What is an LLC? A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a business entity that provides limited liability to its owners. This means that the owners’ assets are protected if the company is sued. Limited liability companies are a popular choice for small businesses, and there are several types of insurance that they should consider purchasing. We will discuss what an LLC is and what types of insurance they should consider buying.

Types of Insurance an LLC Should Consider

1. Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)

A BOP is a policy that combines property and liability insurance into one package. This is a good option for businesses that want to insure their property and protect themselves from potential lawsuits.

The BOP will typically include coverage of the business’ property, equipment, and inventory. It will also provide liability coverage if someone is injured on your property or if you are sued for damages. This type of policy can be a good option for LLCs that want to purchase insurance without shopping around for multiple policies.

Advantages of BOPs

• One policy for property and liability coverage
• Affordable premiums
• Coverage of a wide range of risks

Disadvantages of BOPs

• It may not provide enough coverage for some businesses
• It does not include health insurance or workers’ compensation insurance

If you are looking for more comprehensive coverage, you should consider purchasing a policy that covers more than just property and liability.

2. Business Liability Insurance

Business liability insurance provides coverage for the damage your business may cause to another person or company. This policy can protect you if you get sued for negligence, product liability, or wrongful termination.

Advantages of Business Liability Insurance

• It covers a wide range of risks.
• It can protect in the event of a lawsuit
• Affordable premiums

Disadvantages of Business Liability Insurance

• It does not cover property damage
• There may not be enough coverage for some businesses.

If you want to protect your business from potential lawsuits, you should consider purchasing business liability insurance. This type of policy can provide you with the coverage you need to protect your business’ assets.

3. Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Workers’ compensation insurance covers medical expenses and lost wages if an employee is injured or killed. This type of policy is required by law in most states, and it is a good idea for LLCs to have it.

Advantages of Workers’ Compensation Insurance

• Covers medical expenses and lost wages
• Required by law in most states

Disadvantages of Workers’ Compensation Insurance

• It may be expensive to purchase
• It does not cover injuries that occur outside of the workplace

If you have employees, you should consider purchasing workers’ compensation insurance. This policy will cover medical expenses and lost wages if an employee is injured or killed.

4. Health Insurance

Health insurance provides coverage for medical expenses and lost wages if an employee is injured or killed. This type of policy is required by law in most states, and it is a good idea for LLCs to have it.

Advantages of Health Insurance

• Covers medical expenses and lost wages
• Required by law in most states

Disadvantages of Health Insurance

•  It may be expensive to purchase
• It does not cover injuries that occur outside of the workplace

If you have employees, you should consider purchasing health insurance. This policy will cover medical expenses and lost wages if an employee is injured or killed.

5. Disability Insurance

Disability insurance provides coverage for lost income if an employee is injured or killed. This type of policy is optional, but it can be a good idea for businesses.

Advantages of Disability Insurance

• Covers lost income
• Can help businesses stay afloat in the event of an injury or death

Disadvantages of Disability Insurance

•  It may be expensive to purchase
• It does not cover injuries that occur outside of the workplace

If you want to protect your business in case of an injury or death, you should consider purchasing disability insurance. This policy will cover lost income if an employee is injured or killed.

Conclusion

LLCs should consider purchasing various types of insurance to protect themselves from potential risks. These policies can cover property damage, liability, employees’ injuries, and lost income. Purchasing insurance can be expensive, but it is often worth the cost.

Contact us to learn more about how you can insure your business. Our team of experienced business insurance experts is standing by to help you start protecting your business the right way.

DON’T GET SCAMMED – Social Engineering /Deception Fraud is a serious CRIME.

It is commonly perpetrated by IMPOSTERS that contact your clients and intentionally mislead them to divert YOUR INVOICE payments to other bank accounts.

Here are two examples:

1. A criminal posing as a company manager or outside vendor sends an email request for a payment by wire transfer. These requests often appear to be legitimate at first glance, but upon closer look, may contain key telltale signs that something is amiss.
2. The billing coordinator gets an “urgent” email from the CEO instructing them to wire funds to a new client and promising to provide documentation later in the week.  However, the email actually came from a bad actor who is “spoofing” the CEO’s email address to make it appear legitimate.

