Three focuses of my blog are Health/Wellness, Organizational/Management and Workplace Discussions. If you’re running a manufacturing plant or the owner of one, employee safety should be one of your primary concerns in addition to profit. The following contributed post is entitled, Health and Safety Tips For Employees In Your Manufacturing Plant.
* * *
The manufacturing industry is a significant contributor to the economy in the United States, and it employs millions of people. With such an essential role in our economy, many safety guidelines must be followed by employees at all levels. Both employers and employees must understand what health and safety mean not only on a general level but precisely when working with hazardous materials or equipment. By following these simple tips, your business can have a safer workplace environment for everyone!
When a new employee is hired in a manufacturing plant, they must receive the appropriate training for the job. This includes health and safety training and specific training on the equipment or materials they will be working with. Employees should be familiar with all of the hazards associated with their position and know how to work around them safely. It is also essential to keep employees up-to-date on any health and safety protocol changes. When new dangers are identified in the workplace, employers must ensure that employees are aware of these risks and understand how to protect themselves. Training should be tailored to each worker’s needs so that everyone can stay safe on the job.
2. Be open to listening to employee concerns
While your manufacturing plant may have strict safety protocols, employees who work in these environments feel free to voice their concerns if they feel like the company’s guidelines mustn’t offer sufficient protection. As an employer, you should be open and willing to listen when employees bring up potential problems or hazards in the workplace environment. Employees will better understand how dangerous a situation could become if management knows that their opinions are taken seriously and respected. With companies such as The Health and Safety Company (HSC) providing guidance on health and safety matters for employers across all types of industries, there has never been a safer time to start working! With so many opportunities available within the United States alone, manufacturers employ more than 12 million workers.
3. Improve waste disposal systems
One of the most critical aspects of workplace safety is ensuring that employees are not exposed to hazardous materials. This can be done by properly disposing of waste products and using correct storage methods. If your manufacturing plant has a poor waste disposal system, it could lead to serious health problems for employees. It is crucial to have a designated area where all hazardous and non-hazardous waste materials are stored and disposed of correctly. Improper handling and storage of these materials can put everyone at risk, so these measures must be taken seriously.
4. Have an emergency evacuation strategy in place
Emergencies don’t always happen when it’s convenient, so you should have a written emergency exit plan that covers what would happen in the event of an accident or injury. All employees need to be made aware of their responsibilities during these situations and know who they will need to contact if there are any problems. The employee at fault should also report immediately after the incident occurs to be taken to fix any damage caused by their actions. If your manufacturing plant does not currently have a prepared emergency response plan in place, contacting an experienced health and safety consultant like HSC could prove invaluable!
By following these simple tips, your manufacturing plant can have a much safer working environment for all employees. With the help of a professional health and safety consultant, you can create or update your emergency action plan to ensure that everyone is prepared for any situation. Stay safe on the job by following these guidelines!
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Businesses have different stages. There different considerations during the “start-up” phase versus when your business is further along. The following contributed post is entitled, Making The Right Decisions For Your Business Start-up.
* * *
If you’re like most people and dreaming of starting up your own business, it’s important that you get things right from the very start. Of course, they’ll never be perfect, as that requires experience, but you can’t afford to make huge mistakes right out of the gate.
If your business is going to see a smooth start, you need to properly evaluate what’s right for you, and what would put your business in the best position. What could improve your chances of success, and what might hinder you?
The location of your business will play a huge role in your ability to bring in customers. If you set up in an area where it’s difficult to find people who are interested in what you’re selling, you can only rely on your reputation. If you don’t yet have a reputation, then it’s going to hinder your ability to make the sales necessary. You want to be in plain view of your customers, not hidden away somewhere out of sight.
The kind of building you pick is also important. A lot of businesses at the moment are opting in to set up industrial steel buildings. There are a lot of benefits to the different materials used for a building, and it would depend on what your business specializes in. if you’re not in need of a huge amount of space, you could choose something smaller and cheaper.
Start-up capital
The amount of money that your business has to start with is going to determine what you’re capable of from the point of opening. The supply you can stock, the marketing you can afford, and the equipment and location you can pick for your building. If you haven’t got the money but you’re confident that your idea for the business is promising, you might be interested in approaching an investor. Sure, they would like to see a return on their investment, but if the investment is going to mean the difference between failure and success, it’s a benefit to your business.
