For working professionals, business leaders, and entrepreneurs, continuous learning is critical; learning new skills and strategies is an integral part of growth. However, it is not always possible to stay abreast of the latest trends and resources, more so, when maintaining work-life balance is equally crucial to success.

Of course, there’s an alternative – and an entertaining one at that: podcasts. Packed with insightful discussions, expert interviews, and creative content that can be consumed on-the-go, podcasts have been growing in popularity among business leaders and entrepreneurs. And why not, when you get to learn from the best in the business, as they share valuable tips, experiences, and advice that can be readily applied to your own journey as an entrepreneur.

In this post, we’ll discuss four innovation podcasts that are a must-listen. From candid interactions with the greatest thought leaders of this age to amazing tips and tricks that can boost your business, these podcasts are all you need to inspire growth in your entrepreneurial endeavors.

Innovation Hub

A comprehensive podcast that doesn’t restrict itself to a certain ‘genre’ of topics to be covered, Innovation Hub is one of the most immersive and, we dare say, profound podcasts on the internet today. It explores new avenues in education, science, medicine, transportation, and more.

Why Innovation Hub?–Fromthought-provoking debates on politics and climate change to deep, insightful discussions about the latest breakthroughs in technology and business, Innovation Hub comprises an exhaustive collection of podcasts, featuring some of the most creative thinkers of this age.

The Brains Behind – Innovation Hub is an initiative by NPR, a non-profit organization with a mission to spread awareness among people about crucial issues. NPR reaches over 28.5 million listeners in a week and over 105 million monthly audience across platforms, including radio, social media, and apps.

The Action Catalyst

The Action Catalyst is a platform for inspiration and valuable insights for young entrepreneurs and experienced leaders alike, covering a broad range of relevant topics about the business environment in today’s age.

Why The Action Catalyst – Withover 250 episodes across a variety of subjects, including key insights on leadership, integrity, creativity, and more, The Action Catalyst helps you identify and overcome common traps that can push you down the lane of mediocrity. What’s more, it features interviews of some of the best thought leaders every week, sharing meaningful advice on achieving life and business goals.

The Brains Behind The Action Catalyst –Thepodcast is founded and hosted by Dan Moore, President, Southwestern Advantage, America’s oldest direct sales company. With an extensive experience of over 45 years in sales, management, and leadership, Dan has a treasure trove of knowledge to share on time management, goal setting, leadership, and more.

Creative Warriors

A podcast fueled by passion and enthusiasm to help new-age entrepreneurs make it big in their careers, Creative Warriors is the place to go to if you’re a creative person wanting to make the most out of your job.

Why Creative Warriors – Creative Warriors celebrates out-of-box thought and innovation. Its large ensemble of podcasts discusses several topics, including management, leadership, business ecosystem, and more. Plus, it features interviews of top business experts, authors, and entrepreneurs about how to build meaningful relationships with clients and customers, which forms the foundation of a successful business.

The Brains Behind Creative Warriors – Creative Warriors is founded and hostedby Jefferey Shaw, a business coach, author, and photographer.Having gone through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship himself, Jefferey made it his mission to help other talented entrepreneurs passionate about taking their business to the next level.

Sweetlife Podcast

A highly engaging and insightful podcast, Sweetlife Podcast was established with a singular aim to help entrepreneurs build businesses that make an impact, without regrets.

Why Sweetlife Podcast – From social media marketing and impactful media coverage to crucial topics like branding and profitability, Sweetlife Podcast features some of the most relevant topics for entrepreneurs looking to expand their business’s reach.

The Brains Behind Swetlife Podcast – The podcast is founded and hosted by lifestyle and business coach,  April Beach. Having coached over 4,000 entrepreneurs, developed world-class corporate programs, and createdthe Lifestyle Entrepreneur System­^TM,April has a wealth of knowledge to share about entrepreneurship, business modeling, business strategy, and much more.

Conclusion

These podcasts are all you need to stay motivated and committed towards achieving your life and business goals. Every episode is replete with insights and wisdom that will help bring the best in you. Just plug in your earphones and discover newer ways to enhance your productivity and innovative thought.

