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Furnishing An Office On A Budget

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article
Moving into an office can be expensive, especially if you’re having to buy all the furnishings for the first time. Tables, chairs, computers and other machinery can all add up. For those on a budget, here are a few tips for furnishing that office on the cheap without it looking cheap.

Get equipment on lease

You can often save money on expensive machinery by hiring it instead of buying it. This can be particularly useful for industrial equipment that you rarely use, or machinery that you may only need on a temporary basis. Rental companies can also often provide the most high tech equipment – equipment that would often be far too expensive to buy.

Learn to share

There may be some items that you can share. Having multiple printers could be a waste of money if you don’t have to print things off often. Similarly, not everyone may need a phone by their desk. If your office is open plan and people aren’t calling every minute of the day, having a few phones dotted about the place may be all you need. Consider also buying long desks that allow multiple people to share, rather than individual desks for each person. Encouraging a more communal feel could be beneficial in many social businesses.

Look for online deals

You can often find online promotions on office furniture if you’re looking in the right places. There are many sites such as DontPayFull.com that sell coupons to be used on tech or furniture. It’s worth also keeping an eye on social media for office furniture businesses doing competitions or promotions.

Second-hand furniture can also be worth looking into. You can often find ex-business owners on the likes of Gumtree.com trying to flog office desks and other equipment that they no longer need. When buying second-hand items online, always make sure that they supply detailed information on the condition as well as pictures. If you can meet up in person first, this might allow you to check the condition for yourself first – useful with expensive industrial equipment or heavy furniture.

Hit the sales

Various times of the year are brilliant for buying new office equipment. If you’re looking for computers or electronics, Cyber Monday usually has some great deals. Amazon, in particular, often has great Cyber Monday deals on flat screen monitors, computers, and other items needed to complete an office.  The January Sales is also prime time to save money on equipment – the demand is very low during this period as companies are just recovering from Christmas, and so office furniture companies have to compete hard against one another to get sales.

Go paperless

Going paperless isn’t just good for the environment, it saves costs. Sharing everything digitally will prevent the need to buy a printer and all the other costs that come with it. Less printing also means less need for storage such as filing cabinets and shelves. Everything from handbooks to contracts can be made digital. You can even sign documents digitally nowadays using the DocuSign app. Try this out to see if it works for your business.

Additionally, be sure to consider using Clear Perspex materials for your furniture.

Build Your Small Business Brand in 10 Easy Steps

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article
Photo courtesy of Pexels

1. Define what your brand is

Find your niche in the market. What are the special requirements or problems that your customers have and how can you help them to solve that. In order to do this effectively, you need to find out about brand competitive analysis and why you need it. This will establish what makes you unique.

2. Personify your brand

Think of your brand as a person who has their own distinct personality, opinions, beliefs and look. This helps you to build a picture.

3. Emotive brand positioning

Who does your brand hero-worship? This will shape your identity in all of your brand materials and communications.

4. Play the long game

Establishing a brand is a sprint and not a marathon. Dedicate some time to the planning stage. Make sure that you can deliver what you promise. This helps you to build long-term trust.

5. Be consistent

Experimenting with styles may be fun but it is confusing for the client. If you are consistent it will reinforce your brand character and people will know exactly what to expect.

6. Do not be boring

Whilst consistency is a good thing, being boring is not! Don’t just say the same thing over and over again. Instead, you should stick to the same message but find innovative new ways of stating it.

7. Coping other brands is not acceptable

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but this is not the case in the business world. You can get into serious legal trouble by copying people. It also does not make good business sense. Consumers are on the hunt for brands that are original and authentic. They are looking for something that matches their beliefs and lifestyle. Many of the large brands have picked up on this and are trying to look like small independents.

8. Be bold and seize the day

The beauty of running a small business is that you do not have layers of bureaucracy to wade through when you want to make a change. This makes you supremely flexible and adaptable and enables you to react to changes in the market quickly. This gives you the edge over big business.

9. Don’t look cheap and desperate

It is always a good to offer discounts to attract customers but it is possible to overdo this. You risk diluting your brand positioning. As an alternative to cutting prices, you could offer more for the same price. This adds value without looking cheap. Promotions should be targeted and short-lived.

10. Try not to be too obvious

The days of printing your logo on everything and hoping for the best are over. Generate some intrigue and be a little more subtle and mysterious.

Don’t Fail At Retail: Tricks For Beating The Competition

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Launching a company in the retail industry is harder today than ever before. That is because lots of consumers purchase their goods online these days. Still, you can keep everyone happy and make a decent profit if you’re smart. In this article, we’re going to discuss some tricks you can use to ensure you always beat the competition. Like it or not, there are many established firms out there with large customer bases. While you don’t have to steal the lion’s share of the market, you will have to attract some of those consumers to your brand. With that in mind, read this post and put some of the suggestions into practice as soon as possible.

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Photo courtesy of Liam Matthews via flickr

Launch a website as well as a real-world store

It would be nice if you could make a decent living from a single shop. However, that isn’t likely in the current climate. So, all new retailers need to launch a website too. Thankfully, you won’t have to invest that much cash because some designers offer excellent rates. Still, you need to make sure you’re getting a professional product. Your website should provide a catalog of your products and allow online purchases. It should also contain a live chat feature that enables customers to contact your team in an instant. Don’t make the mistake of trying to create the website without expert assistance. People will spot an amateur design from miles away.

