Starting

5 Must-Know Steps for Starting a Home Healthcare Business

Some people simply weren’t built for the daily grind of following a boss’s orders and fulfilling the agenda of a large medical conglomerate. Instead, these folks were born to be entrepreneurs. They were made to build a business and pursue their own dreams instead.

If that sounds like you, then you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll teach you how to take your medical industry expertise and apply it towards starting a home healthcare business. 

1. Incorporate Your Business

The first thing that you need to do when you’re trying to start a home health care business is to incorporate that business with the right legal structure. There are a few options for business structures to choose from.

An LLC, or limited liability company, is often the most popular structure of choice. This is because it protects the ownership’s personal assets while remaining a tax-free structure (you only pay taxes at the personal income level).

If you want to create a complicated ownership structure, then try using a C corporation. This structure allows you to issue stock and pay dividends, but do keep in mind that the taxation rates are much higher with corporations. 

2. Acquire Medical Licenses

The next step in how to start a homecare business is to acquire the right medical licenses. The medical industry is a very tightly regulated one. If you want to ensure that your business stays on the right side of the law, make sure to consult a lawyer so that you’re applying for all of the necessary licenses and permits.

3. Hire the Right Staff

Your employees will make or break the success of your homecare business. By taking the time and effort up front to find and hire the right staff, you’ll be able to provide a superior service to your customers.

And that superior service is what will keep customers engaged with your company and revenue flowing into your financial statements. Use home health care training services to ensure that your staff’s skills are up to the task.

4. Create a Marketing Strategy

Without a marketing strategy, it’s impossible for a brand new company to get started with acquiring customers. If you are trying to find patients but don’t have an established brand yet, consider using multiple different channels to get the word out about your company. 

Try digital marketing—create a website and optimize it for search engines. Take out advertisements in the local paper, and air commercials on television.

5. Build Medical Industry Relationships

Last but certainly not least, when starting a home health care business, you should definitely seek to build relationships in the local medical industry. Get chummy with doctors in the area so that they will refer their patients to you. That way, you can ensure a steady stream of patients from referrals.

Starting a Home Healthcare Business Made Simple

There you have it—with this knowledge under your belt, you should be far better equipped to embark on this journey of starting a home healthcare business.

For more business advice, check out the rest of the website!

Speaking one’s opinion is one of the hardest things to do for many people. Defenses often start to rise when you speak up. It can be tough to speak your mind without arguing, but it’s crucial for any type of relationship to practice a few ways that should calm a brewing storm.

Know The Difference Of An Argument And A Fight

It’s essential to know the difference between an argument vs. a fight.

In a fight, one person usually just wants to win. It’s all about convincing the other person they’re wrong. You don’t want to deal with the issue, but want to get the last word. It’s often all about intending to hurt the other person by presenting your side only.

In an argument, you tend to be fairer. You positively express yourself. You listen to the other person. You try as hard as possible to solve the problem. You try to understand the other person’s perspective. If you only fight, you don’t get to listen to an argument that includes both sides.

13 Tips to Speak Your Opinion With Kindness

1 – Focus On Behavior

It’s so easy when you’re trying to speak your mind to focus on the person’s personality. It’s better to focus on their behavior. If you start throwing around all of their negative tendencies instead of focusing on the action at hand, you have a whole new basket of snakes to handle.

Don’t attack the other person’s perspectives on life or their personality tendencies. If you’re upset, the person is spending too much money, tell them you’re not happy with this exact behavior. Don’t call them lazy and fake. This does nothing but put them on the defense.

2 – Own Up to Your Emotions

Feelings are important, but if you don’t up to them, they mean nothing. Express these feelings in words like “I” rather than “You.” If you state your opinion beginning with wagging your finger, it goes nowhere.

It’s best to let the other person be responsible for their actions while you stay in your lane. You can be accountable for your reactions. You have to own up to your feelings. It’s essential to learn to express these feelings in a positive way instead of pointing fingers.

3 – “I Feel” Statements

Use “I feel” statements instead of flying off the handle with blame. If you start spouting out all of the things that anger you without justification, the other person feels targeted. Explain, “I feel upset that this is happening.”

This communication lets the other person take their guard down because you’re showing vulnerability. Additionally, this helps the other person feel they are not at fault.

When you tell your feelings, the other person is going to open their ears and want to hear more about why you’re hurt. If you just throw daggers at them with all they’ve done wrong, they probably don’t want to listen to it.

