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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>sprngupms.info</title> <atom:link href="http://sprngupms.info/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://sprngupms.info</link> <description></description> <lastBuildDate>Tue, 22 Aug 2023 09:30:41 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en</language> <sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency> <generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3</generator> <item> <title>What Is the Role of a Program Manager</title> <link>https://sprngupms.info/what-is-the-role-of-a-program-manager,html</link> <comments>https://sprngupms.info/what-is-the-role-of-a-program-manager,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 04 Apr 2023 13:14:13 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[program management]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://sprngupms.info/?p=66</guid> <description><![CDATA[The term program manager is one that has been appearing more and more frequently in recent years as this role is adopted in an increasing number of organizations. This article will attempt to define what the role of a program manager is by looking at the typical tasks one might undertake day-to-day.At a high level, [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> The term program manager is one that has been appearing more and more frequently in recent years as this role is adopted in an increasing number of organizations. This article will attempt to define what the role of a program manager is by looking at the typical tasks one might undertake day-to-day.At a high level, a program manager is essentially someone who coordinates multiple projects towards the same goal. By coordinating the group of projects as a group the aim is to realize benefits which would not have been realized otherwise.To achieve this the most important things a program must do are as follows:1. They must manage dependencies between the different projects. A dependency exists when one project is waiting on a task in another project to be complete before a task in its project can start. By efficiently managing dependencies, or making trade-offs where necessary, they aim to ensure that their programs run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.2. They must manage benefits. A benefit is something positive the organization gets for running the program. Typically, this will be a financial, but it could be any other type of benefit, for example, strategic. The program manager must structure the projects which make up the program in such a way to maximize the benefits to the organization. This will mean for example going for early wins quickly.3. The must manage communication. At all times they must ensure communication flows smoothly to those who need to know. This will comprise of communication upwards to the management team, and down to the individual project teams. Communication will also need to go to other important stakeholders regularly.4. They must manage risks. Program managers must keep a keen eye on risks ensuring that thy are managed in such a way so as they do not adversely affect the program. At a minimum they must ensure the management team is aware of the key risks. They will also look at risks and think about how they can potentially turn them around and into opportunities.5. The must manage the program business case. The business case the justification for the program and the reason the program was started in the first place. At all times they must ensure the program is viable and moving towards its goal, whether it is financial or strategic.6. They must manage stakeholders. They must ensure that the win conditions of key stakeholders are being met by the program. This will also help the program manager gain the assistance of important stakeholders such as departmental heads who need to be on side in order to get things done and make the program a success.Those are most important things which a program manager will do on a day-to-day basis. Essentially they are drying to do whatever is necessary to best realise the benefits to the organization. </p><div class="mads-block"></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://sprngupms.info/what-is-the-role-of-a-program-manager,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>The Main Components of Program Management</title> <link>https://sprngupms.info/the-main-components-of-program-management,html</link> <comments>https://sprngupms.info/the-main-components-of-program-management,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 04 Apr 2023 09:22:38 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[program management]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://sprngupms.info/?p=64</guid> <description><![CDATA[In this article we will examine the main constituent parts which make up program management as carried out by a program manager. Firstly, let’s define what it allows you to do: it allows organizations to manage complex bodies of work that combine software elements, hardware elements, new or changed business models, and changes to organizational [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> In this article we will examine the main constituent parts which make up program management as carried out by a program manager. Firstly, let’s define what it allows you to do: it allows organizations to manage complex bodies of work that combine software elements, hardware elements, new or changed business models, and changes to organizational structure and capabilities as a whole. It allows us to do this in a way so that the organization realizes benefits that it could not achieve if the program’s constituent projects were run separately.Now let’s examine the main components of program management:GovernanceThis aspect is concerned with defining the structure so that the program can be guided, both by the program manager and by senior managers. It is during this phase that roles and responsibilities will be defined. While the structure for managing projects is normally quite simple, the structure for managing programs will typically be much more complex, spanning multiple divisions within the organization.ManagementThis aspect relates to the planning and running of both the projects which make up the program and the overall program itself. They are accountable for every aspect of quality, schedule, and budget. They will approve the project plans and provide guidance to the project teams also.FinanceThis aspect is concerned with the financial policies and practices governing the program execution. Because programs are much larger than projects, there will typically be, not just a greater cost incurred in running a program, but also a greater variety of costs incurred.InfrastructureIf anything, this is the aspect of the role that most resembles project management. By Infrastructure we are referring to a variety of different things. Making sure issues are managed. Making sure that risks are managed. Ensuring that resources are coordinated. It also encompasses making sure that all communication is well thought out and well coordinated.PlanningProgram management is also concerned greatly with planning. This is not planning how you might think of it within a project management context. Project plans are concerned with deliverables and work packages. Program plans are an integrated visualization of the key deliverables of the program, and they will be structured such so as to best realize benefits to the organization.All of the above categories may seem similar in essence to project management, but they are not. In program management these activities are much broader in their scope and concerned with benefits rather than deliverables. I hope this article has give you a good overview of the key aspects of program management. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://sprngupms.info/the-main-components-of-program-management,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>The 3 Criteria of Successful Key Account Managers</title> <link>https://sprngupms.info/the-3-criteria-of-successful-key-account-managers,html</link> <comments>https://sprngupms.info/the-3-criteria-of-successful-key-account-managers,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 04 Apr 2023 07:03:26 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[program management]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://sprngupms.info/?p=62</guid> <description><![CDATA[China is country with a culture that is deeply-rooted in the cultivation of relationships or “guan xi”. In fact, without the right relationships, certain kinds of sales will simply not materialise. Chinese sales people take pride in their relationship-development skills, but unfortunately most Chinese sales people are focusing on the wrong relationships. Even if they [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> China is country with a culture that is deeply-rooted in the cultivation of relationships or “guan xi”. In fact, without the right relationships, certain kinds of sales will simply not materialise. Chinese sales people take pride in their relationship-development skills, but unfortunately most Chinese sales people are focusing on the wrong relationships. Even if they are building the right relationships, there are still other criteria to be successful in Key Account Management. These are:* Cultivating as many relationships as possible in a Key Account, but most importantly with the entrenched influencers AND be aware of their entrenched interests and practices;* Through your relationships in the account, understand the long-term AND short-term business objectives, and find out ways how you can help them in achieving some of these objectives;* Since you don’t have infinite amount of time and resources, prioritise your activities that will give you optimal resultsOne key objective of Key Account Management is to grow your business with the account. Many so-called Key Account Managers are simply glorified versions of Guest Relations Officers, and they do nothing that will either grow the business, or protect it from competitors.To grow