Archives for January 2019

Become the Leader You’ve Always Dreamt of Being

January 9, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

There are a lot of things that you need to keep in mind if you want to be a great leader. Running a business is so much more than simply coming up with a name and an idea; you have to ensure that you set a great example and that you are focused on making the best possible decisions for the company. A startup business needs care, nurture, and attention, and it is important to ensure that you focus on yourself as well.

As the leader and head of the company, it is imperative that you look at what you can do to improve the way you run the business. This could be in the decisions you make, the way you treat your staff, and many other things as well. So, you need to make sure you work on becoming the leader you’ve always wanted to be. There are a lot of things that will help you achieve this, and these are some of the best ideas to keep in mind moving forward.

Leadership Training

Leadership training might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there is no denying its importance when it comes to improving the way you lead in the business world. Leadership development activities can make all the difference when showing you the best ways of dealing with people, as well as helping people to view your leadership in the right way. This is most definitely something you have to keep in mind moving forward, and it can make a lot of difference in the future.

Set an Example

It is important to set an example to your employees and others in the business. As the leader, people will look to you to make a good impression and to set the standard they need to follow. Leading by example is the true essence of leadership, and this is something you need to get right as soon as you can when it comes to looking at the different ways of leading your team effectively.

Encourage Creativity

Creativity and originality play such an important role in the world of business as a whole, and this is something you need to make sure you get right. There are a lot of things that play a part in this, and it is essential that you encourage your staff to be as creative as possible. One of the best ways of leading is to make sure you encourage your staff to embrace their ideas and to get creative with their thinking.

Communication is Key

Communication is the true essence of business as a whole, and there are a lot of things that play a role in this. There are also lots of business communication pitfalls you need to avoid if you want to achieve the right amount of success. Think about the way you communicate with your employees, and how you can improve this as a business leader. There are a lot of things that have to play a part in this, and it is important to get it right as soon as you can.

You have a lot to think about when you want to run a business well, and to make yourself a better leader. It is important that you get this right moving forward, and there are so many things that you need to understand about leadership. If you can get these right, you should have no problem with improving your company long-term as well.

Creative Ways to Take Your Career

January 8, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Are you a creative kind of person? If so, you might feel restricted and restrained by monotonous jobs, or those that limit your visionary skills. If you’re unhappy at work and want a change, why not go for something that’s more suited to you? Here are some creative ways you can take your career, depending on your skills and interests.

Art and design

The term ‘starving artist’ need not apply in today’s world. If you’re talented in art, you don’t have to rely on selling huge commissions to make your profits. There’s plenty of call for those who can create beautiful visual pieces, for things like business logos and flyers, decorative prints, clip art for crafts such as card making and scrapbooking and so much more. Designers are always in demand to work on things like apps and websites, so if you have these specific skills it’s something worth looking into. Check out jobs in classified listings if you want to do it as a full time job, or sign up to a freelancing site if you’re just looking to earn some money with your skills on the side.

Writing

Earning a living through writing was once reserved for the best journalists and authors, but there’s tons of directions you can go with it these days. Freelance writing is a good way to earn money in your free time, there’s no upfront costs to getting started and you’re not contracted to any hours. You simply choose the pieces you’d like to do, and if you’re accepted by the client then you complete the piece by the given deadline. If you’re already a freelancer and looking for reliable ways to bump up your earnings when times are quieter then this is ideal, but could also be done around any full or part time job. If you work hard, it’s even something you could do full time, especially as clients will want to work with you again if you perform well. Blogging is another way you can earn money from your writing, while it will take time to get established it’s something that makes a great hobby so is worth starting anyway. In time, advertisers will contact you in regards to paid work, and it can be very lucrative. Another way to make money with your writing is by creating an e-book and self publishing. Sites like Amazon make this very easy, every time someone downloads it it’s money straight to your bank, if you create a few of them that end up being popular it can be a nice chunk towards your monthly income.

Food and drink

Food and drink careers and business ventures can allow you to get really creative. You could open a bakery and create all kinds of sweet and savoury baked goods. You could open a sandwich shop with interesting and exciting fillings on different kinds of bread. You could become a caterer, and come up with different menus for all kinds of events. If you’re planning on running this from home, chances are there are a few changes you’ll need to make to your kitchen. You need to have a fridge that’s separate for home and work, and you’ll need to ensure that no pets enter your kitchen. If your back door is in your kitchen, you’ll no longer be able to let your dog out this way for example. Of course, you’ll also need to make sure it’s kept very clean and tidy, once you’re registered as a food business yiu could have random checks made on you at any time. Invest in good countertops and flooring, concrete is a smart move as it’s very durable and long lasting. Products like carrdiamondpolishingpads.co.uk can help to polish the surface until it’s ultra smooth and really easy to keep clean. Renting a commercial kitchen could be an idea if your home kitchen isn’t suitable or you want more space. This is especially important if you plan on hiring employees.

