This Podcast Is Episode Number 0300, And It Will Be About The Biggest Management Strategy Problems Construction Companies Face Nowadays Today's Guest Article Is From Jacob Dillon As a construction business owner, you're probably rarely concerned about management strategies. Perhaps, you are more focused on signing new contracts and successfully completing the work. Then, you measure the results, usually in the form of numbers that the accounting system launches. This is already a management strategy. You make plans on what kind of contracts you want to propose, and you plan the entire process around completing a contract. Then, you measure your achievements. If you implemented a marketing campaign to promote your business, your business management strategy is even more complete. But it’s not entirely complete until you call it with the right name and approach it from the right angle. We’re talking about a management strategy, also known as strategic management. This is the plan for managing your company’s resources in the most effective way to achieve its goals and objectives. In practice, it means that the strategic management of your construction business will set precise goals, analyze the market and competitive businesses, analyze the structure of your organization, and plan all the right steps towards achieving your goals. Each new aspect of your marketing campaign and every new contract must be seen as part of your management strategy. As with any other complex process within your organization, there are specific issues that stand on the way to effortless accomplishments. When it comes to management strategy, these are the most common problems that construction businesses face: 1. The Need To Upgrade The Strategy To Meet New Demands The construction industry is constantly coming up with innovations. Technology became a major player. It doesn’t matter how experienced and well-established your company is; the clients will be interested in the type of technology it uses. Virtual and augmented reality, machine learning, wearable technology, predictive analysis, prefabrication - your management strategy has to be open for implementing these and many other opportunities in the company’s practices. So you’ll create the strategy. That’s okay. It has to be very specific. But what happens when you have to add something new and different? You must not allow the strategy to undermine your opportunities for growth. It has to be flexible. The development plan needs to be open for new additions. Needless to say, you must never plan the budget up to the very last cent. Unexpected costs will occur with the addition of new technology, so always have a reserve in your plans. 2. Emerging Internet Trends You planned your marketing campaign in a very specific way. You have a Facebook page or maybe even a blog. But the way people get informed changes over time. As you probably know, Facebook no longer features posts from business pages in people’s feeds, unless these posts are sponsored (paid). In addition to getting informed online, today’s customers and clients like making purchases online. If a client is interested in your offer, they will want to get very specific details at your website, and they will want the option to make the arrangement right there. Scheduling meetings are not really necessary. The environment where you promote your business changes. As an owner, you don’t have time to track all these subtle changes and react to them. You absolutely need a team of marketing experts, writers from services like EssayOnTime, and graphic designers to plan and execute part of the strategy. 3. Difficulties To Interpret Data Every single day, new data is being added to the pool of data you already have. Each post you publish on social media, each promotional email you send, and each new email newsletter subscription is...

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0299, And It Will Be About 8 Tips On Making Email Marketing Work For Your Business Today's Guest Article Is From Freddie Tubbs As a contractor, you probably have some former clients you want to stay in contact with and a need to bring the new customers in. The ideal way is to communicate with both of these groups in a timely, consistent manner and let them know what you are up to. Since most people use email to communicate, this could be an excellent opportunity for you to catch their attention and build a good relationship. It gives you complete control over who sees your messages and you can be sure that your emails will go to everyone on your list. Social media is, in contrast, quite fickle and sometimes people will miss your posts unintentionally. This is why well-written emails from you might do a far better job. Here is how to use email marketing for your construction business. Build an email list To build an email list, you'll likely need some sort of a website or online platform where you can gather subscribers. Build a good landing page and offer something in turn for their subscription. You can also set up a page where they can get a quote price on your work based on their demands. This is one of the best ways to get subscribers because everyone prefers to have such information delivered to their inboxes. Promise exclusivity like discounts, promo codes, tips, free content and so on. All of these things will lead to you gathering more email subscribers and having an active communication with your clients in season and off-season. Write strong subject lines The subject line is one of the first things the reader sees when they open your email and this means that it has to be striking. For one, it needs to be relevant to the subject at hand so you can't be deceiving and trick people with certain subject lines. Next, it should be attention grabbing. People usually open emails with question subject lines or their own name in it. Generic titles don't work as well. Use a company email Make sure that your email address is recognizable since your clients will have to be completely sure who it's coming from. Use a verified, personal email address that shows them who you are from the get-go and ensures them in your trustworthiness.    