your business with your Key Accounts, you will have to first understand their business, and then find ways to add or create value for your customers. And you have to do so bearing in mind that you have other Accounts to attend to, and you have limited time, budget and other resources.Who are Your Key Accounts?Since there will be quite substantial amount of effort and resources used in managing Key Accounts, you may want to define which of your customers qualify as Key Accounts. In most cases, many sellers define Key Accounts as simply those whom bought the most from them. However, there may be some customers who bought the most, BUT squeezed you for prices below costs AND took forever to pay you. You don’t want those customers to be your Key Accounts do you?Here’s a list of criteria that you can refer to:* Buys at least a certain amount of sales from you each year or each quarter;* Maintains a margin of x% with you on average;* Consistently increases their purchase volume from you over the past few years or quarters;* High potential size of their business (which can be measured by how much business your competitor is doing with them, or by an estimated figure if they bought an optimal amount from you);* Creditworthy and pays on time;* Provides you with access on their current and future business objectives;* Open to new ideas, suggestions and discussions on what else you can do for them; etc.There are no fixed way of defining which of these criteria are suitable for you, but the selection of Key Accounts are likely to be made with a combination of a few criteria. It is unlikely to be based on any one single criteria such as volume, margin or growth potential.Managing Entrenched Relationships, Interests and PracticesAccording to Miller Heiman, successful sales people in complex sales situations will need to contact an average of 3-5 contacts in the customer’s organisation before getting the sale. In managing Key Accounts this is even more critical.Besides the fact that your contact in the Key Account may leave the company, what is even more critical is to understand what are the entrenched relationships, interests and practices.Whatever you may be selling, every sale you make will have an impact on someone in your customers’ organisations. Some of these people will be happy, some will be unhappy, and some will be neutral. In some situations, some people in your customers’ organisations may feel that their entrenched interests will be threatened, and may just do whatever it takes to block your sale.Hence, one of the first things a successful Key Account Manager will do is to established who are the entrenched influencers who will make or break a sale. That is to say:* If you were to ask your customer to buy something substantial from you, who are those people whose buy-in you must have in order to win the deal?* If you do know who these people are, do you know them in person yet?* And if not, what steps are you taking so that you will eventually get to know all of them?You will also have to know which entrenched interests you will be threatening, and what you can do to diffuse the situation. Some examples include:* If the customer switch to buy more from you, will someone in the organisation lose out on the kick-backs given by their current vendor?;* When you sell a better solution or equipment, will some IT managers or engineers feel that their value in their companies will be compromised with your advanced systems?* When you provide proactive advice to your key accounts, will some senior managers feel that their influence levels will be diminished as such?Generally, there are no hard-and-fast rule on how such situations can be diffused. In some cases, you can bypass those whom entrenched interests are against you. Sometimes,* It just takes time to win their trust and support;* You may even have to find out whom in your contacts can whisper a few kind words on your behalf to thee entrenched interests and relationships, and make sure you don’t step onto someone’s toes;* In worst-case scenarios, you just have to wait for them to leave their company.In addition to entrenched interests, you also need to be aware of entrenched practices. While many studies have shown that the standard 2-3 training programmes may not be the best training solutions, many companies still find it difficult to accept hybrids of coaching and training modules. Many companies also find it difficult to hire trainers or consultants who have not worked in their industry, but have delivered good consulting and training results for other companies in their same industry.Besides knowing what may be your obstacles and challenges in your Key Accounts, the more extensive your relationships are with your Account, the more information you will get with regards to their long-term and short-term business objectives.Over time, certain entrenched interests may fall out of favour, while emerging interests may gain favour. Successful Key Account managers have their fingers on their Accounts’ pulse to know the subtle, underlying relationship changes that are happening over a period of time.The Long and Short of ThingsAccording to extensive research by HR Chally, successful sales people, especially Key Account Managers, understand their customers business needs, AND know how to serve these needs.When studying the business needs of customers, Key Account Managers will have to understand which of those needs are long term, and which are for the short term. The key differences between the two are:* Short term business needs tend to focus on quick, but sometimes unsustainable results;* Long term business needs tend to focus on sustainable results in the future, but may require significant amount of resources, investment or sacrifice in the short termBy and large, many companies will shift their focus back and forth between long and short term needs, when it comes to their buying decisions. Key Account Managers will have to make a balance between the two, and suggest solutions accordingly.In one instance, we were doing some advisory work for a client in the architectural hardware industry in Guangzhou. Our client focus largely on higher-end hardware, and find it difficult to penetrate a particular account (a furniture manufacturer), which was all about reducing price to reduce costs. Eventually, we understood that behind the short-term action of reducing costs, they do have a longer-term need to move their market position upwards, and there will be a gradual need to focus on quality instead of price.We then advised the sales team to keep providing this Account with low-end products, while working closely with their design and sales departments (as opposed to their procurement department) to understand their next steps in their marketing efforts. We then our client sales people to provide advice to this Account on how, by using superior hardware with innovative designs, we can help them get closer to their future goals.Setting Your Priorities RightBesides knowing who qualify as your Key Accounts, you will still have to allocate enough time for the Account that matters most, and still have time for Accounts that will give you significant results 6 months later.Here’s a list of questions to help you set your priorities:* Are you managing too many Accounts such that none of the accounts are given sufficient time at any one time?;* Which of your Key Accounts will give you short-term results vs. those that will only give you results 3-6 months later?* Are you spending the right amount of time with the right people (entrenched interest or otherwise), so that they can help you close more sales?;* Are you doing the right things (providing information, doing demos, conducting pilots etc.) that will help you move closer to your sale?;* Which of your Key Accounts are those that you deem necessary to have your senior managers pay visits? Why will this be a priority now?* How can you manage your Accounts’ needs, with minimal resources and costs?* Most importantly, how can you make sure that you spend enough time with Accounts that will only give you results 3 or 6 or 12 months down the road, because if you don’t, your competitors will steal them right under your nose?Just like there are long-term and short-term business results pursued by our customers, successful Key Account Managers know how to balance between long and short-term Account Management priorities, so that they win, keep and grow these accounts even in tough economic times. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://sprngupms.info/the-3-criteria-of-successful-key-account-managers,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>SEO – Choosing the Right SEO Provider to Bring Your Web Site to the Top of Google</title> <link>https://sprngupms.info/seo-choosing-the-right-seo-provider-to-bring-your-web-site-to-the-top-of-google,html</link> <comments>https://sprngupms.info/seo-choosing-the-right-seo-provider-to-bring-your-web-site-to-the-top-of-google,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 30 Mar 2023 11:40:22 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://sprngupms.info/?p=60</guid> <description><![CDATA[SEO, or Search Engine Optimization is the art (and science) of bringing a web site to the top of Google and other major search engines for specific keywords that you want to target.Since being on the first page and in the #1 position for your keywords always means more traffic to your web site, it [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> SEO, or Search Engine Optimization is the art (and science) of bringing a web site to the top of Google and other major search engines for specific keywords that you want to target.Since being on the first page and in the #1 position for your keywords always means more traffic to your web site, it is easy to see why there is such a high demand for effective SEO services today.So, what does it take for your web site to rise to the top of Google? A lot of that is dependent upon the specific industry your business is in. For example, it would be fairly easy to rank #1 in Google if you had a unique service or product that nobody else had in Branson. But if you are wanting