Richard Florida Introduces the Philips Livable Cities Award

The Philips Livable Cities Award is an initiative designed to generate practical, achievable ideas for improving the health and well-being of people living in cities. Individuals, community or non-governmental organizations and businesses are eligible to participate in the Award program that comprises a total prize fund amounting to 125,000 Euros.
With the aim of developing simple solutions to the complex challenges faced by the residents of cities today, the program consists of three distinct award categories:

• Well-being Outdoors: initiatives that will help citizens feel safe in public spaces or help create city identity and foster a sense of belonging
• Independent Living: initiatives that will help the growing number of elderly people living alone to feel secure and comfortable in a city, with appropriate access to healthcare
• Healthy Lifestyle at Work and Home: initiatives that will support a healthy body and mind, whether through a person’s surroundings or via other essentials such as exercise, sleep and diet.

An overall award of 75,000 Euros will be granted for the best idea submitted in any of the three categories. There will also be two additional awards of 25,000 Euros each for the best submissions in the two categories not covered in the overall award. The award criteria will be developed by an international panel of experts chaired by Richard Florida, author of The Great Reset, Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute and Professor of Business and Creativity at Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Banking Features A Business Needs

An ordinary checking account is fine for most people, but a business has very different needs than an individual. Whether you own a large business or a small business, the financial institution that you choose for your business banking needs is crucial. Businesses need banking features that cater to their specific needs.

One of the best features that you should look for when choosing a business account is online banking. It’s much quicker than having to travel to a location, you can access your account 24 hours a day, transfer funds and check balances. And, you’ll be able to make payments either when you need to, or set up an automatic payment plan.

If you want to save as much money as you can overdraft protection is vital feature. It will keep you from having overdraft fees in the event that your account balance won’t cover a transaction. And, if you don’t have enough in your account to make a payment, you can still meet your obligations with overdraft protection.

Some banks and institutions that offer business banking will even offer you a business credit card. These types of credit cards usually come with some kind of reward program and allow you to purchase items that you need to make your business run more smoothly.

Small Scale Businesses- What You Need To Know

In the present crisis in world finance, it may seem to be daunting task to start your own business.  However, there is always an opportunity to succeed especially in small scale businesses as long as you are equipped with the necessary knowledge as well as a small amount of start up capital. Here are the things you need to know about small scale businesses:

1.      Decide on what product line you want to sell or services you want to offer.  Whatever you decide on, it should be easy to sell and has a wide market you can work around with.  Your products should be something familiar to you or at least easy to learn about.  It is always best to know everything about your products and services in order to maintain its quality and ensure that your customers will be getting their money’s worth.

2.      Be sure to keep your books or hire somebody qualified to keep and manage it for you.  It is very important that you keep track of how much your business is earning or if it is causing too much loses for you.

3.      Try not to spend your profits, rather use it to expand your business.  This will give you the opportunity for business growth as well as a larger profit margin

4.      Pay close attention to your competition.  Always be on top of your game and make sure that you are pricing your products and services at a very competitive level.