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How Do I Prevent Discrimination In The Workplace?

Last Updated on March 11, 2022 By Ayesha Saeed 1 Comment

An average adult spends about a third of his life at work. Given this, it’s essential for every employee to feel safe and valued in a place where they spend most of their time. Unfortunately, discrimination is still prevalent in the workplace.

Whether you’re an employee or a business owner, it is important to do your share in preventing unlawful workplace discrimination in California or any state you’re operating in. To get you started, here are a few strategies you can adopt. Hopefully, these practices can prevent discrimination on your premises.

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1. Know the Rules that Apply

The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act specifically prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on race, religion, color, sex, and origin. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was specifically created to ensure that this particular law is enforced across the country. It’s a part of the federal government specifically handling concerns related to workplace discriminatory practices.

Furthermore, anti-discriminatory rules and regulations vary from state to state. For example, California has one of the most comprehensive legislation structures specifically addressing this social problem. Most of its policies are contained in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Employees in the Golden State cannot be discriminated against such factors as age (for employees over 40), disability conditions, and veteran status.

This is important for employees because knowing their rights will help them differentiate what’s acceptable or not. These rules will also serve as an eye-opener on the steps they should take if something happens.

Knowing the rules is equally important for employers. First, noncompliance with the existing laws could lead to fines and penalties that could create setbacks. Second, being associated with discriminatory practices or culture puts your company in a bad light. You will have problems retaining talent, as employees wouldn’t want to stay in a company that prejudices its employees. Last, it could also affect how your clients and customers perceive you as a brand.

2. Create Concrete Programs in the Company

Showing the company’s commitment to fair labor and anti-discriminatory practices through your mission and vision statements is one thing. However, it’s crucial to have something tangible representing it. You can start with a comprehensive written policy that explains the rules and regulations within the premises. Usually, this is included in the employee handbook – the general guide for employee behavior and expectation in the workplace.

It’s also essential to thoroughly outline the types of discrimination you intend to stand against, as well as the actions and behaviors that should not be allowed in your workplace. On the other hand, there should be official channels to refer to if something untoward happens between employees or between the company and its employees.

Last, your employees must agree and acknowledge the anti-discriminatory policies you’ve outlined by having them sign a copy. This usually comes during the job offer or onboarding process. Their signature means that they will cooperate in upholding the values specified in the agreement and that they are bound by the provisions therein.

Aside from the paperwork, it’s also essential to show the company’s commitment against discrimination by resolving concerns and issues fairly. Consistency in handling employment discrimination concerns, regardless of the employee level involved, shows that you’re taking this seriously.

3. Raise Employee Awareness

Now that you’ve made the necessary preparation for the company to fight against workplace discrimination, invest in the most crucial part of the company – your employees. Any company initiative will require the complete involvement of its people to succeed.

Raising employee awareness starts with education. Even state laws require companies within their territories to conduct training and seminars about workplace discrimination. Still, regardless of regulatory requirements for businesses, regularly educating employees about this is an organizational endeavor that gets rewarded in the long run. This fosters a safer and more inclusive working environment for employees and saves your company from having to mediate, investigate, and mete out punishment for non-compliant individuals.

Taking it a step further, it is also possible to involve employees in the company’s future decisions and policy-making efforts. By considering their inputs, you can create more inclusive and targeted actions to meet your company’s unique needs.

Final Word

Preventing workplace discrimination takes all departments and members of the company to work collaboratively. While there are rules and regulations in place, it is more important to take these as company advocacies and shape your culture around them. Doing it not for fear of repercussions but out of genuine concern for your employees is something that will definitely work to your advantage.

Online Banks Overview for Q1 2022

Last Updated on March 8, 2022 By Ayesha Saeed Leave a Comment

Online or e-banks are nothing especially new. The traditional banks first began steadily ushering their customers towards online banking in the early 00’s and the fin-tech sector has been steadily growing for at least the decade with start-ups such as Transferwise, N20, and Revolut already well on their way to international success.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have re-ignited interest in the online banking sector and it has become hot property for investors. In this post, we will try and establish why exactly that is and who the big beneficiaries are.

Winners From The Pandemic

Overall, the COVID pandemic was extremely bad for business. Hospitality and retail business was pushed to the edge of bankruptcy, travel went to the wall and numerous global currencies were devalued owing to unprecedented binges of quantitative easing.

Yet there were some real winners (or profiteers?). Obviously, Pziifer did very well by the close of 2021, and anybody making hand sanitizer will probably have made more money in April 2020 than in the whole of their lives. Then, the online giants like Amazon posted record profits as they straddled public service status and food delivery apps like Uber Eats got rich from our collective desire for contactless food brought all the way to our lockdown cells.

