Fun Facts about Starbucks

Starbucks- Everyone’s go to coffee shop! Some might say it is overrated or overpriced but all those things aside, nothing beats their homely environment and great customer service. Here are some facts about Starbucks you might not be aware of!
  • There are more than 87,000 drink combinations possible.
Best Starbucks Drinks Around the World - Delish.com
  • Starbucks spends more on healthcare for employees than on coffee beans every year.

Starbucks offers employees free mental health app - Talent Canada
  • Starbucks has its own record label.

From Sonic Youth to Sia, the surprising history of Starbucks ...
  • They have been sued for under-filling lattes.

Starbucks Blonde Vanilla Latte Review: Sweet, Floral, Bright, and ...
  • The reason why Starbucks has more round tables than rectangular ones for customers is so that their customers feel at home.

Chairs tied around tables at metro Starbucks in effort to ...
  1. 星巴克飲品的配撘合計有87000個！
  2. 星巴克付在員工醫療福利上的成本比咖啡本身還要多
  3. 他們有自己的唱片公司！
  4. 他們曾因沒有把latte量倒滿而被控告！
  5. 他們有更多㘣桌的原因是令顧客感到在家的舒適感

Reference:

https://www.insider.com/starbucks-fun-facts-2018-7#theres-a-reason-for-the-round-tables-in-the-restaurants-7

7 Ways Businesses can Maintain a Good Online Presence

There’s no denying that we’re living in a digital age, and that means that a business’s online presence is no longer something they can overlook. A business’s online presence is its overall impact on the internet from its website to its listings to its social media accounts. It also includes the ways people have interacted with the business like reviews and or mentions of it on other websites.

A strong online presence is important because customers are becoming increasingly likely to search for business online and to use search engines to look for products and services before making a decision. In fact, according to one study, 97% of customers look for businesses on the internet. Another survey found that 33% of people used the internet daily to find a local business in the last year. With stats like this, not being online or having a poor presence means countless missed opportunities. Starting to build your business’s online presence may seem intimidating, but with these seven tips, you’ll be on your way to reaching your internet full potential in no time!

1. Have a Website

First things first, make sure your business has its own website. This website will be the foundation of your internet presence as websites are often where customers first find and interact with businesses online. If you want to make a good impression on your potential customers, your website should impress them. Aim to have a clean, intuitive layout, appealing graphics, and a quick loading time. Moreover, your site should load on both mobile and desktop devices.

Once you’ve laid the foundation and created your website, the next step is to make sure it contains valuable information. List your location, business hours, products/services, news or announcements, etc. as to be as informative as possible. If you don’t make it easy for your viewers to find the information they want to know, they’re less likely to give you their business. In addition to providing details about your business, consider posting educational or entertaining content (for example, on a blog) that people may want to share as well. Doing so will spread your brand name.

2. Social Media

Creating your own website is just the start. With the widespread usage of social media,

many businesses have begun to join some platforms as a way of reaching out to new audiences, interacting with their customers, and promoting their goods and services. In general, businesses should prioritize and start with the platforms their customers are active on. However, if you’re uncertain of where to begin, Facebook is usually a solid choice. With 2.6 billion active users, Facebook is the largest social media platform out there and it also has the option to create a Facebook Shop account which can be useful for businesses selling physical items. Instagram and Twitter would be the next most-obvious choices. As you join multiple social media platforms, keep your brand consistent by doing things like posting with a common color scheme and graphic style, promoting the same business values, and displaying a constant personality.

This idea of a business personality is crucial when posting online. One of the main mistakes businesses can make these days is to come across as a faceless corporation; people like seeing business make jokes and interact with other users like friends. Look at your customers and determine what your business’s buyer persona is, then use this information to strategize what kind of content you should share.

3. Be an Online Expert

In addition to social media platforms, businesses can also consider establishing themselves as online experts. Some ways of doing this include posting on your own blog or on forums like Reddit and Quora. Share helpful tips relevant to your industry or respond to people’s questions, and you’ll build your reputation as a credible source and draw positive attention to your business.

4. Be Active

After setting up a website and branching out to other platforms, make sure to keep active

on them! Reflect any business developments (like new hours of operation or product prices changes) on your website, and if you have a blog, post new articles regularly. Additionally, check through your site every now and then to make sure there aren’t any empty pages or dead links that no longer work. Simply creating a good website isn’t enough to make it successful; you have to maintain it. An abandoned site is never a good look, and it can make your business look unprofessional and outdated.

For social media, come up with a realistic posting schedule that your followers can keep track of, and always respond to users who reach out to you quickly. If you don’t get back to customer inquiries on social media, you’ll leave bad impressions. So only join as many social media platforms as you can effectively manage.

5. List Your Website and Pay Attention to Reviews

Another important aspect of a businesses online presence is its listings. Listing your

business on places like Google Businesses and Yelp is both free and helps your business reach a larger audience. As people search online, your listings may show up and lead them to you.

