Category Archives: Business Tips

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5 Common IT Issues In Small Businesses

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Photo by Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash

When running your own business there are lots of different issues you can come across, especially when it comes to your IT services. Whether it’s a problem with your hardware or a security breach, you need to ensure you have as little downtime as possible when it comes to your business. With that in mind, here are 5 common IT issues small businesses should avoid:

– Unpredictable System Outages

Although it’s hard to avoid unpredictable system outages, making sure you’re using reputable companies is a great way to ensure this happens as little as possible. Whether it’s the company you use for your server or the people who host your website, you need to sure it’s not going to stop all of a sudden. For a guide to choosing great service providers, you can visit this site here.

– Endless Computer Issues

One of the most common issues people face when running their business revolves around their computer or laptop. Although you may have a little bit of experience when it comes to IT, often the issues that arise are too complicated to fix on your own. In that situation, it’s always best to ensure you’re asking an IT support team or professional for help. Not only will they be able to help you fix your issue, but they’ll also be able to tell you how to prevent it happening again. For more information about preventative maintenance, you can visit this site here.

– Problems With Cyber Security

Cybersecurity is another important issue when it comes to IT within your business, and it’s important you’re doing everything you can keep your computer safe. This means using secure email systems, password protecting files and ensuring you have trusted antivirus software on your computer. For more tips and tricks when it comes to keeping your IT systems safe, you can visit this guide here.

– Difficulty Accessing Files

Although this isn’t as common, people often experience difficulties accessing files. Whether it’s because they don’t have the recommended software or they have corrupted the file, not being able to open an important document can result in complications within your business. If this happens, the best options it to contact someone who knows how to regain access to files or to search online for the best possible solutions. Whilst you may find tools that claim they can change corrupted files, be careful of what you’re downloading.

– Slow Computers And Software

Finally, the most common issue people will face is a slow computer or slow software on their computer. Whilst this is often due to the quality of the computer, maintenance also plays a big part. Keeping on top of the filing systems and the programmes on your computer is the best way to ensure everything runs as it should. Keep things clutter-free and your computer will run as smoothly as it did when you first bought it.

Are you facing a lot of IT issues as a small business? What can you do to help prevent them? Let me know in the comments section below.

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The Ins & Outs Of Running An Investment Business

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If you have long thought about starting up an investment company, you are not alone. It is one of the most popular kinds of business to run, and there is a good reason for that: done right, you can make quite a lot of money this way quite fast. Of course, to make sure that happens, you will need to think about what you need to get right in order for the business to be as successful as possible. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the essentials that you might want to consider in order to successfully run any investment business. As long as you make sure of the following, you will be able to lead your business to greater and greater success – and hopefully get a considerable amount of profit out of it.

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Planning

All businesses need planning, and this might be especially true for an investment company. If you are hoping to invest in anything to the degree where it is really worth it, then you will need to make sure you have a plan, and writing out a whole business plan for investments can be particularly difficult to get right. The main thing is that you are planning in a way which is detailed and logical, and that you have as part of that plan backups for if things should go wrong. Do that, and make sure that you are happy with the timings proposed on the plan, and you will find that you can get much more out of the business on the whole. You will also want your plan to dictate exactly what kinds of clients you want to focus on, and some idea of how you are going to pitch to them when the time comes.

Infrastructure

Now it is time to think about the basic infrastructure of your business and how it is actually going to function day after day. A big part of this is always going to be the technology you use – the more that you trust the technology, the more likely it is that you will be able to keep the business running as you would hope it to. One of the first things that you will probably want to look out for is some kind of Investment Management System, which will help you to manage everything that you need to in terms of your contracts and clients and so on. You should also think about then finding some way to secure your technology, so that you can also keep the business as a whole much more secure in the process.

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Marketing

People are going to need to know why they can trust you with investments, and that means that you need to develop a good branding which you can use for just that purpose. As long as you have a strong brand and you know how to market your business properly, you will find that you are much more likely to be able to get it off to a good start, so this is absolutely something to put some effort into early on.

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Are You Ready To Launch Your Digital Business from Home?

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If you have been thinking about owning your own online business for a while, you will need to know that it can be a bumpy road, and you cannot expect results immediately. Instead of just doing what others are doing, you will have to come up with a strategy that is similar to the one you would create if you were to launch a brick-and-mortar business. Below you will find a few tips to increase your chances for success.

Improve Your Skills

There are certain skills entrepreneurs need to succeed. The first one is more like an attitude; self-discipline. You will need to focus on making the most out of your time, so managing your calendar and prioritizing your tasks is going to go a long way. You should make the most out of your existing skills and focus on the development areas; take responsibility for your own personal development.

