 Image credit: Unknown One thing that all business owners need to do is take check of what is happening in their offices. If you do not keep a check on everything, you will find that things can start to get a bit stale and get out of hand. This is the last thing that you want. You want to keep motivation levels high and the vibe positive. So, what are some of the different things that you can do to improve your office today?
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 Image credit: Chevanon Photography from Pexels If you work in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, or any other industry that relies regularly on heavy machinery to get the job done, then it isn’t news to you that keeping that machinery running can quickly become one of the biggest costs of running the business. There are ways to slow the rising costs of taking care of your equipment, however, and it doesn’t require you to get rid of all of it. Here are a few to consider.
Create a schedule of proactive maintenanceMaintenance is crucial for the operation of any machine. However, maintenance shouldn’t only be done when you spot a problem. Create a schedule of preventative maintenance that can help you better spot any issues early, while also taking steps to address the most common points of breakage and putting in the work to put them off as best as possible. Those who operate the machines should be the ones given the responsibility of maintaining them as well, so they become more familiar with the signs of problems while operating. Ensure more effective use The better that your team is at actually using the equipment, then the less wear and tear it will experience. As such, it’s worth taking the time to invest in repeat operational training for the heavy machinery that your team is qualified to use. Nowadays, there are even machinery use apps that help them use them more effectively. Work closely with the manufacturer Rather than working with local repairmen for the heavy machinery that you operate, it may save you some money to go, first and foremost, to the manufacturer of the machine. There’s a good chance that they will sell the replacement parts you might need for them directly. It usually costs less to buy directly from the manufacturer since they don’t have the additional profit incentive to up the value that a reseller would. Keep it in a secure location Exposure to the elements, especially wind and rain, is going to wreak havoc on most heavy machinery. Corrosion and rust can be some of the most costly problems to fight. As such, you may want to consider changing the environment you keep your machines in with options like an industrial shed. A simple tarp over the top of your equipment isn’t enough if you have several machines that you need to keep in good condition. Lease it instead of buying it The next time you find you have a need for machinery you don’t currently have, don’t immediately rush to buy it. First of all, consider if you could lease it from a local machine hire company. It might be more cost-effective if you don’t need to use that machine too regularly and, what’s more, you don’t have to pay the costs of maintenance when you’re done with it, simply return to where you leased it. Keeping and maintaining business machinery is always going to be a cost your business has to contend with. Hopefully, the tips above make sure those costs don’t go sky-high, however.  Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pexels Setting up your own business can be hard, and there is a long list of things that you need to consider before taking the plunge and going it alone. However, there are a few things that are often overlooked that are very important parts of your business. Here are a few of the things you need to consider.
Website Having a business website is the backbone of creating a digital presence. But websites are often an afterthought. Then the problem lies with a rushed website that looks unprofessional. This is a shame because a well planned website can help you in so many ways. You can showcase your brand, get all of the company information put in one place, and it can be a touchstone for customers. A lot of people rely on social media in the early days of their business as a way to grow awareness. This is great, and we can’t knock it, but it is a limited way of doing things. Having a good social media page is a must, but there should be a website that people can click through that is independent from the various social media platforms. This way, you can stay in control of the content that you put out there. Company phone Having to work from home for the last year and a bit has put a focus on how the world has changed. Now employers are trying to find ways to ensure that there is no further disruption between their clients and their employees. Companies such as Voip are tailored to helping businesses, something that is very useful if you are trying to navigate the new world of working from home. Having a company phone can be as big as having your own network to having a separate phone number for business calls. The most important thing is, it will keep your own personal number private, providing separation from your company. A business address Have you thought about where your business is going to be registered? It is completely legal to register your business at your home address, your address may be made public. This can be pragmatic for a variety of reasons, especially if you want to keep your business and personal life as separate as possible. This is very important for female entrepreneurs and can provide extra safety that people won’t know your home address. Business banking If you have a small business, it might be tempting to use your own account for managing your business accounts. There are a few problems with this, and a big one is mixing up your own finances with the company books. Opening a business account can be cheap and a great way to keep finances under control. You also get extra protections with a business account that doesn't come with a personal one, so it is worth your while asking your bank what they can do for you. These are some of the most overlooked things when it comes to setting up a business but depending on the type of business you are opening, there can be many other things that you will need to include.  Image credit: Rendy Novantino from Unsplash All aspiring entrepreneurs have one thing in common: they want to compete with the big boys who have already made a name for themselves in the business world. No matter what line of industry you're in, you'll almost certainly have a rival, and it may be hard to stand out and be discovered when you're new to the game. So, how can you catch the attention of your target audience while you're fresh to the game in order to ensure that your business survives? Check out some of our fantastic and effective methods to get your business noticed in a big way.
Utilise GoogleAds While there are many other forms of advertising available on the internet, we recommend Google Ads since it is not only the most popular search engine, but it also tailors its advertisements to both consumers and companies. It's actually a very simple premise that works by showing ads that are related to the consumer's search history. Customers will see ads for items they are likely to be interested in, and companies will not have to worry about their ads being shown to the incorrect people. You'll have total control over your ads and be able to see precise analytics on how they're working. Do something unexpected Trying to conform to what every other similar company is doing isn't going to help you stand out. While it may seem to be the rational thing to do, taking a chance and doing something entirely unexpected will attract attention. This may be as simple as designing a billboard that no one would anticipate from your field of business, or as radical as making a promise that your customers can't resist such as creating a world where everyone is connected, just like https://worldmobile.io/smartvillage do. Different is always better, no matter which path you take. Write your own jingle We've all had a catchy jingle stuck in our brains at some stage, which is why it's a great way to advertise your business. Radio and television commercials are effective ways to engage people and keep your product or service in front of their thoughts. All you have to do now is come up with a creative jingle and get the word out! Contact online influencers In today's world, almost everything centers around the internet, and many people have taken advantage of this by using it to spread the word about something they care about. There are a slew of top bloggers and vloggers who can spread the word about something in the blink of an eye, so reaching out to these influencers to work out an agreement could be worthwhile. To get your name out there, you might utilise link placement, banners on their website, item reviews, or even sponsorship. Putting your name out there isn't easy, but if you use the ideas we've provided, we're confident that your company will stand out from the crowd in no time, and you'll be getting the customers you want for your business.  As a business owner, you need to make sure that your company reaches its maximum potential. This means that you need to work to ensure that business does see a high level of growth. While growth should never be instant, you must ensure that you keep up with the competition. Here’s how to ensure that you’re not falling behind.
