Author: Stephen Huck

Ensuring the success of a startup is one of them. However, what would you do if your business is just not working? It’s a million-dollar question, the answer every entrepreneur wants to know. Small Business Administration states that almost 20% of businesses fail in the first two years of their life. Nowhere does it say that your startup will fail, but a failing business will give out, indicating that it is not worth the investment.

Entrepreneurs often miss these signs and continue to pour money into what is quickly becoming a money pit. In all fairness, you wouldn’t want to do that, so get to know the signs that your business is not worth investing in anymore.
Here are a few signs that you must familiarize yourself with.

Securing a Bank Loan Becomes Difficult

Out of all institutions, banks will first know if your business is floating or about to sink. Understanding the financial position of your business, the bank will hesitate each time you apply for a loan. The bank management will decide if you will get more loans from there on or not when keeping an eye on your business’s finances. If anything, take it as the earliest sign that your business is not where it should be.

You Are Losing Clients

Clients seldom come quickly, and when you see them leaving contracts midway or losing interest in doing business, know that something is wrong. Know that clients always come and go, but when your business loses clients that have been around for months or years, it is time to worry. Finding out why they are leaving and addressing the problem may not work after all.

He was Consistently Falling Share Prices

Your company’s stock prices reflect the situation it may be going through. Expenses of a growing business will continue to rise, whereas those of a struggling business should plummet. Seasoned investors will know the actual situation of your business and may withdraw their investments promptly. It

The Investment Brings No Results

Entrepreneurs invest in the business, knowing that it will show results—every business, whether small or significant, needs investments from time to time. Businesses grow over a period, especially when more investment comes in. At times, even huge investments don’t show results and go unnoticed. Finances and cash flow don’t reflect that you recently invested considerable capital. Know that this doesn’t include temporary stagnation and a negative cash flow.
If this situation persists, then it is time to worry. When it does not, despite repeated investments, the business may fall; also, note that a negative cash flow for a year or more is unacceptable as it halts the company from growing.

Poor Employee Retention

Employees always come and go, but if only a few are willing to leave the company, your business is in trouble. Reducing employee retention is a sign that your business may not be worth investing in for various reasons. Why are employees leaving the company? It would be best not to worry about freshers leaving the company, but seniors going to the company is an alarming sign.

Finances Are in Bad Shape

No matter how much money you invest, the finances show no signs of improvement. There is nothing to worry about. It is just an isolated occurrence. However, if it continues for a year or more, something in the company needs fixing. Such companies go into a mess for many reasons, and there is no fixing something that is not worth it.  

Dwindling Profits

No business can survive without profits for a long time. Reducing earnings for a quarter or two is one thing, but dwindling profits and barely reaching breakeven are alarming signs. It means that your business is investing more money at a stage, which may be just a futile effort. Such companies are not worth investing in as they’ll not survive long.

Management is in Damage Control Mode

Managers bear the brunt of employee backlash as reduced profits delay salaries and bill payments. Managers step forward to control the damage but can only do so much. Eventually, managers grow weary of the same daily routine and leave the company. Consider other options if your managers are in the same mode and spend most of the day settling financial quarrels.

Review every aspect of your business and identify if something needs addressing. It is best not to inject more money into a dwindling business and start considering other options at the end of the day.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

The manufacturing division is a primary driver of the world economy, giving thirteen million job opportunities and producing the gross domestic product (GDP) in mid-2018. Even with the actions, varied factors challenge development. The manufacturing sector faces increasing dangers from joining technologies such as co-bots, intelligent facilities, and blockchain to address talent lack necessities, intellectual property theft, and supply chain disruptions.

Labor Concern

Organized organizations can make it hard to adjust worker agreements when mandatory. The company might need to be more capable of laying off workers during client demand or transferring assets. You should appropriately train workers to maximize performance and reduce dangers. They should also compensate if they are hurt and replaced rapidly, so their absence will not disturb production.

Blockchain 

For manufacturers or makers, blockchain can add worth to the supply chain, from traceability, tracking, and regulatory compliance to asset contacts and maintenance management. According to the latest research report, managing supplier contracts is the most well-known blockchain utilized for manufacturing businesses. However, some difficulties come along with adopting this evolving technology. For instance, legal and regulatory environments are still catchup and are clear for clarification. Additionally, adding blockchain along legacy systems needs significant capital investment.

The Pace of Change

Internet of Things (IoT), or Industry 4.0, refers to the steady absorption of traditional manufacturing in the connected and technological world. The objective is to boost automation, enhanced monitoring and communication, self-diagnosis, and different analysis levels between systems and machines.

However, the challenges of attaining this manufacturing nirvana are not minor. New cybersecurity frameworks must be developed to save people, physical resources, and intellectual and customer property data. An intelligent factory, connected and integrated with numerous factories worldwide, makes all requests an attack target.

Maintenance of these innovative frameworks represents extra danger exposure. Recently maintained personnel do not always get adequate training, and different is at least partly self-taught. The most experienced and knowledgeable between them are at or close to retirement age.

Smart factories without sufficiently trained maintained teams run the danger of extended lost profits and downtimes.