to rank well for a keyword like “branson tickets”, it would be much more complicated, due to the sheer number of other web sites that are also trying to compete for that keyword.Just like any other “battle”, the more contestants you have playing, the tougher the competition is going to be. And SEO is definitely a battle – make no mistake about it. The modern-day SEO arena is home to some of the most ferocious Internet and Web-based marketing tactics known to man.The reason for this highly-competitive force is the nature Internet marketing itself. Most businesses have embraced the Internet and World Wide Web as their primary channel for marketing, advertising, and information distribution channels. More and more businesses are trying to gain popularity and showcase what they have to offer to the entire world – not just the locals.And it makes sense. The more people you can reach on the Web, the more customers and clients your business will attract altogether.But still, there are a large number of web sites that only use minimal SEO tactics. And it’s almost shocking when you analyze a web site and clearly see that even text-book SEO elements have been neglected or omitted entirely. These are the same web sites for the businesses that are struggling to make ends meet, especially in the economic turmoil we are facing at the moment.And what about the web sites for those businesses that are actually being prolific, in spite of the economy? Those web sites are the ones that have implemented professional SEO services to gain a better position in the search engines. And they are thriving!It’s a well known fact that if your web site is not listed on the first page of Google, you are missing out on about 70% of all traffic on the Web today. That’s a pretty big number. But it’s very true. If your business is going to be successful on the Web, then you need to invest in a SEO campaign that can bring you all the way to the top.And when you consider the cost of traditional advertising methods vs. SEO / SEM, you can clearly see that not only is SEO more affordable, it’s also more effective. By investing in quality SEO, you’ll see a much larger return on investment than you would with radio, TV, or yellow page advertisements. Plus, all of the traditional advertising methods restrict you to the local or regional market.An effective SEO campaign will allow you to reach people from all over the world. Now that’s powerful!<br />You really need to have your web site optimized for the search engines by a qualified SEO professional who can deliver the search engine optimization services you need to stay ahead of the competition.Here are a few tips to consider while you are seeking the right SEO professional to help your web site get a better rank in Google:1. Find an SEO professional who is familiar with the market you are in. By understanding the competitive nature of your specific industry, your SEO professional will be better equipped to provide you with effective SEO services.2. Ask to see examples of previous SEO campaigns that were a success. It is best if they have previously successful SEO campaigns that were for your particular market / web sites related to yours specifically. That way, you’ll know they fully understand how to compete with the other sites in your arena.3. Find out how long it will take before you begin to see some results and improved search engine rankings for your web site. All quality SEO work takes time. It can be weeks or even months before you start to see your web site climbing up in the search engine results. It’s better to have an accurate time estimate before you start so that there are not any surprises later on down the road.4. Ask the SEO professional what exactly will take place during the SEO campaign. Often times, many search engine optimization “experts” will be cryptic and try to avoid this question. And often, it is indicative of an inexperienced “want to be”. Any good SEO professional worth his salt will be able to tell you exactly what will occur during your SEO process.5. Avoid any SEO professional who claims to give you “x” amount of links for “x” amount of dollars. For example, if he tells you something like “I can give you 500 links for $500…”, then it is probably not going to be very effective SEO. All true SEO experts know that it’s the quality, not the quantity of links that matters the most.6. Ask to be kept up-to-date during your entire SEO campaign. That way, you’ll be able to keep up on what is really going on, what work is being performed, how many hours are being invested, etc.7. Find out ( before the SEO campaign begins ) what it is going to take to maintain the higher search engine position after you have reached it. All good SEO experts know that getting to the top of Google is only half the battle. Once you are there, it will require some attention and a little on-going work to insure that your Branson web site stays up there.8. Make it very clear in the beginning that you do not want any “black hat” SEO techniques used during the process of your SEO campaign. Black hat SEO is the practice of implementing questionable SEO practices in the eyes of Google and it will certainly get your web site banned from the Google index!Remember: always ask questions and stay informed. By keeping these tips in mind, you’ll have better chances of finding the right SEO professional to provide you with a very successful and effective SEO campaign.Here at Digital Spiral Web Design, we specialize in affordable and effective SEO services for web site owners. We know what it takes to have success when competing with other business web sites in the search engines.Already, we have launched several successful SEO campaigns and have achieved over 100 first-page placements in Google! We have the SEO knowledge and experience required to provide you with the best SEO services for your web site. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://sprngupms.info/seo-choosing-the-right-seo-provider-to-bring-your-web-site-to-the-top-of-google,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>There is an excessive amount of traffic coming from your Region.</title> <link>https://sprngupms.info/there-is-an-excessive-amount-of-traffic-coming-from-your-region,html</link> <comments>https://sprngupms.info/there-is-an-excessive-amount-of-traffic-coming-from-your-region,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 29 Mar 2023 18:21:55 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Internet Marketing]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://sprngupms.info/?p=58</guid> <description><![CDATA[#EANF#]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>#EANF#</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://sprngupms.info/there-is-an-excessive-amount-of-traffic-coming-from-your-region,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Community Innovation – Crowd Sourcing in Software Testing</title> <link>https://sprngupms.info/community-innovation-crowd-sourcing-in-software-testing,html</link> <comments>https://sprngupms.info/community-innovation-crowd-sourcing-in-software-testing,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 29 Mar 2023 16:49:20 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://sprngupms.info/?p=56</guid> <description><![CDATA[Many hands make software workThe stakes for Microsoft, which was outlining its Office 2010 product strategy, were extremely high. According to Microsoft’s earnings statements, Microsoft Office productivity suite generates more revenue than any other business division, says Gregg Keizer,who covers Microsoft and general technology news for Computerworld.Months before Microsoft released Office 2010 productivity suite, 9 [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Many hands make software workThe stakes for Microsoft, which was outlining its Office 2010 product strategy, were extremely high. According to Microsoft’s earnings statements, Microsoft Office productivity suite generates more revenue than any other business division, says Gregg Keizer,who covers Microsoft and general technology news for Computerworld.Months before Microsoft released Office 2010 productivity suite, 9 million people downloaded the beta version to test the software and to provide feedback. Through this program, Microsoft collected 2 million valuable comments and insights from those testers.Denise Carlevato, a Microsoft usability engineer for 10 years, and her colleagues from Microsoft’s Virtual Research Lab observed how people used new features. Their objective was to make Microsoft Office fit the way millions of people used their product and to help them work better. It was a massive, controlled crowd sourcing project.According to Carlevato, “That’s just what you have to do to cater to as broad an audience as possible”. This is not especially easy; to retain the loyalty of millions is a herculean task. “While the team was building it and giving insights and information, it was still all like a big jigsaw puzzle. Toward the end when this all came together I had the opportunity to go out and see how the web apps were actually going to live with real people.”The scenarioDeveloping a new software product is always exciting, especially to watch ideas take form and truly become a reality. Sometimes a fresh perspective or an innovative use case is all it takes to turn a product from good to great. However, when it comes to testing, we often find ourselves in unchartered waters wondering if the product will actually work in the diverse customer landscapes. It is virtually impossible to test the vast number of devices and configurations of software that web-based software can run on today. Truly robust testing is time consuming, and ensuring that every possible permutation and combination of features, localizations, and platforms works, as intended is nearly impossible.Often times, comprehensive testing is a challenge and buggy code is delivered to the customer. For example, if a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application does not render in a particular browser or a critical software tool fails to deliver its intended functionality, a bug fix or a patch is