4 – Use Concrete Words

The more concrete your words, the better your point gets across without anger. If you use words like “always” or “never,” you’re stating an absolute. These are confusing because you don’t always know the absolute truth.

For example, you can’t make a blanket statement like, “You never listen to me.”

Instead, point out an exact time you felt the person didn’t listen to you. They will be less defensive when you don’t say they always do something or never do something if you’re able to point out an exact time.

5 – Control Your Temper

If you lose your temper when you are trying to speak your opinion, you’ve done nothing. Heated arguments lead to loud words, but not action. People get emotional when they’re angry, but it’s crucial to maintain a calm temper.

Express yourself without losing your cool. State your opinions in a calm way. You might feel your temper flaring, but take it down a notch. Pause and take a timeout if you need to regroup your feelings.

6 – Stick To One Issue

It can be tough to stick to one issue when you’re arguing, but it’s important not to jump around to different topics. If you’re angry about one thing the person is doing, don’t start yelling at them about everything else they do wrong in life. This emotion only puts the person on defense.

Give examples of the one thing on a topic that is upsetting you. You don’t want the other person stuck in a vacuum of all of the things you just told them. Tackle one issue at a time, so no one feels overwhelmed or attacked personally.

7 – Look To Finding a Point of Agreement

The goal of any argument is to get to a conclusion. You need to build an understanding with the other person. You need to learn the way they think. It’s best to find the ideas you agree with in your disagreement. This outcome means there is no real winner.

Look for the things you agree on in the issue, and go from there. If you feel the person is making sense in some areas, start from that area. If you start in the negative space, odds are you will end on a negative note.

8 – Think Of Your Outcome

Remember when you are trying to speak your opinion that you have a goal in mind. Don’t lose sight of this goal. Ask yourself if you just want to be heard, or do you have a specific outcome in mind. You’ll get off track if you just start spouting words.

It’s easier to stick to the issue at hand if you remember your outcome. Remember why you put up this fight. If you just want to be heard with words flowing from your mouth, you’re going to get nowhere with your argument.

9 – Listen Carefully

One of the best things you can do in an argument is to listen to the other person. It’s essential to be quiet and hear what the other person is stating so you can better understand their side. This habit is called active listening. You aren’t just listening to them spout words, you’re hearing what they have to say.

Still, you might not agree with their points. But you’re able to reason when you open your ears and mind. This behavior also creates a positive environment where you can take down all of your defenses and just talk.

10 – Take Turns Speaking

Take turns when you speak your opinion. It’s all about giving and taking in an argument. If you just fight your side, you don’t give the other person a voice. They have the right to express their opinion as much as you. It’s essential to respect the other person on the topic.

Say what you need to say, then let them speak their mind. Don’t interrupt or dominate the conversation. You can agree in areas where you understand their viewpoint, then take the time to give your response. Take a breath after the person speaks so you have a little break to get your thoughts together to speak your opinion.

11 – Show Respect, Get Respect as You Speak Your Opinion

Remember to respect the other person you’re speaking to when you speak your opinion. Even if you don’t like the other person’s actions or beliefs, remain respectful of them. You have to let them talk and sit back to listen. If you want a better response out of them, be reverent in the way you handle them. If you don’t want to argue, you have to let them understand you’re willing to listen to their side. They may not be respectful of your opinion, but take the higher road and listen to theirs.

12 – Ask Yourself: Is It Worth It to Share?

Before you open your mouth to have a discussion, decide if it is worth it. If you need to have a serious talk, go ahead. If you just need to vent and get everyone angry, stop yourself. If you know the conversation is going to go nowhere, stop yourself.

Ask yourself why you want to argue. Ask yourself if you can move in a positive direction. If the argument isn’t worth it, just step away. You cannot always change someone else’s perspective. If you’re only getting into a discussion to create havoc, it isn’t worth the fight.

13 – Understand It Is Normal to Want to Speak Your Opinion

Remember that being able to speak your opinion is reasonable. You need to have discussions about maintaining any healthy relationship. You don’t need to fight, but you need to speak up to keep things in balance. This doesn’t mean anything is “wrong” in your relationship or with the other person. It means you’re trying to keep things on track in the correct way. If you never argue, you never express yourself. Things bottle up, and one day you explode with emotion.

Final Thoughts on How to Speak Your Opinion Without Arguing with Others

You don’t have to cause a fight when you try to speak your opinion. You can be heard without shouting. All relationships of all types need maintenance. The only way you can thrive as a person, a couple or a business is to have healthy arguments. Practice these tips regularly to keep your relationships healthy.

