Category: Contributed Posts

Keep Your Business From Ongoing Disruption

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. When you’re running a business of any kind, it’s important to understand how to prevent disruptions and also how to get your operations back up and running once there has been a disruption. The following contributed post is entitled, Keep Your Business From Ongoing Disruption.

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To keep a business moving at the right pace and in the right way takes a lot of effort in different areas. One of the bigger concern you are likely to have here is that you will probably need to try and find a way to ensure that your business is not being disrupted along the way. That can be hard to do, but as long as you know where to look and what kind of steps you need to take, you should find that it is also a lot easier than you might have thought. In this post, we are going to take a look at some of the ways in which you can hope to keep your business from any ongoing disruption, by paying attention in particular to a few key areas and how they are functioning on a daily basis.

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Outsourced Partners

One thing you will need to pay particular attention to is the activity and behaviour of any outsource teams you might have on board in your business. Because of the nature of outsourcing, you never quite know whether or not they are going to help or hinder you, and in many cases even if they are helping you on the whole, they can still be causing disruption and distractions at the same time too. It is therefore wise to make sure that you keep an eye on what they are doing, but what does this mean practically? It might be that you want to utilise something like the servicenow vendor risk management to ensure that you are not having to take on any unacceptable losses or risk from outsource IT firms, or it could be a simple case of making sure that you thoroughly vet any outsource firms before agreeing to contract them with work.

Rogue Employees

Although it is not quite as common, it is still always a possibility too for certain people in your own employment to make things difficult for the business. This is the kind of situation that you will generally want to do away with as soon as possible, but as long as you are keeping a close eye on those who work for you, you should be able to spot such individuals pretty swiftly anyway. If you do get a feeling that there are some individuals not really pulling their weight and causing a nuisance, then you should make sure to follow it up with a particular disciplinary routine, which you should already have set out as much as possible.

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Marketplace Variations

Clearly, this is an area in which you have much less control than the above two example, but it is still something you will want to look out for. You will at least then be able to know why your business is experiencing disruption, and that will mean that you can hone in and ensure that your business gets back on track as soon as possible, despite what might be happening in the marketplace outside it.

10 Ways to 10x Your Productivity

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success. No matter what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s important to be able to get the most out of yourself and your abilities. While important, it’s not something that obvious to everyone. The following contributed post is thus entitled, 10 Ways to 10x Your Productivity.

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We’re all looking to squeeze more from our lives, yet we are limited to only having a certain number of hours in each day. Therefore, we need to find ways to get more done in less time.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at ten great ways to boost your productivity this year.

1. FIND OUT WHEN IS BEST TO WORK FOR YOU
We all have our own inner rhythm when it comes to the best time of day for us to work, for instance, many creative people find that working through the early hours of the morning can be the most productive time for them, whilst for most people, the early morning tends to be their most productive time as their brain is refreshed and their body is re-energised.

You need to work out when you are at your most productive, and focus on building a schedule around your natural rhythm rather than trying to adjust your natural rhythm, which can feel like a very difficult uphill struggle, at the end of the day.

2. WORK IN MORE LIGHT
One of the most vital components of creating a focused work environment is that of natural light, as the lighter a room tends to be, the more easy it tends to be to focus on the task at hand. Therefore, if you’re used to sitting down to work in a dark room, you’re setting yourself up for an uphill struggle.

Get somewhere with an abundance of natural light, or even artificial light, at worst case; just think of how much clear and productive people tend to feel when walking around an art gallery – in parts its the decluttered nature of galleries, but another large part of this is the fact there is so much light bounced around the space due to the white walls and lighting setup.

3. WORK IN SPRINTS
If you think of how much more calories people burn in high intensity interval training, where they might go flat out for twenty seconds, then rest for ten, and then go again – the same is true when it comes to focusing on your work. There are many advantages of the rotating shift, for the same reason, and you want to try to adopt this approach to your own work.

Focus in short bursts, rather than for long blocks of time, using something known as the pomodoro technique in order to ensure you maximise the maximum output when working.

