Tag: Common

Common Christmas catastrophes and how to avoid them this holiday season

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but sometimes it’s also the most stressful. 

Cooking the perfect meal, neatly wrapping presents, and traveling are all stressful parts of Christmas that could quickly turn you into a Grinch.

Avoid these common Christmas catastrophes to keep your spirits merry and bright this holiday.

If you have late additions to your shopping list, it’s possible they may not make it to your doorstep before Christmas Day.

If time got away from you and you still have people to shop for in the days before Christmas, it’s best to do your shopping in person.

Although you likely won’t be able to escape the long lines associated with last-minute shoppers, visiting a store may be the only way you’ll get your gifts on time.

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Shopping early in the morning before the rush may help you somewhat avoid long wait lines.

While you should buy your gifts in person to ensure you’ll have them on time, browse online first before going in person. 

That way, you know exactly what you’re looking for when you arrive.

Many stores have pickup options, where you can buy online and go in the store to pick up your order, although there are often lines for this buying option, too. 

If you absolutely have to order online, Amazon is a pretty reliable place to do so. Prime members receive free two-day shipping, so you won’t have to pay tons out of pocket for overnight shipping.

In “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” one of the many iconic moments is the dinner scene.

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From the outside, the turkey being served looks perfect, but when it’s cut into, it’s completely dried out.

“I told you we put it in too early,” says Catherine, the cook of the dry turkey.

Maybe your catastrophe won’t be quite as extreme, but it’s a common mistake to not time dishes correctly and end up with cold food by the time everything is complete.

Another common catastrophe is realizing you don’t have the right ingredients before you begin to cook.

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Don’t worry, there are simple solutions to these problems.

To avoid a dinner disaster, consider doing a practice run before the main meal. In the week leading up to Christmas, pick a day when you can do a trial run of your meal. Hopefully, any mistakes will be fixed then instead of on Dec. 25.

Have plenty of timers ready, and don’t forget what timer is designated for what food.

If you are using timers on your phone, label them, so you know which is which.

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When you have your final menu established, write everything down and all the ingredients you will need for each one. Don’t rely on your memory alone to remember everything.

Take one grocery trip with your list in hand and cross out each item as you get it. That way, you won’t run into issues on Christmas Day with forgotten ingredients.

It can be a little awkward for you and your guests if there aren’t enough seats for everyone at your table.

Name tags are an easy solution to this problem. Create festive name tags to place at each person’s seat. This will ensure that no one is accidentally left out of the arrangements.

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Wrapping gifts can be a hassle. It’s even more of a hassle when you realize halfway through wrapping that you don’t have enough paper.

The first solution to this is to always buy more than you think you need. Don’t go overboard but always buy at least one more roll than you think you’ll use.

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Any extra wrapping paper you have, save for next year. Keep a storage box filled with extra wrapping paper, bags, bows, tissue paper, name tags, etc. That way, if you ever run out, you know you have extra set aside and don’t have to rush to the store to buy more.

Nothing is more awkward than handing a person a gift, watching them open the gift, and then realizing it wasn’t meant for them. 

Even if you dedicate different wrapping paper to each person, you may still forget whose is whose.

Name tags will help you organize everyone’s gifts and avoid guessing on Christmas Day.

You can purchase stickers that go directly on the wrapped present or tags that can be tied to bags to write each person’s name on.

You can also take a small piece of wrapping paper, fold it in half and write the recipient’s name on the inside, if you don’t have any tags at your disposal. 

If you are traveling to a loved one’s house for Christmas, it’s a common holiday problem to forget all your gifts you were so excited about giving at home.

Avoid this by putting all the gifts that need to go with you in a laundry basket right by your door.

You’ll see the gifts on your way out, and they’ll be easy to transfer into your car.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

Common UX Accessibility Mistakes Found on Websites

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, says the web is for everyone. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Poor design decisions can present barriers for many different groups of people. In fact, research by WebAIM finds that across one million homepages, there were over 50,000,000 “distinct accessibility errors” at an average of … Continue reading Common UX Accessibility Mistakes Found on Websites

Common UX Accessibility Mistakes Found on Websites

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, says the web is for everyone. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.

Poor design decisions can present barriers for many different groups of people. In fact, research by WebAIM finds that across one million homepages, there were over 50,000,000 “distinct accessibility errors” at an average of just over 50 per page.

These errors don’t just make people feel marginalized; they stop hundreds of thousands of people from interacting with your brand or buying your product.

Few webmasters want to purposefully marginalize people or limit access to their site. That’s why it’s so important to understand the most common web accessibility issues and learn how to resolve them with clean design.

Let’s get started.

Why Is UX Accessibility Important?

Because the internet has become an essential part of the day-to-day lives of more than a billion people, site owners must take steps to make sure everyone can access it equally. It’s not just a matter of human rights, however. There is an obvious financial case for making your site accessible. Given that 61 million people in the United States have some form of disability, an inaccessible site could be harming your bottom line. Make your site accessible, and you potentially open the door to thousands of more customers.

