Dr. Matthew Wallack's Travel Diary

Posted on March 25, 2024

Navigating the New Normal: Aligning Traditional Businesses with Technological Innovations

Technology constantly evolves, and businesses are forced to adapt to the changes to keep up with the competition. We have seen a major shift towards digitalization and technology-driven innovations in recent years. Experts consider that this has been further accelerated by the global pandemic, which has completely changed our way of living and conducting business.

As traditional businesses struggle to survive in this new landscape, it has become crucial for them to embrace technological advancements and incorporate them into their strategies. Raja Younas will discuss the importance of aligning traditional businesses with technological innovations to navigate the new normal and stay ahead in today’s competitive market.

Adapting to the New Normal

The New Normal is a complex ecosystem shaped by an amalgamation of global forces, from pandemics that accelerated digital adoption to market disruptors challenging long-standing business paradigms.

Consumer behavior is more dynamic than ever. The rise of digital natives and the increasing purchasing power of millennials have shifted preferences towards experiences and convenience. Understanding these shifts is paramount for staying relevant.

Technology is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity to meet evolving consumer demands. Businesses that cater to these changing needs are surviving and thriving, showing how technological innovations are the backbone of growth.

The Importance of Embracing Technological Innovations

Traditional businesses that fail to embrace technological innovations risk falling behind their competitors and becoming irrelevant. Here are some key reasons why traditional businesses must adapt to technology to thrive in the new normal:

Improved Efficiency: Technology can automate and streamline various tasks, helping businesses save time and resources. This allows employees to focus on more important tasks and increases overall efficiency.

Enhanced Customer Experience: With the rise of e-commerce and online services, customers now expect a seamless digital experience from businesses. By incorporating technology, traditional businesses can meet these expectations and provide a better customer experience.

Competitive Advantage: Businesses embracing technology have a competitive edge over those that do not. They can innovate faster, improve their processes, and offer better products and services, giving them an advantage in the market.

Cost Savings: While investing in technology may seem expensive initially, it can ultimately lead to cost savings in the long run. With automated processes and improved efficiency, businesses can reduce operational costs and increase profits.

How to Align Traditional Businesses with Technological Innovations

Now that we understand the importance of embracing technology, the question arises – how can traditional businesses align themselves with these innovations? Here are a few steps that businesses can take:

Conduct a Technology Audit: Begin by assessing your current technology infrastructure and identifying areas that need improvement. This will help you understand the technologies that most benefit your business.

Invest in Training: To incorporate new technology successfully, employees must be trained to use it effectively. Consider investing in training programs to ensure your team has the necessary skills.

Collaborate with Tech Companies: Traditional businesses can benefit from collaborating with tech companies and startups specializing in e-commerce, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. This allows them to leverage cutting-edge technologies without having to build them in-house.

Embrace a Culture of Innovation: To truly align with technological innovations, businesses must foster innovation and adaptability. This means being open to change and continuously seeking ways to improve processes and strategies.

Benefits for Traditional Businesses

Technology integration offers many benefits for those willing to adapt, from efficiency improvements to expanded market reach.

Enhanced Operational Efficiency: Technology can streamline processes, leading to dramatic efficiency gains allowing businesses to do more with less.

Improved Customer Engagement and Satisfaction: Tech-enabled services’ personalization capabilities can create deeper customer connections, fostering loyalty and advocacy.

Access to New Markets and Business Opportunities: Technological integration can open doors to new markets and partnerships, enabling businesses to explore uncharted territories for growth.

Final Thoughts

Technology constantly evolves, and traditional businesses must evolve to stay relevant and competitive in the new normal. Raja Imran Younas believes by embracing technological innovations, businesses can improve efficiency, enhance customer experience, and gain a competitive advantage. Businesses need to conduct a technology audit, invest in training, collaborate with tech companies, and foster a culture of innovation to align themselves with these advancements. Adapting to the ever-changing technological landscape can help traditional businesses thrive in today’s market.

Posted on January 22, 2021

Five Adventure Travelers to Follow on YouTube This Year

At certain times in your life, you may want to go on an adventure and travel to new places. While adventures can be fun, they can also be dangerous. Due to this, you may want to experience an adventure through a video. Let’s look at five different adventure travelers you can watch on YouTube and enjoy their content.

