine.
That’s it! Your work is done. The machines will automatically start manufacturing the product according to the specifications.
Using this method, you are able to build products that are very close to the end product.
You can easily create prototypes in just a few hours and make modifications to them in one go.
Although CNC machining is more expensive compared to 3D printing.
Vacuum Casting
If you are looking to make plastic prototypes then vacuum casting is for you.
Using your method you can make prototypes that have the same color, size, texture, and feel as the final product. This is an economical and rapid way to develop prototypes.
Vacuum casting uses a solid master pattern to make a silicon rubber mold.
The pattern can be any physical solid that’s a copy of the finished part. The pattern is often a 3D-printed part.
The master pattern is suspended in an empty casting box which is filled with liquid silicone.
Once the silicone is cured it’s cut open and the pattern is removed; leaving behind a hollow cavity that can now be refilled with casting resin to make a copy of the original.
If the master pattern has a gloss finish or a textured finish this would be reproduced on the surface of each casting.
Parts can be over-molded and resins come in a variety of hardnesses – from extremely rigid to rubber-like materials.
The silicone molds last up to about 20 copies.
Vacuum casting will not work if you are making metal or wood components.
Repeat the Feedback and Refinement Cycle
I know you feel very happy when you make a functional prototype. But, don’t get too carried away.
Instead of just making 1-2 prototypes and sending them straightway to the manufacturer you need to constantly make new prototypes based on the previous feedback and spend a lot of your time and energy at this stage.
Although, don’t waste too much of your time developing prototypes.
This is because after making the prototype you need to find a good manufacturer and make arrangements for supply chain management which will also take a lot of time.
Basically, you need to find a balance at this stage. There is no fixed number on how many prototypes you should make in a particular time period.
It all depends on your product.
The key thing to remember is that you need to make several prototypes, test and modify them constantly and then select the best one.
Test the Product
Once you have made the prototype it’s time to test it.
In this process, you try to check its build quality and if the product is functioning properly as intended.
Sometimes, the recent changes that you make in the prototype can hamper the other functions which were working perfectly fine before the changes.
You also want to check if the product can withstand rigorous everyday use.
You should test the prototype both on your target audience and teammates.
You can give 2 prototypes that have different names, color schemes, and textures and ask your audience which one they would buy.
Different products have different testing methods. But, are 4 testing methods that would apply to any product:
(Make sure that while taking all the tests you are regularly taking the feedback of the people and making necessary changes.
In any of these methods if your product breaks down or doesn’t work properly you will again jump back to the prototyping stage).
Usage Test
Here, you are making sure that the people are able to use all the functions of the product.
Can the users easily use your product without any confusion?
Are all the screens, buttons, and levers working effectively?
Can your product easily solve the problem of the user?
Can users open certain parts of your product without breaking the other parts?
You got the idea right?
Heavy Testing
Not everyone will use your product with care. Some people will use the product with extreme force.
If your product is not durable your sales would eventually go down.
To avoid such scenarios make sure that your product withstands extreme forces.
Drop Test
Products often get slipped out of hands or get dropped off the table.
If your product easily breaks down in such scenarios, you need to again go back to the prototyping stage and improve the build quality of the product.
To test the durability, drop the product on a solid surface like concrete.
Standard Test
When you buy products you see the logo of ISO behind the product.
This logo shows that the product meets all relevant standards and safety requirements.
You also need to make sure that your product meets the requirements of all the standard tests.
P.S: When doing all these tests don’t oversell your idea. Instead, just give your product to your users.
Let them handle your product any way they want. Your target audience might find something which you and your team might have not focused on yet.
Protect Your Idea Legally
Once you have made an awesome product you need to stop other people from stealing your product idea.
You can easily protect your idea legally using the following methods:
Patents
Trademarks
Copyrights
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
The golden rule of protecting your idea is not to tell about the product to anyone unless they can be trusted and it is required.
Time to Make Your Product
Here, comes the most exciting part of product design.