Safety

Tight staffing and high turnover build a situation with less emphasis on culture safety. Experienced employees are extended thin and have less time to mentor and train new employees. Less experienced or inexperienced employees in a manufacturing area are at elevated risk for damages, especially during employment. Overtime increases and 24/7 operations also lead to stress, which suddenly increases the risk of dangerous fatalities or injuries.

Cyber Vulnerability 

In previous research or surveys, 31% of manufacturing respondents accepted they even performed a cyber risk assessment of their business control systems.

However, cybersecurity has never been an essential part of manufacturing operations. Cybersecurity companies tracked a 90% growth in the amount of noticed ransom attacks in 2017. In 2017, the monthly rate of ransom attacks increased ten times more than observed in previous times.

Cyber vulnerability boosts hackers’ risk of altering systems or closing the whole production line until their requirement for payment is met.

Robot Proliferation

Your company will utilize many industrial or factory robots in the workplace and factories in the world by 2020, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Robots have the power to offset the talent space and increase performance, but dangers abound.

Liability problems surrounding item flaws, property damage, or personal injury are murky at best, and manufacturers can be forced to protect themselves against claims held by software or hardware defects.

Supply Chain 

In these lean manufacturing times, projects are typically cost, time, and quality-sensitive, and there is little room for delays. These manufacturers cannot deliver on their commitments because of the supply chain stall, which is in danger of losing thousands or even millions of dollars in potential profit and revenue. 

Anything from cargo theft to grounded flights to quality control problems could affect the flow of products from a supplier. Not getting a dependable backup supplier might cause operations to stop, leading to damage and losses to an organization’s reputation.

Bottom Line

In conclusion, the manufacturing sector, a crucial driver of the global economy, faces multifaceted challenges despite its significant contribution to job opportunities and GDP. Emerging technologies like co-bots, intelligent facilities, and blockchain are being adopted to address persistent issues such as talent shortages, intellectual property theft, and supply chain disruptions. As the industry navigates these challenges, the need for proactive strategies, technological integration, and a comprehensive approach to risk management becomes increasingly evident.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Headlines across the globe are dominated by the urgent call for increased health supplies as nations grapple with the escalating demand for ventilators, masks, gloves, and sanitizers to combat the emerging coronavirus hotspots. The challenge lies in meeting this demand and navigating the uncertainty surrounding where and how to procure these essential supplies.

Concurrently, a peculiar phenomenon persists as there remains an unprecedented surge in demand for everyday consumer products. Necessities, such as pasta, eggs, flour, milk, and dried beans, are experiencing an unexpected rush, leading to depleted shelves in retail stores. This surge in demand for essential items adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing global supply chain challenges.

China is actively working to revive and re-establish its “natural” supply routes to normalize supply chains. Paradoxically, there is a noticeable decline in demand for many “non-essential” goods they typically export, particularly in vehicles, fashion, and high-tech products, especially to Europe and the United States. This shift in priorities reflects the evolving dynamics of global trade amid the pandemic’s profound impact on consumption patterns and economic activities.

The Supply Chain Breaks

The fragility of contemporary supply chains has been laid bare by the current global crisis. Unlike the past, where supply chains might have bent under the strain of local disasters like severe weather or earthquakes, the present situation is marked by the outright breaking of production chains.

What exacerbates the situation is the absence of sufficient visibility, cooperation, and teamwork across the supply chain network. The prevailing transactional and reactive model that underpins the majority of supply chains makes them ill-equipped to adapt swiftly to unforeseen spikes or dips in demand. Rather than bending or twisting, these multi-stage supply chains are experiencing ruptures and far-reaching repercussions.

The inherent inflexibility of the existing model means that adjusting supply chains in response to unexpected shifts in demand takes a significant amount of time. Weeks and months are required to realign production, distribution, and inventory management. Furthermore, transitioning to a “new standard” inventory in the supply chain involves a protracted process, adding to the overall delay.

In essence, the unanticipated nature of the pandemic has exposed the lack of preparedness within organizations and their supply chains. The need for a more adaptive and resilient model is evident, one that goes beyond the transactional approach and embraces a proactive and collaborative strategy to weather the challenges posed by global disruptions.

We Can Rebuild Them 

Despite the scarcity of positive news stories, the global community is witnessing a reassuring absence of a widespread food supply and consumer goods crisis. While certain food products may be absent from supermarket shelves, there is no overarching shortage.

A silver lining emerges as companies worldwide embark on transformative initiatives. Metal firms and distilleries are pivoting to manufacture hand sanitizers, clothing brands are producing masks, and even car companies are exploring the production of ventilators. These efforts exemplify a noble response to challenging times, emphasizing the adaptability and resilience of industries.

However, this positive momentum also highlights the challenges of ensuring the quality and compliance of these newly manufactured goods, especially in medical equipment, where different regions have varying regulations. The flexibility of production, exemplified by the rapid repurposing of plants, underscores the industry’s ability to meet evolving needs.

While disruptions in traditional supply lines are evident, the responsiveness of production has been a crucial support. Technological solutions, such as collaboration tools, facilitate seamless transitions and ensure process continuity and product consistency. The ability to quickly establish new manufacturing sites reinforces the notion that adaptable production can swiftly step in to meet demand even in the face of supply chain disruptions.