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Photo courtesy of Jake Rustenhoven via flickr

Accept every payment type possible

The last thing you want is to lose out on a sale because you don’t take the customer’s preferred payment method. With that in mind, you need to receive money from credit and debit cards at the very least. Find a credit card merchant services review if you want to identify the best providers. You should also consider letting people pay using their PayPal account. BitCoin has also become a popular method in recent times. So, it makes sense to incorporate that too. With a bit of luck, you will never have to turn money away again.

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Photo courtesy of 401(K) 2012 via flickr

Undercut your competition on price

Starting a price war with your competitors is rarely a wise move. That is especially the case if they’ve been around longer than you. Larger companies will always manage to undercut you if you catch their attention. Even so, that doesn’t mean you can’t beat some of your rivals on price. Just don’t make the mistake of undercutting them too much. A dollar here and there can make a significant difference to consumers. So, you should notice an increase in sales and new customers when you drop your prices. Just don’t go mad with the idea because it can backfire.

If you employ all the tricks mentioned on this page, you should stand a decent chance of success. Nobody wants to fail at retail because you often have to invest a lot of money to get the operation off the ground. You could lose everything if you get the process wrong. Considering that, we hope you manage to achieve all your business goals this year.

Find Success By Fixing It with Flexibility

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Photo courtesy of Mink Bürsten via Wikimedia

One of the best ways to survive in business is to be prepared for anything. Being able to adapt when you need to, whether it’s by growing, cutting back, or changing direction, will help you to stay on your feet. You never know what might happen in business, from the economy taking a downturn to interest in your product starting to fade. If you can keep your company as flexible as possible, you can change it to fit the current conditions. There are lots of ways you can make your business flexible so that when a challenge comes along, you can meet it in whichever way seems best.

Build an Expandable Website

Every business needs a website in the modern age, and it needs to do more than be a static advert for your services. Your website should advertise your business, but it should also allow visitors to interact with it and find out more about you. For a flexible business, a flexible website is essential. You want to be able to change it and add to it whenever you want without too much hassle. Using WordPress is one great way to be able to do this because it allows you do almost anything. You can use a service like Spark Logix Studios WordPress to build you a site you can easily expand. Once you have your site, it’s easy for you to change it yourself.

Go Mobile

Mobile technology is now playing a very important role in business. It’s necessary to meet the needs of customers, who are now increasingly using mobile devices. However, it’s also essential for businesses to consider as a benefit on its own. Mobile technology makes it easier for you to do business whenever and wherever you want. If it’s cheaper to move your business somewhere else, it’s much easier if you can access everything you need online. As well as thinking about mobile tech, you shouldn’t forget about remote working. If everyone you work with can work from anywhere, it’s much easier to expand your business.

Keep Up with Your Industry

If you want your business to be flexible, you need to keep your finger on the pulse. It’s important not just to have a flexible business but to know when it’s a good idea to consider a change. You should try to keep up with the latest happenings in your industry, as well as in the economy as a whole. You need to know what could be on the horizon.

Diversify Your Products

Focusing all your efforts on one product or service isn’t always the best idea. If something starts to go wrong, your business could be over. You should consider diversifying your products or services so that you’re not too reliant on only one thing. Adding to your business’s repertoire could help you to survive in more difficult times. It provides a safety net, and could even end up taking your business in a different direction.

A flexible business is one that could survive for longer in a tough market. Be prepared to change if you’re looking for success.

All’s Fair In Love And Business: How To Be More Competitive

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In business, there’s nothing more integral to success than being able to beat the competition. There’s competition in every industry, so how are you going to outshine your rivals and seal those deals?

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Photo courtesy of billadrian96 via flickr

Hiring and keeping the best employees

Most business owners depend on a team to make their venture a success. Even small businesses can’t be run entirely by ambitious entrepreneurs. To gain an advantage over the competition, you need to make sure that you hire the best candidates. Moving forward, you also need to be able to hang onto to your star players. Make sure you have an effective recruitment process in place and the people you select meet your qualifying criteria. If you don’t get enough applications the first time around, place another advert. Unless you’re absolutely desperate to add to the team immediately, it’s worth waiting. If you can’t wait, consider headhunting and targeting specialist recruitment websites. Once you’ve got a hot shot team in place, make an effort to keep morale high, reward hard work, and try and create a positive working environment.

Up-selling your USP

If you’ve got a product or a service you want to sell, you need to make sure that your clients are aware of your USP. Every company should have something that sets them apart from their rivals. If you don’t have a USP, there’s no reason why a client should choose you over another firm. Perhaps you offer more competitive prices or a faster turnaround, or maybe you provide a personalized or bespoke service.

Getting to grips with the numbers

In order to compete, you need to be aware of what others are doing, as well as what you’re doing. Use your sales figures and analysis related to website traffic, social media activity, and advertising to identify strengths and weaknesses in both your campaign and those used by your rivals. If you don’t have team members with expertise in analytics, consider adding new members of the team with qualifications from institutions like Maryville University. If you don’t have the ability to make sense of the numbers, you won’t have an accurate idea of how well you’re doing in comparison to others, and this can set you back.

Using feedback

Sometimes, you can get so caught up in competing with other corporations that you lose sight of the importance of customer service. If you put your customer first, this will only ever serve to increase your chances of success. Listen to what your customers say about the products and services you sell, and use feedback in a positive way, even if you get negative comments. Every time customers leave feedback, this offers you an opportunity to learn and improve.

If you’re an ambitious business owner, you should be ready to take on the competition and do everything possible to win clients over. You need to ensure that you offer something unique, you provide the best customer experience, and you have the right team around you to do the job. Keep track of your rivals, and use data analysis to detect strengths and weaknesses.