Bringing Your Business Office Into 2018 (Psst… It’s Not As Tough As It Sounds)

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The office spaces form the heartbeat of any modern business operation. In fact, with the way things are going, their importance is greater than ever. However, the DNA of these spaces has changed massively in recent times. If your business is going to unlock its full potential and move in the right direction, bringing this workspace into the current day is pivotal.

It may sound like a daunting process. But whether yours is a new venture or an established company that needs a major office overhaul, a few simple tips will make a world of difference. Here’s all you need to know.

Go (Nearly) Paperless

A clean and organized office space will always encourage workers to perform better. Therefore, this guide to going paperless could be one of the most important things you ever read. This will actively reduce running costs while also creating more space for other equipment. Alternatively, it may enable you to downsize to a smaller office space, potentially in a more prestigious location. On a separate note, this step helps the company become greener too.

It may take some time for employees to get used to cloud computing and paperless technologies. However, this is the future of business and can speed up various processes. It’s also a great way to prevent the misplacement of documents and key files. Meanwhile, the eco-friendly elements are something that can be promoted to gain a better reaction from clients.

Create A Video Conferencing Space

Modern businesses look vastly different to how they did even five years ago. One of the main reasons is that employees can be split over various locations due to outsourcing and the capabilities of new technology. The best companies now embrace the skills and knowledge of people all over the world in a bid to cut costs and reach bigger audiences. Without face-to-face communication, finding the next best solution is vital.

Designating a space for video conferencing puts you in a far stronger position, allowing you to cut down needless business trips. Aside from being great for internal communications, a great setup will make a winning impression with clients. After all, many will wish to communicate via this method. This can double up as a great venue for presentations too.

Upgrade The Surroundings

The interior design aspects of an office space can have a huge impact on the atmosphere. Embracing natural light, and using lighter color schemes can make the space feel bigger. Artwork depicting the achievements of your business can provide huge motivation for everyone. Use a few plants around the office to further embrace that positivity, and you’ll be surprised by the upturn in productivity and happiness.

Perhaps most importantly, you need to upgrade the furniture. Outdated desk designs fail to make the most of the space, and may also be built for bulky units that are no longer needed. The seating probably needs an upgrade too. Finding the best stool for standing desk facilities or ergonomic chairs for meeting rooms can be key. Without those items, you’ll never find a great layout.

Consider Everyone

Society has evolved to become far more inclusive, and we’d all agree that this is a positive feature. Unfortunately, your outdated office spaces may currently be unable to satisfy the needs of everyone. Improving the access points for disabled employees should be top of the agenda. From adding ramps to creating a better layout, those changes can make a world of difference. Even if your staff members are able-bodied, you may have guests that need a little support.

On a separate note, there is a growing need for multiculturalism. Depending on the situation, it may be a good move to create a small prayer room for the employees that need to follow their faith. Finally, transgender and related issues need to be considered for certain facilities. This includes the toilet facilities and the way that those people are addressed.

Go For Individuality

The days of bland, cubicles offices are long gone. And thank goodness that this is the case. Your office should reflect the brand, which links in nicely with the idea of building happier surroundings. However, you also need to make employees feel comfortable. From personalized stationery to spaces for family photos or messages, those small steps can bring big rewards. For this to become a good workspace for the collective, it needs to be a great one for the individual.

This should extend to letting staff members set their computer systems and other items to their preferences. As long as it doesn’t stop productivity, this is a step in the right direction. Besides, you’ve hired those people for their initiatives. Stifling their creativity or productivity by running a dictatorship in the office is not an option.

Invest In The Latest Accessories

Your office space relies heavily on the facilities, and you naturally use the best computers and data security. It’s possible that you utilize outsourced IT management to keep those products in the best possible health too. However, you must ensure that your employees have the accessories needed to produce the best work in the fastest time. Graphic tablets, specialized software, and modified keyboards are all possible routes to take. The best option is to speak directly with them to see what they need.

Making the right investments now, which can include staff training, will pay dividends in the long haul. Apart from the direct benefits, knowing that the facilities are there to encourage the greatest results will offer an extra spark. Frankly, the main facilities are pointless if you don’t go the extra mile with these additions.

The Final View

Of course, people are still the most important element in a productive office environment. Your leadership and the team’s communication will play a crucial role at all times. Nonetheless, building a positive place of work provides the platform for success.

Given that this will filter down throughout other parts of the business, there’s never been a better time to make those upgrades.

The Things To Consider When Growing Your Business

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A small business can turn into big things with the right time and effort put into it. Often these successful and thriving businesses start out as just an idea. An idea that will grow into something with nurturing and investment. Not just monetary, but also with the dedication and ambition to make the business work. Expansion is something that can happen quite quickly for a thriving small business, you can quickly outgrow your location, your level of commitment with stock or simply have more demand than items or services to offer. It is definitely exciting times to be in that particular situation. So how can you move things forward? I wanted to share with you some of the things you could consider.

Moving business location

Often when a business is thriving you can quickly outgrow your current set up, Many small businesses begin at home,working in a corner of a room with your living areas as acting as storage units. However, once a business begins to thrive you can start to realise that a new business location could be on the cards. A great tip would be to consider an outsourced office or storage environment. Moving on my next point, this could be another viable option.

