Home Blog Page 1025

How Agricultural Technology Can Increase Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

By Alexander Ayertey Odonkor  and Emmanuel Amoah-Darkwah

Sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural sector is based on a diverse range of terrains inhabited largely by smallholder farmers. The dominant agricultural sector accounts for an estimated 23% of sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product, as a recent study1 by McKinsey and Company reveals. The region has a population of 950 million, approximately 13% of the world total, and this is projected to increase to 2.1 billion by 2050, almost 22% of the global population, as indicated in an OECD-FAO2 report. More than 60% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa are smallholder farmers but the region’s full agricultural potential is yet to be exploited. Hunger is on the rise, with 22.8% of the population being undernourished. A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations indicates that more than 90% of the 260 million hungry people in Africa in 2018 were in sub-Saharan Africa3.

More than 60% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa are smallholder farmers but the region’s full agricultural potential is yet to be exploited.

Although sub-Saharan Africa has more than 202 million hectares of uncultivated land4, which is more than the total cultivated area in America, the agriculture sector and other related industries in the United States are worth more than sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture sector. A report by the United States Department of Agriculture found that agriculture and other related industries accounted for $1.053 trillion, or 5.4% of the country’s gross domestic product in 20175, with the total output of farms accounting for $132.8 billion.

In contrast with sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture sector, where most farmers use crude tools6, the agriculture sector of the United States continues to evolve with technology; for example,  auto-steer tractors that depend on GPS are being developed, with the goal of improving productivity via automation, among other new technologies7. Engine-powered machines account for a paltry 10% of the total energy used in land cultivation in sub-Saharan Africa, a condition which has barely improved in over 40 years. With a steady decrease in the use of farm machinery, the region has been surpassed by many developing countries.

In 1960, three countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, individually had more tractors on their farmlands than India. However, while the African countries have failed to improve on the use of farm machinery in the past decades, India on the other hand has increased the employment of such equipment to the extent that, in 2005, there were one hundred times more tractors in use on farmlands in India than the total number of tractors in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania8, as highlighted in a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in 2008. 

With a growing population and low productivity9 in agriculture, sub-Saharan Africa relies excessively on imported food and other agricultural products to complement the output of the agricultural sector. The region’s imports of food and agricultural products continue to soar; $48.5 billion of agricultural goods were imported in 2014, the second-highest in the world at the time, as indicated by the World Bank. Conversely, in 2014, India had a population of 1.294 billion, exceeding the population of sub-Saharan Africa by more than 300 million; yet India imported only $17.6 billion of agricultural goods10. India’s agricultural sector depends on modern technology. With the cheapest mobile data in the world11, farmers in India rely on the internet to access technological services such as Plantix, a mobile application that provides advisory services to crop farmers. The system has the capacity to identify more than 450 different crop diseases in 50 species of crops, and farmers are able to access a diagnosis and a treatment plan by uploading images of the disease-infected crops via their smart phones. Additionally, farmers in India have access to Digital Green, a development organization with a global outreach that aids smallholder farmers in growing, transporting and selling their farm products to appropriate customers12. 

With a growing population and low productivity in agriculture, sub-Saharan Africa relies excessively on imported food and other agricultural products to complement the output of the agricultural sector.

The relationship between agriculture and economic growth is knitted into the fabric of the economies of sub-Saharan Africa; even in oil-rich Nigeria and South Africa, which are the two largest economies in the region13, agriculture plays a pivotal role in the growth of those economies. A recent analysis conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers14 in sub-Saharan Africa highlights an increase in economic growth via agriculture as dependent on three major factors: farmland expansion, yield growth and reduction in post-harvest losses. Technology plays a crucial role in improving all of these factors. Studies15 conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations show that economic growth from agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is eleven times more effective in reducing extreme poverty than any other sector, yet most of the youth in the region show little or no interest in securing employment opportunities in agriculture16, as they do not consider agriculture to offer a lucrative livelihood.

The mobile ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa is currently worth about $150 billion, 8.6% of the African continent’s gross domestic product, and is projected to reach $185 billion by 2023, representing 9.1% of GDP17.  Technology is the ideal catalyst for changing the agricultural landscape and improving productivity and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Job opportunities that require expertise in digital technologies will be created and a new skill set that is more appealing to the youth will be in demand when agricultural activities are intertwined with modern technology.

A typical example is the case of Rita Kimani and Peris Bosire, founders of FarmDrive18, a start-up that uses data and machine learning to close the critical data gap that usually discourages financial institutions from lending to creditworthy smallholder farmers in Kenya. Since 2014, the start-up has made more than $300,000 in loans available to smallholder farmers, with at least 37% of them being young farmers who are interested in using technology in agriculture. As indicated in a report by the USAID and Bureau for Food Security19 in 2019, accessing credit for agricultural purposes is extremely difficult, especially for young people who, in most cases, do not have the requirements or collateral to access credit from local banks. However, FarmDrive has demonstrated that, with the aid of technology, the youth cohort in sub-Saharan Africa can now access credit from financial institutions that will enable them to invest adequately in agricultural activities.

As indicated by the International Labour Organization20, sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s youngest population. Young people between 15 and 35 years account for about 60% of the total labour force, which continues to grow at 3% annually; 375 million young people are expected to join the workforce by 2035.  A youthful population has many advantages, especially for emerging economies. The World Bank estimates that countries in sub-Saharan Africa could gain an additional $500 billion annually for the next 30 years if appropriate investments are targeted at equipping the young with the requisite skills, education and employment21.

To achieve the projections of the World Bank, the traditional perception that agricultural activities are carried out with excessive manual labour on farmlands should be changed through comprehensive educational systems that resonate well with young people. By considering approaches that leverage social networking and foster peer-to-peer engagement, new agricultural technologies that improve productivity and efficiency can be communicated to the youth in a manner where implementing partners can share the success stories of young people whose achievements in agriculture are worthy of emulation.

Additionally, governments in sub-Saharan Africa should prioritise the mechanisation of the entire food value chain. Adequate investments should be channelled into designing and developing technologies that not only improve agricultural production, but also reduce post-harvest losses and improve the processing of raw materials into high-quality finished products. Studies22 have shown that post-harvest losses for all grains in sub-Saharan Africa amount to $4 billion per year, which exceeds the value of food aid the region has received in the last decade.