Regardless, the reality remains that supply chains are not merely damaged; they need to evolve into a new normal. Fixing these challenges requires more than implementing new procedures and technologies; it demands substantially modifying the existing model. A shift toward a more real-time, data-driven, and analytical approach is imperative to navigate the complexities of the current global landscape.

As the world grapples with the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, discussions around Industry 4.0—the fourth industrial revolution—and the necessary transition to new industries are expected to intensify. The need for innovation and adaptability has never been more apparent, signaling a potential turning point in the way industries operate and collaborate in the future.

Bottom Line

Attending webinars focused on supply chain trends post-COVID-19 can provide valuable insights for industry leaders. These events facilitate knowledge sharing, covering the latest trends, innovations, and adaptation strategies. Webinars offer networking opportunities, expert advice, and interactive Q&A sessions.

By participating, professionals can stay informed, learn from the experiences of others, and gain practical solutions to address the flaws and limitations revealed in global supply chains during the pandemic.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

At the end of the year, accounting is one of the most challenging parts for any small business owner. Closing the books at the year-end can be a very intimidating process. 

Year-end accounting is significant for any business owner to ensure that your financial transactions are up-to-date and recorded correctly. It will give you a balance and a close look at your yearly expenses. An accurate report is what makes a stabilized financial statement. The most important part is to sort out any minor or significant errors in the bookkeeping. 

With the year-end closing of financial statements, you can prepare for taxation time.

These steps will help you to close the budget year more efficiently. 

Entry in Proper General Ledger

The essential priority every bookkeeper should practice is transferring every journal entry in the available catalog. Keep the year’s expenses accounted in the journal concerning every cash receipt and invoice to close the books. Every payment made yearly via cash, check, or electronic funds transfer should be in your yearly books. Every inflow and outflow should be in the accounts journal.

Bills Payment

Paying bills on time in year-end accounting is vital in proper accounts management. All the bills that were due should be paid before the year-end. Primarily, you should deliver the big numbers on time. Check your records and ensure how much you owe from any external vendor’s job.

Calculate General Ledger Totals

To ensure how much you spent and how much you have earned, work out the total for each account by adding up all your entries. You will give your preliminary ending balances.

Perform Variance Analysis

Track monthly expenses against your planned budget can save you a lot. Tracking a company’s financial health with the analysis of planned budget and spending is one of the standard methods of the year-end expense report. Variance analysis is a traditional method for doing this. Your information and yearly expense track will help compare and analyze profit and loss. An accountant is essential to perform this analysis and prepare the variance report. 

Financial Statements

Your debits and credits are equal. Then, you can prepare your balance sheet profit and loss and cash flow statement. Financial information will help in understanding your business expenditure.

To check on tax information, you must ensure that your tax liabilities match the payroll returns. Keep an expert accountant to do the job. Do check tax information that is relevant to your business. Make sure to keep yourself updated before the tax time.

Inventory and Report

Assets and stock also need to be checked at the year-end. You will need this information at the start of next year to know how much you are starting. As for your reports, use essential accounting software to run an income statement and balance sheet report. Use an affordable accounting program that you can run on your computer. It would make your job much easier. 

Categorization of Business Expenses

The end of the year is one of the best times to catch up on past payments you have missed. Ensure that all past expenses, big or small, are categorized in your accounting software. 

Recording expenses will create an efficient report, help the accountant review, and produce the most efficient financial information.

Double-Check 

After closure, it is time to recheck the work on your financial books. There should be no unnoticed errors to cost you any extra money. 

An accountant usually closes financial books. Any small business owner can take the task into their hands using accounting software. The study is more accessible for small companies because of fewer monthly transactions. Even if your accountant is closing your books, the basic understanding will help you know what to expect from them. Closing the books may sound daunting. So, utilizing technology is one of the best options so far.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

An external audit is an independent examiner of the financial reports prepared by a company. The chief objective of this procedure is to verify that a company’s accounting reports provide a true and accurate picture of the company’s finances according to the selected laws and accounting standards. Additionally, an external audit adds value by identifying the efficient areas of a business, including the I.T software, health, and social responsibility. 

Accounting involves managing transactions by recording, reporting, and critically analyzing a business’s internal and external factors. External audit includes evaluating a company’s financial records and accounts by auditors outside the firm. Boosting refers to enhancing a business, while a company’s corporate image presents a systematic internal mechanism. 

The above three terminologies indicate the advantages of external auditing from the perspective of making the business successful. With the evolution of intelligent technology, accounting practices always try to bring underlying issues to light, including fraud or regulation, chiefly as your business grows. 

Here’s a list of pointers that cause external audits to become beneficial for the corporate image of businesses. 

Proves the Credibility of a Company

An external audit reviews a company’s comprehensive performance and represents the authenticity of the work done to ensure the smooth running of the business. Many established businesses need to maintain financial records for all transactions. However, the act can adversely affect the corporation as it requires more documents for future preferences. 

An external audit is a task of complete security performed by accounting professionals who critically analyze the business, including all the pros and cons. A business’s credibility determines the honesty of its operations, which is ensured through external auditing. Therefore, an external audit helps to prove a company’s credibility. 