Music

There was once a time that you could only really make a living in music if you were a rock or pop star, or some other kind of musical celebrity. But you no longer need to sit around and wait to be picked up by a record deal! You could create jingles for businesses to be used on the radio, on their site or in their videos. You could create background music for video creators to utilise. You could release your own tracks and submit them to streaming sites like spotify. If they’re approved, you get a small amount of money every time someone listens. It probably won’t make you rich but it can all contribute towards your income. Live music in pubs, bars and at weddings is very popular. If you’re a skilled musician, look into joining or creating a band and playing live gigs as a way to bring in some good money.

4 Factors You Can’t Overlook During An Office Upgrade

January 8, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Many businesses will go through a time when it becomes clear that upgrading the office is the best next move. When it is time for your business to do this, you will of course want to ensure that you get it right first time. If you fail to do so, you will only end up spending more time and money than necessary getting things how you want them to be, and this is hardly what your business needs at any time. In order to make sure you upgrade your office in the right way, let’s take a look at some of the factors of the whole process that you can’t readily ignore. As long as you are taking care of the following, you should find that upgrading your office is much easier and more likely to be a success than you might have otherwise thought possible.

Timing

It is highly important that you choose the appropriate time to upgrade your office, as if you get this wrong it could actually spell disaster for the business in a number of ways. You must make sure that you are not going to disturb or disrupt the business too much, and that basically means that you need to be fully aware of what kind of time of year is likely to be best to carry out such an upgrade in the first place. There are many ways to make sure that you get this right, but mostly it is all about just making sure that you are paying attention to what your business needs and when. For instance, if there is a certain time that your industry is especially busy or vibrant then you probably want to make sure that you are avoiding that particular time. Or if you are about to launch a new product or rebrand, you are obviously not going to want to upgrade during that time, as you are going to be busy enough as it is. Good timing is very often the difference between success and failure, so make sure that you are aware of how to get this right when you upgrade your office.

Cost

Clearly, upgrading anything is always going to be something of an expense, and when it comes to your office you are bound to find that it costs you a lot of money overall. There are many ways to mitigate this cost, but the most important thing to do first of all is to simply ensure that you are aware of the likely cost of the project in total. To do that, you will need to plan it out well enough, so that you don’t expect to go too much over budget. However grand or humble it is likely to be, being fully aware of the likely upper and lower costs will ensure that you suffer no great surprises or that you end up wasting money anywhere – which is hugely important at any time for any business.

To really get to grips with the likely cost of upgrading your office, you will find it hugely beneficial to contact the relevant suppliers and contractors to get quotes for what you are planning. These quotes will always be estimates, but it can help you to get a rough idea of what kind of expense to expect in the first place. If nothing else, you can simply take that estimate and add ten percent, and you should find that you have a reliable figure at the end of it. If you fail to really account for the cost of upgrading your offices, then it is much less likely that you will be able to make it all work out, so this is something you want to be aware of from the start if you can.

Comfort & Ease

In terms of how to actually design the space, it will help greatly if you make a point of prioritizing comfort and ease throughout the office. The more comfortable an office is, generally the better it will be run – and the easier it is to get around and use the office space for what it is meant for, the more likely it is that you will be able to use it as effectively as possible. There are many things you can do to ensure that you are going to have a comfortable and easy to use office, and it all begins with how you design the space in the first place. If you have enough space and openness in the office, it is much more likely that you will end up with a comfortable office, so that is the first thing to try and be aware of.

As well as that, you will want to ensure that you are going to stock up your newly upgraded office with only the most comfortable office furniture, and that you are therefore ensuring that comfort is a real priority. Do this, and your staff will notice, and it will mean that the office is a much nicer and more enjoyable place to work on the whole. As you can see, comfort and ease will go a long way to ensuring that your upgraded office is much more viable to use.

Security

If you are going through the whole process of upgrading your office, it will only make sense to also ensure that you do whatever you can to make it more secure, so this is something to think about as well. There are many ways in which you can hope to make your new office more secure, and it is something which will make for a happier and more productive workforce, and therefore a more productive business on the whole as well. In general, you can use the upgrade to ensure that your office is going to be considerably more secure by replacing the doors, windows and other entrances and making sure that you introduce new security measures like CCTV or ID. Do that, and your business will function much more securely, with all the benefits that brings with it.