As farmers in sub-Saharan Africa continue to store grains in traditional storage contraptions made of mud, grass and wood in their homes, Solar Freeze, an agri-technology company in Kenya, is providing solar-powered mobile cold-storage units to smallholder farmers. These storage facilities have been of immense importance to 3,000 female farmers in rural areas with no electricity, increasing agricultural yield by more than 150% since 2016, to say nothing of the environmental friendly features of the device23. Governments in sub-Saharan Africa should invest more to reduce post-harvest losses by improving essential infrastructure, such as road networks, telecommunication networks, electricity grids and hermetic storage structures, especially in the hinterlands where the farmlands are located.

Ghana and Ivory Coast produce two-thirds24 of the world’s cocoa, yet these two West African countries account for only $6 billion of a chocolate market which is worth more than $100 billion worldwide25. Developing world-class food processing industries in sub-Saharan Africa through partnership with established international corporations has the potential to improve the value of agricultural products on local and international markets. This will eventually generate more income, in contrast with commercialising agricultural products in a raw form, as has been done for many decades.

A consistently low agricultural harvest26 has plagued sub-Saharan Africa for many years, making agricultural productivity in the region the lowest27 in the world. This perennial condition could be worsened by the unremitting effects of climate change28 if appropriate investments are not directed towards increasing irrigation facilities and educating farmers on watershed management. With little or no agricultural infrastructure in most areas, sub-Saharan Africa has an overwhelming dependency on rain-fed agriculture. As a result, the region has the lowest percentage of irrigated farmlands in the world, with only 7.3 million ha being irrigated, representing 4% out of a total of 40 million ha that is well suited for irrigation29.

Research has shown that climate change diminishes agricultural output in poor countries, reducing economic growth30 as temperature increases.

Research has shown that climate change diminishes agricultural output in poor countries, reducing economic growth30 as temperature increases. A 1°C increase in temperature in a given year reduces economic growth by 1.1 percentage points, ceteris paribus. The effect of climate change on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is invariable, as a percentage increase in temperature decreases economic growth by 0.13%, everything else being equal. Countries in the region rely inordinately on agriculture, so a decrease in agricultural output has a negative effect on job creation, poverty reduction efforts and industrial growth31.

In adapting to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa, it is imperative for governments to implement policies that provide the necessary resources to farmers, such as climate-resilient crops and wildlife, modern agricultural inputs, improved ways of managing the soil, new business models for smallholder farmers and agricultural diversification.

About the Authors

Alexander Ayertey Odonkor is a chartered financial analyst and a chartered economist with a stellar expertise in the financial services industry in developing economies. He holds a Master of Science degree in Finance and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Finance. Alexander has completed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) programme on Financial Programming and Policies.

Emmanuel Amoah-Darkwah is a chartered economist with specialization in economic policy analysis and an ambassador for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Emmanuel’s work has been covered by the BBC, Bloomberg, CGTN, CNBC Africa and other major domestic news outlets in Africa.

References

1. McKinsey and Company (2019), ‘‘Wining in Africa’s Agricultural Market’’. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/agriculture/our-insights/winning-in-africas-agricultural-market# (Accessed: 10 March 2019).

2. OECD (2016), ‘‘Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa: Prospects and challenges for the next decade’’, in OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2016-2025, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/agr_outlook-2016-5-en. (Accessed: 6 February 2017).

3. FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO (2019), ‘‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Safeguarding against economic slowdowns and downturns’’, Rome, FAO. Available at: http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/ (Accessed: 15 November 2019).

4. The Economist (2018), ‘‘Africa has plenty of land. Why is it so hard to make a living from it?’’, The Economist, 28 April [Online]. Available at: https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2018/04/28/africa-has-plenty-of-land-why-is-it-so-hard-to-make-a-living-from-it (Accessed: 29 April 2018).

5. United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (2019), ‘‘Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy’’. Available at: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/ag-and-food-sectors-and-the-economy/ (Accessed: 25 September 2019). (Accessed: 20 November 2019).

6. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2013), ‘‘Agricultural Mechanization in Sub Saharan Africa: Guidelines for preparing a strategy’’. Available at: http://www.fao.org/publications/card/en/c/c51ef369-668f-5a7c-acc2-b82b7055934f/ (Accessed: 12 June 2014).

7. Mayersohn, N. (2019) ‘‘How High Tech Is Transforming One of the Oldest Jobs: Farming’’, New York Times, 6 September [Online]. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/business/farming-technology-agriculture.html (Accessed: 7 September 2019).

8. FAO/UNIDO (2008), ‘‘Agricultural mechanization in Africa…Time for Action’’. Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/k2584e/k2584e.pdf (Accessed: 25 January 2009).

9. World Bank (2017), ‘‘Agricultural Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa’’. Available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/455381524517519330/World-Bank-Group-Research-Newsletter-February-2017.pdf (Accessed: 15 December 2018).

10. United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service (2015), ‘‘A Turning Point for Agricultural Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa’’. Available at: https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/turning-point-agricultural-exports-sub-saharan-africa (Accessed: 5 November 2015).

11. McCarthy, N. (2019), ‘‘The Cost of Mobile Internet Around the World [Infographic]’’, Forbes, 5 March [Online]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2019/03/05/the-cost-of-mobile-internet-around-the-world-infographic/#ade55b0226e5 (Accessed: 10 March 2019).

12. Iyengar, R. (2019), ‘‘How India’s Farmers are using technology to feed more than a billion people’’, CNN Business, 21 October [Online]. Available At: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/21/tech/india-agriculture-tech-digital-green-plantix/index.html (Accessed: 25 October, 2019).

13. Malingha, D., Alake, T. and  Gumede, A. (2017), ‘‘Largest Africa Economies Need More Growth to Cut Joblessness’’, Bloomberg, 5 September [Online]. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-05/largest-africa-economies-need-bigger-rebound-to-cut-joblessness (Accessed: 20 September, 2017).

14. PwC (2019), ‘‘Feeding 398 million people in Africa’s largest economy by 2050, Food security challenges and agricultural innovations’’. Available at: https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/assets/pdf/feeding-africas-largest-economy-2050.pdf (Accessed 20 November 2019).

