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Why Make Life Difficult For Yourself? Top Tips For Avoiding Burnout

8/7/2020

While being a small business owner is a satisfying and rewarding job, it can put a lot of stress on you if you are not cautious. You may wake up one day and realise that you can simply not keep going at the speed and intensity and speed that you are right now. Something has to give, and if you are not careful, it can be your health. What good are you to your business if you are ill?

Instead of keeping going until you drop, or throwing your hands up in the air and saying 'I quit', there are plenty of things that you can do to change the way you go about running and managing your business to make life easier. By putting the tips we share below into practice, you will find that you feel better, sleep better and accomplish a lot more.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Even the best business owner is better at some things than others. Maybe you are superb at winning big contracts but you scratch your head when it comes to optimizing your website content for search engines. Think about what you are good at and what you are not so good at, and delegate your weaker areas to someone who knows what they are doing. IT project management, for example, is best left to the professionals. You will be happier and your business will be happier.

Are you geared up for remote working?
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, more of us than ever are working remotely, and people are beginning to see the advantages. All the hours you spend on trains and planes travelling to meet clients - if you are properly geared up, you can use that time to work. There is nothing worse than being stuck in a hot, stuffy office when you know you could be working better at home, or in your local coffee shop. Look at what you need to do to be able to work remotely - cloud storage, for example, and implement it.

Learn to say no
As a business owner, you want to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. After all, who knows when the next one will be along? However, if you re saying yes to small scale jobs that don’t really benefit your business, but take time and effort away from bigger jobs, then you haven’t quite got the balance right. Learn which jobs to take, and which to turn down. It is difficult, to begin with, but can be very liberating.

Look after yourself
Running yourself down to the ground is the easiest way to rin your business into the ground as well. Make sure you are sleeping, spending time with your loved ones, getting plenty of exercise, drinking plenty of water and eating a healthy, balanced diet. It sounds simple, but you would be surprised how many people neglect this,especially when trying to get their business going.

Ways To Get On Top Of Your Business Saved to Drive

8/7/2020

If you have a business in a specific niche, such as dentistry or perhaps interior design, you need to be on top of your game from start to finish. Technology drives every industry forwards; which means that even if you are in the industry of dental care, it can actually improve your business. You may want to look at Pact-One Solutions, Inc. for further information on how these IT companies can take you forward. It’s also important to look at how it can affect your employees.

How Technology Can Improve Employee Function

Businesses can better manage large groups of employees using technology. For example, there are some special applications that record customer service call times. Thus, the respective managers provide opportunities for training to the employees who they deem need. Another example of the benefits of technology in business is that of employees - drivers. With the use of GPS and speed control systems, their vehicles are under constant supervision by their managers and this has several positive results. Apart from the seriousness and responsibility of the company, the employees must realise that they must follow set rules.

Drive Forwards Innovation

Every industry wants to thrive and each company, depending on the sector in which it operates will have its own needs. Where the company can automate a process, it automatically redirects its financial and other resources. This saves time and money in theory and practice. Automation can occur in many areas and greatly benefit your business while helping you stay in touch with your customers. For example, automation can record the progress of an order and or of someone’s treatment plan. For example, dentists can tell patients what work they will be having done, display it on a screen and give them the opportunity to see what will happen, what the outcome may look like and plenty of other information can be displayed making it really simple. Much time has passed since the days of no technology and now we are onto the next level of development. Customers are now given the opportunity to order anything online. In this way they automate the ordering system making it simpler and easier for the customer. At the same time, they are promoting this opportunity to a large population of people who use the internet on a daily basis.

Many companies nowadays have changed the way they carry out their training programs. They have turned them into automated online programs and corporate training centers, which makes it easier for employees to learn new information and develop their skills. In addition, it allows people to repeat any module they wish, without costing the company any more training costs. There is no reason to let business overwhelm you anymore.

The benefits of technology in business are many and if properly taken into account every business can evolve and achieve its goals. In order for a business to survive, but also to grow, it must be constantly informed and properly use every technological means that will help it to optimize its benefits and facilitate the lives of every potential customer.

Top 4 Aerospace Startups to Watch Out For

8/6/2020

Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Tesla's Elon Musk are two of the world's top entrepreneurs who have re-ignited the space race. Since Musk founded his SpaceX rocket company in 2010, he hasn't looked back. Fast-forward to today, his US-based private space company has achieved major milestones such as sending US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and bringing them back safely to the earth. However, Musks is not alone. Companies like RapidPSI are also into aerospace manufacturing and design processes. Here is a list of the top 4 aerospace startups to watch out for.