Speak To A Professional First, it’s important to make sure that you do use a professional service. The temptation here will be to DIY your marketing. However, this is always a mistake because you will end up using tactics that are either outdated or have a black mark against them by Google. If you speak to an SEO consultant, then they will be able to make sure that you are taking the right steps when marketing your business. When you contact a company like this, you should always check the tactics that they are planning to use. It’s important to explore whether they do have a solid plan in place. You should also check whether they are researching your company. If they don’t need to complete any research into your brand, then we guarantee that you are going to receive a cookie-cutter service. Research Competitors Next, you should explore researching your competitors. You need to look at what they have done in the past and then work to correct their mistakes while learning from their strengths. The easiest example of this would be with their content strategy. Every business should be using content as part of its marketing campaign. With the right content, you will be able to give your customers a reason to keep returning to your site. By researching competitors you can look at content they have used that has worked before. You can then tweak, adjust and improve it to ensure it brings more for your audience. Customer Reward Scheme Finally, you need to make sure that you are exploring ways to deliver more value to your clients and customers. If you give more value, then you will be providing them with greater reasons why they should be choosing your company over key competitors. There are lots of different ways that you can deliver value. One of the best is to introduce a reward scheme. The big benefit here is that it means that customers have a reason to keep buying from your company rather than to buy once and forget about your business. It shows them that you care and that you are ready to tackle their pain points. We hope this helps you understand some of the ways that you can ensure that your business grows faster than ever. When you’re looking at options like this, the thing to remember is that results are never going to be instant. Indeed, if you do see your company grow overnight, then it’s a strong sign that there are blackhat tactics involved that you must avoid at all costs. Services that promise instant marketing results are often no different than get-rich-quick schemes. They are always bad news.  Image credit: Bidvine from Pexels Do you see yourself as something of a DIY expert? You do a lot of projects around the home, and it's something you're genuinely interested in. If that's the case, why don't you put your skills to more use and start a business? If you have the ability to make things or fix things, you can always make money from your talents. So, here are three business ideas that make the most out of your DIY skills:
Handmade Gifts Everyone loves handmade gifts as they're unique, made-to-order, and authentic. A lot of people prefer buying gifts like these because it looks like more thought has gone into the overall gift. So, you can start offering to make custom gifts for people based on their requests. One great hack is to try this and use epoxy resin to create colourful handmade gifts or ornaments. Of course, you can also carve things out of wood - or do whatever your area of DIY expertise is. If you're used to doing a lot of metal or glass work, you can really create some awesome gifts. Furniture Another idea for something you can make and sell to people is handmade furniture. People need furniture, and buying handmade stuff can add something different to their interiors. You can make chairs, tables, beds - whatever you can think of! The fact that it is made by hand will give it an edge over any mass-produced items right away. Once more, you also have the uniqueness of your goods to give them an edge over branded products. You can offer to make bespoke items as well, which might make it harder to sell lots of items quickly, but could help you sell your projects for more money. No matter how you look at it, making furniture and selling it to the masses is a winner. Handyman Services That's right, you can literally do what you do around the home, but in other people's homes and for money! Everyone needs a handyman to help them with little fixes around the house here and there. You can call upon your DIY skills to go to people's homes and sort out their issues. Honestly, the world is your oyster with this business idea - you can advertise as many services as you want, depending on how competent you feel. From fixing garden fences to sorting out the plumbing, there's really no limit to what you can do with this idea. However, if you are going to offer services involving things like plumbing or electrics, you will need to have the right qualifications. So, keep that in mind as you branch your services out. There you have it; three business ideas that make use of your DIY skills. Are you sick and tired of spending every waking second in an office? If DIY is the thing you look forward to most in life, why not make a career out of it? You've already got three ideas to mull over, but there are so many more out there as well.  Image credit: Eric Anada from Pexels Many business owners are thinking about the ways they can make running the business more sustainable, less wasteful, and better for the environment. However, for many, the problem still lies in energy consumption above all else. What are the changes, little and large, that can make your office more energy efficient?
Say goodbye to paper There are some records that should be kept in paper forms, such as financial accounts and any documents relating to the legal formation of the business. Otherwise, however, it’s becoming easier and easier to go entirely paperless. Not only does it cut on paper waste, but you don’t have to pay as many printing costs (for the printers themselves as well as the ink and repairs), and you don’t need to use as much space in the office to store papers. Take care of your big appliances When it comes to any means of heating, air conditioning, and ventilation, then it is essential that you routinely hire professionals to take care of them. With maintenance of air source heat pumps, you are not only potentially saving money down the line by preventing breakages. You are ensuring that the appliances that heat the entire workspace are working more efficiently, thereby allowing them to heat up or cool down the office while consuming less energy. Going green with your energy You can make sure that your appliances are working as efficiently as possible is one thing. But one of the biggest changes you can make is to change where your energy comes from in the first place. Not every location is going to benefit as much from the installation of solar panels, so it’s important to do your research and find out how much energy you’re likely to get with such installations before you make that decision. Choosing eco-friendly partners How you manage the energy efficiency of your business isn’t just about how you operate. It’s also about who you partner with. Finding reliable suppliers and service providers is crucial. While it perhaps shouldn’t outshine their performance and cost-effectiveness, it might be worth considering what eco-friendly operational methods your suppliers and partners undertake. It might be worth paying a little extra for a supplier that uses recyclable packaging for instance. Beware of vampire energy It might sound like a relatively small tip in comparison, but turning off all lights and electronics when a room is not in use can make a big difference to your energy bills over time. Even leaving computers in standby can be more wasteful than you might imagine. Make it a policy to ensure that appliances are turned off at the wall unless you know for a fact that you’re coming back to use them very soon and never leave lights on in an empty room. Energy efficiency might seem like a conundrum, but if you’re making the changes effectively, then you can end up saving the costs of the investment in terms of energy saved. It always pays to look out for government schemes to help install energy-efficient measures with a discount or part of the costs covered, as well.  Image credit: Andrew Neel from Unsplash Whether you are stuck in a career rut or have been spending your days sending out application after application, the current climate means that finding a new job feels impossible. With businesses seemingly closing left, right and centre, each open position has an influx of overqualified candidates vying for the spot. As a result, you may feel as though opportunities are being swept out from underneath you.
