Category Archives: Business Tips

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5 Ways To Protect Your Business

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When you’re a business owner, there are constant threats on the horizon. Whether it’s from clients not paying you on time, claims that are made against your business due to the fact that you haven’t followed safety regulations, or external threats such as burglary and fraud, there are always things that you need to be aware of, and steps that you need to take to ensure that your business is not at risk.

However, it can seem impossible to stay on top of them all, and you may not know how you can cover all bases when it comes to protecting your business. Here are 5 things worth keeping in mind.

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#1: Stay on top of cyber security

One of the biggest threats to modern business is through data hacking and cyber attacks, so you need to ensure that you’re always making every effort to keep your data safe. Speak to an IT professional about how safe your network really is, and make efforts to increase your security every so often. Hackers are always finding new ways of working, so you should be finding new ways of staying safe.

#2: Check the security of your office

In the modern day, no business owner should have an office that isn’t kitted out with CCTV, and other security measures. Look into the best ways to keep your office secure, and make sure that you invest in the necessary precautions. Your employees should feel safe, and you should feel at ease knowing that the building is secure at night, and that you’ve covered all of the necessary risks properly.

#3: Utilize the Cloud

The Cloud is something that every business should be utilizing, and it could save you a lot of headaches should there be a threat to your network. Keeping all of your data and documentation in a virtual space means that if your network does ever go down, you won’t lose a lot of sensitive data. This could protect you from legal ramifications, so ensure that everything is safely stored on the Cloud!

#4: Deal with claims properly

Every business owner will, at some point, need to deal with a claim made against them. Perhaps one of your employees has sustained an injury at work, and you haven’t followed the right procedures to cover yourself in this regard. It’s important to deal with claims quickly and efficiently, and speaking to a claims management company could save you a lot of time and money here.

#5: Keep up-to-date with safety regulations

One way to avoid claims altogether is to stay on top of the necessary safety regulations in your business. Ensure that you have fire exits that are easily accessible, that you’ve trained your employees on what to do in case of a fire, and that you’re constantly keeping an eye on any threats to safety that could arise in the office. These are small things to check, but they will make a big difference.

Make sure that your business is protected, and that you don’t lose out as a result!

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Steps to Surviving an Office Renovation

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When you need to move your business from being based at home to having an office then there are plenty of things to be thinking about. Likewise, when your current office lease starts to expire, then choosing to stay where you are, and perhaps think about upgrading your existing space instead, could be the thing to actually yield some pretty significant savings. However, being able to successfully do just that and make some big savings, then it will be something that will need a lot of planning, and a lot of time taken to ensure that the whole thing is done well. So with that in mind, here are some important considerations, so that if this sounds like you, and an office upgrade or renovation is on the cards, then you can help it all run much more smoothly.

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Stay or Go?

Before you think about renovating your space, then it is a good idea to make certain that relocating isn’t something that is a better option. Have a think about your ideal space requirements, and then with a designer or even an architect, you could see what would actually be possible where you are, or if a move would be better. You could even see what the issues are with where you are currently, as a landlord could consider reducing the price if they have some fixes to make, and if it would keep you as a tenant.

Establishing a Budget

In truth, the complete cost of a project or renovation will not be fully known until the work has been done. If there are any new projects, then a good thing to think about is having about 10% contingency in your budget, but that could reduce as time goes on and you see how well things are going. If you are making structural changes to the office site, then another 10% of contingency is a good idea to think about. You should also think about incorporating costs for things like temporary protection, site office hire, and partitions, as well as things you normally might not consider like having to cover the costs of overtime and additional workloads for you and your team. So carefully plan out a budget, but do remember to have a bit of a contingency plan.

Communication

In a lot of ways, there is a perception that a renovation done by the current occupants is just as important as the implementation of the work itself. But any change that comes to an office space or to a workplace, brings with it some possible anxieties, which can be very true if the reason for going so, or the impact, is not well understood. So make sure that communication over the project is rather clear and informative, so that all people that are involved, are aware of the expectations. Likewise, creating some actual mock-ups of what things could look like, can be a good way for the team to test things out and keep everyone in the loop.

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What is a Certificate of Analysis (COA) (and How to Read)

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in CBD NEWS

What is a certificate of analysis coa

CBD is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get unless you do a little reading. With CBD oil, it should be as easy as checking the box, but there’s an unfortunate problem of mislabeled products. Protect yourself from fake or low-quality products by doing your due diligence —always check the Certificate of Analysis. If there isn’t one, steer clear. 

What is a Certificate of Analysis (COA)? 

