Expand your Business Regardless of the Economy with This Top Guide

August 4, 2020 Leave a Comment

Growth and expansion really are the key to your businesses’ success. If you feel as though you are ready to take that next step then you can find out everything you need to know, right here.

Add some New Products

The first thing that you need to do is try and add some new products and some services to your mix. This may sound simple but executing this can be a challenge. To begin with, it’s important that you try and figure out which products or services your customers are going to want. You also need to find out how much they are willing to pay for them. Next you need to find out whether or not you can sell the new service at a profit. The best and easiest way for you to accomplish this would be for you to do some market research before you commit any of your resources. Talk with your customers right now and find out what they think about your new services or products, and also include any potential price points too.

Sell more to the Customers you Have Now

It’s vital that you try and sell more to the customers you have now if you want to expand on a budget. Penetrating into your existing customer base is easy to do when you have the right tools and when you use it in combination with the above strategy, you will soon see that the results really pay off. If you want to benefit, then start out by performing a market analysis so you can figure out the customer segments who are most likely to buy from you. This will divide your customers into criteria and it will also help you to analyse the total profitability as well.

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Expand into New Territories

The idea is that you need to market and sell your existing products to your new customers. These customers could be in different segments, or in different niches. If you own a retail store, then you may need to operate in other locations, or you may need to go into different geographical areas. This could either be across town or even across the country. If you do this, then you will soon find that it is easier than ever for you to save time and money. When you think about expanding into a new area, the first thing that you have to do is determine how you are going to cater your advertising to your new market.  For example, if you plan on expanding into a new country then you may want to try and look into the regional differences, if they respond to different kinds of advertising there or even if there is anything that you can do to try and cater to this. If you do this way in advance, then there should be no reason why you can’t come out on top. If you want to build another company storage facility then hire some pole barn builders.

Target a New Market

Of course, you may want to target a new location, and this is great, but you still need to make sure that you have a good idea of who your target customer is. You have to make sure that you take into account their age, gender and even their location too. Psychographics are really handy to know here, such as their activities, their values and interests. You may not think that you need to know this information, but you absolutely do, and it will really work in your favor too. If you are not quite sure why it’s important then think about it- if you sell outdoor sporting gear then skateboards and helmets might cater more to a younger audience, but camping tents might be more suited to families. If your company sells both, then try and put an advertising focus on the one that is most catered to your target market and general demographic.

Sales and Delivery Channels

It’s so important that you use the internet to your full advantage where possible. The internet is the best example of how you can use a new sales or delivery channel to your advantage. It can completely transform your business too. Countless companies have been able to reinvent themselves so that they can take advantage of online opportunities, whether they are a brick and mortar company or whether they choose to open an online store. If you want to benefit yourself then you need to look into SEO, and other marketing strategies. This will help you to effectively market yourself on the web and it will also give you the chance to find out how many searches are being done for your company name.

Buy another Business

Another way for you to try and expand your own company would be for you to buy another. This is without a doubt the fastest way for you to boost your sales and your company footprint, but it is also the riskiest road for you to go down. If you merge with another company then this will double the size of your own and it will boost your revenue a huge amount. That being said, you have to make sure that you perform your due diligence as well. This will help you to rule out any acquisition candidates before you move forward with your business merger.

If you want some help finding out if the other company are a good fit for your business or not, then it is helpful to look into the financial condition of the company. You have to know their strengths, their weaknesses and how they manage their day to day operations. On top of this, it is also helpful for you to look into the client base, the soundness of the contracts that they have and more. When you think about all of this, you will soon find that it is more than possible for you to make the best decisions overall. If you need some help, then a business mentor will be able to give you the support you need.

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Top Safety Concerns In Any New Office

July 14, 2020 Leave a Comment

If your business is moving to a new office, or you are starting up your first one, there is a lot that you are going to have to consider. One of the main issues that will always be necessary to look into is the safety of the people who work there. There are a lot of safety concerns that you will come across in any new office, and in this article we are going to take a look at some of the most important of these. If you are aware of these, you should find that you know what to do to keep your employees safe – and ensure a brighter future for the company.

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Slipping & Falling

 

If you look at the statistics for office safety across the world, the single biggest cause of injury is slipping and falling. Therefore, if you can do whatever you can to avoid these instances occurring in your office, you are going to be keeping your employees much safer, and everyone is going to appreciate that. So what can you do to make sure you keep slips and falls to an absolute minimum? As it happens, there are a couple of important things to bear in mind.