It’s time to turn your prototype into a full-blown working product. Without wasting time, let me tell you how you can make your product.
Who Is Making the Product?
Are you going to manufacture the product or do you want a manufacturer for it?
If you are going to manufacture yourself then you know what to do. Skip to the next step.
On the other hand, if you need a manufacturer keep reading the article.
How Many Products Are You Going to Make?
You need to answer the question first before you start finding a manufacturer.
Do you want to produce small quantities of products and then sell them locally?
OR
You have big dreams and want to produce products in large quantities and sell them all over India or worldwide.
The answer to this question will help you decide which of the following manufacturing routes you will take:
Commission
Manufacturing products on commission means that the products get produced when you order and pay for them.
Customized shirts and paintings can be produced using the commission strategy.
Small Batch Production
In small-batch production, products are produced in specific groups in smaller quantities. Similar components are produced together.
Since you are producing goods in smaller quantities they are cheaper to manufacture and you don’t need a big warehouse to store them.
You can catch the issues in your design easily and if there is a trend you can tailor your product to it.
Even if you get poor-quality products you don’t have to worry a lot since you don’t have a lot of products in hand.
On-Demand Manufacturing
The On-demand manufacturing is a process where products are only manufactured when they are demanded and in quantities required.
Using the internet and cloud-based technology manufacturing companies can develop advanced online platforms that allow customers to upload models and get quotes for parts in real time.
Customers stay connected with the manufacturer till they get the order.
Mass Customization
Mass customization refers to a manufacturing process where customized goods are produced according to the customer’s requirements.
The whole business model revolves around computer-aided software. Customers get a variety of predefined features that they can choose and personalize.
The cost of the final product will depend on the level of customization.
Mass Production
In mass production goods which have the same specifications are produced over and over again in large quantities.
In mass production, multiple assembly lines are involved where people are given a set number of tasks that they have to repeatedly do on a daily basis.
The manufacturing cost is low since repetitive and standardized processes are used to manufacture goods.
Which Method Is Ideal for You?
If you are new to the business and want to test out your products or if you are unsure about the demand for your product you can opt for small batch production.
On the other hand, if you want to produce goods in large quantities then mass production is an ideal manufacturing process for you.
If you want to provide customized goods in large quantities then go forward with mass customization.
Choose Your Manufacturing Method
You also need to decide which manufacturing method you will use.
The method that you will choose will purely depend on the type of parts you are using and the type of design you will be incorporating.
Now, there are tons and tons of manufacturing processes you can opt for. I won’t be diving deep into this topic.
But, here are the top processes that you can use:
Injection Molding
CNC Machining
Welding
Forging
Rolling
Weaving
Blow Molding
Laminating
Vacuum Casting
Stamping
Punching
Extruding
If this process is very confusing for you consult a freelance product designer or a product development firm.
Don’t try to do everything by yourself.
Trust me, spending money at this stage and making sure your design and manufacturing process is perfect is very important.
If you don’t spend money now, you will spend much more later on when you tweak your design or change your manufacturing process.
If you have followed all of the above steps properly, you must have understood how much money you need to manufacture the product and at what price you would be selling it.
Once you have gotten a figure, you can raise funding for your idea.
Now, there are several ways to raise money. But, if you don’t have a huge manufacturing cost you can invest your money in the project and sell a small batch of your products.
The profit you earn gets reinvested in the business and this cycle keeps on repeating.
See, you must put some money into your business even if you are raising money.
This is because investors will see how much money you have invested before giving you the money.
Apart from self-funding, you can even take loans from your family members.
If you want to raise a small amount of money you can even use your credit cards and repay the money on time.
Now, let’s see some other legit ways of raising funds:
Crowdfunding
Angel investment
Apply for loans under government schemes
Get funds by winning contests
Startup incubator
Startup accelerator
Sell Your Product
You did it! After months of researching, prototyping, refining, contacting a lot of manufacturers, and raising money your product is ready to sell.
