Business

10 Areas of Operation Your Business Needs to Improve

Published

5 years ago

September 23, 2020

Most businesses operate inefficiently in at least some ways, but how can you tell which areas need improvement, and how can you improve them? Identifying these problem areas and working to fix them is vital if you want your business to succeed.

In this guide, we’ll discuss how to improve the areas of your business that are struggling the most, and the areas that can most benefit from improvement.

How to Improve a Business

In the next section, we’ll discuss 10 of the operating areas most likely to need improvement. But how can you plan to improve something you didn’t even know was inefficient?

According to Chicago management consulting firm AArete, one of the most important concepts is quantification. You need to be able to quantify your goals, measure your current performance, apply changes, and measure how your performance changes; if you can objectively measure an improvement, you’ll know your strategies were successful. Quantification is easier in some contexts than others; for example, you may be able to increase sales from $2 million per year to $2.8 million per year, or you may be able to cut hours wasted from 100 per week to 40 per week. In any case, you’ll need to have some way to track your performance, before and after your strategic changes.

As for the specific tactics meant to “improve” a certain area of your business, those will vary depending on the area you’re working on and what you’re trying to achieve.

Key Areas to Improve

These are some of the most common areas of operation that businesses need to improve:

Goals and strategic imperatives. First, you may need to address your high-level goals and strategic imperatives. Oftentimes, businesses struggle simply because they don’t have direction—or because their direction is poorly defined. For example, let’s say your business has been stagnant for a few years, seeing little to no growth; which goals are you trying to meet, and which strategies are you applying to achieve those goals? If you have a lack of specificity, or if your goals are somehow untenable, the stagnation is unsurprising.
Expense management. Chances are, your business is spending more money than it needs to in at least one area. You may have hired too many people too quickly, you may be overpaying for your lease or your utilities, or your cost of raw materials may be exorbitant. Identifying and trimming down these expenses will help you operate in a lean (and profitable) way.
Financial tracking and monitoring. Most businesses have an accounting department responsible for keeping track of their spending and revenue, but that’s not a guarantee that you’re tracking things correctly. If you’re not actively looking at the right trends, or if you’re not tracking every dollar precisely, it could come back to hurt you.
Marketing and advertising. One of the most reliable ways to grow a business is through marketing and advertising, but there are a lot of ways your marketing strategy can go wrong. You can pursue the wrong target audience, invest in the wrong strategies, or simply overspend on your campaign, ruining your ROI. It’s important to take a critical look at your marketing and advertising strategies, analyzing them for effectiveness and bottom-line value to your business. Weed out the tactics that don’t work and keep experimenting with new ones.
Data analytics. Data is becoming increasingly important for modern businesses, thanks to competitive pressure and more accessible technology. But to use data effectively, you have to gather the right data, use the right tools, and apply the right types of analyses. For inexperienced businesses, this can be overwhelming; inaccurate data, poor analytics, or incomplete tools can compromise an otherwise promising data analytics strategy.
Competition analysis. Most businesses start out with a business plan that sketches out a competitive analysis, but your competition analysis shouldn’t end here. In fact, you should be analyzing your competition constantly. If you’re not actively watching what your competitors are doing and finding new ways to outcompete them, you’re quickly going to become outclassed by your rivals.
Sales. Depending on the nature of your organization, you’ll also need to worry about sales. How are your salespeople spending the hours of their day? How many sales are they closing, compared to how many leads they’re getting? How can you help your team land more sales while simultaneously improving their time efficiency?
Employee morale and motivation. Employee performance is important, but so is employee retention. Too many businesses neglect employee morale and motivation as critical factors for success. What are your employees thinking and feeling? Are they satisfied with their working conditions and with their potential for the future? How can you make them feel better about their positions?
Communication efficiency. Few organizations are operating at peak communicative efficiency. In some cases, businesses are plagued by poor communication habits, from time-wasting meetings to emails without subject lines. In other cases, the root cause is a lack of access to the right tools and technologies to support good communication. No matter what, it’s your job to improve communicative efficiency, reduce miscommunications, and ensure nothing gets lost in the process.
Inter-departmental collaboration. Too often, departments within large organizations turn into isolated silos; the people within those departments become self-contained, and each department develops its own micro-culture and communication styles. Accordingly, departments find it more difficult to collaborate and communicate with each other. Some departments, like sales and marketing, need each other to thrive, so it’s imperative to break these silo barriers down. You can do this with a mix of strategies, including cross-training, hybrid roles, and departmental blending.

Even after addressing these common areas, there will always be room for improving your business. There will be old inefficiencies to address, new techniques and technologies to experiment with, and inventive ways to transform your business. The most successful companies are the ones that remain perpetually adaptable, constantly evolving in response to new conditions and improving their overall functionality.

Business

Remote Professionals Getting More Value for Their Work Thanks to Borderless Banking

Published

15 hours ago

July 10, 2025

Matthew Wiles

Not too long ago, the idea of working remotely from an island in Thailand or a co-working space in Berlin sounded like the kind of fantasy only tech moguls or backpacking freelancers could afford.

Fast forward to today, and it’s as good as a global reality. Millions of professionals have cut the cord from traditional office life in exchange for flexibility, freedom, and a work-life balance that fits their personal rhythm and not their employer’s timezone.

However, as remote work has reshaped how people earn a living, it’s also pointed out the existing limits to most of the world’s financial systems. Traditional banking simply wasn’t built for a workforce that’s always on the move, operating in multiple currencies, and getting paid across borders.

Thankfully, that’s where borderless banking like Black Banx have proven vital, and has quietly transformed the way money is managed for people vacationing and working overseas alike.