15. Mayaki, I. (2016), ‘‘3 ways to transform agriculture in Africa’’, World Economic Forum, 11 May [Online]. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/3-ways-to-transform-agriculture-in-africa/ (Accessed: 17 May 2016).

16. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2018), ‘‘The Future of Africa’s Agriculture rests with the youth’’. Available at: http://www.fao.org/e-agriculture/news/future-africa%E2%80%99s-agriculture-rests-youth (Accessed: 14 June 2018).

17. GSMA (2019), ‘‘The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa’’. Available at: https://www.gsmaintelligence.com/research/?file=36b5ca079193fa82332d09063d3595b5&download (Accessed: 20 November 2019).

18. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2017), ‘‘FarmDrive improves access to credit for smallholder farmers’’. Available at: http://www.fao.org/e-agriculture/news/farmdrive-improves-access-credit-smallholder-farmers (Accessed: 21 April 2017).

19. USAID (2019), ‘‘Engaging Youth in Agriculture through Information and Communication Technologies’’. Available at: https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/15396/Feed-the-Future-CaseStudy-Youth-Ag-ICT.pdf (Accessed: 21 November 2019).

20. International Labour Force (2017), ‘‘The future of work in African agriculture: Trends and Drivers of Change’’. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/global/research/publications/working-papers/WCMS_624872/lang–en/index.htm (Accessed: 5 April, 2017).

21. Hutt, R. (2016), ‘‘Business is booming in Africa – these 5 charts show how’’, World Economic Forum, 21 April [Online]. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/business-is-booming-in-africa-these-5-charts-show-how (Accessed: 25 April 2016).

22. World Bank, NRI and FAO (2011), ‘‘Missing food: The case of post-harvest grain losses in sub-Saharan Africa’’. Available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/358461468194348132/Missing-food-the-case-of-postharvest-grain-losses-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa (Accessed: 20 October 2019).

23. Brookings Institution (2019), ‘‘How off-grid cold storage systems can help farmers reduce post-harvest losses’’. Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2019/10/16/how-off-grid-cold-storage-systems-can-help-farmers-reduce-post-harvest-losses/ (Accessed: 18 October 2019).

24. Terazono, E. (2019), ‘‘Choc tactics: Ghana and Ivory Coast plot ‘Opec for cocoa’ ’’, Financial Times, 19 July [Online]. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/0b45b450-a961-11e9-984c-fac8325aaa04 (Accessed: 22 July 2019).

25. Knott, S. (2019), ‘‘Ghana Adds Charge to Keep Farmers Sweet on Cocoa’’, Voice of America, 7 August [Online]. Available at: https://www.voanews.com/africa/ghana-adds-charge-keep-farmers-sweet-cocoa (Accessed: 14 August 2019).

26. Bariyo, N. (2017), ‘‘Economics and Bad Weather Amplify Africa’s Food Crisis’’, The World Street Journal, 1 May [Online]. Available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/economics-and-bad-weather-amplify-africas-food-crisis-1493636401 (Accessed: 5 May 2019).

27. International Fund for Agricultural Development (2016), ‘‘Fostering inclusive outcomes in sub-Saharan African agriculture’’. Available at: http://www.fao.org/family-farming/detail/en/c/426367/ (Accessed: 15 October 2019).

28. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (2018), ‘‘The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets: Agricultural Trade, Climate Change and Food Security’’. Available at: http://www.fao.org/publications/soco/en/ (Accessed: 15 October 2019).

29. Burney JA, Naylor RL, Postel SL (2013), ‘‘The case for distributed irrigation as a development priority in Sub-Saharan Africa’’, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 110(31):12513–12517. Available at: https://www.pnas.org/content/110/31/12513 (Accessed: 12 June 2019).

30. Dell, M., Jones, B. F. & Olken, B. A. (2008), ‘‘Climate change and economic growth: evidence from the last half century’, National Bureau of Economic Research ,Working Paper Series. Available at: https://www.nber.org/papers/w14132 (Accessed: 14 October 2019).

31. Alagidede, P., Adu, G. & Frimpong, P.Boakye (2014), ‘‘The Effect of Climate Change on Economic Growth: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa’’, WIDER Working Paper 2014/017, Helsinki: UNU-WIDER. Available at: https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/effect-climate-change-economic-growth (Accessed: 12 October 2019).

Tips on How to Hire an Expert Lawyer to Try Your Pending Cases

Choosing the right lawyer for your pending case is an overwhelming task because of all the factors that you need to consider beforehand. However, this task can be made easier with just some time and effort put into researching the matter. But before anything else, you need to understand your case and know the difficult terminologies or specifics. Do some research on your case from websites and other places that provide legal advice for people who don’t practice law. With this information, you’ll have a basis of what to look for in an attorney who will represent your case.

The first step is to find a lawyer who specializes in cases similar to the case you are trying to win. Next, you need to read previous clients’ reviews to give you an idea of how this attorney deals with their clients, the cases they handle, and their win rate. Not all cases reach the court, but you can find more about the cases, your lawyer won by searching PACER (public access to court electronic records).

 

Personal And Business Referrals

Finding the right lawyer for your case isn’t going to happen by simply looking in the phone book or advertisements, or by picking the first lawyer name that comes up in Google search pages. You can ask the people in your life that you trust who had similar cases and won them through their lawyers. No need to limit your options to only people in your life or community, you can also take it further and contact businesses that provide services in the legal area you are after. For example, if you are dealing with an issue regarding small business law, you can speak to bankers and ask them about their lawyers’ suggestions.

 

Never Depend On Referrals Alone

While asking for referrals is a good start to give you some good ideas to work with, you should never base your choice on them alone. There are other ways you can resort to, to determine for sure if the attorney you chose is the perfect one for your case or not. People don’t share the same perspectives and opinions on lawyers’ styles in handling cases or on how they deal with them. It’s also not smart to accept recommendations from people that experienced different legal issues than yours. For example, if you are facing a case pertaining to small business laws, but sought the advice of lawyers who deal with sexual harassment cases, the legal advice you need might be outside their specialty or not their strongest suit. On the other hand, if you are looking for experts in dealing with sexual harassment cases, Kingsley and Kingsley Employment Lawyers are a great choice.

