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Must Read Self Development Books: The Top 7

The Best Self Development Books to Transform your Life Next Year.

Do you often read personal development books?

I admit that for a long time I was somewhat wary of this kind of reading (also called, often in a derogatory tone, self-help).

And this fear was not entirely without reason: many authors are either imposters or just wordy (taking 100 pages to explain something that could be done in 1 paragraph).

But there are also excellent, hands-on personal development books written by big names whose own results attest to the effectiveness of the methods advocated.

What are these books?

It is precisely to answer this question that I made this list and recommend them to improve our lives. And here, when I say our lives, I mean mine and yours, dear reader. Enjoy it.

The Must Read Self Development Books of the Year

Moral Letters to Lucilius Volume 1

by Seneca

“It is the time for you to reflect: Not only that all things are mortal, but that mortality is subject to no fixed law. Whatever can happen at any time, can happen today.” (On Grief for Lost Friends, Moral Letters to Lucilius, Volume I)

Seneca is my favorite Roman philosopher for a reason: All his letters and manuscripts are atemporal and his thoughts carry invaluable lessons. Some of those lessons even bring the boldest meanings for our age. And at the same time that he is brilliant, his writings are also a pleasure to read.

Or should I say “a joy”, since the term pleasure is not very welcome for stoics like Seneca?

One of the best books I read, ever.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

by Cal Newport

Deep Work is the type of book that will assist you in acquiring a meta-skill, or an ability that aids in the acquisition of other abilities.

At some point, you may be concerned about how deeply entangled distraction is in our daily routine and how much we can accomplish if we can break free from those nets of shallowness.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that, by using the methods described in this book, we potentially increase our efficiency in acquiring knowledge by an order of magnitude.

This book also would be a good recommendation for entrepreneurs.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

by Daniel Kahneman

Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Nobel Laureate in Economics Daniel Kahneman, is a fascinating journey through the mind and an explanation of the two systems that power our thought process.

The author introduces us to two types of human thinking: one that is fast, intuitive, and emotional, and another that is slower, deliberate, and rational.

Kahneman demonstrates the exceptional powers of the rapid thinking, as well as its flaws and vices, and the impact of instincts on our judgments. Loss aversion, strategic overconfidence, the difficulty of predicting what will make us happy in the future, and the difficulty of accurately detecting the dangers in investments can all be understood if we know how both types of thinking affect us.

Enchiridion

by Epictetus,

My first encounter with Epictetus was in Seneca’s works, and I listed both among the 5 greatest ancient authors I ever read.

The Enchiridion is a collection of 50 thoughts from the author, a former slave that somehow managed to raise in life and become a teacher. Some lessons are about how to have a more fulfilled life, others, about a more rational approach to time, relations, and existence. This book is worth reading every single phrase.

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

by Cal Newport

Is social media harmful?
Short answer: social media giants are harming our social relationships while benefiting from hyper-targeted ads.

But it’s not that easy. More than just selling ads, social media behemoths want as much of your time as possible. They have entire departments dedicated to making you addicted.

By the end of this book, you will not only understand how you are manipulated, but you will also know how to escape from this trap. This is a knowledge that has the potential to be liberating.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

by Stephen R. Covey

A name that most would expect in a list of must-read self-development books.

This was, as far as I remember, the first self-development book I ever read. I was initially skeptical about the idea of reading this type of book.

But The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was a recommendation from a friend I trust. He said this book went far beyond the usual cliché of “hacking your way to success.”

He was right. The entire book is not about techniques and quick fixes for success. It’s not even about success in the strictest sense, it’s about principles.

The author shares a series of personal stories to illustrate his point: principles and values (the transformation from the inside out) is the first step on the journey to living an effective life.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

by Jordan Peterson

A fantastic book. While most self-development books focus on quick fixes, Jordan Peterson provides an ontological foundation for his writing that stems from the Bible, Latin and Greek philosophy, and modern psychological research.

If you liked this list of must-read self-development books, I also recommend:

Antifragility: A Taleb Concept To Help You During the Next Year

3 Life Lessons from Skin in The Game – Nassim Taleb

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Levi Borba is the CEO of expatriateconsultancy.com, creator of the channel Small Business Hacks, and best-selling author. Subscribe to my articles (for free) and receive (also for free) the ebook “The Blueprint for First-Time Business Owners”.

Best Countries Ranking

Best Countries to Study Medicine for International Students

What is the best country for medical school?

Listen to “Becoming a DOCTOR The Best and Cheapest Countries to Study Medicine!” on Spreaker.

If you are considering the possibility of studying medicine abroad and looking for the best country for medical school, you can be sure of 3 things:

You are going for one of the few careers respected nearly everywhere in the world (maybe only comparable to firefighters).
It is a long journey.
Costs can be high. Very high.

With this in mind, we prepared this article. Differently from dozens of other articles about the best countries to study medicine that you find on the internet, here we will also consider how much of a burden to study medicine is for your pockets.

Because yes, if your father is a billionaire, maybe you already decided on an Ivy League school, but not everyone has deep pockets (or an uncle that is an influential congressman so you can have privileged entrance).

If you are one of these “normal” individuals and ever asked yourself which country has the best medical schools, this article is for you.

The first step is to define which countries have a respectable level of medical infrastructure. Why? Because it would be difficult to find good medical schools in places where hospitals have no decent structure or the health care system (public or private) is in ruins.

Which Country Is the Best in Medicine?

The quality of healthcare is determined by a lot of different things, like how the care process works (preventative care, coordinated care, engagement, patient preferences, etc.), how much it costs, how quickly it can be delivered, how equitable it is, and how well it works (population health, disease-specific outcomes, etc.).

It’s not hard to find a decent healthcare system. While medical organizations are complicated, there are a lot of ways to figure out which systems are the best. For that, we will use the “Health Care Index” published by the CEOWorld Magazine.

The Health Care Index is a statistical glance at the overall quality of the medical system, including how well doctors, nurses, and other workers do their jobs; how much it costs per person each year; how often top-notch medicine is available; and how prepared the government is to assist. It also considers external factors like sanitation, public health programs, and so on.

There are 89 countries in the study, ranked based on five different health factors.

We already used the Health Care Index in another article, to define the best cities to retire in Europe.

Here are the top 20 countries with the best healthcare in the world:

Rank	Country	Health Care Index (Overall)	Infrastructure	Professionals	Cost	Medicine Availability	Government Readiness
1	South Korea	78.72	87.16	14.23	83.59	82.3	87.89
2	Taiwan	77.7	79.05	13.06	78.39	78.99	65.09
3	Denmark	74.11	90.75	30.01	82.59	92.06	96.3
4	Austria	71.32	86.18	20.25	78.99	88.23	91.8
5	Japan	70.73	78.77	21.6	74.88	74.18	93.2
6	Australia	67.99	92.58	17.37	96.22	67.51	89.91
7	France	65.38	77.86	13.24	71.82	55.1	81.38
8	Spain	64.66	86.28	34.25	75.81	83.82	96.8
9	Belgium	64.63	72.48	24.51	68.68	64.78	94.9
10	The United Kingdom	61.73	88.63	14.66	75.61	90.25	88.41
11	Netherlands	60.16	79.09	13.56	69.93	67.29	85.03
12	Finland	59.6	77.76	13.41	68.97	59.65	84.59
13	Thailand	59.52	98.7	29.05	94.99	98.74	96.1
14	Czech Republic	57.96	76.39	14.96	67.47	71.33	88.86
15	Norway	56.71	79.73	21.24	68.59	75.73	92.6
16	New Zealand	54.86	86.58	16.55	71.23	73.86	89.51
17	Germany	52.3	78.93	13.6	66.04	60.94	85.68
18	Switzerland	52.25	77.77	16.4	65.42	69.68	89.49
19	India	52.1	74.2	17.84	63.51	97.84	89.98
20	United Arab Emirates	51.99	68.21	14.95	60.36	55.08	88.74

The top 20 countries of the Health Care Index published by the CEOWorld Magazine and used by us as criteria to define the best country for medical school.

Which Is the Best Country to Study Medicine?

There are a few sources that list the best countries for medical students. Many of them are contradictory (and we will end those contradictions in a few paragraphs, using data). Here are some examples:

AbroadGurus, who mention The United Kingdom, Ukraine, Hong Kong, Malaysia, France, Russia, Germany, Singapore, and Canada.
Jeduka, who considers The United Kingdom, The USA, Canada, France, China, Ukraine, Russia, the Philippines, and the Netherlands as the best countries to study medicine.
GoAbroad meanwhile lists Argentina, Belize, Chile, Kenya, Netherlands, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and The United Kingdom.
GlobalScholarships regards The USA, The United Kingdom, Australia, India, Canada, Netherlands, and Sweden as the best countries for medical students
Last, CollegeChalo considers in their top 10 of the best places to study medicine the following countries: Russia, China, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Poland, Belgium, Belarus, Germany, and Italy.

As you can see, although some countries are present in multiple lists, there is tremendous diversity. How then to decide which country is the best for a medical student?

Here is the way we found it.

The Final List: The Best Country for Medical School

To build the final rank of the best country for medical school, we will consider the following criteria:

1st — The Cost of Living Index by Country in 2021, an indicator that considers the living costs. Numbeo, the world’s largest database of costs, compiles it. Although this indicator does not consider tuition costs (which will be handled as a separate criterion), it considers all other expenses like rent, food, etc. If a certain country has an index of 120, it is two times more expensive than one with an index of 60.

2nd — The performance of the country in the Healthcare Index.

3rd — How many times a country comes up in the five rankings that came before it (AbroadGurus, Jeduka, GoAbroad, GlobalScholarships, and CollegeChalo). Only countries mentioned in at least three of the five rankings were considered, meaning The UK, Netherlands, Russia, Canada, and Ukraine.

