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The COVID-19 outbreak saw shutters come down as lives went into lockdown around the world to combat the virus. With us all staying close to home and not being allowed to travel, holidays have now been crossed out on millions of calendars. It’s a huge blow to the people who rely on visitors for their livelihoods – and countries where tourism is the lifeblood of their economies.

Now, however, the first tentative steps are being taken to restart international tourism. One of the countries who are preparing to welcome its first visitors in months is Portugal. And you can understand why. The tourism sector supports 30 million jobs here and creates 15% of national GDP. But, at the same time, authorities are taking careful steps to make sure it’s safe to do so.

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How Portugal’s tourism sector is preparing

From 6 June, Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa is letting the country’s beaches reopen. There will be strict new rules, including 1.5m social distancing between groups – but it’ll be up to people themselves to police it. A second phase of a plan to relaunch the economy is due too. This will allow for museums, restaurants and coffee shops to welcome customers again.

For hotels, reopening dates are little less clear. But efforts are continuing to make this happen. The Portuguese Hotel Association are working with Turismo de Portugal on the new “Clean and Safe” seal. This seal aims to show tourists that hotels and other tourist business are taking the necessary steps to stop the Covid-19 outbreak in its tracks – now and in any future wave.

Time to explore some new tourist treasures 

It’s natural that some tourists might still be anxious about travelling to popular locations, such as Porto or the Algarve. But there’s so much more to Portugal than the familiar tourism names, with a warm welcome assured if you choose to travel to the country and its outlying islands.  In the short term, the regional governments of the Azores and Madeira have their own specific measures. So, you might find that rules for visitors are slightly different to the mainland. Even so, they could help you escape the throngs as Portugal continues to ramp up its reopening.

Green light… for some to start with?

It’s not just the authorities in Portugal that are doing their best to assure potential tourists that it’ll be safe to return for a post-lockdown escape. An idea from Iberian neighbour Spain may be one that gives the tourism industry a clearer path forward in the weeks and months ahead. The proposal from Madrid’s Esade Business School is a simple one based on green and red zones.

It means that countries – including Portugal – could start by opening up to guests from parts of Europe ‘least’ affected by the pandemic. The policy, according to those behind it, is designed to “save the summer tourist season in southern Europe, thus mitigating the enormous economic costs that the closure to international tourism could cause for these countries”. 

For Portugal, the summer tourist season makes such an essential contribution to the economy that it simply can’t afford the closure to continue. As the UN World Tourism Organisation says, trust is going to be a big factor for potential tourists. But it’s obvious to see that Portugal (and others) are taking careful steps to welcome guests once again. And, perhaps, not before time.

The health and wellness sector is widely known for legacy incumbent businesses with abysmal Net Promoter Scores across the board. It’s a niche that is ripe for disruption, and these 3 newcomers are shaking things up.

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Forward: Preventative Healthcare

Forward is a highly anticipated health care start-up that launched in 2017. They started out slowly, ironing out the kinks in their two east coast locations before going on an expansion bing in 2020.

When a customer signs up for Forward ($149/month), they’re sent a biometric sensor kit. They then use an app in combination with this kit to get baseline health measurements. An at-home blood draw is scheduled with a lab specialist, and in combination with the sensor kit’s results a doctor helps create a personalized plan for better health.

Adrian Aoun, Forward’s Founder, is a former Google executive that is on a mission to disrupt America’s healthcare system. Early reviews of Forward’s offering are excellent. As of today, they hold a 4.7 star rating on Yelp (while the average doctor’s office is rated at 3.6 stars).

Thorne: Supplements and At-Home Tests

Thorne is a high-end supplement and testing company that is breaking up the stale branding and product line of legacy players. Their products are highly reviewed by experts, and range from Gut Health to Cognition & Focus.

What really stands out about Thorne is their innovation and expertise. This isn’t another white label supplement company that is excellent at marketing and thin on product. Thorne’s team consists of experts in health, and they run an Innovation Labs project that is focused on pushing the limits of human potential.