Write clear email copy Email copywriting can be a daunting task for people who want to succeed in Email copywriting but have little to no experience in doing so. Construction work really has nothing to do with writing, so here are some powerful tools to help you out: Studydemic- If you need an email copywriting guide, look no further than this resource full of helpful tips. Boomessays - In case you feel like your writing could use some editing, you should get some help from this tool. Writing Populist - Grammar mistakes can be pesky but with this checker, you will never need to check grammar yourself again. Academized - Proofreading is essential in writing email copy. Use this simple tool. Link to your site Each one of your emails should contain a link that leads back to your website. This way, you get traffic and your subscribers get an opportunity to read more of your content, get acquainted with your prices and so on. Include a CTA The purpose of every email is to entice some action on the part of the recipient. Whether it's a share, a feedback response, a purchase or something else entirely, you need to add calls-to-action to every email you create. These are small but compelling lines at the end of your emails calling for the next step - for instance, ‘Buy Now!’, Get the discount here’ and so on. Don't spam Be wary of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) guidelines which explicitly say what you should and shouldn't do when email marketing. “These rules are very straightforward and you should pay attention to them. Most of the time, if you write properly and with the right intention, you can hardly make a...

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0298, And It Will Be About 7 Mistakes When Writing A Construction Business Proposal Today's Guest Article Is From Daniela McVicker If your construction company doesn’t provide unique services, you should clearly understand that you have a lot of competitors, who write business proposals almost identical to yours. It’s not surprising that clients always find it difficult to make a choice in your favor when all options seem to be equal. For this reason, it’s crucially important to learn how to make your construction business proposal stand out from the crowd. If you want to define, which mistakes you usually make and how to avoid them, just keep reading. Don’t understand client’s needs You will never win a competition if you send an identical standard construction business proposal to all your potential clients. It’s a totally wrong approach to gain trust. You should always analyze the specific needs of a client and create an exclusive proposal. You should clearly explain how your company will satisfy these concrete needs. Try to answer a simple question: what benefits this client will get, if he chooses you among the others? The project will be yours if you step into your customer’s shoes and state his expectations in your proposal. You should make your client think: “Wow! This is a perfect solution to our problem!” Don’t provide any proofs of your qualification If you want a client to believe that you are the best construction company for this project, you should provide the proofs. You can add photos, testimonials, or any other pieces of evidence of completed projects as appendixes. “Even if you completed a hundred similar projects, you should choose only 2 or 3 of them. Show the works, which you are proud of the most” – recommends Albert Malinger, an editor at Top Essay Writing. Set inadequate fees You should never drop your price to compete with other companies. You should always prove in your business proposal why your services are worth this money. Otherwise, you will never get the desired level of profit. However, you should never set your prices too high, because it lowers your chances to win. Your task is to evaluate the real market value of your services and be honest with your potential client. Forget to proofread proposal The worst thing you can do is to write an outstanding business proposal and forget to proofread it. Even one epic typo or grammar mistake can spoil your reputation. No one will trust the quality of your services if you are not able to control the quality of the writing. Include unimportant information You will never make a great first impression on a potential client if you overwhelm him with tons of irrelevant information. If your client is looking for a construction company specializing in garage construction, you should state your expertise in this very field only. If you also mention that your company can build a swimming pool, it will make your proposal sound unprofessional. Don’t pay attention to text formatting Your clients are busy people, and they receive tons of construction business proposals every day. If you submit a 5-page long document, which has no clear structure, it’s unlikely that addressee will waste his time reading it. If you want to make sure that your client will not send your business proposal to trash, make it easy to scan. It’s important to break the text into sections, use appropriate headings and list items in bullet points. Don’t propose any timeline It happens that some construction companies write about their vast experience, offer affordable prices, but forget to propose a timeline. As a result, the client feels a little confused. Even if he liked an offer, he cannot accept it without knowing the deadlines. You are responsible to estimate approximate time of construction and to present this information to your...

