admin, Author at Tycoon Success

121Advisor: Redefining customary Business ways through Digitalization

In an interview with Tycoon Success, Kevin Steer—the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of 121Advisor, emphasizes over the exceptional journey put forth by the company of achieving many milestones in its pathway. Its flagship product which is also to be the all-encompassing solution provider known as ‘Customer First Connected Enterprise Digital Framework’. Driven with strong motive, thus quoting “we don’t follow trends, we pioneer them” the company has paved a strong stature for itself to march on.

Through this special issue, “Recommended Insurance Tech Solution Providers For 2021,” Tycoon Success shows its gratitude and appreciation towards the contribution made by the 121Advisor in the business world.

Below are the highlights:

Products to Rely On

Kevin states that over the past 10 years the company has implemented many disruptive online solutions including Referral Management with Marketing Automation (for Banks), Mobile Point of Sales, Online Direct Selling, Online Claims, Agency Distribution, Online Customer Service Portals & Corporate Websites. He also emphasizes that with the growth of AI & chatbots; 121Advisor implemented disruptive solutions including multilingual Chatbots & Robo Advisors along with AI based Predictive Analytics / Machine Learning for predicting New Products, Lapsation, Fraudulent Claims & future predictions for Investment Funds.

Into the Shoes of the Leader

Being experienced and having worked in the insurance & takaful sector for years, the Chief Executive Officer states that 121Advisor’s mission was to provide disruptive InsurTech & FinTech solutions for insurers, takaful operators & banks. As a CEO & a ‘techie’, Kevin has always been looking for new disruptive solutions to continue evolving the business. It all started with his working for an Artificial Intelligence Company in 1986, which piqued his interest in AI. Kevin states that when 121Advisor started seeing the evolution of Chatbots, Robo Advisors, Predictive Analytics, Behavioral Intelligence & Robotic Process Automation—the company started researching on AI solutions and the team implemented 24×7 multi-lingual Chatbots, Robo Advisors for lifestyle financial planning, as well as implementing Predictive Analytics solutions for predicting new products to buy, lapsation of policies, fraudulent claims & future grow/decline of investment funds; which are integrated with RPA solutions to trigger workflows to notify the relevant people. Moreover, he highlights in the year 2014 the company became profitable and 121Advisor used the profits for R&D on developing new disruptive solutions. Here is a graph that shows the company’s growth over the past decade.

Overcoming the Challenges

Kevin addresses the fact that as most millennials in Asia Pacific do not understand financial planning, and often max out their credit cards and get into debt; there is a need to help educate them on their lifestyle financial goals and recommend products that they can buy online. With the launch of u12know, he states that one might see that this will become a disruptive knowledge portal offering advice on lifestyle financial & (in future) health goals. Making them understand their needs and create a plan to help them build their lifestyle & business financial plans. “For each country, this will be translated into the local language,” quotes Kevin.

During COVID-19 pandemic, 121Advisor saw the need to offer financial services and health services online with lifestyle financial & health advice. Kevin and his team recently launched a knowledge portal u12know (www.u12know.com) in Malaysia, that provides lifestyle financial advice—for single, married, family, retired & my business. This will continuously be extended to include lifestyle financial goals with recommendations for financial and business products, including company’s multi-lingual chatbot & Robo Advisor—which provides advice on financial goals.

A peek into Key aspects

When asked about the factors of the company which helps business, Kevin emphasizes over some key aspects which are listed below, in his own words:

Referral Management

He states that a bank in Malaysia, wanted his company to deliver a Referral Management solution in 3 months, this included defining KPIs for each product, interfacing with back-end sales, and synchronizing status of agents daily, then auto assigning to the relevant sales agents based on the referral product required. 121Advisor delivered the solution and went live in 3 months, currently used by 6,700+ users referring an average of 170,000 referrals per annum.

Mobile Point of Sales for Insurance

He mentions that one of company’s insurance customers wanted an agent mobile sales solution delivered in 4 months, this includes product setup, quotation, and proposal, auto-underwriting and online submission to the insurer—121Advisor delivered the solution and went live in 4 months currently used by 700+ Agents across 3 insurers.

Agent Distribution Solution

With its agent distribution solution, Kevin states that a number of Agent Leader Corporations (ALCs) wanted company to compute their commissions, bonus; then based on n-tier hierarchy, manage the performance and track KPIs for agent promotion / demotion—depending on whether they met their targets, including integration with their insurance/takaful companies. Once the ALC managers approve payments, it makes online payment direct to the agents. Then 121Advisor delivered these solutions in 2 – 4 months, based on the integration requirements with the insurance/takaful company, currently utilized to compute 2,000+ agents across 4 insurers.

Customer Service Portal

Kevin addresses that the Customer Self Service Portal is an on-demand access point enabling customer to view their insurance/takaful account, anywhere and anytime. This enables the policyholders to view their policies and certificate details via a simple internet connection. The portal provides a safe avenue for customers to update their personal information, pay premium, switch funds, print documents, update beneficiary details, request policy changes and engage in filing claims and processing, which traditionally would take weeks to be executed due to siloed lines of business. The platform also supports automated workflows that are triggered by certain customer activities which are routed to relevant departments and customers are kept informed via emails or messaging. “Providing a portal for your customers with the convenience of self-servicing, customers can enjoy the freedom of doing what’s convenient for them, when they want anywhere,” says Kevin.

Predictive Analytics Models (PAM)

121Advisor solutions focus on predictive marketing & sales, customer service, new business underwriting, personalization and claims management to build Predictive Analytics Models (PAM) for Banking, Insurance & Takaful.

Multi-lingual Chatbot for Financial Insurance & Takaful (FITbot)

Kevin states Multi-lingual Robo Advisor and chatbot that utilizes hybrid trees and natural language processing (NLP) to engage with customers to offer a more personalized customer experience and generate more referrals. He also mentions company’s 24×7 multi-lingual FITbot which has benefits such as:

It changes the way people think about customer engagement.
It reduces customer service costs by up to 40% by implementing 24×7 intelligent bots.
It delivers personalized customer experiences by proactively understanding the customer via real-time lead scoring algorithms and providing a personalized interactive user experiences.
Its personalized experiences generate more warm leads that can be routed to financial advisors, live chat direct marketing, or direct online purchase.
It leads continuous improvement using machine learning algorithms that adapts to changes in topics and conversations over time.
When it cannot answer a question, it directs to live chat customer support.
Its predictive personalization rules engine enables companies to quickly configure their financial product recommendations based on lifestyle goals and identified needs.
It integrates with sales tools and customer databases via secure authenticated APIs.