Setting up a store or showroom

Another thing to consider would be to actually set up a physical shop and store, or even create your own showroom showcasing products and services that you can offer. It is the next step from moving business location or moving the business out of your home and taking your business forward in a different direction. This could really open your business up to other customers. It may give you a different advertising approach as you take on a new avenue of face to face sales rather than just relying on your digital business, and it could certainly be another revenue avenue for your business moving forward.

The technology to invest in

Sometimes expanding your business means that you need to invest in different areas and often that means different technology and software that can move your business forward. Things like gis tools which help with data mapping, software to help work out your customer demographic or even customer relationship management systems so that you can keep in touch with regular clients, especially in terms of repeat business.

Expansion in terms of products and services

Finally, another way to grow your business is to think about about expansion in terms of the products you sell or the services your business provides. You could look at other things that work alongside your current range, or you may even want to look into a different niche entirely. When it comes to services there are often ways you can advance on it. But products means that you have a whole host of options as long as it fits your original niche and purpose. For example, a lifestyle website that sells wall art and prints could also develop products of other homeware types such as lamps, wall lights and such, for example.

I hope that these things help you to take the next steps in terms of growing your business.

Maintaining A Professional Image For Your Business

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We all know that a business needs to impress the target market if it’s going to be successful. You’re competing for the attention of consumers that are potential clients for your company. Your industry might be crowded with rival businesses that offer the same or similar services to your company, but the thing that defines every business is its brand. That’s how you stand out from the crowd. That’s how consumers make their decisions when it comes to buying goods and services. And that’s why it’s so important to maintain a professional image if you want to impress your company’s potential and existing customers. Here’s some advice to help you do so.

Create a productive workforce.

The first step towards creating a professional image for your business is to create a productive workforce. Your company can’t hope to deliver on its promises of excellent products and excellent customer service if it isn’t backed by a hardworking and talented team of professionals. The success of your brand depends on your employees. They need to be professional on the phone or social media when talking to customers, but they also need to create a professional product. And the key to this is happiness. Keep your workers happy so that they deliver a professional service. You might want to offer incentives such as bonuses for the hardest workers every week. Reward your employees for their productivity and they’ll maintain that high standard of work.

Additionally, you need to hire the right people in the first place. Your workforce will suffer if there are a few employees that bring down the overall productivity of the team by slacking on the job or simply delivering a sub-par product and service. It’s vital that you get the recruitment process right when it comes to keeping your employees productive. One worker’s negativity or apathy can affect the work ethic of everyone else in the workplace. You might want to look into a specialist that can provide a criminal record search on candidates applying for job positions at your company. You need to get the hiring process right so that your office is full of professional and motivated individuals. That’ll boost your brand’s overall image when it comes to the way in which your members of staff interact with clients.

Keep your business’ information safe.

In this age of digital business, your company needs to prioritize data security if it wants to maintain a professional image. Customers expect a certain level of safety when they hand over their personal information to a company. If you want to maintain their trust and the reputation of your brand then you need to make sure that you’re keeping that client information incredibly secure. With the right firewall and security measures in place, you’ll be able to spot a breach in your system’s security and shut it down before any damage is done to precious company information.

Remember that a simple brand is essential.

When you look at the most successful brands throughout history, you’ll notice that simplicity is key. If you want your business to maintain a professional image then don’t overcomplicate things. Keep your message and your identity clear. Clarity is professional, and it tells customers that your company knows exactly what it’s all about. A cluttered brand design, a messy website, and too many different slogans or statements will overwhelm consumers. People won’t see a clear brand identity, and that’ll seem unprofessional. Keep things simple.

How To Work Well With Your Business Partner

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Having a business partner can be a really great thing, as essentially it’s an extra hand to help manage your business. Sometimes if it’s small enough, you can do things on your own, but the bigger you start to expand, the more help you will need as things will get a lot busier, and at times, chaotic. We often wish that we could clone ourselves, but with a partner, you don’t need to.

Having said that, it’s not always easy breezy – things get hard. People have emotions, and that leaves you having to deal with another thing on top of everything else.

Here’s how to manage that so everything runs smoothly.

Outline the job responsibilities.

If you feel like your partner isn’t doing as much as they should be, then you may start to feel the tension rising within you. You can avoid this though by both sitting down and going over the duties in terms of your business. You can do this as regularly as every week and then discuss what’s gone on, what there is to do, and more importantly – who is doing what. That way you don’t need to worry about having a fight or getting angry, because you are both deciding together what each of you are going to be putting in for the next week coming. Whenever you do feel as though something is going as it should, write it down or make a mental note of it, and then bring it up during your weekly rundown.

Make sure you’re protected.

This is by no means saying that you can’t trust your business partner, because that is what a lot of your professional relationship is based on. But, you should always make sure that you have yourself covered if ever a dispute were to happen and things don’t turn out the way that you had hoped. This is why you should be in touch with companies like Urias Law who provide you with the care, support, and advice that you need so that you always have the backup plan on the event that you need it.

Get an outsider’s perspective.

