Seed-funding vs bootstrapping

Getting funding from venture capitalists or angel investors can be extremely beneficial, especially when building a product or scaling one that has traction. However, these investments come with strings attached in the form of equity ownership, involving different valuation metrics such as pro rata, VC cap table, rounds of fundings, etc. If you decide to bootstrap instead of pursuing seed-funding, there are other ways to finance your operation while keeping control over it. You could also look into crowdfunding, though that might not be the best option if you want to keep full equity ownership.

Operations

You don’t have to be a great programmer or designer to run a tech business, but you do need to know how to use the tools you intend on using. Make sure that your team members are capable of using these tools before bringing them onboard, because hiring experts later will cost more and put your project behind in terms of development.

Building an app or site is only one piece of the puzzle. You also need infrastructure that enables you to keep things running smoothly when thousands (or millions) of users come in at once. Before building anything, make sure that the back-end systems are well-planned out so they can scale with whatever you throw at them. This will save money in the long run by not wasting it on buying scalable solutions that you don’t really need yet.

Defining your product

This is arguably one of the most important things to consider before you start your tech business, because whatever it is will be the basis of everything else. Make sure that you know exactly what you’re working on, and if necessary — make prototypes for potential customers to test out. Doing so can help you avoid building something nobody wants (or needs!), which is a common reason why projects fail .

What problem are they trying to solve?

People want products that satisfy their problems , so find out who has these problems and if they’ll actually pay money or give up some other resource in order to get them solved. While it might seem simple enough, many entrepreneurs completely forget to do this, or find out that the product they envision doesn’t actually solve an existing problem.

Customer acquisition costs

Your tech business will have to deal with high customer acquisition costs if you fail to figure out how you’ll get your first few customers. That might be by spending money on marketing or other creative ways to grow your audience. You should seriously consider this before launching a tech startup, because it can cost thousands of dollars even for small companies .

Launch strategy / Plan B

It’s usually best practice to release early and often — but sometimes things go wrong, especially in technology where you need multiple revisions until everything works perfectly. If there are potential risks involved , make that you have a contingency plan to minimize risks and keep your business afloat if things go south. For example, building a prototype might be necessary to show investors that there’s some market validation for your product or service .

Pricing & Revenue

To make money, you need to have some idea of how much things cost — even if it’s something intangible like time spent on support phone calls. Do research so you can properly fit prices within the context of what customers are willing to spend. While having no revenue is bad, having low revenue because your prices are too high is also not beneficial — find an appropriate balance by doing more research .

Distribution Channels

Tech businesses often require drawing in large numbers of users at once, which means you’ll need distribution channels that can handle those kinds of numbers. Think about how you intend on reaching customers, and if necessary partner with other companies to reach even more people .

The team

Tech businesses need a solid team , so make sure that everyone involved has a clear idea of what they’re supposed to be doing. Team members should have complementary skill sets because it’ll be difficult to build everything from scratch — but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to hire people who are already working in the same company or industry as your business! In fact, finding the right person might require looking beyond traditional networks for qualified candidates.

Sales & Marketing

Tech companies can benefit from sophisticated sales channels , which will usually consist of users across your product through referrals rather than a direct sales force. It’s also a good idea to have a marketing plan early on, which is why you should consider hiring a professional marketer . Demand generation and user acquisition can easily be one of the biggest expenses for any tech business , so find ways to do it cost efficiently by putting together the right processes in advance.

Product Prioritization

While all products are obviously important, it’s sometimes necessary to set some aside temporarily while focusing efforts elsewhere. A strong product roadmap that outlines what gets worked on when will help with this process, but teams often struggle with building something that doesn’t follow their prioritized list — either because they’re too ambitious or not ambitious enough .

Finding Targets

This includes determining where (geographically) to target your market, which types of users to serve, and deciding on the best business model for your tech business . In regards to geographic location , you might want to consider partnering with companies in other parts of the world that have local insight. User targeting can be easier said than done when creating a product from scratch — so try building user personas early on help.

Freemium vs Paid

There are pros and cons to both freemium and paid products, but there’s a time and a place for each type of monetization strategy . You’ll need to find out which one is right for your company based on its stage, the user base it has, and what kind it provides. That said, you should never launch a product that immediately wants to be monetized — whether free or paid .

Minimum Viable Product

A minimum viable product (MVP) is one that’s built with the least amount of effort and expense necessary, but still provides value to users. This idea can apply to both products and services , which means you’ll need to build something that meets your customers’ needs while also pointing down the right path for future development . For example, you might decide on the type of feature set required for an MVP based on market feedback from early adopters.

Team Size & Structure

Having a small team can make it difficult to implement certain functions across an entire company — which is why it’s important to find the right balance between being small enough to be agile , but also large enough to achieve your goals . You should also structure the team so that there’s room for growth within it, and so that new employees can easily find their way around.

Evaluating Competitors

Tech businesses often have a target market in mind when they start out, but it’s important to have a strong understanding of what competitors are doing with this market . It’ll give you insight on how ambitious your product should be from the beginning, which ideas you might need to compete with head-on , and what kind of problems you’re best suited to solve in comparison. Plus, having a good idea of where others have succeeded or failed will help you avoid common pitfalls in the future.

User Feedback

The right type of user feedback can help you avoid costly mistakes in the development process. Even if it’s not always possible to make major changes to what you’ve created, input from users will go a long way in making sure that your tech business succeeds. This is why it’s important to monitor both qualitative and quantitative data, so that you’ll know what direction to take your product or service in based on real-world use.

Outsourcing

Although it may seem cheaper to hire local talent for contracting work or building products, it’s important that your tech business takes into account the time zone differences , cultural challenges , and economic factors when outsourcing . For example, you might need to hire a dedicated team in another country if you’re looking for 24/7 support.

Maintaining a Product

In technology , it’s not unusual to have to build, maintain, or update a product. You can’t expect all of this work to be done for free, either — especially if the tech product is used by companies and individuals who require support . There are also times when we need to shut down products we’ve launched (and no longer want), which means having a plan in place for how you’ll handle this process beforehand .

