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4 Incredibly Premium Websites For Free Music Downloads

Music is something that transcends over the generations. And, if you were a passionate music listener, you would want to download songs legally to support the artists, labels, and distributors.Thankfully, the Internet has made it possible by hosting premium websites that allow you to legally stream and download songs.

Although most of the no-cost songs are by independent or rising musicians that does not mean that it sounds bad! With a myriad of genres and music collections, I am sure that you will find a song that hits your taste.

1. MP3.COM

Kicking it off with the veteran on the list, MP3.com was first established on 1997. It is one of the most popular websites that offer free music sharing services, especially for the independent artists who want to share their works. With years of experience, it has a good collection of songs from pop, jazz, metal, country, and so much more.

2. AMAZON.COM

An established household name, Amazon proves its efficiency by offering a comprehensive list of over 46,000 songs. To make your searching experience easier, Amazon has classified the free tunes by genres, by artists, and by ratings. Simply navigate your mouse here to get started.

3. PUREVOLUME.COM

Since 2003, PureVolume is dedicated to bring new music from several rising artists. Acting as a networking platform, PureVolume allows both artists and listeners to create music profiles and discuss musical tastes. All the song downloads are legal and majority of it is free but there are some premium songs that users can buy.

4. JAMENDO.COM

Over 400,000 songs from more than 40,000 artists awaits you at Jamendo. With that vast amount of collection, it has been one of the biggest repositories of free music to date. You do not have to waste loads of time to find music that pleases your ears because you can quickly browse through by popularity, genre, most played, or most downloaded. The greatest thing about Jamendo is that it allows unlimited downloads of free MP3s and unlimited listening with the in-page music player.

Image Credits: epSos .de via Flickr with Creative Commons License

Sources: 1 & 2

Is Hiring A New Employee Worth It For Your Booming Business?

Having a flourishing business sounds well doesn’t it? But, for a business owner who has not planned about growth, it is possible to find himself or herself in the crossroads – not knowing where to go next. Furthermore, the challenge rises when the perfect employee for the job is asking for a competitive salary.

Employers must calculate the hiring budget and the total cost of hiring a new employee. Additionally, they can find new ways to gain the help they are looking for on how to keep hiring costs low.

COST OF HIRING A NEW EMPLOYEE

Since the workforce of Singapore consists of a diverse mix of employees in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity, employers are strongly advised to practice fairness especially in the matters of talent recruitment.

This fairness expands to the general obligations of the employers. For instance, the cost of hiring a new employee includes the taxes issues for foreign employees and the Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions for the local employees. CPF is mandatory for all local employees including Singaporean citizens and Permanent Residents that earn more than S$50 a month. And, the maximum CPF contribution rate for the employer is 16%.

Aside from this, the recruitment process can cost you if you are planning to pay for a job advertisement. Fortunately, you can post cheap or free position Ads online through various websites that are available here.

Once you select the perfect candidate, you may have to accommodate to their needs such as purchasing new desk, computer, writing materials, and other tools. Lastly, the hourly wage or the base salary heavily affects the cost of hiring a new employee.

ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO GET HELP

After analyzing all the factors that contribute to the cost of hiring a new employee, you may come to a conclusion that you are still low in hiring funds. This is when creativity and alternative ways to get help comes in.

1. ENHANCE YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYEE’S SKILLS

Instead of hiring a new employee, enhance your current employee’s skills to meet your company’s needs. As the business grows, relatively increase the level of responsibility and the amount of salary. By doing so, you can enhance the current employee’s productivity, effectiveness, and loyalty to your company.

Upgrading your employee’s skills does not necessarily equate to burning your pocket. You can search for a variety of affordable workshops that Groupon.sg offers. Here are just some:

a. Instead of hiring a social media manager, learn with the 3 Hr Branding + SEM + Facebook Marketing Workshop for S$28.

b. Instead of hiring a graphic designer for a few projects, learn with the Adobe Photoshop CC Online Course from Teacherbird.com for S$23.

2. HIRE PART-TIME EMPLOYEES FOR YOUR TEMPORARY NEEDS

If your company’s needs are temporary only, hire a part-time employee, as it is more cost efficient. A sense of flexibility, in both the salary and employment benefits, is undeniable when hiring part-time employees. The working hours of these employees are less than 35 hours a week.

Image Credits: Alex France via Flickr with Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike

With all these in mind, ask yourself this: “Is Hiring A New Employee Worth It For Your Booming Business?”

3. Outsourced Staff

Of course, if you’re truly in need of the assistance and short of human resources staff, you can always rely on a good old recruitment agency to help you out.

It has become a trick of the trade for most companies to hire a Philippine, Indian or China recruitment agency. Should there be a temporary vacant spot in the company’s roster, companies choose to outsource a temp instead of having their current staff pick up the slack. This also guarantees that everyone in the company stays focused on their core tasks.

