Monthly Archives: January 2018

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Don’t Let The Task Of Home Cleaning Burden You

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Don’t Let The Task Of Home Cleaning Burden You

Happy home

When you think of home, you shouldn’t be thinking of work to do and stress of keeping everything clean, you should be thinking of somewhere you can go to wind down in comfort. There are many people out there who are too busy to have to worry about the mess, and it can be even more difficult when it comes to living with a family. Not only do you have to worry about your own mess building up, but that of your kids too! When you come home stressed and tired from work, the last thing you want to be doing is tidying up just so you can feel comfortable and welcomed in your own home. It’s not just the effort that you have to put in, either, it’s the whole feel of it. Most people hate cleaning, and it can leave you feeling gross afterward, which makes the whole ordeal so much worse! You shouldn’t have to, and you don’t!

(Source: Pexels)

Hired help

Living that busy lifestyle should help to ensure you have some extra money here and there that you want to invest in a greater quality of life. Often it can be hard to identify what’s going to help make those improvements, as they can take a lot of thought! You should consider investing in cleaning services, as they can take a lot of strain from your shoulders. Not only do you avoid the extra task of cleaning your home, you don’t have to be there while it’s going on! That means you can get home after that long day of work, to a clean and tidy home. Think of how much time that saves you, and how much better you can feel coming home knowing that you don’t have to do anything! All you need to do is book a time and arrange entrance to your home, and you can have it done while you’re at work, or out enjoying yourself!

It’s important to consider that not only do they come equipped with much more experience, but they also have professional equipment that ensures an efficient job. Most cleaning services out there will have your home spotless in the time assigned, and leave you wanting them again! It’s not as expensive as you would expect either, you’ll find it at quite an affordable rate if you’re looking to spend out on a greater life quality!

Better family life

Those out there who work a busy schedule often have it hard when it comes to finding time to spend with family, especially with the extra stress of keeping everything tidy. You don’t have to worry about any of that anymore, and you can keep your stress levels down to a minimum while you wind down and enjoy the time with your partner and/or kids. It’s never good to have too much stress building up in your life, as it can cause you many mental issues while exhausting you at the same time. Don’t let it get to you, let the cleaners look after it!

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Business Costs Don’t Have To Skyrocket

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Did you know that on average, business costs rise by around 20 to 30 percent a year? Sometimes this number is even higher, depending on where your business is located and whether you are planning on expanding. Each year business insurance costs will rise by 10 to 20%, the price of transport will increase, and your energy supplier will add an extra 10% onto the cost of your treif. Small businesses are constantly being forced to pay more and more due to increasing expenses, so learning to cut costs wherever possible is more important than ever.

Want to cut your business costs and improve the bottom line? Below are some ideas for ways that you can reduce the risk of your business costs skyrocketing in 2018.

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Be smart about office space

Depending on the commercial situation in your area, you may be able to take advantage and cut your office space costs. The fact is that many office spaces come with an increasing price tag each year, as they become more well-known and more sought after. If this is the case with your office building, it could be time to move. Look for a new premises that offers the same facilities but at a lower price. The less well known the building is, the lower the cost will be.

Outsource don’t hire

Most smaller businesses have slow periods, which means that having a full-time, on-site team may not be conducive. Instead of hiring team members, why not outsource specialist tasks to freelancers? That way you only have to pay for the work that is actually done, instead of paying them a salary on a monthly basis. This step is a crucial one, especially when you only have a small budget to work with.  

Utilize the internet

When it comes to cutting business costs, the internet is a vital tool. The fact is that you can use the internet in various ways to help reduce your business’s spending, it’s just a case of determining what these ways are. How about swapping to using VoIP phones for calls that run via the internet? According to IT specialists Dyrand, these phone systems are affordable, easy to set up and work just as well as regular phones. Plus, they come with a selection of added features that may be beneficial to your business, such as the fact they offer a ‘landline’ that can be taken wherever you go – all that’s needed is an internet connection.

Cut marketing costs

Marketing is often one of the highest costs that a business has to cover. Although marketing is a vital part of building a successful business, the fact is that it doesn’t have to be overly expensive. Far too many companies waste money on expensive marketing that is unnecessary. One of the best ways to cut costs is to utilize social media because social media has fantastic promotional possibilities, and the best thing about it is that it is completely free to use.

The truth is that although your business costs can skyrocket, they don’t have to. Believe it or not, by taking the steps above into account and utilizing then, you can save your business a large sum of money, keeping your finances on track.