Enroll In a Course

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If you have been working for an employer for a long time, you will need to change your attitude and become an entrepreneur. You will have to take responsibility for your own learning, and this means that you might need to enroll in a college course to get an IT qualification that will make you more effective in creating content or building websites. After all, you will have a limited budget, and every cent you save will help you invest more in your business.

Consider Affiliate Marketing If You Are Just Starting Up

When you are starting a digital business, chances are that you will not have a product or service yet. This doesn’t mean that you cannot make money, though. You can start affiliate marketing on a zero budget, provided that you can generate enough traffic to get conversions. After all, you should first get to know the industry and avoid investing a lot of money into developing your own product or service.

Create an Action Plan

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If you would like to succeed in affiliate marketing, it is important that you create an action plan that will help you stay focused on the end goal; profits. You should identify the steps you have to take to make it work for you; not enough traffic will kill your business, and offers that don’t convert will kill your profits. Consider building a sales funnel that will automate most of your marketing processes.

Set a Target for Everything

If you want to manage working from home, you will need to develop a high sense of responsibility and discipline. Track your productivity throughout the day, and make sure that you are able to optimize it through implementing technology and marketing automation. After all, you are not setting up a business to sit in front of the laptop 24/7.

In case you have been itching to get started and build your own business from home, you will need to consider investing in your skills and personal developments, and create a detailed plan of action.

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Don’t Make These Mistakes When Hiring For Your Business

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Finding the wrong candidate for the job is worse than having nobody to fill your vacant position at all. Not only will you have wasted your time and their time within the hiring process, but considering the cost of hiring an employee, you will have wasted money too! Therefore, you need to get it right at the hiring stage, and to do this, you want to consider the following mistakes made by many an employer, and AVOID THEM!!

Mistake #1: Filling the position quickly

When going through the hiring process, you need to take your time. Sure, you might need an employee, and you might need them NOW, but you might make the wrong decision if you hurry along proceedings. You could always hire a temp or outsource to a virtual assistant in the meantime, as this will give you time to prepare for the vacant position effectively. And by prepare, we mean creating a job description, working on your job ad, and spending time advertising your position in as many places as possible. If you rush through any of these processes, you might end up with the wrong person for the job.

Mistake #2: Posting your job ads in the same places

When advertising your vacancy, you need to cast a wider net to give you the bigger pick of candidates. Sure, it might mean having to wade through more resumes than you know what to do with, but more choice means more scope for a better employee. So, don’t stick to newspaper ads or the usual job websites you visit. Advertise on social media too, take out ads in trade magazines and websites that are applicable to your business, contact local colleges and universities, and reach out to community groups who work with the unemployed. Not only will you find the best employee this way, but you will also have resumes on file that can be dug out at a later stage when you next need to hire somebody.

Mistake #3: Using outdated processes

To speed up the process productively and efficiently, get into the 21st century. Considering everybody has a smartphone in their hands these days, you can quickly communicate with your candidates using artificial intelligence for recruiting, using text, video, and automated phone interviews instead of calling them into your building to speak to you. Though if you still want to have an in-person interview, you can also use the linked tech to interact with your candidates throughout the hiring process. Such technologies make life easier for both you and the candidate, and because you have gone hi-tech, you might also impress the more tech-savvy job seekers and improve the reputation of your brand.

Mistake #4: Neglecting the importance of references

Okay, so the candidate may have blown you away at interview stage. But what if they are very good at acting? What if the reality of their hire is different from what you imagine in your head? You need to check references from previous employers and people who know them best to get a better overall picture. And the same applies to those candidates who don’t do well at the interview. Considering how nerve-wracking it can be, they may not have presented themselves very well. However, their references may paint a very different picture as to their character and employability. So, do your homework before coming to a final decision!

Thanks for reading!

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Accounting Tips For Businesses

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Are you considering accounting software integration? This is something many businesses already have in place, and they have experienced a lot of success since doing so.

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Accounting software has grown considerably over the years. There are so many different types of accounting software too, from general solutions to specific ones, like the software best payroll service providers use. In fact, with the implementation of new accounting rules, accounting often becomes more complicated. One of these new rules is ASC 842. Accounting software that has been updated may be the way to get help with ASC 842. So, why should you think about integrating accounting software at your business? Read on to discover more about the three main benefits you can expect to experience by doing so.