The Bank Always Wins

But, quietly and without fanfare the e-banking/fin-tech sector also had a highly successful pandemic. This may seem surprising as traditionally, slowing economies and drops in consumer confidence are bad news for banks. Furthermore, the prospect of imminent death is supposed to inspire us to live our dreams before it’s too late, not to change our bank before the month-end.

On the other hand, though, lockdowns and furlough schemes meant people had a lot of time on their hands, and this forced many to think about their banking for the time in their lives. Concerns over infection made cashless popular and so banks that offered contactless options picked up new customers.

The traditional banks have themselves responded to this trend, however. Apps like Zelle have all the appeal and technological edge of the challenger banks but are actually owned by Bank of America, BB&T (now Trust), Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.

Let’s take a look at some of the online banks that did particularly well during the pandemic in a few choice markets.

● U.S – Chime

Launched publicly on the Dr. Phil show back in 2014, Chime has risen to become the biggest quasi e-bank in the states. In its most recent round of funding, last August the challenger bank raised a highly impressive $1.1 billion in venture capital funding in order to develop new products.

However, speculators are wondering whether it’s all a case of “too high too soon” as Chime has recently announced that its plans to go public with an IPO of $45 billion have been delayed until late 2022. Officially, Chime says it has chosen to take the time to focus on those new products but some are wondering whether everything is OK behind the scenes or whether the delay is indicative of a general lull in fin-tech stocks.

● UK – Revolut

The fertile banking conditions in the UK have helped a number of successful challengers and online banks get started and names like Wise and Monzo are fast on their way to becoming as ubiquitous as that of Paypal.

Still, so far Revolut is winning in the e-banking battle of Britain. Founded only in 2015, the London/Lithuania-based outfit became the UK’s most valuable fintech company in 2021 when its estimated value leapt up to over $25 billion. It reported a year-on-year growth of 57% and made its founder Nikolay Storonsky a personal fortune of some $7 billion.

That said, the company is currently posting losses as it continues to spend fast. In July 2021 Revolut raised over $800 million from investors to finance their ambitious plans for expansion.

● Germany – N26

Voted “best bank in the world” in 2021, N26 seems ready to bounce back after some testing times. The fin-tech big hitter was caught up in a money-laundering controversy in 2021 and accused of failing its due diligence obligations. Investigations are still ongoing and the German regulator could take further action.

However, the challenger bank has a lot going for it. It is based in the heart of the EU economy, has a full European banking license and its native currency is the Euro. As such it has an immediate “in” with over 19 developed world economies. So perhaps it is not surprising that the fin-tech behemoth is valued at $9 billion and managed recently to raise $900 million in a round of funding. CEO Peter Thiel has confirmed that the bank is hoping to be fully IPO ready for the stock market by the end of 2022.

● Canada – Tangerine

The pandemic was a tough time for banking in Canada as the government announced additional regulatory obligations that tied the hands and limited the investment potential of the industry. Still, Canadian online banking is growing and the online sector continued to pick up new customers despite the challenges the sector faced.

Many of Canada’s more established e-banks are owned by the traditional banks as is the case with Tangerine. Operating as the low fee, a tech-friendly arm of Scotia bank, Tangerine has now grown to serve over 2 million users and hosts $40 billion in total assets.

Final Thoughts

Across the globe online, app and e-banks are growing fast. As we head towards the end of Q1 in 2022, it is going to be very interesting to see how the sector has fared since the “end” of the pandemic and when 2021’s results are posted in April/May, we can expect some champagne corks to be popping.

Difference Between Entrepreneurs And Solopreneurs

Last Updated on March 7, 2022 By Methew Harbor 1 Comment

In the past few years, the term entrepreneur has gained more popularity than ever, and some people are also aware of the term solopreneur. While both work hard to build a business and earn money through their company, they are not the same.

Entrepreneurs work on the company while solopreneurs work in the company. This concept is straightforward to understand once you know what entrepreneurs and solopreneurs actually do.

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Comparison Table

Factor	Entrepreneur	Solopreneur
Founder	Co-founder	Alone
Role	Manager role	Manager + Labor role
Team	Yes	No
Workspace	Dedicated	Mostly works from home
Business	Multiple	Typically one
Growth	High income in a short time	Slow growth
Scalability	Highly scalable	Less scalable

What is an Entrepreneur?

