If you are an aspiring entrepreneur or a retail shop owner and hoping to start a business in a state that has a sales tax, then in the next year, you will become familiar with all the sales tax return rituals.

Sales taxes are very important. If you want to be in the legal jurisdiction of the government, you need to pay tax. If you are found neglecting your sales tax duties, you will be punished severely.

Filing sales is a much more complex process than you can think of. You have to be conscious of your business’s financial flow as the sales means showing all your financial flows to the central authorities and paying the sales tax for your business.

The sales tax preparation is time-consuming and creates mental stress for the person who is actually handling all the tax-related concerns.

The tax return format is different and changes with the change in the state. So be knowledgeable about the procedure a statute has on the sales tax return.

Preparation For The Sales Tax Returns

Though the sales tax return process is different for the different states, the main filing process remains the same. Here we have stated a basic format on how you can prepare yourself for the Sales tax Returns.

1. Forms

Forms are very important in filing sales tax returns. Every state has its own form and has different procedures; hence, you need to be aware of the forms used in your states. Once you know those forms. The next step is to get hold of those forms from the official website of the central institution.

For instance, The state of Texas offers its tax return form on an official website in the form of a PDF. You can visit the website, download the form, fill up all the details, and submit it to the responsible authorities.

You can proceed with the form fillup in two ways. First, you can directly fill up online, and second, you can print it out and then follow the traditional method, pencil, and eraser.

2. Collecting Information

But before you can start with the form fillup, you need to have all the necessary information about your financial transaction and accounts. You must need an accounting system that can keep tabs on the business financial flow and collect sales tax. Otherwise, your life will become a hunting ground for invoice and payment receipts at the time of filing tax returns.

Today, almost every business has accounting software that keeps track of every financial transaction within the business jurisdiction.

If you are in the sales business, that means you are liable to pay sales tax. However, you need to itemize the things that might not fall into this category, as there are only selected items on which you have to pay sales tax.

3. Completing The Returns

Now the most crucial part, filing tax returns. The tax return form needs to be filled properly. You need to make sure that your company name, company address, Taxpayer ID are mentioned clearly on the form.

Under them, you will be asked to fill up all the sales and purchase details subject to sales tax. This part is very important as not every product needs to be added to the sales. Several products are not considered under the sales tax. Hence, keep an eye on those kinds of opportunities as they can reduce the amount of taxation.

4. Due Dates

Dues dates are very important when you are preparing yourself for a sales tax return. You have ensured that you are not behind schedule; otherwise, you might miss out on the due dates that might lead to legal action against you.

5. Payments

Now that you have completed the whole process, the only thing left is to ensure that the same amount mentioned in the document is deducted from the account. There have been times that the taxable amount is something else, and the amount deducted is different (more). Hence, after the whole process is completed, reconcile with your banks and check the payments.

Closing Thoughts

Tax preparation is a daunting task, no matter which year it is for you. It is undoubtedly complex for the forest timers, but the same goes for the businesses paying sales tax for the tenth year. Some businesses even hire accountants to deal with this issue.

 

Liability insurance for contractors protects the policyholder from outside litigations. It offers coverage against mistakes that take place when providing a service as an independent contractor. Although mainly used in the construction business, it can also be adopted in other manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and restaurant sectors.

Do Contractors Need Liability Insurance?

Independent contractors need liability insurance. This is because of a variety of reasons. It depends on the risks, contract, and type of business. Based on your analysis, contractors may also opt for errors and omission insurance.

But since the rate of litigation is rising in the US, it’s better to protect yourself and your business from potential risks arising from those litigations.

When selecting contractors’ liability insurance, you need to look for a few things. Here, they are:

The Sector of the Liability Insurance Package

The first thing you need to look at is the sector. If you’re involved in the construction business, look for packages catering to construction contractors. Similarly, if you’re a plumber contracted to fix leakage in a building, opt for packages meant explicitly for your business. Similarly, painters and home renovation contractors should look for specific insurance types.

But, general liability insurance for contractors covers every type of contractor irrespective of their sector. But specificity goes an extra mile in providing the exact coverage you need.

Type of the Insurance package

When purchasing a liability insurance package, check the package. It’s worth mentioning that not every insurance policy covering contractors against damage lawsuits is called liability insurance. There are Errors and Omission Liability Insurance that protects against negligent professional service. You may then find Directors and Officers Insurance or D&O Insurance that provides protection, especially to directors and nominated officers of a firm. This ensures they’re not sued for the damage.

