Business

If there is anything most people learned from 2020, it would be how to prepare for uncertainties. However, we can’t live in the despair of 2020 forever. The time has come for everyone to move on and chart a new course for the new year.

One of such people eager and prepared to approach 2021 with a positive mindset is Sawyer Winston. Over the years, Sawyer Winston has established himself as one of San Diego’s finest serial entrepreneurs.

He had a lot to say about the past year. But more importantly, he lets us know where he is headed for the coming year. Here’s Sawyer Winston outlining his goal-setting approach for the new year.

Sawyer, you kept a low profile in 2020. How did the year go for you?

On a personal note, 2020 was all about personal development. Being in lockdown allowed me to spend quality time with family. I was also able to do some individual learning all through the year.

On the other hand, business did not go as smoothly as expected at the beginning of the year. As we all know, there were a lot of uncertainties surrounding the year’s progress. The pandemic has hit everyone hard, and small businesses took the heaviest punch.

So, businesses were stuck as to what decisions to make. Thankfully, adapting to technology came easy for me as a serial entrepreneur. Safe to say, I’m leaving 2020 better equipped than I entered it.

You’re a key figure in San Diego’s business world. How did San Diego’s economy fare?

San Diego is a haven bustling with encouraging entrepreneurial activity. As a significant player in the economy, I witnessed firsthand what the pandemic did to the economy.

San Diego lost as much as $12 billion due to the pandemic. Tax revenue and job losses were also low points for San Diego in the year. However, I’m sure the economy will bounce back in the coming months.

What is your goal setting approach for 2021?

I take each year as a business adventure. So, I tend to adopt the SMART goal approach.

In the end, I want to be able to measure how much I have achieved within the time frame. For everything I hope to achieve, I make sure they are realistic and timely.

I also try to separate business, personal and physical goals. The aim is to have a work-life balance and still emerge as a complete individual at the end of 2021.

What should we expect from you in 2021?

I see myself venturing into new projects, all things being equal. Real estate has always been an exciting area of business for me. I’m looking to launch new businesses in that area.

Also, one thing people should know about Sawyer Winston is that I am passionate about helping communities. I will focus on providing aid for struggling communities within and outside San Diego.

Where do you see San Diego in 2021?

I see San Diego tapping into its immense potential. I believe the government is making great efforts to speed up San Diego’s recovery. The passion for innovation in San Diego is also enormous. I have no doubt 2021 will be a positive year.

 

Retailers are still very much present with us. Yet, lately, we’ve seen businesses radically change the conventional mode of reaching final consumers. Thanks to the ever-expanding benefits of the internet, new companies bypass retail and resell barriers. This way, they meet their customers with products directly.

In the business world, this style is called the direct-to-consumer business model. The first businesses to adopt this model rose so highly they became billion-dollar companies. However, what if I told you these businesses are losing the spark that once made them the cynosure of the mainstream business world.

However, Ryan Dean Hoggan believes new businesses are reinventing the direct-to-customer model. We spoke to Ryan Dean Hoggan on the current trends in the DTC space. He shares some insights into the model’s trajectory and what the future holds for bypassing retail agents.

Ryan, what contributed to the rise of the direct-to-consumer business model?

Principally, I believe it’s the internet and social media. The internet opened a lot of opportunities to reach people right in their homes. So, direct advertisement and sales became possible.

I should also mention that competitors were mostly absent. It was a developing model, so it took some time for rivals to catch up. With a large number of venture capital support, nothing could stop the blossoming DTC model companies.

The DTC business model is still around, but the industry leaders are losing out on value? Why?

It’s a general opinion that DTC businesses are become less viable compared to when they started. Gary Vaynerchuk believes that 90% of DTC brands are unknowingly out of business. The reasons are not far-fetched.

The success of companies like Warby Parker opened the doors to a lot of competitors. With this influx, the cost of social media ads skyrocketed. Business owners can no longer sustain the expenses required to draw the customer base to upscale their business value.