Sources: 1 & 2

Know These 4 Usual Start-up Mistakes To Save More Money

Although you are eager to venture on the business scene in Singapore, you must first be aware of your chances. In 2012, a research showed that 3 out of 4 start-up businesses fail.This is why it helps to know and learn from the usual mistakes that previous business owners have made.

These are just four of them:

1. GETTING OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT

It is paramount to choose the right partners, team, co-founders, or investors to start the company with. Not only does your skills have to balance but also your values must be aligned too. What is even more difficult than having unsuitable partners is having a lone founder. Well, your chance of succeeding is slimmer when you do it alone because of limited access to resources and funding.

2. HAVING TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE MONEY

Raising bountiful amounts of money can make you appear more successful but it shifts away the real focus of the business – the clients. You must give more time and energy into making your product appear impressive for all the consumers to patronize.

On the other hand, having scarce funding because of underestimating the start-up costs can lead you to using your own savings just to meet the business’ monetary needs. You can either use your retirement savings or borrow money from friends and family. This is not always a good idea! Furthermore, you will not be able to optimize your product to its full potential.

3. MISTAKE IN TIME

Jonathan Wegener, the founder of ExitStrategy and Timehop, told Mashable that a common mistake that companies make is wasting one of the most valuable currency on Earth – time.

He then said this: “The biggest mistake I see is companies waiting too long to release the product. It’s easy to let the scope of what you’re building get out of hand. But equally importantly most startups build much more than they truly need to, but this is often only realized in hindsight”.

4. PAYING NO ATTENTION TO THE PRESENT OR FUTURE CONSUMERS

Engaging in activities that enable you to reach out to your potential clients earlier on can help you reach success. Get feedback from the present consumers to examine the demand for your product and the uniqueness of your brand. Then, target your future consumers by using social media.

Image Credits: Clément Petit via Flickr with Creative Commons

Sources: 1 & 2

Does my child need tuition?

Increasing educational levels is a mark of progress for humankind. In the past, education was considered a luxury enjoyed by a privileged few. Today, higher living standards have empowered the masses to invest in the future of the next generation, leading to the betterment of mankind of epic proportions.

However, this does not necessarily mean that tuition is the only way to gain extra knowledge outside of school. Education can come in different forms, ranging from self-directed learning to facilitated learning. Shown below is an elementary guide for parents who are considering various educational options to improve the competency of their children.

As with purchasing any goods or services, quality should often be emphasized over quantity. Finding a well-suited tutor that caters to the precise needs of your child is of utmost importance.

*For convenience, this article uses “his” and “he” to refer to the child.

5 Ways To Budget Your Start-Up Business Like A Boss

There comes a time when your lack of skills on accounting and budgeting will be a dilemma once you opened your small business. You may be knowledgeable in sales and trading but budgeting is important too. Budgeting helps the business owner to determine whether hey have sufficient money to fund the operations, expand the small business, and generate profit for oneself. Without this, you may spend more than what you earn.

The good news is that, there are modern alternatives to make your budgeting feast quicker and easier such as using Smartphone Apps that highlight your business’ expenses. And, on that note, here are the 5 Ways To Budget Your Start-Up Business Like A Boss…

1. DO TONS OF RESEARCH

Businesses may not be diverse but there are similarities. So, do tons of research on the local library, online forums, and start-up business owners about their company’s budget and financial plan. Use a platform like Quora or Yahoo Answers to enable you to ask the users on certain prices of the materials you must use or where to buy them. This will ensure that you get the best deal without spending too much.

2. ORGANIZE THE NUMBERS

After doing your research, organize the numbers by putting it inside an Excel spreadsheet. Analyze and estimate the total amount of money you must allocate on different categories such as raw materials, rent, insurance, and taxes. You may also put the estimated percentage of revenue for each category.

3. USE A SOFTWARE

Aside from using an Excel spreadsheet, you may budget like a pro by using accounting software called inDinero. inDinero helps you run the small business better as it safeguards your transactions, your cash flow, and your expenses. It connects the bank accounts so you can visualize where your money goes. Furthermore, it helps you with your payrolls and taxes. You can also outsource your accounting tasks with company that is willing to provide cloud accounting service such as Quickbooks or Xero for a fraction of the cost.

4. REMOVE THE UNNECESSARY

Upon analyzing your cash flow and expenses, consider cutting the costs of the things that are unnecessary. Save more by taking advantage of the payment terms offered by the supplier or by purchasing on the start of a new billing cycle.

5. BE READY FOR THE WORST

Most of the expenses, such as office supplies and salary costs, are predictable. But some unforeseen things such as higher petrol prices may happen that will spike up your expenses for that month. This is why it is important to be ready for the worst. Do not let these unfortunate events stress you or put you in debt.

Image Credits: John O’Nolan via Flickr with Creative Commons License

Sources: 1 & 2

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