As the world recovers from COVID and we get back to shopping in person, there are ways your business can make shopping more convenient. Learn more now.

The world changed when COVID hit, including the shopping world. More people turned to online shopping and similar options so they could still conveniently shop. Now that the world is recovering and opening back up again, physical stores need to make in-person shopping more convenient. Keep reading to learn how to create a more convenient shopping experience so your customers will keep coming back.

Retrain Your Employees

All businesses train employees on store policies and merchandise information. But your employees need to be more than mimic machines who just work a cash register or answer questions. To make the shopping experience more convenient for your customers, your employees need to have personality and be themselves, able to advise and even befriend customers as they shop. This will make your customers feel welcome and help your sales go up since friendly employees can offer compliments and consideration while your patron shop.

Reward Loyalty

Online stores often suggest that shoppers sign up for free programs that reward loyalty with discounts, freebies, and even flash sales specialized just for them. Your physical store can do the same by offering reward cards. While you may not be able to offer the entire rewards system for free, having one available will entice loyal customers to join so the shopping habits they’ve already established can earn them fun extras. When they’re signing up for the card, make sure to record their contact information so that you can offer your own special discounts and rewards specialized for them.

Stay Well Stocked

Staying well stocked was important before COVID, but it’s even more important after. Many people got used to online shopping, where they could get anything they wanted with just a few clicks. Items rarely go out of stock online; they may just take a little longer to arrive, which means you’re facing steeper competition than ever before. Keep your storefront and storage as well stocked as possible so customers can always pick up what they need.

Make Organization a Priority

You can have friendly employees, a great rewards program, and everything can be in stock, but if your customer can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll get frustrated and leave. Make organization a priority so your employees and customers can always find what they’re looking for without having to stop and ask too many questions. That includes displaying certain items like gift cards so that customers don’t have to wonder and question whether you have any available. If you use paper certificates and have to keep them hidden to avoid thievery, consider switching to plastic gift cards.

Retraining your employees, creating a loyalty program, staying well stocked, and making organization a priority are the best ways to create a more convenient shopping experience for your customers. The more convenient the shopping experience, the more likely you are to create loyal customers out of first-time visitors, and you’ll start growing your business with ease.

Do you also have trust issues? Womenlines guest influencer and leadership coach Ela Staniak – Founder of Feminine Leaders from Australia has shared an insightful article with lots of tips on how to fix trust issues?

Keep calm, you are NOT alone.

Along the years of working with women in leadership in multiple capacities, I began recognising certain trends in human behaviour and how these trends change.

Mistakenly some of us believe that either only causes trust issues:
– childhood trauma
– heartbreak or
– significant loss in the past/ feeling left alone/ unsupported

These are common causes for trust issues, however not exclusively.

See, not experiencing a sense of TRUST – however it plays out – is a symptom of lack of CONNECTION.

The symptoms sound like some of the following:

“I can’t trust others”
“I can’t trust the world”
“I can’t trust myself”

If you are experiencing any of the above what is really going on most then likely is this:

A. ‘Defence Mechanism’ is in place and for most, it would cause an underlying anxiety

“I don’t know what the future holds”
“I fear the outcome of what happens when things change”

Ironically you might be keeping yourself safe and stuck at the same time in the same place by not moving forward ie-

– a job which doesn’t fulfil you
– a relationship which doesn’t thrive on love
– a well-being or body shape which doesn’t satisfy you

B. You might be disconnected to some degree

Dissociation is very common. It’s when we tolerate circumstances which are uncomfortable or create a certain level of pain for long enough to numb ourselves to them emotionally.

Where to from here?

It is time to “COME BACK HOME” to your heart.

Embark on a journey to finding your PURPOSE.

Aim to develop INTUITIVE CONNECTION so instead of “needing to know what’s going on” you can be GUIDED every step of the way.

Follow your HEART’s DESIRES with courage and bravery.

Create morning RITUALS which facilitate coming back to your HEART.

Listen to your GUT FEELING.

Sort through your BELIEF systems around trust.

Why would you care?

An ability to demonstrate and develop TRUST is one of the most powerful assets of an exemplary LEADER.