promised and the vicious cycle starts all over again. Either way, the customer withstands the worst of inadequate testing, especially when faced with the escalating costs of software maintenance, performance, etc. For the software development company, ramifications include distress around brand image, perceived quality, relationship and potential future projects, trust, etc.Welcome to the new world of crowd sourced testing, an emerging trend in software engineering that exploits the benefits, effectiveness, and efficiency of crowd sourcing and the cloud platform towards software quality assurance and control. With this new form of software testing, the product is put to test under diverse platforms, which makes it more representative, reliable, cost-effective, fast, and above all, bug-free.Crowd sourced testing, conceived around a Testing-as-a-Service (TaaS) framework, helps companies reach out to a community to solve problems and remain innovative. When it comes to testing software applications, crowdsourcing helps companies reduce expenses, reduce time to market and increase resources for testing, manage a wide range of testing projects, test competence needs, exigency to resolve higher defects rates, and use 3rd party’s test environment to subside the project requirements.It differs from traditional testing methods in that the testing is carried out by a number of different testers from across the globe, and not by locally hired consultants and professionals. In other words, crowd sourced testing is a form of outsourced software testing, a time-consuming activity, to testers around the world, thus enabling small startups to use ad-hoc quality-assurance teams, even though they themselves could not afford traditional quality assurance testing teams.Why Does Crowd Sourced Testing Work?To understand why crowd sourced testing works, it is important to understand the set of biases that infest most testers and test managers around the world. This phenomenon is called, “The Curse of Knowledge,” a phrase used in a 1989 paper in The Journal of Political Economy. It means that for a particular subject expert, it is nearly impossible to imagine and look beyond the knowledge the tester has acquired i.e. the set of concepts, beliefs and scenarios that the tester knows or predicts. As a result, it is particularly challenging to think outside the box and conceive the various ways a typical end user would use particular software.This phenomenon has been empirically proven through an infamous experiment conducted by a Stanford University graduate student of psychology, Elizabeth Newton. She illustrated the phenomenon through a simple game, people were assigned to one of two roles, namely tappers and listeners. Each tapper was to select a well-known song, such as “Happy Birthday,” and tap the rhythm on a table. The listeners were to guess the song from the taps. However, before the listeners guessed the song, tappers were asked to predict the probability that listeners would guess correctly. They predicted 50%. Over the course of the experiment, 120 songs were tapped out, but listeners guessed only three of the songs correctly – a success rate of merely 2.5%The explanation is as follows: when tappers tap, it is impossible for them to avoid hearing the tune playing along to their taps. Meanwhile, all the listeners could hear is a kind of bizarre Morse code. The problem is that once we know something, we find it impossible to imagine the other party not knowing it.Extrapolating this experiment to software testing, most testers conduct a battery of tests that they feel is representative and that captures the set of end-user scenarios for how the software would be used. The reality is far from this. Any expert tester would asset that it is impossible to capture the complete set of scenarios that an end user may throw at a software system. As a result, critical path(s) of the code under certain scenarios go untested, which leads to software malfunctioning, production system crashes, customer escalations, long hours of meetings, debugging, etc.Crowd sourced testing circumvents all these headaches by bringing a comprehensive set of code coverage mechanisms and end user scenarios during the design and development stages of software engineering, during which the cost of modification is meager. This results in identifying critical use cases early on and providing for those contingencies, which reduces software maintenance costs later on during and after productive deployment. Besides progressive code coverage, the quality and depth of software testing among various vital software modules is achieved, which ultimately results in a higher code quality, among other benefits.Crowd sourced testing – the frameworkAt the heart of crowd sourced testing is the community that tests a given software product. The community encompasses people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, geographies, languages, all with a diverse approach to software usage. The community, represented by a diverse and extended user space, tests any given software by putting it to use under realistic scenarios, which a tester in the core test team may not be able to envision, given a tester’s constraints, such as limited bounds of operation, knowledge, scenarios. Thus, it is easy to observe the broad set of usage patterns that put the software under intense scrutiny. Crowd sourcing software testing draws its benefits from delegating the task of testing a web or software project, while in development, on to a number of Internet users, to ensure that the software contains no defects.The method of crowd sourced testing is particularly useful when the software is user-centric, when software’s success and adoption is determined by its user feedback. It is frequently implemented with gaming or mobile applications, when experts who may be difficult to find in one place are required for specific testing, or when the company lacks the resources or time to carry out internal testing.The spectrum of issues that such test efforts could uncover within a short lead-time is particularly noteworthy. Such testing efforts yield productive results with reasonable costs. Often times, the product company pays only for those valid reported bugs. Hence, the Return on Investment (ROI) is high compared to the traditional means of software testing.How does it work?Most crowd sourced testing companies provide the platform for the testing cycles. Clients specify the type of tests that they wish to have performed and the types of devices that the software product must be tested on.Testers complete a profile, indicating the skills they have, the devices to which they have access to, and the countries where they reside. Once a tester has completed his profile, he/she can check the project dashboard for a listing of projects and releases that are available for testing. The dashboard may also include sample test scenarios, additional tools and scripts, instructions for testers about what is expected from them, etc. Usually, the testers are required to submit a QA plan, which outlines both high level test cases and detailed test scenarios. The plan may also include whether or not the test can be automated and expected results.A qualified Project Manager, who is typically a proven community leader or a person from the client/the platform company, reviews such plans, and approves or amends such plans to cater to the client’s specific testing requirements.Each project includes an explanation and access to a forum where bugs and issues are discussed and additional questions can be asked. Testers document bug reports and are rated based on the quality of their reports. The amount the testers earn increases as their rating increases.The community combines aspects of collaboration and competition, as members work to finding solutions to the stated problem. Forums facilitate networking and discussion of bugs or relevant issues; rating systems allow for recognition of a job well done, which helps participants gain credibility and improved career.<br />The crowd source testing team is usually in addition to the organization’s testing team, and not a replacement.<br />Checks & BalancesSecurity is a crucial element to crowd source testing. More often than not, confidential customer information is exposed to testers during application testing. Any breach of this data can lead to serious damage, both to the brand and the business. Test data management ensures the availability and security of test data by obfuscating sensitive information for large-scale testing engagements. Masking such information or creating ‘test-only’ data helps maintain privacy and security while using crowd sourced testing services.In almost all cases, the testers are required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) when they join the community. The NDA forbids them from talking about customers, their products or specific defects, both offline and online on Facebook, Twitter, personal blogs or anywhere outside the confines of the private testing platform. Beyond that, the customers can upload a customized NDA, which testers must sign before viewing the customer’s project. For projects that require a high level of security, a pre-screened list of white hat engineers, that have a long professional relationship with the platform company are selected.Furthermore, standardized communication patterns help users secure their data and gain confidence in their testing vendors, which results in a seamless transition.By combining an internal, permanent team of testers with a crowd of experienced software testers working from around the globe, superior quality in testing is delivered. By constantly filtering the network of testers to accept only experienced software testing professionals, applicants without formal training and significant professional experience are eliminated. This ensures the quality and the validity of the bugs reported. Last but not the least, tests are dispatched to individual testers based on their experience, available material, and languages mastered. The testers and test project exposure are continually monitored to ensure both quality and integrity, not