Choices Online Store (COS)

Kevin states that through Choices Online Store (COS) insurers and takaful operators can provide direct purchase of products online. It also can integrate with Multi-lingual Chatbot for Financial Insurance & Takaful (FITbot) robo-advisor services as well as referrals via Referral Management & Marketing Automation (ReMMA). Also, the Choices Online Store (COS) allows insurer and takaful operators to leverage a mix of technological innovations from the Enterprise Digital Framework and allows carriers to configure their online products through the Enterprise Product Configurator (EPC) and offer directly to consumers via WebPortal Solution (WebPoS). It also allows businesses to setup a product catalogue, via customizable product page templates, for categorized and convenient research on multiple product comparisons to enhance the selection process. Kevin also asserts that online buyers are allowed with benefit and cost comparison, quotations generation, online purchase and e-payment for convenient purchase process. The sales are guided with needs analysis based on client’s financial needs and lifestyle, so clients make informed decisions. If clients need hands-on advice FITbot can help them guide through the process or get connected with e-advisors online. The e-advisor can be registered with the chat service which can help track KPIs and referrals for performance management

Top 10 Billionaires in the World 2021

The rest is an attribute of a person that everyone wants to acquire at a certain point in time. This is one of the most important aspects for most people who have been earning billions over the past. Most of the people globally look forward to these business tycoons are their icons as they make great monetary figures and have played a crucial role in the revolution of the world through their business ideologies.

Bernard Arnault

Bernard Arnault is one of the most prominent and successful French investors, businessmen and art collectors that has been ever known. He has been setting a benchmark in the entire investment platform and has revolutionized the world through his amazing vision. He was born on the 5th of March 1949, and he had been known as the richest man on earth through his net figures by August 2021. He has a net worth of 198.5 Billion USD. Bernard is the chairman of LVHM and Christian Dior. He started his professional career in 1971, and since then, he has been setting up a legacy for himself after he took the acquisition of LVHM.

2. Jeff Bezos

One of the most prominent names, which most people worldwide have a clear idea about, is Jeff Bezos. Jeff Bezos is one of the most successful and globally known business ideas as he has been the president of Amazon. Amazon is one of the most prominent E-Commerce platforms which has been functioning all over the globe, and just basis is the mastermind behind this huge company. Jeff Bezos was born on the 12th of January 1964. He is a business tycoon and an investor. Jeff Bezos has a huge net worth of 194.9 billion dollars

3. Elon musk

A name which has been gaining a lot of attention in today’s date because of his knowledge and expertise and his visionary of revolution of the entire world, it’s very obvious to talk about Elon Musk. Elon Musk has been one of the most prominent names in the entire evolution of automobiles and space. Elon Musk is a person who generated and provided the world with the idea of PayPal. After a certain amount of time, Elon Musk started a company known as Tesla, which field which luxury cars were completely based upon electric motors. Tesla cars were highly ambitious, and the designs were made in a specific way to create a huge boom in the market. He also all the company is known as space X, which deals with a different type of researches associated with space. Elon Musk has a net worth of 185.5 Billion USD

4. Bill gates

Technology has always been a blessing in the modern era. Most technological gadgets like a laptop or mobile phone do need an operating system. One of the most common operating systems widely seen in most computers and laptops is Microsoft. The mastermind behind Microsoft has created a huge empire of technological gigs in today’s world is bill gates. Bill gates are the founder of Microsoft and have been one of the most prominent business types in the whole world. He has a net worth of 132 billion dollars.

5. Mark Zuckerberg

A person who has shaped the world of social media in today’s date is Mark Zuckerberg. Mark. Zuckerberg is the founder of Facebook and is one of the world’s leading business tycoons of today’s date. Facebook recently acquired huge social media companies like WhatsApp and Instagram, which does an extended arm for Mark Zuckerberg and his business. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook and his co-founder in the year 2004, and since then, he has been witnessing the growth of social media. He has been widely famous for his extensive work of different methodologies of Facebook and has a net worth of 130.6 Billion dollars.

6. Larry Page

Larry Page is an American business magnate, Internet entrepreneur and a great computer scientist. He is famously known as the co-founder of Google, along with Sergey Brin. Page was born on March 26, 1973. He was not only the chief executive of Google but also became the CEO of Alphabet Inc. It has also been known that Page is an investor in Tesla Motors and has also invested in renewable energy technology with the help of Google, which is one of the most widely spread platforms. The page has a net worth of 11,640 crores USD.

7. Larry Ellison

Lary Alison is an American businessman who is also an investor, executive chairman, chief technology officer and former chief executive officer of oracle corporation. He was born on 17 August 1944. He was listed as the ninth wealthiest person in the US and the tenth wealthiest person in the world. He has a net worth of 11,630 crores. Ellison wrote a book named “An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle. In the year 1997, Ellison was awarded the golden plate award of the American academy of achievement. He was also inducted into the bay area business hall of fame and was recognised as a successful businessman.

8. Sergey brin

When every person has to look out for something over the internet, the one website everyone relies upon, Google, is. Google has been the largest search engine that has been functional in a long period, and the co-founder of this huge company is Sergey brin. Sergey brin, along with Larry Page, founded the huge search engine known as Google. He was born in the year 1973 on the 21st of August. After completing his education Larry Page and started working on search engines and then launch Google. Brin is not only the co-founder of Google but also is the co-founder of alphabetic. And PageRank. Sergey brin has a net worth of 112.8 B dollars.

9. Warren Edward Buffet

Warren Edward buffet has been widely popular all around The World because of his theory of investments. He has truly fascinated many investors worldwide with his great fascinating investment method, which provides guaranteed success to the investors but in the long term. He is an American philanthropist and the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Warren buffet has a net worth of 101.6B.

10. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers & Family

Francoise Bettencourt has been one of the world’s largest businesswomen. She is also the world’s richest woman. Francoise Bettencourt has been a huge name for herself after becoming the founder of loreal, one of the world’s largest companies that deal with their associated products. She had been dressed in a stick catholic home but has had great Wall exposure, which provided her with the platform she has today. She has a net worth of 92.9billiom dollars.

These are the top 10 richest individuals which the world has seen. They have utilised their business ideas in the best possible way and has created a signature in the whole world of business philanthropy.

Kelly Bagla : A Gem in the Jewel of Business Legality

Meet Kelly Bagla, a best-selling author, Minternational award-winning business attorney, a powerful women and what not. Being the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Bagla Law Firm, APC, she has spent her entire career helping entrepreneurs start and grow successful businesses. Also, her unique ideology and methodology raised her company in achieving many milestones in its pathway.

Tycoon Success such admire such leaders and takes pride in featuring Kelly as the cover for “The 10 Most Recommended Law Firm to watch in 2021.” Below are the highlights of the interview:

A peek into Kelly’s Journey

Originally from England, Kelly began her legal careerat one of the world’s most prominent international law firms. By 2009, she realized that starting her own firm would better allow her to concentrate on her passion: helping businesses to thrive in the United States.

“I love helping international entrepreneurs establish a presence in the U.S.,” Bagla says. “I work with entrepreneurs and investors abroad to properly set up legal entities in the United States. Whether they are launching a new business, or want to base a subsidiary here, I can help. The laws in this country are complex, and it is important that those who want to establish businesses here do it properly. The United States is a highly litigious country, and failure to properly protect yourself can result in lawsuits, and loss of assets. That’s why it’s vital to structure everything properly from the outset,” Bagla explains. Thus, she states that she wrote a short e-book explaining the U.S. legal system and the process for foreign based businesses looking to do business in
the USA. One can get a free copy of the book here: https://www.baglalaw.com/books-by-kelly/

Compassionate towards Clients

Kelly’s clients are domestic and international entrepreneurs, investors, and CEOs who are in the early stages of establishing companies. Her international clients are innovators and investors from a wide array of industries ranging from digital entertainment to cyber security to healthcare products.

“My international clients in particular, trust Bagla Law Firm because I’m an immigrant myself. I came to the U.S. for many of the same reasons international investors and entrepreneurs want to come here. The possibilities for business owners are endless. I became a business owner after learning from some of the most brilliant business attorneys on the planet. In launching my own firm, I experienced the unique challenges of setting up a U.S. based business, which can be complicated. This first-hand experience has helped, as my international clients know that I’ve personally done this myself for multiple businesses I own,” says Kelly.

Adjacent Ventures

In addition to helming San Diego, CA based Bagla Law Firm, Bagla is also the founder of Go Legal Yourself! – an online business formation company, along with two best-selling books by the same name. Meanwhile, the Second Edition of Go Legal Yourself! was released in early 2021.

The ethos underlying everything Kelly has done, is a fierce belief in entrepreneurship. She explains, “I watched my father in England work in a factory for years, saving and strategizing the entire time. Ultimately, he was able to buy the factory he worked in, which was incredibly impactful. I saw the hard work he put in, and the sense of pride he had in becoming a business owner. I knew I not only wanted to do the same, but I wanted to help others
experience that sense of accomplishment, and independence.”

Continuing Kelly says, “The desire to protect and aid those brave enough to dream big is what motivates me. Whether it’s through my work as legal advisor to incoming companies, or when I’m writing a book to tell people how to protect themselves when setting up new ventures, or hosting a podcast (Go Legal Yourself Podcast) aimed at educating future entrepreneurs. Everything I have done is to help others achieve their own version of the American Dream,” she adds. Incidentally, Kelly’s podcast, Go Legal Yourself! has been named a top 20 Law
Podcast by Feedspot which is available in 25+ countries.

Like all entrepreneurs, Kelly also faced some initial challenges, when launching her own law firm and her subsequent enterprises. “There will always be people who are fearful and try to steer you away from embarking on your own venture. I assume they are well-intentioned, but if everyone were afraid to dream big or to take a risk, we wouldn’t have medical research companies; we wouldn’t have the Teslas of the world. So, I chose not to listen to the naysayers, who thought leaving the comfort of a large law firm was too big of a risk. I did it, and it was a great decision that I’ve never regretted,” she says.

To grow her law firm, and her subsequent businesses, Kelly says she has never stopped taking advantage of every opportunity to learn from successful business owners who came before her. “I listen to a lot of audible books while I’m working out or walking my dogs. I am always looking for inspiration, and looking for ways to improve,” she says. Kelly credits books like Secrets of Closing the Sale, by Zig Ziglar, and Grant Cardone’s Secrets of Selling as being particularly helpful in growing her businesses.

Both her own experience in running a business, and watching her father become a business owner also taught her to be prepared to work incredibly hard as an entrepreneur, which is something she continues to do each day. “My husband runs a construction company, so we get up incredibly early. He’s up by 3:00 am and I’m up by 3:30 am. We take our dogs out for a long walk. Then, before most people are awake, I’m already working out,” says Kelly, who was named Ms. Southern California 2010, and still holds a professional body-building card.

A peek into Kelly’s Life

Kelly also makes time each day to appreciate the beauty and the blessings of God, in what might be best described as simple meditative practice. “San Diego is beautiful, and I make sure to appreciate the beauty surrounding me. I work extremely hard, but I also take the time to enjoy the beauty and blessings, and results of my hard work every day. If you don’t take the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor, and the blessings around you, then there’s no point in working so hard,” she muses.

Kelly is also in her office early, available to meet the needs of overseas clients in different time zones. She also makes sure to network a little bit each day, as she’s quick to note that as a business owner, she needs to remain connected and involved in her community and her industry.

By early evening, she leaves her office, though she remains available for calls until retiring for the evening. “My husband and I have a nice dinner, a glass of wine, and take another long walk with the dogs to enjoy the sunset,” she says.

Her weekends are filled with more of the same. With learning as her favorite hobby, she spends her free time reading and traveling, along with playing with her dogs, and exercising. “I often listen to a sales presentation while I’m doing other things. I’m a lifelong learner and listening to a talk by Tony Robbins or the like while I’m exercising is a great way to stay in a mindset of success,” she says.

