Business – Page 65 – The Big Words Blog Site

The Importance of Business Resilience- in a Changing Climate

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One of the only constants in life is change. When running a business, one must keep their finger on the pulse of where things are going in order to survive. The following contributed post is entitled, The Importance of Business Resilience In a Changing Climate.

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The changing pattern of our climate is a hot topic of conversation these days, isn’t it? And the focus of much debate – understandably. But, if you’re in business, is its impact something you’ve given proper consideration to? It should be…

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Why is it important?

Businesses across the world need to build their resilience to extreme weather incidents – and prepare for climate change.

Virtually all sectors are affected by the impact of these factors on their supply chains, for example. As well as costs associated with any damage to properties, declining productivity, illness and accidents. And, if you’re involved in hospitality, food production, or construction – being resilient is especially crucial.

How you can respond

So how can you make sure your company is responsive to change – and able to deal with these issues effectively? The solutions are sometimes industry specific, but there are many key areas that everyone should look at.

The importance of planning

Firstly, you need to create a clear business continuity plan, which sets out your response to weather related challenges.

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What should it include?

Look at where you are now and analyse realistically how the weather affects you and your company. And draw up a business impact analysis too – taking into account all possible scenarios.

Set out the threats and potential benefits of any unexpected change in the weather – in the present. A warmer winter could result in increased disruption to supply chains due to flooding, for example, but fewer snow related ones. Or it could impact on your building’s fabric and structure – but make it easier and cheaper to heat. How do you respond ?

We’re not suggesting for a moment that changes themselves are positive – but that we have to be ready. Even more predictable fluctuations in climate, or weather incidents, need to be considered, in business.

Maintaining the right staffing levels

One important area to consider is your staffing level – and how to balance that alongside business demand.. If a heatwave or storm arrives, for example, you need to be ready – how will it affect you? Even more moderate switches in temperature or conditions will have an impact.

Staffing has been, and will be, a challenge in these kinds of situations so it’s crucial to have a well considered, robust plan in place. Imagine you own a small manufacturing company, for instance, and shut down operations because of storm warnings.

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It would be unfair to deny your employees a day’s pay if that forecast was inaccurate. And your profits would suffer. But, if you keep the doors open, that has to align with your legal obligation and duty to keep people safe. And maintain a functioning working environment. If you fail to meet the correct standards in all of these areas, your staff could rightly apply for workers’ compensation. This illustrates one of many practical applications of having accurate, timely information.

In conclusion, it’s crucial not to underestimate the effect of unpredictable weather conditions on your business. But, if you stay fully informed on their impacts and forward plan effectively, you can get ahead of potential challenges.

Then you will be best placed to respond successfully to a changing climate. And remain resilient.

Why Teamwork Is Essential In Your Business

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two of its key focuses are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Teamwork is critical in any organization and having the right staff working to together as a seamless unit, can make all the difference in the world in terms of achieving your mission. The following contributed post is entitled, Why Teamwork Is Essential In Your Business.

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Teamwork is essential in business, if you have a team, then they won’t work well without teamwork, and your business will not succeed. Everyone must work together towards the same goals and achieve the targets. In your business, if it doesn’t already exist, then it is essential to instill a culture of working together and getting your team to bond. It is important for them as individuals as well as for your business, and here’s why:

Teamwork Brings New Ideas
Businesses can only succeed with new, fresh ideas as it’s such as competitive world out there. Your business has to bring something different and have a unique perspective, and businesses thrive when they have a team of diverse people who can contribute to individual ideas.

Teamwork Helps To Solve Problems
Two heads are better than one; four heads are better than two and so on. People working together can help solve difficult problems. Brainstorming is a great opportunity for your team to exchange ideas and come up with creative ways of doing things. By working together, teams can find solutions that work best.