There are options like customer injury protection type, customer property damage protection, libel and slander protection type, and products-completed operations insurance in liability insurance itself.

It would be best to discuss with your independent agent selecting the correct package for your contracting business.

Price and Premium

The next thing you should look at is the price. Since there are different types of liability insurance packages, prices tend to vary too. Generally, packages that have more coverage cost more. On the other hand, packages with lower coverage have a lower price tag.

While the lower-priced package might sound appealing, you shouldn’t go for it simply because it’s cheaper. Take into account your business model, sector, and what could go wrong. If there’s a chance of a disaster for the client because of your negligence, higher-priced packages are worth the investment. They will cover you against high-value litigations.

You should also ensure that the package fits within your budget without hurting your bottom-line.

Modifications to the Existing Insurance Package

Business insurance is different from personal insurance, as businesses are highly dynamic. The needs and requirements keep on changing from time to time. Therefore, it’s better if your insurance package can be changed accordingly.

Today, you might be a 10-person contracting agency. But in the future, you may double up to 50 or reduce the number to 5. Therefore, a package for a 10-Person Company might not suit the needs of a 50 or 5-person Company. You might end up overpaying or underpaying.

Also, by bundling your insurance policies, you often save money while increasing coverage. So it’s better if liability insurance for contractors offers dynamic options rather than static.

Terms and Conditions, Disclaimers

Finally, you should check all the terms and conditions mentioned in the policy. The policies are notorious for being multi-pages long. But you need to take the pain to go through them all. In case that’s not possible, you can ask your lawyer to go through it.

By protecting your contracting business against litigations, you’re mitigating high risks that can potentially take down your company. Irrespective of which sector you’re in, you should get liability insurance sooner rather than later.

 

Businesses have taken a big hit during the coronavirus pandemic, and many of them are struggling to keep their heads above water. This is something that plays a massive part in the process of running a business, and it’s something you need to make sure you focus on. There are plenty of great ideas that can be used to help with this, and it’s essential that you try to do as much as possible to work on being able to improve the company.

You have an opportunity now to try to work on taking the right steps that will help you to improve and grow as a business, and you should be looking at how best to do this. You’ve got a lot of things to consider when it comes to helping your company survive in a post-COVID world, and you’re going to have to take steps that are going to help you achieve this as much as possible.

Cut Operational Costs

Operational costs eat into business finances in a big way, but there is just no avoiding them. So many companies are starting to feel the impact of these costs since the pandemic has caused economic turbulence. That’s why it is so important to come up with ideas that are going to help you run the business better, and there are a lot of things that you need to make the most of with this. Try to come up with ideas that are going to help you here, and this is something that you need to make the best of right now moving forward. Look at some of the best ways of trimming the costs of running your business, and understand how much this is going to impact you and your business.

Make Your Marketing Better

Marketing the brand is key, and this is something you are probably going to need to improve and alter as much as possible when it comes to improving the process. There are a lot of things that play a massive part in this, and you need to look at what it takes to make your marketing better. There are a lot of excellent ways of being able to do this, and you need to look for a more diverse and involved marketing strategy, one that is going to have massive impacts on the business, and will go a long way towards helping bring in more customers as a result.

Finance the Company

You also need to look at doing what you can to finance the business and make sure it gets the funding it needs. This is so important moving forward because you need to ensure that your company has plenty of money to allow it to grow and continue operating. That’s why you should be looking at things like personal loans for business, as well as what you need to be making the most of moving forward right now. Try to think about some of the best ways of being able to achieve this right now.

As you can see, there are a lot of things that you need to work on right now, and this is so important for getting things right in the future. Make sure you are focused on doing as much as possible to work on taking things to the next level. As a business, you need to look at the best ways of achieving success, as well as how you can navigate COVID as a modern business right now.

 

When Soul Quest Church was born my intention was nothing more than creating a cool record store where people would feel comfortable coming to dig for vinyl and hopefully to meet like minded folk. This was my very first business and as with every other business, during the first couple of years some things went better than others. I named the store Soul Quest simply because of something my grandma said to me off the cuff many years ago, I had no idea how much power the name would bring. I got lucky but I have learned just how important it is that when you name your business, you make sure its a killer one.