What does it take to reinvent the direct-to-consumer model?

In my opinion, reinventing DTC starts and ends with one word – omnichannel commerce. Direct-to-customer models are losing out on popularity and numbers. The omnichannel model is the perfect replacement.

In this new concept, businesses diversify on retailing processes. The biggest enterprises recognize that consumers will approach products through different channels. So, they create a strong online presence without missing out on the benefits of brick-and-mortar retail chains.

Are there prospects of success for businesses revamping the DTC model?

Most definitely. Albeit omnichannel won’t work all by itself. Businesses must support this model through vertical integration and preparing for what Les Schlesinger calls the “voice revolution.” In essence, new businesses may develop voice interfaces to market products since consumers are more driven by what they can both see and hear.

How can businesses prepare for disruptions to existing models?

Businesses must build a solid brand strategy with business models while they exist. Along with that, they should ensure ongoing consumer feedback. Feedback affords them the flexibility to undertake a change in the business model if necessary.

We recommend the following articles if you’re looking for more Ryan Dean Hoggan Interviews:

Multiple Ventures? Here’s How Ryan Dean Hoggan Structures His Multi-Brand Strategy
Ryan Dean Hoggan Shares: 5 Ways Venture Capital Funding Will Change in 2021

 

The entire world community, since mid-December 2019, has come under the enormous influence of the World Coronavirus Epidemic, which was named Covid-19. The pandemic has caused thousands of casualties around the world, imposed significant restrictions on the socio-cultural life of the population, and radically changed the trends of the global economy.

In this regard, business and economy, social and cultural life of the population, insurance industry and Covid-19, etc. are important areas for research today. In our article, we will dwell in more detail on the impact of the pandemic on the US economy.

Negative Influence of Covid-19 on the US Economy

The pandemic has significantly affected the trends of the world economy, leaving no country aside, including the United States. First of all, this is due to strict quarantine measures imposed by the governments of many states: the closure of shopping and entertainment centers, a ban on all public events, restrictions on movement both within the country and when crossing its borders, reducing production, etc.

Some companies have transferred their employees to work at home, while others are forced to send their employees on vacation. At the same time, there are cases of abuse and violation by some employers of the terms of the employment contract, which require employees to write applications for dismissal of their own volition or take leave at their own expense. All this has a negative impact on the financial situation and in the near future will reduce the demand for a number of goods and services.

In the second quarter of 2020, US economic activity fell sharply and output fell by an unprecedented 31.7% year-on-year as pandemic-related restrictions curbed private consumption. Most states reported an upward trend in new COVID-19 cases every day, which has stalled their plans to reopen economies or has led to the re-introduction of restrictions. And although high-frequency indicators began to stabilize in the summer, the growth rates of retail sales and industrial production slowed down in August.

Positive Impact of Covid-19

However, not all industries incur losses – a number of companies managed not only to maintain a stable position in the market but also to significantly increase their revenues.

Positive dynamics is noted in the following areas:

• E-Commerce. Today preference is given to shopping online;
• Pharmaceuticals. The efforts of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies are focused primarily on the development of a vaccine against COVID-19. Another important aspect of their activities is the timely delivery of the required quantities of drugs used in the treatment of people affected by the virus;
• Delivery services. Various delivery services are increasing their market share – restaurants and cafes deliver ready-made food to their customers by couriers;
• Video communication services. Conferencing services have become very popular;
• Entertainment and gaming services. People’s inability to spend their leisure time in cinemas and entertainment centers encourages people to increasingly use similar online services.

So, the impact of Covid-19 on the US economy is mixed. There are negative and positive aspects. It is difficult to make further predictions so far.

Settling on a reasonable attorney to represent your business during legal claims is challenging. This is because you have to settle on one with recognized expertise and dedication to providing legal services to your business. With the kind of research, you can do, you can choose to settle on an independent lawyer or depend on a law firm. This is meant to analyze and make up your mind on the kind of services offered. Here are some of the questions that you should ask your choice of an attorney to be guaranteed quality service.