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Untangling Those Crossed Communication Wires

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Communication is something we could all work on. It’s essential to our relationships, and our overall levels of happiness. As soon as we’re old enough, we’re taught to share and talk things through. In fact, much of our school lives focus on communication.

And, that doesn’t change in the workplace. In fact, many companies rely on teamwork. As such, communication becomes even more crucial. And, as the boss, most of the responsibility here falls on you. If you can’t communicate efficiently, how can you expect your staff to? It’s crucial you set the right example to open communications from the off.

Of course, getting started with excellent communication is far from easy. Why else would so many of us struggle with it? To help you along, we’re going to look at the three main communicative aspects you should focus on.

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The literal

First should be literal communication. As in, how are you going to talk to staff? This may seem basic, but it’s essential. If you have a large office, walking from one side to the other isn’t practical. But, phone lines are expensive and can be unreliable. Not to mention that they’re open to breaches. Which isn’t what you want when communicating sensitive information. Instead, consider a VoIP PBX solution like those offered by https://www.bcainc.com/. This is a private connection which uses internet connections instead of phone lines. What’s more, you can use such solutions to communicate with staff remotely. You may also want to consider how you pass down jobs. You could either delegate tasks in a morning meeting or upload them to staff computers. Consider which would work best, and put a plan in place.

The disagreeable

It also falls to you to help staff communicate their way through disagreements. There are, inevitably, going to be a few along the way. But, proper communication can help everyone move forward and find a middle ground they can work with. If you notice staff disagreements, bring the perpetrators together. Get them to talk things out while you’re present. They’re likely to keep calm with the boss around. As such, they’ll be in the best position to find a solution to whatever it is they disagree about. Brainstorming sessions are always a fantastic option here. They give everyone a say and also help to develop the best ideas. And, you guessed it, they focus on communication.

The emotional

Bear in mind that you also have an emotional responsibility to your employees. If you notice someone isn’t themselves or seems to be struggling, it’s essential to address the matter. This can be difficult, so you may want to refer to guides like this one on entrepreneur.com, which can help you recognize and address problems. Make sure, too, that your staff know they can come to you with emotional issues. Leave your door open, and listen to what your team tell you, even if you don’t think it’s relevant to your business. These people are in your care, so care for them.

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Cutting Out The White Stuff: How Does A Paperless Office Benefit You?

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crumpled paper

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There are many articles out there about why you should go paperless. Everyone, from big business to small, is jumping on this bandwagon. So much, so that paper in the office is sure to be a thing of the past relatively soon.

The principal and, undeniably, most important argument for this is environmental. We live in an age where not caring about the planet isn’t an option. With global warming an ever-present threat, many of us are cutting down on plastic and installing solar panels in our homes. And, of course, cutting paper out of our offices. After all, we can’t produce paper without cutting down trees. And, given that trees are essential to a functioning planet, we could do with leaving them where they are.

But, you may be reluctant to jump on the no-paper bandwagon. There’s no shame in admitting that the environmental impacts aren’t enough to sway you. You certainly wouldn’t be alone. But, these aren’t the only benefits of a paperless office. In truth, doing away with the white stuff could make life much easier for you. Here’s how.

Taking the complication out of filing

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Filing cabinets are the bane of any office worker’s existence. You have to go through about ten drawers to find the piece of paper you’re after! And, just when you think you’ve found a system which works, you come up against more issues.  It’s a never-ending problem and one that you could do away with by going paperless. Imagine if you kept all your files on a computer. In one click, you could find anything you needed. By using informative file names, you could just do a quick search. How much time would that save you?

Remote access to information

Remote access is another benefit. By using a cloud service like those offered by many computer consulting services, you and your colleagues can access anything, anywhere.  Forget taking essential files out of the office, or having to wait until the next day. You can work from home with ease, and have access to anything you need. On top of which, colleagues on the road can pull up a file at the click of a button. All it takes is an internet connection. An ability like this could enhance your operations. And, with your competitors turning to the cloud, this could be essential for keeping ahead of the game.

No more cluttered storage cupboard

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Ah, the office storage cupboard. It’s messy no matter how often you try to clean it, and frankly, it’s wasted space. But, consider that everything within that storage space is geared towards a paper-filled office. Go paperless, and you can get rid of paper itself, the paperclips, staples, and so much more. Before you know it, you’ll have a free storage cupboard on your hands. New private office, anyone? Or, you could knock this into your central office space to free up some much-needed room. Either way, it’ll get better use than it ever did in the past.