A Certificate of Analysis, or COA, is a document from an accredited laboratory that shows the quantity of various cannabinoids in a product. 

Manufacturers should send every batch of every product they make to a lab for testing, to protect their customers and prove that their products have as much CBD as they advertise. 

Always check the COA before using a CBD product 

COAs aren’t always easy to get your hands on before buying a product. You may need to reach out to the company to request it. 

However, once you receive your product, there should be a QR code on the label that you can scan and be taken to a webpage with the product’s COA. Most iPhones can scan QR codes through the regular camera, just open the camera app and point it at the QR code (don’t take a picture, just hover over the QR code) and a notification should pop up with a web address. For Android or older iPhones, simply go to the app store and search for a “QR code scanner”. There are free options to download.

cbd qr code coa

Not all states require QR codes on CBD products, but it has become a common practice anyway as reputable companies want this information to be readily available to all of their customers. 

If you can’t get a COA from the manufacturer’s website, customer service, or the product label, that’s not good. A quality CBD company will always get their products lab tested. After all, a COA is as much for the customer as it is for the company to double-check the quality of their work for quality assurance purposes. 

🚩 4 red flags to watch out for in a Certificate of Analysis

Once you get a Certificate of Analysis, inspect it thoroughly. Here are a few things to watch out for. 

1. Too much THC

To be considered hemp oil, by law, it cannot contain above 0.3% THC. If it contains more, then it’s considered marijuana and may not be legal in your state. 

Also, if your product is advertised as containing no THC, then reading the COA is a good way to verify that claim. 

2. Less CBD than advertised

This one is obvious, but for good measure, we’re mentioning it. It’s very important to make sure the Certificate of Analysis reflects the advertised CBD content on your product’s label. 

3. Missing cannabinoids

If a CBD product is marketed as full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, or PCR, that means it contains a variety of cannabinoids. The COA should show the product contains at least small amounts of CBDa, CBG, CBC, CBN, and/or other cannabinoids, in addition to CBD. 

4. Tested in-house

When buying a car from a stranger, you don’t take their word for the condition they claim the car is in. You check it out or bring someone with you that knows what to look for. 

That thought process is similar when it comes to testing CBD products. If the Certificate of Analysis came from the company themselves, meaning they tested it in-house, they might be telling the truth —but it’s not as reassuring as an unbiased professional performing the test. 

Unless you really trust a company, it’s a good idea to make sure their COAs come from an accredited third-party lab. If they don’t, ask if they can provide one as they may have both available. 

How to read a COA lab test 

COAs are not always easy to read, and there are many different formats. 

Typically, you’re going to see COAs that show the results in one of the following three ways: 

  • Milligrams (mg) of CBD in the full product 
  • Milligrams (mg) of CBD per gram (g) 
  • Milligrams (mg) of CBD per milliliter (ml) 

Note that we are using CBD as an example, but the same goes for all other cannabinoids in the COA. 

That first type of result means you don’t need to do any work or calculations, as it already shows you the total amounts of each cannabinoid in the product. However, for the others, you will need to know one thing about the product in order to make your calculations. 

Before explaining those two test result formats, we should refresh our memory on units of measurements. A milliliter (ml) is a measurement of volume. So even though most liquid CBD products will show the size in ounces (oz), you can convert that. 1oz will always equal 30ml. However, grams (g) is a weight. Two 30ml tinctures will not weigh the same in grams, as the weight is affected by each ingredient in the product’s unique formulation.

MG per G 

If the results show the amount of cannabinoids per gram, then you need to know the total weight of the product in grams. The weight does not include the packaging, just the product itself. Most products do not show their weight in grams on the label, so you may need to ask or check if the COA contains that information. 

For example, a product weighing 25 grams with an advertised 300mg of CBD should have 12mg of CBD per gram. 

MG per ML 

If the results show the amount of cannabinoids per milliliter, then it’s a little easier. However, this type of measurement only (easily) works for liquids. Simply take the total milliliters of the product and multiply it by the amount of CBD per milliliter. 

Liquid tinctures will always tell you their size, such as 1oz (30ml) or 2oz (60ml). 

So, for example, a 1oz (30ml) tincture with an advertised 300mg CBD should contain 10mg of CBD per milliliter. 

Other types of lab tests 

In addition to the standard cannabinoid profile, it’s also common to find full-panel lab tests. These show the cannabinoid profile and terpene analysis, as well as checking for any molds, pests, or heavy metals that could be harmful over certain levels. 

Checking COAs on Made by Hemp 

At Made by Hemp, we make sure COAs are not only easy to access, but they’re also easy to read. Go to any product listing in our CBD store and click the “lab test results” link below the product title to review the results in PDF format. 