The most common definition used for an entrepreneur is a person who starts on his own at small to middle scale. However, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an entrepreneur is the “One who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.”

While most entrepreneurs start as solopreneurs, with increasing demand in supply and management of the business, they eventually become entrepreneurs. In simple words, entrepreneurs are solopreneurs when they are solely responsible for the company’s overall function. But when they hire more people for the job, they become entrepreneurs.

Their main focus shifts from being in the logistics and operations to managing the functions and thinking of strategies to improve the business. An entrepreneur does not directly participate in the laborious tasks of the company and manages the processes while solopreneurs manage their business along with all other related work.

As they say, all solopreneurs are entrepreneurs, but all entrepreneurs are not solopreneurs.

Roles of an Entrepreneur

While entrepreneurs are not usually involved in functions like manufacturing and packaging, they work on other aspects to boost their business, like:

Entrepreneurs take the responsibility of devising new strategies to compete with other brands in the market. The needs of people change every day, and it is important to provide solutions to all related issues.
They make sure to evaluate and reduce risk in the business by conducting premarketing and postmarketing research. Risk reduction is also made by appointing competent employees who work honestly for the company’s benefit.
One of the major roles of an entrepreneur is choosing the right team for the business, allocating suitable jobs, and managing them vigilantly. There are not many options for hit and trial when you have a small team. It is important to ensure that the people you hire are good at what they do, and you wouldn’t have to supervise them all the time.

What is a Solopreneur?

As mentioned above, a solopreneur sets up and runs a business all by themself. Merriam- Webster defines a solopreneur as “one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise without the help of a partner.” This definition suggests that while an entrepreneur might have a co-founder or operations officer dealing with business matters, solopreneurs do not have any such associates.

Solopreneurs are the supply chain officers, manufacturers, business development consultants, and managers, all themselves. Usually, solopreneurs are in the initial stage of the business when the company is not making enough money to have a dedicated team. With time solopreneurs also become entrepreneurs when they take in more people to work with them/ for them.

Solopreneurs are not only people who run a physical business alone but also those who give services without anyone else’s help. Examples include a freelance graphic designer or an architect who works independently to find clients and work alone to provide adequate consultancy to customers. Sometimes solopreneurs may hire contractors, but they do not have a full-time team to help with work.

Roles of a Solopreneur

A solopreneur does everything companies hire different employees for. Some of them include:

Solopreneurs act as salesperson for their company and work on B2C and D2C channels to sell their products or services to their clients.
They are also marketers and look for innovative ways to bring consumers to the product. It may include running social media ad campaigns or collaborating with other businesses to market the company.
They are the CFO (Chief Financing Officers) and manage accounts and finances for the business. It also includes deciding the amount of material or products to be bought at a particular rate that benefits the company.

Being a solopreneur is usually the first step to becoming an entrepreneur before your business becomes a big name in the market. It enables you to understand the working of each department in-depth and helps manage staff better when you build a team.

Differences Between Entrepreneur and Solopreneur

The Bottom Line

As they say, all solopreneurs are entrepreneurs, but not all entrepreneurs are solopreneurs. Entrepreneurs work as managers for their businesses. On the other hand, solopreneurs are everything from managers, financial officers, marketing, sales, and business development. While solopreneurs build a name for their brand and pursue it, entrepreneurs create scalable businesses.

Importance of Inventory Control

Last Updated on March 4, 2022 By Methew Harbor 1 Comment

Running a business can be challenging if you do not have enough stock in hand.

Ensuring uninterrupted product supply to the customers can be made possible by vigilantly controlling and monitoring the inventory. Inventory control plays a major role in making your business a brand and reaching your customers through advertising or any other channel. Sometimes people confuse inventory control with inventory management, but both are not the same. So, what is inventory control?

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Inventory Control

Inventory control refers to ensuring that you have enough stock of the product to cater to the consumer’s needs. Inventory control typically relates to the product stock in the warehouse before dispatch. On the other hand, inventory management means looking over all the processes associated with inventory control, including forecasting the number of products required and warehouse capacity, etc.

How can you Control your Inventory?

While you know that inventory control is one of the most crucial elements of supply, it is essential to know how you can control the inventory to get the benefits. Here are some of the approaches for inventory control:

First-In-First-Out (FIFO) & Last-in-First-Out (LIFO)
Track the inventory
Identify low selling products
Use cloud-based inventory control systems
Track product information and demand

Importance of Inventory Control

Besides making sure that your warehouse is not hoarded with products that are not selling, there are various benefits associated with inventory control. Controlling and managing your business inventory enables you to reduce losses and build a strong business. Some of the benefits of inventory control are:

Loss Prevention

One of the golden rules of running a steady business is considering the risk-to-benefit ratio. Neglecting the inventory indicates that you are adding to the risk without realizing it. Inventory control allows you to understand slow-moving and outdated items sitting in the warehouse for a long time. Having a firm control over the inventory ensures you follow FIFO and avoids losses by dispatching previous stock prior to the new one.

