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Billionaire businessman Ray Dalio is the 58th-richest person on the planet. The founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the largest hedge funds in the world, he got to that level by being astute and innovative.

Moreover, Dalio refined the notion of idea meritocracy, an approach which emphasizes the actualization of ideas regardless of who thought of them. This kind of thinking gives opportunities to company employees on the lower rungs of the ladder to develop ideas and earn recognition for their contributions.

Dalio's concept should appeal to anyone who is looking to get into business.

RELATED ARTICLE: STARTING A BUSINESS: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Innovation Is Integral to Success in Business

According to Dalio, one of the most important things in business is innovation. This means looking for gaps in the market that competitors haven't noticed.

No matter what industry you are in, companies borrow ideas off each other until they reach a similar level. The ones that go on to great things are those that come up with new ideas first.

Consequently, there are specialists who help businesses evolve with fresh ways of thinking. For example, Qmarkets is one such idea management platform. Its methodology captures and implements ground-breaking business ideas for maximum effect.

Dalio Promotes the Idea of Giving Employees More Autonomy

This idea management tool, based in part on Dalio’s ground-breaking thinking, relies on a variety of approaches and methodologies.

For example, Dalio’s approach to evaluation led to an increase in businesses giving their employees more autonomy and allowing their creative juices to flow. As a result, upper management could more easily recognize the ideas and accomplishments of employees on the company’s bottom tiers. This in turn led to better staff retention rates and employee satisfaction.

Dalio Belongs to a Handful of Creative Thinkers in This Arena

Additionally, other pioneers in this way of thinking include Scott Belsky and Alan G. Robinson. Both are well-known authors in the idea management field.

For example, Belsky wrote Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality. His book includes research on idea life cycles. In it, Belsky discusses ways to implement ideas.

Robinson co-authored Ideas are Free, a massive global study of 150 businesses. The book explores how companies can garner ideas from employees in order to gain a competitive advantage.

All of these great thinkers, including Dalio, emphasize how important it is to maximize the creative abilities of your company’s employees. You must give them a chance to grow within the company.

Businesses that fail to do this may lose these great thinkers to the competition. Your competitors then go on to innovate and get ahead in your industry.

Therefore, companies should provide opportunities for employees to come up with their own ideas. For example, Google allocates twenty percent of the working day for its programmers to pursue their own side projects.

Conclusion

Budding entrepreneurs should take heed of the good advice that Dalio and these other great business thinkers have come up with. In order for companies to innovate, they need to provide an environment in which their best creative minds can come up with ideas.

If you’re an entrepreneur who is on the lookout for inspiring business ideas, be sure to visit our blog often.

The post What Can Entrepreneurs Learn from Ray Dalio? appeared first on Business Opportunities.

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Are you stressing over a case of the holiday blues? You’re not alone.

Many people suffer from anxiety and even sadness around the holidays. It’s not unusual during this time of year, when stress levels and expectations are high and nostalgia is ever-present. To make matters worse, daylight hours are all too short. Under these conditions, the demands many of us place on ourselves during the holidays can take their toll.

Moreover, if you have a business to run, as well as meals to cook, house guests to take care of, shopping to do, and a house and tree to trim, overload and exhaustion can easily set in.

Ways to Cope with the Holiday Blues

You don’t have to settle for feeling blue around the holidays. In this post, we offer a few suggestions that can allow you to feel more relaxed-and possibly even more festive-instead.

Take a Quick Break from the Holiday Madness

Put your online store or your freelancing gig on autopilot for a brief while, and, weather permitting, step outside for a walk. Even if you have to wear snow boots or avoid mud puddles while you’re out, you will be surprised at how much better you’ll feel when you get back to your office.

If you absolutely cannot get out, a few indoor stretching exercises can get those endorphins flowing and your heart pumping again. Your business will be all the better for it, as you’ll be much more energized and creative afterward.

Let Yourself Have Some Holiday Fun

Have you ever tried your hand at online gaming? Many have.

In fact, an impressive 11% of all Internet traffic comes from players at online casinos. Since 2014, the online gambling sector in the UK alone, including online bingo sites, has grown by 300%.

A quick game, just for fun, could lighten your mood and help you enjoy the holidays again. Moreover, if you take a deeper look, you might see some greater possibility as well.

For example, if you look at the worldwide gambling industry overall, it's clear to see that online gaming has experienced enormous growth. As 2017 came to an end, the total spent on gaming hit an impressive $107 billion-a record-breaking figure. In fact, it was more than people spent on music and film combined over the course of the same year.

It’s no wonder the online gaming sector is on the rise. Whether you love football, politics, reality TV shows, or eSports, you'll find an outcome that you can wager on online. This is something which simply isn't possible in real-world betting outlets.

It also stands to reason that this pattern of growth is set to continue in the near future. As technology advances still further, it's likely that even more people will be drawn to the world of online gaming, and the industry will grow even more as a result.

RELATED ARTICLE: HAPPY HOLIDAYS! WAYS TO PLAN FOR THE HOLIDAYS FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

Spend Time with Loved Ones

Take time to love on a kitten or a puppy, even one that is not your own. Schedule a date for coffee with a treasured friend in the midst of the holiday frenzy. Cook a special meal for a special someone on an evening you both have free. Simple occasions such as these can help to make your holidays brighter and merrier.

Do Something Nice for Someone

There are so many opportunities to offer help and support to others at the holidays. For instance, an obvious idea is to give what you can to those charities that inspire you.

However, if your wallet is a little thin during December, schedule a monthly monetary gift to begin in January of the coming year. After all, most of those charities need support throughout the year as well, and not just during the holidays.

