Tag: Business

The Importance Of Making Expansion Plans For Your Business

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Once you start your business, if it’s successful, you will eventually have to think about expansion. The following contributed post is entitled, The Importance Of Making Expansion Plans For Your Business.

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If you are a regular reader around here then you may have noticed that the three main topics of my blog are money, business/entrepreneurship and health/wellness.

In this day and age there are many aspects to consider when starting up your own business. You can run a successful start-up company from the comfort of your home which may then lead to needing to expand.

A lot of people start their own businesses through sheer desperation at being that unhappy in their current 9-5 job, that they make a leap of faith in starting their own venture. For some people it may have been something they had considered for a very long time before building up the courage and confidence to take the decision to quit their average job and take control of their future as an entrepreneur.

Not only is starting your own business a little daunting to say the least, but quitting your current job can be a very stressful thing, especially if you have dependents and commitments whether it be a mortgage, loan or your rent.

However, before making the decision to jump straight in, it’s important to understand that timing is everything. You need to make sure that you have all of your affairs in place for your new venture before deciding to take out the safety net that is your regular guaranteed income.

The absolute first thing to make sure of is to be confident that you know your business will work. You need to know where your business will fit into the market and you need to have made a plan to progress once you get there.

A business plan is a must, without one your business will probably fail before you have even properly started. A well thought out business plan will help you to maintain a company direction, to spot potential pitfalls before they arise and to set realistic business targets.

Depending on the type of business you go into, part of your business plan may involve future proofing your business with the possibility to expand out of your home office or shared business space.

Shared business spaces are really popular and they are invaluable with start ups where there may be limited funding. They aren’t a long term solution though and this needs to be considered – which leads back to your business plan.

Expansion of your business should be a very important part of your business plan, these could include:

1. Adding to your existing line of goods and services

2. Targeting your existing customer base to sell more products

3. Look for a new customer base to add to your existing one

4. Discover new sales channels

5. Merge with another business or acquire them

Well established high street businesses are turning to opening online stores to help strengthen their core business and this is where start ups hold the advantage. There will become a point where you will master the online store or online services and will need to look into expansion in the form of bricks and mortar, an office and/or warehouse to help future your business growth.

The type of space you will need will depend solely on the type of business you run. For an online services only business, a business space without the need for storage is relatively easy to come by. As a start up, running an office from a residential premise is widely accepted providing you follow the guidelines set out by your local government.

There are some major advantages to having a residential space as your office. However, the disadvantages quickly start to add up as and when your business starts to grow. Client meetings at your home ‘office’ may put potential new clients off as it is not the most professional look to hold a meeting in your house. As with most residential places, parking is also as adequate as you would find in a commercial space.

However if you are a start up with ‘movement of goods’, then this will then turn your residential premise into a commercial premise. This means you will then require approvals and licences from your local government and authorities. If your business is deemed as being commercial this could also impose additional property tax on your residential address, even water and electricity bills could incur additional fees based on being a commercial space.

https://pixaby.com/photos/office-space-office-sunny-coworking-1744803

This is why part of your business plan should include the possibility of expansion of your business through the need for a commercial office space.

When thinking about the type of commercial space needed to run your business, it is also a good idea to think about the maintenance and upkeep costs associated with having a commercial space and who this falls to to maintain.

Depending on the size of your space, this could have huge financial implications with your yearly costs. Most residential properties use asphalt shingles, whereas commercial properties will vary greatly in the materials used.

Without being a trades worker, you will struggle to identify all of the hidden costs associated with your space so it is best to choose skilled companies who can take on the hard work for you which will help to bring down on your maintenance costs.

For example, choosing the right commercial roof repair can impact how much you spend or save per year. Pick the right company and they can help you to reduce your yearly costs through using the best energy saving materials.

The key to success in any expansion is to recognize what your limitations are. This is specific to you and your business. Long before you make any firm decision, plan a worst-case scenario of how much the expansion will cost and how many resources it will take to get to that point.
If a business tries to grow too quickly, it can lead to failure. Which makes it so important to plan carefully for the day you’ll expand and only make the move once you’re sure you have the resources to handle it.