only of the test results, but also of the associated environment.Caveat emptor?Crowd sourced testing is best when the product under development is consumer-centric rather than enterprise-centric, such as gaming or web driven consumer applications. A global user base to test the product should exist and the product should be relevant to the community at large. This is also a test for the application’s potential success in the marketplace.Paul Herzlich, a software-testing analyst, who oversees crowd sourcing services at Ovum, an institution that provides its clients with independent and objective analyses stated, “If you are testing software that all kinds of strangers are going to use, then why not use a bunch of strangers to test it. Also, it depends on what kind of testing you need to do. For testing user interfaces, sure – it makes sense.”There should also be an earnest interest from the community to proffer critical feedback for the product under consideration such as a monetary reward. This also brings forth another interesting challenge. The product company is not obliged to follow through on community’s recommendations and may dispense with the feedback for various internal reasons. In this case, the community may feel unheard and this mandates a fine balancing act of the entire ecosystem.The product company should be committed to working with a large group of people and understand that it involves some degree of overhead in such a decentralized test effort. It also requires certain subject matter experts to mentor and monitor various testing efforts as well as offer support and relevant guidance to the testing teams. If the product team does not have the resources to take on full-fledged testing in-house, but has a good understanding of the testing requirements, it can realize its overall strategy from a globally sourced team.With normal employment contracts, employees receive a salary for their contribution and the firm owns any intellectual property developed by the employee during their tenure with the organization. In a crowd-sourcing constellation, people are participating voluntarily. Unless the position on Intellectual Property (IP) is clear and explicitly stated, i.e. a condition of the right to participate is the acceptance of Intellectual Property transfers to the client, potential for IP infringement by the contributor exists.A crowd sourced project requires skills and mastery in designing the compensation structure, both in monetary and non-monetary terms. The testers are usually paid a certain amount of money in the case of a successful bug/issue discovery. In some cases, the testers would prefer non-monetary aspects like recognition and personal satisfaction rather than monetary compensation. Thus, it is vital to understand the motivators prior to mission critical deployments.In cases where participants are compensated on a per task basis, an incentive for participants to choose speed over accuracy exists. This is especially the case with especially micro tasks, which are susceptible to mistakes and could result in erroneous overall outcomes. Therefore, robust governance mechanisms need to be instilled, continually monitored and policies regularly updated to reflect the changing trends.Advantages of crowd sourced testing:</p><p> Representative scenarios from the real user base, not hypothetical test cases</p><p> Tight feed-back loop with rapid feedback processing and agility</p><p> Comprehensiveness in use cases, platforms, tools, browsers, testers, etc. that is typically impossible to replicate by any single product company</p><p> Cost efficiency, as the product company pays only for the valid bugs reported</p><p> Diversity among the pool of testers lends to comprehensive testing, especially with regard to applications, which are localization based</p><p> Reduced time to test, time to market and total cost of ownership as critical paths of a software module are tested during design time, which leads to a reduced maintenance cost</p><p> Better productivity and improved product development focus<br />Disadvantages of crowd sourced testing:</p><p> Governance issues around security, exposure and confidentiality when offering a community project to wide user base for testing</p><p> Quality and workload challenges that arise from the unpredictable nature of customer demands</p><p> Project management challenges that stem from the users’ diverse backgrounds, languages and experience levels</p><p> Documentation issues, such as poor quality of bug reports, bug duplicates and false alarms</p><p> Equity and equality constraints in the reward mechanism with remuneration as a function of the quality of contributions that meets a prescribed minimum standard</p><p> Management overhead associated with managing an active and growing community<br />What does the future hold?Crowd sourced testing, clearly, has its advantages and limitations. It cannot be considered as a panacea for all testing requirements and the power of the crowd should be diligently employed. The key to avoid failure in crowdsourcing would be to use it prudently depending on the tactical and strategic needs of the organization that seeks crowd sourced testing services. It is important for the organization to embrace the correct model, identify the target audience, offer the right incentives and have a suitable workforce to manage the task results.Crowd sourcing testing is a relatively new application in Software Engineering and as we continue to experiment and learn about crowdsourcing, we will gain experience and maturity that will help to identify best practices and to harvest the entire value it offers. With this learning, we will become better equipped at mitigating any associated risks and at learning how to better deal with the operational issues around the applicability of crowdsourcing to new sets of activities.Considering the above points in mind and taking cues from individual scenarios will help determine whether crowd sourced testing really makes sense and if so, what to, when and how to leverage the crowd sourced community. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://sprngupms.info/community-innovation-crowd-sourcing-in-software-testing,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Start Making Money Fast Trading Options</title> <link>https://sprngupms.info/start-making-money-fast-trading-options,html</link> <comments>https://sprngupms.info/start-making-money-fast-trading-options,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 29 Mar 2023 15:21:33 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://sprngupms.info/?p=54</guid> <description><![CDATA[People want to start making money fast. The best strategy to use for that goal is trading options. When most people think of options they assume that there risky. Which in fact, they are for those who don’t trade them correctly.Stock options are used to create leverage and control risk. The strategies I learned from [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> People want to start making money fast. The best strategy to use for that goal is trading options. When most people think of options they assume that there risky. Which in fact, they are for those who don’t trade them correctly.Stock options are used to create leverage and control risk. The strategies I learned from my mentors are profitable and simple once you get the hang of them.There are two types of options, calls and puts. There are also two things you can do with any option, either buy it or sell it. The most basic strategy for using options is called a covered call. The strategy is composed of two different positions.If you were long underlying xyz which is trading at $15.00 you would sell a call option against it and collect money in your account for selling that option.Buy 100 shares of xyz at $15.00 and sell 1 contract (which is equal to 100 shares of stock) of the 15 strike calls with 30 days until expiration and collect $1 per share or $100 total.At expiration you make money if xyz is trading above $14.00. Yes, you can make money even when your stocks go down!<br />• If XYZ is above $15.00 you will sell your shares at $15.00 and keep the $100 you collected to sell the option in the beginning of the trade.<br />• If you buy a call option you have the right to buy a specific underlying for a certain amount of time at a specific price.<br />• If you sell a call option you are obligated to sell a specific underlying for a certain price within a certain amount of time.<br />• If you buy a put option you have the right to sell a specific underlying at a certain price for a certain amount of time.<br />• If you sell a put option you have the obligation to buy a specific underlying at a certain price for a certain amount of time.If this is your first time learning about options I know it’s confusing. But trust me, trading options will allow you to start making money fast.By selling options you can start making money fast by creating a consistent monthly income that you can duplicate over and over.Making money in trading is all about giving yourself an edge. Through various option selling strategies you can do exactly that. 80% of options expire worthless! So who’s making most of the money? That’s right, option sellers.Option SellingThere are so many ways to make extra money. Trading options is the one that can really change your life. There are so many situations you can put yourself in through trading options that give you a mathematical edge.Most people think trading options is risky. The reason is most people lose money who trade options! 80% of options expire worthless. So, who’s making all of the money? The people who are buying those options or those who are selling them.The reason people say that options are risky is because they don’t understand them. If they did they would have a much different opinion. Just ask a successful market maker what he or she thinks about options. Market makers that I follow know a lot of ways to make extra money.They are going to tell a completely different story. Options reduce risk and maximize profits if traded correctly. In this page I will show you some of my favorite strategies that put me on the winning side. The side where I have the mathematical advantage.Positive time decay means that every day that passes option premiums decay or erode. In other words if stock xyz is trading at $20 today and the $20 call is trading at $1.95 then a day later all other things being equal that option will be trading for less than $1.95 because there is less time for it to be worth something.There are a few important parts to my overall trading plan.