Complying with UX accessibility design trends can bolster your company’s reputation. Making an effort to cater to a particular group of disadvantaged users proves your company cares about all of its customers. This added step may encourage potential customers to do more business with your brand going forward.

There’s also the small matter of legal compliance. While there’s debate about whether the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act includes websites as well as physical stores, that hasn’t stopped thousands of lawsuits getting filed with federal courts each year. You may not be punished for a lack of ADA website compliance, but the threat of legal action is clear.

Ultimately, designing with UX accessibility doesn’t just improve the browsing experience for users with disabilities; it improves the user experience for everyone. Even users with perfect vision benefit from a better color contrast and more labels — and your SEO certainly benefits from things like added alt text and better link descriptions.

The 7 Most Common Web Accessibility Mistakes

Making your website more accessible is as much about avoiding common issues as it is about integrating new technology. Avoid the following seven mistakes, and you’ll go a long way to making your site more accessible than your competitors.

1: Missing Alt Text on Images

Alt text is an HTML attribute that describes what an image represents. From an accessibility perspective, alt text provides information for screen readers to accurately describe images to visually-impaired users. If you don’t provide alt text or your alt text isn’t very descriptive, then you aren’t making your site’s images available to everyone.

There’s a difference between empty alt text and missing alt text. Sometimes images can be for purely decorative purposes. Where this is the case, an empty alt tag can be used, which appears as alt=””. This is ignored by screen readers and doesn’t impact usability.

Often, alt text isn’t empty but missing completely. When a screen reader comes across a missing alt attribute, it will assume that the image is important and inject the file name. For images like graphs and infographics that are fundamental to a user’s understanding of a webpage, the file name won’t be sufficient. That’s why it’s essential to create alt text for all of your images.

2: Weak Color Contrast

Have you ever tried to read a white font on a yellow background? Not easy, is it? But that could be how many users feel every time they visit your site. The truth is some people struggle to read text unless the color contrast between the font and the background is very stark. It’s why black font on a white background is such a popular choice.

The easiest way to improve color contrast is to avoid using similar colors for backgrounds and text. That means no orange font on a red background. Or green text on a blue background. Pay particular attention to design features like your website’s header or the submit button on forms, too. These features tend to incorporate brand colors and are more likely to cause contrast issues.

Alternatively, you can use a tool like the Contrast Checker from WebAIM to quantify your contrast ratio. The higher your ratio, the better the contrast and the more readable your website will be. The tool will tell you whether your colors pass or fail. As a rule, text and background colors should have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 for large text and at least 4:1 for normal-sized text.

As you can see from the images below, dark blue text on a white background has a great contrast ratio.

Example of a good contrast ratio of colors with dark blue on white.

But yellow text on a white background has a terrible contrast ratio.

An example of bad color contrast with yellow on white.

3: Poor Link Text

Links are a vital part of a web page, both from a user experience perspective and for SEO. But you need to accurately describe them using link text to make them effective.

While those versed in SEO might never dream of missing a chance to add a keyword in an internal link, missing link text is surprisingly common. Logos, buttons, and icons are all guilty of having no text, which means screen readers will ignore them. That’s not great if you want users to click your CTA button.

Vague or ambiguous link text is also an issue. Not only does a phrase like “click here” offer no SEO value, but it can also hamper users accessing your site via a screen reader. Including the entire http:// link without any anchor text whatsoever is even worse. Neither version contains the information these users need.

Instead, make sure the clickable text describes exactly what the user can find on the next page. In the example below, for instance, you know that by clicking the link, you’ll be directed to a page where you can get a 14-day free trial of Shopify.

The 14 day free trial for shopify.

Then there are navigation links. These can also create problems for screen readers if they are poorly coded. That’s because screen readers will not skip over them, meaning users will have to listen to your navigation menu every time they open a new page. Solve this by assigning ARIA roles to your navigation menus to indicate their purpose. This will help screen readers to avoid them where necessary.

4: Missing Form Labels

I’m almost certain your website has at least one form on it, even if it’s only on your contact page. But does every field have a label telling users what information they need to input? If not, your forms aren’t accessible to everyone.

A "how can I help" form.

Just like with link text, form input fields need a label so screen readers and other accessibility devices can understand them and help users navigate them. A label isn’t just the placeholder text you can see in the form field, though. You also need to add a description in the form’s code. That’s because placeholder text is usually ignored by screen readers. It also doesn’t help that placeholder text usually lacks a strong color contrast.

Ideally, you’ll have a visible label inside a <label> element so everyone (users, screen readers, bots) can understand what’s meant to go in each field.

5: No Markup For Data Tables

Tables are something of a nightmare for screen readers and other accessibility devices. When screen readers come across a table, they tell the user that there is a table with a given amount of columns and rows and then proceed to list out all of the data. Unfortunately, that data may not be read in the correct order. Worse still, screen readers can’t read out tables where there is more than one set of row or column headers.