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Affordable Business Services: Finding Them Is Easier Than You Think

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Making savings wherever you can, while still maintaining quality, is essential if you’re a business owner. Most businesses end up needing to outsource parts of their process to other services, which can get expensive if you don’t choose carefully. Whether you need to use a service for a short time or you’re hoping to form a longer business relationship with a particular company, you want to make sure you’re not overspending. When you choose a service for IT, marketing, accounting or anything else, it’s also important to weigh up what you’re getting for what you pay. Find a service that’s affordable for your business by following the advice below.

Picture source: Max Pixel

Compare Prices and Benefits

Whenever you’re trying to find the best price for anything, comparing available quotes is clearly the first thing you should do. You will often need to get in touch with a company directly to find out what price they can offer you, which can be time-consuming, but it does help to ensure accuracy. Prices for some services will be clearer, especially when they have easily defined parameters, such as web hosting. However, it’s not just the price that’s important. You need to consider it in conjunction with the services you will be receiving. This means considering the whole experience, from delivery of the service to customer support.

Picture source: Public Domain Pictures

Look for Flat Fee Services

One way to help your business stay on budget is to look for a service that will allow you to pay a flat fee each month. Instead of trying to work out how many hours you might need the service for, you’ll know how much you’re going to pay and what you get in return. IT Total Care Inc. provides one example of this, offering computer support for a flat monthly fee. You can have a service plan that suits your business and meets all the needs you have, without having to spend too much or being unsure of the bill you’ll get at the end of the month.

Consider Trading Services

If you’re looking for an alternative way to save money on business services, there is another option. You could trade services or products with another business so that you both benefit without handing over any money. Of course, you will have to calculate the cost of offering those services or products to the other business. It can be a good way of saving money if it doesn’t take up too much of your time.

Picture source: Pixabay

Find Services Aimed at Businesses of Your Size

Some business services target larger businesses, while others aim for smaller ones. If you look at services that mostly work with bigger companies, you could find that their prices are out of your affordable range. If you look at services that target businesses smaller than yours, they might not be able to handle your needs. You need to find a service that prices according to their target market and aims to meet their requirements too.

Find your affordable business services by spending some time researching what’s out there. Remember to consider your whole business budget so you know how much you can spend.

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What Key Measures Should Your Business Have In Place?

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When it comes to business operations, everyone will have their views and opinions on what works best for them. More often than not, they’re going to be right. Because not every business will have the same requirements or see the same kinds of results. However, despite the individual needs of every business, there are some things that everyone will need to put in place – such as measurements. Every business should look to be able to track their operations as much as possible, but the only way to be able to do this is to measure them. So let’s take a look at some of the key measure that your business might like to have in place to do this.

Website Analytics

One of the most important kinds of measurements that you can put in place, particularly if your business is online, is web analytics. Website analytics can be invaluable to what you’re doing with your business. When you utilize the data you have, you can get really great insights into how your customers behave, how they move around on your site and respond to your content, and how they buy. You can then use these measurements to redefine what you’re doing and make your actions much more relevant to what your customer want.

Data Compliance

From here, you’re then going to want to consider how you deal with your data. Because this is going to be something that you really need to keep safe. You’re going to need to work on GDPR compliance for this. You may even find that it helps you to work with a specialist to make sure that you are compliant with your data and won’t be a risk of doing anything wrong.

Online Security

At the same time, you’re also going to want to take your online security measures seriously. It’s easy to just assume that you’re safe, but until you’re hacked, you will wish that you did take precautions here. This may even be something that your IT services can handle for you. Whether it is something that you have managed externally, or you look to take on yourself, you’re going to want to get something set up before you face an issue.

Social Media Monitoring

Another thing to be thinking about, is your social media. Because if you don’t have social media monitoring in place, you may not be making the most of your social media channels and activity. But thankfully for us all, there are a range of social media monitoring tools that you can put in place to make sure that you’re doing all that you can when it comes to your social media marketing.

Sales Tracking

Finally, you may also want to put some kind of tracking in place when it comes to your sales. Because sales can often be hard to track and measure – but you often need to do this to stay on track. So, to help you out, you’re going to want to take a look at some of the tracking metrics that can actually help you to boost sales too.

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Giving Your Customers The Experience They Deserve

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The most important business commandment is giving customers what they want. If you can plug a gap in the market or respond to your client’s needs, you stand a good chance of making your business successful. Providing excellent quality products and services is not always enough to attract new customers and keep existing clients interested. Often, the customer experience can make the difference. If you’re keen to keep your customers on-side and ensure you cannot be beaten, here are some tips to help you provide your customers with the experience they deserve.