The Queen of Business Law

Suffice it to say, her hard work has paid off. Bagla Law Firm has been named Best International M&A Law Firm by Acquisition International, and the winner of Innovation & Excellence Awards 2021 by Corporate Live Wire. Kelly was named a Businesswoman of the Year by the San Diego Business Journal in 2018. She was also named the “Powerful Women Entrepreneur” of the year at the 2017 DREAMS Inspiration awards. She has been featured on all San Diego news outlets, along with appearances on national news programs. Not surprisingly, when a client coined her the “Queen of Business Law®” the nickname stuck.

So, what advice would the Queen of Business Law offer to those looking to launch a company in the U.S? “You must believe in your product,” Kelly says. “If you don’t nobody else will.” Moreover, she advises international and domestic entrepreneurs take the time to build a solid foundation. “You need to structure your business properly from the start. There are a lot of new innovative business structures that are designed for companies that want to give back to the community through civic initiatives and incentives. Some of these business structures make a
lot of sense for new businesses, as they are a great way to immerse yourself in the community, all the while ensuring you have the protections that proper business structuring affords,” she explains. “No matter what business structure is ultimately the best for your venture, it’s essential that everything is done legally, and meticulously by the book,” says Kelly. “After all, how high you fly is based on how strong your foundation is.”

Bagla says her favorite quote that she has lived by is “Why blend in when you were born to stand out.” – Guru Granth Sahib.

Nicole Carter: Generating Opportunities for All with Carter Consulting, Corp.

Very few people find their fulfillment in helping others. Some are enthusiastically passionate that they feel honored by assisting people and marking their presence in the corporate sector. Nicole Carter is one such leader who finds this as her prime source of motivation. She is quite passionate about helping others grab employment opportunities to sustain their families and livelihoods.

Ms. Carter founded Carter Consulting Corp. to provide technical support and resource development services to non-profit and faith-based organizations. Nicole leads the company in providing grant writing, capacity building, networking, leveraging, marketing, compliance and development training services.

Taking the onus at Carter Consulting, Corp.

Nicole is the firstborn daughter of a southern pastor and a registered nurse. They instilled into her the importance of servicing the community at a very young age. Nicole’s parents, also entrepreneurs taught her the importance of work ethic and civic leadership. Her father, nationally recognized as the foremost authority in grant writing taught her all the tools and tricks of the trade. Her mother was instrumental in demonstrating to Nicole compassion, care and sympathy for those who need it the most. Social justice, community service and economic development are hardwired in Nicole’s heart and brain.

Since the dawn of the company, Nicole has burnt the midnight oil determined to be the standard in corporate leadership, community resources and community support. Her mission is to see all individuals have equal accesses to healthcare, economic opportunities and social supports. Ms. Carter’s dedication and passion for helping others has allowed her to gain all the necessary experience, relationships and knowledge to lead.

Changing lives with Carter Consulting, Corp.

As a Women Owned Minority Business with SBA 8(a) and HUBZone certification, Carter Consulting is committed to excellence and creating innovative and flexible solutions for its clients. The company excels at project management and resource development. From planning and plotting to execution, the team offers honest consultation services and individualized resource offerings.

Carter Consulting, Corp is led under the direction and vision of proud owner and CEO Nicole Carter. Being a proven business mentor, a passionate community representative and a thriving business owner, she aims at aiding other minority individuals, non-profits and businesses to succeed and thrive in the markets they serve.

Ms. Carter is quite passionate about creating community projects that will last and make a tangible difference to the communities who need assistance the most. She has served as project director for HUD, DHHS, Dept of Commerce, Dept of Education, and additional funded programs. Nicole aided the State of Tennessee’s Department of Military with audit/ programmatic compliance with their grants and grants. Nicole is a regular contractor for numerous federal departments; serving in the capacity of panel chair and chairperson. Moreover, she has played a key role in implementing several programs for social service agencies from California to Mississippi in diverse programs and communities.

Under the leadership of Nicole, Carter Consulting offers a wide range of services to its clientele. They aim at improving efficiency, effectiveness, resources, personnel, leverages, board development and budgets. Carter Consulting combines its excellence and experience in compliance, staff training, recruiting, HR, administrative support, and contract negotiations to provide its clients with guided options.

No matter the odds, the team never fails to offer the best quality in their services.

Carter Consulting, Corp provides their services nationally with several global clients. The most commonly requested services include funding research, proposal development, and grant review. The process begins with an intimate interview with the client to learn their needs, barriers and successes. This is followed by searching for various funding options that suit the stated needs of the clients. After this, the team develops proposals in response to RFP’s which require robust assessment, requirement compliance, consultation, and devising individualized solutions to complete the final draft.

Once the draft is completed, the team proofreads it, submits the proposal to the funding source, and waits for a response.

Having a commitment to the community and organizations who share her mission; Nicole implemented a Nonprofit Technical Assistance Program. The vision behind the program is to aid non-profit organizations to grow and provide better sustainable and high-quality services to the communities they serve.

Through this program, the company will visit the client site and conduct an analysis of their operational and program design and implement a Correction Action Plan which is an action strategy for sustainable and effective management to improve effectiveness. Corrective plans may include aspects such as: Incorporation and Tax-Exemption, Board Development, Funding Sources, Budgeting, Networking, and Community Collaborations, Staffing & Volunteers, Capital Campaigns & Fund-Raising, Technology & Social Media, Event Planning, Program Implementation, Rural Access, etc.

The Correction Action Plan is then offered to the client; which if followed results in better processes and procedures, detailed timelines and benchmarks; helping the client to serve the community in a better way and grow.

Nicole also developed the “Non-profit and Federal Funding” Workshop which is a free community training aim at providing the essentials in building a nonprofit and locating funding. She has also created several micro-enterprises and small businesses to providing opportunities for others to thrive in the corporate sector. With a national certification from NAHRO as a Section 8 Housing Specialist, she has offered different training programs with HUD and State Departments of Housing.

Road to success

With a massive pool of experience, skills, and knowledge by her side, Nicole led the expert team at Carter Consulting, Corp. to serve a plethora of clients within the country and outside and secured more than 50 Million dollars.