4. USE THE PARETO PRINCIPLE
The Pareto Principle talks about how 20% of your activities will tend to account for 80% of your outcome… meaning, there will be just a few tasks or activities on your to do list that will have a massive impact on how much you achieve. Therefore, you want to prioritise those tasks and focus 80% of your energy on the 20% of tasks that will get you the most results.

5. USE LISTS
The world’s most successful people tend to use lists for everything. There are a wide variety of apps available to help with this, such as Wunderlist, that can help you keep track of your most important tasks. There’s something psychologically rewarding about ticking items off of your to-do list as this builds momentum, in that if you’ve ticked 3 out of 5 of your items off that list for the day, then you feel very motivated to get the other two finished.

6. DON’T TRY TO DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF
Whether in business, or your personal life, try to avoid the temptation to feel like you need to do everything yourself. Try not to overstretch yourself by taking on too many tasks and be sure to outsource low value but high time tasks, for instance, cleaning, to a supportive network of people that help ensure you get more done.

7. TAKE A VACATION
It’s really important to take a vacation from time to time, and have weekends, as so many people feel the need to work through their weekends and like they don’t have the time to take a vacation – yet, actually, the productivity benefits of having some down time are absolutely massive. Think of how even the fittest of boxers still require rests between rounds, and it’s only as a result of having that rest, that they can keep going – and come back stronger.

You need to allow yourself time to rest, and time away from your work, therefore taking a vacation from time to time and ensuring you use your weekends, are great ways to improve your productivity.

8. WORK WHEN YOU WORK
You want to be ensuring you “work when you work” meaning, when you sit down to work your focus is 100% on the task at hand – you don’t have the TV on in the background, or kids playing around your home office. You have a one track mind, in terms of the focus you have for your task – and this idea of working when you work means you can also “play when you play” or “rest when you rest”.

Too many people today are trying to cram too much into their lives, all at once – trying to balance multiple things all at the same time. The most productive way you can go about any task, is to sit and focus on it, in a very single minded manner.

9. CHUNK IT DOWN
Sometimes, we spend so much time fretting about how to approach something, that we never get started. For instance, let’s say you feel overwhelmed by having to write a big report – the first thing you want to do, is to break it down into headings and subheadings so that you can then start to fill in the gaps. Therefore, the first thing you want to do when dealing with a big task is to create the structural framework so that you can then go about filling in the gaps.

10. GET UP EARLIER
This one might sound incredibly simple, but get up an hour earlier, and use this hour to get your most important tasks done. It will skyrocket your productivity levels.

11 Ways To Make Money Outside Of Your 9-5

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. There’s an argument out there that the smartest way to live is to have multiple sources of income. As such, many individuals have given a lot of thought to how they can create second- or third-income streams outside of their 9-5 jobs. The following contributed post discusses how to create multiple income streams and is entitled, 11 Ways To Make Money Outside Of Your 9-5.

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Making money by going to your 9-5 job every week is certainly an honorable way to earn money. However, more and more people are beginning to realize that if they want to lead truly comfortable lifestyles and build wealth, they are going to need more than one source of income to do it. In fact, the most wealthy people in the world often have 6 or 7 different sources of income. The less you have to rely on one source of income, the better!

Below, we’ll go into 11 ways you can make money outside of your 9-5 so you can begin working on bringing in cash from various sources:

1. Rent Out A Part Of Your Property
If you have a property and you don’t use all of it all the time, you could consider renting out a part of it. Even renting out your driveway could help you to bring some extra cash in from time to time! If you have a spare bedroom you could rent that out, provided you don’t mind sharing your home with somebody else. Alternatively, you could look into a site like Airbnb to rent out your entire home when you’re going to be away yourself. You could make money while you’re off on your own vacation!

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2. Sell Things You No Longer Use
Go through each room in your home and collect things that you haven’t used for 6 months or more. Usually, if you haven’t used something in 6 months you can pretty much guarantee you won’t use it again (unless it’s some special item that you only really need for emergencies, that is). You can use sites like eBay to sell these items and make some extra cash. If you’d rather cut out the middleman costs, selling on Facebook or even hosting a garage sale can be just as effective.

3. Offer Your Services As An Online Freelancer
If you have a little spare time, you could always offer your services as a freelancer using sites like Upwork and People Per Hour. You could proofread, write content, design logos, or do anything else that you think you’re good at! It can take a little time to get work when you’re just starting out, but it can be a nice way to make a decent side income in your own time.