1. Earth2Orbit

Also known as E2O, Earth2Orbit is an aerospace engineering company that aims to develop India to become a world leader in the space industry. Specifically, their goal is to ensure that India will account for at least 25% of the world's booming space industry. And indeed, the company has demonstrated that the dream is feasible. Considering the fact that the world's space industry value hovers around $314 billion, Earth2Orbit does have a chance to thrive in the valuable industry.
Following the footsteps of Elon Musk, E2O's founder Sushmita Mohanty, wants his startup to go down in history as the first successful private space company in India. They have big dreams as well, such as wanting to take astronauts to the moon and even Mars. In 2012, the company launched its very first client satellite (the PROITERES-1) using the PSLV.

2. Team Indus
With a history of establishment stretching back to 2010, Team Indus wants to leave lasting impressions in the annals of space launch systems. Rahul Naray, the founder of the Bangalore-based company, has won the financial support of investors such as Nandan Nilekani (of Infosys) and Ajai Choudhary (of HCL). Team Indus achieved their major accomplishment when they won $1 million for participating in the Google Lunar Xprize.

3. Lilium

Founded in 2014, Lilium is an aerospace engineering company in Germany, Europe. The Munich-based aerospace startup is one of the hottest trending European aviation companies that looks promising. They are on a mission to develop commercial air-taxis. So far, they have produced a 5-seater aircraft known as the Lilium Jet. It's an electrically-powered lightweight aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capabilities. The Lilium Jet has flown its test flights successfully. It's such a revolutionary aerospace idea that will see passengers take off to the skies in an emission-free aircraft fully powered by batteries.

4. Wright Electric
Forget about Thomas Edison's General Electric (who are already leaders in the aerospace manufacturing business), instead, look at Wright Electric - a California-based aerospace startup in the USA. They gained prominence in the aerospace business when they showcased their idea of battery-powered commercial airliners, a very big dream but not so far from reality. Jeff Engler is the company's CEO. He admitted to naming his company after the popular American Wright brothers who pioneered aviation.

Since 2019, the company has been conducting test flights of a 9-seater battery-operated aircraft, which may go into action probably in the early 2030s or even sooner.

The aerospace engineering industry involves the research, design, development, construction, testing, science, and technology of aircraft and spacecraft, and even missiles. However, since technology changes with time, numerous aerospace startups are springing up with groundbreaking ideas.

Enlist Marketing Help For Your Small Business

8/5/2020

Marketing is vital for helping your business to grow. But for small businesses, marketing can be difficult. While yes, you understand that marketing will help connect your business to more people, the existing size of your business can mean that there’s nobody in place to take care of the marketing and do a good job of it too.

If you’re serious about marketing your business, then it’s worth bringing in some additional help to make it happen. A small investment on your part could have a big return, helping to spread the word about your business and help it grow.

Here are some of the ways you can enlist marketing help for your small business to help it reach new levels.

Hire a copywriter

Running a business involves many skills and talents, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that writing is one of them. Effective writing skills are essential for successful marketing, so if you’re lacking in this area, you might want to think about bringing in a copywriter to help you out. From drafting copy for your website to creating some social media posts, you could use a copywriter’s services to create engaging, useful content for your business you can use again and again.
Make the most of direct mail servicesDirect mail remains an effective marketing method, but it’s a lot of work to organize and can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. At https://www.action-mailing.com/data-services, you can benefit from full direct mailing data services to ensure you get the most from your marketing efforts. Direct mail can be particularly useful for showcasing your business in your community, as well as highlighting special deals and promotions as and when they’re needed.

Let someone else run your social media

Running the social media for your business is a full-time job in itself, and despite the number of benefits that come with being an active business on social media, many don’t use it to their full advantage. By hiring someone to run your social media, you can make sure that the day to day posting is taken care of, helping you increase your reach and engagement and grow your online following. While you could be nervous about handing over the reins to someone else, there are many benefits that come with outsourcing that will make it worthwhile.

Get someone to create a strategy for you

Sometimes all your business needs is a blueprint to help make sure you take the right direction for your marketing strategy. You can hire an external agency or individual to devise a marketing strategy you can follow to help you achieve your goals. This can be a great way to learn more about marketing and upskill people within your team, while still retaining control of the work. Your strategy will need reviewing regularly, but you’ll be off to a great start if you choose to bring in some experts to help you out.