Marc Zboch

Marc Zboch takes a different approach from the other adventure travelers on YouTube, which makes him unique. Instead of posting vlog-like videos on his channel, he has short clips that give examples of fun adventures he goes on. This way, you can get a taste of his life and the different things he does.

For example, Marc has a video where he encounters a shark underwater and another one where he records himself skydiving. On the other hand, he has another video where he makes a balloon animal while standing on a slackline. He may not have that many videos, but he’s one to keep your eye on for updates and content.

Gabriel Traveler

Gabriel Traveler focuses on showing you isolated locations throughout the world. He takes a vlog approach when it comes to his videos: he shows the areas, talks about how he got there and discusses everything you need to know. This information makes these videos great for people interested in seeing sights around the world that they wouldn’t normally come across.

He provides lots of information about the area when he visits them, so if you want to visit soon, you can use that information. He spends lots of time at beaches in various countries and he’s willing to ride a bike to areas that interest him. If you want to focus on the natural beauty of traveling, then Gabriel might a great option.

The Adventure Travelers

This channel focuses on a couple that likes to travel and go on hikes around the world. From hiking the North Rim Grand Canyon to Boondocking in Utah, they will give you a variety of experiences. They focus on giving you a first-person perspective during these trips, so this will let you see what these areas can offer to you.

Even though many of their videos happen in the United States, they will also visit other countries. They put a heavy focus on hiking and spending time near the ocean. Some of their videos even involve seeing things like sea lions in San Diego, so if you want to see beautiful landscapes, this is the channel for you.

Ryan Brown

Ryan Brown makes things interesting by using a drone to show off different landscapes. Many of his videos show the landscape and adventures from the ground level, but you can also check out drone videos if they interest you. He will go on hikes, visit other countries and go on road trips.

Ryan Brown likes to offer advice to people interested in doing what he does. For example, he has a video about how to improve your channel and how he started adventuring full time. He also posts supercuts that show the different places he travels to, so if you don’t want to watch all of his videos, you can watch his recaps.

High on Life

High On Life used to post a lot of videos, but they went on hiatus for a year. However, they recently returned and started posting videos this year, so you should watch their videos. Their vlogs focus on giving information on their locations and enjoying their time in the wild as friends.

If you want to enjoy a group of friends spending time together while going on adventures, this would be a solid choice. Since they recently started posting videos again, you can see some of their new travels, such as visiting Mexico and other locations. You should watch them and see what they will bring to the table this year.

Conclusion

If you don’t have time to travel, or you worry about some of the dangers involved, you can enjoy those experiences through these videos. These various YouTubers will provide you with multiple videos, so you can see the different adventures they all go on. Make sure you subscribe and check on them to see their new videos.

Posted on April 16, 2020

Daniel Doyle Pleasantville NY Shares Why You Should Travel While Growing Your Virtual Business

When you want to grow a virtual business, you might have been led to believe that you can sit at home and never travel. You must, however, travel, meet clients, and grow your business organically even if it is a virtual business. There are a few tips below that show why you should travel while growing your virtual business.

Traveling Helps Break Up The Monotony Of Working From Home

Daniel Doyle Pleasantville NY says that working from home can be both rewarding and challenging. It can be difficult to get out of your home routine because you like being at home, but you should travel to meet with clients, generate more business, and work with people directly.

Traveling Allows You To See The World

When you travel for business, you can see the world while you are building your business. You can create a business that focuses on global customers, and you can see amazing things when you meet those global customers. Daniel Doyle Pleasantville NY encourages business owners to find clients around the world because that gives you a good reason to see new places.

You Can See Family And Friends

When you are traveling to different parts of the world, you can meet friends and family along the way. You can meet with the people you love when you are traveling around the world, and you can stay connected to the people that matter. This is especially important because you do not need to leave the house if you have grown a virtual business from home. Even if you have a small office with you and one other employee, you will not get out much. You can see more good people in your life, and they might become interested in your business.

You Can Make Contacts

As you travel for business, you can make contacts that are not the clients you just met with. You might meet a host of other people who would like to work with your business, and you can go to networking events that allow you to meet more business owners or clients.