Investing in People

Your tech business might take off like wildfire with one great idea, but it will eventually reach a level where growth begins to slow down; at this point , your team becomes critical to determining whether you’ll succeed or fail against the competition. Besides hiring the right kind of talent, it’s also important that you invest in their development by offering training , professional guidance , and good management . Without these things, your tech startup may go under for lack of strong leadership.

Understanding Your Company

At some point , you’re going to have to stop working on the product itself, and start focusing more on how the business runs . The ability for a company’s employees to work together towards common goals is what makes this process possible; without it, there’ll be chaos within an organization no matter its size (or if it has outside investors). That said, it can still be difficult to make everyone understand exactly what they need to do.

Product Life Cycle

Every product goes through three stages — introduction, growth , and maturity . This means you’ll need to modify the marketing approach depending on where your tech product falls on this spectrum. Generally speaking, however, even introducing a new technology requires some type of promotion beforehand: it’s important that your target market is aware of what you’re offering (and why they should care), which is different from simply building brand awareness.

Business Metrics

Tech businesses survive on data, whether or not we realize it — especially since we can’t always rely on emotions when making business decisions . For this reason , it’s important to look at things such as initial cost of acquisition for every customer , lifetime value of each user , conversion rates between plans or features, and so on depending on what kind of business you’re running. If your tech startup doesn’t gather data on these things, it will be difficult hitting your targets (and knowing whether or not you’re actually successful ).

Customer Acquisition

Regardless of what type of business model your tech company uses, everything begins with acquiring new customers . It’s important that you find the right way to reach them , whether that means paying for advertising , distributing flyers in local neighborhoods , publishing press releases online, or simply having a strong social media presence . Even if you get positive feedback from current users, this isn’t enough to keep your business afloat — especially when many of them may only use one part of what you offer.

Cost of Acquisition

Each new customer you acquire will incur certain costs — most notably, the initial cost of acquisition (which is the money spent to get people’s attention in hopes that they’ll sign up for something). If you can’t recoup this cost within a short period of time , your tech business may never become profitable . Some businesses choose to avoid these high costs by using organic growth tactics via hyper-targeting specific audiences (and avoiding paying for advertising when possible).

Profit Margin

Even if your technology is superior, there’s always someone else willing to sell their product at a cheaper price point. The best way around this is not lowering your prices; instead , learn how to increase it while still making customers happy . This is where your business metrics come into play, since you’ll need to know how much money (and/or time) each customer or user saves in order to make this idea work.

Customer Lifetime Value

When customers first sign up , they’re worth a certain amount of money for however long they stick around . In some cases , customers may pay nothing upfront and have a monthly subscription fee instead — which means you’ll need to spend more money on acquiring them from the start . Regardless of whether they pay on a per-use basis or monthly rate, there’s always a point where the cost no longer makes sense based on what your company gains from their business . Since most businesses can’t survive with too many losses, you must determine a point where it’s no longer worthwhile to keep them as a customer.

The Number of Customers

In some cases, the number of customers ends up being more important than their overall value . If you have too few users , your tech company could fail completely — especially if they don’t generate enough revenue from what you offer . On the other hand , having too many customers can cost a lot of money and not necessarily increase your profits (especially if a majority of them aren’t using all that your company provides).

When creating a business plan, you want to ensure it serves your purpose. Anything short of that will not yield optimum results. The good news is that it is possible to create a great business plan on your own. Below you will learn how to write a business plan that can help you successfully achieve your goals.

1) Create a complete business plan

A complete business plan is a comprehensive one that contains 10 essential components. These are:

1. Executive summary
2. Company analysis
3. Market/industry analysis
4. Customer analysis
5. Competition analysis
6. Marketing plan
7. Operations plan
8. Management team
9. Financial plan
10. Appendix

Miss out on any of these essential components, and you risk losing lenders, investors, customers, and/or employees that you hope to reach with your business plan.

2) Create an attractive title page

The title or cover page is what your readers are going to see first. Its quality, structure, and appearance play a critical role in creating the first impression of your business plan. So, it must be informative and professional. At the same time, it should be straightforward and simple. The cover page must contain the following information:

• The company name
• Business address and your contact information
• Company logo
• The completion date of the business plan

3) Know your audience (s)

You can write a business plan for a variety of reasons and various audiences. For example, the objective of your business plan could be to attract investments. Then, your primary audience would be potential investors and lenders. You can also write a business plan for prospective customers or potential employees.

Know who you are writing for and the purpose of your business plan. That way, you can factor in the concerns and needs of your audience and effectively communicate with them. Ensure you address these needs and concerns throughout your business plan.

4) Avoid using jargon

Business jargon could interfere with the clarity of your message. Instead of using business jargon, write your plan in language familiar to your audience.

Sometimes, it’s impossible to avoid a particular term, and that is okay. If you must use words your audience might not understand, be sure to first define those terms. That will not only make your plan easier to understand, but it will also educate your readers. Use this technique of adding definitions sparingly, so you don’t distract your readers from the purpose of your business plan.

5) For startups – List only one product/service idea

Most successful companies begin with a single product or service. Once this product or service gains success and the business establishes itself, it rolls out more products/services.

Even if you offer more than one product/service, concentrate on discussing just your primary one in your plan.

Seasoned investors have seen thousands of business plans that talk of growth plans that were never realized. As a result, they are skeptical about companies that talk about growing multiple products/services simultaneously. They have more faith in companies with reasonable expectations than companies that plan to expand all their products/services at once.

Once you achieve certain milestones with your leading product/service, you can concentrate on adding your other products/services to your business plan.

6) Ensure your business plan is thorough

As well as including all the critical elements, your business plan must also be thorough. A great business plan is anywhere between 15 to 25 pages long. That means 15 to 25 pages of relevant content.

Ensure you concentrate on sections that are relevant to your target audience. For example, if you want your business plan to attract investors, ensure the financial plan section is detailed out completely. It must include the:

Revenue model

That is, how you generate sales. That could include advertising, markups, subscriptions, direct sales, and commission.