These listings also give people the opportunity to leave reviews. According to one survey, 36% of participants always read reviews of local businesses, 18% do so regularly, and 27% do so occasionally. This means well over half of the population places at least some weight on online reviews, so amassing positive reviews on listing sites can provide a boost for your business. Consider asking your customers to leave reviews to help start this process.

While you’ll strive for mostly good reviews, respond to even the negative ones. Replying to these shows that you listen to all your customers and care about their experiences.

6. Collaborate with Others

Another way to get your business’s name out there is to build relationships with others in your industry. Getting others to post about your business or your collaborations on their own websites, blogs, and social media will generate more mentions of your business online, growing your presence as well as your credibility.

For some businesses, providing influencers with samples of your product or service in exchange for them promoting it can also help you build a larger audience.

7. Modify and Adjust

As you work on developing your online presence, looking at analytics can help you see what is working best and what you need to change. If you’ve been trying to improve your SEO, you can track your search engine results, and if you’ve been attempting to grow an email list, you can track your number of subscribers as well as open and click-through rates. Tools like Google Analytics can prove to be very useful. Simply observe how your stats change as you make adjustments, and continue to modify until you reach your goals

如何建立一個好的網上品牌

網上品牌對小型企業尤其重要，因為大部分人開始用網站/社交媒體來判斷品牌形象。 一起來看看你可以如何把它做得更好吧！

** 1。建立網站

首先，請確保你擁有自己的網站。它將成為您建立互聯網的基礎，如果您想給潛在客戶留下好印象，您的網站應該給他們留下深刻的印象。擁有整潔，直觀的佈局，吸引人的圖像和快速加載時間。此外，您的網站應同時在移動裝置上加載。

奠定基礎後，下一步就是確保它含有價值息。盡可能列出您的位置，營業時間，產品/服務，新聞或公告等。除了提供有關您的業務的詳細信息之外，還可以考慮發佈人們也希望分享的教育性或娛樂性內容（例如，寫博客）。這樣做會傳播您的品牌名稱。

** 2。社交媒體

創建自己的網站僅僅是開始！隨著社交媒體的廣泛使用，許多企業已開始加入某些平台來接觸新的受眾，與客戶互動並推廣商品和服務。通常，企業應優先考慮存在活躍客戶的平台開始。如果您不確定從哪裡開始，Facebook通常是一個不錯的選擇。 Facebook擁有26億活躍用戶，是最大的社交媒體平台，它還有Facebook Shop，對銷售實物商品的企業非常有用。 Instagram和Twitter將是下一個最熱門的選擇。當您加入多個社交媒體平台時，可以通過通用配色方案和圖形樣式進行發布，促進相同的業務價值以及展現出恆常風格來保持品牌一致性。

** 3。成為在線專家

除了社交媒體平台，企業還可以考慮將自己品牌建立為在線專家，包括在自己的博客或Reddit和Quora等論壇上發布內容。分享與您的行業相關的有用貼士或回答人們的問題，您將樹立可靠信譽，並可以令人關注您的業務。

** 4。積極點！

建立網站並擴展到其他平台後，請保持活躍！

您可以在您的網站上公佈最新發展（例如新的營業時間或產品價格變化），如果您有博客可以定期發布新文章。此外，可以不時檢查您的網站，確保沒有任何空白頁或無效鏈接。

** 5。注意大家的評論

企業在線形象的另一個重要方面是評論和意見。Google Businesses和Yelp等平台都是免費的，可幫助您吸引更多的受眾，並在搜尋器上出現。

這些平台還使人們可以發表評論。根據一項調查，36％的參與者經常閱讀本地企業的評論，18％的人定期閱讀，27％的人偶爾閱讀。這意味著大部分人至少會對在線評論給予一定的關注，因此在列表網站上積累積極的評論可以為您的業務帶來增長。考慮讓您的客戶留下評論吧！

雖然您會爭取獲得好評，但也要回應負面的評論，傾聽所有客戶的反饙。

** 6。與人合作

另一種方法是與所在行業的其他人建立關係。讓其他人在自己的網站，博客和社交媒體上發布有關您的業務或與您的合作的信息，從而增加您的影響力和信譽。

** 7。讓數據說話

在建立網上形象時，查看網頁分析可以幫助您了解最有效的方法以及需要更改的內容。如果您一直在嘗試做SEO，可以跟踪搜索引擎結果，如果您一直在嘗試增加電子郵件列表，則可以跟踪訂閱者的數量以及電郵打開率和點擊率。Google Analytics（分析）之類的工具可能非常有用。只需觀察您的統計數字在進行調整時如何變化，然後繼續進行修改直到達到目標即可。

Some Interesting Facts about Coca-Cola

#1 There are only two countries in this world where Coca-Cola is not sold- Cuba and North Korea

15 Bans and Restrictions You Can Only Find in North Korea

#2 Coca-Cola is the second most understood word in this world after “OK”

#3 In 1985, Coca-Cola became the first soft drink to go to space.