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0297, And It Will Be About Contractor Loans: An Expert's Guide On How To Finance Your Business Running a contractor operation takes a pretty special individual, especially since there are going to be so many different moving parts with each and every project your contracting outfit takes on. Hammering out bids, winning jobs, managing a crew, knocking out material lists and – most importantly – making sure that you stay on top of your cash flow are all big pieces of the contracting business puzzle. Because of the size and scale of these projects (even the smallest of contracting jobs), things get pretty expensive, and the odds are pretty good you’re going to need to tap into business loans every now and again. But contractors, particularly those just getting started in the business with their own outfit, usually find unsecured business loans to be a headache and hassle to get a hold of. These kinds of loans usually aren’t given out to folks without a track record under their belts. And on top of that these kinds of loans usually don’t come with the kind of financing contractors need to get projects from start to finish. Here are a couple of options you want to consider when you’re looking to get financing for your business. Consider traditional bank/credit union and SBA loans specifically for contractors Traditional banks, credit unions, and the Small Business Administration all offer specific loan packages for the contracting industry that you may be able to take full advantage of. You’ll obviously have to meet with local bank representatives (or fill out the government paperwork with the SBA) to figure out the specifics of these offers, and it’s not a bad idea to go to a bank that you have a bit of a history with as a “retail” customer. At the same time, these kinds of loans can take a long time to go through the approval process – particularly if you’re asking for hundreds of thousands of dollars that you might need to knock out a couple of construction projects you’re looking to undertake. Most suppliers will offer some kind of leasing and financing package for local contractors Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of suppliers in your local area are likely to offer some kind of leasing and financing package for contractors that do – or anticipate – a lot of business with them. You’ll need to create an account with your local hardware stores, your local building supply stores, and your local home department stores to take advantage of these financing packages. On top of that, you want to make sure that you read the fine print of each agreement, as they are almost always going to have unique terms from one another, and you’ll want to understand every detail of each of these financial packages before you sign on the dotted line. Major chains (like Home Depot and Lowe’s, for example) also offer their own financing package for professional contractors that are well worth looking into. How to make working capital loans work for your contracting outfit? At the end of the day, you might want to go the more nontraditional route of getting financing for your contracting outfit and start looking into working capital loans from these kinds of lenders. Working capital loans essentially keep you flush with all the funding you need to keep your cash flow positive, helping you secure materials, payout your payroll, and cover any minor blips in the road along the way until the profits from your jobs start coming in. Again, you’ll need to look into the specifics of each working capital offer before you decide to take the plunge. Some nontraditional lending packages will be more advantageous to leverage compared to others, and you want to make sure that you are always making a smart move with this kind of nontraditional financing rather than saddling yourself with a financial burden later down the line for a short-term fix. All...

