The rise of the novel coronavirus was one that no one could have predicted. While people all over the planet felt the impact of COVID-19, businesses seemed to take an extra beating. With people stuck indoors for most of 2020, local establishments felt the pain of having to shut their doors until restrictions eased. Now that life seems to be slowly adjusting to some type of normalcy, businesses are putting a strong focus on enhancing customer relationships so that they outlast the strain of the coronavirus. From business thank you cards to employee appreciation, there are several ideas worth considering.  

Focus on Internal Development

Your employees are essential to your long-term success. Without the men and women who work for your brand, you would find it difficult to maintain operations and produce the spectacular results your company has come to be known for. When you want to make sure your relationships with your customers remain strong, you first need to look within. Your employees are likely feeling the weight of the previous year and might not have it in them to deliver the best services to clients.  

Fatigue from 2020 is very real. To help your team through the fog caused by the endless onslaught of bad news the year brought, consider incentive programs and other ways to spark motivation. Encouraging breaks whenever possible and allowing for extended deadlines can be a great start. Talk directly to your staff to see what steps you can take in order to make a difference and this will translate to a more positive team that is willing to go above and beyond for clients.  

Send a Message of Gratitude  

You can also improve how your clients feel about you by reaching out to them directly. These days, any amount of human contact can seem amazing. Even when the contact is a message sent through the mail, people tend to really appreciate such gestures. Business thank you cards have long been a way for companies to touch base with their clients. Nowadays, this is an action that can actually make even more of an impact than before. All you need to do is find the right design, craft a message, and you’re on your way.

Ordering your cards in bulk can be one of the more practical options available to you. Saving money is quite important for most business owners these days. By ordering in bulk, you’ll get more than enough cards to send to all your clients without having to spend a small fortune in the process. Best of all, ordering through Cards for Causes allows you the opportunity to give back with your purchase. Select a charity and the organization will donate a percentage of your sale to a cause you care about.  

Stay Active Online

It goes without saying that most people spent a good chunk of 2020 on the internet. If you want to make sure your business is engaging with customers whenever possible, you can do yourself a huge favor by putting an emphasis on your social channels. Studies show that people are on sites like Twitter and Instagram at a rate much higher than before 2020, which was already high to begin with. By putting funds behind creating content that showcases you as an authority in your industry, you can continue to grow your customer base as you nurture existing relationships.

Though your business might have taken a hit due to the strain caused by the novel coronavirus, there are many options for you to consider in order to start the recovery process. Whether you order some business thank you cards from Cards for Causes or put all your efforts into social media, there are plenty of options available to help you through this difficult time.

Every year roughly 500 startups are created, which suggests that Australia is one of the fastest-growing startup ecosystems in the world. Every day, people are trying to make their dreams of being entrepreneurs come true.  

However, creating a successful startup is not all sunshine and roses. It’s stressful and it takes patience and perseverance. Some startups take off and some are doomed from the very beginning.  

One of the things that makes a startup fail is the lack of legal protection right from the very start of your business endeavor. Legal protection for new startups is crucial and we are going to break down to you the real importance of it.

So, without further ado, let’s see why legal protection for startups matters so much.

Establishing the right business structure

One of the first steps on your business journey will be establishing the right business structure for your startup. You can choose between setting up an LLC, a corporation, a joint venture, LLP, or something similar.  

Each of these business models runs differently and they all have their advantages and disadvantages. Before settling for any of them, you’ll need to do thorough research and it’d be advisable to consult with a trustworthy lawyer, as well. Seasoned solicitors from Sydney may give you legal assistance in cases like this.

Apart from helping you settle on a certain business model, solicitors can also help you understand any potential legal problems that you may encounter in your future with that particular business model.  

Agreements and clear terms with your co-founders, shareholders, partners

To avoid running into any potential conflicts that can seriously affect the future success of your business, you need to make your terms clear by signing written agreements with your co-founders, shareholders, and even your vendors and suppliers.

Unfortunately, when it comes to business and money, there is no shortage of conflicts. The reasons why startup conflicts occur are many but probably some of the most frequent ones happen due to the poorly set rules about roles in a company, and about who gets what.

So, whether your co-founders and shareholders are complete strangers or friends, it’s important that you begin your startup in a legally binding way — by signing contracts. These written papers are what will ultimately keep your company afloat, and they will keep you protected against lawsuits and other liabilities.

Know and understand your tax obligations

If your aim to make your startup completely legal, you’ll need to pay your taxes. The key to complying with your legal obligations is to pay taxes correctly and on time.  

For every country or state, tax regulations vary. They are also different for different business types and structures. So, taxes are something you can never leave for later if you want to make your business legit.

Thankfully, a good solicitor can help your get familiar with your tax obligations.  

Your intellectual property should be protected

As a new startup owner, you need to protect your ideas, your product, or services — meaning you need to protect your intellectual property. If you fail to do this on time, you risk your ideas, products, or services being stolen.  

