Competing in the industry, increasing productivity and efficiency, reducing costs, streamlining workflows, saving time, collecting valuable data, and making data-driven decisions are the primary reasons a business chooses to implement the internet of things (IoT). IoT devices automatically collect data and monitor devices/systems in real-time. You can use IoT for predictive maintenance to increase machines’ productivity and reduce/avoid downtime. According to Alan Safahi, an experienced entrepreneur who runs a successful startup company in San Francisco, businesses can leverage IoT technology to relieve their workers, teams, and departments from time-consuming and repetitive tasks. At the same time, it is more productive when employees use their skills for more complex tasks and creative roles instead of manually collecting and monitoring data or systems. So, how do you start with IoT? Here is the step-by-step process. Read on! Step 1: Problem Identification Although finding solutions for problems is the ultimate goal of any organization, not recognizing the problem itself or implementing an irrelevant solution can waste resources and time. Therefore, the first step when starting with IoT technology is identifying a problem. The purpose is to determine whether the IoT technology you have selected or want to purchase/implement can resolve the issue. Step 2: Break the Project into Phases According to Alan Safahi, breaking the project into phases is the best way to achieve your goals. For technological implementations, following the conventional project management technique with steps like “initiating,” “planning,” executing,” “controlling,” and “closing” can lead to success. Step 3: Implement the Correct Infrastructure Implementing an infrastructure requires focusing on two solutions: software and hardware—select reliable hardware for a solid infrastructure that perfectly aligns with the IoT and interconnected devices. Decide on the type of servers, storage solutions, and cloud platforms, and focus on the software and database you will use to streamline business processes. Step 4: Create a Team of Qualified Professionals Executing a technology project like IoT is complicated, daunting, challenging, and time-consuming. Because you need an integrative approach to multiple technologies, developing a tailored solution is complex. So, picking a technically sound team with a project manager is a reliable way to handle IoT-related projects. The team must have people from the IT department, data analysts, workers, trainers, managers, and software developers. In addition, Safahi recommends implementing proper testing protocols to determine whether the IoT integrated with the company’s system works optimally. Likewise, testing helps you determine whether the integration has loopholes and, if any, how the team can fix them quickly. Step 5: Secure and Update the IoT infrastructure IoT technology connects a wide range of devices for data storage and sharing. The information exchange may contain sensitive and confidential data, requiring a high-level security layer or encryption methods. So, keep the devices secure during and after project completion to prevent data theft. According to Alan Safahi Orinda CA, IoT software changes because service providers add more advancements to the technology for optimal results. Therefore, updating the IoT technology from time to time is essential to streamlining your business operations and mitigating the risks of cyber threats. Originally Posted: https://alansafahiorindaca.com/how-small-business-start-with-internet-of-things/ The presence of artificial intelligence in business is universal, and companies use this technology to streamline workflows and improve productivity. Artificial intelligence (AI) can help companies to automate workflows, enhance business process management, and transform corporate operations.
According to Alan Safahi Orinda, companies can use AI and machine learning algorithms to improve business process management, a structured strategy that helps them analyze, control, and optimize operations with improved efficiency, reliability, agility, and cost-effectiveness. Business process management enables organizations to manage and plan tasks, such as new hiring, onboarding, employee management, customer service, etc. Today’s article will discuss how Ai in business process management can transform your company’s operations and make it stand out from the competition. Optimizes Marketing and Sales Alan Safahi Orinda CA, a successful entrepreneur with years of experience, says that consumers prefer online transactions for tasks such as online shopping and mobile banking. Data from digital transactions are difficult to analyze due to their unstructured format. The good news is that AI can leverage unstructured data and transform it into a readable format, improving marketing and sales strategies. AI analyzes large volumes of data to identify popular products and provide insights to the marketing and sales team. Enables Predictive Analysis Selecting and implementing tailored AI software can help you identify patterns to observe and analyze large volumes of data or databases collected through different channels, such as search engines, social media, websites, etc. In addition, AI software or applications analyze digital transactions based on individuals’ buying patterns or behaviors. The purpose is to check for fraudulent activities and generate insights, allowing companies to implement anti-fraud systems based on predictive analysis. Automates Redundant Tasks Data redundancy is a massive problem for many companies in different industries. It requires a dedicated team of professionals with expertise in data analytics to sort data. However, this is daunting and time-consuming and can lead to human errors. On the other hand, artificial intelligence automates time-consuming and repeated processes, allowing employees to focus on specific tasks that require human attention. Safahi says AI-based tools can help companies reduce human errors and save time by automating repetitive tasks and mitigating the risk of data redundancy. Improves Customer Experience Customer is the backbone of any business, and a company that focuses on its existing or prospective customers performs well on the market and improves its business’s bottom line. Better customer experience is the ultimate objective of a company in any industry. However, achieving this goal is daunting and complicated because it requires thorough research, data analysis, and business process management. According to Alan Safahi, AI-based tools can learn and analyze customer attitudes, behaviors, and patterns from historical and real-time data. As a result, the system can provide accurate and meaningful insights to tailor your marketing or customer journey strategy. Likewise, AI tools like chatbots can enhance customer satisfaction by promptly responding and delivering solutions to their problems. Originally Posted: https://alansafahiorindaca.com/how-ai-transforms-business-process-management/ Your company culture includes various elements that impact how your departments and teams feel and perform at the workplace. According to Alan Safahi, an experienced entrepreneur, getting the most out of your current employees or attracting top talent requires creating a positive culture. Today’s article will discuss creating a result-driven company culture based on Alan Safahi’s insights. Read on!
