Since the arrival of the internet more and more people have realized that they can utilize this in order to make a living online and the term digital nomad originated to describe such people. I was first introduced to this term when I met my good friend Stehen Varanko III, who had been living this life for a couple of years now. At that time I was working in an office job that I hated so as you can imagine this was a very interesting prospect for me. I began trying to do some bits and pieces on the side and then 2 years ago I was able to quit my job and become digital nomad. This was one of the best decisions that I have ever made and here are just some of the benefits of this brilliant lifestyle choice.

Location Independence

What I love most about this job is that I can work from anywhere in the world and all I need to have is my laptop and an internet connection. In fact in many cases I can do without an internet connection for some time and the most important thing is that I have a laptop and a charge point. Over the years I have travelled throughout the USA and beyond, laptop in tow and I have been able to earn money whilst I was doing it. The idea of being able to freely roam the world whilst I work is simply astonishing to me and I love it.

No Boundaries

There are few things that are worse in a business when you have to go and ask for a day off or an early finish to go to the doctor, and often you are treated as though you are asking for all the money in the world. In the office it was always like this and whether you wanted a vacation or a day off, you would be treated with utter contempt. These days however I can do what I want whenever I want and that means that I can very easily make a doctor or dental appointment, and I don’t need to ask anyone’s permission.

Flexible

I love how flexible my working hours are now and I also love that I am able to pick and chose when I work and when I don’t. If I have a project that I am working on then I will usually wake up and complete a couple of hours in the morning and then break for the rest of the day, before picking it back up again at night. Having the freedom to choose when and how I work is absolutely brilliant and I sometimes even do some work right from my bed! Not having working hours means that this is a lifestyle choice which can fit around any responsibilities which you may have, and it can also mean that you are far more relaxed when you are working.

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Living life as a digital nomad allows you to focus more on your everyday tasks without the distractions in the standard office environment. What’s even better is that you have the freedom and flexibility to travel, allowing your surroundings to inspire and fuel you.

But, digital life does have its downfalls. Working on-the-go can lead to issues with communication, project management, tasking, and much more. Staying in sync with others on your team can be problematic. Thankfully technology exists to make tackling these challenges a breeze.

Maybe you already use tools for creating online invoices or for better managing your inbox. But, there are plenty of other tools that are designed to make your life easier and more productive. Keep reading to learn about 6 tools that are ideal for digital nomads, no matter where you are in the world.

1. Slack

There are many tools and apps designed for instant messaging, but Slack is one that you’ll definitely want to have available. This go-to communication tool is user-friendly and supports both personal and professional communication.

As a digital nomad, it can be hard to create a sense of team, belonging, and overall morale. By using Slack, you can relationship-build with your team members as well as clients and prospective partners. Using slack you can have side-bar conversations while also participating in more serious chats with your manager or a client.

Slack allows you to send group messages as well as private messages to team members. You can also create channels that are designed for certain teams or topics.

2. Zoom

Wouldn’t it be nice to have face-to-face communication with a client or a team member who is located hundreds and thousands of miles away? Even though you cannot sit in the same room and have a conversation, Zoom fills in the gap that distance creates by offering video calling capability.

Zoom is a quality video conferencing app that allows you to create and nurture a relationship with clients and team members around the globe. Text-based communication falls short of the ability to hear someone’s tone or see their expression.

With Zoom, you can host a one-on-one conversation or create a conference call that allows many people to join a meeting room. This is a great feature for company meetings. The tool also allows you to schedule video calls, recurring events and even offers privacy and access management.

3. Hootsuite

No matter what service or good you provide or which industry you support, Hootsuite is the tool for you. As a digital nomad, you’ve likely embraced social media for marketing, branding, and communicating with clients. But as you know, posting on social media each day is time-consuming and takes away time that could be spent making money.

To make using social media much more convenient, add Hootsuite to your list of must-use tools. The app will save you hours each week by allowing you to schedule social media posts days and weeks in advance.