4th — The tuition costs for international students — for European universities, the prices used are for non-European citizens. (Sources: UK, Netherlands, Russia, Canada, and Ukraine)

All this data together gave us the ultimate list for you to decide the best country for medical school:

Country	Number of Ranks that Mentioned it.	Health Care Index (The higher the better)	Cost of Living Index (The lower the better)	Average Tuition Cost (in USD per Year)
The United Kingdom	4	61.73	53.24	$50,268
Netherlands	3	60.16	60.1	$36,064
Russia	3	37.76	26.83	$8,882
Canada	3	48.64	54.62	$22,500
Ukraine	3	33.38	22.12	$4,200

The top 5 of the best countries for Medical School.

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Study medicine in The UK

Average Tuition Cost (in USD per year): $50,268

Cost of Living Index (The lower the better): 53.24

Health Care Index (The higher the better): 61.73

Number of ranks that mentioned The UK among the best countries for studying medicine: 4

Yes, some of the best medical schools in the world are in the UK. Even the average British medical school would be considered a top school in most countries.

But this quality comes at a cost. First, a financial cost, since among our top 5 countries to study medicine abroad, the UK is the most expensive. So it is not the affordability that puts the UK among the best countries to study medicine for international students.

Besides the money, it also requires personal effort and patience.

Certain things must be done to study medicine in the UK. In interviews, students should expect to be asked about their motivation, past work, and personal interests. They should also be able to show off their past achievements and work experience.

Start applying to colleges a year before you wish to attend to move to the UK. It’s around October 15th the admission deadline. By that time, you should have all of your scores ready to submit with your application.

Study medicine in The Netherlands

Average Tuition Cost (in USD per Year): $36,064

Cost of Living Index (The lower the better): 60.1

Health Care Index (The higher the better): 60.16

Number of ranks that mentioned The Netherlands among the best countries for studying medicine: 3

The Netherlands teaches medicine differently from the UK, both in terms of content and timing. Because they teach students in both countries in different ways, it will be almost impossible for you to move between them while you’re still in school.

According to the portal StudyinHolland, in the Netherlands there are three main steps to becoming a doctor in general practice:

BSc in medicine (3 years)
MSc in medicine (3 more years)
Training (one year)

There are just two Dutch universities that teach the first three years in English, and only a few spots are open to foreigners. The University of Groningen provides a global health BSc. There is a similar program in English at the University of Maastricht. This would be the first step to be a doctor. Every year, Groningen offers 410 medical spots, but starting in 2021, only around 100 will be offered to non-Dutch speakers.

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Study medicine in Russia

Average Tuition Cost (in USD per Year): $8,882

Cost of Living Index (The lower the better): 26.83

Health Care Index (The higher the better): 37.76

Number of ranks that mentioned Russia among the best countries for studying medicine: 3

Lower costs are one of the main reasons students choose Russia for medical studies. In countries like the UK or the USA, students cannot afford even the tuition, let alone housing, foreign fees, textbooks, and other expenses.

Meanwhile, in Russia, world-renowned medical institutes have produced global leaders in healthcare and medicine while students pay tuition as low as 5 thousand dollars per year.

There are a lot of places like the UK that accept Russian degrees. Many Russian universities offer medical degrees that are in English and taught by world-renowned doctors. Besides offering English classes and programs at all levels, Russia offers Ph.D. degrees with educational quality and accessible programs.

A medical school application in Russia might seem scary to some people. Each program, university, and level of education has its own set of rules. According to Findcourse.com, some colleges may ask students to submit an online application, a non-refundable interview fee, transcripts from previous schools, letters of recommendation, and health information such as immunization records. Other colleges may require an in-person or a Skype interview.

Remind also that Russia is a very unequal country, and the standards of schools in Moscow or St. Petersburg tend to be completely different from those in more impoverished regions.

Study medicine in Canada

Average Tuition Cost (in USD per Year): $22,500

Cost of Living Index (The lower the better): 54.62

Health Care Index (The higher the better): 48.64

Number of ranks that mentioned Canada among the best countries for studying medicine: 3

There is a lot of competition to get into a medical school in Canada, so applicants need to make sure they meet all the requirements for each college. Applicants must not only meet all academic requirements but also meet all deadlines, too (which vary from institution to institution).

Getting a medical degree in Canada usually takes 3 to 5 years, depending on the university and the person who is getting it. The first year of a 5-year medical program in Canada is for people who don’t have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study. If you want to go to a four-year medical school, you must have a bachelor’s degree in biology or another field.

According to Medical Study Guide, even though Canada offers 17 medical colleges providing degrees in English and French, studying medicine in Canada is still one of the most competitive options, with only 15% of Canadian pre-med students going into medical school. Most medical schools require the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test).

Besides studying medicine, some people also look for Canada, in special cities like Montreal, due to its safety indicators, and Vancouver.

The MCAT is a standardized multiple-choice test meant to measure problem-solving, critical thinking, and writing abilities, as well as understanding of science topics and principles.

The 1st of the Cheapest Countries to study medicine in English: Ukraine

Average Tuition Cost (in USD per Year): $4,200

Cost of Living Index (The lower the better): 22.12

Health Care Index (The higher the better): 33.38

Number of ranks that mentioned Ukraine among the best countries for studying medicine: 3

Studying medicine in Ukraine is a great alternative for those who want to become doctors but want affordability with quality.

Most medical schools here have an English program. Ukraine’s education is comparable to that of Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, and much of Eastern Europe. Also, the cost of living in Ukraine isn’t as high as in the EU.

International students can study medicine in Ukraine at many large schools. These medical schools offer degrees that are accepted across Europe.

The requirements for admission usually are one of the two below (don’t need to be both).

a general university entrance qualification with specialized courses in biology and chemistry or,
a completed preparatory course (often called a pre-med).

There are 18 medical schools in Ukraine, but according to Medlink, these 3 are the best:

Dnipro Medical Institute. Dnipro is a city full of universities. Living here costs about €300 a month. The medicine course lasts 6 years, but it can be cut down if you have the appropriate qualifications. Entry exams aren’t required, making it easier to get in. After the course, you become a doctor (Medical Doctor). The first year’s tuition costs about €4,600, and the next year’s costs about €3,300.
Kharkiv National Medical University. One of Ukraine’s oldest higher educational establishments. Founded in 1805 by Tsar Alexander I, the institution has more than 200 years of history.
V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. With the name of the celebrated inventor Vasily Karazin, it is also in Kharkiv. The university now has a lot of international students and lecturers, as well as a lot of associate professors who work there. 21 schools and 124 departments with 61 majors make up the whole thing. The institution requires an entrance test in biology and English.

Conclusion: The Best Country for Medical School

(And the two cheapest countries to study medicine in english)

The Kharkiv National Medical University is located in Ukraine, one of the best countries to study medicine for international students. Star61, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The best country to study medicine, if we don’t take into consideration tuition or living costs, is technically the UK. Nearly every ranking we analyzed mentioned the United Kingdom, and the UK also had the highest result in the Health Care Index.

However, it is also the most expensive place to study medicine of all the places we looked at. When we look at the cost-benefit ratio, both Russia and Ukraine offer the chance to become an MD (medical doctor) while spending a lot less, making both slavic nations the favorite for the crown of the best country for medical school.

An entire medical course in a renowned Ukrainian university as the Kharkiv National Medical University may cost less than a single year of tuition fees in the UK. A good reason to nominate Ukraine as the best country to study medicine.

If you liked this article about the best country for medical school, check those below:

The Best Countries for Education: Where you should build your future?

4 Tips for Living Abroad (Or Far from Home) That You Wish To Know Earlier

Two Fine Benefits of Living Abroad (Hint: They Will Laugh at You)

5 Tips for Moving to Europe — Crucial Advice for Anyone Coming from a Warm Country

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Best Countries Ranking

The Best Countries for Education in the World

Top 12 Countries with the Best Education

There is one thing that drives the world’s greatest economies. It’s not global firms, infrastructure, or technology. It is their population average skills. The greatest economies are often the best countries for education.

Some folks use the term “human capital”. In reality, it is about using the knowledge that is in books, minds, and masterpieces to help us improve our skills and abilities. Investing our time and money into ourselves and into other people is what it is all about. When we learn new skills, we become more productive. When we learn new skills, we become better problem solvers. It increases our quality of life in the long term.

There are many ways to define the best countries for education in the world, and in this article, we will analyze 4 different rankings and compile a list blending them.

PS: if your plan is to become a doctor, check our special article about the costs and benefits of medical studies abroad.

The Rankings Used to Define the Best Countries for Education

There are four different rankings that we will use to figure out which countries are best for education in the world. By doing that, we will look at a lot of different things, like how these countries are set up for higher education, how much it costs to live there for students and professionals from these countries, and so on.

The first ranking used is The Human Capital Index, elaborated by the World Economic Forums. It considers 130 countries to see how well they are developing their human capital on a scale from 0 (worst) to 100 (best). It comprises four sub-indexes: capacity, deployment, development, and know-how.

The other is the PISA, a ranking compiled by the OECD. It measures how well 15-year-olds can use their knowledge and skills in reading, math, and science to solve problems in the real world. Since 2000, PISA has involved over 90 countries and more than 300,000 students from all over the world. The latest results are from 2018.

The 3rd ranking is the “Webometrics Ranking of World Universities”, an initiative of the Cybermetrics Lab, a research group from the CSIC, the largest Spanish public research body. They analyzed and ranked 31097 universities all over the world according to web presence, visibility, and access.

The Cost of Living Index by Country in 2021 is the fourth rank we’ll analyze. Numbeo, the world’s largest database of costs, compiles it. It is a crowd-sourced database with information about the cost of living around the world, including housing indicators, healthcare, and many other things. The countries at the top of their list have lower costs, something crucial for students living abroad. Here, we used the cost-of-living considering rent, because students often have to pay for their places.