Signs of Fraud

Social engineering scams can cost businesses millions of dollars annually. But if employees know the signs of potential fraud they can help prevent these losses. Some social engineering to be aware of include:

1. Email requests from vendors to wire funds to a new or unfamiliar bank account. Frequently, these accounts are located overseas. The request may include what seems to be a plausible explanation for using the “new” account. For example, the “vendor” may say that the previous account is frozen due to a tax audit. In some cases, additional emails will be sent to direct funds to yet another account before the transfer is made.
2. Internal email from a manager, purportedly traveling or on vacation, who requests an e-payment to a vendor not approved by the company. The request justification may appear vague, such as payment for “business development” purposes. Or, the requestor may say they’ll provide supporting documentation for the request upon returning to the office.
3. Misspellings, incorrect syntax, or unusual or odd word usage in the transfer request. Social engineering schemes are frequently perpetrated from outside the U.S. by people whose primary language isn’t English.
4. Payment rejection by initial account with a new request to wire funds to a different account. This could indicate that the perpetrators are having difficulty lining up an account for withdrawing the funds.
5. Requests to wire funds on a Friday, urging payment by close of business. This timing gives the perpetrators two non-business days to remove the transferred funds from the receiving account.
6. Requestor instructs the employee to keep the wire transfer a secret from colleagues. They may say it’s for a confidential purpose, like the acquisition of a new subsidiary that hasn’t yet been made public, and assert that disclosing the payment could be a violation of SEC rules.
7. Requests for wire transfers to a foreign bank account by a company that doesn’t engage in overseas business.
8. Vendor email states new “wire transfer only” policy for payments. There may even be a request to stop payment on a payment check already mailed, and to wire-transfer the funds instead.

Also, be aware that tech savvy criminals may be able to monitor, infiltrate and intercept a company’s email accounts and service. This allows them to track and then mirror a vendor or employee communication style to appear legitimate.

BEFORE WIRING FUNDS, BE VIGILANT

The following steps take only minutes, but could save millions.

1. Reach out to the requestor by telephone to verify all facets of the request and confirm the receiving account information.
2. Do some research. If it’s an outside company or vendor, find out if anyone else in the company is familiar with the requestor and the history of wire transfer requests.
3. Scrutinize the email address.  Often, a fraudulent email address will look almostidentical to the real thing.  Be on the lookout for small changes, like a missing or altered letter.
4. Remind company employees: “When in doubt, check it out!” It’s important to have a culture where employees feel comfortable asking for verification/clarification that a request is legitimate.

Consider Social Engineering Fraud Insurance

Even companies who undergo training and employ strong security practices can be infiltrated.  Social engineering coverage is typically added to a crime or cyber liability insurance policy and can provide protection for your business. There are several types of coverage available so it is important to talk with your agent about your company’s needs and risks.

Always train yourself and your employees to spot the signs of fraud and be ever vigilant and ask us about CYBER and CRIME INSURANCE. We can help show you how to protect your company.

Everyone aspires to earn more money for their skills and expertise. As your career progresses,  you may be paid more for the solutions you can provide. But the value of those solutions, and your potential income, is limited to the value of the problem and the ability of your clients to pay. If you work on cars, you can’t charge more than the car is worth or more than local car-owners can pay. The same principle is true for the value of every professional and the solutions they provide.

Value and Compensation

So you want to earn more. Not just a little more each year, but to seriously increase the compensatory value of your time. The answer is to solve bigger problems. We all start as entry-level teens and young adults doing delivery jobs, waiting tables, and sorting mail. These jobs are often low-paying because the problems the jobs solve are not high-value. We need deliveries, but the consequences of a missed food delivery are not high and easily recoverable.

Those of us who seek bigger clients and bigger paychecks need to seek out problems that need big solutions.

How Do I Get Bigger Clients?

