Category Archives: Business Tips

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Making Your Business Look Better

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When you are a freelancer, if you have just started a small company, it can feel like you will never be taken seriously. It is hard to pitch for work, and you sometimes feel like you aren’t getting anywhere. You are just one person, so how can you present yourself as more prominent without lying about it? 

The chances are you don’t have loads of money to sink into your appearance, but you do have some time to work on it. Having a professional-looking ‘shop window’ means you are much more likely to nab those clients sooner rather than later. Here are some things you can do to look bigger and better. 

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Design

Your logos and all of the imagery on your social media, your websites, your station should be sleek and interesting. Over complicated logos can get confusing – even if they are great to look at. Canva has a great free membership which gives you access to a lot of tools to help you design everything you are going to need from PDFs and eBooks to YouTube covers and Twitter covers. This will mean nothing looks stretched or out of place. Before you start putting up the first design you created, think about the overall image you want to get across. Take your time, draft up a few options and then for with the ones that make the most sense for what you are doing. 

Think about the clients that you want to attract, check out your competition and people in the same field to get an idea of the standard that is expected. 

Portfolio

Your online portfolio tells people who you are, what you do, how well you do it, and sometimes there are packages on there that can be ordered too. You shouldn’t put everything you have ever done on there, but you should curate works that look pleasing together, and have a flow. This goes for anything from design work and videos to copywriting and photography. There should be a clear understanding of your style and what you offer. 

In your about me, make sure that you are transparent and open. Personality can matter a lot when you are hiring or being hired. They need to know if they can work with you or not. 

Remember that your older work, unless it was for a particularly prominent client, isn’t going to be as skilled as your current works. 

Calls

If you take calls about business, you should strongly consider if you want people to call your personal mobile phone. Many people don’t want that and feel it crosses the boundaries between private life and work life. So there are a couple of things that you can do. If you stick with the same number, put your phone to divert after a particular time at night. Secondly, consider a service that will handle your calls for you like Ivy Answer. Thirdly, think about having a mobile phone that is purely for work purposes. 

Email

Your email should be outlook or Gmail. It should be tied in neatly to your website and business name. They just don’t look that great. Even more so if your email address if from years ago and you haven’t changed it. Making a business email is easy and should be an option somewhere in your hosting. It also shows that you care about the details and your personal brand – which is excellent for the clients to see. 

Testimonials

If you have worked for a few clients, it is time to ask them for some testimonials about your work. This shows that you have work and will give prospective clients a better view of what you are capable of. The reviews don’t have to be glowing, but they should talk about your work ethic, did you deliver on time, how the value for money was. These things are important to people when they are hiring companies to work with. If you don’t have any testimonials, don’t be tempted to fabricate something. Instead, you should reach out to friends and offer a small piece of work or service in return for the testimonials. 

Social Media

Your social media is going to matter because everyone is there! Make sure all of your covers are the right size, and that you can see your website clearly on everything. Don’t spam your own links and products all the time, instead create a social media plan that has a defined goal like driving traffic, or securing leads. 

When it comes to looking professional, much of it is time and acting professionally. Present yourself in the best light, and you will look like an agency or larger company without effort. 

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Should You Outsource The IT Needs Of Your Small Business?

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At the center of any small business is the idea that drives it. This concept will be the reason that you started your company in the first place, and it will be the thing that hopefully generates you all of your profits. 

But very often when it comes to running a small business, you end up spinning lots of different plates. You’ll be worrying about keeping your company website up-and-running, managing your social media accounts, trying to get your website more exposure, making sure your antivirus is up-to-date, and worrying about your firewall, and router. 

Unless you are in the business of IT, these are probably not your fields of expertise. But, hiring a professional with the relevant skills and experience can be costly. And then you’ll also have to worry about managing them, and maybe even finding space for them in your organization. This may not be a viable option for you. 