The world of ecommerce is an exciting place to be in. It is seeing rapid growth with many shopaholics preferring to shop online over visiting a mall. The woes of traffic, challenges of parking and spending hours trying to find the perfect attire or accessories create a nightmarish scenario. Compare that to sitting comfortably in an air-conditioned environment, scanning thousands of options that can be bought with the click of a button. Then there is free home delivery, no-questions asked returns and exchanges. Stepping out to shop is so passé.

For businesses too, ecommerce is a great low-cost alternative to offer more variety to customers. They can also do away with expensive overheads and pass on the advantage to customers. Is it any surprise then that the ecommerce industry has been experiencing steady growth over the past few years?

Studies predict that global retail ecommerce revenue will amount to $4.88 trillion by 2021, with millennials making more than 50% of their purchases online.

This scenario, while exciting, does present a few challenges. Ecommerce businesses need a few tricks of the trade to keep up with this continuous growth and the competition that this brings to the marketplace.

Here are the top 5 emerging ecommerce trends that e-businesses can capitalise on.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping or Drop Shipping is an ideal business model for those ecommerce businesses that are just starting off and don’t have much capital. It means acting as the middleman between the manufacturer or supplier of the goods and the customer.

The customer views the products on your portal, you process the purchase, but it gets shipped directly from the manufacturer without you even seeing the actual physical product.

Why is this getting so popular?

• You’re buy the product only after a customer places an order
• There is no inventory
• Your overhead costs drop drastically

Dropshipping is great for businesses that deal in bulky items that eat up warehouse space. Of course, there are also some challenges with dropshipping:

• You have no control over the shipping duration
• Unprofessional or unethical sellers could negatively affect the customer experience. It is important to whet your sellers, and establish shipping and service rules.

Multi-channel Selling

There are numerous avenues for your customer to make a purchase. While brick-and-mortar stores are still an alternative, even within the online channels there are options like Amazon, branded stores online, eBay, Facebook and even Instagram now.

As a merchant, you need to have a presence on multiple channels to cater to the needs of the omni-channel shopper. Besides your own website, create a strong ecommerce presence on social media sites as well as other online stores.

No one says it will be easy; you will need to set up a team to manage all these diverse channels. You can also use the services of ecommerce platforms like BigCommerce that help streamline online sales across multiple channels.

Smarter Payment Processing

Did you know that nearly 79% of customers abandon their online shopping cart at the payment gateway if the checkout process isn’t effortless and smooth? Even after researching and considering several products thoroughly, customers are willing to leave it all if the final step isn’t quick and easy.

To stay ahead, you need to relook your payment gateway this year. If your business is global do you offer a local payment option? Can you accept payments in other currencies? Or are you expecting international customers to click again for the ‘other country’ selection?

Look at ways to consolidate all your payment options in a single gateway. Yes, compliance might make it difficult to manage all currencies on one platform. This is where you can consider a third party service provider like Payoneer.

Omni-Channel Personalisation

We bring up omni-channel selling again to highlight another important facet. It’s not enough to just be available on multiple channels; you need to also offer an inclusive brand experience by recognising the customer as the same person irrespective of which channel she is on. Else you might end up offering an irrelevant experience which can be quite irritating and intrusive.

A great personalised experience can make the difference between a one-time customer and a repeated shopper. Apply AI-driven targeting to identify customers and match the right experience across multiple channels.

Custom Packaging

Packaging still matters. Studies have shown that customers perceive packaging as part of the product, and 68% of the shoppers in the study believed that a brand becomes more upscale simply by its packaging. And the more unique the packaging, the greater the customer’s engagement with your product.

Take the time and effort to design customized packaging for your product. This should help set you apart in the marketplace and make your brand more recognisable.

Conclusion

The ecommerce industry is on a roll, growing, changing dynamically with each passing day. And the advent of AI is taking it to unheard of realms, creating new experiences for consumers. By combining omni-channel marketing and consolidating payment options, ecommerce businesses can manage operations more effectively.

There is no doubt that tech is finding newer, better and more extraordinary ways for businesses to connect with the consumer. You can’t really say technology is evolving anymore as that would indicate it builds on existing tools; instead, technology today is disruptive. It challenges the status quo and comes up with answers to questions that haven’t even been asked yet.

When we scoured the internet for cool tech finds of 2019, we were truly taken aback by the sheer array of amazing ideas and innovations that are coming up. There are hundreds of super cool tech gadgets and gizmos that have made it into 2019, and our hearts. But in all the din that is the latest and the craziest, only these six have made it to our list of the coolest tech of 2019.

