How an Idea Becomes a Marketable Product

For the world’s leading entrepreneurs, it is no secret that the first step towards creating any life-changing product is to formulate and develop a winning idea. 

While turning that winning idea into a marketable product may seem like an intimidating process, the truth is that adequate time and preparation in the product development process can allow you to succeed in ways that you may not have believed possible.

The Importance of Research and Development in Product Realization

Even on a small scale, a solid approach to research and development in the early stages of concept revision can significantly boost the likelihood of a product’s success. Putting effort into market research will enable you to better understand the potential place of your product within the current marketplace. 

A person who develops an idea for a new mobile app may wish to see if similar applications already exist, where they are sold, and how much customers pay for their use.

By understanding the landscape in which you will market and sell your new product, you can give your product a better chance at thriving in a competitive market.

Sourcing Quality Product Components

It isn’t enough that your product have an attractive outer casing or flashy marketing gimmick; you’ll need to ensure that you’re building a quality product with quality components. 



Just as you would want to use the best ingredients available to you in order to cook a dinner for your family and friends, you’ll want to ensure that your product is built with the best components available in your price range.

Make sure the components central to your product, such as rigid flex circuit boards, batteries and other electronic necessities, will adequately fulfill the needs of your customers and will last more than a few months. Without a functional and reliable product, your idea will stand little chance of winning over buyers in the long-term.

Seeking Feedback

Whether you’re seeking advice from trusted mentors or scheduling full-scale focus groups to study what the public thinks of your product idea, seeking feedback is a vital step towards understanding the strengths and weaknesses of both your concept and your marketing plan. 

When you solicit the viewpoints of others, you’ll allow yourself the chance to spot design or conceptual flaws that might otherwise derail a successful product launch. Instead of waiting for your product to hit the market, use feedback to prepare in advance for any hiccup that may arise in the development and marketing process of your product.

Turning a great idea into a great creation is often a product of time, effort and responsiveness to the needs of customers. With the right approach to research, product components and critical feedback, you’ll find that a successful product launch is well within your abilities.

Financially Overwhelmed? 4 Tips for Keeping Your Monthly Payments Organized

Staying on top of your finances is important, and a big part of that is making sure that all of your monthly payments are paid as they are supposed to be. It’s easy to become a little overwhelmed with this, but these tips will help a lot.

Write up a Budget

It’s going to be hard for you to pay your bills if you don’t know how much your bills are and if you don’t set aside enough money out of your paychecks to pay them. Tally up all of your bills, from your online property tax payment to your average electric bill and your mortgage or rent. 

Then, make a plan for how you are going to afford all of the payments. Make sure that you leave room in your budget for other expenses, too, such as food and gas.

Use Autopay

When possible, consider signing up for autopay with your creditors. This is a good way to make sure that you don’t forget to pay a bill, and you will not have to worry about the hassle of actually physically paying it each time. Plus, many companies actually offer some sort of discount or incentive for customers who sign up on autopay.

Use Online Bill Pay

When autopay is not an option, consider at least using the online bill payment system that your creditor offers. Then, you do not have to worry about leaving the house or making a phone call to pay your bills. 



You should be able to pay them at any time of the night or day, whenever it is most convenient for you. This can make your life a whole lot easier when it comes to paying your bills.

Keep Documentation

Make sure that you keep receipts and confirmation numbers of the bills that you paid. This will help you balance your bank account and keep better track of your spending. 

Plus, if something goes wrong and you aren’t credited for making a payment, you will have proof that you did pay your bill. This can really come in handy if you have a problem with a bill later on.

If you’re having trouble keeping up with your monthly payments and keeping your money organized, then it’s time to make some changes. With the help of the tips above, you can take back control of your finances. In no time, you may find that you are in a better financial situation.

5 Ways to Get Personal Loan Even with Bad CIBIL Score

Personal loans are easy to avail when you meet all related eligibility criteria. One of the most important factors when considering creditworthiness is your CIBIL score, which is your credit rating. Generally, poor credit scores disqualify you from availing loans. However, there are certain tricks that makes personal loans for bad credit possible.