Do you dream of starting a business? Many people have entrepreneurial aspirations, but they never get beyond the dreaming phase because they are crippled by fear. The concerns you have of failure and going bankrupt may cause you to stay in a job that is draining you physically and emotionally.

However, did you know that some mental health professionals believe that starting a business can bring your personal fulfillment and improve your health? It sounds strange, but when you toss the stress of working for someone else and the stringent schedule that comes with it, then you can change your entire life for the better.

It’s all about personal fulfillment. When you are fulfilling your needs in your career, it bubbles over into your personal and spiritual life. If you’re on the fence about starting such a venture, then there are some things to consider. There are many ways that starting a business could improve your health.

7 Ways Starting a Business Can Improve Your Health

Yes, starting a business can mean taking an enormous leap fo fair.  But many who choose self-employment reap some surprising health benefits.

1. You Can Make Time for Exercise

Being the boss brings fulfillment because you get to call the shots. While you prioritize daily and weekly tasks, why not exercise on your schedule? Getting your body to move is especially important if your business keeps you sedentary.

You don’t need a fully equipped gym and a personal trainer to incorporate light exercise at work. Did you know that walking is one of the best activities you can do? There’s nothing like a brisk stroll around the block during lunch or another break.

Do you need to be at a desk for most of the day? Give your muscles a break and stand periodically to stretch, touch your toes, or jog in place. Get creative, and you can add more ways to exercise on your schedule and stay healthy.

Working from home allows you the freedom and the time to focus on your health like never before. Exercise is just as important as paying your mortgage payment. You need it to thrive.

2. You Will Meet New and Exciting People

Forget the mundane; one of the benefits of starting a business is that you will get to meet all sorts of people. Since you must position yourself as the face of the company, your interactions with others will increase. Do you like to mingle with the rich and famous, or are you drawn to those who march to the beat of their own drum?

Life is full of wonderfully diverse people, and they are waiting to find someone like you. Think of how much richer your life will be when you meet people from other countries, business owners like yourself, and those who made their way by climbing the corporate ladder. You’re in for a real adventure, and it’s going to be the ride of your life.

3. You Can Finally Make Family A Priority

The ability to have more family time may be one of the reasons you want to start a business. When you work for others, you must go through the process of requesting time off for special occasions or vacations. Many employers consider indispensability and seniority when granting requests, and your application may be denied.

When you own the business, you create the schedule. While you still must be aware of your customers’ needs, you can shift things around without asking permission from anyone. You know the demands of your business. Soon you will learn your peak times and can plan your schedule accordingly.

When most people reach the twilight of their lives, no one wishes they had been in the office more. One of the greatest regrets of folks is not having more family time. Money and prestige are of no comfort to those who are passing, personal fulfillment is important, but family is everything.

Of course, you work hard to ensure that your loved ones have what they need, especially when you are gone. Starting a business allows you to plan for retirement while making quality family time a priority.

4. You Can Improve Your Self Worth

For any business to succeed, owners and managers must empower their employees to prosper. As a business owner, how would your employees feel if you treated them the way you treat yourself? Would they be content, or would they resign?

That Golden Rule only works if the converse is true, that you treat yourself the same way you should treat other people. You can’t be at the helm of your ship if you don’t take care of yourself. Self-employment is a holistic approach that compasses the mind, body, and spirit.

In addition to observing a healthy diet and fitness regimen at work and spending quality time with your family, you need time for yourself. When you are exhausted, overstressed, and emotionally spent, you can’t be the business owner you need to be.

Now is your chance to change things in your life and take care of you. Just because you own the business doesn’t mean that you must shoulder all the responsibilities. If you need help, ask, or delegate jobs to an employee.

The beauty of working or yourself is that if you feel tired and stressed, you can set aside a few minutes to rest your eyes and meditate. Sometimes, taking a break away from your desk and taking a little walk will revitalize your body and senses. Know your limitations and prioritize your schedule to minimize undue stress.

5. You Become a Planning and Organizational Expert

If you’ve never been an organized person, you will quickly learn the importance of having everything in place. When starting a business, you’ll depend on being able to find documents at a moment’s notice. You will learn the importance of planning and scheduling your days.

You won’t have a scheduling clerk to grumble to anymore as you will oversee preparations for the next week in advance. With your new skills in planning and organization, you are sure to succeed. Plus, when you become so organized in your business life, it should rub off into your personal life too.