Saves from Theft

Having a huge inventory and not taking enough care lead to losses in the form of theft. If you are not vigilant about the material in the warehouse, your employees might feel tempted to try their luck as they are aware of the lack of check on the inventory. Keeping an eye on the stock through manual checks or cloud-based systems saves you from theft. Extra care must be taken care in the raw material area as it is more susceptible to such incidences than the final product warehouse.

Saves from Demand Fluctuation

Suppose you are a heater manufacturing company and sell a hundred units a month. You did not realize that winters are approaching and there is an increase in demand for the product in the market. If you have a hundred units to supply for the month while more customers are looking for the product, you are losing a chunk that you might have made in peak season.

To cater to high-demand seasons, it is wise to always keep extra goods in your warehouse that can compete with others and fulfill market demand. If you think that the product would keep sitting in the warehouse, LIFO and FIFO must not be forgotten; produce more but send out the previous stock earlier.

Uninterrupted Production

Inventory control is not only important for manufactured products but also raw materials to ensure continuous production in your facility. Controlling inventory of the raw material provides you with enough material to manage fluctuating demands in the market. Without a shortage of raw material, you get uninterrupted production, and sometimes it gives you an edge over other manufacturers.

Right use of Working Capital

Stocking more material than needed takes space in the warehouse and blocks capital. Evaluating the stock needs and incoming and outgoing products makes you buy enough material to cater to current production needs and manage fluctuating demands. If you keep adding more material without considering the previous stock, you restrict your capital that could be utilized in another way for the business.

Better Customer Service

By catering to customers’ needs, you create a loyal customer base. When you have enough raw material to produce products and release them into the market, your business reaches more people. When the consumers get the product they need with all required specifications, they are more likely to repurchase it. Ensuring the maintenance and control of inventory gives you control over your production and leads to better customer service and satisfaction.

The Bottom Line

Inventory control can help you create a loyal customer base by ensuring enough raw material and release of products at the required time. You can also reduce losses caused by the inability to reach consumer demands because of the restricted amount of raw material at hand. Inventory control allows you to keep a check and balance on the material and product to build a brand everyone relies on.

Why You Should Still Invest in the Stock Market

Last Updated on March 3, 2022 By Ayesha Saeed 1 Comment

We’ve seen all the Super Bowl commercials this year. Cryptocurrency is the new hot thing, and everyone is talking about it. You may be wondering if you should invest in cryptocurrency instead of stocks.

Perhaps the answer isn’t a hard yes or a hard no.

It’s important to remember that stocks and cryptocurrency are two very different investments. Cryptocurrency is still a relatively new investment, and its future is uncertain. The stock market, on the other hand, has been around for centuries. It’s a more stable investment and offers investors stability and security.

Have you ever heard about diversifying your portfolio?

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What does it mean to diversify your investments?

Diversifying your investments is one of the smartest things you can do for your financial future. You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket.

When you diversify your investments you are spreading your money out into different securities. This way if one investment fails, you haven’t lost everything.

Typically you break it into a percentage of risks.

If you are someone who is comfortable with taking risks, you might have a portfolio that is 30% in more stable stocks (such stocks in the S&P 500 for example) and the other 70% in riskier stocks (such as tech start-ups).

On the other hand, if you are someone who doesn’t like to take risks, you might have a portfolio that is 60% in more stable stocks and the other 40% in riskier stocks.

Cryptocurrency vs. the Stock Market

Cryptocurrency is currently a very unstable investment. Crypto can go up or down in value in a very short amount of time. Because of this rapid growth and decline, there is good investment money to be made. That being said, there is also a good chance of investment money being lost.

The stock market, on the other hand, has been around for centuries and is a more stable investment.

When you invest in stocks, you are investing in companies. These companies have products and services that people need and want. They are making money and will continue to make money.

An example of a company that you might invest in is Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola has been around for over 130 years and has a product that people will always need: soda.

Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, is not backed by anything. There is no guarantee that it will be worth anything in the future.

Here’s a good beginners guide with more on investing in stocks & crypto.

The Benefits of Cryptocurrency

That being said, there are some benefits to cryptocurrency.

