Business Plus Baby

There will come a time when most business owners will need to pitch for investment. That usually happens when the company needs to expand, and so entrepreneurs will arrange meetings with their bank and private equity firms. However, getting the best results isn’t always easy, and so you will need as much help and advice as possible. Use some of the tips below.

Get the figures right!

The worst thing any business owner can do is present inaccurate financial information during their pitch. For that reason, you need to use specialist software to ensure you never get the figures wrong. Excel is the best solution for that, and there is a graphic at the bottom of this page that offers some advice and tricks.

Make visual presentations

Human beings tend to respond well to visual stimulus. So, you should think about creating a presentation to run alongside your pitch. It should help to engage some of the people who would otherwise refuse the offer.

Interact with the investors

Making your pitch as interactive as possible is always an excellent move. That could mean giving investors a product to hold if you need money to release a new range. You could also just ask some questions or tell some jokes. Remember, you need to remove as much of the separation space between you and the investors as you can.

With a bit of luck, those tips should point you in the right direction when it comes to getting the best results from investment pitches. Make sure you remember to use them!

Designed by STL excel tricks

No one wants to work a dead-end job. When you have a career, you expect to move upwards and to reach your goals. You put in the time and the effort and as years go by you expect your company to reward you for your loyalty and hard work. Not all companies, however, will give you the promotions that you deserve. Instead, you need to prove yourself and ask for them. Follow these five steps to getting the promotion you deserve:

1. Step Up Your Game

The first step you should take when you want a promotion is to increase your productivity and your results. You need to show that you have what it takes to successfully fulfill a more advanced position, and being a better worker is a good first step. Sometimes, all you need to do better is to be healthier. Have a good diet, drink lots of water, exercise, and most importantly get a good night’s rest. Together these tactics will make you more awake and alert when you’re at work. Use this extra alertness to do a better job than you were doing before.

2. Speak Up More

When you ask for a promotion, you’re asking for more senior roles. These roles typically will involve overseeing other workers. As such, you not only have to prove that you’re a great asset to the company, you also must prove that you have what it takes to lead. If you can prove yourself a natural-born leader, you can prove that you’re ready for a more senior role.

3. Further Your Qualifications

Another way you can get a promotion is to qualify for one. An MBA, for instance, is a great degree to have to further your career at a company or to even start your own business. Either way, an MBA is a great step towards further success. Visit https://gradschool.cuchicago.edu/academics/mba/the-cuc-mba1/ today and learn how you can earn your qualification online at home, meaning you don’t have to quit your job.

4. Ask for One

When you aren’t offered a promotion, you need to ask for one. If someone has recently left who had a position that you want, ask to be considered to replace him or her. If there is no role that needs to be filled, offer to take on more responsibilities. Once you have proven yourself capable, you can ask for a new position title and a raise to go with it.

5. Look for New Employment

If after working hard and asking for a new position you don’t receive the recognition that you deserve, it’s time to look for new employment. This might spur your company to give you a promotion as well, and if they don’t then you at least have a fresh start with a company that will ideally value you and your skills more.

Getting a promotion can be nerve-wracking, but remember that hard working and loyal employees are difficult to come by. Prove yourself worthy and ask for the promotions that you deserve. If your company don’t honor you, look for employment elsewhere. Your goals should not be hampered by a stingy employer.

Image: FotografieLink

It’s hard to resist the thought of a family getaway, but sometimes the last thing on our mind is travel insurance. For this reason, we commonly leave purchasing travel insurance till the last minute, and with a wide variety of policy options to select from, making the right choice can be a daunting task.

Why family travel insurance is necessary
Loss of luggage and unexpected flight cancellations are not unusual events when we go on holiday these days. As the name implies, family travel insurance refers to a group cover aimed at members of the same family travelling together. Terms of the policy may vary from one provider to another.

Some policy providers restrict the age or number of children covered by their policies while others may stipulate that all members of the family live at the same address. It is advisable to read the fine print on the policy before appending signature to it.

Furthermore, purchasing a family cover has distinct advantages over policies purchased for each individual in the family. The cost of purchasing the family cover would be much less than the total cost for all family members if purchased separately and of course, obtaining a single-family insurance cover involves a lot less hassle and shorter time to process than when procured separately. What’s more, family travel insurance could attract additional benefits such as higher baggage or cancellation cover.

Types of family travel insurance
Family travel insurance can cover single or multiple trips within the same year. It is advisable for families that undertake several trips within a year to purchase an annual policy. Although more expensive than the single trip policy, an annual policy comes with the convenience of arranging a family holiday within a short time without having to go through the hassle of taking out a fresh policy each time the family travels.

Taking gadgets on your trip
Gadgets have become a part of our everyday life now and most of us would feel ‘disconnected’ from the rest of the world if we are denied access to our social media accounts even for a few hours.

Gadgets may include a smart phone, a tablet pc, games console or any of the substantial number of portable electronic equipment we carry around to keep us in touch with the rest of the world. With young children becoming increasingly as inseparable from their gadgets as adults, the number of such equipment on a family trip may be significant. An insurance cover steps in to mitigate the cost of replacing lost gadgets.

Gadget insurance is an essential compliment to travel insurance. It can be purchased at low prices and a standard cover can insure against cracked screen, accidental damage, liquid damage or a mechanical breakdown. A family bundle will cover all the gadgets taken on each trip and it’s easy to remove or include additional items.

It is cheaper to purchase insurance cover for your gadgets directly from mobile insurance specialists than through mobile phone networks or phone retailers. It can save you at least half of the cost and in addition, you get top notch customer service.

Image: The AndrasBarta

Ever heard of companies that specialise in packaging design? Yes, there are companies that offer their expertise in product packaging. They help businesses in coming up with aesthetically and functionally better ways to present their products. Businesses that offer these services can be classified into two main groups: those that mainly provide design services and those that offer the customised packaging products. Get to know more about these companies and find out if their services could be of use to you.

Bespoke Packaging Design Services

There are companies that mainly offer their expertise in bespoke packaging solutions. This means that they don’t actually manufacture the design they create. They simply offer the concept and undertake the modelling or prototyping of the custom packaging products. They are not necessarily the ones manufacturing the packaging products they have conceptualised. They may, however, provide assistance in finding the right materials to use for their designs. They can also help in finding contractors to manufacture the packaging products in bulk. Basically, they offer services to companies that are not so confident in their ability to come up with excellent ideas for their product packaging. Some may consider these companies unnecessary but they exist because there is a demand for their service.

Bespoke Packaging Products

On the other hand, there are companies that offer the packaging products themselves, customised according to customer specifications. These companies have both design and manufacturing capabilities. They present the design to the client or collaborate with them in coming up with the design, and then proceed to manufacturing of the packaging products. These companies are typically large companies capable of producing large volumes of custom products. They may even take manufacturing orders from companies that only provide design and planning services.

In some cases, these companies don’t necessarily offer highly customised packaging products. They may only provide a certain degree of customisation. For example, they may only customise the labels or some minor aspects of the design. They may already have different kinds of “blanks” ready to be printed with custom labels or logos. Likewise, they may have boxes of different sizes and styles that can be quickly turned into custom packaging products for different customers.

Either of these two types of companies involved in custom packaging products can provide the help a business needs to come up with packaging that easily grabs attention or distinguishes products from those of competitors. They help create interest in products. Good packaging is particularly important to startup businesses as studies have revealed that it can directly affect sales. If you have encountered “unboxing” videos on YouTube, you know that packaging is not something consumers quickly ignore. Packaging can leave a lasting impression. It only makes sense to do it properly—and doing it properly may entail using the services of the companies discussed here.

Image: CongerDesign