There is no denying that healthcare costs continue to spiral out of control. At the leading edge of those costs are ever-increasing insurance rates and higher prices for prescription drugs. Moreover, employers are bearing a disproportionate amount of the weight of a broken health insurance system.

According to a Maestro Health survey, employers collectively lose more than $225 billion annually to healthcare related issues. That works out to more than $1600 per employee. That amount does not include what they pay for their portion of health insurance benefits and the administration of their insurance plans.

Many Different Players

So what’s going on? Why is it that healthcare costs continue to spiral out of control despite our system being one based on free markets? Perhaps the primary culprit here is consumer ignorance.

There are many different players contributing to our national healthcare problem. It’s easy to point to pharmaceutical companies, for example, understanding that some of the prices they charge are more than just cost-prohibitive. They are astronomically unaffordable.

It is also easy to point to insurance companies that look to spend as little as possible by limiting coverage whenever and wherever they can. We can even point to healthcare providers that run up the bill by ordering unnecessary tests and following impractical treatment plans.

Still, consumers ultimately maintain control over the system. That is how free markets work. As such, it would be productive for us to step back and look at the issue of ignorance. What people do not know about their own healthcare may be the primary reason they pay so much.

Consumers Just Don’t Know

That previously mentioned Maestro Health survey revealed that 35% of employees struggle to understand their healthcare coverage. Many know absolutely nothing about it. Some 33% don’t understand their medical bills. These are numbers that should not be quickly dismissed.

In their 2020 Healthcare and Benefits Update, Dallas-based BenefitMall suggests that employers make a concerted effort to educate employees about all things healthcare. The thinking is that better education empowers consumers to make wise healthcare decisions based on their own best interests, rather than just going along with the system.

To that end, know that our system is set up in such a way that the average consumer has no idea what medical procedures cost. Consumers also don’t know that they have the right to shop around. And because they do not know they can do it, they don’t. What is the end result? Healthcare providers and insurance companies that are free to work things out among themselves without involving the consumer at all. This is a recipe for constantly rising prices.

Let Consumers See the Bill

Even as you are reading this post, unhappy consumers are demanding that something be done about drug companies whose prices have risen exponentially in recent years. Why are consumers upset? Because they are finally seeing the bills. They are finally seeing how much their prescriptions cost out-of-pocket.

What if consumers got to see all of their bills before insurance companies paid them? What if they knew that a hospital was charging $5,000 for a procedure that an independent clinic could do for less than half?

There is no arguing that health insurance premiums are higher than they ought to be. There is no arguing that prescriptions cost too much. Yet insurance companies and healthcare providers are only partly to blame. They do what they do because consumer ignorance allows it. The best way to fight the system is to educate consumers to the extent that they finally stand up and demand systemic changes.

Any Startup starts with the founder or co-founder’s idea that slowly develops and takes the shape of a huge company. The startup companies are opening the employment opportunities for millennial job seekers. They have however adopted the contemporary system of hiring on-board employees rather than traditional ways. They want employees with more attitude than experience. It is, therefore, challenging for maximum job seekers to fit in all the requirements of their checklist. The job seekers can follow some plans to stay high in the game and have a competitive advantage in the recruitments of startup companies.

• Have a game plan- make yourself marketable by assessing the problematic and profit-making skills. Assessing salary requirements is also important. Research for startup companies that look promising than others.
• Grit- grit is the prerequisite for applying for a job in a startup company. Startups have uncertain futures and high risk of failures, therefore, without grit it shall become difficult to survive as frustration level shall be high most of the time.
• Ready for challenges- before applying for the job make yourself ready for the challenges that startups impose. Paid leaves, 9 to 5 working time and long breaks do not exist in startups. In their pattern of working, a call for preparing a presentation at 11pm is quite normal.
• Desire to learn and explore the possibilities- startup job requirements often have an exclusive list of requirements from seekers. They want them to be highly skilled and multi-tasking. They also look for people who are ready to learn and explore the learning possibilities. Therefore, before applying check on self and the hunger for learning.
• Thrive in ambiguity- most of the startups generally lack process and procedure. One therefore needs the skill of thriving through ambiguity. Surviving through transition period shall make a mark and keep your game a notch higher. Also creating the process initially shall be necessary and also most required.
• Working in a team of collaborators- startups are entrenched with so many unknown challenges that working in a team of collaborators become necessary. Working in such an environment requires empathy that includes hearing and responding to others and putting self-taught explicitly. One must possess such characteristics before applying.
• Passion for job- it’s hard to thrive through startups without a passion for it. If you are not passionate about your job, there is no point in staying in it. Passion can come from any part of the business may it be product or person. But it is necessary to have a long game in the organization.
• Be a risk-taker- startups can be a big gamble where most of the decisions are uncertain and bear risks. Risk-taking capabilities can make startup employees super-creative, therefore be a risk-taker to expand your scope.
• Give yourself a competitive edge- having knowledge of latest techniques, gadgets and software can be game changing. Startups are gambling on the online platform and require employees who can easily thrive through the jargons and requirements. Such qualities provide a competitive edge to the job seekers.
• Build a strong Network- stay perceptive and develop a strong network of staff, clients, co-workers and suppliers. In the modern world work pattern, having a strong network can only take you to the peak. Attend seminars in your niche and meet people to make a strong network of efficient people.

Conclusion

For building a competitive advantage in startup companies having the above qualities is of utmost importance. The qualities can make your job resume stronger and land you up in one the most progressive startups. Therefore, explore yourself and make the necessary changes required to be on top of the recruitment game.