Financial projections

That is a five-year financial forecast of expenses and projected income, known as your Income Statement. It must also include a Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement.

Funding requirements

This discussed how much money you need, and how you will use that money.

Similarly, if you want your business plan to attract and retain new employees, take the time to address concerns that potential employees might have regarding your business. You can also explain and convince potential employees that your company’s ideas are sound and that the company is poised to achieve its strategic goals.

Conclusion

Before beginning your business plan, understand who your audience is, what they need, and what you expect to achieve through the document. Conduct research before you start writing your plan. The document must flow seamlessly from one section to the next, with each area written in detail to answer key questions your reader might have. Consider all the above points and include them in your business plan, and you can transform what would otherwise be a mediocre business plan into a great business plan.

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Government contracts are a great way to boost your business sales and grow your business. If you’re participating in a government bidding or planning to, you have to understand how the process works first. Here are the steps you need to do to participate in government contracts:

Step 1. Ensure that Your Small Business Matches SBA’s definition of a “Small Business”

Before you can participate in any government biddings, the first thing you have to do is to ensure that your business fits that of the government’s definition of a small business. Depending on what industry you’re in, you may have to follow a different guideline. In general, the SBA may define a small business based on the average number of employees for the past year or the business’ average annual receipt for the past three years. You also have to determine your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code which classifies businesses according to the product or service they provide.  

Other than that, your business should also meet the following general guidelines:

• Must be a for-profit organization
• The business must be located within the United States and operates primarily in the country
• Is independently owned and operated
• Must not be dominant in the industry on a national basis

Step 2. Obtain Your Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) Number

The DUNS number is a nine-digit business classification number for your business’ physical location. When applying for a DUNS number, you won’t have to pay for anything or buy anything from Dun & Bradstreet unless you wish to. The processing for your DUNS number may take less than a day. However, you have to make sure that your business is registered with the government. 

When applying for a DUNS Number, you will have to submit the following requirements:

• Business’ legal name
• Contact name and number
• Business address
• Mailing address (if different from main or business address)
• Doing Business As (DBA)
• Number of staff on each of your business’ physical location/s

Step 3. Register Your Business with the System for Award Management (SAM)

Once you have your DUNS number, use it to register your business with SAM. The System for Awards Management (SAM) is the federal government’s database for contractors. Any government agency uses this database when finding a contractor that will help them fulfill orders or services. By registering your business in SAM, you’ll increase your business’ chances of winning government contracts that are solely awarded to small businesses. Aside from that, having your business on the SAM database also certifies that your business is eligible for government contracts. 

SAM also lets you create a business profile for free. You can fill out any required information like your business name and the description of your business. Be sure to use accurate information and make your business appealing to contracting officials. This will make your business easily visible to government agencies and significantly increase your chances of winning government contracts. 

Step 4. Search for Active Government Contracting Opportunities

Now that your business is registered and ready to participate in government biddings, the next step is to explore active contracting opportunities. You can do this by searching for listings on the following platforms:

• Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) is a government platform that provides small businesses with active government listings. You will have to register to participate in open bids. 
• The Government Services Administration (GSA) Schedules Program allocates approximately $50 billion annually for federal procurement. A major portion of that budget goes to small businesses. You can search for its subcontracting directory for open bids and opportunities.
• SUB-Net also provides a list of contracting opportunities (both government and non-federal agencies) for small business owners. The platform is widely used by non-profit organizations, universities, and even foreign governments to look for solicitations or identify small businesses. 

Pro tip: If you’re still starting on government contracting, consider becoming a subcontractor for an experienced government contractor. This is a good way to learn the ins and outs of government contracting so that by the time you land a big contract, you’ll be an expert on the process.  

Secure Your Business’ Future by Applying for Government Contract Financing

Working with the federal government presents a promising opportunity for small businesses. While the process of winning government contracts can be long and time-consuming, once you gain access to these government opportunities and win some government contracts, you’ll be giving your company a fighting chance in competing with larger companies in your industry. 

If you’re worried about where to get the resources needed to fulfill the contract, you can opt to apply for government contract financing. There are a lot of financing companies that are willing to help and guide you through the process. Be sure to do your research first when planning to apply for financing for your small business.  

The process may initially seem daunting and confusing, but if you take an organized approach, you’ll increase your chances of having a sale that’s smooth, quick, and rewarding. Working through the following steps will remove uncertainty and give you a clear road map to follow. Here are the things you need to do in order to get the most money when you sell your car.

Don’t Sell to a Dealer

If you are considering trading-in your current car on a new one purchased at a dealer, think twice. It’s a well-established fact that you can get more money for your used vehicle by selling it privately. Car dealers need to make money on the used cars they take in trade; they buy low and sell high. They’ll give you as little money as they can for your used vehicle, and since they negotiate every day, they’re probably better at it than you are. There may be exceptions—especially if you have a relatively new car that’s coming off-lease. But the biggest thing a dealer has to offer is convenience—one-stop shopping that enables you to trade-in your old vehicle on the spot and avoid the work of selling it yourself. But that extra effort will be worth it.

Necessary Paperwork

When selling your car, you’ll need to exchange certain documents with the buyer. Gather the paperwork listed below ahead of time to ensure things go smoothly.

Title: The title establishes that you’re the legal owner of the car. You’ll need to sign it over to the new owner once the sale takes place. If you still owe money on your car loan, the lender will have possession of the title. Your loan balance will have to be paid in full before the title can be transferred to the car’s new owner.

Bill of sale: Your state’s department of motor vehicles may require you to complete a bill of sale when selling your vehicle. This form can likely be downloaded from the department’s website. Be sure to check the website to see if there’s any other paperwork required by your state.

Maintenance and repair records: Some buyers may want to take a look at the car’s maintenance and repair records to make sure it’s been well taken care of over the years. If you have these records on hand, get them organized so you can share them with prospective buyers.

Private or Dealer Sale?