 

Always Consider A Specialist

Even attorneys who claim to be “general practitioners” might not have enough experience in the particular area that concerns you. Most attorneys specialize in certain legal areas. For example, if you are dealing with a case of personal injury, your so-called “general practitioner” might not have enough ideas to help you out in your pending case. Instead, lawyers who have had enough specialized experience and cases would be the optimum choice when you need help in personal injury cases. You can also consult a Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer if you are being stereotyped in the workplace because you are pregnant or a working mother. You can start by looking into the types of lawyers and filter out the ones you think can help you. There you can specifically search for the one who specializes in your concern. Lawyers who have had enough training are more likely to provide you with accurate and helpful legal advice.

Meet Your Lawyer First

When you start looking for prospective lawyers, don’t jump to conclusions and pick a random name! You need to “interview” these prospective lawyers to test out some essential factors that could make or break your case. The following are some of the factors you need to consider:

  • Personality And Style:

While some people might not pay attention to how your lawyer deals with them or consider it an important factor in choosing their lawyer, it’s rather important. You need to test out the chemistry between you and your future lawyer. If the chemistry is off, it will rather do more harm than you think. You need to choose a lawyer whose personality is compatible with yours.

  • Willingness To Work With You:

Just because you chose a lawyer, doesn’t mean that they will agree to work with you. Sometimes, the attorney’s rate might be ridiculously high that you will consider representing yourself and only taking legal advice from them. You will need to make sure that the lawyer you choose will be okay with that.

  • The Payment Scheme:

Some lawyers charge per hour; others will only take fees if they win the case. You need to make sure that you understand and agree to the payment scheme your lawyer asks for.

Pending cases are usually tough to handle. Your case might be complex enough that you will need an expert lawyer to help you reach a solution that will satisfy you. Finding the right lawyer for the case takes some time and effort from your part. Before you go searching for answers on the internet, you need to take personal and business referrals into consideration to make sure that the decision you are about to take is the perfect one. If you don’t trust referrals as they might be overridden with personal favors, you might need to consider reading online reviews from old clients.

Great Value UK Golf Breaks

Golf breaks in England are always popular due to the amazing golf courses that are all around the country, some of the best courses have also even held Opens such at St Andrews, Royal St Georges, Royal Liverpool and even Carnoustie. These golf courses are always in amazing conditions and have lots of history and culture behind them, some of the most famous golf shots in huge tournaments have been played at these courses. By booking with Golf Holidays Direct we can ensure you amazing value for money on the very best Golf Breaks UK and ensure you play some of England and Scotlands best golf courses. Golf Holidays Direct will be happy to offer you great deals for all society golf bookings such as 1 place in 8 free and also free range balls and buggies when booking your next UK golf break with the experts at Golf Holidays Direct

Some of the very best golf courses in Scotland If you’re looking to visit and experience the beauty, all the best golf in Scotland then why not check out our golf tours in Scotland.

St Andrews, where some say golf began, established in 1843 is one of the oldest clubs in the world. This spectacular links course is comprised of seven incredible courses, and regularly plays host to eh British Open. Ranked as the 5th best course in the world, and home to the 5* Fairmont St Andrews a resort that encapsulates luxury, elegance and truly breath-taking surroundings, there is no better location for a golf holiday in Scotland. The game of golf may or may not have originated in Scotland but to most people whether that’s true or not it is still regarded as the home of golf. There are over 550 courses including links courses, parkland courses, heathland courses and courses that combine all the different elements. Some of the courses are world famous and have hosted the worlds greatest tournaments but everywhere you go you can find quality golf courses that are not on most people’s radar but will provide great enjoyment at a fraction of the top course prices.

If you’re seeking golfing luxury, then why not head to Gleneagles – a ‘golfer’s paradise’ that offers the perfect retreat for anyone seeking relaxation, world-class golf and spectacular beauty. Boasting a 5 star luxury hotel alongside three championship golf courses; The PGA Centenary, The Queen’s Course and The King’s Course, this beautiful 850 acre estate is a golfers paradise.

One of the quickest growing golf break venues in the golfing travel market is the golf & spa break and there are numerous Resorts offering just such a product. Fortunately, they are spread throughout the UK and Ireland so wherever you are or wherever you want to go there will be a fabulous experience waiting for you when booking with golf holidays direct.

Call the expert team now at golf holidays to start arranging your perfect golf breaks in the UK

Dean Vganozzi: Before You Talk Retirement and Financial Planning Know Your Requirements

This post is written by Dean Vagnozzi, a veteran financial planner and a 15 year veteran of the financial services industry. Dean doesn’t believe in funding your 401K to the max and paying off your mortgage, but that’s the Dean Vagnozzi way—and it’s a strategy that is proving increasingly successful for his clients as he continues to grow and bring on hundreds of clients a year. We hope you enjoy his insight. Without further ado, please welcome the man that is single handedly changing the way we look at retirement, Dean Vagnozzi…

 

Without proper retirement planning, your retirement years could be a disaster. Unfortunately, all too many people are at a loss when it comes to retirement planning (See Dean’s take on retirement planning). They’re overwhelmed with options, unsure what they really need, and don’t fully understand the pros and cons presented by many retirement and financial planning professionals. Years later, all too many families find themselves in trouble: they haven’t saved nearly enough, they have unexpectedly large tax bills when they retire, or they have no idea how to go about accessing those vital retirement funds.

Planning for the future is more important than ever today—but if you don’t have any idea what you will really need when that day comes, you may find yourself struggling. Choosing the right financial advisor can make a big difference in your overall financial future and outlook.

 

The Advisor’s Financial Status

You may have heard the expression, “Never trust a skinny chef,” since chefs are eating their own cooking and if it’s good, they’ll probably be carrying some extra pounds. The same goes for your financial advisor: they’re likely following their own financial advice, and if it’s as good as they claim, their finances should be in fairly good shape. Take a look at your financial advisor’s status. You want two things: first and foremost, to find someone who is successful and able to grow your portfolio, and who has proven that success rate; and second, you want to know that your financial advisor isn’t counting on your money to ensure that his bills are paid.