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0296, And It Will Be About The Top 5 Online Marketing Trends In 2019 With Actionable Tips For Contractors Today more than ever, we live in a world where information is accessible at the touch of a button, a few clicks on your keyboard, or even just a voice command. Although it's hard to predict where new technologies will lead us, one thing is for certain - we are now all digitally connected. The internet has caused our businesses to thrive and survive and there's no way of blocking its impact in our day-to-day lives.  With that said, it is helpful to keep an eye out on these marketing trends that could influence how your target audience search and consume data along with actionable tips that could jump start your new year "to-do list":     Trend #1: A Functional Website (Content Is Everything) Your online storefront is your landing page. Although there's no manual for creating a high-converting copy and building a foolproof design, there is no denying that to establish your online presence, you need to have a business website. People don't usually go for the best products and services in the market (especially the ones who are new to your site), they opt for the one whose information they can digest quickly and easily.  Actionable Tip: Donald Miller, founder of StoryBrand, has an easy and powerful way of evaluating your website. As a rule, upon visiting your website, one should understand what you offer within five seconds. Does your website pass the "Grunt Test" (Assuming a caveman were to open a laptop, look at your site for 5 seconds, and close the laptop, will it be able to grunt what is your website about?) With just a quick glance at your homepage, can your visitor answer these three questions: What is it that you offer? How will it make my life better? What do I need to do to buy your product/hire of your services? Give your website a quick make-over by: Making your headline direct (easy-to-understand tagline) Displaying the convenience your client will experience if they hire your services Including an obvious call-to-action button ("Contact Us", "Call Now" in bright, visible colors) Trend #2: Optimize For Local User Intent Have you ever reached for your phone, opened your browser, and typed "Where can I find Mexican food near me?" when looking for a place to eat? You have a specific "intent" in mind (food) and would like to eat nearby because, well, you're starving. The page result will bring you a list of restaurant names and maps with their service hours. Google's dominance in search traffic revolutionized the way we look for answers online and we as users, has become more conversational with our queries (whether we are typing it or doing a voice search). Thus, it is crucial for your company to appear on Local SERPs (Search Engine Result Page) to remain search relevancy and build authority while generating better leads for your business. Actionable Tip: If you haven't done so, claim your Google My Business listing and create a Google My Business profile. Fill out your business page properly and be sure to include all the important details: address, contact number, business hours, and a unique, formatted description of your company with links to your online site. Also, you can maximize your Google presence by creating a free website with an updated profile image (logo), post your services with high-resolution photos for visually appealing content. Trend #3: Social Media Community If Google is for "intent", the use of social media is for "interest". According to Hootsuite, 66% of monthly Facebook users use it daily, with Americans spending 58 minutes per day on Facebook. Likewise, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube have amassed millions of users who are sharing micro-content every second in any given day. Since social...

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0295, And It Will Be About The Highlights Of Our 2018 And Some Helpful Reminders It’s been another great year for Fast Easy Accounting. For those of you who have been with us through all these years, we appreciate your support; without our contractor clients, subscribers, podcast listeners, blog readers, and guest bloggers, we wouldn’t get to where we are today. As we look back on our 2018, I hope your fondest memories will include the time you’ve spent with all the things you love and are passionate about. And because we love what we do and we are passionate about serving our contractor friends - for us, this year was all about empowering your contracting business by continually providing you with outstanding products, high-quality services, and dependable resources for your bookkeeping and accounting needs. Year-In-Review Continuing Education We believe that knowledge is power and having access to the best available information is an important aspect for us to serve you better. Our team attended in-person seminars and conventions, and took in-person and online classes, to keep up with technology and enrich our profession. As the website administrator, I attended a Google Cloud event (I won’t bore you with the details) and marketing classes which I think would truly benefit you as well (watch out for my blog post of recommendations for 2019 in case you’re interested). We’ve done quite a few exciting changes to our main site and over at the store. You can now easily navigate our Menu with all the helpful links still in place and the orange buttons at the top to quickly access the pages. We’ve also included a Search Bar and a Help section. Our blog has grown tremendously and to deliver more content, articles are also posted on Tuesdays written by our reliable and excellent guest bloggers. Our online store continues to evolve as we make way for more products and services. Products and Services What better way to cap off this year than to get better insight and deeper understanding of your construction company? We don't want you to miss out on these best selling products and services in our Fast Easy Accounting store. Contractor Bookkeeping Review- A 36-Point list of the current issues with your bookkeeping file for $29.95 only. PDF with 30-Minute, 1-Hour, or 2-Hour consultation packages are available. Contractor Business Performance Report- Assess your business data and make better decisions for your company. Get a PDF report for $29.95 or choose from 30-Minute, 1-Hour, or 2-Hour consultation with Randal DeHart. Contractor Payment Application- Keep track of your current project's information, invoices, change orders, and payment details the fast and easy way - all built in Excel. Starts with $97 for 1 Application. Available in 2, 3, 5, 10, and 15 Applications. Free Mobile App   Early this year, we launched our mobile app. This App was designed to provide every service you could ask from us. We’ve put your favorite business systems, invaluable tools and features such as calculators, tax tables, logbooks, receipt and income management, instant access to the latest financial news and information and valuable company info, directly from us. With all this on one App, our App will likely be your go-to tool in the future.  It’s available for iPhone, iPad and Android Devices completely free of charge right now! Enjoy our App with our compliments! Helpful Reminders From Sharie: Be mindful of the paperwork that needs to be stamped on or before December 31st. Payroll – Did you take any personal payroll (S-Corp) If not, it may impact your personal deductions.  IRA - 401K - Making those final payments before midnight on December 31. (Do not wait until 11:59 PM) Some plans allow you to make payments until April 15th (double check the dates– do not assume) Income – Getting one last customer invoice and receiving the payment...