Establishing online presence
Something you should be doing as soon as possible is taking advantage of all of the free resources that are available to you. Luckily, businesses have been able to use social media for years to promote their business and gain a following. Businesses with an online presence have an easier time finding customers, as it’s a great way for them to advertise themselves. Even small businesses that don’t distribute their businesses through online sales can use it to make themselves more known to the public.
Product evaluation
Your product matters the most out of everything, and even if you’re confident in it yourself, you should still get some more opinions. There are a lot of businesses that start on the idea that their product is going to be the next trend, only to fail because they misjudged the popularity of what they were selling. Getting second opinions on your product can help to further develop a more promising item to sell instead.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. No matter what business you’re running, it’s import understand what processes you need to take care of in house versus those which can be done by some other entity. The following contributed post is entitled, 4 Processes Your Business Does Not Need To Handle.
* * *
Running a small business can have your hands full at all times, and you don’t always need to take care of everything yourself. Just because your team isn’t big enough to handle all that needs to be done, doesn’t mean you need to take that responsibility on yourself. You can entrust a lot of your work to other companies for a fee, and find that it’s cheaper than having your employees doing it and that you have a lot more time to focus on things that are more important.
Outsourcing is something that many businesses take advantage of, and it’s the logical solution when it comes to growth. If you were to start delivering your products over a broader area, would you invest in your own fleet of delivery vehicles? It’s impractical and much cheaper to entrust that to another business entirely.
Looking for new employees can take a long time, and that’s time you could be spending working on something else. The whole process can be stressful, especially if you’re going to approve applications and be present for the interview process. You don’t have to do that, and there are plenty of recruitment companies out there that can work with you. They can find applicants that are a good fit for your job, all you need to do is communicate with them on your own needs.
Distribution
If your business is small and struggling to gain an audience in your local area, a logical answer would be to try and broaden your consumer base. To do this, you would have to be able to deliver your products, and when your store is online; finding those customers is no problem at all. The only issue is, a new fleet to deliver your products would be incredibly expensive. Looking into a freight forwarding company to help you take care of that can save you a lot of money, and it’s a load off of your mind.
Manufacture
Most retail businesses don’t manufacture all of the supplies that they sell, and they’re usually taken care of by the supplier. It’s impractical to manufacture everything yourself when a business that’s well-equipped could mass-produce what you’re aiming to sell. To be equipped enough to meet demands would take years of preparation and a lot of investment. Your business doesn’t need to be in charge of this, and there are many manufacturers you could work with.
Marketing
Marketing is something that requires a lot of experience if you want to get it right. Connecting with your audience is challenging, and getting the message right is going to take some experimenting. It’s expensive, and you could save yourself a lot of money and resources if you were to leave it to a marketing firm. They have the experience, the tools, and the people to help your business gain the recognition it needs, and not only is it good for your own time; but you’re more likely to see a positive ROI if you’re no marketing expert.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Many forms of business require travel. Likewise traveling for business isn’t a vacation and must be treated accordingly. The following contributed post is entitled, Tips For Heading Away On Business Travel.
If you are frequently on the road travelling for business, then making the journey as easy and comfortable as possible will make the whole process more enjoyable. Unfortunately, travelling for work can be a necessity for a job and you might need to travel in a truck if you are a delivery driver, or head to meetings if you work in sales. You might have to regularly fly around the world, or you could just have to travel to different places in the country where you live. No matter where you have to travel, it is important that you are as organised as you can. Here we have put together some top tips for heading away on business travel.
Condense Your Packing
Whether you are flying, travelling in a car/truck or using public transport, the last thing you want to be doing is lugging around a large suitcase. Before heading off make a list of the key things you need for your business trip. Try to be strict with what you are picking and if there is any doubt, the chances are that you don’t need it. The lighter you travel the smaller your case can be making the journey a lot easier. If you are able to reduce your suitcase size to a carry-on when flying, you then won’t need to wait in the ques when checking in. Plus, always remember, if you have forgotten something you can always purchase it whilst you are away.