Aware the Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are the individuals who create practical ideas, design, and implement their plans into the market. They strive hard to run the business efficiently. They strive to run the business smartly but often need to know their company’s credentials in detail. External audits inspect all the weaknesses and strengths in the transaction reports of the business, and they notify the business entrepreneurs to create sustenance in operations and utilize this inspection to avoid any future crises. However, external auditing is of substantial importance as it portrays every financial activity inside the organization within a specific time. 

Observe Tax Concerns

Presently, one of the most repeated acts within the organization is the false declaration of assets and revenue. The act is illegal and adversely affects the smooth working mechanisms. External audits prepare an accurate and tactically designed report, including correct company assets and revenue records. Forms are used to assist in enhancing the corporate image of the business. 

Provides Government Compliance

In the era of increasing regulations, hiring an external auditor strengthens the company’s practice of transmitting government compliance. An external auditor is responsible for identifying non-compliance and any other issues with fraud or abuse within the business. An external auditor is more likely to dig deeper to excavate these vulnerabilities because they’re not a part of the business and can cast an objective eye over it. 

Better Governance

Having an external audit shows the external world that your company strives to achieve the best standards available. Also, your business is not bothered by the scrutiny an auditor will bring to the financial and non-financial aspects of the company. This activity is even more relevant when the interaction includes non-related or silent investors. 

External auditors acquire versatile analytical and interpersonal skills, sound judgment, and commercial awareness to fulfill this role. Innovative management skills are also required to idealize and execute the audit activities to meet deadlines. 

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Young entrepreneurs experience many high points and low points. It has its hazards and favorable circumstances. As young entrepreneurs ourselves, we accept that our preferences outperform our weaknesses. We have made numerous dangerous choices like true entrepreneurs people need. We left an organization wherein we got a heavy monthly check to begin an existence of no soundness and assurance. However, it was that adrenaline surge of a businessperson to make something new that we desired, not sureness. We love the place that is known for the obscure and of recent disclosures. Facing challenges, committing errors, and taking care of business shape our lives.

Initiating a new business from the start is a challenging feat. Only ask any of the many wannabe business owners who plunge into the inexact world of entrepreneurship yearly. In a couple of years, more than the business leaders fold a covenant to how hard it is to initiate and maintain a profitable business.

For those industries that do make it, fewer elements stand out as factors for success. One significant one is choosing the correct market or niche industry to start the business, which can be done after entirely understanding that market.

Obtaining insight into your target market early on gives your startup business many critical strategic benefits. It lets you map out a market growth rate, barriers to entry, taxation and regimes, fragmentation profile, and, probably more significantly, capital accessibility from enthusiastic investors. After all, not all investors will be prepared to pump capital into a business whose market has no growth potential.

So, when entrepreneurs start to understand their dreams of keeping a business, here are some of the most profitable, investor-friendly markets that statistically show the highest opportunity for success.

E-commerce

Comer is an extra technology that leads in the market but still has growth power. Suppose you have a different and unique idea for an e-commerce store. In that case, you can start your business from a comfortable home or remote environment.

 If you want to take a more significant share of the industry, you already do that if you have an e-commerce store. Keep in mind that the e-commerce store and e-commerce platform space have already been conquered by giants such as Amazon and Shopify. So, if you want to initiate your own e-commerce business, you must research the market’s niche and be focused.

Digital Marketing

 On the globe, where an average 4,500 USD video ad can turn an everyday startup into a billion-dollar organization, DM remains a capable platform for startup leaders who need to make money by letting other businesses advertise their brands.

Indeed, the DM space is ample, with a staggering 283 billion USD spent on digital ads the previous year. It is projected that internal marketing and marketing activities departments worldwide will spend over 333 billion USD on digital ads in the current year. With a 50% chunk of the worldwide ad industry, this will mark the first time digital ads become one of the most popular marketing platforms worldwide.

There are many chances to maintain a brand within this market for startup business leaders or entrepreneurs interested in this zone. Even though marketing agencies’ usual manner often includes an all-inclusive marketing offering, it recompenses to specify in a few zones within the market—pay-per-click (PPC) and Search engine optimization (SEO). Ads are two lucrative digital marketing zones, thanks to the half percent in the lead generation that originates from pay-per-click strategies that mostly see businesses paying top dollar for these services.

There are various chances in influencer marketing, social media management, digital ad placement, and other upcoming digital marketing roles that can be good for entrepreneurs.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) defines technologies relating to machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, and many more. However, artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that has been used for some time. As it becomes more sophisticated, its industrial potential is growing as well.

Bottom Line

You are being a successful entrepreneur who needs, among other things, deep information about your target market. And because a positive, growth-oriented market will be the most attractive to investors, it is always wise to recognize investment trends within your target market. It will assist you in matching your business with potential investors when you have set up shop.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

With the advent of the digital age, where every kind of information is being disseminated, it is challenging for people to filter out relevant content they are interested in. If you switch on the TV, you will witness debates between anchors and political candidates, reality TV shows, and 24-hour news cycles.

Aside from that, you have many TV series and movies at your disposal, thanks to Netflix, Amazon Prime, and more such subscription-based streaming platforms. These various forms of media have infiltrated our everyday lives to a point where our thoughts get muddled. We need to make an active effort to form creative and original thoughts.