As described earlier, you can sell your car to a private party or you can choose to sell it to a dealer. While we recommend the former, selling to a dealer is simpler and easier: You contact the dealership, have them inspect your vehicle, and agree on a price. The range of dealers that would be interested in buying a used car includes brand-name car dealerships that sell new cars, independent used-car dealers (there are still a few of them), and companies that sell used cars online (such as CarMax and Carvana). But most dealers want relatively new cars; they’re not interested in older, high-mileage vehicles. So even if you would rather follow this low-effort path to sell your vehicle, it might not be possible.

Establish an Asking Price

To set a reasonable price for your vehicle, you’ll need to get a valuation estimate. You can obtain this information by using tools offered by sites such as Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, or here on caranddriver.com. To get an accurate valuation, you’ll need to provide information on the car including make and model, mileage, optional equipment, and its condition. Depending on the site, you will be given its approximate trade-in value (based on zip code), its value for a private-party sale, or both numbers—usually in a range.

What you’ll see immediately is the disparity in price between a private-party sale and a dealer trade-in. We input a sample six-year-old compact sedan into one of these estimators and saw a roughly $2000 advantage to selling privately. Use these estimates as your guide when setting an asking price for your vehicle. Figure a price of about 15 to 20 percent higher than what you’re willing to take based on the vehicle valuation.

Presale Prep

Now it’s time to get your car spruced up and ready for prospective buyers. Start by cleaning and vacuuming the car’s interior and getting rid of any junk and clutter. Give the exterior a thorough wash—it may be a good idea to go as far as getting the car detailed.

Also, think about purchasing a vehicle-history report. This report offers background information on the vehicle that’s useful to buyers. For example, it indicates whether the vehicle has been in any serious accidents, and it can confirm that the car’s odometer reading is accurate. Assuming that the information shown is favorable, having one of these reports on hand can make your car more attractive to potential buyers and ease any concerns they may have.

Advertise

The next step involves letting prospective buyers know your vehicle is available to buy. If you’re selling to a dealership, this involves contacting more than one dealer so you can compare prices and get the best deal. You’ll be expected to provide basic information about your car, such as its mileage and overall condition. Expect to visit their used-car lots so their sales people can look over your car.

If you’re selling your car to a private party, you’ll need to place an ad. You can post an ad on sites like Craigslist, Autotrader, eBay Motors, Cars.com, and Bring a Trailer. You can even try brand-specific forums, if there are any for your vehicle.

Be honest when describing your car in an ad. Include as much information as you’d want to see if you were a prospective buyer.

Most important, support your ad with lots of photos. Take shots of the car’s cabin and exterior from multiple angles. Avoid taking pictures at noon or thereabouts, since the overhead light of the sun can be harsh; you’ll get the most flattering lighting in the hour or so right after sunrise or in the time just before sunset. Try to take the photos in an isolated location so there won’t be any objects in the background to draw attention from your car.

When posting an ad, consider setting up a dedicated email address and phone line via Google. This will allow you to field offers easily, and it will protect your privacy. Also, don’t discount the power of social media. Get the word out to friends and family via Facebook and Twitter.

Contact Prospective Buyers

If you’re selling your car to a dealership, you may have gotten a few offers from the various dealers you’ve contacted. Go through your offers and pick the best one. Get in touch with the buyer to finalize the sale.

For private-party sales, this step involves screening calls and meeting with prospective buyers. Respond to calls and emails in a timely fashion. Make sure to get full contact information, including name, email address, and phone number. If something seems suspicious or if you get the sense that a buyer isn’t serious, don’t be afraid to move on to the next candidate.

At Finance Zone, our mission is to help you get ahead with your finances. We know that money isn’t everything and some people have more than others. We believe it’s not what you have, but what you do with it. We are one of the best write for us finance blog

Starting or incorporating a company is a long and often discouraging process. It is more complex when you are incorporating the entity in a foreign jurisdiction. This is the primary reason why most people or companies prefer to use corporate services. These are companies that provide essential services to companies and entrepreneurs. In this article, we will look at some of the services provided by corporate service companies like PageCorp Group.

Company registration

All countries mandate all companies to be registered. They do this to ensure that all companies pay their taxes. They also do this to see the number of companies that are being registered. Also, they do this to give them data on entrepreneurship. The process of registering a company differ from one country to another. There are countries where the process takes just a few days and those where it takes more than a month. A corporate service company specializes in doing this kind of work. Therefore, they understand what needs to be done to register the company faster.

Virtual Offices

Countries require that all companies have physical offices. They should change the official location when they move. Unfortunately, most people don’t want to have a real office location. For example, shell companies registering a company for tax related services don’t need to have these offices. A corporate service company can help you set-up a virtual office you can use to register your company.

Intellectual Property

Companies spend a substantial amount of their income on intellectual property. They use these funds to come with patents, trademarks, and copyrights. This intellectual property needs to be registered at the corporate office. This is done to ensure that the property is recognized by the law. A company should hire a good corporate service company to register this IP. It does not end there. Corporate service companies are also used to defend the intellectual property. This happens when another company infringes on the company’s IP.

Tax Planning

A good Cyprus corporate services company should be able to handle tax planning processes. The goal of this process should be to ensure that the client company pays all the necessary taxes. It should also be tactical to ensure that the client pays the least amount of money in taxes. This is important because while no company likes to pay taxes, they are required by the law to pay them.

Legal Representation

Companies are constantly in need of lawyers. For examples, the lawyers are consulted when the company is coming up with its terms and conditions and privacy policy. They are also consulted when a lawsuit is made against a company. This can come from a competitor, customer, shareholder, or even an employee. In all this, a good corporate services company should be able to represent a company.

Summary

There are other tasks that these companies do. These are trust formations, accounting, and human resources. As a company, you should do your best to find a good corporate service provider. In Cyprus, the number of these companies is constantly rising. Taking time to research and consulting will help you find a good provider.