Ensure you have all the relevant insurance
As well as being prepared for the actual meetings and things when you are travelling for business, you will also need to have other insurances in place. If you are travelling abroad you will need travel insurance that will cover you in the instance that your flight or ferry gets delayed, if your luggage is lost and if you fall ill for any reason while you are out there. You will also need to know what to do if you are driving and get into an accident. In this case, it would be a good idea to look into getting a truck accident attorney who will help you.
Think carefully when book accommodation
When you are heading away on business, you will probably need to book accommodation to stay in if it is a long journey from home. When choosing your hotel there are many things you will want to consider. Price will probably be a factor as if your company is substituting they will likely give you a budget. For this, you can consider using a hotel booking engine to help you. You will also need to think about where your hotel is based. It is a good idea to be near the place where you will be having meetings or attending conferences to make it convenient for getting there and back during the day.
These are just a few top tips that can help you be more prepared the next time you are heading away on business. Business travel is necessary but these tips can help to make it more bearable.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Many people arrive at a place in their lives where they want and in some instances need to make a second income. There are many creative ways to do this in 2021. The following contributed post is entitled, Four Simple Ways To Build A Second Income.
* * *
One of the most beneficial aspects of technological advancements in recent years is that it now allows people to work from home and make use of their knowledge and experience. Many people have already made the decision to either start a side business to supplement their income or make the transition to working from home full-time. Even though more people are beginning to do so, there are still those who are unsure of how they will be able to accomplish this. Beginning to make money online is extremely simple, especially if you have a small amount of spare time on your hands. Some people even travel around the world while working and earning money online from the comfort of their own homes and laptops. Anyone can participate; the key is to find a method that works for you and stick with it.
Here are some of the options for working from home that you might consider:
Become An Amazon Store Seller
Making money as an Amazon seller is one way to generate a good secondary income for yourself. You aren’t even required to keep the inventory or ship the inventory yourself. Investigate the Amazon business strategy to see if it could be applied to your situation.
Put Your Photography Skills To Use On The Internet
Do you enjoy taking photographs? If you are successful, you may be able to turn it into a source of passive income. You can sell your photos on photography websites such as Shutterstock and iStockphoto, which are designed to help you make money. They may offer a percentage of each photo that is sold to a site client or a flat fee for each photo that is sold.
An individual photo can be thought of as a cash flow generator because it can be sold over and over again in this manner. You only need to create your photo portfolio and upload it to one or more photo sharing websites, after which the activity becomes completely passive. The web platform is in charge of all of the technical aspects of the photo sales transactions.
Finding Easy Tasks
Even though this isn’t the fastest way to make money online, and you’re unlikely to make enough money to quit your day job, it is a fantastic way to supplement your income while working part-time from home. The internet is flooded with websites and apps that encourage you to engage in activities such as playing games and taking surveys in exchange for points that can be redeemed for cash or Amazon gift certificates. Maintaining sufficient points to qualify for a payout may take some time, but it is something you could do while watching television in the evenings or on your way to work.
Consider Stock Trading
Investing in stocks may appear to be a minefield at first glance, but with careful research and the use of online tools and apps, it can be a viable way to supplement your income at home or while travelling. Begin with a small investment and conduct extensive research into the trading markets. Keep in mind that you are investing your own money, and as a result, you stand to lose as much as you stand to gain from the investment. However, if you strike it rich with stock investing, you stand to make a substantial profit if your investment is successful.
Credit Cards With Cash Back
There are credit cards that offer cash-back benefits ranging from 1% to 5% of the purchase price. Isn’t it true that you’ll be out shopping and buying anyway?
Rewards will allow you to earn some passive “money” (in the form of lower outgoing) by doing what you’d be doing anyhow.
We’ve just begun to be more conscious about collecting reward points on our credit cards, especially because we enjoy travelling. We were able to use our reward points to pay for nine round-trip flights and a couple of hotel nights in the last year. That’s exactly what I’m referring to!
Create A Blog
Another fantastic option to make money online is to start a blog. A growing number of people are turning to blogs to share their thoughts and views with others. The fact that it is possible to make a living from it, however, is not widely known. There are currently a large number of professional bloggers and freelancers that make a living solely from the content of their blogs. You’ll need compelling content that appeals to a specific demographic in order to succeed. Whatever you want to talk about is fine, covering anything from lifestyle to health and fitness to motherhood to technology and everything in between. Even while it is not the most expedient method of earning money, once you get your blog up and running and have a reasonable following, you may begin earning money through sponsored content, free vacations and gifts, and affiliate relationships.
