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Eight Tasks To Outsource When Running A Small Business

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All entrepreneurs should know how valuable time is. When you waste it, you put a strain on the entire business. Anyone starting a new venture understandably wants to be active in every aspect of the company. However, trying to do everything yourself, especially when you’re not qualified, is risky. Even if you avoid making mistakes, success will take longer and cost more to achieve. Because of this, every business should outsource. Not only is this cheaper, but it causes less hassle. With that in mind, here are eight tasks to outsource in small business.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Entrepreneurship | Eight Tasks To Outsource When Running A Small Business

1. Employee Training

Outsourcing in business doesn’t have to mean giving up employees entirely. Certain tasks are much better performed in-house. However, if you insist on having employees, you must provide the proper training. Having inexperienced workers in your business can cause many problems. Untrained staff members are dangerous, but wasteful too. Thankfully, you can outsource the training of your team to an expert, which avoids any problems and ensures the task is done well.

2. Market Research

Before making any changes in business, you must conduct market research. After all, you don’t want the changes that you make to put current or potential customers off. Marketing research is also essential in learning about competitors and customers. While market research seems relatively simple, many businesses make mistakes that lead to incorrect results. Outsourcing to an expert is recommended because third-party companies can provide entirely objective data.

3. Receptionist Duties

Most people start a business to make a difference. Unfortunately, that will be difficult to do when you’re chained to a phone all day. The good news is, you can outsource many receptionist duties, including answering phone calls. Many answering services, like the Ivy answering service, offer value for money by providing you with experienced and professional virtual receptionists. What’s more, you aren’t stuck in a contract, so you can change the service to suit your needs.

4. Website Design

A website is a powerful digital marketing tool for any small business. Even if you don’t intend to sell online, you should still have a company website to connect with customers and raise brand awareness. Unless you have web design experts in-house, you must bring in professional help. The only problem worse than having no website is having an unprofessional one. Rather than choosing the first design company you find, therefore, you must research to find the best one.

5. Content Creation

No website in today’s market is complete without a blog. Most company websites use blogs to educate customers and clients about what the business does. Blog content can also optimize websites for search engines and attract more customers. The trouble is, producing and publishing content that converts will take time. For this reason, many companies outsource the task to freelancers. Although this isn’t free, the rewards of doing so far outweigh any expenses.

6. Inventory Management

All businesses typically begin with a small and manageable inventory. With so few units to keep track of, you can manage your stock on a simple spreadsheet. However, with any luck, your marketing campaigns will pay off. When that happens, the orders will multiply, which will make inventory management much harder. Rather than risk losing stock, you must minimize shrinkage by outsourcing this task. Doing so will reduce operating and staffing expenses, among others.

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7. Customer Support

Unless you’re sure you have enough time to handle customer support, you shouldn’t be doing it. Customer service is perhaps the most important aspect of business. After all, without loyal customers, your company wouldn’t stay afloat. Outsourcing customer support will ensure that you have access to any resources necessary to provide excellent service. Unlike in-house customer service, you will also have the capacity to expand quickly and support efficient growth.

8. Tax Planning

Money keeps the business world alive. While there are many reasons why a business might fail, all those reasons typically boil down to lack of capital. Because of this, you must take care with accounting tasks, like tax planning. Even a small mistake can cause huge problems for your business. Entrepreneurs can save money and hours every week by using an outsourced bookkeeper. What’s more, you will have peace of mind that your finances are in trained hands.

When done the right way, outsourcing in business will save money, time, and plenty of hassle. Rather than taking on every area of business yourself, you should hand over certain tasks to the experts. Hopefully, with the advice above, you have an idea of which tasks to start with.

Ideas To Make Your Workplace Sustainable and Green

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Ideas To Make Your Workplace Sustainable and Green

Running an organisation is no cakewalk. Managing clients and delivering on the due deadlines is one just one side of the story. But, it also involves several costs-latent and glaring. You have your employees to think about. The salaries, the bonuses, appraisals, benefits and the like make for just one fragment of the entire picture. The other piece consists of paying for several utilities like workspace rent (if you do not happen to own a workspace), catering to the electricity bills and things like those. Thus, it is clear that running a workspace involves paying quite a price (like, literally). And, truth be told, half the amount on the bill comes from paying the electricity bill.

A workplace consumes several units of electricity. Some of the usage might also be unnecessary. But, we do not realise that because we are so caught up with our work that it becomes difficult even to catch a breath. And in the midst of this hullaballoo, where the Earth’s resources are being depleted, and we are facing a tremendous energy crisis, it is important that we gear attention towards the idea of sustainable living. In this article, we have tried to put across a few ways in which we can make our workplaces sustainable and green. The onus for doing so is not only on the employers or the owners of the workspace but also on the employees. Therefore, waste no more minute and read on.

