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Tag: policy

  • The Rise of High School Drug Testing

    The Rise of High School Drug Testing

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    School districts, much like employers, have begun to implement drug-testing policies. Many school officials cite statistics related to school performance and safety among drug users. Whether the drug testing acts as a method of screening students or as a method of deterrence from drug use, the popularity of this practice has increased significantly in many school systems.

    Supporters of high school drug testing often cite governmental statistics. These numbers show a steadily growing number of teenage drug users each year. Those in favor of mandatory drug testing suggest that such measures may be effective in keeping teenagers from using drugs. Fear of facing expulsion from school or punishment from their parents may be a good deterrent for high school students.

    Although some officials would like to see a policy of mandatory testing of every student, most drug screenings require parental consent. Most schools require that there be probable cause or reasonable suspicion before requesting a drug test. If a teacher notices a student who appears aloof or has red and glassy eyes, he or she may request a drug test.

    More common than random or suspicion-based high school drug testing is the testing of high school athletes. In nearly every school district, students who wish to compete in school sports must sign a release for a drug screening. This has become common in schools because of statistics showing that male high school athletes have a greater risk of drug abuse. These facts, accompanied by the fear of injury during competitions, have fueled the debate and existence of drug testing among athletes.

    Opponents of drug testing claim that it is a violation of privacy to require students to take drug tests. Privacy advocates suggest that with requests for mandatory drug screenings comes the potential for abuse. A few cases have existed in which a student was randomly searched and found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. In these cases, the students were either suspended from school or sent to drug rehabilitation centers; it is often the case that these students were productive in school and were not necessarily considered to be problem students. Regardless of these isolated cases, many school districts defend the benefits of drug testing. Although formal statistics do not prove the theory, many educational experts believe that high school drug testing deters students from using or abusing illegal drugs.

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    Source by Damian Sofsian

    Views: 0

  • Problems Encountered by Nigerian Entrepreneur and Possible Solutions

    Problems Encountered by Nigerian Entrepreneur and Possible Solutions

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    The success enjoyed by most industrialized countries can be attributed to the role played by technological innovation and entrepreneurship, both of which continue to drive their economies today. These two factors are seen as key components for the industrialization and development of African countries. The Nigerian government has recognized this fact and has taken measures aimed at promoting and cultivating the entrepreneurial culture in our country. Through the Nigerian Investing Commission (NIC), our government has in the past introduced a policy that required university students regardless of their area of study to take courses in entrepreneurship. While our government is putting extra effort in promoting entrepreneurship in Nigeria, there are still a number of problems that a Nigerian Entrepreneur faces. Below are some of the problems encountered and possible solutions.

    * Diversifying the Economy

    Though our country’s economy has over the last couple of decades relied heavily on its oil production, we must find ways to diversify our economy and avoid the over reliance on oil. Like other developing countries, Nigeria is facing an increase in its unemployment rate that is now at 6 % and is on the increase, with many graduates finding it hard to get jobs while most of those who get jobs are underemployed. This coupled with the global financial crisis in which massive numbers of employees are being laid off; entrepreneurship is seen as an essential key if we want our country to achieve its ambition of being an industrialized nation by the year 2020.

    * Unfriendly Business Climate

    Being an entrepreneur in Nigeria requires great determination as practicing and potential business owners are faced with countless challenges. Nigerian’s business climate should be made welcoming to those in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The role played by these MSMEs should not be underestimated since majority of the thriving businesses fall in this category and for us to achieve our goals, adequate attention and support must be directed towards these institutions. To be able to help and protect entrepreneurs, we must first have a clear idea of the challenges facing our entrepreneurs in their pursuit of making Nigeria a prosperous country.

    * Lack of Credit Facilities

    Potential Nigeria entrepreneurs go through many hardships when trying to access credit for their businesses. Though there is a wide range of financial institutions that offer business loans, they usually charge high interest rates deterring aspiring entrepreneurs. For instance, major banks have pegged their lending rates to as much a 28% deterring potential entrepreneurs who are mostly low income earners. Other obstacles faced by our entrepreneurs include severe collateral conditions set by banks and other lending institutions. Though our government through the Central Bank and the Banker’s Committee came up with guidelines requiring banks to set aside 10% of their profits for funding MSMEs, majority of these banks have been reluctant to do so. This has led to the emergence of micro-finance institutions which though helpful are not sufficient for meeting the financial requirements.

