According to a recent study, 88% of small
business owners enjoy business travel. However, since this study, the world
has changed significantly with new guidelines in place for travel due to
Covid-19.

The thought of returning to work for
those who travel frequently for business can be daunting. However Forbes highlights how
business travel won’t be killed by Covid-19, but will return with changes in
place that will mostly focus on shorter travel.

Before Covid-19, business travel was
firmly on the agenda as a workplace mental health issue. In fact, it can have
serious implications for people’s health and mental wellbeing.

A study conducted by the International
SOS Foundation has revealed that business trips contribute to behavioural
changes in people in the workplace. These include depression, stress and
anxiety.

With the advancement in technology
making accessibility to work whilst travelling easier, many workers treat their
business trips as an office on the go. This has reduced the necessary downtime
needed for employees to switch off and look after themselves.

However, there is also considerable
stress involved in the process of travelling and being on the road a lot of the
time. Losing luggage, delayed flights and being away from loved ones are a few
of the factors that contribute to bad experiences during business travel.

International Business Travel and
Mental Health

In a previous study based on the
correlation between business travel and mental wellbeing, 200 business
travellers were interviewed and 45% said they felt more stressed on business
trips, while 31% felt emotionally exhausted. Over a quarter of respondents said
they experienced more prevalent mental health issues such as anxiety and
depression.

Along with the stress of fulfilling
your role whilst on the road, the stress that comes with travel and the lack of
downtime, there are also physical health implications to business travel.

With the likelihood of shorter
travelling distances as Covid-19 restrictions ease, the frequency of travel
could increase. With more travelling, it becomes harder to follow a balanced
diet or get much exercise and good quality sleep.

However, business travel is often
deemed as essential for meetings, training, entertaining clients and winning
new business. The problem is that while international business travel opens up
opportunities, it also comes at a cost to wellbeing.

Safeguarding Health and Business
Continuity

In recent years, the importance of a work-life balance has been emphasised, highlighting the importance of disconnecting from work. This springs the question what measures can organisations and companies take to try and safeguard employees who are travelling on their behalf? Did you know? you can now download gbwhatsapp from your phone. Check out softgoza for more information.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
is clear about the measures for tackling stress, and about the impact stress
can have, with over 11 million days a year lost through stress in the
workplace.

But how does stress risk management
translate to business travel?

There are various stress factors
associated with business travel.

Some of these are common to other work
situations, including sudden, unexpected workloads, unclear reporting lines and
responsibilities, and rapidly changing circumstances.

However, they may also suffer from
specific, travel-related stress factors, including: a lack of peer support, or
other support network; isolation from family and friends; and jet lag.

These factors also include lack of
sleep, lack of exercise and poor diet, as mentioned above.

Symptoms of poor mental health can
appear as impaired performance, poor concentration and erratic emotional
behaviour.

Better Support for Business Travellers

During this uncertain time, business
travellers need more support to ensure mental wellbeing is considered during
the return of business travel. It is important that more organisations consider
implementing procedures aimed at reducing the mental health risks of business
travellers.

This year, the mental wellbeing of
remote workers has become much more widely recognised as people adjusted to
social distancing and working from home. Along with this and the increase of
mental wellbeing in the workplace, the impact of business-related travel needs
careful consideration.

There are internal measures businesses
and organisations can take to support employees, such as wellness programmes
and resilience training, counselling and regular employee surveys.

However, they should also consider the
conditions and quality of business travel, and what practical support there is
to improve the business travel experience to reduce an impact on mental
wellbeing.

One such area of dedicated support is executive car
services, providing expert business and chauffeur class transfers.

Here, the focus is on ensuring passengers get all the support they need to reduce any stress and remove the uncertainties and inconvenience associated with business travel, with all the precautions in place to make travel safe.

Travel Is So Important It’s the Most Popular Use of Equity Release 

Did you know that travel is such an important factor of mental health that it’s one of the most popular uses of equity release? In fact it’s actually the second most popular use of cash that people have released from their homes when they’ve retired.

Starting a digital marketing agency in the current age is a
different prospect to starting one 20 years ago. In the past, the primitive digital
landscape meant that barriers to entry were many, budgets for digital marketing
were small, and there were strict limits to the media available.

In recent years, advances in technology and consumer
expectations have altered this landscape dramatically. Today, it is entirely
possible for an individual or small group of individuals with the right
knowledge, skills and experience to establish a digital marketing agency and
become fully operational within a few short months.