Our test results are all from a third-party lab. However, our results are in milligrams of CBD per gram so, to assist with reading our COAs, the weight in grams of the product is included in the COA and the calculations are performed to immediately show you the total CBD in the product. 

As a bonus, the percentage of each cannabinoid is included in the results, which is especially helpful to see that it contains 0.3% or less THC per the legal limit. 

Contributed Post. Article originally posted on https://madebyhemp.com/

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Launching An Online DIY Store

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Everything is online now. In fact, many people will source tools and wires for more significant projects online too. The bottom line is it is cheaper all around, atypically faster. Although there will always be a place for putting your boots on and walking around a DIY store that smells like wood and paint, it is easier to order in bulk online. But when you are thinking about opening a DIY store online, there are a few things you might want to think about. 

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Storage

Your store is online, which cuts down on a lot of costs already, but you’re still going to need plenty of storage. You’ll need somewhere to store all of your stock. Most of the time, a garage will do – depending on what you are doing and the levels of stock you intend to sell. Of course, over time you’ll likely expand, and in doing so, you’ll need higher stock levels and more storage – but for the meantime factor space into the cost. 

Supplies and Kits

Depending on what you are going to be selling, it will mean you might need to have some suppliers lined up. There is always the opportunity to have your own tools and wires created, but you need rapid prototyping and probably need to buy in bulk. You need to provide, at a minimum, the basics that every tool she would need. Or, if you decide to be specialized, then that is great – but remember that buyers come in all budgets. So you’ll need to have a basic range right up to a high-end (which you can order at a moments notice should anyone order one). 

When it comes to kits, people aren’t always savvy with everything they need. So if you can put kits together like – replacing a door frame, beginners plumbing kits, essential tools kit… you get the idea. Easy kits that people can purchase and have everything from the screws to the right putty. 

Information

Part of the reason so many people head to a DIY store is for information on the project they are undertaking. But you can jump the gun and prepare some blog posts that cover a range of topics. Think about the most common things people are looking for and answer those questions. 

  • What color should grout be?
  • What’s the best way to clean paint brushes?
  • Can I repair bricks and pointing myself?
  • How do you bleed radiators?
  • How to fix a faulty lightswitch
  • The quickest way to clean clogged outdoor pipes
  • How to unclog a toilet

Experts

If you are thinking about opening a DIY store, the chances are not only do you have a lot of experience personally but you probably also know a lot of people who might be classed as experts in their field. Along with the instructions and general questions and articles you should have, consider having some videos. Where the experts give recommendations about tools (that you stock), and how to complete a job at home. 

People are more likely to buy from other people who they consider an expert in their field. 

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Maximizing Your Freelancing

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When you are freelancing, it might be tempting to stay in the same room to work all the time. But the fact is that most freelancers don’t take full advantage of what they can do. Yes, we are all sold many stories about digital nomads who make 6 figures from their yachts in the Caribbean. And while there are many people who are making that money and more, and sometimes indeed from their boat – they put the work in first. For the rest, it’s smoke and mirrors. 

When we are talking about maximizing your freelancing, we are talking about how you can run a much larger operation, be more productive and even build a team. 

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Productivity

This should be where you start really. Once you are personally more productive, you’ll be working to a better pace and be freeing up more time to take care of the other things. It isn’t about working harder, it is about working smarter. So when you finally make the decision to streamline your own workflow and take care of business you should take a look at the following to help you on the way:

  • Focus Booster – so that you only work to designated timers, take a break when required, and it syncs across all of your technology. 
  • Evernote – helps with new ideas, you can save links, photos, screenshots, articles and more
  • Buffer – manage your social media needs in one place, take 3 hours out of your month and create a month of content
  • Pocket – if you know you will use the information again, put it in Pocket and go back to it at a later date

Team Building

If you are a freelancer, then chances are you are going to be better off building a talent pool that you can dip into when you need to complete specific projects. Start this process early, and put together a pool of creatives that are all freelance. Keep communication lines open, so you will know if they have the capacity. You’ll likely only need a single tool for your team management, and you’ll want to make sure they can all use it easily. Find something with a cloud, business phone system, and proper security management. 

Growth

So, now you’re very productive, and you have a talent pool of freelancers you know you can call on for ad-hoc jobs, it’s time to focus on growth. There are a few things that are tried and true ways to grow your business with some speed. Here are a few suggestions for you:

  • Sales funnel – Take time before you build it – where do you want to take people? What is the hook? What software will you use? Tools: Leadformly, Everwebinar, Facebook Lead Ads
  • Loyalty – if you have repeat buyers, you will want to reward that loyalty, so they keep coming back. Think emails will discounts, offers, and other incentives to make a purchase
  • Diversify – look at what you offer now, what would work with those offerings? In order to grow, you need to expand your services. Put serious consideration into what will work here, don’t add things for the sake of it. 