If you need a personal loan with bad CIBIL score, you can try these workarounds to get the financial help.

Take the loan jointly

When it comes to personal loans for bad credit, the best alternative is to opt for the loan together with another friend or family member. Ensure that the other member’s CIBIL score is at least 750. In this manner, you can bypass your poor credit rating and receive the loan amount from the lender.

Check for errors on CIBIL rating

In some cases, the CIBIL score may fail to show your actual creditworthiness. This generally happens due to a mistake during the CIBIL score calculation. Ensure such faulty scores do not hamper your chances of availing a personal loan. Double-check all the details you provide on CIBIL, such as the PAN number and credit history information.

Enquire about associations between lender and employer

Salaried employees working for reputed companies or organization can check whether their employer has a tie-up with the NBFC in question. You can exploit this connection to avail a low CIBIL personal loan. Financing companies often prefer lending money to employees of such esteemed companies.

Look for other lenders

The eligible credit score for availing a personal loan varies between different lenders. Some NBFCs may offer such loans on lower credit scores as well. Therefore, you should look at all available options. 



You may find a lender whose eligibility criteria you can match. Personal loan eligibility calculators will help you determine whether you can avail a loan or not.

Reinforce your application with a collateral

In general, personal loans are unsecured financial products. You cannot pledge an asset against the money you borrow. However, some financing companies may allow you to do so if you are looking for personal loans for bad credit. Check whether your lender has such provisions in place.

However, improving your credit score is the best way to ensure a fast and hassle-free personal loan approval.

Methods to improve CIBIL rating

• While using credit cards, keep in mind that you should spend only as much as you can repay within the billing date for the card. Unpaid credit card bills hamper your credit rating.
• If you are already repaying a loan, ensure you make EMI payments on time every month. Late payments or defaults will adversely affect your CIBIL score.
• In some cases, the credit score on your CIBIL account does not reflect your credit rating but that of someone else’s. This may happen due to an error on your part while entering your details or due to other reasons. Rectify these mistakes as soon as you notice them to improve your credit rating.
• Rather than looking for a personal loan for bad credit, you can try to improve your CIBIL score by increasing the credit limit on your credit card. High credit limit results in a better first impression about you on lenders.

NBFCs provides pre-approved offers, which makes the loan availing process simpler and faster. These offers are available across both secured loans, such as home loans, and unsecured loans, namely, business loans and personal loans.

So, do not stop looking for a personal loan for bad credit. You will either find a way to avail such a loan with poor CIBIL score or improve your credit rating in the process.

4 Tools to Help You Choose between Great Job Offers

Receiving multiple great job offers right around the same time is certainly an enthralling experience. However, this boost of confidence might be met with some stress when you realize that you now need to pick between them. Pursuing some useful avenues and tools can help to make this decision smoother.

Pros and Cons List

Making a list of pros and cons is an effective way to generate productive decisions. You might think that you’re running through all of the positives and negatives in your mind, but seeing them written out on a sheet of paper can really help you to recognize the decision that is best. 

For example, when you write out each pro and con, you may see that one job is abundant in benefits while the other is swimming in reasons that make it suitable for rejection.

Advisor

You should also talk through your ideas and dilemmas with a person whom you consider as an advisor. Think about to whom you turn for guidance when you typically need to reach resolutions. 

You might generally seek out support from your parents or grandparents, or you may have an old teacher or a spiritual advisor who has provided you with tremendously useful perspective on challenging situations.

Financial Tools

When you’re working, you should feel happy and fulfilled in the chosen position. However, you also must ensure that you are making enough money to support yourself and your future dreams and goals. Therefore, using financial tools can help you to decide which job is better for your bank account. 

You should review elements of the offer that involve finances, such as the salary, benefits and so forth. Also, you should set up an appointment with an accountant or a financial advisor to gain a sense of your specific situation.

Online Reviews

You should also look at online reviews of the companies, and you can check out two different perspectives. In other words, you can look at reviews that come from current and former employees and ones that are written by customers. The latter set will help you to get a sense of what working at the company might be like, and the former et will introduce you to some of the scenarios and issues you might have to work with.