Between 2016 and 2020 alone, a 50% increase was reported in
digital marketing budgets by MarketCharts. With more than 63,000 searches
performed on Google every single second of every day, having a digital presence
is essential for the modern business, which requires digital marketing
services.

James
Hopkins is a digital marketing expert working to help local business owners
grow revenue and profits. James Hopkins’ marketing services from QV-Marketing can help bring new customers
to a business using digital marketing strategies.

Navigating the
Digital Marketing Landscape

More than half of all modern consumers will always research
online before making a purchase, with 53% searching for a product or brand to
find out more before committing to a purchase. With so many people using the
internet even when they plan to make their actual purchases in brick-and-mortar
shops, almost every business today benefits from having a strong online
presence. This means there are more potential clients looking for digital
marketing services than ever before.

When establishing and growing a new digital marketing agency, it is often tempting                          to take on all the clients who want to come on board. However, finding a niche and
sticking to it can not only distinguish your agency from the crowd, but also
allow you to offer a more tailored and knowledgeable service to your customer
base. Having a clearly defined niche from the get-go facilitates in-depth
learning of the target market, which in turn leads to the ability to formulate
effective messaging. In an ever-growing market, clients will be looking for
agencies that can offer the specialist skillset they require.

Increasing Demand

Demand for digital marketing services has increased
exponentially in recent years and will only continue to increase as industries
of all shapes and sizes move towards cheaper, more effective digital techniques
and away from more cumbersome, expensive conventional marketing strategies. Digital
marketing has the capacity to reach a far wider audience base than many other
traditional marketing methods, at a fraction of the cost. This rapid expansion
into digital widens the market for digital marketing agencies, creating new
opportunities for innovative teams to carve their niche and make a name for
themselves. Two million new digital jobs were expected to open up in 2020 in
the UK alone, creating a situation where people with digital marketing skills
are in high demand.

Contracting

Prior to launching a new digital marketing business, it can
be highly beneficial to work part-time as a contractor alongside regular
employment. This facilitates building the foundations of a successful future
business before taking on the bigger risks.

By working as a contractor, you can build a network of
professional relationships, start to establish a solid reputation, and gain a
lot of the experience that will be relevant and valuable when the time does
come to establish your own agency. Once you have started the business, knowing
how contracting works can help in other ways.

As a new start-up, it is unlikely you will have
much to offer to attract the best employees in the early days; yet taking on
staff is essential for growth. By bringing in contractors, you can start to
scale the business until it reaches a point where it is both sensible and
practical to hire full-time employees.

Before the start of the year 2020, you’re probably one of those who wished for the year to be a good one. As you know, it’s been like a tradition for many of us to think about what happened in our lives over the last 12 months. We’re fond of reflecting on what went well and what didn’t. The new year excites us to set resolutions and goals for every aspect of our lives. 

Unfortunately, the year 2020, which also marks a new decade, was met with turmoil when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the entire world. The coronavirus, which was believed to have started in Wuhan, China, caught everyone off guard. No one can’t deny the fact that it has changed our social landscape. Also, it  has threatened, and will continue to do so, not just lives around the world, but also the global economy. 

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on many countries is so huge that it’s believed to be worse than the 2008 Financial Crisis. During the first few weeks after the coronavirus was upgraded to a pandemic, many major stocks from all over the world suffered huge declines. However, the stock market is starting to regain its previous losses. 

How about the Forex market? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the world’s largest and most liquid financial market? Are Forex brokers suffering? 

Forex Trading in 2019 vs Q1 of 2020 

Last year was a difficult year for many Forex trading brokers. Because of low market volatility, Forex traders were in doubt to engage in the buying and selling of currencies online. This, in turn, affected the business of brokers globally. Remember, these companies earn money through spread, which is the difference between the bid price and ask price. This said, last year’s low trading activity was bad news for them; low trading volume meant low revenue.

Yet 2020 is an entirely different story. As COVID-19 worsens, and while other financial markets feel the strain of the pandmeic, the Forex market is thriving. It has brought so many movements to the FX market and, without a doubt, Forex companies are reaping the rewards.

Lots of Forex brokers have reported a remarkable rise in trading volumes so far this year. For example, multi-asset Forex broker Saxo Bank reported that in general, brokerages around the globe experienced a surge in trading volume in the month of February. 

The company also clearly benefited from the trend when they reported a Forex trading volume of $143.9 billion month-on-month, rising 25.1 percent compared to the previous month’s $115.0 billion. In fact, it’s the highest trading volume Saxo has experienced since May 2019. As far as daily trading volume is concerned, it reported an increase of 38.5 percent to $7.2 billion. 