Let’s understand different ways of selling your product:
List on 3rd Party Ecommerce Stores
List of 3rd party e-commerce stores
At the start of your journey, you can list your products in various e-commerce stores and start selling them with little upfront costs.
Obviously, these websites would take a commission from you but, this is the fastest way of selling your products.
You can list your products in the following stores:
Amazon
Flipkart
eBay
Snapdeal
Pepperfry
IndiaMART
Myntra
Build Your Own E-commerce Stores
Sites to build a personal e-commerce store
If you are confident about your products and want to scale them rapidly then you can even build your own e-commerce store.
The best part here is that you don’t need to be a coding ninja!
You can use WooCommerce which is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create your own store where you can sell any product.
You can integrate a major payment gateway with WooCommerce and build fast loading and easy-to-use e-commerce website.
If you don’t want to use WordPress you can opt for Shopify. With tons of templates and easy customization, you can design a beautiful-looking store.
You can easily set up payments and shipping and start selling within a few hours.
BigCommerce has the same functionalities as Shopify. Using this platform you can host and build your online store.
All 3 of them provide you with a free trial so, you can try them first and understand which one suits your requirements.
Sell in Bulk to Retailers or Distributors
Instead of directly selling your products to the customers you can sell them in bulk to retailers who will then sell to customers.
When your products are present in retail outlets customers are available to physically check the product due to which they are able to make more informed decisions.
Retail outlets also give access to a huge consumer base and if your product is good your sales would also increase.
Although since you are adding another person into the supply chain your profit margins will get reduced.
In the start you may face problems in selling your products but, as your sales increase your cost of manufacturing per unit will get lower.
Licensing
If you are able to patent your idea you can sell the right to manufacture to other companies.
The company which is using your product idea will initially pay you a lump sum amount in advance and then pay you royalties (a percentage share of each sale).
According to your product, the royalties will range from 2% to 10% of net revenues. The royalty rates change from product to product and industry to industry.
Conclusion
That’s it! I have mentioned all the steps that you need to take in order to turn your genius idea into a high-selling product that makes the lives of your customers easier.
The process might seem lengthy and difficult but surely a fruitful path to cover. All the topics related to the process like researching, prototyping, manufacturing, and licensing has been covered in the article.
FAQs
What are the 4Ps of designing?
The 4Ps of designing are people, products, partners, and processes.
Why is product design important?
With a good product design, the efficiency of the product can be improved and it can also give it an upper hand in the competitive market.
What are the 7 elements great of design?
The 7 elements of a great design are space, line, light, color, form, texture, and pattern.
What is the main focus of product design?
The main focus of product design is to blend customer satisfaction with a business goal t have consistent growth in the market.
Hiring an attorney is the best thing to do after suffering from a personal injury. It gives you legal backing to fight your case and get compensation from the guilty party/ insurance company. However, many people hesitate to find a lawyer because of the heavy fees and costs they need to pay to fight a case in court.
Lawyer fees and additional expenses can strain your budget. Furthermore, there’s a difference between attorney fees and attorney costs. You have to pay both amounts to the attorney.
The attorney fee is what you pay the lawyer for their expertise, skills, and knowledge. It is for the time they spend on your case. Attorney costs are court fees your lawyer pays when fighting the case. Lawyers incur a few other costs when fighting a case on behalf of a client. These costs will be charged to the client’s account.
However, the question remains. Is it costly to hire really good personal injury lawyers? Can you afford to pay them the amount when you are already burdened with medical bills?
Let’s find out.
What is Contingency Fee?
Personal injury lawsuits are handled differently from other cases. Most lawyers take up such cases on a contingent basis. Basically, there will be no initial fee for going through the details or filing the case in court. Instead, the attorney will take a percentage of the settlement amount as their fee. The additional costs are also subtracted from the settlement amount.
While this is beneficial for the client and the lawyer, it can also mean that the client will take home much less compensation than expected. Furthermore, contingency fees are high. Lawyers charge around 33% to 40% of the settlement amount because they are taking a risk by accepting the case without any initial fee.