TRUST in a romantic relationship, parenting, friendship or a workplace facilitates PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY.

It doesn’t matter what happens around us or to us because you cannot control everything in your life.

What matters the most is KNOWING who YOU ARE and having FAITH that you are always going to be OK despite any circumstances.

That’s a powerful place in your HEART TO LEAD from.

Ela Staniak -Founder of Feminine Leaders https://www.elastaniak.com/

LinkedIn profile 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ela-staniak-feminine-leadership-coach/

As a Feminine Leadership Coach to female CEOs, Executives, and Business Owners, Ela champions unprecedented results for women ready to break through the perception of the ‘glass ceiling’ and gain their rightful place at the boardroom table or claim their space in their entrepreneurial zone of genius. 

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Also read: How to Develop Self-Leadership?

Customer service is the face of any business. Having a strong customer service team is crucial in any industry. Discover customer service tips for your team.

Every business approaches customer service with unique strategies. But one thing is for sure—in order to provide a positive customer experience, your customer service team must be up to the task. Evaluate your customer service team, and use these tips for training your employees in customer service to strengthen some of this department’s shortcomings.

Start as Soon as Possible

Not all your employees will start with the same level of experience in customer service. This diversity in experience levels is why it’s important to bring everyone up to speed through training as soon as possible. Start coaching your employees through your business’s unique brand of customer service as soon as they begin the onboarding process. This training will help teach them the skills they need early on so that they can build a proper foundation in customer service skills.

Stress the Importance of Listening

For some customer service teams, it will feel easiest to teach and learn specific phrases and greetings to use throughout the day’s work. However, you should encourage your employees to listen closely to customers instead of just going through the motions. Teach your customer service team the importance of improv and how to actively listen to customers and provide a personal and engaging experience while they shop with your business.

Practice Resolving Escalations

Any customer service team will tell you that they’ve had conversations with angry customers. No matter how hard your business works to provide exceptional service and products, it’s inevitable that you’ll receive an angry customer or two. Be sure that your customer service team feels ready to face these tense situations. Practice de-escalation techniques with your customer service team to prepare them for speaking with actual customers. It helps to outline a conversation and the steps to take to calm the customer down.

A phone call between an upset customer and your customer service representative is sure to be taxing on both ends of the conversation. Don’t focus on your customers alone in these situations—make sure you’re taking care of your employees as well. Practice stress-relieving activities with your customer service team, such as breathing exercises, mindfulness, and even physical activity such as yoga. These activities can promote positive mental health and wellness at work.

Focusing your business’s efforts on training and improving your customer service is one way to boost sales and increase conversions. Use these tips for training your customer service employees to create a caring and effective team that is ready to help your customers.

Relaxed and comfortable salon clients are more likely to be repeat customers. Here are three ways to make your salon clients feel more comfortable. Salons should be a relaxing place for clients to come and feel at home while they get their hair cut and styled. There are several ways to increase client comfort and ensure that clients return for future appointments at your shop. Read on to discover three ways to make your salon clients feel comfortable.

Invest in Comfortable Seating

The first way to make your salon clients comfortable during appointments is by investing in comfortable seating. You want to ensure that your reception and service area seating is appropriate and accommodating for all clients. The reception area should be inviting and roomy enough to seat multiple clients at once without anyone feeling as though they are sitting on top of each other.

There are several factors to consider when choosing the perfect salon chairs, but comfort is one of the most important. Your salon chairs should be functional for the stylist and comfortable for the client. Comfortable seating will help your clients relax more easily and feel at home while they are in your salon, which will keep them coming back for more appointments.

Engage in Friendly Conversation

Engaging in friendly conversation is the second way to make your salon clients feel more comfortable during appointments. You can start by simply asking your clients how their day is going and letting the conversation grow naturally from there.

You want clients to feel like you genuinely care about them and their well-being, so engage them and ask questions. Focus on things you can both relate to if you’re unsure of what to talk about with them. For example, ask them what they’re doing this weekend or how their kids are doing. Then, the next time they come in for an appointment, you can follow up on your initial discussion. Remembering personal details that your clients tell you about themselves will make them feel special and important, which encourages them to choose your salon over others.