6. You Can Make Time to Change Your Eating Habits

Remember the days of gathering for coffee during break or lunch at work? Instead of eating sensible snacks and a light lunch, people were drawn to the abundant box of stale donuts and junk food dangling in the vending machines. No wonder you had a sugar rush that ended in an energy slump every workday.

The temptation can be even more significant to overeat or sustain on junk food when you own a business, but you can have a healthy lunch. Poor eating habits are especially prevalent for entrepreneurs who travel for their job. Such diets can be detrimental to your health and can potentially shorten your lifespan.

Since you’re starting a business, it’s a good time to change to a healthy eating plan. While you are exercising, nothing could be better than incorporating a healthy lunch along with it. Keep nutritious, low-calorie snacks portioned in small bags to grab when you get the munchies. Instead of sugar-laden sodas, stock your work fridge with bottled water and add some lemon or other fruits.

Plus, you can brew your coffee and tea instead of spending a fortune at the local coffee shop in the mornings too.

7. Your Mental Health Will Improve

Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life. ~Mark Twain

Novelist Mark Twain stated that choosing a job was important because when you’re doing something, you love it doesn’t feel like work. His wise observation doesn’t mean that you won’t struggle and work hard when starting a business. However, this journey is about finding what you love and doing it well.

What do you need for personal fulfillment? While you do want enough cash and resources to live, achievement transcends materialism. Many studies reveal that when people love what they do, they are often more content and happier than those who make much more money and hate their job.

When you are happy and content, your anxiety and stress will reduce. You may find that you have a bounce in your step and a song in your heart. Loving what you do can change your entire outlook on life, and it can make you a better person.

Final Thoughts on Starting a Business–A Fresh Start in Life

One of the most powerful sayings speaks to someone who is afraid to jump and take a chance. It challenges you to consider the following:

What if I fall? But Darling, what if you fly? ~Erin Hanson

Ask yourself that very question today.

Sure, taking on a new adventure is scary, and there are so many unknowns. You may fail, but you may be as successful as Apple, Google, or Mattel. You determine your destiny. It all starts with a dream and then taking that dream and daring to make it a reality.

Remember, you are one decision away from an entirely different life. Are you up for the challenge? Starting a business may be the ticket to the fulfillment you have always dreamed of.

Starting a Publishing Business? Here Are 7 Tips for Success

In 2017, it was estimated that the revenue in the U.S. for the publishing industry was $26.2 billion. 

The publishing industry just keeps growing, so if you wanted to get into the industry, now is the time. 

However, starting a publishing company has never been so easy. Discover the best tips for starting a publishing company.

1. Know Why You Want to Publish

First off, you should decide why you even want to get into publishing in the first place. 

It takes a lot of work to start a publishing company, so you need to make sure you really want to commit all that time and money into it. 

You may have gotten into publishing by writing and self-publishing some of your own work. It could be a great way to offer the same opportunities to others who may want to publish and share their work. 

You should also figure out what types of books you want to publish. Do you want to publish nonfiction? Poetry? Self-help books? Young adult? Narrowing down the type of books you want to publish will help you sell books to your audience and also get submissions from authors. 

2. Set a Budget

Once you’ve really decided on starting your own publishing company, you should set a budget.

As we said, it can be really expensive to be an independent publisher. 

You will have to pay for things like designing, editing, and printing books. You will also have to pay for shipping and marketing. Another cost added to that is having to buy ISBNs for all the books you plan to publish. 

However, while you are spending money on all of this, you should also be figuring out how you can sell books so that you can earn all your money back. 

Before you can start selling all these books, you may need to put some of the money upfront. That is why it’s important to make a budget; you don’t want to overspend and be bankrupt before you can sell your first set of books. 

3. Consider Printing on Demand

Once you’ve set a budget, you should also figure out how you are going to distribute the books that you do publish. Publishers normally print several hundred copies of a book and hope that all of them sell.

However, with printing on demand, you can order the number of copies that you know will sell. That way you don’t have to store unsold copies anywhere and you save money by printing exactly how many books you need.

4. Put Quality Ahead of Quantity

When it comes to publishing books, you want to make sure that you’re publishing ones that have quality. It is better to have high-quality books rather than a lot of bad books. 

With digital publishing, poorly written content is even more available. 

When publishing books, you want to make sure that you are giving your audience the very best that is out there. This will really help your publishing company succeed because your audience will appreciate the quality. 

5. Start Marketing Your Books

Once you have printed a few copies of a book, you should make sure that you have a plan to market them. If no one knows about the books that you’re about to sell, chances are that they won’t end up buying them. 