By using Hootsuite you can:

• Follow hashtags
• Join real-time conversations
• Minimize the disruption of time-zone changes
• Have access to analytics
• Better manage your community

4. Calendly

If you’re part of a team of remote workers, you know all too well the pitfalls of being on a distributed team. From different time zones to managing expectations, these downfalls can cause project deadlines to slip, which can interfere with client relationships.

Thankfully tools like Calendly exist to make it much easier to coordinate task due dates, project timelines, and much more. The app integrates with your personal calendar to check for availability and supports a wide range of meetings including group, collective, one-on-one, and even round-robin meetings.

5. Pocket

Research is an important part of being a successful digital nomad. Chances are you spend a lot of your travel time reading and researching about clients or certain topics. But, as you come across various articles, it’s all too easy to lose track and to forget which articles you’ve read. By using Pocket, you can save articles from the web and reference them as needed. This way you can have a growing list of information to use when creating content.

With Pocket, you can access articles and files no matter where you’re located. No internet connection needed!

6. Google Suite

Google is best known as a search engine, but the company has created an all-encompassing suite has made the life of a digital nomad much easier. The suite offers a wide range of tools including:

• Google Docs for document management, sharing, and collaboration
• Gmail for email and text-based communication
• Google Drive for cloud-based file hosting
• Google Hangouts for real-time chatting and instant messaging

The suite offers many other tools, including Google Calendar, Google Sheets, Google Forms, and Google Slides. What’s best about the Google Suite is that it’s free! As a digital nomad, it’s nice to find a well-rounded tool that meets all of your needs as an on-the-go worker.

By using Google Suites you can share and collaborate on documents, send emails, schedule tasks & assignments, set up recurring calendar appointments, host files in the cloud, and much more.

Starting up any kind of new business requires a variety of processes and tools to create a sturdy foundation for success. If you have a dream of one day owning a large digital company, you’ll want to take the proper steps early on in the process to pave the way for a successful startup company that can grow into a booming company in the future.

As you know, the digital world offers all sorts of tools and technologies that make it much easier to run a startup. Keep reading to learn about four tools that you’ll want to have access to so that you can meet each of your business needs, to including marketing, budgeting communication, and much more.

1. Marketing Tools

One of the most important tools for a digital startup is a marketing suite. Without effective marketing, your startup won’t get the traction and consumer attention it needs to make a profit and grow. While traditional marketing methods, such as business cards and local flyers are still quite useful, in the digital world, you want to embrace tools and technology as much as possible.

These days there are all sorts of marketing factions to use. From mobile marketing to social media marketing to search engine optimization, you want to find a tool or tools that enable you to take part in various forms of marketing.

Some of today’s most commonly used marketing tools include:

• Buffer
• Google Analytics
• Canva
• Trello
• SEMrush
• MailChimp

While you don’t have to use all of these tools, you’ll want to do some research to determine what your competitors are using. It’s also important to pinpoint the most effective ways to attract and engage your target audience.

2. Conference Call Services

Without a focus on consistent communication, your startup isn’t likely to go very far. Thankfully today there is all sort of convenient ways to communicate with business partners, employers, and investors, including email, instant messages, text message, and more. One of the most overlooked methods of communicating is the conference call.

With quality conference call services, you can take voice-based communications to the next level. When using conference calls, you have the option to communicate with others using audio with the added benefit of video. Conference calls allow you to see those participating in the meeting. With a quality international conference call service for business, you can discuss business plans and other hot topics with people around the globe.

Conference call services are also ideal for collaboration. These services offer screen sharing, file sharing, and many other features that make sharing information much easier, despite the distance between your participants.

3. Budgeting Application

As the owner of a digital startup, there are all sorts of numbers and expenses that you’ll need to track. Starting off the budgeting process early is a great way to get into good habits and to create a long track record of numbers that your company needs to track. Since you’re unlikely to have the funds to pay for an accountant, you’ll want to take advantage of the many budgeting tools that are available to make tracking expenses, income, and margins much easier.

Budgeting applications are for much more than tracking money. They’re also useful during tax season when you need to report income, losses, and other financial business information. Quality programs even produce tax forms and statements for you, making the process a breeze.