<br />1. Price and plan for entering<br />2. Choosing the correct strategy<br />3. Plan for exiting the trade<br />4. Position SizeAll four of these pieces to the puzzle are very important. The one I will focus on now is choosing the correct strategy.The following are my favorite defined risk option spreads.<br />• Verticals<br />• Calendars<br />• Butterflies<br />• Iron Condors<br />• DiagonalsWhen I was looking for ways to make extra money I began trading. The problem I had as a beginner with my trading was I learned all of these strategies and started trading them but I didn’t have a plan for exiting and managing the positions. That part is just as important as the actual strategy.For example, one of the strategies I began trading to make extra money is called a bull put spread. The trade is made on a stock you think is going to go up. I would collect $2.00 on a $5.00 wide spread. Then I would simply put it on and let it on and let it go with no exit plan. I wanted to find ways to make extra money but I was losing $3.00 on my losing trades using this strategy with no plan.Some of these would expire worthless and I would make the $2.00 but some would go against me and I would take the max loss. Now I learned how to manage those positions and make the $2.00 on my winners consistently and only lose $1.00 or less at most! Trades that take on too much risk compared to reward aren’t going to work over time.Controlling risk is the most important part of trading. It’s essential to make good consistent gains but it’s more important to have very small losers compared to your potential gains on your winning trades.The best advice I can give to beginning traders is the following points.1. Find as many successful traders who have been around awhile and learn exactly how they trade.<br />2. Learn as much as you can about each of their trading styles because what one person does might not work for you and vice versa.<br />3. Learn strategies that make sense! If you’re going to buy options make sure they’re deep in the money.<br />4. Have a plan to get out and minimize risk. In other words, know what the worst case scenario is before you even enter the trade.<br />5. Make sure you can make enough on each trade to justify being in the position. In other words, if your think there is a 50% chance you will win a particular trade and you can make twice as much as you’re risking, than that makes sense!<br />6. Learn position sizing! Never ever risk more then 3-5% of your portfolio on any one trade. I never risk more than 2% and that is very rare. I usually risk.5% of my account per trade.To sum it all up, there are many ways to make extra money. I believe trading is one of the best. It’s rare to find an opportunity that can have a plan behind it where are the scenarios both positive and negative are understood. If the good vs. bad scenarios make sense with that plan than that’s a plan that will work over time.You can also start making money fast by buying options. The most important part of option buying is you have to have to know exactly which options to buy. You don’t want to buy the wrong options because you’ll lose all of your money!Option BuyingWe all want to make money fast. Luckily there are ways to do it it’s simply learning what they are and how to apply them. Many people say options are risky, which they are if you don’t understand them.• If you understand options you can use them to reduce risk and maximize profit.<br />• If you like to trade directional or trend trade there is no better way to do that than options.<br />• Lastly if making huge explosive gains in your trading account interests you then you need to learn how to buy options correctly. It is the best way to make money fast.For example, buying an option that has little chance of ever being worth money doesn’t make sense. The sad part is people do this all of the time because those options are relatively cheap.There are two components of an option. They are the intrinsic value and extrinsic value. Let’s begin defining them both• Stock xyz is trading at $60.00.<br />• The $50 call with 100 days until expiration is trading for $11.00The intrinsic value of that option is $10.00 because the difference between the price of xyz and the strike price is $10.00.The extrinsic value of that option or time premium is $1.00 because that is the extra premium paid for the option that has no real value.This is a good option to buy because it is way ITM (in the money). You don’t want to buy options with a lot of extrinsic value. Those are the ones you want to sell.If you bought this option you would begin to make money as the stock begins to rise because it has a high delta (rate of change of the option). This option would make money fast because it would move quickly in price with the stock.Let’s look at another example to bring home the point of the kind of options you want to buy.• Stock xyz is trading at $60.00<br />• The $60.00 call is with 45 days until expiration is trading for $3.00<br />The intrinsic value is $0.00. It has no real value because it’s OTM (out of the money)The extrinsic value is $3.00. This is the type of option you want to sell because every day that passes that $3.00 time premium paid will decrease.If you bought this $60.00 call you would need xyz to rally passed $63.00 at expiration to make money.So, the strategy I recommend is to buy ITM (in the money) options with a delta of at least (.7) or higher and at least 60 days until expiration. Of course this must be accompanied with a sound trading plan to minimize risk by using stop losses and hedging techniques.If you want to make money fast then this type of strategy should definitely part of your portfolio because it allows you to take a little risk and make large gains.<br />In any trade you need to have defined risk. The best way to accomplish this is by having a specific plan for your trades before you’re even in them. People who succeed in trading don’t allow their emotions to come into play.If you have money in the markets whether you’re managing it or letting someone manage ask yourself this very important question. What is my overall risk and when do I plan to take my profits? If you don’t know the answer to that question please learn how rich people invest their money!Credit SpreadsIf you want free money making ideas that work you have come to the right place. I will give you my strategy and exactly how execute it for free. I learned this from many of my trading mentors who have become rich from it and many other things.I love free money making ideas that is why I’m writing this particular page. The strategy isn’t the important part. How I implement is the part that is most important. I will teach you both.The strategy is an options spread trade called a vertical spread. Not new for anyone who has traded options before but for those of you who haven’t I’ll cover the strategy first then how I use it.Here is an example of what I would do if I believed a stock was going to go down I would do the following.• xyz is trading at $53.20<br />• sell xyz 55/60 vertical call spread for a $2.00 credit with 30 days until expiration<br />If I thought xyz was going to go up I would do the following<br />• sell the 50/45 put spread for a $2.00 credit with 30 days until expirationLet’s use example #2. The max profit on this vertical spread is $2.00. If you took no further action after placing the trade the max loss is $5.00 (width of the strikes) minus $2.00 (credit received) =$3.00.But, I never take the max loss. The most I would risk on this trade would be half of the max profit, $1.00. If I couldn’t get that ratio I wouldn’t do the trade.I would do this on a stock at support with a bullish candle candlestick pattern and place my stop order beneath support. The vertical spread I would sell would be beyond my stop loss.The best part about this trade is positive theta. Meaning, all other things being equal, every single day that passes the vertical spread I sold is getting cheaper and cheaper because there is less time for it to end up ITM (in the money).So, all I need is for xyz to not trade below my stop and my spread will expire worthless. That is the best case scenario.The worst case scenario is I get stopped out. Less analyze both scenarios in detail.With xyz trading at $53.20 my stop would probably be around $51.00. So if xyz never touches $51.00 I will win the trade. If your technical skills are descent this will happen a lot of the time for you.If xyz which was trading at $53.20 when I put the trade on trades down to $51.00 I am going to get stopped out of the trade. My analysis was wrong on direction and I lost the trade right? Well, it depends.If on the day that I put the trade on xyz trades down to $51.00 I will take the max loss of $1.00. But what happens if I get stopped out three days from now? Remember every day that passes that option spread I sold is getting cheaper and cheaper all other things being equal.Trading these free money making ideas it means that every day that passes your risk keeps decreasing. Depending on a few different factors what I have found is if I sell a vertical spread with 30 days until expiration like the above example, after about 15 days of being in the trade I will break even at worst if I get stopped out.Meaning on the fifteenth day if xyz trades down to $51.00 the price of my vertical put spread will be the same as what it was 15 days ago with the stock trading at $53.20.So why are these free money making ideas so good? Well, I make money if the stock goes up, I make money if the stock goes sideways, I make money if the stock goes down and stays above $51.00. The only way I lose money is if the stock trades down to $51.00 in the first 15 days. So I make money if I get stopped out after fifteen days. You mean I can be wrong and still make money? Yup that’s trading for those of us who know how to use options.Oh yea and all of those way’s I make money with this scenario above three out of four of them have a risk reward ratio of 2-1. Meaning if I win I’ll make twice as much as what I was risking if I got stopped out on the first day.With these free money making ideas the fact that your risk decreases day after day as long as you’re still in the trade is the most important part of this strategy. The best part about these free money making ideas is if you get stopped out on the 5th day you may only lose $0.70 on the spread.As you can see with these free money making ideas the probabilities are in your favor. To make this strategy stick I’ll outline the main point one more time.