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0294, And It Will Be About Risks Construction Contractors Face While On The Job   Today's Guest Article Is From Rachel Porter Content Specialist At Custom Contractors Insurance Many people look at someone who has made it as a contractor and often find themselves wishing they were contractors too. After all, contractors are their own bosses, with flexible hours and, more often than not, a much-higher pay at the end of the day. Indeed, being a contractor has its perks. However, it’s hardly a walk in the park. As a matter of fact, contractors probably face more risks compared to regular employees, and they will always need construction contractors insurance to protect themselves. Let’s take a look at some of the risks contractors face while doing their job. Damage to or loss of tools and equipment For contractors, their tools and equipment are their bread and butter. There is no way they can do their job and deliver what’s required of them if their equipment are damaged and stolen, and in the contracting business, both are very real possibilities. Aside from the risk of workers damaging their tools one way or another, it’s also not uncommon for thefts to happen at a construction worksite. Competition prices taking a dive So a responsible contractor takes pride in the quality of his work, and his rates are commensurate to the kind of results that he delivers. However, a contractor might have competitors who are more than willing to bid projects below cost just so they can create some cash flow for their operations. Some do this hoping to buy out projects or earn extra profit by way of change orders. In any case, when competitors take a dive, it makes acquiring new work even harder. The seasonal slowness Unless a contractor is based in the warmer regions of the United States, he will likely experience a work slowdown whenever winter comes. There is no way a contractor can work when the ground is frozen and covered by two feet of snow. The freezing winds will also make an icicle of any worker who even tries to work at a certain height. Then again, even warmer climates do not guarantee continuous work. Economic downturns can make finding contracts more difficult regardless of the weather. Flawed finished product A contractor should always comply with safety standards and building codes, because the alternative really hurts. If the finished project is defective in any way because it’s not up to local, state, and federal building regulations, the client who commissioned the project will likely ask the contractor for a reimbursement, and that could bring that contractor’s company down. Missing deadlines Clients will always want their project to be finished on time, as agreed. However, as the project goes underway, so many things can happen that might delay it. Equipment might break down, materials are delivered late, or any other unforeseen hitches might occur. That’s why contractors who know and understand the value of keeping deadlines always keep their communication lines with their clients open, so if some inevitable delay happens, clients will get a heads-up and amend the contract to move the deadline. Worker and third-party injuries A contractor will always be ultimately liable for any injuries that could happen within the work site. A worker or third parties like clients visiting the site could get injured, and the contractor could potentially find himself at the receiving end of a claim that could ruin his company financially.  CONCLUSION: Thankfully, contractors insurance can help contractors weather any of these risks. General liability insurance, for instance, would serve them well when it comes to third-party injuries. Workers' Compensation Insurance, on the other hand, can take care of any employee who might get hurt. So the next time you catch yourself daydreaming about quitting your job and becoming a full-time contractor, always remind yourself to prepare for...