These are just four options for making money online; do you have any others that you can share in the comments section?
This blog post is going to involve the areas of Blogging/Writing, Business/Entrepreneurship, and Technology. As many of you know, I was able to monetize my blogging platform a couple of years ago. With multiple projects, I only have a little bit of time throughout the year to generate pieces here for myself now. Much of the content is generated by customers/collaborators. By the way, my new blog entitled, ‘Big Words Authors’ is now up and running and has a more literary/storytelling focus. Take look if you want to read creative writing narratives, stories, poetry, and my new book project entitled, “The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story”, and the many supporting promotional pieces that are on the way.
This piece, while it will discuss how I monetized my blogging platform, will also talk about two important aspects of starting your own enterprise: monitoring your business receipts and customer service. Over the years I’ve heard that systems are an important part of any successful business, and I’ve found that to be true. I will thus also discuss what happens if some of your critical systems breakdown, compromising important aspects of your business like your customer service.
There are currently numerous documents on the Big Words Blog Site involving blogging. Some were written by me, and some were written by a customer. A year or two after starting the Big Words Blog Site, I unexpectedly entered the business of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I plan to discuss SEO in greater detail in a separate post. For now, however, I’ll just say that I started collaborating with other entities to publish content, for which I’ve been compensated. I’ve worked with several collaborators, and each involved the generation of business receipts and customer service.
Checking Your Business Receipts
In one of my Fathers’ Day posts (2017), I shared a memorable experience where my father reprimanded me for not taking my receipt and counting my change – a life changing experience for me. It turns out there’s a business context for checking your receipts. As I’ll describe in the business context, checking your receipts not only ensures a given transaction was executed properly, but it can ultimately save your business.
In short, I was able to monetize my blogging activities through the area of SEO. I’m no expert in SEO, by any means, but essentially it involves increasing your rank in the Google search engine by being linked to other websites. This is a big thing in our modern digital age and there are companies that specialize in this. The client/company/partner I started working with created short informational pieces of all kinds, linking companies in them.
Our partnership involved my publishing the content they sent to me perfectly, meaning that the final published version needed to match the draft they sent me in terms of content, structure and the weblinks inserted in the original piece. Once I sent them the published link and it was satisfactory, they would send me a receipt letting me know that the piece was perfect. I have partnered with other customers performing the same service, and still others who simply want their links added to specific contents. When the partnership with my main customer started a couple of years ago, I couldn’t believe it. It involved me publishing large amounts of content and it became profitable.
Interestingly, in some instances with large numbers of pieces being generated and passed back and forth, inevitable mistakes occurred. These were either on my end or on theirs. This was understandable as they were generating thousands of pieces (from me and others), and I was publishing as many as they could send me. Occasionally, I would unintentionally leave a link out, to which I’d receive a polite message saying, “Can you please put the X link back into the piece?”. In some instances, they’d send me an apology and would ask me to change something to update it from the draft they sent me – an error on their part.
In some cases, a link that was anchored to text would need to be changed to a naked link (the actual ‘https’ web address), or sometimes the other way around. Either way, the receipts were communications that we were good to go, and that I would be paid, or that a change needed to be made, and typically, quickly. These communications also occurred when I was offered a piece, when I accepted it, and in some instances, when they needed me to delete a narrative for whatever reason. They were very important communications for our partnership.
The Importance of Customer Service in Any Business
Up to this point I’ve discussed an important element for any business/organization without explicitly stating it, Customer Service. Depending on the office in which you work, many federal employees are rated for their level of customer service every year. Simply put, customer service is the proficiency, quality, and speed with which you see to the needs of your customers.
An example from a McDonald’s restaurant comes to mind. Years ago in a McDonald’s Restaurant I ordered an extra value meal. I could taste the food as I ordered it and was set to scarf it down as I picked the tray up from the register. Somehow, I tipped my tray in such a way that my fries all fell on the floor, spilling out everywhere in front of me. Embarrassed and sure that I’d have to pay some more, I turned back to the register.
“Can I have another medium french fry, please?” Within seconds the girl working at the register got me my new fries fresh out of the fryer, and she didn’t charge me for it. This was an example of stellar customer service.
