Cool Things Collection

Category: Business

How to Prepare to Upscale Your Business

Once you’ve started and built up a small business, the next step will be to begin upscaling in order to best compete with many larger ones. Taking that next step should only be done when you are confident that your company is financially stable and so is the current economic climate. Upscaling too soon or in an inefficient manner could result in everything you’ve worked towards falling down. Therefore, the following tips should help ensure that your business can begin preparing to upscale successfully.

Get yourself in the right mindset

Upscaling your business can be a really stressful time, so you really need to be in the right mindset. You have to be prepared for long hours and stay focused on your goals. But it’s also important to know when to delegate some of the work and when to take a break and recharge. If you struggle to switch between focusing and relaxing, something like the Hapbee band could be useful. The Hapbee band sends signals to your brand that can help manage your mood, so you can concentrate during the day and unwind in the evening.

Develop a Strong Recruitment Strategy

To deal with an increasing workload you will undoubtedly need to hire some extra staff. Where a lot of businesses make a mistake is by hiring too many, too soon and for some unnecessary positions. Start slowly, going one at a time and make sure you have costed up everything from national insurance to pension contributions. Determine what qualities are required and thoroughly screen applicants to get the best match for the job.

Boost Your Marketing

Marketing your business and its expansion is vital to reach potential new customers and clients. Use testimonies from existing ones, as connecting on a personal level really appeals to many. Connecting with local and online influencers can make a real difference and reach the right target audience easily. Boosting your marketing before upscaling is ideal to help create plenty of demand for what should be an increasing supply of your product or service.

Expand into Larger Premises

Look for larger or additional offices, showrooms or other buildings to expand into when you are anticipating a growth in your work force. To keep the costs low this could be by hiring until your upscaling is complete, testing the waters first before committing. Remember to focus on the finances, as not only will there be the extra cost of these buildings to use but you will have to fit them out with furniture, equipment and other overheads.

Review Social Media Performance

Social media is an important component of many businesses these days and can provide a good indication of how your business is perceived. 40% of people believe a strong social media presence is key for loyalty, so it is worth reviewing your output. See how much engagement you are receiving online, what the most popular aspects are and develop a plan on how to capitalise on this. It might be wise to ask a social media agency in Manchester or an agency local to your area in the planning process to achieve your goals.

These steps should help ensure that your business is well-prepared to begin upscaling and compete with some of the leaders in your industry.

12 December 2017
How to Celebrate the Christmas Season at Work

Christmas and work aren’t two words that we like to see together that often. Christmas is all about fun and family, friends and festivities, and work? Well, it just isn’t, is it. For those working shifts during this festive time, it can be doubly hard. However, there are ways to enjoy the Christmas season at work (whether that’s the big day itself, or simply the run up to it), and make your workplace a truly fun place to be (at least for a little while)!

Decorate

By far the simplest (yet one of the most pleasing) way for a workplace to get in the Christmas spirit is to decorate. It can feel rather soulless to come in from a frosty street bedecked with twinkling lights, where there are Christmas trees in shop windows and streamers and ribbons hanging from every available surface, to find that your office is a bleak and barren landscape. Popping a Christmas tree in the main office and giving everyone an hour or so to decorate it is fun, and promotes a team spirit. Plus, it makes your office look sparkly and bright. Throw some tinsel across the computers and hang foil shapes from the ceiling and your office is suddenly all about fun.

Christmas Jumper

Perhaps wearing a Christmas jumper every day is a little much, but on the last day in the office before Christmas, when everyone is going to be in a jolly-holly mood, it’s a great idea. Run competitions for the best homemade sweater, or the ugliest jumper, and give out prizes. Winner buys a round at the pub after work!

Cards and Gifts

Depending on how many people work in your office, you might want to give everyone personalised Christmas cards to show how much you appreciate them. Gifts are always a nice touch as well, and can range from anything from a bar of chocolate to an experience day voucher, for example. Again, this will depend on the office budget, and the number of people to buy for, but being given a gift at work can put a smile on anyone’s face, and will be remembered well into the new year, no matter how big or small it was. If there are just too many people to buy everyone something individually, why not run a secret Santa? That way, everyone only must buy one present. Sit around together to open the gifts, and you’re guaranteed to a good time.