4. Start Blogging/Vlogging
Blogging and vlogging should be done first and foremost because you are passionate about what you want to share. If you’re doing it purely for the cash, you’ll probably get fed up and end up giving up after a short time! You should create quality, consistent content because you have a message you want to share and you enjoy it. Enjoyment will keep you going when your subscribers aren’t growing and you’ve made a miniscule amount of money in months. Consistency is key if you want this to be a way for you to make money!

5. Turn Your Passion Into A Side Hustle
If you have something you’re truly passionate about, it could be possible to turn it into a side hustle. Maybe you like making jewelry or reupholstering furniture; if you’re serious, you could spend your spare time building up this business. Eventually, you may be able to leave your 9-5 job and work for yourself. However, you’ll want to make sure you’re aware of the reasons most new businesses fail. It won’t be easy, and you’ll still need to work hard in the beginning. You really have to love it and you really have to want it!

6. Investing
Investing can sound like a scary word, especially to beginners who have only ever put their spare cash into savings accounts. However, it’s essential if you want to ensure your financial health for the future and give yourself a chance at being truly wealthy! There’s a plethora of information out there that can help you to get started, and you only need to start small. You can even find apps like Moneybox to help you get started. The important thing is getting started and committing a portion of your earnings to investing regularly – then you’ll build up momentum and be able to learn as you go along. You’ll be glad you started now. The earlier you start, the more you can take advantage of compounding!

7. Smart Spending
Smart spending can sometimes be all it takes to help you make money outside of your 9-5. There are numerous ways you can do this. For example, by making sure you buy items that will enable you to make more money in the long run, like Disney DVDs that become more valuable once they are taken off the shelves (rather than items that lose value, like brand new cars). You can also spend smartly by using cashback sites when you buy, and you should be able to get a portion of what you spend back each time. Then you can try smart spending alongside the NFL betting guide or make a sports bet with any online site that gives you the opportunity to bet on real or imaginary games. Be warned about betting, however. Using this method comes with an element of risk that you should keep in mind, and you should be wary of if you have a gambling problem. However, if you are able to monitor your spending, you could win big if you bet wisely.

8. Create Online Courses
If you have a lot of knowledge and/or passion on a certain subject, how about creating online courses to help others learn? You can create courses about just about anything these days, and the great thing is, you only have to do the work once. The courses can sell again and again and you will continue to make money!

9. Write Ebooks
Ebooks can help you to make cash if you do some keyword research and figure out what people want to know about. Both fiction and non-fiction are an option, although you may need to write lots of ebooks to make a decent sum of money.

10. Start Your Own Ecommerce Business
Ecommerce businesses are extremely popular, and for good reason. Pretty much anybody can set one up using sites like Shopify, selling items that they feel passionate about.

11. Advertise On Your Car
There are companies that will pay you to have an advertisement for their business on your car. All you have to do is fill out a form stating where you drive and how much you drive, and any suitable offers will then be sent to you. The company will remove the ad when the campaign is complete and you will get paid. Easy!

Help Yourself To Help Recruit The Best Talent To Your Team

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One of the most powerful things you can do for your operations is to hire the right talent to work for you. Identifying the right talent isn’t easy and separates the successful from the unsuccessful business. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Help Yourself To Help Recruit The Best Talent To Your Team.

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Hiring the right people for your business, and then holding onto the right talent has not been tougher than it is now. With an aging population, in the coming years there aren’t going to be enough younger people (nine percent down), coming into the workforce to replace those retiring. So if someone did leave your business, it could be hard to replace them. Plus, when you recruit the right people, it really is what makes your business. They are the ones that are out there each day working to make the business a profitable one. So for many reasons, getting the right talent for your business and then doing enough to hold onto them is exactly what you want.

So with all of that in mind, here are some tips to help you to create a great workplace culture that will attract people to your role, as well as how to keep them wanting to work for you.