At Finance Zone, our mission is to help you get ahead with your finances. We know that money isn’t everything and some people have more than others. We believe it’s not what you have, but what you do with it. We are one of the best write for us finance blog

You want to visit a new tourist destination and you are looking forward to buy a travel insurance policy to secure your trip.
You are also spending hours on the Internet searching for pro tips to purchase an insurance plan. Good going.
What you should do next is screen travel insurance policies and select the one is affordable and suits your preference. Screening, in this context, means comparing. Compare several policies to select the best.
Here are some tips to make it easy for you:

Travel duration-wise comparison 

Don’t compare a short-duration travel insurance policy with a long-duration one. Oftentimes, consumers make this mistake. Short stay travel insurance plans are cheaper than long stay plans for short stay trip duration is 1 to 5 days. Consumers often naively fall for the low price tag and regret their decision later.
To clarify, short stay plans are called single trip. Most short-stay plans only cover journey to a specific travel destination. Long-stay plans, on the other hand, are called multi trip as they let you travel around the world. Buying a RTW (round-the-world) ticket isn’t compatible with a short-stay plan. You may end up not getting any coverage at all.
So when comparing two policies, make sure both are of equal time duration. Either both are long-stay or both are short-stay.

Length of medical coverage 

Yes, all travel insurance policies offer medical coverage, but when it comes to the length of the coverage, these policies substantially differ. Your task is to select a policy with a comprehensive length of coverage.
How to compare policies in terms of their coverage limit and extent?
Check if the plans cover pre-existing conditions for medical services. Always choose a travel insurance plan whose medical coverage includes pre-existing conditions. Most insurance policies cover primary health facilities; check what they offer beyond that.
Do they offer medical evacuation? Does the coverage include mental health conditions? Do they penalize for hospital pre-certification? Does the range of medicines only include OTC pills? All these are important? A travel insurance plan might be cheap, but if its medical coverage is limited and doesn’t include most of the said facilities, don’t go for it.

Consider your age 

That’s right. When comparing two policies, check what age group they cater for. It’s a bit tricky as the insurance company pitching the policy would make you believe they don’t discriminate on the basis of age, and that’s largely true. But you should respond back mentioning not all policies fit all age groups.
Old people are not as enthusiastic to travel as people who are young. This is the norm albeit there can be exceptions. Old people are not frequent travelers, hence they prefer long-stay trips. Companies know this and they design insurance plans for travelers this way. If you are over 60 year old, don’t have too much expectation from short-stay policies. Our advice, go for multi-trip and choose a long-stay policy.
It has financial benefits as well. Long-stay policies could eliminate over 15% of your expenses if you visit overseas for more than three times a year. Short-stay travel insurance policies are designed for young people who travel quite a few times a year.

List of countries covered 

Another important consideration for selecting an insurance policy. Not all companies extend coverage to all countries. You may be permitted to travel to nations that are on your country’s alert list, but getting an insurance company that extends its coverage to such nations would be tough.
If you live in the US, check with the US State Department. Additionally, ask your insurance provider which countries are outside of their coverage. As insurance providers don’t reimburse when consumers are injured or dead due to an act of god such as natural calamity or political turmoil or war.
If a nation is on your country’s alert list, it is for good reasons. Chances of bodily injuries are high if you go there and your travel insurance plan won’t cover the damage. Keeping that in mind, ask your provider whether the coverage is exclusively applicable to developed nations. Compare policies by checking how many nations they cover.

Activities covered 

As a rule of thumb, riskier activities are less likely to be covered. That being said, there are no dearth of adventurous consumers whose only motivation to travel is to indulge themselves in venturesome pursuits.
Insurance agencies know this. Hence, they extend coverage to selected activities. Comparing different travel insurance plans by checking how many activities they cover. Go for the one that covers more activities; having said that, don’t forget to read the fine print. There might be conditions that you have to abide by.

In summary

The odds of selecting the best travel insurance plan depends on how efficiently you can compare one plan with the other. The tips shared here in this article can guide you in doing that.

At Finance Zone, our mission is to help you get ahead with your finances. We know that money isn’t everything and some people have more than others. We believe it’s not what you have, but what you do with it. We are one of the best write for us finance blog

Budgeting in college is an excellent way to start making positive financial decisions. If you set yourself up for success while in school, it’ll help you maintain good habits later on.

Learn how to budget your money now, and you’ll be able to pay off loans and put money away in savings. If you’re successful, you’ll have extra money for fun, too!

Hey, no one said you couldn’t have a little fun, even though you’re busy with your education!

But before you can do that, it’s essential to learn how to keep track of your finances. Here’s a walkthrough on how to budget your money and make wise financial decisions.

1. Take Inventory of Funds Coming In

It’s hard to make smart spending decisions if you don’t know how much money you have. Take some time to figure out how much money you have to work with every week and beyond.

Your funds may include:

• Money from scholarships, loans, and grants
• Cash from a part-time job
• A stipend for being a resident assistant
• Savings account money
• An allowance from your parents
• Cash from a side gig, such as tutoring

Knowing how much money you have will tell you how much money you need to budget moving forward.

Figure out how much to spend and save based on your current allowance and bills. If things change, make sure to adjust your budget.

2. Use Leftover Financial Aid Carefully

If you have student loans, you may have some leftover funds to use for personal expenses.

With any leftover money, be careful about how you spend it. First, apply your financial aid money to tuition and fees. With anything remaining, it’d be smart to spend it on things like transportation and textbooks.

If you still have some money left after that, spend it on personal items. But, think twice before splurging on movie tickets or going out to dinner.

Remember that you’ll have to pay off the loan, which is why you should be selective about how you spend the money.

3. Get a Roommate

If you live in an apartment away from campus, consider getting a roommate. You might enjoy living solo, but living with roommates has one major perk:

You can save more money!

By splitting the cost of rent with someone else, you’ll have a higher balance in your bank account at the end of each month. And if you split groceries, electricity, and other expenses, you can save even more.

Save on living expenses, and you’ll have extra money to spend on other things.

Now, when you look for a roommate, make sure they’re financially responsible. The last thing you need is to find out your new roommate can’t pay rent.