 

Firstly, consider the kind of flooring you have in the office, and whether it might need to be replaced with something safer. If so, do that before you actually move your staff into the office. Then you need to make sure that there are some basic health and safety routines in place to ensure people don’t run and make slipping more likely. At the same time, be sure to keep the floors clear of obstructions. That will ensure that fewer people slip or fall in your office.

 

Collisions

 

Collisions can either be with other people or with objects. In either case, the majority of collisions are avoidable, and you should make sure that you are doing whatever you can to stop them from occurring. In a new office, you will want to clear the floor of anything anyone could collide into before they start working there. On top of that, consider whether there are any potentially problematic parts of the office – blind spots around corners, for instance – and what you might be able to do about them – such as putting up a mirror or a sign suggesting people to take care in that area. With that kind of attention to detail, collisions will be kept to a minimum.

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Sharp Corners

 

It’s not just children who need to take care around sharp corners – any of us could be injured in this way. In a new office, you might not know which corners are going to be sharp at first, so you might need to make sure that you are checking them all out to begin with. If there are any that seem particularly problematic, you need to make sure that you are going to cushion them in some way, or even have them attended to and sanded down. With sharp corners being one of the most common safety problems in offices across the world, this is more important than you might at first assume.

 

Poor Lighting

 

Although it might not seem as though poor lighting is a hazard in itself, it’s not hard to see why it might pose a problem in any office. After all, if your office has poor lighting, it means that people are more likely to suffer from the above causes of injuries, especially tripping and falling. Poor lighting can also cause people to have ongoing health problems. In the worst case scenarios, you might find that your employees have a lot of headaches and fail to come into work. It is clearly important to make sure that your new office has decent lighting before you let anyone work there.

 

Hopefully, this will usually be a pretty simple fix. It will probably just mean that you need to replace the lights that are up, or even just the bulbs. At other times, you might need to completely strip out and rewire new lighting in to ensure that all parts of the office are covered. As long as the lighting is sufficient, your employees are going to be looked after much more, and suffer less from working in your office.

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Electrical Faults

 

There are few safety concerns more important than potential electrical faults, given that at the very worst end of the scale it can cause death. When you are moving into a new office, this is one of the first and most important things you need to check, to ensure that you don’t cause any harm to be done to any of your employees, partners or guests to the office. You need to look into this as early as possible, and definitely before anyone actually starts working there.

 

Of course, you should not check it yourself, but rather you should hire an electrician to do so for you, as doing it yourself could be dangerous. Make sure you get them to check the entire system in the office and that they fix any issues that they find. This is a non-negotiable part of setting up in a new office, so make sure that you don’t overlook it. You should also ensure that you get the electrician to return every six months or so, just to check that everything is still safe and in perfect working order.

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Plumbing Issues

 

In a similar vein to the electrics, you should also make sure that you have the plumbing checked out too. Although it might not be quite as serious as faulty electrics, pipe problems can still pose a problem and could cause some safety issues if they are left untreated. In the worst case, you might even end up with flooding in the office – and if that is combined with electrical problems, then that is likely going to be a recipe for disaster. As you can see, this is really important.

 

Again, the solution is to call in the professionals to take a look, and to fix anything that might be out of place. Do this before anyone starts working there to ensure that you avoid any serious emergencies.

 

Fire Safety

 

Nobody wants to be caught in a fire. That much goes without saying. One of your main priorities as a manager is to ensure that the office is safe from fire as far as is possible. There are two main routes you need to follow here: preventing fires from breaking out, and making sure that you are well equipped to deal with it if it does happen anyway. Both are essential, and you should make sure that you do whatever is necessary in both cases just to make sure.

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In order to prevent fire, you need to make sure you have decent and strong protocols in place for how to behave in the workplace. That avoids any silly behavior causing a fire, which is vital. You also need to make sure that electrical faults are dealt with promptly, as above, and that your people are trained in fire safety as well as possible, and regularly too. That should hopefully prevent the majority of fires.

 

No matter what, occasionally fires do break out in offices, and it is essential to make sure that your staff know what to do if that happens. That is where the training comes in, and particularly training around what steps to take if there is a fire. That’s why fire drills are so important, and not to be overlooked. You should also make sure that you stock your new office up with all of the necessary equipment: fire extinguishers and so on, as well as making sure there are fire doors in place and so on too, and that fire exits are never blocked.

 

As long as you do all that, you can say you are doing everything possible to both prevent fires in your new office, and deal with them if they occur as well as possible.