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• Put Employees First

There has been plenty of research that has shown that if you want to recruit and keep the right people for the job, then you need to create a culture within your business that makes people want to work there. This doesn’t always have to mean things like the Google offices or give them slides instead of stairs. But your employees need to feel respected and valued at all times. Show this through how you conduct yourself, but also how you are interacting with others.

• Provide Training

If you are interviewing people, then being able to demonstrate what they can look forward to, and the different ways in which they can work their way up in the business. Talking about the training that you can offer is a good way to recruit the right people and those looking for longevity in their career within your business. But apart from that, there are so many other reasons why providing training is really important for your team. Take the threat of social engineering to businesses, for example. There are many threats online to businesses, and you are likely to have some aspects of your business online. But the human aspect of hacking is where businesses can fail. Social engineering, or things like phishing, is where problems could occur. So training your team for things like this can help the business to keep thriving, and in turn, help their career to carry on.

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• Use Emotional Intelligence

One of the worst things that a small business can do when it comes to recruiting is disengaging with the hiring process. You can see why it isn’t going to be a good thing for your business, as when it is your business, why wouldn’t you want to be involved with the recruiting and let someone else do the recruiting for you?

Part of the process of recruiting should look at the employee’s emotional intelligence as well their skills, experience, and their intellectual capability. Studies have shown that IQ alone isn’t enough to show how well someone is going to do in a job. You need to look at their emotional intelligence as well and how they react in certain social situations. So as part of the recruitment process, don’t use qualifications alone. You could look to add in an emotional intelligence evaluation so that you can see how well they are going to fit into your business. The better they fit in, the more they are going to enjoy coming to work, and hopefully, the more they are going to want to stay working with you.

Being able to be flexible in the recruitment process is really important too. If you hire someone and it is working out well and they are fitting in well, but could be better suited to a different department, then move them around to other roles. Then they can experience more and it is likely to lead to longevity with your business if they can experience a variety of different things. This is because if you find someone that fits well with your company, you will want to find the right role for them that is going to help them to stick with you.

Communication is really key and it can make the difference, so make sure you are talking to your employees about what they want to be doing and where they see themselves in the years to come. There are no guarantees in life and business, of course, but putting in the effort with employees can really help.

What Could You Outsource In Your Business?

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Depending upon the time of business you’re running and its stage of development, outsourcing parts of its operations may be the way to grow to take it to the next level. The following contributed post is therefore entitled, What Could You Outsource In Your Business?

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If you’re a business owner, you will be familiar with the idea of outsourcing. Whilst some people aren’t too fond of the idea, as it can take away some of your control as a boss, there are many benefits of outsourcing, and it can save you a lot of time and money. When it comes to handing over some of your work to those outside the office, there are many different services out there, and outsourcing is an ever-evolving market. If you’re interested in the services that could help you and your business, read on, as we have brought together some of the best examples here.

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Your website creation

Coding and updating your own website can be a difficult task for any business, especially if you don’t have the skills and experience to do these things yourself. Whilst you may think that going DIY is a good way for you to save a bit of money, your website is where all of your clients will go for information about your business, and if it isn’t up to scratch, they may question your professionalism and ability to do the job right. You only have one shot to make a good impression on people who are thinking of using your services, so ensure that it is perfect and outsource it to people who know all there is to know about website creation and coding, and you’ll be glad that you did.

Your IT services

When you think about how much time your employees spend on their computers, you’ll realise how catastrophic it could be if any problems occur with your IT. If your IT usually runs smoothly, and as such, you don’t need to employ somebody full-time to stay on top of it, you could benefit financially by outsourcing these services. Most IT companies will offer 24 hour support, so if any problems arise, they can be rectified straight away. They will also know about all of the latest software, and will usually implement these without even having to pay a visit to your office. If you want your company computers to run smoothly with little stress and low costs, look into these options.

Your phone calls

As a business owner, you’ll know how many phone calls you can receive each day, and it can be difficult to stay on top of all the other tasks that you have to do whilst constantly being interrupted by calls from clients. Of course, it is fundamental that you stay on top of these things, but you could benefit from outsourcing them to a different company. There are many virtual headquarters out there who can take your calls for you, answer them with the responses that you have provided, and forward the important messages directly on to you. This can save you a lot of money, as you won’t have to hire someone on a full-time basis to answer all of your calls.