Team Lunch

Christmas lunch is very much a part of the whole celebration, but who says it has to take place solely on 25^th December? If you can get your entire office out to a pub, restaurant, or even a castle to enjoy a meal cooked to perfection by someone else, then all the better. It’s a chance for people to let their hair down and enjoy some time away from the office. Perhaps you’ll even get to know some of your colleagues a little better when you are sitting around a table munching turkey and wearing brightly coloured tissue hats!

Fun Day Out

You can always extend the team lunch and make it a full day out, with an activity in the morning (bowling, go karting, a craft activity, for example), then a lovely Christmassy lunch, then a final activity – it could be a trip to the panto (you don’t have to be a child to enjoy the silliness!), the theatre, or even to a club. If the company budget will stretch you might even get to have a weekend away somewhere. European Christmas markets are a fun and festive way to find the perfect gift for friends and family, and you can indulge in some cookies and mulled wine as you wander with your colleagues.

Charity

With your tree decorated and your gifts and cards dealt with, it’s always a nice touch to do something for someone else. There are many different charities that need extra help at this time of year, and having a collection in the office could really give them that extra bit of cash. Or have everyone donate coats and winter clothing that they no longer need – again, charities that look after homeless people in particular are always on the lookout for warm clothes to help those who are living rough. Other ways to give are to help in a soup kitchen, or bring in tinned goods for a local foodbank. Pick a charity – or more than one – and set everyone the challenge of helping. So many people will appreciate it.

6 December 2017
5 Ways to Cut Your Startup Company’s Overheads
Startup companies will be up against more established industry rivals. Despite their knowledge and ideas, a limited budget could prevent a new enterprise from successfully competing against larger businesses. Fortunately, there are things you can do to carve your place in the industry without spending a considerable amount of money. Check out the five ways to cut your startup company’s overheads.
1. Create Your Own Business Cards
Do you want to design your own business cards without the expensive graphic design price tag? It is now possible to design business cards for free with the help of Adobe Spark, as you can choose from an array of design options, select the size, shape and theme, and can create your brand by incorporating images and texts.
1. Outsource Your Tasks
Do you have a million and one tasks but don’t have the budget to hire additional staff? Consider outsourcing projects to talented freelancers. Rather than paying employees a set salary, you will only pay for a piece of work, which can significantly reduce your overheads, especially when starting out. What’s more, you will have greater control of your budget, as you will only hire freelancers on a per job basis. So, it is ideal for those looking to hire copywriters, web designers, HR professionals or administrators.
1. Cloud Computing
Buying both hardware and software can cost a considerable amount of money for new businesses, which can eat away at your budget. One way to minimise your IT overheads is to turn to the cloud, as it can eliminate the need for servers, boost your security and can automatically save your most important files. What’s more, you will receive the most up-to-date versions of a program, so you will never be left behind when it comes to technology.
1. Flexible Office Spaces
Choose from a flexible office or co-working spaces to save a substantial amount of money throughout the years. Many cities and towns allow small companies to work in a clean, convenient office space with other companies, so you will not be tied down to a long rental agreement or lease. Many also come with an internet connection, reception services and modern facilities. To use the space, you simply need to pay a monthly or annual fee, which is a fraction of the price for a lease.
1. Review Your Outgoings
Stay on top of your finances by continually reviewing your outgoings. For example, could you hire a professional accountant for a more affordable rate? Maybe you could switch to a cheaper, more reliable web hosting service. Perhaps you are spending too much money on Facebook ads and not enough on PPC or Instagram. Aim to identify where your money is going and identify if you can find a more affordable option without compromising on quality. Set one day aside in your schedule every few months to review your bills and find ways to cut costs where possible.

