Why Are Companies Shifting Towards DevOps?

DevOps is an up and coming concept quite relevant in the world of technologies. Many companies are shifting their operations to DevOps, through which they are saving a lot of time and money. DevOps is a set of modern-day technological practices in which the functions of IT and software development are combined to create a more robust application. The main aim of using DevOps is to reduce the life cycle of system development operations. On top of that, it also provides a continuous and streamlined delivery of software that is world-class and very efficient.

 

These essential DevOps services make this application so popular, and hence most of the companies are installing one of them to make regular jobs easy and efficient. When the two vital operations are integrated, errors are significantly reduced, hence the delivery of error-free and high-quality software.

The DevOps company is quickly moving into automation to create reliable applications and integrate tedious tasks that need to be error-free. A company’s overall output margin increases exponentially when DevOps is installed within the company operations.

Benefits of DevOps

Apart from the points mentioned above, DevOps comes with various other benefits. All these benefits have accelerated why more and more companies are shifting to use DevOps.

Speed

DevOps has opened a new and revolutionary method of increasing the speed of even the everyday operations within an organization. It reduces the backend time significantly and hence increases the software development process. Product testing is not only a vital task but is also very time-consuming. Since DevOps uses automation, product testing is done within hours and the necessary modifications. Alongside the system, human intervention also reduces backend time and errors.

Reliable Services

Any software is first judged based on its quality. When DevOps is assigned the task to develop a particular software, quality and reliability are the two guaranteed terms in addition. DevOps thoroughly uses SDLC to make software testing a crucial task and double-check its reliability.

Secured System

Security of the system is a vital issue related to any IT operations. DevOps supports a high line of integrity and data security when developing a particular software. DevOps eliminates the problem of compromising data explicitly. DevSecOps is a dedicated element added to any software developed by DevOps that increases its overall security terms. All the controlling operations are responsible for data security under the component of DevSecOps.

Wrapping Up

The vital benefits DevOps offers are more than luring for companies to get a hand on it. With every passing day, more and more companies are considering shifting to DevOps for various reasons discussed above.

9 Ways Startups Could Leave You Needing a Lawyer

Starting with your dream business is both a good and a challenging task to take up. It is pretty natural to be excited when you make your startup and put your plans and ideas to give the startup the initial boost. In the light of being excited, people often overlook the small yet critical points. When you ignore the essential aspects of starting your business, you can land up in a huge problem. Apart from financial troubles, you can also face legal issues. Thus, to skip these legal issues, the first step towards landing a successful startup is to hire a lawyer initially. A qualified business will guide you through the various legal points you need to follow to establish your business.

Having a lawyer during the initial days of establishment is extremely important. They fight the legal side and provide in-depth and essential information regarding setting up a business and market conditions. Here are nine fundamental reasons you need a lawyer while establishing your startup.

Initial Deciding Stage

There are many decisions that a startup owner has to take before starting with their business. Starting from questions like name and its availability, marketing approach and its basic timeline, problem detection and solving, location, and others, there are a lot of issues that need sorting. These are critical decisions and need intense care since they can affect you in the long run. All these would be easier with a lawyer’s advice.

Initial Protocols and Regulations

Before setting up a business, there are a lot of legal rules and regulations that need to be followed. To establish an entity with your business, going through these legal processes are extremely important in the long run. Processes like business registration, trade license acquiring, name registration, and others are standard legal processes that need to be initiated. All these are basic steps you need to take before finally starting, and a lawyer can help you with these.

Banking Issues

If you want to establish your startup, financing is a huge factor. You would need to open multiple bank accounts, apply for credit cards and LOC or Line of Credit, and much more. A quick piece of advice given by business tycoons is to separate the finances of your personal use and your business use. This way, none of them collide, and you can also keep smooth track of the finance. A lawyer would help you guide through these banking and financing issues and advise you according to your needs.

Tax Issues

Taxation is yet another essential issue while setting up and establishing a startup. Under all conditions, your business comes directly under tax schemes. In this scenario, a business lawyer would be beneficial to guide you through the state, union, and federal tax schemes. The lawyer would also explain how each segment works and how to pay it. It is vital to get the tax questions cleared initially to prevent significant concerns later.

Insurance Issues

Owning a startup is both an asset and a liability single-handedly. You are solely responsible for what you provide, and if anything goes wrong, you, as an owner, would be answerable. Hence it is a good rule of thumb to ensure what you have initially. Understanding the terms and selecting the right coverage plan can be challenging. In this scenario, you should opt for an able lawyer who can guide you through the world of business insurance.

Debt Management Issues

In a business, debt is real, and it is a growing concern for many startup owners and small business people. One of those factors needs to be thought about even before setting up a business. Driving it away is not easy, and having questions and confusion regarding debt can multiply it in the long run. Hence the necessity of a lawyer comes into play. The lawyer is experienced enough to handle these issues.