We already used the Cost of Living Index in another of our articles, to define the best places to retire in Europe.

Which Country Has the Best Education System?

If we consider only the PISA ranking (which compares high-school systems), then we have these top 10 (not including territories like Macau):

Mathematics: China, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Estonia, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and Canada.
Science: China, Singapore, Vietnam, Estonia, Japan, Finland, South Korea, Canada, Taiwan, and Poland.
Reading: China, Singapore, Estonia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, South Korea, Poland, New Zealand, and Sweden.

On the other side, if we consider the Webometrics university rankings, the figure is distinct. The top 10 is the USA, the UK, China, Germany, Canada, Australia, Italy, Spain, France, and Japan. Together, these countries have 76% of the most renowned universities in the world.

The other two rankings, the Cost of Living Index from Numbeo and the Human Capital Index from the World Economic Forum, also have quite distinct results.

Therefore, to put together all the results, my method was to blend them into a table where the position in each ranking is equal to one point, and the best countries are those with the smaller score. Arbitrary? Maybe. But with a logical basis — if you have any other idea that is practical, please let me know in the comment section.

During the rank compilation, we excluded countries involved in internal wars (eg: Syria, Ukraine, etc) or with incomplete information (eg: Brunei, Kosovo, Czech Republic, Russia, etc).

The ranking created using these 4 factors involved 71 countries.

The Results of the Best Countries for Education Abroad

After building the scores as described above, we reached the following TOP 10:

Rank	Country	Position @ PISA (Basic education ranking)	Position @ Webometrics (University ranking)	Position @ HCI (Human capital ranking)	Position @ Numbeo (Cost of living ranking)	Total Score
1	Poland	10	32	21	68	131
2	Canada	6	5	4	118	133
3	South Korea	5	16	3	110	134
4	The UK	12	2	9	111	134
5	Vietnam	9	44	36	46	135
6	Japan	4	10	2	121	137
7	Finland	8	15	5	115	143
8	Estonia	3	42	10	89	144
9	Sweden	15	12	6	113	146
10	Germany	18	4	23	109	154
11	Portugal	26	20	15	93	154
12	Netherlands	16	11	8	125	160
13	Serbia	43	41	40	39	163
14	Slovenia	13	43	12	97	165
15	Belgium	19	17	17	112	165
16	Hungary	32	40	38	55	165
17	France	25	9	16	116	166
18	Singapore	2	31	1	133	167
19	Australia	20	6	14	128	168
20	New Zealand	14	23	11	122	170

The Best Countries for Education – Top 20

Best Countries for Education in Europe

Poland is one of the countries with best education according to the PISA, but the language barrier may be a real challenge. — Poland is one of the countries with the best education according to the PISA, but the language barrier may be a real challenge.

According to the criteria used, the best countries for education in Europe are quite a heterogeneous group, containing Poland, the UK, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, and Germany.

Poland, Estonia, and Finland had great scores thanks to their excellent basic education. People from other countries, however, should know that public education in these countries is mostly (if not entirely) in the local idiom. Polish, Finnish, and Estonian are some of the most difficult languages in Europe to learn. It took me three years just to get the basics of one of them.

It helped Poland that living costs are lower there than in most European Union countries (although not everything is cheap in Poland, lettuce being just one example). Estonia, too, had an excellent result because of lower living costs.

The UK, Sweden, and Germany grabbed their spots in the top 10 for other reasons, like the sizable number of fine universities. But neither the UK, nor Germany nor Sweden had good results in the cost-of-living score, raising concerns for students without access to financial aid. These are expensive countries, after all.

Best Countries to Study in Europe for International Students

Hamburg, in Germany. The focus on technical skills puts Germany among the countries with the best education in Europe for international students.

Our ranking matches the result from other studies that also placed both Germany and Sweden as two of the best countries in Europe for foreign students. While countries like Poland or Estonia may look attractive because of the lower living expenses, the language barriers may be an obstacle in cities far from the metropolitan areas.

While the German and Swedish expensive living costs may be an obstacle, students might qualify for help programs, like the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst in Germany or the CSN in Sweden.

Opinions about the quality of education in Germany are often favorable. A Hungarian student told the portal QS:

“During my first lecture — real-time machines and robots — I was amazed when the teachers gave us a mini-robot and told us we can have it at home during the whole semester to practice on. All the practice orientated examples helped a lot to understand the aim of the lecture and get the ability to gain industrial insight.” — student from Hungary

Best Country to Study in South America

No South American country made it into the top 20 of our list, but Colombia came in 26th. Colombia was the 11th best country in the world in the cost of living index.

According to the QS university rankings, there are 2 Colombian institutions among the 300 best in the world: the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (258th place) and the Universidad de Los Andes (236th place). Webometrics ranking also mentioned the former. During my career in South America, I had some colleagues from the de Los Andes and they were indeed well-educated fellows.

The portal Colombia.co also points as an advantage the offer of specialized programs:

One of the biggest advantages of higher education in Colombia is that it offers specialized academic programs that are hard to find in other countries.

Some examples of this include the Nanotechnology Engineering degree offered by Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana,[…] and the Archaeology, Museology and Conservation and Restoration of the Movable Cultural Heritage degree at Universidad Externado de Colombia.

Curiously, Brazil, the country that has the best university in South America (the Universidade of São Paulo, one of the 70 best institutions in the world) and a respectable result in the University criteria, was out of the top 40 because of poor scores in all other factors.

Study in Canada as an International Student: The Best Country in the Americas for Education

Despite the high cost of living, Canada is one of the top countries in education for foreign students. Picture of Toronto.

Canada has a long history of being one of the best places in the world to study. Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec are the three most popular provinces for foreign students to live in when they come to study in Canada. Canadian universities can be a good choice for people who want to study at one of the best universities in one of the world’s most developed countries.

The University of Toronto and McGill University are the two best-ranked Canadian schools. Other universities that are also good places to study are the Université de Montréal (a city with remarkable improvements in safety standards), the Université de Waterloo, and Western University. If Ontario is not for you, Vancouver also has some good quality schools.

They offer undergraduate degrees that can last three or four years, depending on how long it takes to get there and how long to study there. Depending on the type of postgraduate degree you choose and how long you take to finish, it can take anywhere from one to three years to finish. According to QS and Statistics Canada, the average tuition fees for undergraduate international students in 2019/20 are CA$29714 (~US$22,500) per year. Not among the cheapest places, after all.

Best Country to Study in Africa and Oceania

There are no African countries in the top 50, but from Oceania, both New Zealand and Australia grabbed their places in the top 20. The Aussies thanks to their world-class university (the 6th best in this criteria) and the kiwis with the 11th best human capital on the planet. As you can imagine, however, both countries have a relatively high cost of living.

The language of instruction is English in both countries, making them popular choices for students from Asia, the Pacific, Africa, and even Europe and the United States.

But they are a long way from the rest of the world, so travel costs can be high, just like multiple other costs (look for the price of a beer in Australia).

Best Country to Study in Asia

Not a surprise that both South Korea and Japan qualified as the best countries to study in Asia. Both countries also grabbed two of the best 3 places in the Human Capital criteria measured by the World Economic Forum.

While the excellent educational quality from Japan and South Korea is no secret, there are two concerns raised by external observers:

1st — The language (anecdotal evidence: I have a couple of friends that tried for years to learn South-Korean, with no success). The idiom in these places is an obstacle not only for students but even for skilled workers. The Nikkei Asian Review invited readers to give their opinions. Most international workers in Japan mention language barriers (52%) as the major difficulty, far above visa issues (22%), and unknown career paths (18%).

2nd — The competitive educational system often drives people to depression and even suicide. In 2020, a record number of Japanese schoolchildren took their own lives, according to an education ministry report. There were 415 deaths among students ages 6 to 18. This is the highest number since records began in 1974.

Vietnam also was present among the best countries to study in Asia for the same reason that Poland is among the best Europeans: lower living costs and an excellent basic education. According to Asia Exchange, one of the best options for higher studies in Vietnam is the Foreign Trade University (FTU).

Over the years, it has received recognition both in Vietnam and Asia. FTU’s satellite campus in Ho Chi Minh City offers studies in International Business Management, International Finance, Banking, Logistics, and Economics.

Conclusion: The Best Countries for Education and the Best Countries to Study Abroad

The best countries to study are:

Europe: Poland, the UK, Finland, Estonia, Sweden, and Germany.
Asia: South Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.
Americas: Canada.
Oceania: Australia and New Zealand.

In this article, we propose a ranking that considers 4 other rankings from institutions like the OCDE, the World Economic Forum, and so on. The goal is to look at factors like the quality of basic and higher education, the cost of living, and the level of human capital.

The results obtained should not be considered an absolute truth, but as a basis for analysis and adapted to each student’s reality. Eg: while in Poland the language barrier may be terrible for non-Slavic language speakers, for a Czech it is not a major obstacle, or while the high costs of the UK can burden some students, others may count on the support of the government to ease the expenses.

And remember: there is always the possibility to develop skills at home.

If you liked this article, check also:

4 Tips for Living Abroad (Or Far from Home) That You Wish To Know Earlier

The Best Country for Medical School (Considering Quality and Costs)

Two Fine Benefits of Living Abroad (Hint: They Will Laugh at You)

5 Tips for Moving to Europe — Crucial Advice for Anyone Coming from a Warm Country

If you wish to become a Medium member and have access to articles like this, check this link. It is only $5 per month.

Levi Borba is the CEO of expatriateconsultancy.com, creator of the channel The Expat, and best-selling author. Subscribe to my articles (for free) and receive (also for free) the ebook “The Blueprint for First-Time Business Owners”.