Sticks in the Mind

I very quickly started to see more new customers and to be honest I was getting custom to the level of some of my competitors. I used to ask customers where they’d heard about us and how they knew we were here, and there were so many of them who said that they’d heard there was a new record store in town, and that Soul Quest was a name which intrigued them. Amazingly I was going to call the store DJ Records, I am absolutely certain that had I done that, things would have been very different indeed. This is a name which creates intrigue and makes people want to come and check it out.

Branding

Within the first 6 months the name of the store had been such a hot topic of debate that I thought I might be able to maximize my opportunities and create some cool merch bearing the name. The first thing we did was to create some record bags, which meant that when people bought records we could count ons hem free marketing as they walked the streets. These bags sold out within a week, which really got me thinking. We now offer t-shirts, mugs, caps and pins with the Soul Quest brand on it and it has been a real money spinner. Creating a brand is how you achieve real success in business and 50% of creating a great brand is having an awesome name which you can grow.

Telling the Story

For me a great business name should do one of two things, it should either tell the story about what the business is about or it should create than sense of mystery which makes people want to come and see what it is all about. Soul Quest Records half tells the story of what we do, and the rest of it is where that mystery comes from. This means that whenever people see our name online or on merchandise, they want to know more about it. I have had customers who’ve told me that they were asked in the street what the store was all about.

Ultimately the name of your business is a marketing tool, a tool for creating and growing the brand, and a tool to bring in more people to the business, make sure you get yours right.

That stat alone should be able to tempt you to use Instagram for your business’s growth and success. However, the success of Instagram needs more than just Instagrammable photos. You will also need to connect your activity to your business goal and attracting the right people to interact and engage with.

To grow your bottom line on Instagram, you need to build a following of interested people who genuinely wish to connect with your business. So, how do you that?

Quality contents.

You can hire an agency like the LosFamos social media marketing agency too create Instagram quality contents for you or do it yourself with the following steps:

1. Set Goals

For your business to achieve success on Instagram, you need to limit your goals and make them specific. Do you want to:

• Increase your product sales?
• Increase traffic on your website?
• Gain new email subscribers?

Once you know what your business goals are, then you can think of the kind of content that supports these goals.

2. Tell Your Story With Pictures

The easiest place you can start is with photos of people, bringing a personal touch to your business. The trick is linking these photos to your goal. If you successfully match these things together, then your posted photos will show your followers a story that conveys a message.

If your goal is to increase sales, you can share images of people using your products. If your goal is to recruit new employees, then you can post your happy employees in action. You can also go with product-focused photos. For instance, if you want to boost sales by increasing interest in the technical specs, then you can post behind the scene pictures of your manufacturing process.

Then, aim to post at least 1 – 2 photos every day and at least 1 video if you can. Regardless of the kind of images you want to share, original photos are crucial. As a photo-sharing network, Instagram users expect you to post original photos and not just some recycled stock images.

3. Interesting Captions and Hashtags

Once you have an image to share, you will need an interesting caption. Be engaging and descriptive and make sure to put the best information first so that it is easily visible in your followers’ news feed.

Hashtags should not be forgotten. They are somewhat a catalog system that can help you connect with a new audience.

What would users search if they were looking for content like yours? Come up with a list of all relevant hashtags that can make your content easier to find. Then, search them on Instagram.

See how other hashtags are used with them and determine if they are relevant to your goals and business. General hashtags may have a wider reach however, you will not be able to reach a targeted audience. Your objective is to be discoverable by the right audience, so make sure to choose specific hashtags.

So, how many hashtags should you use?

At least 5 – 15 seems to work best.

Now, if you want to stand out a bit more, you can place these hashtags in a comment instead of directly with the image.

Lastly, don’t forget the geo location feature on your posts. This is particularly important for the traditional brick and mortar businesses where you want people to come and visit your physical store.

Conducting business is one of the most basic needs of a human. The primitive man did business quite differently from what we do now. Barter was the most prevalent system of trade in the absence of a currency. As humans evolved, they found better and convenient ways to make profits, a process that also involved hiring more people. Fast forward to the 21st century; now we have technologies that we couldn’t even imagine a few decades back. The point to ponder, however, is, do the methods of conducting businesses change as drastically as the evolution of technology? Whatever the case, technological made things a lot easier than before. Getting in touch with your client, business partners, or anyone has never been easier. So much so, that now businesses can be set up sitting at home, which becomes even more crucial in the presence of a pandemic dictating us to stay at home.