Employee Regulations

To run a business, you would need a whole group of employees to smoothly process work across various departments. To facilitate the group of employees, you would need some structured policies. Penning down those policies can be pretty challenging if you are new. A lawyer can be beneficial in this case. Not only are they experienced, but they are also accustomed to the legal proceedings of setting up employee policies.

Contract Issues

You would need funding from clients or sign various contracts on various issues as a business. A common problem with regular agreements is that they contain too many legal terms and conditions that are difficult to deal with. You would need an experienced lawyer who can review the requirements and advise accordingly so that you do not take the wrong step and put your startup’s position in jeopardy.

Dispute Settlement

In a startup or a business, encountering disputes is quite natural. On the flip side, getting out of those disputes can be painful if you do not have prior knowledge. Having a lawyer in this situation can be pretty helpful as they bring the much-needed experience onboard and settle the disputes by taking necessary steps. Moreover, the very presence of a lawyer can prevent many disputes.

Wrapping Up

As you see through the points mentioned above, having a lawyer is quite helpful and creates a sense of safety while starting a business. Ideally, every startup should hire one lawyer to guide you through various legal processes and disputes.

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE BASICS OF WEB HOSTING

THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF WEB HOSTING

Web Hosting is completely not a geeky part to be precise. You definitely can learn web hosting in days! Period.

It is as simple as creating an account on social media. Getting started on the right foot is very important. And that can be done by choosing a suitable hosting plan

Whether you are a business owner or a blogger, you will need to make your presence felt to the larger part of the internet audience. According to Netcraft’s September 2020 Web Server Survey, currently, there are about a billion sites available on the internet. If you are in the race to join in for the long run, then you need to have a plan of action ready!

When you have your website in your hand, your next step should be to make it available on the world wide web.

As a beginner, you might come across a lot of questions. This article will help you guide your way through them and by the end of it, web hosting will be a cakewalk!

I have compiled here are a few terms and questions that you might come across when you embark on this journey of hosting your site.

Some Common Web Hosting Terms

It is very important to know the lingo before you start working on your website. If you are new to web hosting, then it is important for you to go through these terms:

  1. Web Server:

A web server is server software, or hardware designed to run this software, that can fulfill the client requests on the World Wide Web.

In simpler terms, it stores the web content and makes it available to the user who searches for it.

The web hosting service providers give the facility of servers on which you can host your website.

  1. DNS

Domain Name System (DNS) translates the alphabetic name of the website into a numeric IP address that the server is able to respond to. It is a site naming system in the world of computers.

So, when someone types the domain name, it will be connected to the DNS server via the IP address and it will point it to the web hosting server.

  1. CMS

A Content Management System (CMS) can help you create the website making it easy to manage, that too without using coding!

It is a user-friendly application that you will need to install on a hosting server, and it will make website management very simple. WordPressis the commonly used CMS that is very popular among users.

P.S: According to WordPress blog, 38% of the web is built on WordPress

FAQs on Web Hosting:

  1. What does web hosting mean?

When you run an application, you need resources for it to run like a storage space and access. Similarly, putting up your website files on a server is known as web hosting. The server’s role is to make it accessible to people using the internet. The web servers receive the requests that come in from the users and then redirect them to the website that they are looking for.

Popularly known websites like Netflix and Paypal also use third-party service providers for their site hosting. Only tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft host their services on their platform.

This is because of the abundance of financial and technical resources. When you want to make your site accessible to the people, you will be charged according to the type of service you choose for your website hosting.

  1. How to get started?

The two basic things that you need to get started are:

(i) Domain name

(ii) Web hosting service provider

The domain name must be unique and available to be assigned to your site. It will be the identity by which the users will be able to find you on the internet.

You will need to purchase a domain name from the domain name registrars to get a licensed name for your site.

Choose a site friendly hosting plan from a service provider like Bluehost, Hostgator, etc.

  1. What are the types of hosting?

Web hosting is of various kinds, but the major ones that you need to know are Shared and Dedicated hosting.

Shared hosting is suitable for small businesses and bloggers as it is easy on the pocket and thus a convenient way to start. This hosting is cheaper as it allows multiple sites to share the same server. The downside of shared hosting is that it might make your site loading speed slow on busy days.

In the case of dedicated hosting, the complete server is dedicated to the website. Managing this might require technical skills as these sites are generally the ones receiving a lot of traffic.

  1. How much will it cost?

The cost of hosting a site depends on a lot of factors. To begin with, you should go for a shared hosting plan and then expand your budget once your sites start generating revenue.

Initially, the website may demand a lot of funding by installing extensions, templates, etc, therefore you should plan your hosting budget accordingly. You can browse several hosting plans and choose the one that suits you the best. Generally, the cost comes between $2- $5 per month when you talk about shared hosting and $80 per month for dedicated hosting.

Time to get started!

Having the basic idea before hosting the website will give you clarity about the plan that will be more suitable for you. Hosting services are designed in such a way that it is beneficial for the site owners in all ways possible. So, start with the best hosting service for your site and start making your digital footprint on the internet.