One of the biggest benefits is that it is not regulated by governments. This means that you can use it to send money anonymously across borders without having to go through a bank.

Another benefit is that it is very easy to use. You don’t need a bank account to use it and you can use it to buy things online.

In addition, since cryptocurrency is new, there is the potential to make a lot of money off of it.

The Risks of Cryptocurrency

As with anything, there are risks involved with cryptocurrency.

One of the biggest risks is that it is not regulated by governments. This means that if something goes wrong, you have no one to help you (such as the SEC).

Another risk is that it is very volatile. The value of cryptocurrency can go up or down very quickly.

In addition, since it is new, there is no history to show how it will perform in the future.

Also, if you are a broker or an advisor thinking about recommending cryptocurrency to your clients, be sure to read FINRA’s Investor Alert on the subject. You could find yourself in need of an SEC defense lawyer if you make risky investments in cryptocurrency without fully informing your clients of the risks.

The Benefits of the Stock Market

The stock market also has benefits.

One of the biggest benefits is that it is a more stable investment. The value of stocks doesn’t go up and down as quickly as the value of cryptocurrency.

Another benefit is that you can make money off of it in two ways: through capital gains and dividends.

When you sell a stock for more than you bought it for, you have made a capital gain.

When a company makes money, it might give some of that money back to its shareholders in the form of dividends.

Dividends are typically paid out quarterly.

The Risks of the Stock Market

Just like cryptocurrency, there are risks involved with the stock market.

One of the biggest risks is that you can lose money if you sell a stock for less than you bought it for.

Another risk is that the company might not be doing well and might go bankrupt. If this happens, you will lose all of your money.

A Good Stable Investment Portfolio in the Stock Market Helps You Take More Future Risks

So, why should you still invest in the stock market given that crypto looks so appealing?

Having both stable investments in your portfolio can help you take on more risks in the future. The stock market can provide that stability.

When you have a nice investment nest egg in the stock market, you can feel more comfortable investing in something like a cryptocurrency that has a higher potential for return, but also comes with a higher risk.

Investing is about making tactical and strategic decisions to give you the highest probability of success. When you invest based purely off of emotions you are no better than the gambler heading to the casino.

Yes, it is a good idea to invest in something new that you believe in. But don’t forget about the tried and true methods that have worked for generations. The stock market still holds a lot of potentials, especially as an investment in a more volatile world.

The Choice is Yours

In the end, the choice is up to you.

Do you want to invest in a more stable investment that has been around for centuries or do you want to invest in something that is newer and has the potential to make a lot of money?

Be sure to choose whatever works best for you and always do your research before investing.

Creating Change – 5 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Make A Positive Impact On The Community

Last Updated on March 2, 2022 By Jason Obrien Leave a Comment

Though being an entrepreneur involves following your dreams, that doesn’t mean you have to make your life’s mission all about yourself. Successful entrepreneurs think about the impact they’re having on the community and look for ways to improve it. Some are prompted by truly altruistic intentions, but many do this almost exclusively for the benefits they will gain from being community-minded.

From the benefits of social procurement to the advantages of honest advertising, the following methods for making a difference will bounce plenty of positive things back your way.

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1. Spend your Dollars Wisely

No business can get by without at least a few expenses. However, by focusing on social procurement, you can leverage these necessary costs to do good. Social procurement involves taking expenses you’re already accruing and adjusting them so that they do some good in the community.

For example, if you need to hire staff to package your products, you could work with a company that helps people with disabilities find employment. When it comes to the packaging itself, you could stock up on eco-friendly options from a small local business rather than going for the cheapest variety available at a major chain store.

2. Advertise Honestly

If you’ve ever bought a product based on the advertising, only to discover that it doesn’t even come close to living up to its promises, then you’ll understand how much good you can do by bucking the deceptive trends and being honest with your advertising.

To be successful as someone who is honest with their advertising, you’ll need to ensure that your products and services genuinely are as life-changing as you claim they are. By stepping up like this, you’ll build a stronger offering. With that strong offering, you’ll build a loyal customer base of people who appreciate your combination of absolute honesty and top quality. As you can imagine, this will lead to positive results for you and for the community of people who appreciate your products or services.

3. Donate some of your profits to a worthy cause

A great way to use honest advertising to your advantage is to donate some of your profits to a cause that’s relevant to your business, and then let people know about it. You’ll need to do your research to ensure you align with a charity or non-profit that is honest, legitimate, and genuinely helping its cause. You’ll also need to be 100% transparent about how much you’re donating.