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0293, And It Will Be About Systematic Payments: Why Should Businesses Use Payroll Service?    Today's Guest Article Is From Sheena Justine Baxter Content Writer And Editor Running a small business can be hectic. There are plenty of tasks for a business owner to oversee when handling the managing of daily operations. Inspecting staffing requirements, attendance, business reviews and more, can fill its plate on a daily or weekly basis. Completing payroll is another task that must be done once or sometimes twice a month, depending on the pay periods. These need to be completed on the specified date without delays and must be completely accurate. Even the slightest mistake may cast doubt on the business and employees will quickly become demoralized – starting a chain reaction that threatens to derail the entire operation. It is quite common for disgruntled employees to seek help from government labor enforcement agencies; seeking retribution for what they see as unfair and unsound business practices being employed. What’s wrong with completing it manually? It’ll cost me less. Many small business owners complete manual processing of payroll to lower overhead costs of operation. While this seems like a good idea on paper, it really isn't. Thinking big means to prepare for an eventuality of growth and processing payroll for each and every employee individually doesn’t say much for that business owner’s vision of the future. Manually completing payroll is time-consuming and more than likely to result in a few errors along the way, especially when a business owner is dealing with a staff of 50-plus heads. However accidental they are, if these discrepancies become frequent, the owner will most likely be certain to face angry employees, or worse, angry tax authorities. Making a small investment now is better than incurring casualties. Completing payroll isn’t that difficult. What’s the big deal? It is the employer’s responsibility to calculate tax and there are federal, state, and local payroll taxes that need to be applied per payroll per person. According to the National Small Business Association (NSBA), 1 out of every 3 small businesses spends an average of 80 hours each year filing taxes, including the ones on a payroll. 80 hours that could have been spent elsewhere; perhaps, focused towards other useful initiatives that would actually help the business grow. Checking an employee’s worked hours and multiplying it by their rate of pay isn’t the hard part of doing payroll manually. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Putting all mention of taxes aside, a small business owner will also need to account for overtime work hours, vacation leaves, bonuses or compensation, health and medical benefits, and possibly much more. The average amount of time that it takes to complete manual payroll processing for a single employee (and this is not even taking into account the aforementioned overtime work hours, etc.) is about 11 minutes. Multiply that by the total amount of heads that are currently employed, and bingo, someone’s missing the bus ride home. Okay. What’s the solution then? The solution is to invest and apply for a payroll service. The primary advantages of a small business owner using a payroll service are numerous hours saved and no liability for errors. If mistakes occur, it now becomes the payroll service’s responsibility to correct and take ownership of the problem. Besides that, there are many other benefits to reap. Depending on which type of service is being used, the enrollment fee may either be one-time or a monthly subscription fee. Additional features that payroll services offer typically come with an additional fee on top of the upfront cost. A smart business owner will analyze the needs of his/her business and choose a payroll service that fits right in the groove. Are only the basic functions required, or are additional services needed? Well, what...

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0292, And It Will Be About Your MAP To Increasing Cash Flow and Profits In Your Contracting Company Today's Guest Article Is From Joseph McLean Full-Time Freelance Writer Managing an entire project on your own can be overwhelming. Being in charge of endless tasks and assignments is pressuring – sometimes, you even feel that there’s no way you could handle anything anymore. Feelings of anxiety and concern might overthrow your balance, and that’s a sign you should bring a change in your work life. We will provide you 5 strategy tips to project management success that might save you from going insane!   1. Set the Goals and Plan the Day Before getting started, set your goals and plan your day accordingly. Knowing where you started and where you are headed is crucial for tracking your long-time progress. When you have no idea what your final goal is, or how much of your personal goals you’ve already completed, things start to get complicated. Some guidelines on how to set goals, and help your team set theirs too: ⦁    Think about what motivates you ⦁    Set your life priorities ⦁    Be S.M.A.R.T. – choose Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time bound goals ⦁    Ask yourself and your team “why?” Why are they doing this? Why are you doing this? What do you want to achieve, how would that have a powerful impact in your life? Planning your day: ⦁    Start one night before – write a to-do list ⦁    Prioritize your tasks ⦁    Design an ⦁    action plan, and present it to your team ⦁    Design daily tasks to each one of them, and be structured in your presentation of the assignments Make sure you and your team stick to the plan you’ve outlined, even when the deadlines might be a little bit shaky. Don’t be too hard on them or on yourself, but do respect what