Freelancers now have access to tools, teams, and technology that can super-boost their careers. 

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6 Top Tips For Getting The Best Out Of Your Company Vehicle

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Your company is going places, quite literally. You’ve got the services that your customers want, and now all you need is the van to take it to them.

Running a company van means lots more things to think about. You will need to make sure that your vehicle is kept in good repair, and is road legal. This would include seeking insurance at a good price, such as cheap van insurance uk. Also, you will need to pay any taxes on the vehicle. 

Your Branding 

Your van is a moving advertisement for your company. If you do not have an eye-catching logo and enough information on the side of your vehicle to catch the eyes of potential customers, you are missing a trick. Get yourself a designer who can help you create the impression that you need to be making. 

If you ever change anything about your design, you will need to know how to remove car wraps from your vehicle.

Keep It Clean

As you are driving around a representation of your business, you need to show that you care and have attention to detail. Keeping your vehicle clean and tidy, will show your potential customers that if you care this much about your van, you will care about the service you are providing them.

Drive Well

This shouldn’t need pointing out, but if you are cutting up drivers, or tailgating in a company vehicle, then it does not give a good impression of your business at all. If you let staff out and about driving the vehicle, have some contact information on the back where people can feedback about the driving of your team. This will make them think twice about aggressive driving. 

Think about doing some driver etiquette training with your team. Being courteous costs nothing when you are on the road, however being rude or driving dangerously, may cost the driver their license and, you, your business reputation. 

Mod Cons

Make sure your van has things like a built-in sat-nav and Bluetooth connectivity. Making sure you and your team don’t need to be handling phones while driving will keep you, and other road users, safer. 

Using mobile phones while at the wheel causes a lot of accidents these days, and your company should not become part of a statistic. 

Servicing Your Vehicle

You will need to make sure that your vehicle is regularly serviced. You’ll probably find that you are doing a lot of miles in the van, so you should try and get it into a garage as often as possible to have the oil changed, and everything checked over. 

Lease Hire

One great option for running a company vehicle might be to find out about lease hire agreements. Another company owns the van, and you pay them for renting it. Often these come with service contracts, and they will allow you to swap the vehicle as it gets older. It can take some of the hassles out of managing company vehicles, especially if you need a fleet. Check with the lease hire company regarding their policy around putting your branding on, as this may differ. 

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3 Genius Ways You Should Train Your Employees

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Even if you hire the best employees, they could still do with some training. Training your employees means they learn new things and develop new skills – which will only benefit your business. 

However, training courses cost money, so you don’t want to spend cash on loads of different things that won’t benefit you or your employees. Bearing that in mind, how should you train your staff? Here are a few ways that you’ll find more than beneficial: 

Health and safety 

All of your employees need to go through the relevant health and safety training to work for your company. Without this training, they won’t know how to conduct themselves in your workplace. As a result, accidents can happen that lead to lawsuits and a lot of stress for you. Consider booking them onto workplace safety or site safety training courses. By doing this, they’ll be aware of the risks in your work environment and what to do to prevent accidents. Plus, if something does happen, they know what to do to control the situation. A company with a high accident count doesn’t look very trustworthy or professional at all. So, health and safety training can help preserve your reputation while ensuring everyone stays safe!

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Team building 

Another good way to train your employees. Team building helps bring your team closer together and provides more synergy. It’s all well and good hiring individuals who are excellent at their jobs, but you need to ensure they work well together. You can’t guarantee this until you give them time to gel with one another. Team-building training exercises force your employees to work with each other in different scenarios and get used to working as a team. The things they do will translate back into the workplace, creating a more efficient and productive company. Plus, it helps improve employee relationships as well. In turn, this could also boost the overall mood of your business and improve employee satisfaction rates. 

Upskilling

There’s always room for improvement, which is why upskilling is a brilliant idea. With this type of training, your employees learn new skills. It’s a fantastic way to help them develop as professionals and become more qualified to take on additional tasks. With upskilling, you can train, say, an office assistant to use your payroll software. Now, they handle some financial responsibilities as well – which prevents the need to hire a new person specifically for that. You benefit from upskilling by keeping people in your business and making them better at their work. Your employees benefit by developing new skills and adding extra abilities to their resume!