Sometimes when you find that you can’t share the same opinion on a certain matter, it’s nice to get an outside view. There will come a time where you have a decision to make, but one of you wants to go one way, and the other wants to go the other. A lot of people don’t want to get help because it makes them feel like they’re not capable of doing the job themselves, but that isn’t the case at all. It means that you’re responsible and you care about doing what is best for your business – all feelings aside. So if you are struggling to agree, call a professional. This may be a mentor that you both look up to in the industry, or a legal professional that can advise you on the best route to take.

The Central Tenets Of ‘Business-Client’ Communication

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Your business can be the tightest and most impressively run ship in the world. It’s likely you’re working towards this end. However, without the power of a customer and client base behind you, you’ll agree that things will likely not last very long. This means that no matter how good your product is, you need someone to buy it. While it’s possible to make the most perfect product in the world and price it such that only one customer justifies the entire cost of your firm, it’s statistically unlikely that your firm will. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

However, this doesn’t mean the end of the world. After all, who wants that? Communicating with and building a network of supporters for your firm, in clients, business-to-business connections and partnerships alike is a whole heap more fun. This means that it’s important to know how to develop business-client communication. Without it, it’s unlikely that your company will succeed naturally. If two children are selling equal lemonade on two different stands along the street, it’s likely the one who advertises and presents their product in a superior fashion will gain the most sales.

This means that communication is key, as in all walks of life. To develop this particularly well, it could be beneficial to peruse our advice:

Respect

Customers want to be respected. More and more, they understand that they are entitled to the decision of where their money goes. This is because in a wide array of industries, the free market affords competition. This allows the best products to rise, but also those who offer the best customer service. After all, a purchase isn’t simply a transaction. It’s an experience. From the first step placed in your store to the first click of your website, a customer will be judging your firm. Respect is a good lense to view your beneficial efforts through in this case.

What does this mean? Well, it certainly doesn’t mean you aggressively sell to your clients. You attempt to draw them in with respectfully caring about them first. This means giving them the necessary information about a product with use of brevity. It means allowing the client to dictate their terms. It means potentially going a little further to secure the sale by potentially offering custom deals of promotions. At the very least, it means deeply thanking them and routinely rewarding them for their loyalty.

Respect goes a long way in business, and it always will. No matter how innovative and new the marketing methods, respect will always win out, and can be applied in many manners. Sometimes, respecting the intelligence of your customer in your communication is the only thing you need to do. This is the central core idea behind the phrase ‘the customer is always right.’ It’s not simply a phrase to torment your floor workers, although it’s not hard to see why it’s sometimes viewed this way.

Accurate Marketing

Clients are more and more interested in being accurately sold products. This means that a clear picture of what they are getting is key. Even firms like McDonald’s are heavily criticised for their use of oversized burgers in their promotional material, especially considered to the actual products given. Marketers simply do not have control over the cultural discourse as they once did. It might be that using the phrase ‘magic!’ in your advertising campaign once suggested you had the only formula to achieve a task. Let’s say laundry detergent’s effectiveness in reducing stains in white clothing.

Now, more than ever, practical sharing of your product or service results can be shared through social media. People will read reviews, consult images, and generally get a picture of the product they are buying well in advance of purchasing your item. This is why accurate marketing is so beneficial in the modern day. It assumes that customers are smart and know what they want. It means instead of deceiving you can promote your product more creatively, submitting fun and challenging briefs to the best advertising agency of your choice.

Accurate marketing allows the very first step of the potential sale to be on good terms. While it’s never a crime to oversell or focus on the strengths of your product exclusively, doing so in a way that sticks close to reality shows that you needn’t over embellish the fantasies of your product. It also doesn’t mean you can’t sell a lifestyle, or a beautiful picture with your product involved. It simply means you do so in a way that allows a customer to feel intellectually respected and admired. This method of putting the customer on a pedestal allows people to feel well catered to, and it will likely allow communications to proceed with a strong foundation.

Client Retention

Firms work best when clients can set the agenda. This means allowing for personalized services if possible. Of course, not all businesses work this way. It might not be that Levi Strauss can personally attend and tailor you a pair of $50 jeans, and ensure a certain style is stonewashed to your liking. However, they can take on certain feedback, and do so for the continued life of their firm. If you are a smaller firm, particularly if you are in the servicing field, it might be that firmly allowing your client to dictate their terms can allow for a strong potential push in retaining that business.

For example, let’s say you run a simple cafe. You learn that a certain customer enjoys having two tea bags in their pot as they read the morning newspaper. Doing so might mean you lose out on a few cents a day in the transaction and eat into your profits. Overall, this repeat business means that you keep a stronger transaction history with this client, and benefit long-term. This is a low-consequence and relatively simple example, but as you grow consider that this could help you through many different lulls in your popularity. Gaining a reputation as a firm that cares about clients is not easy, and can only be achieved through actually making it a reality. This way, consumer care allows communication to thrive, and always stay within good terms. Complaints and defence are the strongest ways to kill a business that is otherwise working effectively.

With these small tidbits of advice in mind, setting the stage for your customer/client relationship is likely to be that little bit more effective.