you’ve planned every single day. 2. Choose the Right Team Choosing the right people to work with is essential. Dan Kelsey, freelancer and expert in college homework help at San Antonio English School, shares his opinion. “Every team player will follow specific guidelines and work in their area of expertise, so that in the end, the pieces of work can be joined together and the puzzle completed. If the pieces don’t fit together, there will be no puzzle. That’s when your project’s outcomes become unsatisfactory.” Here are some great tips on how to choose the perfect team for your business: ⦁    Research each one of your employee’s backgrounds ⦁    Ask who they are, what they enjoy doing, and what they like the most about working in a team – focus on their inherent personality, not necessarily on their accomplishments; ⦁    Look at how competent they are by questioning them; look at their past results if you must, but don’t judge if their results are not the best; maybe they’ve evolved in the meantime and they’d make great assets to your team now; ⦁    Design at least three “team core values,” and evaluate the candidate according to that – do they fit in? ⦁    Listen to their stories and don’t draw conclusions based on assumptions. Get to know the person before saying yes or no. It’s important to keep an open mind when hiring someone new, but it’s also crucial to be realistic. Give each person a chance, but if they really don’t look like they’d fit in, it’s probably best to say “pass.” 3. Let Go of Expectations Good project managers understand that great outcomes come with hard work. However, there are times when we work hard and plenty, but our results do not quite show it – and that’s totally fine. That means we must work even harder in order to succeed. Letting go of expectations is the first step to accepting where we are and...

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0291, And It Will Be About New Tools 2018 that I Discovered and Want to Share With You  Today's Podcast Is Based On A Guest Article From Sandra Hayward The technological progress is moving too fast. Life has changed tremendously in the past few years and there are amazing tools that can make life easier. Whether you are studying, managing your business or simply enjoying your life, there are a lot of apps that you can use to realize your goals. I have tried a lot of apps and tools and some have actually changed my life.  Here are some of the best new tools that I want to share with you: 1. Pocket: This is one of the best content curation tools that every marketer should use. Content curation is the process of going through a lot of information and content in order to publish meaningful and valuable posts. Organizing and sharing existing content is extremely important because it helps you improve the status of your brand and increase your customers’ loyalty. This app is amazing because it allows you to save all your images, files, videos and articles in one place. Instead of sending yourself multiple emails with links that you should go through later or going through your bookmarks, this tool will help you save time and effort. It also integrates with other tools and apps for maximum convenience. You can also use it for personal purposes because it is so versatile. 2. Flipboard Gathering and collecting news from several sources can help you create your own online magazine. This app is a news aggregator that is used to collect the best online content that has already been shared on the internet. Focusing on the niches that are relevant to your business, you will be able to gain access to news that will keep your readers interested. You also get news published on different social media platforms. People trust a website that offers valuable information. You should always try to create informative articles, videos, and infographics that your target clients will find useful. Presenting news from various sources is definitely a plus. This app is used to gather all the information that might interest you on a personal level as well. A lot of students prefer to hire a professional service that offers different types of papers written in college. But if you prefer to write your own assignments, this app can be used to gain access to different relevant resources that you can read while studying.   3. Evernote: This is one of the most important apps that you can use to organize your data, tasks, time and goals. Evernote is a versatile tool that you should use to manage your personal and professional life at the same time. It can be synchronized across multiple devices and is compatible with every operating system. This is why it is considered to be one of the most widely used. You can use it to write your everyday to-do lists, shopping list or check the progress of your tasks against a checklist. Everything you write can be shared with other people to make sure that you are communicating with your employees, friends and family members in the most efficient way. The best thing about Evernote is that you can use it even when you don’t have an internet connection. Whether you are going through a list or simply checking some of the links you saved before, you can access everything while you are offline. 4. Reddit: Creating informative content improves your SEO, increases engagement and generates more leads to your website. All of these reasons will boost your sales and increase your brand’s loyalty. Reddit is an excellent content sharing platform that you can use to share your online content. It has an enormous amount of traffic and this means that you can gain access to a big number of leads who might be interested in your products or services. Users are organized in groups that are interested in certain themes or niches and this means that you get to identify your target...