In truth, the best way to make tables accessible is to not have them at all. Of course, that’s not going to work for some websites. So, where tables are required, you need to make them as simple as possible and use the correct markup. ID, HEADERS, and SCOPE attributes should be used to correctly label each part of your table. You can also use table captions to provide additional information to users about how to best understand your table.

Another alternative is presenting your data as an image file, with appropriate alt text listing out the data. However, for complex tables, that may not be feasible.

6: Lack of Keyboard Accessibility For Screen Readers

Not everyone is going to use a mouse to navigate your website. Many visually-impaired people will use a keyboard or another accessibility device to move around your website. And that means you need to pay special attention when designing and creating the layout of your site.

Specifically, users must be able to navigate your website using the space bar and tab key. Simple sites built in semantically correct HTML may make this possible without any adjustment, but more complicated websites will need to code in digital landmarks that better allow keyboard users and screen readers to move about.

Adding skip-to-content links at the top of each page can also save your users from having to tab through every menu item every time they open a new page. These buttons, which appear when you push the tab key, allow users to navigate the site using the tab and spacebar keys to skip the navigation and head straight to the main content of the page.

WebAIM's search function.

7: Non-HTML Content WIthout Proper Markup</h3>

It’s easy to forget about non-HTML elements when optimizing your site for accessibility. But content like PDFs and Word documents can also be an issue. Out of the box, users cannot customize these documents to make them easier to read nor do they work well with assistive technologies. Accessibility issues are even worse when documents are produced as image-only PDFs.

One solution is to solve navigation mistakes by tagging these resources for navigation by screen readers. Another is to use Office’s built-in Accessibility Checker to improve the accessibility of these documents when you create them.

Interactive content like sliders, accordions, and drag-and-drop widgets can also affect accessibility. So, too, can dynamic content like pop-up boxes and confirmation messages. If the screen reader can’t understand when these pieces of content are loading, it won’t be able to tell users about them.

Once again, you can use ARIA attributes to resolve this issue. Tagging these interactive and dynamic elements with the correct ARIA attribute will notify screen readers that the page’s content has changed. Alternatively, you can design your site in a way that avoids the need for pop-ups and other forms of dynamic content. Static websites may not look as flashy, but they are much more accessible.

FAQs

What are the four significant categories of accessibility?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are built upon the four principles of POUR: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.

What is ADA compliance?

If your site is ADA-compliant, then it meets the recommendations set out in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and is accessible to someone with a disability. 

How do I make my website more accessible?

You can make your website more accessible by improving color contrast, adding alt text, or adding keyboard accessibility for screen readers.  

What is an example of website accessibility?

Allowing users to navigate your website using a keyboard instead of a mouse is an example of website accessibility. So is adding alt text to every image on your website.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, even the best designers and web entrepreneurs can create inaccessible websites. It’s why it’s so important to keep referring back to these mistakes whenever you build a website or create a new piece of content.

It’s more effort to include alt text on all images, add markup data to tables and improve the quality of your link text, but millions of users will thank you for it.

But don’t stop there. Next, learn how to create inclusive content and improve the overall user experience of your website.

What UX accessibility mistakes are you going to correct first?

5 Surprising Things the Top Ranked Sites on Google Have in Common

5 Surprising Things the Top Ranked Sites on Google Have in Common (And What You Can Learn from Them)

What separates the heavyweights of the search engine rankings from everyone else? That’s a question every good SEO constantly asks themselves as they look to outrank sites that seem to dominate Google for every relevant keyword (like Wikipedia or WebMD).

Unsurprisingly, these sites have more than a few things in common. It’s not just their age or authority either—factors that other sites can’t hope to match. There are plenty of similar qualities that help top sites stand apart from their competitors that you can copy and improve today.

Let’s review five of the most important and surprising factors and explain what you can learn from them and how you can use that to improve your own site.

1. Backlinks Reign Supreme

Let’s get the least surprising commonality out of the way first. The top-ranked sites on Google all have a serious number of backlinks. As we all know, high-quality backlinks almost always mean high rankings.

Research from Backlinko finds the first result on Google has an average of 3.8 times as many backlinks as the rest of the results on the first page.

The big boys have it made when it comes to acquiring more backlinks, too. They continue to get more backlinks over time as a result of their position in Google.

Research by Ahrefs finds that the top three results generate more new referring domains than the rest of the pages on Google. Pages ranked first and second get significantly more new referring domains. Those pages ranking first get between backlinks at a faster rate of between five percent and 14.5 percent per month.

top ranked sites Ahrefs study

It’s not just a large number of backlinks that are important. They need to be high quality, too. What does a quality backlink look like? It comes from an authoritative domain, is placed within its content, and has topical relevance to your website.

Let’s say you have a car blog. A link from another high-ranking car blog carries more weight and is of higher quality than a link from a major health website because it’s much more relevant to your niche.

You shouldn’t discount internal links, either. The biggest websites (and news outlets in particular) almost always put a lot of effort into making sure every new piece of content links back to several previous posts.