The average rate of an individual checking their phone is approximately 46 times a day (increased from 33 looks every day in the year 2014), as Time.Com has reported. The evolved, modern-day culture has turned people into social animals where it is necessary to respond to text messages and group chats instantly.

We are so invested in keeping up with the online communication culture that even if it disrupts our sleep cycle or damages organic relationships, we cannot do anything about it. So, to keep up with this new dynamic in virtual interaction, brands must also change their ways and communicate their story in a modified fashion. If they want to surpass all the noise and have their message heard, the following presents some great tips that can help them.

Drive Straight into it and Get Your Point Across

An average American comes across around 4,000 – 10,000 messages daily, but their memory can retain only 100 out of them all. It is crucial that amidst all the clutter, your message is conveyed correctly and heard. It makes sense that it is hard for humans not to get distracted in this fast-paced world. Our attention spans are consistently low, dropping from 12 to 8 seconds.

Neither do brands have all the time in the world to tell their story and discuss their message, products, or services at length, nor do consumers have the time to go through it all. So, companies should use innovative, attention-grabbing ideas and compact messages with great visuals to stand out.

Visual Content Wins

It is crucial to put across your message; however, make sure that it is visually impressive content bound to turn heads. The impact compact messages accompanied by short bursts of information have is massive. Consumers find it much more convenient to consume visual content than text-around 60,000 times. More than 65% of individuals are visual marketers and learners who utilize videos to generate revenue 49% faster than those who do not use videos.
Businesses rely entirely on words to make an impactful message that is heard. Prospective customers want to be able to envision your product or service in their lives before they make a purchase. It has been reported that buyers are 88% more interested in availing a service or buying a product after seeing a video.

Have a Social Media Presence Because That is Where Your Audience is

People from all generations, age brackets, and backgrounds are utilizing social media platforms. Thus, brands must take advantage of these platforms by marketing themselves through them and potentially grabbing the attention of their target audience.

Facebook users by Age

• 82% of adults ages 18 -29
• 79% of adults ages 30 -49
• 64% of adults ages 50 – 64
• 48% of adults ages 65+

Instagram users by Age

• 23% of adults ages 18-24
• 26% of adults ages 25-34
• 19% of adults ages 35-44

Twitter users by Age

• 18% of adults ages 18-24
• 22% of adults ages 25-34
• 20% of adults ages 35-44

Understand Various Factors like the Social and Cultural Values of Your Consumers and Generate Relevant Content

Let us take the example of New Heartland to explain this point. If you were advertising your product or services in New Heartland, you would know that 60% of the consumers reside there. Some critical cultural touchpoints are a part of their tradition and should not be overlooked.

These include sports, music, tech, food, and fashion dominantly. An important aspect is that core values, which entail religion, family, and community, all influence the brands they endorse.

41% of New Heartland consumers claimed they are more drawn to products and services aligning with their core beliefs. It seems that marketers are not yet hitting the mark here as in the same group of responders, only 4% said advertisements “often” are in sync with their core values, while 42% reported that they are “rarely” in line with their core values.

This kind of information paves the way for businesses to understand better what their consumers demand. You can see what resonates and connects with them and accordingly come up with unique messages that speak directly to their culture.

Conclusion

For brands that can get into the flow of this communication tsunami with valuable and consumable messaging, success will be measurable and sustainable.

Businesses must understand the demands and expectations consumers have from them to get past the barrier of digital noise. Only if your brand employs communication mediums to convey messages effectively will you be able to take it to the next level.

So, remember these guidelines and drive your brand to ultimate success!

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

The excellence of leadership impacts each level of any company. Whether you are running a business or any freelance business does not matter. At one or another time, everyone has felt the effect of lousy team leadership, demotivated workers, confusion regarding responsibilities and roles, and plummeting sales. A good leader could affect quite the opposite, but what makes a good leader?

The responsibilities and duties of a leader contain two primary categories: management and leadership. Managerial and administrative skills may irritate everyone else, but keep things in solid order, like following organization procedures, reporting meetings, and ensuring everyone knows the KPIs. But make no error; while management leadership skills are essential and essential, managerial skills are just as significant. Recognizing your duties or responsibilities as a manager and leader is critical. 

Give a Strong Vision

Visionary leaders get a clear view of their market and the product. They could see out of today’s challenges and ambiguity to enhance the picture of tomorrow. Powered by inspiration, they built a sense of expectations for the future. They sense the urge to prosper in their bones and want the workers to share that feeling. This feeling cannot be mandatory nor forced; it is increased by influence.

One of the leadership duties and responsibilities is to grasp the end picture as a discipline, but it must be pledged daily. Here are some activities you could regularly perform to give an unclouded vision for your workers.

Communicate the Result in an Understandable Way

You may see it, but your workers want comfort that it truly is the destination you all are successfully going to. Ensure you have a clear picture of the result day and say it aloud sometimes every quarter.

Persistence

Nothing is worse than a leader that drives where the wind takes them. Ensure you have a stringent, strict process in place. Use objectives and key results (OKR) to implement techniques into the daily routine.

Be Bold

Measured the number of risks. Innovation cannot take place without taking hazards. If you are willing to go the additional mile, it refers to everyone’s clear message.

