 stumbling.
Eric Dalius, an expert on small business management, advises that is vital for entrepreneurs to remain focused on what they are good at and constantly endeavor to optimize the products and services. Staying committed to your niche will help you to develop the expertise that will enable you to stand out from the clutter and be seen as a credible and dependable brand.
One of the main reasons why some brands become as big as they do is because of their ability to deliver an outstanding customer experience. It starts right from the time the potential customer experiences the first touchpoint and enters the sales funnel, and traverses the entire length of it to the final conversion and, thereafter, throughout the life of the product.
If you pay attention to making things convenient for the customer, adopt an open and transparent policy so that you can manage customer expectations better, and attend to their pain points even after they have bought the product, you will be able to deliver a truly outstanding customer experience.
This experience not only serves to delight customers but also leads to word-of-mouth recommendations that can result in increased brand awareness, a boost in the traffic to the website as well as social media accounts, and ultimately, more sales.
One of the biggest challenges an entrepreneur needs to face is to wear multiple hats simultaneously. Not only does he act as the CEO but also takes care of every aspect of business operations including marketing, sales and distribution, finance, logistics, staffing, payroll, and more.
With such a large spectrum of responsibilities and a budget that restricts him from hiring as many people as required, there is huge pressure on his time. He must be able to manage his time efficiently by prioritizing the tasks and adopting technology and business automation to the maximum.
There are automation tools available today for virtually every aspect of running a small business – all that an entrepreneur has to do is to identify the areas that will benefit the most by automation and free up his valuable time so that he can attend to more critical tasks.
Perhaps the most important ingredient in the success of any small business is passion. For an entrepreneur to make his business flourish and get into a fast-growth mode, he has to be passionate about everything he does. Passion should not be limited to designing products that have the potential for changing the world.
Rather, it must extend to every aspect of the business, right from business operations to delighting customers with the brand experience. Giving customers as many reasons as possible to trust and depend on your brand is an effort well worth the effort for entrepreneurs.July 1918 marked the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. It had begun on 28 July 1914 with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia in response to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Four years on, the pivotal events of another summer signalled the beginning of the end. Here’s a summary of some of the main developments that shaped the four months leading up to the Armistice on 11 November 1918 - together with an updated glance at forthcoming centenary commemorations.
Australian troops, supported by American units and British tanks, capture Le Hamel, a strategic vantage point for the Germans on the approaches to Amiens near Villers-Bretonneux. The operation - planned by Sir John Monash, recently appointed commander of the Australian Corps - foreshadows the successful tactics in coming Allied offensives.
The Germans begin their fifth offensive of the year, attacking in Champagne, again with the aim of drawing Allied reserves away from Northern France and the Channel Ports. But intelligence has alerted the French to Ludendorff's intentions, and a counter-attack is launched on July 18. With American, British and Italian support the Germans are forced back at the Second Battle of Marne. From now on, the German armies will be on the back foot.
Amid civil war in Russia, the former Tsar and Tsarina, Nicholas II and Alexandra, together with their five children are executed by their Bolshevik guards at Ekaterinburg in the Urals.
Allied Commander-in-Chief Ferdinand Foch summons a meeting of the British, French and US army commanders on the Western Front - Sir Douglas Haig, Philippe Pétain and John Pershing. He tells them it's time to return to the offensive.
Battle of Amiens Centenary: International commemorations are planned in Amiens on August 8. The ticket ballot for the remembrance service at Amiens Cathedral is CLOSED.
A Centennial ceremony will held at Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery on September 23. For details of this, and other US commemorative events in France, Belgium and the UK from July-November, see the American Battle Monuments Commission website.
A series of Allied offensives in Northern France breach the fortified Hindenburg Line, forcing a political shake-up in Germany. With Ludendorff now backing an approach for peace terms, based on Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, a new Chancellor is appointed by the Kaiser in the hope of achieving a favourable outcome. Prince Max of Baden is chosen for his liberal reputation.
One year on from Caporetto, Italy avenges its defeat with victory over the forces of the crumbling Austria-Hungarian Empire at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.
A provisional government of the South Slavs has already been formed by Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in the future Yugoslavia.
October 7 - Poles formerly ruled by Germany, Russia and the Habsburgs proclaim an independent Poland.
October 28 - the new state of Czechoslovakia declares independence from Austria-Hungary.
October 31 - Following a revolution in Hungary, protestors demand secession from the Habsburg Empire.
Erich Ludendorff, mastermind of some of the greatest German successes of the First World War, is dismissed as he prepares to continue the fight against the Allies.
German troops still resist as they fall back across Northern France and Belgium, pursued by the British, French, Americans and Belgians. On November 4, British war poet Wilfred Owen is killed at the crossing of the River Sambre.
October 30: the Ottoman Empire signs an armistice with the Allies, four years after entering the First World War on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
November 3: Austria-Hungary also stops fighting in the wake of its defeat at Vittorio Veneto.
Crews of the German High Seas Fleet defy an order to sail for a final battle against the British navy. They take control of the port of Kiel, forming joint councils with disaffected workers to demand revolution.
New Zealand will hold a commemorations in France on 4 November 2018 to commemorate the liberation of Le Quesnoy by its forces - WW100 New Zealand will announce the details.
November 4 is also the centenary of the death of the British war poet, Wilfred Owen - killed in action during the crossing of the Sambre-Oise Canal. He's buried at Ors Communal Cemetery. For details of French commemorations, see Le Cateau Tourisme. In Britain, a wide-ranging programme of culltural events remembering Wilfred Owen is taking place in Shropshire, the county of his birth, from August-November. See Wilfred Owen100.
Amid fears of revolution in Germany, political leaders warn Kaiser Wilhelm II that he will have to abdicate. A German delegation travels to Compiègne for armistice talks with Marshal Foch, the Allied Commander-in-Chief. Premature reports spread of a ceasefire agreement - this is the false armistice.
Kaiser Wilhelm - who's at German military headquarters in the Belgian resort of Spa - gives up his throne after being told that the army will no longer fight for him. The next day he leaves for exile in the Netherlands.
The Armistice is signed at 5am on Marshal Foch's train in the forest of Rethondes. It comes into effect at 11 o'clock, ending the Great War. Beforehand, Canadian troops fight their way into Mons, where British troops had been forced to retreat in August 1914. Private George Price, a Canadian soldier, is killed by a German sniper moments before the ceasefire comes into effect.
In Artois, an illuminated eve-of-Armistice vigil will be held at the main military cemeteries on November 10 to remember all those who fell in this region of Northern France. Sites include CWGC Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery in Arras. See La Grande Veillée and Arras 14-18 for information.
See also Compiègne - Ville du Centenaire for the programme of First World War commemorative events taking place in Compiègne - where the Armistice was signed - in the run-up to November. Le Musée de l’Armistice 1914-18 at Rethondes has exhibits devoted to both world wars, including a replica of Marshal Foch’s railway carriage. The original was destroyed in Germany in the closing days of the Second World War.
Numerous events will be taking place on the Centenary Armistice Day, Sunday November 11. Representatives of the countries involved in the Great War have been invited to Paris by President Macron.
In Ypres, there will be a special Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate at 11am. An Australian service will be held at the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux.
Armistice Centenary in London: Coinciding with Britain's Remembrance Sunday, the traditional ceremony at the Cenotaph will conclude with an expanded march-past. Members of the public are being invited to take part in 'A Nation's Thank you - The