Outsourcing: The Key To The Next Generation Of Business Success?

Outsourcing: The Key To The Next Generation Of Business Success?

getty It’s not often that $260 billion industries go largely unnoticed. But when it comes to business process outsourcing (BPO), this is very much the case. This is in part due to the nature of their “below-the-line” operations. But, as I will argue, this $260 billion sleeper industry may just hold the key to future business success, resilience and continuity. I believe that much like what cloud kitchens did for the hospitality industry—stripped out inefficiencies, increased margins and decreased operation complexity—BPOs can do for information-based businesses. Defining A BPO Electronic Data Systems’ Morton H. Meyerson (a man destined to be a CEO with a name like that) proposed outsourcing as a business model in 1967 . However, the practice only became a formal business strategy in 1989 . The rise of the Information Age has ushered in a new evolution of outsourcing: BPOs. Where outsourcing in the past meant handing off non-core processes on an ad hoc basis, business process outsourcing involves outsourcing entire business functions perpetually. With today’s vast BPO infrastructure, just about every business function can be outsourced: customer service, data analysis, marketing, software development, IT management and more. This wide availability of skills for hire and […]

The Importance Of Trademarking Your Business

The Importance Of Trademarking Your Business

getty Imagine having a lawyer show up at your doorstep to tell you that your brand has been served after working on that identity for two to five years. You learn it’s because another company in your industry uses a similar name or logo, and if they don’t file a case to make you stop using that name, they might have problems with competition or confusion for their customers. What is the most logical thing you would do at that moment? Of course, you should get a lawyer if you don’t have one. Now imagine that after the whole case, the court’s order is that you should change your brand name after you have invested a lot of energy and time into building the brand to its current status—not to mention the thousands of dollars you have spent on your brand identity and branding system. Think of the kind of pain that comes with having to start everything all over again with a new name. Well, that could happen to you if you don’t trademark your brand. Nobody likes to fight in court in order to keep their company name, but it keeps happening to brands across the world. […]

5 tips for using TikTok as a small business owner without it taking up all of your time

5 tips for using TikTok as a small business owner without it taking up all of your time

Use TikTok yourself to get a lay of the land before posting as a small business owner, these entrepreneurs said. Marketing for Small Business Presented by TikTok can be a great platform for small business owners to market their products or services. A lot of Gen Z uses it as a search engine, so good keywords and hashtags in captions are crucial. These business owners say don’t try to look perfect or shoot professional videos — just get started. This article is part of " Marketing for Small Business ," a series exploring the basics of marketing strategy for SBOs to earn new customers and grow their business. Sign up for our weekday newsletter, packed with original analysis, news, and trends — delivered right to your inbox. Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . As a 42-year-old business owner, Alice Kim initially didn’t think TikTok was the right channel to promote her clothing brand for women […]

NFT Uses For Business Settings

NFT Uses For Business Settings

getty Let’s face it, NFTs in many respects don’t have the best reputation. In fact, I like to jokingly call them the three-letter bad word. I find that there are multiple reasons for this misconception. For some people, it is a simple lack of education. They have no clue what NFTs are, but they believe the negative headlines. For others, a very limited NFT education gives way to “ right-clicker mentality ,” referring to the ability of anyone to technically right click and save an NFT image, as well as a lack of technological confidence. Novelty is hard to trust, especially in the world of finance. But in reality, NFTs are so much more than just JPEGs with a price tag thrown on them. There are countless business applications for them outside of trading in speculative bubble markets. Many just don’t know it yet. Background On NFTs NFTs are now a market that is projected to be worth $231 billion by 2030. Still, many people have no idea what they are. The reason for this is simple: NFTs are new. Relatively new, that is. When the internet was first burgeoning, people thought it was a fad as well. It […]

Sunrise Interviews: 2023 SEED Center Business Pitch Competition

Sunrise Interviews: 2023 SEED Center Business Pitch Competition

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) – Submissions are being taken right now for a contest that can help local entrepreneurs bring their business from just an idea to reality. Eric Cormier with the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance joined us this morning to go over the details. The SEED Center Business Pitch Competition is known for helping to launch local companies like WAITR and GOPHR. You can enter the competition by applying on the SEED Center’s website with your idea. Once you’ve applied, you’ll get information from the SEED Center to allow you to prepare to make your business pitch. There will be a selection process for applications but the organizer’s goal is to allow anyone who qualifies for the competition to be able to make their pitch on the day of the competition. There are divisions that applicants will be sorted by such as: The winners in each division will receive $5,000 to help start their businesses. And for those that need a little additional help getting their idea off the ground, the SEED Center has business coaches that can assist entrepreneurs to understand the process of starting up a business. The deadline for applications is April 5 with […]