Digital Nomads

Use the PEST Business Analysis to Grasp the Local…

What Is the PEST Analysis

I grew up in one of the world’s least business-friendly regions: the countryside of Brazil.

The massive bureaucracy is one cause of this unpleasant reality. So when I arrived in Poland, I hoped I wouldn’t face the same bureaucratic issues that my family’s business had in Brazil.

I underestimated it.

My lofty hopes led to my first setbacks, including a penalty for not signing a very specific permit application. While not as bureaucratic as Brazil, Polish firms must fill out many forms and get multiple permissions.

My example is just one of many stories of entrepreneurs in different cultures. Almost all these stories have a single message: be careful. Yes, Optimism is fine. You wouldn’t leave your home if you were pessimistic. You wouldn’t be an entrepreneur. But first, grasp the local entrepreneurial culture.

Writing this post is my way of giving you some hope. I want to help you avoid my mistakes. For that, I will share with you a powerful tool that I learned to use while running a business abroad.

If you are planning to start your own business abroad, this is the book I wrote for you. Image from the author. — This article is inspired by this book, which you can purchase here.

First, Stop Worrying and Start Asking Questions

RUN from the nostalgic feeling after facing the first obstacles above.

Maybe you already heard someone saying something like “Oh, I can’t believe it. That would never happen back home!”

This kind of phrase opens the gates to FAILURE.

Repeat them a few times and your brain will consider giving up without not even considering workable solutions.

Nostalgic sorrow leads to irritation and harms your initiative.

If you’re stranded on a desert island, lamenting the lack of a handsaw won’t help. Work with the tools (and circumstances) you have.

The PEST Business Analysis is a first step in understanding the entrepreneurial cultural traits and situations. You do it by asking the RIGHT questions about the things you MUST know.

What Is the PEST Analysis

The PEST Business Analysis is crucial in the planning phase of a new project or renovating an existing venture. It is a tool for analyzing macro, external, and uncontrolled issues. Factors affecting strategic planning, implementation, and future success.

Maybe you’ve heard of the PEST analysis if you studied marketing or a comparable field in college.

During the planning phase of my two businesses, I used the PEST analysis and its concepts. It was useful, yet imperfect. The flaw was those typical PEST models omitted legal and environmental considerations. Legal issues prompted my company to deviate from our early plans.

The sub-analysis of the environment and legal circumstances has been incorporated, creating the PESTEL model, an acronym meaning Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal.

To comprehend each aspect, you need to ask the proper questions. Questions and answers that will prevent shocks like mine, and this is what I will give you below through the PEST (EL) analysis.

Business Environment: Internal and External, Controllable and Uncontrollable Variables.

Understanding your business environment is vital, for a few reasons:

No matter the size or nature of a business, the environment is always interacting with it. You can use these interactions to maximize resources and the knowledge will help you search out additional business chances.
Identifying business opportunities and threats — the interplay between a firm and its surroundings frequently shows business possibilities and risks.
To give growth direction — when a company is familiar with its location, it is simpler to find opportunities. Are specific products or services losing favor? Are your rivals providing things you should provide as well? We may answer similar questions when you know your local culture and business environment.

By “business environment” we mean both the macro and macro aspects. As explained by the Marketing Tutor:

The micro-environment comprises all those factors close to marketing and operations. For example, employees, competitors, partners, customers, the public, etc. They are mostly variables under company control.
The macro-environment are the external factors that affect every business in the industry and often are out of our direct control.

The PEST (or PESTEL) analysis will give you a framework to understand the macro-environment of your company.

The PEST Analysis with Examples of Questions to Ask.

Political questions to ask when starting a business in a distant region:

What are the political risks?
What are the chances of war, revolution, coup d’état, etc.?
What do politicians think of your business? What are the approaches taken by the government to your sector?

Economic questions to ask when starting a business in a distant region:

Is the local economy stable?
How volatile are interest and exchange rates?
Is it possible to hedge (protect your treasury) against sharp changes in exchange and interest rates?
Is the local public able to afford your product?
Is there a decrease or increase in people’s purchase power?
How affordable is credit for the firm and its customers?
How simple is it to hire? How are the unemployment rates?

Social questions:

What are the social norms? Is it a smart idea to sell miniskirts in Saudi Arabia? How to build a common culture in line with social norms?
What is the population’s demographic distribution? How has it changed over time?
How great are the generational gaps?
Do social paradigms affect the business?
What lifestyle changes happened? Eg: urbanization trends and rural exodus.

Technological questions:

What is the condition of the local tech infrastructure (eg: internet bandwidth)?
What are the government restrictions? Eg: Component taxes or import bans.
What are the local regulations over technology innovation and access?
How good are the local R&D agents?

Environmental questions:

Is the climate suitable for your business? Eg: You don’t want to sell house-heaters in Rio de Janeiro.
How steady is the weather and how disruptive is it to business?
How geographically distant are you from your primary stakeholders (people or firms associated with your business)?

Legal questions

How do labor laws may affect employee relations?
How consumer legislation affects your customer relations?
Which laws impact supplier chains, export, and import procedures?
How to respect both substantive and procedural law (the process, timing, and access to law enforcement). In certain places, procedural rules trump substantive rules.

How the Pest Business Analysis Can Make You a Foreign Successful Entrepreneur

The questions above are some of the things you should ask. Remember to adapt them to your sector and industry by asking broad and detailed questions.

You may think that asking even more things can be excessive after I list in the previous section over two dozen questions.

No, it is not.

You ought to place all your doubts through the PESTEL analysis framework. Later, attempt to answer them as best you can. In this manner, you’ll have a good idea of the uncontrolled variables affecting your company strategy.

Next, ask more specific, micro-level inquiries. Controllable elements that may become opportunities.

Questions to ask (and answers) before transferring your company abroad:

Are business visas required? How do you get them? What are the other permits you must have to be an entrepreneur? In this article, I answered these questions for multiple European countries.
Is there a minimum — or suggested — capital requirement?
Can you be the only shareholder or a local partner is required, like in several Asian countries?
What export/import permits do you need?
What safety credentials are required for your job?
What technological abilities do you expect from prospective employees?
Do you have local access to all raw materials required for production or will you need to import them?
How are the neighbors and the locals responding to your business idea? Are they aggressive, neutral, or friendly?

Disadvantages of the PEST Business Analysis

Because it is so simple to use inadequate data in a PEST (or PESTEL) analysis, some entrepreneurs oversimplify the amount of data they use for judgments.

There is also the danger of acquiring an excessive amount of data, resulting in ‘paralysis by analysis,’ which is a situation where people spend too much time analyzing and overthinking and do not execute their plan.

Another risk is when the data utilized derives from assumptions that were shown to be incorrect. Eg: assuming stable interest rates without considering the possibility of new government policies.

Blueprint for first-time business owners — All the Hows of a First-Time Business Owner: There is a thin line between bankruptcy and the freedom to be an entrepreneur

Conclusions about the Use of the PEST Business Analysis to Grasp the Local Entrepreneurial Culture

Because of the rapid changes, it is becoming more difficult to predict changes that may impact an organization in the future.

Ask questions regarding the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal variables that may affect your business. Some of these questions I gave you above.

Organize your understanding of macro (uncontrollable) and micro (controllable) variables.

Compile everything in a single document, or as part of your general business plan.

This document will impress most government offices, potential investors, and financing rounds. Few individuals know their own industry and geography so well, so you already have an edge.

If You Are Single, This Is the Cost to Live In These 6 European Capitals

The European Capital Where You Can Live With Less than $400 Monthly

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Digital Nomads

Save Money on Travel

4 Travel Hacks to Give You Peace of Mind

Traveling allows you to meet fascinating people, learn about history, and see different cultures. But it also leaves an emptiness in our wallets. As a result, the once-ignored skill of how to save money on travel is gaining popularity. I dedicated entire sections of my book Budget Travelers on the subject of how to save money on travel.

Here are four valuable (but simple) tips to avoid wasting time, money, and even your entire wallet during your next trip.

The Best Place to Exchange Currency Before a Trip

Depending on how popular the destination is with tourists, it may be difficult to convert money in advance. Finding a location to buy Turkish or Czech currency is easy in Poland, but not true for Ethiopian birr.

If half of your country is sunbathing in Bulgaria and the other is driving to Croatia for a week, local exchange houses are likely to welcome your currency in those places, and with good rates.

Why carry a 2-week stash of bills when you can exchange the exact amount upon arrival?

Do some homework and ask your friends who went last year so you don’t need to pack a stash of cash or risk losing your wallet.

In less developed countries like Tanzania (a good place for romantic holidays!) or Laos, we mostly found exchange houses in airports and similar locations. Airports, however, often have terrible exchange money rates. The same is valid for any place that does not have a large influx of tourists.

What to do in these situations?

Do it online, because the Internet is the best place to exchange currency before a trip. This means to use Revolut, Transferwise, and similar solutions, as I will explain in the next paragraphs.

How to Save Money on Travel by Minimizing Bank Transactions and Exchange Losses

In 2011, I spent my first month abroad. At that time, I still used traditional bank services like debit cards and bank transfers, with all the associated fees. Commissions ripped my money apart like a wolf. After that, I progressively abandoned traditional banking in favor of cheaper and better services from digital financial institutions or fintechs.

The first step was to use Transferwise, a low-cost digital tool for overseas transfers. The discrepancies are huge compared to bank rates, making this service a favorite among digital nomads. Others followed, such as Azimo and Remitly, each with unique features. Transferwise is still a leader in international remittances.

Digital transfers provide additional safety. Instead of waiting days for a bank transfer, I often get money using Transferwise in less than 24 hours. So in an emergency, you can get to the needed resources quickly.