Experience

You cannot just spot a law practitioner and decide that’s the best professional for your business. They must provide information on how long they have been in the law industry. Details on the much contribution they have made towards their profession should be discussed. It is important to note that an attorney with many years of experience can be trusted than vice versa. Proof regarding their experience in the law industry should be provided before you discuss anything else.

Expertise

As you know, there are different types of law practitioners. It is essential to inquire about the kind of expertise that the professional has. For example, you do not expect a real estate lawyer to represent your business in filing for compensation. There are essential skills that they lack. Always ensure that the law firm provides you with the best professional who falls in the category you require.

The number of clients that they have in your industry

It would be best if your law practitioner mentions businesses doing well as their clients. Inquire on other clients with the same business as you do. The kind of structure that these other clients portray will tell a lot if they trust the law practitioner. It also shows that they have learned and mastered the ropes in legal representation in your niche. The terms of payment should be explained as well. For instance, no win no fee lawyers Queensland only demand payment when the ruling is made favoring the client.

What value they will add to your organization

Is the law practitioner you want to hire a good finder looking for ways to grow your business? Are they updated on the negative implications that a particular transaction can cause? A well-strategized attorney will identify areas that your business needs to improve on and get your best updated. Your lawyer should be able to check on what your competitors are doing and help raise your business to another level.

Pricing details

Different law firms have different methods of pricing their services. For example, no win, no fee lawyers Queensland only quotes payment for cases that record a win. You must communicate this with your attorney. This is to avoid any rushes or misunderstandings due to lack of finance transfer.

When hiring a lawyer for business representation, the above questions should not be left unasked. Ensure that you settle everything with the professional before signing the agreement.

 

Whatever industry you are involved in, promotional products can be a great source to build brand awareness and attract customers. 87% of customers remember a brand that gives away promotional gifts, and custom printed mugs can be the best options. On average, a mug is used around 2000 times, which means that a customised promotional mug gives exposure to your business 2000 times.

Click here to find some of the best mug options and know how they make a great marketing tool for your business.

Give Value to Your Customers:

Advertisements that you put up on newspapers, hoardings, and billboards are obtrusive and flashy. But when you give a promotional gift to your customers, they receive an experience that they will never forget. They will use a good quality nice-looking promotional mug to enjoy their beverage several times a day. Therefore, you give your customers something that they will value, which will build trust among your audience, and they will appreciate your business.

Receive Interest:

Business owners can give away gifts before starting a conversation, event, or negotiation. Recipients often see it as a positive gesture that makes a suitable environment for the rest of the business. If you are trying to convince your customers or clients for something, you won’t have a hard time getting a positive response.

When a customer receives a promotional gift from you, they stay interested in your brand for a long time. They won’t even mind sharing their phone number or email address in exchange for the gift.

Improved Customer Loyalty:

People tend to remember your brand if they receive a promotional gift from you and a large percentage of them agree to deal with you again. A well-made custom printed mug not only helps in retaining customers but also in gaining new ones.

Increased Marketing Reach:

Useful promotional gifts like custom printed mugs can be a great way to reach out to your audience. They make perfect conditions to bring customers in a receptive position. Gifts distributed at the right time can complete the desired impact.

According to a PPAI survey, while more than 65% turn away from online ads and TV commercials, only 20% of consumers turn down a gift received from the same company. When you give promotional gifts to your visitors, you don’t ask them to make a purchase or spend their money on anything. So, your promotional message has more chances of reaching its audience.

Boost Brand Recognition:

When you hand over a gift like a mug to your customers, they never forget your brand name. Since they use your mug gift to enjoy their hot chocolate, tea, or coffee, they feel invested in your company and get exposed to your branding each time. Attractive, good quality mugs also make great topics for conversations.

If you want a perfect company that can create high-quality custom printed mugs for your brand promotion, then check online to see the available items and suggest changes to make them your own. Just make sure that the things that you choose are high in quality and make nice-looking attractive freebies to give away.