By budgeting properly from the get-go, you set your business up for success. Keeping track of money makes it much easier to have a sturdy financial standing when applying for a business loan or drafting a business plan.

4. Project & Task Management

Running a startup company involves a never-ending list of tasks. Not only do you have to balance the budget, market your brand, and develop a business plan, you also have to keep tabs on employee projects and the associated tasks. While you could notate projects and tasks in a document, it’s much easier to use a project management application. These tools offer a wide range of features including:

• Task status tracking
• Timelines
• Metrics
• Employee workload

By using a quality project management application, you can have a detailed or birds-eye view on what tasks are being worked, which ones are completed, along with upcoming tasks that make up a future pipeline.

Conclusion

It only makes sense for a digital startup to use a variety of digital technologies to pave its path to success. By using these four tools, you can set your new business up for success. These technologies are also beneficial in that they make day-to-day work life much more convenient.

These days, if your small business does not have its own website then you are way behind and you need to think about building one. Many people believe that if they are on social media then they don’t need a website, but this is not entirely true. Here, we are going to talk you through some of the reasons why you should build a website for your small business. Keep reading if you’d like to find out more.

It Is Expected

One of the most important reasons that your small business should have a website is the fact that it is expected in this day and age. If you go to a restaurant, visit a store or use a service, you expect them to have a website that you can use to get in contact with them or see more of what they offer. If your customers try to find your website but nothing appears when they search, they might be put off and question your legitimacy.

It Is Easy

If you have been putting off building a website for your business because you think that it is too difficult then you should know that there are plenty of options available. If you make use of a quick website building tool, then you can easily set up a website with very little skill required. On top of this, these website builders are relatively inexpensive, so you won’t need to worry about a huge extra cost on your small business expenses.

You’re In Control

When your small business has a presence on social media, you aren’t always in control of what gets written there. People are often able to leave negative reviews or leave comments that might put your business in a negative light. This is what is so good about having your own website because you can be completely in control and present your own narrative. Think about creating a website that boasts about your business and really gives people a taste of what you offer.

Your Competitors Have One

If you are still wondering why your small business needs a website, then you should know that your competitors probably already have one. It is important to always be standing out and showing your worth when you have local competitors and with a website, you can do this. Don’t let your small business get left behind by only sticking to social media or not being online at all. People want to be able to access your company online so try to get yourself a website to allow yourself to compete.

It Makes You Contactable

The final reason why your small business needs a website is the fact that it can make you a lot more contactable. Your customers might want to know more about how they can contact you and with a website, you can easily add your address, your phone number and even a live chat feature. Customer interaction is key if you want to be successful and with a website, you can make sure that your customers can get in touch whenever they want to.

Final Thoughts

There are so many good reasons why you should build a website for your small business so make sure to get one started today. Think about how much more contactable it can make you and how it can keep you in control of the narrative. Make sure to choose a website builder if you want to make this whole process as easy as possible.

 

When you visit trade shows and conferences, you will find exhibition stands. It is easy for companies to tell a story when they have exhibition stands. People visiting their booth will also drop by to read information if they don’t have enough time to speak with the representatives from the company. If you intend to join a trade show or conference soon, you need to consider having quality exhibition stands. These tips will help you during the preparation.

Be clear about your vision

What do you want the people to associate your business with? The answer to this question is your brand. You need to be consistent in all your marketing strategies so that people can associate your business with them. For instance, Coca-Cola seems to own the colour red. When people think of red when they are thirsty, it points them to this brand. The consistent use of the said colour in marketing helped achieve that result.

Don’t make it too overwhelming

Keep the exhibition stand simple and easy to understand. The objective is to attract people to come and see what you have to offer. You will also compete with other exhibition stands in the area. In some trade shows, there could be hundreds of companies at a given time. Despite that, you can’t have an exhibition stand that looks too over the top as you might scare people away.

Try the exhibition stand

Before the trade show, you can use the exhibition stand elsewhere. Find a public place or right outside your company where you can try the stand for advertising. Check if people are receptive of the strategy or they find it too dull. You can still modify it before the trade show depending on how good the reception is.