Coke was the 1st soft drink consumed in space

#4 The Coca-Cola brand is worth an estimated $83.8 billion. That is more than Budweiser, Subway, Pepsi and KFC combined.

#5 Coke makes so many different beverages that if you drank one per day, it would take you more than 9 years to try them all.

Portfolio overview | Coca-Cola HBC Russia

＃1 這個世界上只有兩個國家沒有出售可口可樂: 古巴和北韓

＃2 可口可樂是僅次於“ OK”的最被理解的單詞

＃3 可口可樂在1985年成為第一款進入太空的汽水。

＃4可口可樂品牌價值估計為838億美元。（遠遠超過了Budweiser，Subway，百事可樂和肯德基的總和！）

＃5可樂生產非常多種不同的飲料。如果您每天喝一杯，那麼要花9年以上的時間才能嘗試全部。

Reference:

https://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-coca-cola-2015-9#coke-makes-so-many-different-beverages-that-if-you-drank-one-per-day-it-would-take-you-more-than-nine-years-to-try-them-all-coca-cola-has-a-product-portfolio-of-more-than-3500-beverages-and-500-brands-including-sodas-energy-drinks-and-soy-based-drinks-6

3 Ways Businesses Can Be More Sustainable

Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming an increasingly important aspect within all businesses. Choosing to “go green” and holding campaigns to spread awareness about sustainability is what grants businesses bonus points amongst the consumers. Not only does it help the environment- it establishes you as a brand that cares about the environment and community, thereby refining your brand image. And, lets be real- brand image is super important. It is pretty much what distinguishes you from your competitor.

#1 Going Paperless

Imagine how many trees don’t have to be cut if businesses can forego using paper and adopt a cloud-based filing approach to save all their information and data. Up to 50% of business waste is paper waste; hence, businesses will be able to lower their impact on local landfills by converting to a paperless office. Since we are talking about it in business terms- it reduces costs! An average worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper annually- going paperless would help reduce the cost of buying tons of paper for office work.

#2 Letting Employees Work from Home

Another way a business could lower its carbon footprint is by encouraging remote working. A reduction in the usage of electricity, reduction in pollution (no commute) and fewer office supplies used leading to a reduction in office waste.

#3 Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

It’s inevitable for companies to produce tons of waste and to continue doing so. However, it is possible for companies to reduce the amount of waste they produce by recycling most of it. Not all of it has to go to landfills, right? As much as 60% of the rubbish that businesses send to landfills can be recycled; and it does cost a lot of money. Most businesses just keep a little rubbish bin on their floor but it is wise to adopt a waste bin of categories “Plastic, Paper, Glass” for recycling.

References:

Adapting to Online Business during the Pandemic

More likely than not, if you have a business, it has been dramatically affected by the recent Coronavirus pandemic. In order to prevent further spreading of the disease, social distancing and quarantine has become the new norm. This, however, has not been beneficial for many businesses. Without customers walking into their stores, many offlines businesses have seen their revenues drop, and some have even had to close.

Adapt to online marketplace

One way that businesses have learned to cope with such circumstances is through adapting to and embracing a new online marketplace. While in-person shopping and services may be suffering blows right now, online shopping and services are booming like never before. And learning to tap into this market could mean a world of difference for businesses going through troubles. If there has ever been a time for entrepreneurs thinking about growing their online businesses to make it happen, it’s now.

Grow your online sales

First of all, many businesses have begun to use incentives to grow their online sales. Whether it’s through coupons, deals, or free shipping, these incentives can draw a lot of attention to businesses. In fact, one survey found that 56% of customers are interested in the initiatives that brands have put in place during the outbreak. Other businesses have taken the approach of creating offers for free or heavily-discounted services that ease the current situation (like free meditation apps or online yoga instruction) in hopes of increasing brand awareness and of retaining customers after the pandemic and the deal end. However, businesses should always consider the costs of any customer incentives to ensure they don’t outweigh the benefits.

Online meet ups could be helpful

While selling online, businesses can also think about new products or services they can provide their customers. Although the avoidance of close contact might mean fitness classes, restaurant meals, and other in-person activities are no longer possible, these industries have done their best to meet old customer needs through the internet. Exercise classes are being hosted on zoom and restaurants are cooking meals to-go. In this same manner, other businesses that were similarly previously reliant on human interaction should consider what replacements they can offer instead, how they can solve the old customer needs with new methods.

Adapt to the changes by introducing new products!

Another idea to consider is producing something new that caters to new pandemics needs. For example, some businesses have also started selling product bundles that provide at-home entertainment like crafting or cooking kits. While it might mean shifting away from their pre-pandemic mode of operation, businesses should be open to expanding into open niches. And as always, they should feel free to do outreach and simply ask customers what they want.