 

The Right Setup

You’re going to put your financial advisor in charge of many of your financial decisions. In many cases, you will provide the firm with access to your accounts and your money. That means you want a firm set up for success, not a poorly constructed firm still operating out of someone’s basement or spare room. Keep a couple of things in mind.

Bureaucracy and red tape aren’t a good thing. When you have a great deal of red tape to go through every time you need to access your funds, it can take longer to make important financial moves, which could ultimately set you up for failure.

Look for an established firm with the backing needed to succeed. You don’t want a firm that’s just getting off the ground; instead, look for one with a proven investor base. This can ensure a more diverse platform and, ultimately, more security for your money and your financial decisions.

Find a firm whose primary allegiance is to its clients. Many financial advisory firms work directly with big banks and other businesses. While that can certainly provide the firm with a larger financial backing, it also means that, in many cases, the firm’s first loyalty is to those bigger businesses—even if it means potential detriments or losses to their customers. Instead, look for a firm committed to its clients first.

 

Talk Through Your Needs and Plans

Everyone’s financial situation is a little different from anyone else’s. You don’t want a cookie cutter plan designed to work for “anyone.” Instead, look for a firm that will come up with unique ideas, tailored specifically to you based on your long-term goals and current financial needs. You have unique income, bills, future plans and expectations. Make sure that the firm provides you with a plan tailored for you. Include:

  • Your life plans
  • The firm’s plans and philosophy
  • Your risk tolerance
  • Your preferred asset allocation
  • Your financial goals
  • Your capital needs

 

Ask About a Proven Track Record

Look at current accounts under management—with all identifying information removed, of course. You want to see what your financial advisors have been able to accomplish for other individuals: how they have taken their existing finances and made it possible for them to expand their investments and portfolios while still meeting their current financial goals. You don’t need to know all the details of the account—and the firm shouldn’t share it, since that’s private data—but you do want to see that the firm has a proven track record of success.

 

Consider Payment Methods

Many firms work on a base model that requires you to pay them a percentage of the money managed. Often, however, that’s not the best method you can use to achieve value from your financial advisor. Ultimately, you want your advisor to add more value than they cost you. Take a look at the firm’s payment arrangements and consider its value to you. If the firm isn’t adding adequate value, consider looking somewhere else for your financial needs.

 

Do Your Due Diligence

As with any time you hire someone to do work for you, you must consider the reality of both good and bad workers. There are some great financial advisors out there, but there are also some terrible ones who could cause serious problems with your future finances. Do your due diligence before you hire a new financial advisor. Make sure that you:

Ask for the advisor’s history. Get a verbal history, check the advisor’s website, and do a little research of your own. You can’t have too much information when it comes to the person who will be handling your money.

Check for all necessary licenses and insurance. You want a licensed advisor who carries insurance to protect themselves and their clients.

Look for a clear map of any fees associated with working with a particular advisor. Be wary of any advisor or professional who does not clearly disclose the cost to work with them. You may need to contact a financial advisor directly, rather than relying on a website to get that information; however, before you sign a contract, you should clearly understand all the expenses you’ll face.

You’ve worked hard for your money now. With proper planning, you can take full advantage of that hard work so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor throughout your working years and into your retirement. You shouldn’t feel that you have to jump the gun and make a fast decision when the time comes to choose a financial advisor. Instead, take the right amount of time to consider your options and choose the right advisor before moving forward.

 

Meet Dean Vagnozzi

When you see a family member having unprecedented financial success through unique investment techniques and strategies, you want in on the game—and that’s exactly how Dean Vagnozzi got started.

After graduating from Albright College in 1990, Vagnozzi quickly discovered that the life of a traditional accountant wasn’t for him. While crunching numbers brought its own sort of pleasure, he didn’t want a boring life behind a computer screen. Instead, he wanted to interact more directly with people, providing them with increased financial opportunities. More importantly, he recognized the futility of the current retirement model and set out to improve on it, not only for himself, but for friends and family members, as well.

After watching the stock market decline for three consecutive years, his 401(k) declining along with it, Vagnozzi was ready for a different solution. Utilizing a $70,000 life insurance policy, he made his first investment in real estate. Within the first year, he had made $70,000 in profits.

With a strategy that seemed to be genuinely working, Vagnozzi continued his investment strategy, purchasing 15 more rental properties. His profits continued to increase as he learned more, both about the system and the opportunities available to him. Friends and family members wanted in, allowing him access to bigger investment opportunities through crowdsourcing—and he was able to help them reach their overall retirement goals, as well.

The 50-year-old president of A Better Financial Plan, LLC, now seeks to provide better investment opportunities for all of his clients, helping their money work for them now, in the present, rather than tying it up in plans that fail to help his clients meet their ultimate financial goals. Since 2010, the firm has invested more than $150 million for more than 1,000 clients—and Vagnozzi continues to see high levels of success for all his clients. His unique investment strategies and advice provide unprecedented financial opportunity, including paving the way for a retirement strategy better than most of his clients thought possible.

Vagnozzi, who lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and four children, is passionate about securing opportunities for his clients by using a real estate investment strategy that genuinely works. As an avid reader, he continues to pour over a variety of financial books and keeps up with the latest changes in the real estate industry, allowing him to continue to provide his clients with the advice they need.

Innovative Solutions Introduced into Bay Area Housing Market

Many residents of the Bay Area dream of owning their own home. Unfortunately, the reality of homeownership in the 9-county Bay Area is a pipe dream. According to Vital Signs, the median home price in the Bay Area is currently $996,000 +, a figure out of reach for low- and middle-income earners. The Silicon Valley tech boom in the years following the economic recession was a runaway success, leading to an unprecedented influx of highly skilled computer engineers, programmers, developers, and entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, this resulted in excess demand for housing, and sharp price appreciation.

The Bay Area housing market has failed hopelessly to keep pace with rising demand, resulting in astronomically priced homes and rentals. Despite the best efforts of local mayors, and the governor of California, a massive supply shortage remains the order of the day. While most developers focus on the high-end market; other real estate developers have turned their focus on middle-income earners with a dazzling array of affordably-priced options. Thanks to some notable changes in the Bay Area property market such as a cooling of housing prices, the tide may be starting to turn, for the better.