Your payroll

Paying your employees, particularly if you have a large team, can take up a lot of your time, especially if you pay them weekly. Sitting there and going through all of the hours that people have worked can take up a lot of hours that you simply don’t have to give, so outsourcing may be a better alternative to keeping your payroll in-house. You also have to try and navigate the world of taxes and the regulations that come with paying your employees, which can be another stress that you really don’t need as a business owner. As with the other forms of outsourcing, this will help you to save the cash by avoiding the need to have a team member dealing with these issues.

So…

If you’re interested in the world of outsourcing, some of these services could help you to spend less as a business, and will save you and your employees a lot of time. You can stick to focusing on the things that really matter, and leave these difficult tasks to the professionals, so that you can get on with the more important duties that you have. From outsourcing your website creation to getting somebody else to answer your phone calls, there are plenty of services out there if you’re interested in saying goodbye to the mundane, and hello to business success with the help of some other companies. You’ll be glad that you did when you see the savings that you have as a result!

Try these different ways of outsourcing, and see how they could help you to achieve the business you’ve always dreamed of!

The Two Most Common Ways Of Beginner Trading

A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. A part of being financially literate is understanding how to invest. One way to do so is ‘trading’, which some also interestingly consider to be something different than investing. If you’re interested in trading, the following contributed post is entitled, The Two Most Common Ways Of Beginner Trading.

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Many people shut themselves off from various opportunities to do something new with their life, by convincing themselves they will fail. Not only is this a self-esteem issue but it’s a lack of knowledge too. If you understand something, you’re more likely to feel comfortable doing it. More and more people are realizing that they have been lead astray by all the cultural entertainment content around and for the trading industry. Not everyone who trades stocks is some kind of wizard, that lives fast and has a very intense work schedule. Far from what you see on screen, trading is accessible and easy to understand for everyone. If were only a few people trading, then there wouldn’t be much of an economy to talk about. The great thing about modern and fluid economies is that anyone can trade whatever they want. Here are the two most common kinds of trading that all beginners should grasp first.

Penny stocks

As you can probably tell by the name of this kind of trading, you’re trading stocks of companies that are just getting off the ground. Their stock prices are in the pennies range, but not all the time. It’s just a general title that this kind of trading is given. Sometimes you have stocks that are worth several dollars so don’t think you need to bust the piggy bank of change to begin. It’s quite simple trading in fact. You buy these stocks from companies that looks promising. That’s the entire game of it all, looking for companies that look like they are going to be successful. It’s so simple that anyone can play. All that you need to do to turn over a profit is to research companies carefully, see what they provide and what is going to turn them into success stories. This could be done by visiting their website, inspecting their product line and comparing their services to rival companies. Then gradually their stock prices will rise until you turn over a massive profit.

Over and done by the day

Day trading is fast and simple. You are merely buying stocks when the trading day begins and all your positions are alleviated by the end of the day. You will hold nothing when the final bell rings at the end of the trading time, which makes day trading exciting but also easy to understand. Things like the best volume indicator for day trading can help you to understand how you should strategize. Some markets are fractal, meaning that usually there are big names and small names giving you a clear indication of where cheap and expensive stocks are. You should look into the gap risk to see what kind of hurdles you might need to jump as you begin day trading. Sometimes the risks can be sudden and high but to have drastic actions happen in the market in just one day is actually, quite predictable.

No one should be afraid of getting into trading and making some money on the side or perhaps making it your full time career. Penny stocks are those little flutters of hope that can turn out to be huge piles of cash.

The Curse Of The One-Time Customer

Two of the key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Repeat customers are the lifeblood of all businesses, and it’s critical to understand to have your customers return to your establishment time and again. The following contributed post is thus entitled, The Curse Of The One-Time Customer.

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Repeat customers are crucial in business. They’re the most profitable customers you could hope for. They’re also most likely to promote you through word of mouth. If sites like www.bizjournals.com are anything to go by, customers who have been with you before are also liable to spend more.

Sadly, this isn’t a goal every business manages. In the starting stages especially, it isn’t unusual for sales to be a one-time thing. This is disheartening as it means continuing to spend a fortune on marketing at a time when every penny counts. But, this vicious cycle needn’t become your business reality. In truth, a trend in one-time buyers is often due to a few rookie mistakes. To ensure you don’t make them, we’re going to look at what they are, and how you can avoid them.