I also used Skrill as a digital wallet. PayPal, the financial powerhouse and industry pioneer, is Skrill’s biggest rival. The reason I preferred the first over the second is PayPal’s bureaucracy, which reminds me of banks.

Finally, I canceled my Brazilian bank account (which was costing me $5 per month) and got a free digital bank account.

This saves fewer than a dozen euros each month. In the long run, this is a significant sum. Also, the transaction speed and availability make receiving and making payments a breeze.

Despite these advantages, always remember that it is crucial to have a secure internet connection to make any online transaction.

Later on, I switched to Revolut, which also can work as a digital wallet like Skrill, but additionally gives you access to investments and allows accounts in multiple currencies.

Today, with Revolut, I can exchange money between 30 currencies (besides many cryptos) in a matter of seconds. Add that to the over 50 currencies supported by Transferwise, and you see that with these two solutions in your pocket — in fact, inside your smartphone — it is unlikely you will need to look for an exchange house.

How to Avoid Pickpocketing in Barcelona (And Everywhere Else)

Years ago, I couldn’t return to my job overseas.

Just because of a wallet.

It all happened during a fantastic Balkan road trip. A family vacation, with my parents and girlfriend, that went almost perfectly.

Until I lost my wallet. In Athens.

At that time, I was working and living in the Middle East. To return, I needed to reissue all my lost documents, including my passport and visa.

For this reason, I needed to remain in Europe and lost an entire month of work (and salary).

This problem, as well as many others, might be avoided by following the two suggestions I’ll tell you now.

Pickpocketing is a frequent crime in certain countries, including mine. This is especially true in tourist hotspots.

Travelers with experience should avoid carrying large sums of cash. Pickpocketing can create even worse situations since our wallets hold documents and cards. Here, more than losing money, you will waste time reissuing missing IDs and passports and canceling credit cards.

As a result, now I support the idea of using a fake wallet in pickpocketing zones. By “pickpocketing zones” I mean places like:

● Commercial walking streets in Brazil, like the 25 de Março in São Paulo, Brazil.

● Omonia in Athens, Greece.

● Around the Fontana di Trevi in Rome, Italy.

● Gare du Nord in Paris, France.

● Las Ramblas in Barcelona (I was also stolen there, although only my sunglasses), Spain.

If you want to use a fake wallet, remember that pickpocketers are despicable, but not stupid. Therefore, your dummy wallet needs to look real.

● Insert a few expired cards in it to make it stuffed.

● Put some money (small bills and coins).

● Place it in your trouser back-pocket.

Rely not only on your purse or phone.

Modern travel allows for less documentation to be carried. A century ago, besides carrying a somewhat bulky passport, the absence of visa-free travel made it necessary to carry other paperwork.

Documents (excluding passports) can now be carried electronically. You may pay with a card, phone, or even a wristwatch. Instead of a rail or airline ticket, you may use a QR code on your phone’s screen. These technologies save time and minimize bag weight. But what if your battery dies?

You won’t always have a power bank or a charging port nearby. The goodwill of a railway ticket checker to understand that you have a ticket in your discharged phone is doubtful. I witnessed other passengers pay fines since their electronic ticket was not accessible because of a low battery.

That’s why I believe in having a backup plan. If a train inspector asks for your ticket and your phone battery is dead, you should be ready to provide him with an alternative.

You may either print it or store it on your tablet or other mobile devices.

There is also an alternative backup. One that might even save your life.

Always scan and send your paperwork (passports, visas, etc.) before extended journeys. This might be your way back to normal if you’ve been stolen, robbed, or just had a bad night. Avoid becoming stuck in a country or, worse, in an airport.

Waiting over 24 hours in an airport for missing paperwork is not fun (something I know from experience). If this still happens with you, here are the best pieces of advice about airports and flying that you can find. But if you follow those tips, you are safe.

Which other tips to save money on travel do you know?

Have fun!

If you liked this article about how to save money on travel, you should also check these:

The 8 Best Beaches in the World for Vacation, Honeymoon, and Families

3 Cheap Cities in Europe to Visit This Winter (And 1 to Avoid)

4 Expert Tips to Pay 40% Less during Your Next Holiday

Budget Travelers, Digital Nomads & Expats: The Ultimate Guide: 50 Tips, Tricks, Hacks and Ways to Free Stuff & Cheaper Flights

If you wish to become a Medium member and have access to articles like this, check this link. It is only $5 per month.

Entrepreneurship & Business

What Is the Best Age to Start a Business?…

How old do you have to be to start a small business? Here is a proven answer.

Before jumping on the straight answer about the best age to start a business, some context.

Once I saw a CEO from a prestigious technology firm complaining how young professionals unrealistically expect dizzying ascents up the corporate ladder at the start of their careers.

These are folks who have received two or three promotions in a row, either by luck or by exceptional performance, now believe that this is the standard.

This is resulting in swarms of inexperienced (albeit skilled) seniors. It creates gaps for misplaced expectations.

I agree with him. I also agree that the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s career and entrepreneurial timeline are preferable.

This is also the path I chose for my career. First as a student, then as a corporate employee, and finally as a business owner.

A lovely, spacious home must not be on shaky foundations. And you can’t start a solid company unless you know how to get your hands dirty.

What Is the Average Age to Start a Business VS What Is the Best Age to Start a Business

Some argue that being youthful is preferable to being older. You’re fresh and powerful, and you can handle a lot of sleep deprivation and yet keep going. You’re also less risk-averse.

Wisdom, however, comes with age. The older you are, the more you know about your sector or industry. You have extensive experience and good contacts.

So what is better?

The Average Age to Start a Business (with Success)

The facts plainly favor one side.

According to Duke University, the Kauffman Foundation, the Founder Institute, and Northwestern University researches, the typical entrepreneur is 40 years old when founding his or her first firm, while the average age of executives of high-growth companies is 45.

Tech newspapers are full of tales of crazy-rich 22-year-old entrepreneurs, but the reality is that 40-something are considerably more likely to start and grow businesses — like those that I presented in this article about successful companies with humble beginnings.

The study in consideration is not on a small scale. The Founder Institute collected data from 3,000 worldwide applications, 1,000 enrolled entrepreneurs, and 350 graduates.

What is the benefit of age? Adeo Ressi, founder of The Founder Institute explains:

Older individuals have generally completed more complex projects — from buying a house to raising a family. In addition, older people have developed greater vocational skills than their younger counterparts in many, but not all, cases. We theorize that the combination of successful project completion skills with real-world experience helps older entrepreneurs identify and address more realistic business opportunities.

If older is better, what to do until then? Here is the approach proposed by Jack Ma.

Be a student till your 20s and a follower until your 30s.

When you are 20 to 30 years old, you should follow a good boss [and] join a good company to learn how to do things. Jack Ma

Likewise, my father’s advice fits here. He offered me a job in his business when I was 16 years old.

Delivering promotional brochures. It wasn’t what I expected, since I expected to be a salesperson at the very least. But I was a clueless teenager.

Delivering promotional pamphlets helped me grasp consumer desires. After reading the flyers, they inquired about items. It was a learning experience and a great workout.

It is advisable to start in a small or family company. Jobs at gigantic businesses such as McDonald’s are not awful for beginners, however, your work will most likely comprise very specific activities. Tasks with no relevance to the rest of the company. You also should start to develop skills at home.

Small businesses generate more meaningful employment. There, you will learn complete procedures and be a part of important changes. Despite your youth, you will be closer to decision-making centers.

Do not worry if you get rejections; they are normal at this stage. Jack Ma applied for over 30 jobs and got only rejections. In one case, a company interviewed 24 candidates. They hired 23. He was the lone refusal. Use the negative responses to improve your reaction to disappointment.

The Chinese Billionaire idea of becoming a follower in the 30s does not mean to be a copycat, but to seek a mentor.

During your early years of experience, you will encounter talented and experienced individuals. Stick to them. Learn about their accomplishments and inquire about their missteps. This will aid you in your learning curve. 71% of the most successful American businesses use mentor programs. That’s because they work. A good example has extraordinary teaching potential.

It is a fantastic time to start a company in your 30s. Focus on what you do best between the ages of 40 and 50.

When you are 30 to 40 years old, if you want to do something yourself, just do it. You can still afford to lose, to fail. Jack Ma

I worked in corporate jobs across three different countries for ten years. After this period, I abandoned everything at 29 years old to start my company. Maybe it would be better if I waited one year more.

As the Chinese millionaire puts it, “you have time to fail at this age.”

My first business flopped. It didn’t go bankrupt, but we had to move because of a poor market decision — we overestimated the might of government bureaucracy. I have two enterprises at 34 (finished yesterday). If one of them, or both of them, fails, I start a new one.

Make tiny investments that are cyclical and anti-cyclical. Or, to put it another way, develop your barbell strategy and become antifragile. The Barbell Strategy (as well as Antifragility) is a concept from Nassim Taleb where you have two streams of income that are not dependent on the same market or economic conditions.

When you’re 40 to 50 years old, my suggestion is you should do things you are good at. Jack Ma

If you start in your 30s, you could find something you can be excellent at by 40. So focus on it. People miss out on chances to learn unusual and important abilities because they are always looking for a passion.

We often refer to this as the Passion Mindset. The Craftsman Mindset, coined by Cal Newport, is the polar opposite of it, in which you select a job you can be competent at and focus on improving your abilities until the skills ignite your love for perfection.

The 40s are ideal for cultivating a Craftsman Mindset and striving for perfection.

Should you retire at 62?

Short answer: Yes.

The long answer starts with this: after 50, hire young people, and after 60, spend time on yourself.

While our expertise and understanding grow through time, it is not a linear process. Brain myelination slows down at the age of 50. As a result, learning new technology is more challenging for individuals of this age, while other skills, such as writing, are at their optimum.