In terms of bad customer service, how many of us have had to call technical support for your cable/internet provider? Maybe you’ve had to call for your new technology device you just purchased. How long did you have to wait on the line and did the person even speak English? Was your problem resolved or did it linger for hours, days and weeks? Depending on your answers, you may have experienced poor customer service and have either complained about that particular business, or you may have never returned to do business with them.
In a nutshell, they say that the reputation of your business spreads by word of mouth. Thus, if your customer service is poor, the word could spread quickly. The same is true if your customer service is stellar. You want to stay in the latter group as it can affect your profits. That goes for whether you’re in the food service industry or SEO.
Business Receipts, Your Business Systems, and Your Customer Service
It is said that the most important part of your business is its systems. When I started the Big Words Blog Site, I set up a Microsoft Outlook account to handle the email correspondence for the site. I eventually downloaded the Outlook app onto my smartphone and upon using it, I could quickly see the notifications my customers sent to me once we started working together. From the palm of my hand, I could see if the published pieces were satisfactory or if something needed to be changed. Outlook and its app allowed me lots of agility, so to speak.
Unfortunately, there is generally at least one technical glitch per year for my business. Earlier this year something disappointing happened. My Outlook account was hacked and I could receive emails, but I couldn’t send them. This threw a major wrench in my operation. If I couldn’t send emails, how was I going to accept and confirm the documents from my customers? Immediately, I had a light-bulb moment and decided to set up a G-mail account to conduct my business while the host attempted to fix my Outlook account.
In short, it worked, but it wasn’t the same. Fortunately, my customers started sending their content to my new G-mail account so that aspect of our partnership continued. One problem I encountered though was the functionality of the G-mail account wasn’t the same as the functionality of the Outlook account. With the G-mail account, I could see when new emails were coming in, but I couldn’t quickly differentiate when an action was needed. Also, when I opened the account on both my PC and my phone, it was difficult to differentiate between the new posts that were sent, when they were sent, and if they were satisfactory.
Because I was multitasking and was a little lax in terms of checking my business receipts, I was slow to accept documents and slow to react to errors in the pieces I published. My response time had become embarrassingly slow, and frustration built for both me and my customers. One issue went unresolved for a week and half, which was unfortunate because my customer worked according to deadlines. This was confounded by the fact that my blogging software didn’t always update in the most expedient way. A customer wrote me back once saying that they would slow down sending content and I came to the sobering realization that I may have permanently destroyed our collaboration.
Restoration Of My Outlook Account, Moving Forward and Lessons Learned
It took my webhost about three months to fix my Outlook account. In the meantime, my troubles using the G-mail account with my business taught me a valuable lesson. I paid much closer attention to every piece my customers sent to me, as they had not abandoned me. I refocused and attacked problems with a renewed intensity. I closely watched my business receipts and responded to customer emails expeditiously. Once my Outlook account was restored, things were pretty much back to normal and hopefully they will stay that way.
Closing Thoughts and Conclusions
I learned several lessons from the entire turn of events. They are as follows:
• Check your business receipts and ratings regularly. • Make sure your customer service ratings are as high as possible. • Have a backup plan should one or many of your business systems go down. • In the business arena, you must remain ever vigilant.
Thank you for reading this piece. For the next phase of my writing journey, I’m starting a monthly newsletter for my writing and video content creation company, the Big Words LLC. In it, I plan to share inspirational words, pieces from this blog and my first blog, and select videos from my four YouTube channels. Finally, I will share updates for my book project The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story. Your personal information and privacy will be protected. Click this link and register using the sign up button at the bottom of the announcement. Regards.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As a business owner, one of the things you’ll want to think about is the practicality of your business’ products. The following contributed post is entitled, Dealing With The More Practical Side Of Your Business’ Products.
Running a business can be a grand new adventure. Many people are opting to start up their own companies following the pandemic, whether that’s due to job loss through company collapse and redundancy, or because they simply had enough time to realise their previous career path wasn’t for them. If you fall into this category and are getting involved in your own start up, chances are, you’ve already spent a lot of time learning new skills, areas of business management and more. There’s a lot to take on board, but all too many business owners get overly focused on more fun and engaging elements of running their company, such as market research, marketing and brand building. This is important, of course. But you do need to take time to focus on some of the more practical elements of creating your products. You can have the best ideas in the world and the best products ever, but if you don’t bring them to life, you’ll have nothing to offer your customers. Here are a few areas of focus that can help you to get the ball rolling.