Set Goals: Setting goals is directly proportional to getting everyone onboard within your organization. So, Safahi recommends creating and following specific, realistic, and achievable goals. Your teams and employees must understand their tasks and objectives in a quantifiable manner. You must clear the expectations and remove ambiguities to ensure everyone within the organization knows their specific tasks and works diligently to achieve their respective objectives. For example, each salesperson must know the number of products you want them to sell within a specific period. Likewise, your marketing team must reduce costs, reach the target audience, and engage them with valuable content to increase sales and improve the company’s overall bottom line. Provide Resources: Providing the latest and most valuable resources to your employees is essential to creating a positive and productive culture within your company. According to Alan Safahi, implementing cutting-edge technologies and tools is critical for businesses of all types and sizes, including small-medium enterprises and large corporations. Improving employees’ productivity, efficiency, and reliability is directly proportional to achieving your business goals. However, without the correct technologies, your marketing or sales teams can’t compete with competitive companies. That’s why Alan Safahi Orinda, a successful startup founder, recommends equipping your employees with equipment, resources, and tools to perform their tasks and streamline business operations. Improve Communication: Time and energy wasted on unnecessary communication are one of the most significant risk factors, leading to waste of resources and ineffective outcomes. Likewise, the lack of communication between teams and employees is another reason that can cause your company to stay behind in the race. For instance, your marketing, sales, software, HR, and other teams must communicate efficiently, correctly, and professionally to produce optimal results. Teamwork is key to success, but it fails without proper communication. Therefore, as an employer, you must collaborate with top management and develop effective communication solutions to create a result-oriented work culture. For instance, install an employee management system and create a portal for each worker with chat and video call features to streamline communication. Establish a Reward System: Establishing a system, strategy, or protocol for reward and punishment is essential to developing and maintaining a result-driven organizational culture. According to Safahi, if an employee fails to complete a specific task or project on time, you can take strict measures to punish them. For example, this means cutting a small amount from the monthly salary. On the other hand, you must reward your employees when they complete a specific project or task efficiently, reliably, quickly, and cost-effectively. Whether prize money, gift, or any other reward, praising your employees can motivate others and create a sense of competition among them to do their best. So this creates a competitive environment in the workplace, allowing employees to compete and use their skills to perform better. Originally Posted: https://vocal.media/journal/how-to-create-a-result-driven-company-culture The team plays a crucial role in achieving organizational success. According to Alan Safahi Orinda, a professional entrepreneur, hiring a talented and skilled team is easy but keeping them motivated for the long run to retain the talent is challenging.