Most contractors, providers, and service teams strive for bigger accounts, bigger clients, and bigger payouts. It’s a natural part of business growth. But how do you grow your business to bigger clients instead of increasing your capacity for small clients? It’s all about your problem-solution offering. Solving a $40,000 dollar problem probably won’t yield a $250,000 dollar fee for the solution. Likewise, small businesses by necessity must keep their costs modest so they can be covered by a small-scale revenue.

If you’re good at solving small problems fast for a good price, you can win as many small business clients as your services can reach. However, if you want larger-scale clients you will need to solve larger-scale solutions.

Just What Is a Big Problem, or a Big Solution?

A big problem is one that can generate or cost the company a large amount of money. This means the company has more to lose, to start with, and the problem will likely require a more large-scale solution. Sometimes, this is because a larger company has bigger systems that need maintenance, upgrades, and integrations. Other times, it’s because your clients have bigger clients themselves, and each of their projects is higher stakes when put in jeopardy.

Let’s look at these concepts as two examples:

Big Systems, Big Problems, Big Solutions

A local company provides backup generators for lease during emergency outages. They usually provide small generators to a few dozen small businesses in each outage. However, seeking larger clients, they expand to large permanent generator installations and emergency power backup systems. Larger clients not only need larger emergency generators and backup systems, they also have more to lose with hours of delay between the outage and activating their generator. By taking on bigger systems, solving bigger problems, the electrician business wins bigger clients.

Higher Stakes, Bigger Payout

A new hack is using a vulnerability in software used to process health insurance claims. The information at risk private patients’ data, from their social security numbers to their medical records. Every company hacked not only puts patients at risk but is faced with hundreds of thousands of dollars in HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR fines for the exposure.

The cost of a breach means that even small practices are willing to invest a big amount to both protect patients and offset the fines.

Strategies to Scale Up Your Value and Compensation

What if you’ve been solving small problems and are ready to scale up? There are several approaches to your ability to solve bigger problems for bigger clients with deeper pockets.

Scale Up Your Service Capacity

The first is to scale up your business capacity, like our electric generator example. By investing in larger generators and a team to provide concierge on-demand power recovery services, a business service can solve the same problem on a larger scale for larger companies. This mainly requires an investment in your business resources and your team’s capacity to perform skills you already have.

Scale Up Your Skills

Another is to up your game in the types of problems you can solve. The cybersecurity example might involve a technician who ups their game from securing one server to a multi-server network to an international business cloud. This mainly involves building new skills and increasing your personal capacity for big problem-solutions.

Innovate Solutions to Existing Large-Scale Problems

The last option relies on your intuition to innovate solutions to existing large-scale problems. In marketing, this is called seeking a pain point. In other words, look for areas in the market where there are bottlenecks, chokepoints, or hassle where there needn’t be. An example might be writing an API that bridges two essential pieces of software used by large companies in an industry you are familiar with. Another example might be introducing a service that smoothly provides regulation compliance in a challenging industry.

Companies that are struggling with the pain point you solve will pay for your solution. Many will pay whatever they can afford.

If you want bigger clients and higher-dollar projects, you’ve got to solve bigger problems. Your skills and understanding of your clients will determine which problems you solve, and just how big-value those solutions can be. Know your worth, increase the value of your service, and don’t be shy about seeking bigger clients than you’ve ever dealt with before.

When scaling or changing operations, it is important to keep your insurance broker in the loop.  A small general liability policy may have been sufficient when you first started out.  However, as companies grow their insurance needs change.

Hiring employees, changes in revenue and operations, work locations, and equipment needed can all impact your insurance considerations.

For more information on how changing operations can affect your insurance, contact us today.

Tech consulting is a great field.  However, there are often a few hundred listings to sort through and only a few real jobs that meet your goals. As a tech consultant, it can be tough to find the right contract or employment opportunity just by sorting through the job boards. Half the listings are decoys recruiting for other positions and the other half might be a good fit – if they had enough information for you to tell.

The problem is that many companies don’t know how to hire the tech recruiter they need and those that do sometimes don’t take down their job listing when the role is filled. This leaves you with a lot of noise and not a lot of substance. One of the best ways to weed out the chaff and find the jobs that meet your goals is to work with tech recruiters who truly understand the industry – and have clients on both sides of the line.