Healx: Using AI to Treat Rare Diseases

Healx is using groundbreaking AI technology to rapidly speed up the process of “drug discovery.” Instead of starting with hunches and jumping right into long, expensive clinical trials, Healx has developed an AI platform that can process huge amounts of data to narrow in on promising treatments for rare diseases.

Healx has 4 projects entering phase 2 clinical trials that are showing serious promise. Their platform leverages a combination of scientific literature and public medical databases to help expedite the process of finding new drugs and treatments.

Disrupting the Field of Health Care

All 3 of these companies are poised to make big moves in a massive industry. Keep an eye on their progress as they continue to make progress toward breaking down health care barriers.

Over the last 12 to 18 months, eCommerce has become more than just a useful online counterpart to bricks-and-mortar – it’s now an essential retail experience. 

To succeed in eCommerce, you need a combination of items which are in-demand, the right eCommerce platform to market them on such as Shopify or Magento, and the skills that will drive you forward. 

We’ve compiled a list of ten trending products online to help you address in-demand items. Whether you’re a new online business or an existing one looking to expand your product offering, these items can help you select products which suit your brand and the needs of your audience.

Needlecraft Patterns

Taking up a new hobby over lockdown has transitioned into many people keeping up their new-found craft as a way of practising mindfulness or operating a side hustle.

Using variations on the term “needlecraft patterns” with options like “embroidery patterns” can help to expand the reach of your products. The product itself is also relatively convenient, being traditionally sold as a PDF with accompanying video tutorial or instructions.

Wi-Fi Repeaters

With more people working from home during the pandemic and probably long into this year, people need strong Wi-Fi signal in their homes. 

This is incredibly important when the only desk space is secluded in a corner far from the location of the main internet router. Adding Wi-Fi repeaters to your tech eCommerce site could see an influx in new traffic from those who want to extend their Wi-Fi range.

Wireless Phone Chargers

Another growing area of technology which could be worth investigating for new stock is wireless mobile technology. 

Wireless chargers are relatively new on the mobile technology front, having been around for a few years but recently becoming more common. As more people have phones which can utilise wireless charging, it has become a popular lifestyle gadget to have. 

Breathable Mesh Running Shoes

Exercise is proven to help with balancing your mental health as exercise releases endorphins which improve your wellbeing.

Running carries few barriers to entry in terms of equipment but one thing you must get right is your footwear. Many people will likely look to keep up their running, so offering popular types of running shoes on your site could be useful if you focus on selling sports apparel.

Cat Massage Comb

Our pets are near and dear to our hearts, they keep us company and provide us with some much-needed distractions in life. 

Showing them a little affection through grooming gives back after they provide us with unconditional love. With pets playing a pivotal role during lockdown in keeping people happy, this trend could continue and see more people look towards other pet grooming products.

Minimalist Wallets

As cash has become less common in favour of card and contactless methods of payment, our wallets no longer need to be as bulky.

Swapping to a minimalist wallet can be equal parts practical and stylish. Ensure you stock some on-trend wallets to please new customers looking to slim down the size of their essentials.

Matcha Tea

While we have been stuck at home unable to travel, there has been a surge in people bringing their favourite things from abroad into their lives in the UK.

Matcha tea is especially popular in Japan with an earthy, revitalising flavour. Stocking some on your lifestyle eCommerce site could open up opportunities to bring in more products from overseas.

Bookends

Home organisation has become even more crucial over the last year and a half, with people striving to make their homes clutter-free and nicer places to be.

Bookends can tidy up shelves and provide a sleek storage solution at the same time, all the while making sure that your books don’t topple off the edge of any freshly installed shelves.

Phone Lenses

Mobile photography has become a gateway for many people to document and share moments from their lives, with mobile phone cameras getting better and better as the years have rolled on.

That hasn’t stopped people demanding more from their phone cameras though, as clip-on phone lenses can further magnify their on-the-fly shots and create even better plandid photos for sharing.

Posture Correctors

Due to the rise in people working from home, so has the temptation to work from sofas and beds. This could be on days where people are feeling a little lazier than usual, while some don’t have the luxury of a dedicated desk space.