Too little follow up

Following up sales is crucial. At the very least, it helps you to collect reviews which show what you do right, and what you do wrong. From a repeat-custom standpoint, it’s also a fantastic way to remind customers you exist. Those first few customers might be a massive part of your business journey, but you’re just another company. The chances are that your shop was far from the only one they bought from that day. If you aren’t careful, then, you could fall off their radar even if they like what they got. By sending a review email, you nudge them into thinking about you again. All without having to outwardly advertise to them at all. With a bit of luck, that alone will get them back on your website looking for more.

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Too much follow up

In the same breath, too much follow up from a company is sure to be off-putting. As a rule, one email should be enough to cover you here. If you send more than that, you’re soon going to become a nuisance. Note, too, that even companies who only intend to send one email can often end up sending more. That’s because they haven’t dealt with a little something called data management. If your customer information is all over the place, customers may end up on more email lists than they should. This could result in a bombardment which ensures they never buy from you again. Don’t let it happen. Learn to manage customer data with the help of companies like profisee.com. That way, you can automate one follow up email and rest easy that it’s the only one which lands in your customer’s inboxes.

A stagnant business model

If a customer buys a product from you, there’s little chance that they’ll want to buy that same product again. At least, in the majority of cases. That’s why a business model which stagnates is never going to get people coming back. Instead, you need to think all the time about where to take your business next. The more developments you offer, the more opportunity there’ll be for repeat custom and increased success in the long-run.

Think Strategically About Remodeling Your Business Space

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Your business concept/idea is important but your business space is as well. The following contributed post discusses important considerations for your business space and is entitled, Think Strategically About Remodeling Your Business Space.

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Choosing to remodel the building or space where your business is based is on the plus side exciting, on the other hand, it can be quite an overwhelming task to behold. Unless you work in construction or have experience in the trade, knowing where to begin, what to do and how much it’s all going to cost may leave you feeling baffled.
To remodel your business space with confidence, take on board the below tips to think strategically when creating a plan of action to give your business space remodeling some much-needed structure.

Purpose Of Remodelling

Before you begin brainstorming ideas of what you would like to change in your business space, it’s firstly necessary to consider why you want the remodeling to take place. In doing so, you will have a purpose and an end goal to work towards. The leading causes owners tend to remodel are mainly due to the following;

• To take responsibility for repairs and replace old electric and pipe systems
• To adhere to health and safety regulations
• To add personality to your office in line with your brand
• To entice clients to your business
• To update or refresh tired, shabby decor
• To change the design of the office, e.g. to open plan
• To generate new departments as the company functions and processes change
• To improve employee productivity at work by creating an aesthetically pleasing environment
• To launch a new business image

The purpose you choose for changing your business space might include a few of the above. If so, note each point down and refer to this during the remodeling process to ensure you don’t deviate from the objective.

Budget-Friendly Ideas And Next Steps

With the aim confirmed, it’s now time to brainstorm ideas and solutions to meet this goal. This will be directly linked to your chosen purpose(s). For instance, if it’s a new office image to represent a new brand you seek, with an open office plan space and an environment that increases productivity for you and your employees, your ideas will be linked with this objective in mind. This could mean;

Idea – Knocking down any existing walls within the business space, bar toilet, and staff rooms.

Next Steps – Checking whether there are any load bearing walls or walls that have electrical wires and pipes running through. To obtain quotes from a few handymen to assess the work.

Idea – To replace the existing flooring for durable, hard-wearing, modern flooring, such as concrete.

Next Steps – This is a task that would logically take place after knocking the walls down. You would need a professional such as a concrete contractor, R&M concrete to assess whether the flooring you require is possible in your building and a quote for how much it will cost.

The remodelling plans for your business space should be thought through to assess if the work is both practically possible and affordable. If for instance, the ideas you devise are not cost-effective regarding the budget you have, you will need to think of alternative approaches to reach your objective. Solutions to this could be, choosing to remodel at a later date when you have the funds to put your ideas into action or applying for a business loan to put your plan into motion sooner.