    * Multiple Taxation

    One other sensitive challenge that is encountered by majority of Nigerian entrepreneurs is multiple taxation. Although we have a responsibility of funding the government through paying taxes, most of the taxes charged on entrepreneurs are not lawful and have the effect of increasing the cost of doing business. Although Nigeria’s Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) has approved only 39 taxes and levies, there are over 500 various levies and taxes that are imposed by state and local government agents. These taxes are questionable and in the case where they are genuine, they are mostly duplicated and this has the effect of increasing the cost of doing business.

    * Poor State of the Country’s Infrastructure

    The state of our infrastructure can be deemed to be a nightmare to both entrepreneurs and the rest of the country’s population. With the existing infrastructure deteriorating and in some places it is non-existent; the cost of doing business has tremendously gone up. The state of the country’s road network makes it hard for entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector to transport harvested produce from farms to processing factories. According to a report released by the World Bank, Nigeria’s pace of socioeconomic development and growth is way below what we can achieve. This is mostly because of the erratic supply of electricity which has negatively affected many businesses. The outcome of power problems has prompted entrepreneurs to generate power through expensive ways that have in turn increased their production costs and made their products uncompetitive due to high prices. Our government should put policies in place to perk up Nigeria’s infrastructure so as to promote successful entrepreneurship.

    * Failure to Adapt to the Changing Business Environment

    Majority of those who venture into MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) do so because of their need to make money and in almost all cases, such entrepreneurs lack relevant and adequate information about the businesses they engage in. In the event where problems arise, most of these business owners lack sufficient problem solving skills and in the end they find it hard to survive. With the telecommunications sector having grown by about 206.5 % between 2002 and 2004 and is continually expanding, Nigeria has become one of the fastest growing ICT market not only in Africa but also worldwide. This presents a challenge to entrepreneurs who have not embraced technology, and who are now finding it hard to remain relevant in the competitive business environment. For existing and potential MSMEs to survive and be relevant, we must adapt to the changing business environment and embrace technology.

    * Addressing the Challenges

    Solving the problems encountered requires a combined effort by both the entrepreneur and all concerned stakeholders. As Small and medium business owners, we need to increase our knowledge and skills of the market by acquiring relevant and up to date education particularly in your area of business. Our entrepreneurs need to collect information about their target market by seeking help from consultants and professionals who have experience in the particular market.

    One strategy that can be used by our small and medium entrepreneurs to remain relevant and competitive in today’s market is to come up with fresh and creative ideas of doing business. Due to the increase in technology, business is fast changing, thus our MSMEs need to constantly re-invent the way they do business.

    There is a great need of creating a strong link between MSMEs and supporting institutions if Nigeria is to fully benefit from such businesses. Though some financial institutions are still reluctant to provide financial assistance to MSMEs, there are some that give out loans at reasonable rates provided the business sounds viable. The key challenge is for our entrepreneurs to prepare sound business proposals. For our country to achieve its goals and stop relying on oil alone, we need to focus much attention needs on the private sector and our government must create a conducive atmosphere for such businesses to thrive and drive the country towards economic prosperity.

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    Source by Peter O Osalor

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  • How Transparent Do You Need To Be When Promoting Affiliate Products?

    How Transparent Do You Need To Be When Promoting Affiliate Products?

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    If you promote affiliate products, this means that you promote someone else’s products and they give you a commission for each sale. There are many rules and regulations you must follow in order to practice affiliate marketing properly. The truth is, the more transparent you are, the better.

    One thing to remember is that being transparent in business is beneficial to everyone. Letting people know that your link to that helpful product is an affiliate product promotes trust. Giving the link without telling may not seem like a problem, but some people do get upset about that and feel as if they were lied to.By law you are required to:

    Provide Contact Information

    You cannot hide behind your computer and not be who you really are in today’s online world, and you shouldn’t want to. You’re there to serve your audience and customers and they need to get in contact with you. Provide easy to find contact information in as many ways as you can afford.

    Provide On-Page Disclosure

    Every visitor that comes to your page should have the opportunity to read that you earn money via affiliate links and product promotion. That means that on any page you sell a product, you should include the disclosure. You can find a plugin to help with this, or use shortcode if you use WordPress.