Allow Nature To Light Up The Space

Now, this might not be possible throughout the day, but it is definitely a thought to be entertained. Most work hours begin in the morning and end in the evening. Thus, you could make use of the natural light for your work at least in the first half when the sun is shining brightly outside. Obviously, there is very little that you can do when the day is all gloomy. But, on the other days, try avoiding artificial light as much as possible. Switch the lights off and see how the amount on your electricity bill comes down. It is a great energy-saving tip, and you should definitely try it out.

Check For Cheap Power Plans

More often than not, we fail to live sustainably and end up spending more energy than usual due to our ignorance and inability to acquire new knowledge. There are several cheap power plans available around you; but, you yet go for the one that you stumble upon first without any research. There’s even sites you can visit that compare business electricity prices quickly, so there’s no excuse for not doing any research. Remember that there is no glory in being inane and uninformed. Check for the plans and subscriptions around you and only then choose a befitting one for your workplace or household. Check https://strøm365.no/stromleverandorer/akraft/ to find more cheap power plans for your office and be an aware consumer.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Ideas To Make Your Workplace Sustainable and GreenTry To Talk Your Employers Into Choosing Laptops Over Desktops

If you are an employee, you must try to talk your employers into switching over to laptops from desktops. Desktops need a continuous source of electrical energy to run, which obviously is not a brilliant idea when you are trying to cut down on the consumption. But laptops can run on batteries for a minimum of eight hours. Therefore, you must see to it that you have the option of working on laptops in your office.

If you are an employer, then you must try to replace the desktops with laptops so that your employees do not have to come over to you to talk about the move. You could be one step ahead of them already.

Do Away With Outdated Electrical Equipment

Be it air conditioners, ovens or desktops, keep tending to them, upgrade or replace them when the parts start ageing. Old electrical systems use more than the usual units of electrical energy. Therefore, if you keep using the old models and decide against upgrading the parts, you are going to receive a severe blow on your bill. You could also consider recycling your old electrical parts or appliances to make use of everything at your immediate access and reduce wastage as much as possible.

Get Some Plants To Brighten Up The Space

Now, we know that this is not directly related to the entire ‘saving energy’ drill, but we are looking at making workspaces sustainable and green. Therefore, try getting some plants that can thrive under the shade and brighten up the space. It is always alleviating to look at some greenery during stressful work hours.

Conclusion:

People make saving energy sound like a big deal when, in reality, all it requires is some conscious actions on our part. Small gestures can amount to significant differences, and we must only understand that before it is too late. Our planet can stretch itself beyond normal. But, everything has a threshold. Therefore, we need to act now before we are beyond damage reparations of any kind.

Getting The Air Compressor Your Business Needs

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What should you consider when looking for a company for an air compressor?

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An air compressor is a piece of equipment that many different businesses may need. If this applies to you, this blog post can assist. Read on to discover what you should consider when looking for a company for air compressor hire or purchase.

There is only one place to begin and this is with the product range that is available. The company in question should have a number of air compressors for you to choose from, just like Atlas Copco filters do. After all, everyone’s requirements are different. You may need a four-tool compressor, whilst someone else may only need a one-tool compressor. Aside from this, there are many other factors that influence the performance of this machine. This includes everything from type of refrigerant used, to pressure at discharge, to pressure at suction, to speed of rotation and much, much more. It is vital to make sure the company has many different options to choose from so you can ensure you benefit from the best machine for your specific requirements. They should also have a number of accessories and other related products available. This includes everything from a compressor air poker to a compressor hose.

According to AirCompressorsUSA, you need to take a look at is the company’s level of experience and their reputation in the industry. It is advisable to go for a company with a considerable amount of experience, as they will have had time to perfect their service and build up a considerable product range. Aside from this, it is a good idea to take the time to read reviews that have been left by previous customers. Were they happy with the service they experienced? Would they recommend the company? Were the easy to deal with? This is the most effective approach for getting a truthful insight regarding the level of quality you are likely to benefit from. If a business has a negative reputation you should be able to pick up on this, as you can rest assured that plenty of people would have taken to the Internet to warn people from using the company in question.

Aside from the main points that have already been mentioned, there are other vital factors to think about. Price is of course a crucial consideration. You want to be sure you are benefitting from a good deal, but don’t go for anything that seems too good to be true, as the likelihood is that it probably is. Also look into the way the service works, i.e. will the company delivery the machines to you and pick them up? If you carefully assess all of the factors that have been touched upon you should have no issue finding the best company for air compressor for you.

Three Ways to Increase Business Profits

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Three Ways to Increase Business ProfitsEvery entrepreneur wants their business to grow and generate a profit. Fortunately, there are many ways to increase your chances of business success, save money on your cash flow budget, and grow a successful business.

With this in mind, here are three simple ways to increase business profits.

Invest in recruitment strategies

It’s important to keep in mind that employees are the backbone of every successful business. A productive workforce will have an obvious positive impact on your profits and overall business success. For that reason, it’s vital that you invest in recruitment and focus on strategies to attract and retain the best quality staff.