However, it also means that the lawyer will fight to get you the highest settlement amount possible for the case. You and your lawyer can discuss how much you want as compensation. Then add the approximate costs of fighting the case and the attorney fee. That will be the settlement amount you want from the other party. Of course, your attorney will advise you on the right amount to file, depending on the case.
What happens if you lose the case? In most instances, the lawyer will not take any fee if they lose the case. This allows them to consider each personal injury case on a merit basis and accept only those with a high chance of winning. That said, some lawyers don’t mind gambling and take a risk with a complex case when they know you deserve justice.
What are Additional Costs?
As mentioned earlier, a lawsuit attracts many additional expenses. These costs are non-negotiable. You have to pay for these even if you lose the case. That’s because the following costs are incurred by anyone who files a lawsuit.
Court filing fees
Costs to access police reports
Costs to get medical records
Expert witness fees
Court reporters fees
Trial exhibits fees
Copying fees
Postal charges
It can be difficult to exactly estimate how much the costs would be as they differ from one case to another. The longer the trial runs, the higher the additional expenses to keep it going. On average, the court and additional costs will come up to 10 or 15% of the settlement amount.
Your attorney may send you monthly bills to pay the court’s costs or maintain a record of all expenses and deduct it from the settlement amount. You can negotiate it with the lawyer.
For example, you get a settlement amount of $100,000 after winning the case (this will be provided to the lawyer by the insurance company). Your attorney will deduct their fee (40%) from this amount.
$100,000-$40,000 = $60,000
The court costs will be deducted from the remaining amount.
$60,000-$15,000 (court costs) = $45,000
$45,000 is the final compensation amount you will receive from the lawyer.
Talk to your attorney about various costs and ask for ways to reduce additional expenses. The final amount you get depends on how well you negotiate with your attorney. Remember that the lawyer will have to provide you with a detailed record (in writing) of the expenses and their charges.
Conclusion
In most cases, it is advisable to have a written agreement with the lawyer about their fee and other expenses related to the case. This ensures that you know how much you will have to pay the attorney and the range of costs involved in fighting a lawsuit. Similarly, the attorney will be cautious about running up additional costs as they are bound by an agreement. This will prevent further complications between you and the lawyer.
Before going for renovation or buying a new house, you must analyse your financial budget. It refers to managing financial inflow and outflow- you need to match the loan repayment schedule with the upcoming inflow to avoid default payments. This is where the home loan calculatorcomes into the scene. It is a self-help tool which automatically calculates EMI based on required inputs.
Your EMI is impacted by various variables such as loan tenure, interest rate, and principal amount. Therefore, you can calculate the EMI which suits your budget by adjusting the variables. Read on to understand all the variables in detail.
How Does the Home Loan EMI Calculator Work?
As aspiring borrowers, the first and foremost duty is to accurately estimate the EMI amount they would be responsible for paying. Ahouse loan EMI calculator may be used to get an accurate estimate.
Therefore, you can use a home loan calculatorto estimate how much you’ll have to pay monthly for your mortgage before applying for a loan.
The formula used to calculate EMI is: E = P * r * [(1+r)^n / (1+r)^n -1], where,
E = EMI
P = Principal
R = rate of interest calculated monthly
N = loan tenure in months
Note that the EMI is calculated based on fixed interest rates. And the EMI fluctuates based on the prevailing marketing rates.
Things to know about Home Loan EMI Calculator
The home Loan EMI calculator uses a simple formula to calculate the EMI. EMI means the equated monthly instalments. These instalments are inclusive of principal and interest.
The EMI calculator also tells about the eligibility for a loan and the house loan amount sanctioned for a property as collateral.
The EMI calculator is an easy-to-use tool that does not ask for personal or professional information. You just need to input the principal, loan tenure and interest rate to calculate EMI. After that, you will be able to know everything about your Amortisation schedule. It will help you understand how your monthly EMI will be segregated between paying off the principal amount and the remaining amount at the end of the month.