These three training ideas are cost-effective as they help improve your business in some way. You can find other training options, but there’s no point spending extra money on things that don’t provide almost instant benefits. It’s not essential to try all three of these ideas – apart from health & safety training – but choosing one or two can help your company grow and get better than it already is. 

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Save Time and Boost Efficiency in Your Business

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All business owners want to create an operation that runs as smoothly as possible. A smooth-running, efficient workplace means that you are seeing the highest return on investment and achieving a high level of productivity and output. While running a 100 per cent productive workplace may be the dream, finding a way of turning that dream into reality can feel impossible. If you are hoping to improve the efficiency of your business, you may want to consider some of these options.

Efficient Production

Securing bigger orders for your business means that you need to be able to fulfil them. If you are looking for ways to win those bigger orders, you may want to consider investing in new machinery to help you achieve this.

Increasing the number of automated processes that you use may help. By increasing the amount of manufacturing automation you use in your company, you may be able to boost production and complete orders much faster.

Time-Saving Software

Duplicating effort is a common way in which productivity is impacted in the workplace. A duplicating of effort is a common problem with sales teams, who call a prospect without realising that a colleague has already contacted the same person. This scenario not only negatively impacts productivity, but it is also damaging to your business’ reputation, as potential customers may become annoyed with constant phone calls. 

To ensure your sales team are delivering excellent customer service and not duplicating their efforts, it is a good idea to use customer relationship management software (CRM) to help prevent this problem from arising. Utilising CRM software will ensure that your staff are working as efficiently as they can and are kept well-informed of the status of each customer. 

Examine Your Procedures

Taking a step back and reviewing your business processes and procedures can be a beneficial thing to do every once and a while. Looking at your business with fresh eyes will enable you to identify areas that could be utilising resources better and where efficiencies could be made.

As well as examining things for yourself, it is often useful to gain insights from your staff too. Allowing your team to let you know how they believe processes can be improved is a great way to gain feedback from people that are directly involved in the day to day activities of your business. 

Discovering which parts of their job your employees find the most time consuming and the biggest drain on their productivity, could help you to come up with some new ways of working that significantly improve efficiency. Your staff are also likely to feel more motivated to work and valued as employees if they think that you appreciate their input and respect their opinions, this, in turn, can help to boost productivity and encourage staff to take more ownership of their tasks. Don’t forget to report back to your team the outcome of their suggestions for improvements to business processes, so that they know you listened to their ideas.

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The Secrets to a Successful Online Business

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There are many different ways to start an online business, but very few chances of success due to how cutthroat the industry is. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways to ensure that your online business is as successful as possible.

1. Make sure you focus on social media

Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are the best way to spread your business around and get noticed. Focus on using them to grow your brand and get more exposure.

2. Reinvest in your business, not your personal needs

A lot of people that own a successful online business have constantly re-invested in their own company, not themselves. It’s tempting to spend your profit on nice clothes and other hobbies, but try to focus on your business instead.

3. Engage with your audience

Although this ties in with the first point of using social media, having options such as a social media manager can help you accept feedback from your audience and also allow you to get in touch with your biggest fans for sponsorship deals and outreach.

4. Offer easy ways to obtain your products

Be it global delivery, free shipping or multiple payment methods, offering ways for your customers to obtain products easily can be a fantastic way to increase your exposure. For more information, take a look at this infographic below on how Square has helped countless businesses with payment processing.


Image by: University of Alabama Birmingham

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Want To Manufacture Your Own Products? Read This First

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While the business world is seemingly more and more dominated by service-based businesses these days, there is still a place for companies that manufacture their own products. If you have an idea for a product, then here are three things you’ll need to consider as you start the journey towards bringing your product to market… 

#1 – The importance of innovation

There are hundreds of thousands of different products currently available on the market, so making sure you only choose to manufacture genuinely unique products is incredibly important. Unfortunately, choosing to create products with almost identical functionality to existing products offers little to no benefit; if you’re going to manufacture, then always make sure your finished product will genuinely offer something new, different, and exciting to the overall marketplace. 

#2 – Protect your ideas 

When you have found a genuinely innovative idea that you want to manufacture, it is incredibly important to think about how you will protect that idea. This means you will need to look at intellectual property laws, with a particular focus on whether or not you can patent the idea in order to prevent other companies from benefiting from your hard work.

#3 – Eliminating the risk of defects 

With your IP protected, you will then need to consider the manufacturing process itself, with a particular focus on eliminating defects. Defects in the manufacturing process can be hugely detrimental to your business for a number of reasons, but thankfully, there are ways and means of ensuring defects are kept to a bare minimum. One of the best options currently available is Six Sigma, which you can learn more about in the infographic below.


Infographic Design By Rutgers University

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