Even though prices are rising at a decreased rate, they are still terribly overpriced. Data from Curbed.com, reputable real estate journals, periodicals, and news sites, show that the cost of housing across California, and notably San Francisco’s Bay Area is untenable. 10 years ago, an average apartment in San Francisco would cost approximately $230,000. Today that same apartment costs approximately $700,000 to build from the ground up. Many Californians simply don’t have the wherewithal to meet the costs of living. Some 1.7 million+ rent-burdened Californians exist, far higher than the nationwide average. The California state legislature appears helpless to combat this scourge and it is left to individual counties and private property developers to rectify the situation.

 

Tackling the Housing Crisis in the Bay Area

In 2018 a census in San Francisco revealed that some 38,651 homes were vacant in San Francisco, despite the fact that the city has a massive homeless problem. Various studies indicate that the number of vacant homes in the Bay Area now exceeds the homeless population, yet so many problems persist. Vacant homes have been defined as vacant units for sale, vacant units rented or sold, or vacant units for rent by the U.S. Census Bureau. The specifics of why there are so many vacant properties and such a big homeless problem often spill over into peripheral areas like homes currently on the market, homes waiting to secure new rentals, homes undergoing renovation, et al. Prices remain high, irrespective of the vacancy rate.

When quizzed about the housing crisis in California and the Bay Area specifically, many residents believe it’s not a question of a housing shortage; it’s a question of housing affordability. The houses exist; they are simply too expensive for people to buy or to rent. Enter Danny Haber of oWOW, an innovative real estate development company operating in and around Oakland, California. As the CEO and co-founder of this vertically integrated company, Haber brings tremendous expertise to the fore in this rent-burdened market. His specialty is the provision of luxury housing below market price. The real estate development company is tasked with upgrading accommodations by maximizing the current square footage through the use of magic walls (flexible wall system) and pre-built designs.

The runaway success of this company’s developments are evident in several communities, including 674 23rd Street, 1919 Market Street, 960 Howard Street, and 316 12 Street. Through careful and methodical reinvention techniques, the company has developed a set of repeatable designs that can be fully customized to preferences, saving time and costs in the process. These MacroUnits have the capacity to transform standard 1-bedroom/2-bathroom units into 2 bedroom/3 bedroom/4 bedroom units without expanding beyond the set square footage. Costs are kept low by dint of the fact that everything is vertically integrated to cut down on expenses and pass the savings on to consumers. With several successful launches to date, oWOW is an example of how private enterprise can affordably carve out a niche market in an overpriced housing market. 

Lots more work needs to be done in the greater Bay Area, but current developments are certainly a step in the right direction and communities are being built around affordable housing developments.

Everything You Should Know Before Applying for an Online No Credit Loan

When you need an urgent stream of cash and the payday is still weeks away, applying for a loan is a viable option. However, getting a loan is not easy for everyone. If you have a good credit standing, there is a big chance you will get approved when you apply for a loan from a bank.

If you are one of the vast majority of people who are not lucky enough to maintain a good credit score, you have another option.

You can apply for loans with no credit online. As per its name, this type of loan grants borrowers the money without having their credit standing checked. Instead, their capacity to pay is evaluated through various factors.

Before you get all excited, however, you must get to know the basics of online loans.

 

What is an online loan?

An online loan is a kind of a high-risk loan wherein a lending institution, after checking the borrower’s capacity to pay, grants either a short-term or a long-term loan. The terms of payment and the interest rate will vary depending on the lending institution.

 

Credit history

Your credit history tells the creditor how well you can manage and pay your credit obligations. If your credit history is good, you will have better chances of getting a loan. On top of that, you also get to avail of the institution’s most favorable loan terms.

Remember that the better the terms are, the more significant your savings will be. A difference of one or two percent in your loan interest rate can save you almost $50,000 over five years. On the other hand, a three or five percent difference in loan interest rates can allow you to save over $2,500 in five years.

If you are one of those with no credit history, you might have a hard time securing a loan. In the US, more than 26 million people do not have a credit history since they do not have any activity reported to the different consumer credit bureaus. Or, it could be that these bureaus only have very minimal details to generate a credit score.

Young people who just started their careers do not have a credit history. In this case, they can still borrow money on the premise that they pay a higher interest rate.

 

Alternatives for Those with no Credit History

If you do not want to get tied with these skyrocketing interest rates, you still have other options. For one, you can get a co-signer to help you beat the odds of your loan approval. If your co-signer has a stellar credit history, you can get better interest rates, too.

The only challenge with this option is finding a co-signer. It is not every day that you can find someone willing to lend his credit history to you. To save yourself from this trouble, you can also apply for loans with no credit.

 

No-credit Loans

With this type of loan, you are only required to present a valid identification card, bank account details, and proof of regular income. There are lending institutions that offer as high as $2,000 as your maximum no credit cash loans amount. For first-time borrowers, the maximum amount that can be borrowed might not be that big, but as you prove your credibility as a loan borrower, you can reapply for repeat loans at a higher credit limit.

Earlier, people with a bad credit score or those who did not have a credit history at all had trouble applying for a loan. Sometimes, they did not even attempt to apply because they already knew that they would be rejected. But things changed with the introduction of no credit loans. This type of loan not only helped borrowers during emergencies, but it also gave them hope that they can still redeem themselves and improve their financial situations.

Reasons Why Proper Office Furniture Affects The Workplace of Employees

When setting up a new office, there are a few factors you need to consider. One primary factor to contemplate is the office furniture packages you choose for your staff and yourself. In this article, you will learn how proper furniture can impact your workplace.

Improves productivity

It might not have crossed your mind, but choosing a high quality, ergonomic furniture for your employees can enhance their productivity. Ensure each staff has the best basics, such as a chair, desk, computer, fan, and any other items that are necessary depending on your business. That will enable your employees to complete the required tasks fast and efficiently. To ensure quality, make sure you buy the latest office furniture and workstations from trusted sources. You can find many different types of furniture, such as office chairs, desks, filing cabinets, office screens, and shelving from reliable suppliers. It is also essential to think about connectivity. Check if there are enough plugs for every fan and computer for your staff to work seamlessly. Setting up your office into a modern and unique space with exceptional furniture will lift your employees’ spirits and ensure that they complete their tasks on time.         

