Jacques Poujade is one of the top real estate investors and advisors of the time. With over 30 years of experience under his belt, Poujade is managing partner at LendsPlus, a real estate financing firm that helps homeowners make their property investment dreams come true.

There is no doubt that 2020 was an unusual year in the real estate world. That being said, we caught up with Poujade to get his insights on the current of the real estate market and where we might be headed in 2021

How did COVID-19 alter the course of the real estate market?

The global pandemic definitely changed how people lived. Overall, everyone is spending a lot more time at home due to remote work and lockdown restrictions. That being said, I still saw a big shift in the real estate market.

More people moved out of metropolitan areas and to more unique, exotic locations they couldn’t experience before because they were anchored to their office’s location.

Why is property investing a safe choice for investors even in uncertain times?

If you’re unsure about whether property investing is a good idea, remember that it is a lot more stable than the stock market. People will always need a place to live, even in the midst of a global pandemic.

You also have a lot more control with an investment property – you put in the work from renovations to marketing. In essence, what you give is what you get.

Will mortgage rates be on the rise in 2021?

With the pandemic, we saw mortgage rates hit a record low for the first time in a long time. This has been a blessing and a curse – it has allowed a lot of people to invest in properties they were never able to afford before.

Though the economy is expected to improve in 2021, we will probably see mortgage rates continue to stay on the lower side throughout the course of the next year.

Should people purchase a home in 2021?

Despite the low mortgage rates, home prices are still inflated. That means that the inventory on the market is limited and sellers are charging whatever they want.

However, if things really do improve in the next year, I think that 2021 will be a better time to make the purchase you’ve been planning for.

What is one trend you know will carry on into 2021?

I think so. The house flipping trend will carry into the new year. COVID-19 has forced people to get creative with making an income, and house flipping is a great way to do so.

I’m seeing a lot of millennials jumping on this real estate trend. Their creative spirit and work-from-home lifestyles allow them to pursue home-flipping as a side gig. This is also a more stable investment, especially if you’re young and don’t have a lot of money.

Related Reading:
Jacques Poujade: Millennial Real Estate Trends to Watch
The Best Way for Millennials to Start Investing in Real Estate in 2020

 

If you’re working from home, you’re not alone. In fact, more employees are working remotely now more than ever. Because of the benefits to both employers and employees, the number of employees working from home is likely to increase.

For example, employees save time and money when they don’t have to commute; they don’t spend as much on business wardrobes or eating at restaurants; and they have much more flexibility overall than if they had to travel to an office.

Many employees appreciate the greater sense of autonomy, the ability to control their work environment, and the opportunity to spend more time with their families. Remote employees also save their employers money. Smaller office spaces usually cost less than larger ones and overhead is generally lower as the number of remote employees increases.

While nearly all employees are happy to give up their commutes, there are tradeoffs to working remotely. It can be isolating for people — especially those who identify as extroverts. It can also be difficult to draw boundaries between work and home life. Many people are easily distracted while working at home — whether by family or chores around the house — and may find it harder to collaborate with or stay connected with co-workers.

Another issue that affects employers and employees is how to manage the performance of remote staff. When employees work on-site, it’s easier to keep tabs on what types of work they are performing, offer feedback, and stay connected. Managing the performance of remote employees may take extra effort, but it can be done efficiently and fairly.

For example, remote employees should be given specific work requirements so they know what is expected of them. That may include their daily schedule and hours (and whether or not those hours are flexible), and allotted time for lunch. Regular check-ins between managers and employees can help team members stay on track and allow managers to better assess the type of work employees are performing and the quality of that work.

Managers should also be proactive in giving feedback, recognizing that remote employees rely on it to judge their performance and progress. Regular communication can also help alleviate employees’ feelings of isolation and reduce work-related stress.

For more information about managing remote employees, check out the infographic below.

 

Author Bio: Sara Drake is Director of Marketing for Advanced Resources, a talent solutions organization headquartered in Chicago. Drake, who has 15 years of experience in the industry, focuses on talent solutions through staffing, consulting and workforce solutions.

 

While it is true that today’s employees put more stock in intangible things – like feeling valued by their bosses – a new survey confirms that benefits still play an important role in worker satisfaction. In fact, employee benefits keep workers in place. The survey suggests that a strong benefits package is one of the best ways to retain top talent.