Consider Outsourcing Your IT Requirements

Whatever your business needs in terms of IT support, there are plenty of great companies who are very well positioned to give you excellent service. Click here for an example of one such company. 

By outsourcing IT requirements, you will be freeing up your time in order to focus on the things that really matter to your business. You’ll be able to expand and grow in new ways, and you will have more energy for progress. 

Getting The Experience That Your Company Needs

Someone with the right experience levels and skill set could easily do a much better job of managing your tech support than you. You will be supported by a team who will have the relevant qualifications and will have no doubt handle multiple clients in a similar situation to yourself. They will understand the needs of your business and be able to react to this immediately. 

Access To Industry Standard Software

Your IT consultants will be able to set you up with some of the most useful pieces of software for your business. You’ll get updates as required, and whenever there are developments in areas of technology that may benefit you, you can access this quickly. This will allow you to position yourself ahead of others in the industry, whose in-house IT support may not have the knowledge or infrastructure to get on board with changes quickly enough. 

Security And Data Protection

Your customer’s data is extremely valuable. Not just to you, but to hackers who may try and benefit from it. With cybersecurity representing such a significant threat to business, you need to make sure that this is managed effectively. 

Having a managed IT solution will allow you to protect your data effectively. By keeping your network secure, and carrying out regular data compliance audits, your IT support company will help you rest easy, safe in the knowledge that your data is safe. In completing these audits, you can be sure that you will also meet any official regulatory requirements. 

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Are Background Checks Necessary For Businesses?

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Background checks are becoming more common, with businesses using them now as a part of the final stage of their hiring process, but are they necessary, why do businesses conduct them and do you have to ask permission?

What is a background check?

A background check is the process of finding and reviewing a person’s criminal history, their recruitment history and occasionally their commercial history and financial records. The details of these checks can vary from country to country and state to state and so it’s important to reference the laws regarding background checks where you live. The service of conducting a background check is typically outsourced to a company such as Checkr who will find the person’s information and raise any red flags.

Why do businesses conduct background checks? 

Businesses may conduct a background check for many different reasons. Some roles especially those within government or finance may require them to do so. Other employers may opt to do one as a safeguarding measure and to help them gauge the character of a person and their suitability for a role. 

It has been estimated that up to 40% of people lie on their resume and a background check can help employers to find out if an applicant has made false claims regarding their employment or education history. Even the process of ringing up a persons references could be classed as a form of background check and is just a way for a potential employer to gauge the fit of a prospective employee and to check that they have not been dishonest in order to be considered for the role. 

A background check can also highlight any issues that may make someone unsuitable for their role for example it could highlight driving offences which could make a person unsuitable for a role as a delivery driver. Background checks can also highlight any criminal records and any time spent in jail, and although a person should not be disregarded for their criminal history alone this should be taken into consideration when trying to maintain a safe working environment. For example, a candidate with a violent history may not be suitable for a high stress working environment as they may pose a risk to other members of staff. Background checks are also often performed for roles in which the individual is responsible for money as a means of additional security and protection against theft. 

Do employers have to ask the candidates permission?

Yes, as a potential employer you must ask and receive written permission from a candidate in order to conduct a background check, otherwise this could be a breach of a person’s privacy. An employer is also required to offer a copy of the finished report should you wish to query anything stated within it. 

The laws around background checks and what can and cannot be done change from place to place, so be sure to read up on the laws for your location if you wish to conduct one or believe one is going to be conducted on you. 

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Six Essential Investments You Must Make To Grow Your Business

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It’s no secret that starting a business is tough. It’s so challenging, in fact, that more startups fail each year than live to be successful. While the reasons for these failures vary, more often than not, all they boil down to is lack of money. Cash is the fuel that keeps the world of business moving, which is why most entrepreneurs do all they can to cut costs. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever spend money. Here are six investments that you must make to grow. 