Impress clients

If your clients are free to walk into your office for meetings, then it is essential to gain their confidence and trust immediately; they open your office door. Ensure your waiting room is in good condition, with well-maintained furniture of different colors, styles, and materials. An office space with the best furniture showcases not only the modern outlook but also the level skills of your business. Once a client notices the advanced technology in your sleek office, they will always want to be part of your business. However, if your office furniture does not have a theme, there are high chances that they will not trust your company.

Creates space

Clutter in an office space makes it look disorganized and creates an unhealthy environment for clients and staff. It is, therefore, essential to choose furniture with storage space for your stationery, paperwork, and other necessary items. Storage space can also impact productivity as it allows you and your employees to access the paperwork quickly and know where everything is.

Comfort is crucial

Since your employees spend a better part of the day seated in the office every day, provide them with comfort by choosing the right furniture. Office chairs with back and arm support are comfortable and can make it easy for your staff members to concentrate on their duties. Poor quality chairs can cause your employees to suffer from neck and back pain. That alone can make them consider seeking employment elsewhere, and this can cost your business valuable and skilled employees. You should also get furniture that is flexible and adjustable. The furniture should also have a backrest and sufficient leg space. That should not be limited to the chair only, but also the desks, training tables, and storage in your workplace.

Also, it is essential to provide your employees with sufficient ventilation, especially during hot weather from windows and fans. During the cold season, you can provide them with warmth by installing radiators to increase comfort.

Choosing the right furniture for your staff can increase their productivity, so make sure to get your things by visiting the nearest office supply warehouse. This can hasten the growth of your business. You will also be able to maintain potential clients and valuable staff. Your business activities can go on seamlessly if your employees are comfortable and do not complain of back or neck pain often.

What is the Prime Interest Rate and How is it Determined?

As a business owner or homeowner, a loan application is among the most important steps that you can take to even out your chances of success or better living. However, it’s crucial to be knowledgeable and well prepared for the process as it can sometimes seem lengthy and overwhelming. This is especially true if it’s your first time applying for a loan. Familiarizing yourself with the terminologies lenders use not only increases your odds of approval, but it also helps you spot the early warning signs of getting overcharged.

If it’s your first time taking out a personal loan or a mortgage, there’s a big chance you may not be aware of what exactly some loan terms mean and how they affect loan repayment. During your loan application and the related processes that follow, you’re going to come across different terminologies that you may or may not be familiar with among them is the prime interest rate. In this article, we’ll be shedding more light on what the prime interest rate is and how it’s determined.

 

Prime Interest Rate Defined

You don’t need to be a finance Einstein to get your loan approved. However, you still want to ensure that your loan is fairly structured and the repayment terms will not jeopardize your finances or your business’s cash flow. Well, the prime interest rate, also commonly referred to as the prime rate, is the rate at which banks charge their best customers. It’s the best loan rate set to low-risk customers who have the highest credit ratings. Such borrowers get the best interest rates, whether it’s on their mortgage, personal loan. This is because they pose little to no risk to the lender.

The federal reserve is responsible for the changes you see happening on the prime interest rate and its these changes that will eventually affect how much interest rate you’ll be charged on your loan whether a mortgage, personal loan, auto loan or credit card. According to Julia Peoples from Loanry, when looking for a prime interest loan these are among the first things to understand. In addition, factors such as your creditworthiness and the type of loan you want may influence the rates you get on your loans. However, the baseline or the starting point will be the prime interest rate. But how exactly is prime interest rates determined? One may wonder. 

 

How the Prime Interest Rate Is Determined

The effects of the prime rate go beyond individual borrowers and will also influence the financial markets. Low prime rates make it easier to access affordable loans. This, in turn, increases liquidity and boosts economic growth. When the prime rate is high, there’s stunted economic growth and vice versa. All the same, below are various ways the prime interest rate is determined:

  • The Federal Reserve System – The Federal Reserve is responsible for setting what is known as the federal funds target rate. This is the rate used by banks when lending and borrowing money amongst each other.
  • The Wall Street Journal – This is a popular measurement of the prime rate that is commonly used in the US. It’s an international publication that strongly focuses on investments and corporate news. Anything published in the Wall Street Journal will have an impact on the trade market. The prime rate that gets published in the WSJ as the settled rate among the largest US banks will typically become the federal funds target rate. That’s how influential the Wall Street Journal is to the lending industry.

 

How Important Is The Prime Interest Rate To The Consumer?

Nearly all loan facilities base their interest rates on the prime rate as variations in the prime interest rate will significantly affect how affordable or expensive it becomes to take out a loan. This is perhaps why most people will prefer fixed interest rate loans because the interest rate is never affected by the variations posed on the prime interest rate. On the other hand, consumers who have loans with variable interests will experience changes in their monthly repayments when the prime interest rises or drops. This has an impact on your loan account’s minimum payments, including the interest charges.

Now, the term prime interest is not your everyday household term. However, it’s a primary consumer concern as it affects the overall interests charged on different types of loans. Keeping an eye on the prime rate fluctuations and understanding how it works will provide you with key incentives that will help you make the right borrowing decisions. Because at the end of the day, it’s about finding the most affordable loans and making sure that you’re able to pay them comfortably, lest your debts become burdensome.

 

Travel Tips: Keeping Safe In Tampa

Tampa can be a wonderful place to unwind in its stunning beaches and nature, but Florida in general is also known to have its own set of dangers that every tourist should be aware of. You have probably come across the ludicrous news headlines that eventually circle the internet for being so bizarre, but the common dangers that you need to take precautions against will rarely go to such extreme lengths. 

If you’re planning on visiting Tampa, here’s how to stay safe.  

 

Limit Your Trips to Safe Regions 

New neighborhoods in Tampa are generally considered safe to visit and stay in. Some of these areas include Citrus Park, which is located in the northwest of Tampa, boasting many tourist destinations that you may want to visit. Close to Citrus Park is also Westchase, which offers more conventional shopping communities. You’ll also find upscale shops and restaurants in the area, as well as friendly social circles to mingle with. 

And while Channelside may have once had a high crime rate, recent developments have revamped the area, and have made it more tourist-friendly for visitors. The area has many modern property options to choose from, ranging from building complexes, where you can rent apartments on a short-term basis, to motels. This is where you’ll also find Florida Aquarium, which is another must-visit destination. 