Little-Known Techniques You Can Use To Better Market Your Business

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Marketing is a critical piece to your business. While many business owners have good ideas and services, marketing doesn’t necessarily come easy. The following contributed post is entitled, Little-Known Techniques You Can Use To Better Market Your Business.

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Marketing your business can seem like a massive challenge sometimes. Getting the word out about what you do is tricky in a world where millions of other people are doing the same thing.

There are, however, a bunch of little-known marketing tricks that you can use to swing things in your favor. Mostly your competitors don’t know about these, so it often pays to use them whenever you can. But what are they? And how can you deploy them successfully to improve your business?

Referral Programs

If you want to build your audience fast, you’ll want to launch a referral program.

The idea here is to get your customers to market your business for you.

This strategy has two main advantages: it costs very little compared to traditional advertising, and it helps get around any branding issues. Prospective customers are much more likely to trust the opinions of their peers than they are any official marketing messages from you.

All you need to do is get a hardcore of customers who are entirely loyal to you and your brand. Startups, in particular, often generate a loyal base of people who are willing to stick with them through thick and thin. It is these people you want to target. Provide them with a kickback for every customer that they sign up and then wait for the revenue to start flowing.

QR Code Embeds

Pixabay – CC0 License

Digital marketing is a great tool, but it is not the only way to get the word out about your business. You have many other options.

Modern companies, for instance, still like to use direct mail. It tends to have higher open rates and more impact than traditional email marketing, making it highly worthwhile, even in today’s business environment.

Providing links to your business website through flyers you send out in the post sounds impossible, but it is not. All you need to do is use QR codes.

QR codes are essentially two-dimensional barcodes that can contain a vast amount of information. What’s more, most modern smartphones can read these codes. Thus, you can send out correspondence in the post with printed codes, have your customers scan them with their mobile devices, and then forward them to the relevant product, service, video, or article online.

Finding the best QR code generator can be a challenge, but there are plenty of options out there.

Make Your Beta Exclusive

If you’re a company that develops software, you might want to offer an exclusive beta. This marketing method allows you to attract the type of people who are most likely to want to sign up for your full service in the future. Plus, they can provide you with valuable feedback on the current state of your technology.

Give Away Stickers

Pixabay – CC0 License

Giving away stickers might seem like a ridiculous way to market your business, but it is highly effective. People naturally love stickers because it reminds them of their childhood. Plus, both you and they can put them in places where they will give your brand a lot of exposure.

Top 5 Reasons Why Efficiency is Vital Within Your Business

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. No matter what kind of business you’re running, increasing its efficiencies will maximize its productivity and profits. The following contributed post is entitled, Top 5 Reasons Why Efficiency is Vital Within Your Business.

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Photo by fauxels from Pexels

No matter what industry you’re in, you should always ensure that you’re promoting efficiency within your workplace. A part of your business that you shouldn’t neglect, there are so many long term benefits that come with improving it.

Now, there are so many ways that you can do this, from investing in employee training to implementing new processes and utilizing updated software solutions (e.g if you’re within the oil industry, Petrobase.io’s services could prove to be invaluable).

But what are the benefits that you can take advantage of? To ensure that you’re in the know, here are 5 reasons why you should start boosting the efficiency within your business:

It Will Increase Profitability

One of the most prominent reasons why efficiency is essential within your business is that it brings with it the opportunity for higher ROI. When your workers start to become more efficient and you’ve changed your processes so that it’s less expensive to produce goods/services, you’ll start to see your profits increase – something that all businesses want to achieve.

Higher Productivity = Improved Customer Service

When productivity is improved, you’ll start to see your customer service ratings increasing by the minute. Recognizing that they are getting more time and attention, they will always opt for your business over others.

It’s simple, once the systems within your business run faster and smoother, they start to feel the benefit – something that will help your business to thrive in the long term.

It Will Improve Communication

Within any business, the employees are the most valuable assets. So it’s a good idea to invest in systems that make their roles as simple as possible. Once they have the materials and equipment, they will be happier in their jobs – an element that’s crucial to lowering employee turnover.