Of course you already know that kindness needn’t be limited to money alone, right? Lend an ear to a troubled friend, or help a stranger lift a heavy bag of groceries into her car. Small unselfish acts such as these will not only help the other person but will also lift your spirits as well.

Say No When You Need To

For many people, spending time with extended family is something others expect them to do around the holidays. This is all well and good if those family members are people you enjoy being around. But what if they’re not?

It’s okay to limit your time with people who leave you feeling drained and exhausted, even if you’re related to them. For example, instead of agreeing to spend an entire weekend with a houseful of keyed-up relatives, show up with a hostess gift and a covered dish to share, and stay only long enough for a meal and an amiable visit with the folks you do care about.

Then, if the afternoon or evening should take an unpleasant turn, simply don your coat and scarf and wave a cheery goodbye.

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Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels

Luxuriate in Some Quiet Time

Whenever you think about it, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Now, take another, then another. With each breath, sink a little deeper into yourself and disengage from whatever is going on around you. You can do this even in a crowd. No one need know but you. It can be your little secret.

Then return to the reality around you refreshed and renewed. This little exercise can take less than a minute, but it can save you hours of frustration and uneasiness. Repeat as often as necessary.

Practice Moderation in All Things

The holidays can be a time when many people feel the urge to overindulge in food or drink. However, doing so will only increase your holiday stress.

Own the Holidays-Don’t Let Them Own You

You want to keep your life and your business running as smoothly as possible through the holidays so you can hit the ground running with the new year. So take heed of these simple practices and enjoy more holiday cheer-and less holiday stress.

About the Author

Carrol Strain is a Top Rated copywriter on Upwork. She is also editor and on-call writer for the Business Opportunities blog.

The post Holiday Blues? Here Are Some Ways to Cope appeared first on Business Opportunities.

When a lawsuit takes over your life, settlement loans can help you meet your obligations.

Are you trying to survive financially while seeking justice for a personal injury lawsuit? Just making ends meet when your life is on hold can be a daunting task. Perhaps you are living on Workers Compensation payments, or worse, are out of work altogether. Surviving the financial stress of this difficult time can be overwhelming. 

When a lawsuit takes over your life a select group of financiers is available to help you meet your obligations. They provide settlement loans, pre-settlement funding to keep the bills paid while your representation works on your case. Here is what you need to know.

What Is a Settlement Loan?

Injury lawsuits add incredible stress to an already difficult situation. In order to alleviate your stress, companies provide injury lawsuit funds prior to any settlement. This allows you to obtain money prior to the completion of the lawsuit. These loans are commonly called Pre-settlement Funding, or Settlement Loans.

• Consider the following questions when looking for a settlement loan.
• What is the rate you will be charged for your Pre-settlement funding by the Company?
• How fast can you really obtain your settlement loan advance?
• What additional fees will be charged on your personal injury advance?
• How long does it take to get your money from start to finish on your settlement loan?

RELATED CONTENT: ARE YOU CONSIDERING A PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM?

Contrary to the information on company websites, many settlement loan companies don't provide low rates on lawsuit advances. These lawsuit cash advance or settlement loan companies charge an interest fee to underwrite your personal injury lawsuit loan.

Top Settlement Loan Companies 

Here are the top settlement loan companies offering lawsuit funding.

Mayfield Settlement Funding

Mayfield Settlement Funding isn’t a huge company like some of the others. However, they have full-time agents in house and ready to fund immediately at good rates. Their customer service reviews are incredible. According to reviews, Mayfield Settlement Funding meets the expectations of customers a majority of the time. The settlement loans are non-recourse – the advance does not need to be repaid if the case does not settle. 

Mayfield does not shop around your loan like many of the other companies. They offer same day pre-settlement funding within 24 hours of application. Unlike many other providers, Mayfield Settlement Funding specializes in settlement loans primarily and not a large number of other products.

PeachTree Financial Solutions

PeachTree gets great reviews online and offers few delays in funding turnaround time. They are located in Pennsylvania and have been offering settlement funding since 1996. From our research, they have good rates and competitive, fast service. 

PeachTree also offers products for annuities, structured settlements, lottery, and other financial advance services.

Nova Legal Funding

Nova Legal Funding offers a clean and cutting edge website with an easy application process. The company resides in California and they have quality reviews on TrustPilot as well. They mention on their website that rates are on a case-by-case basis, so this will have to be researched by the consumer. 

Oasis Legal Funding

Oasis Legal Funding is another litigation funding and pre-settlement loan company with quality reviews. They were started in 1996 and have a large online presence. While we were not able to confirm their rates, they are a leading provider with a happy client base!

This provider also offers non-recourse settlement loans.

LawCash

Law Cash is based in New York. They provide a user-friendly online application to initiate your funding process.  In addition, they offer non-recourse settlement loans so you don’t need to worry that your advance might not be repaid in the unlikely event your case doesn’t settle.

Settlement Loans Wrapped Up

All these companies receive excellent customer reviews and provide fast lawsuit funding compared to other companies. They all offer non-recourse settlement funding services, so you can rest assured that you are getting a safe advance for your lawsuit.

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The major benefit of utilizing settlement lawsuit funding is endurance. Proper funding can close the gap of financial distress that might cause you to settle too early. Your lawsuit funding advance can increase your settlement amount while your attorney negotiates or fights your case.

Cover your bases by researching each company. Your financial health depends on your being well-informed and well-supported.

This article was contributed by Dataflurry Law Firm Internet Marketing, a legal content marketing and SEO services company.

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