Marketing posture correcting products on your site could draw in more traffic allowing you to then re-market similar items.

There are other popular items which are trending and new products which pop up frequently which could be just what your eCommerce site needs. But make sure your eCommerce site can make the most of any traffic you receive, and that the user experience is smooth enough to see people through to conversion.

Business growth would be impossible without good management. It implies having control over all resources necessary for continuous work. And once the company reaches a certain point, it can’t and shouldn’t design and implement projects without good management. That’s necessary to ensure goal achievement, maintain and improve the quality of products and services, and cut costs and potential risks.

Work of the marketing sector should support the chosen strategy and enable results in real-time. For this to be possible, each individual or team must perform the assigned tasks, which are given based on their skills and expertise. It’s clear that all these segments need good coordination and organization, and that’s what marketing project management does.

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Better Planning

When implementing project management in marketing, planning is the first and inevitable phase. That makes sense because running a business without a plan has no point. This phase is crucial but also challenging and sometimes tedious since it should be comprehensive and detailed. Missing even the smallest segment can be a costly mistake.

In the planning phase, communication is key. It’s glue for all stages, from the very beginning and the task and resources division to the executing stage and the task completion within the deadline. It can speed up this stage and improve team productivity and, more importantly, motivation. So good project management is of great importance, as well as tools that enable more efficient communication.

Clear Goals

Before the planning phase, it’s critical to define the goals of a specific project. For example, you want to expand the client’s social media presence on popular networks. That’s what you form an effective marketing strategy around. Only then can you define the project from start to finish, its scope and resources, and the stages in the implementation.

The goals are defined by listening to the client’s wishes, but also by analyzing their possibilities and limitations. Clear goals allow the project manager to handle multiple tasks to achieve one desired goal. And when you know what you’re aiming for, you know what needs to be done, when, and in what way to reach the goal.

Read below what SMART goals are:

https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/SMART-SMART-goals

Better Team Communication

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Again, good communication is a must for the success of any work in all its phases. Its lack can significantly delay and even threaten the implementation, which eventually leads to failure and wasted effort, time, and resources. That won’t happen if information flows through teams.

Communication should be direct, open, and prompt so that mistakes can be noticed and corrected on time. Sharing information about work, problems, and ideas contributes to the project’s success. That’s why all team members should participate. And it’s always better to have everything recorded so that everyone can assess it anywhere, anytime.

Improved team communication leads to a better workflow. The effective use of communication tools and apps within project management software contributes significantly to this. Things like internal chats or e-mail threads ease communication between departments, which comes in handy in case the company hires remote teams.

Work Tracking

In order to have insight into the progress of anything you do, constant monitoring and analysis are necessary. That gives an insight into how and how many resources you spend, thereby assessing the project’s cost-effectiveness.

Calculating ROI is important not only after finalizing the job but also in all its phases. That way, you can timely notice what drains your resources for nothing, as well as things that can be improved to optimize costs and resources.

Marketing managers use many tools to keep an eye on task profitability. Also, they use particular programs to determine which of them brings the highest conversions. If you do several tasks at the same time, the ROI calculation will tell you which are the most profitable. Also, you’ll know which ones should be suspended or postponed because they aren’t a good solution at the moment.

Reducing Uncertainty

In business, uncertainty is a factor that should be minimized as much as possible. Although there are things you can’t influence, there are ways to predict them and thus reduce the risks for your marketing projects. Here’s the list of common risk that should be stressed as the business progresses and the project becomes more extensive.

With the increase in the project scale, the need for good management not only brings benefits but also significantly reduces the number of potentially unknown factors that can impair the final result. With good project management, you can predict problems, shorten the time to react to them, and lower the potential damage that can occur due to delays and mistakes.

Whether you run a startup or a developed business, project management has become an integral part of the business. Proper implementation brings many benefits because it enables resource optimization, better communication, and fast detection of problems that cause downtime.

Whatever the size and scale of the project you have planned, it’s very important that you order the correct amount of concrete for the job. If you order too little, you’ll have a temporarily unfinished job on your hands. If this initial batch of concrete is allowed to set before you get the chance to add the rest, you’ll end up with a seam in the finish known as a cold joint. If you’re using the concrete for some structural applications this can be a real problem.

