Karlo Tanjuakio – Marketer

How to Attract the Best Employees to Your Business

Despite the increasing number of flexible work arrangements and the need for innovative and creative solutions, it can take a lot of work to attract top talent to your company. Luckily today’s article lists ways to attract and retain the best employees.

Effective Messaging

One of the most important factors employers consider when hiring and retaining top talent is the “why” behind their company’s vision. This is a built-in screening tool that can help them identify potential employees. A well-known and consistent message can help candidates align with your company’s values and business purpose.

Employer Branding

A strong employer brand is associated with a larger purpose and can help motivate employees to work harder and contribute to the cause. While your company can’t solve major social issues on its own, connecting with people who are committed to doing something about them can help boost the spirit of your organization.

Emphasis on Culture

A well-designed company culture can help employees meet their personal needs while working toward the company’s goals. It can also help attract and retain the best talent. Make sure everyone has a voice in the company experience, and ensure that accountability at every level is the same. Through regular interactions with the broader team, you can promote the culture to potential employees.

Competitive Benefits

Many companies that went offline during the pandemic are not planning on returning to their physical offices. Instead, they’re shifting toward flexible work arrangements. This is a significant advantage for candidates in all industries. In addition to the workspace, take advantage of your connections and resources to provide discounts and other perks that support their financial security and wellness. Although you may not be able to offer your larger competitors exact perks and benefits, you can still try to mirror their offerings.

Try Networking

One of the most important factors employers consider when hiring and retaining top talent is networking with other professionals. This can help them identify areas of their company to improve and develop new strategies. It can also help them find new clients and partners who can help accelerate their business.

Having a More Sustainable Holiday Season

Americans throw away around a million tons of trash every week during the holiday season, including wrapping paper and packaging. We also use a lot of electricity to light up our holiday homes, which is more than other countries use in a year. To help minimize your environmental impact this holiday season, here are a few simple steps that you can take.

Reuse Your Wrapping Paper

Removing non-recyclable decorations and wrapping materials is the biggest issue during the holiday season. Overusing these materials can lead to throwing them out after the gifts have been opened. If each family in the US only used three reusable items this year, it would save about 45,000 football fields of paper.

Reduce Packaging

If you’re sending something to a relative far away, you should consider choosing the appropriate packaging. Ensure the box is big enough to hold the item, and avoid using plastic insulation. If you can, try using eco-friendly packaging such as shredded paper.

Shop for Households

Another way to reduce the amount of waste during the holiday season is to buy for everyone in the household instead of purchasing for only individuals. Check if there is something that the household needs, such as a new kitchen appliance.

Recycle Lights

Each Christmas tree in the US has around 300 lights, and with approximately 30 million trees sold each season, that’s a lot of lights. Unfortunately, these lights often end up in the trash once they get tangled or burned out. Despite this, it’s still possible to recycle Christmas lights.

Use Leftovers

The amount of food waste that accumulates during the holiday season is shocking. Before planning your holiday feast, remember whom you’re serving and how you cook it. If you have leftover food, send it to the other visiting people so they can eat it later.

Tree Recycling

Removing your tree is one of the final steps in the holiday season’s eco-friendly activities. Numerous drop-off locations allow people to dispose of their trees for free. Some areas use Christmas trees as a habitat for fish. You can also hang your tree for a couple of months to allow it to dry thoroughly.

How to Tell a Brand Story That Resonates

Most people who start a business are passionate about their work and have the drive to succeed, and the origin story of their brand will always resonate with those who built it. However, it’s important to remember that a brand’s story should be told with intention. This means ensuring the message is delivered to the right audience and the company is acknowledged as a brand.

Your company’s brand story is critical for succeeding in today’s competitive market. Here are four ways to ensure that it’s told to capture the essence of who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish.

Simplicity
One of the most essential factors you should consider when it comes to your company’s origin story is to ensure that it’s simple and doesn’t get too complex. Although it’s tempting to include various twists and turns in your story, it’s important to remember that the most crucial aspect is the reason you started in the first place. A straightforward way to convey this is by discussing a problem your company has solved.

Truth
Even though starting a business is huge, it’s also important to remember that the path to success can be unpredictable. There will always be moments of triumph and setbacks along the way. A transparent and authentic origin story is essential to communicate the company’s goals and intentions.

It can be tempting to celebrate your company’s success after all the hard work you’ve put in, but it’s also important to remember that there are still moments of frustration and doubt that will stick with you for a long time. One of the most essential factors you should consider is the various pivots and reroutes that helped you get where you are today.

The “Why” Aspect
One of the most important factors you should consider regarding your company’s origin story is why you started in the first place. Although it’s important to remember that the steps to building a brand are important, it’s also important to remember that the reason that you started is the most critical aspect.

