Top 10 Pandemic-Friendly Business Ideas

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many professionals who have been laid off have decided to forge their own paths and launch new businesses.

These newly-minted entrepreneurs quickly discover that there are many pandemic-friendly remote work or business ideas -- from digital marketing to online delivery services, and tuition centres that can be successfully executed and carry over into the post-pandemic world.

Here are top 10 pandemic-friendly business ideas, that you may start to future-proof your business.

1.      Social Media Services

Many small business owners know the importance of social media, but don't have time to learn about it themselves. If you have that expertise, now is a great time to launch a social media management company. Reach out to companies with little to no social media presence to run their accounts, and engage with their audience to boost sales and brand awareness.

2.      Culinary Classes

People love to eat and drink and are always looking for unique foods and cocktails to try. If you have a culinary background or just have mastered the hobby, consider sharing your expertise with the world.  You can start by offering online cooking classes taught via Zoom. As your business expands, consider opening a physical location as people begin to get comfortable with live experiences again.

3.      Online Reseller

In 2020, online shopping rose by 44%, a trend that will continue to grow beyond the pandemic. Becoming an online reseller allows you to capitalize on the e-commerce trend while helping consumers to earn cash for items they no longer need. You can buy products directly from a consumer and resell them, or help them find a buyer and take a commission for yourself.

4.      Consulting Business

From marketing to legal and finance, you can advise others in just about any area of business expertise as a consulting firm. You can connect virtually with clients and offer them your professional insights for scaling and improving their business to ensure stability during the pandemic.

 

5.      Digital Marketing Agency

Businesses are constantly looking for agencies to help them cut through the noise and stand out against online competitors. If you have a background in marketing, you can launch a digital marketing agency that offers content strategy, social media, SEO services, paid and targeted advertising, analytics, web design, consulting, and more.

6.      Graphic Design Firm

Most companies want to stand out with their graphics, but don’t have the in-house capabilities to do so. Whether it be their logo, event graphics, or marketing materials, companies need sleek and professional-looking designs and eye-catching graphics to stand out in today’s digital world.

7.      Delivery Services

During the pandemic, consumers are so used to having products delivered to them, the demand for online delivery services remains at an all-time high. These services mostly cover meals, groceries, and pharmaceutical goods, but there is also a market for miscellaneous product delivery services.

8.      Fitness and Wellness Programs

For over a year, the coronavirus caused people to work from home and stay inside most of the day. Right now, people may need some motivation to break through their pandemic health slump. If you have a background in health, exercise, and wellness, start creating content to help people better themselves and get out of a funk. Blogs and articles are a great way to share recipes and workout routines that people can easily practise from home with little or no experience.

9.      Commercial Cleaning Services

From the onset of the pandemic, professional cleaning services have been in high demand compared to previous years. Office buildings, medical facilities and public-facing businesses rely on professional cleaning services to disinfect their spaces. In fact, the industrial cleaning services market is expected to grow considerably from now to 2025.

10.    Online Tutorial Agency

As most schools remain closed during the pandemic, the demand for online tuition is likely to remain high.  Start a virtual tutoring agency by defining your expertise in various subjects.  Consider whether you want to work with parents with young children, high school students who are getting ready for examinations, or college students who need that extra push to get through their finals.

5 Ways To Keep Your Brand Consistent

 5 Ways To Keep Your Brand Consistent 

WHEN it comes to branding, consistency is key.

If you aren’t keeping your brand consistent, consumers can easily get confused.

If you are unsure about what your message is, your customers will be unsure as well. And confusion often leads to disinterest.

A strong, consistent brand is the result of top-tier marketing meeting psychology head-on.

Keeping your brand consistent is the only way for it to take-off, and the only way you can ensure that your brand will stand the test of time.

Here are five tips for a consistent brand that stands the test of time.

 

1. Know your message

A brand is essentially the personality of an organization, and personality starts with the message you are trying to convey to others with your appearance and actions.

What kind of message are you trying to give consumers? Are you going for a light-hearted feel? Are you focusing on a more serious, professional tone?

What do you want customers to feel when they interact with your company?

 

2. Know your audience

During the planning process for your message, you must also establish who your target audience is.

Having an effective brand doesn’t mean you target everyone — it means you remain consistent for the specific demographic you are targeting.

Understand that not everyone is going to want to be your customer, and understand you don’t need them to.

