Category: Tips and Tools

Whether you work from home or just need a spot for paying bills, creating a grown-up office space is always worthwhile. You could transform a spare bedroom or space in your home, or just set aside a corner of your bedroom. But setting up a desk gives you a proper place to sit down and get things done. Here are a few of the ways you can make your desk area feel classy and gorgeous.

Beautiful Stationery

While our smartphones can do a lot these days, often the act of physically writing things out is still better, and so you’ll need some good paper products. Notepads, list pads, a calendar and a diary for dates and addresses will all come in useful. You can buy some really stunning designs so keep an eye out for pieces that grab your attention. Some high quality letter writing paper, thank you cards and personalized note cards are also a nice touch. That way each time you attend a special event, you have beautiful stationery ready to write up and send out.

A Good Quality Pen

To write out your letters and cards, you’ll need a good pen. Get rid of the cheap old biros and invest in a proper pen that you can keep hold of for years to come. It could be a ballpoint or fountain pen depending on your preference but go with something that feels nice to hold, and you enjoy using. Providing you look after it well, a high-end pen is a good investment. Simply refill the ink every time it runs out and it will pretty much last you forever.

Fresh Flowers

Fresh flowers will bring life and color to your desk and will make you feel happier while you’re working. You could treat yourself to a bunch every couple of weeks and enjoy them on display next to you. You could go with whatever you like the look of, or pick different seasonal flowers depending on the time of year Sunflowers, orange and yellow gerberas, chrysanthemums and orange lilies for example are all gorgeous for the fall. You’ll be able to pick up the perfect mixture of blooms in any florist, or try the grocery store if your budget is smaller. Next time you go on a nature walk, you could even collect a bunch of different wildflowers.

A Scented Candle

Finally, to set the ambiance and give you a beautiful scent while you’re working, pick up a scented candle. You could go with something really luxurious here and treat yourself. Certain scents are said to boost productivity so you could get on board with the idea when you’re choosing your candle. Cinnamon, lemon, and  jasmine are just a few which are recommended for offices. Alternatively, you could go with whatever fragrance you like best and enjoy the flickering glow and lovely scent as you do your work.

Do you have a desk set up in your home? If so, what key pieces do you have at it that you couldn’t live without?

If you’ve ever been in a sales environment, you’ll know that there’s always somebody who just seems to be a cut above the rest. Their customers come back time and time again. And they get bags of commission, taking home a handsome paycheck at the end of the month.

You’ve observed them and watched what they do. But no matter how hard you try, you just can’t emulate their success. What is it that they are doing that you can’t?

It’s an important question. In fact, it’s a matter that has plagued those who study the issue. There seems to be a difference in the way that they behave and approach the sale that’s tough to learn. But now science is uncovering why some people are better at selling than others. Here’s what they do.

They Sell On Value

People who are new to sales think that selling is all about the product. They spend ages talking about all the benefits of the product, including details like its specification and so on. But there’s a problem with that approach. The problem is that those differences in specification are actually quite abstract for most buyers. Most buyers aren’t experts like you in what the product can do differently from its competitors. They just want something that will work for them.

This is the “value” of the product. But what exactly does that mean? Well, imagine you’re trying to sell ice cubes to two different people. One is an Eskimo living in the Arctic, and the other is a Jamaican living in the Caribbean. The block of ice might be the best quality ice in the world, but to the Eskimo, it’s of little use. Why would he or she want to cool down their drinks when it’s constantly freezing outside? By contrast, things are a little warmer in the Caribbean. The Jamaican would attach high value to the ice cube because he or she would want their drink to be cooled. Great sellers understand what is valuable to their customers. They spend all their time thinking about possible use-cases and selling these to their clients. It’s about how the product makes the lives of customers better, not what it is or what it does.

They Work As A Team

Photo credit: usembassylondon

Resources, like SalesHub, make it clear that in order to sell effectively, people have to work as a team. Too often, salespeople are competing with each other; chasing after a fixed sum of commission. This actually undermines the team and makes a sale less likely.

Salespeople have to work together because customers are increasingly turning against the “hard-sell.” Competitive environments create the desire among salespeople to sell at all costs. And for today’s savvy customer, this is actually a big turn off.

Teams that work together help to facilitate the long lead time needed to get a new customer. Teams need to work together at every stage of the sale. That means cooperating from planting the first seed of interest to getting the customer to sign on the dotted line.

Making friends, dating, shopping, ordering food or working out – there’s a life-saving app for everything and anything, and we’re not afraid to use them. We use the internet to guide and entertain us at every step, and without it we’d be lost. So why not also look online when it comes to getting an education?

Despite the previous stigma regarding the quality of online education, students and employers around the world are finally seeing it as a valid way of earning qualifications. Providers like Anglia Ruskin University, for instance, offer a wide range of creditable online degrees and are serious rivals for traditional bricks-and-mortar institutions.

If you’ve been debating about whether or not to go to university and recognise any of the following three arguments, it could be a sign that an online degree makes perfect sense for you. Take a look.

Sign #1: I can’t afford to move

University is expensive. There isn’t really any beating around the bush with this one, it’s just an uncomfortable fact of life. Whether you study online or attend a traditional course, you’re going to have to make a hefty financial investment.

The beauty of online degrees is that you can access them anywhere, meaning you don’t have to move to an expensive university city with sky high rents and dodgy student housing. You’ll enjoy cheaper living costs, and be able to live wherever you want!