However, sometimes in life, we have to make our own opportunities - after all, we are the only true driving force behind our success. One way in which you could do just that is by taking the plunge and launching your own small business. Here are some top tips to get you started. Find your niche. In order to run a successful business, you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd. This means that your services or products should be entirely unique so that you can win over customers from your competitors. To put it simply, there is no point in introducing a product or service to the market if it has already been done before or can be bought elsewhere. Finding your niche or unique selling point helps a small business become a profitable brand. Put money into your small business. In order for your business to succeed, you may need to invest a little of your savings to get the ball rolling. For example, you may need to purchase the materials needed to make your products ahead of time or pay for ad campaigns to be curated. If necessary, you could also talk out a small business or personal loan to support your venture - though you should ensure that you work with reputable and transparent companies, such as Buddy Loans. Stay inspired. The best small businesses tend to come about when an entrepreneur finds a way to make their passions profitable. For example, skilled and passionate writers can easily make a career from themselves - whether they become a blogger, a novelist or even a copywriter. However, it’s important that your passion for your business does not dwindle over time - as you need to ensure you can motivate yourself and continue to complete tasks to a high standard. One way in which you can achieve these goals by ensuring that you stay motivated and inspired. Connect with your customers. Another way you can put your small business on the path to success is by forging a strong and lasting relationship with your customers. This means that they will not simply buy a single product from you - they will return time and time again. The easiest way to start this relationship is by first ensuring that you have a clear understanding of your target audience. This way, you’ll be able to provide them with the kind of products and services that you know they will love. From there, you should ensure that you communicate with them effectively, be that in person, over the phone, or online - through social media and emails.  Image credit: Hassan Ouajbir from Unsplash It’s no secret that providing customer service options can be a drag when you’re running a business. This will be especially true if you work on your own, as you are likely to struggle to be able to manage all of the messages, phone calls, and other communications you receive. There are loads of tools and services in the modern world that can help with this, but you will need to find and use them to be able to feel the benefits. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to achieve this.
Automated Methods Automating customer contacts is an excellent way to take the pressure off of your shoulders. People are used to using tools like instant messenger nowadays, and this means that they will respond well to live chat tools with chatbots to take them through the basics. Options like this won’t be able to cover all of your customer service needs, but they will be able to get you on the right track. You can also use automation to help with your email services, though this can be more challenging. Outsourced Methods Outsourcing your customer services can be another good way to handle this feature of your business. Most people have access to companies that can help with communication, making it nice and easy to put this work into someone else’s hands. The cost of a telephone answering service has steadily gone down over the last few years, with people across the world using tools like this to push their company forwards. This can make your customer services much easier to handle. Flexible Policies As a one-person team, you need to make sure that you have flexible policies in place for your communications. You should always aim to respond to people within a certain window, but this won’t always work and your customers need to be aware that you will sometimes face delays. As long as it doesn’t take more than a day or two for you to reply to the messages and emails you receive, you can take your time with this aspect of your company, letting people wait for their responses. Using What You’re Comfortable With People often getting overwhelmed by their customer service offerings. It can be all too easy to find yourself juggling the different methods you offer, creating a challenge when it comes to answering everyone quickly and professionally. Sticking to tools that make you feel comfortable is a good way to combat this. For example, if you don’t like talking on the phone, you could stick to live chat and email as your contact methods. With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of making customer contacts work when you are operating within a one-person team. This can be a big challenge, but it will be worth putting the time in to make it easier for yourself. Of course, as time goes by, this will only become simpler and simpler.  Image credit: Brooke Cagle from Unsplash Whether you run your own business or are working your way up in a company you love, there’s a lot to be said for changing your working behavior to ensure that you are working smarter, not harder. While employers often praise hard work and grit, these attributes can quickly prove detrimental when hard work replaces a work-life balance, leading to inevitable burnout. Working smarter means finding ways to maximize your time, ensuring that tasks are completed to a high standard without having to spend hours on a single project. This will have a positive effect on not only your mood but workplace efficiency and productivity.
With that in mind, here are some tips that you can use to start working smarter today.
 Image credit: Mimi Thian from Unsplash The internet has long been one of the most helpful tools to grow your career. It’s great for discovering new opportunities, learning new skills, and even networking to meet new people in the industry. However, many people still don’t fully utilise the internet when it comes to growing their career, which is why we’ve put together this helpful post to show you just how beneficial the internet can be when it comes to growing your career.
Online training to help you learn new skills Online learning has made it possible for us to quickly switch to a new career path or acquire new skills to position ourselves for a promotion. Learning with the internet is incredibly convenient since you can do it anywhere as long as you have a computer and internet access. In addition, online learning is something you can do at your own pace since you don’t attend classes like a traditional school. This can be an extremely convenient alternative to regular academic classes and will enable you to study for a career change or pick up new skills even while you work your regular job. If you’re thinking about online training to help you pick up new skills to embark on a different career path, then services like Evercoach are a great place to start. Online learning can be extremely specific with what it teaches, but there are also some services that offer a wide variety of general disciplines too. Whatever you choose, it’s a good idea to see what courses are on offer and if there are any qualifications or certifications to earn at the end of it. Learning about different careers A great way to use the internet is to actually learn about different kinds of careers that are available to you. Some people have a fairly limited understanding of what career choices they have available to them with a certain skill set, but the internet can show you that there are loads of unique opportunities available out there if you’re willing to look around. It can really show you that there are unique ways to apply your skills and use your experience to follow a different career path, and it can help you chase your passions and figure out ways to make a living doing what you love. Using the power of networking to find new opportunities Networking is one of the most useful ways to help you find new opportunities. Whether you have certain career goals in mind or if you’re looking for different paths to embark on, networking can be one of the best ways to seek out different job placements and learn about unique roles that you qualify for. Networking is essentially like using social media, but instead of using Twitter and Facebook, you’re more likely going to use LinkedIn or other professional platforms. They’re designed for professional use and they come with unique tools that allow you to list your experience and also the qualifications you have, making it easier to help advertise yourself as a suitable candidate.