  1. Operate your business more efficiently – There is only one place to begin, and this is with the fact that your business will become much more efficient once you have accounting software in place. This is because data entry is carried out at a rapid pace when compared with manual data entry. Even if you intend on using the data for multiple purposes, you only need to input it once. You will also increase efficiency because you will be able to access and retrieve data in real-time. This gives you a clear and accurate picture of your business’ current situation.
  2. Simplify accounting – Accounting seems to become more complicated with every month that passes by. The vast majority of businesses hold an astronomical amount of data nowadays. It is difficult to keep on top of everything. This is something you don’t need to worry about with accounting software, as your accounting processes will become a lot more straightforward. You can also rule out human error. It is not uncommon for information to be misplaced or figures to be jotted down incorrectly. You can stop this from occurring, which is vital, as small human errors can have a catastrophic effect. You can also produce reports, from income statements to balance sheets, with ease.
  3. Reduce costs – When you consider the speed and efficiency that is associated with accounting software systems, you see how you can save a considerable amount of money. accounting software is much more cost efficient than using paper-based accounting, or other accounting systems for that matter. Not only can you eliminate the need to hire someone to take care of your accounts, but also you will receive important real-time financial information, which will give you better clarity over your business. You can use this to plan better and ensure that unforeseen costs are dealt with properly and your business is run cost efficiently. You can easily see who owes you money, so you can chase them, and you can run profit and loss reports for better clarity regarding your financial position at present. Moreover, as accounting software involves paying a small monthly subscription, it won’t cost much and you can easily plan for this expense.

All things considered, when you carefully evaluate the three points mentioned above, it is not tough to see why accounting software accounting systems are the preferred choice of so many businesses today.

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What Are The Benefits of a Home Based Career?

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Working from home, it’s the dream for many. You get to stay in your cosy surroundings with your pet, constant access to the kettle and don’t need to deal with annoying colleagues or a boss breathing down your neck – bliss. But there are many more reasons to consider working from home than just these, here are a few to think about if you’re debating a home based job.

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Saves you time

Working eight hours a day is pretty standard, and if someone asks us how many hours a week we work, most of us would answer ‘forty’ without a second thought. However, along with those forty hours a week, think of the amount of time you spend commuting, and getting ready for your job? How much time do you spend sorting out your work bag, ironing your uniform and packing your lunch? It’s time that really adds up and if you sit and tot it up, you might be surprised that you give far more to work than what you realise. Working from home saves you time in a big way. There are no special clothes you need to wear and you don’t have to present yourself in a certain way. For men, this might mean saving time shaving every morning, or for women, applying makeup. There’s no need to pack up a lunch ahead of time, you can simply grab something quick and easy from your kitchen with no fuss. Importantly, there’s no commute. You don’t have to spend time physically getting to and from work which means you have more time in your day to get other things done. When you work from home, unlike getting paid an hourly wage you’ll usually be paid instead for the work that you do. This means that if you focus and get everything done you can have it done in a shorter time and frees up the rest of your day for other things. In most standard employee environments, you might find yourself clock watching where you’ve finished your tasks for the day but can’t get up and leave until the time ticks past 5pm.

Saves you money

Just cutting out a commute can save you money, if you’re driving to work each day, getting the bus or hopping on the train, this can really add up. You can save money on lunches, coffee and all of the other things that add up when you’re out of the house for the day. None of us want to spend money just to go to work and earn money, but unfortunately it can be the case. There are some costs you’ll need to consider, for example in most cases you’ll need to buy a computer and whatever software or equipment you need to earn your money. But this is yours to keep then.

Gives you flexibility

One of the best things about working from home is the flexibility it can bring. Whether you’re contracted to a company, working as a freelancer or running your own business, you’re generally in charge of how your day looks – providing the work gets done. If you run your own business, you can even get yourself into a position where it runs without you but still turns a profit, you can do this by outsourcing the various elements to third-party companies. There are risks to avoid in doing this, but it’s generally a great way to run a business without the expense or effort of setting everything up yourself. Flexibility it good as it enables you to work your job around your life, rather than the other way around. It means you can earn money around other commitments (such as parenting) and enables you to work to your own ‘spikes’ of motivation/ creativity. If you naturally work better in the evening for example, then a standard 9-5 job isn’t going to allow you to make the most of that.

Makes you happier

For all of the above reasons, working from home will make you happier – research proves it. If it’s something you’re able to do, and are fed up of your set working hours at the office then speak to your employer – many are now getting onboard with the benefits. Otherwise, consider setting up your own business, going freelance or finding a company that employs remote workers.