Have you got any tips for reducing business overheads? Write a comment below.
28 November 2017
Three Ways Businesses Can Effectively Manage Their Travel Expenses
Are you looking for ways your business can manage its travel expenses? Often, travel expenses can be a lot more than you initially anticipated. It’s also easy to misplace receipts and it can be difficult to keep track of how much has been spent so far. This could mean your company is losing a lot of money that it really doesn’t need to lose. Below, you’ll find three ways businesses can effectively manage their travel expenses.
1. Make use of a business travel expense app
These days, there’s an app for just about anything. If you aren’t using one already, now’s the time to look into using a business travel expense app. There’s hundreds of business travel apps out there, with Concur being one of the leading ones available. It even gives you the option to sync the app to the office so you can give approvals before any money is spent. This is a great way to control employee spending.
1. Enlist the help of a specialist company
Managing business expenses can be a time consuming, as well as a challenging task. Therefore, it could make more sense to hire a professional company to take care of the management side of things for you. Companies such as Airplus International Limited, offer a range of travel expense management solutions. From helping you build a complete travel payment programme, to creating specialist payment solutions for on-the-road expenses – they can help you really get to grip with your finances.
1. Look out for business incentives
Often, companies offer various incentives for business travellers. Hotels for example, may offer complimentary drinks, free breakfast or afternoon appetizers. Bars often have happy hour cocktails and restaurants could have group discounts. All of these could save you a small fortune; especially if you have quite a lot of employees travelling at the same time.

There are also cash back savings to be for any purchases made online such as hotels, flights, insurance – I recommend TopCashback as they have the likes of..

Don’t forget to make use of hotel amenities too. Make sure the hotel you book has coffee making facilities to reduce the cost of that all-important morning coffee. Any amenities which could help you cut back on travel costs are worth looking into.

Overall, it’s not always easy to manage your company’s travel expenses. However, the above are three great ways you can cut back and manage your employee’s spending. By incorporating any of these methods into your travel expense policy, you could save a significant sum of money.
15 September 2017
Starting a Van Rental Business? Guidelines for Success Revealed

A van rental business involves hiring out commercial vehicles to both private customers and business owners in return for a fixed rental fee. While it sounds pretty straightforward, you need to consider certain things before starting out, including: making the decision whether or not to run a contract or daily hire operation, setting up an ideal location, settling all regulatory requirements needed for a van rental business and building up your vehicle options. While the van rental market is highly competitive and comes with its unique risks, it can be very rewarding as well. Here are some guidelines to help you succeed in a van rental business.

Begin with Market Research

Before starting out, you need to fully understand the already existing competitive landscape and how your business would fit in; especially if you’re not going to be the only van rental company around. Find out what sets your product, service and company apart from your competitors. Determine how you’ll differentiate both your products and services in order to win – and grow – your own share of customers.

Another way to handle the competition is to learn from people already successfully established in the business. Don’t expect our local competitors to give you advice and teach you the business. Someone running a van rental business outside of your community may be more open to sharing startup advice with you.

Acquiring Your Fleet

The first thing to consider when amassing your fleet is to decide if you want to make an outright purchase (the more expensive option) or lease the vehicles instead. Even though your fleet doesn’t need to be a large one initially, success in the van rental market is very much dependent on scale and utilisation of vehicles, so this is something to think about in more detail.

Your vans should always be well maintained to offer your customers the highest comfort and convenience. Consistently having a rented van breakdown mid-route will only spell doom for your business. Maintenance can be carried out by a local shop until you are stable enough to employ your own maintenance staff.

Get Insured

Insurance is probably the most important issue when it comes to starting a van rental business. If you need to, you may go through a specialist insurance broker who can provide advice or help you with negotiations for a good insurance deal for your business. What you need is a specialist rental policy specifically permitting the use of vehicles for rental purposes, allowing high mileage and many different drivers behind the wheels. It’s worth shopping around to find the quality van insurance cover at the best price.