Along with a graphical representation of the repayment schedule and a breakdown of the EMI into principal and interest payments, some EMI calculators also display the total amount of the EMI.
Some comprehensive EMI calculator also integrates running EMI, local state tax, and insurance cost in the calculation.
Apart from home loans, you can calculate EMI for car loans and Personal Loans. Also, you can adjust the EMI in arrears or EMI in advance while calculating for car loans.
EMI calculator is a ready reckoner tool which can be used to compare the loan offers of various institutions. It helps substantiate the variables into a comparable figure- EMI. It also calculates the gross cost of the loan, i.e., the total interest and other charges paid over the loan tenure.
You can also use the home loan EMI calculator for floating-rate loans. Floating Rate Loans are loans with fixed interest rates and vary based on benchmarks decided as per loan agreement. To calculate the EMI of floating-rate loans, you should consider two opposite scenarios.
In the optimistic scenario, you can consider the interest rates to go down by 2-3%. It would result in lower EMI payments, or you may opt for short loan tenure. In the pessimistic scenario, you can consider the opposite. Such analysis would help you plan future possibilities and prepare for the worst-case scenario.
The EMI calculator lets you try different combinations with different interest rates, loan amounts, and several tenures is what makes them so user-friendly. It helps you make an informed financial decision and forms a solid repayment strategy you can follow once the bank grants your home loan.
WhatsApp is no longer only a tool for chatting. It is the most widely used messaging platform globally. Over 2 billion people use it regularly. And that number keeps rising.
WhatsApp is a powerful tool for communicating with and building connections with your consumers. It’s quite widespread, far faster than email, and simple to use. WhatsApp is now being used as one of the primary customer communication mediums by an increasing number of businesses, both online and offline.
But only a few businesses are fully utilizing WhatsApp’s potential for lead generation and acquisition, despite the fact that it is increasingly being incorporated into customer service channels. Here’s how to implement WhatsApp chat to boost your website’s overall conversion rates and generate more leads.
5 Benefits of Integrating WhatsApp Chat on Your Website
The advantages of integrating WhatsApp into your website and marketing plan rely on how well you implement the messaging service. The following are some typical benefits.
Easy to Connect With Customers
Since customers prefer engaging in a chat over speaking with a customer support representative, chat has a significant impact on sales. Customers can now chat with your brand more easily than ever when you incorporate WhatsApp into your website.
Communicate With Website Visitors
You won’t be able to get in touch with a website visitor who uses live chat after they leave the website. A visitor who contacts you over WhatsApp can be easily contacted again without having to wait on your website for a response.
Even if your clients aren’t online, you can still communicate with them. You may send them broadcasts with information on promotional coupons, new releases, and other important news after they add your number to their contact lists.
Provides Personalized Experience
WhatsApp is an app that we all use daily to communicate with our friends and family. You naturally develop a more close connection with your consumer by integrating your company into that setting.
Especially if you can respond quickly and informally. Incorporating WhatsApp on your website might increase your chances of connecting with users through one of their preferred mobile messaging services.
Increases Sales
To encourage more individuals to buy, WhatsApp can present helpful information about your offerings. Overall, WhatsApp chat enables greater conversion and quicker customer connection.
Automated Responses Provide Instant Replies
Customers that prefer to chat frequently don’t want to wait for a response. Their demands are well-served by automated answers. Customers can be guided through steps for making purchases, confirming reservations, checking the status of their purchases, and completing other frequent actions using automated answers with WhatsApp.
There are numerous ways to incorporate WhatsApp into your website, and we’ll examine 3 of them in this post so you can pick the simplest one to start with.
Chat Widget
An Example- The website Wati uses Whatsapp chat widget
Similar to other assistance options like Live Chat, which we frequently encounter online, a chat widget is the best way to include a WhatsApp button on your website. In addition to directing all traffic produced into the instant messaging channels of their choosing, this will enable website visitors to start a chat with only one click.