 

When it comes to marketing for your business, the more narrow you can get your target audience, the better chance you’ll have at really connecting with them. So if your business has a primary target of middle-aged women, your best bet will be to really focus your marketing efforts on reaching this demographic.

To help you in doing this, here are three things to consider when marketing to middle-aged women.

Know How They See Themselves

To successfully market to anyone, you’ve got to have a deep understanding of them. And to get this understanding, you have to have a knowledge of how the group sees themselves.

According to Lucy Tesseras, a contributor to MarketingWeek, women who are over 40 no longer see themselves as “housewives”. Even if they were to fall under this category previously, modern women view themselves as going so far beyond this moniker. In their eyes, being spoken of and thought of as titles like decision-maker, breadwinner, organizer, consultant, and overall manager of a home and family in addition to external responsibilities in the business world or community is how women now see themselves. So if you want whatever your business is to resonate with them, you’ve got to get on board with this way of thinking as well.

Include Transparent Testimonials And Reviews

For women of a certain age, they really don’t have a lot of extra time to spend wading through marketing campaigns that are all flash and no substance. So to really get your point across to these women, you’ve got to be as transparent as possible about your product or service.

One of the best ways to do this, according to Margarita Hakobyan, a contributor to Inc.com, is to include testimonials or reviews from actual people who have used your product or service in your marketing materials. Women really respond to these kinds of marketing pieces. So whether you’re trying to sell them housewares or promote a film like Heidi Houston’s ‘Hot Flash Havoc’, try showcasing reviews from women like them who’ve walked this path before them.

Get Women On Your Team

If you feel like you’re still having a hard time connecting your product or service to this demographic, Amber Anderson, a contributor to AmericanExpress.com, shares that the best thing to do is to get the kind of women you’re trying to draw into your business to help with your marketing strategies. By hiring women within this demographic but from all kinds of backgrounds, they’ll be able to tell you exactly how to position your business to make an impact.

If you have a product or service that you’re trying to market to middle-aged women, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how to connect with this group.

Lawyers are the only help that you can get in the legal jurisdiction. They represent you in front of the court proceedings and ensure that you get what you deserve.

No matter who they are, everyone has the right to go through the case and plead for justice. This is the reason why everyone gets the chance to prove their innocence in court. Remember that lawyers cannot save you from a crime you have committed. They can plead in place of the criminals under the legal jurisdiction.

While you are having a conversation with a lawyer, they will pretend to be the best in the business. You will not realize their potential until you actually see them in action.

If you want to judge the lawyers and want to pick on the best from the weeds, Kansas City MO Criminal defense attorney might be a good reference. Here, we have enlisted some of the skills and the qualities that are a sign of a good lawyer. So, when you are looking for a lawyer, you can use the following to find the best.

The Qualities Every Good Lawyers Should Have

The best legal minds in the industry share some of the common traits. These traits help them to be on top of the list of the best lawyers in the business. If you find yourself in trouble finding a good lawyer for yourself, you can use the following.

1. Good Communication Skills

If you are looking for a lawyer, you must emphasize that the lawyer needs to be orally articulated. That means they need to have good communication skills. Lawyers have a job to argue in the courtroom. Hence, you can not have a lawyer who is not well versed in the art of speaking.

You can gauge the communication skills while you are having a conversation with them. This is the best way to know whether your lawyer had the right skills to present yourself in the right way in front of the court.

2. Judgements Skills

As a lawyer, you are expected to understand the situation with a minimum of knowledge. Hence, the ability to draw reasonable and conclusive assumptions from limited information sources is one of the traits that filter out good lawyers more than the average lot.

Judgmental skills are essential for lawyers to understand the current standing of the matter and take the necessary step in their clients’ best interests. The judgemental skills are also needed to deceive the opponent with a false sense of case interpretation.