How to Use Your Business Acumen To Help a Community

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Running a business isn’t all about making money in some instances. In some cases it’s important to consider how to better the community that your business is based in. The following contributed post is thus entitled, How to Use Your Business Acumen To Help a Community.

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When it comes to running a business, you feel pretty confident about your abilities. You have several successful projects under your belt so far and you’re ready to add even more to your list. You take running your business extremely seriously, so when you think about a company that could genuinely help other people it makes you pretty excited. You want to use your business knowledge and acumen to help a community and create a truly worthwhile venture for once. Instead of being in it for the money, you’re ready to find new ways to make people in your community feel wanted and included.

Build a New Community Centre

One of the first ways in which you can make a difference in your local area, is by building a brand new community centre or church. Perhaps your village was involved in a natural disaster or the pride and joy of the town was destroyed by vandalism. This is the perfect opportunity to contact a church construction company, Daniels Construction and start a brand new project. Even if there is already a building in place, you can expand and reconstruct the current one in whatever way you wish. No matter what type of budget or time scale you are working to, you know you will be able to get the job done with a team of professionals on hand at all times.

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Start a Campaign to Help the Homeless

Now that your new commercial building project is underway, you might be able to start thinking about how you can give back. Why not start up a church group and invite the homeless to meet new people a couple of times a week? There are so many ways that you can give back to the people who are less fortunate than you. A soup kitchen or a career support group is also an excellent idea for your new community centre.

Give Troubles Youths a Chance

If you live in an area where you know there are a whole load of troubled teens, then you might just be able to help them out in life. Offer to give those troubled teens a little responsibility, which will allow some structure in their life. Whether they’re helping to make coffee in the church or cleaning up after an event, their parents will be grateful for you reaching out to those who are truly in need of a helping hand.

So if you have been doing some soul searching recently it’s time to start considering all of your options. Nowadays it can be very tricky to start up a business venture that is really going to have a positive impact on the people around you. Whether you’re building a new community church or you’re trying to volunteer locally, there are so many big ways that you can make a difference in your area. Being a business owner isn’t just about earning respect and making money; it’s about helping the people around you and understanding the importance of giving back.

Take Your Business In An Unexpected Direction

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. In today’s digital world, all businesses don’t have to be run in a traditional sense within a ‘bricks and mortar’ setting. Much of business is now carried out online via E Commerce. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Take Your Business In An Unexpected Direction.

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Pretty much every small start up nowadays is being established online. There’s a good reason that many small business owners are taking to the realm of E Commerce to sell their products to the consumer market. When it comes down to it, E Commerce is a lot cheaper to set up than a brick and mortar store. You don’t have to worry about forking out for a commercial property or commercial property rent. You can also wave goodbye to commercial energy bills to keep the place up and running. You don’t have to furnish this space or pay for merchandisers to arrange your products in an appealing manner. There’s no pressure to take on security staff or pay for security equipment. Instead, you can simply collaborate with a freelance web designer on the one-off project of creating your website. E Commerce also provides low levels of commitment. By avoiding commercial property, you don’t sign up to rent a space for a given period of time, meaning you can back out of your venture at any point if things get a bit too difficult or if things just really don’t work out – there really won’t be all too much loss involved. So, we would generally recommend taking this approach if you are operating a small business or planning on operating a small business. One thing to bear in mind, however, is that with the ease of E Commerce has come an influx of small businesses establishing themselves. It seems like every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants to try their hand at becoming the next entrepreneur. The market is becoming increasingly saturated and you’re going to have to take bold steps to ensure that your company manages to stand above the rest. This could require a little thinking outside of the box. But how can you achieve this? Well, let’s take a moment to look into the matter further!