Kevin MacRitchie: Helping The Men And Women In Uniform

Meet the Executive Team of Tactical Rehabilitation, which works to deliver the best possible service, solutions, and healthcare to the biomechanical needs of the world’s greatest heroes- the men and women of the United States Military. All of Tactical Rehabilitation’s products are battle-tested having been used by service members deployed across the planet. The organization’s staff is trained to provide the highest quality care and fit for patients and to be a resource for providers.

The organization was founded by David Marr in 2013. As the founder of Tactical Rehabilitation, David surveyed the providers and solutions offered before laying the foundation stone of the company in 2013. While surveying, David saw a need for healthcare that is entirely focused on healing patients with the best possible solutions and less focused on maximizing profits at the expense of those that ensure the freedom of every citizen of the United States and its allies.

The Leadership Team

David Marr is the founder and CEO of Tactical Rehabilitation. He leads the oversight of Compliance and Financial oversight with the CFO. He founded the company in a modest 640 square foot storefront in 2013 with a simple mission to ‘Serve those that serve’ and honor those who protected our nation with the best solutions available. As the founder of the organization, David spearheads the diligent research of new products and is the core of Tactical Rehabilitation’s knowledge and compliance base. He continually seeks innovations in technology and has made available a superior line of products that the organization makes available to its patients to ensure the best possible healing process creating one patient at a time-serving their individual needs. He says; “It is an honor to serve the world’s greatest heroes and lead the way to Service Readiness for those that ensure freedom around the globe.”

David prides himself on maintaining a family atmosphere and a caring culture for the employees and their families of Tactical Rehabilitation. With David’s long-standing commitment to serving others in law enforcement, as a Game Warden, and for other pioneering DME providers growing their patient success each year, it is easy to see why the military and industry welcomes David and Tactical Rehabilitation’s down to earth approach to ensure the best in healthcare to the servicemen and women.

With over thirty years of experience working in the healthcare and IT industry, Kevin MacRitchie currently serves as the Chief Operations Officer of Tactical Rehabilitation. As a leader in the healthcare sector, Kevin MacRitchie has worked tirelessly to create the best possible patient experience. He specializes in high customer satisfaction, engineering leadership, and information technology.

Kevin says, “Maximizing patient success will always be our most critical of priorities.”

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems and Operations Management from the University of Toledo. Kevin MacRitchie has received multiple healthcare industry awards for his incredible work in transforming the organization and the industry to enable more focus time on patient care and improving business operational efficiencies of healthcare behind the scenes as not to interfere with patient care.

Karen Lyons is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Legal Counsel for Tactical Rehabilitation. Karen has more than 30 years of experience working in healthcare, non-profit, and construction industries. As a financial professional, Karen also combines operational information with financial outcomes to enhance company performance and provide trends and analysis to meet the need of multiple stakeholders.

“Balancing the priorities of the day-to-day with the long-range financial goals and stability of our company will ensure our company can continue to “serve those that serve” for decades to come and create life-long careers for our employees.”- says Karen.

James Polka, on the other hand, serves as the Vice President of the organization. He is also the founder of many Tactical Rehabilitation early systems and policies, supports the company growth through strategic planning and property management along with optimal location and site selection/build-out of locations. James also co-leads new product solutions with Reed for inclusion in Tactical Rehabilitation’s plethora of incredible partners and solutions, works closely on CRM activities and how they positively impact sales and sales reach to new providers in order to help heal additional servicemen and women.

James says, “Understanding the community we serve through listening to our providers and partners, ensures our patients will always be provided the best possible care.”

Reed Abernathy serves as the Vice President of the company. He is the founder of the vision/mission/goals and purpose statements and the keeper of the company culture of Tactical Rehabilitation. Reed also plays a crucial role in mentoring Business Development/Sales Team members and seeks out many of the new products and solutions Tactical Rehabilitation reviews for inclusion in their plethora of incredible partners and solutions.

“Ensuring our Mission and Vision is at the heart of all we do ensures everyone in our company is working together as a team”. – Says Reed.

Also, the executive team of the organization works as a family among themselves and with their employees. It is a strong binding partnership and heartfelt responsibility to communicate well with each other and, as a result, with their employees to ensure the best solutions and vision are executed to enhance the well-being of their patients and continuously improve the quality of the Healthcare provided to their patients.

Serving the Men and Women in Uniform

David sought out the best possible brand names from Sole Supports Orthotics to Aspen, Don Joy, Intensity, and more in Orthotics, Bracing, Intramuscular Pain Management, and more to help address the most common injuries that affect 68% or more of the most common areas that prevent soldiers from a constant “Service Ready” status. Through incredible partnerships and a steadfast Mission to humbly “Serve those that Serve”, David set the initial focus for the company Tactical Rehabilitation continues to become.

Since its inception, Tactical Rehabilitation has expanded into various additional areas including Bone Stimulation, Portable Ultrasound, Para-Somnia Solutions, and more.