For the past three years, Nicole has secured nearly 10 million dollars in Local, State, and Federal funding. Moreover, she has established more than 32 grassroots/community-based organization and assisted in the initiation of more than 50 Housing and Economic Development programs, including education and employment, crisis intervention, job training, counseling, emergency food assistance, recreational, housing and rehab, elderly, healthcare, domestic violence, family development programs, and whatnot.

Just recently, the company was awarded more than 4 million dollars in contracts and grants. The same year, Nicole led the company to own the first minority hemp farm in Tennessee and acquire three buildings for rental property.

A strong network of corporate relations, smart formulation of strategies, well-planned collaboration with the community, and critical planning and plotting allowed the company to acquire a $500,000 apartment complex with $375,000 cash.

Nicole believes that by collaborating with the community, Carter Consulting, Corp can fulfill the needs of various stakeholders and provide unique support to them.

Future roadmap for Carter Consulting, Corp.

The corporate sector is tough and competitive, so Nicole adds that it is vital to cement her position in the industry and mark her presence in the market. She believes in minority inclusion and social equity and works to ensure that all have the same accesses to corporate growth.

Nicole believes that by standing together with the community Carter Consulting can achieve new heights and help thousands of persons in not just nationally but abroad as well.

Ralf Parfuss: Transforming business with a Decisive Approach

Meet Ralf Parfuss, the Chief Executive Officer of Connect.it, whose unique ideologies and methodologies have led him and his company to its current successful stature. His decisive nature and driven by implementing innovation to transform the traditional custom ways. Through quoting, “It is not about being the best, but being better than you were yesterday,” he emphasizes over one’s ability to be persistent and march forward for the greater good. He suggests many a book by Daniel Kahneman titled “Think fast and slow”, which he believes is exceptionally brilliant to understand functioning of whole life.

Tycoon Success admire such leaders and appreciate Ralf’s contribution in the evolution of business. The magazine takes pride in featuring him in this special issue.

Below are the highlights of the interview:

Into the Shoes of Ralf

Ralf mentions, at the age of 45, he was already an exceptional manager specializing in IT and IoT projects and start-ups with their finger on the pulse. As a visionary, he follows his inner drive. He prefers and sees the big picture, can imagine what it is like when you change things and implement his visions and ideas in his company with persistence and a culture of innovation. As a free and lateral thinker, he succeeds in identifying and solving problems in an incredibly creative way and through various means and ways.

His will to personal commitment is unruly in the foreground. Driven by a thirst for knowledge, he is never satisfied with simple answers. His extensive network of contacts, which are mutually beneficial, proves his decisiveness also existing ideas of other people are taken up and improved. His vision is to forge new paths, to question previous “truths” and to confidently and independently commit to something. Ultimately, he often trusts his intuition and cannot always explain everything down to the last detail. He instinctively follows his nose and is mostly sure to be on the right track.

In the year 2019, he was honored as one of the 10 best CEO’s. As IoT enthusiast he founded 2014 among others the company t-matix with the first programming free IoT platform worldwide, already before the IoT market was born. In order to make his start-up a success, he was convinced that it was necessary to bring in the know-how and clout of an international player and sold t-matix to this company. Due to his experience, technical competence, creativity and implementation skills, he has a good eye for markets and technology and is someone who recognizes at an early stage needs and potential and brings an idea to implementation. Countless contacts to major players and experience in the field of financing and M&A take all projects to a great success. Driven by a thirst for knowledge, Ralf Parfuss is never satisfied with simple answers. How can you do something better? Why does something not work, or: If A works, B should work too – such questions and considerations are typical for him. His main principle is to have fun at work. This is the only way to successfully implement products and projects. Right from the start, the focus is always on the conclusive definition of goals and well-structured business plans in order to be able to measure progress afterwards.

Products to Rely On

Ralf states that with connect.it he and his team are specialized in business development of digital products in software, telematics and IoT. Whilst, these technical skills combined with its ERP and process knowledge cover all necessary and mandatory things to be successful. A wide range of small companies but also big international players trust in its developing small to huge products and projects, which are predominantly of a technical nature. In the past few years, company have implemented more than 100 IT projects. Currently it has successfully supported the establishment of a large cell phone operator and a company with toll and traffic management, but also implemented telematics products for OEMs and large construction companies, and not at least, it has created and developed the world’s first independent and programming-free IoT platform within t-matix. Moreover he states that the company is planning and executing the visionary orientation of several start-ups, mainly supporting and connecting their products with revolutionary IoT processes., most exciting is the realization of an unprecedented invention.

The company works for small startups up to large international companies. He states that the overriding principle is to gain trust in its work with openness, honesty and handshake quality. “Even if things don’t go well, you have to address things openly and solve them together,” he adds. The company focuses on the goal and the solution, technology is always challenging and has no place for a culture of claiming. Connect.it counts on its team with extensive know-how and a lot of experience as well as all the necessary resources for successful implementation, which are:- Visionary orientation and creativity combined with technical know-how- Financing and operational processing including controlling- Marketing and Design- Software and hardware development- Project implementation- Operations and support- High M&A experience

Well-led Team Ralf states that to be based on an equal footing and appreciation always have top priority, and thus the focus must be on people. He and his always try to promote the strengths of every employee and at this point it is important to understand that not everyone can do everything, but that strengths have to be evaluated first. Further he states, the team with the right skills and responsibilities needs to be aligned. He and his team achieve fairness by working out and setting goals with every employee from individual employees to top management. “Only under this circumstances an employee has the chance to reach a successful day-to-day work,” says Ralf.

Overcoming the Challenges

“Growth is the primary challenge,” quotes Ralf. It sounds very simple, but the challenges are that every employee has the right work orders on the table every morning, that the goal is clearly defined and that everybody has the chance to go home after a successful day with the feeling that he or she has brought the company a step forward again. He states that in particular, leading across multiple levels is extremely difficult for managers. As defining goals and good communication is the key to success yet, this is often underestimated and creates a lot of problems for employees. He also emphasizes that the key to success is to focus on the goal and get everyone on board with power and enthusiasm. “But above all the right team and people around you who can be relied on are crucial. And even when things don’t go well you have to learn to hand over responsibility,” he states.