• The only way you lose money is if you get stopped out in the first fifteen day’s. The amount you lose depends on how many days pass before you get stopped out.<br />• If you don’t get stopped out you win twice as much as what you would have lost if you got stopped out on the first day.<br />• Risk diminishes over time on a trade that you should win over 50% of the time with a 2-1 reward ratio.Notice a these few important points in this strategy.<br />1. I know what my max risk is<br />2. I have a plan for the entire trade<br />3. I have a 2-1 risk/reward ratio<br />4. My risk diminishes every day because of positive time decayI love free money making ideas that’s why I wrote this page. I encourage you to learn this strategy because it works. The only other part you need to understand to implement this strategy is technical analysis. You need to find stocks that you can anticipate direction through various technical analysis strategies. Than simply make trades that follow your guidelines and rules.Successful traders that are consistently making money fast no matter what direction the market is going all have one thing in common. They know how to control risk. They know how to cut losses short and let profits run.Most importantly they will succeed in the future trading because they have a strategic trading plan that gives them an edge.For example, If a trader is right 40% of the time but on his winning trades he makes twice as much as what he loses on his losing trades. Will this trader make money?Let’s say he’s risking $200 per trade. Over the course of 100 trades he will lose 60 of them and win 40. He will make $16,000 on all of his winners and lose $12,000 on his losers for a net positive $4,000.The purpose of this example is to introduce why a plan is so important. If you want to make money fast you first need to control risk. Once you learn strategies on when to enter and exit, which option or stock to buy, and how much to risk per trade, you can simply trade your plan which is bound to succeed over time because it has a mathematical edge!In Conclusion, I hope this information helped you in understanding that options trading done correctly can be extremely profitable. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://sprngupms.info/start-making-money-fast-trading-options,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>How to Organize a Small Business Start Up</title> <link>https://sprngupms.info/how-to-organize-a-small-business-start-up,html</link> <comments>https://sprngupms.info/how-to-organize-a-small-business-start-up,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 29 Mar 2023 12:44:01 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Small Business]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://sprngupms.info/?p=51</guid> <description><![CDATA[A small business start up marks the beginning of the business which is categorized in small business. A small business can be corporation, partnership or a proprietor owned with a small amount of manpower and funding. In America, a small business start up comprises of less than 100 employees, whereas in UK it has less [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> A small business start up marks the beginning of the business which is categorized in small business. A small business can be corporation, partnership or a proprietor owned with a small amount of manpower and funding. In America, a small business start up comprises of less than 100 employees, whereas in UK it has less than 50 workers. In countries like Australia, a small business start up begins with 1-19 employees. A small business start up is identified by its small investment, small turnover and profit and less manpower.The smallest business start up can begin at home which are termed by the World Bank as Micro-businesses. They usually have manpower of less than 10 employees. Higher versions of small businesses can be general stores, lawyer practice, clinics, private agents, restaurants, free-lance writers and small-scale manufacturing industries.Advantage of a small business is that it requires less investment. The working hours of such a venture is also less and requires smaller work area. They have a closer relationship with their customers and clients. They are highly independent and flexible to the changing market. Disadvantage of such a small business start up is the high risk of bankruptcy. In absence of strong financial back-up, the business may go into heavy losses, resulting in legal action against the proprietor in case of loan taken.A small business start up should follow the below mentioned methods for grater success:Formulating a business plan:For any small business start up, a well defined plan is a must. The final objective of the business should be precise and clear. The requirements should be formulated and the money to be invested should be prudently calculated. Almost equal amount of money invested should be available for back up in case of heavy losses incurred. The amount of man power required and their required qualification and skills should be decided.Implementation of the Plan:The business plans made initially should be implemented and all objectives set should be achieved. Financially, loans should be taken if self financing is not possible. Most of the banks provide loans for businesses. It is easier to obtain loans for partnership ventures. After the principle amount is obtained, the hiring of man power is done. This is followed by purchasing of all commodities needed for the business to start. The small business start up can now function fully.Getting customers and Marketing:Getting the right customers is the key to success for all small business start ups. Doing a small research on the market trends and customer needs helps in changing the business strategy for higher profits. Marketing the product of business to the target customers is optional, depending on the type of product. Marketing for a small business start up can be restricted to pamphlets, news papers, and small hoardings.Expansion of business:Upon attainment of the set objectives, the small business can increase its investments, manpower and productivity. This can be achieved if the small businesses start up earned considerable profit. This can expand the boundaries of the business and reach to a larger group of customers to increase the profit margin. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://sprngupms.info/how-to-organize-a-small-business-start-up,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Small Business Game, Big Business Win</title> <link>https://sprngupms.info/small-business-game-big-business-win,html</link> <comments>https://sprngupms.info/small-business-game-big-business-win,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Sun, 05 Feb 2023 19:46:22 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <category><![CDATA[accounting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[companies]]></category> <category><![CDATA[google]]></category> <category><![CDATA[near me]]></category> <category><![CDATA[offices]]></category> <category><![CDATA[restaurant]]></category> <category><![CDATA[sale]]></category> <category><![CDATA[services]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://sprngupms.info/?p=48</guid> <description><![CDATA[My neighbors are entrepreneurs at heart. They are part of the 860,000 new small business enterprises that opened doors this year. At the rate they are going they could also be part of the churned small enterprises that will close their doors over the next year if they don’t proactively take preventive measures.My neighbors represent [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> My neighbors are entrepreneurs at heart. They are part of the 860,000 new small business enterprises that opened doors this year. At the rate they are going they could also be part of the churned small enterprises that will close their doors over the next year if they don’t proactively take preventive measures.My neighbors represent the vast majority of small business owners entering the market daily. In the beginning they are brimming with bright optimism and bright ideas. By the end they wonder how they could have made it all work as they close doors on yet another opportunity.What are my neighbors, and small business owners (SBOs) like them doing wrong?Do small businesses need excess cash flow to make it in this market?Do marketing mix, core competencies and/or niche marketing spell small business accomplishment?Well…yes and no.I don’t think ample cash reserves tell the entire story for how to be a small business success. Cash helps, but it’s one piece to the overall puzzle. I also don’t think complex stats and formal business jargon determine small business success either. It helps to talk-the-talk. It helps even more to walk-the-walk, but again complexity doesn’t help unravel the tangled web of linear progression.Bottom line, a devotion to realizing and then seizing business opportunities can course an SBO onto the path of growth.A business with cash that does not do this will falter. Just as a business with a small budget can do this and succeed.Small companies can play in this business game to garner big business wins.o Size MattersSmall businesses have the advantage in just that: their size!Unlike larger