August 18, 2010
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When you become self employed there are things that you will need to handle that before were handled by your employer, health insurance being one of them. In the corporate world, typically Human Resources handles the paperwork, provides information on how the plans worked and the coverage and you could call them if you had any questions. Now that you’re self employed, you are the one who will be in charge of handling that aspect of your business. When you begin to research different policies, it is vital that you do your homework and don’t sign up for the first policy you find. Most importantly, ask questions, you will find that there is a lot of confusion out there that comes along with health insurance. To help you get started, below are some types of insurance that may best fit your situation.
Major Medical
This is the type of insurance that you may have had when you were with an employer. It covers a wide variety of medical treatments, prescriptions, and hospital stays. This plan is flexible as well by choosing the deductibles and amounts that suit you best.
Point of Service
Point of Service insurance or POS for short is where the patient chooses a primary physician and would have all care done with that physician. If you should have to see another doctor for a service that your primary physician doesn’t handle you would need to have them refer you or it may not be covered.
Limited Benefits Plans
This type of insurance covers only certain types of care this is so that you can keep your costs low but still have some types of coverage. These plans differ by state in the amounts and coverage’s that are minimally required.
Hospital Only Plans
This plan is exactly like its name implies, it only covers if you are hospitalized. This plan would only be a good idea if you had the means to cover expenses for regular checkups or lab work that is done out patient.
These are just a couple of examples of the types of insurances that are out there for the self employed. Start with checking out the plans that may be available through your car or home insurance or check and see if the group or organization you belong to offers benefits, you may be surprised.
Posted in
Small Business
August 5, 2010
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When it comes to online communication, it’s just as important as offline communication, if not more important. Oftentimes when speaking to someone in an online atmosphere, they can take things the wrong way, simply because they cannot hear your voice or see your face. Because of this, it is vital that you get your message across right the first time because you might not get another chance, especially if you offend someone. Here are a few guidelines to follow when you are speaking to someone online; have it be through email or IM.
- It is typically considered rude and impolite to talk IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE THIS. It is commonly referred to as shouting. Shouting = rude. Instead, you can emphasize words using bold or italics but if at all possible stay away from all caps.
- Make sure you check your spelling and grammar before sending out emails and IMs. Most IM and email programs these days have a spell check function. Be sure to turn it on, this will allow you to look professional. It will also keep people from getting confused by sloppy typing.
- Make sure when you send an email, that you use a signature file. Email programs and sites like Gmail and Hotmail have an option for this. It will allow you to “attach” it to the bottom of all your emails you send out. This email signature will contain your name, business name, phone number, URL, etc. Whatever you want. There are two points to this. First is to introduce who you are and possibly what you want. Second is to possibly promote your website or business.
- Make your email subjects text as concise as possible. Keep it short and to the point.. Oftentimes when people read or receive an email that is incredibly long, especially when it comes to a partnership, sale, email sales letter or newsletter, if it’s too long, they will just delete it. Remember to always enter a subject, if you leave it blank it has a greater chance of being filtered into spam or just deleted.
- Always use the best customer service skills possible. It doesn’t matter if it’s through an email program or if you have a support desk. Don’t make your clients, customers or prospects wait more than two days at a time for an answer. If you get a lot of people that email you once, email you twice and email you three times in a very minimal amount of time – set up an auto responder. Gmail has one of these and it is quite frankly, very useful. It tells people, okay, I got your email, and I will get back to you soon. It shows you care and it puts them at ease.
By using these few guidelines, your business will run smoother, and people will be able to communicate with you on a clearer level. Communication is such a HUGE aspect in the online world. Use these guidelines as you will, when you want and customize them for your businesses.
Posted in
Customer Service