Now is the moment to recruit young people, invest in them, and introduce new ideas to your company. It’s also time to train your successor.

When you reach your 60s, Jack Ma advises you to focus more on your own goals. It does not imply dumping all you’ve created and spent the rest of your day on the beach sipping mojitos.

In fact, if you spent decades honing key abilities, you will be able to explore your expertise in your 60s. According to the World Economic Forum, mature entrepreneurs’ businesses are more successful on average.

When you are over 60 years old, you better stay with your grandchildren. Jack Ma

Instead of insane work-journeys devoted to your company, the Chinese tycoon suggests that there are other triumphs to celebrate at this stage of life. They are significant enough to overshadow economic gains — just be aware of the retirement financial trap, something way common nowadays.

It means that strolling to the park with little Mike is a greater reward than reading business reports. It’s better for you and it’s better for him.

Conclusion about the best age to start a business

Be a student till your 20s and a follower until your 30s.

When you are 20 to 30 years old, follow a skilled professional, learn about their accomplishments and inquire about their missteps. Also, join a company that offers you the chance to develop and try multiple skills.

When you’re 40 to 50 years old, focus on the things that you are good at. As Jack Ma says, if you start in your 30s, you could find something you can be excellent at by 40.

After 50, hire young people, and after 60, spend time on yourself.

When you are over 60 years old, enjoy the company of your grandchildren. Yes, it may be cliché, but it is still a piece of advice we often ignore and regret later.

From your opinion and experience, what is the best age to start a business? I am curious to read some personal stories in the comments.

Check also:

The 5 Top Fiverr Gigs for New Entrepreneurs and Creators

How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Business?

5 Books Every Entrepreneur Must Read This Year

If you wish to become a Medium member and have access to articles like this, check this link. It is only $5 per month.

Skills

How Social Media Giants Kidnap Your Eyeballs and Harm…

Is Social Media Negative?

The short answer? Yes, Social Media is negative for your social relations, while it benefits corporations wishing to target their ads on very specific consumer segments.

But it is not that simple.

This should come as no surprise if you ever read the book Digital Minimalism from Cal Newport.

The long answer, however, goes beyond the potential of social media to destroy relationships, affect our mental health, curb our productivity or manipulate society.

It is darker and more sinister. Everything starts with the basic premise that…

Social Media corporations consider your time (until the last breath) as a product for them to sell.

Often we think we are the customers of mass and social media.

That is a childish, even gullible mistake. A mistake made worse by the belief that social networks exist to serve us.

We are not their clients. We are what they sell. We are their cattle, and our time is their milk and meat inventory.

(Have you ever wondered why social platforms never attempted to be more attractive to elders? It is because they don’t have much time to offer).

Eyeballs. I will repeat this word a few times in this article — and every single time, it will be based on scientific evidence or logic.

That is what social media giants are selling. Your eyeballs for corporations that want you to see their ads.

This fact may sound unpleasant, but below I explain it with data revealed by Facebook ads and the MIT.

At the end of this article, you will understand how you are manipulated. This knowledge may be liberating. If you ever read the most recent book from Cal Newport, you understand what I mean.

A cow is not a farm’s customer. Neither we are Facebook customers.

The rancher feeds his cattle, so he can have milk or meat. On the farm, the utility of an animal is attached to its capability to provide what the farmer needs. So he gives food and shelter to his herd to reap the economic benefits.

That is exactly how Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and nearly all social media corporations treat us.

(Except Medium, since this is not exactly a social network and also does not sell ads. At least until now, right @EV Williams?)

Instead of giving Zuckerberg our milk (no pun intended), we give him our time, our eyeballs. During a single year, we sacrifice hours of our attention in exchange for the shallow distraction of scrolling infinite feeds.

Before, I promised to base my argument on logic and facts, so here goes a fact:

Facebook had a total revenue of 70.7 billion dollars during 2019. Where does this money come from?

From Ads. More specifically, 69.7 billion were generated by ads.

98.5% of all the money Facebook made was paid by companies to place their ads on your feed. Sometimes these ads are even disguised as genuine content.

Have this percentage in mind when you ask yourself if is social media negative?

How social media destroys relationships?

Nobody has more than 24 hours of eyeball attention available. Big tech giants know that, so they fight fiercely to guarantee the biggest share of our time.

They spend billions on psychological warfare tools to predate the time you once spent with your family and friends. It is profitable for them.

Facebook packs your eyeball time and sells it in packets of 1000 units. Each unit is called an “impression” and it means 3 seconds of a user eyeball.

1000 units (3 seconds of attention) from upper-income Americans costs around 3.38 dollars — something I discovered by using Facebook to promote my first and second book.

This attention-mining rationale explains why social media giants design their efforts for 2 things:

1 — Social Networks aim to maximize the time we spend using their platforms, to the detriment of our personal life.

To be more specific, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok want to expand the hours you spend scrolling the feed. Remember what is the product they are selling: the time of your eyeballs, divided into blocks of 3 seconds. How long users spent using their platforms is the basis for financial incentives in entire departments. They want you to waste more of your life on the news feed.

Facebook destroyed Orkut, Google+, and Myspace. Now, their main competitor (for your attention) is your family, your daughter, your wife, your parents.

2 — They aim to maximize the information they have about users, so they can charge more for targeted ads.

Once I programmed an ad on Facebook that should only be shown to people between 28 and 59 years old, with relatives living abroad, planning to start a company, and that recently traveled to Europe.

Very specific, right? Yes, dreadfully specific. Still, Facebook told me that this group, my target group, had hundreds of thousands of people.

How a Social Media company discovered all this about each person is easy to imagine.

Every Social Media Company as an Addiction Department

But they are not there to cure it. They are there to stimulate addiction, or, as they call it: to hook you.

To be honest, what social media giants are doing is not new. TV channels did the same for decades when researching their audience and selling commercial-time to announcers.

The difference here is that machine learning algorithms turned social media into a highly efficient tool for customer segmentation — by gathering all personal data you willingly give them in form of likes and follows — and to sell specific customers’ attention.

Like most factories, one purpose of social media operations is to increase the production of what they sell (your eyeballs) and the quality of what they sell, meaning audience information.

For this, they employ some of the most brilliant behavioral psychologists in the world, working together to get you hooked and design elements like:

The red numbers in your notifications make you anxious to check your feed.
The push notifications arriving your phone informing that someone marked, mentioned, or simply posted something you should see.
The content curation, made by their artificial intelligence mechanisms, selects what has the highest probability of grabbing your attention and makes you lose track of time.

They use this science to make you addicted.

Social Media on Mental Health — How They Are Making Us Dumber

Someone could still mention the positive effects of social platforms, things like Oh, it is so much easier to keep in contact with all my friends.

But, is it?

Or it is just making us spend our time (which could be used to chat in a pub) sending random memes to distant acquaintances through a black mirror while sitting in a toilette?

The first step to solving a problem is to admit it. I noticed I had one when I installed an app called YourHour. It told me how much I used my phone per day, and how many times I unlocked it.

I discovered YourHour after reading Cal Newport’s book about how an average person unlocks his phone close to 150 times per day. I was not different, unlocking my phone almost 160 times every day and spending over 4 hours on it — most of the time on Whatsapp (approx. 2 hours per day) and Facebook (1.5 hours).

I decided it was enough.

As an expatriate living far away from my family and friends, the pretext to over-use Whatsapp and Facebook was to keep in contact.

But is this effective?

Dr. Albert Mehrabian, and how Instant Messaging is Killing our Communication Skills.

Dr. Albert Mehrabian, in a well-known research, told people to say the same words, like maybe or thanks or really, with various tones and facial expressions. The results concluded that a mere 7% of our conversation is verbal, while 38% of the message is transmitted by voice tone and 55% comes from facial expressions and gestures.

This means that 93% of our messages are non-verbal. (That is why things like a smile can have completely different meanings depending on the place).

By relying on instant communicators like Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger, we are using only 7% of our capability. By only chatting with our families by text, we’re paving way for misunderstandings. Remember that I am sorry that looked ironic instead of regretful?

There are still other, and even more frightening negative effects from Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms.

What are the effects of social media addiction? The Children’s White Matter Problem.

If, in adults, the negative effects from Social Media addiction are more visible in the harm done to communication skills and social children, with kids it is more brutal.

A research made by the MIT Technology Review exposed that children who spent more time using screens presented lower “white matter integrity.”

White matter can be roughly thought of as the brain’s internal communications network — its long nerve fibers are sheathed in fatty insulation that allows electrical signals to move from one area of the brain to another without interruption.
The integrity of that structure — how well organized the nerve fibers are, and how well developed the myelin sheath is — is associated with cognitive function, and it develops as kids learn language.

In the book The Talent Code: Greatness isn’t born. It’s grown (Daniel Coyle). He explains how important is white matter and a component of it called Myelin. Myelin is the element behind skilled footballers, talented musicians, and outstanding brains.

Is Social Media Negative? Conclusion.

Yes. It is because:

Social Media giants employ psychological tools to maximize the time we spent on them, harming our social relations.
According to Cal Newport in his book Digital Minimalism, hours spent relaxing on Social Media make us mentally tired.
These Social Platforms also gather enormous amounts of data from users and profit from that by selling targeted ads.
Instant Messaging Providers like Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger cripple our communication skills.
The excessive use of social media and electronic screens by kids may reduce their brain’s white matter.

If you wish to become a Medium member and have access to articles like this, check this link. It is only $5 per month and will support writers like me.

Business in Europe

5 Unusual Fiverr Gigs – The Best Website to…

Lottery prizes are unplanned events. Starting a business is the opposite — you plan, research, and finance it. That takes time and effort. Something that can be solved if you check a certain website to hire freelancers, and here I will tell you how.