    A Policy Page

    Create a whole page devoted to explaining all your policies so that any website visitors can look at that page to find out the nature of your business. You should address all partnerships, how things are fulfilled, communication, and so forth. For example, your customers should know that if they buy something from a link, they should seek customer service for that product with the place they purchased from – but that you still want to know if they have more problems.

    Other Useful Data

    The fact is, any data you can provide makes you more transparent. It also makes your audience’s experience feel safer and makes them more comfortable. For example, include testimonials, recommendations, short reports and so forth about the products you are recommending. Anything you think will help build trust and make you more transparent to your audience you should do.

    But, even if it was not a matter of law, transparency really builds that know, like, and trust factor that everyone wants so badly. When you tell people that you are making money promoting something, it does not take away from the fact that you’re selling something that solves their problem.

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    Source by Jon Allo

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  • 6 New Best Practices For Exceptional Customer Service

    6 New Best Practices For Exceptional Customer Service

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    Providing excellent customer service may be one of the most important things you will do in your business. After all, if you do this part poorly, you’ll lose current customers and perhaps future customers too when they find out.

    1. Create Standard Policies and Procedures

    Setting up standards of service that your customers will read before and after buying and that you can use as your basis for how you provide a solution to their problem will help tremendously. Ensure your return policy, terms of service, and expectations are very clear to your customers.

    2. Let The Customer Speak First

    When a customer contacts you due to a problem, let them talk first. You want to listen to what they have to say and let them know you’re listening by making the right sounds, giving the right looks (if in person) and parroting back to them what you think they meant by what they said in your own words. Most customers tell you what they want in the first minute.

    3. Don’t Take It Personally

    If you are the product creator or direct service provider, it can be hard to provide customer service for yourself because it’s so personal. If you can’t separate things and see them as not personal and only business, you may want to outsource to someone who can do a better job at providing customer service to your customers.

    4. Don’t Be Negative

    Even if you have to say no to someone, it’s imperative that you maintain your composure and don’t be negative. Don’t attack. Don’t defend. State policies that you plan to stick to in a matter-of-fact way. Repeat if necessary, always using a calm voice.

    5. Be Easy to Find

    Don’t make it hard for your customers to contact you. The emails you send to your audience should allow for replying and not be a no-reply email address. Big corporations do use these but as a smaller business, you’ll turn away too many people if you do it too.

    6. Get a Mirror

    If you’re talking to people on the phone, get a mirror that you can look at while talking. If you smile and talk to the mirror, you’ll come off as friendlier and more approachable, and this will help keep the person calmer.

    The thing is, while you want to say that the customer is always right, sometimes they’re not. Sometimes customer service feels like harassment. Even so, you need to put it in perspective and try to listen to what they have to say and what their complaint is first. Try to listen through the anger and find the solution. Create policies that make sense but be willing to bend them. If someone is extra angry, you may be better off giving them a refund.

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    Source by Jon Allo

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  • Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Inconvenient Truth

    Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Inconvenient Truth

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    Entrepreneurship and innovation: The popular belief

    Entrepreneurs are widely believed to be the agents behind economic growth and innovation. They are, we are told, the movers and shakers who create new industries, unseat current leaders from their thrones, and open new frontiers for everyone. Popular culture tirelessly propagates one success story after another – from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, who was glorified in "The Social Network" movie, to Tesla's Elon Musk, an immigrant who became a household name, to Google's Sergey Brin, whose internet search engine name has officially become a verb in English.

    So persuasive is the narrative of the entrepreneurial technological prowess and success, that many countries – including developing countries that feel they are lagging behind – develop comprehensive policies to support and promote entrepreneurship and even set aside sizeable funds to invest in startups via government-run venture capital programs. But is this fascination with and belief in entrepreneurs justified? How likely are entrepreneurs to push the technological frontier and bring about the kind of change that governments want? Entrepreneurship Professor Sergey Anokhin from Kent State University says the hard evidence is far less convincing than the popular culture makes you believe.