You might think that you do not own a business as you have a 9 to 5 job but think again. Almost everyone has some connections to industry one way or the other, whether directly or through some employer. So, knowing a thing or two about their conduct is sometimes crucial. You might even decide to quit your job and embark upon the adventure of venturing your own company someday so that you could use some knowledge. Every business, no matter what the circumstances have one common goal every time of the year; expand. The urge to climb up the social ladder inspires the business owners to grow and increase their profits, manifolds no matter the circumstances. Expansion is also beneficial to the employees since they get raises, or even more, people get employed, helping the businesses grow. Many people are lucky enough to get an education in something they want to do with their life, like a business. Though the doors of knowledge acquisition never close, you can always opt for an online business degree if you want to learn more about the ways to excel in it. Nevertheless, here are a few tips to get you started, and you can always build upon them.

• CREATE A SALES FUNNEL

If you are not aware of a sales funnel, don’t worry, we will explain. Imagine a real-life funnel used to create a way for a large quantity of the substance to pass through a streamlined path. Though unlike that, in the case of the sales funnel, not everyone entering the funnel might necessarily give through. It is, in fact, a step by step process through which a potential customer gets the awareness of the product, develops an interest, makes a decision, and takes action. The idea is to facilitate the customer in every step of the process, so their decision-making is more favorable to the company. Every business owner should know that the potential client passes through a buyer’s psychological process, and tapping into that process by easing it, is the best thing a marketer can do. Workable and dynamic sales funnel the expansion of your business much more manageable.

• IMPROVE CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT

At the start of the business, you might not have enough clients, so you manage your customers manually, which is a good start. However, as the business grows, this task becomes cumbersome. The problem with something becoming a burden is, you want to get it done with as soon as possible, which consequently affects performance. Giving an excellent experience to the customer and listening to their complaints and feedback is crucial for any company to thrive better. To scale your business, you must get a customer management system to automate the process and even make it better. Depending on your line of work, there are several options available, though we recommend that you look for cloud-based software. A study concludes that better customer management enhances customer satisfaction resulting in increased profitability.

• RESEARCH YOUR COMPETITORS

You can never scale your business without knowing what you are up against in the game. You will have several business competitors in the markets doing much better than you, and there are reasons for that. They provide more services, or better services, probably for a better price. The best way to get better is by keeping an eye on the competition and try to understand why more people go for them instead of you? They might have a better marketing strategy or better customer service. So, you should collect the necessary information about them and get to your drawing board to see what you can do to outperform them and win clients. You think you might be providing the best possible services to the customers, but you can never be sure without doing your homework about the competitors.

• CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAM

If you are in business, you must already know that finding new customers is difficult. It is up to three times costlier to find a new customer than retaining the old ones. So, you must focus more on keeping customers once they have already conducted some business with you. Since they already know what you offer and the quality of your service, you will find it easier to persuade them for future business. You should also provide them with incentives for spending more with you, so conducting business with you looks more feasible to them. Such a program will also attract more clients who plan on doing long-term deals to leverage the benefits.

• DEVELOP STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Scout the market for potential partners that might be interested in having a long-term partnership. Build a mailing list to offer your news services to several people at a time. Doing so will not only improve your relationship with potential clients but also aid in bringing swaths of customers your way. Though it is easier said than done, when you are looking for potential partners, look for companies that complement yours.

• DIVERSIFY

Your offers might be useful, but to reach a broader range of clients, you must diversify your offers. Not every client has similar needs, and you must try to find new ways to woo them by offering something different. The best way to start is to identify the novel options that your business niche can offer, or what are the add-ons that you can add to the existing services you provide.

• LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY

Yeah, you must already be taking help from technology for conducting your business, but there are several ways to reach more clients. Social media ads help a great deal with the options of appearing to your potential clients filtered by age, location, or occupation. There are other platforms like Upwork, Amazon, and Airbnb, depending on your business niche to help you.

CONCLUSION

Running and expanding a business requires endeavor, and you can never really predict what happens next. Business is a risky adventure, but the gains are much more fruitful than a tedious and enervating nine to five job. Most of the successful business follows similar working principles through which they pursue the customers, make profits, and expand into new avenues. We gave you a synopsis of some of these principles, which, if implemented, will surely help you a great deal.

 

No matter which part of the world you’re from, it’s likely that you’re currently practicing social distancing and in quarantine at home caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 across the globe. You’re also having groceries, food items and other essentials delivered to you to avoid contact with other people.