Is your career stuck in a rut? Are you struggling to fulfill the potential that you know you hold? Well, then you have come to the right place! Indeed, in the post below you can get some clever ideas on how to push your career to the next level. Keep reading to find out what they are.
Eat the frog First of all, the well-known business concept of eating the frog can help here. No, it's not about throwing your hand up in the air and heading to the nearest French eatery! Instead, in this scenario, eating the frog represents the thing that you don't want to do, the idea being that by getting this done first the rest of your day is all downhill from there. Indeed, there is some good evidence to show that the sense of achievement we feel by completing difficult tasks, is enough to propel us through the rest of the day with ease. Not to mention the fact that dealing with the hardest thing first obliterators procrastination, which is only good news for your career trajectory. Stay up to date with the news in your field There are many benefits to staying abreast of the trends in your industry, including being privy to cutting-edge information first, and ensuring that you gain expert status in the eyes of your customers and colleagues. Indeed, by regularly reading articles about the area in which you work you can gain all sorts of valuable information that may have a direct impact on the way you go about your day-to-day tasks and even the future of your career. With that in mind, favoriting industry experts on social media, and setting google alerts for specific key terms related to your field can be a very helpful way to boost your career prospects. Study for new qualifications It may seem like a no-brainer, but learning new skills and qualifications is one of the best things you can do to enhance your career. Of course, the education that you choose needs to be as relevant to your industry as possible to be most effective. For instance, if you are an IT professional looking to focus on creating a service management system, then taking a qualification such as the ITIL foundation exam, is a great way to begin. However, if you find yourself in a different type of industry such as HR, then choosing a foundation CIPD exam is a better choice. Email someone in your network All too often people expect their network of contacts to do all the heavy lifting in terms of their career, finding them suitable placements, and putting them in touch with the right people. However, what anyone hoping to progress in their career needs to understand is that networks function based on exchange. What this means is, if you want something from a network contact, you will need to have built up a certain amount of capital first. This capital can often be secured by offering to help them with something they need complete. Indeed, if you can identify the people you are most likely to need help from and focus on providing value to them, you will be all set when it comes time to call those favours back in.  Image credit: Fauxels from Pexels It’s not always easy to be proactive at work. It’s defined by the behaviour of the people in your organization and if you have staff who are not proactive in what they do, you are going to fail in your business. You need to ensure that your employees don't have to be asked to do their jobs, and you shouldn't have to micromanage them into it. Your staff should want to be proactive in their jobs, and if you ensure that you are working with a great group of self-motivated individuals, they will be more proactive without being asked about it. If you want to make sure that the employees you have hired maintain their ability to be proactive in their roles, you have to promote the right environment for it. This means knowing when to introduce construction document management software into your day to day business. It means knowing when to implement employee training and when to teach your staff to be more organized. It means helping your employees before they need to ask for it. You can take plenty of steps to become more proactive at work and you can keep your employees proactive, too. Proactive employees help each other and when you yourself are more proactive in keeping others motivated, you can ensure that your business is one that is successful. You can organize your time better, and schedule your tasks better, too. You need to have the right amount of downtime and do what you can to keep your life in balance. So, how can you help your staff to be more proactive?
 Image credit: Free-Photos from Pixabay Running a successful business is tough work, not least in the post-pandemic era. Thankfully, you can give your hopes of success a serious boost through added resourcefulness. While it won’t guarantee success, focusing on the following factors will build a stronger foundation for your business. Better still, it can work wonders for startups, expanding businesses, and firms just wanting more stability. Here’s all you need to know. Money There are many ways to analyse a company’s performances. In reality, though, none of the other aspects will matter if you cannot get the finances under control. Profitability will rely heavily on sales revenue, but improving this can take time. Improving your bottom line through better expenditure control delivers far faster results. Every business owner should look to cut financial waste. Firstly, you must ensure that you are getting the best value for money on insurance quotes, energy rates, courier services, and supplies. Integrating money-saving ideas from greener tech to VoIP digital telephony systems will help. It’s important to recognise that cheap doesn’t always translate to value. Still, when you cut out unnecessary expenses and excessive costs, your company will be in a better place. If nothing else, it allows you to stay competitively priced. Time The old cliche states that time is money. Therefore, it makes sense to pay greater attention to your time management aspects too. From a personal perspective, hiring a PA or outsourcing admin tasks can be very wise. This allows you to dedicate more time to the jobs that will actually drive the company to greatness. Crucially, you must find ways to remain productive even in difficult circumstances. However, it’s not all about your personal workload. Losing unnecessary team meetings or business travel can save valuable time for your entire team of employees. Utilising tech to automate some of their daily tasks can have a telling influence too. When time is used efficiently, the results are huge. It encourages increased productivity while the business will be able to keep progressing. This prevents any threat of the company being left behind by its competitors. Perfect.  