Here’s how to work with recruiters to find the tech consulting jobs that matter – and weed out the ones that don’t.

Find Knowledgeable Tech Recruiters

First, find a team of experienced and knowledgeable tech recruiters. It takes a tech expert to hire a great tech consultant. This means that your recruiters know your value when they see it – and fully understand the tech needs of the companies they will connect you with. Experienced tech recruiters know how to match your consultant skills with companies who need what you have to offer – allowing you to sort out every job offer that doesn’t fit your profile.

You’ll know the right recruiters because you will understand each other. They won’t just be spinning buzzwords. They’ll tell you in plain language what their clients are looking for and when you explain your expertise they’ll ask all the right questions to really determine your specialties and workflow preferences.

Detail Your Skills, Expertise, and Interests

Once you find the right recruiters, help them understand what you have to offer by detailing your skills, specialties, and interests. Talk about the experience you bring to the table, the technologies you are most familiar with, and the consulting value you have to offer.

Of course, this isn’t just about selling yourself, it’s also about finding a good match for future clients. You’ll also want to describe what you’re most interested in working with, the sectors you prefer, and where you see your skills expanding in the future. This will help your recruiters get an idea of which of their clients will make good contract clients for you, with a good fit on both sides.

Outline Your Ideal Workflow

Workflow is a big deal in today’s recruiting industry. Are you planning on working remotely or do you perform on-site tech consultations for hardware and business systems? Do you prefer Zoom calls, phone calls, or text-based communication? Do you like a 9-5 schedule with the commuting crowd or would you rather have a company culture of night owls?

Give your recruiters an outline of your ideal workflow and the types of teams you like to work with. Then define some margins including what you can comfortably work with outside your dream-job ideal. This will help your recruiters find a good company culture match in an ever-diversifying landscape of workflows in the business world.

Work with Recruiters to Find the Right Clients

Once your recruiters have a strong idea of where you will best fit, they’ll start connecting you with clients. You can skip 100% of the chaff on job boards because recruiters work directly with their clients – they know who is hiring for a real position, which listings are “duds”, and who is just trolling for tech talent.

A team of recruiters on your side can protect you from freelance recruiting tactics like dummy listings and hidden details. They also have insight into each of their clients’ real company cultures and details about the job that might not be included in typical online listings.

Take Interviews with Companies that Meet Your Criteria

Finally, start taking interviews when your recruiter team finds a good match. By working through recruiters, you can avoid wasting your time by only connecting with employers who really want a tech consultant who does what you do – the way you do it. These interviews will be arranged and curated by your recruiters, which also helps to avoid no-shows and ghosting because recruiters know their clients directly. It’s not just a job board connection.

When you find the right match with a client during the interview process, you can build your new consulting contract and your recruiters get a commission from the company for helping them sort through the job board noise from the other direction.

Tech consultants are often required to carry specific insurance.  Your contract may list several types of coverages you’re required to have.  There are also several insurance products that, while not required by contract, can help protect you and your business.  If you are a tech consultant, contact us today for help with your insurance needs.

More and more people are looking at ways to save the environment. They want to do their part to make it better. One such way is to buy an electric vehicle instead of a conventional one. These vehicles can be more costly, but many hope that the amount of money that they save on gas will outweigh these higher costs.

Either way, you will still need to get car insurance for your new vehicle. If you choose an electric vehicle, you may be unsure if you need to know anything special about purchasing insurance. In some ways, it is similar, but there are also differences.

Here are some ways that insurance is the same for conventional and electric vehicles.

• You are still purchasing the same type of insurance. You will look at different plans that include liability, bodily injury, collision, and even comprehensive coverage. Due to the increased cost of fixing your car, you may want to purchase a better plan with collision and comprehensive insurance. You don’t want to get stuck without a vehicle if it gets totaled.
• Most automotive insurance companies offer insurance for electric vehicles. You can still go through your same insurance company when it comes to electric cars. Most of your bigger insurance companies have started to offer insurance for these types of vehicles.

Here are some ways that insurance is different.