These areas are similarly critical to ensuring the “Service Ready” of freedom. Tactical Rehabilitation is not a typical DME with solutions in every DME category, rather a highly specialized and trained team servicing the very specific needs of their patients and ensuring they can return to “Service Ready Status” as quickly as possible.

Tackling Challenges

As the COO Kevin MacRitchie believes, growth brings change, and change brings new challenges and acceptance to change itself. As the company grew, so did its awareness to bring in new skills from outside the company in critical roles like CFO and COO. The very same growth created new leadership and promotional opportunities from within the company allowing team members to rise to new challenges and lead their peers while developing new employees in new markets. The Executive Team works tirelessly to create the delicate balance of internal and external employee growth which has been a crucial part of ensuring the longevity of Tactical Rehabilitation’s culture to serve those in uniform.

Also, Covid was everyone’s nemesis, but the executive team invested in and grew the company and never once shut, paused, or closed their doors. All this ensured providers and patients that Tactical is there to serve the needs of its patients. During the pandemic, Tactical grew and nearly doubled as others closed their doors to the needs of their patients and providers. Tactical Rehabilitation grew in their current locations and opened doors in new locations where patients no longer had services available. Throughout the pandemic, the organization ensured employee safety and its presence for patients and providers.

Giving it Back to the Society

CSR plays a crucial role in understanding the partnerships between Tactical Rehabilitation and the providers that entrust their patient care to Tactical Rehabilitation. Understanding who Tactical Rehabilitation serves ensures the company to better align itself with the needs of the providers and ultimately the patients served.

According to Vice President James Polka, “The most crucial step in understanding the business of Tactical Rehabilitation is understanding the needs of those we serve.” He also adds, “This is best accomplished through constantly ensuring our business development and sales reps have the tools and information critical to know and support our providers”.

Mission and Vision

Kevin MacRitchie believes in the foundations set by Vice President Reed Abernathy, with core values like patient care to die for, profound level of respect for one another, and to make a positive difference in the lives of employees, patients, and providers, Tactical Rehabilitation can continue to provide highest quality products and the highest level of service to active-duty service members, veterans, and their family members.

Advice for Upcoming Entrepreneurs

When we requested Kevin MacRitchie to provide any advice for young upcoming entrepreneurs, he said, “Know your strengths and leverage them. Know better your weaknesses and ensure your plans include how to garner this perspective in-house until you can hire it in-house. Allowing yourself to become blind-sided is an intentional plan… to failure.

Dr. Sam Swapn: Helping Organizations Train Their Employees

Headquartered in Fremont CA Strategism Inc offers the best online and in-class training, certification, staffing, and consulting services. Founded in 2008 by Dr. Sam Swapn, CEO, the firm currently employs more than 100 employees across the planet. The firm’s strength lies in its training courses, which are mainly geared towards obtaining accredited and industry-leading certifications in management and information technology (IT).

As the founder and CEO, Dr. Sam Swapn brings a formidable reputation of working for more than 25 years in the project management field, having worked as an entrepreneur, consultant, investor, corporate trainer, educator, and mentor to several companies and executives in the Bay Area.

Dr. Sam is a well-known figure in television debates, panelists, and keynote speaker at various events. He has also authored several books related to Project Management, FDI, etc. His latest book, ‘World War III: Corona’ is already a top seller on multiple e-commerce platforms.

Tackling Professional Failures

Dr. Sam believes failure is a must, risk-taking is a must, and learning from failure is very important. Twice in his career, he felt this thing is coming to an end in 2016 and 2019 but he came out of them successfully as the biggest mantra is- ‘keep trying’, ‘do not give up, ‘there is something you are missing’. Failure and crisis are the best opportunities that cannot be wasted. Dr. Sam has learned most from his failures and tries not to make the same mistakes tough it is a constantly changing landscape. He is a lifelong learner and wants to learn from everyone including a ‘kid’.

Dr. Sam loves challenges and enjoys the uncertainty and complexity of decision-making. He thinks the biggest asset leaders should have, is to be a person who does not get afraid of any situation, applies his intellect to find solutions consistently. The ability to stand quiet and calm and find answers for an ever-changing environment is the key to success, and he is ready to face that challenge.

Handling Success

According to Dr. Sam, business success is achieving numbers, making an impact on larger numbers, and building a positive cash flow in the business. On his side, success is creating constant ‘happiness’ for him. He believes money and power do not bring success, it facilitates it, beyond that is how we nurture relationships and personal friends.

Dr. Sam believes the greatest achievement for him and the entire team of Strategism in the training business has been to understand the pulse of the market and design training courses suited to that specific need of the employers because at the end of the day companies want to hire people who have the right skills.

Associating with Good Guys

When we asked Dr. Sam Swapn, about his leadership style, he says “Well, the bad news is that you cannot please everyone.” He also adds, “In the corporate world, there are some good guys and some bad guys. Bad guys create a negative culture. Good guys want to create a change. I want to associate with good guys and build on their energy.”