The van rental business is a big and still growing market. By conducting thorough market research, buying or leasing an adequate number of vehicles, maintaining and insuring them, you could be well on your way to making it big. Just remember to always offer a friendly and flexible service.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you could consider becoming a franchise i.e. buying into an already established business to make lead generation and marketing easier for you.

29 August 2017
How Businesses in the Cultural Sector Can Make the Most of Tech

If you’re running a company in the cultural sector, making sure that you are at the cutting edge is key. How can you bring arts and culture to people in a dynamic and refreshing way if you haven’t yet dragged your company into this century and embraced tech possibilities? You wouldn’t be the first person to be overwhelmed by technological changes. But pretending that your cultural business can operate as if the last couple of decades haven’t happened is not something to be proud of.

That leaves the question of how you can make sure that your business makes the most of tech and everything it has to offer. Starting from nothing gives you a good platform that you can launch off from. Don’t be daunted by the task that lies ahead of you and your team. Instead, you should be excited about the future and everything that could arise for your business going forward. To get you started on the right kind of path, here are ten ways in which businesses in the cultural sector can make the most of technology.

Data and Analytics

Data and analytics are two things that go hand in hand, and they can provide your company with a real boost in the world of business. Data can help you learn a lot more about your business and how it is performing. This can then be used to help you make decisions about the future of your company. You might want to change how you do things based on what you find out from the data you gather. Many companies do this these days. It makes sense to know as much about your business and how it works as possible. It can shine a light on flaws and problems that might need to be addressed.

Streamlining Repetitive Processes

If there are some tasks that your business has to take care of that are pretty repetitive, then it might be better to streamline of even automate them. It’s something that more and more companies are now thinking of doing, and you don’t want your business to be left behind as this happens. When you streamline simple things, you can ensure that your business is more productive. And you should be able to ensure that the efficiency of your business improves as well. Both of those things are important, and they shouldn’t be ignored. You might even be able to cut down on your wage bill if there are some things that can be automated. For cultural companies with slim profit margins, that’s a big deal.

Get Support to Prevent Unprofessional Disasters

Having the right support in place to back up your business when something goes wrong is important. Many businesses in this sector fail to plan for the worst. This can be because of cost-saving measures and the need to keep overheads low. But think about the money that will have to be spent if something goes badly wrong. For a start, you will need to have the right insurance options in place. And you will also have to make sure that you have good IT and tech support. Sometimes, having your computer system crash can be the most disastrous thing of all. Find the right technology partner that can help you out with this kind of thing. That way, you will be able to keep your business ticking over and on the right tracks throughout the year.

Make Inter-Departmental Communication Faster and More Casual

Communication in the workplace is something that you should definitely pay attention to if you want to succeed. There are so many ways in which your business can fail and fall apart if the people in it are failing to communicate with one another effectively. Inter-departmental communication needs to be fast, and can often do with being a bit more casual as well. When communication is smooth, things get done more quickly, and you won’t have to worry about slow productivity levels. You can use things like apps and instant messaging services to get messages from A to B in a large workplace without much fuss at all. It’s something that’s certainly worth considering.

Track Money Using the Best Software

Tracking the money that your business spends is very important indeed. You can’t expect your business to get ahead and stay ahead if you don’t look after the money that’s get spent. Overspending and poor money management are all too common problems in this sector. People who focus on the art and culture are often not the best people at balancing the accounts. Well, now you can get more help without incurring the extra cost of hiring an accountant to do the work for you. There are all kinds of great accounting software packages out there to make your life that little bit easier. You can download these and start using them easily enough.

Hit Young Audiences with Modern Marketing Methods

If your business wants to reach a young audience, as many cultural sector businesses do, you will need to embrace modern marketing methods. This means using technology, software and techniques that might be foreign to you. But you can’t reach those people and get them through your doors unless you have a marketing strategy that works for them. It might mean creating videos that can be posted online to promote your business. Many cultural businesses fail because they don’t appeal to a younger market. Remember, they are the future of your business. And if you don’t attract them, your business simply won’t have a future at all. That’s not what you want it to come to, so start hitting young audiences with modern marketing methods.