Image credit: Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay Employees Employees are the catalyst for business success. While saving time on their behalf is a great starting point, you must do more. It’s not only a bad worker who will blame the tools if the equipment is genuinely lacking. Ensuring that teams are supported by effective machinery, A.I. systems, and software is key Perhaps more importantly, all employees deserve clarity. Investing in staff training will ensure that their skills stay relevant and teamwork reaches the desired levels. Unity will boost the speed of productivity and consistency across the brand. This extends to customer interactions, which will have a huge role to play. Cultivating a positive employer-employee bond as well as staff-client bonds will serve you well. You must not forget remote employees, though. When your team works harder and smarter, it makes your managerial role simpler. Workspaces Renting offices, shops, and warehouses will be among your biggest expenses. Maximising the potential of your premises allows you to operate from smaller, cheaper spaces. Adding a mezzanine floor to warehouses can be a great example. Not least because it helps you expand the operation without moving or taking on extra costs. It’s important to avoid clutter or taking up space unnecessarily. Archive storage enables you to keep hold of important files without taking up valuable on-site space. Another positive step is to outsource items like customer care or IT support. This will allow you to utilise the workspaces for other issues. Of course, the right interior design steps will work wonders for the situation too. It can range from standing workstations to compact storage facilities. Making the spaces work smarter will have an immensely positive influence.  Image credit: PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay Customers In many ways, customers are the most important people in your venture. After all, they have the power to determine whether your products sell or not. It is a lot easier and cheaper to retarget an existing client to boost their lifetime value to the company. Therefore, focusing on loyalty schemes and incentives to keep coming back is advised. It is equally important for businesses to think about how existing clients can bring new ones. The power of recommendation is greater than ever. Therefore, using affiliate rewards programmes and referral marketing are ideal steps. Similarly, getting positive testimonials from past clients can help build trust. In turn, that brings more sales. When the business is more customer-centric, there is every chance that it will see better results. Besides, you can use the insights and analysis provided to tweak the brand for even greater progress. Network A strong network is one of the most valuable resources to possess in business. Regardless of your industry or background, you should want to make the most of it. There are many ways to utilise your network for increased business success. For starters, joining forces with local non-competing firms allows you to build a joint audience base. Furthermore, you can create B2B opportunities and skills trades. For example, a cleaning company and a food business could help each other out. The former can clean the food company’s reception areas in return for free lunches for the staff. Likewise, marketing companies can link up with various businesses. Another option is for companies to share partial truckloads for their deliveries. When added to the tutoring that can be gained from your network, there’s no doubting its value. In short, it never has to be your company versus the world.  Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Brand
The majority of senior marketing experts say that brand awareness is a bigger task than getting conversions. So, any opportunity to embrace the brand to build stronger connections should be grabbed with both hands. Consumers want to align themselves with brands that share the same outlooks on life. You are the biggest USP. There are many ways that you can use the brand to your advantage. Using Corporate Social Responsibility to its full potential should be at the top of your agenda. This shows what you care about and can help you connect to your audience. Besides, it will deliver a host of self-satisfying outcomes. You deserve it. Successful banding should go beyond the idea of simply selling products. Building a community that covers employees, customers, and partners is the ultimate success. When supported by the ideas above, your business will look better than ever.  Image credit: Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay Running a business can use up a lot of resources and time, this can be difficult to achieve growth. If you are a lone ranger or a small business, you will understand that you have to wear many hats and complete various tasks. It can be hard to actually state what your job role is there is that much variety. However, if you want to grow, you need to find ways of establishing structure and organisation to run successfully. This is where outsourcing comes in. Many businesses using outsourcing as a way of controlling certain tasks and freeing up time for other areas that need your focus.
Let’s have a look at some common areas you could outsource: HR It would be nice to look after every single area of your business, but this isn’t possible if you want to grow. HR is an area where expertise and experience are extremely useful, especially if you ever have to face disputes or recruitment. HR Consultant Experts will ensure your staff are looked after, and they are on hand to answer any of your questions, guiding you through recruitment and employing employees. Social Media Management Social media is one of the most commonly used areas for marketing for many businesses. With consumers using at least one form of social media on a daily basis it’s not a surprise that it’s taken the business world by storm. It’s cheap, it’s simple, it’s effective, but it takes up a huge chunk of time to maintain. This is one of the most common areas to outsource, especially considering it can sometimes take the time of a full-time employee to look after. Data Entry Although data entry doesn’t require much skill, it can still be a task that is tedious and lengthy. It can be frustrating to see your skilled staff and expertise spent on this sort of task when it could be completed elsewhere, freeing up copious amounts of time. There are many freelancers and data entry companies that are there if you want to outsource this sort of task. They may even complete the work quicker and more accurately. Saving you money in the long run. Accountancy A lot of businesses outsource accountancy, this is because completing the accounts and keeping them updated is time-consuming and stressful. It also requires a certain level of skill, and if you aren’t willing to learn, it can be tedious and you could make mistakes. Mistakes could be costly for your business. You may be able to atumble your way through, but if you want to keep them in the best order, an outsourced accountant is probably the best option. As you can see there are many ways you can streamline your business with outsourcing. These aren’t the only options either, there are just some of the most commonly outsourced areas for small businesses. Have you started to outsource anything in your business? Please share some of your successes in the comments section below.  Image credit: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels Does your business have all of the vital services that it needs? The answer is probably not, because too many businesses miss out at least one in the name of saving money. However, when you have these services they are going to more than pay for themselves, so you need to stop doing this. Down below, we are going to take a look at some of the vital services that you are going to need, so keep reading to find out more.