Great internal linking makes it significantly easier for Google to crawl your website and index your information. The easier your site is to crawl, the more likely Google will find and rank your content. They may not have the same power as backlinks, but internal links can still result in higher rankings.

All this is to say that you need to build backlinks in a scalable way if you want your site to compete with the biggest brands in your industry.

2. Provide High-Quality Content

Most top-ranking websites are well known for the quality of their content. Okay, some major sites don’t publish high-quality content all of the time, but every high-ranking site does produce exceptional content, at least some of the time.

Don’t forget, high-quality content doesn’t necessarily mean it’s longer or more detailed than everyone else’s. It might contain unique research that other companies can’t hope to copy. Or it could break a story. Or it could be designed better. Or it could go viral. There are lots of ways to create amazing content.

Doing so matters when it comes to SEO because high-quality content helps boost several ranking factors. It’s a magnet for backlinks, it reduces your bounce rate, and it should result in a higher clickthrough rate (CTR).

The top-ranked sites don’t just rely on the objective quality of their content, though. They also take steps to optimize it to perform better in Google. That means including keywords in header tags, throughout the content, in the page title, and in the URL.

Creating high-quality content isn’t easy, especially when there’s no objective way to determine how good your content is. That’s the job of your users. That being said, there are still steps you can take to make it more likely your users think highly of your content.

The first is to make sure it’s written by an expert. This is a pretty simple task for some top-ranking sites like media outlets. Journalists, by default, are experts on certain topics. However, there’s nothing stopping you from writing about your expertise or hiring expert writers, either.

You could even use a strategy adopted by some health websites, where content is written by a professional writer and then fact-checked by a medical professional. Doing so has the double benefit of having content written by an excellent writer while also being medically accurate.

3. Focus on User Experience

Top-ranking sites on Google put a premium on the user experience and do everything they can to keep customers coming back. This means having a great design, high-quality content as discussed above, an intuitive layout, and a great browsing experience in general. Yes, some of the highest-ranking sites may serve up ads on their pages, but they don’t ruin your browsing experience with them or use intrusive popup ads, either.

A great user experience is one of the reasons these sites are top of Google, after all. Google announced that user experience metrics would be used to rank sites, beginning in 2021. How your site loads, what it looks like, and how users interact with it contribute to your rankings, along with other factors like HTTPS, safe browsing, mobile friendliness, and the presence of interstitials.

Google puts such a big emphasis on your site’s user experience because it aligns with its goal of giving customers the best possible browsing experience. The search giant finds over half (52 percent) of users will be less likely to engage with a brand after a bad mobile experience. So why would it rank you if you have a high bounce rate?

Improving your site’s user experience and aligning it with the experiences provided by the top-ranking sites won’t just improve your rankings; it also makes commercial sense. Ad network Ezoic generated a 186 percent increase in earnings per 1000 visitors by improving the UX of a publisher.

4. Make Sure Your Page Speed Is Competitive

You’ve never had to wait for the New York Times to load, have you? That’s because top-ranking sites know the importance of delivering content as fast as possible. Page load speed has been a ranking factor for desktop searches since 2010, and Google announced it was also a ranking factor for mobile searches back in 2018.

Say it with me: A slower site means lower rankings.

You need to optimize for page speed if you want to mix it with the highest-ranking sites. It’s not so much about getting the edge over your competitors and making your site 0.1 seconds faster, however. It’s about having a site that’s fast enough to not impact the user experience negatively.

Research by Google finds over half (53 percent) of visitors abandon a mobile site if it doesn’t load in three seconds.

If you have a slow site, you won’t just get penalized for a poor load time. You’ll also get penalized for having a high bounce rate as users get fed up with waiting and choose a different site instead.

The easiest way to check your page speed is by using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. It will let you know how fast your site is, give it a score out of 100, and suggest improvements.

Top ranked sites page speed

If you want to have a seriously fast-loading page, read my advice on getting a perfect score with Google PageSpeed Insights.

5. Consider User Intent

Have you noticed how some top-ranking sites have several pieces of content that all seem to approach the same topic from a slightly different angle? That’s because they understand the power of user intent and the value Google places on it.

Google wants to serve up the best and most appropriate content for each query. A big part of that is understanding what the user is trying to achieve from their search. Are they trying to learn something? Research a topic? Make a purchase? Google delivers different results for each intent.

For instance, Google shows e-commerce pages where it thinks the user is trying to make a purchase, but it serves up blog articles for information-related queries.

Knowing what type of content Google thinks users want to see is key to becoming a top-ranked site, because you’re much more likely to get ranked if you create content that matches the user intent for each target keyword. This is why so many top-ranking sites have similar content targeting the same topics: to catch every user intent.

It’s not simply a matter of informational vs. commercial, either. There are dozens of types of informative content that users may want to access. In some cases, it’s a listicle. For other queries, a video may be more appropriate.