Everyone is on social media now…

As businesses expand their online practices, social media is one of the top factors to keep in mind. While growing their online practice, businesses should use social media and virtual outreach to engage customers. During the pandemic, reflecting on the current citation (including any struggles) is a way to connect with them. With quality social media handling and interaction, businesses can significantly increase brand awareness, increase consumer trust, and draw in new sales. Some ways stores have taken advantage of social media stores include going live on different platforms to display their wares in lieu of in-person browsing or to show off behind-the-scenes activities and to post on their Instagrams stories with polls and questions. A blog is another means of sharing valuable content with readers, and it can become a reliable, authoritative source of information. Moreover, social media and email are also both very effective ways of marketing.

Optimise your website!

Of course, if their aim is to expand online business, businesses must ensure their website is functional. First, check that the website loads and displays well on both desktop and mobile. Next, make sure it is up-to-date and answers the following questions: Is the business open? If so, at what locations, on what days, and during what hours? Have there been any other changes in pace due to the pandemic? It may even be useful for some businesses to create a Corona FAQ page if the pandemic has created enough uncertainty around their operation. Businesses should also keep their Google Business listing updated with the same important information.

Stay healthy, stay happy

Lastly, aside from concrete changes, business owners should also try to keep within a positive and constructive state of mind to aid themselves, their business, and their community. Although the switch to online business may be abrupt and stressful, taking advantage of new internet shoppers and maximising online sales can result in an expanded market that will last long beyond the pandemic. Additionally, seeing this pandemic as a time to learn a new skill, whether it be related to online business or not, can prove to be useful in both the short and long run. Taking this time as an opportunity to work together with and lean on other businesses within the same industry can provide needed assistance and forge new connections for the future. If a business has the means, a local community or charity focus can also improve brand name, especially as the coronavirus outbreak has created a new sense of responsibility to the community for many people.

All in all, while the shift to online business may have been unexpected, there are still many things businesses can do to make the best out of it and even possibly grow in the proces. Just remember, even small changes matter, meet customer needs, and focus on maintaining building your brand. And, of course, make sure to keep on top of quarantine restrictions as they change and know what they mean for you!

在疫情下，中小企和創業家們是如何應對的呢？讓GoBuddy和你看看他們用了什麼方法吧！

✨適應網上市場

企業已學會擁抱新的網上市場。儘管面對面的購物和服務正遭受打擊，但在線購物和服務正以前所未有的速度蓬勃發展。學會打入這個市場可能對遇到瓶頸的企業帶來不同商機。如果你曾經考慮發展自己的在線業務，那就是現在！

✨增加您的在線銷售

許多企業已開始使用激勵措施來增加在線銷售量。無論是通過優惠券，交易還是免費送貨，這些激勵措施都可以引起廣泛關注。實際上，一項調查發現，有56％的客戶對品牌在爆發期間採取的措施感興趣。其他企業則採取了創建免費或打折優惠服務的提議的方式，以緩解當前的狀況（例如免費的冥想應用程序或在線瑜伽指導），以提高品牌知名度並在交易結束後留住客戶。但是，你還應考慮措施的成本，確保它們不會超過收益。

✨在線聚會？

在網上銷售時，企業還可以考慮他們可以為客戶提供的新產品或服務。儘管避免親密接觸可能讓大家不再上健身課，外出用膳等，但這些行業已盡力通過互聯網滿足老客戶的需求（網上健身課程正在流行中！）同樣，以前依賴人機交流的其他行業也可考慮提供哪些替代產品，以及他們如何使用新方法解決老客戶的需求。

✨通過引入新產品來適應變化！

要考慮的另一個想法是生產滿足新需求的新產品。例如，一些企業還已經開始銷售新產品，這些產品可提供家庭娛樂，例如手工製作或烹飪套件。雖然這代表要改變經營方式，但企業應該願意向開放的市場擴張。

✨現在每個人都在上社交媒體！

隨著企業擴大在線業務，社交媒體是首要因素之一。在發展在線業務的同時，企業應使用社交媒體和虛擬外展吸引客戶。在疫症期間，反思當前策略是與建立聯繫的一種方式。通過高質量的社交媒體內容和互動，企業可以大大提高品牌知名度，增強消費者信任度並吸引新的銷售。例如在不同平台上直播來展示商品或展示幕後活動，並在Instagram故事中進行互動。寫blog也是與讀者共享內客的另一種方法，它可以成為可靠，權威的信息來源。此外，電子郵件也是非常有效的營銷方式喔！

✨優化您的網站！

如果目標是擴大在線業務，企業必須確保網站正常運行。首先，檢查網站是否可以在所有裝置上正常顯示，確保它是最新的版本。此外，創建一個FAQ頁面會很有用！企業還可使用重要信息來更新其Google Business列表。

✨保持正向！

最後，記得保持積極的心態！:) 幫助自己，企業和社區，將現在視為學習新技能的時機，無論是否與業務相關，增值自己在短期和長期都是有用的！以此為契機，與其他企業合作還可為將來建立新的商機！來為你身邊的人帶來正面影響吧！

Do you need to go to University for entrepreneurship?