The company has won many awards and attained many achievements, are mention below:

2017 Telematik Award Gold
2018 DIGITAL Impuls Award
2019 Telematik Award Gold
2020 Top Smart Cities Provider in Europe
2021 Top List in Telematics

Advice worth Appreciating

Ralf advices that one must take time for his/her team and management to develop a clear strategy. One must also define targets and milestones with KPI’s that can be measured. “In the next step synch and communicate with your team and review the progress at least monthly,” says Ralf. Further he states that excellent co-operations with good partnerships are the key, especially in the complex tech area one need to scale. “You can reach this goal with great partnerships and the right planning,” he adds.

Scott Graeff bringing unique perspective and business acumen to Luna and under his guidance

The world around us changes every day. To succeed, businesses must be able to quickly adapt to new challenges and pivot accordingly; in unexpected times, having strong leaders in place to navigate through the challenges can make all the difference. In the context of the global pandemic, skilled leaders are a critical factor for success; acting as a steady hand while continuing to drive growth. One such reliable leader is Scott Graeff.

Scott serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Luna Innovations Incorporated. Luna (NASDAQ: LUNA) is a leader in optical technology, providing unique capabilities in high-performance, fiber optic-based, test products for the telecommunications industry and distributed fiber optic-based sensing for the aerospace and automotive industries. Scott brings unique perspective and business acumen to Luna and under his guidance, the company has grown and is thriving.

Tycoon Success admires such exemplary leaders and appreciates their contribution in the growing and evolving business world. It takes pride in featuring Scott Graeff in its special issue entitled, “The 10 Most Inspiring CEO’s to Watch in 2021.”

Becoming a CEO

Scott originally joined a division of Luna Innovations in 2003 and held a variety of positions until being named President & Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors in 2017. However, it is his background and past experiences that both inform the way he thinks and how he runs the company.

Scott grew up outside of Philadelphia, PA and attended the University of Virginia, earning a BS in Commerce. Before attending university, Scott served in the United States Army’s 3rd Infantry, “The Old Guard,” where he was Commander of the Relief at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery and a guard to the President of the United States during the Reagan Administration. Importantly, it was his time in the military that shaped such an significant part of his leadership style and work ethic. “This experience formed the foundation of my character. I would say my military background contributes to the disciplined, intentional and thoughtful planning and execution of my ideas to this day, “adds Scott.

Prior to joining Luna, Scott worked in a variety of organizations, driving value as partner at a Virginia-based venture capital fund, and as a co-founder of a software technology company that was later sold to a Fortune 500 Company. He also held senior roles in a variety of financial institutions, completed several public offerings and was involved with mergers and acquisitions with a notional value of more than $8 billion.

Focusing on Strategy

When appointed CEO in 2017, one of the biggest challenges Scott faced was assessing all of the assets that made up Luna, confirming the company’s strategy, and then aiming the business toward where its core capabilities gave the company the best competitive advantage. To do so, he focused Luna and its operations on what it does best –fiber. “We believe we have a technology, using fiber, which is proprietary, cutting-edge and unrivalled. We divested some of our non-core businesses and acquired some that expanded our capability within our sweet spot. Now, with a clearly defined vision, “to enable the future with fiber” we are poised for growth, both organically and through acquisition.”

Innovative Solutions

With Scott’s guidance, the Luna team has spent a good portion of the last three years, focusing their portfolio on its capabilities around fiber, where they have strength and differentiated value. With a superior product portfolio in sensing, testing, measurement and control solutions, the company believes it is extremely well positioned to take advantage of mega-trends such as light-weighting, electric vehicles and increased demands on data centers and broadband capacity, such as 5G.

The shift to using lighter weight materials, like composites, in aerospace, automotive and within structures such as bridges, dams and tunnels, is continuously growing, as is the drive to build smart infrastructure. “What we are doing with fiber within our sensing vertical, how we are using it as the sensor itself, can be likened to the central nervous system in your body, describes Scott. “Fiber optic sensors are the ‘nerves’ of smart materials, and our products are the ‘brain’ that collects and aggregates data from these fiber sensor ‘nerves. Essentially our products can detect any strain, temperature, or structural changes in structures within which they are embedded. “

For Luna’s communications test vertical, increased data and video consumption is pushing the need for more accurate measurements to accommodate higher speeds. Its products provide unprecedented visibility at the component level and within short-haul networks, such as data centers, to ensure speed and accuracy.

A Glimpse into Luna’s Future

Scott believes that what Luna does with fiber, both in terms of classic test and measurement and on the sensing side where the fiber is used as the sensor itself, is unique. “Our potential is significant, and we believe that we are in the midst of a market shift that continues to accelerate the adoption of the capabilities that Luna provides. Increasingly, we are seeing true market pull; very significant players realize the impact of incorporating optical fiber sensors into their products and are contacting us as potential customers and partners. In 2021, we look to continue new product developments and to strengthen our strategic partnerships.”

Key Aspects of Leadership

When asked about the key aspects of leadership, Scott concluded that some of the most powerful tools a leader can have in their toolkit include transparency, a lean forward attitude and an ability to empower others.

Transparency – Scott believes transparency is KEY with fellow employees, Board of Directors and shareholders. He does that by keeping everyone in the loop, sharing both good and the bad news, and by welcoming honest feedback from members of his team. The honest feedback gives him the opportunity to fix problems remove barriers in the way of his team members. Transparency also fosters a culture of accountability within the workplace.

Lean Forward – Scott describes himself as a forward-leaning leader, someone who is always looking for opportunities, anticipating their broad effects and assessing the overall risk. “Risk is necessary to host an innovative culture within Luna, but it is a balancing act. Risk can’t be tolerated at the expense of the bottom line in the long-term. A measured degree of risk tolerance is also a characteristic I look for when we are hiring,” Scott noted.

Empower Others – By consistently communicating with employees and sharing the company’s strategy, Scott wants everyone to understand and feel like they are contributing to achieving the company’s vision. Doing so increases both their sense of individual worth and their commitment to the company. He added, “It’s important to me that everyone at Luna understands what a critical role they play in Luna’s success.”

