Tips and Tools – Page 133 – Business Plus Baby

August 26, 2015

Five business ideas you can build from the comfort of home

Luckily, it has never been easier to start a business from home because of the Internet. It is lucky because the job front has never been as bleak due to the after effects of the recession that are still evident today. So, instead of going out and looking for a job that has hundreds of applications, you can just create your own. There is no need for physical office space, employees or even conventional methods of advertising. The only thing you need to start an online business is a computer and a drive to succeed.

Here are some of the most popular businesses that you can start from home.

Babysitting

If you have the mornings and afternoons few, there couldn’t be a simpler way to make money. The best thing about babysitting is that you don’t need additional qualifications or certificates. As long as you know parents who need a babysitting service, you can look after children in your home. Of course, you will need to start small because parents won’t leave their children with strangers. But, once you start creating a buzz, you can make a lot of money.

Freelance

Freelance relates to almost every industry, which means it doesn’t matter what your profession is in most cases. The best example is a freelance journalist or writer. They secure contracts on freelancing websites and complete the work remotely. With a freelancing contract, you don’t have to worry about getting up early and going to the office. All you have to worry about is completing your work by the end of the day.

Personal Trainer

With the right amount of space and the right qualifications, you can educate people on how to look after their bodies. Obviously, personal trainer businesses are much harder to startup because you need a certain amount of knowledge of the human body. Plus, you need to certify your business as a personal trainer and get insurance. If that doesn’t sound like too much hassle, there is no better way to make money and keep fit at the same time!

E-commerce

E-commerce businesses can take a variety of shapes and sizes. In fact, an e-commerce business is any business that trades goods over the Internet. You might be an antiquities dealer, or you might sell old clothes on eBay, but you are still under the umbrella of e-commerce. Generally, they are great businesses to start because they don’t need much to begin with. People will buy old junk that you have wanted to get rid of for years! To get your project off the ground, checkout Magento Developers software. Over thirty percent of the world’s e-commerce platforms have been created with the software.

Bed & Breakfast

Do you have a spare room you don’t use? To get the most from the room, rent it on couchsurfing.com or other similar sites. People will pay a good chunk of change to rent a room for a couple of days or even an extended period.
The above are just suggestions. Your business can be whatever you want it to be.

August 25, 2015August 25, 2015

Cleaning hacks for the busy professional

If you’re a busy mumpreneur, the last thing you probably want to do is spend your precious time on your cleaning. Dusting, hoovering and other household tasks can seem like a big chore, so aside from calling in professionals like Molly Maid, here are ten cleaning hacks that’ll make your life easier.

1. Wash up as you go

It might sound simple but washing up as you go is a lot easier than spending thirty minutes trying to remove dried Weetabix from a bowl. And if something does get stuck – soak it in warm soapy water and deal with it when you get home.

2. Use lemon juice as an all-purpose cleaner

If the work surfaces could do with a clean but you’re out of all-purpose cleaning spray – fear not. Simply squirt half a lemon onto a dishcloth and use it as a natural disinfectant.

3. Unblock drains with baking soda and vinegar

Is the water taking ages to drain after a bath or shower? If so, put three heaped teaspoons of baking soda down the plughole followed by several glugs of white vinegar. Wait for the fizzing to stop before flushing through with warm water.

4. Use baking soda to neutralise smells

Believe it or not, baking soda can neutralise bad smells so if your fridge is a little on the stinky side, then pop a small bowl of this raising agent inside to get rid of the pong – you can even put some next to your shoe rack or cat litter tray.

5. Use olive oil as furniture polish

Shopping for cleaning products can be difficult if you’ve little time to spare – after all you probably don’t want to be picking up bleach on a Saturday. The good news is you’ve probably got some olive oil lying around so use this as a natural furniture polish.

6. Use salt as an abrasive

Got a tough stain you want to remove? Out of scourers? Then use salt as an abrasive. This works on many cast iron surfaces including pots and pans, so why not give it a go?

7. Use salt and lemons to clean your chopping board

Salt can also be used to clean chopping boards, which, as you probably know tend to get very dirty (and sometimes smelly). Simply sprinkle some onto half of a chopped lemon and scrub away.

8. Clean the oven with vinegar and baking soda

Shop-bought oven cleaners tend to be full of toxic chemicals which can sting your throat and burn your eyes. They’re expensive too, but there is an alternative – vinegar and baking soda. That’s right, pour some vinegar over the inside of the oven before sprinkling in some baking soda and let the chemical reaction work its magic before wiping clean.

9. Use an old toothbrush to clean your keyboard

Incredibly, researchers have discovered that computer keyboards contain far more bacteria than a toilet seat – with swabs even detecting faecal matter. With this in mind, try scrubbing your keyboard gently with a slightly wet toothbrush.

10. Clean your grater with potato

If you love grated cheese, carrots, apple and such like but hate all the bits that get stuck in the grater, try cleaning it using a raw potato. This will remove anything that’s lodged in the small holes allowing you to prepare your meals quicker.

With these hacks, cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore so go ahead and give them a go.

August 24, 2015August 25, 2015

Storage solutions for businesses short on space

A small office may have been ideal when you were setting up your business, but now your company has grown! In fact you have practically doubled in size, and your initial team of five staff is now well into double figures.

This is exciting, but new members in your team also mean extra furniture, papers and stationery and as a result you might be left feeling like you don’t have enough space anymore. However, while your business might be doing well, but this doesn’t mean you can afford to move into a bigger space, just yet.

However, a small office is not ideal. Not only will it be detrimental to the productivity and motivation of your workforce, but your cluttered space will also be seen as a representation of your company. Therefore it is important that you make space to ultimately boost morale and increase productivity. But, how do you do this?