When it comes to customer trust, businesses that offer a WhatsApp chat button typically have the upper hand. The reasonable explanation for this is that customers can contact companies by simply clicking on the WhatsApp Button symbol on their website, which launches a WhatsApp dialogue window.
You must first choose the best chat widget provider of your choice, create your account, construct your own widget in a few steps, and then put it on your website using either WordPress or Google Tag Manager. The widget may be configured to appear on both desktop and mobile devices, or both.
The widget will then show up on the bottom edge of your website’s pages (you can choose to have it appear on the right or left of the screen), giving your website visitors the option to contact you by tapping on the WhatsApp button.
Click-to-Chat
An Example- The website Kommo has a click-to-chat feature on its website which then opens up another window
With WhatsApp’s click-to-chat functionality, users may click a URL to begin a conversation with a specific person or company. You can do this without saving any phone numbers on your phone. You can open a conversation by clicking the link and begin typing. Both WhatsApp Web and the smartphone app are compatible with this.
You could use this capability to attach phrases like “Chat with us!” to WhatsApp. Your phone number can also be typed out and linked. If you want to provide WhatsApp throughout your whole online customer service experience, it becomes a little more challenging to give a click-and-chat link on your contact page. Your website would seem cluttered if you have to share this link on every page.
You must update this URL, https://wa.me/[WhatsAppNumber], to create a click-to-chat link. The phone number you want to use should be entered in place of the “WhatsApp number.”
QR Code
An Example- the website CM uses Whatsapp QR code on its website
Presently, QR codes are more popular and widely used in the modern world. Customers may find it tedious to have to add a mobile number to their contacts list to begin a WhatsApp communication. This isn’t a practical method, especially if you intend to provide this channel as a business.
By adding your company’s phone number to a customer’s contact list, a QR code helps automate the procedure. To launch WhatsApp and enter your number, all your users need to do is scan their smartphone to the display. It’s simple and obvious, just what your clients want and needs.
You must first establish a click-to-chat link before creating a QR code. Through tools like QR Code Generator, this click-to-chat link can then be converted into a QR code.
How WhatsApp Web Chat can Help Your Business?
WhatsApp users worldwide
Here’s how WhatsApp chat on your website can help you capture leads and increase your overall conversion rates.
Personalized Customer Support
WhatsApp is a highly useful tool to implement into your system, and it also helps make customer service more personalized. You could have several customer service representatives that visitors can choose from when contacting you through your website by using the WhatsApp widget. Your customers will have better customer service thanks to this quick and efficient communication system, which will increase their likelihood of making purchases from you and regularly visiting the website.
Marketing and Sales
You can add a conversational aspect to the online presence by including a WhatsApp chat on your website. In a friendly and casual setting, it helps your staff to gather leads, recommend items, and even complete transactions.
By removing the requirement for manual data collecting, WhatsApp webchat enables you to get more leads. You will instantly receive the names and phone numbers of leads who start a WhatsApp web chat. The customer can still continue the chat on WhatsApp after leaving the website. This is a significant advantage of WhatsApp over standard live chat.
To interact with current and potential customers, you can still prefer email and the phone. WhatsApp, however, brings a lot of exciting opportunities. It helps you to transform what is typically a one-way conversation into one that’s simultaneous and entirely at the convenience of the customers, encouraging customer engagement and loyalty.
When using WhatsApp for sales, marketing, and customer support, real-time data sharing and processing is possible. To increase your lead generation and sales closing rates, you can utilize WhatsApp differently. However, the magic lies in how effortless it is for you to introduce your marketing message into the routines of potential leads with WhatsApp.
FAQs
When was WhatsApp launched?
WhatsApp was launched in January 2009.
Who is the current CEO of WhatsApp?
Will Cathcart is the CEO of WhatsApp since 2019.
How many users use WhatsApp daily?
Over 2 billion people use WhatsApp regularly worldwide.