• You should expect to pay more for insurance for electric vehicles. Unfortunately, it is more costly to fix or replace electric vehicles, so you should expect to pay more in your monthly or yearly insurance bills.
• You may not be able to get discounts on your insurance with electric vehicles. Though most insurance companies offer discounts for many reasons (multiple cars, bundling your home and auto, and much more), you may not get these discounts for your electric vehicles.

So, what tips should you know before buying insurance for your electric vehicle?

• It is always a good idea to shop around. You should never buy the first policy that you see. Instead, shop around. Talk to several insurance companies and compare their plans. However, you need to remember that not all plans are the same. You need to look at the fine print to really decide which plan offers you more for less.
• You shouldn’t always go for the cheapest plan. No matter how much you want to save money, you should avoid going with the cheapest plan. Even if it is enough to satisfy your state minimum, it might cost you in the long run. Could you really afford to replace your car if it got totaled? If not, you may want to look at a comprehensive plan.
• Look for companies that will reward you. Some companies are giving discounts for those who only drive electric cars. They may be able to give you a better deal than some of the other companies.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for discounts. Though you may not be eligible for discounts, it never hurts to ask. You may be surprised by the answer, especially if you go in thinking that you won’t get any discounts.

Buying insurance for your electric vehicle isn’t much different than regular vehicles. You are still going to want to shop around at multiple companies. You also need to decide if you just want the liability or if you want collision or comprehensive coverage. That being said, you are probably going to have to pay a little more for your insurance, due to the expense of an electric vehicle. You may also not be eligible for discounts, though it doesn’t hurt to ask!

Whether you have an electric or conventional vehicle, don’t hesitate to contact us today to see what we have to offer you.

Almost everyone can attest that 2021 was a pretty uncertain year. Most people started the year full of hope and anticipation, considering the COVID-19 pandemic. However, uncertainty continued to linger as many people did not know what to expect. The high levels of uncertainty led to increased anxiety, low mood, and increased OCD, among other issues.

Fortunately, the new year is here, and the focus should be on how you can make winning moves. Regardless of whether the past year was a banner for you, you will need to make changes and create the best version of what you want 2022 to be like.

The first step to creating the proper goals is looking forward to the bigger goals you want to achieve. Imagine if you could reach the highest level of your accomplishments in life this year. Would that be the best feeling ever?

To create the best version for you this year, it would be best to look at all the changes you would have to make. Perhaps you need to put more effort into your work or trust your decisions to avoid being a victim of unnecessary responsibilities. The choices you make daily will make a big difference in finding joy in the future and fulfilling your accomplishments.

Equally important, the goals and resolutions you set at the beginning of the year should give you control and create a feeling of consistency and accomplishment. Here are some expert tips on setting realistic goals for 2022.

Start Big

Most people think setting sights on a lofty goal is a wrong move towards success. The truth is that such goals, when attainable, can create a huge difference and help you soar high and achieve what you need in the long haul.

Some of the world’s most famous and accomplished people used such high aspirations to drive them and fuel themselves to achieve greatness. You can also do the same by creating prominent goals that you can achieve in the future.

However, you ought to be concise and realistic when setting significant goals. It is easy to lose motivation when you feel your progress towards attaining a goal is low. Even then, you will not become a millionaire overnight, and you should never expect to be. Instead, you can achieve greatness by following a series of well-defined small goals that push you towards a significant accomplishment.

Break It Down

The key to proper goal-setting is taking your significant dreams and breaking them down into smaller actionable steps. You can then lay the path to success without trying to off-road your ambitions.

For example, when your goal this year is to double your profits from a side hustle, it would be best to start by setting smaller goals that will realize it unless there is an expected boom in business. You will need patience for your efforts to work. Break down the goals into steps that point towards a common result.

Setting marginal goals is also the most proper way that will enable you to measure your efforts. For example, you can decide to employ new staff every month who will help in boosting revenue. After reaching a goal, you can go to the next milestone until you reach the goal.

Be Accountable

Accountability is the key to proper goal setting. There are a few things that can help you remain accountable. One way is to have appropriate scheduling programs, create journals, and utilize online calendars to track your efforts.

Tracking your efforts helps you remain on track and overcome challenges that may come your way.