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1. Marketing The Business

The most obvious way to grow your business is by using marketing. After all, regardless of how great your product is, no one will buy it unless they know it exists. When money gets tight, many business owners cut back on their marketing. The issue is, this usually only makes the problem worse. If you’re short of funds, there are plenty of low-cost marketing tactics that you could try. 

2. Hiring Skilled Employees

While most entrepreneurs launch their businesses alone, eventually, you will need the help of employees. Without a workforce to take the pressure off, most of the work simply won’t get done. When the time comes to hire your first employee, you must put effort and money into the hiring process. The last thing you want to do is pick the wrong hire and have to repeat it all. 

3. Upgrading The Office

Productively is hugely impacted by the environment within which you work. When your current premises start to feel cramped, you may need to move elsewhere. This is a long and complex task but can be made much easier with thorough planning. You will also need a van or ute hire to transport furniture and equipment. Make sure you delegate tasks to take some pressure off. 

4. Reducing Inventory Shrinkage

Any business handling physical stock has to deal with shrinkage. Although this is a common problem, it’s not one that you should ignore. There are many precautions you can take to reduce shrinkage, including using more efficient inventory management software and installing better security equipment. You should also train your staff to look for suspicious customer behavior. 

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5. Widening Your Knowledge

Learning to run a business isn’t something you can do overnight. You must keep investing time and money into widening your knowledge, or you’ll struggle to keep up with the competition. There are many different ways you can go about this, from reading magazines and books to attending talks and seminars. Some entrepreneurs even take business classes or degrees. 

6. Preparing For Emergencies

Owning a business is a huge risk. At any moment, something could go wrong, having costly and catastrophic results. This is why you need a business emergency fund. These savings mean that you won’t have to borrow money to cover any unexpected expenses. You should also invest in a comprehensive insurance policy that protects your company against many different threats. 

Businesses need money to survive, so spend yours wisely by following the advice above.

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Seven Ways To Craft A Killer Resume

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Writing your resume can be one of the hardest parts of job hunting. Writing about yourself and showing off your professional achievements can be difficult, especially if you’re not naturally a writer. If you’re struggling with your resume, follow these tips to ease the struggle and craft a resume that will lock down that job interview and help you get the job. 

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  1. Tweak your resume for the sort of job you’re looking for. You don’t have to list every job you’ve had since you were 18. Your retail job from college probably isn’t relevant for the career you want now, so leave it off. Instead, showcase the jobs and skills that are the most relevant to the job you want. 
  2. Keep a master list of all your jobs in a document on your computer with your complete employment history. Add some bullet points of key achievements too. As you’re changing up your resume for each application, you can easily go to your master list and just copy and paste the relevant parts you need, rather than having to type them out every time. 
  3. Make your resume still makes sense when skim read. Hiring managers have a lot of resumes to read through. Use clear headings and bullet points to make sure a quick read can still get your key skills across clearly. Allow for recruitment software too. Some companies use software to search for keywords before a human sees your application, so make you use relevant key phrases to get through this stage. 
  4. Keep your resume compact. If you send across a huge document, the person in charge of hiring is unlikely to read it all. Cut the fluff out, and trim your resume down to a shorter length. Aim for about a page, and definitely no more than two pages if you’re struggling to get it to a single page. If you’re struggling to slim it down, read this guide to organise your resume in a more concise way. 
  5. If writing your resume yourself is proving to be too difficult a challenge, think about bringing in a professional. There are plenty of online services for resume writing, so you can hire an expert to write a top resume to show off your skills. 
  6. Keep formatting simple. Choose a simple font in a size that is easy to read and leave plenty of white space on the page. This makes your resume clearer and easier to look over. Separate out different section with headers, but keep the rest consistent and classic in style. 
  7. Be careful about adding too many extras to your resume. Some people advise adding extra details to stand out like infographics, but use these kind of things with a light hand. If you’re applying for a job with a more traditional company, leave off anything too flash. If you go for a job that requests the application in a particular format, make sure you follow their specifications and don’t get too wild trying to make your resume stand out.