Focus on first impressions

Did you know that it takes the average human less than 7 seconds to form a first impression? This means that you need to impress from the word go. Often, in business, you don’t get second chances, and people have already made their minds up by the time you launch into sales patter or try and win them around with dazzling products or first-class services. Think about the way your team presents itself, the exterior appearance of your business premises, the signs you use to advertise your company and the way you greet customers when they call you on the phone, or they walk through the door. You have to set the right tone from that very first moment.

Tailor your approach to suit your business and the target market. Consider a cosmetics or perfume store, for example. If the building is run down, the window displays are drab, and there’s nobody there to welcome customers, this isn’t going to give off a great impression. Dress your windows to catch eyes and turn heads, use scented candles or cold air diffuser technology to add a pleasant and inviting aroma, and make sure there are people around to say hello, answer questions, take payments and offer advice. Think about what would make you go into a shop as a consumer and make sure that your business ticks all the boxes.

ING Interieur ICEC – Acanthus Amsterdam

Image taken from https://www.flickr.com/photos/inggroup/27089912414

Go the extra mile and personalize your service

Customer service can make or break a business, so it pays to go the extra mile. Add a personal touch and be willing to go above and beyond and provide customers with an experience they won’t find anywhere else. There are so many ways you can do this from leaving a personalized welcome message on the screen in a hotel room to offering a bespoke wrapping service in a gift store.

Make use of feedback

Ultimately, your customers hold the cards in terms of whether you fail or succeed, so it makes sense to listen to them and take their comments on board. Ask them for ideas, encourage them to share opinions and take both negative and positive feedback into consideration.

Image by https://pixabay.com/en/bad-review-bad-customer-review-2813741/

Providing your customers with an enjoyable, memorable and hassle-free experience is essential in business. If you can outshine your rivals in the service stakes, improve your business by using feedback and be prepared to go the extra mile for your customers, you’re likely to reap the rewards for years to come.  

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Boost Your Company’s Productivity With This Advice

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All entrepreneurs should want their companies to become as productive as possible. When all’s said and done, that is the only way to make sure you create the highest profits possible. If you fail to work on productivity, there is a decent chance that you’re losing money every single day. So, take a read through some of the advice on this page and then work out how to apply it to your operation. Hopefully, that should help you to increase your earnings and ensure you take your venture to the next level. The same rules will apply regardless of the nature of your business model.

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Outsource time-consuming tasks

Some jobs within your business take a long time to complete. For that reason, you should think about outsourcing those tasks to specialists who spend all day working on that particular job. For example, you might choose to outsource customer service because it costs a lot of money to pay someone to man the phones all day long. Experts from movewindward.com and similar sites claim that outsourcing your IT support is also a wise move. You never know when your computer systems might go down, and you’ll want to get them running again as soon as possible. You can also outsource marketing for the best outcomes.

Provide financial bonuses for employees

Lots of people argue about whether or not financial bonuses are the best strategy when attempting to get employees to work hard. No matter what you think – one thing is for sure. If you let your workers know they can earn extra money in their wages every month for going to extra mile, most of them will become more productive than they are at the moment. So, create a scheme that recognized hard work and ensures your team always gets a reward when they go above and beyond the call of duty.

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Make use of the latest technology

There is no getting away from the fact that modern technology can help you to boost productivity. For instance, there are specialist software solutions that automatically record all financial transactions and create your accounts for the IRS. There is also software available that controls your inventory. Those tools will send orders to suppliers when your stock runs low, and they will save you a lot of time and hassle. So, be sure to check out the latest tech as it arrives on the market and work out if your company could use the concept to boost productivity and profits.

You should now have a reasonable idea of the best ways to boost productivity and increase your company’s earnings this year. Now you just have to put that advice to good use and get your team onboard. Lots of businesses fail within the first couple of years of trading, and that tends to happen because the operations stagnate. You need to keep moving forward and improving if you want to stand the test of time and become a household brand. Good luck with that!

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Having Trouble Deciding Between New And Used Cars

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Having Trouble Deciding Between New And Used Cars?

Your life

The need for a car can depend highly on your lifestyle and what use you can make of it. It’s all very well if you need your car every day in order to get to work and back, but can you guarantee you’ll get that much use out of it? If you don’t need to travel so frequently, you might want to consider other forms of transport instead. With that said, how do you determine what kind of car you need to get when it comes to buying one. Everyone has their preferences and needs, and the difference between used and new can vary significantly.