You might even attend fundraisers or industry events that allow you to meet people who can help you with your business. In most cases, you can make money simply by meeting people. If you have met these people in the past, it is a good reason to reconnect. In fact, they might introduce you to even more people when you reconnect.

You Can Build Frequent Flyer Miles

You can build up your frequent flyer miles for a time when you truly need a free or cheap plane ticket. This is a good way to plan for family vacations, or you could gift those miles to people who truly need them. If you are like one airline more than all the others, you should try to fly with that airline all the time. Your business could even have a credit card that gives you airline miles for the same carrier.

You Can Write Off Some Of Your Expenses

When you are traveling for your business, You can write off many of your expenses. Small business owners often believe that they will need to pay out of their own pocket for all travel. You can pay for travel up front, but you can write off your business expenses at the end of the year. This is a good way to save money, and you can justify certain trips you need to take because you can deduct those expenses from your income taxes.

If you need an employee to travel with you, you can write off their expenses at the same time. You can teach your employees how to manage part of your business, or you can introduce them to the contacts that you have around the country. You are investing in your employees so that they can grow, and you can write off all their expenses at the end of the year.

You Can Make Promises In Person

Some people will not do business with you unless you have met them in person. Because of this, you must travel to their location to make those promises in face-to-face meetings. Work with your clients to determine the best time to visit them, and they can give you what you want during your meetings. You can close deals faster, and you can save money that you would have otherwise lost because you were not traveling.

Conclusion

When you are trying to grow your virtual business, you must be open to traveling. You can use the advice above to build your company quickly. You can write off many of your expenses, network with the right people, and close business deals on the road. You can also meet friends and family, see the world, and become a well-rounded person

Posted on November 20, 2019

Hallie Gay Walden Bagley Was Featured On Rookstool Interviews

Hallie Gay Walden Bagley was featured on Rookstool Interviews where she discussed how she first got into her industry.

It was providence. I used my interest in what goes on with others under the surface (you can call it psychoanalysis if you will) and my skill with words and belief in education to give me the idea of what I love to do, helping coach students through their college process. It’s the combination of the two that really elevates my execution. However, certainly those 6 years at The Paris Review, as managing editor putting out a literary quarterly and working with very talented writers, that certainly had a lot to do with everything.
Hallie Gay Walden Bagley, Rookstool Interviews

You can read the full interview by visiting: https://www.rookstoolinterviews.com/hallie-gay-walden-bagley/

Posted on October 23, 2019

Grand Canyon Advisors Shares The Best Credit Cards For Travel Points

With so many credit cards to choose from, it can be hard to decide what kind of rewards you want. While most reward cards are going to require a high credit score, one of the best rewards you can choose are travel points. Not only is this great for those that already travel a lot, but it’s also really good for those that want to earn points for future vacations with every day purchases. With that being the case, this article is going to look at 5 of the best credit cards for travel points that are recommended by leaders of the industry, like Grand Canyon Advisors.

The Platinum Card from American Express

Even though this card has an annual fee of $550, it’s well worth it. Not only is there the chance that you’ll get a welcome bonus of 60,000 travel points, but you can also get 5x membership rewards on flights booked through American Express and prepaid hotels through the American Express travel site. In addition, the card has a yearly credit of $200 for airlines, $200 for Uber, $100 for Saks Fifth Avenue and a Global Entry or TSA Pre Check fee waiver every 4 years.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

You could also get the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. One of the biggest benefits of this card is that the rewards can be transferred to several different frequent flyer and hotel reward programs. This means you can use your points on more than just one spot. In addition, if you redeem your points for traveling, you get a bonus of 25%! After you spend $4,000 in the first three months of having the card, you’ll get 60,000 travel points. That’s around $750 of free traveling!

Bank of America Travel Rewards Visa Credit Card

The rewards for this card are extremely easy to earn. If you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days of having the card, you’ll get 25,000 bonus points, which equals about $250. In terms of earning, you can earn 1.5 points for every $1 you spend. There aren’t any specific categories or caps for earning either! If you’re a Bank of America Preferred member, you’ll be able to earn an additional 25%-75%, depending on what tier you are.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

Another great card for travel points is the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card. The great thing about this card is that you can transfer your credits to 12 different partners. This means you can redeem your rewards with multiple different companies. If you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months, you’ll get a bonus of 20,000 reward points, which equals to around $200. Just like other cards on this list, there aren’t any specific categories or caps you have to worry about. You’ll earn 1.25 reward miles for every $1 you spend!