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Critical Areas To Think About Before Launching Your Business

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It may seem like there are a million and one things to do when you are trying to start a business, and you’re partially right. However, you needn’t try to tackle every task simultaneously. There are, of course, some areas that are more critical to consider than others from the offset. With your concept in hand, it’s recommended that you take time initially to think about the structure of your business. Also, to take a look at your intellectual property rights. And last but not least, to labor over market research to ascertain whether there is a gap in the industry you are hoping to compete in.

Structure Of The Business 

Assessing the structure of your business may require help and guidance from a legal expert. Are you the fully-fledged CEO of your new company, or are there other business partners that have contributed to the business concept to? Also, what will be each of your roles in the company? A specific purpose for each person ensures you all have direction and maximize your individual strengths. Perhaps, if you are headstrong and want to take control of the majority of the business process, and your accomplice is happy for you to do that, they may prefer the role as a sleeping partner – someone has little to no input in the business decision making. Creating your business structure now shall avoid any issues in the future with management, essential decisions, and whether someone you are in business with wants to sell their part in the future.

Intellectual Property Rights

In every turn you take in business, back-up and protection should be at the top of your priority list. From business insurance to back-up servers for your data, to security measures for your company premises, protection of your company is a never-ending necessity. Initially, your protective efforts should be cast upon souring advice and guidance from ip consulting firms on the issue of intellectual property rights. This subject covers patents, trademarks, and copyrights. You want to establish whether your idea is original and if so, you want to protect it from being snapped up by another entrepreneur.

Gap In The Market

You can’t escape the necessity of research when you are starting a new business. In fact, it’s vital throughout the process of your business to continue to research to ensure your product or service adapts to the changing market. Initially, however, you want to gather enough information that indicates to you a gap in the market is present. Seeking an opportunity within the industry you are aiming to enter is essential, it’s a step you can’t afford to skip. It means your business has the potential to attract buyers, grow, and stand in good stead against its competitors. While searching for your gap, you shall want to research existing competitors, buying behavior within the market and your target market. 

The critical areas mentioned throughout this post are something all-new startups should consider. In doing so, they can prevent issues occurring during the business’s journey. For instance, stunting the company’s growth due to an unclear business structure. And perhaps lack of direction of who is responsible for what. Other issues include that concerning intellectual property, such as another competitor using your idea as their own.

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3 Things Cake Businesses Get Wrong

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Launching a business cake is, for most people, like an extension on your home kitchen. If you enjoy spending time in your kitchen, baking is one of the most satisfying hobbies you can have. Ultimately, baking makes people happy – assuming your cakes are yummy, of course! Therefore, a lot of independent cake businesses start as a way of creating a little extra money on the side after a long week at the office. In time, the cake venture develops and forces business owners to move out of their home kitchen and buy or rent out their own professional premises, with a kitchen and a large area with tables and chairs for customers who prefer to consume their cake directly in the shop. 

However, cake shops are another type of customers, people who order their cake in advance to make sure it is ready for an event – from birthday parties to wedding receptions. Online browsers can turn into buyers – whether online or in the shop. They are your most profitable customers as a personalized order is likely to cost more than a standard slice bought in shop. However, too many cake businesses fail to meet their online browsing customers’ expectations. 

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Slow IT changes everything 

You can’t afford to have lousy technology. Your website, for instance, needs to load quickly. Customers don’t want to wait for your images to load. Therefore, it’s important to find the most suitable server solution for your site. Additionally, your customers are likely to share confidential data per email, such as sending photos and names for their cake order. Managed IT services can ensure that you get immediate access to their information without wasting time downloading images, for instance. Additionally, it also provides IT security, which keeps hackers at bay. 