3. Analytical Skills

When the law is being studied, the lawyer has to go through lots of information. Then they have to distill the information in such a way that it makes sense. Raw information has no meaning to it until it is sorted out in the best way.

While handling cases, lawyers might find that the case has more than one reasonable conclusion. The lawyers need to be proficient enough to understand which result will be in the best favor of their clients. This can only be done if they have an idea of every source of information.

4. Research Skills

Being efficient with the research is something that makes the lawyers a grade higher than the other lawyers. If a lawyer is efficient enough to make the relevant research faster than the other lawyers, then they will have the upper hand in any case.

Preparing legal strategies is all about the right implementation of the researched information. Hence, if your lawyer is good with efficient research skills, then they might help you get to a good position in the case.

5. Listening Skills

Amid all the skills, we tend to forget that listening skills can be good skills for lawyers. When your lawyers can listen to your case soundly, they will be able to find the loopholes in the case to use in favor of you. But if a lawyer is a thin lister or impatient with their listening skills, they might find it hard to understand your case.

Conclusion

Finding good lawyers is all about finding the right set of skills in the lawyers. If you can get the right skills set, even if they have fewer cases under the belts, you can rest assured that they have what it takes to be in the business.

 

We live in an age that allows for very profitable businesses to spring from hobbies. The internet era has brought along the sort of ease that was likely unimaginable in the 90s but, more importantly, it’s made the world a much smaller place.

One can instantly share something with millions of people, from just about anywhere, with a few clicks of a mouse or hitting that upload or share button from a smartphone. Things previously considered to be a petty distraction or an avenue for time-wasting are now able to facilitate the earning of unbelievable amounts of cash.

Take video games, for example. Once thought of as just a hobby, frowned on by many adults yet loved by kids, time spent gaming can really pay off. The esports industry is one of the fastest-growing digitally inclined industries in the world and is estimated to be worth as much as $1.6 billion by 2023. Gaming is now a full-time career and, if you’re good enough at a certain game, you could rake in millions from various tournaments or by simply streaming your gaming sessions to viewers via platforms such as Twitch and YouTube.

Fortnite, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, NBA 2K, and DOTA are some of the most popular esports games out there and there’s no end to the amount of cash a good player can pull in.

Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is the most renowned video game personality in the world at the moment and has even taken on celebrity status, having gone from working in a fast-food restaurant to making a million dollars a month from Fortnite. Ninja, now worth an estimated $25 million, is sponsored by mega-companies such as Samsung, Red Bull, and Uber Eats. Gaming started out as a hobby for Ninja, who got into Microsoft’s Halo at the age of nine and instantly took to the iconic shooter title, so much so, his older brother stopped wanting to play with him.

“You know you argue with him about how much time he’s spending on it, and he starts making a little money here and there, and it’s nothing,” his father Chuck Blevins said. “Then the next thing you know, he tells me ‘I’m getting streams. I’m getting subscriptions. I’m getting sponsors.’ And I’m thinking, ‘Where is this coming from?’”

Gaming is hardly the only platform that can see one transform a hobby into a business. There are plenty of stories out there that outline the way a successful business sprang from a favorite pastime. Popular resource Sportsbookreview started out as a hobby for the owner and now is a powerful website for sports fans and bettors.

Given the times we live in, there’s really no limit to what you could make money from. The likes of art and music have long been avenues from which a living can be made but, post the advent of streaming services like YouTube, there’s no real need for official deals as folks can reach multiple viewers and get paid for it.

Sporting is another such area. Traditionally, kids took up sports as hobbies and, providing they were good enough and moved through the right channels, went on to play professionally. The internet age has opened several other doors in that regard and, while you probably won’t go on to make over $40 million a year like LeBron James, there’s plenty of success to be had in displaying your abilities or providing the platform for others to without a television rights deal.

Like writing? There are plenty of opportunities there too. New websites are being created every day and writers are always in demand. There’s also the possibility of starting one’s own blog – this one’s a little harder to really get off the ground as it takes some time to get noticed but, if you want to tell your stories in your own way, an online blog could be created in a few simple steps.