Talk Them Through the Process

The third way to ensure that your clients are comfortable during appointments is by talking them through the process. This point is especially helpful if you have new clients or clients who rarely come to salons.

For instance, some people don’t enjoy getting their hair cut and have anxiety when it comes to changing their physical appearance. For these kinds of clients, it’s incredibly beneficial to explain the process to them step-by-step. Let them know before you’re about to touch them, and explain what you’re doing as you do it. Doing this will allow the client to feel more informed and like they get to be a part of the process while helping to ease any potential nervousness.

Now that you have three ways to make salon clients feel more comfortable, you can start trying these techniques with your clients today. By increasing client comfort, you will be building a more substantial clientele base that will be excited to return to your salon time and time again.

When you start a small business, using all of your resources is essential. Using technology to your advantage will improve your chances of reaching early success. With so many complex devices on the market today, knowing how to implement them into your daily operations can be a challenge. However, there are so many ways to use technology in your small business to streamline workflow and increase profits.

Organize With Digital Calendars

If you want to work efficiently, you need to stay organized. In our online world, manual planners will only get you so far. Use digital planners to handle menial administrative tasks and optimize your workday.

There are so many project management systems to choose from that are simple to use. Systems like OneDrive and Google Suite have various applications that make organization easy. Using a digital calendar and accompanying features will let everyone in your business access important documents and information.  

Build 3D Models

Many entrepreneurs find success in creating and selling objects. Handmade jewelry, productivity accessories, home décor—whatever you make, you can use a 3D printer to develop new and improved models.

3D printing might seem like a massive investment, but it’s so useful for crafty creators. With this technology, you can print prototypes with intricate details and work out any kinks. Decide on a 3D printer that fits your budget, and it will pay for itself in no time.

Interact on Social Media

Social media is another powerful way to use technology in your small business. Nowadays, succeeding without an Instagram or TikTok account is next to impossible. You need to create an online presence to interact with current and potential customers.

Create engaging content that will make people interested in your product or service. “Behind-the-scenes” videos and “a day in the life” reels perform well on various platforms. The internet is a powerful marketing tool, so use it to reach a wider audience.

Create an Accessible Website

While you’re establishing yourself online, you should create an accessible website. Your clients need to be able to find you and learn all about your values.

Your website will help you build a recognizable brand. Communicate your goals and show off your unique personality. People want to do business with authentic individuals, and your website can help you create an online presence.

Women who use technology to improve their businesses stand out among the crowd. Use these tips to better your operations and reach new professional heights.

Womenlines team wants to congratulate Maryna Viazovska, winner of Fields Medala 2022, one of the highest honours in mathematics that is conventionally awarded to people aged under 40. Maryna is only the second woman to ever win the Fields Medal. The Fields Medal is often compared to the Nobel Prize.

Maryna Viazovska is a Ukrainian mathematician who is a professor at the Chair of Number Theory at the Institute of Mathematics of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. She solved the sphere-packing problem in dimension 8 and, in collaboration with others, the sphere-packing problem in dimension 24.

Maryna Viazovska was born in Kiev, a city also known as Kyiv. She excelled at mathematics at school in Kiev so, in 1998, she entered the Kiev Natural Science Lyceum no. 145. This Lyceum in the Pechersk district of Kiev was founded in 1962 as specialised mathematics, physics, and computer science school. It is highly selective and only the most outstanding pupils are admitted. The programmes in mathematics and physics were developed for the Lyceum in cooperation with the faculty of the Kiev National University. At this school, Viazovska was influenced, in particular, by Andrii Knyazyuk (1960-2013).

In 2007 Viazovska graduated with a Master’s Degree from Kaiserslautern and in May 2010, she defended her Candidate thesis at the Institute of Mathematics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on the topic “Inequalities for polynomials and rational functions and quadrature formulas in the sphere”.

After a time as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in France, Viazovska moved to Berlin in 2014 where she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Berlin Mathematical School and the Humboldt University of Berlin. In the spring of 2016, she announced she had made an amazing mathematical breakthrough by solving a long-standing packing problem. 