Sound Advice

In the past, Scott admits that he too often missed the small things while in pursuit of the big picture in his mind. However, he’s learned that, to be a successful leader, he must be able to see all the trees that make up the forest. Connecting with individuals and recognizing the behind-the-scenes efforts of everyone within the organization is crucial to the success of the team he’s leading.

Attaining Success

At the end of the day, it’s important for Scott to know that he has helped to make something better – whether that is a process or product at the company, a person’s day, his community’s vibrancy – he wants to know that he’s had a positive impact somewhere. “Success is also connecting with my two daughters, sharing the good things and bad things about our life experiences. Success is ensuring that my wife of 26 years knows I will be there for her and vice versa. Success is making Luna a better company today than it was five years ago – for our employees, our customers and our shareholders.”

For Scott, success lies in focusing on some reasonable balance of the critical components of his life. He recognizes that balance is different for everyone, and we each must define it for ourselves. He always wants to be fully present – fully engaged and listening. Success is being a good father, husband, and leader, simultaneously.

Yoga is better than Gym for losing weight

Exercise has always been a part of daily life for generations. However, the concept of exercise and the way it is done has evolved. As man evolved and discovered modern comforts of life, the daily physical effort or toil, has reduced for many. That is why exercise happens either at the gym or people do yoga. Yoga is a physical, spiritual, and mental form of exercise that originated in ancient India. It is much better than going to the gym for losing the weight.

Weight loss is a problem for many in the 21^st century, as obesity has increased in the populations over the last few decades. For weight loss, it is essential to do physical exercise and also to change the mental dependency of people on food. At the gym, people can burn calories and take care of the physical aspect of weight loss. With Yoga, they can change the way they approach life, change their eating habits and gain control over their mental dependency on food.

The following are the reasons why Yoga is better than going to the gym:

No Expensive Equipment Needed

Different gym workouts require expensive exercise machines and equipment at the gym. The monthly gym subscription fees are quite high and experienced trainers need to be teaching members how to use this equipment. With yoga, at a yoga class, or at home, a simple yoga mat is sufficient. It is basically about simple physical exercise that benefits the body, mind, and spirit. Yoga helps in losing weight with no harmful effect.

Improves Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is the goal for many people who hit the gym and the ones that do yoga. Though the gym helps burn calories and tone the body, it is a simple physical exercise that requires continuous membership of the gym. Many people who leave gym exercises put on the flab and calories almost immediately. Yoga exercises can be done at home and yoga can easily become a way of life. It helps to tone the overall body and detoxifies it from within.

Benefits Mental Health

One of the biggest advantages of yoga over simple gym exercise is that it aides the improvement of overall mental health. The yoga asanas have been designed in such a way that they help physical and mental health. It helps calm the mind and reduce the stress in this fast and difficult world. It helps reduce anxiety, weight loss and helps people get a sense of inner strength, balance, and relaxation which gym exercises cannot help achieve.

Improves Core Strength

Though gym equipment helps people burn calories and build muscles, it not necessarily helps in increasing strength. Core strength creates stamina, endurance, flexibility and this can be achieved through Yoga asanas. Many Yoga asanas decrease body fat, build upper and lower body strength, and make people feel more active and agile.

Yoga, if done in the right way with proper guidance is much more useful and beneficial than going to the gym. It is a discipline that has been practiced for centuries with documented and well-proven results in weight loss.

Budget Tips to Save to Buy Homes

Buying a dream home is definitely one of the toughest jobs there is if you are a working professional. It is every individual’s dream to have a home that personifies everything that they have worked for. A house represents that person’s blood, sweat and tears went through it. There are those who are still trying to get there, trying to make ends meet and doing whatever they possibly can to reach there.

So, we would be discussing some of the important budget tips you could employ to buy a home of your own. There is little rocket science and more common sense that is involved over here.Brace up for that.

Budget tips for your dream home

Before even thinking about hunting a house, you should be asking yourself, how much would you be able to afford? Money is important, and that is something which would be in the article’s centerpoint. Let us look at some of the points mentioned below,

Accumulating your Total Income

It is impossible to make a budget if you don’t know how much you can spend, that is the basic rule which needs to be understood. If you are a repeat offender in blowing up too much money, saving is not for you apparently. If you have a goal in mind, and if you want to do everything in your power to achieve it, then saving should not be your problem.

Start saving up money that you receive every month in the form of your pay-checks. Crunch up the numbers by maintaining a financial diary and add up every piece of income that you have saved up over time. The first step towards controlling your budget for your dream home should be to keep track of your monthly salary.

Count up your Household Expenditure

You have counted up your salary, good but we have got work to do. The next step should be to list out all of your household expenses. Each and everything should be noted down in that financial diary of yours. You can’t save up money if you cannot keep a tab on how much you spend away. Some of the things that might be included in this category generally should be,

Rent
Utilities
Food expenses
Clothing
Transport expenses
Medical
Personal
Recreational

The list would go on and on if you have a healthier appetite in terms of spending. Track this daily or as per your convenience but do keep a check on this if you are overspending.

Calculating Home Ownership Costs

As the term suggests, home ownership is the type where you need to accumulate the minimum possible amount of surplus to name the house your own. If you have to buy a house in a certain area that you have in mind, you would then also know what is the capital that you need to save.

Furthermore, you would need to reduce the expenses list which we just formulated to keep the excessive spending at bay. Since you need to have the minimum amount for a home, controlling your expenses is necessary. Place a buffer in the expense sheet which you have just created, and try to not spend anything beyond that buffered amount. Record everything in your financial diary.

Give your budget some room to grow

You have a budget in place, since you have your savings in track, your expenses in track and in control. Another important factor that most people fail to take into consideration is time. Good things do not happen swiftly, it takes time for your efforts to bear fruit. Give yourself and the money some time to nourish and flourish. You will witness the magic happen.

Adjust Accordingly

You never know what additional expenses you might have to face in the future. Even the savings graph would be significantly higher since it would take years to form up the budgeted amount that you desire to reach. So, some new things would be added in both the savings and expenses sheet, and the rate of expenses and savings would increase against the original. But keeping things in control is the essence, and adjusting accordingly is the key.