Even if you hire top talent, you can come across various factors, including negative ones, which lower the retention rate. Decreased employee retention can risk your business and lead to failure. Alan Safahi has years of experience maintaining a positive workplace environment and how motivation plays a crucial role in employee retention. Today’s article will give practical tips based on Safahi’s expertise and insights. Read on! Improve Workplace Aesthetics Most employees spend eight hours at the office with a cramped workspace, which is not ideal for higher productivity. If your office lacks hygiene or has a poor aesthetical appearance, it will negatively impact your employees’ mental health, decreasing their overall productivity. So, as an employer, you need to ensure the workplace looks good and the space has proper hygiene, a pleasant environment, adequate lighting, and access to necessary equipment or appliances. Implement a Reward System Every employee wants appreciation from the management team or boss/employer after performing better or completing a task before the deadline. A company that neglects appreciation negatively impacts its employees, leading to low-quality workplace standards. Safahi says recognizing employees for their better performance and achievements leads to higher morale, improved satisfaction, and boost motivation to do even better next time. While you can avoid expensive rewards, you can act smartly and praise your employees via a thank you note, a day off, personalized gifts, such as a t-shirt, pen, or pencil, a lunch reservation at a café, or an email declaring a worker as an employee of the month. Promote a Culture of Respect Employees working in a positive and respectful culture use their best abilities to improve business operations and boost the company’s bottom line. Alan Safahi says employees love to work and stay around higher management or leaders who respect them. So, it would help if you clearly communicated with your employees and led by example to reflect values of respect, honesty, integrity, and compassion in the workplace. You must also invest in leadership programs to drive strong organizational values. Ensure Flexible Work Schedules Lack of control, unclear job expectations, extremes of activity, dysfunctional workplace dynamics, work-life imbalance, and lack of employer support are the leading causes of employee burnout, stress, and depression. On the other hand, flexible work schedules allow employees to balance their personal and work life, reduce stress, and improve their mood. Although you don’t need to offer shifts, you must ensure some flexibility. For example, start and finish 20-30 minutes later, allow annual leaves, organize a recreational event, and enable employees to work from home. So, these strategies can improve your employees’ motivation, leading to increased productivity and optimized business operations. Originally Posted: https://alansafahiorindaca.wordpress.com/2022/11/16/how-to-keep-employees-motivated/ Blockchain technology is a cutting-edge structure that stores thousands of transactional records in several databases or chains in a network connected through nodes in a peer-to-peer infrastructure. According to Alan Safahi, this storage block is called a digital ledger.
Alan Safahi, an experienced entrepreneur who runs a successful startup, says blockchain technology verifies multistep transactions. It secures transactions, speeds up data transfer, and reduces compliance costs. So, how do you skyrocket your business growth with blockchain? Here is what you need to know! Builds Trust with Customers A smart contract with associated blocks has public keys that recognize the transactions. Because public blockchains are transparent with the data and information available, customers understand how authorities manage their data. So this enables your organization to leverage the power of decentralized technology and gain trust faster. Streamlines Digital Security Blockchain technology has a decentralized structure, offering inherent security benefits. The reason is that it mitigates the risks associated with a single point of failure. According to Alan Safahi, blockchain has several built-in security qualities:
Improves Payment Options Blockchain technology verifies and secures data without third parties. In simple words, it enables you to perform financial transactions without payment processors like credit cards, PayPal, Payoneer, Banks, etc. Safahi says these benefits of a blockchain payment system allow businesses to introduce the technology in their systems and simplify their financial processes, including:
Safeguards Data/Information Blockchain is complex because each new block connects the rest of the blocks in a cryptographic chain. So, cybercriminals can't tamper with blockchain technology. All transactions within the blockchain undergo validation and agreements through a consensus mechanism. The purpose is to ensure each transaction is correct, reliable, error-free, safe, and quick. Facilitates Identity Management Blockchain technology facilitates identity management. Because your employees and customers have specific digital IDs that verify their identity, adding this information to a decentralized platform or blockchain network can reduce the risk of identity theft, fraud, money laundering, and other cybersecurity complications. Not only does blockchain technology build trust among consumers, but it also ensures your employees do not worry about hackers and cybercriminals stealing their personal information. Optimizes Marketing Campaigns Another advantage of blockchain technology is that it enables consumers to gain better control over their data and information. So this allows your marketing team to develop securer methods to store and access consumer data. Your marketing team can use blockchain technology to keep track of customer information, identify purchasing patterns, and determine consumer behavior. Marketers can craft personalized marketing campaigns with secure and meaningful data, increase sales, and generate higher ROIs. According to Alan Safahi Orinda, blockchain enables businesses to verify the traffic they attract is organic and real people. The purpose is to reduce the risk of bot activity and make the most of the marketing campaign. Originally Posted: https://alansafahiorindaca.blogspot.com/2022/11/Skyrocket-Business-Growth-with-blockchain.html Businesses in various industries choose cloud environments or platforms to store data and deploy applications. Cloud computing offers multiple benefits, including speed, agility, reliability, scalability, and cost savings.