There’s something to be said for a company that endures twenty years of excellence. F.H. Cann & Associates is one of those companies. As leaders in the Business Process Outsourcing and Accounts Receivables Management field, F.H. Cann & Associates has been able to stand out from the crowd by exceeding their client’s expectations. With their technical skill set and world-class team, F.H. Cann & Associates has built a reputation that has no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Accounts Receivable Management

As leaders in the accounts receivable management field, F.H. Cann & Associates understands the importance of monitoring their clients’ finances. Ensuring that the accounts receivables of a company can be a daunting task to place in the hands of an outside company. ARM, or accounts receivable management, is truly the heart of a company and the brain in the machine to ensure that it keeps running smoothly. While understanding your money is important, it’s also vital to the health of your brand. When your company’s accounts receivables aren’t running smoothly, your company can’t run smoothly. They’ve earned their reputation as leaders in the field for a variety of clients and industries.

Business Process Outsourcing

F.H. Cann & Associates incredible reputation isn’t limited to accounts receivable management, but also business process outsourcing. BPO, or business process outsourcing, is when your business hires an external company to perform primary functions in your team. F.H. Cann & Associates knows the importance of building professional relationships with their clients based in respect, care, and recovery. F.H. Cann & Associates provides exceptional services that meet and exceed their clients’ expectations. This allows their clients to rest assured knowing that the work that they’re hiring F.H. Cann & Associates for is being done effectively and accurately. Likewise, they know that building a professional relationship rooted in respect is important for both their internal team and their clients. This goes a long way and has allowed F.H. Cann & Associates to build a strong, positive reputation and keep a network of incredible employees and clients making them the best in the field.

We’re not the only ones impressed with F.H. Cann & Associates’ incredible services. Read more about their twenty years of excellence here!

Related: F.H. Cann & Associates Inc. Receives 2020 Best of North Andover Award

If you’re considering hiring a company to work with to ensure that your company is running smoothly, you probably have a list of concerns. Will they be right for my team? Will they get the work done? Will they treat me like one of their own? Luckily, F.H. Cann & Associates’ reputation speaks for itself with the answer to all of those questions as: YES! If you’re ready to step up your team’s resources to grow and expand your business, F.H. Cann & Associates is the right fit for you. Want to get in touch with their team? Find them online at their LinkedIn account. Want a more direct way to reach out? Find them on Twitter here.

What is it that makes a business successful? More than 30 percent of businesses fail within 2 years of opening, and more than half fail during the first 5 years. Oftentimes, they have similar ideas as the businesses that go on to make millions of dollars and open locations around the world. So what sets them apart?

It’s a hard question to answer, since different industries demand different approaches, but there are some generalities that are practically necessary for any business to gain traction.

Fundamental Features of Successful Businesses

These are some of the most important qualities for successful businesses to exhibit:

1. Adaptability/willingness to change. Arguably the most important quality is adaptability and/or a willingness to change. Even the best business plans, written by the most seasoned entrepreneurs, are going to run into obstacles that jeopardize or undermine their core idea; the difference between successful and failed businesses is that successful businesses are willing to undergo a strategic change to keep moving forward. You can learn more about strategic change in formal classes, or simply resolve to be flexible in how your business grows. Similarly, it’s imperative that as an entrepreneur, you keep committing to personal and professional growth; otherwise, you’ll stagnate, and the same problems will keep affecting you indefinitely.

2. Agility. If you run into a problem and you come up with a solution, there’s still a chance you won’t be able to overcome the problem; if you take too long coming up with the solution, or if it takes too long to implement, it could be too late. Good businesses are agile, able to implement new changes and experiment with new tactics on a regular basis. They’re also willing and able to jump on new opportunities as they become available, rather than letting them slip by.

3. A strong leader. Good leaders can reinforce good businesses. They sometimes serve as the face of the company, leading sales, marketing, and advertising strategies. They sometimes serve as a motivator and director for the workforce, determining how productive and efficient employees are. They’re always responsible for making critical decisions, often in trying times. No matter how you look at it, a good all-around leader is vital to an organization’s success.

4. Differentiation. There are likely hundreds of businesses like yours, if not thousands. So what makes yours different? You can’t simply copy an existing business model and hope for the best, and you can’t allow competitors to creep on your territory uncontested. It’s up to you to figure out what sets you apart, whether it’s better pricing, better quality, better service, a unique brand image, or a completely different set of demographics. There’s no single right answer, but it has to be something.

5. Money. Roughly 29 percent of startups fail because they simply run out of money. While it’s nice to imagine that any business can be successful if its idea is simply “good enough,” even great ideas will crumble if they don’t have any financial support. For some businesses, that means not generating enough investor funding at the outset. For others, it means not creating enough meaningful streams of revenue to support the business. For still others, it means hemorrhaging money on unnecessary acquisitions—or expanding so quickly the money runs out. Financial management should be one of your highest priorities.

6. Team morale. Most businesses depend on a workforce for the day-to-day operations of the company, so the strength and efficiency of that workforce will play a role in its success or failure. There are many factors that could culminate into the workforce’s ultimate potential, but one of the most important is team morale; morale impacts employee retention, employee passion, and ultimately productivity. It also determines how far employees are willing to go for their customers, and how easy it is to bring new people into the team.

7. Marketability. You may have a great product, but how marketable is it? Some truly innovative products fail simply because their inventors aren’t targeting the right demographics, or because they’re not able to showcase the best benefits of the product to a wide audience.

Modeling Your Business

Does this mean if you try your best to exhibit these fundamental qualities, your business will be guaranteed to succeed? Far from it. However, seeing your business through these lenses can help you build a more powerful, resilient infrastructure—and if you have a good business model with quality products and services to match, you’ll have a good chance of making it further than most. Talk to other business owners and experienced entrepreneurs to get a better, more personal perspective on what makes a business “work,” and never stop learning and growing.