Is It Time You Moved To Newer Business Premises?

January 7, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Is it time you moved into newer business premises? Despite the expense and the stress involved in making the move, you probably should if any of the following apply to you.

a) Your premises are no longer fit for purpose

Your premises may have been perfectly functional a few years ago, but if they no longer live up to your requirements, then a change may be in order. You may have taken on extra staff, for example. Or perhaps the cost to make repairs is more expensive in the long-term than buying or renting somewhere new. Whatever the case, if you know your premises no longer hold the same functionality as days gone by, then it’s probably time to move.

b) Your premises are too expensive to run

So, the cost of repairs is one thing, but then there are also such things as rising utility and insurance costs to consider. You might also be paying out too much money on fuel expenses, on both a work and personal level, if your premises are far from employee’s homes and places of business meetings. Downsizing might be the best thing to do if you don’t need somewhere with a lot of space, as this is a practical way to cut costs, and moving to a cheaper locale might be in order to reduce taxes, etc.

c) People can’t find you

Are you in the right location to attract customer and client footfall? Are people forever turning up late for meetings? Are you a walking and talking satnav, forever having to guide people to your business? If so, you might want to move to an easier to find location, for everybody’s sake!

d) Your business keeps getting broken into

If crime and vandalism are rife in your area, then you may be a constant target for those people who want to either steal from you, or create havoc in your life. There are ways to secure your business premises, but it might be in your long-term interests to move into an area that is relatively safe from thieves and vandals.

e) Your tenancy is at an end

This is the perfect excuse to consider moving somewhere new, especially if you can find a cheaper tenancy elsewhere. And especially if the other issues on this short list are relevant to you, then what are you waiting for? The move could be beneficial for so many reasons, so take it into serious consideration.

f) Your premises is vulnerable to natural threats

It’s possible that your business premises may be vulnerable to natural threats such as flooding, sinkholes or earthquakes. Any damage caused by these natural disasters could be expensive to repair and it could be a safety risk too. There may be solutions such as adding porous paving or diversion canals to reduce flooding that could prevent you having to move. However, if such options are not possible or out of your budget, you may have no choice but to relocate.

And finally, if you do decide to move…

If you do decide to move, there are a few things you need to do during the process. Before moving into your new facilities, you need to ensure everything is in place for your business to commence, including phone lines, broadband connections, and electrical supplies.You might also consider using one of these prefab metal building kits to take care of your storage needs while you’re in the process of moving. And finally, remember to let people know of the change, updating them with your new address information by sign, on social media, and through your website. With all of that done, we hope that your move, if you do decide to migrate, is a big success!

Thanks for reading!

Two Crucial Things You Need To Set Up Your Home Office

January 4, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

When working from home it is always best to have a designated workspace so you are comfortable and have quite surroundings to get your work done. When setting up your workspace there are a couple of things you should have and set up to make sure you are comfortable when working. Here are two items to get your office setup for comfortability to help you work as hard as possible.

A Suitable Desk

A crucial part of your office will be getting the right desk. You need to decide on how big a desk you will need based on what you will put on it and also how long you will be working at that desk. There are desks out there that you can use for standing so if you have been sat to long you can move the desk up to allow you to work while standing. When choosing a desk you need to make sure you are getting one that fits in the room you have chosen for your office, if you need a large desk and have a fairly small office then it is best to get a corner desk so you have space and it fits in the room.

When choosing your desk you also need to make sure that it is right for the computer you will be using so if it’s a laptop then it is best to have it lower as the keyboard is built in and if it is a desktop PC then think about getting a desk with a pull out shelf for the keyboard or enough space for the PC and the keyboard on it without it being cramped.

The Right Chair

Picking the right chair may sound unnecessary and any chair will do the job of being sat on but when you think about it, you will be in that chair for large portions of your day and if it isn’t comfortable then you are going to end up with a backache and shoulder pain from the posture you are being forced into. There are different types of chairs you can get for your office, some have cushions built in and others don’t, some recline and some are rigid. There are many to choose from so it firstly comes down to budget as with many things, if you want comfort then you will need to pay for it. It can be hard choosing the right chair and knowing that you are parting with your money for the right product, there are a few sites that can help you decide on a back-friendly executive chair and break it down to compare costs and also attributes of the chair to make sure you come away with the right one.

Once you have decided on these two main items for your office then it is about making it a comfortable space to work in, so make sure you decorate it right and put in the right things to keep you motivated but not distracted. Making sure you are comfortable is the main thing when setting up your office so with these tips you should be well underway to having your office setup.