Taking time to understand the user intent for each keyword or topic you’re targeting can yield serious results. Marketing SaaS CoSchedule saw a 594 percent increase in search traffic when they aligned content with user intent.

Top Ranked Sites: FAQs

What do the top-ranking sites have in common?

They all have a lot of high-quality backlinks, great content, an excellent user experience, a fast-loading website, and content that matches the user’s intent.

Why do the top sites have so many more backlinks?

This is partly because of the quality of content but also due to the fact that they sit at the top of Google. This makes them an easy target for people trying to link to an authoritative source.

How can better content improve my rankings?

Better content can improve your rankings in several ways. High-quality content attracts more backlinks, but Google also rewards in-depth content and results in users spending a long time on the page.

Why does user experience matter?

Google wants to provide the best experience to its users. Part of that means sending them to sites that are easy to browse. It’s why user experience factors are now ranking factors.

How can I check my page speed?

Use the Google PageSpeed Insights tool.

How can I gauge user intent?

Google the keyword you want to rank for and look at the pages that appear in the results. If all of the content has the same format, that’s the type of content you should create.

Conclusion: What You Can Learn From the Top Ranked Sites

You can’t turn your website into a top-ranking site overnight. However, you can learn a lot from them and implement tactics they use to improve your site’s Google ranking. There are more than a few things they do in common, as you’ve learned.

Make sure you have a scalable system for generating backlinks, create high-quality content, focus on the user experience, ensure your site loads fast, and consider user intent when you create content.

Do these five things, and you could be well on your way to having a top-ranked site in the future.

What are you going to work on first?

5 Most Common Mistakes Business Owners Make in a Recession

Mistakes happen.  When under pressure, even more mistakes happen.  If business owners have ever been under pressure, it’s now.  COVID-19 has thrown the economy for a loop, and business owners can’t makes heads or tails of it.  Before you do anything else, take a look at the relief options available, including the Paycheck Protection Plan.  Then, consider these common mistakes business owners make in a recession, and how to avoid them.

Avoid these Common Mistakes Business Owners Make in a Recession to Make it out of the Recession Twilight Zone

A recession can be a hugely stressful time.  Not only can finances be in shambles, but the stress can take a toll on many other things as well.  During a recession it can seem that all is lost, but avoiding these common mistakes business owners make in a recession could help.  It certainly won’t hurt.

Imagine you wake up tomorrow in the twilight zone, and it lands you right in the middle of recession land.  You may be feeling the effects of the recession even now. Here is what not to do if you want to survive. Avoid these mistakes, and your business could just make it out alive.

Common Mistakes Business Owners Make in a Recession: Moving Too Fast

While you definitely have to spend money to make money, it is necessary to be a little more careful during a recession.  Spend money cautiously and only when the payoff is certain to avoid this and other common mistakes business owners make in a recession.  That’s not to say that you can’t ever take a risk, but definitely don’t do it too quickly.

For example, if you have the opportunity to purchase inventory at a cut rate, it may seem the best idea is to purchase as much as you can.  After all, if you sell it at the same price as before, you will still make a larger profit because the cost to you was less.

This is one of the common mistakes business owners make in a recession, because it makes sense when you are not in a recession.  However, with people having less disposable income to spend, it is possible that that inventory will not move. Then, you are stuck with inventory you cannot sell, and a lot of it.

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The Better Option

Considering the financial hard times, take a minute to evaluate things.  Why is there a cut rate on the inventory? Is the wholesale provider is having a hard time moving it?  If that is the case, you may have the same problem. Pay attention to your customers and your current inventory.  Do you see any downward trends?

There a few options here that may be more beneficial.  First, consider not stocking up on the inventory at the reduced rate.  Maybe buy a little more than normal, but focus instead on the option the reduced rate gives you to lower your own prices.

The better decision is to evaluate how the recession is affecting the industry and the markets around you.  Then, make decisions about how much of the discount inventory to purchase based on that. From there, you can make a plan for how to make the most of the discount.  

That may mean that you have a sale offering the cheaper inventory at a price below what your competitors are offering.  Another option is to purchase enough to lower prices for the duration of the recession.

The only way to make these decisions however, is to have thorough market research.  That may cost money as well, but it is a much better use of the funds than wasted inventory.  It will take time, but the slowdown will definitely be worth it.

Common Mistakes Business Owners Make in a Recession: Failing to Plan

One of the most important parts of running a business is planning for the unexpected.  This includes planning for a recession. That is one of the most common mistakes business owners make in a recession.  They panic, and either forget their plan, or they realize they never had a plan.

The first way to avoid this mistake is, obviously, to make a plan.  If you have a plan, now is the time to put it into action. Don’t panic.  Take stock of your expenses and revenue. Adjust expenses accordingly as much as possible.

Keep a watch on the market to see how your particular industry is responding to the recession.  Use what you learn to tweak your plan as necessary. The point is, if there is a plan, use it. If not, it’s never too late to avoid this one of the most common mistakes business owners make in a recession.  Make a plan and put it into action.