 

Call a Professional

Safe areas will not guarantee that you do not face a dangerous situation, where you could find yourself being robbed or assaulted. If you face a robbery, your first priority is to find a safe place to be before you can call for help. Professional attorneys from Brooks Law Group advise tourists to take photos of robbers discreetly if they can, and to call a lawyer as soon as possible when they’re in a safe space to do so. Even if you don’t have any evidence of who might have robbed you, lawyers can still help you get compensated for any money you lost, and can help you retrieve any needed documents such as national IDs or passports. 

 

Know What Areas to Avoid 

Even though you might be aware of what safe areas to visit, you may still find yourself lost, or you may need to be dropped off somewhere on your way to your chosen destination. Whatever you do, always avoid central Tampa, where areas such as College Jill are located. The crime rate there has recently been estimated to be twice as high as the national average, which makes tourists quite vulnerable there, especially if unaccompanied by a guide. 

Another area you need to avoid is Tampa Heights, which is located on Tampa St. This region has been recorded to be one of the most dangerous areas in the nation, due its high violent crime rates. You’ll also need to steer clear from Walletpop, which has high rates of murder, robbery, rape and assault. If you decide to take a cab, or if you’re being driven to a location by a friend, make sure to ask them to take routes that avoid these areas. 

 

Never Swim in Freshwater 

Dangers in Florida are not just limited to the crime rate. You may find yourself running into equally daunting areas that you walk into yourself, and the criminals are not always people. Sometimes, they’re alligators. When you visit Tampa, you’ll likely run into stunning connected bodies of water, which may tempt you to go for a swim. However, you should know that Florida alone is home to more than one million alligators, and they’re usually found wandering about near streams. In some cases, some alligators are found in golf course ponds and swimming pools, and that’s just how abundant they are in the state. 

Of course, alligator attacks are quite rare, and are unlikely to happen without provoking the animal to do so. If you go near a stream, keep your distance from fresh water, and always go with a companion that can provide help if needed. Otherwise, there are many popular beaches you can visit in Tampa if you fancy a swim, including Bent T Davis Beach, Cypress Point Park, and Davis Islands Beach. If you’re unsure where to go, consult a local, or your tourism agency. 

Thanks to Tampa’s geographical location, it has become a popular tourist destination to visit. However, like any other metropolitan area, it’s also known to have a high rate of criminal activity that you need to be aware of. Before you go on your trip, you need to learn which neighborhoods to steer clear from, as well as what to do if you do find yourself in a dangerous situation, especially as a tourist. 

How Growth Hacking is Shaping the Digital Marketing Landscape

The digital marketing landscape is continually changing, and now there is a new trend that is expected to make it better. This new trend is known as growth hacking and is the reason for the unexpected success of many businesses. Unlike before when new startups faced a lot of challenges that deterred their growth, growth hacking is making them thrive faster now. www.fatrank.com/growth-hacking has a lot of information related to the trend that can help better understand the concept and drive your business to higher levels.

 

Understanding growth hacking

Growth Hacking is a digital marketing concept that helps businesses acquire as many customers as possible without spending a lot of money. It, therefore, requires a team with different specialties, such as a  to make it successful. You’ll find a marketing expert, growth hacking consultant, a product developer, or an engineer being part of a growth hacking team. They work together to build a following for a business, and they ensure they engage those followers. https://www.fatrank.com/growth-hacking/ shows you more on who founded growth hacking and how you can use it to your advantage.

To understand growth hacking, you have to think about a product that can be expanded. An example is Deliveroo, an app that provides food delivery services even though they are involved in any food production or retailing. To further help you understand the growth hacking concept and how you can use it in digital marketing, check the steps below.

 

Create a people product

If you create a product that people don’t like, it will fail instantly, and growth hacking will not work for you. To avoid that, ask for feedback from your target audience and develop a product that they want. Release that product and as for feedback immediately. You can use social media to interact with your customers and find out what they think about that product. You can also ask people to pay for your idea to know if it’s worth investing in. If more people are willing to put their money on it, you’ll know it’s something people want. Another option is to share that idea on social media to find out whether many people are for it. This will help you gather a big following even before you release the product and, as such, will make your digital marketing easier.

 

Know what the audience wants

Market yourself so that people can become familiar with your brand. You can then ensure that the frost experience people get when you release your product is an unforgettable one. Provide excellent customer service so that those customers will keep coming back. You can then focus on revenue generation and ask people to refer to your product.

 

Find an effective engine

There are three main engines that people use in their businesses. They are the viral engine where you grow through people referrals, paid engines where you spend on your digital advertising, and the sticky engine where you give people something that they’ll keep coming back for. Each of these work best for different types of businesses. Find the one that’s best for you and work with it. If you want to know more, you can visit this page to be enlightened on all the different areas that you can start advertising in.

 

Convert

Signing up new customers isn’t enough. You have to follow that up with the best experience and ensure that your customers don’t end up being remorseful after spending their hard-earned money on your product or services.

 

Retain

Most people focus more on getting new customers and forget about old ones. This a big mistake that you should not make in your digital marketing even with growth hacking. The new customers that you may be targeting aren’t committed to you. Your return customers are the ones who are loyal, and you should focus on them.

 

Train your mind

Having the right mindset will drive you to do bigger and better things for your business. Even as you build your team and infrastructure, you should ensure that your mindset is geared towards making the significant changes you want.

 

References

If people are willing to recommend your product, then you’re on the right track. Even so, it would be best if you always were on the lookout for new ways that you can make your products better. Improvements will help you stay on top of your niche and satisfy your customers.

 

Conclusion

A growth hacker is like other types of hackers, such as software hackers and Ingenious hackers. Growth hackers are creative, innovative, inventive, and attentive. They look out for new technologies and overlooked methods that they can use in their digital marketing ventures.

EDITOR'S PICK OF THE WEEK

China economic growth

China’s Challenging Search for a New Model of Economic Growth

By Danny Leipziger China cannot continue to rely on exports to drive its growth, but what are the alternatives? China ran a $1.2 trillion trade surplus last year, and despite admonitions from the IMF to rely...

WISE DECISION MAKER GUIDE

POWER INFLUENCERS

Emerging Trends

The Future of Global Trade