By promoting efficiency in all aspects of your business, you’ll start to notice that the communication flows effortlessly between all levels of the hierarchy. And one way that you can do this is by welcoming an open door policy. This will also help to boost morale and make the workplace far more productive.

It Helps to Save Time

Whether you run a small business or a large organization, you’ll often feel as though there aren’t enough hours in the day. And this is often felt across your business. However, a lot of this is taken up by time-wasting activities – such as unproductive meetings or out-of-date systems.

To ensure that this doesn’t continue, implement steps within your business to make it more efficient. You’ll then start to see that time is saved and that productivity increases.

It Creates a Healthy Work Environment

If your business is years behind your competitors, you’ll not only be limiting the amount of profit that you could receive, but the work environment could be taking a hit. To guarantee this doesn’t happen, you need to save time when you can, make processes straightforward, put morale as a priority, etc. From this, you’ll be able to create the best possible workplace for everyone.

Final Thoughts

So, those are 5 of the top reasons why efficiency is vital within your business. Something that you should continuously try to improve, it will ensure that your business is competitive, profitable and that your employees are proud to work for you.

How To Get Your Employee Productivity Up!

Three key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Organizational and Management Discussions. When you’re running a business or an organization, one of your challenges is getting and keeping your you employee’s productivity up. It’s an important consideration as employee productivity is the lifeblood of your business or organization. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Get Your Employee Productivity Up!

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If there is one thing that most employees of various businesses can agree on, it’s that they don’t feel motivated enough to give their all when they turn up for work. Everyone can sit at a desk and twiddle their thumbs while moving from task to task, but you want the people working for you to feel like they have some excitement – some reason to keep going!

Your people are going to create worth for your business, and you want to repay them for that. It’s their job to make money for you, and it’s your job to continue to make your staff feel inspired and like they want to be in your place of business. Of course, there is no true guarantee of being the best company in the eyes of your staff, but your ability to inspire hard work is important. So, let’s take a look at how you can get your productivity up in your employees!

Image Source: Pexels

● The very first thing that you can do is get to know your staff. Your employees are so much more than just a job title and a list of skills on a resume. You want people in your business that you can have fun with and build up an office camaraderie with; and you need to get to know them for that to happen. You do need to make sure that you keep your personal and professional lives separate, but it’s still important to get to know them on a personal level.
● Planning events with Mtievents.com can help you to offer your employees something real to aspire to. Fun has to be a part of the business mix, and you can inject it in so many more places if you have regular events planned. Incentivising your staff is vital for productivity, as is planning your next business party!
● One of the most important things that any business needs is open communication with their staff. Your people should feel like they can come to you with anything, and demonstrating an open door policy is so important for that to occur. Don’t forget that your staff will likely have problems outside your business, so if you’re showing that you can offer them support at work, you’re going to do well at motivating them.
● Training is one of the biggest tools that you have for success in your business. Education allows people to scale up their skills and progress and while that may mean they progress beyond your business, it’s a part of your job to ensure that they have the best possible future. From in-house training to e-learning, you have options to give your staff. Why not lay them out to them and offer help?

People who work for you should feel like they have something to work for. It’s up to you to motivate and inspire people and it’s up to you to ensure that you are offering something that they cannot say no to. Try the tips above and make it work!

Do You Understand These Aspects Of Your Business?

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. It’s one thing to want to start or run a business, but there are some key aspects to be mindful of. The following contributed post is entitled, Do You Understand These Aspects Of Your Business?

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When you start your own business, you probably have a good idea of what sorts of things will be the most complicated things you’ll have to deal with. Pretty much everyone knows that accounting and bookkeeping are going to come with a lot of complexity, as well as anything else involving finances. The problem is that many business owners don’t realize just how complicated a lot of the other aspects of a business can be. If you go in expecting something to be simple and easy, then that’s just going to set you up for a rude awakening further down the line. The best thing that you can do is to think about things as carefully as possible very early on. That way you notice anything that will take an extra amount of time and effort before it becomes an issue. With that in mind, here are three aspects of your business which might be more complicated than you think.