In a new article published in The New England Journal of Medicine, it’s stated that the Coronavirus can live on surfaces anywhere from hours to several days. This leaves us wondering whether ordering takeout food is safe for you and your loved ones. The answer is yes! According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and FDA, there is currently no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 through food. There hasn’t been a documented case of a person getting infected from a surface contaminated with the Coronavirus, according to the CDC. Isn’t this a cause to celebrate and search for a pizza delivery near me to treat yourself and your loved ones to some good pizzas?

With many businesses closed indefinitely until the Virus War is over (which seems like a dystopian future), many restaurants have transitioned to delivery only. To help these local eateries stay afloat, we should support them by ordering takeout. With statement from the CDC and FDA that food borne exposure to Coronavirus is not known to be a route of transmission, we can eat in peace knowing that eating your favorite meals in the comfort of your own home shouldn’t put you at risk of being infected.

During this troubled time, food delivery service companies are offering “no contact” options by leaving meals on porches or doorsteps. Papa John’s pizza is proudly having a contactless delivery option in the light of the current pandemic so that their valued customers can eat in peace at the comfort of their homes.

How Papa John’s Is Handling Your Pizza to Ensure Safety 

Papa John’s has SOP on food handling in their kitchens to safeguard their companies and customers. All app and online orders at Papa John’s use No Contact Delivery. A Quality Seal is applied to the lid of the box, so you know it hasn’t been opened or tampered with. Papa John’s has implemented a contactless delivery option that relies on electronic pre-payment, to ensure a hands-free delivery experience.

Rules Employees Are Taking When Delivering Your Pizza

The driver leaves your order outside your door, eliminating the need for direct contact. When the driver is at your door, he knocks or rings your doorbell, then steps back 6 feet so you can collect your order. There is zero contact in Papa John’s delivery as the pizzas are pre-paid and pre-tipped and there’s nothing to sign as well.

Don’t get stuck in the rut being stuck at home. Cheer yourself up with a little treat once every few days during your quarantine stay. Papa John’s pizza deals are hands down delicious and best of all, you can be rest assured that their pizzas are never touched by anyone except you once they come out of the oven and placed in the box.

 

Starting a company is a rewarding yet complex experience. Business owners have to go through a lot of considerations and strategies to make things right. Thousands of companies are started each year, and only half of them make it through the end of the year. The other half of the companies fall into the pits of the economic climate. Holding up to the current economic recession has become quite difficult for the existing companies.

In the same way, the startup companies also face major issues like financing and market competition. The prospects of expanding the business with new products or services are the goal of every business owner. However, only a few of them can achieve it.

The business owners have to manage the company’s funds, capital to pay the employees, purchase equipment and many other activities. In short, all activities in the businesses revolves around the money. Holding enough money can help business owners to execute different tasks and maximize sales easily. Since most of the businesses are started with a personal investment, it is not always enough to finance a business. Eventually, your company will require someone to inject money, which can be used for multiple purposes. Let’s discuss some top ways of financing a company.

• BUSINESS LOANS

Business loans are one of the most effective and profitable ways to finance a company. Business owners can find many banks and lender authorities that offer the best loan programs. The lenders lend a specific amount of money to the businesses, which can be used for whichever purpose the company desires. This loan is lent over the repayment terms and interest rates. Moreover, banks have designed multiple loan programs based on the business’s requirements for financing.

Business owners can get a working capital loan to support streamlined payments for the company’s operations. The choice depends on the type of business and its needs for financing. On the other side, getting approved for the loan is another crux of the matter. The reason for that is the lenders have to inspect all details to identify the creditworthiness of your business.

• SAVINGS

Personal savings is the most beneficial resource of financing for the business. Using your own money for financing is the simplest and easiest approach to fill adequate finance in your company. Since you will be using your own money, you will be able to track and monitor the ROI of your company. Moreover, saving investments in the company are entitled to fewer risks. In this case, you do not have to worry about shares and interest rates as there are with traditional loans and investors.

However, there is only one problem that always exists with the savings is that they are limited resources. You may have savings for only one or two investments. But after that, you will no longer be able to finance your company. Some business owners also take advantage of home equity, retirement plans, and insurance policies. But still, there is many risks to using these funds.

• BUSINESS LINE OF CREDIT

A line of credit is the type of financing where businesses can use the money from the offered package within the limit. Banks and other financial authorities offer finance packages, which are allowed to be used by the businesses in lower interest rates. You can withdraw the money, by paying the interest and then repay the withdrawn money to refill the package.