To avoid theft problems, you’ll need to register your intellectual property. Depending on the type of business you’re planning to run, legal intellectual property elements include different things from copyrights, patents to trademarks and trade secrets. Once again, this is something that a solicitor can help you out with.

Managing employee relationships

Just like you need contracts for co-founders and shareholders, you’ll also need to sign contracts with your employees. With these written agreements you will easily manage employee relationships and avoid potential legal problems such as lawsuits.

You can never predict what will happen in a workplace, from workplace injuries to discrimination and other problems. It’s better to safeguard from any potential issues right in the beginning.  

Your lawyer can help you create contracts that will ensure that your business is safe and that no one can abuse their position or a certain situation.

Understand lawsuits    

Still, with everything you do to protect yourself from legal problems of any kind, you must be aware of all the lawsuits that you may come across.

Lawsuits come in all kinds of shapes and forms from copyright infringements, breaches of contract to all kinds of false claims. You need to understand all of these lawsuits because you never know what may arise.

Your lawyer can give you a hand when it comes to understanding all the lawsuits that may or may not happen.

Don’t forget about general liability insurance

This is something that your lawyer will probably advise you to get. General liability insurance, also known as business liability insurance, is the kind of insurance that protects you and your company from false injury claims or generic claims of wrongdoing.

It’s really important that you acquire this kind of insurance because it can help you out a lot in many situations. This insurance protects your business and covers the costs for property damage against your business. If someone gets injured in your store or the workplace, this insurance covers the medical expenses and so on.

General liability insurance is not compulsory for businesses in Australia, however, it’s a good idea to have it, because you never know what may happen.

Conclusion

Here you have it, all the reasons why legal protection for startups matters so much. If you’re planning to operate within the law, having legal protection is highly important.  

Having someone experienced and trustworthy who can help you navigate the legal waters is crucial for the success of your startup. So, don’t play around, be smart and legally protect your startup right from the get-go.

According to strategic advisor and nonprofit consultant – Matthew Brannelly, the COVID-19 pandemic had a detrimental impact on the whole world. Affecting civilians, government organizations, and private organizations all alike. And to no surprise, the Nonprofits were no exception.

A survey revealed by Orbit NFP Hub, an organization led by Matthew  Brannelly that helps nonprofits to become more efficient, showed a clear decline in revenue, individual giving, and grants that have consequently affected the services provided by them during the months of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such it also had an impact on the employment aspect of these nonprofit organizations and furloughing of employees and laying them off was a common sight.

Of the total number of respondents in this survey, conducted by Matthew Brannelly and his team, 80% of the nonprofits reported a decline in revenue generation through various means. The most apparent of them being revenue generation through different events and activities. This decrease in revenues naturally has affected the capacity of these organizations to retain their employees and 38% of them reported reducing their workforce. And furloughing their employees was the most common approach.

Added to these problems was the imbalance in demand and output. Reduced revenue and employees but the increased demand for services during the COVID-19 pandemic caused staff disruptions in these nonprofits. This hindered the realization of their goals.

But not all of the respondents were in a negative puddle. 25% of them reported an increase in employment during this period and 75% among them view such employees as a permanent addition to their workforce. Some organizations even have projected that they will reach their revenue goals. And even many others have opted to merge with partner organizations to continue providing their services and cut other costs. This step will also decrease the workload on individual employees during these trying times.

The Main points Noted during the Survey:

 1. The decline in revenue:

80% of the respondents have brought up this point. Their common argument being

·                 Decrease in philanthropic grants

·                 Decrease in individual giving

·                 A decline in revenue generation through events and activities

 2. Impact on employment:

38% of the surveyed organizations reported having decreased their workforce. Some among them have also reported that their workforce was cut in half and employee benefits were reduced. The hiring of new employees was also difficult due to the worldwide shutdown.

·                 Healthcare facilities could not be provided to them.

·                 As working in person was not an option, virtual methods had to be applied, which further added to the problem.

·                 The workload on individual employees was overwhelming. Owing to this, many quit willingly.

 3.           Impact on operations:

Not being able to reach their targeted goals was a common sight for these nonprofits. This follows naturally from the effect on employees caused by the COVID -19 pandemic. The main causations are as follows.

·                 Furloughing of employees.

·                 Limited revenues.

·                 Online mode of communication and work, which lowers the effectiveness of any actions.

Conclusion

It is immanently clear that these various nonprofit organizations require solutions and new ways that would help them get back on track and start providing their valuable service to humanity again in the most effective way. Taking measures like additional loan options of forgiving loans, payroll tax relief, additional grants, etc might prove to be beneficial.

We, at Orbit NFP Hub, dedicate our hearts to doing the same. Our creative solutions, developed by an efficient team headed by Matthew Brannelly, to cope with these new times when the definition of ‘normal’ is changing every day are sure to take your organization to new heights.