Finding your demographic

Of course, everyone knows how important it is to find your target demographic. If you don’t know who it is that you want to be selling your product or service to then, you’re going to be wasting a whole lot of time and energy. The problem is that a lot of businesses do market research that ends up being pretty shallow overall. They might get a decent idea of the age and gender of their target demographic, but they’ll rarely look into the finer details nearly as much, if at all. You should make sure that you’re putting the effort in early to figuring out exactly who your target customer is. What other services do they use? Who do they tend to pay attention to when it comes to product recommendation? Questions like these will make narrowing down your marketing strategies far easier in the long run.

Streamlining

One of the most common issues in new businesses is that they’re too complicated. It’s always a good idea to make sure that you’re streamlining your business as best you can, whether that’s through services like Optisign that streamline your order management, or through focusing your business on singular markets rather than trying to spread yourself to thin. A leaner business is always going to be a better business.

Managing employees

In an ideal world, you’d find the perfect candidates, and that would be that. Sadly, that’s not the world we live in. Not only is it a serious challenge to find the right candidates, but you can’t neglect to support and manage them for their entire period of employment. Each employee is different, and you can’t use a one-size-fits-all approach to managing them. You’ve got to make sure that you’re flexible without losing control of your employees, as well as making sure that you have their respect but that they don’t come to resent you for overworking them.

The reality of running any business is that it is such a complicated affair that if you’re not paying attention to the little details, the whole thing is going to come crashing down around you.

Technology Has Made Our Lives So Much Better!

A key focus of my blog is Technology. All around us things are changing and new technologies and innovations are emerging. While there is concern that our new technologies have had some unforeseen consequences, there’s not doubt that they improved our qualities of life. The following contributed post is entitled, Technology Has Made Our Lives So Much Better!

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There’s a great deal of doom and gloom spouted about the modern world these days. People love to talk about how terrible things are and how much better they were in the “good old days.” It doesn’t even usually matter whether or not things are actually worse now than they used to be. What matters is that now things are different, and for a lot of people different is scary, which means that it seems inherently bad. Of course, there’s one thing that gets more of the blame for the decline of modern society than anything else, and that’s technology. Every day there are pieces coming out about how technology is rotting our brains and turning us into selfish, depressed zombies. It’s ruining communication, literature, families; you name it! If there’s a part of life that technology has entered, then someone out there is going to complain that it’s ruined it. Well, that’s all complete nonsense! Society hasn’t fallen apart and, if it has, it’s certainly not because of technology. In fact, for the most part, technology has been an extremely good thing for a lot of people! Here a just a few ways in which technology has made people’s lives better.

Business

For a lot of people, the idea of being able to break out of their everyday work life and pursue something that they’re truly passionate about has always been nothing but a distant fantasy. The sheer amount of money and time required to strike out on your own meant that a lot of people simply never bothered to think about it seriously. But with the rise of the internet, it’s never been easier to set up your own business and get out of the standard office grind. These days, even the smallest business has the chance to reach out to a customer base of millions. With the help of technology, you can set up an entire business, including website, social media, point-of-sale, accounts and everything else that comes with it from the comfort of your own home. Even manufacturing has become more accessible since 3D printing can create almost any product. It’s put the power back into the hands of small business owners that, for the longest time, have been shoved out by big corporations with more money to spend on fancy marketing gimmicks.

Communication

When was the last time you sent a letter? A lot of people talk about how sad it is that we don’t write letters to each other anymore, but they seem to be forgetting just how much of a hassle that can be. You write something, and then you wait for days (even weeks!) for it to get to where you sent it. Then you’ve got to wait even longer for a reply. These days, with the help of technology, we are still writing to each other. The only difference is that whatever we write is sent or received almost instantly. This means that it really has never been easy to communicate with other people. Not only that but it doesn’t matter how near or far they are. Someone could be on the other side of the world and you can still talk to them in exactly the same way that you talk to your friend who lives down the road. Whether it’s messaging, Skype or anything else, far from keeping people apart, technology has allowed people to come together in ways that they’ve never been able to before.

At the end of the day, technology isn’t good or bad. It’s just another tool for human beings to use however they choose. If people decide to let technology take over their lives or to use it to hurt each other, then that’s not because of the technology, it’s because of people. As long as we treat technology with respect and a sense of responsibility, there’s really no telling how far it can take us. It has the power to bring people together, improve our lives and make the world a better place for everyone.