Create a Setting for Art to Thrive with Clarity

Many art forms that are dealt with in the cultural sector rely on presentation. Sometimes, that presentation can be enhanced by improving the technology that you have at your disposal. For example, you will only find that the best musical acts want to perform at your music venue if you have good audio equipment set up for them to use. Artists want their music to be delivered and received with clarity, and that’s what you need to allow to happen. The same applies to lots of other art forms as well, so whichever your business focuses on, be sure to use technology to your advantage when it comes to delivery.

Go Global with Arts and Culture Experts Around the World

More so than any other industry, the cultural sector has to be global and diverse. This is always what the industry has been about. And thanks to new technology, it’s never been easier for you to go global and communicate with people all over the world. There are experts and people who run other cultural businesses and organisations all over the world. Being able to collaborate with them and build new bridges is really important. By using conference calling, you can have video chats with people on the other side of the world like it was the most simple and natural thing in the world. These days, it could hardly be simpler. So, make the most of this and collaborate with more people globally.

Create Intuitive and Easy to Use Booking Systems

Many cultural businesses deal with bookings and things of that nature. Whether you run a music venue or a theatre, you will need people to buy tickets from you. These days, this is done by using an online booking system. There are good booking systems and bad ones out there. Being able to tell the difference and ensure that yours is one of the best is vital. It needs to be intuitive, meaning that your potential customers can make bookings swiftly and easily without wondering what they’re supposed to be doing. You should also integrate an app that allows for bookings on the go. If you can do that, you will give your customers more ways in which they can buy from you, and that’s vital.

Don’t Complicate Things with Tech for the Sake of It

Last, but not least, it’s important to say that technology doesn’t have to be the be all and end all. Yes, I’ve spent a long time telling you how and why technology can improve your business. But that doesn’t mean that you should overcomplicate matters and make them more difficult just because you want to apply tech to them. There are some areas where it just doesn’t make sense. It’s up to you to make the call regarding which situations demand technology and which don’t. You should assess each and every situation and judge them on a case by case basis.

As you now know, there are so many great ways in which you can make your business more tech-savvy while improving the things you want to do best. The cultural sector is known for pushing forward and trying new things, so it makes sense to give some of the tips mentioned above a try. The rewards will make them more than worth the effort.

9 February 2017
10 Mobile Side Business Ideas You Can Operate from a Van
With a deluge of goods and services and consumers with disposable income and time constraints who are looking for the more convenient option with top value, it is wise to consider mobile side business as it is bound to yield amazing returns. You don’t have to bother about the logistics of running an office, you can conveniently run any of these lucrative businesses from a van. Be sure to seek expert advice and study the best ways to package a bestselling business. Here are 10 ideas you can operate from a van.
1. Mobile photo studio
  
  With the rush of selfies and the whole planet turning into one giant photo studio, a mobile studio is one of the greatest ideas. Not only can you shoot and print on the street, you could venture into event photography.
2. Mobile makeup artist
  
  With many more people who are always picture ready- thanks to social media, with a mobile make up studio, you could reach clients in a snap and quietly make quick cash.
3. Food vendor
  
  Who doesn’t eat or love good food? The only challenge in this kind of business is making a choice of what kind of food service to venture into. The reach is limitless and this is one business that could easily expand. Who knows? The business could soon turn into multiple and then you may well be advertising this franchise for sale.
4. Mobile auto mechanic
  
  Most times, vehicles give no warning before issues arise. No need to hide your skills anymore, pack your tools and brand your van.
  
  Here’s five more mobile business ideas…
5. Mobile masseuse

Clients will run you over if you know how to rub down those kinks in the muscles. Stock up on the scented candles and massage oils and you are in business.

6. Ice cream truck

While people want to cool off on a hot day, some people just crave the cold desert. From soft serve to pre-packaged ice cream with an array of flavours. This is a potential hit.

7. Packing/unpacking van

Moving and packing is one business which has easy to handle logistics. All you need is to be more careful and have extra muscles.