Get started today and create realistic goals for 2022 with these tips. Talk to us at InsureYourCompany.com to find more information on customized insurance quotes.

Being motivated and goal-oriented is a valuable personal quality necessary for producing impactful results in the workplace. Unfortunately, motivating yourself can be challenging. Trying to sustain your drive through a career project can be an uphill task. Human beings tend to have a natural aversion to persistence that no amount of inspiration quoted from coffee can fix.

Fortunately, all hope is not lost, and you can take practical steps to enable you to keep pushing forth. This piece delves into tips and tricks to fuel your self-motivation quickly.

Don’t Think of Your Job as Hard Work

Once you have a task in front of you, one way to motivate yourself is to not think of it as hard work. Instead, consider it a part of progressing into what you want to become.

Don’t think of how frustrating of impossible the task might be, but consider how proud you’ll feel to accomplish the task. Thinking along those lines will make the most complex tasks look easy, manageable, and enjoyable.

Visualize Your Goals

Positive imagery is a powerful tool to keep you motivated and inspired to advance. Think of your career goals every day and how they intertwine with your life goals. Imagine the life ahead of you once you reach your professional goals. These images should be good enough to drive your motivation.

Using the Hemingway Technique

The concept is the creation of the famous author Ernest Hemingway. He would leave the last paragraph or chapter unfinished at the end of the day, especially when he knew how it’d end. When he sat down at his desk the following day, he would know where to start and immediately start writing and creating momentum for the rest of the day. He never had to wonder where to start or what to do for the day.

The Hemingway technique could come in handy for you too. For example, instead of working late and trying to squeeze all your day’s tasks into some limited time, pick a stopping place strategically. When you get to work the following day, you have a specific place to start from. It will help you build enough momentum for the day.

Break Down Huge Tasks into Manageable Chunks

Seeing your big audacious goals through can seem impossible. Breaking them down into bite-sized consumable goals is an effective way to make you feel like you’re making tangible progress. You’ll also feel a sense of accomplishment when you’re done and dusted with the smaller goals. A feeling of progress and achievement is good enough to keep you going.

Develop a Routine

Creating a routine and sticking to it is a powerful tool to keep you positive and motivated. The more you become accustomed to doing certain things in a specific way, the easier it becomes to do it repeatedly. Your routine should be something you can relate to, which compels you to keep going. More importantly, apply some discipline to stay on target.

Celebrate Both Big and Small Wins

If you’re struggling with staying motivated at work, rewarding yourself for the achievements you’ve made so far could be the trick you need. In an article titled “Motivational Strategies in Business,” George Root explains how rewards play a role in motivating employees to do better. You can use the same technique personally to advance your career goals.

Don’t wait until you achieve the big goals. Every small win counts, and planning a reward gives you something to anticipate.

Final Thoughts

There will be times when you don’t feel like doing anything productive in your career. While this is normal, you don’t have to harbor that feeling for long. For your career to progress, you must employ self-motivation.

The above tips can be an excellent starting point to motivate yourself and improve your outlook on the bigger picture. For more insights on how to thrive in the workplace, check out our blog.

It’s no secret that cryptocurrency is creating a frenzy in the tech industry. The price of bitcoin price has skyrocketed, sending investors on a mad dash to get their hands on this new digital currency. It has also dropped precipitously at times.  While some are uncertain about its long-term prospects, others see it as an opportunity for lucrative investments backed by blockchain technology.

But what does all of this mean for the future of tech? Will it be good or bad? Well, let’s look at how cryptos can help or hurt different aspects of the tech industry and get into why these happen before we can make any conclusions.

What is Cryptocurrency and How Does it Work?

Cryptocurrency has been around for about a decade. In that time, it has gone from being an obscure and little-known asset a mainstream phenomenon that is increasingly accepted as payment. Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that is created and managed through cryptography. This means that it is secure and difficult to counterfeit.