Marketing is such an important part of your business, but it’s easy to neglect it when you have other priorities. Bringing in some outside help can transform your marketing efforts, helping you to achieve the growth you deserve to ensure a better future for your business.

5 Things To Do If Your Business Is Growing Too Quickly

8/4/2020

Explosive business growth can be just as scary as a sudden drop in sales. If not handled correctly it could result in poor customer service, unwise decisions, and a decrease in demand. So if your business has suddenly boomed and you’ve found yourself inundated with inquiries, here are five things you need to do.

Determine your client capacity

In an ideal world, you’ll never need to turn a client away, but if you’re finding yourself snowed under, it’s the right thing to do to ensure that you can deliver the service that you are promising to your customers. Sit down and determine your current client capacity and then put new orders on hold until you are in a position to take them. Make the most of the situation by turning your temporary pause into a marketing opportunity and set up a waiting list for people to sign up to. As you begin to hire new resources, you can then reassess your client capacity.

Outsource and trust

If you are overwhelmed, then relieve some pressure from yourself immediately by outsourcing areas of your business that you do not need to take care of in-house. You can outsource virtually any part of your business from HR at https://employeradvantage.com/hr-outsourcing/ to your social media marketing, whatever is taking up your valuable time, get it off your shoulders so that you can focus on growing your business.

Hire carefully

When your business begins to grow rapidly, it can be tempting to put out a job ad and to hire the first few people you interview simply because you need them right now. Don’t be foolish and risk hiring the wrong people by skipping stages in the hiring process. Outsource positions temporarily to allow you the proper time you need to make the right hire- it will save you money and hassle in the long run.

Don’t cut corners

The chances are that the reason why your business is booming is that you are offering superior service to your competitors or that you are operating in a new niche market. Don’t let your reputation for excellence or your position as a market leader be tarnished by cutting corners to save time or money. If this means lowering your client capacity temporarily or explaining that there could be a delay in delivery, then so be it.

Upgrade with future growth in mind

As you start to grow, you will need to adopt new software and systems. Don’t just choose a system based on how it fits your business now, but consider how it will serve you in the future if you continue to grow. Changing systems can be costly and time-consuming, so it pays dividends to put a little extra research in now so that they will continue to benefit you in the future.

Rapid change can be overwhelming, but this is an exciting time for your business. Use this time wisely, scale carefully, and remember your original mission, and you’ll have things back under control in no time.

How Is Outsourcing Going To Be The Answer To Your Business Problems?

8/1/2020

If your business is currently experiencing some issues, we bet that outsourcing can help with at least a few. Outsourcing is where you hire another company to take over certain tasks that your business needs completing, instead of hiring staff to do them yourself. There are a number of benefits to this, which is why it is the solution to a whole range of problems. If you want to know more about how outsourcing could be the solution you’re looking for, keep reading down below.

Saves You Money

The first reason that outsourcing is excellent is that it saves you money. As you’re not going to have to pay an entire team a full-time salary, you’re going to save quite a big chunk of cash. You might not know this, but it is going to cost you less money to outsource an entire department than it would to pay one full-time salary. If your business is struggling for funds right now, it’s certainly something that you should be considering. Remember, you’re only paying for the work they complete, so it’s a lot cheaper than the alternative.

Of course, different companies are going to charge different prices for their services, so it’s important that you look around and find the right fit for you. You don’t want to be in the position where you are paying a higher price when there is another company who can offer you the exact same services, the same high-quality, but for less money. This defeats the purpose!

Expert Help

Another benefit is that you are going to be getting the expert help that your business needs. Have you had a lot of problems with your employees in the past? Everyone makes mistakes every now and then, but when it is a more constant occurrence, it becomes an issue for the business. As such, the expert help that you are being offered by these companies is going to be hard to pass on. For example, if you need someone to handle your IT and you don’t have a qualified person to do it, outsourcing will help. The same goes for anything to do with accountancy. It can be a difficult task to complete thoroughly, but a company like Tri-Merit will be able to help you.

Less Stress

Finally, it means that there is less stress for you. As the business owner, you need to have your head in the game, but that doesn’t mean you have to be stressed to the max all the time. If you know that there are departments that are well taken care of, that don’t need you to constantly watch and make sure everything is going smoothly, you’re going to have a lot more free time. This means that you will be able to focus on the things that need your attention urgently, rather than worrying about every little detail of the business.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now understand how outsourcing is going to be the answer to your business problems. Hopefully, your business won’t be struggling for long!