Teamwork Gets The Best Result
Teamwork ensures that deadlines are met and that there’s high-quality work. If one team member falls behind, there are other people there to help, support, and to pick up the pieces. When work is divvied up among members of a team, it gets done faster, making the overall business operate more efficiently. Your team will develop a sense of comradery as you work toward a common goal.

Teamwork Builds Morale
You’ll feel that your work is valued when you contribute to something that produces results. If you offer an idea that helps improve productivity, such as a new filing system, confidence and trust are built within the team. Each different person has something special to bring to the table, and by working together, team members feel a strong sense of belonging and commitment to each other and the common goal they are working towards.

Teamwork Enhances Learning
What someone learns from their individual experiences is entirely different from someone else’s so as teamwork maximizes shared knowledge in the workplace and it helps people to learn new skills which they can use for the rest of their career. If you want to encourage more collaboration among your staff and enable them to learn more, then you can encourage this by improving the technology that your company uses, such as cloud computing.

Teamwork Builds Trusts
When you have to rely on other people, you have to learn to trust them. Teamwork helps to build strong relationships with coworkers, and while there will always be the occasional disagreement, an effective team enjoys working together and shares a strong bond. Trusting teammates also gives a feeling of safety and allows employees to open up and encourage each other. Working in a team means that people learn that winning and losing affects everyone on the team.

A team is one thing to have a team, but teamwork is something entirely different and very special.

3 Ways To Show Your Patients You Care In Your Healthcare Business

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Health/Wellness. The Healthcare Business is one that will likely always be needed. That said as a business, there is still level of competition. How do you separate yourself from your competitors? The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Ways To Show Your Patients You Care In Your Healthcare Business.

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Running a healthcare business is much the same as any other business. If you show your customers that you care (or in this context, your patients), you will retain their loyalty and receive the financial rewards to your business. And if you don’t show that you care? Well, the reverse is true. You won’t be the only healthcare business in your community, and you might lose your patients to somebody who is doing more than you to care for their needs.

So, to ensure you stand out in the healthcare sector then, here are just a few of the ways that you can show your patients that you care.

1: Listen to what your patients have to say

Do your patients feel cared for? Are you meeting their needs? You would never know unless you asked them, so to ensure they know that you have their best interests at heart, make every effort to listen to what they have to say. This begins at the reception desk when your patients express their needs to your receptionist, and it continues into their appointments when they are talking to your healthcare professionals.

So, ensure your receptionist staff have customer training behind them. Make sure appointment times can be scheduled so your care staff have sufficient time to get to know and understand your patients. And ensure feedback forms are available, so if your patients have something to say, be it good or bad, you can then take the appropriate actions when necessary.

2: Show your patients your appreciation

If it wasn’t for your patients, you wouldn’t have a business, so to retain those that you do have on your books, show them that you care for their needs by finding ways to reward their loyalty to you.

So, you might offer your loyal patients discounted services, or you might show your appreciation by revamping your practice’s waiting areas. Check the medical fit-outs at Levitch, for example. You might also adopt an incentive scheme, so if your patients can direct others to your business, you might reward them with a free gift (such as an electric toothbrush if you were in dentistry) or money off their next visit.

What you do depends on the area of healthcare your business is in, but for some general inspiration, here are some other ideas on how to show patient appreciation. Your patients will then show you their appreciation by returning to your business.

3: Educate your patients

To show your patients that you care about their health needs, you can take extra steps to keep them informed. So, you might run special classes in your business, with expert advice from your clinicians and outside professionals to educate your patients on any health issues that pertain to their situation. You might also send out newsletters to your patients, be that through e-mail or snail mail, not only to market yourself to them but to give them new information that relates to their needs.

By educating your patients, you are showing them that you aren’t only interested in their money. They will see that you are going the extra mile to give them better care through the information you relay, and this will do them and your business a world of good.

Thanks for reading!

Min-Maxing Your Finances

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A major part of your business is budgeting and controlling costs. Doing so will ensure your business’s success. The following contributed post is entitled, Min-Maxing Your Finances.