As we all understand- there is no direct path to success. If there was, we would all be successful. Wanna be a doctor? Go to Med School. Wanna be a lawyer? Go to Law School. But, what about if you wanna be an Entrepreneur? Is there an Entrepreneur School, per se? Is there some kind of academy where they teach you how to be great Entrepreneurs? Well, there aren’t. Yes, there is college and they provide majors in Entrepreneurship but with the significant cost of tuition fees and an even enormous student debt- Is it really worth it?

Unfortunately, there isn’t any correct answer. Its all based on a personal level. College provides lifelong learning and skills which you might not have access to had you not attended any university. It helps you grow personally and professionally. I think it has more to do with what exactly fascinates you- what is it that you love? Maybe you’re into painting.. perhaps you could open up your own art studio. No matter what type of business you dream of starting someday, there are some skills you NEED to have as an Entrepreneur. You need to be able to market yourself, you need to have a little more than basic accounting and technical skills.

I do think before you decide to start your own company, you should work for someone else. It is the best kind of learning. It teaches you numerous things about how a business operates and gives you the kind of experience college never would. You will come across various opportunities and challenges and it will teach you how to overcome them. Working for someone else will also give you some financial flexibility and stability. You need to have enough capital of your own in the beginning so that you don’t drown in debts.

Going to college and starting your own business right after- I would say it’s quite burdensome. It would be quite difficult to continue investing in your company and making profits when you have a 6 figure college debt hanging over you. Perhaps online courses would be a good idea? Community college for some courses? Maybe that would be a cheaper option.

Whatever you decide to choose, make sure you know what you’re doing. There isn’t any correct answer- it depends on you, your personality, how you like to get things done. Many successful businessmen did not go to college or dropped out of college- and while that may be encouraging to hear- it shouldn’t affect your decision.

眾所周知，成功沒有捷徑。

普遍社會認為的是：想成為醫生嗎？去考醫學院。想成為律師嗎？去考法學院。但是，如果您想創業呢？有企業家學校嗎？是否有某種學院教我們如何成為優秀的企業家？我們或許會想起各大學的商學院，他們提供創業課程，但是我們卻要支付高昂的學費和學生債務-真的值得嗎？

這並沒有正確的答案。大學提供終身學習和技能，它可以幫助您個人和專業成長。這與您喜歡的知識有關-您喜歡什麼？如果你喜歡藝術，也許你可以開設自己的藝術工作室。無論你夢想有一天開始什麼類型的業務，作為企業家都需要具備一些技能。您需要能夠進行自我營銷，還需要具備基本的會計和硬知識。

另外，在決定創辦自己的公司之前，為別人工作是最好的學習方式。它會教你許多有關業務運作方式的知識，並為您提供了大學不能學到的的實際經驗。您一人田日遇到各種機遇和挑戰，而它將教您如何克服挑戰。為他人工作也會為您帶來財務上的靈活性和穩定性。開始時，您需要擁有足夠的自有資本，為之後舖路。

上大學後馬上開始自己的生意不是不可能。如果你不需也許在線課程是一個好主意？社區大學的一些課程？也許那將是一個更便宜的選擇。

無論您決定選擇什麼，請確保您知道自己在做什麼。沒有正確的答案-這取決於您，您的個性以及完成工作的方式。許多成功的商人沒有上過大學或輟學了，儘管這可能會令人鼓舞，但它不會影響您的決定。

Offline Business Ideas

These days it seems more and more new businesses pop up online every day. And e-commerce is, indeed, a growing field. From the previous year, e-commerce grew by 18% in 2019 and it is expected to double by 2023. Consequently, it feels that attention has shifted away from offline businesses to growing and establishing online businesses in recent years.

No matter how much e-commerce may develop though, some businesses are still much better suited to in-person interaction or simply require an offline platform. For example, childcare, elderlycare, and healthcare are rooted in personal interaction. They are reliant on a practitioner being able to physically look after a client and attend to their needs. Construction, renovation, and handyman services do work that most people lack the knowledge and skills to do themselves, and cleaning businesses provide services most people are unwilling to do themselves. And while other businesses can be adapted to online formats, the experiences aren’t quite the same. Food can be ordered through delivery apps, but eating at home doesn’t have the same atmosphere as a restaurant meal. Live shows can be livestreamed, but watching a small computer screen isn’t the same as sitting in a concert hall or theater. Shopping can be done on Amazon or other online retail websites, but nothing can replace being able to view and handle a product yourself before purchasing. And classes, whether they are for math, cooking, or dance, can be held over Zoom, but it’s always easiest to follow instruction when the teacher is right in front of you to help.

However, this doesn’t mean that offline businesses can’t benefit from having an online presence or front.

Online and offline businesses both have their merits. With offline businesses, customers feel a greater sense of trust as they are able to personally view products, a physical store reflects greater financial stability, and offline businesses have more chance, walk-in customers. On the other hand, online businesses have great visibility due to the broad reach of the internet, they are far cheaper, and they can be open 24/7. In combining offline and online together though, offline businesses can solidify their brands and find the best of both worlds by adopting aspects of an online store.