As the CEO and founder of the firm, Dr. Sam wants to try and engage the bad guys if he cannot let them go from the company. His leadership style is to be open to change and constant learning. Learning from anyone is the key.

He says, “I do make a lot of mistakes but I am willing to always say ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you to people who help me learn and grow.”

Also, when it comes to the attributes of a good leader, Dr. Sam Swapn believes a good leader is a good listener and a problem solver. It is also someone, who tries to take everyone along, and creates a positive & happy atmosphere where everyone feels welcome and open to learn and contribute.

The Vision

Dr. Sam’s vision in life is to move into the non-profit world in the next few years. He has already created a non-profit, Dr. Sam Foundation that will work on educating girls all over the world from 5 years of age, till they start earning. It is called “Sabla”. Dr. Sam wants to serve humanity and make a bigger impact on the lives of people globally. He wants to give back to society. Manavta and University are two pieces of his plan.

Future Roadmap

Currently, Strategism has a training arm that teaches people Project Management, Agile, Data Science, AI, ML, Blockchain, etc. The firm also has a consulting arm where it works with its clients and provides the latest and most equipped human capital. Dr. Sam says, “Our plan is to grow the business to 100 people on consulting side in 2022 and make it a 10-million-dollar business.”

Mohammed Mubin Mallick: Transforming the Robotics Industry

Robotics was merely a fairy-tale/fiction when it was first introduced to the world. With technological evolution, we have witnessed a plethora degree disruption in the traditional business sphere. Though robotics has not grown as it was depicted two or three decades prior, it has shown tremendous/note-worthy development in disrupting traditional businesses. Very few in the industry have contributed to this, and one such revolutionary personality is Mohammed Mubin Mallick, the CEO and the Founder of Kiran Smart.

Mubin discovered the potential of robotics during an international summit GITEX, 2018 in Dubai. He was surprised by the technology and developed a curiosity about its possible applications. As automation and robotics have shown a promising future, Mubin decided to blend his newly developed interest into his company’s product portfolio. “I have always thought about robot but it came in reality,” he adds. Since then, he carried out research programs and held interactive campaigns with various robot manufacturers around the world. He started acquiring robots to understand its technical factors and what services he can offer to the market with robots. Currently, Kiran Smart is signed up with many Robotics companies and manufacturers around the world to be the most innovative robotics Technology Company in Kuwait and GCC. He strives to make his company one of the best robotics service and solution providers globally.

He and his team focus on adapting innovative technologies to solve the problems of their customers and help them to be abreast with the latest advancements. The company is continuously investing in its research on the new trend of products and solutions that are coming into the market. “We adopt it and also educate our customers too so that they could have the knowledge of it,” he mentions. He claims his company is an out-of-the-box thinking entity that stays ahead of its competition with its ability to bring authenticity to the robotics industry. He considers his KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCE has been the biggest failures of his professional life. He understood the power of knowledge and started to acquire as much as he can to prevail in the revolutionary industry of robotics. “So, to acquire knowledge I have invested my personal life and time in it to know more and more,” he asserts. He is proud of his endeavors on how he went the extra mile to fabricate himself as a pioneer in the field achieving milestones in his pathway. As per a say ‘it doesn’t come easy’, Mubin also faced various challenges and obstacles while paving his journey.

Most primary obstacles for him were focused on how to face the challenge in terms of competition, handling the employees, maintaining the best customer relationships, and customers satisfaction. To overcome these challenges, he follows a different approach strategy for every specific challenge faced. “Sometimes it cannot be defined because it comes within, which is inner self instinct,” he adds. He relies on his leadership principles which are driven by being Kind Hearted. Before a business leader, he is a humanitarian at heart. He prefers to be kind towards people and recommends others to do so. “Because kindness can win anything,” he asserts. “According to me any Leader must have certain skills and it could vary leaders to leaders. As of me, what I would say about my leadership’s skills: kindness, problem solver, supportive, forecaster, innovator, and giver,” he mentions. Kindness and compassion have always been key ingredients behind Mubin’s success. According to his experience, he has learned that kindness is even more powerful than love. “The reason is that Love you cannot show to everyone but one can be kind to any person,” he adds. “I would say that you cannot love mankind but you can be kind to mankind.”

Moreover, he always provides guidance to his team and resolves problems immediately with his decisiveness. As a visionary, he prefers an optimistic approach while dealing with new innovative ideas and provides creative space for his team to contribute to the better growth of the company. “Reason when I am leading the team, I am learning how to treat the team members, I am understanding the psychology of the team member and many more,” he emphasizes.

Marching with Compassion and Conviction

Mubin defines success as a journey and not a destination. He says, “one’s journey ends when death comes. Therefore, till then the journey will be on with more achievements and success which means success is non-stoppable achievements in life.” He equips many innovative ideas but looking at the current situation he desires that we all must cumulatively take measures to tackle the biggest dilemma—COVID 19. He paraphrases his mother advice, Live up to others expectation. Don’t be in luxury but give to others who cannot afford in their Life. He considers it as the best life-leading advice one can ever receive as it teaches the true essence of compassion. “I do not make people feel their position whether they are rich or poor or in higher position or in lower position and I treat everyone equally with love and respect all,” he adds. He firmly believes in God and the notion of helping others through his endeavors. “The more I am giving to the world then more blessing I have from GOD. Factor which give me immense pleasure is the Love that I am getting from people for my work,” he mentions.