corporations, small businesses are postured to agilely and quickly remedy non cost-effective processes, products, and/or services. Also, small businesses can advantageously leverage their span of control as it is more cross functional and less hierarchical than larger competitors. Hence, revisions can be implemented and evident to the consumer before problems become systemically ingrained.Utilize your business size and its mobility to deliver effective results for your consumers and your employees.o Dedicate your WitsWhile cash flow is a routine focus for business sustenance and growth, do not neglect the need for creative brainpower. As tiring as constant innovation and inventiveness can be when intermingled with ever changing products, services and finances, understand thriving enterprises analyze the market for the best opportunities to meet consumer demand.Your business is static until you make it dynamic.o Know Yourself to Know Your BusinessCompetition is rampant and it can affect sales. Yet, there are enough resources to support the SBO. If you look around at the varying small organizations in a city district, you should be encouraged! For the most part, these businesses offer similar products and/or services as larger companies, yet they still thrive.Know what you offer and tout your uniqueness. A small business is an external expression of its owner. So just doing what you do is differentiation! Recognize it, and champion it as a unique resource available only through your gateway.o Listen to the BeatYou don’t have to have expensive customer feedback mechanisms to know what your customers are saying. Feedback comes your way all the time in hushed compliments and verbose criticisms.Be a pulse chaser! In other words, seek what’s hot. Pulse chasing companies experience business progression and growth beyond the box in which they initially started. Don’t just ask customers if they satisfied. Strive to exceed their expectations. There certainly exist tangent markets of available market share if you’re willing to listen to what that market says.o Do It Already!Knowing what to do and not doing it is insanity. The point of business ownership lies in the freedom to mold your ideas into a value-added good or service. Yet, execution is the lacking factor capable of diversifying your product into a money-making entity versus a money-sucking unit.Implementing other processes and streamlining existing ones are not necessarily easy steps, but such analyses are relevant and can result in longstanding progressive actions. Lean and agile corporations anticipate customer demand, but the battle is won in how they back up their hunch with consistently salable products or services.o Burn the Midnight OilBusiness is rhythmic.Hang in there long enough to learn your business’ battle rhythm. Decisions can then be made proactively versus reactively, which gives the SBO an offensive positioning.The only way you’ll know any of this data, however, is through defining new processes, assessing their relevance and reassessing the overall process for positive repositioning.And that takes time…so hang in there! </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://sprngupms.info/small-business-game-big-business-win,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Brand Book: Build a Consistent Brand Around Your Company Logo</title> <link>https://sprngupms.info/brand-book-build-a-consistent-brand-around-your-company-logo,html</link> <comments>https://sprngupms.info/brand-book-build-a-consistent-brand-around-your-company-logo,html#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2023 09:33:59 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>admin</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://sprngupms.info/?p=46</guid> <description><![CDATA[Let’s say you have decided to start your own business, or you thought of upgrading or reinventing your brand. One of the first order of things you would be doing is to design a logo for your business. Your logo would have to say it all about your brand: your color scheme, font styles, feel [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Let’s say you have decided to start your own business, or you thought of upgrading or reinventing your brand. One of the first order of things you would be doing is to design a logo for your business. Your logo would have to say it all about your brand: your color scheme, font styles, feel and so on. But sometimes, the whole thing would just seem to be quite off, and you can’t figure out what is wrong.This kind of situation is the reason why you need to have a consistent and strong brand identity. Especially in today’s modern market trend, when tiny details make or break you. Not only does it makes your brand look firm but it would build your credibility, as well.So here’s the big question: How? – Well, enter the brand book.What is a Brand Book?A brand book is a set of rules and guidelines for the use of your brand. A standard if you must. A style guide, in a designer’s context. It basically explains how to properly make use of elements to make sure that it is consistent with your brand.Why create a brand guide for your business?Having a brand book makes it easier to do a project. Example: if you decided to do a packaging for a brand product, presenting the brand book to the designer would make things easier to select font styles, colors, and whatnot and output would be consistent with your brand.Makes you look professional. Being consistent with your marketing tools and outputs makes you look professional. Like everything’s planned out to be the way they are.You will have control of your brand. Having standardized brand gives your control of any loose ends. If something is not working – a look or feel – you refer to your trusty old brand book.Never a cheap moment. When you have a brand that’s solid in all corners, your brand would avoid looking cheap.You enhance your brand. With your brand’s style regulated, it makes you progress into a finer and solid brand. You are put onto a perspective where you see your brand’s untapped potential and develop changes for its betterment.What to Include in a Brand Book?There are several components to include in a brand book. Here are the basics and must be included.BRAND OVERVIEWAs much as possible, this should be brief. In little words as possible, make sure that the concept for the design of your brand is clear. A designer should likely read this very important part of the brand book; it should tell what the brand is aiming to be, its look and feel.LOGOSA logo is the brand’s key component to its strategy; therefore, it should be taken seriously. The brand will likely revolve around the logo concept BUT the logo is not your brand alone. Make sure there are many logo variations for certain styles and backgrounds, and clarify minimum sizes.INCORRECT LOGO USAGERemember when I said, a detail can make or break your brand? Here’s a common mistake in the branding world: logos are used and stamped upon on almost anything. Your brand has to look professional, and you should know not to mess around with it. If you do, you’re basically messing with your reputation. You have to be careful to make sure that designers or anyone that would make use of your brand logo understands what they can and cannot do with it.FONTSFont is crucial. It also affects your brand’s feel. You have to define what kind of typefaces to use. More so, their size, colors, headline and body typeface. Do not forget to include web and non-web fonts.COLORSSince your brand revolves around your logo, and your logo revolves around a particular color set, it is imperative to make sure that the use of colors is specified. Specify primary and secondary colors – when and where to use them. Include color palettes, as well as, formats for both print and web end.COPY AND TONE OF VOICEThink of this as another key component to your brands personality. It’s how you would want them to “hear” or “read” you – your character. Defining the way you deal or sound like, especially in the social media, is a great way to be consistent. When there are several people writing or doing the copy in their different ways, your brand would seem to have several personalities. That is why it is key to have these laid out properly.ICONOGRAPHYSpecify what size, spacing, and where to use icons is significant to promote consistency.OTHER COMPONENTS THAT CAN BE INCLUDEDThere are still several components that you can integrate in your brand book. It’s really up to you and up to the industry your business is in. Some components that you could consider include:<br />Photography style<br />Supporting graphic elements<br />Design layouts and grids<br />Social media profile page applications<br />Brochure/flyer layout options<br />Website layout<br />Signage specifications<br />Advertising treatments<br />Merchandising applications<br />Who makes a Brand Book?Usually, brand books are developed by an experienced graphic designer. Sometimes, the agency where your logo is made could do this for you. Even if you already have a logo, you can always hire someone to make your brand book. But of course, it’s better to have the one who made your logo do the brand book for you, as well, to ensure that it flows well with your logo.It is always better to have a PDF format brand book for you, aside from it being printed. It’ll make things convenient especially during a project where you can always send it via email.The Bottom LineYour logo is a significant component of your brand. Several aspects of your business revolve around it, especially in the modern branding world. But your logo alone is not your brand. It’s just a part of your strategy to be identified with. How your logo is treated and used is where your branding unfolds. By having a brand book, you can ensure that everything works consistently to have a strong and solid brand. </p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://sprngupms.info/brand-book-build-a-consistent-brand-around-your-company-logo,html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel></rss> If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:
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