4. Volunteer at local events

Whether it’s a holiday food drive, your niece’s sports carnival, or a clean-up effort at your local beach, volunteering on community projects is a great way to offer your support and get to know people. If you can’t find volunteer opportunities that spark your interest, consider creating your own initiatives. You may wish to clean up the park across the road from your serviced office, collect and distribute care packages for low-income families in your area, or any number of other things.

5. Partner with and promote other Entrepreneurs

When you find other business owners who share your ethos of supporting the community, share what they’re doing with your audience. Not only will you be helping the other entrepreneur, but you’ll also be helping your customers by connecting them with a business that genuinely cares about serving them well. If you’re careful about who you partner with and who you recommend, then you’ll build a great deal of trust with your audience.

Whether you’re motivated by altruism, self-interest, or both, the tips above are a great place to start if you’re determined to make a positive impact on the community.

Advantages of Primary Data

Last Updated on March 1, 2022 By Methew Harbor Leave a Comment

When you conduct research, gathering data through surveys and journals is essential to ensure that there are no flaws in the research. Primary data and secondary data are crucial elements of research. While some people rely on secondary data, many believe that primary data is more persuasive and helps get first-hand experience.

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What is Primary Data?

Primary data is the data or responses collected by the researcher. Researchers usually design survey forms to collect required data from the responders directly. It is also known as raw data.

Primary Data Sources

There are multiple sources of primary data besides questionnaires. These include

Observations
Surveys
Experiments
Interviews
Focus groups

All these sources collect data according to the nature of your results and required information. Besides primary data, secondary data is also when collecting facts for publishing journals.

What is Secondary Data?

Before we discuss why primary data is beneficial, it is important to know about secondary data. Secondary data is the one that reaches you through someone else. It may be a research paper or a survey by another researcher. In simple words, data that another person collects is called secondary data.

Advantages of Primary Data

Specific

As primary data is obtained directly from the source, it is specific to the topic. You do not have to run through several papers to find that one topic you are looking for. The specificity of the data enables you to collect data relevant to the aims and objectives of the study.

Up-to-date

The data collected through surveys and questionnaires are in the present time and offer you complete information about the specific topic. It reflects on the thoughts of people keeping the current environmental and social factors in mind, depending on the type of research.

Better Control

Conducting research on your own gives you more control over the data. Researchers can decide the number of respondents, the questions designed, the environment in which the survey is conducted, how participants are selected for the survey, sampling size and strategies, etc.

Accurate

You can never be surer about anything than what you have done yourself. When you gather data first-hand with direct interviews and questionnaires, there is no ambiguity, and you can use it anywhere without thinking twice.

Acts as Secondary Data for Others

The data collected by you as primary data not only benefits you but also helps other researchers act as secondary data.

Rights

The best thing about primary data is that it is your personal property, and you have rights to them. You can either publish your data free of cost as secondary data or sell it to websites. Your work will be credited to you and referenced where used. It is a great way to have work published under your name that you may use sometime in the future again.

Is primary Data Better than Secondary Data?

Considering the differences between primary and secondary data, both have pros and cons. Both are important when conducting detailed research, and you may need to use both sources to design thorough research.

While primary data is first-hand and offers accurate information, it takes more time and effort to carry out surveys. Furthermore, primary data also costs more than taking information from secondary sources. However, it is more reliable and accurate than secondary data, and researchers believe it is worth the effort.

The Bottom Line

Primary and secondary data are both important sources of information when writing a research paper. Primary data is accurate, up-to-date, specific, and offers you better control over the survey. It also enables you to have rights over your collected data and acts as secondary data for other researchers.

Functions of Retail Banking

Last Updated on March 1, 2022 By Methew Harbor Leave a Comment

If you believe that banks only work to provide a space to keep your money safe or offer loans to individuals, there’s a lot more to that. The banking sector is divided into two types; corporate and retail banking. While corporate banks work with companies to provide them with money management solutions on a mass scale like checking accounts, retail banks cater to the need of individual customers by providing savings accounts, credit cards, debit cards, certificates, mortgages, car loans, etc. Banks operate both ways, but if you visit a bank to deposit a check in an individual capacity, you interact with a retail banking service.

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What is Retail Banking?

In simple words, retail banking is the face of banking for the general public. When someone visits a bank to deposit money or withdraw, they benefit from retail banking services. There are three main objectives of retail banking:

Objectives of Retail Banking

Deposit

Banks are most commonly used to deposit money and keep it safe. People prefer saving their money in bank accounts to keeping it safe at home because of the increment in that amount over time. While your money will not multiply in your home safe, most banks offer a good annual profit on the money you deposit. Deposits are made in accounts, by certificates, and other financial products.