A Cut Above: How To Ensure Your Business Offers A Superior Service

7/31/2020

Competition to attract and retain customers is fierce. As a business owner, you have to ensure that your company is a cut above the rest, but how do you achieve this objective? If you’re on a mission to ensure that your business offers superior products and services, here are some steps to take today.

Invest in innovation

Innovation is crucial for business development and adaptability. Consumer preferences change and technology advances at lightning speed, and this means that it’s very easy to get left behind. If you’re committed to investing in innovation, you can move with the times. Ensure your team has access to the equipment and technology it needs to complete tasks seamlessly and efficiently. Use technology to improve the quality and enjoyment of the customer experience. Take advantage of solutions that help to enhance the functionality and durability of products. Consider the impact of video conferencing software and cloud systems for remote workers, chatbots for out-of-hours customer service for your website and processes like HVOF for components and products that are required to withstand extreme temperatures or exposure to the elements, for example. Whichever sector you operate within, embracing innovation can help you compete, provide a better service for your customers, produce better quality products and maximize profits.

Make customer service a priority

The quality of goods you provide for clients is essential, but it’s vital not to lose sight of the importance of customer service. In a world where over 85% of consumers now read online reviews, it has never been more important to ensure that customers enjoy the experience of dining, shopping, staying or ordering from you. Customers have high expectations, and their perspective of your brand will be heavily influenced by the service you provide. Whether you sell components for cars, you run a restaurant, you have a clothing store, or you own a luxury boutique hotel, it’s not enough to offer a product, an outfit, a meal or a room for the night. Clients want to enjoy an experience and they expect to be treated well. Every customer should feel valued, and you should strive to provide a quick, high-quality, personalized service. Extend a warm welcome, keep in touch, address clients by name, offer exclusive VIP discounts for regular customers and go out of your way to make the experience memorable for all the right reasons. Simple touches like offering a client a drink when they arrive at a restaurant, sending personalized emails, thanking online customers for their purchase and showing guests to their rooms can make a positive difference.

Analyse performance

Even if your sales are increasing, and you’re receiving positive reviews, it’s crucial to analyse your performance on a continual basis. Collect and evaluate data and use both positive and negative feedback to improve the service you provide.

As a business owner, you have to be able to compete with rivals and persuade customers to choose you over others. Hopefully, these tips will help you stay a cut above the rest.

Prove To Your Employees That They Are Important To You In Simple Ways

7/30/2020

Your employees are important to your business, but do you make them feel this way? Do you acknowledge just how much you actually appreciate them and how much work they do for you? If the answer is no, then they probably feel as though you are taking them for granted, and this is never going to be good for you. As such, you’ve got to make the effort to show them that they are important, and in this article, we’re going to be giving you some ideas as to how you can prove this. If you want to know more, keep reading down below.

Help When They Need It

The first thing that you should do is help them when they need it. If you notice that your employees or an employee specifically is struggling with a task and you have the time, help them. We know that you have your own stuff to do, and we know that you are very busy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make time to help those who work for you. It can sometimes feel as though the boss is extremely detached from the workings of the office, and you don’t want this kind of reputation. You want the reputation of helping people when they need it, and being understanding.

Mistakes happen, we’re sure even you make mistakes. Instead of getting angry, help to fix it. Sure, there are times when it warrants getting mad at one of your employees, but it’s done and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Throw your hands in and get to it with them.

Get Them A Gift

You might want to consider getting them a gift to show your appreciation. You can either get this as a team gift or something for each person. If you’re going for the team idea, then you can look into something like personalized bricks, pavers, and tiles. Even though this might seem like an odd idea, it’s a kind of way of immortalizing the team. They can keep it in their department, and it will help to unite them.

Or, if you want to go for something individual for everyone, you want something smaller. It doesn’t have to be anything massive, just something that comes with a thank you note for all the hard work they do for you. You never know how much this is going to be appreciated until you do it.

Open Door Policy

Finally, have an open-door policy. You don’t want your employees to be struggling with personal issues or work issues and feel alone. Not only is this going to impact their performance, but their mental health. You need to care about your employees enough to talk to them if something is going wrong in their lives at any stage. You might not be able to help, but at least you are aware of the problem and can help in any way you can. It means the world to people to know that their boss isn’t against them, so just let them know.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see how you can prove to your employees that they are important to you.