You can’t personalize everything with fondant

Everybody wants a personal message on their cake. Whether you are dealing with birthday orders or special events, most people insist on injecting a little personality to their cake with a handwritten message or a small drawing. Could you draw a little Peppa Pig in the corner for my daughter, please? Could you write “Congratulations Sandy” in gothic font, please? For recurring requests, it’s a good idea to create a stencil using vinylcuttingmachineguide.com, which allows you to repeat the shape on every cake. Not only are you going to save a lot of time in the long run, but you can also make sure that you always deliver the best possible design for your clients. After all,  we’re all familiar with the cake wrecks website; you don’t want to end up there! 

Who says cakes have to be fattening?

Why should cakes always throw all your dieting efforts through the window? Cake shops need to find creative ways to create yummy and guilt-free recipes that will keep everybody happy. A simple strawberry cheesecake portion contains less than 150 calories, but it still puts a smile on your client’s face, if you can make it happen. 

Everybody loves cakes. But cake shops still have a few challenges to overcome before they can grow their businesses. From ensuring their IT is up-to-speed to designing guilt-free and healthy recipes, there is a lot to do before you can become the next cake boss in your community.

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Things Your Business Can’t Afford To Skip

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When you run a business from home, you are your own marketer, content creator, website maker, and so much more. And it is essential for you to learn as much about the foundations of your business as possible. There are weeks and sometimes months that the time and/or money is strapped. So you can make some smart decisions to help keep your bank balance healthy, and help you maximize your time too. 

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Expenses

They wrack up thick and fast, but if you aren’t tracking them correctly you’re going to be missing those tasty tax deductions for one, and for two you might get audited, and if it doesn’t add up you’ve got some trouble. 

It can be hard to keep all of the paper receipts, so start taking photos of each receipt that relates to your business, and add them all to a file. 

Coaching

To be better at business, in general, there are two paths you can opt for. One is coaching, the other is hands-on experience. There are so many coaches who specialize in small business or freelancers who are looking to expand and grow. They often have experience in your field too. The great thing is, you can find a lot of guidance and support for free online now. Or, you might have a B2B scheme in your area with offers of assistance. Spend some time looking around for free support tools. 

Uptime

You can’t afford to have lousy technology. You need as much uptime as you can muster. And sometimes this means you might need to call in the professionals, visit onlinecomputers.com for more. Managed IT services might just save your business. This one will save you time, time which can be put back into working on your business. 

Social Media

If you aren’t on social media already – that is your first mistake. If you are, and you aren’t leveraging that into more traffic and sales – that is a big mistake too. Take some time to sit down and work out your followers and reach on all of your platforms. Take a look at your analytics. Where is doing the best? What time does the most engagement or impressions happen? 

How are you going to compute those numbers into something actionable? First, take a look online for some guidance on how to put together a social media campaign. Remember to have your goal in mind – traffic? Sales? Social growth? Each one will require different actions from you. 

You can always hire someone to do those things for you, but it pays for you to learn to do them yourself too. If you have the knowledge, you can then build a campaign for someone else to carry out and report back on. 

Of course, there are more things like insurances, retirement plans, long term financial planning, and more and all will make a positive impact. But it is vital to tackle things in the personal development area, something that can free up time, and explore services that will ensure you never miss a beat in the fast-paced online world. 

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5 Top Advantages Of Online Payroll

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 Our landscape is becoming increasingly digital, and this is reflected in every aspect of how we do business; from our marketing to our cloud-computing or EDI transactions. It’s no surprise that so many companies are braving the switch to an online payroll solution. When you’re running a business and have so much to do, you’ll welcome any way that you can to make life a little easier! If you’re someone who’s thinking about online payroll, let’s take a look at a few reasons why you’ve got the right idea! 

More Accuracy

 With an online payroll system, you are increasing your chances of accuracy and decreasing the risk of human error. Errors made in the payroll departments can slow down the efficiency of your company and lose your credibility, so it’s best to avoid this at all costs! By automating the processes, and reducing human input, you don’t have to worry about mistakes being made. 