Be straight to the point

Avoid using lots of words to explain certain concepts. Select the right words and get straight to the point. Use appropriate images to convey your message. You also need to be creative in designing the exhibition stand. If people feel like they want to know more, they will sit and talk to the representatives. They can also get your brochures or visit the website where they can find more information. The exhibition stand is there to entice them.

Use giveaways

You can also express your gratitude to them for visiting by using giveaways and souvenirs. You need to keep them simple and affordable. You also shouldn’t give them to everyone who passes by. Choose individuals who deserve to receive the giveaways.

Find the right place

Before you agree to join the trade show, you need to ask the organiser if you can have the best spot. Don’t set up the stand next to your competitors as people might get confused. Avoid popular and huge brands too as they might take the attention away from you.

Evaluate your strategies in this marketing campaign and use them again if you join trade shows in the future.

Software packages for PCB designers have always been a bone of contention with the feedback being they haven’t kept up with the advancement of technology. As the end customer is ultimately looking for something that is compact but intelligent, the accountability goes back on to the designer to make this happen as effectively as he can. Some of the recent versions of Altium have had very positive feedback as they look to have taken the voice of the customer and the designers into account as much as they can to come up with a simple solution to PCB design software.

Below are some of the details of how this software works.

Design using CAD

Most designers have heard of CAD and this is the basis of how Altium works. CAD has been used commonly to design nuts and bolts to jet engines. In terms of how it is used in the PCB world, you would do your normal design using the CAD tools specifically for round PCB designs which seem to be more common nowadays. The CAD tools are pretty basic and there are help icons available for anyone that is struggling (or you could even get specific training from Altium if that was your requirement).

Understand Errors

When a designer makes a mistake, it is extremely important that this gets picked up before anything goes out to manufacture. Failure to do this could result in a PCB being manufactured faulty. Not only would this cost the business money but it would give the company a poor quality name. When a designer has finished his work on CAD there is only so much checking he can do on his own to make sure that the design aligns with the needs from the customer but also will function properly. This is where the Altium simulation tool is priceless. If you run this tool on a sub assembly, you will immediately see if there is a positive result. Most of the design flaws should be picked up at this stage (but not all). Furthermore, when you have all the sub assembly parts created and you bring it together as an assembled unit, you will be able to see via the simulation if the end result will be positive or not. The Altium simulation tool is probably one of the most powerful we have seen and helps support a designer in a more pro-active way.

Talk with Previous Versions

With technology in this area advancing extremely fast, you will find that the software packages are now beginning to step up and different version of existing software being updated or even additional software packages being launched. It is important that you keep your current software packages up to date with the latest versions in order to ensure that hic-ups are prevented. This can be done all online. Altium also talks with other similar software package types so that if you have a designed unit on another package – it is likely that this can be transferred to Altium hassle free.

 

It’s 2018 and although you may know the most common traffic laws violated in New York, you’re still driving a car from the last few decades. Sure, you can spend money on an expensive car that will depreciate in a few years. You could also bring your outdated vehicle into the future by purchasing highly advanced car tech.

Imagine having the entirety of your Driver’s Education Course built into a few computers. You won’t have to worry about parallel parking, navigating, or what to do if you get stranded with this technology. Here’s the top tech parts for your car.

Cobra CDR 855 BT

Having problems with the speed limit is a common issue drivers have. When they break the speed limit enough times, they could lose their license. The Cobra CDR 855 BT could help keep you from losing your license by accumulating too many moving violations.

The Cobra is a speed detector, red light locator, camera, and LCD monitor. When you’re looking for a device to record your driving or accidents before they happen, the Cobra is a great selection. You can even detach it quickly and easily, in case you want to take the speeding outside of the car and onto a bike.

Pioneer AVH 4100NEX

Distracted drivers turn into reckless drivers. When your hands are occupied with your phone, you can risk an accident. Therefore, taking phone calls, answering texts, and trying to switch to your favorite song is so dangerous. Listening to your jams shouldn’t be dangerous.