  1. Doing so allows offline businesses to match competition, whether it be solely online businesses or other offline businesses that already have an online platform.
  2. An online presence can also increase the number of customers a business has as people stumble upon their website while researching and browsing online. The internet can even help businesses grow from local audiences to global ones.
  3. In addition to increasing brand awareness, websites allow for greater customer interaction. Customers far away can see what is sold in store (encouraging them to later visit in-person or to order online) and easily communicate any question they may have.
  4. Digital sales save both time and labor as they don’t require any customer interaction.
  5. Conducting sales through an online platform allows business owners to track marketing and business analytics. If this information is utilized properly, it can promote even greater future growth.

As valuable as developing an online front can be, many small offline businesses still haven’t caught onto the trend. As of January 2019, less than ⅔ of small businesses had a website (the main reason cited being that their owners think their operations are too small for one) and 1 in 5 don’t use digital marketing. Not taking advantage of the internet, however, puts a business at a disadvantage. 37% of people use the internet to find a store at least once a month, and 91% of customers have visited a store in-person due to an online experience. And according to data from Google in 2016, 68% of customers go to a store within a day of doing a local search and close to half make a purchase that same day. Continuing to grow online presence continues to pay off too. Small businesses with blogs get 126% more lead growth than those without, and the more frequently and consistently they post, the greater the reward.

Making a website though, is not something to be taken lightly. Considering it is the focal point of a businesses internet front, it has to be crafted carefully and attractively. First, it has to be well-made. If a website takes longer than three seconds to load, 53% of mobile visits are abandoned, and for each second delay in load time, conversions fall by 12%. Once on a website, a person’s first impression is dependent primarily on the design-related elements of the site. This first impression weighs heavily on how credibly they will view a business.

In the end, our commerce industry cannot survive with just online or offline businesses. The ideal is a balance somewhere in the middle, tailored to boths the strengths and needs of each individual business.

儘管發展網上業務非常有價值，但許多小型企業仍未趕上潮流。截至2019年1月，只有不到1/3的小型企業擁有網站（主要原因是其所有者認為他們的經營規模太小），而且五分之一的企業沒有使用數碼營銷。

但是，不利用互聯網會使企業處於不利地位。 37％的人每月至少一次使用互聯網查找商店，而91％的顧客由於在線體驗而親自去過商店。根據Google在2016年的數據，有68％的客戶在進行本地搜索的一天之內去了一家網店，而近一半的客戶在同一天購物。繼續發展在線業務也將獲得回報。與沒有博客的小型企業相比，擁有博客的小型企業的潛在客戶增長率高出126％，並且發布頻率越高，持續性越高，回報就越高。

3 Elon Musk facts you might find interesting

Elon Musk- CEO of SpaceX and Tesla can be easily called the real life Tony Stark! Striving for greatness and challenging all sorts of technologies, he has become one of the most renowned entrepreneurs.

#1 In 1983, at the age of 12, Musk sold a simple game called “Blastar” to a computer magazine for $500. Musk described it as “a trivial game … but better than Flappy Bird.”

#2 While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, Musk and a classmate rented out a 10-bedroom frat house and turned it into a nightclub. The move, which Musk undertook with Adeo Ressi, was one of his first entrepreneurial experiments.

#3 After graduation, Musk traveled to Stanford University to study for his PhD — but he barely started the program before leaving it. He deferred his admission after only two days in California, deciding to test his luck in the dot-com boom that was just getting underway. He never returned to finish his studies at Stanford.

Reference:

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-of-elon-musk-2016-7#musk-next-started-xcom-an-online-banking-company-he-launched-the-company-in-1999-using-10-million-of-the-money-he-got-from-the-zip2-sale-about-a-year-later-xcom-merged-with-confinity-a-financial-startup-cofounded-by-peter-thiel-to-form-paypal-12

How to digitalise your business

The idea of starting your own business can be very exciting. As an entrepreneur, you are your own boss, work more flexible hours, and have greater ability to dictate the direction of your future. Moreover, you can follow your passions and feel a sense of pride in your business’s growth and accomplishments. And for many people, online business poses a very attractive alternative to traditional offline business. Without costs like rent or utilities, online businesses are often much cheaper, and they can be open 24/7 for greater customer flow. Over the past few years, online commerce has become a very profitable market as well as more and more people turn to the internet to shop for both products and services. Moreover, there are many avenues you can take when deciding what kind of online business you want to start so you’ll be sure to find one that suits your interest and skills.

Entertainment

One option you can choose to take is the entertainment route. With the global connections the internet has established, it’s never been easier to reach such a large audience.

Blogs are one such option to consider. You may think they seem out-of-date or that the market is already saturated, but if you believe you have valuable information and love writing, blogs may be a fantastic business for you. Just look at your passions and hobbies and think about what you can share with others. All you need to start is a website, and this renders the start-up cost close to, if not, nothing. Blogs, however, aren’t an easy way to make money quickly. You have to be consistent in posting, post quality information, and interact with your readers. If you succeed in building up a sizeable following though, you can make quite a living through ad space, product sales, sponsored posts, etc. Vlogs provide a slightly more modern update to blogs, and you can similarly monetize your videos.

