Common mistakes in shareholder agreements

Even if nothing goes wrong and relationships remain strong, the risk is ever-present. With that in mind, here are the five most common mistakes made when drawing up shareholder agreements. 

Using a template

A quick fix to a document that would usually take up hours of time, multiple conversations, and, in many cases, disagreements until a general consensus is found? Yes, please.

No thanks. Templates are designed to be as broad and unspecific as possible, or they wouldn’t prove ‘useful’ to 99% of the people who use them. As with DIY wills, shareholder templates appeal to people who don’t want to be bogged down in the thought process – who want to rush out the formalities and move on. 

But there are some things that can’t be ‘rushed out’, and no quick fix to drawing up a shareholder agreement is worth the time it takes to complete. You’ll need to collaborate with your corporate solicitor to ensure every salient point is acknowledged. 

Not formalizing it

It’s all well and good to sit around a table with your shareholders and agree about how the business should be run, and what rights and obligations shareholders should have, but that means nothing if you fail to write it down.

Verbal agreements may work in some instances, but there is very little room for them in business – not if you want to secure the business’s future. Formalize every agreement, or they won’t count as agreements in the future.

Not considering the long-term

In the beginning, it’s easy to fixate on the early days of a new business. The bigger picture feels too big to really take in, and narrowing your focus on its fledgling stage is the best way to combat a sense of vertigo.

But the shareholder agreement is a document that should see you through many years of evolution and development. If it’s written up according to that narrowed focus, there’s a good chance it won’t be so useful or beneficial to the business a few years from now. Your solicitor will be best placed to help you to address the long-term. 

Failing to account for the death of a shareholder

It’s not nice to think about, but the unexpected death of a shareholder can have a major impact on the business. Will the shares pass onto a member of their family, or will you make provisions in the agreement to ensure that their rights can be bought out by other shareholders? 

Not having one

Conclusion

Even though it might seem like another thing to do, a company’s legal issues should be resolved as soon as possible, because it often happens that external factors affect the company’s operations and lead to unwanted consequences. 

We hope that here we have explained well the top common mistakes that happen in shareholder agreements and that you will be careful about what to look out for in the future.

Common VPN service features

Encryption

True location masking

DNS leak protection

VPN kill switch

Fast tunneling protocols

Protection against intrusions

Apps for desktop and mobile devices

Business-specific features

Centralized settings

Account management

Static IP address

2FA

Biometric authentication

Consumer-specific features

Unlocking geographically-restricted content

Apps for home entertainment devices

Router configuration

Tools for bypassing censorship

Antivirus capabilities

Personal password management

Data breach monitoring

Of course, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg regarding the boons you may find with regular VPN services. Many providers appeal to varying types of users and offer specialized packages for fulfilling their needs. 

Conclusion

Contrarily, consumer VPNs usually focus on digital anonymity, removal of geographical restrictions, and protection against cyber threats. Plus, they offer easy-to-use apps to appeal to as many people as possible.  Ultimately, your protection needs will guide your purchase decisions. Just don’t mix up business and consumer products when making a final decision. 

Proven and test ways to grow eCommerce business 

Start selling on Amazon

Will you be able to keep selling products on your own website? Sure, but it’s okay to sell them in more than one place. Most customers who buy your products on Amazon will never stumble across your website unless you’re a big brand. However, it’s crucial to calculate the break-even point for each sales channel. You can identify the best wholesale distribution plan by comparing the expenses and revenues of selling products on your website vs sites like Amazon.

Think about the metaverse

Everyone will have stores inside the metaverse in the future. Customers will be able to walk around looking at what’s on your digital shelves. It’s worth getting in early before the competition gets too strong.

Entrepreneurs who get into new inventions early become extremely rich. Look at all those original Instagram and Tik Tok users. Unfortunately, you’ll probably need to learn how to code unless you hire a developer.

Expanding product line

We know everything is up in the air, but one of the ways to grow eCommerce business is to start offering new products. That way you’ll be able to sneak ahead of your competitors. If you’re worried about ordering stuff from overseas, see what’s available at home.

Free returns + deliveries

One of the reasons why people love Amazon is the free shipping. Customers must spend a certain amount of money, which they likely would have spent anyway. Amazon then gets its products to them as fast as possible.

If you offer free delivery, customers will be more inclined to buy from you. Free returns are even more important. When someone can return a faulty product for free, they’ll be less likely to leave a bad review.

New social media platforms

Tik Tok has become a great platform for business growth thanks to users being stuck at home. We saw the same kind of growth with platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. It’s hard to succeed on them now due to tough competition.