When you receive great job offers, you’re likely quite excited. However, you don’t want to wait too long to accept one, or the offer might disappear. Therefore, put these tools and techniques to work to decide in an efficient fashion.

4 Small Home Fixes That Become Big Expenses If Left Untreated

Are you taking proper care of your home to avoid needing expensive repairs? Owning a home is a big financial responsibility, but you must also make sure that the materials and equipment of the building are in the best condition.

Small Holes in the Siding or Roof

If your home’s roof or siding has tiny holes, then mice, wasps or other pests can squeeze through the openings to infest the building. 

After vermin enters the roof or the siding of a building, the pests can cause damage from body waste, consuming drywall or building nests for young. 

Filling the small holes is simple with liquid caulking, and you can do this on your own or you can hire a handyman to perform the chore. Make sure to inspect your home’s exterior at least twice a year to find the holes that you can cover or fill.

Replacing a Home’s Air Conditioner

It is essential to have an air conditioner in your home, but if you forget to care for this equipment, then you could have a big expense later. Changing the filter in air conditioners is an easy process, but it is amazing how many homeowners fail to complete this chore each month. 

This leads to an air conditioner that is covered with household dust, causing the equipment to overheat. Make sure to buy a filter that is the proper size, and you can use a high-efficiency particulate air filter to remove the tiniest particles of dust and pollen.

Are the Windows of Your Home in Perfect Condition?

If you are ignoring the tiny chips or cracks that can occur to a home’s windows, then you can require an expensive repair later. Cracks and chips occur on windowpanes for a variety of reasons, including having birds fly into the windows or when your children throw a ball against the window. 



When you delay making a repair to the window, the glass can break at an inopportune time from the strong winds that can occur during a rainstorm. This will lead to an additional expensive repair to your home from the damaging rainwater.

Ignoring Plumbing Leaks in Kitchens or Bathrooms

Make sure to inspect the plumbing fixtures in your home, including the toilets, sinks or bathtubs. You should also check the pipes that are near a laundry room or in other areas such as the basement. 

Don’t forget to check your home’s water heater for leaks that can occur from this appliance’s tank or intake pipes. If you find any moisture from the pipes or connectors, then fix the item on your own or contact a professional plumber right away.

Have a Home Maintenance Schedule

One of the best ways to make sure that you home is in perfect condition is to have a maintenance schedule so that you won’t forget to perform inspections of the various things that can degrade.

How to Plan Financially for When You’re Gone

No one likes to think about dying, but you need to plan ahead if you want to protect your family and loved ones. With the proper plan in place, you can rest assured that your family won’t have to deal with overwhelming end-of-life expenses or a complicated legal battle after you pass away.

Organize and List Your Assets

The first step in this process is taking stock of all the assets that you own. In addition to homes and cars, you should also list all of your financial accounts, investments, heirlooms, jewelry, and memorabilia. Once you have that list, it is going to be much easier to plan out your estate or write a will.

Establish a Will or Trust

Even though wills and trusts are somewhat similar, there are a few important differences that you should be aware of. A will is a legal document that describes where you would like all of your assets to go once you pass away. 



Trusts specify where you would like your assets to go as well, but they are overseen by a designated individual known as a trustee. Once you pass away, the trustee can immediately begin the process of transferring all of your belongings.

Consider Setting Up a Living Will

If you are worried about your health, then you should think about setting up a living will. Those documents inform doctors of your wishes if you are incapacitated or can’t make reasonable decisions regarding your health. 

Some living wills also designate a healthcare proxy who can make decisions for you. Keeping an incapacitated individual alive can be very expensive, and many people don’t want to leave those bills to their family members.

Rethink Your Insurance

The final step in this process is taking a fresh look at your insurance to see if any of your policies need to be altered or updated. Life insurance is a great start, but you might want to consider some other policies as well. Options such as end-of-life and burial insurance will help your family cover specific expenses that can sometimes be overwhelming.

In addition to these few tips, you also need to speak with your loved ones about your wishes so that everyone is on the same page. Transferring assets and paying off debts after an individual passes away can be very complicated, and you don’t want to leave a huge legal mess for your family members and friends.