Some simple ways to attract top talent include offering job perks such as bonus schemes, generous holiday allowances, flexible working, and free gym memberships. In today’s candidate-driven market, many companies struggle in their hiring efforts. Unemployment is low and job seekers have increasingly high expectations which can make recruitment a challenge for any business.

One way to improve your hiring strategy is by outsourcing your recruitment to a HR consultancy. For instance, London HR consulting offer expert guidance on recruitment strategies and can help you attract top talent to your business. Investing in recruitment and hiring strategies is definitely worth it in the long run, considering the many benefits of having a highly skilled and productive workforce.

Focus on your marketing efforts

Marketing is one of the key ways to increase profits in your business. Effective marketing strategies will improve brand awareness, generate more leads and conversions, and ultimately increase sales and profits in your business. For that reason, it’s vital that you invest in advertising and marketing efforts and have this as a core focus in your business plan.

Companies use a huge range of different marketing strategies and it’s important to find what works best for your individual business. One of the most effective marketing tools in the modern business world is social media. These platforms allow you to interact with your customers on a more personal level, expand your target audience and advertise your products and services to a global audience. Business owners should not overlook the power that social media can have on business profits.

According to experts at Business2Community – “Social media marketing is perhaps the most powerful brand-building tool of all – but only if it’s managed correctly.” If you’re struggling to maintain an active presence on social media, then you should consider hiring a social media expert to manage your accounts for you.

Maximize your cash flow

Cash flow is the money that goes in and out of your business. Finding ways to maximize your cash flow is a simple way to increase profits within your business. Fortunately, there are many ways to achieve this, including:

  • Focusing on increasing sales within your business and encouraging customers to pay upfront or pay deposits/repayments.
  • Establish good credit management practices which includes sending invoices out promptly, repaying any credit on time and in full, and chasing any outstanding accounts.
  • Buying stock in bulk in order to negotiate better prices and take advantage of cheap deals.

The 4 Keys To Retail Success

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Retail Success|The 4 Keys To Retail SuccessRetail is one of the best kinds of business you can possibly be involved in. After all, people are generally always going to want to buy products from retail stores, and if you can set it upright and manage it properly you will find that it is not too challenging to be able to get people interested in your store. This is especially simple and straightforward if you happen to run a food retail store, or a fashion store, or anything which sells items which people always need and will always need. If you are keen to make it even easier for yourself, however, then there are plenty of things that you can do towards that end. You can, for instance, take a look at some of the following ideas on how to ensure retail success. You might be surprised at how powerful some of these can be once you put them into practice in your store.

Focus On The Experience

Something that makes a huge difference if when you change your perspective from what the business needs or wants to what is right for the customer. In general, you should always make decisions based on what the customer would think. As you walk around your retail store – or explore its online web pages – you should imagine that you are the customer. What would you want to see, what should change or disappear entirely, and how can you be sure that it is going to be the best experience possible for each of your customers? This is something which you need to ask yourself at all times. Introducing incentives like convenience store loyalty programs is a way to gain returning customers to use their rewards. The more that you do this, the more likely it is that you will be able to ensure your customers have the best experience possible, which is probably the most important thing to be sure of after all.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Retail Success|The 4 Keys To Retail SuccessGet Pricing Right

If there is one sure-fire quick way to get rid of your customers, it is by pricing your products wrong. People don’t want to pay too much for anything, and if you are consistently getting the price too high then it will mean that people just start to go elsewhere. At the same time, you need to make enough of a profit for it to be worthwhile, so you have to try and find a balance there somehow. That is easier said than done, but there is one tool which you might want to have in your arsenal here to make it easier: research.

There are a few kinds of research which can really help you with pricing. One is pricing analysis, where you look at what other competitors are offering for the same product, or a similar product. That will ensure that you are being competitive, which is the main thing when it comes to pricing. Then you have a tool from the likes of Trade Vitality which allows you to see what the minimum advertised price is that you are allowed to use for something. That can be particularly helpful when you are drawing people in with low prices, or when you have a sale on, for instance. As long as you can get the pricing right in all this, you will find that your retail store is going to have much more success on the whole.

Cleanliness

How clean you keep the store is hugely important too, and hugely relevant, as if it is not clean you will find that the customer is not going to be anywhere near as happy with the experience. The simple way to keep it clean is to hire someone to clean it every day, and then a deep clean every week. That will ensure that it remains clean, but you also need to make a point among your staff of having a policy whereby you clean up as you go along. That will be necessary for health and safety, and will keep the store looking its absolute best.

Marketing

Remember too that you can’t really get much done in businesses of any kind without a strong marketing tactic. The better you know how to approach your marketing, the more likely it is that you will be able to get more customers in, so that is absolutely something that you need to focus on. It’s best to employ a combination of both local advertising and digital marketing, so that you can get a wide, but targeted, reach. Get that right, and there is no reason why your retail business won’t see great success in the future.