IT The first thing that you are going to need to think about is IT. Instead of hiring a full-time employee to take care of this, you are better off hiring an outside company that offers managed IT services. The reason for this is because this way, you know that you are getting professionals, and one of the services that is usually on offer is 24/7 monitoring. This is not something that is offered when you hire your own employee, and you pay more for a salaried employee as well. When things go wrong with your IT, it needs to be fixed ASAP. You can’t afford to wait because all of the downtime is going to be losing you profits. We know this isn’t what you want, so hire professionals and they will ensure the least amount of downtime possible. Marketing The next thing that we are going to mention is marketing. Too many business owners are of the opinion that marketing is a waste of time. While they are wrong, their loss is your gain. You now have the upper hand because you will be marketing your business well, bringing in more business than you have ever seen, maybe even some of the competitors' clients. If you don’t market, people aren’t going to know anything about your business, which means they aren’t going to use your services. When you hire a marketing service, all of your needs will be taken care of through this company, and you won’t have to stress about it at all. Human Resources The final service that we are going to look at is human resources. While people might not hear about HR that often, they are always around. You need them to mediate and moderate the interactions and issues between employees and yourself, or between employees and other employees. They are essential for dispute resolution and a number of other things. You should never run a business without either a HR service, or a HR department on your side. We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the services that are vital for your business. If you are currently missing any of them, then it’s essential that you get this sorted out sooner rather than later. The thing that you need to remember is that while it might feel like a lot of money right now, it’s an investment into the future. We wish you the very best of luck and hope that you get some of these services soon.  Image credit: Prateek Katyal from Pexels In life, and especially in business, there are often things that we must do, but which we don’t really want to, and it can be a struggle to deal with them, which is why I’ve put together some tips to help you really get to grips with those tasks you’d rather not do and get your head in the game. Do you really need to do them? Okay, so before we go any further, it’s worth thinking about whether you really need to do those least enjoyable tasks. For example, you may think you need to do your own bookkeeping, but could a business accountant do it for you? Or you may feel like you need to learn SEO to maintain your company’s visibility online, but is there a freelancer who can do that for you? Eliminate those tasks you actually don’t have to do and you will already lighten your load. Find your why If it is a task that really needs to be done by you, try to find your why. For example, if you need to attend a conference, think about all of the numerous benefits of doing so from meeting new people in your industry and building contacts to improving brand visibility, Ultimately, your why would be to grow your business, and that is surely worthwhile. Basically, distill all of the reasons you need to do a thing into its most basic and vital element and you will hopefully have a bit more motivation to do so.  Image credit: Ylanite Koppens from Pexels Conquer your fear
Often when you really don’t want to do something, it’s because you’re afraid; afraid of messing it up and failing; afraid of missing out on doing something more enjoyable; afraid you simply aren’t good enough, If you dan get to the root of your fear, you can work on accepting it and ultimately overcoming it. Just do a little bit Something that can really help you get stuck into a task you’d rather avoid is just starting it. Tell yourself that you’ll work on it for just 2 minutes, and if after that time, you still don’t want to do it, you can move on to something else. Most of the time, once you’ve gotten started, it will be a bit easier to continue with your task until it is finished, and the next time you come to do the same thing, it will be just a little easier. Do it in chunks Alternatively, you could try completing the task in small chunks, Spend 15 minutes on it, then get up and do something else for 15 minutes before coming back to it, and repeat. Because it won’t ve taking all your attention all of the time, it will be easier to sink into it and get things done. Embrace the fact that it sucks Sometimes, just telling yourself that life is not all roses and sometimes we need to do things that suck to move us forward and help us grow can provide enough grit for us to get through those least-loved tasks. Time to do that thing you’ve been putting off!  Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pexels If you’re an introvert, you could be forgiven for thinking that the world of business is not for you, but if you’re ambitious and you want to a company for yourself, you should not let your introversion put you off.
Here, you will find a few things that can help you succeed in business even if you are an introvert: Choose your business wisely If you’re an introvert and you want to be successful in business, then it makes sense to choose your business wisely and ensure that it is introvert-friendly, For example, if you choose to set up a web design business, you could spend most of your time alone working on code or if you start a food contract company, you could spend a lot of time in a small team developing products for consumers, rather than attending lots of meetings or having to be out there on show all the time. Choose a business that meets your pace and you will be just fine. Embrace it It might seem like being an introvert is a downside in the world of business where networking and drawing attention are seen to be so important, but the fact is, introverts have their own skills and abilities that are just as valuable, For instance, introverts tend to be far more perspective to their environments, which means you may be more easily able to read the needs of your customers and improve your products and services to beat the competition. Network the way you want Networking is generally pretty important for successful business owners, so it may seem like a real sticking point for you as a potential business owner, but it really doesn’t have to be. You just need to find a way to network on your terms, which could include participating in message boards and online chats where you feel more comfortable. If you do attend physical meetups, just stay for a short while, meet the people you want to meet, and retreat to the solitude of your hotel room for a while before you’re ready to go again. Delegate The greatest thing about running a business in the 21st century is that it has never been easier to delegate tasks to the abundance of freelance workers at your fingertips. So, if there are things you absolutely don’t want to do, you can always delegate them to a competent third party who is maybe a bit more extroverted than you. Partner up Something else you may want to think about is going into partnership with someone who is an extrovert. That way, you get the best of both worlds and you can both play to your strengths while eliminating your weaknesses., This will need to be someone you trust and who has the same vision as you, but if you can find this person, it could be a good way to be successful in your business. Being an introvert is totally normal, so don’t let it hold you back from achieving your business dreams.  Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Branding for a new business can be a difficult thing, and it is a process that can take a long time to nail down. When marketing for your business, there are a lot of spinning plates, and often you will need more than one set of hands to truly help you along the way.
Today we want to talk about some of the ways that you can build a successful brand this year and thrive even in an overcrowded market. Get HubSpot If you have any familiarity with sales and marketing you may be aware of HubSpot.HubSpot is an all-in-one tool that allows you to track leads, conversions, website visits, social media activity, and more in one place. If you are new to managing marketing, a tool like this will collate all the data in one place and make it easy for you to understand. Once you have HubSpot connected to your website and social media channels you will be able to do a lot of things:
Design using Canva If you are not a natural graphic design whizz - it’s ok! You don’t have to be a professional graphic designer to create some great content for your brand. Canva is a free graphic design tool that allows you to create anything from leaflets and brochures to logos and social media posts. It provides hundreds of templates that you can edit from, and it will make your life so much easier when trying to create winning content. Generate your brand colours One of the most challenging aspects of building your brand is deciding on a colour scheme. You might have a colour in mind, but then finding others that work alongside it can be difficult. That’s why using Coolors.co to generate a colour palette is a must. Once you lock in a colour you like, you can randomise the selection until you find a palette that suits you. It will save you choosing colours that don’t work together and don’t look right for your brand. Try leaflets One of the best ways to generate some interest in your brand is to create leaflets that showcase a product or a selection of your products. You can create leaflets and print them with www.stressfreeprint.co.uk, and hand them out through postal drops, on the street, at trade shows, or even leave them in the foyer of your office for visitors. Leaflets add an air of professionalism to your brand and people will most likely trust you more if you have them. Hire a billboard If you really want to make an impression this year as a small brand, consider investing money in a billboard. Billboard advertising is a brilliant way to get your name in front of an audience and you can leave it for a month or a few months at a time for maximum marketability. Try a TV ad TV is a powerful marketing tool, and many people use TV ads to help sell their products or market services. If you want to try something different in terms of marketing this year, consider making a TV advert for your brand. There are so many fun ways to create TV ads to promote yourself and you can really have some fun with it. Run a blog A blog is a useful way to get content out into the world and also increase your reach as a business. When running a blog you can create articles around your subject of choice and be informative to your audience. Providing content online like this is a great way to gain some visibility for your brand and it will also likely improve your engagement. Create a video series YouTube is one of the most popular social media channels in the world, and people make videos every day. It is a great idea for you to create videos on YouTube either talking about products, creating tutorials, or sharing news from your industry. This can be a brilliant way to gain a new audience and also start earning money through ad revenue. Consider some of these different ways to help you improve your brand this year and build your business into something incredible.  Image credit: Image by Firmbee from Pixabay In today's fast-paced environment, it's becoming increasingly difficult to be noticed and remembered by customers and clients. It's critical to be accessible online, but if you do not learn where to start, you can easily get lost in the mountain of information out there. Don't be discouraged. There are several effective ways to market your business with minimum cost while increasing sales, and below are a few.