Encourage Creativity and Consistent Improvement

Creativity is not only something with which we are born. It consumes effort and time to master, and it is significant to be practicing it. Comfort areas are huge red zone areas for business. It is the leadership’s duty or responsibility to push workers to come out of their comfort zones if it occurs. When your workers feel comfortable and safe, you must work double as hard to progress. Each leader knows how significant teamwork is in the office, but creativity is only as substantial.

Inspire by Setting an Example

Perform the work! But remember that leaders do not have to know about every specialty they have recruited. Instead, they must be from one of those who give guidance. The delicate and actual line between too small contact and micromanaging – everything in between is the sweet spot.

Follow the Company Process by the Book

One of the most significant business decisions each leader must face in the digital world is what business procedures the organization will use. We all want to measure what matters. And the calmest approach to doing that is to utilize the objective and critical results technique. It is the leadership duty or responsibility that your company’s level is associated with the long-term strategy.

Supervise Team Reporting & KPIs

On average, you see around five thousand advertisements per day. According to the statistics from 2007, what has occurred to the internet since then is well known. So, with each step you pick and each move you make, an ad will always follow us.

Bottom Line

A team leader’s responsibilities and duties might vary occasionally, but the primary area duties remain the same. The term visionary is thrown around the block too quickly. One thing is knowing what business you are in and steering your organization to the correct place with good managerial skills.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Why do so many projects aimed at digital transformation fail before they have a chance to succeed? With its promise of a whole new operational paradigm, the idea of digital transformation is sweeping the corporate world like a tidal wave. However, the shocking failure rates reveal the harsh reality and compel us to ask, “Why do so many fail, and how can organizations successfully navigate this complex journey?”

There are many pitfalls of digital transformation, but they may be avoided. The key is realizing how carefully technology, culture, and strategy interact. Mistakes in these areas can jeopardize even the best-intentioned efforts, turning potential successes into stories of lessons learned.

Join us as we uncover the strategies that set apart success from failure in the digital revolution.

Common Misunderstandings About Digital Transformation

To penetrate the essence of digital transformation, it’s essential to navigate around several typical blunders that can morph an enterprising initiative into a cautionary tale, thereby reducing the digital transformation failure rate.

1. Leadership and vision: At the forefront is a need for more leadership commitment. Inadequate leadership can undermine the most well-intentioned digital transformation process. Leaders must do more than endorse; they must actively champion digital initiatives, ensuring that the entire organization is unified and advancing in concert.
2. Cultural shift and employee buy-in: Digital transformation is as much about people as it is about technology. Ignoring company culture. Moreover, there needs to be more attention to internal engagement within the digital business, and failing to involve employees can breed resistance, decelerating or even stalling progress. It’s about integrating digital into the organization’s core, making it an intrinsic part of daily operations.
3. Strategic alignment: Without a clear transformation management strategy that aligns digital transformation with long-term business objectives, organizations risk pursuing technology for its own sake without a real purpose. It’s not just about deploying new technology; it’s about transforming processes, culture, and customer experiences to propel the business units forward. This strategic alignment ensures that digital transformation initiatives become integral parts of the organization’s journey toward innovation and growth.

By avoiding digital transformation pitfalls, businesses can more effectively navigate the complexities of digital transformation, transforming potential obstacles into stepping stones toward success. This proactive approach minimizes the chances of transformation failure, setting the stage for a smoother journey.

The Importance of Leadership and Vision

In the quest to sidestep digital transformation failure, the role of leadership, particularly that of transformation leaders, cannot be overstated. Here’s how leaders can steer the ship toward success:

• Clarify Vision and Align Goals: Leaders must chart the course by developing a crystal-clear digital strategy. Digital transformation goals harmonizing with the company’s overarching objectives are crucial. This clarity helps align digital initiatives with business goals and is a beacon guiding the organization’s transformation journey.
• Cultivate a Digital-First CulturePlanting a garden of innovation requires leaders to foster a digital-first mindset across the organization, leveraging digital technologies to enhance user experiences. This involves encouraging innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning, transforming the organization into a vibrant ecosystem where ideas flourish and everyone is geared towards unlocking the workforce’s full potential.
• Embrace and Lead ChangeNavigating the digital landscape with an Agile approach, senior executives must be adaptable, anticipate roadblocks, and lead by example. They must visualize how technology, beyond legacy systems, can revolutionize internal processes and customer experiences. This vision extends beyond introducing mobile apps—it’s about reimagining customer journeys and core business processes for a digital age. Leaders should embody the spirit of continuous learning, stepping outside their comfort zones, and championing a culture that celebrates innovation.

By weaving together a robust transformation strategy with leadership support, leaders can lay a strong foundation for a successful digital transformation, turning potential pitfalls into stepping stones toward innovation and growth.

Cultural Resistance and Change Management

It is overcoming the hurdle of cultural resistance and managing change. Implementing an effective change management strategy is akin to navigating a ship through stormy seas. Leadership is critical in keeping your vessel steady and on course.

• Enable & engage

1. Begin with comprehensive IT training programs, ensuring employees have the necessary digital skills. This proactive approach boosts confidence and mitigates the fear of the unknown.
2. Maintain wide-open channels of communication. Employees can voice concerns and feel heard by offering ongoing support channels bolsters internal engagement and fosters a strong sense of ownership.