The Problem With Saturated Markets

So many small business owners make the mistake of assuming that all companies will have to take some sort of sales in a saturated market. There are so many consumers out there that at least a portion will naturally fall into your path and choose to spend their money with you, right? Well, this isn’t actually the case. When you are operating in a saturated market, you’re bound to face a whole host of problems at some point or another. Saturated markets create stiff competition and the majority will start to pull illogical business moves in order to try to stand out from the crowd – they will significantly reduce the prices of their goods to lure customers towards their company. Sure, this might work. Customers will go where prices are lowest. But by undercutting competition, these small businesses devalue their own goods and significantly reduce their own profit margins. You don’t want to get roped into using the same tactics and devaluing your own goods. However, if you are offering the same thing, you’re going to have to! There is an answer to all of this though. You just need to take your business in an unexpected direction and offer something different! Offer something that nobody else is offering. Even if the difference between your product and other products out there is relatively small, it’s much better than offering the exact same thing as somebody else. Even the slightest difference in your goods could draw people towards you, helping you to make sales and generate more of a profit.

Coming Up with Something Innovative

When you have something that is completely innovative and that hasn’t been seen before, you are going to find swaying buyers your way to be a lot easier. Your product will exist in its own right and people won’t really be able to compare it to other options on the market. But how do you come up with something innovative? Well, we’re afraid that this is purely down to you. You’re going to have to get your thinking cap on! The good news is that there are a few steps that you can take to steer yourself in the right direction.

Identify a Gap in the Market

The first step that you should take on your journey to creating something completely new is to identify a gap in the market. Take a look at what’s already out there and actively seek out a space where you could offer something different.

Offer a Service

Small business owners tend to focus more on products than services. So, why not consider providing a service instead of something tangible that can be packaged up in a box and placed on store shelves? While the market for services still has a lot of competition, there tends to be less of it than in the market for goods. Still try to be innovative. Look at how a service for off highway powertrain has taken off. This might have been something that you would never have thought of yourself, but it takes thinking up something like this to experience success!

Differentiating Your Product

Remember that your offerings don’t have to be an entirely new invention or the most astounding idea ever. They just need to tweak existing designs and items to make them slightly more appealing than current options. If your product is similar to other products on the market, people are likely to opt for whichever is cheapest. However, by differentiating you are giving them alternative choice and they may deem that whatever small addition you are offering is worth paying a little extra for! You may need to really focus on whatever differences you make through advertising and marketing. Really laying emphasis on a slight difference of features can make consumers really focus on it too!

Conducting Market Research

There’s a good chance that you’ve already carried out a little market research at some point in your business journey. This isn’t all too surprising. After all, market research is a business basic and is particularly beneficial for newly emerging businesses. It is a process that allows you to see current market trends, scope out your competition, and to come up with a competitive pricing plan that will encourage customers to shop with you without eating into your profits. However, it is important to remember that you should continue to carry market research out as your brand develops and grows. If you are deciding to take your business in a new direction, you really do need to make sure that there is a market for the innovative idea that you’ve come up with. Sure, making a slight difference to an existing product can help your product to stand out and can make consumers take a second look at what you’re offering. But things could just as easily sway in the opposite direction and a minor change could put customers off and make them step away from your brand. So, conducting fresh market research into any change you make to your products will help you to work out whether your demographic is showing sufficient levels of interest in these changed products in order to buy the final result from you. Take the time to determine how your new and unexpected take will fare in the current marketplace. It really is more than worth the time and effort invested into the process!

Patenting and Copyrighting

Once you’ve come up with something innovative, you need to be prepared for the fact that others out there are going to try to mimic you. This is an inevitability. The good news is that you can hinder their efforts to take your hard work and profit from it themselves. You simply need to protect your intellectual property through patenting or copyrighting. These are legal means of protecting your ideas. A patent ensures that you are the only person who can produce and profit from the product you have created for a set period of time. This gives you the opportunity to become a market leader and generate a significant amount of profit before others can try their hand at selling your idea. Copyrighting is a means of ensuring that other people can’t copy your ideas. If they do, a cease and desist letter can be sent out to them. If they fail to cease and desist, they can face serious legal action!

Constantly Moving Forward

Once you have managed to complete this entire process, avoid being complacent. No matter how innovative your product may initially be and despite your best efforts to copyright and protect your ideas, others are eventually going to catch up. You need to always stay one step ahead of the game in order to ensure that you continue to stand out from the crowd rather than being swallowed up by it.

As you can see, you really do need to take your company in a new and unexpected directions in order to experience success and generate significant profits. Hopefully, the above information will help you to achieve this!