Discover it Miles Credit Card

This card has some pretty nice benefits. For starters, every $1 you spend means you’ll get around 3 reward miles for the first year. This means you can wrack up your rewards pretty quickly. In addition, Discover will match the rewards you earn in your first year. For example, if you earn 35,000 miles in your first year, you’ll actually end up with 70,000! After the first year, you’ll earn 1.5 miles for every $1 spent.

If you want to get a card that’s recommended by well-known companies, like Grand Canyon Advisors, then you should give these a look. While they’re all going to get you travel points, some are going to have better rewards than others. You want to make sure you choose the one that will fit your needs the best

Posted on September 26, 2019

Wink Capital Discusses How to Travel the World Without Racking Up Thousands in Credit Card Debt

With wanderlust becoming a trend amongst 20-somethings and millennials everywhere, more and more people seem to be booking international rendezvous as they jet around the world to dream destinations. Despite this growing trend, many seemingly-happy travelers are taking on debt to fund their adventures. Thankfully, there’s a better way. If you’re interested in seeing the wonders of the world without going into financial ruin, the following four strategies will help you learn to travel while staying debt-free:

1. Save More to Fund Your Travels

The idea of paying out-of-pocket for your travel fees may seem uncomfortable right now, but with a bit of planning and saving, the expenses for your upcoming travel plans will be just another drop in the bucket. Wink Capital shares that financial savvy travel plans should always start with a large chunk of savings. Make sure you have at least three months worth of savings as you gear up for a big trip.

To save more effectively, make a savings account solely dedicated to travel. As you work to grow this savings account, make sure to cut back on some of your everyday expenses so you’re able to save even more for trips.

2. Minimize Costs Where You Can

Another way to afford to travel like a jet setter is to cut back on expenses when traveling. While flying first class and staying in 5-star hotels is indeed a nice way to travel, these aren’t absolute necessities. By making it a point to reduce your basic travel costs, you’ll be able to get more sightseeing in and even divert more money to future travels.

3. Use Credit Card Rewards Wisely

The truth is that most travel bloggers and Instagram influencers aren’t spending their own money to travel. With the right credit card rewards programs, these travelers are transforming their perks into hotel bookings and tickets for flights. If you hope to travel to your heart’s content without shelling out a fortune, Wink Capital recommends looking into the most rewarding credit cards to start earning reward points. Eventually, you’ll earn enough to cash in for flights, hotels, dining experiences, and more.

If you already have a credit card, it’s likely that you’ve already accrued quite a few points. Log into your card’s online portal to get a tally of your points or miles. If you’re lucky, you might already have enough to cover all or part of an upcoming trip.

4. Earn Money as You Travel

The reason why debt becomes a problem for so many world travelers is that a majority of them take off of work while they travel. For those of us that have limited or no paid vacation time, this isn’t an option. If you hope to travel extensively while remaining employed, it’s best to earn money while in the process of traveling.

Whether you work as a freelancer or you take a job abroad as a language teacher, finding a way to fund your travels while you’re actually traveling is one of the best ways to stay debt-free on your adventures. If this is your goal, be sure to search for jobs that allow for remote work. With this kind of freedom, you can work anywhere you have your laptop and access to the Internet.

Debt and world travel don’t have to go hand in hand. If you want to check the world’s hottest destinations off your bucket list, the opportunity is yours. With this guide in mind, you’ll be able to live out your travel fantasies without breaking the bank

Posted on August 7, 2019

7 of the World’s Most Unique Nature Observation Decks

Looking at some of the most extreme deck and dock construction, the following is a list of the world’s most unique outdoor observation decks. All provide jaw-dropping views of our natural world. Some of them will get your adrenaline pumping as well.

Great Wall of China

Arguably, the greatest set of observation decks in the world, the Great Wall of China took 2,000 years to build and snakes over a distance of 5,500 miles. In a really great travel article by the Los Angeles Times, an author explains that the best portions of the Great Wall to carefully climb are the portions of “wild wall” where the wall is in disrepair and crumbling.