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When it comes to looking after your business, you need to be very clear about what is going in and what is coming out. Where your money is stashed, and how you can make the most of it.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

It is harder in the early days to truly see what is coming your way. But, that is why you need to really lay that business plan down and make sure your cash flow forecast is as tight as possible.

Here are some extra tips to help you make the most of your money when it really matters.

Accounting
It would do you well to hire a bookkeeper and accountant. You can, of course, get yourself some really good accounting software and so it yourself but that will only help you out for so long. You can weigh up the costs in advance and make your mind up based on the money that you have available at the moment.

Costs
No matter what it is, if you can get it cheaper – for the same quality, then do it. For example, if you know that you need a medical refrigerator, carpeting in your office, a new computer – anything. Do your research and make sure that you are going to get the cheapest that you can get. And whenever possible, you are going to need to haggle on the extras. More extended warranty, free delivery, and installation – always push for more.

Projections
Having very clear financial projections will be you are keeping a closer eye on where your money is and where it should be. It will have you anticipate where your significant costs are going to be leaving your accounts and to make sure you have a buffer for them,

Invoicing
It is so tempting to let invoicing slide. A friend of a friend purchased 6 of something, but can only pay for 2 and will give you the rest of the cash later on. You can’t run a business on a hope and a maybe. Here are some tips for your invoicing –

● Send out invoices as soon as possible
● Have a definite date that the money is due by
● Include your terms and conditions
● Have a late fee applicable after the payment date has passed
● Follow up after you send an invoice and mention you have submitted it – could they check it has been received?
● Keep your references in good order.

Business Banking
If you use your personal account for everything, it can get very messy, very quickly. It is better that you open a business bank account, so you can keep track of all of your business transactions. It is also better for you come tax time as everything can be added up very easily. You will also have a clearer idea of what your profit really is.

Pay
You should always pay yourself first. If you aren’t paying yourself first, and instead you are paying all the debts and services for your business, your profit is not your actual profit. You are supposed to be able to make a living from your company. Of course, you aren’t going to be taking a full wage in the early days, but enough to cover your personal expenses is going to be ideal.

Thrifty
There is a temptation that because you own a business, you can then act far too big for your boots. Renting expensive cars, hotel rooms, and very lovely meals – all to impress potential clients. But the fact is this will all still need to be paid for, and it is going to land on your shoulders. It is much smarter to take care of the pennies and cents at all times. Set your salary as low as you can, and you will find that the lean months pay off in the future.

Traveling
For some reason, so many freelancers and small business owners want to travel as much as they can. Which is great – the world is big and beautiful, but for those few thousand dollars on flights – you can have a skype call for free. Most of the time, it is not really cost-efficient or required to have a face to face meeting. So try and hold off on them for as long as possible.

Marketing
For as long as you can manage it, do your own marketing. There will come a time that you are going to want to work with another company but in the meantime – you will learn so much about your company, clients and reach that you can remain relatively hands-on and involved. As well as having a really great set of marketing skills and experience.

Rent or Buy
If you don’t need to buy a giant piece of machinery or a building, then simply don’t. In the early days of business throwing, stacks of cash at long term commitments can backfire massively if anything happens. So leasing equipment can help you avoid maintenance costs, and depending on the item, you might get the opportunity to get a new one every 12 months – which is pretty sweet.

Loans
If you need a business loan, then take one. You will be able to see what your finances are doing long before it happens. And if you know that there will be some rough patches coming up, you’ll need to have some bounce. If you have space to use your own capital and savings, then try to do that too. The key is to know what is a sinking ship, and what is a small blip.

Eyes wide open
When it comes to money, far too many people try to duck the situation and refuse to deal with cash when they have the opportunity – which is sad really, because many a small business could have been saved if people paid attention to the small change as much as they do the big numbers. Minimize your expenses and maximize your income by making smart decisions.