The Pioneer AVH 4100NEX is a hands-free LCD touch screen that will allow you to do it all. It has Bluetooth and Siri integration, so you can connect any phone. Along with this, you’ll finally be able to answer phone calls, texts, and access your favorite music hands free.

Zubie

Cars have everything you need: comfy seats, music, a television (in certain models). The one thing they don’t have is Wi-Fi. Nothing will bring your car into the future than being able to connect to it via Wi-Fi.

With Zubie, you can do exactly that. Using Wi-Fi can turn a bad situation into a good one. Whether you’re trying to navigate to your next destination or car slumber party, having Wi-Fi is an important asset.

Gas Buddy

Everyone has experienced the trauma of waiting until the last minute to fill their gas tank. Especially when you can’t find a gas station. Finding the nearest gas station to you is easier than ever with Gas Buddy.

Gas Buddy provides you with the gas stations close by and it lists the price per gallon of gas. That way, you know exactly where to go before your tank hits that dreadful “E.”

Parkmobile

Parking in any major city is a nightmare. Most of the time, finding a public parking lot is easiest method of finding anywhere to keep your car for a few hours. The only hard part: finding and paying.

Parkmobile makes this process simple. You can locate the nearest public parking lot to you and pay for parking all through the app. That way you can avoid any cash only exchanges and keep it digital.

Wagan Cooler/Warmer

If you’ve ever thought about living in your car, now is the year to do it. Wagan has produced a cooler and warmer to keep your food, drinks, and face masks cool overnight. Never again will you have to worry about keeping your drinks cold or warming up a sandwich.

The Wagan plugs into a 12v adapter. That means, you can keep it in your car in case of any hungry emergencies.

Purchasing a business presents fewer risks as compared to starting one from scratch. Its owners have already established a good connection with its employees, customers and suppliers.

If you do your diligence well, purchasing an existing business will have tons of benefits. They include the following.

1. Ability to Secure Financing

As a startup, most lenders are unwilling to offer credit financing. The ones that would want to advance your credit will do so at a higher rate. The main reason for this is the higher risks your business faces.

Before advancing credit, the lenders will want to know whether your firm is productive now and, in the days to come. With the established business, this can be done simply by analyzing the financial records.

An existing business has shown its ability to generate revenue. As such, the lenders will be certain that the business will make the repayments on time.

2. Continuous Flow of Income

Among the major reasons to start, own and run a business is to generate income and maximize on your wealth. Starting a business from scratch will take years to break even before you can enjoy any returns.

If you don’t want to go through this stage of negative cash flow, purchase an existing firm to starting your own. The returns you get will more than make up your initial investment.

3. A Known Brand

When you purchase a business, you’re purchasing more than the immovable assets. You’re buying its brand. Clients will always separate your business from that of your competitors through your brand name. It may take years to create this brand.

Having an established brand gives your lenders, suppliers, buyers and other contractor’s confidence in your business. A business startup may take up to years to create this brand. This is especially true if you are looking to buy a business for sale in a local area. For example, if you are looking at businesses for sale in Miami, the branding of the business will already be known to consumers in the area, so you won’t have to establish yourself against the competition.

4. Established Customer Base

An existing company will have an existing customer base. You’ll be purchasing the business together with its loyal clientele.

After the purchase, you’ll only need to employ strategies that help grow your customer base. In this, you won’t have to start from zero customers and expand outwards.

5. An existing Network

Most business owners who start a business from scratch spend a lot of time establishing networks.

Good marketing and supplier contracts are an invaluable asset to any company. Buying a firm with an established network allows you to hit the ground running.

Furthermore, suppliers, marketers and lenders will offer better trade deals to companies that have been in existence for years.

6. You Focus on Business Growth

All startup business owners focus their time, resources and energy to get their business off the ground. This can be very exhausting and time-consuming.

However, by buying an established firm, all your focus will be on how to grow your business. It gives you the liberty to focus on individual segments of the business that needs attention. It also gives you the freedom to choose how you invest the proceeds you get as revenue.