In basic terms, the integrity of cryptocurrency is maintained through a blockchain.  Simply put, the blockchain is like a checkbook that everyone can access.  Each transaction in the checkbook is a “block”.  When you look at all the transactions together, they create a blockchain.  Each time there is a new transaction, it is recorded in a new “block”.  In the case of bitcoin, each block is automatically assigned a 64-character code, called a “hash”.  This code would be virtually impossible to guess randomly.

Bitcoin miners (people who verify bitcoin transactions and are rewarded by being paid in new bitcoin) race to solve complex mathematical equations to figure out the hash.  The first user to figure out the hash wins and gets paid.  That user then adds the verified “block” to the “blockchain”.   The 64-digit hash is recorded on the ledger accessible to everyone.  Thus, if anyone attempts to change has it would not match what is on the ledger available to everyone else and would be detected the next time someone attempts to make a record of a new transaction.

Cryptocurrency can purchase goods and services or even be traded for cash. The technology sector is one of the world’s greatest adopters of Cryptocurrency, particularly for online purchases. For most technological companies now, due to cryptocurrencies, their online transactions are safer, easier, and faster than ever before.

How does Cryptocurrency Fit Tech Business?

Cryptocurrency can be beneficial to tech businesses because it avoids fees associated with other modes of transactions. This is especially true for international transfers, which can carry high fees charged by money remittance services. For international transactions, the fees are much lower than those associated with traditional money transfers.  In addition, crypto currencies such as bitcoin are not regulated the same way traditional cash is.

By using cryptocurrency, tech firms can reduce the costs of these transfers, allowing them to become more competitive in the global market. Another way that cryptocurrency can help tech firms is by increasing their payment options to eliminate the need for credit cards. Overstock.com, for example, began taking Bitcoin payments in 2014 and has since processed more than $1 million in Bitcoin transactions.

Cryptocurrency can also help tech businesses by providing a new way to raise money. For example, in 2017, the blockchain company FileCoin raised $257 million by issuing its cryptocurrency in just five minutes. This ability has allowed the company to bypass the traditional venture capital funding process, which can be slow and expensive.

How can Cryptocurrency Hurt a Business?

Over time, there have been claims that the cryptocurrency’s anonymity makes it difficult for businesses to get information about their customers, which has been a considerable risk because it can lead to fraud and other criminal activities.

In addition, the volatility of cryptocurrency can cause businesses to lose money if they invest in it. For example, the price of Bitcoin rose from $1,000 to $20,000 in 2017 before crashing back down to $6,000. This volatility can make it difficult for tech businesses to forecast their expenses and revenues.

Also, because it is unregulated if access to a cryptocurrency wallet is lost, there is often no way to retrieve it.  This means that if you lose your login credentials to access your bitcoin, it may be gone forever.

The Future of Cryptocurrency in the Technology Sector

Cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly popular with technology companies. Many new cryptocurrencies are becoming available, and their popularity has skyrocketed since the creation of Bitcoin. Soon, cryptocurrency may completely revolutionize how technology companies do business globally.

But wait—what does this have to do with tech businesses? The cryptocurrency market is growing every day and becoming more popular for investors looking for alternative investments. This means that now might be the time to buy into the market. However, if your company isn’t prepared, you could lose a significant amount of money.

Generally, insurance does not protect against changes in value.  However, there is an emerging market for policies that cover theft or malicious attacks involving cryptocurrency.  If you or your business is investing in cryptocurrency, you should consider such a policy.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you stay safe and secure while doing business in the digital age.

*Information on this site is provided for general information only.  Each policy has specific terms and exclusions that affect coverage.  Please read your policy carefully and call an agent with questions.  InsureYourCompany.com is an insurance agency.  We do not provide investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice.

The Importance of Time Management for Software Development

Time management is critical to success in life. While the actions involved in time management may vary, the premise remains the same. Like many hired professionals worldwide, you realize that scheduling is a skill that can be learned before it can be effectively used. Now it’s time to apply it to your job as a software developer.

Software Time Management

Time management in software design has two components. One of those is coding, and the other is project management. Time management in proactive coding is a highly personal topic since every developer’s routines and preferences vary.