If you order too much concrete, you’ll end up paying more than was necessary. It’s very easy for costs to spiral out of control on any project, so ensuring that you get your concrete order right matters. If you order too much you could end up forking out more to dispose of it correctly.

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To keep tabs on costs and minimise on-site headaches it makes sense to get your order right the first time.

At Goodmix Concrete we can advise you how to measure your space and work out how much concrete you will need for your job. An online concrete volume calculator can also be useful.

Calculating the metric volume of concrete that you’ll need

Many people who are placing a concrete order for the first time can find it something of a minefield. At first glance, the process can look confusing with lots of different factors to consider. However, it’s relatively straightforward once you understand the basics.

The first thing to consider is the shape of the space you’re concreting. If it’s a regular four-sided shape like a square or a rectangle, calculating the volume is fairly simple. You will need to measure the depth, the length and the width of the space and then multiply them together.

If you’re looking to concrete an irregular shape, you will need to break that shape up into a series of regular shapes. This can be tricky when you’re measuring circular, prism or other irregular shapes, so take your time to get it right.

It can be helpful to find as many regular shapes within the irregular one as you can. For instance, a teardrop shaped space may contain a larger square or rectangle in the middle. It may also contain a number of triangular shapes. With these you measure the two longest sides, double them, and multiply those figures with the depth. Then divide the final figure in two to get an accurate volume figure for that section.

All the units you use should be uniform and metric, and you should be meticulous in recording the measurements. Check and double-check. If you can, let someone else on site check your figures.

Some people find it prudent to add 5-10% to the final figure, particularly if they’re placing an order for the first time. But don’t go overboard, too much concrete on your hands is one headache you should try to avoid. A perfectly placed order will complete the job with a small amount of concrete left over. Ordering precisely the amount you have calculated for the job may save you a few pounds but can be risky.

How to get your order right

As well as working out the volume of the concrete you require, there are a range of other factors that you’ll need to consider. Different jobs require different types and densities of concrete. Colours and texture can vary as well, so it’s important to think about the kind of finish you require before you start.

Concrete Density

Building regulations determine the density of concrete required for different building projects.   As a house foundation only needs to withstand foot traffic, it doesn’t require the same density of concrete as a driveway or a garage floor. A goods yard used by heavy vehicles on a daily basis would require a density that gives it strength enough to cope.

Types of concrete

Different types of concrete are suitable for different purposes. A grading system indicates the compressive strength rating of concrete 28 days after the concrete was poured. The grading reflects the job that the concrete is needed for. This should make it easier to ensure you order the correct density and strength for the job you have in mind.

This grading system ranges from C7/8, which is usually used for domestic foundations, kerbing, haunching and cavity filling, through to C40 which is the heaviest duty grade of concrete. This is the grade of concrete used in HGV car parks and large-scale civil engineering projects. In between the two extremes are a range of intermediate grades for different purposes.

If you’re in any doubt about the kind of concrete you might require, it’s important to discuss your requirements with your concrete supplier. At Goodmix Concrete we’re experienced in providing concrete for a wide range of jobs with very different requirements. We can help you choose the right grade and ensure that your work is built to last.

Goodmix Concrete are the North West’s leading provider of ready-mix and barrow-mix concrete.

If it’s the first time you’ve had to order concrete, you may be confused about the whole process and concerned about getting it right. Although it can appear complicated, it’s one we deal with every day. We’re the leading provider of both ready-mix and barrow mix concrete across the North West, to projects of all different sizes both domestic and commercial.

As ready-mix concrete is delivered on time to a customer’s precise specifications it eliminates issues of waste and over ordering. You only pay for the concrete you actually require. At Goodmix Concrete we only use aggregate direct from the quarry, never cheaper recycled materials.

If you’re currently planning a domestic or commercial project that requires high-quality, reliable concrete why not get in touch for some professional advice?  Our highly experienced team are ready to answer your questions and we can deliver to your site within 24 hours.