Insurance brokers and general agencies have their work cut out for them as open enrollment approaches. Standard health insurance is still a top priority. However, ancillary benefits should play a larger role this year than they have in the past. Companies offering a larger basket of ancillary benefits should be better positioned to compete for talent.

Benefits a Reason to Stay

The previously mentioned survey, conducted by Prudential Financial, showed that some 77% of all employees consider benefits a key part of their total compensation. More importantly, 73% say that their benefits are a big reason for staying at their jobs. That is up from 59% one year ago.

Such a large jump may be partly explained by the coronavirus crisis. As people are fearful about their own health and that of their families, health insurance benefits become so much more important. Any additional benefits are icing on the cake. Employees do not want to lose those benefits, so they commit themselves to staying at their current jobs.

In terms of ancillary benefits, are there things employers can do to raise the stakes? Absolutely. It starts with contacting the company’s health insurance broker to find out what non-health benefits are on the table.

Financial Wellness Benefits

Among the most cited non-health benefits employees say could keep them at their jobs are those that somehow relate to financial wellness. In other words, employees enjoy peace of mind when they are protected against certain types of financial hardship. They are looking for benefits like disability insurance, life insurance, and retirement savings.

Disability insurance is a big one. We all know that government disability payments are not all that generous. Too many stories of disabled workers not being able to pay their bills leaves employees fearful of an accident or illness that would keep them out of work. Disability insurance can ease those fears.

Life insurance is another peace of mind benefit. Employees with affordable life insurance can protect their loved ones against lost income and high burial costs should they die before retirement age. Not having to pay the total cost of life insurance can ease financial stress as well.

Other Ancillary Benefits

Benefits like dental plans and disability insurance can be obtained through an employer’s health insurance broker via its general agency. But such benefits are not the be-all and end-all of ancillary benefits. Employers can look at other options that have nothing to do with insurance.

In a blog posted early in 2020, Dallas-based BenefitMall detailed a few of the expected trends in employee benefits for 2020. Among them is rising interest in student loan benefits. Employers wanting to give their workers something extra are offering to help them repay their student loans through payroll deductions and matching contributions.

A student debt reduction benefit is definitely a financial wellness benefit that can reduce employee stress. After all, how many employees worry that they will never get their student loans paid off? A benefit to help them do just that can go a long way toward improving mental health and productivity.

Employees stay at their jobs for lots of reasons. But there is no denying that benefits packages continue to be one of the most important factors. Workers say so themselves.

 

Sometimes aerospace sensors don’t do exactly what they should. Such is the case with some of Boeing’s angle of attack vanes, the sensors thought to be responsible for two 2019 crashes involving the 787 Max. Boeing could add new sensors to give the angle of attack vanes more redundancy, but they believe they have a workaround that is equally effective but less costly.

An angle of attack vane is essentially a wind vane that measures airflow and compares it against a fixed reference point. It is used in aerospace design to measure the amount of lift an aircraft is achieving at any given point during a flight. A lack of lift can be deadly.

Boeing’s Angle of Attack Problem

Boeing had trouble with the sensors on their 787 Max due to faulty readings that were warning of a nonexistent stall condition. Pilots, trying to correct for the false stall condition, can inadvertently put the aircraft into an uncontrollable dive. That is how the two 2019 crashes occurred.

Once the problem was discovered, the FAA implemented a new rule requiring all commercial airlines to address potential problems with angle of attack vanes. The system Boeing now proposes for the 787 Max has been tested and approved for other Boeing aircraft. Airbus has also used it on one of their planes.

Adopting the system allows Boeing to avoid having to develop more expensive sensors. The system relies on technology taken from drones and spacecraft. While simple in principle, it is somewhat complicated to implement. Still, Boeing thinks it is cheaper than developing new sensors to increase angle of attack redundancy.

A Ton of Signal Processing

The system Boeing wants to use is known as the synthetic air data system. It relies on existing sensors to collect data that is then fed into a computer system and analyzed by algorithms. Those algorithms return data similar to what additional sensors mounted on the aircraft would return. In essence, Boeing’s system is a software simulation of additional hardware sensors.

Boeing says the system would reap benefits over and above providing redundancy for angle of attack vanes. They say it would increase overall aircraft safety, especially in relation to problems caused by confusing signals in the cockpit.