8. Mobile decorator

Whether it be interiors or event locations, this business is in high demand all year round and gives you the opportunity to meet more potential clients.

9. House cleaning

The potential clients for this line of business are as varied as the number of houses there are. Whether you are busy parents or that lone occupant, everyone needs the services of a good house cleaner.

10. Courier services

What better use for a van than delivering parcels which makes for a tidy profit.

This is an opportunity to get paid for doing those things you love, and at your convenience. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step so take that step today and get expert advice.
3 January 2017
Remote Work for IT Professionals: Why It Can Benefit Your Company

These days, employees don’t have to go to the office to report for work. With video communication solutions, IT employees can now work from anywhere, whether at home, from the café next door or a distant continent. If you want to take advantage of that, it might be time to consider adding remote work to your HR policy. Take a look at what you can expect when you make remote work a part of your company:

Employees are less stressed

Remote working employees are less stressed, says the Tech Republic. That’s certainly true since they suffer less commuting stress. Video effectively does away with the need to clock in and out of the office so employees no longer have to be tied to their desks for the nine-to-five grind.

Employees enjoy greater flexibility

More are demanding flexibility from their work, with 74 percent of employees citing work-life balance as the ultimate goal, says the Entrepreneur. Health and family reasons came in second, with 52 percent for each one, while time savings took the fourth spot at 47 percent. This was followed by cost savings at 43 percent.

Employees have more time

What happens when you take commuting hours out of the equation? Maybe not much. Some spend about two hours going to and from the office. That means two extra hours workers can use to sleep, putter around the house, set things to rights or even just play with the dog. But imagine if you spent about two hours going to work and then another two to three hours getting home because of the brutal traffic, unexpected train or bus delays and dealing with the crush of people every day, with someone’s elbow in your gut or your face pressed to someone’s armpit. Now imagine if you took those extra hours out of every day, what would change? A lot. With less stress to deal with, employees can start the day right. They can report to work, their minds fresh and ready to take on anything that the day has to offer, whether it be tight deadlines or last-minute revisions.

Remote work is now easier than ever

It used to be that remote work was a threat to connectivity. It was complex and required expensive hardware to function. That wasn’t all. You had to employ high-talent IT staff to look after the system too. That meant every video call, every single video conference required IT employees to be on standby. Not anymore, though. With video meeting services for IT from providers like BlueJeans, all you have to do is download the software, install it and you’re good to go. Since user interface is simple and easy to understand, you won’t have a problem finding your way around the technology. With this communication tool, you can channel your IT resources to more challenging tasks.

Remote work is cost-effective

It used to cost an arm and a leg (and sometimes another leg!) to put up a communication infrastructure with video system capabilities. Then you had to spend on costly hardware upgrades every few years. That made it difficult for startups or midsize companies to make video conferencing a part of their business. These days, though, the technology is more cost-effective. No costly upgrades or complex systems necessary. Also, since it removes the need to travel, companies can save on travel costs, including other expenses that come with travel such as food allowance, accommodations and even venue charges.

Companies have happier employees

With a video system, employees have less stress to contend with, and have more time. With more time comes better work-life balance and better health. No need to survive on four hours of sleep every night just to wake up extra early for your morning commutes. Employees have more time to rest, spend with their families and or dedicate to a hobby or exercise, all of which makes for happier employees. And as everyone knows, happier employees are much more productive. They don’t waste time on too many breaks or water cooler gossip. They get the job done and done right.

Companies see high retention

Another benefit to working remote is that job satisfaction levels are high. The less stressed your employees are, the better they work. Some employees take telecommuting perks as a sign that the company cares for their well-being. This has a hugely positive effect, so employees are more motivated to deliver, to meet or even exceed standards. They’re also less likely to up and leave the company, resulting in high employee retention levels.

So if you still haven’t made remote work a part of your company, it might be time you considered that stance. If you want your IT team to enjoy going to work again, give them the flexibility they need to build better lives outside of the job they have.

9 September 2016