Moreover, he envisions achieving the successful stature of a World-Renowned Robotics Solutions and Services Company. He claims his success journey differently than many as he started his business to help others to prevail rather than for his benefit. Professionally, he still believes that he has not reached the ultimate goal and considers his accomplishments as mere steps of the ladder aiming towards success. He will not his achievements hammer his persistence and will continue to strive in building brand trust across the globe.

Quote

“LIFE IS LIKE A WAVE OF OCEAN THAT GOES UP AND THEN COMES DOWN. SAME WAY WE HAVE HAPPINESS AND SADNESS IN LIFE. IN BUSINESS WE DO HAVE PROFIT AND LOSSES AS WELL.”

Susan Semmelmann: An Exemplary Woman in Design

Our homes are our sanctuaries; our comfort zones, a place where we can acquire a sense of belonging. We personalize this place to meet and suit our preferences. However, with all of the intricacies, options, and decisions to consider, the decorating process can become daunting. In such cases, seeking advice from interior designers help us bring balance and elegance to our space. They adapt to our tastes in creating environments that make us happy to reside, under the banner of interior design.

Interior design is a space that is equally dominated by both men and women, but one must acknowledge the extra creativity that women bring to the table. From extending their finesse and artistic skills to creating brands that are loved by people all over the world, women interior designers are carving a niche for themselves. One such young and inspiring Interior Designer is Susan Semmelmann. Susan has worked tirelessly over the years to build her design firm — Susan Semmelmann Interiors. Susan designs amazing one-of-a-kind feature elements that can be included in the home throughout the construction phase. Her brand is known for catering to various lifestyles and having a blend of contemporary, modern, vintage and bold vibes. the inception in March 2019, she has expanded by leaps and bounds in merely three years. Currently, the company has 70 projects in the pipeline, and Susan’s expertise is in high demand.

Susan brought her 23 years of design and construction knowledge to the table. She stepped out in faith, armed with vast experience and a crystal-clear vision, to start her new venture with no clients and only a few willing staff. Her customer list swiftly grew, and she now needs to hire more designers and critical personnel to keep up with Demand. Her key goal in growing her company is to retain loyalty, relationships, and connections among her employees. She believes, that if fundamental values are prioritized, work will always reflect a high degree of excellence, resulting in a trusted brand. “The quality of life lies in how you choose to see it. It’s all about perspective,” she adds.

Transforming Styles into Spaces that Rejoice Living

Susan has remarkably carved her journey to attain her current stature. With the help of her team at her design firm, she continued to work with her clients to create inspiring and innovative designs that meet their tastes and styles. Through networking, word-of-mouth, and recognition from peers and contemporaries, Susan Semmelmann Interiors has become a hot topic. Much like Susan’s firecracker personality, she and her team’s designs are utterly unique. “We are a turn-key design firm that can walk our clients from construction through completion. Soup to nuts. We provide many levels of custom consultation and design options, as well as hundreds of top-quality vendor lines offering art, décor, and furnishings,” she asserts.

She states that every project uniquely identifies itself as each space has its own identity and feel. While designing a project, endless factors are incorporated together. Almost everything in the environment, including what lurks deep within the senses, acts as a stimulus; be it a piece of music, a painting, enticing objects, nature, culture, and most importantly people and their stories. Susan’s competitive advantage is her ability to build a home that is truly theirs, integrating elegance, comfort, and function while remaining within their means and budget. Aside from having a thorough understanding of their requirements, she was able to save time and make the entire process fun and painless.

If you can dream it, she can Build it!

Keeping supply-chain constraints into consideration, the company focuses on broadening product access and availability to satisfy clients’ needs. Her clients undoubtedly agree to the fact that Susan Semmelmann Interiors puts the ‘custom’ in custom-made. The firm’s construction detailing options include floor-to-ceiling feature walls, fireplace surrounds, ceiling details, cabinetry, tile design, and integrated lighting, to name a few. Semmelmann Interiors also has an in-house collection of beautiful custom drapes, bedding, and upholstered furniture made from quality fabrics sourced directly from mills. Their exclusive offerings also include custom-crafted mattresses, seats, ottomans, mirrors, and headboards. Momentarily, the designed pieces chosen for projects are not found in retail, so it intends to customize the desired items.

‘The Spirit of Living is in the Giving’ is the motto that encapsulates Susan’s purpose for doing what she does. “I have the amazing privilege to use the vehicle of top-notch client service and fabulous design to invest back into my community and make a difference,” she says. Susan Semmelmann’s star is blazing across the interior design landscape of Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond. She thrives on giving stellar service to her clients and also shines a light on charitable pursuits near and dear to her heart.