The procedure for applying for the line of credit is a lot similar to the loan. At first, lenders inspect the financial projections of the company. Then they decide whether you are credible for the line of credit or not. Once your application gets approved, it is totally up to you to decide how much you use. You do not have to worry about the repayment terms and higher interest rates.

• FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Perhaps, another easiest way to finance your company is by getting friends and family to invest in your company. It is quite easy to ask your friends and family to become part of your business. Ask them to make an equity investment and purchase the shares of profits. Or you can either get a business loan from them and use the money to get off the grounds. Working with family and friends might seems challenging. But you can easily introduce them to your business and persuade them to make investments.

The prime advantage of using family for financing is that they can offer money at better rates than the banks. Moreover, you do not have to worry about the approval of the application and legal documents to persuade your family.

• CROWDFUNDING

As the name implies, it is the process of gathering funds from multiple investors using different platforms like Kickstarter. The platform allows businesses to attract multiple investors to invest in the company instead of a single investment. At first, you will be required to set a goal of the funding in a period. Then you can share this goal with family, friends and social media to invest in your funding pool. It must be noted that this approach is used to gather funds for shorter periods. Moreover, some times you will be required to offer different incentives to the investors.

• ANGEL INVESTORS

Angel investors are the groups of private executives who invest in different businesses by purchasing the shares in the stock market. These investors provide money to help the businesses for proliferation and maximizing the profits. Apart from the money, these groups also guide startup businesses for different strategies and marketing. However, finding angel investors is quite difficult. The reason for that the investors seek financially stable and growing businesses for better profits. In this case, small businesses can never get a chance of attracting a larger pool of investors. However, ensuring all the details with the legal documents can assist the business owners in gaining funds from the angel investors.

Some people think that venture capitalists and angel investors are the same since they make equity investments. Venture capitalists are large, established companies that invest in other businesses with higher growth. On the other side, the angel investors are the people, who are more inclined towards small companies for growth potential.

FINAL WORDS

There are many options for the companies to secure the funds and maximize the operations. Since every business needs consistent capital to thrive, the loans and funding resources become necessary.

 

San Francisco’s Bay area harbors large innovative technology companies. These companies are protecting, collecting and analyzing a large chunk of the world’s data.

Besides tech giants like Apple and Google, there are numerous startups gaining popularity in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Let us explore the presence of few emerging tech companies in San Francisco.

Salesforce

Salesforce is a cloud-enabled customer success platform, headquartered in California (the heart of San Francisco). 1000 feet high, the city icon offers great employee incentives and is committed to the cause of delivering social responsibility.

Salesforce is building a talented pool of employees with advanced degrees in Data science, corporate development, research, and product marketing. In the year 2018, Salesforce was featured in Fortune 100 among the best companies to work for.

Insightful decision making, well-designed customer engagement and comprehensive solutions to customer information make it the world’s best Customer Relationship Management Company.

Roblox

With its inception in 2006, Roblox was founded to fuel the imaginations of people globally. Pioneers of shared digital experiences are empowering 100 million users every month to play, imagine and create together. The work culture at Roblox is not only healthy but also intellectually rigorous, energizing and fun. It received the prestige of being named one of 2019’s best workplaces by Fortune. Health and wellness of employees and their families are a priority concern for Roblox. Some benefits and perks include flexible vacation policy, life insurance benefits, daily lunch and snacks, onsite fitness club and commuter benefits.

Airtable

Partly spreadsheet, partly database, Airtable is a cloud collaboration service provider. Users of this database can effectively create a database, column type, records, link tables and publishing views to external websites. Airtable offers a wide range of applications under one umbrella. The idea is not building a one size fits all database but a customizable tool users can manage as per their likes. The company enjoyed a golden status in November, bringing $100 billion series C at a $1.1billion valuation. This 2012 creation is aiming to help non-coders import, optimize and organize their data. Airtable ensures a unified and collaborative work experience facilitating participation from all employees alike. Driven with the feeling of building and delivering quality products, shapes this welcoming community.

Clever

Learning is no longer restricted to classrooms; it has sprawled on various platforms and across many devices. We often find ourselves forgetting passwords to separate login for each of these software’s. Clever as a software uses technology to save teachers time and personalize the learning experience. Education should be equitable and engaging. Clever has earned recognition as one of Inc’s 2019 Best Places to work in America. If you have a passion to improve the future of education, Clever is your ideal place of work. The collaborative culture encourages good vibes, leaving the classroom better than what you found it and always remaining a student.