Authority
A clear and authentic origin story is also essential to ensure that it captures the essence of who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish. One of the most imperative factors you should consider is being specific and honest about what you want to show to save no room for speculation.

Environmentally Friendly Companies Worth Supporting

Changing times and priorities have made it clear that making money isn’t the only indicator of a company’s success. A company’s sustainability is one of the most critical factors. This issue should be a core part of its operations to ensure that it remains competitive and attractive to investors and customers. Today, these are the top companies making an effort to improve our environment.

HP
One of the world’s largest corporations, HP has several impressive environmental programs. Through its Sustainable Impact initiative, the company has recycled over 875 million ink cartridges and prevented over 1.7 million pounds of plastic from going into the ocean. It has also been able to eliminate the use of all single-use plastic packaging by 2025. By 2025, it will become the world’s leading printer supply recycler.

Impossible
It’s no longer possible for people to claim to be eco-friendly individuals without also being a vegetarian. Meat production is considered one of the world’s most harmful industries, and the company that changed the game by partnering with Burger King is Impossible.

Being vegan is one of the most significant advantages that people can give to the planet by going vegetarian. Compared to beef, Impossible’s vegan burgers have less impact on the environment. They also use 87% less water and have less greenhouse gas emissions.

Patagonia
One of the most prominent companies that value environmentalism early on is the apparel giant Patagonia, known for its commitment to sustainability since its inception. Through its voluntary 1% “Earth tax,” the company has been able to support various environmental organizations.

Unlike other companies that hire celebrity spokespeople, Patagonia uses its stars to further its cause. The company has raised awareness for its environmental programs through global sports activists.

Seventh Generation
Seventh Generation’s cleaning products are made with natural and non-toxic ingredients, and they can inform their customers about how much petroleum was saved after using their products. The company also has several action programs and environmental activism initiatives. Its partners include the Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, and the Certified Corporation. One of its most prominent programs is Commit to Clean, which encourages cities to adopt 100% clean energy.

Steps to Conduct an Effective Corporate Sustainability Audit

A corporate sustainability audit is a beneficial, strategic process for identifying and rectifying potential issues in your business. Conducting an audit regularly will help you identify the challenges and what needs to be done to improve them. This blog post will discuss steps to help you achieve an effective corporate sustainability audit.

Define Your Goals and Objectives

The first step in conducting a corporate sustainability audit is to define your goals and objectives. What do you hope to achieve through the audit? What are your priorities? What are areas of sustainability most important to you? Defining your goals will help you focus on the importance and ensure that the audit is tailored to meet your specific needs.

Gather Data

The next step is to gather data. This includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data can be obtained from various sources, such as financial reports, environmental assessments, and surveys. Qualitative data can be gathered from interviews with employees, focus groups, or online forums. It’s essential to collect as much information as possible from various sources.

Analyze the Data

Once you have collected all of your data, it’s time to analyze and interpret what it tells you. What are the trends? Are there any areas where performance is particularly strong or weak? Where do these findings align with your goals and objectives? This analysis part should be done so that comparisons can be made and conclusions can be drawn.

Identify Areas of Improvement

After analyzing your data, it’s time to identify the most significant opportunities for improvement. This is an excellent point to compile all of your insights and present them in an easy-to-digest format so that crucial decision-makers can see how they compare with other organizations. It’s also essential to prioritize action items to ensure that the most critical issues are addressed first.

Develop a Plan of Action

Once you have identified the areas needing improvement, it’s time to develop an action plan. This should include specific steps that will be taken to address each issue. It’s essential to be realistic and set achievable goals so that progress can be tracked over time.

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Books Every Tech Entrepreneur Should Read

The tech industry is constantly evolving – changing in ways we could never have predicted. Any startup founder or entrepreneur must stay up-to-date on the latest developments to be successful. Reading books can help you do that! This blog post will discuss books every tech entrepreneur should read to succeed in today’s competitive landscape. Here are some to get you started.

Lean Startup by Eric Ries

The Lean Startup is the de facto bible for modern startups. It shows you how to create a successful startup business using scientific principles like lean manufacturing and validated learning. This book has helped thousands of entrepreneurs worldwide build better products, measure their results, validate ideas before launching them in the market, find product-market fit and ultimately create a successful startup company. This book is an absolute must-read for any tech entrepreneur or anyone looking to start their own business in the 21st century.

The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank

This book is considered a classic in entrepreneurship. It shows you how to build successful startup companies with practical advice and real-life examples. Author Steve Blank explains why most startups fail, avoid these pitfalls, and what you should do instead. He also talks about customer development, which is crucial for any startup founder. If you’re looking for a comprehensive guide to starting a tech company, this is the book.