What Does It Take To Run A Successful Healthcare Business?

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Healthcare businesses aren’t just large corporations. In some instances they are small healthcare businesses. If run properly they can be lucrative. The following contributed post is entitled, What Does It Take To Run A Successful Healthcare Business?

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It is estimated that the global digital healthcare industry will be worth more than $234 billion by 2023. Healthcare is one of the most prosperous sectors and it provides millions of jobs worldwide. While setting up a business in this industry can be lucrative, there are no guarantees of success. To make it to the top, you have to ensure you check a lot of boxes. Here’s a handy guide to what it really takes to run a profitable healthcare venture.

Understanding the market
The healthcare industry is complex, and it would be impossible to launch and run a well-oiled, streamlined business in this sector without in-depth knowledge of how the market works and what is involved in the management of a company that provides medical services. Before you start working on a business plan or try and convert ideas into a functional model, it’s crucial to spend time looking into the mechanics of the industry, researching rules and regulations and analyzing what companies that will be your competitors are doing. It is also incredibly beneficial to look at how the market has been performing in recent years and how it has changed and evolved. The digitization of healthcare, for example, has revolutionized the way providers communicate with patients, how patients make appointments and how practitioners access, store and share data.

Picture source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/pie-graph-illustration-669621/

Finding your niche
The healthcare sector is broad and it covers a raft of services and sub-sections. If you’re thinking of setting up a new business, it’s wise to find your niche. What kinds of services are you keen to provide, and who are you targeting? Analyze the demand for services and create an accurate picture of who you are going to treat. It’s important to have an ideal customer in mind when strategizing and drawing up marketing, branding and sales campaigns. Competition within this industry is fierce, and you may want to avoid a market that is already saturated. You need to ensure that your business will stand out from the crowd, and that there is a demand for the services you plan to provide. If demand is low, and your competitors already have an established client base, it will be tough to make waves with a new venture. Look for gaps in the market or offer a new spin on existing models.

Once you know who you want to target and the kind of brand you want to create, conduct thorough research to get to know your customers. Ask questions using surveys and online polls and feedback forms, and use the information and data you gather to inform your decisions going forward.

Getting your figures and finances sorted
Launching any kind of business requires funding. Whether you plan to set up a small, local healthcare company, or you have grand plans for a chain of practices or a national or global brand, you’ll need to ensure that your finances are in order. If you’re borrowing money, or you’re approaching investors, you should have calculations to hand, and you should be able to provide explanations to outline where your money is going. Cost out all your expenses, work on price points, produce realistic turnover projections and make sure you can answer questions related to the numbers. If you’re presenting as part of a pitch to secure funding, or you’re approaching a lender for a business loan, rehearse your presentation, have confidence in what you’re saying and try to preempt questions and prepare answers.

Image by

https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-calculator-near-ballpoint-pen-on-white-printed-paper-53621/

Checking the legal boxes
As a business owner in the healthcare sector, it is vital to understand the regulations and legalities involved in providing services to patients. There are policies and procedures in place to protect patients, clients and members of staff, and you must adhere to the rules at all times. Make sure you are familiar with the laws that govern practice in your state or country. You will be required to provide high standards of care in clean, safe settings, to take steps to minimize the risk of negligence, accidents and injuries and to shield sensitive data and personal information. It is always beneficial for healthcare business owners to liaise with legal experts to ensure that everything is in place to check the boxes and ensure best practice guidelines are followed. All staff members should be aware of the latest updates in policies and regulations.

Investing in the right equipment and technology
Equipment and technology play an increasingly integral role in medical research and the provision of short and long-term care. As a budding entrepreneur, it’s an exciting time to be starting out in the healthcare field. Before you decide what kinds of machinery, tools or equipment to purchase and what type of technological systems and gadgetry to employ, analyze the competition, look into emerging trends and see what is available on the market. There are some investments that will make more financial sense than others. Spend your money on machines, technology and medical equipment that will benefit your patients, your staff and your accounts. Your purchases should be relevant to the services you plan to provide, and it’s wise to cost out expenses before you make any final decisions.