Family Hub Refrigerator

There was a time when the kitchen or the dining area would bring the whole family together. Today, if Samsung has its way, this role looks primed to be taken over by a single gadget in the kitchen – the Family Hub Refrigerator. The Samsung Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled family refrigerator comes with a 21” touchscreen and a Bixby voice control that takes food refrigeration to a whole new level. The Family Hub synchs up food storage, better connects the family and can also be networked with the Samsung SmartThings ecosystem allowing consumers to control their washing machine and smartphone from the refrigerator’s console.

You can digitally label foods with expiration dates, check the content of your fridge from the grocery store using your smartphone, and also leave a digital note for other family members on things to get done before you return. You can even synch up the screen to your Samsung television so you don’t miss the action while cooking.

A television that rolls away when not in use

If you are in the market looking for a new television that blends in with the décor of your home, how about looking for a television that can disappear?

LG’s OLED TV R is a television that simply rolls out of sight when you are done with it. The screen drops away slowly into its console with the push of a button to come out when you beckon it again. Besides this truly amazing feature (and we really can’t get over it), the rolling television has support for Alexa voice controls as well as the Google Assistant. Hold on, there is more. The television has also integrated Apple’s AirPlay2 for seamless media playback. And you can do all this when your television is rolled out of sight.

Foldable phone by Samsung

If you are still dazed by the rolling television, here’s something just as extraordinary, but for something that fits your pocket (but maybe not your wallet).

The Samsung Galaxy Fold (umm, a less obvious name would have been fun) can be literally folded to half its size depending on your need. There are two screens, a full one when the phone is open and a smaller one for when it is closed. The layout of the intuitive UI will immediately change depending on whether the phone is open or folded. You will also get app continuity. So, if you are using an app in the folded screen and you open the phone, the app will automatically continue there. The larger open screen will allow you to run three apps simultaneously on the display, taking multitasking to a new dimension altogether.

The phone has three rear cameras like the earlier Galaxy A7, but the ones on the foldable phone promise to be more powerful. Now it’s simply a question of waiting for the phone to come out so we can snap it up in a jiffy.

First ever Quantum computer

When it comes to computers, there’s a new kid on the block – quantum computers – and both IBM and Google are racing with each other to see who can build the nextgen supercomputers first.

Without getting into the details of quantum mechanics, let’s just say that these computers deal with atoms and molecules. This will allow the machines to work with far greater precision than ever imagined on tasks like complex chemical processes which our current crop of machines can’t even wrap their heads around. It’s like comparing two digital cameras, identical in all respects except that one has more pixels than the other.

It can get tad technical, so if you want to read a bit more about quantum computing, this should help.

5G: the possibilities are just getting better

The next thing after 4G, fifth generation or 5G, is expected to be better and faster. Yes and yes, and so much more.

5G capabilities include higher data rate (cheers to that!), reduced latency, cost reduction, energy saving (cheers to these two!), higher system capacity and improved device connectivity. Basically all your cellular woes thrown out the window. The biggest draw of 5G is that it will be 100 times faster than the current cellular technology. While the first phase is expected to be completed by April this year, the technology will be available to all consumers by 2020. It seems a long way off, but it is definitely something worth waiting for.

Nreal Light Mixed Reality Glasses

It might seem cool to own funky digital glasses, but the sheer size and image quality of a lot of players left much to be desired.

So when a Chinese startup, Nreal, jumped into the market with something interesting, it was worth giving a second look. These are low-profile mixed reality glasses that look and feel just like ordinary sunglasses but let you do so much more.

These glasses project digital imagery on the real life scene unfolding in front of your eyes. So you get the best of both worlds. Lightweight, and with a host of features like dual microphones, brightness control switches on both arms, and even Bluetooth headphones if you wish, the possibilities with the glasses are mindboggling – video games, entertainment, telepresence calls and more. Have prescription lenses? No problem. The Nreal takes care of that so you don’t need to wonder what to do with your existing pair.

Conclusion

Six cool tech ideas that have got the whole world excited. We can’t wait to see some of them in person. While the costs for a few might be prohibitive for some of us, there’s no harm in checking them out when they hit the stores soon.

 

What’s been your favourite tech gadget till date? Also, let us know which of these excited you the most