If you wait a while, a new social app will grow exponentially. You must be ready to strike when it does, which means you should have accounts set up. Study new apps closely, and you’ll be able to tell which ones have the most potential.

Use data analysis and personalization

Email autoresponder copy

Email autoresponders are great because they almost run themselves. You just need to spend time preloading the emails in the first place. Autoresponder technology has advanced quite a lot in the last decade.

Sadly, companies are still not taking advantage of the technology. The biggest mistake businesses make is sending the same emails to every customer. You need to start sending emails to people based on what they open/click on.

Popular brand ambassadors

It feels like everyone is on social media these days, but that’s great news for eCommerce business owners. Influencers with a few hundred thousand followers will find it difficult to get brand deals because there is so much competition. Here’s where you can come in.

One of the ways to grow eCommerce business is by reaching out to anyone you think might promote your products. Some will be happy to recommend you to their followers for a good price. Once you’ve worked with a few dozen people, your customers should be through the roof.

Becoming part of the family

Persuading someone to buy your products is a good achievement, but getting them to come back multiple times is life-changing. It’s good if you have products customers love, but you should also build a community around your brand.

If you sold fitness supplements, you could build a community around weight lifting. Add a forum onto your website so they have somewhere to go. People will generate buzz around your products even when you’re not there.

Better quality products

When you’re starting out, it’s okay to sell less-than-perfect products. You might not be able to afford the best product designers or get your inventory manufactured at the best factories. Look into doing things differently now.

Maybe it’s time to spend a little extra on product development. It will hurt in the short term because it’s never nice to spend money, but in the long term you’ll be on your way to owning the best brand in the industry. While it may seem challenging at first, exploring ways to improve your products can set you apart in the long run. For instance, you could consider personalized shipping boxes with a logo to elevate your brand’s image and customer experience. Similarly, brands can use their commitment to biodegradable packaging as a part of their marketing and storytelling. Sharing the brand’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact through packaging can resonate with customers and build a positive brand narrative.

Conclusion

Don’t sit around copying what all your competitors are doing. It’s okay to use your competitors’ good ideas, but you must use your initiative to test out new ones. Therefore, use these ways to grow eCommerce business to build the fundamentals of your growth strategy, but don’t forget to implement your brand voice and personalize it along the way.

Top 5 affiliate marketing trends you should pay attention to

The rise of content marketing

Content marketing reaches people in various ways — through broadcast television or radio commercials, digital ads, social media channels, written articles, eBooks, and more. It depends on your business and which channels your target audience uses the most. 

Additionally, promoting your affiliate marketing program with unique content is an excellent idea. Segment a group you wish to target, produce a high-quality infographic on why being your brand’s affiliate is beneficial, and publish it so people can join it! 

More focus on mobile traffic

One example of a great app integration across different platforms is Honeygain. It’s a passive income app that pays users for sharing their unused Internet bandwidth. The company offers different installers based on your device for easy access to its services. Users can make $3 for sharing 10GB of traffic and refer a friend for more money. Honeygain’s referral program is an affiliate marketing program suited for recommending the app to close friends. All you have to do is copy your referral link and share it with others so they can join. The copy and paste function is adapted to desktop and mobile users, offering easy navigation for Honeygain users. 

Another way to boost your earnings is by turning on JumpTask mode which offers a 10% bonus as long as you transfer your payout to your crypto wallet. Once again, Honeygain offers impressive cross-channel integration, making it easy for mobile users to navigate the app on their phones.

The power of social media influencers

In addition, many people now turn to influencers for ideas on how to style themselves or what products they should buy over others. Influencers can sway a customer’s opinion and even change people’s buying habits. That’s why companies collaborate with influencers to drive more sales or build brand awareness. It’s clear that social media influencers have a strong influence today and positively impact customers, companies, and consumer behavior.

Personalization and retargeting

Whether it’s designing marketing campaigns that target individuals based on their preferences or creating content tailored to match each user, personalization helps companies build relationships with their customers in a more meaningful way. You should track user patterns and create experiences that your customers will enjoy. 

A funny TikTok or an engaging email can solve a problem, and a person is more likely to trust your brand and your affiliates! Through personalization and retargeting, businesses can engage with their customers on a deeper level and better understand how they interact with different products and services.

Increased use of video content

You can reach hundreds of thousands worldwide with short videos, so make sure to include top-notch messages in your videos. It’s always a good idea to highlight your company’s strengths and unique attributes! By branching out with your content, you can build reliable connections with your audience and make them your customers through affiliate links.

Conclusion

Businesses that get creative and take advantage of all that new technology offers will surely benefit from the possibilities that come with affiliate marketing trends in 2023.