Not Having Fail Safe

You always need a safety net.  Unfortunately, one of the common mistakes business owners make in a recession is not realizing this until they are in the middle of a recession.  Technically, that is the mistake made before the recession.

The “in recession” mistake is actually not trying to do something about it.  If you catch the problem soon enough, you may be able to take action. What type of “fail safe” do you need?

Credit Card

A credit card that is open can help you float until you find a more permanent fix for whatever woes the recession is causing you.

Line of CreditCommon Mistakes Business Owners Make in a Recession Credit Suite2

A line of credit works similar to a credit card in that it is a revolving line of credit, but it does not carry the same types of interest rates and terms that a credit card does.

Whether you get a credit card or a line of credit, it is important to remember to use it only to get you over a hump.  It has to be paid back, and you need to be sure you can do that. These are tools that could be useful if you have customers that cannot pay invoices, or if you need to take advantage of a special deal like in the example above.  

However, if you find you are continually using these “safety nets” to simply run the day to day operations of your business, you need to do more. You are going to have to find the leak and shore it up.

What if…?

There are a few other options if you have already waited too long.  For example, you can consider factoring your invoices. This will allow you to access cash immediately, often without a credit check.  Also, you do not have to worry about paying the money back, as your lender will collect the payments on the invoices directly.

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Be aware however, they will purchase them at a premium.  You will not get the full value of the invoices, but if you need the cash fast, it may be worth it.

Another option is a merchant cash advance.  If you accept credit card payments, a lender may advance you funds based on your average daily credit card sales.  Then, they collect repayment from those future sales, typically daily.

Common Mistakes Business Owners Make in a Recession: Trying to Take on Too Much

It is easy during a recession to try to save money by cutting staff.  While there may be a time for this, one common mistake business owners make in a recession is trying to save money by doing everything themselves.  

That just is not always the answer.  If you are trying to do the day to day operations as well as the bookkeeping, cleaning, advertising, and even purchasing yourself, you are going to burn out.  Not only that, but things are going to start slipping through the cracks. Bills will be missed. Orders will not get entered. Invoices will not get sent.

These things are just as detrimental to a business as paying employees you cannot afford.  What is the better option? The first thing is to not let go of a bunch of employees out of panic.  Slowly and carefully evaluate each job. Do you have any positions that can be combined? If so, do you have employees capable of accomplishing the tasks of both positions?  

Better Options

Is it possible to cut one position, split it between two others, and raise the pay of the other two but by less than what the cut position was making?  No one likes to let go of good employees at all, but taking the time to evaluate all of the options is much better for everyone than a massive axing party.

Additionally, consider which jobs can be outsourced.  Outsourcing can save money because you do not have the additional payroll costs that go along with an employee.  Janitorial services, bookkeeping, and social media marketing can all lend themselves well to outsourcing depending on the situation.

Common Mistakes Business Owners Make in a Recession: Thinking You Can Do It All

Another of the common mistakes business owners make in a recession is not playing to their strengths.  This is similar to taking on too much, but for different reasons. While it may seem like you are saving money by not paying someone else to do certain things, it can definitely cost money to do things that you are not good at.  

We all have certain strengths, and not knowing yours can be a money drain. If you are not good with the books, don’t try to do them.  A mistake in that area can be very costly. If you are not great at managing people, assign that task to a trusted employee. Know your strengths and your weaknesses, and delegate tasks accordingly.

Do not let the fact that you are operating in a recession cause you to try do work in areas where you are weak in an effort to save money.  It won’t work, and during a recession it could cause even more damage than it would otherwise.

Cutting Prices Too Soon or Too Much

When things start to look scary, it is almost a reflex reaction to cut prices. The idea is that If you offer a better deal, more people will do business with you.

This isn’t always the case. If your products are not at a price the market supports, it might work. Otherwise, you may see an increase at first, but long term it isn’t going to be a good thing.

People are willing to pay for a quality product. If you are struggling, it is best to figure out what they are buying instead of what you have for them. It could be the demand just isn’t there.

In a recession it is quite likely that people just do not have the disposable income necessary to purchase your product or service. In fact, it is even more likely than not.  The answer then is not necessarily as easy as a price cut.

A price cut could work, if you can maintain quality.  A better option is to be flexible and figure out what they are able to spend money on.  For example, if you specialize in premium quality boutique clothing, consider adding inventory that is not as expensive.  Call it something that sounds catchy, like “economy boutique,” and you just may have something that will get you through the recession.

In the restaurant business, consider offering specials at reduced rates to make what you have a better deal for customer that they can better afford.

Forgetting How Much Quality Counts

Truly you get what you pay for, and a hugely common mistake business owners make in a recession is that they forget that.  This rings true in all aspects of business from inventory to supplies, and even employees.

There is a fine line between saving money and sabotaging yourself.  You cannot purchase lower quality inventory, charge the same, and expect that profit increase to hold.  Word will spread. You can’t pay less than the competition and expect your employees to be top notch.

