The entrepreneur is mainly known in Russia and all over the world as the founder of Vesta LLC, one of the largest Russian companies importing sanitary engineering and its components. But he also owns several subsidiaries, and Valtecб the separate sanitary products brand which includes a full production cycle and quality control testing lab.

Pavel Eduardovich Melnikov registered in Russian state-owned organization ROSPATENT over 100 patents; at least two branches of his business empire consistently remain the absolute leaders in commodity turnover over the last few decades. But how exactly did he manage to reach such success, especially in a very specific area of sanitary engineering producing and sailing?

The beginning of his life and business path

Pavel Melnikov was born in St. Petersburg (former Leningrad city) on August 7, 1964, and graduated with honors from the Leningrad Electrotechnical College in 1983, where he got a specialty on electrical equipment for industrial enterprises and units. After two years of compulsory military service, he entered the Leningrad Mechanical Institute (now it is called the Baltic State Technical University «VOENMEH» named after D.F. Ustinov) specializing in the radio-electronic devices, and graduated from there with honors degree too in 1989.

His first job was the position of computing machines electrician at Burevestnik Research and Production Enterprise. Then he was a dispatcher in a house-building industrial company in his hometown. During this period, Melnikov at first came up with idea to go into the private business in plumbing repair sector. That’s how Vesta LLC was born. Later, he opened Dedal Company JSC, an even bigger company with the same specialization.

But the real success came to Pavel Eduardovich Melnikov only after creating the Valtec trademark, as it was almost completely based on his own innovations and inventions. This brand brilliantly coped with the task of reconciling the peculiarities of sanitary engineering products made abroad with domestic conditions of their use.

Pavel Eduardovich Melnikov and His biggest victories

One of Melnikov’s companies, NovaTerm LLC was created to adjust communications between his local business and Italian manufacturers of heating equipment that he supplied to the Russian market. Over time, it has grown to one of the largest importers of sanitary products from around the world to the Russian Federation. Now, his business is represented throughout Russia, especially in St. Petersburg (which is naturally) and Moscow regions (that’s a new field he won from competitors).

All the products his companies produce are properly licensed and tested for quality in Melnikov’s own testing lab. He makes regular and generous investment in commercial real estate building in St. Petersburg. Plus, he actively develops completely new for his business empire production sites in Serbia, not to mention his participation in operation and development of several plants in China producing sanitary engineering products and components.

There are few things that can affect your brand as much as dealing with a major security breach. Having to contact your clients to inform them that their information has been compromised will be all it takes for them to decide not to work with you. You may also be open to lawsuits, which is why having a secure website should be a priority and something you always pay attention to. Let’s take a look at a few ways that you can make your business website as secure as possible.

Choose the Right Platform

If this is an eCommerce website, the platform you choose will make a big difference. Sure, you can always use WordPress, but it isn’t the best option if you want to handle transactions and customer information safely. If you want to sell products, then use an eCommerce platform. Also, make sure that it has a solid reputation for security. Magento and Shopify are two of the best in that category, so if you were looking for a safe and stable platform, you should give both of these a try.

Find Safe Web Hosting

If you want to self-host your website, you have to make sure that the host you pick offers good security. Don’t make the mistake of going for the absolute cheapest option. You want to go with a hosting service that can protect their servers from attacks. Also, look for those who offer additional perks like SSL encryption.

Having SSL will ensure that the connection between your customers’ devices and your website is secure. This is essential for transactional sites, but all websites can benefit from using it, as it can protect your site from data theft and make it less vulnerable to viruses.

Have a Clear Privacy Policy

You need to make sure that you handle your customers’ information correctly and that you have a clear privacy policy on your website. You don’t have to pay someone to create one for you, however. There are many privacy policy generators that you can use. Find a great one for your business, and you could have a perfect privacy policy for your website in minutes.

Be Careful with Passwords

You also have to make sure that you use your passwords wisely and that they’re secure. This is especially important to those of you who are using WordPress due to its one-tiered identification system. 

Hackers use software that can analyze thousands of different password variations in seconds, so don’t make things easy for them. You want to make sure that your passwords are at least 12 characters long and include one number and a symbol. You can use symbols to mimic letters; for example, you could use @ instead of A or a hashtag instead of an H. Make sure that you change your password for every account and database. You don’t want hackers to be able to access everything with just one cracked password.

Be Careful with Plugins

This is again very important for those who will be using WordPress. Add-ons are one of the most common entryways through which hackers or malicious programs can attack your website. So, before you use a plugin, you have to do your research.

Check what people have had to say about it, as well as the number of downloads and the reviews. You should also pay special attention to when was the last time it was updated. If a site has been neglected for a while, this may be a sign that some vulnerabilities haven’t been patched. And you better believe that someone will take advantage of this if given a chance. So, make sure that your plugins are current and updated often.

As you can see, securing your website doesn’t have to be so complicated after all. Making sure that you host it correctly and take the steps to make sure that your customers’ data is protected are the most important steps, but you have to regularly monitor your website and make adjustments so you can constantly improve its security.