• Empower & elevate

1. Make the digital transformation process inclusive by integrating employee feedback into decision-making. When employees have a say, they’re more invested and likely to recognize the value of change.
2. Highlight the value for customers. Clearly articulate the benefits of digital transformation, from streamlining operations to enhancing customer experiences, making the change less daunting and more appealing.

• Navigate & celebrate

1. Recognize that fear of job loss or changes in job roles can cause resistance. Tackle these concerns head-on by involving employees in transition plans and emphasizing skill development as part of your change management strategy.
2. Don’t forget to celebrate digital transformation successes and milestones. This boosts morale and fosters an innovation culture, encouraging continuous improvement and adaptation.

By integrating digital transformation process strategies with a dash of empathy and a sprinkle of encouragement, organizations can overcome resistance, clearing the path for a successful digital transformation journey.

Strategic Alignment and Business Objectives

Understanding and committing to digital transformation goals is the cornerstone of avoiding failure in this arena, acting as the bridge between ambitious digital objectives and measurable business outcomes. Here’s a comprehensive guide on fortifying that crucial connection:

• Set clear objectives

• Define SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) objectives that mirror your business goals. 
• Create KPIs that track progress and impact, aligning them meticulously with your objectives. 

• Embrace a holistic approach

• Recognize that a digital transformation project is not merely an IT endeavor but a comprehensive business strategy that necessitates aligning technology with your business model, refining processes, and achieving strategic goals.
• Consider the projected growth, diversification plans, and organizational changes to tailor your digital strategy effectively. This approach ensures your growth strategy is in harmony with evolving business models.

• Foster cross-functional collaboration

• Foster cross-departmental collaboration and promote teamwork across all levels. This means understanding each department’s KPIs, facilitating knowledge sharing, and setting unified goals to drive collective success.
• Engage all stakeholders, from the C-suite to frontline employees, to ensure comprehensive understanding and support for how digital initiatives are a crucial complement to the broader business strategy.

This strategic alignment guarantees that digital transformation projects are not perceived as mere tech upgrades but are fundamental components of your organization’s innovation journey and growth.

Navigating Through the Hype of New Technologies

Embarking on the digital transformation journey with the allure of new technologies like Generative AI and cloud computing. 

To ensure a clear path, adopt a strategic approach and consider the following strategies:

• Invest wisely & focus on the end user

• Allocate resources to essential technologies that enhance customer experiences. 
• Remember, integrating sustainability and ESG into your business is not a sprint to adopt the latest gadgets but a marathon toward long-term improvement and resilience.

• The roadmap to digital mastery with generative AI

• Initial Steps: Assess your current tech landscape and define clear objectives
• Engagement & Planning: Involve stakeholders and apply design thinking for seamless technology integration
• Execution & Evolution: When implementing new technologies, keep an eye on robust data management, stringent security, and uncompromising privacy while fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

Case Studies of Successful Digital Transformations

Embarking on a digital transformation journey can be daunting, as it involves significant changes to how an organization operates and utilizes technology—navigating through uncharted waters. Yet, we can learn from the trailblazers who have charted courses worth following by examining digital transformation case studies. Here’s a glimpse into their journeys:

• Netflix flipped the script by transitioning from DVD rentals to dominating the streaming world within the entertainment industry, offering a buffet of movies, TV shows, and documentaries. This bold move not only redefined entertainment but also showcased the potential of e-commerce in transforming traditional business models.
• Amazon took retail into the stratosphere with a concoction of data and automation, serving up personalized shopping experiences and AI-driven recommendations, all while keeping the supply chain tighter than a drum.
• Starbucks ‘Digital Flywheel’ concept has been brewed up, enhancing rewards, personalization, and ordering through its app, all spiced up with AI for that perfect blend of technology and taste. This innovative approach incorporates the digital Flywheel and leverages AI to tailor experiences with a high degree of personalization.

These vignettes are not just digital transformation success stories; they showcase the power of innovation coupled with the strategic foresight to pivot and embrace technology. They prove that with the right approach, digital transformation can propel businesses into new realms of success.

Conclusion

Deciding to undergo digital transformation is like setting sail in uncharted waters; it’s fraught with hurdles, but success lies in meticulous planning, aligning with business objectives, and maneuvering through challenges. As we’ve dissected throughout, the crux of dodging failure hinges on a combination of strategic foresight, robust leadership, embracing cultural shifts, and aligning with overarching business objectives. When woven together, these elements not only steer organizations away from pitfalls but also gear them toward a trajectory of innovation and growth. This synthesis of insights urges companies to harness the collective wisdom and lessons shared, casting light on the routes that have led others to flourish in the digital landscape.

Moreover, the anecdotes of Netflix, Amazon, and Starbucks underline a common thread – the audacity to pivot, the zeal to innovate, and the vision to weave digital into their operational ethos. These stories are not just tales of triumph but beacons for businesses aspiring to transcend the traditional and forage into the digital dominion with conviction. As we wrap up, let this exploration serve as both a lighthouse and a compass, guiding toward thoughtful digital adoption enriched by a keen understanding of the underlying dynamics and a digital ethos that resonates with the very core of these successful entities.  