    The dark side of entrepreneurship

    In a study of 35 countries over a 7-year period, Professor Anokhin from Kent State and Professor Joakim Wincent from Sweden's Lulea University of Technology show that there is no universally positive relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation. While for the world's leading economies such as the United States the positive link between startup rates and innovation may be true, for the developing economies the relationship is actually negative. Such countries are more likely to see innovation championed by the existing companies, not startups. With few exceptions, entrepreneurs there pursue opportunities of a different kind that are based on imitation and dissemination of others' ideas, and are not equipped to produce truly advanced "grand" innovations. On average, startups are less efficient than existing firms. Accordingly, if local governments support entrepreneurship, economic effectiveness may suffer, and innovation is less likely to occur. In fact, successful technological development in emerging economies is often associated with an aggressive entrepreneurial behavior of large corporations, not individual entrepreneurs. Such is the case, for instance, of South Korea with its chaebols .

    The figure below shows the vastly different impact of startup rates on innovation and technological development (as measured by patent applications) across countries. Only rich countries can expect more entrepreneurship to result in more innovation, says Dr. Anokhin. For the lesser developed countries, as the plot demonstrates, an increase in startup rates will only lead to less, not more innovative activities. The problem, according to Sergey Anokhin, is that developing countries often look up to the leading economies when trying to design their own policies. Moreover, quite naturally, the very textbooks that the students across the world use, are written by the scholars from the world's leading countries, and do not take developing economies' context into account. Taken together, it often locks policy makers in assuming the relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation that will not hold in their particular parts of the world. The pro-entrepreneurship policies will not bring about the effects expected, and the limited resources will be wasted to support activities that are largely detrimental.

    What it all means

    It is time to recognize that the relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation varies across countries, says Professor Anokhin. That is why World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council for Fostering Entrepreneurship explicitly acknowledges that Silicon Valley success stories do not necessarily resonate in other parts of the world. Broad-strokes policies that aim at fostering entrepreneurship to boost country innovativeness may well be misguided. A contingency approach that takes regional specifics into account should be employed instead.

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    Source by Sergey Ahmetov

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  • Emotional Labour – Organisational Behaviour

    Emotional Labour – Organisational Behaviour

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    Abstract:

    Putting on a good show, keeping face, professionalism in customer treatment can all be examples of emotional labour. When in the workplace dealing with others whether they be colleagues or customers we tend to give a positive emotional response despite the negativity of the other person (customer complaint) or our own current mood state (sadness, irritability) known as emotional dissonance. In this paper we will explore the phenomenon of emotional labour and its effect on workers productivity and social relations. The general outcome being that the strain of that dissonance creates mental health problems in the workplace.

    Introduction:

    Emotional labour can be seen as the affect of the current mood of a worker whilst engaging in interactions with others – putting on a good face for example despite feeling emotionally uncomfortable. (1. Robins/Judge 2013) These emotions can be driven by organisational expectations of an employees behaviour towards customers, clients and co-workers in support of the business goals to profit. For example in the service industry, customer complaints should be handled with a polite professional smiling attitude so that the customer perceives that their complaints are receiving serious attention. Despite the fact the service provider (customer relations officer) maybe be in a personal bad mood, have life problems or employment concerns – all this is swept aside to provide the company’s public positive image to the customer. For the employee engaged in such activities the strain of appearing positive and enthusiastic may cause both physical and emotional strain often leading to further deterioration in mood after work and in between assignments. You could argue that a good deal of the time we are in fact faking our emotions (feelings) in front of and towards others to support social conventions for example being polite. If a customer’s complaint is unreasonable, they are showing anger, accusing the company or misleading them and selling shoddy products – the company service support worker must maintain control over their own emotions despite feeling that the customer is wrong and the complaint is unwarranted or even ridiculous they still have to maintain the company driven reaction to the customer with calm professionalism. (2. Myler – Case Studies 2018) Some companies make being happy at work almost mandatory – where staff entertain, create an atmosphere or encourage excitement over the product and its associated feelings of happiness. For example, theme park staff forced to smile all day – try it yourself – it is very stressful to keep a happy demeanor in the face of disgruntled visitors waiting hours in a queue for a five minute ride or the phone shop worker being asked to entertain the queue of waiting customers with hi-fives and silly games. (3. Grandey et.al. 2010) Many customers in fact reporting discomfort at being targeted for unwanted attention and interaction). Therefore there is a difference between felt emotions (what I am actually thinking and feeling) than with displayed emotions (what is expected of me). After an interaction the employee can feel both exhausted by the forced situation and emotionally angry at faking their feelings for the benefit of others. Many people who suffer from depression report that faking happiness is the biggest strain of the day.