Credit

Another typical utilization of retail banking is credit. Do you need to buy a new car but do not have enough money? Get a loan from the bank. If you are looking to get a house but are low on finances, your bank will get you one mortgage. Besides providing money solutions to items, you can also take money from the bank through credit cards and pay later. The card limit usually depends on your usual transactions and credit history.

Managing Transactions

With everything becoming digital, you wouldn’t want to carry coins and bills everywhere. Most transactions worldwide are made online nowadays, and banks facilitate them. You can also get cash by swiping your card at an ATM anywhere in the world. Retail banking offers you all merits of selling and buying at the comfort of your home through online transactions.

How is Retail Banking different from Commercial Banking?

Now you might be wondering that all banks give loans and deposit money, so what makes retail banks different from commercial banks?

Retail banking provides individual-level loans to their customers, usually to get a house or a car, but commercial banking gives loans to companies and allows them to grow and hire more people. They commonly cater to small to medium-sized businesses with revenue in millions. However, do not confuse commercial banking with investment banking as they are two different categories.

Functions of Retail Banking

Provide a safe Deposit Space

One of the core retail banking functions is keeping your money at home is susceptible to robberies and loss, and you can avoid this risk by depositing the money in the bank. Banks take your money, keep it safe, and offer you yearly profits. Many people choose savings accounts because of the high return value on the money.

Online Banking

Retail banking services allow you to make online transactions which are the core need in today’s time. You can send money to anyone across the globe if you have a bank account. Many banks do not charge their customers to use the online banking facility, making their lives easy without a cost. Most banks operate worldwide, providing the ease of buying from any part of the world and not worrying about the payment.

Reduces the Chances of Default Loans

Banks are financial institutions that keep enough money for the clients to provide them when they need a loan. These loans are in federally-mandated reserve ratios that ensure that the bank always has a minimum cash amount. This amount is calculated depending on the total deposits to make sure the customer does not suffer in any way.

Offering Competitive Interest Rates

It is common in retail banking to offer competitive interest rates to keep the economy in good health. During economic blooms, retail banks increase the profits by elevating the interest on loans. However, they are again adjusted if needed to accelerate spending by the customer and stimulate economic growth.

Provide more Credit

The loan offered by a bank to a consumer becomes a deposit in some other bank. It provides more loans and credit value to the customers and provides more credit to the shopper, and facilitates the cycle of cash. It also helps increase the number of cash providers in a community.

Better Customer Relationships

When banks interact with the customers directly, they can understand their problems and look for solutions. It builds better customer relationships and enables the banking sector to grow by offering modern solutions to existing issues. While it is not among the fundamental functions of retail banking, it helps banking grow indirectly.

The Bottom Line

Retail and corporate banking are both important sectors, yet retail banking is the most convenient for the commoner. If you make any transaction with a bank individually, you interact with retail banking. Retail banking helps improve money flow and increase customer spending by providing loans and credit considering their history. Retail banking in the face of banking for the public helps people enjoy the perks without having enough money to buy a car or mortgage a house. They allow you to keep your money safe, increase the return and get credit from the bank when needed.

Money Mistakes – 5 Things You Need To Know If You’ve Made A Mistake On Your Tax Return

Last Updated on March 1, 2022 By Tristan D. Porter Leave a Comment

Dealing with different taxes is no fun at the best of times. Nobody enjoys handing their hard-earned cash over to the government, and although we love receiving tax returns, organizing all the paperwork is a tedious and complex process. This can sometimes lead to mistakes, which can have rather significant consequences if you don’t get them fixed. So today, we’re going over what you should do if you’ve got something wrong on your tax return:

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You Should Probably Seek Professional Guidance

First and foremost, it’s time to call in a professional. Filing your own taxes can save you a bit of cash upfront, but if you’ve made a mistake, you really don’t want to try to fix it alone. Run a quick Google search for a tax accountant near me, and select an agent who can fix up your figures and ensure you have the correct information to submit.

You’ll Need to Submit an Amendment

Figuring out the numbers precisely is vital at this stage as you’re going to need to submit an amendment. While you might get away with accidentally submitting the wrong information to the tax office once, if your figures are also wrong in your amendment, you might find yourself in some pretty serious trouble. The good news is that your selected tax accountant will be able to get everything fixed up properly, so you can avoid making the same mistake again.

What if your Mistake is Related to a Self-Managed Retirement Fund?