Future Endeavours

Susan and her team are developing something spectacular in Fort Worth in an attempt to build dreams for their clients. She mentions, “What started as a cautious commitment to take on 2,500 square feet of office space has grown into a 10,000-square-foot firm with aspirations for an online presence and off-site storage to retain items and merchandise.” The Vickery location will house the firm’s office as well as Fort Worth Drapery and Fort Worth Design Studio. The concept is to open these resources to the public and give other designers more options to offer their clients. Moreover, being a compassionate personality, Susan is committed to sharing and desires to enlighten others with her insights.

“Susan Semmelmann Interiors is 100% invested in making our clients’ dreams a reality. They are trusting us with their hearts’ desire for their homes. It’s an honor to be part of that process, and we don’t take it lightly. We simply partner with them by bringing our resources and expertise to the table to build something beautiful!” one of her clients emphasizes.

Lona Alia: Helping Distributed Companies & Remote Workers

With the pandemic wreaking havoc, organizations across the globe moved to work from home otherwise known as working remotely, which helped people move out of their comfort zone and work from anywhere. Those that were part of the first wave before the pandemic started were called digital nomads and their numbers were growing exponentially each year. However, the pandemic and more remote working opportunities are making this lifestyle much more common than ever before. So, SafetyWing, headquartered in San Francisco was founded to build the first global safety net for remote companies, remote workers, and nomads worldwide. It offers medical insurance for nomads and remote companies around the world. It is also developing other insurance products such as retirement, income protection insurance, life insurance and more. Its products are built and designed by a fully remote team of nomads distributed across three continents.

Meet Lona Alia, who is a venture-backed Y Combinator Founder at StyleLend, and Head of Revenue at SafetyWing. Lona is also an advisor to start-ups and EU for innovation, remote work advocate, and expert at building fully remote teams. The avid traveller in her has taken her to more than 80 countries. She is interested in building things that people want, teams that employees want to be a part of, and companies with a mission, that is greater than making money.

Be Insured

As an insurance company SafetyWing provides multiple insurance services for its clients;

  • Nomad Insurance: Nomad insurance is a global travel medical insurance that covers people across the planet, while outside their home country. This policy is specifically made for digital nomads. It can be purchased while already aboard, covers home trip visits, and operates as a monthly subscription.
  • Remote Health: Remote health insurance is fully-fledged health insurance for those who are working as remote teams. It provides a flexible solution that no other company offers.

Through Remote health insurance, full-time nomads can stay safely abroad, no matter where they go or how long they stay.

Influencing Factors

Freedom is the biggest factor that influenced Lona. She always wanted freedom over her time and location. She wanted to be able to live the best life possible under her terms and not have to follow orders, which eventually drove Lona to start her first company.

Lona believes freedom is the only condition for happiness. And she has found that independence in the flexibility that SafetyWing affords it’s team to work from anywhere in the world.

The Best Company Culture

Lona says, “We have created the best company culture in my opinion that exists out there.” SafetyWing’s team members are happy to be given the freedom and flexibility to work from any location and most times zones that are in line with the Americas and Europe. They have the freedom to be creative and be entrepreneurial within their positions in the company.

Authenticity is one of the ingredients the organization values very highly. “Be the same on the outside as you are on the inside. Be brave enough to say what you think is true instead of what other people want to hear.”- adds Lona.

Tackling Challenges

Lona Alia believes, keeping the company’s culture intact while growing rapidly is very important to the success of the company, their customers and their team members. The entire team of SafetyWing values it’s culture so dearly that every team member makes sure to have regular brainstorming sessions quarterly as a team to come up with tactical steps that are necessary to implement in order to preserve the organization’s culture.

Future Roadmap

SafetyWing currently offers 2 products to its customers. However, the organization is planning to launch at least two more services for its clients in the coming year;

  • Remote Doctor: This service will help SafetyWing’s clients to consult with a doctor remotely. No matter where the clients are, they will be able to get premium medical care from the comfort of their homes.
  • Remote Retirement: This is a retirement product that prepares SafetyWing’s clients for their future when they are ready to leave work.

Advice for Leaders in Organizations during the Great Resignation

When asked about suggestions for organizations on contributing to a balanced industry, Lona Alia says, “Listen to your team members the same way you listen to your customers. 

Your team is creating tremendous value for your company and they should be treated with care, respect, and appreciation. Implement the things they want and you will be surprised how much your bottom line will benefit.”

Also, when it comes to advise for female entrepreneurs, Lona Alia says, “You live in the best possible time to be alive in terms of global opportunity. No matter where you come from if you have an internet connection you can learn the skills needed to get the position that you want by standing out from the crowd.” She adds, “Put a presentation together of what you can do for the company you want to work for and reach out to the hiring manager and present it. You will be surprised with how few people go above and beyond.”