What Boeing proposes is fundamentally a matter of signal processing. Rather than bringing more sensors into the equation, they want to take data they can already collect, run it through some advanced signal processing systems, and return more accurate data which ultimately makes planes safer.

Better Data to Prevent Crashes

The goal of the synthetic air data system is to provide better data to prevent crashes. According to California’s Rock West Solutions, signal processing goals are similar. Signal processing systems are continually improved for the purposes of generating better data. Perhaps better data could have prevented the two crashes that grounded the 787 Max.

Those two crashes were the direct result of poor data generated by faulty angle of attack vanes. Unfortunately, other on-board systems were not able to counteract that faulty data, leading pilots to believe they were at risk of stalling the aircraft. Perhaps they would have made better decisions had they been given better data.

Boeing now waits to see if they will get full approval to implement the system for the 787 Max. If they do, the plane could be back in the skies by the end of the year. If not, it might be back to the drawing board for Boeing engineers. They may be left with no other choice but to invest in new sensors to provide the necessary redundancy.

It’s a fact that the higher your website ranks in search engines, the more searchers will visit your site. Matter of fact, it makes sense that most clicks go to the site that is listed organically at the top position on the first page of a search. It’s also important to realize that searchers don’t typically click on subsequent pages beyond page one.

Why isn’t it enough to have a responsive website with really well written content. A fully responsive designed website is a must, but that is just one small part of organic search ranking on mobile devices. Data driven SEO agencies provide solutions for gaining optimal traffic that converts into clients and increases online sales. Here are some main reasons why an SEO agency can help your business improve its position in search and do so much more.

1. SEO Agencies are Experts at Search Engine Optimization

An SEO professional lives and breathes rankings. Backed by data, testing and experience they know how to deliver results. They have experience in determining which techniques work, which ones are outdated and which ones move the needle. When businesses try to do this without assistance, it becomes a hit or miss situation. The outcome isn’t reliable without the in-house resources, software and training. Selecting a third party to handle SEO becomes a smart business decision that is efficient and saves money. Business owners should focus on what they do best and on operating and growing their business.

2. Website Traffic Dramatically Improves

If you build it, they won’t necessarily come. That is unless you hire an SEO company with the skills, knowledge, and experience to help web searchers locate your site for key products and services. SEO professionals do more than look at keywords. They look at page analytics, coding, and other aspects to uncover what is missing. When your website becomes more visible and when rankings increase, traffic will also increase. But only if it’s done right. An SEO agency knows what your competitors are doing and can bring you steps ahead of them.

3. Return on Investment (ROI) is Always Higher


The ratio between visitors or client acquisition per investment spent on SEO is better than traditional marketing. The conversion from online advertising is much higher as users are actively searching for what they need at exactly that time. They are positioned to buy. SEO is really about building trust with Google and with potential clients. With trust and authority, a business can position themselves for growth. The value of reaching your customer acquisition goals is priceless.

4. SEO Specialists Fit Your Budget

A business plan typically contains a marketing budget that is rarely, if ever, flexible. The cost-effectiveness of outsourcing a website’s SEO needs is based on increasing marketing efficiency and reducing in-house costs. By contrast, a business will risk wasting both time and employee effort through lack of training, expensive software purchases, and mismanaging employee time. Specialists in SEO have a higher results-driven outcome based on data and years of experience. Higher rankings is how Google rewards businesses with a strong online reputation, authority, and trust factorsthat can be boosted with the use of an SEO agency.

5. An SEO Agency Can Help You Maintain Your High Ranking

After proven SEO efforts are put in place, there’s more to do. Algorithms change over time. It’s often challenging for businesses to try to improve their SEO on their own. Because of the difficulty in ranking web sites, it’s understandable that maintaining high ranking is no easy feat. However, for a digital marketing of SEO agency, this is what they do on a daily basis, they have all of the data, research and experience to follow changes and make edits necessary to maintain high ranking. It will be one less thing to worry about and to have to manage in-house.

6. Your Customers Will Appreciate Your Website’s SEO Performance

Customers can tell the difference between a website that is optimized for search engines and one that is not. They can tell the difference between quality web sites and ones that fall far short of industry standards. Very quickly a consumer will either trust a business of be turned off by their first impressions. Sites that rank high on Google look and feel more trusted as if they have passed the ‘Google Test’.