    Culture and Emotional Labour

    Culture may impact on how someone sees emotional labour as the expectations of others in the light of social comparison. (4. Matsumoto etal. 2009) For example many American service jobs, such as retail staff, service providers and customer interaction workers all feel that a positive upbeat smiling enthusiastic person is a definite requirement for the companies image management. The monocor – have a nice day – often rings false in the ears of those who understand this is not a genuine sentiment but a practiced social grace. In other cultures such as Japan or Asia in general – forced politeness or deference to not displaying emotions may in fact cause particular strain on everyday life where displaced emotion can be seen in acts of violence and sexual deviance. The French tend to not display openness in dealing with customers but in fact a non-smiling or even impolite attitudes towards their clients. This can cause companies dealing in global markets problems with staff in having to adapt and understand policy in line with the cultural underlying expectations of behaviour.

    Mental Health

    Many psychologists, counsellors and others such as nurses encounter patients (clients) who maybe presenting mental health problems such as anxiety (worry about future events) or depression (living with the past) that report difficulties in the work place in faking their emotions towards both colleagues and customers – that they feel the strain of the day at home later through irritability, sexual indifference a lack of appetite and sleep. Keeping up appearances at work therefore effects the very quality of our lives both in and out of the work place. (5. Myler Case Studies 2018) Dealing with difficult people whether customers or colleagues leaves us feeling exhausted physically and mentally. In therapy the psychologist maybe searching for psycho-dynamic reasons for the negative feelings from past patterns of behaviour and often miss the power of the here and now effect of faking your feelings at work simply due to enforced company policies that require us to present an image of well- being and happiness that actually is not there. Treatment therefore should focus on workplace stress rather than personal history.

    Role Play & Emotional Labour:

    Of course we are schooled from an early age in how to act given certain social situations, for example being happy at a birthday party ( don’t spoil it for everyone) to look sad at the funeral (even when we did not even like the deceased). We have learned behavior for situational displays of affect. Have you ever been told off – criticised – looked at the person with a smile on your face – and they say, “what are you smiling at?” they think you are not taking them seriously enough, acknowledging their concerns – the truth maybe that we think their remarks are unwarranted and silly – however our learned correct response is to – look serious and be intently listening – while all the time inside feeling what an idiot this person is! In other words we are often asked to fake it – for the sake of the other persons feelings – this is often seen as high empathy when in fact it is more often just a learned reaction to a situational event. Emotional intelligence is seen a as a panacea for management effectiveness but maybe little more than learned responses to situations, rather than a genuine cognitive response to some event. In other words emotional intelligence maybe more pop psychology than a fact. Measurement for emotional understanding may reflect no more about the learned response to given situations we have come to understand through cultural, generational and traditional customs of our community or group behaviour. Psychometric tests for emotional intelligence may in fact be invalid and not robust enough to provide any useful measure of a persons feelings towards others but in fact reflect that learned behaviour – what should be the response not what I actually feel inside.

    Attributions Theory – Misunderstanding Others:

    Attribution theory ( 6. Heider – 1958) suggests that we attend to what we see more than what we know. In other words – we do in fact judge a book by its cover. So if we are busy faking our emotions so must everyone else? So how do we know that the mood being displayed to us is genuine or faked. We pride ourselves on being able to know others feeling by their facial expressions, there seemingly genuineness and authentic sounding responses. In fact much of the time we maybe reacting to the faked emotion rather than the real one. We are often surprised to hear someone committed suicide – we may say – they always seemed so positive and happy looking – but that is exactly what a mis-attribution is – the lack of skills to identify a real emotion from a faked one – we are actually quite good at emotional labour at work and so do we really know what anyone is actually feeling, as opposed to what they are displaying to us. So the helpful shop assistant may in fact be bored rigid at having to seem enthusiastic about a product she has already spoken about ten times that day already.