The Things You Need To Think About When Launching A Website

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. Properly launching a website can make all of the difference in the world in terms of launching you business and or blog if you have one. The following contributed post is entitled, The Things You Need To Think About When Launching A Website.

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In the digital age that we live in, your website is going to be one of the most powerful tools your business can have when it comes to marketing. Launching a website and managing it can be quite a daunting job, especially if you have little or no experience. Don’t worry, though, because, in this article, we cover some of the things that will help to make launching and running a useful website a lot more straightforward.

Photo by Igor Miske on Unsplash

Carefully select your team.

Before you do anything, you need to choose whether you are going to do it all yourself, whether you will use an in-house web team or whether you will outsource to a third party. All of these options have their pros and cons, and most of it comes down to your budget and how much control you want over your website. Creating a site that looks good, but most importantly works with little downtime is a demanding and skilled job, so many decide to leave it to a professional. It is also worth having general IT backup from Real IT Solutions, Inc. to protect against any loss of data.

Develop the content

Before you spend ages building a website, you need to make sure that you have plenty of content prepared and ready to go on there. Many commercial sites now have a blog section, where they can share information, thoughts and relevant content linked to the industry, or give their clients and customers a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the business. One thing that you should be aiming for is not only to be selling your product or service to your audience but to be an industry expert. If you are using your website purely for sales, people will only come to your site when they are looking to purchase something. If you have a blog attached to it, people will be checking in regularly, so you need to be updating it regularly with fresh and exciting content. Google now considers interaction when ranking websites, so having material which encourages interaction and discussion with your customers will only help push your content higher up the search engine.

Social Media

You more than likely already have a presence on social media, but if you want to promote your website, it is even more critical. Business pages on Facebook and Twitter are essential, and Instagram is growing in popularity for businesses. Make sure that it is regularly updated, and that you don’t just push your own content. Try and aim for an 80:20 balance – 80% of your content should engage your customers and encourage interaction and conversation, and 20% should focus on your brand. Sharing content from other people may sound counterproductive, but it is the best way to find out what interests your customers, what they are looking for, and to increase the overall visibility of your website.

Make sure it all works.

Before you go live with your website, make sure every aspect of it works. This includes looking at every page, and every link, every plugin that you may use in the backend, any analytics software that you are using, and that is mobile responsive. Check regularly – broken links can be infuriating for your customer and can also harm your website ranking if there are too many, so make sure you update or remove if they are flagged up.

Drilling Down: The Essential Components To Starting A Manufacturing Business

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“When are you are looking to get into an industry that gradually produces lower running costs, increases productivity, and does this all en mass, the manufacturing industry is hard to beat.”

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Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. A lucrative business to get into is a manufacturing business. The are some key aspects to getting started in this sector. The following contributed post is entitled, Drilling Down: The Essential Components To Starting A Manufacturing Business.

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Photo from Unsplash

When are you are looking to get into an industry that gradually produces lower running costs, increases productivity, and does this all en mass, the manufacturing industry is hard to beat. In many ways, it is the perfect distillation of what a good business can do. Creating thousands, if not millions, of products, to time, perfectly formed, and distributed to the corners of the world, of which Lily Bearing is a good example. But these days, there are so many of us that try our hand on a smaller scale, whether this is through our own online marketplace, or setting up a brick and mortar shop, don’t realize just how difficult it is to produce these things. So what is the key to setting up a manufacturing business in the right way?

The Right Support Network

Not just in terms of the business support, but also the suppliers that need to keep you going. You’ll realise that after a while, manufacturing business is dependent on the right business model. Every business requires an appropriate model, but a manufacturing one is just a bigger version of the standard business model. Whether this is running a food and beverage processing company, and you need the right supplier for industrial grade epoxy floor coating or you are working with a company that provides equipment for you to undertake your working practices safely, the right support network isn’t just about making your business work more efficiently, it’s about ensuring that you have the right people to guide you along the way.