The Rise of the Remote Work Economy

Remote work isn’t just a pandemic-era trend that faded with Zoom fatigue—it’s become a defining feature of the modern workforce. A recent survey revealed that over 39% of Gen Z and Millennials planned to live and work abroad for extended periods this year, many staying six months or more in a single location. That’s beyond a short trip, and can be considered as good as a sabbatical with a substantial lifestyle shift.

According to recent estimates, the digital nomad economy now also contributes as much as US$787 billion annually to the global economy. And this isn’t just entry-level gig work. A third of digital nomads earn between US$100,000 and US$250,000, while another third take in US$50,000 to US$100,000 annually.

It is indeed evident that the manner in which many make a living has changed. Unfortunately, most financial systems haven’t kept up.

Where Traditional Banks Are Still Falling Short

For those who have ever tried to open a bank account abroad or receive payment from a foreign client, they already know the drill: the paperwork is endless, delays are frustrating, and the fees? So much to do, even for the smallest amounts of money.

Just to name few of the hurdles remote workers still face with conventional banking:

Account setup restrictions: Need proof of residence, tax IDs, or a local job offer—things many digital nomads simply don’t have.
Slow international transfers: Payments can take days to process, which is a nightmare when rent’s due.
High foreign exchange fees: Currency conversions often come with steep, hidden costs.
Limited multi-currency support: Most banks still force users to operate in a single currency, making financial planning chaotic at best.

And perhaps most tellingly, many banks have digitized their operations but haven’t personalized their services. According to Accenture’s 2025 Banking Trends Report, while digital transformation has improved efficiency, it often sacrifices the customer experience. That’s not great news for people who live outside the lines.

Borderless Banking for Professionals Across the Globe

The concept of borderless banking goes far beyond wiring money internationally. Fundamentally, it’s also about being able to eliminate the friction between people and their money, no matter where they are in the world, and maintaining an ecosystem where geography, bureaucracy, and currency don’t stand in the way of financial freedom.

A working example of this is Black Banx, a Toronto-based fintech founded by German billionaire Michael Gastauer. Since launching globally in 2015, it has grown to serve over 78 million clients in 180+ countries as of Q1 2025, proof that people take to digital banking solutions when it is accessible, affordable, and is useful in just about any locale.

In the first three months of this year, Black Banx had also earned US$4.3 billion in revenue and US$1.6 billion in pre-tax profit, more than double from the same quarter the previous year and showing it has consistently delivered tangible value to global customers—remote professionals included

How Borderless Banking Maximizes Value for Remote Workers

1. Instant Account Access—No Strings Attached

The times of hunting down local branches or collecting endless documents just to open an account are finished. With borderless banks, users can open an account in minutes using just a photo ID—no proof of address or income required. That’s a lifesaver for anyone living outside their passport country or hopping from one location to another.

2. Multi-Currency Mastery

Managing money in multiple currencies used to mean juggling several accounts—or worse, losing money on conversions. Borderless platforms like Black Banx support 28 FIAT currencies and allow real-time currency conversions at competitive rates. That means remote workers can:

Invoice clients in one currency
Spend or save in another
Hedge against local currency fluctuations
Avoid excessive conversion fees altogether

3. Seamless, Real-Time Global Payments

Getting paid late, or paying others late, isn’t just inconvenient; it can damage relationships and disrupt your cash flow. With real-time payment support, remote workers can receive funds instantly, no matter where their clients are. This is particularly valuable for freelancers and entrepreneurs juggling multiple contracts across time zones.

Plus, bulk payment features and API integration streamline processes for those running teams or businesses.

4. Built-In Crypto Options

It isn’t surprising that many digital nomads are already deep into crypto. Whether it’s for investment, faster transactions, or avoiding traditional finance red tape, crypto is becoming essential.

Since 2016, Black Banx has allowed users to send, receive, and convert crypto (like BTC and ETH) within their accounts. That integration saves users from having to manage separate crypto wallets, and adds another layer of flexibility to their financial toolkit.

5. Secure Transactions

Remote workers often log in to work from cafés, coworking spaces, and airports, to name a few. Of course, this flexibility of being able to work almost anywhere should never come at the cost of security. Borderless banks like Black Banx use end-to-end encryption, AI fraud detection, and two-factor authentication to keep accounts safe from risky elements.

Financial Freedom, Not Just Convenience

Perhaps the most overlooked benefit of borderless banking is the freedom it provides. Not just to access money, but to fully participate in the global economy. For millions of professionals in underbanked regions like Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, borderless banking has become a gateway to financial inclusion and a way to take on opportunities that typically wouldn’t be available to them if not remote.

By removing barriers to entry, platforms like Black Banx empower underserved individuals to both take control of their finances and increase their earning power by working with companies from higher paying markets. This democratization of finance isn’t just good for individuals, it’s good for the global economy as a whole.

As Black Banx CEO Michael Gastauer put it: “Our multi-currency solutions enable businesses to tap into global talent without worrying about payment complexities. We make cross-border transactions as seamless as local ones.”

The Road Ahead

By 2030, the number of digital nomads worldwide is expected to soar past 60 million, according to the Forbes Technology Council. That means tens of millions of workers will be navigating foreign currencies, time zones, and financial systems—all while expecting the same seamless experience they’d get at home.

Indeed, remote professionals aren’t just looking for places to work—they’re looking for systems that work for them. In a lifestyle built on flexibility, traditional banking is proving too rigid, too slow, and too expensive.

Borderless banking services like those offered by the likes of Black Banx, on the other hand, offer exactly what today’s global workforce needs: instant access, multi-currency support, real-time payments, crypto integration, and enterprise-level security—all in a streamlined experience.