    In Summery:

    Emotional labour is a situation where the employee expresses the companies desired response to a given situation. Emotional dissonance are our feeling of confusion between our internal feelings and the face we put upon the situation given company policy towards others. Felt emotions therefore being what we actually feel as opposed to displayed emotion being the faked response to another person. Finally emotional intelligence being no more than learned responses to events as we behave given the situation we find ourselves in. The consequences of faked emotions can be strain leading to emotional exhaustion that has both physical and emotional outcomes for mental health and general well-being. Judging others may in fact lead to mis-attributions where we think the faked emotion is in fact the real feelings of the other party.

    To be honest, open and authentic would be real intimacy in our relationships but carries the high risk of rejection and misunderstandings.

    References:

    1. Robins S.P. Judge T.A. 2013 – Organizational Behavior 15Ed Pearson Publishing

    2. Myler S.F. 2018 – Myler Case Studies 2018/19 Unpublished

    3. Grandey A. et.al. 2010 – Work in the Global Services Economy – Journal of Service Management.

    4. Matsumoto D. 2009 – Culture & Emotional Expression – New York, Taylor & Francis publishing.

    5. Myler S. F. 2019 – Myler Case Studies 2019 Unpublished

    6. Heider F 1958 – Attribution Theory – Oxford Dictionary of Psychology 2001

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    Source by Stephen F. Myler

    Views: 0

  • Is There Insurance That Protects a Business Owner From a Strike?

    Is There Insurance That Protects a Business Owner From a Strike?

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    Even if you are only a little tiny-bit news savvy, you are probably aware of the breaking news about how politics is affecting a business. When an online company won a contract with the government to supply detention centers in Texas with bedding furnishing, no one would have imagined the upheaval?

    Employees of the online furniture business voiced their disapproval via a thoroughly disruptive strike.

    Notwithstanding that the decision to do business with the detention center was based on the commercial advantage of gaining profit and that in place of sleeping on the floor, the children at the centers would get actual mattresses and beds, the company’s employees determined that the transaction would make a statement of approval for detaining those illegals that were unlawfully attempting to cross the border.

    The result of the walkout is in no shape or form good for business and as the refusal of employees to return to work continues it only gets worse and worse.

    But while worker strikes occur within many industries – from teachers, hotel staffers and garbage collectors to nurses, hospital and aging home workers and other business employees – there is one common thread connected to the broad diversity.

    It can bring extensive financial loss to the boss and his or her corporation.

    And while there are a slew of insurance products that actually protect the business owner, there is only a specialty type of coverage that can shield a company from the devastation related to a workers’ strike.

    It’s called Strike Insurance.

    A strike insurance policy can only be bought separate of a business owners policy because it is considered specialty coverage.

    It is best to sit down with an insurance specialist to determine if your business would actually benefit from this type of coverage.

    As far as protection is concerned, the policy would cover the financial losses related to a continuous strike. Should your business suffer the effects of an employee strike, you would be compensated for day-to-day loss of income and monetary damages related to the walkout. Be aware, though, that policy limits apply and a strike that sees no end would also not be subject to an infinite duration of coverage protection.

    For more on this type of special coverage, contact an experienced insurance agent that has the know-how and network of leading insurance companies to locate the right fit for your business situation – at the best quote.

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    Source by M Wyzanski

    Views: 0

  • Shop Smart & Save Money 2019

    Shop Smart & Save Money 2019

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    In this eCommerce era, it has become possible to find the best deals using a smartphone or a laptop, and get it shipped to your doorstep. It also became possible to score deals in stores, online and through apps.

    There are 3 ways to shop smart and save money in 2019, before buying, while buying and after purchase.

    1-How to save money before buying an item?

    When I find a product I want or need, the first step is to decide whether to purchase it online or in store. Then what store or online platform offers the best quality to price ratio. I also look at some elements that I believe to be very important before making any purchase:

    -Shipping Policy: It’s important to know if a price tag online comes with free shipping or if the customer is responsible for this cost.

    -Return Policy: It’s also important to find out if a seller or a shopping platform offers free returns or not. With a free return policy in place, the seller will pay for the return shipping cost if the customer doesn’t like the item received.