Cutting-edge technology can make the difference in the world of modern healthcare. If you choose your investments wisely, you should be able to provide the latest treatments, to offer high standards of care on a consistent basis, to improve efficiency and customer service and to minimize the risk of mistakes and human error. Consider what is essential for your business and then explore options that will further enhance the patient experience. From a vaccine fridge and treatment beds to blood pressure monitors, PPE and computerized records systems, it’s critical to ensure you have everything you need to treat patients before you open for business. If you don’t have the right equipment, or you’re using outdated technology, you could lose out to rivals and your profit margins might suffer. Once you’re up and running, it’s useful to conduct audits on a regular basis to see if you could benefit from making changes or upgrading your tech.

Image via https://www.pexels.com/photo/chair-clean-clinic-dental-care-287237/

Building a strong team and hiring the best talent
As a patient, there are few things more important than being able to trust the person who is in charge of your care. The team you hire will represent your brand, and in many cases, patients will judge your business based on the individuals they meet and the standards of care they provide. When hiring, look to build a strong, cohesive team made up of talented individuals who have the skills and experience needed to excel in the roles available. Use the interview process to get to know the candidates and look for people who show enthusiasm, passion and commitment, as well as having a brilliant resume. You want to be able to trust your team to take on the responsibility of representing your brand. Working in healthcare is not easy, and you need drive, energy and compassion to succeed. It’s important to think about the kind of person you would want to look after or treat you if you were a patient. The individuals you hire should embody the ethos of the business.

Image courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/photo/three-person-looking-at-x-ray-result-1170979/

Marketing your business
Achieving success in business is not just about receiving 5-star reviews. It also involves turning over profits. In the healthcare sector, marketing plays a key role in connecting patients with practices and driving sales. Use the findings of market research to engage with people who are likely to have an interest in the services you offer and choose techniques and platforms that will enable you to reach the right audience. The healthcare industry is unique, and for most patients, the number one priority is finding a reputable provider that champions optimal levels of care. Your marketing and branding strategies should reassure prospective patients that you are trustworthy and reliable at the same time as up-selling your USP and encouraging customers to want to learn more.

In this day and age, it is vital for healthcare businesses to engage with clients online, and having a fantastic website is an excellent place to start. People who search for healthcare providers and practices online are often looking for information, and providing accurate, factual guides, FAQ pages and informative, interesting blog posts can help you attract attention. It’s a great idea to vary the content you share on your website and social media channels. Infographics and video clips can break up text and make information more digestible. The brain processes visual content 60,000 times faster than text, and videos are much more likely to be shared than text posts.

Picture from https://pixabay.com/vectors/email-email-marketing-newsletter-4284157/

Attracting positive reviews
Research suggests that over 70% of patients consider reading online reviews a crucial part of choosing a medical practice or a doctor. To attract new patients and keep hold of existing clients, you have to ensure that you provide the highest possible standards of care and customer service. Offer training for staff members, always ensure patients receive a warm welcome and go out of your way to help every individual feel safe, comfortable and relaxed. Try to ensure that appointments run smoothly and efficiently, communicate with patients on a regular basis and make it easy and quick to organize and pay for treatments. Invite patients to leave feedback and reviews, read comments and take ideas and opinions on board. It’s essential to learn from both the positives and the negatives.

Launching a successful healthcare business isn’t straightforward, but if you make the right choices, you’re committed to providing the highest standards of care and service for your patients and you deliver on promises, it could be a very rewarding decision.

Dealing With A Drastic Change In Your Healthcare Business’ Day To Day

Three of the focuses of my blog are Current Events, Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. The Coronavirus/Covid-19 Pandemic/Crisis has created drastic changes for healthcare businesses. Whenever something happens that imparts systematic changes, it’s important to understand how to deal with them. The following contributed post is entitled, Dealing With A Drastic Change In Your Healthcare Business’ Day To Day.

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Whenever something needs to change within a business, the company itself can have a bit of an overhaul. But when it comes to a healthcare business, there’s a lot more back and forth to go through – operations management can get very complicated when both health and wellbeing are involved.