Also, try to find someone you get along with. If you can find someone who you enjoy being around, that’s ideal.

Finding a roommate shouldn’t be hard. After all, you’re probably not the only person on campus who wants to save on rent!

4. Don’t Spend a Lot on Food

We know how tempting it is to spend a lot of money on food, especially if you live in an area with a lot of great restaurants.

Plus, if you’re a social person, it’s natural to want to eat and drink around other people.

But if your friends like to go out to dinner a lot, you should forgo the expensive meals. That doesn’t mean you can’t go out with friends. But, be careful about what you order.

Consider splitting a meal with a friend. Or, only go out to eat on discount nights. There are a lot of ways you can still have fun without spending a ton of money.

Of course, you need to eat. Budget your finances so you can eat healthy and affordable meals. Don’t give in to pressure to spend a lot on food when you can make meals at home.

Plus, there’s always the option of eating in the college cafeteria. If you have a meal plan, that’s definitely the most cost-effective option.

If you don’t have a meal plan, take a look at the prices in your cafeteria. Some college cafeterias are very expensive, so you might never want to eat there.

Don’t sacrifice nutrition to save money, but do save on food whenever possible. It’ll be worth it!

5. Cut the Cord (on Cable)

Don’t spend $100 a month on cable! That’s highway robbery!

Instead, cut the cord and subscribe to a streaming service like Netflix.

If you can’t live without TV, there are other options, such as SlingTV and AT&T TV Now.

Do some comparison shopping based on the channels and shows you like to watch. If you mainly watch television shows, then Hulu or Amazon Prime might be a good fit for you. If movies are more your thing, then Netflix might be the ticket.

Also, consider sharing a streaming account with your roommates. Most services allow you to have multiple users on an account, so you can have entertainment access for just a few bucks a month.

You may not be able to watch everything your little heart desires. But that’s what Redbox is for. There’s a Redbox location in nearly every college town, so you can swing by and pick up a DVD whenever you want to see the latest releases.

It’s important to have some entertainment, but not if your wallet suffers.

6. Pay Your Credit Cards on Time

Do you have credit cards? Pay your bills every month! And pay them on time, too, or you’ll get smacked with late fees.

If you procrastinate on payments, it will affect your credit. You don’t want to leave college with a bad credit score!

You’re probably already in debt from college tuition. So, the last thing you want is to be indebted to the credit card companies, too. Therefore, it’s crucial to pay your bills by (or even before) the due date.

If you can’t pay off the balance in its entirety by the due date, at least pay the minimum.

Also:

You may be tempted to put extra expenses on credit cards, but it’s best not to do that. The more you put on your card, the more you’ll be responsible for at the end of the month.

Having one or two credit cards is smart to build your credit. What’s not smart is allowing the convenience of credit cards to drive you into debt.

Be smart about credit card spending, and don’t do anything now that you’ll regret in the future.

7. Make Your Own Coffee

Can’t live without your coffee? We get it.

No matter how old you are, there’s nothing like a tasty cup of Joe! It helps to wake you up and gets you off to a good start every morning. And, as a college student, coffee can be your saving grace during those long nights of studying.

However, coffee can put a big dent in your wallet.

If you only drink expensive cups from Starbucks or a local coffee shop, you may be wasting money.

Sure it’s nice to head to Starbucks in the morning, but spending $2 or more on coffee will add up over time.

To solve this, only treat yourself to Starbucks coffee when you have something to celebrate. Or, give yourself a weekly coffee allowance so you won’t overspend.

Making coffee at your apartment is a better alternative to buying a coffee every day.

Do the math, and you’ll quickly realize how much those daily coffees cost!

8. Use a Tracking Tool

One of the best ways to track your finances is to log your expenses.

Digital tracking tools can help you see how much you’re spending. All you have to do is download one to your phone and use it to track your purchases.

Here are a few budgeting apps to check out:

• EveryDollar, which is excellent for zero-based budgeting.
• Clarity Money keeps track of every dollar you spend.
• Mint is fantastic at encouraging you to save money.
• PocketGuard provides a nice snapshot of your budget.
• Goodbudget is ideal if you like envelope-budgeting.

Tracking tools are useful in more ways than one. They’ll help you keep yourself accountable, but they’ll also warn you when you’re close to your spending limit.

Observe your money habits and figure out ways to save. See which items are costing you the most. This should incentivize you to cut back or figure out cheaper alternatives.

If you spend a lot on movie tickets, for example, you may need to limit yourself. Instead, wait until it comes out on DVD and catch it on Netflix or Redbox. That’s a lot cheaper than movie tickets these days!

9. Have an Emergency Fund

Yes, your budget should also include an emergency fund.

If you end up in a bind and have a tight month, an emergency fund will come in handy.

As we’ve been discussing, it’s crucial to find ways to spend less. Whether it’s cutting down on your food bill or riding your bike to school instead of driving, there are things you can do to save cash.

When you do spend less money, reward yourself by putting some of that cash in the bank. Set up an emergency fund and don’t touch it unless absolutely necessary. There’s a reason it’s called an emergency fund, not an “I’m going to borrow some money whenever I feel like it,” fund.

So, whenever possible, put some money away and save it for a rainy day. You never know when it may come in handy!

Bonus: Automate Your Investments

Don’t wait until you graduate to start investing your money. By investing during college, you can get a headstart on your financial future.

If you’re not sure where to start, take a class at school or online.

Or, if you have a friend or family member who’s willing to coach you, take them up on their offer. You might even know a finance major who can give you some advice. There’s also the option of getting a financial advisor.

Whether you get help or decide to go solo, do your research. You should make sound investment decisions that will benefit your future.

When you start investing, set your account up so it automatically withdraws funds from your bank every month. That way, you won’t be tempted to spend your investment money on anything else.

Remember, consistency is key! Religiously invest money every month and, within a few years, you’ll have a nice little nest egg.

In Conclusion

It may seem impossible to graduate free of debt. But if you budget well, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

You might still have student loans, but at least you can keep them down or start paying them off while you’re in school.