    -Location: Where is the item you are purchasing being shipped from? The items origin location will determine how long it should take for your item to arrive. However there are a lot of online sellers that use the drop shipping method. When the consumer purchases, the seller (who doesn’t have the item on hand) then has the manufacturer or a 3rd party entity ship the item to the customer. These items are usually being shipped from overseas from countries like China, which will take a lot longer for the for the item to arrive. If you are OK waiting that long for shipping it makes no sense to go through a drop shipper, you could pay less by going directly to Alibabba or ALiexpress websites.

    Following are some ways I use to score some good deals

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

    Shop & Save Money

    -Goodwill Outlet Store

    Goodwill Outlet is a good example of a store that I never visited before 2018. Now I can go there and buy as many items as I want for very cheap, and if I’m lucky enough that day, I can find some brand name items, to keep or resell online. I can pay up to $1.49 for a pound of clothes (prices vary depending upon location). The Goodwill outlet in my opinion is not only for someone who resells online. I encourage you to visit the Goodwill outlet store in your area, it’s an experience that you will enjoy if you like finding deals, and it’s for a good cause. If you decide to go after reading this article or if you have been there, please share with us your experience in the comments area for everyone to learn from

    -eBay Auctions

    eBay is another platform where you are most likely to score a deal. It’s in my list of smart ways to shop online in 2019 for 3 reasons:

    1. Huge inventory with a possibility to make an offer, which gives you some control over the price to are willing to pay for an item. If the seller accepts you have a deal.

    2. HUGE number of auctions you can win for cheap if you know what you are doing. I usually score a great deal quickly by bidding on auctions that are ending soon with no bidders. I found out that winning auctions is a great way to save money and shop smart.

    3. Rare finds in all categories

    eBay has been around for a while and has a strong brand that offers a good buyer protection policy and has trust from around the world.The eBay platform is another smart way to shop, and also get rid of unwanted items around the house. I sell on eBay and keep a Top Rated seller status with a 100% customer feedback, just by keeping my prices low, accepting reasonable offers, and trying to give the best customer service possible. You can still get a good feedback even if the item isn’t brand new, as long as you are honest and mention any scratches or blemishes in the description. You can find my store on eBay here. I will appreciate it if you check it out.

    -Poshmark

    I love the poshmark app because It’s easy to use, and it’s a great way to find some good deals in the clothing category. As a posher, you can make offers on items you like and use the power of negotiation to your advantage to ask poshers to lower their prices. You can also follow the sellers you like and join parties based on brands or item categories you’re interested in.The Poshmark App made it to my list of smart ways to shop in 2019 because it allows it’s members to be buyers and sellers at the same time. It’s a great way to clean up your closet and get rid of the clothes you don’t use anymore.If you don’t have a Poshmark account, you can receive a free $5 bonus when you sign up with my code SARADRETAIL.

    Disclaimer: If you use my code to sign up to poshmark for free, you will receive a $5 credit and I will receive a $5 credit after you make your first purchase. Please leave me a comment below to follow your closet, you can check out my closet here.

    -ThredUP:

    ThredUP is another website that makes buying brand name preowned clothing and accessories affordable.Their customer service is great, their shipping is quick, and their prices are some of the best in the market. Every purchase I make in the thredUP website is a deal. Check it out here if you are looking for some high ticket items for a really good price. Some of the brands available on thredUP: GUCCI, BURBERRY, GIORGIO ARMANI, MAX MARA, J.CREW, THEORY, COACH, VINCE, MICHAEL KORS…

    2-HOW TO SAVE MONEY WHILE BUYING AN ITEM?

    There are a couple of different ways to save money while buying products. When you are buying online, depending upon your platform (ie. eBay, amazon, poshmark, craigslist, letgo, offerup, etc.) you may have the power of negotiating your price. Haggling over price is still used in many cultures all over the world, but ultimatley as a buyer we haggle to get the best price we can. Many platforms now have a way to haggle through “Best offer” or “Make an Offer” options. Of course the seller ultimately gets to decide to accept, counter or decline the offer. As long as you offer a reasonable price and don’t low ball in most cases you can expect to pay a lower price than originally was being asked.

    Another way to save money online is through coupons, ecoupons, and promo codes. You may be thinking did I just read coupons, aren’t those the things my mom cuts out of the Sunday paper. Well they aren’t just for in store purchases any more. Everything is online now-a-days and that includes discount coupons. There are websites that offer online discounts and printable coupons for almost any item, any store and any retailer at the click of button. These discount codes can be entered at checkout to get anywhere from 10-70% off your total purchase. Plus on many platforms if you bundle (purchase more than 1 item from the same seller) your purchase you can save even more.

