Nadjmat

Happy International Day of the Seafarer!

Get ready to set sail: June 25 is the Day of the Seafarer. Whether your job involves a large quantity of salt water, or not, this day is worth celebrating! Sailing has been in my family for generations and I am very happy to talk about it today with you.

The main transport mode for global trade is ocean shipping (not plane): around 90% of traded goods are carried over the waves. As such, the oceans provide the main transport arteries for global trade. As demand for global freight increases, maritime trade volumes are set to triple to 2050.

Maritime transport forms part of a whole cluster of economic activities that can create economic value added. The sea is still the most cost-effective way to transport goods.

Marine biologists and oceanographers from every country have dedicated their lives to learning more about the ocean depths, and humans from every walk of life keep going to the sea to explore the planet.

If trade by sea were limited in some way, or stopped altogether, there is no way that the global economy would be able to function. In other words, we owe our current ways of life to those who travel the seas.

Seafarers are the pillars of the supply chains around the world. Trade is coming by sea. But because most people are not aware of them, they usually don’t get the support they need.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on seafarers, with hundreds of thousands of men and women stranded on ships for months beyond their original contracts, unable to be repatriated due to national travel restrictions.

A similar number of seafarers are unable to join ships and earn a living. This crew change challenge, which has been ongoing for nearly a year, is a real crisis.

Fun activities to do during Happy International Day of the Seafarer:

• Education: Read a book or watch a movie about life at sea.
  
• Charity: Donate to a maritime charity.
  
• Local Coast Guard: if you live near a Coast Guard outpost, you might consider dropping in. This is a great opportunity to learn more about what the Coast Guard does.
  

Accountants are essential when it comes to business and even sometimes personal finance. They help with a huge variety of tasks. However, you need a good and open relationship with your accountant if you want to ensure that the relationship is long lasting and beneficial.

To help ensure that you and your accountant are always working alongside each other in harmony, I've picked out these seven questions you should make sure to ask your accountant. There are way more questions to consider and I will definitely continue this series. 

From helping you with your small business accounts or your own personal tax return, these seven questions will help you ensure your accountant will be a benefit to your finances.

1. What is your communication style? (What record to keep and share?)
   
2. What are my deadlines to meet your deadlines?
   
3. Where is my cash going? Operating activities vs. investment.
   
4. How much cash do I need to run my business for 6 months? #emergency fund
   
5. What is my total employee cost? (Full burning cost).
   
6. Who's actually doing my accounting?
   
7. What is my tax liability?
   

Decisions in the marketing mix: how to organize your distribution?

Distribution channels in a service business:

• On-Site Consulting
• Virtual Delivery
• Workshops and Seminars
• Publications/Bookers/Referrals (speakers)

Distribution channels in a product business - key questions:

• Where do customers buy and who from?
• How do customers buy?
• Sell direct or use intermediaries (distribution channels?)
• Is technology changing traditional distribution methods?

• The importance of local knowledge: etiquette & manners:

Business is about people. There is no shortage of competent and reliable people in the business world and manners can make the difference. Etiquette is the set of conventional rules of personal behavior in polite society. Manners are described as either good manners or as bad manners to indicate to a person whether or not his or her behavior is acceptable to the cultural group. These concepts are vital in life and in business. As times change, so do social norms for personal and professional behavior, but that doesn't mean the basics don’t matter. Performance and quality are important but not exclusively.

• Attitude and privacy: in public & at home:

With so many people working from home, privacy has taken on an added dimension: the privacy of information from the ordinary, everyday intrusion by family or colleagues. There is, for instance, the loss of privacy when your colleagues overhear you arguing with your family, or see what you read on the bookshelves behind you. Or the loss of privacy when your family can see what’s on your computer or how you handled your calls. Working from home or having a home based business requires a strategy. You have the obligation to protect your private life and at the same time protect your company information.

• Share a positive attitude:

A positive attitude is something that goes deeper and has an effect beyond surface cheer. Try to connect with people who like their job, have new ideas, and are interested in lots of other things besides work. It’ll make your whole outlook better.

If you want to see your business grow, it is vital that you have your eye on all the components that make up a successful marketing strategy. Pricing is one of them.

Don Draper taught us a lot about marketing and he often used the 7 P’s of marketing. Indeed, back in the 1960s, when marketing men smoked at their desks, a marketing notion was hatched that was so perfect that sixty one years later it is still considered an integral part of any marketing strategy.

The seven Ps of marketing includes product, price, promotion, place, people, process, and physical evidence.

On our episode today, we are going to focus on Pricing. Understanding the connection between the 7 P’s is crucial and it is not recommended to decide on any of them in isolation from the others.