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The Essential Guide To Becoming An Ebay Entrepreneur

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If you are struggling to work out where your strengths lie in terms of going it alone and launching your own startup, why not consider the lucrative world of eBay entrepreneurship? The synonymous online auction site has been around since 1995 and was one of the very first real successes of the Silicon Valley dot-com bubble of ideas. Fast forward over two decades and eBay is the number one platform for all sorts of goods and products ranging from the second-hand to the brand new. While it was once seen as a nifty way of getting rid of your unwanted bits of junk, eBay is now viewed as the ultimate online platform to launch your very own retail empire. So, how can you make a success of your new foray into online shopping? Read on to find out.

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Descriptions And Photos

The most important aspect of your eBay business are the product descriptions you utilise. It doesn’t matter whether you are importing the latest piece of flexible tubing for gas engineers or whether you sell custom-made tee shirts, you need to make all of your descriptions uniform and consistent. Use subheadings and bullet points to make them easy to read. Point out any flaws and be honest about your product. A vintage item isn’t going to be a hundred percent perfect but it will be authentic so sell this aspect of it.

Another key aspect of your sales pages will be the items themselves. Take photographs from all angles and point out the flaws (if there are any). Make sure that you utilise your photograph allowance. If you are allowed twelve, don’t just put up three. Make sure they are in focus, the background is plain and you have a range of close up shots to show detail and wider angle compositions.

Customer Service

It’s important that you present a professional outfit if you are planning to make your eBay empire your full time profession. Consider using some packaging design software to brand the boxes you place your items in before they are shipped. This creates a more formal and professional image and your logo can be consistently applied across all merchandise and online platforms.

Implement a strategy of under promising and over delivering. If you know that you can deliver an item in two days, state on your delivery policy that you will get it there in three. Then, when a product arrives a day early, your customer will be pleasantly surprised and will be more inclined to leave positive feedback for your startup. On eBay, your reputation is vital, so make sure you limit any possibility of negative reviews.

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Link To Social Media

By utilising the power of social media, you can direct people to the relevant product pages of your eBay listings. Giving your eBay site greater visibility online helps you to maintain a strong online presence for your brand. By linking directly from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, you are easily broadening your potential customer base.

Ebay is a fantastic platform from which to launch a retail business. Follow this guide, and begin your e-commerce empire in the most successful way.

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Brand Building: When You Are Your Brand

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In the age of social media, branding has been changing. Instagrammers, YouTubers, and bloggers forged ahead into a space where a person became the brand.  As this was happening, bigger businesses wanted to downsize their ‘big corporate’ branding to becoming more personable and approachable.

Both really interesting changes that bring a certain synergy – and is also just a lot of fun to work with.

You will often hear the words authentic, transparent, trustworthy, reliable linked closely with a brands name. Their social media will use a tone of voice that communicates directly to their audience and uses language that is common in those demographics.

Branding isn’t just about a pretty logo and a nice letterhead. It is about having a story that runs through everything. Showing the public your ethos, ideas, and letting them become part of your story. This is even more important when you are looking after your personal reputation and brand.

Due to the internet, customers can be very picky about where they spend their money, and whose pocket it is going on. So you need to be the person, and company, that they believe in.

You might be a dog groomer, you might be a blogger who needs help with personal branding or maybe it is law firm branding and lawyer personal brands you are interested in learning more about.

The chances are you have read plenty of articles that take about starting your branding, like working with a graphic design company or outsourcing your copy. And that is great, but there is more to it.

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Why?

Think about your why. What is your purpose? Why should people interact with you? What do you bring that they can’t get elsewhere? If you started knitting scarves because you saw a homeless person needed one, and now you donate a scarf for every one purchased – that is your why and your story. So share it. Talk about WHY you do what you do, and WHY they should get involved too.

Ideas

Consider all of your ideas as art. All of those thoughts that you have about products you have the capability to make them come alive. If you don’t create mass items, but instead you are creating one or two pieces of artwork, or sculptures, or painting – maybe even movies. Bring it to life. Of course, you should look to make money on your things where you can, but try and create things outside of that just to showcase.

Make Links

Make firm, and transparent links between what you design and produce and what your ethos and goals are for your business. For example, most beauty companies are going cruelty-free and vegan. Meaning that people feel good about spending their money with a company they feel cares. Be respectful if you choose to work with charities, and really consider where you’re products are sourced from.

Be Truthful

People grow and change, and so do businesses and products. While it’s impractical to have a branding overhaul every year, you can share your journey with your audience and take them with you. They will understand the changes they see in your company and products if you are honest with them.

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Warning: Running A Business Could Be Hazardous To Your Health!

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Sorry to be alarmist, but it’s true!