Your financial decisions will determine your spending habits in the future. So, start making positive decisions today.

As a reminder, here are a few ways to budget your money while you’re in college:

• Take an inventory of your income
• Use your financial aid wisely
• Live with a roommate to save on living costs
• Limit the amount you spend on food
• Get rid of cable and subscribe to a streaming service
• Pay your credit card bills on time
• Make coffee at home
• Use an app to track your spending
• Keep an emergency fund
• Invest your money in stocks or other outlets

There are many other ways to save money that we didn’t cover in this article, so keep looking for new ways to cut costs.

Come up with a money-saving plan of attack and stick with it throughout your college years. By successfully budgeting, you’ll come out with a shiny degree AND some money in the bank!

Author Bio:

Dominique Daniels is the Business Manager for Bria, a pet-friendly apartment complex in West Haven, Utah.

At Finance Zone, our mission is to help you get ahead with your finances. We know that money isn’t everything and some people have more than others. We believe it’s not what you have, but what you do with it. We are one of the best write for us finance blog

If you are out of shape and hate yourself for this, know that you are not alone. Obesity has become an epidemic in the United States. Adult obesity rate, according to the latest BRFSS data, is over 34% in seven states, over 30% in more than half of the states and over than 25% in 48 states.

Emerge of plastic surgery

Losing fat organically takes time. It requires patience and hardwork, which is why, most people opt for the shortcut – plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons assure them of spot fat reduction, which is impossible to achieve through workout and/or diet.

What is CoolSculpting

It is a fat removal procedure. Like every other plastic surgery procedure out there, it works like a charm for some people while others don’t see any marked improvement in their appearance. CoolSculpting is noninvasive. In rare cases, however, it can be semi invasive when the surgeon uses injection. Common CoolSculpting methods are all noninvasive and these methods involve the use of radiofrequency, laser and ultrasound.

Does CoolSculpting work?

Yes, it does. If the procedure is successful, fat will be reduced from specific areas in your body. Mostly areas that have higher propensity of fat deposition such as stomach, thigh and buttock. However, CoolSculpting doesn’t help in losing weight. It surgically or non-surgically removes fat from certain areas in body.

If you are paying to have CoolSculpting done on you, understand that this procedure reduces fat only to a certain extent. Most people who underwent CoolSculpting reported body fat has been reduced somewhere between 10 and 25%. Don’t expect CoolSculpting to remove 100% fat, have realistic expectation. Also, it takes time for this procedure to show visible effects. So don’t be squeamish.

Is CoolSculpting permanent

CoolSculpting is called fat-freezing because it freezes fat cells in the body. The frozen fat cells eventually die off and then fat is reduced.

Are the effects permanent?

The answer is yes and no. A Manhattan based plastic surgeon Jeannel Astarita explained “I really emphasize to my patients, yes it’s a permanent fat reduction technology, but only if you control your weight. If you gain weight, it will go somewhere.”

CoolSculpting reduces fat permanently. But it cannot prevent you from gaining weight. Later if you gain weight, fat will be deposited in other areas, but not in the area/s where the procedure was performed. Hence after CoolSculpting, you’d have to stay fit and work out a lot to maintain a lean physique. There’s no cut and dry answer as to whether CoolSculpting is permanent. It depends on the person undergoing the procedure. If they don’t maintain a physically active life afterwards, the effects of CoolSculpting will wear off and several areas in the body will begin depositing fat.

CoolSculpting and insurance

I know what a lot of you are thinking. Is CoolSculpting covered by insurance? I am sure this question has occurred in your mind. I will answer it, so be patient.

Once again, there’s no “yes” or “no” type answer to it. Normally, health insurance plans don’t cover CoolSculpting procedure. Most people pay the cost arising from this procedure from their own pockets. However, because CoolSculpting is a growing fad in the cosmetic industry and a lot of people are going for it, some medical spa are offering discounts to customers. An unbiased estimate indicates up to 20% cost of this procedure can be waived by the company offering it.

There are insurance options for medical spa owners, though. The plans are normally offered on a la carte basis, which means they are not titled as CoolSculpting insurance. Among these plans, the most popular one is liability coverage insurance. Liability coverage plans protect the spa owner in the event of an accident or injury of the patient as consequence of the procedure gone wrong. There are few other types of insurance that can offset the cost a spa owner might have to pay in the wake of an undesirable incident. Two such plans are malpractice insurance and property coverage insurance.

Malpractice insurance comes to your rescue when a patient takes you to court over a physical injury or being dissatisfied with the service. Property coverage insurance is like any other business insurance. It protects you from untoward incidents. Should anything happen to your place of business or the equipment you use get stolen or damaged, property coverage compensates you.

Cost of CoolSculpting

Understand that CoolSculpting is not a health necessity for you. It is an elective cosmetic procedure to enhance your appearance and for this reason, it is quite expensive. Also, as we’ve discussed already, medical spas that offer this service spend a lot of money insuring their clinics and equipment. Other than the two types of insurances mentioned in the previous paragraph, they also cover offsite services and their employees. Paying insurance premium monthly increases their operating expenditure, so they charge high for their services to counterbalance the increased operating cost.

There’s no fixed cost for CoolSculpting. The cost varies from one region to another. The final cost depends on several factors one of which is the number of applications. Most facilities charge on per hour basis. The standard cost is $750 per hour for small applicators. Applicators in this context means the device used for carrying out the procedure. If medium applicators are used, cost could be anywhere between $600 and $800. Large applicators typically cost between $1200 and $1500.

Cost depends on what part of your body requires the treatment. For example, if you are going to have CoolSculpting in lower abdominal area, a large applicator would be needed and the cost would be high.

Is one session enough?

Because CoolSculpting is expensive, many people cannot bear the recurring cost arising from having to undergo the procedure more than once. However, to have successful result, the patient might need to have up to 3 CoolSculpting treatment sessions in total.

Talk to your doctor about this beforehand if you don’t want to be left dissatisfied in the wake of this procedure. Besides, if you get to know well in advance how many sessions you’d going to be need, you can arrange enough money.