 

3. Align your actions with your brand

Every action, every message, every post on social media should be done with your brand in mind.

Whether it is a post on social media, a company policy or guarantee, or a motto or slogan, keep it at the front of consumers' minds.

Your actions have to align with the brand you create, otherwise, consumers will take note.

Keeping your actions aligned is much easier than rebranding. You can’t be all over the place.

 

4. Interaction is key

Make your presence known, be it on social media, within your industry or even simply within your community.

Make sure you are actively interacting with both current clients and consumers.

People won’t always stumble upon your company; sometimes you have to go out of your way to get them.

By having multiple avenues of interaction, you’ll have a better opportunity to reach people, and your engagement on these platforms will increase dramatically.

 

5. Make adjustments

If you notice something doesn't feel aligned with your brand, fix it. Regular meetings with the marketing team will help your brand.

We make a point to meet as often as possible to go over what we are working on and address any ideas or concerns.

If you don’t take the time to make adjustments along the way, you will run yourself off of the road.

 

In summary, be aware of the message you are trying to convey, know and understand the audience you are attempting to reach, ensure that your actions align with your brand, interact with your consumers on a regular basis and, when all else fails, adjust accordingly — and watch your brand grow.

With these five tips, even a marketing novice can create a long-lasting brand for their company.

 

ITC'S 12TH ANNIVERSARY

CONGRATULATIONS to Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) for celebrating its 12th anniversary 

on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.  

ITC is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia, which has continued to promote Malaysia as an ideal Muslim-friendly destination.

ts mission is to become an internationally recognized center of excellence -- to undertake strategic research, market intelligence, provide training, and capacity-building services in relation to Islamic tourism.

ITC was recently awarded The Halal Strategic Business Alliance Award at The BrandLaureate World Halal e-Branding Awards 2021, represented by its Director-General Dato Dr Mohmed Razip Hasan.

In a special message in conjunction with its 12th-anniversary celebrations, Mohmed Razip said: “This 22 June 2021 marks ITC's 12th year of establishment,

“We are committed to growing the Islamic Tourism landscape through our collaboration and partnership with industry stakeholders and other branding initiatives.

“In pursuit of this mission, we also provide industry players with training, capacity-building, frameworks and guidelines, research, and information and consultancy.”

For example, ITC provided a series of FREE online Muslim-friendly tourism-related training sessions during the Covid-19 lockdown.

MEDIA PARTNERSHIP

Mohmed Razip said 2021 also marks 12 years of media support and partnership.

“To my media friends, your support and partnership has enabled ITC to gain exposure in the public’s eye for the work that we do, and you've helped to raise awareness on ITC to develop a stronger tourism ecosystem that caters to the global Muslim market,

“We look forward to working with you throughout this challenging period as we value your partnership to move forward together,

“While the pandemic has put a pause to many of our initiatives, the warmth and hospitality in Halal Tourism rebranding has to go on and be reinforced,

“We believe that beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, the Muslim tourism market will continue to grow, which is a  critical factor towards economic recovery and sustainability,” he added.

ITC centre also accepts greetings from friends and visitors on their Facebook page in the month of June 2021. You can tag #12yearsofITC on your social media messages directed to them.

#thebrandlaureate #brandbuzz #islamic #tourism #itc #hospitalitylife #trainingcamp

  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D_azObKjBfD3TSc9b7elkJ_3wM_3HSbDU9XE1NOk7pw/edit?usp=sharing

 

 

“STOLEN” Landmark: Marina Bay Sands in Tennessee

An American man from Chattanooga, Tennessee – roughly 16,000km away – uploaded a Facebook post on June 14, which ignited the ire, and buzz amongst Singaporeans.

The photograph which featured the iconic Singapore landmark, Marina Bay Sands, at night, came with the surprising captions "Downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, It's Beautiful."

Understandably some local netizens, particularly Singaporeans were unhappy with this claim.

By June 18, the post went viral beyond imagination – garnering over 12,000 reactions, 14,000 comments and 13,000 shares.

The post soon became a rallying point for many Singaporeans as they posted different photographs accompanied with cheeky captions that uniquely represented Singapore.

From local sitcoms to other famous landmarks, Singaporean netizens flexed their creative muscle in the comments.