So, considering the current global pandemic, and the need for change within the healthcare sector around the globe, let’s go into a little more detail about making a drastic change. The day to day in a healthcare business can be highly unpredictable anyway, but especially so in times like these.

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Come Up with a Strategy

Your patients still need to know you care. And without knowing what you’re going to do over the next few months – without a plan – you won’t be able to keep up with the tide of patients you might not even think about having to accommodate for usually.

A strategy is going to be essential right now, and it might be hard to come up with on your own. Thankfully, Healthcare Consulting companies are out there, and are looking to band together to help you make an effective yet drastic change to your daily operations. Put this kind of resource to good use; healthcare is all about lending a hand.

Pick Up on Technology

Technology is one of the main things that can help your healthcare business to cope during difficult times. Tech has revolutionised the healthcare sector in the modern era; more people have access to regular and quality healthcare simply because they can talk to a doctor online, and almost everyone has an internet connection.

Which is why it’s key to focus on your tech capability right now – what would you be able to do with the digital strategy you’re already putting to good use in your business? You can’t be sure you’ll have the chance to upgrade right now, so you’ll need to focus on what you do have.

How many virtual appointments could help keep patients safe and at home? Can you have at least two to three people man the phones at all times? Can you use an online delivery service for medications?

Think About Costs

And finally, operations management in healthcare is all about knowing where the costs are going to be, and how you can cope with them. You can use data analysis to work out where the big and recurring costs are, so do this first.

Then, if you don’t already have an emergency fund in place, or a form of insurance that you’ve paid into over the years, be sure to reach out for donations and/or for government aid. You and your workers are on the front lines during a time like this, so ensure you have a portal for people to lend their aid through right now.

Dealing with a drastic change in a healthcare business’ day to day is one of the hardest things. Make sure you know the drill above.

Your Business During Lockdown: How The Online World Could Change The Way You Do Business

Three of the focuses of my blog are Current Events, Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. During the Coronavirus/Covid-19 lockdown, many businesses have done okay because they’re doing business online which doesn’t require coming into personal contact with people. The following contributed post is entitled, Your Business During Lockdown: How The Online World Could Change The Way You Do.

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We are in a very uncertain and unique time of our lives right now. With a lot of the world grinding to a halt, it can mean that you start to worry about your business. Running a business even in normal times can be quite difficult. Starting out, finding investment and launching your new business venture always seems uncertain at the beginning, and with so many businesses failing in that crucial first year you may think you are out of deep water, only to find that you are now in a period of time that seems more uncertain than ever. Especially if you rely on people dealing with your business face to face, such as providing a service or even having a shop that you would normally sell from.

So what can you do? Many businesses have had to diversify and change their processes, and this can mean utilising the online and digital world more than you have ever done before. It can seem daunting at first, but there are so many ways that you can enhance your business this way and this could present a whole new line of opportunity for your business to grow and develop in the future. With that in mind, here are some of the ways that the online world might start to change the way you do business moving forward.

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A social media strategy

One of the first things to think about would be to develop a new social media strategy. More people are having to stay indoors and that can mean that more time is spent browsing their social media channels and platforms. So now more than ever your business needs to be relevant and visual online. Coming up with a new social media strategy is a great way to make your content relevant and consistent. You can also ensure that you use this time to engage with your audience and also reply to direct messages and comments. Humanising your business in some way will help you to appear relatable, especially in these uncertain times. You could also use social media to offer up content or even a freebie to entice people to look into your business and what you can offer in more detail. Many have offered free online resources or shared video content to highlight their business in a different way.

Updating your website

You may have had a basic website to get you this far., but now you can use the time to enhance your website and add different pages to it. This might be looking at your ecommerce shop and making it easier for people to buy products or order services from you. It might be that you create more content for the website, or improve things such as explanations for the products and services that you provide. This could be the ideal time to look at making these changes so that you can make your website more appealing when people click through to it.

Having an up to date CRM system

Another thing that you might want to sort now that you have some time is your customer relationship management system. Now more than ever you will want to look after the customers and clients that you have, as well as attracting new ones into your business. This is when you want to update your system and also correct any information that might be incorrect. You could use the time to contact these customers directly, be that on email address or calling them to ensure that you have the right details. This might also be the perfect time for some data capture, so if you don’t have email addresses, for example, which can be an excellent way to directly market your customer base, then you could try and find out this information and update your records accordingly.