 

Air Quality

 

Poor air quality is related to a number of health and safety issues. Notably, it can lead to your employees having breathing problems or other health issues, and you need to make sure that you are avoiding this as well as you can. That means taking a look at the ventilation system, and ensuring that it is maintained as well as possible at all times. This will also help in preventing the spread of illnesses and diseases, which is especially important during a global pandemic such as the coronavirus pandemic. On top of that, a general cleanliness is vital too, so make sure that you clean the office well before anyone starts working there, and regularly thereafter. It all makes a difference.

 

If you do all that, your employees are going to be safer and your office is going to be a much better place to work in many ways. Make sure that you don’t overlook any of these important concerns.

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Who Makes the Best Property Developers?

April 23, 2020 Leave a Comment

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Property development is something that many people find themselves interested in when they want to make money. It’s often seen as a fantastic way to earn and even become rich, although it’s not an easy path to take. If property development is something that you are interested in, the first thing that you need to know is how you can get into property development. There are certain qualities that can help you to be a good property developer, and maybe even a great one. Some of these qualities may be inherent, but others are things that you can learn.

 

Knowledge of the Industry

 

Having knowledge of the real estate or construction industry can start you on the right foot. Developer Aubrey Ferrao worked as a real estate broker before getting involved with property development and went on to develop several billion dollars or real estate. As well as working in the industry, you can also educate yourself by taking courses and doing plenty of research to learn the right things.

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Flexibility

 

If you want to work in property development, it’s important to have a certain level of flexibility. You should be able to work on different projects, and you might need to pitch in with different tasks. Property development can involve wearing a number of different hats, so you need to be willing to use a range of skills and help out when and where it’s necessary.

 

Working Well Under Pressure

 

Being able to work well under pressure is a must if you want to go into property development. You can often be in a fast-paced work environment, where there’s a lot of work to do, and it sometimes needs to be done quickly. Being able to keep your cool and think clearly will help you to be a good property developer.

 

Great People Skills

 

Communication skills are important in pretty much any job. Even people who spend most of their days working alone need to be able to communicate with others. Property developers need excellent people skills so that they can work with a range of people in different roles. The ability to quickly build relationships with others is a benefit to any property developer who wants to succeed.

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Good Risk Tolerance

 

Real estate development is a risky business. Developers need to be prepared for things to go wrong and to lose money – and it can be a lot of money. If you find it difficult to take risks, you’re probably not suited to being a property developer. However, you also need the ability to take a calculated risk, rather than jumping into something without consideration.

 

Problem-solving Skills

 

There are always problems and obstacles that property developers can be met with when working on a project. Having good problem-solving skills is important if you want to be able to deal with these issues and ensure that a project can continue. You should be able to find a range of solutions when presented with a problem.

 

If you want to be a property developer, assess which skills you have that could help you to achieve your chosen path.

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4 Tips For Starting Your Own Business

March 12, 2020 Leave a Comment

Are you thinking of running your own business? Maybe you are yearning for a change of career or you are looking for a new challenge. With many of us wanting to work for ourselves and forge our own path, today we want to share with you 4 tips for starting your own business. 

Image Pixabay – Pixabay License 

 

Make sure that it is something that excites you

 

Our number one tip would be to make sure that your new business is something that excites you, whether it is freelancing in a familiar field or designing a new product. You are going to have to work long and hard to get this business off the ground and thriving, and you stand a much better chance of being able to do this if you are passionate about it.

 

Think through both your initial idea and the everyday practicalities that you will encounter. Is this something that you can see yourself enjoying each day? Is this something that will continue to interest and stimulate you? If the answer is ‘no’ you might want to go back to the drawing board and make a few changes or start afresh. 

 

Gather some feedback

 

With your idea in place, it is worth getting some feedback on it. 

 

You will want to run this by your trusted friends and family first and get their initial thoughts. This is a really useful and safe way to gather input from others. Use their suggestions and criticisms to shape and develop your idea and tackle any problems that they point out head on. 

 

You can then start testing the market and gathering responses from potential customers. Take their opinions into account and try not to take anything personally. Their views are invaluable to you and getting them early on in the process should help you to avoid pitfalls and ensure that you offer customers exactly what they want. 

 

Get the funding in place

 

Your idea might need very little early investment or it might require a substantial injection of cash. Write out your business plan and your funding needs should begin to become clear. You can then use this plan when you are seeking funds for your business. 

 

If you are looking to raise funds for your business you might find it useful to check out this private equity fundraising checklist, meet with your bank or check to see whether you are eligible for any government lending and grants. 