The Right Location

Setting up a business is all dependent on location. Whether you’ve had experience in running a bricks-and-mortar store, or you work out of the comfort of your own home, the big temptation that we all have is to look for cheap prices. A manufacturing business requires better infrastructure, and the specific areas to grow, not just in terms of distribution, but the transport links, not to mention the skill set of the people that live in the nearby area, are all crucial. We have to find the right workers, but if we set up in a location that inaccessible, it will not last long, and we are wasting money.

The Best Team

While the location will aid a specific skill set, if you don’t have the right caliber of workers, you won’t retain any sense of productivity. It’s always worth speaking to local recruitment companies so you can get a good idea of the talent pool area, but also get in contact with local educational authorities, as they usually have decent information on this sort of thing. Being near to transport links is crucial.

Manufacturing is big business, and this really is skimming the surface of what a manufacturing business can do. It’s very easy to stick to the more antiquated business models. But as the modern workplaces are relying more and more on computers and technology, we’ve got to find the best marriage of man and machine. A manufacturing business now isn’t just about operating cheaply, it’s about the best processes in place so everybody can benefit.

No More Excuses! Priority Reasons Why Your Business Should Go Green

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One potential way to grow your business is to go ‘Green’. This could have numerous positive results that will separate your business our from your competition. The following contributed post is entitled, No More Excuses! Priority Reasons Why Your Business Should Go Green.

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There are some common excuses as to why business owners don’t go green.

“I don’t have the time to look into it,” they might say.

Or…

“I don’t know how to go green.”

Or…

“I can’t afford the transition to green technologies.”

They might even say…

“I can’t be bothered. The planet is doomed anyway, so what’s the point?”

And what about you? Have you made these excuses?

If so, think again. The excuses we listed just don’t cut it.

In today’s society, it is the right of everybody, business owner or not, to go green. Our world depends on it because we aren’t doomed to extinction just yet. If we all play our part, we might just do enough to improve the future for ourselves and further generations. And while we appreciate that, as a business owner, you might be worried about the expense, know that in the long-term, going green in your business can be cost-effective for you anyway.

So, if you haven’t transitioned your business into greener practices yet, these are the reasons why you need to, and pronto!

1: You Will save money

Sure, it might cost you a fair bit of money to install solar panels around your business premises, but in the long term, you will have less to pay on your utility bills. Energy-efficient lightbulbs are more expensive to buy than the old-fashioned incandescent alternatives, but they last a lot longer, so you won’t have to replace them anytime soon. And while it will take you time to transition into a paperless office, just think about the money you will save on paper and printing costs. So, if you are keen to cut down on your business expenses, and if you want to maximize your profits to give you the scope to grow your business, then let this be an incentive for you to go green.

2: You will attract new customers (and retain your old ones)

As a business owner, you need to find ways to secure your competitive advantage if you want to have a foothold in the consumer marketplace. Studies suggest that customers prefer sustainable companies over those that aren’t, so let this be one of the driving forces behind a move into greener practices. You should then prove your green credentials to your customers to give you the opportunity to rise above your rivals. So, you might use less packaging when shipping your products, for example, and you might start to use eco-friendly bags in favor of the toxic plastic alternatives. You can showcase what you are doing to go green on your website, and if you have green certification, then you can proudly display this on your site. Your rivals won’t stand a chance if they haven’t done the same.

3: You will attract the best hires

Are you looking to attract the best and brightest people for employment within your business? If so, then going green is the way to go. Today’s workers are keen to work for companies that are environmentally responsible and are even willing to take a pay cut to do so. Not only will you attract the best hires, of course, as you will also improve the morale of the employees currently in your care. With the best people on board your staff team, and the happier they are, you can guarantee greater productivity in your business, and that will mean higher profits and growth for your company.

Finally

So, no more excuses! If you haven’t gone green in business yet, then now is the time to do so. You will improve your chances of survivability if you do, and in these turbulent times for businesses both large and small, this has to be the greatest incentive of them all.