Product Development
The product development stage of setting up your business may feel long and drawn out. Often, you’ll need to go through several rounds of suggesting products, receiving feedback and tweaking things until you’ll come up with your final design. But it’s absolutely essential that you grant this step the time, investment and focus it needs. It’s what will help to create a desirable, functional and sellable product that will prove the staple of your business’ success.
Manufacturing
Once you have ideas for your products, you’re going to need to bring them to life. This is where manufacturing comes into play. Manufacturing is the process of taking raw materials and transforming them into your final product. Now, you have a couple of options when it comes to manufacturing. The first is to outsource the process. When you outsource your manufacturing process, you will hand the work over to a third party who can create your products on your behalf. This will come at a cost, but it means you don’t have to invest in factory spaces, machinery, equipment or staff to create your products. Alternatively, you can invest in all these industrial supplies and bring your manufacturing in-house. Most startups find that starting out by outsourcing and then bringing things in house once they’re making profits and have created demand for their products works best.
Product Testing
Remember that all of your products will need to be tested. This will make sure that they are safe for the consumer market, saving you from liability if something goes wrong with any of your products once they reach the consumer. Product testing can also ensure that your products work and are up to standard.
These steps will take some time to get through, but the effort will all be worth it in the end. You should find yourself with a great product to confidently launch onto the consumer market!
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A lucrative sector of business is real estate. While it’s discussed in my financial literacy curricula, there are a lot of nuances and rules to succeeding in this sector. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Invest In Property And Succeed.
* * *
Whether you are a business or an individual, investing in property is a great way to maximize the among of money you have. If you get the process just right, you can become very wealthy as a result. However, like all types of investment, there are certain risks and pitfalls you need to be aware of. Not everyone who invests in property manages to produce more wealth for themselves. These people generally do not invest with the right plan or strategy in place. Planning and mitigation is essential to succeed in all types of business, and property is no different.
Develop a Strategy A strategy is essential to your overall success. Try and bite off more than you can chew will land you in some very hot water, with huge debts you cannot pay. You could end up losing everything. So, before you buy anything, make a plan. The plan must include things such as budget considerations for each property you buy. You will need to include legal fees, and the probability is you will need to do some renovations. Perhaps you have a builder in mind, perhaps not, but whatever you do, do not overspend. You will also need to diversify your locations, as buying up too much property in one area could leave you open to over-exposure by having too many loans in one area. If you are new to investing in property, then you need to start slowly and find your feet. Start small, then build from there.
Do Your Research Research should be an absolutely fundamental part of your strategy. Because there are so many things to consider, the more research you do, the better. Look for any areas that are on the rise and are becoming more popular and affluent. This will ensure that it will be a very good long-term investment. Find out about infrastructure upgrades in the area and if there will be any new amenities created as well as transport links. The more investment that is going into the area, the better your investment will be. Think about what is near the property. By doing this, you will develop an idea of the types of people that are likely to rent from you. If it is near a business center, for example, you are likely to get professional.
Property Management It does not matter if you are a private investor, or buying property as part of your current business investment strategy. Eventually, you are going to need help from a Commercial Property Management company. A management company will be able to provide in-depth, full-time management of your property portfolio. They will find tenants and help you negotiate great deals. They will take a lot of pressure off of you while you focus on expansion rather than the everyday running of the business.
Use all the Space to Your Advantage To make the most of your investment, you will want to ensure that you are getting the greatest return. Perhaps there is scope to swap a downstairs dining room into another bedroom and rent out room individually. Or maybe you can turn a large bedroom into two or create an en-suite.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As a business owner, one of your tasks is managing the finances of the business. Thus you want to determine how and where you can save the business money. The following contributed post is entitled, How An Industry Can Make Savings.
* * *
Saving money in business is one of the best ways to ensure growth, but making sure that savings are made can be a difficult thing to do – there always seems to be something else to purchase or invest in that means anything you are able to save suddenly needs to be used, leaving you with very little. However, you will find that the more you can save, the easier it will become, and anything you do need to buy won’t leave your company short of funds. Here are some of the best ways to save money.