Besides these well-known phases of creating and running a company, there are dozens of minor tasks you need to complete, from registering your firm with state authorities to buying insurance.

It’s a lot to tackle for one person, but starting and running a business is often a solitary activity made by a single hero or his close group of brave co-founders.

Or at least it was like that until the rise of the gig economy and websites like Fiverr and Freelancer.

These websites — and other online marketplaces for freelance services — made it possible for entrepreneurs to hire talents anywhere in the world. Remote workers that can push new enterprise to a whole new level of performance and profitability.

You can hire a variety of specialists to help you with various aspects of starting a business, but it’s important to find someone who complements rather than duplicates your skillset. You don’t want someone doing all the marketing for you, for example, if you’re an expert at developing products.

Some well-known tasks became the realm of remote professionals from the gig economy. Things like:

There are hundreds of articles explaining how to find good professionals in these areas at Fiverr, including one with The 5 Top Fiverr Gigs for New Entrepreneurs and Creators.

In this article (which contains some affiliate links, meaning that I may earn a financial incentive if you decide to purchase any of the listed services), I will tell you about some specialists out of the radar. Still, they can make the difference between a successful and a stagnant business — for only a few dollars.

Use This Website to Hire Freelancers Outside of the Radar: Our top 5 list.

You can find some of the highest-paying jobs for digital nomads on Fiverr.

Infographic Designer

If you are a fan of pages like Visual Capitalist or Cool Infographics, you’ve noticed infographics.

They are graphic visual depictions of data. They help us make some of the most complex, important topics more digestible and memorable.

An infographic designer creates visual displays of data. They use graphic design to convey information in an interesting, eye-catching way.
Infographics help explain complex topics, inform and educate viewers, and promote your brand. It is much more than just pretty pictures. An infographic designer has the skills, creativity, and experience to create something that conveys your message with immense shareability — meaning viral posts.

For example, people create infographics to show their friends what their cats do in their sleep. Imagine how a cat-food company or a pet shop can use that to promote its brand with a highly shareable viral post.

Among these boring numbers in your excel sheets and market research docs is a gold mine for customer engagement — but to dilapidated it, you need a specialist.

At Fiverr, you can hire a good infographic designer with multiple good references for 10 dollars.

Virtual Assistant

In another article, I wrote about how hiring a virtual assistant helped me to save multiple hours during my week. Enough to write 3 books and become a top writer in 5 categories at Medium.How To Add Multiple Extra Hours to Your Week
Hiring a Virtual Assistant freed me enough time to write 3 books in a yearentrepreneurshandbook.co

A virtual assistant (VA) is a freelancer who performs administrative work for one or more clients. He/She can be anything from a social media guru to a writer. A VA can help your business for the three reasons below:
1. They save you money.
2. They save you time.
3. They free you up to grow your company.

Many entrepreneurs choose to hire a virtual assistant for the simple fact that the overhead costs are lower than hiring a full-time employee. In-house staff needs desks, computers, office space, and equipment. A VA can work from their home or anywhere with internet access, so their expenses are smaller.

In this website to hire freelancers working as virtual assistants with a solid reputation may cost as low as 15 dollars.

Website Reviewer

Hiring a Website Reviewer made my business website soar to the first page at Google in multiple keywords in a matter of months.How My Website Rose to Google First-Page Rank in only 10 Months
I am no WordPress Specialist, but spending less than $100, it happened!medium.com

A website reviewer is a service provider who evaluates and provides feedback and solutions to improve the performance of your site.

They conduct a comprehensive review and provide detailed feedback about design, content, logic, functionality, usability, and SEO.
It is a great step to produce a positive user experience. They can also help you find and fix technical errors, and suggest ways to make your website more effective.

They can also help you with Google Analytics, Google AdWords, and a variety of other online marketing strategies.

Reviewers can help you create a website content strategy that appeals to your target audience, improve your search engine ranking, your social media presence, and customer loyalty.

Lastly, they can also review your website for compliance with general best practices, industry standards, and government regulations.

At Fiverr website to hire freelancers to review your website can cost as low as 30 dollars.

Grant-Writing Services

Grants, often issued by governmental agencies or NGOs, can be a significant source of funding for many projects. The application process, however, is daunting, and there’s a steep learning curve involved.

This is a problem that can be solved by a grant-writing expert.

Here are 5 reasons why a grant writing service can help you:

They have access to the right information. Sometimes it can be found online, but sometimes it is hidden under hundreds of government documents.
They often have the connections you need to get your application approved.
Writing an application is not easy. You have to provide all of the information that a potential grantor is looking for. A grant writing service can help you create a persuasive application.
They ensure you submit on time. Deadlines are stressful.
They avoid costly mistakes — the type of error that can make your entire application go to the garbage bin.

Grant writing isn’t for everyone. It requires research, organizational skills, and a lot of time. It requires you to hire top freelancers.

At Fiverr, you can purchase well-evaluated grant-writing services for 25 dollars.

Chatbot Programmer

A chatbot is a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users. Chatbots can operate as an easy interface to websites, and can also operate across various messaging apps, including Facebook Messenger, Slack, Skype, and Google Hangouts, to name a few.

They are starting to take over customer service, and one of the most important benefits is their help to provide faster customer service.

Fast and personalized customer service is no longer just a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have for many businesses. Today, 79% of customers say it’s very important for businesses to contact them via their preferred channel. Further, 55% of customers say they’re willing to pay more for faster service.

Businesses are using chatbots for a variety of customer service tasks, including helping with customer orders, answering questions, and giving information about products.

Chatbots are more than just a customer service tool: they can turn customer service into revenue.

They can help customers quickly find the information they need on your website or messaging platforms, and they can save time for your employees by automating repetitive tasks.

Chatbots can also boost your sales by simplifying the checkout process. Rather than asking for a name and shipping address, customers can interact with a chatbot, which asks them only for their payment and delivery information. When a customer’s credit card is charged, a chatbot can send them a receipt and provide them with the tracking number for their package.

In that website to hire freelancers to program chatbots may cost only 30 dollars — for a simple chatbot.

What are other out-of-radar professionals that your business hired?

If you are an entrepreneur or is planning to start a business, here are some other articles that may be useful to you:

5 Books Every Entrepreneur Must Read This Year

The 7 Best Business Channels on YouTube in 2021

How to Rank Website on Google First Page

To Join Fiverr and start with a $20 Bonus, Click Here.

Join Freelancer using this link and earn a USD20 discount at your first purchase

If you wish to become a Medium member and have access to articles like this, check this link. It is only $5 per month. It will support multiple writers, including me.

Levi Borba is CEO of expatriateconsultancy.com, creator of the channel Small Business Hacks, and best-selling author. You can check his books here, his other articles here, or his Linkedin here.

Digital Nomads

7 Tips for Successful Online Networking

Tips for Online Networking

85% of jobs are filled through networking. So really, that old saying about getting a job because of “who you know” is still very true. With more people taking remote jobs and ultimately living their lives online, it makes sense that networking has become more of an online experience, too. But building an online network isn’t as easy as making a couple of posts and suddenly going viral.

Creating an online network takes time and care. I’m going to share with you my personal tips for making a successful online network and how they can help you build your own.

1. Start With Understanding Your Real Goal

What is it that you truly want to get out of networking? Are you looking for a new career? Or do you want advice from someone who is established within your field? Once you know your goal, it’s much easier to see the next steps you ought to take.

Before you can get anywhere, you need to know where you ultimately want to be. From there, you can look at which people within your field (or a brand-new field) can offer you advice on how to get there.

2. Network Early and Often

You should already network online before you’re out of a job and looking for a new one. You should not have to be building a network from scratch while you’re jobless. This is a point stressed in one of the best videos for entrepreneurs on Youtube.

Luckily, online networking makes this easier with platforms like LinkedIn. You can comment on interesting posts from important people in your chosen field or even take part in industry forums. Check your feed a few times a week and maintain your online presence. It will help people remember you as someone who knows what they’re talking about in your work arena.

This way, when you find you need advice, a referral, or even a job, you already have a strong network of contacts that you can use to your advantage.

3. Try a Lot of Different Networking Platforms

Of course, everyone thinks of LinkedIn for online networking, but other platforms like Meetup or even Instagram can be great resources as well.

Meetup allows people with shared interests to gather and share ideas or simply enjoy a hobby together in person. But it also offers online opportunities, like groups dedicated to connecting remote workers or groups that focus on particular social causes. This way, you can create a network that’s more human because you’re not just focused on work, but also what you can do for other people or for the planet.

Following people you admire within your chosen field on Instagram can lead to some great relationships. Did someone you follow post a really inspiring video? Leave a comment that shows how much you appreciate their words of wisdom. You can also share their content, using it as inspiration for your own thoughts on the topic.

You can also offer to help them out with their social media reach, like always commenting on posts with glowing support or thoughtful questions. In fact, using Instagram like this is a terrific way to eventually find yourself a mentor you connect well with.

4. Find the Right People for Online Networking

While it’s always great to connect with popular thought leaders, remember that everyone else is trying to connect with them, too. Instead of focusing only on those one or two major players, you should really put your focus into connecting with peers. These are the people who work “in the trenches” and may one day be the people you’re working alongside.

If you’re looking to join a specific company, don’t just try to connect with the CEO. Really, you should connect with the people who work there as employees. Any connections inside the company will help you, and you’re more likely to actually get conversations going with those people than you would with the CEO.

Also, you should not be limiting yourself to connecting with just the people you think can help you. Don’t focus on just making powerful friends — establishing any sort of online network with your peers can help you feel you belong and will help you stay engaged.

5. Get Involved In Good Conversations

Remember that networking is an ongoing process. You can’t just wait for people to come to you.