Darwinism: It’s The Key To Your Company’s Success

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Over the course of time, some businesses will thrive will others will fail. Depending on the environment of the time, some will be favored and times change, so each must eventually adapt. The following contributed post is entitled, Darwinism: It’s The Key To Your Company’s Success.

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Evolution has everything to do with businesses. The ones that don’t fail are the ones that have the best chance to thrive, which is the epitome of the survival of the fittest. Still, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and begin each day without the right attitude. Too many bosses roll out of bed and start their routine without thinking about the impact on their business.

Think about it – adaptable businesses are often described as flexible and a team player. These are character traits you’re going to need to appeal to a consumer base and get them to make conversions. There’s a reason more businesses are investing in emotional intelligence: it’s to shift their focus and change their industry view.

Here are the reasons you should never underestimate the importance of Darwinism in your business plan. Incorporate the following and you should hit your targets on time.

You’ll Be A Great Leader

Great leaders are born, right? People like to think this is true because it’s romantic; plus, it self-congratulatory because they are the ones who see themselves as leaders. The truth is that you can become a great leader if you work hard at it and understand your weaknesses. The main one is the lack of flexibility.

Employees come in all shapes and sizes and don’t react well to a general management style. They need a tailored approach that makes them feel valued at times as well as giving them much-needed perspective at others. Inflexible managers often make the mistake of treating everyone the same and it backfires. After all, yelling at someone who needs an arm around their shoulder is bound to have negative consequences.

Sure, you have to be able to spot the people with different personality traits, but when you do, you must be adaptable enough to change for their benefit.

To Keep Up With Technology

It’s not okay to say you’re an old-school entrepreneur and that’s why you don’t take technology seriously. Tech is the cornerstone of the industry today because it can change your fortunes in a matter of days. Worse, it can give your rivals the ammunition they need to infringe on your market share and leave you in their dust.

Evolving with the times means you are likely to adopt the necessary trends for the sake of the company. Some, such as telephone answering services, might not seem essential at first but read between the lines and you’ll see the impact they can have on customers. The likes of Ivy Answer is popular today because they evolved with the industry and find a profitable niche.

But don’t forget that modern businesses also can say no. Understanding technology means knowing when to invest and when to decline. Otherwise, every company would outsource all of their tasks and make a fortune, but that isn’t the case. With the right knowledge, you can decide what is outsourced and what stays in-house.

To Recruit Effectively

The “New Competitive Advantage” theory doesn’t only apply to employers – employees are affected too. Essentially, you need workers that can adapt to the company’s processes first and foremost. Then, you need them to evolve during their time with the business to ensure they don’t miss out on crucial opportunities.

To do this, the business has to hire the right people, and it’s not a simple task. There are tips you can use to help, but the thing you should keep in mind adaptability. When you understand it’s importance, you are more likely to look for the character trait in your recruits. Be honest – how often do you think about Darwinism when you interview a candidate?

Surveys already suggest that the ability to deal with change is going to be a vital component of success in the future.

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You’ll Bounce Back

Mistakes happen and it’s your ability to bounce back that’s the key to success. Working hard and having drive isn’t going to be enough when your business is on the line. Help is essential; otherwise, a bankruptcy application might be on the cards.

Adaptability is vital because it encourages you to review your goals and objectives. Once you fail, you need to be able to see where and why and adjust your targets accordingly. Those that don’t will make the same error and never learn. Plus, you’re more likely to use tools to your benefit. After all, you understand their importance and how they can get you out of a tight spot.

Thanks to evolution, you’ll do more than survive – you’ll flourish.

3 Places You Must Proudly Display Your Branding

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A key to your business being highly successful is branding. It’s not just properly branding you’re your business, but it’s also the placement. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Places You Must Proudly Display Your Branding.