Christine Stoffel-Moffet: Helping Companies to Succeed

Everyone in this world has a story. Now it is up to us how we acknowledge the learnings along the journey of life. Christine Stoffel-Moffet is one such person who acknowledges all the learnings during her journey. She has enjoyed a wonderful career of more than 30 years in technology. Additionally, she also excelled in the areas of operations, sales, and marketing, which enabled her to become a multidimensional transformational leader.

Many people in the arena of global sports know Christine as the Founder and CEO of one of the most iconic sporting consortiums and annual conferences in the world S.E.A.T.

She leveraged her collaborative leadership style by building SEAT to be known across the Globe as a “Community” of like-minded professionals creating life-long relationships through sharing experiences, sharing projects, lessons learned, and the true essence of thought-leadership. Over the last two years, she served as the Interim Head of Enterprise Technology at NASCAR.

With her massive experience of driving transformation across the organization, as well as for 15 years through SEAT transforming leaders and global industry, she decided to take 30+ years of technology, operations, and business experiences and her entrepreneurial mindset to launch her new consulting company, Christine Moffett LLC to help as many organizations embrace evolution and transformation as possible!

Innovative Solutions

Thanks to the encouragement of several of Christine’s global sports colleagues and friends, the offerings of Christine Moffett, LLC are complementary to each other and leverage her core specialties as an executive leader.

Christine’s business consulting offerings are:

  • Mentoring & Coaching: Through coaching and mentoring, Christine provides individuals an opportunity to be heard. Through this process, Christine provides unique perspectives and insights giving them the tools to become the very best version of themselves with the ultimate goal of finding success in life through happiness, confidence, and empowerment.
  • Virtual CIO/CXO: Christine provides fractional, interim, or temporary executive-level strategy, guidance, advisory services, and supports HOW and WHEN businesses want it. From technology, data strategy, digital transformation, business operational optimization, network, and data security, staff coaching, mentoring, training, and optimization to leading your organization to embrace innovation and strategy for business growth.
  • Interim CIO- Transform IT Organizations: Through this service, Christine looks to guide under-performing and culturally-broken technology organizations to evolve into confident, service-oriented, strategic, collaborative, and innovative organizations becoming trusted advisors across their company through compassionate leadership, mentoring, skill assessments; enabling empowerment to deliver a well-defined strategic technology roadmap alongside the business and reducing technical debt to increase the operational bottom-line.
  • Board and Advisory Roles, including Start-ups: With 30+ years of expertise, she welcomes opportunities to leverage her multi-dimensional, executive, and global perspective, with unique insights in a collaborative format through Board positions or Executive Advisory roles.
  • Event Consulting: Christine believes a conference event should not be treated just as an event but as an adventure and a journey that everyone in attendance has the amazing opportunity to experience something special and feel proud that they attended. While creating successful, exciting, and engaging events for the global sports and entertainment industry, she has developed various unique methodologies that, if followed, will take an event from ordinary to extraordinary

Tackling Challenges

As a business leader, Christine faces multiple challenges. However, the biggest challenge she faces as a business owner is continuing to create new and creative ways to market her services enabling business visibility and growth. While the other challenge is to continue finding those ‘gem’ clients. For Christine, gem clients are those who are willing to change, willing to listen and have a deep desire to be the best company they can be for their employees.

Christine’s motivation comes from reading. She is an advocate of Audible, so she can listen to books while driving, working out, and doing daily chores. Once she used to tell people that she is a great multi-tasker. However, with growing experiences, she now looks to continue learning every day, which will eventually grow her experiences and knowledge.

Motivating People at Work

Christine believes keeping people around her motivated in order to be innovative and productive is a mindset and it’s all about attitude. She always keeps a positive mindset and constantly inspires creativity by involving people to be a part of the journey.

During her long leadership career and being a parent Christine has discovered that motivating people can be accomplished by trusting, showing appreciation, rewarding, and showing belief. So, she always suggests finding unique ways to inspire them every day!

A Business Leader’s Journey

As a business leader, Christine’s journey has been filled with heartbreaks, joy, fun loss, failures, excitements, successes, and basically everything that has made her who she is today. She has no regrets of mistakes along the way, only lessons learned along this journey and Christine is striving to continue being the best version of herself, every day.

For her there’s nothing more thrilling than mentoring and coaching professionals at all levels, helping them to look at their own situations through a completely different lens. Christine believes her journey as a business leader provides her the opportunity to share her life experiences with others in a hope that they are not alone, there are people to support them and listen to them.

Helping People to Succeed

Success to Christine is helping people to move beyond their current vision of themselves and be able to provide them mentoring and support to evolve as an individual and as a professional beyond what they ever believed could be possible.

Success to Christine is being able to use her 30 years of technology, operational, sales, and marketing experiences through her business consulting and advisory services, in order to enable organizations to transform their company or organizational culture, business processes, and strategy to embrace innovation, employee empowerment, increased operational optimization and renewed excitement in their business mission and visions for the future.

Christine says, “It’s exhilarating to watch professionals as well as organizations desire to change, and then for me to be able to be a catalyst in the change, is incredibly rewarding!”

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