It’s important to note that if you have a self-managed retirement fund, you’re going to need to get in touch with your accountant. Mistakes on your tax return may affect your account if the issue was related to it, so your personal accountant or financial advisor needs to be kept in the loop.

You Could be Audited

The tax office is within its rights to randomly audit anyone at any time. However, your chances of being audited will increase significantly if you have made a mistake on your tax return. Because of this, it is important to ensure that you have all receipts and documentation organized and ready in case this occurs.

You May Face Penalties

Finally, it is important to be aware of the fact that you may face penalties if your mistake is significant or goes uncorrected. We don’t say this to scare you but to prepare you for the possibility.

In most cases, as long as you take steps to rectify the issue, the worst that will happen is that you will receive a fine. However, if your mistake is large enough and goes uncorrected for long enough, it could be considered tax evasion. So, it is important to get things sorted as efficiently as possible.

Making a mistake on your tax return isn’t the end of the world, but it is something that you need to correct swiftly. The tips in this article will help you do this, but it is important to remember that our first point really is vital. While it can be tempting to try to fix the issue yourself, having a professional rectify things not only ensures that they’re correct but also provides you a certain level of protection moving forward. It really is your best course of action. You can also claim back any fees associated with doing your taxes in the next financial year, so it ends up paying for itself. Good luck.

Types of Labels

Last Updated on March 1, 2022 By Methew Harbor Leave a Comment

Labels are one of the most prominent elements of branding and play a significant role in making potential customers familiar with your product. They provide information about the product, including the name, ingredients, and other features. Labeling enables the consumers to identify the product according to their needs and make a quick decision.

Let’s tell you everything about the different kinds of labels and their particular characteristics provide enough details to the customer and make your product a leading brand.

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What is a Label?

Labeling displays brand name, logo, ingredients, and other pieces of information on a product. Labels can be in the form of paper pasted on the product or printed on cardboard or metal to act as a distinct identity. The sole purpose of the label is not to exhibit the name but to present facts about the product.

Types of Labels

Most commercial products carry one of the four types of labels considering the details about the product required on the packaging.

Brand Label

Brand labels are the most precise and only display the Brand Name without any characteristics of the product. A brand label may include the name, logo, and trademark number of the brand. Examples include Samsung, Huawei, or other brands’ labels on the back of mobile phones.

Grading Label

The grading label depicts the quality or specific features of the sub-categories of a product. It eases the customer’s quest of looking for particular qualities. For example, you can find various kinds of milk; whole milk, low-fat milk, reduced-fat milk, and skimmed milk. They are known as grading labels.

Descriptive Label

Descriptive labels give away more item attributes than branding and grading labels. They show manufacturing details like batch number, production date, expiry date, product weight, use, instructions, and precautions or warnings (if any).

Informational Label

Reading a nutrition label on food packaging

Informational labels are more elaborate than descriptive labels meaning that they include elements like storage details, instructions about cleaning the gadget, or additional uses or recipes to utilize the product. Pharmaceutical packaging industries typically use descriptive or informational labels.

While all labels are used for different items, they all serve some common purposes, as mentioned below.

Purpose of Labels

Product Recognition

Putting a label on your product gives it recognition, and you can distinguish one item from another. For example, you may see two shampoo bottles in the grocery store in the same color; the absence of a label will make it difficult for you to choose the one you bought last time. Labels help people recognize your product among many others.

Product Information

Labels give all kinds of information about the product, such as the production date, expiry date, batch numbers, ingredients, directions of usage, etc. It avoids ambiguity and saves the consumer from the added hassle of finding product usage methods by other means.

Product Assortment

Grading labels allow product assortment by enabling manufacturers to grade products in different categories for a particular set of consumers. A common example of grading is the availability of moisturizers for different skin types like dry skin, oily skin, or combination skin. Some brands also offer medicated moisturizers. The grading of these products makes it convenient for the consumer to select the product.

Product promotion

While the logos stay the same for long periods, labels may change frequently. The change of label is usually subjected to a new campaign launched by the company, alterations in the color scheme of the brand, or discounts offered. Product labels convey the discounts and offer smoothly to the customer and boost sales.

Regulatory compliance

Varying product categories have specific label requirements that the company must consider when selling in a country or region. The analytical reports must prove the information provided on the label to ensure providing safe, quality products to the consumer.

The Bottom Line

With so many different types of labeling to choose from, it is important to make the right choice among the different types of labels. Opt for a brand label, grading label, or descriptive or informational label in consideration of the regulatory requirements and needs of the product.