Alternatively, podcasts have also become a popular form of entertainment in recent years. As with blogging, start-up costs are low and allow you to focus your business around your interests, but growing your business enough to reap a sizable profit can require substantial time and effort.

寫部落格是不是過時了呢？

在2020的大家每天接觸大量社媒資訊，部落格好像和我們愈來愈遠。但部落格真的『過時』了嗎？還是它們換了個方式存在呢？讓Gobuddiers跟大家看一看吧！

部落格的吸引力⋯⋯？

互聯網有很多資訊，以文字、聲音、影片存在。部落格算是以文字為主、影音為輔的形式。它能讓讀者和作家有更深的認識和共感，增加長期影響力和互動。

有名的部落客們

他們都有個共通點—-部落格並不是他們唯一的媒體！他們把內容以不同形式放到網上，吸引不同類型的粉絲。所以如果你希望經營自媒體、或在社交媒體上宣傳你的品牌，不妨試試在不同媒介放上你的內容，找出最適合你的媒介！

或許部落格只是更多以不同形式存在，並不是完全過時呢。畢竟大家也是喜歡看真心的分享，也許文字是適合你的形式！

Products

If you’d rather stick with a more traditional form of business however, you may prefer to stick with selling a product.

One possibility is to run an e-commerce store store. Much like a physical store, simply sell products of your choice but just do so over the internet. Admittedly there is a large amount of competition for ecommerce and customers may be more comfortable buying from a large, established business like Amazon. However, you can do a few things to increase your odds of success. First, look for profitable markets where there is still room for growth. And second, make sure to consider all the costs associated with your product (like manufacturing and distribution costs) to make sure the revenue will be enough to offset them.

Another option is to try your hand at dropshipping. If you’re wary of the costs associated with creating and selling your own product, this business idea may suit you better. With dropshipping, you act as the middleman sending customer purchase orders to a third-party seller, taking a commission from each sale or setting the price on your site slightly higher than that of the third-party seller. Entry costs are lower than for e-commerce as you don’t have to pay to produce your own product, and you don’t have to worry about losing money if the product doesn’t sell.

如果您希望採用更傳統的業務形式，銷售產品可以是一種形式。

一種可能性是經營一家“電子商務商店”。就像實體商店一樣，只需出售您選擇的產品，而只需有互聯網即可。當然，電子商務存在大量競爭，客戶可能更願意從像Amazon這樣的老牌大型企業購買商品。但是，您可以用一些策略來增加成功的機會。

首先，尋找仍有增長空間的市場。

其次，確保考慮與產品相關的所有成本（例如製造和分銷成本），以確保收入足以抵消這些成本。（可以參考我們之前的創業成本帖文）

另一種選擇是嘗試“經銷”。如果您對與創建和銷售自己的產品沒有興趣，則此商業模式可能會更適合您。通過直接托運，您可以充當中間人，將客戶購買訂單發送給第三方賣方，從每次銷售中收取佣金，或者將您網站上的價格設置為略高於第三方賣方的價格。入門成本比電子商務要低，因為你不必為生產自己的產品而付費，並且不必擔心如果產品不賣就賠錢。

Services

Lastly, perhaps the most diverse category of online businesses is those centered around a service.

Digital courses are a booming market. Online classes give you the opportunity to monetize your knowledge and skills. There are already courses for a large range of both academic and nonacademic subjects, and during the recent Covid-19 pandemic, people have only become more creative in finding ways to teach new subjects and activities online as customers seek new ways to learn from home. In addition, you can also sell prepared materials or downloadable content that compliments the course.

Consulting is another way for you to turn your expertise and experience into profit. If you have a deep understanding of a subject and manage to build up a reputable name, people may be willing to pay a pretty penny for your advice. In fact, it can be one of the most profitable online businesses. From finance to business to social media consulting, the options are plentiful and you’ll be sure to find your niche.

Another popular online business option is marketing. Within marketing itself you have a few options, two of which are affiliate and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) marketing. With affiliate marketing, you promote someone else’s product for a commission with each purchase. Using advertising, social media, blogging, or other methods, affiliate marketers aim to draw customers to the producer’s store. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) marketing is a sought after service, however it does require a greater skill set than some other marketing types. SEO refers to the process of working a website so it appears higher up on search engine result pages. As the ease of finding a website can greatly impact an store’s success, other online businesses are eager to utilize these services and to pay handsomely for them. One thing to keep in mind though is that Google’s search algorithms are constantly changing so you will have to make sure to continually educate yourself on these changes and understand how they will affect SEO.

Web design and development are two more options for your online business. If you have the creative inclination and program knowledge and access to do so, web design simply consists of putting together an attractive and engaging website that will draw in readers. Web development has a slightly higher barrier to entry as you do need the coding knowledge of how to build a website from the ground up. But if you put in the time and make the effort to learn, the payoff can be well worth the cost, and the demand for such work is fairly consistent.