There are so many things to remember when planning anything in life, but this could not be truer when planning to open your own business. From the idea stage through to the grand opening, big and small details must be taken into consideration. For some budding entrepreneurs, they are being faced with the tough dilemma: do they open a business amid another national lockdown or ride the storm and wait until the seas a bit calmer. While the idea of opening a business during the current restrictions might be a business owners’ worst nightmare, we are confident that there are some people out there who are itching to jump at the challenge and to make the most of the lull in the market.

If you are one of these risk-taking, thrill-seeking company owners, you have come to the right place! We have listed below a helpful guide of the must-have digital tools for setting up a business. While there are usually physical tools required for these setting-up processes, in line with current government restrictions regarding lockdown, online tools are the focus for today. Get that pen and notepad ready and read on for more!

Website Hosting and Content

The first and most important aspect of running a business online is much like having a physical business; you need somewhere to base your business from. Having a company website is an excellent place to start and will provide your business with the means to access the online business world proactively and effectively. You cannot promote a business online if there is nothing to show for it! Several different digital tools are available for building websites, with the most common including the likes of WordPress and Squarespace.

Both website designing software come with a variety of customisation tools, allowing you to create a website that reflects your company’s products and services in the way you want them to. While it is crucial to have access to tools that allow the customisation and development of a website, you will also require the means for hosting a website on a server, allowing your website to be produced for the customer upon searching. These are the first steps to launching your business in the online world, which will benefit your growth in the long-term.

Social Media Management

In tandem with launching a website, you will want to ensure that you also have social media accounts set up. Not only does this allow you to extend the reach of your business and its brand, but it provides you with an excellent opportunity for corresponding with customers and a wider audience while building levels of rapport with them. Social media business posts can be both engaging but possess a call-to-action, encouraging the audience to go to your website – which should always be linked on the social media channels – and to purchase or hire the products and services you are providing.

While social media is an excellent and free digital tool, it can often seem time-consuming, especially when planning the posts’ content and the schedule for which they will be posted. This detail might not seem important to some, but it does affect how successful a post is. By using digital tools such as Hootsuite, you can monitor the traffic that is on each social media post, enabling you to alter your schedule to post when your audience is most active. What’s more, you can schedule social media posts in advance, so you won’t need to spend your evenings sorting that out!

Internal, Everyday Use Digital Tools

Microsoft Office is the staple in many businesses worldwide and provides many packages to suit a variety of tasks. While some have grown up using Microsoft, others might be at the beginning of their journey of learning about the ins and outs. Companies far and wide provide personal and professional support when setting up Office and Office 365 for home or business. Regardless of whether you have a large or small company, there are packages out there suitable for you and your business’s needs. Whether you are searching for Office 365 Edinburgh support or Office 365 support in Exeter, there is something out there for you! Texaport is an example of a company that provides Office 365 set up and support to businesses big and small, teaching you and your employees all you need to know about using this helpful digital tool. Perfect for the online, working-from-home environment we are once again faced with, this is a cost-efficient digital tool for your business in the long term and one that is an asset to any company.

Communication and Correspondence

While e-mails are useful for transferring documents and information, there are often times when we wish that we could discuss something face-to-face, rather than in writing. With more people than ever working from home than ever before, usage of Skype, Zoom, and other video calling platforms has increased exponentially. Digital tools like this enable you to communicate with the broader workforce at a click of a button and ensure that inter-department communication levels remain high. Allowing the workforce to stay connected, even while apart, is vital to not only the business but to your employees also. Ensuring that they manage their workloads okay and have adequate support during unprecedented times, such as the present, is paramount as a business owner. Not to mention, these digital tools can also be utilised when wanting to have a social function as a team. Zoom quiz, anyone?

While these digital tools are crucial to everyday working life, they will also be necessary when businesses eventually make it back to the offices. Some companies are considering using working from home more in the future, and therefore, these digital tools will be necessary then just as much as they are now. Investing in these digital tools is sure to pay off in the long term and be cost-efficient too. The work completed as a result of the digital tools being in place is sure to pay off the cost in no time!

In a business world that is becoming increasingly competitive, retaining the best employees is becoming harder. Job hopping is becoming increasingly common, especially as millennials enter the workforce. In understanding that retaining your best employees is key to the long-term success of your business, you need to do everything you can to ensure they do not leave. In this article, we will look at how you can do exactly that.

Hire the Right People

Hiring the right employees for the right position is the first step in ensuring they remain in your business. If people do not feel like they are doing the job they got hired for or signed up for, they may start thinking about leaving.

This is why it is so important to ensure job descriptions are as detailed as possible. Then, businesses should ensure their hiring procedure is thorough enough to ensure the candidates who end up in the advertised positions are perfectly suited for those positions.

Optimise Their Benefits

These days, employee benefits are becoming as important as salary packages when it comes to not only attracting the best employees, but also keeping them. Although some standard benefits apply to all employees, like life and health insurance, a one-size-fits-all approach is likely to backfire on you.

Employees are increasingly looking for benefits that are tailored to them and their needs. A good example is looking at the needs of in-office and remote employees. While remote employees might need support getting the right workstations and equipment, in-office employees might not.