Tour guides will supply transportation, countryside lunches, and hikes that take tourists up these sections of the wall, rain or shine or snow. In one of these wild sections of the wall, the author described finding the remains of two brick walls that ran parallel, each 24 feet tall, joined by being filled in with dirt and rock with a layer of brick on the top for a walkway. Spare guard stations occur at each quarter mile. In some locations, tourists can camp overnight on the wall.

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

A trip to Vancouver, Canada will afford you the opportunity to hike high above Vancouver forests on a series of suspension bridges. According to The Metro Vancouver Convention and Visitors Bureau, the first bridge was constructed of hemp spanning 450 feet, suspended 230 feet above a river canyon.

The 27-acre park now has a few more attractions, including Cliffwalk, where visitors negotiate bridges, stairs, and platforms above the river canyon. Cliffwalk is suspended at only 16 points in the granite cliff. Treetops Adventure is another sky trail system that is 100 feet in the air in the Douglas Fir tree canopy. In order to make the sky trail environmentally friendly, a compression system is used around each tree to suspend the trial, with no bolts or nuts. Treetop has viewing platforms and seven suspension bridges interconnected between the trees.

Aurland Lookout

Sitting 2,000 feet in elevation above one of Norway’s largest fjords, this is basically half a bridge. It juts out from a cliff and ends with a thin pane of glass overlooking the massive fjord. This structure is 14 feet in width and extends out 110 feet horizontally before it makes a downward curve that provides an illusion of falling. The lookout is made almost entirely of wood with a simple pipe handrail.

Grand Canyon Skywalk

The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a cantilevered bridge that extends out over the Grand Canyon in Eagle Point, Arizona. The Skywalk is a tourist attraction that generates income for the Hualapai Native American tribe. Its U-shaped walkway is glass and has glass siding that can withstand high winds. The walkway extends out from the side of the canyon at 4,770 feet in elevation over the Colorado River below at 1,160 in elevation. Tourists must leave their cameras in a locker but can purchase professional photos in the gift shop. In addition to the gift shop, Eagle Point has an amphitheater that offers Native American dances and a Native American village. In the future, the tribe hopes to add a museum, a VIP lounge, a few restaurants and a movie theater.

Sierra Buttes Fire Lookout

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, although it is only a 2 and a half-mile hike, the trail to the Sierra Buttes Fire Lookout in the Tahoe National Forest in Northern California ascends 2,400 feet of elevation to the summit and lookout that tops out at 8,587 feet of elevation. The last portion of the hike takes you up very steep sets of metal stairs that are attached to the top pinnacle. The stairs rattle and move a bit as you climb. At one location, the stairs float over the air, making it hard to look down.

If you can get to the top of the stairs and have not gotten too dizzy on the cantilevered steps, you can circle around the lookout on a grated walkway that allows you to look straight down through your feet into the canyons below. You will have a view of the Sierra Nevada with the twin Upper and Lower Sardine Lakes below and the tiny town of Sierra City on the other side. You will see the Yuba River Canyon, French Meadows Reservoir and Bowman Lakes. In the backdrop, you will see the Crystal Basin that John Muir called the “Range of Light.”

Iguazu Falls, Paseo Garganata del Diablo

For those who prefer a much more tame, but spectacular adventure, the border between Brazil and Argentina boasts the world’s largest waterfall system. Waterfalls cascade from both sides of the Iguazu River at heights from 200 to 270 feet, 275 drops in total and 1.7 miles wide. The trail, Paseo Garganta del Diablo, is a series of walkways that takes tourists directly over the falls that are the highest and deepest. There are other walkways along with the forests of the Argentinian side.

Top of Tirol Viewing Platform –

Tyrol, Austria has a viewing platform located at the top of Mount Isidor. Visitors can take a gondola up from the Stubai Glacier ski resort that is at about 10,000 feet of elevation and walk about five minutes beyond the top of the gondola platform out to the top of the mountain. There, they will find a viewing platform that takes the visitors from the summit and out about 30 more horizontal feet into thin air. The platform has a view of over 109 peaks that are over 9,000 feet in elevation. The viewing platform is made of Corten steel.