Search engine marketing and optimization As a business owner or personal brand, finding yourself directly at the top of Google's results pages will improve your chances of generating prospects and increasing brand awareness. Studies show that website visitors assume top-ranking websites are authentic and leading voices in their industry. It's completely free and provides near-infinite traffic to those who can grasp this complex sector of internet search. However, doing so has turned into a daunting task simply because most people don't know how it works. Fortunately, you don't need to pay Google to rank. Search engine marketing and optimization(SEO) are two factors that can help your company rank higher on a search engine results page. Your company website will become connected with the terms used to find your services if you have a solid SEO plan in place. As a result, you have a better chance of being the firm that someone decides to work with after conducting an online search. If you do not have a website, there are many options available to design a website in minutes and be on your way to the top pages on Google. Pay for promotion You've probably considered paid advertising if you're wondering how to sell online. Ads on the internet are a lot easier to track than those on television or in print. Experiment with alternative ad copy, banner size and placement, and advertising channels to see what works best. Also, make sure that each ad is sent to a single landing page. You can't measure or enhance your results if you don't keep track of them. Renting space is becoming increasingly pricey but is still worth it due to its effectiveness. You could also create affiliate programs or opportunities to allow affiliate marketers to generate more traffic to your website and, in return paying these affiliate marketers a percentage of the profit. These methods will significantly increase the number of internet users visiting your site daily. Email marketing Not only is email marketing a cheaper technique of spreading the news about any brand, but it also provides one of the most satisfactory returns on investing your time. Hopefully, your ideal clients will sign up for your email list if you create exciting content like infographics and other online lessons. You still have some work ahead once they sign up, as you'll need to share helpful information with them regularly while trying to close the sale. Effective email marketing requires writing attractive sales text, which you can only learn over time. However, if you focus more on the customer and how you can provide value to their lives, your business will thrive in the long run. Social media marketing Anyone serious about marketing on a tight budget understands the importance of mastering the art of social media marketing. And if you have tried it before, then you know by now, it's not as easy as it sounds. Create profiles on a few social media sites that are relevant to you and your business. From here, you can begin connecting with the users there and make them your customers. Build a presence on social networking platforms such as Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, and Instagram. And provide people with the opportunity to post reviews, research your company, ask questions, and read your blog posts or product reviews. This way, they can suggest ways to think you can be of better service, allowing you to know what potential customers want to provide. While this technique is low-cost, it's tough to gain traction without reaching out to influencers and power users who can help you promote your cause. The social media playing field is crowded with billions of potential customers ready to buy your goods and services. It's only a matter of finding them and using the correct social media marketing methods to convert them into paying consumers. Small companies had only a few ways of selling their products cheaply before the internet, such as printing fliers or sponsoring small local activities. Now there is a wide range of marketing options available on the internet. The only thing left to do is to be willing to learn and adequately exploit them to benefit you.  Image credit: Tranmautritam from Pexels It’s kind of important how many hours you’re putting in at the office, but what really counts is the hours of valuable work you’re putting in while you’re there. Of course, if you’re at the office for 14 hours, then you’ll naturally make some progress. But wouldn’t it be better if you were there for nine hours and putting in nine hours of productivity (or close to it, anyway)? Productivity is something that all people and companies struggle with, but there are ways to nudge it in the right direction. In this blog, we’ll look at how you can do just that.
Physical and Mental Sharpness Many people hit a slump at some point during the day. This could be in the morning or mid-afternoon. Most people just assume that the slump is just part and parcel of working life. But that’s not the case -- the truth is that there’s a cause for most slumps, and if you can reduce or eliminate that slump, then you’ll get more work done. It all comes down to mental and physical sharpness. There are many things that can compromise both of these things! If you’re not sleeping as well as you could, or you’re drinking too much coffee (they cause a spike in energy but then a crash), then you won’t make it through the day at your best. Sometimes, people aren’t fully alert until it’s nearly midday. You can avoid this by going for a run and taking a cold shower first thing in the morning. If you do that, then you’ll hit the ground running when you reach the office. Structure Your Day Humans are not very good multitaskers. Actually, we’re awful at it, even though we think we’re not. If you’re trying to juggle too many tasks at once, then it’ll come as no surprise if you’re not making as much headway as you’d like. You can get around this by focusing on one task at a time. A little bit of structure to your day can lead to big results. Start with the most pressing jobs, and then work your way down the list. Get the Tools We all waste more time than we’d like on tasks that don’t yield results yet have to be performed. The good news is that in the age of technology, there’s usually a solution to every time-consuming task. If you’re spending too much time processing large printing jobs, then printing software can help. If you’re spending too much time coordinating and communicating with your team, then a program such as Slack will help. The list goes on. Whatever the issue is, there’ll be a solution. Delegating Tasks Are you taking on too much responsibility yourself? You’ll have a lot on your plate, but you don’t need to have everything on your plate. Hiring an extra set of hands or outsourcing certain tasks to third-party companies can free up significant amounts of time, which you can then use to focus on the tasks that’ll help drive your business forward.  Image credit: Cherrydeck from Unsplash Let’s not beat around the bush, the COVID pandemic has been awful from a human and economic perspective. While there are very few positives to take from the experience, there’s no doubt that businesses have learned lessons over the last 18 months which might just play a role in a more positive future.