Keep in mind that for you and your customers, quality counts, always.  You get what you pay for, and your customers expect to get what they pay for.

Common Mistakes Business Owners Make in a Recession: It’s Never too Late to Build Business Credit

If you don’t already have established business credit, that can go a long way toward helping your business through a recession as well. Incorporate your business and get an EIN from the IRS.  Make sure your business has a different address and phone number from your own, and sign up for a DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet.

Once these things are done, check into doing business with starter vendors.  These vendors, such as Uline, Quill, and Grainger will offer invoices with net terms. They do this without checking your credit score, and they will report your payments to the business credit reporting agencies.  

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

In this way, you can begin to build business credit even during a recession.  If you make your payments on time, you can continue to build it by applying for credit from the retail credit tier, the fleet credit tier, and the cash credit tier.  Then, if you need funding to help get you through the recession, you will have it. It takes time, but it’s never too late to start.

Avoid these Common Mistakes Business Owners Make in a Recession and Keep Your Business Going Strong

Of course, there are no guarantees the recession won’t pull you under, but there are things you can do to make it less likely.  If you are careful to not make these common mistakes business owners make in a recession, and pay attention to what is going on around you, your business just may have a fighting chance of making it out of the recession twilight zone intact.

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3 Common Sense Ways to Get Start Up Business Loans for Women

And a Bonus Secret that Will Help Get Start Up Business Loans for Women More Easily

There is a storm brewing in the distance.  Can you see the clouds building?  Can you hear the thunder rolling? There is electricity in the air.  Animals are acting strange.  They know the tide is turning.  Women are taking the business world by storm as more and more women owned businesses are starting up each year.  As a result, more and more are looking into start up business loans for women.

The problem is, despite the growth in women owned businesses, females still seem to get an unfair slice of the funding pie.  For some reason, women and women owned businesses are seen as a greater funding risk than men and businesses owned by men.

How then are female entrepreneurs ever supposed to get up and running?  While we cannot erase a sexist system overnight, a lot can be said for being completely prepared when going to apply for a startup loan.  If the choice is between a female applicant that has all her ducks in a row and a male applicant that just threw things together, then the female applicant at least has a better chance than she would otherwise.  Consequently, it pays to be prepared.

Here are 3 Common Sense Ways to Get Start Up Business Loans for Women

There are a lot of things that any borrower can do to make their odds of loan approval higher.  Here are just a couple:

Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.

1.      Get Your Finances in Order

Every lender is going to need to see a number of things related to finances to ensure you are able to repay the loan.  Most noteworthy are the following:

  • All income sources
  • Balances of all bank accounts
  • Any other assets, income producing or not
  • Tax returns for the past three years

Certainly, if you are planning on getting a secured loan, they will need all the information on whatever assets you intend to use for collateral.  That means titles, liens, registrations, etc.  Having these things ready to go can be very beneficial to you during the application process.  It can make things go much smoother.

2.      Have an Awesome Business Plan

This often gets missed, even though it is vitally important.  You can’t just throw it together, even more so when looking for start up business loans for women. Sometimes an application will have a series of questions or a template to fill out meant to act as a business plan, but this is not what you want to use.

A professional small business development plan should include:

The Overview

  • An Executive Summary – This is a complete summary of the business idea.
  • Description – The description goes into further detail than the summary, describing the business. What type of business is it? What product or service will it offer? This is where you work to get others excited about your business.
  • Strategies – Lay out your plan for getting started. Do you have a marketing plan, area in mind for location, or idea of how many employees you will start with? What is your ramp up plan?

The Plan

  • Market Analysis – This actually includes two parts. All that market research you did goes here:

o Analysis of audience: What need will your business fill, and for who? How will your business fill the need? This is where you will include that information.

o Competitive Analysis: Is there a business already filling this need? Is there room for more? What makes your business better than theirs?

  • Plan for Design and Development – How is all of this going to play out, from start to finish. Step by step, what are you going to do? This section includes more detail than the strategies section.
  • Plan for Operation and Management – Who will own the business and who will handle daily management? This could just a statement that you are the only owner and the manager, or it could be a complete plan for a partnership plan or board or directors’ format. It depends on how you intend for your business to work. Will you be the hire a manger? This is you would say that.

Show Them the Money

  • Financial Information – A lot of new business owners get lost here. How do you have financial information if there is not a business yet? This is where you detail your funding plan. How much money do you have? Where did it come from? How much more do you need? How will you use the funds? A complete set of financial projections will go here also, typically for out to at least five years in the future. If possible, it is best to have an accountant compile your projections.

To get ahead of the competition even further, hire a professional business plan writer if you can. They can work with you to gather all the necessary information and compile it into the traditional, acceptable format. As someone trying to get start up business loans for women, you need every advantage you can get.

If you cannot hire a business plan writer however, there are a number of resources that can help you. The Small Business Administration offers a template, and your local small business development center can help as well.

Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide

 3.Get Certified as an Official Woman-Owned Small Business

This tip is unique to women owned businesses, meaning it is another advantage you can have over businesses run primarily by male entrepreneurs.  While this certification does not mean you are guaranteed anything in the realm of start up business loans for women, it could be a determining factor depending on what variables the lender may be working with.

How to Get Certified

There are two options for businesses who wish to qualify as a certified woman-owned small business (WOSB).  The Federal Contract Program will let business owners self-certify.  The other option is to work with one of the four SBA approved third party certifiers. There is no advantage of one over the other, except that it is free to self-certify, while there is a fee for a third-party certification.

What is Required to Self-Certify?

The first step is to look over the requirements for eligibility.  Number one is that a business must have one or more women who are U.S. Citizens in control through ownership (at least 51%) and management.  They cannot just be an owner but the primary manager be male, nor can the primary manager be a female but the owner be a male.  This ownership must be direct and non-conditional.   The day to day of the business has to be handled by a woman, and a woman must make the long-term decisions related to the business.  In addition, the female must hold the highest position of office and cannot be employed outside of the business.  This woman must also work full time during business hours to qualify.

What Does Certification Get You?

The certification program is designed to make women owned businesses more visible as such.  It doesn’t afford these businesses any sort of special treatment and it is not a charity program.  It can, however, make them stand out to those contractors and lenders who are working to reach goals specific to certain types of businesses, including those owned by women.

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Where are These Loans?

Okay, so if you are looking for start up business loans for women, you probably think a traditional bank is your only option. It’s really not.  In fact, depending on your situation, it may not even be your best option.

The thing about traditional loans from standard lending institutions is that you generally need to have security, a lot of income, and a stellar personal credit score.  If you have all that, great!  However, many entrepreneurs looking for start up business loans for women do not have all three of these things.  That can make getting loans from a regular bank difficult.

Non-traditional Lenders

These are lenders that generally function online only.  In addition to faster processing and approval times, meaning you get your funds faster, they also often have less stringent credit and income requirements.  It is actually often easier to get start up business loans for women from a non-traditional lender.

The thing to remember is few lenders offer loans specifically for women.  The key is to overcome the gender gap in business loan approvals as a whole.

Where Are the Best Places to Look for Start Up Business Loans for Women?

Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide

You need to shop around for the best options for your specific business, but this list is a great place to start.

Grameen

Microloans are a great option for start up business loans for women, and Grameen is one of the few lenders that offers microloans specifically for women.  The loan amounts range from $2,000 to $15,000, and they also offer financial training and support.

Payments are reported to Equifax and Experian, meaning these loans help borrowers build their credit.

SBA Partner Lenders

These are going to be traditional lenders that partner with the Small Business Administration to offer loans to those that may not typically qualify.  The SBA does not offer loans themselves, but rather they secure loans for borrowers with partner banks, thus allowing for a little more wiggle room when it comes to income and credit score.

That doesn’t mean these loans are easy mind you.  While interest rates are typically lower, and the minimum credit score is somewhat lower than what a bank would typically require, the application process is notably lengthier and more complex.  The reduced interest rate and lower credit minimum makes it a good option for start up business loans for women however.

SBA Loan Programs

There are multiple loan programs available through the SBA.  The best option for many women as far as startup loans is the SBA microloan program. Similar to Grameen, it offers smaller amounts of money, up to $50,000, for micro businesses and startups.

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Kiva

Kiva is a rare bird. They offer loans to businesses, but their platform is much different than that of traditional or even nontraditional lenders.  It is a breed of its own.  Rather, it is sort of a cross breed between crowdfunding and lending.  They offer loans with a 0% interest rate. Even though you have to pay it back, it is absolutely free money. They do not run a credit check either. The only requirement is that you have to get at least 5 family members or friends to donate money for your business, and you yourself have to give at least a $25 loan to another business on the platform.

Bonus!  Use All Available Resources

Since we already gave you three ways to get start up business loans for women, I’ll offer up a bonus tip.  Use all the resources available to help you find all the funding you need.  There are a ton of places to find support, networking, and even money to help you get your business off the ground and growing.

This agency helps female entrepreneurs by offering programs that SBA district offices coordinate. These programs include counseling, federal contracts, business training, and access to capital and credit.

These centers seek to level the playing field for all women entrepreneurs, who still face unique obstacles in the business world.

This is a federal advisory council that is non-partisan in nature.  It serves as a source of advice and counsel to the Small Business Administration, Congress, and even the President.  It is the government’s only independent voice for female business owners.

All it Takes to Find Start Up Business Loans for Women Is a Little Common Sense

Here is what it boils down to.  There are not a ton of startup loans specifically for women, but there are some ways that women can increase their chances of loan approval with just a little common sense.

  • Know what lenders are looking for and be prepared.
  • Have a killer business plan that is both complete and professional looking.
  • Get certified as a woman owned small business.
  • Bonus! Use all the resources available to you.

Of course, business credit can do a lot to boost your chances as well.  And find out more about building business credit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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