 

Trust in yourself

 

You could have the best idea for a business, you could read every single business advice manual, you could get tips from the experts in your industry and have solid backing from experienced investors, but you will still have problems making a success of your business if you fail to trust in yourself. 

 

You are your business’ USP and you need to have confidence in your idea and your ability to see it through. Trust that you have what it takes and trust that your plans are all sound. You will need to rely on this confidence through any rocky times, so remember, you’ve got this, you can do it.

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You’ve Got The Degree, Now Get The Business

February 14, 2020 Leave a Comment

If you’ve worked hard enough to be able to get a degree, then we take our hats off to you. Getting a degree is one of the hardest things that people can do. We’re usually so young, and all we want to do is party and have fun. At that age, it’s pretty much impossible to study, work, and live a good lifestyle as well. But somehow, such a large percentage of people actually manage to do it. Which then leaves you with this degree and the potential to earn big from it. We hope that you went for a degree that you’re actually passionate about. Because we know that so many people go and get their degree and then end up in a job that’s completely different from it because they don’t see a way of getting a job in that niche. To us, that sounds crazy. We as humans can do pretty much anything that we put our minds to. So, we’re going to show you how you can turn your degree into a business by picking out some of the most popular degrees that people get! Keep on reading to find out more.

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Marketing & Media

 

Marketing and media are one of the best businesses that you could go into because there are so many businesses out there who need both marketing and media. Marketing is one of the best businesses you can set up if you can figure out how to get the attention. Because small businesses, in particular, are going to need all of the help they can get, especially with social media marketing, which is usually how many of them start marketing their business. You can start this business with the smallest investment as well. All you need to do is have the money to pay someone to design you a website and try and reach out to small businesses that you know have just been established. They’re the easiest to get custom from!

 

A Successful Lawyer

 

A successful lawyer is always going to go far. All you have to do is get your law degree and you have a way of getting into a law firm that you will make money from. But the stress and hassle of being a lawyer and working for someone else is something too hard to cope with. So, why not set up your own law firm and work your way up. To do so you’re going to have to publicize yourself, and you can do so using Elite Lawyer Management. You need to build that reputation and show your country that you’re worth representing them. You really do need the be the face of the public to be a successful lawyer, and that’s only going to happen with good promotion.

 

Business & Management 

 

Business and management is probably the most common degree that people chose to take, yet people don’t tend to try and set up their own business in it. It might be a niche, but you can have a lot of success from starting a business that helps with growing other businesses. Using your knowledge to find faults in other businesses and work out a business plan for them can bring you a lot of money.

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4 Important Lessons To Learn In Freelancing

January 15, 2020 Leave a Comment

When people think about the future of the business world, they often look to concepts like automation or potentially even machine learning. It’s true these are going to have a part of play in the business world of tomorrow. However, there’s another concept that is rapidly becoming key and that is the gig economy. If you don’t know what this is the gig economy is basically the collective term for freelancing. Rather than working on a permanent or long term contract for a business, you will instead work on your own terms. 

 

This does provide a lot of benefits. For instance, it’s a more flexible situation and it theoretically means that you can switch jobs whenever you want. You could also take on multiple positions as a way to boost your income. Some people will be able to work from home as freelancers while others will find it more beneficial to work in an environment like a hot desk. It largely depends on whether you can remain productive in a completely private environment. 

 

There are benefits for the employer too. They will be able to ensure that you are able to keep costs low and we’re going to explore why this is. Some reports suggest that the gig economy could cover 50% of the total workforce by 2025 in America. To be prepared for this change and the role that you might have, there are some lessons to learn here. So, let’s explore a few key considerations. 

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Employer Responsibility 

 

This isn’t quite the same as when you are working on a full-term contract. For instance, one of the key changes to keep in mind is based on your physical or emotional well being. Let’s say that you are working for a business on a contract and you develop RSI. RSI is probably one of the most common injuries experienced by office workers today. It comes from working long hours without breaks, often in the wrong environment. 

 

You might be wondering whether you could take action against the business that hired you and the answer is it depends. If you are operating from home then you won’t have a leg to stand on here. They won’t have any real responsibility for your physical well being because you will have chosen your own environment. You can say that the contract required long hours without breaks. However, as a freelancer, you choose the contracts that you take on so this doesn’t really hold water. 

 

On the other hand, you might be working from their office. If that’s the case, then you might have a stronger case. A law firm like Alvine Weidenaar, LLP that specializes in personal injuries could be in the right position to help you out here. 