What lessons have businesses been forced to learn over this period? People Come First It’s always been something that’s been said, but when push comes to shove, how many businesses truly put their employees before business success. Suddenly, faced with national lockdowns and potentially serious employees illness and risk, many businesses have realised that their greatest asset is their people. How To Bootstrap Their Finances A lot of bloats can creep into company budgets, especially when times are good, but the sudden loss of revenue has led to companies learning how to try and achieve their goals with less and keep a very close eye on costs. While governments have put in place various Recovery Loan Schemes, furlough support and Stimulus packages, it’s still been down to the individual companies to balance their costs so when the financial outlook does improve, they know what they really need to spend money on and what they don’t. A Remote Workforce Can Perform A lot of companies have been reluctant to introduce remote working for a number of reasons in the past. It’s been seen as a perk of more creative industries and many have pushed against it fearing that it would lead to employees slacking off, or not performing. This hasn’t been the case at all and many businesses are keeping their remote options in place past the end of the epidemic. The remote work shift was not without its problems as an increasingly stressed workforce tried to cope with homeschooling, isolation and anxiety around job security. The lack of everyday social contact with colleagues was also exacerbated by restrictions on seeing friends and loved ones too. How Agility Can Be The Difference Between Being In Business And Not Companies that were able to adapt or pivot fast in response to events fared better than those that did not. Smaller, more agile companies found this much easier than the corporate behemoths in a lot of areas. Adapting business models quickly in order to take continue to trade through the COVID restrictions was often the difference between staying in business and not. The Importance Of Business Continuity Planning The business continuity plans of many businesses were found wanting when the pandemic struck, simultaneously affecting premises and workforce. Businesses who have built their plans around the loss of data or similar found their policies insufficient to cope with the level of disruption caused. Key Points The COVID pandemic has been a watershed moment for the world in many respects. And we will be dealing with the repercussions of it for many years to come. Businesses that have survived the pandemic have been incredibly lucky and need to learn the lessons that trading through the pandemic has taught them in order to remain resilient in the future.  Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay It is important to make sure you have career goals as much as possible, and there are a number of factors to consider when you are looking at a new career path this year. The coronavirus pandemic is something that has impacted all of us in so many ways, and there is a lot to keep in mind here. Try to make the most of this, and use the uncertainty in the world right now as a chance to take charge of your future and set career goals for 2021.
It might be time to consider a change of career this year, and there are a lot of options you can consider that will help you to make the most of this right now. Try to come up with ideas that will allow you to achieve the best possible career path this year, but it is also important to make sure you have realistic goals in order to make sure they’re easier to achieve. And these are some of the key factors that you need to consider when it comes to making the most of this. Think About Your Interests Thinking about what you are interested in is really important, and there are a lot of elements that play a role in helping you to develop a career path you can be proud of. Make sure you think about some of the best ways of achieving this right now, and there are so many factors that you should be making the most of right now. If you can pursue a career path that links or relates to things you are interested in, then this is one of the best options for you. So many people wish they could do a job they really love, and it makes it so much easier to get out of bed in the morning if you are going to a job you love. Improve Your Experience There are a lot of things that you should be looking to make the most of, and it is vital that you look at being able to focus on this as much as possible. Try to come up with ideas that will allow you to boost and improve your experience, and this is something that you should be looking to make the most of right now. There are plenty of online courses or qualifications you could be taking in order to improve and boost your experience and help you to be more qualified for the job at hand. Start Looking for the Right Kinds of Jobs You need to make sure you start looking for the right kinds of jobs that will help you to improve the way you look at being able to do things like this. There are a lot of ideas that will play a role in helping you here, and it depends on what sort of thing you’d like to do. For instance, there are so many opportunities if you are looking at getting a job in the public sector. These are some of the things you need to be considering when it comes to looking at some of the best ways of improving your career prospects. You have to make sure you focus on being able to improve your ideas when it comes to assessing this right now. Choosing the right career prospects and making the right kinds of changes is something you need to make the most of right now.  Image credit: Spacehuntr If you’ve ever organised a trip to the pub or a quiet lunch between friends, you’ve planned an event. If you found just the slightest thrill from this organised fun, then this article might be of interest to you.
Corporate event planning is something that people get paid to do. It’s big business and, folks, it’s never straight forward. This is hard work that takes a broad skill set. But boy, is it rewarding. Can you manage ideas, people, dates, numbers and everything else while all the pieces are at odds with each other? If yes, this might be the role for you. Spacehuntr has the ultimate guide to corporate event planning. Take it, run with it, learn from it. You can even print it out, make notes on it. You do you. Now let’s get to it!  Image credit: Free-Photos from Pixabay Building the best team, isn’t all about the compensation you provide them for the work they do. There is much more to it and set your team up to be successful comes down to intellectual, emotional, and physical support.
The best thing you can do is create a positive work environment where they can thrive and feel valued. Let’s have a look at the ways you can do this: Prioritise Training When it comes to creating a positive and high-performing work environment, you can’t just hope for the best after recruitment. You need to make both initial training and ongoing training are a priority. You should aim to provide a minimum of two weeks of onboarding training, where new staff have their first weeks planned out in full. If you can provide an ongoing training programme, you are more likely to see successful employees. Create A Comfortable Work Space The workspace you provide should empower your employees to do their best. But this isn’t all about physical comfort, it’s also about providing a space that suit’s workers’ cognitive and psychological characteristics too. Providing standing desks, well-positioned computer screens, and using a commercial electrician to install natural lighting can not only make your employees comfortable, but it can also have a positive effect on their emotional wellbeing, promoting focus. Check-In On Your Employees People who like coming to work and feel valued actually do better at work. Part of providing a positive workspace includes having regular check-ins with your employees. Nothing complicated, just checking how they are feeling, how they are finding the work they Just stop off at their desk and ask how their day is going, or if you have a remote team drop them an email or informal message. You may be surprised by how these little gestures boost productivity and team morale. Encourage Communication And Collaboration It is your job as an employee to make sure both existing and new staff never feel left out. Of course, it may not always be possible for you to be there to make sure this doesn’t happen, but you can establish efficient and effective communication. A few things you can do include:
A positive working environment starts with management. If you want to build a happy, productive team you need to create a positive working environment. The tips above should help you to get started. Do you have any other tips that help to achieve this? Please share some in the comments section. |
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