What to Do if Your Business is Overwhelming You

7/28/2020

If your business is beginning to overwhelm you and the task of getting it to where you need it to be is causing you stress, it’s important to step back and think about what needs to change. It’s not good for your business is you’re constantly feeling stressed out and under pressure. That just makes the situation you’re currently in even worse and that’s no good at all. Here’s what you should do if you’re starting to feel overwhelmed.

Step Back and Reset Your Compass

First of all, it’s a good idea to step back and try to reset your compass a little. When you’re so involved and invested in the process of running your business day after day, it can get easy to forget why you’re even doing this in the first place. What are your goals? What are you working towards? What is all this hard work in aid of? Those are the questions you should find answers to.

Adopt a Single Tasking Mindset

It’s still a very common misconception in the world of business that you get more done when you try to juggle multiple tasks at a time. And you might often feel like this is something that you need to do. Instead of trying to constantly multitask, you should instead adopt a single tasking mindset. This will allow you to get one job done at a time, and to get it done properly.

Trust Others and Their Skills

Trusting those around you and the skills you have is one of the most important traits of a talented business leader. You have to accept that you can't do everything alone and your own skills and talents can never cover every need the business has. That’s why you have a team in place, but that team will go to waste if you try to micromanage every situation yourself.

Make Use of Outsourcing Options

There are lots of ways to get help when you’re running a business, and outsourcing certain tasks to third party companies is certainly one example of that. You should make the most of IT Services and Business Services if you feel like you have too much on your plate. That little external help can make a huge difference when you’re trying to keep things on the right track with your company.

Break Down Each Task Into Smaller Parts

If you’re feeling as if every task you have to complete for your business is like trying to climb Everest, you need to find ways to break those tasks down. When you can take each task and break it down into smaller parts, it immediately starts to seem a lot more manageable for you.

If you’re running a business but starting to feel the pressure, you’re not alone. It’s something that a lot of entrepreneurs go through. If you start taking the steps above, you should start to find the task of managing your business and making it successful far easier than it might otherwise be.

4 Steps To Create A Greener Business In 2020

7/28/2020

If you aren’t already thinking about eco-friendly business practices, you have to start. The environment isn’t going to suddenly leave, so the world has to band together to look after it. A big responsibility falls on the shoulders of business owners who must take action against the vast amounts of pollution created by commercial organizations.

Granted, big businesses are responsible for most of the world’s pollution. Still, small businesses need to make changes as well. Consumers expect it from you, and a green business is likely to see more customers and be viewed in a more positive light than a non-green one.

The good news is you don’t have to make dramatic alterations to your business model. Greening your business is possible in a few simple steps:

Reduce waste

Reducing your waste is essential if you want to be a green business. Effectively, it means lowering what you throw away. This is made possible by recycling and reusing your materials or supplies. It won’t be possible for every single thing you use, but you will definitely be able to reduce a lot of your waste. Especially if you work in an office, almost everything can be recycled there - paper, computer parts, etc.

Work with eco-conscious suppliers

A lot of your waste doesn’t come from your, it’s from things you bought from suppliers. What are you supposed to do if you buy things that come in non-recyclable packaging? Well...stop buying them! Where possible, look for eco-conscious suppliers that sell you things in recyclable packaging. Let’s say you need to buy some fuel for warehouse vehicles. Usually, you have to get it in big drums that get chucked away. Nowadays, you can get things like red diesel from fuelbox.co.uk that comes in a recyclable box. Once it’s used, you can recycle the packaging and reduce waste. This is just one example, there are loads of instances where suppliers can provide recyclable packaging for your goods.

Go electric

Does your business rely on vehicles? Be more eco-friendly by switching to electric alternatives. You see this with a lot of service-based businesses where they use electric vans instead of regular ones. Instantly, you drop your carbon emissions to zero - at least the ones caused by your work vehicles. Again, you can’t go electric all the time, but if it is possible, then it’s worth doing.

Utilize renewable energy

The last step is to assess your energy sources. Think about installing solar panels on your business premises to utilize renewable and clean energy. This will reduce our non-renewable energy usage, saving the planet, and saving you a lot of money!

You can start making these adjustments today. Some of them can be implemented instantly, while others take time to set in motion. Either way, going green is an excellent step for your business. You become a more conscious company in these trying times, which reflects well on your brand image. Of course, you also help save the environment, which is what this is all about.