Worcester Business Journal

32 Worcester Business Journal | January 7, 2019 | wbjournal.com 10 T H I NG S I know about . . . … Turning your idea into a business By Derek Canton Canton is founder and CEO of Worcester tech startup paerpay. Reach him at derek1c@me.com 10) Pick the right idea. Picking an idea that is the right fit for you is important. A great indicator of this is finding the perfect intersection between your skills, knowledge, passion and market opportunity. 9) Validate your idea. You have more to gain than lose when it comes to sharing your idea. Determine if your idea solves a big enough problem and if people would pay for your solution. Between Google search and talking to potential customers in your market, understanding the market opportunity is important. 8) Secret sauce. Determine what is your secret sauce or unfair advantage in the marketplace. This is what will set you apart from the competition and keep your customers coming back. 7) Plan of attack. Making a business plan will help you organize your thoughts around your idea. It will make you think through things like the business model, team and financial projections. 6) Execute. Now that you have a plan of attack, it is time to attack! Complete at least three meaningful tasks every day to advance your idea into a business. The reality is your plan will change as you begin making advancements with your business. However, you will be prepared to navigate these changes. 5) Form a legal entity. Researching and determining the best type of legal entity for your business is important. Legalzoom is a simple way to form a legal entity. This is the right time to explore trademarks and intellectual property. 4) Identify your first customers. Your first customers will help you shape your solution. If done well, these customers will become ambassadors of your business in the future. 3) Create your product/service. With a demand for your solution, you will know exactly what to build for your market. If your solution requires initial capital to make, you might be able to get your customers to pay for your solution before you create it. 2) Marketing. With a few customers using your solution, you need to be ready to scale. Having a strong brand and web presence are the first stepping stones to promoting your solution. Creating a website, social accounts and business cards are a great place to start. On these platforms, you get to tell everyone about your secret sauce. 1) Sell, sell, sell. Now, it is time to leverage your network and marketing channels to promote your business and drive sales! K N O W H O W Help employees understand health coverage 10 1: O F F I C E S A F E T Y O ne of the biggest challenges employers face is providing comprehensive yet affordable insurance benefits for employees. Health insurance premiums are oen one of the biggest line items in an employer's annual budget. Providing a robust benefit package can help attract and retain a talented and skilled workforce. e success of a compensation- and-benefits strategy relies upon the success of the organization's communication strategy. So it may be surprising only 35 percent of employers have comprehensive employee communication strategy. is, coupled with a health insurance literacy rate of about 10 percent, makes it challenging for employees to select the coverage best fit for them. Open enrollment mailings might end up in the recycling bin. Let me raise my hand right now, as I am guilty of this too. While I have worked in this industry for more than 20 years, when my husband's employer sends something related to health insurance, it ends up in a pile with grocery store fliers. If understanding health insurance requires sitting down and siing through a 50-page booklet or spending an hour comparing benefits, most employees just aren't going to do it. Employers should make plan information readily available and easily searchable on the company website or intranet. Visual tools such as charts and graphics can be effective. Well-being initiatives with incentives can engage employees and provide the opportunity to focus on the benefits. Don't underestimate the power of a lunch and learn. If you feed them, they will come. Breaking down communication silos yields effective messaging; using different communication channels ensures messages reach the widest possible audience. Listening to employees – and taking a fresh look at who they are – is a first step towards craing the right messaging. e top desired communication outcome is employees understanding and how to use benefits. Successful implementation of benefit changes occurs when deployment of educational tools precedes and then accompanies rollout. Helping employees select benefits and appropriate medical coverage during enrollment is a particularly worthy strategic investment, as it helps lead to better employee physical, emotional and financial wellbeing. e second-most important communication outcome for companies is for employees to understand the total value of their compensation and benefits. Yet, just 25 percent of employers provide a total compensation statement to employees. Faced with a constant battle against rising benefit costs and innumerable pressures on performance, employers can make major gains on both fronts through a data-driven, sophisticated approach to benefits. But few are taking advantage of this opportunity: Half of companies still manage benefits on a year-to-year basis, although doing so limits an employer's ability to harness information for long-term planning. Shiing employee demographics requires employers to reexamine traditional benefit plan designs, and, in turn, develop holistic communication strategies. Equipped with insights and data, employers can offer benefits to provide a sustainable competitive advantage to attract and retain the next generation of workers. BY KATE SHARRY Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal W orkplace safety is something only tree-work crews and forkli operators have to worry about, right? Actually, the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards says other, seemingly safer occupations aren't in the clear. In 2016, 290 men were injured in management, business or financial sectors, and 950 women. e same year, employees in office administration or support roles reported being hurt at work, 1,490 men and 1,510 women. Here are ways you can improve your team's safety efforts. Reduce the chance of falls. Falls don't happen only from spills on floors. Clutter such as file boxes piled in doorways or hallways can create tripping hazards, as does stretching electrical cords across walkway areas. "Placing carpets down can be especially helpful at entranceways, where workers are likely to be coming in with shoes wet from rain or snow," writes Lauretta Claussen at SafetyAndHealthMagazine.com. Know security and safety go hand in hand. Knowing who is inside and outside your place of business is important. If your office does not have a closed-circuit camera in the entryway and parking lot yet, you might want to give it some consideration for 2019 – especially if you have employees who arrive or leave while it's dark. Identification badges are another good practice. Badges should include employees' names and photos. "You can also give these to any guests to your office to keep track of who is entering and leaving," says StartUpMindset.com. Execute wisely. Good office-safety programs include engagement and proper implementation, according to SafetyInfo.com. When auditing your company's safety measures, make sure these four core areas are covered: a person assigned and trained to manage the program; specific duties and responsibilities assigned; sufficient assets provided; and an effective and ongoing employee-training program. Kate Sharry is the area vice president, based out of Auburn, for Gallagher Benefits Services. Reach her at ksharry@gbs-consult.com. W W W

• Cover