However, managing different resources, data, and applications is complex and requires a thorough understanding of cloud computing. So, this is where cloud management software comes into play, allowing IT departments to control diverse cloud environments. According to Alan Safahi Orinda, a professional entrepreneur, cloud environments have three models: public, private, and hybrid cloud models. A service provider manages the public cloud and ensures resources are available to multiple companies. Safahi says these resources are applications, virtual machines, and storage shared by companies/businesses on a pay-per-use basis, making the public cloud an affordable option. In contrast, private clouds have a single architecture and are not available for multiple corporations. Your organization maintains the private infrastructure, meaning you don’t share resources with other companies. Hybrid is the third cloud model and combines components of public, private, and on-premises IT infrastructure. It enables companies to have a flexible environment tailored toward specific needs. Increased Security Most service providers make substantial efforts to implement security protocols, protecting the infrastructure from cyberattacks. At the same time, these service providers recommend organizations take measures and protect their cloud resources. According to Alan Safahi Orinda, founder of a startup company in San Francisco, cloud management software provides an extra security layer. It ensures protection against unauthorized access to resources because the administrator who controls the software authorizes or denies access. Improved Cloud Strategy A sophisticated cloud management software can improve your business strategy because it enables you to monitor and analyze data and produce valuable insights into user behavior and how to handle the workloads in the cloud. It also helps IT and other departments balance workloads and use the available capacity reliably, efficiently, and professionally. Alan Safahi says moving workloads from private platforms to the public cloud with automation can help your company avoid provisioning large cloud infrastructures. Effective Cost Management You can save money and increase ROIs on the cloud infrastructure or expenditures with premium-quality cloud management software. Your company’s administrators can accurately decide on various deployment options. The best thing about this is that you can decide on cloud deployments based on specific situations. According to Alan Safahi Orinda, removing unused or unnecessary cloud resources and allocating the required ones are excellent ways to cut down cloud operations costs. Reduced Complexities Managing complex cloud resources can burden your tech or IT teams. The problem worsens when your company has evolving business requirements. Cloud management software can determine which applications are optimal for off-premises use and reduce the number of workloads or data assigned/appointed to the cloud. So, you can use the management software to keep track of cloud apps and their relevant databases or datasets. According to Alan Safahi, choosing a tailored cloud management software based on AI and machine learning algorithms can streamline processes, reduce errors/risks, and save time/money. Originally Posted: https://medium.com/@AlanSafahi/why-cloud-management-software-is-beneficial-for-businesses-4d661e48b837 Most companies are aware of the opportunity social networking platforms provide for marketing, sales, and customer engagement. There are more than 4.5 billion active social media users worldwide.
The number of social media users in the U.S will reach a whopping 257 million by 2023. Although social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are perfect for marketing and brand development, many companies don't understand how to find and reach their target audiences. So, if you find it challenging to go about building an audience on different social media platforms, you can follow the simple three-step process in this article to achieve your goals. Read on! Is Social Media Important? According to Alan Safahi Orinda, an experienced entrepreneur, Facebook and YouTube boast more than two billion users worldwide. Likewise, Instagram and TikTok have over a billion users on each platform. Safahi says various social media platforms have evolved in the past few years. So, understanding each platform is essential to achieving a competitive edge and standing out from the crowd. Understanding and using social media the correct way can help you analyze what's happening in the world in real-time. At the same time, you can access and retrieve endless volumes of data and information. You can connect and stay in contact across long distances, find common ground, and recognize or embrace new interests. Similarly, social media is viable for businesses of all sizes and types. So, you can create content that engages your target audience, generates buzz around your brand/business, and improves your company's overall bottom line. Let us now discuss how you find your audience on social media based on Alan Safahi's insights. How to Find Your Audience? There are three stages to finding and building an audience on social media. The first part requires you to analyze and understand the anticipated tendencies of each social networking site. Likewise, this phase requires you to decide on the kind of content and determine whether consumers will engage. So, the first stage is about establishing a solid foundation by posting different kinds of content and collecting feedback from the audience. Once you have collected the data, you can analyze it to generate valuable insights and modify your strategy. The purpose is to improve the output. Alan Safahi recommends the following types of content on social media: • Video training • Infographics • Images/videos • Free resources • Industry research • FAQs • Case studies • How-to posts • Tips and tricks The second phase requires optimizing and fine-tuning the content on social media platforms and improving the post timing to reach more people. Alan Safahi Orinda recommends planning your posts times, finding and creating content and adding it to your Schedule, assigning each content piece to a posting day and time, and monitoring the success of each post. Moreover, the third phase requires you to constantly make micro improvements. However, you must correctly execute phases one and two before analyzing the collected data. Alan Safahi advises businesses to use social media analytics to spot trends related to products, services, brands, and offerings. It helps you understand conversations and derive consumers' sentiments towards your company's products or services. Alan Safahi is a serial entrepreneur with 30+ years of experience in the information technology, telecommunications and FinTech segments. Throughout his career Safahi has successfully founded and managed numerous high technology start-ups and has created disruptive innovations in the prepaid card, payment processing, blockchain technologies and global remittances. Alan is Founder of ZED Network Inc., a payments orchestration platform in 200+ countries with a single API integration. Originally Posted: https://vocal.media/journal/how-to-find-a-perfect-audience-on-social-media Although the general perception is that entrepreneurs live a better quality of life, this is a conception because their lives are rarely easy. According to Alan Safahi Orinda, a professional and skilled entrepreneur and owner/founder of a successful startup company, becoming your own boss or working for yourself is the dream of every business enthusiast, primarily when they work for someone else.