Yet another service your online business can provide is virtual assistantship. Such a service typically consists of completing basic administrative tasks like answering phone calls, responding to emails, and making travel plans, as well as others like entering data or conducting research. As you need only organizational and task management skills, the startup requirements are low.

Last on this list is SaaS (Software as a Service). With SaaS, you develop and sell a software on a subscription basis. Of the business ideas on this list, it is perhaps among those with the most potential for profit. It’s all digital so input costs are low, and as long customers find the software worth the price and keep their subscriptions, you have a steady source of revenue.

While this article already ecompasses several potential online business models, it is nowhere close to an entirely comprehensive list. The options for online business are nearly limitless, so make sure to thoroughly consider and think through your options before choosing the one that suits you best!

Copy blogger https://copyblogger.com/blog/

Gary Vaynerchuk

https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/

Tim Ferris

https://tim.blog/

HK Start-up fund resources

【初創公司可以拿到甚麽資助？4個政府資助計劃大整合！】 Start-up fund resources for your business in 2020!

香港政府和各大機構每年也有不少創業支援基金，現在就讓我們來看看它們可以如何幫助你吧！

Are you thinking of starting your own business? Are you already an owner of a start-up and are looking for funds? Well, lucky for you, you’re at the right place! The Hong Kong Government is very committed to support existing or newly startups!

SME Export Marketing Fund 中小企業市場推廣基金

工業貿易署

  • 中小企業市場推廣基金」旨在向中小企業提供資助，以鼓勵中小企業參與出口推廣活動，藉此協助其擴展香港境外市場。2020年1月20日起，每家合資格企業的累計資助上限已由40萬元提高至80萬元！ The SME provides financial support to small and medium sized businesses and encourage them to expand their markets outside Hong Kong. They provide up to $800,000 on expenditure related to export promotion activity.

Cyberport Accelerator Support Programme

  • 「數碼港加速器支援計劃」為準備開拓海外巿場及投資的數碼港培育公司或已畢業的培育公司，提供最高達30萬港元的資助額，申請者必須成功獲得認可的加速器計劃成功取錄。

Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD) – ASEAN FTA Programme 發展品牌、升級轉型及拓展內銷市場的專項基金 （BUD專項基金）- 東盟及自貿協定計劃

香港生產力促進局 HK productivity council

為協助中小企業，包括初創企業，把握經濟機遇和提升競爭力，2018-19年度《財政預算案》提出把「BUD專項基金」的資助地域範圍擴大至東盟市場，並推出「東盟計劃」。立法會財務委員會已於2018年6月通過此項建議並注資15億元。

資助金額

資助按對等原則提供，即政府最多資助個別項目總核准開支的50%，而企業須以現金形式承擔不少於該項目總核准開支的50%。在基金的申請期內，每家企業最多可在「東盟計劃及自貿協定」獲資助十個核准項目及200萬元。

簡介

資助個別香港企業推行有關發展品牌、升級轉型和拓展營銷的項目，從而提升他們在東盟及自貿協定市場的競爭力，促進他們在東盟及自貿協定市場的發展。

資格

所有按照《商業登記條例》(第310章)在香港登記，並在香港有實質業務運作的非上市企業，均符合資格申請資助。不論是從事製造或服務行業，或是否已在中國內地及東盟有業務運作，均符合資格申請資助。

  • This programme provides a fund of HK$2,000,000 on a matching basis for maximum 10 projects and targets ASEAN/FTA markets. The HK SAR Government set up a “Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales.” They provide a reimbursement of 50% of total approved cost.

Researcher Programme 研究人才庫

https://www.itf.gov.hk/en/funding-programmes/nurturing-talent/research-talent-hub/research-talent-hub-for-itf-projects-rth-itf-/index.html The Researcher Programme subsidises 2 researchers for 36 months each- max monthly allowance of $21,000. This programme encourages university graduates to pursue a career in Innovation & Technology.

「研究人才庫」於2020年7月推出，旨在提供資助予獲「創新及科技基金」(基金)資助進行研究及發展(研發)項目 的機構／公司，以聘用研究人才進行研發工作。「研究人才庫」整合了較早前推出適用於基金資助研發項目的機構／公司的「研究員計劃」和「博士專才庫」。

計劃特點：

每個基金項目可同時聘用研究人才最多四名

每名研究人才的聘用期一般最長為36個月。

每名持有本地大學學士學位研究人才的每月最高津貼額為18,000港元；持有本地大學碩士學位研究人才的每月最高津貼額為21,000港元；至於持有博士學位研究人才的每月最高津貼額則為32,000港元。

Each ITF project can engage  at any one time up to 4 research talent

The maximum engagement period for each research talent is 36 months in general.

The maximum monthly allowance is HK$18,000 for research talents with a bachelor degree, HK$21,000 for those with a master degree, and HK$32,000 for those with a doctoral degree.