Become an active part of your networking community. When you’ve shared some information or one of your learning experiences on a networking platform, reply to all the responses from other people and see how you can deepen the conversation.

If someone’s post goes viral, share your own insights on it and create productive conversations in the comments section.

Also, get involved in some great forums. You can share your insights and credibility while also interacting with others and creating actual connections with thoughtful discussions.

6. Focus On Building Strong Relationships

If you want to create deep relationships with your online network, show how you can help others out when they need it. A point made by the author of one of the best books for entrepreneurs.

You can share someone’s blog post or video, or you could promote their webinar that you think could be helpful to the other people in your network. If someone has posted their resume or portfolio online, you can share that with your followers and maybe help their career.

Instead of looking out just for yourself, you can establish yourself as someone that other people can rely on. This makes you more trustworthy among your peers and lets people know that you’re reliable and a good collaborator.

This way, when it’s time for you to ask for some help, you’re not simply dropping an email into a stranger’s inbox, hoping they’ll help you with no real understanding of who you are or why they would even want to help you. They’ll want to see how they can support you because you’ve proven that you are willing to make other people feel valued.

7. Stay Positive

Be patient while you’re building out your online network. Virtual interactions can take longer to happen than if you were face-to-face, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t get too many connections at the beginning of your networking journey.

Stay optimistic that your efforts will pay off because networking is a long game. Keep going, and remember that you’re here to create positive experiences with new people, so a positive attitude will be absolutely necessary.

Setting Yourself Up for Success in Online Networking

As you explore the world of online networking, remember these key steps. Building out your online network should not feel like a chore. Instead, look at it as an opportunity to make yourself a better and more interesting person who can bring value to the people around you.

When you are willing to put in the work, your online network will flourish.

Thanks to Erik Bergman for collaborating with this article.

Check the links below.

The 5 Best Fiverr Gigs Expatriates Can Offer to Make $ Abroad

The 5 Top Fiverr Gigs for New Entrepreneurs and Creators

To Join Fiverr and start with a $20 Bonus, Click Here.

Join Freelancer using this link and earn a USD20 discount on your first purchase

Entrepreneurship & Business

How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Business?

Virtual Assistant Services Can Pave the Way for Scalable Business

This article about how a virtual assistant can help your business is complemented by this article of The 5 Top Fiverr Gigs for New Entrepreneurs and Creators. Video version of this article here.

During the 2020 lockdown, my two companies remained closed for months. Since I could not remain idle only waiting for the best, I applied the Talebian concept of Barbell Strategyby starting a new business, not related to the other two.

Fast-forward to 2021, and most of the restrictions were lifted. A fresh problem came to the surface.

I had not enough time to manage all the 3 enterprises and invest in my career as a writer. More than half of my hours, though, went for routine tasks. Tasks that someone else could perform remotely.

That is when I discovered marketplaces offering services of Virtual Assistants (VAs).

You may be familiar with this service. If this is the case, jump straight to the section Extra advantages of hiring a virtual assistant (I bet you don’t know some of them). If you never heard about a VA, however, keep reading the section below.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

Every business has two types of activities: the core tasks and the back-office (or auxiliary) tasks.

One of the traditional ways to define them is to call the first as revenue-generating tasks and the second as non-revenue generating, but this is a controversial approach. There are plenty of core tasks that do not generate any cent, and some back-office activities can also be revenue streams.

The easiest way to understand it is by using examples, like those below.

Car dealership core task: Selling cars.
Car dealership back-office tasks: Bookkeeping, Payroll, Webpage SEO, etc.
Digital marketing agency core tasks: SEO planning, campaign design, etc.
Digital marketing agency back-office tasks: Payroll, tabulate page rank indicators, translate content, etc.

Auxiliary tasks are often repetitive and can be done remotely. If you have a promising business proposition and need to develop it, you should not be wasting hours and hours with data entry and tabulation.

That was my mistake until I find Fiverr and discover how a virtual assistant (VA) could help me.

A VA is a person who provides remote services for companies or entrepreneurs. The business gives them the necessary access to data and systems, and they perform their jobs in the scheduled time, later billing the company for the worked hours.

You may find well-qualified VAs for a universe of jobs on platforms like Fiverr or Freelancer. Their rates are low since they live in countries with cheaper living costs — my VA is from the Philippines and her rate is $5 per hour. While this is an affordable price for me, it is three times more than the average hourly salary ($1.82) paid by the same job in her country. It is a good deal for her, and for my business.

Perhaps hiring remote workers from less developed nations is a questionable practice. I will not enter this discussion here, although I think it is better for them to work for a living than to survive on donations from richer countries.

To hire a VA was a significant decision. It freed time enough of my schedule to pursue other initiatives, like writing 3 books, and developing my 3 businesses.

There are still other untold benefits.

How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Business?

1 — You turn on the “Scalability mode” in your operations.

To scale a business almost always means to increase work volume. To handle this extra load, a company needs manpower that is flexible to hire, easy to find, and readily available.

All these 3 characteristics are the standard among well-qualified VAs on Fiverr.

Imagine a situation where your online firm welcomes an abnormal amount of customers from a certain idiom — for example, Mandarin — but you have only one online attendant who speaks it.

What a terrible bottleneck, right?

To solve it, you can quickly hire bilingual VAs fluent in this language and train them in your routines, or they can act as translators, forwarding client requests to other members of your team.

2 — VAs can bring new best practices to your company.

Some virtual assistants on Fiverr already had over 100 different clients, doing always the same tasks (eg: writing video transcriptions or doing web research). They are experienced professionals with deep knowledge of how to optimize their processes and make the best of their time.

You can adapt those practices to your firm later and improve your business systems.

3–24 hours per day, 7 days per week availability

If your business operates in multiple time zones, you may have customer requests at any moment of the day. It can be challenging (or expensive) to find a local professional willing to work at 3 or 4 AM.

When you hire VAs, your inconvenient graveyard shifts can be very well at their daytime. By hiring 2 or 3 VAs in distinct time zones, you can cover all the 24 hours off a day with no issues.

If your company does not have 24 hours’ support, you should think about it. It may drastically increase your reputation and widen your market reach.

The same applies to festivities or holidays. It is complicated to find people willing to work on January 01 at 02 in the morning. But what if your VA is still in the afternoon of December 31?

4 — You pay for what you get.

Virtual Assistants will charge you only for the worked hours. If your company, like mine, closed temporarily due to force majeure reasons, it is enough to suspend the task requests. Of course, this must be done with a few days of anticipation, as agreed beforehand.

Expenses with VA can also match the seasonality of your business. During periods with less activity and revenue, your virtual assistant may work less, therefore reducing your expenses.

Another plus is that experienced VAs often inform you in advance how much time they need to fulfill your requests, so you can forecast a budget.

What does a virtual assistant do?

Which tasks an entrepreneur or a business can outsource to a virtual assistant? Here are some ideas:

1 — Tasks not requiring a full-time employee.

If you need a person to research the competitor’s prices a few times per week or to format excel sheets every second day, would be non-sense to recruit staff for it.

For these one-off jobs, the best call is to hire a virtual assistant.

2 — When There Are Repetitive And Non-Core Tasks

Entrepreneurs often spend a humongous amount of time on auxiliary tasks, like answering simple questions from their social media pages or benchmarking competitor’s prices.

It is easy to instruct a virtual assistant to do these repetitive, non-core tasks for you. By doing this, you will free extra time to use on core activities and develop your business.

How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Business? Going directly to the point, here are some tasks VAs can perform:

Bookkeeping.
Payroll calculation, updating salaries on excel sheets, etc.
Database entry and updates (contacts, leads, etc.)
Record and send invoices.
Format reports on sales, hours, costs, etc.
Manage the spam folder of your e-mail inbox.
Organize support tickets
Calendar administration: update and manage important meetings and events.
Convert, split or merge PPT, PDF, or DOC files.
Proofreading.
Keyword research.
Competitor analysis (prices, products, etc.) according to a defined template.
Replicate and share posts on social media.
Basic photo and video editing (split, merge, add soundtracks, etc).
Prepare and upload files to YouTube.
Transcription of videos and audio.
Contact clients about late payments.
Train other virtual assistants to execute similar tasks.

What is the price of a virtual assistant?

They gave their prices by the hour and will vary according to the level of sophistication.

Some examples:

A VA with good qualifications for a simple data-entry / copy-paste job: $5/hour
A VA for basic issues with WordPress: $5/hour
A VA for Amazon FBA listing: $10/hour
A VA with top qualifications for Amazon Seller Center Account Management: $30/hour

Conclusion about how a virtual assistant can help your business.

The Math of How Many Hours (or Money) You Will Earn

Let’s calculate how much you will save by hiring a VA, taking my case as an example.

When I hired a virtual assistant, I freed time to write.

Now I spend around 40 hours per month writing on Medium. Dividing my average Medium earnings (approx. $1350 per month), I discover that my average income per hour writing here is $33.75.

Before hiring a VA, I could spend a maximum of 20 hours per month on my articles.

I hired her to work 20 hours per month at a cost of $100. These hours were now free on my schedule. I increased my Medium income (again considering average values since it has drastic variations) by $675.

A net increase of $575 per month. Besides, she is doing a job at least as good, if not better, than I was doing.

What are you waiting to hire your VA?

If you are an entrepreneur or is planning to start a business, here are some other articles that may be useful to you:

5 Books Every Entrepreneur Must Read This Year

The 7 Best Business Channels on YouTube in 2021

How to Rank Website on Google First Page

As an entrepreneur, the help I found on Fiverr and Freelancer.com was essential for a smooth beginning.

To Join Fiverr and start with a $20 Bonus, Click Here.

Join Freelancer using this link and earn a USD20 discount on your first purchase