Awards and recognition

1. Maryna received more prizes in 2017, the year in which she was appointed to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland. There was the European Prize in Combinatorics.

2) Also in 2017, there was the Clay Research Award.

3) In January 2018 she was promoted to full professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and later that year she received the 2018 New Horizons in Mathematics Prize.

4) Late in 2018, it was announced that she would receive the 2019 Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics

5) She was an invited speaker at the 2018 International Congress of Mathematicians. For 2019 she was awarded the Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics and the Fermat Prize. She is one of the 2020 winners of the EMS Prize. In 2020, she also received the National Latsis Prize awarded by the Latsis Foundation.

As for work, currently Maryna Viazovska is a professor of the Department of Number Theory of the Institute of Mathematics at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, Switzerland.

(Inputs in the article are taken from https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Viazovska/)

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Breaks are so significant in life, that one only realises after taking a break only! Rejuvenated, energised, got healed (went just after recovering from COVID) and got back to my original self after taking a must-required break at Mashobra and Shimla.

I visited the hill station in India Shimla and the best kept secret place in Himachal Pradesh in India Mashoobra.I will highly recommend Mashobra to my network as it is still untouched by the tourist inflow. The exclusive experience of lingering around pristine trails, observing laid-back life in mountains, and experiencing apple orchards, will make Mashobra stay memorable forever.

Here are some interesting facts about both places which I would love to share with my network-

1) Shimla is situated atop seven major hills namely –Prospect Hill, Observatory Hill, Inveram Hill, Summer Hill, Jakhoo Hill, Elysium Hill and Bantony Hill.

2) Got experience of witnessing all the charms of a colonial property at Mashobra Wildflower Hall, which is now a property of Oberoi Hotels and was once upon a time residence of the British commander-in-chief before Independence of India.

3)The popular Christ Church is a major landmark site in Shimla. It is North India’s second oldest church after St John’s Church in Meerut.

4) Had a memorable experience of walking through the Apple orchard, which will always be fresh in my memory, observing apple and plum trees so closely was amazing and unique. Trees wear a soft cover of net making (for safety from hailstorms) and it looks like a series of huts all over the hills. When you are surrounded by apples it is very difficult to stop yourself from plucking and eating them. State’s apple boom is credited to Samuel Evans Stokes (later named Satyanand Stokes), an American missionary who first introduced the high-quality apples in the mid-altitude hills.
From a small orchard in Kotgarh, Stokes promoted apple cultivation in other areas too, especially in upper Shimla which currently alone accounts for 80 per cent of the state’s total apple production.

5) Do you know that one of the biggest statues in the world is in Shimla? The Statue of Indian God Hanuman (33m) is visible from most parts of Shimla.

6) Institute of advanced studies is known for many historic decisions, including the Shimla Conference of 1945 and the Separation of Pakistan and East Pakistan in 1947, which have been taken in this building. I was surprised to hear that it was the first building in Shimla to have electricity.

 I am so mesmerised by the experience I had at Shimla and Mashobra. Experiencing the beauty of the landscape, lush green forests, and surrounding mountains was amazingly relaxing and now the only thought coming to my mind is we cannot run away from the responsibility of taking care of the environment. The small role played by us by reducing the usage of plastic things, polythene bags itself can be a good deed. Future generations should be able to experience the natural beauty and not just read in textbooks that once upon a time there used to be such beautiful places.

Let’s share with each other what steps can be included in everyday life which can help saving our environment.

One step I am taking is to carry my own bag and stop using plastic bags while picking up groceries and veggies. What are you going to do, think now!

If you’ve recently felt exhausted or stressed, it’s time to prioritize yourself and improve your overall well-being. Most individuals overstretch themselves and end up fatigued and frustrated; this is why it’s critical to schedule time in your day for dedicated self-care.

Time To Yourself 

Many individuals believe that taking time for self-care is self-indulgent; that if they are not making a living or working for the benefit of others, they are wasting their time. However, failing to make time for yourself in your life reduces your happiness, wellbeing, and productivity.