Search for documents

With an online payroll system, you’ll ensure that you have an easy way to search for pay-related documents as and when you need them. An online system makes it very easy to look back and search for what you need; whether this is to create a report or for the purposes of tax queries. You’ll find that such easy access to data increases productivity and efficiency both. When time is money, improving business efficiency is a top priority! 

Saves time 

With an online payroll system, it’s fast and easy to complete your payroll tasks which will free up time elsewhere in your business. As well as this, with an online system, it’s straightforward to figure out bonuses, overtime or pay per hour or month etc. Having all the information that you need in one place makes it easy to get the best use out of your payment data.

Maintain Consistency 

 When you keep your data within one online source, you will be ensuring that it is always collected in the same way and adheres to the same procedures. Many companies these days are making a move to cloud-based solutions such as Cloudpay. This is a viable system for those who are seeking to gain consistency and accuracy within their global based payroll systems. With cloudpay, you get rid of the complexities associated with international payroll. Cloudpay can also be integrated easily with ERP or HCM software for businesses who require this. 

 Tax purposes 

 Online payroll systems can help you to timely file the correct tax forms as and when required. You’ll receive reminders, and thus you won’t run the risk of any penalties. When you’re running a business, there is so much to think about, and so taking advantage of what the digital world can offer is always an excellent idea! 

 If your company is looking at opting for an online or cloud-based payroll system, you certainly won’t regret it! Keeping up with all the digital changes in the modern business world can far enhance the agility of your company. Staying ahead digitally can also give you an advantage over your competitors. 

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Business Leader Aura: Dress Sense, Vocal Etiquette And Posture

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Open up a brand new web page or tab and go to YouTube. Then click on the Bloomberg and CNBC channels. These two media outlets are all about finances, business and trade. Many people of all kinds in all industries come onto the shows, and give you their opinion about what is going on in their professional world. For one, don’t listen to what they say just watch how they carry themselves. You know when you’re watching a business leader just by how they act. Subconsciously, they are giving off signals to our own subconsciousness and we immediately begin to trust them more and really take on board what they’re saying. If you are someone who owns a small business or perhaps just wants to look for a new career, then following their example is something you must consider. 

Look the part

Yes, yes, these days the young and budding entrepreneurs think that wearing ‘old fashioned’ clothes is a bore but wearing hoodies and joggers is the new standard. Wrong, for the young and brash wearing clothes you’d probably wake up to go to work is not a big problem, but for someone who wants to be respected automatically, you have to wear a suit. However, it’s not just any old suit you should take off the shelf, a custom suit designed around your body is what’s needed. Take a look at these mens custom suits, and see how the old traditions and the new styles are merging together. The professional tailors will work with you on a one-on-one basis. You give their your trust, and they will take your measurements. They’ll advise you on what kinds of features your suit can have for the vision you’re going for. A tailored suit is able to be spotted from a mile off among CEOs and other c-suite ranks; as well as the media and investors.

A droopy posture

Society really is in such a funny and strange era. Millions upon millions of people are constantly looking down, their necks bent forward, their shoulders caving inward. White collar jobs have increased substantially over the past two decades, so we all have a similar posture. It’s kind of concave almost as if there’s a gravity vortex in the middle of our chest. A droopy posture such as this, does not give people confidence in someone. It’s kind of weak and small. The simple fact of the matter is, for a business leader or professional looking to show confidence in their actions, broad shoulders, a straight back, a slightly puffed chest and proper width between the toes of your feet must be donned.

Confidence in conversation

Showing passion in your voice can constitute a constant shifting of tone and pitch. However, the art of holding a conversation is also a mark of a confident business leader. Conversation etiquette is something we have almost forgotten in society but in professional circles it is anything but. Take the time to listen to the other party, try not to interrupt and making engaging eye contact.

Business leaders carry themselves in a different way to normal people. They must dress smartly, behave courteously and look bold and strong to command confidence in any room they walk into. 

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