Hooked by Nir Eyal

Hooked, written by entrepreneur and Stanford lecturer Nir Eyal explains how to build habit-forming products. The book creates customer habits to get users hooked on your product or service. Once you make a habit of using it every day, you will be able to monetize them easily through upsells and other means. This is an essential book for any tech entrepreneur to read, as it will teach you how to create a product that users can’t live without.

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

Delivering Happiness is a book written by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. In it, he tells his story from childhood to building one of the most successful e-commerce companies in the world today. He also discusses how Zappos evolved and helped them become today’s company. This book is ideal for any entrepreneur, as it provides insights and advice from someone who has been there and done that.

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Sustainability Explained

Your lifestyle choices have an impact on future generations, so it is crucial to engage in sustainable practices for the good of planet Earth and the generations that follow us. But how do you get there? The first step is understanding what sustainability means.

Sustainability is the ability to maintain something at a certain level or condition. In other words, sustainability is about creating a system that can be maintained over time. This might include preserving natural resources, using recycled materials or reducing dependence on fossil fuels. There are many different ways to achieve sustainability, and you must do your part to make sure you’re living sustainably.

Three Pillars of Sustainability
The pillars of sustainability include the environmental pillar, equity pillar and economic pillars. The first two pillars often get more attention than their third counterpart because they’re easier to measure in terms of impact on a company’s bottom line. Reducing carbon footprint while ensuring sustainability through employee approval and community support for operations profitability can go a long way in enhancing sustainability.

Factors Affecting Sustainability
The four factors of sustainability include human, social, economic and environmental. Human sustainability is about maintaining and improving human capital through investments in health care, education systems, and access to services like water or sanitation. Social responsibility strives to preserve social cohesion through investment projects that create frameworks within our communities; it means acknowledging future generations and understanding that current actions can impact them. Economic sustainability is geared toward promoting social equity. Finally, environmental sustainability focuses on all aspects aimed at protecting the environment and its natural resources.

Why Is Sustainability Important?
Sustainability improves the quality of life by protecting the ecosystem and natural resources so future generations can enjoy them just as much as we do. Going green also maximizes benefits from an environmental focus in the long term as sustainable practices preserve the environment and help create a balanced ecosystem. Apart from protecting the environment, sustainable practices promote business equity and create opportunities for businesses to be profitable without negatively affecting other pillars of sustainability.

Conclusion
Sustainability is striking a balance between the events and activities to co-exist in a meaningful manner for the good of all. The three pillars of sustainability are environmental, economic and social. All three need to work in tandem for a society to thrive sustainably over the long term. Factors that affect sustainability include human, social, economic and environmental factors. Sustainability is important because it benefits everyone, not just future generations but also the current generations.

Tips for Entrepreneurs to Succeed in the New Year

The new year is here, and that means it’s time for all of us to set new goals and make plans. This can be difficult for entrepreneurs because you’re constantly working towards your next venture, and your plans may not be set in stone. It may seem like there are no breaks in sight, but if you want to succeed, here are tips for running an effective business.

1) Set Goals
Although setting business goals seems like a no-brainer, many entrepreneurs are not successful because they don’t make their goals meaningful. Don’t mistake thinking that you can stay afloat without making plans to grow your company. You need to plan what’s coming next if you want to expand and succeed. When you write down your goals, make sure that they are SMART. This means specific, measurable, attainable/achievable/realistic (pick one), time-bound, and written in an action-oriented format.

2) Take a Break
Yes, you read that right. You need to take time away from your business sometimes to be successful. This means vacations, weekends, and even breaks during the day. If you’re always working, you’ll eventually become burnt out and won’t be able to think straight. Not only will this hurt your productivity, but it can also lead to health problems down the road.

The best way to take a break is to unplug completely from work. This means no checking email or answering calls. Turn off your phone and computer, and go outside for a walk or spend time with friends and family. You’ll be surprised at how refreshed you feel after taking some time away from work.

3) Delegate and Automate
One of the most prominent problems entrepreneurs face is doing everything themselves. This isn’t possible, and it’s also not very effective. You need to delegate tasks to your employees or outsource them if you can’t handle them yourself. Not only will this free up your time, but it will also help you avoid burnout. You can also automate tasks using technology. For example, you can use software to manage your finances or keep track of your customer data. Automating these processes will save you time and make your life a little easier.

4) Hire People Who Are Smarter Than You
It’s okay if you don’t know everything about your industry. That means it’s time to hire someone who does! This can be difficult for entrepreneurs because they want to do things themselves, but hiring intelligent and experienced people will make your life easier and lead you in the right direction. For example, if you’re in the tech industry and don’t know much about programming or coding, hire someone who does. You can pay them to help with your technical needs, so you don’t have to worry about it.

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