Whether you have an hour or fifteen minutes to yourself during the day, make the most of it by focusing fully on yourself. Consider it like refreshing your battery so you can be more productive in the world; your phone, like your wellbeing, requires regular charging.

Be Kind To Yourself 

It’s easy to become caught up in the world of comparisons; your friends may appear to have more or be happier than you, so you develop a mindset that seeks what others have. This may result in some success, but you are unlikely to be completely satisfied. It is preferable to become acquainted with oneself.

Begin with self-kindness and the realization that your life journey is distinct from the lives of others and so unique. Spend some time getting to know yourself on the inside, free of societal restraints and other people’s expectations. Make a list of five life goals.

Have Understanding

Have you ever felt like your life is spinning out of control and you don’t know what to do? This could be in connection to your finances, or a relationship with a sex addiction.  Better understanding is the key to navigating this.

Assume you are experiencing financial difficulties that are causing you tremendous stress in your life. Perhaps you don’t have as much income as you thought and must make some short-term adjustments. Don’t worry; instead, concentrate on having things organised and under control before moving forward.

Eat A Healthy Diet

It’s easy to get stuck in a negative spiral when it comes to dietary health; you don’t feel your best, which leads to unhealthy dietary habits; these bad eating patterns further impair your capacity to function at your best in the world, but it’s a simple problem to overcome.

Begin by organizing your meals; taking the time to consider what you’re going to eat ensures that you buy the best food and avoid bad foods or microwaved dinners. What you’ll discover is that the more healthy things you eat, the more your body craves healthier food in general.

A Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep is sometimes undervalued, but it should not be. We need good foods to live our best lives, but we can’t function successfully in the world without appropriate sleep, which can lead to health issues including poor mood, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating at work.

Unfortunately, many people are affected by poor sleep habits as a result of insomnia or light sleep. It’s time to prioritize your sleep by going to the doctor for sleeping pills or sipping valerian tea before going to bed. You might also try exercising during the day rather than at night.

These tips should help you to focus on self care and wellbeing. Do you have any other tips that could help? Please share some of them in the comments below. 

Blogging is a fantastic hobby that can grow into a number of different career choices and lucrative endeavours. But while most people don’t really think about growing their audience and reaching new targets, some people are heavily focused on the business prospects that could arise from running a well-maintained blog.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things to do with a blog is growing it. Growing a large audience and keeping them entertained are two entirely different tasks, but they’re both crucial if you want to lift your blog into the limelight. But perhaps one of the best ways to do this is to focus on organic growth, and that’s what we’ll be discussing in this post.

When in doubt, hire a company to help you build a presence

Whether it’s working with a link-building company or a team of social media influencers, one of the fastest ways to grow your audience and build a presence is to use the services of other companies. These companies can give you a great head start for organic growth because they can put you on the map. They’ll help you grow organically by exposing you to a large number of media sites, blogs, and social media audiences.

But while this is a great way to acquire new readers, it doesn’t do much to actually hold on to them. As such, you’re going to want to actually have some enticing content on your blog so that people don’t just come to your blog and leave immediately because there’s nothing to read.

Learn more about search engine optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) may sound like digital marketing nonsense to a lot of people, but understanding how SEO works can be a blessing to your blog. To keep things simple, SEO is a series of strategies that can help your website be discovered more easily by searches on websites like Google.

Good SEO typically means that you’re using keywords that people actually search for, but it should also be created with the purpose of educating your readers and providing them with evergreen content that will always be relevant.

Understand who your audience is before you start writing

One of the most difficult things about growing a blogging business is understanding your audience. There are many cases where content is targeted at the wrong audience, causing it to perform very poorly in terms of views and interactions. The other problem is that you could be attracting an unintentional audience. For instance, your content might be a great read for somebody in a different demographic, but because it’s not targeted at them, it doesn’t get the attention and views that it deserves.

So before you decide to write up a lot of content, make sure you know exactly who your audience is. Even if it’s not the audience that you intended to attract in the first place, it’s a good idea to learn a bit more about the people that read your content so you know how to best appeal to them in the future.