CoolSculpting risks

No medical procedure is without risk. Invasive procedures carry a statistically higher percentage of risk compared to noninvasive procedures. However, noninvasive procedures are not totally risk-free. CoolSculpting, a noninvasive cosmetic procedure can lead to skin infection, permanent skin damage and scarring. It can change fat-layers and cause chronic and lasting pain. CoolSculpting can also cause serious medical complications like paradoxical adipose hyperplasia.

Less severe side-effects that are way more common than the ones stated above include loss of sensation in the area where the procedure was done, redness, swelling, etc. Talk to your doctor about the risks and how likely these are to occur before you pay for the procedure.

Are you a candidate?

That’s not for you to decide. Only the doctor can decide whether or not the procedure will suit you. If the doctor feels that overall weight loss training regime will suit you better than losing fat in specific areas in the body, he’ll advise you to spend more time working out. He might also suggest invasive procedures such as liposuction or gastric bypass surgery.

Conclusion

Whether you will have CoolSculpting or not entirely depends on you. However, understand there are objective factors at play. If you have health issues, the doctor may advise you to sort these issues before having this procedure done. Same way, you might find the cost of the procedure to be high enough to back off. Or you might get fascinated by the idea of non-surgical fat removal but then get discouraged thinking of all the scary side-effects.

Hence, my advice would be spend enough time. Weigh all the pros and cons and then make a final decision with an open mind.

At Finance Zone, our mission is to help you get ahead with your finances. We know that money isn’t everything and some people have more than others. We believe it’s not what you have, but what you do with it. We are one of the best write for us finance blog

At first thought, the idea of guest blogging may seem counterproductive to your content marketing strategy. “Why would I want to work for free for someone else’s blog essentially?” you might think to yourself.

However, the truth is that guest posting is one of the most powerful and valuable strategies to grow your audience and drive traffic to your site. A guest post is an article published on a blog by an author who publishes a different blog. A guest poster contributes content to other blogs related to their market or niche.

So, here are six compelling reasons why guest posting provides a great advantage:

A guest post always includes a backlink to the guest poster’s blog. This might be embedded in the text or might be included in the author’s bio. Backlinks are one of the most crucial ranking factors in improving a website’s domain authority, which is the ranking given to it by major search engines. Google’s PageRank is a popular tool used to assess your domain authority.

Being referenced on reputable sites with large audiences and high-authority domains significantly improve your website’s rank. In other words, it means that if influential blogs are linking back to your blog on their own websites, then the search engine concludes that the content on your blog must be relevant and engaging.

Unfortunately, the prevalence of using guest posting as a method of boosting SEO resulted in an influx of fake bloggers who demand payment for including a backlink to your blog on their website. This is a direct violation of Google’s policy, and anyone caught doing the same faces a heavy manual reduction in their search engine ranking. That’s why it’s more important than ever to contribute high-value guest posts to legitimate blogs that cater to your niche.

On a final note, guest posting can be an immensely valuable tool to boost your SEO rankings as long as you don’t treat it as a fast-track ticket to internet traffic. If you don’t know where to start, you can check this guide on how to start your own blog.

• Exposure to new audiences

Guest blogging introduces you to the already established audience of your host blog. If your content connects with them and adds value to the discussion, they will definitely visit your blog out of interest and curiosity. This can directly translate into new readers and exponential growth of your blog.

If you frequently guest post on reputable and popular websites, you may expand your reach to hundreds or even thousands of potential new followers over time. This is a major reason why guest blogging is considered to be the fastest and cheapest way to reach massive audiences.

• Establish authority in your field

Guest posting can be used to establish yourself as an authority figure and expert in your field. It can take many years of work to transform your website into a reputable source of knowledge in your industry if you choose to forgo guest posting. Readers are naturally wary of fresh blogs and tend to trust the established ones.

Contributing well-written and highly researched articles to top blogs in your niche will build your credibility with readers and cause them to recognize you as a go-to source of information. If you consistently demonstrate your expertise in your area of specialization, it won’t take long for your name and brand to gain respect as an authority figure in your field.

• Form important connections in the industry

Guest posting helps you build relationships with other relevant bloggers from your niche, which is particularly useful for those who are new to the field. Interacting with the audience in the comment section and becoming a consistent and dedicated guest poster and strengthen your ties with host blogs, leading to many networking opportunities. You might even be invited to contribute to an email thread where bloggers belong to the same community brainstorm potential topics.

This can also lead to working on co-authored posts with reputable bloggers in your niche. Another advantage of being active in the community is that you get to receive insightful feedback and criticism from other content creators. Their suggestions can prove valuable in helping you refine your content marketing and strategy. Over time, your connections in the industry will prove beneficial in the form of increased business opportunities and partnerships, resulting in the accelerated growth of your brand.

• Increase social media visibility

Guest posting on popular blogs leads to your content being shared on social media; a large number of continuous reposts can even lead to a particular post going viral. This attracts the attention of a large number of users and can lead to a sharp increase in visitors to your website.

This will also result in you amassing a significant following on popular social platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. These followers will get instant notifications whenever you post new content, and they will also bring in new readers by sharing your content. In this way, your brand’s influence and visibility will extend to an ever-increasing audience via social media.

• Refine your writing skills

Guest posting requires you to deliver content that is both extremely well written and highly engaging. It demands attention to minute details, including research, grammar, writing voice, as well as miscellaneous formatting rules that can differ from one blog to another.

Continuously writing for your own blog can make you complacent if you become accustomed to writing the same type of articles for loyal readers who don’t offer much criticism.

Guest posting offers unique challenges that will force you to adapt your writing style and cater to the tastes of diverse audiences. In the long run, this will provide you with the experience to constantly improve your own blog and avoid falling into a rut.

At Finance Zone, our mission is to help you get ahead with your finances. We know that money isn’t everything and some people have more than others. We believe it’s not what you have, but what you do with it. We are one of the best write for us finance blog