David Solomon admits Goldman took on too much, too quickly in consumer business

David Solomon admits Goldman took on too much, too quickly in consumer business

In this article GS Goldman Sachs CEO: We had a disappointing quarter and we own that watch now Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told CNBC on Wednesday that his firm suffered an upsetting quarter partly due to its overly ambitious consumer efforts. "We obviously had a disappointing quarter, and we tried to own that, you know, up front," Solomon said Wednesday on CNBC’s " Squawk Box " at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The New York-based investment bank on Tuesday posted its largest earnings miss in a decade as revenue fell and expenses and loan loss provisions came in higher than expected. Goldman said quarterly profit plunged 66% from a year earlier to $1.33 billion, or $3.32 per share, about 39% below the consensus estimate. That made for the largest EPS miss since October 2011, according to Refinitiv data. "In the consumer platforms, we did some things right. We didn’t execute on some others," Solomon said. "We probably took on more than we should have, you know, too much, too quickly." Building and expanding its consumer banking business has turned out to be more challenging than expected. Goldman last year pivoted away from its previous strategy of […]

Composable Architecture 101: How To Make The Transition In Your Business

Composable Architecture 101: How To Make The Transition In Your Business

getty The technical architecture of a company is the foundation upon which its business strategy is built. A company’s architecture provides the infrastructure and supports the processes that enable the company to create and deliver its products and services. By ensuring the technical architecture is aligned with business strategy, companies are able to create an efficient and effective system that maximizes the potential of their business. More and more, though, "efficient and effective" means the ability to rapidly respond to changing market needs and to take advantage of opportunities faster than the competition. Unfortunately, rapid change is typically not something that business systems are easily designed for. Composable architecture is a potential answer to this. As a leader in digital consultancies, I’ve spent a considerable amount of my career helping organizations update their infrastructure, both in terms of technical systems and the underlying business maturity needed to take ownership of those systems. Currently, I’m finding that composable structure, often underpinned with scalable agile frameworks, is the preferred direction for many, but it takes a very mature business and technical capability working hand in hand to fully realize the benefits of this approach. I often get asked about the basics, […]

U.S. Secretary of Commerce meets with Cleveland minority business owners

U.S. Secretary of Commerce meets with Cleveland minority business owners

(Source: Gray TV) CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The U.S. Secretary of Commerce visits Cleveland Wednesday to meet with several minority business owners. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is hosting a roundtable to explain how the Department of Commerce is helping expand opportunities through the Minority Business Development Agency’s new Capital Readiness Program . The program dedicates nearly $100 million to help minority and other underserved entrepreneurs launch and scale their businesses. Raimondo will tour LEFCO Worthington, LLC . in the 18000 block of Euclid Ave. in Cleveland and visit the Ohio Minority Business Development Center in the 1200 block of Huron Road in Cleveland. Copyright 2023 WOIO. All rights reserved.

Old National Bank Debuts Wealth Management Business

Old National Bank Debuts Wealth Management Business

Old National Bank premiered its new wealth management division on Wednesday, following a 2022 merger with First Midwest that essentially doubled the bank’s managed assets. The launch is central to the Evansville, Ind.-based bank’s mission to shift to a more client-centric service model. 1834, a division of Old National Bank, provides boutique family office services to high-net-worth individuals and institutions in tandem with its SEC-registered entity, 1834 Investment Advisors. A separate brand launched simultaneously, called Private Wealth Management, offers advisory services to individuals with less than $2 million in investable funds. Led by CEO Chady AlAhmar and former Abbot Downing executives Jim Steiner and Joe Colianni, the new division offers a range of integrated services, including financial planning; investment management; trust and fiduciary services; estate planning and administration, private banking; institutional services; and a range of specialized services, such as succession and executive compensation planning. “We’re not really creating something new, we’re repositioning,” said AlAhmar, explaining that high-net-worth assets have traditionally been managed on the Old National trust platform, while brokerage and private banking operated as separate units. Under that model, he said, the trust officer generally functioned as the primary client relationship manager. “The idea here was to […]

Business Leaders Optimistic for 2023 According to Paychex Survey

Business Leaders Optimistic for 2023 According to Paychex Survey

The annual survey of business and HR decision-makers revealed HR priorities and workforce trends for an evolving workplace ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Paychex, Inc. , a leading provider of HR technology solutions for human resources, payroll, benefits, and insurance services, today released the results of its fifth-annual Priorities for Business Leaders survey. The 2023 findings—which reflect the sentiments of 450 businesses employing between five and 500 employees across the U.S.—highlight the issues top of mind for leaders in today’s complicated economic, regulatory, and labor environments. According to the survey, 70% of business leaders said they anticipate their revenue to increase year-over-year. However, they reported that the challenges of the past three years have contributed to ongoing stress. The survey found that: Inflation (72%) is the number one business concern regardless of company size. Followed by the economy (57%) and interest rates (44%). Staffing (46%) is the top operational challenge, in addition to the supply chain (38%) and keeping tech current (33%). Roughly half of the leaders of businesses with 10-500 employees expect attracting and retaining top talent to become more challenging in the next 12 months, with employee development, operational efficiencies, and managing the hiring process […]