New cars

When it comes to buying new cars, you can expect to get along with it without having to worry about any issues or problems on the horizon. Even if you do run into these problems, you’re very likely to have a warranty on it. Not just that, but you’re much more likely to get better deals when it comes to financing it too because you have to get it from a car dealer. It’s more expensive, but you’re investing that money in the guaranteed quality and flawlessness. If you’re passionate about your car, you want to make sure it’s going to look and run perfectly at the same time, and you don’t want to have to settle for things like scratches or mechanical imperfections that you would get from a used car.

The main reason people don’t tend to buy new cars is because of the pricing. Some people are completely fine when it comes to dealing with scratches and dents, possibly even some mechanical problems as long as they can knock a percentage of the price down. For example, take a look at the new Vauxhall Viva and get an idea of what kind of price you would be looking at. Now, don’t take that as buying a new car isn’t worth the money; for most car owners it absolutely is. A car is something you can be proud of, and something you should be able to feel joy from owning; not just a rusty old bucket to get you from A to B.

Used Cars

There’s a huge market for used cars, and that’s for many reasons. First of all, having to buy used is an essential for a huge demographic of people; for example, students. When you first learn to drive, you’re likely unable to afford all of the costs that come with a new car, because you’re not just looking at the base payment, you need to consider your insurance too. New drivers typically have to pay more for their insurance, as they’ve not had any experience to prove themselves; that number does go down over time, however. You’re saving a lot of money, yes; but you’re also risking a lot too. Many faults can come with a used car, and you need to be careful when picking one out; else you may end up with a useless hunk of metal over the course of a year.

(Source: Pexels)

There’s a preference for everyone, you just need to make sure that the costs are in your interests, and also your needs for the vehicle. It’s best to go for new if you’re going to be putting it through rigorous usage; as an older and already worn car is much more likely to fail on you in short time.

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4 Genuine Reasons Plastic Can Improve Your Life

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Plastics aren’t in the good books at the moment. Around the world, millions of tonnes of polymers are polluting oceans, beaches, and coastlines. The drive to cut down on plastic production is a smart and necessary idea. Still, it doesn’t mean a polymer can’t have a positive impact on your lifestyle. Indeed, plastics have a variety of ways to improve everything from your mood to your finances. The use of prepreg materials, which often use plastic as part of their makeup, help make planes lighter and reinforce materials in sporting goods, among other things, which promote both fuel conservation and safety on the field of play. Just don’t tell the environmentalists because they’ll think you’re the devil!

Here are four legitimate reasons why plastics are helpful and how they make it happen.

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Roll Back Expenses

They are a common place which means it’s hard to see their true worth. Of course, carriers are the easiest example. Even as supermarket bags get reduced, a bag for life only costs 25 cents. And, it’s usable for the rest of your life, which is a hell of a bargain. Grocery bills also rely on the use of plastics. Coverings allow stores to keep items for longer and that can result in a price reduction. And, it’s far cheaper for manufacturers to use plastic packaging which means it’s less expensive for shoppers. Although the amounts are small, every penny adds up in the long-term.

Help The Planet

Just because you use polymers doesn’t imply you hate the planet. Lots of people are in a rut and don’t know how to change their behavior. Thankfully, plastics are here to help in a cruel twist of fate. Again, a lifelong bag is an excellent way to cut down on plastic use and save the environment. And, there are numerous things you can do at home too. Starting a basic recycling pile is a simple and effective method to stop pollution. How does this help you? Well, doing your bit for Mother Nature increases feelings of self-worth and boosts esteem.

The Credit Perks

Plastics come in many shapes and sizes. The most common form is a card. Yep, everyone has a credit card which they hate. Damn you overdue balance! However, when used correctly, a piece of plastic can improve your lifestyle two-fold. For instance, the credit allows you to buy essential items when you don’t have the funds. As long as the balance disappears by the end of the month, there is no harm. Some people even use a Citi Private Pass to see shows, watch concerts and attend events. Having a life which involves extracurricular activities is the only way to maintain a healthy balance.

Safety

Plastics have been used in car manufacturing for a long time. However, developers are starting to use them to strengthen security. Airbags are now made from plastics, as are seat-belts. Both of these are vital safety features in case of an accident. It’s not an over exaggeration to say that they are lifesavers. And, it doesn’t end there as there are plastic door fillers, roof supports, and fuel tanks. From a transportation point of view, polymers are essential for customer safety.

For many people, they are helpful in everyday life but do you agree?

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