All of these structures, whether made of hemp, wood, steel or aluminum, are examples of extreme deck and dock construction, and have been designed to withstand nature’s fury. All provide visitors a unique vista into some of the most beautiful places in the natural world

Posted on March 26, 2019

Colby Lee Burke Hilton Head Resident Discusses His Future In Travel Writing

Colby Lee Burke, Hilton Head resident doesn’t see his travel bug diminishing anytime soon. In fact, in a recent interview, he said,

“The plan is to continue traveling and writing for the foreseeable future. At some point or another, I may release a guide of some sort about my favorite locations to visit.”

You can read about his future plans and the full interview by visiting:
https://warlockasyluminternationalnews.com/2019/01/17/interview-with-colby-lee-burke-on-travel-and-the-hilton-head-island-in-south-carolina/

Posted on February 6, 2019

How Joining a Direct Sales Company Can Assist You With Meeting Your Travel Goals

If you are that person who loves traveling, you should know that not every company will provide you with traveling opportunities because working hours and the earning you get may be a big limitation. However, according to Chrissy Weems, most people who work for direct sales companies are believed to have high chances of traveling or doing other activities they love without pressure. In this case, if you are considering joining a direct sales company, you might be able to meet your traveling goals in the following ways.

1. Flexibility Of Work

Direct sales involve selling goods directly to people through one-on-one meetings, exhibitions, home parties or through social media. This means that you can work from anywhere and do not need to have a specific place where people must come to buy from. Maybe you have wanted to travel to other cities and countries but your working hours cannot allow you to do so. The good news is that working for a direct sales company may give you a chance to travel and work at the same time because you will still be active on social media and as you meet new people, you can introduce your products to them. Also, making direct sales means that you can work a few hours in a day and reach your target, giving you extra time to travel.

2. Personal Growth

Some people are shy or do not have enough courage to talk in front of many people. Others are worse to the extent that they can’t converse effectively with even an individual and this hinders them from doing a lot of thing around other people. From working with a direct sales company, you will be able to meet, blend and interact with a lot of people either as individuals or in groups. While it might be challenging at first, it will get better with time. Eventually, you will gain the courage and confidence to meet people everywhere and anywhere. It will not be an excuse anymore as to why you don’t like traveling to new places.

3. Your Duties Will Involve Traveling

When working with a direct sales company, some of your duties would involve going on business trips. For instance, your employer can tell you to represent him in a party or exhibition where your company’s products are being sold. It can also be a training seminar on how to use your products, and your employer may need you to meet customers from different places, and you will get chances to travel more. This means that you will travel more while still on duty.

4. More Income

You can make more money from a direct sales company because apart from earning your salary, you will earn a commission after meeting your target. The good thing is that as you build a strong connection with other people and create a wider network the more your sales will be and hence higher incomes. Chrissy Weems says that there are direct sales companies that provide free trips to marketers who are doing well in their jobs and your hard work will allow you to win such trips. Also, by making more money, it means you are going to afford a vacation that you couldn’t afford before and therefore meet your traveling goals. Jump to top

Posted on November 30, 2018

Ismail Sirdah Discusses Travel Photography

There is a lot of beauty in the great wide world, and Ismail Sirdah has shot a great deal of it. Sirdah has a passion for capturing the essence and emotions of all of the life around him no matter where he happens to be at the moment. He sees his work as creating a memory and an image that conveys all of the emotions and visceral senses happening in each shot he takes. Ever since he got his first SLR camera as a young man, Ismail Sirdah has been obsessed with documenting the life around all of us. Whether it be the mountains of Tibet, the streets of New York, or the lights of nighttime Paris.

He studied under several mentors as a Photographer’s assistant learning the ropes and ways to blend new techniques to create is extremely expressive images. Working successfully as a professional photographer for years, he decided that the best way to help the photography world was to inspire the new generation of up and coming pro’s. He started a school and a great many of his alumni’s have now started their own successful photography businesses.

Now Ismail Sirdah has returned to his one true passion, and has become a full time professional photographer once again. He sees his work as creating memories for his clients. Something that they can show to their grandkids that will greatly express the emotion and essence of a moment in time that will never be forgotten.