Conclusion

You now know what to do. The steps are in place, and a strategy is set. What you do with it is completely in your hands now. The budget is the singular most important factor if you have the goal in your mind. Happy savings!!!

How realtor can help you sell your property fast?

These days real estate values increase at rapid speed. The multicultural people dwell here with residential and commercial properties. They do buy real estate properties as investments. Real estate agents are the right people to deal with when it comes to buy or sell any properties. Property for sale deal is closing faster with the professional efforts of real estate agents.

Follow these tips to sell a property with the help of a realtor. Select Trusted Realtor

Locally you can find a trusted real estate agent to sell your property. It will be better to take some references from your neighbors, friends, and property owners who have recently closed their property dealing. It is advisable to discuss your terms or commission amount. It would help if you can check their terms and conditions. Thus, a face-to-face discussion is necessary before finding the right agent to deal with your property sale. It would help you if you can check the reputation of the real estate agent you select from the list.

Start Property Sales Campaign

The property owner must enlist in online ads as houses for sale the moment you decide to sell them. Locally, you must put a board like real estate rental or houses for sale whichever options you wish to avail so. For this, you can hire experienced professionals who offer comprehensive services. Explore their websites for more info and learn about their services, including professional photography and marketing. They showcase your property effectively. Thus, a small local advertisement from your end is necessary to get a property market attention. Verbally you can market them with your friends, office colleges, and relatives. Sometimes, they might turn out to be a prospective buyer of your property.

Fix a Price by Choosing the right Sales Method

It is true that a property owner cannot always get the desired price of the property that they are going to sell now. It will help you if you can check with your realtor and see the current market price and guideline value. Here, the property owner can select a private treaty or an auction. The former has the advantage of getting a higher price by spending much time on the sales campaigns. The latter is as per the buyer’s willingness to pay the price and get the property. Yet, it will help if you focus on the sales campaign with the realtor and find a prospective buyer for your property. They might buy from you with trust and as a real estate investment purpose.

Before putting the property on sale, do some Sparkling Clean.

When you put your property on sale, make sure that you clean its property so that it gives a new look. This act increases the value of your property.

Make Minor Repairs

If you think that there is a need for repair in some part of your home, then it will be good to do before putting it on sale.

Realtor Helps in Marketing Faster

The best way to market them is by hiring renowned realtors present in your city. They have much knowledge of the locations, local body, and real estate investment in the area. Therefore, they will market your property faster than the property owner can. They market your property online and offline to get a prospective buyer willing to pay your expected price.

Conclusion: The realtors are the trusted agents to deal with it. They will help you sell your property at the expected pricing and quickly deal with a prospective buyer. Real estate rent is increasing over the past six decades. The property owners willing to rent or sell their properties can expect a higher rate of return on their investment. It will be a difficult task to do it yourself with your real estate selling. The realtors are the trusted agents to deal with it. They will help you sell your property at the expected pricing and quickly deal with a prospective buyer.

Healthy Food You Should Eat Everyday For Balanced diet and Weight loss

Being healthy in such a polluted environment is the priority thing. Yes! Delicious food items are important but they should also be healthy for the body. Nowadays, many of the people are upgraded to restaurant food but is it healthy for your body as well!

Healthy foods for you eat should contain the proper amount of nutrients so that your body feels energetic, good, and active. The nutrients must include fat, water, vitamins, protein, carbohydrate, and mineral. If you feel inactive, then it’s a sign that your body is not getting a proper amount of nutrients. Good fats are also important content for the body. For being slim and trim, it doesn’t mean you have to eliminate the fat content.

Healthy food doesn’t mean that you have to eat plain vegetables or fruit salad without enjoying it. They’re also some of the delicious healthy food items that can make your day.

Here in this article, we have pinned some of the healthy foods you should eat everyday for the balanced diet and weight loss

Avocado

Avocado is high in nutrient content. It is the great source of riboflavin, magnesium, potassium as well as vitamins C, K, E, and B-6. Coming to fatty acids, they contain beta-carotene, lutein, and Omega-3. It also contains fats that help to keep yourself fuller for the long day ahead. The Avocado has a variety of benefits such as- would keep your heart healthy, it is good for vision-related issues, it helps in preventing osteoporosis, cancer prevention, it reduces the risk of miscarriages, depression, prevention of chronic diseases and improves digestion.

Walnut

Walnut is also one of the Healthy foods for you. It is rich in minerals, vitamins, fibers, and fats. It prevents the settling of the bad cholesterol in the body. It is the best source of Omega-3s, decreases the inflammation, healthy for the gut, reduces the risk of cancer, helps in controlling the weight, helps in blood pressure, healthy aging, and for the good functioning of the brain.

Almonds

Almonds are a rich source of vitamins, proteins, fiber, and minerals. Again don’t underestimate its small size. Many people are used to eating raw almonds, but besides that, even flavored almonds are available out-there. This is the most important healthy foods you should eat every day. It prevents the clotting of blood as it is rich in Vitamin C and so the antioxidant. Reduces cancer and heart disorder risks, helps in lowering or prevent diabetes, aids in weight loss, and helps in bone health.

Broccoli

Broccoli is one of the healthy foods for you and considers the best source of proteins, fibers, potassium, calcium, selenium, and iron. This helps in making the strong bones, makes heart disease-free, eye care element, prevent cancer. Many of the people out-there considers eating broccoli raw but to add some flavor, it can be also eaten cooked. Maybe, its bitter taste doesn’t make you eat that, but it is the healthiest source that one can have. So, add some flavor and induce it in your daily diet.

Asparagus

Asparagus is the best source of potassium, phosphorous, iron, zinc, and riboflavin. It contains high vitamin value and includes A, K, C, and E. Asparagus supports the cell growth and formation of DNA. It consists of antioxidants and so prevents heart disorders. Improves the digestive cycle, reduces the maternity risks, supports the lower blood pressure, and to lose weight.

Cucumber

Cucumber is the best source that promotes hydration, contains antioxidants, minerals, protein, fiber, and vitamins. Minerals include magnesium, potassium, and manganese. Vitamins include C and k. It has antioxidant property so it helps in reducing the heart disorders risks. It contains 96% of the water and so keeps the body hydrated. It helps in losing weight and helps in reducing or preventing diabetes.