Running numbers for SEO expenses, results and ROI, the long term marketing solution that works the best for most businesses is to hire a profession SEO agency to perform services that efficiently rank a web site higher.

 

If you’re well aware that consumer habits have shifted dramatically as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and are interested in discovering innovative ways to increase your sales figures, simply continue reading. As you’ll discover how your businesses can thrive post lock-down and better engage with their customers.

Convince your customers that specific items are scarce:

Psychology studies into consumer habits have proven that if your customers believe that certain items are scarce, the items in question will sell out in a short space of time. As humans are hardwired to believe that scarce items are more desirable and that if items are low in stock, they should be purchased straight away, in order to avoid disappointment.

One way to convince your customers that particular items are scarce is to inform your online customers that there are only a few items of a particular product, in stock. For example, on a product page of a product that you’d like to sell, you may want to inform your customers that there are only 3 more in stock.

Run special promotions in order to entice customers to increase their spending with your business:

Recent psychology studies have also shown that consumers are far more likely to spend more money with a business, if they are promised a free reward. So you may want to think about offering your customers a free gift with purchases over a certain amount. As human beings love getting something for “nothing” and will jump at the chance to take up a free gift with purchase promotion.

Film product reviews in order to encourage your customers to shop with your business:

When it comes to business, the saying show don’t tell is still as valid, post lockdown as it ever was. In fact, as many individuals disposable income has been directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. So now, more than ever, potential customers are far more interested in purchasing products that they are confident will work, over products that they haven’t seen demonstrated.

One of the simplest ways to show your customers that your business’ products work is to film product reviews and demonstrations of your products in action. Which you’ll then be able to start promoting on your business’ social media accounts.

Align your business with a carefully chosen cause:

Another way to positively impact the way that customers see your brand is to align your business with a carefully chosen cause. Which your business’ target audience cares about. Some examples of causes which could appeal to your business’ demographic include the Black Lives Matter movement and cancer research. If you’re unsure of the causes which are important to your target shoppers, simply use a survey to find out more information about your customers.

Choose music which your customers will relate to:

Choose your business’ playlists carefully. In order to include tracks that appeal to your target demographic.

So if you’re looking to increase your sales post lockdown, it’s a great idea to get started by incorporating all of the business strategies which are listed above into your business plan.

The world of web development is always changing. Each year, new trends emerge that touch on innovation and provide an even more immersive experience for your users. Now that we’re well into 2020, we’re starting to see some great web development trends of 2020 that are shaping the digital space and transforming the way that businesses conduct their activities online.

From artificial intelligence to mobile-focused strategy, it’s important to stay on top of these trends to make sure your website is always ready to leverage growth and conversions.

Here are the top web development trends of 2020 your business should leverage for the rest of the year and well into 2021. Many of these trends can easily be implemented with the help of a knowledgeable web development team.

Chatbots

Last year, the world of web development saw the rise in the use of chatbots, and these numbers have only been growing since then. Chatbots are AI-powered automated messaging systems you can implement on your website to interact with your customers instantly, especially when an agent isn’t available at that moment.

Your customers demand answers, no matter what time of the day it is. The traditional business hours don’t really apply online, especially if you operate an ecommerce business. According to statistics, 50% of customers expect an online business to be open 24/7, while 69% of customers prefer chatbots because they provide instant answers. Further, many people prefer to interact with your business online instead of calling.

A chatbot is an effective way to give your customers answers right away to the most common questions, and it’s not super costly to get up and running. When implementing this function, be sure to include an escalate to agent option that can connect them to a real person if they have a very specific question.

Progressive Web Apps

Research for 2020 indicates that more mobile users prefer using a progressive web app (PWA) than a mobile responsive website. A PWA is a website or a page that utilizes APIs to create an app-like experience for users who view your website on their smartphones or tablets. It will make your user feel like they’re using an app, without having to make the effort to download one from the app store and use up storage space on their phone.

Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/m_HRfLhgABo

Building a PWA is also a faster and more cost-effective way to give your users a mobile-based experience without building an actual app. You can collect plenty of data this way that helps tailor the experience to increase conversions and overall traffic.