However, not everyone can handle the challenges that come with entrepreneurship. When you are unprepared to handle difficult situations, you will experience massive pressure that can take a toll on your mental health. That’s why it is crucial to follow a proactive approach and take care of your psychological wellbeing to ensure you overcome problems like stress, feeling overwhelmed, and emotionally draining. Here are the five best tips/ways to manage your mental health. Read on! Determine Triggering Points: Identifying the causes of your personal stress is crucial to making a strategy for managing your mental health. According to Safahi, people have varying reasons and triggering points that affect their mental health. Therefore, knowing your triggering points will help you feel better because this enables you to analyze your problems and create a plan to overcome them efficiently and quickly. However, Safahi also advises entrepreneurs to stay positive and follow a step-by-step approach to resolve each issue. The reason is that you can’t overcome all issues or stressors at once. You can overcome some of them and work your way to control others over time. Make sure you understand your reactions and know which situations cause stress. That way, you can mentally prepare yourself and handle harsh situations effectively. Focus on a Good Night’s Sleep: A good night’s sleep is directly proportional to better and improved mental and physical wellbeing because it keeps your muscles relaxed and your brain healthy. Entrepreneurs often work harder and longer to streamline their business operations, but they forget to focus on their health. For instance, if you fail to sleep for at least seven to eight hours a day, you will suffer from mental issues, such as depression, fatigue, burnout, and insomnia. You will also experience a disrupted circadian rhythm, taking a massive toll on your psychological wellbeing. Remember, this translates to decreased productivity and deteriorated business operations, leading to lower sales and reduced ROIs. In addition, when you don’t sleep properly, you will become more irritable, affecting your performance. Therefore, Safahi recommends entrepreneurs a good night’s sleep by getting to bed earlies. Avoid using technology gadgets, such as laptops, smartphones, TV, etc., to fall asleep quickly. Otherwise, the blue light emerging from these gadgets will penetrate your eyes, harm the retina, and disrupt melatonin production, a hormone that promotes a good night’s sleep. Adopt Healthy Habits:Health is wealth. Right? Safahi says no one can achieve success in professional life when they fail to focus on self-care. If you want to stay healthy as an entrepreneur, adopt healthy habits. For example, go to sleep early and wake at the same time every day to maintain a proper sleep-wake routine. In addition, start your day with exercise, yoga, meditation, and other therapeutic methods. You can engage yourself in cardiovascular activities, such as walking, jogging, running, and cycling every morning for at least 30 minutes and five days a week to increase blood circulation to your brain and other muscles. When your brain receives oxygenated blood, it performs better and releases essential hormones, such as serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins. These chemicals elevate your mood and allow you to think clearly and make better/informed decisions. Moreover, consume a healthy diet rich in vitamins, proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and minerals to boost your homeostatic and metabolic functions. Vitamins, minerals, etc., play a critical role in promoting your mental health. Find the Much-Needed Support:In addition to engaging yourself in physical activities and consuming a healthy diet, it is crucial to find the much-needed support by surrounding yourself with positive people. For example, when something bothers you mentally, you can approach these people to seek advice. At the same time, you can get positive ideas from your loved ones, such as family members and friends, or hire a personal development coach to mitigate negative thoughts and promote positive feelings. Spend Time with Loved Ones:Spending time with your family members and friends is an excellent way to socialize and improve your mental health. Alan Safahi says it is harmful to spend hours in front of a computer or on a desk for a prolonged period. If you can’t meet people physically, you can call them and discuss your everyday matters. However, it is crucial to discuss your personal issues with those you trust and find reliable. In addition to improving your mental health, spending time with family builds confidence, strengthens the emotional bond, enhances communication skills, and reduces stress levels. It also provides you with an opportunity to have fun, togetherness, and make memories. Originally Posted: https://alansafahiorindaca.wordpress.com/2022/11/05/ways-to-manage-mental-health-as-an-entrepreneur/ |
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