Two panels in one webcomic depict a programmer seated at a computer, elbows on a table, arms bolstered, hands folded, chin lying on hands. I’m stumped.” The second panel: similar picture, but the text reads “My code works.” I’m stumped.” Despite this, since computers are mathematical and quantitative units, programming is a blend of science, art, and mysticism. While most code change reactions are logical and predictable, this isn’t always the case. So poor time management and job planning may easily lead to missed deadlines.

Poor time management may lead to scope creep, missed deadlines, and even budget overruns. Many workplace tasks are shared, so developers and other experts collaborate to offer a great product to the customer. So time management influences not only your productivity but also other workers’ operating processes and achievements.

How to Manage Your Time

Time management in projects has three forms: stakeholder objectives, critical route, and critical chain.

Expectations of Stakeholders

Stakeholder demand management is the most complex and costly component of project management. In this view, time management includes both the time required per item and the connections between them.

Before moving on to the second kind of time management, scope change must be considered. Managing time involves anticipating and accounting for unforeseen customer demands, ranging from new feature development to amending or revoking preexisting clarifications.

A project’s crucial route is its backbone.

Once all tasks are identified, the project manager will graphically map their dependencies to show the sequence of finish-to-start connections. The task supervisor tells the developers when to execute tasks.

This is the minimum period required to complete the project. It ignores all critical path elements, therefore it ignores any project timeline acceleration strategies (such as crashing and fast-tracking). If just one developer handles all duties and other tasks are not on the critical path since they can be developed separately, the project will take longer than expected.

C-Chain

The critical chain is a more complex (and genuine) version of the critical route. It is a “resource-leveled critical route” because it is generated by adding availability and scalability restrictions to the critical path.

Suppose a developer is required for half of the project’s components. Because of the employee’s particular abilities, if one of the critical-path modules pops up when they’re on leave, the project manager must add a lead time to that module once they resume. Likewise, fast-tracking two of these modules is not conceivable if they are the only programmer on the project capable of finishing them. As a result, the critical chain is nearly always longer than the critical route, and is perhaps the clearest illustration of the macro significance of time management in the field of administration.

Tips for Software Developers on Time Management

Time management is critical in software development since it impacts the result of the project. These time management methods can help you be more efficient and effective as a software developer. In addition to the individual time management, selecting the correct technology for software development task management is critical, preferably with flexibility and accuracy in budgeting and reporting.

Routine

Software engineers must understand the project execution process. A project manager should explain the project’s procedure, which is often identical. Establishing your development habit may save you time and make the customer pleased since the project is on schedule. But don’t become too used to a routine. Every project is unique, therefore expect the assignment to be different from past projects. Also, be flexible.

Documentation

Before starting a project, make a plan. If you haven’t previously been given the overview on paper, don’t attempt to recall it. Documenting time spent on each project – or component of a project if it has several facets – helps evaluate developer productivity. Documentation helps employees and management understand how long they worked on an assignment. Documentation also aids future programmers who may complete the job. In this case, providing written documentation and information on critical components of the project saves time that would otherwise be spent researching or delving through code.

Accountability

Every worker is in charge of building or managing somebody else inside the company. Your productivity will impact other members of the team of developers, regardless of your function. Accounting for your achievements and failures helps you and your team learn how to approach future initiatives, which ultimately improves the company’s perspective.

Communication

Communication is important in every job because it keeps team members informed. Your work may influence another expert’s work. Collaboration time management includes holding staff meetings to assess who other members are in respect to your progress. It lets others know what ought to be prioritized, whether additional personnel are needed for a project, and so forth.

Priorities

Software engineers are urged to complete important components first. Rather than doing the tiny jobs ahead of time, designate time to finish the primary piece so your client sees constant development. Prioritizing may help you save time and keep your project on track.

Time Management for Developers

Every businessperson should be aware of their time spent on various duties. Keeping track of the time it takes to complete business tasks benefits both you and the other team members. Time management is an essential skill that can constantly be improved. By following the above advice, you and your team may be more productive and provide a project that your customer will adore.

Choose a firm like Code Authority that hires experts with time management abilities if you require a team of software engineers for your business. These talents affect the quality and timeliness of your project. Contact us to handle your insurance so you can focus on managing your business!