Mobile Focused Design

If you don’t have the budget to build a PWA or mobile app, you need to make sure that your website is mobile responsive and tailored to mobile users. This is a trend that has been stressed for years now, but it’s more relevant than ever in 2020. Here are some current and emerging technologies you can leverage to increase mobile conversions:

• Accelerated mobile pages (AMPs): This is a key tool for creating an effective and mobile user-friendly experience in today’s world. Essentially, AMPs use HTML code to help your pages load faster and smoother on mobile than your regular web pages, so mobile users can get that instant gratification they’re already used to. As a bonus, AMPs can help improve your SEO rank because Google tends to favour websites that have quick load times.
• Text/SMS Marketing: Email marketing still works, but you can reach your customers faster if you implement a text marketing system. People are always on their phone, so your message can reach them more directly by SMS (especially for those who don’t always use their mobile data for Internet browsing) instead of waiting until they check their email.
• Mobile Push Notifications: Another way to leverage your mobile experience is to use push notifications for smartphones. This is a great way to reach those mobile users directly, while allowing them to forgo having to input their credentials in your site (like their email) to get updates on their favourite products.

Voice Search Optimization

More households are using devices like Google Home and Alexa to perform their daily activities, from listening to music to stocking up on household supplies. As these devices become more affordable, this trend has only continued to rise in 2020. Everything is about convenience, and it’s much easier to say, “Hey Google, search for pet supplies” from your couch than it is to open up your phone, open Google, and type in your search query.

Voice search optimization is a little different than your typical SEO strategy because people speak commands differently than they type them. A good web developer can integrate web speech API to work with voice data to give your website a stronger search presence in all areas.

Key Takeaways

No matter which of these web development trends of 2020 you decide to implement for your own business, here are some important points to keep in mind:

• Customer service will always be a priority, no matter what technology you use.
• Mobile experience is essential for the success of any online business.
• Be prepared for the continuous growth of AI and AI-based technologies.
• Today’s users love instant gratification, so give them what they crave.

 

Keeping track of your income and expenses is essential as it allows you to manage your wealth efficiently. It is a good idea to know how you are spending your money and the benefits you are driving from making these expenses. Everyone has a limited pool of wealth resources that they have to use to incur their everyday costs. Some people use them efficiently by spending on things that give the most benefits.

In contrast, others make arbitrary decisions without forethought resulting in an empty bank account before the end of the month. The difference between the two groups is in the planning and budgeting. It is vital to know beforehand about your cashflows, so you have ample time to make adjustments or look for alternatives.

Making a budget is not that of a challenging task, but there are hundreds of apps and financial services that will not only aid you in managing your expenses, but they also guide you to make smart investments from your wealth pool. Financial assistance apps and services undoubtedly help you in making more intelligent decisions about managing your wealth but beware of the risks involved.

Not all finance services out there genuinely want to help you grow, some of the heinous ones want to make quick profits for themselves by looting from unsuspecting customers. It is, therefore, imperative to look for finance reviews that are left by clients using these apps.

Most importantly, do not try an app or an unlisted service that has no reviews on the internet. It is risky, at best, to try these companies. Always go for a trusted financing service that has plenty of five-star ratings and reviews. It ensures that you are not scammed unknowingly. Among the financial assistance you can find in the market, the three most important categories are savings, investments, and speculative apps.

Savings

These services give you an insight into your spending habits and help you make smarter decisions. According to a survey, an average person wastes a substantial amount of his income on entirely unnecessary things. By choosing to go for financial services, you can reduce this useless dissipation of your wealth, thereby increasing your total spendable income.

Investments

Besides reducing your expenses, financial apps and services will help you make smarter investments that have a higher degree of return associated with them. Moreover, you can significantly decrease your risk by going for tried methods of financing. The good idea is to reduce unnecessary expenses and then invest them intelligently to multiply your savings over time. Do not go for untested services that promise huge returns on small investments. If there were such a scheme, people would have already concentrated the market, and you would have ample reviews to decide on the legitimacy of such a claim.

Speculation

Speculative financial services excel in predicting future market trends. They study the market in-depth and anticipate its direction in the future. It is an excellent idea to analyze the patterns of stocks and commodities in the market and then, based on your analysis, or that of your trusted service, make investments in stocks that show rising trends.