Managing different benefits packages for different employees can be an administrative nightmare, and this is why more businesses are turning to software such as the employee benefits platform from Zest benefits. These platforms are designed to help companies manage employee benefits by not only making it easy to select different benefits for different employees, but also making it easy for employees to see and understand the benefits they get.

Provide a Career Ladder

No one wants to feel stuck and if you do not show employees that there is room for growth and upward mobility, they might start looking for other opportunities. You have to show them that they have a future within the company and how they can make that future a reality.

Offering career development and mentorship opportunities are great ways to keep talented employees. Both of these help them to acquire more skills and show them a path of progress to get from where they are to where they want to go.

Create a Great Work Environment

A poor work environment is one of the top reasons why people move on to other companies. A great work environment makes people feel included as it celebrates diversity. This is perhaps one of the reasons why open and shared workspaces are becoming common in many businesses.

A great work environment also ensures employees enjoy where they work, spending time with fellow employees as well as their work. If you have additional facilities and amenities such as free coffee and snacks, fitness centres for businesses where employees are required to sit for long hours, or a Zen room, going to the office will not feel like a chore for your employees.

Ensure Proper Work-Life Balance

Employees have a life outside work and businesses that understand this have a better chance of retaining their top talent. If your employees need to come to the office early and leave late every day, they will start looking for other opportunities.

With how hard it is becoming to retain good employees due to the popularity of job hopping, businesses have to find ways to ensure it does not happen. Retaining your best employees will take some effort but, if done correctly, the benefits are massive for your business.

The pandemic has completely upended the world of work, with the rate of unemployment shooting up as economies go in and out of lockdowns. Even with measures like furlough schemes in place, swathes of people have been left in an uncertain position when it comes to job security. According to the UN, worldwide working hours fell by 14% in the second quarter of 2020 alone, equivalent to a loss of 400 million full-time jobs.

However, despite all of this, there are actually some career paths that are thriving during these uncertain times. So, if COVID-19 has forced an occupation change due to a lack of opportunities in your current sector, here are three jobs you should be considering.

1.    Developer

One of the safest bets in the current climate is to learn how to code, as the demand for developers remains high, regardless of the pandemic. “Coding skills are still a job market safe haven,” Romain Paillard, cofounder of coding bootcamp organiser Le Wagon, told Sifted. “I think tech companies in the current crisis are going to focus on improving the quality of their product — that’s going to boost the importance of developers even more.” And this bears out in reality, with two times as many developer vacancies as job seekers in the first quarter of 2020. With so many online courses out there, it’s possible to learn coding within just three months, while you may be able to teach yourself in only six. As such, getting on the developer career ladder can be unexpectedly simple to do, and tends to pay well too.

When deciding which sector to work in after you’ve skilled up, a SAP-based business could be a sensible move. The German cloud software is involved in 77% of all worldwide business transactions, and demand for developers with SAP expertise continues to rise. According to tech careers website Dice, the occupation has the highest projected growth of job listings requiring SAP skills. Consequently, you’re more than likely to find a role within the industry, and there are many specialist SAP recruitment agencies to help jobseekers with their search.

2.    Data analyst

Another job seemingly immune to the effects of the coronavirus crisis is data analyst. Research by Burtch Works and International Institute for Analytics has found that 42.1% of data analysts have felt no negative impacts in terms of layoffs or furloughs because of the pandemic. A further 7.6% reported an increase in team hiring during COVID-19, and 67.7% of respondents were positive about their professional situation generally. This boils down to the fact that “45% of organisations are keeping analytics front and centre” of their operations, this being key to navigating the crisis. So, if you’re good with numbers, becoming a data analyst could be a solid career choice.

Although many entry-level vacancies will require a degree in mathematics, statistics, or economics, certain skills will help you land a data analyst role regardless. These include proficiency in popular programming languages like R, Python or C++, the ability to manage and manipulate data, and experience in using software like Excel. There are also many online data analysis courses available that can give you the know-how you need. In terms of the best industry to work in as a data analyst, hackr.io lists market research, financial and sales companies as some where the demand for these skills are highest.

3.    Healthcare worker

With the World Health Organization’s State of the World’s Nursing report revealing that there was a global shortage of just under six million nurses even before the pandemic was declared, there were already plenty of opportunities available in the healthcare industry. This situation has naturally worsened over the last twelve months, as healthcare systems buckled under the strain of increased admissions. For example, there are now around 40,000 nursing vacancies in the UK, while a fifth of US hospitals are short on staff, meaning you’ll find more openings than ever in the sector. Working in the healthcare industry also has many broader benefits, including career progression, the chance to do good and help people every single day, and generous pay and benefits, particularly within the private sector. One option is being a travelling nurse in New York!

Although you would need to undergo extensive education and training to take up certain healthcare roles, like a registered nurse, surgeon or pediatrician, many have very few requirements at all. These include jobs such as healthcare assistants, medical assistants and home health aides. As such, you can start a healthcare career pretty quickly, and work your way up in no time.