So basically, it depends on your unique set up how much responsibility your employer is going to hold. Usually, though one of the benefits of hiring freelancers is that business owners can avoid this particular headache for better or worse. 

 

Networking 

 

To succeed as a freelancer you need to know how to network effectively. Essentially, you will be your own personal agent operating for yourself to ensure that you are going to have the right strategy in place.

 

LinkedIn can be a great place to start here. While you won’t need all the social networks when networking, LinkedIn provides the clearest avenue to connect with individuals in the business world. It also ensures that you can rub shoulders with the right people. Be aware that there are also platforms specifically for freelancers to use. 

 

One of the issues to consider here is that they are highly competitive. You will often need to fight to rise above those who are seeking out the same clients and projects as you. You can also get into price wars where you will be up against those willing to work for a lot less than you can perhaps afford. This is certainly one of the rougher elements of freelancing that you will be forced to face. 

 

Slow Down 

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You might think that being a freelancer isn’t going to provide you with that much stability. In a way, this isn’t the case. You may actually find you have more stability if you know how to approach this model the right way. However, there are certainly going to be challenges that you will face. 

 

For instance, you do need to consider the issue for the slow down. Just like with any business there are periods throughout the year where the demand for particular freelancers will rise and fall. For instance, writers are more in demand through the festive season when there are more marketing opportunities. Through January to March, the businesses tend to hold off spending as much money in this area. You need to be prepared for this and the budget to compensate for the change. 

 

In other words, you can’t afford to leave yourself in a position where you are struggling because you weren’t prepared for a downturn. 

 

Tax 

While employers are able to shift responsibilities as a freelancer you will have more to take on. One of the biggest responsibilities you will have is always going to be handling your own tax. Tax is something that stumps a lot of people and with freelancers, it’s a little more complicated. You’ll basically be operating as a little business. You will need to make sure that you are paying for your tax the right way. 

 

It’s important that you don’t make any mistakes here. Otherwise, you will be penalized and you’ll be forced to pay up. Complete your calculations carefully and consider using an accounting solution. You probably don’t want to shell out for a professional accountant and you don’t really need to. Instead, you will be able to make sure that you simply use a cloud service to keep track of your earnings in real-time. 

 

We hope this helps you navigate some of the challenges of being a freelancer that you may encounter when you are operating in this business model. It’s best to be prepared for the biggest changes here. 

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The Importance Of Employee Productivity

November 25, 2019 Leave a Comment

The biggest asset that a business can have is its employees. They are the most important piece of the business puzzle alongside the product or services that the business can offer. It’s vital for a company to invest a significant amount of money in a business, then, if they want to get a return on their investment. 

 

The best way to ensure that you get the best from your staff is to fuel their productivity. The harder your staff work, the better the result. However, it’s vital that you are incensing your staff to keep them boosted. Workplace productivity is the assessment of the efficiency of your staff, and if you’re not giving them enough reason to keep their motivation up, you’ll find a decrease in the efficiency to which you are used to. It’s easy to confuse productivity with effectiveness, but let’s define those to make life easy:

  • Effectiveness is how much effort your staff are putting into the job
  • Productivity is the work completed 

 

It’s common for employees to be productive but not particularly effective in their efforts. The reverse is also true. However, if you aren’t streamlining your processes, you’re going to find that a lot of your staff are delivering completed work that isn’t the best quality. There are plenty of ways to streamline your processes as a business, from using programs like https://www.templafy.com/ to set up your document management, or even just introducing automation to your business. You have to be an effective employer before you can expect productivity from your staff. You should be striving to maximize productivity and effectiveness, as this will give you the best possible return on your investment in your staff.

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It should make better financial sense for your business to hire employees, and your employees have to be valuable to you to be worth the package you’ve hired them onto. You work together – you give, they provide, and if they go above and beyond, you provide more. It’s how business works. There are so many benefits to having productive employees in your business, and these include:

 

  • Productive employees that are recognized by you can motivate others in the team. It helps to boost morale when they know that there are exciting rewards to their work ethic.
  • Company revenue increases when employees are productive. 
  • The more productive the staff, the more incentives and bonuses they can receive as a result of the increase in revenue.
  • Companies can enjoy continued growth when staff are making more of an effort.
  • Customers benefit, too, as they can gain a better quality service compared to those who are not so productive in their jobs. 
  • Rewarding employees makes them highly productive, with better customer interactions and service.
  • All of this less to greater customer loyalty and continued business growth.

 

The moral of the story? Do what you can to provide the right tools and working environment for your staff to give back as much as you give them! Productivity is a winner if you know how to foster it!

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