And the cheekiest of all, perhaps was from Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin who shared the post on his Facebook page with the captions: "You have to read all the comments. We all know that's not Downtown Chattanooga! It's the Starship Enterprise in a Galaxy Far Far Away."

Read more:

https://mothership.sg/2021/06/mbs-united-states-facebook-post-tennessee/?fbclid=IwAR03LIu8IPzfZSwpZ2GFLjT_HAchiUFEVzZ-Ypuq3uVK2ifHoz_ttryC5dk

The BrandLaureate World Brands Virtual Exposition 2021

 

Welcome to the BrandLaureate World Brands Virtual Exposition to learn how to build your business with award-winning Brands.

GET STARTED THROUGH THE WORLD BRANDS VIRTUAL EXPOSITION 2021

 

1.       EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS GLOBALLY THROUGH THIS VIRTUAL EXPO  

The BrandLaureate brings the World's Top Brands and Best Brand experts together so that you can connect, learn, and grow with them.

       

2.   CREATE GREATER BRAND AWARENESS

Join this networking expo to expand your Brand Success and influence by learning from Brand experts and by sharing your Brands to the world.

 

3.   TAP ON NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

If you have no idea how to start building your Brand, this virtual platform will show you the exact steps to take so that you can elevate your Brand status in the world.

 

4.   REACH GLOBAL TARGET AUDIENCE  

This virtual expo is an opportunity to help you find customers, improve your reputation, and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry -- and partnering with the most potential, to save you time and money.

 

5. REINFORCE YOUR BRAND POSITIONING

The Brands Virtual Exposition is your solution to expand your Brand success and influence.

Use this expo to learn how you can become a BrandLaureate by learning the best practices, and by connecting with top industry experts.

 

6.   ENHANCE YOUR BRAND LEADERSHIP

Be part of this Branding Networking Expo to expand your Brand success and influence. Learn about what it takes to build an effective World Brand, by joining the best-of-the-best, and gaining exposure for your Brand.

Maiden Win on Spanish soil for Young Malaysian Moto3 Rider

Congratulations to Syarifuddin Azman aka Damok for winning the FIM CEV Repsol 2021 Moto3 Race 1, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain on June 13, 2021.

Despite starting from the 10th place, the 19-year-old completed the 16-lap race in 29 minutes and 32.553 seconds to emerge victorious on his No. 63 motorcycle.

In a rare turn of event, Syarifuddin overtook Spaniards David Munoz Rodriguez and Jose Antonio Rueda Ruiz who finished in second and third places respectively – making good of the slim opportunity in the last lap.

Meanwhile, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah also congratulated Syarifuddin for emerging the victor yesterday.

In a statement uploaded on Istana Negara's Facebook page, His Majesty expressed his happiness and pride over the success, which was also described as not only a historical feat for Malaysian motorsport but one which garnered accolades for the country on the international stage.

"Syarifuddin's outstanding achievement once again proves that Malaysia is capable of producing athletes and individuals of quality, calibre and of international standards,

"It also proves that with commitment, fighting spirit and hard work, Malaysians are able to compete and succeed at the international arena," the statement read.

About SIC Racing Team

The Sepang Racing Team (formerly known as SIC Racing Team) is a Malaysian Grand Prix motorcycle racing team owned by the Sepang International Circuit.

First established in 2015 in the Moto3 class, and expanded on 2019, fielding teams in MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 championships.

The MotoGP team is formally called Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team (Petronas Yamaha SRT), while the Moto2 and Moto3 teams are named Petronas Sprinta Racing Team (Petronas SRT).

 

BE MY FRIEND CAMPAIGN (For Anson)

BE MY FRIEND CAMPAIGN

IN GOOD times and bad times, we all need friends – especially during these hard and challenging times. 

The BrandLaureate is proud to introduce a new networking group and business support community called Be My Friend -- founded on the principle of genuine friendship.

-- This is an open invitation to network with each other and to support one another.

-- This is a platform to share your expertise and creativity with the world.

--This is a community for people who want to create more success in their lives.

If you are a business owner or someone who wants to use your skills, expertise, and resources to help others, then you should join us.

With the aid of social media, NOW we can build businesses and develop authentic connections with our friends and family like never before.

It is time for us to come together as equals and recognize the importance of connection, friendship and collaboration.

Join Be My Friend networking group, to share your support and meet new friends through our networking community.