    Coupons have been used at grocery retailers for over a hundred years. With technology retailers are now able to offer their customers direct mail and email coupons, they can put coupons on their website and customers can even save them on their phone. There are coupons available for any item, any discount and any retailer. Its just a matter of finding the best coupon to use for your purchase.

    Here you can check out Coupons.com for some good deals.

    Shop Smart In 2019

    3-How to Save money after purchase?

    3-How to Save money after purchase?

    You may be wondering what I mean by saving money after you have made a purchase. It doesn’t make sense that you can save money after you have already purchased an item. Well in actuality I mean cash back rewards. Cash back rewards allow you to earn cash back on any item you have purchased, in turn allowing you to save off the purchase of that product.

    We are in the age of apps. We have become glued to our phones, never letting them out of our site, using them to not only make phone calls but browse the internet, purchase products, watch tv, read a book, etc. Apps have become a normal part of our phones anatomy. And there are some apps which allow you to make cash back by doing your normal everyday shopping. These apps include Ibotta, Shopkick, Receipt Hog, FetchRewards, etc. The basic premise of these apps is once you make a purchase you upload your receipt and based upon the items purchased and total spent, you will receive a point value. The points equal a dollar amount and once you reach a certain points total you get that dollar amount either through paypal or through gift cards, etc. Each app has its own unique additions such as getting points just to walk into a store, or scanning certain products. Its nice to know that you can get rewarded for doing normal everyday things such as shopping.

    These are the apps I use. If you sign up under me you will get starting bonus:

    Ibotta: gyrrrvo

    Shopkick: SAVE219356 – get 250 kicks for signing up

    Fetch Rewards: YF8AD – get 3000 points for signing up

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    Source by Sarah Labdar

    Views: 0

  • 5 Tips That Can Help You Choose A Good Family Doctor

    5 Tips That Can Help You Choose A Good Family Doctor

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    Choosing a good family doctor is not easy. You need to see a doctor who can perform the right diagnosis based on the symptoms of the patient. So, we suggest that you take your time while doing research before choosing a doctor. Given below are 5 tips that may help you make the best choice.

    1) Consider an In-Network Specialist

    If you have a health insurance policy, you may be able to avail the service of a doctor at discounted rates. Seeing these doctors won’t cost you an arm and a leg. These are in-network professionals. This type of pro can help you avoid any additional fees or surprise co-pays.

    If you don’t know any of these doctors, your insurance provider can give you a list of a few good names. Alternatively, you can check online or ask the doctor that can accept your insurance.

    2) Opt for Specialized Care

    While choosing a doctor, make sure you take into account the needs of your family. In other words, if a family member is in need of special care, your chosen doctor should be able to offer it.

    If your doctor can’t help you with this, your best bet is to look for a specialist. Typically, family care doctors can help you get in touch with a good specialist.

    3) Consider the Commute

    Often, distance is one of the most overlooked factors when opting for a doctor. Although 10 miles is not a long ride, you may not be able to spare that much time if you have a busy schedule. So, it may cause you a lot of inconveniences. Therefore, we suggest that you be practical as far as the distance is concerned.

    4) Schedule an Initial Visit

    You need to see the doctor in person before you choose them as the doctor may not have the bedside manners you want. Typically, most professionals offer a free of charge initial consultation. This discussion can help you find out if they have a good personality.

    5) Read reviews and Ask for Referrals

    Nowadays, you can read reviews on almost anything under the sun if you have access to the internet. The same goes for family medicine. It is not a factor that you have to consider, but it can help you get a deeper insight into the quality of service the doctor offers.

    For instance, talking to the referrals will help you find out if the staff is friendly. By reading reviews and talking to a few referrals, you can make a better decision.

    The Takeaway

    Looking for a good family doctor is really important. So, it’s better that you do your homework and consider all the options that your insurance provider gives you. Actually, what you need to do is look for a doctor that you can work with for a long-term. After all, your health, as well as the health of your family members, depends largely on good health care. So, make sure you consider these tips before choosing a family doctor.

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    Source by Shalini M

    Views: 0