If you’re a confident speaker, a YouTube channel, or a podcast discussing the topic(s) of your choice could be great. Have photography skills? You could take great photos and sell them to travel guides, magazines, and various online portals such as Etsy and Shutterstock.

As mentioned above, there’s really no limit on what you could do. If you’re passionate about anything, it’s likely you could find a way to make a living off it – the time and energy you would put into such a thing would be extra fulfilling as you’d be enjoying whatever it is you’re doing.

Of course, don’t just quit your day job in pursuit of a hobby-to-business ideal. You’d likely have to give yourself to both your job and your passion until you’re able to reach a point where you could focus solely on the latter. As we all know, life is short. If you could spend it doing something you love then, by all means, do so.

 

A Smart TV is just like a regular TV, but with much more to offer. It can be connected to a cable box or an antenna to use as a regular TV. Or like your tablet and smartphone, you can also download apps, watch Netflix, stream and browse online, play games, and many more with the help of the internet. With further advancements in technology and the introduction of new features, now you can connect your smart TV’s with your smart home systems and monitor everything from the central dashboard on your TV. So, a smart TV has much more than a regular TV and is a way better deal.

According to a recent study, there are more than 100 million people in the US who are currently using Smart TV, and that number is expected to go over 120 million by the beginning of 2023. That shows the interest of the US market in Smart TV and the features that it is offering.

Historical Growth

During the past decade, a smart TV has taken the market by storm. In 2012, about 9% of US households used to have a Smart TV, which in the year 2019 reached 60%. So, in 7-8 years, Smart TV has gained over 51% in the US market as per research conducted by Statista.com. One major reason for that is OTT (Over the top) content which has revolutionized the entertainment industry and decreased the cost of watching TV shows compared to Cable TV. Customers now have an alternative to cable and are benefiting from it in the best way possible.

Key Trends

With the rise in demand of OTT (Over the Top) which offers content directly through an internet connection instead of using standard cable lines and TV boxes, more users started shifting toward Smart TV as it can do both. In addition to network apps like HBO max, they have more options than ever to stream online such as Netflix, Hulu, Sling, Amazon Prime, and many more. Also, the increasing cost of standard cable allowed people to switch to streaming and save money. For example, Spectrum TV costs over $50 with the basic plan but Spectrum Streaming costs less than $30 if you are an existing internet customer. Moreover, you do not have to get cable boxes because you can stream easily by downloading an app or using your Roku. So, that is an additional saving on a regular customer’s end.

On the other hand, OTT devices and content providers are teaming up manufacturers such as Apple and TCL to offer built-in features in their smart TVs so people can stream without connecting any on top boxes. Furthermore, streaming bundles are also trending where the customers can get streaming apps like ESPN+, Showtime or Disney+ at a lower rate when they get the bundle. This value addition is not just promoting those streaming apps, but also offering the users a benefit in terms of price saving.

Forecasts

According to BusinesWire’s report, the expected growth rate of the US smart TV market is a CAGR of 10.5 % from the year 2020 to 2025. As per this market forecast, the biggest reason for this is OTT content. In addition to this, the US-China trade war will also be playing a major role in this as the majority of the Smart TV retailers are dependent upon Chinese manufacturing companies. Those vendors are building safety stocks in case things go sideways to avoid any troubles.

Moreover, more people would be upgrading to bigger screens and 4K Ultra HD smart TV’s in 2020. On top of that, the introduction of new technologies such as QLED in the 4K TV division is getting customer’s attention. So, in the coming years, there is significant growth expected in the 4K TV market. The demand for Ultra 8K is also expected to reach half a million which is going to be a new record for this specific segment.

Final Thoughts

With extensive entertainment options and lower monthly charges on OTT content, smart TVs are becoming the need of every household. Majority of the US market is switching from regular TV to smart TV as it offers better picture quality, better sound and more options than ever.