Other brokers such as ATFX, ADSS, and eToro have also noticed that the trading activity of their clients has increased during this period.

Forex Traders Are Trading More

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the volatility of the Forex market. The strong volatility has opened up more opportunities for Forex traders to trade, leveraging on price swings. Not only currencies, but indices as well as commodities have become more frequently traded on the trading platforms of Forex brokers.

It’s also important to note that in an effort to mitigate the effect of COVID-19, worldwide lockdowns have been implemented. This has resulted in people being confined to their homes. With uncertainty regarding employment, and income generation, many are seeking opportunities in the financial markets, specifically the Forex market. They’ve flocked the websites of brokers to gain more information about currency trading. 

Final Thoughts

There are still winners in the world’s financial markets in these challenging times and this has been proven by some Forex brokers. While the world is still at a standstill, the Forex market is still thriving. Many people, either looking to grow their wealth, or looking for a new way to earn online income, have looked to Forex trading.

The question now is, is Forex volatility here to stay? Will the trend continue in the long-term? We can’t know for sure. No one can totally predict the future. But what we can do now is to take advantage of the current Forex trading situation, and leverage on bigger trading opportunities. 

Don’t be complacent though. While the current Forex market volatility presents huge potential for profits, it’ll be best to stay alert of the market news and trends. Be reminded that the market can be unforgiving, so you have to make sure that you always look after your trading strategies.

Lightbulb Leadership Solutions has appointed Bill Hogan to support growth in its Private Equity client base.

With a strong track record for successfully driving turnaround performance in SMB and enterprise organisations, as well as leading multiple M&A transactions culminating in an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, Bill joins the business as a key member of its private equity value creation team.

A challenger brand to the big-four consultancy-firms, Manchester-based Lightbulb Leadership supports its clients across a range of change and transformation, encompassing C-suite and board advisory, strategic business consulting, leadership transition, talent & succession planning and leadership development.

And working specifically with Private Equity clients, its value creation team works with investors to ensure higher exit returns in portfolios and support the raising of further capital.

With his 30+ years’ experience, latterly as a Senior Vice President and Managing Director for VWR International with responsibility for seven countries across northern Europe and responsible for a $600 million revenue business and 1,500 people, Bill’s appointment is set to add real value to the team.

And Bill is no stranger to Lightbulb Leadership, having enlisted Managing Director Fiona McKay to successfully lead a single country transformation project to drive revenues from €23 million to €63 million and 15% EBITDA in a five-year timeframe during his tenure at VWR.

His appointment comes as the business has increased its projects across the Private Equity community, working with investors and portfolio companies, enabling management teams to drive growth, build scale and release value, in the post COVID world.

Managing Director Fiona McKay said:

“Now more than ever Private Equity teams are needing to maximise their investments and the key to achieving that is through people, leadership and their ability to reset, reimagine and retool, allowing portfolio investments to reach true potential. Never has that been as important than in the current climate.

“I am delighted Bill is joining our team to help us further support our private equity clients. He has achieved phenomenal success across the investment spectrum and is adept building and leading high-performance teams. He will be a real asset to our business.”

Associate Director Bill Hogan said:

“I am delighted to be joining Lightbulb Leadership at a time where we can make a real impact on the investment community. With vast experience in taking moribund businesses and making them profitable, I am looking forward to working with Fiona and her team to drive forward our client businesses.

“Having worked with Fiona and witnessed first-hand the commercial impact of her transformation programmes, delivering against fierce targets as part of VWR Ireland’s five-year-vision, I know the effect strong leadership and transformational thinking can have on a business. I look forward to taking this proposition to the wider market.”

For more information contact Katharine McNamara ks@konductor.co.uk / 07966 505661

About Lightbulb Leadership

A challenger brand to the big four consultancy firms, the company works with established names across the globe, as well as emerging growth businesses, supporting them across a range of programmes encompassing strategic business consultancy, executive coaching, leadership transition, succession planning and leadership development.

With a track record for delivering measurable business outcomes, the team consistently challenges the status quo, inspiring and empowering businesses to think differently, enabling and empowering their people to confidently step out of their comfort zones and enable future growth.

Unlike some of its contemporaries, it is within Lightbulb Leadership’s DNA to blend strategy with a hands-on approach, architecting, implementing and helping to deliver positive and profitable outcomes, inspiring long-term and meaningful change.

Active in the field of progressing gender equality in the workplace, Lightbulb Leadership Solutions delivers a cutting-edge development programme ‘Winning Women’, designed to accelerate female leadership talent to the C Suite.