Using the correct software to run your business can be an expensive upfront cost, but it is a wise investment. Although it is possible to buy software that will do a similar job to something that is more specific to your sector, in the end it just won’t have all the functions you need to do your work to a high enough standard. If there is something that has been made especially for your industry to use, then it is likely that it will be worth the money to start with, and it will save you money in the long term because you won’t need to buy additional software, and neither will your quality of work suffer.
Review Your Expenses
When you’re in the middle of running your business, you might not notice how much you’re spending. This is why it is essential to have a spending review once a month in order to determine what you are paying for and how much you are spending. Once you know this, you can work on reducing those costs. It also means that you can make sure your bank account tallies with your receipts, and if you do this on a regular basis rather than when tax time comes, it will save you a lot of worry and stress. Alternatively, you can hire an experienced accountant to help you do this.
Make Your Employees Responsible
If you have employees and they are tasked with finding new suppliers, searching for services, or even if they have a company credit card, it’s a good idea to make them responsible for their own spending. That doesn’t mean they have to use their own money, but it does mean that you should try to instill a sense of ownership in them. If they feel more involved in the business and they understand what it takes to run it, they will be less likely to spend without thinking, and more likely to come up with sensible ways to make savings, such as buying used ambulances for sale or renting essential equipment that only needs to be used occasionally. This can prevent unnecessary purchases and therefore save the business money.
Find Partners
Not all businesses will want or need to find partners to work with, but it can be a good thing for some companies, and it is a good way to save money. If you are working closely with someone, you can split the costs, and you will immediately have a good saving in place. As time goes on, you will be able to work together to boost your businesses as well, bringing more money into the company as a whole.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As a business owner, one of the things you’ll want is for your customers to feel comfortable. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Tips For Getting Customers To Feel Comfortable.
* * *
To break down barriers and start selling your product or service, you first need to make potential customers and clients feel comfortable about your business. Customers need to feel safe as they want to know where they’ll be putting their money towards. It also helps if they’re able to see the product, service, or even have a one-on-one conversation. Customers and clients don’t want to feel ripped off. Nowadays, it’s so easy to scam people, unfortunately.
Anyone can build a website, create ads, and begin “selling” on the internet. In-person and online shopping are both completely different experiences but both need to be presentable so potential customers and clients can feel at ease when making their decisions. Here are some tips for making your target audience get comfortable with you.
If your business has a physical location, utilize this. You want your business, whether it be a shop, service, or anything else, to look professional. Some customers and clients want to meet and have a discussion face to face. Some are old-fashioned and it should be something that’s respected. If your physical location doesn’t look the best, such as lacking curb appeal or lacking any visually appealing qualities then you’ll want to look into fixing that. Having a comfortable and professional-looking space is vital. Not only will potential customers enjoy this, but it helps employees work more efficiently as well.
You may want to look into a skip bin hire and then make some changes to your workspace. Adding some nice furniture, painting the walls, and changing up the flooring can truly transform the space. Lighting and décor are important as well, as these help out in setting a desired atmosphere to the space. You may even want to add something to the exterior such as plants so the outside looks presentable too. It may seem like a lot of work but first impressions matter as they are long-lasting.
Have a Contact Page on Your Website
If you have a business website (and you should), you need to get yourself a contact page. Yes, a professional and up-to-date website is very important but it’s also important to have the appropriate pages on there too. This contact page should contain information about the company so customers and clients can reach you. You should provide a number as well, and answer any incoming calls. Sure, there may be challenges of using articulate speech during phone calls but it’s crucial to let customers know they’re real humans and you’re running a real business.
Utilize Customer Testimonials
Reviews are one of the most important components for a customer. This is what will help them in deciding on what to purchase or who to hire. You’ll find reviews on social media ( such as Facebook), Google Business Reviews, The Bom, YouTube, and even on a website testimonials page. Whether customers want to compliment you or criticize your service, they should be allowed to. Both positive and negative reviews will let customers know that you’re a real business and it will raise their comfort levels.
Make Sure They Know How To Use Your Products or Services
It’s important that your customers know how to use the4 services or products you’re selling. That’s why demonstrations and customer training processes can be very useful, particularly in certain niches. Software as a service is the perfect example of a niche that requires customer training in order for them to get the most out of the product. Good saas customer success training makes a real difference to outcomes in the industry.