Regardless of whether they’re books that you wrote or someone else wrote, you need to make sure that you do some marketing. If your company is small, you could do this on your own, but in the long run, you probably want to hire a marketing expert.

A marketing specialist will know just how to create ads and how to get them to your target audience. 

Marketing doesn’t have to cost that much though. Many readers are active on social media, so you can start by publishing your book on there.

There are all different types of advertising options that you could use to help promote your books. 

6. Network

Another tip that will help your publishing company is to make sure that you network.

Having connections and contact is never a bad thing, and you never know when you might need someone to help. 

You should have all kinds of contacts in your back pocket. This could be someone who specializes in marketing, authors, editors, and even people who work at competing publishing companies.

Seeing how other publishing companies run and operate can be a really helpful way to expand your company. For example, you could check out this printing service. 

7. Follow Your Passion

The last piece of advice is to follow your passion.

If you really love the world of publishing, just go for it. If owning and running a publishing company is a passion of yours, the rest of the logistics will work out. As long as you have a passion for it, then it may not feel so much like a chore. 

In fact, you may even be excited about it.

You could have a passion for finding good books from authors and connecting them with readers around the world. You could want an outlet to publish your own books as well. 

This enthusiasm will help you get over a lot of obstacles in the process of starting the company. 

Learn More About Starting a Publishing Company 

Starting a publishing company can have its challenges, but as we said, if you’re passionate about it, it will work out in the end.

If this is your dream, make sure that you don’t give up.

To help you with any challenges that might arise, make sure that you check out some of our other articles about publishing!

5 Key Tips for Starting a Travel Blog

According to a 2016 study, 88 percent of Millennials travel overseas one to three times per year. Eighty-six percent of them said their top goal is immersion in a new culture.

That means there is an eager market out there for insider travel tips and well-kept secrets that will take their trip to the next level.

If you’ve been considering whether to try your hand at travel blogging, there’s never been a better time to turn your passion into a lucrative career. Keep reading for our top 5 tips for starting a travel blog. 

Top 5 Tips for Starting a Travel Blog

1. Know Your Niche

Travel blogging has become a somewhat saturated market in the past few years. After all, getting paid to write about exotic locales is a dream come true for many jet-setters.  

That’s why it’s essential to know your niche before starting a travel blog. It’s not enough to simply write about your trips. You have to bring a fresh spin or new angle to the table to give your readers a reason to keep coming back to your blog—and not one of the thousands of others out there.  

Maybe you can turn your latest trek through South America into a series of reviews about the best Inca trail tours available. Perhaps you can turn your love of vegan cuisine into an international foodie blog for travelers with special diets. 

Determine your passion first, then stick to it in every blog post. 

2. Set up Your Site

Don’t skim over the details when it comes to your site set up. You’ll need to plan for the travel blogging career you want and make sure your site has the functionality to match your goals. 

Choose a hosting platform that’s easy to use and update. If you plan on selling products, make sure you can accept online payments. 

When you setup your domain name, take a moment to make sure it’s a good fit for your blog. It should be simple, descriptive, and easy to remember.  

3. Monetize

The next step is deciding how you want your blog to make you money. You may want to try out several different monetization options until you find what works for you. 

Affiliate Marketing

If you plan on promoting specific travel gear or other products, sign up for an affiliate marketing program. Every time one of your readers clicks your affiliate links and buys your featured products, you get paid. 

Sell Ad Space

Try reaching out to related travel brands to sell ad space on your blog. You’ll need a pretty large readership to entice some of the bigger names, so don’t be afraid to start small.

Create an eBook

Consider writing an eBook or creating another digital download you can sell on your blog. If you go this route, just be sure you can accept secure payments on your site. 

4. Treat Your Blog Like Your Boss

It helps to think of your blog as your job. Pick a specific time every day to designate as your time to work and stick to your routine. 

If you know you’ll need visuals to go along with your posts, remember to snap some pictures throughout your adventures. Jot down notes so you don’t forget business names and locations when it comes times to write. Plan extra excursions that will fit in with your themes and draw in new readers. 

5. Promote Your Work

Singing your own praises can feel a little strange to new travel bloggers, but it’s an essential part of the business. Afterall, if no one knows about your blog, it’s not going to make you any money. 

That means telling everyone you know about your blog. Cross-post everything on social media and tell people about it in person. Consider creating a digital marketing strategy and watch your readership really grow. 

ArticleCity can help you market your travel blog. We can create a strategy to grow your readership and earn you the results you need to keep traveling. Sign-up for a free account today to get started.