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Your branding is how your business primarily communicates with the world; it is the company’s public face, and as such it needs to be designed with integrity and maintained patiently. It also needs to be highly visual and to be so memorable for its uniquity that the average person on the street immediately recognises the logo, colouring, font choice and overall theme. If you can design your brand to be this way, it will mean great things for the future of your business. But as well as all that, you also need to display your branding – otherwise nobody will ever see it. Let’s look at three of the most important places where you must display your branding in order for it to have an effect.

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Your Building

Wherever it is that your business is located, that is a great opportunity for brand display, and one which you should absolutely make the most of if you are serious about making the most of your brand. You need to display your branding on the outside of your building as obviously and clearly as possible, so that passersby can see it easily. This is something which can make a huge difference over time, even if at first it seems a little too subtle. By branding your building with the help of a sign company you will be adding your brand to people’s general consciousness a little each day, and you will be amazed at how much this can help to get your brand out there and make it instantly recognisable for people in the local community.

Product Packaging

Any products you create will have some kind of packaging around them, and this is another opportunity for you to display your brand which you should absolutely make the most of if you want your business to succeed. People expect to see the branding of the company on the packaging, so it is something that you can take advantage of without having to worry about being too over the top. As well as helping your brand profile, this can also help the product to sell more highly, so there are two great reasons why you should be doing this. Be sure to focus on producing amazing packaging for your products every time.

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Social Media

You need to have a social media marketing team these days if you want your business to do well. One of the things that they must be briefed to do is to ensure that the social media channels you are on are themselves branded well in the business’ branding. The more that people see the brand on social media, the more likely it is that they are going to recognise it all the more when they see it elsewhere, so this is something you should not overlook. You will find that it makes a profound difference to brand your social media profile in this way.

As long as you display your branding in these places, you should find that it helps your business along greatly.

Five Ways To Keep Your Small Business Safe

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship, and Technology. In today’s digital world, a key to running your small business is keeping it safe, particularly in terms of your Information Technology (IT) operations. The following contributed post is entitled, Five Ways To Keep Your Small Business Safe.

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The general consensus with small businesses is that they start from home. Working from home is a huge privilege, and if you are running a business from home, you’re getting even more significant benefits than you could imagine. However, many people think just because they’re working from home; they’re safe in their business. The benefits of working from home cannot be disputed, but what about the precautions that you take to ensure that it’s a secure option for you. When you have a small business, you share everything online, from your current activity to your expectations for the coming quarter. People can see this information, and while this is the idea, it’s also a fine line between the audience you want to see your information and those you do not. Everything is accessible, so it’s in your interest to put that information out there while protecting yourself.

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While you keep that in mind, consider the following five ways that you can protect both your new online small business and your home at the same time. Given that you are working from home, protecting it is the best thing that you could do.

Choose The Right Hosts

Your online infrastructure needs to be stable so that you can ensure that hackers don’t come after your information. Use outsourced IT services if you don’t know how to run your network yourself, but make sure that your online services are 100% protected with a good internet host and provider.

Keep Buildings Secure

You’re working from home, so you can think about adding some extra security so that your business is also protected. If you have a driveway, think about getting driveway gates and driveway gate openers that are electric which you can control from inside the house. You deserve the utmost protection for your home and the faster that you can install that, the safer you and your business will be.

Get Registered

Part of being safe in your home business is ensuring that you aren’t going to be hit by huge fines from the taxman. Getting your small business registered is so crucial so that you can start making some decent income. Think about how you want your business to look to others, and get registered with the proper authorities as soon as possible.

It’s vital that you don’t register your domain name and leave it as is. Using domain privacy is so important if you want to ensure that your domain is more than what the public can see. By registering for a private domain, you can keep your home address safe from public prying eyes.

VPN

Using a private VPN network to protect the history of your internet searches is so essential if you want to keep your privacy in your business. Your browsing online stays private, too, so no hacker can see what you’re doing. It’s all in the name of your protection, so take note and make sure you follow the right instructions for a healthy and safe business.