Eventbrite

Launched in 2006, Eventbrite is a flourishing online event management and ticketing avenue. It has facilitated 3.9 million events in 170 different countries in 2018 singly. Headquartered in San Francisco’s south market, Eventbrite is in search of talented professionals. Luring incentives like free lunch every day and flexible work hours drives employees to strike a work-life balance. The growing team is inviting applicants for various emerging fields in Eventbrite. Obtaining an advanced degree, having sound technical skills and experience in business management are prerequisites for getting employed in Eventbrite.

The San Francisco Bay area is regarded to have endless opportunities for existing and prospective workers in the technology industry. These companies are trusted to have the team, vision, funding, and dedication to stir greater innovation.

 

Real estate investment is one of the best ways to build wealth over time. Real estate represents tangible assets with a finite supply, and there are limitless options to how you can develop a strategy; for example, you can “flip” properties, hold them as cash-generating rental units, or buy and hold while hoping for sharp property appreciation over time.

But as a newcomer in the field of real estate investment, you’ll have the option of starting with commercial or residential real estate—and both may seem appealing. Obviously, you’ll need to spend some time learning about commercial real estate and investment, as well as residential real estate, before making your decision, but at a high level, which is better for beginners?

Barriers to Entry

First, let’s talk about barriers to entry. For the most part, it’s easier to get started with residential real estate investing than it is with commercial real estate investing. There are fewer variables to keep in mind, and the total cost of a residential property is usually less than the cost of a commercial equivalent. In line with this, it’s much easier to get financing for a residential rental property than it is for a commercial property—especially if this is your first investment. Accordingly, if you’re worried about making your first purchase, residential real estate may be the way to go.

Performance Consistency

You can look at performance consistency in a few different ways. For example, if you’re hosting tenants in a property, you may consider tenant turnover and vacancies to be your biggest source of volatility; but we’ll talk about this in the next section. You can also think about future fluctuations in the economy, as well as the local real estate market. If you time a transaction poorly, you’re going to feel it—the question is, are residential or commercial properties more susceptible to volatility following high-level economic effects?

Generally speaking, residential properties are able to perform better during recessions and economic downturns more than commercial spaces. Retailers and small businesses are often quick to fail in the face of adverse economic conditions, and people are much more reluctant to start a business, which could render your property much less appealing. By contrast, people will always need a place to live—and will prioritize paying their rent, even during economic hardships.

Lease Lengths and Vacancies

That said, overall, commercial properties tend to be much better at managing tenant vacancies. Tenant turnover can wreck your property’s cash flow, and add hours of work to your management responsibilities. Generally speaking, businesses signing a lease for a commercial property are more stable, and tend to sign leases for much longer terms. They’re also less likely to “flake” or suddenly change direction. Accordingly, you may be able to generate a more consistent stream of revenue from a commercial rental property.

Potential Return

Comparing commercial and residential real estate investments in terms of potential return, overall, is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. However, commercial properties tend to be more expensive for both investors and renters, and have more flexibility with how you can upgrade and market them. You can also use your commercial properties in more diverse ways. As long as you’re strategically minded, commercial properties tend to have a higher potential return.

Deal Complexity

Of course, because commercial real estate is capable of more functions, it’s also more complicated to analyze. If you’re looking for a deal on a residential rental property, you can use a checklist of common calculations (like cap rate) to determine whether the property is a good value for this price. If you’re trying to analyze the value of a commercial property, you’ll need to consider far more variables and possibilities—which can be overwhelming to a newcomer in the real estate field.

The Bottom Line

Commercial real estate offers several advantages over residential real estate, including a higher potential return and more flexibility in what you can do with the property. However, for most new investors, the complexity of commercial real estate deals and the higher barriers to entry make them unappealing. Most novice investors are better suited to starting with a residential property.

No matter what, it’s going to take years of experience for you to master a real estate strategy. As you manage more transactions, take losses, and benefit from big wins, you’ll gradually get a feel for your own preferences, risk tolerance, and style of investing. Within a few years, you’ll naturally gravitate more toward commercial real estate or residential real estate, and you won’t have to wonder which is strictly “better” or more rewarding. Be patient as you cultivate and hone your real estate investment skills.