Sign #2: I’m too busy

Earning a degree isn’t a small commitment, especially when you already have plenty of other pressing concerns (like a job or a family to care for). Classes, deadlines and marathon reading lists are only a few of the time-consuming tasks that’ll be added to your already demanding to-do list.

The strict routine of a traditional university can be difficult for busy students to manage, but with the flexibility of an online degree you can study around your existing schedule whenever you choose.

Sign #3: I’ve hit a career roadblock

There’s nothing more demotivating than being stuck in a rut, bored by your day to day work but unable to nail that promotion or pay rise. The good news is you’re not the only one struggling against a career roadblock.

In a job market flooded with employable graduates it’s hard to stand out and win that dream job. With distance learning, you can stay in your current job whilst also earning a postgraduate or specialized degree to give you an edge over your competitors come promotion time.

Do one or more of these three signs sound eerily familiar? Then put your internet skills to good use and find an online degree you can get your teeth into. You’ll enjoy the future career benefits of higher education without having to attend an expensive bricks-and-mortar university that’s not right for you.

There is a lot to be said for the wedding dress buying process and much of it relies on a quality wedding dress shop for delivering the latest styles fashions for a bride-to-be.

This means that anyone thinking of setting up a wedding dress shop needs to be aware of not only wedding dress styles but also how to run a business and deal effectively with clients.

Their shop may simply focus on designer wedding dresses or they may opt for wedding dresses suitable for a lower budget but the shop will still have to deliver to a bride’s expectations.

It’s important that anyone thinking of setting up a retail outlet for wedding dresses does their homework thoroughly and they should also visit several wedding fairs and get a feel for the industry itself.

They should also see which of the famous designers are in the area’s shops and boutiques and whether there’s room for another outlet to stock unusual or avant-garde wedding dresses or more designer styles.

There is a lot of professional advice available when it comes to starting up a business including those who specialise in helping small businesses and retail outlets; most of this business advice is free.

In addition to finding a suitable outlet, which will need to have car parking nearby, the shop owner will also need to promote and advertise their undertaking to attract brides wanting wedding dresses which means having to buy in stock and take on staff.

That is aside from having to decorate the wedding dress shop itself and getting the correct insurance for it.

A website will also be a crucial part of this process so they will need to invest time and money in getting this just right; most wedding dress suppliers will offer impressive photographs and catalogues for use online and in the shop.

However, it may also be necessary to advertise in bridal magazines that the shop exists and it is possible to generate local publicity with newspapers and magazines too.

Indeed, this is a good opportunity for offering the shop for use in features on weddings and beauty, for instance.

There is no doubt that setting up a wedding dress shop will be a rewarding and enjoyable business to run and with careful preparation and delivering a friendly service will bring its own rewards.

When you see a lean phase on the horizon for your startup, there’s a great deal that you must do to tighten up its finances and reinvigorate employee engagement. A number of mobile technologies offer quick and convenient ways to boost efficiency.

Use your mobile device for greater financial awareness

Using your bank’s online banking app can help save time. Banking apps accept scanned images of checks. No one needs to run to the bank anymore, not even to deposit a check. Scanned checks also result in faster collection than with physically deposited paper checks.

Expense tracking apps help businesses keep track of expenses made by employees on the road. These apps let employees scan their receipts in. Not only does doing this free employees of the hassles involved in keeping track of scraps of paper, it makes sure that no business expense is overlooked, and helps with tighter accounting.

Mobile apps can be a terrific resource for businesses that need to track employee hours or keep track of their physical locations. If you have delivery drivers and other people whose responsibilities require them to stay on the road a lot, using time tracking apps instead of clocks at the office can help minimize indiscipline. For instance, it can put an end to buddy punching and proxy attendance practices.

GPS employee tracking apps can be useful for even tighter oversight. They can help make sure that you know where exactly your employees are at any given time.

Use mobile technology to improve employee efficiency

Businesses experiencing a rough patch do not typically invest in new equipment. Inexpensive productivity boosters, however, are worth making an exception for. They can help both with morale and efficiency. If you haven’t put affordable productivity boosters in your employees’ hands already, these ideas can help.

Smart pens: While Evernote and other note-taking apps do let employees capture ideas and inspiration, they work only on mobile phones and tablets. Ideas need to be captured on laptops and computers too. Smart pens such as models by Sky connect to computers, and help employees become for more efficient recording ideas.

Portable scanners: Certainly, phones can click pictures of documents and turn them into PDFs. For higher-quality captures, however, it’s always useful to carry around a portable bar scanner. Portable printers can be even more useful. The ability to hand out printed documents and proposals to business contacts can help boost business. Products such as the Polaroid Zip weigh only a couple of hundred grams.

Combination laptops: Combination 2-in-1 laptop devices such as the Lenovo Yoga and the Microsoft Surface are spectacular productivity boosters, and are cost-effective as well. Employees equipped with these devices do not need to fuss with two different pieces of equipment.

There’s a great deal more possible

 If yours is a retail business, equipping every customer-facing employee with a mobile card scanner such as Square’s card processor can be a great way to check customers out in an efficient way.

While some businesses try the BYOD approach to equipping themselves with the latest in mobile technology, it tends to cause problems with poor standardization. Yet, three out of four small businesses today say that mobile technologies are critical to their business processes. A close look at investing in this technology can pay off.

Lauren Palmer is a business woman who has made it her job to see others succeed. Passionate about using technology to grow a business, her articles share some of her top tips for getting a business online and running at full speed ahead!