Price:

• Reputation: charging the “wrong” or a low price will send a wrong signal to your customers
  
• Target group: focus on people that are willing and able to pay you
  
• Goal: the right price should help you achieve your business goals
  
• Income: the right price will help you generate enough income to cover your cost and make a healthy profit

When a business sells merchandise, it might occasionally face returns and refunds. Returns and refunds are part of running any business. The average returns and refunds rate is around 6-8%. In accounting, a sales return represents a refund for a returned item, while a sales allowance represents a partial refund for an item that a customer keeps. This is a contra-revenue account, which means you subtract it from total, or gross, revenue on the income statement.

In today’s episode, we are going to talk about the best way to manage returns and refunds by focusing on your return and refund policy to best serve your customers.

As much as you can, avoid arguing with your customers. Best way to minimize that, is to write a very clear return & refund policy! Company policies say a lot about you and your values. For instance, a product being shipped back and forth might not be cost effective for you, especially for small items. Hence, it is preferable to just refund a customer. Ask the customer why they want to return the product and ask for a picture of it.

The goal here is to focus on having returning customers. A great way to do that after an incident is to give a discount.

Another great way to deal with a defective item would be to suggest to the customers to donate it to a charity or recycle it. You could add a list of charities you are working with in your policy that the customer might be interested in donating the product to.

These are original and personal ways of managing returns and refunds that will always set you up for repeat customers.

“Psychologists are joining forces with religious communities to improve mental health and reduce the stigma of seeking treatment.

Religious leaders have always provided counsel to their constituents. But most aren’t trained to handle mental health disorders. Increasingly, faith-based institutions such as churches, synagogues and mosques are partnering with psychologists to improve the mental health of their congregants.

“There’s more movement happening in this area in the last four or five years than I’ve seen in the last 20,” says Shannon Royce, director of the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives (also known as the Partnership Center) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”

Reaching out to the faithful (apa.org)

One of the key lessons we learned from Dunder Mifflin is that your warehouse management is very important!

What is inventory management?

Inventory management is the function of understanding the stock mix of a company and the different demands on that stock.

What type of companies hold inventory?

Manufacturing & merchandising companies: retailers, restaurants, freight and logistics companies, etc. Any company that needs to stock products and goods. Manufacturing companies sell goods to earn revenue while merchandises companies resell goods to earn revenue. (sell vs. resell)

Who in the company is in charge of it?

The purchasing department is responsible for ensuring that the organization maintains the correct level of inventory to build and sell products.

What is the relationship between inventory (Balance Sheet) & COGS (P&L)?

Companies sell inventories to earn a profit. Before inventory is sold, it acts as an asset of the company. When it is sold, the cost converts into an expense, called the cost of goods sold.

Why is inventory an asset? 

The intention is to make money out of it within the same year. Hence why it is under “current asset” because it is not supposed to stay long. The intention is to sell it and make money quickly.

Most common types of inventory:

1- Raw materials (Inventory that was purchased to produce goods); Manufacturing companies only

2- Work-in-Progress (Inventory that was in the process as now); Manufacturing companies only

3- Finished goods (inventory that is available to be sold). Manufacturing & merchandising companies

Cost of goods sold (COGS) refers to the direct costs of producing the goods sold by a company.

COGS includes the cost of the materials and labor directly used to create the goods.

COGS excludes indirect expenses, such as distribution costs and sales force costs.

Do all businesses have Cost Of Goods Sold?

No! Many service companies do not have any cost of goods sold at all. COGS is defined as only the cost of inventory items sold during a given period. Not only do service companies have no goods to sell, but purely service companies also do not have inventories.

Operating Expenses vs. COGS

Unlike COGS, operating expenses (OPEX) are expenditures that are not directly tied to the production of goods or services.

What Does the COGS Tell You? Why does it matter?

Knowing a business’ COGS helps evaluate profitability.  The number that remains after you subtract COGS from your total revenue is known as your gross profit. The COGS is an important metric on the financial statements. The gross profit is a profitability measure that evaluates how efficient a company is in managing its labor and supplies in the production process. COGS fluctuates greatly depending on the quantity produced.

Let’s use the example of a farm that raises livestock and sells meat.

Costs of Good Sold

• Animal Feed & Minerals Expense
• Vet & Medical
• Replacement Animals
• USDA Processing Cost
• Packaging

Operating Expenses

• Payroll
• Licenses & Permits
• Rent & Insurance
• Marketing
• Office Expenses

Keep exploring! Adventures are amazing and will always help you grow!

1. Travel & meet new people: start where you are by simply changing your routine.
2. Real-world experiences: do something new every week or 2 weeks.
3. Opportunities for personal development
4. Interpersonal skills
5. Adventures provide the opportunity to be physically active. Move as much as you can!
6. Adventures encourage self-reflection.