Taking advantage of alternative marketing methods

Now that you have lost one of the main sources of marketing, which could be face to ace business, you may want to think about alternative methods. It could be that you look at prospecting and suing things like the Drop Cowboy Ringless Voicemail to advertise and make contact with customers. You could look at creating an email newsletter where you could keep existing as well as new customers up to date with your offers and what your business is doing during these unprecedented times.

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Making the most of remote working options

Now that you are unable to work in your office or retail premises, you may have to start getting a little more investive with your remote working options. Things like video calling have proven really popular during the lockdown period. Skype and Zoom are excellent ways to create video conferencing and meetings and allows you to communicate as well as you could be doing physically. You could also look at things such as email communication as well as phone calls. You may still be able to operate your business, even from home.

Finding other ways to expand your business

During these times you may not be fully operational or able to provide a full service from your business, so you may want to seize the opportunity to try and find other ways to expand and diversify your business. This might be things such as a blog as an extension to your business, where you can collaborate with other businesses and create sponsored content. It might be that you create a product that can be supplied during this time, or provide a service in a different way. It is now time to think outside of the box and look for different ways where you can enhance your business and continue to make a profit and be successful.

Using the time to take on the jobs you wouldn’t normally get to

Finally, you could use this time to do things that you might not normally have done. It could be that you improve the content on your website and take more notice of things like search engine optimization. Sometimes these administrative tasks can take up a lot of your time, but now that you have the lockdown period you can really see it as an opportunity and not a hindrance.

Let’s hope these tips help you when it comes to your business in lockdown.

4 Things Your Business Should Be Doing While On Lockdown

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Many businesses are facing challenging times during this lockdown. During this time though, there are in fact things that you can do to assure the survival of your operations. The following contributed post is entitled, 4 Things Your Business Should Be Doing While On Lockdown.

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Has your business been affected by the coronavirus? The answer is almost certainly yes. Whether the virus has disrupted your supply chain or the lockdown measures have forced you to close your doors, life is very different for your organization right now.

It’s easy to sit back and do nothing during this period as you feel helpless. Don’t do that. It’ll serve no purpose and leave you in a much worse state when everything clears. Instead, here are a few things your business should be doing while on lockdown:

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Plan ahead

Start by planning for the future and thinking about what you’ll do when you can get back to work. Naturally, things will be very slow-moving when the lockdown measures are lifted. But, with careful and strategic planning now, you can make a much better transition. Think about what you will do when you’re able to work full-time and create an action plan for your business to follow. That’ll help you get back up and running a lot quicker than most.

Clean your premises

All businesses should really do this to be extra certain that your premises are safe when you return. It’s known that the virus can live in a human for around two weeks. What’s not known is how long it lives on surfaces. Many scientists believe it can live for far longer than two weeks. As such, you need a coronavirus cleaning service to give your workplace a deep and thorough clean. This eliminates the virus from your premises, meaning you can return to work without worrying about catching it from surfaces and spreading it again.

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Manage your finances

You’ll be in a very challenging financial position while this virus takes hold of the world. Therefore, you have to try and save as much money as you physically can. Look through your budget and aim to identify areas where you can make a few savings. This might mean you have to take a pay-cut or limit your employee’s wages for a short while. It’s far from ideal, but you have to do everything within your power to keep your business afloat. If you’re not making as much money as usual, then action has to be taken.

Stay connected

Lastly, ensure that all of your employees stay connected. This is vital for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it keeps everyone in-tune with the business and makes sure all of your employees know what’s going on and what will happen. This deals with some of the uncertainty they might feel during this time. Secondly, it helps to maintain a strong bond between your team and provides some much-needed relief from isolation. You’re used to seeing each other for many hours a day, so taking that social element out of your life can be challenging. Host video chats and put on digital get-togethers, so you and your team stay connected and social.

I can’t promise that your business will be fine if you do all four of these things. However, it’s safe to say you will be in a much better position than if you sit back and do nothing at all.