While we aren’t trying to put you off from running your own business; there are plenty of reasons why you should work for yourself instead of ‘working for the man,’ but in terms of your health, there are definite hazards that need to be avoided.

Don’t worry, you won’t have to hurriedly shape up your resumé to return to the safer confines of a 9 to 5 job to preserve your life, but you should consider the following issues.

#1: The sedentary lifestyle. For those business owners working from home, especially when seated in front of a computer screen for many hours during the day, it is worth knowing the health risks of a sedentary lifestyle. These risks include weight gain, high blood pressure, and the increased chances of a stroke and heart disease. You can find out more here. Therefore, make every effort to exercise each day, both before and after work, and take regular breaks to stretch your legs and give your eyes a rest from the computer screen, to offset any issues associated with the sedentary lifestyle.

#2: Feelings of stress. We can all feel stress, but if not dealt with, there are consequences to our health, both physically, with headaches and high blood pressure, and mentally, with issues around depression, anxiety, and burnout. So, should you run a business, it is important to deal with your stressors. If you have strict deadlines to meet, as an example of one common stressor, you might want to hire other staff to help you tackle other work pressures, or outsource certain tasks, so you have time to commit to the project deadline at hand. Within your business life, you should also improve your work-life balance as this can reduce feelings of stress. And forming good habits within your lifestyle will also help, as by eating a healthy diet, and by exercising regularly, you will be more physically and mentally able to deal with the stress in your life.

#3: Neglecting health problems. When working for yourself, you don’t have the sickness benefits that are provided within a usual 9 to 5 job. Therefore, you are more likely to neglect and fight through any health problems instead of taking time off, especially when you are reliant on money coming in. And you might neglect a visit to the doctor or to the pharmacy, especially if you are snowed under with work. By being neglectful in either way, you might suffer the consequences to your health later on. So, here’s our advice. For starters, get into the habit of saving money so you can afford to have time off when you are unwell. Secondly, if you notice any symptoms of ill health, don’t ignore them, hoping they will go away. The sooner you get to see your doctor, the sooner you will be able to deal with any issues and get back to work. And finally, you might also consider registering with a doctor dispensing of medication, so when you are working, you won’t have to disrupt your working day too much because of long queues at the pharmacy.

Running your own business is an excellent idea, but you won’t make a success of it if you fall prey to ill health. Follow our suggestions, then, and not only will you have better health physically and emotionally, but your business should also be healthy on a financial level too!

Take care, and thanks for reading!

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Genuine Ways To Make Money From Home

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The concept of making money from home is something that has really taken off over the last decade, and although it’s been something that people have talked about for a good bit longer than that, previously it was considered to be something sleazy or in some cases illegal.

However thanks to things like social media and the internet making it easier than ever for people to set up online businesses and work according to their own terms and set their own hours, this is now becoming the norm, so if you’re looking for a way to make money from home but you’re worried about getting caught up in a scam then in this post we’re going to share with you some of the genuine ways that you can make money from home.

Freelancing:

Setting yourself up as a freelancer is possibly one of the easiest ways to start making money from home, and doesn’t require much in the way of start-up costs like other businesses do. The easiest way to get started as a freelancer is to decide on a professional service that you could offer that people would pay for. For example, you could offer copywriting for businesses, you could offer a graphic design, or you could even offer something like accounting or bookkeeping services. There are endless ways that you could work as a freelancer, and the great thing about it is you get to decide your own hours, work on your own schedule and effectively decide how much you earn as well, so it’s a very flexible way to make money from home especially if you have a family and other commitments to work around.

Physical Products:

If you’re someone who likes to create things by yourself then you could have a good chance of creating a business from home that allows you to sell your products. You could sell things like skin care, candles, or even t-shirts and then have them branded and have the labels made for them by hiring a branding company to do this – to find out more about getting labels made for your physical products, you can click here for more info. Of course setting up a physical product business takes a bit more effort than an online business  where you’re only selling digital products, but it’s still a great way to make money from home selling your own items.

Affiliate Marketing:

Affiliate marketing is a very popular way to make money from home, and it really doesn’t require much of an effort once you get it set up properly. Affiliate marketing works by recommending the products and services of other people, such as skin care products, technology gadgets, or even clothing. Pretty much anything can be used by affiliate marketers in order to generate revenue for themselves and for the people who own the products that they are recommending. A good way to start with affiliate marketing is to set up a blog around a niche topic, such as vegan skin care and then create content that links back to this product through an affiliate link whereby you then receive a commission for every person who clicks on your link and buys the product.

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