 

FAQ

 

What are the common challenges faced during digital transformation?

One of the primary challenges in digital transformation is the resistance to change. This resistance often stems from a mindset that if something isn’t broken, there’s no need to fix or change it, as noted by expert Sarkar. Such an attitude can obstruct progress and stifle innovation, potentially posing a threat to the organization’s survival.

Why is the failure rate so high for digital transformation initiatives?

Approximately 70% of digital transformation efforts fail due to the absence of a comprehensive change management strategy. Change management is a systematic approach that supports individuals in adapting to organizational changes. Statistics show that organizations with a solid change management strategy are six times more likely to achieve their digital transformation objectives, highlighting the critical nature of embracing change to avoid the high digital transformation failure rate.

Can you identify common pitfalls in organizational transformation and suggest how to avoid them?

Several common pitfalls can derail transformation efforts, including:

• Insufficient clear communication.
• Neglecting the importance of stakeholder engagement.
• Having an aversion to failure and avoiding taking risks.
• Overlooking the well-being of employees.
• Concentrating exclusively on technological aspects.
• Trying to accelerate the transformation process too quickly.
• A misalignment between the transformation efforts and overall business strategy.
• Disregarding the importance of data and metrics in guiding decisions.

What are the potential obstacles to successful digital transformation and strategies for overcoming them?

The most frequent obstacles encountered during digital transformation include:

• Resistance to change.
• Communication and collaboration barriers within the organization.
• Concerns about security.
• Challenges in adopting new tools and processes.
• Making the right technology choices.
• Keeping pace with evolving customer needs.
• Resource limitations.
• Lack of a clear vision and strategic direction.

To overcome these barriers, organizations must develop strategies that address each of these issues, such as fostering a culture of change, improving internal communication, ensuring robust security measures, carefully selecting and implementing new technologies, understanding and responding to customer demands, allocating sufficient resources, and crafting a clear and coherent digital strategy. By overcoming digital transformation barriers and instituting security measures, companies can navigate the complexities of change more effectively.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

The market for virtual assistants is booming. Due to the exponential growth in artificial intelligence technologies, devices capable of mimicking human interaction to execute tasks are becoming increasingly popular. Amazon’s Alexa and Echo, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Google Assistant are popular virtual assistants. The development of this technology holds incredible potential for industries such as self-driving cars, home care, healthcare, and education.

This article will introduce what AI virtual assistants are, the reasons for their rise in usage, and what the future holds.

What is an AI Virtual Assistant?

An AI Virtual Assistant is a system capable of emulating human interaction to execute various tasks, from playing your favorite music to interacting with customers and solving their problems. Some technologies that have made this possible are machine learning, deep neural networks, and natural language understanding (NLU). As a result, the virtual assistant is capable of knowledge, reasoning, and understanding.

On top of that, there has been a rapid increase in the concept of augmented reality. Augmented reality is another technology that holds the same promise. Both technologies have the potential to revamp the retail world, with more and more customers demanding that there should be more significant investment in these.

Augmented reality juxtaposes digitally created elements with fundamental world elements in real-time. Using Augmented Reality technology, you can alter your perception of the natural world with the digital creations of the AR-enabled device.

According to figures by Statista, there is a steady growth in the market for Augmented Reality applications. It projects that by 2023, the total market will be worth over $18 billion. Moreover, it projects that worldwide spending on mobile applications with augmented reality will reach a value of $15.5 million in 2022.

The Rise in AI Virtual Assistants

Large companies across various industries are investing heavily in AI virtual assistant development. This technology isn’t just an add-on anymore. It’s a product. It also means that customers frequently use the technology. It is no longer a novelty feature.

As a result of this investment, the technology behind AI virtual assistants has been vastly improving, which has led to their success. Improvements in AI have led to the development of many kinds of virtual assistants, such as virtual employee assistants (VEAs), virtual customer assistants (VCAs), and virtual personal assistants (VPAs).

According to a report by Gartner, 25% of people working will be using virtual employee assistants by 2021. This percentage was below 2% in 2019.

The usage of virtual assistants spans many industries. For example, VPAs can help their consumers complete various personal tasks, like Apple’s Siri. Or they can provide an easily accessible interface for cars or homes connected to it. Another use of Virtual assistants that is gaining popularity is as sales or customer service agents. One of the primary reasons for this is virtual assistants’ sheer scalability and efficiency.

Future Possibilities for AI Virtual Assistants

As the report by Gartner shows, the rise in the usage of virtual assistants has been recent but is proliferating. Given the speed at which the technology for AI Virtual Assistants develops, we can expect the following:

Greater Levels of Customization

You can customize the interactions between VAs and users to improve the experience. The customizations can include adapting the language and voice chosen for the assistants.  

Context Sensitivity

Technologies such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) can make it possible for these virtual assistants to understand the deeper meaning behind a user’s words and establish relevant context. You can complete accomplishing tasks for people much more effortlessly.

Humanized Conversation

AI virtual assistants can have more humanized and meaningful conversations with their users.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, AI virtual assistants are the wave of the future. As the technology behind VAs improves, they are bound to become an integral part of our lives. If you want to know more, visit our website! With the way companies invest in this, it’s only a matter of time before this becomes a reality.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.