 

When it comes to the wellness industry, there are many new brands and products competing for business. The most recent numbers show that the global wellness industry is valued at an explosive $4.5 trillion. Not only that, but the market is still growing. Between 2015 and 2017, the industry grew by 6.4 percent annually, showing that more and more dollars are being spent in this sector. Despite all this new growth and competition, some companies have been staples in the industry for decades and stand out against the competition. HiLife Vitamins is one of those companies. It has remained an essential business since it was founded in 1971, while plenty of others have fallen by the wayside, and here’s why.

A massive inventory

HiLife Vitamins has a massive inventory of vitamins and supplements, meaning customers can turn to them as a one-stop-shop. HiLife Vitamins currently stocks more than 5,000 products from trusted and tested brands. This wide selection is appealing to consumers, who know they can trust HiLife Vitamins will have what they’re looking for. Plus, consumers know these are reliable brands, which are worth their dollars. Some of these top brands and products include:

• Bluebonnet: Founded on the principle of offering the cleanest, purest and most natural supplements available
• Lifetrients Speak Supplement: Formulated to improve cognitive function and support neurological health in children
• Life Extension Natural Appetite Suppress: A natural supplement designed to quell hunger and keep you full
• Megafood: Supplements crafted with real foods and added nutrients

Aside from these products, HiLife Vitamins has vitamins and supplements for a wide array of topics such as heart health, digestion, memory, blood pressure, and weight loss, as well as many herbs, and doctor recommended products.

A user-friendly website

A key way HiLife Vitamins has remained essential since 1971 is by making an effective shift towards ecommerce. Their website is filled with thousands of products, yet it is effectively organized, so customers can easily find the product they’re looking for. When adapting to the era of digital shopping, many companies which had been around for decades struggled to adjust to the changes. HiLife Vitamins has proven to be a timeless and essential institution, by easily adapting to the digital era.

Fast and easy shipping

HiLife Vitamins makes it easy and affordable to get their many vitamins and supplements delivered to your door. HiLife Vitamins offers free domestic shipping for orders over $49, making their thousands of products readily available to customers. With this, HiLife Vitamins is a competitive alternative to other supplement shopping options. Despite having a large inventory, HiLife Vitamins has the touch and feel of a small company, and it’s easy to get in contact with them. HiLife Vitamins has a phone line, which you can call between 9AM and 7PM. There’s also an email address customers can use to reach out to HiLife Vitamins any time.

When it comes to your business, the bottom line is always going to be profit. And to understand profit, you have to look at all of your finances. But, after you’ve grown your business to a certain point, who is really controlling those finances? You may have had a very good idea when you were the sole proprietor of a business idea, but as the concept has expanded, you can very quickly lose track of revenue and expenses. Depending on the size of your company, this realization may come sooner than later.

So, within the construct of your current business environment, who is in charge of controlling the finances? There is a chief financial officer to consider. There is someone who is known as the Comptroller. And, to a degree, the board of directors of a company will also have a dynamic say into how finances are used. Again, this is all context-based, and the size of a company has a great deal of influence.

The CFO

Even in a small business, there is going to be someone designated as the chief financial officer. This is the person who is in charge of the money. Their primary purpose in that role is to understand where the money is coming from and where the money is going. They handle the part of the business plan that recognizes all of the revenue and expenses that go into day-to-day operations and long-term endeavors. Without someone in a CFO role, your profitability will take a big hit because you have no way of analyzing all of the information coming through.

The Controller

Another essential person when it comes to your business finances is the controller. If you’ve ever wondered what a controller does, you may have to look at larger companies that have one or more people in this position. A controller is essentially the head of a financial Department, and they are the person who reports directly to the CFO. There can be controllers over different departments, and the organizational structure of a particular company or Corporation will determine how many of these people there are and what their specific tasks will be.

The Board of Directors

You may read the news that suggests the power of the board of directors to alter the financial direction of a company. After a company goes public, the board of directors is a group of people who are gathered to represent the interests of the shareholders and other stakeholders. Though in many cases, the work that this board does is not exactly transparent, the time, effort, energy, and resources they bring to a company is invaluable.

There are some issues when a board of directors does not necessarily navigate company policy very well. In those cases, the actual stakeholders in a company can adjust who the board of directors are. The board of directors also can hire and fire different high ranking positions within a company structure. The checks and balances are fascinating.