First of all, have a huge clear out. You will be surprised how much ‘stuff’ your business has accumulated over the years (including those leftover crackers from last years Christmas party) that you simply don’t need anymore. This organisation and disposal of unwanted items will free up a significant amount of space.

You may also be surprised to discover just how much room sheets of paper actually take up. Therefore it might be time to get rid of those cabinets full of paperwork and store them electronically instead.

This will not only free up space, but it will make your documents easily accessible, saving time that would have been spent searching through files to find the required one. (FYI, you should be filing your documents in this manner already anyway, it is a much safer way of storing important information!)

Once you have done this, re-arrange the furniture. Perhaps, invest in new pieces that will utilise the space you already have – after all, it will be much cheaper than an office relocation.

For example, to maximise wall and floor space, consider storage that goes upwards rather than outwards. These shelves and cupboards will help keep offices clutter free, by taking up unused wall space instead of much needed floor space.

Providing your workforce with new desks will also help with your storage issues. These can be smaller, but more importantly you can choose ones with extra storage built into the framework.

Investing in storage is another quick and efficient way of removing all the unnecessary items in one go that are cluttering up your space, without having to dispose of them. Shop around for a storage company, such as RSS, who will make this process incredibly simple.

Pack up anything from furniture to IT equipment and store them with peace of mind, safe in the knowledge that they will be secure until you require them. And with 24-hour access, there won’t be any delays in getting hold of your items.

Still need more space? Then you could consider expanding the area you already have. Do you have the option to knock down a wall or create an extra room? Perhaps the meeting room that is empty 90% of the time, could be put to better use as a storage solution?

You will discover there are many ways to obtain the space you need, which in the long run will save you a lot of money that could be better spent elsewhere!

August 16, 2015August 15, 2015

Easy gift ideas for mumpreneurs

You’re running around after children and trying to keep all your business balls in the air when you realise you’ve got a birthday or anniversary coming up and you need to buy a gift.

The easiest way to deal with presents for your kids’ friends is to keep a present box at home. Whenever you see a suitable gift for a child the same age as your own kids when you’re out and about, buy it and put it in the box. That way you won’t have to dash out and buy something next time your child is invited to a birthday party. I make sure I have a supply of wrapping paper and birthday cards, too.

Adults are harder, though. I think most of us have left it until the last minute and then had to either dash out to a superstore for wine, chocolates or flowers! Even with a little more advanced planning you can still find yourself searching Amazon, desperately looking for some inspiration.

So here are some ideas for more inspired gifts, but that don’t use up any of your shoe-leather with a shopping trip:

Support another business mum

There are tons of mums who hand-make gifts from home, if you just ask something like ‘I need a 60th birthday present for my aunt, who makes gifts?’ in a Facebook group for mumpreneurs you’re bound to come up with tons of suggestions. Many that you won’t have thought of before!

Experience days

Many adults don’t really need any more physical stuff, so why not give them an experience instead? You can now give anything from a quiet meal for two to off-road driving. Try Into The Blue for more ideas.

Make something

This doesn’t have to take long or be difficult and if you have small kids your house is probably already full of crafty bits and pieces like ribbon and glue. Pinterest is full of easy crafty ideas, one I tried recently is a fabric-covered notebook made using a plain hard-backed notebook, double sided sticky tape and fabric off-cuts. The end result looked great and you can’t buy it in any shop.

Here are some we made at the craft group I go to:

#Fabric covered #notebooks made by the #craft group I go to earlier tonight

A photo posted by Helen Lindop (@helenlindop) on Mar 11, 2015 at 4:37pm PDT

Try Etsy

Etsy is a fantastic place to find original, handmade gifts and you can have some of them personalised, too. You can buy anything from jewellery to knitwear and scrapbooks, from sellers around the world.

So there you go, a few tips for those days when yo’re pushed for time and lacking in inspiration!

August 14, 2015November 24, 2015

Five ways to fit fitness into a busy work schedule

We’d all like to get fitter but, for some of us, busy working lives get in the way. So, if your business impinges on the hours before and after that, how do you still squeeze in the time to get fit?

Here are five top tips to make sure work and workouts can both be accommodated in your schedule…

Commute

Leave the car on the drive and walk or cycle and you’ll be able to turn those ‘dead miles’ into something worthwhile. It might not always be plausible for those who live further away from the office but even the walk to the bus stop might give you a brisk five-minute workout in the morning that simply sitting in your car cannot provide.

Lunch break

It’s important to take time away from your work during your lunch break, and getting in some fitness work can be ideal to take your mind off job matters. Try to build in a jog, walk or cycle at least a few times a week – or maybe even nip off to the gym. If you’ve got to work through your lunch that doesn’t mean you have to stay inactive. Sitting down too long is bad for you so make sure you get up regularly to walk around and don’t allow yourself to be chained to the desk. Think of this not so much as part of your fitness regime – but as ensuring that your fitness work doesn’t go to waste during the day.

Nutrients

A proper fitness regime needs to be fuelled by a diet that contains a balanced set of nutrients. By making sure you pack the right snacks to take with you to work you’ll be able to work on getting that right while you get on with your day job. Make smart use of supplements to top up the elements that you aren’t able to consume through food and you’ll be able to leave the office ready and raring to go right away. The latest lines from the likes of Fysiqal Nutrition should help.

Home

Do you work long hours and simply don’t have time to build in visits to the gym? Maybe you have to take paperwork home to complete? There are many ways in which you can carry out a full fitness regime without even leaving your own home. There are a whole host of workouts that can be followed on YouTube to suit every skill level. You’ll only need a corner of your living room and some weights and you’re off. Why not leave the weights near the television – or somewhere else in your eyeline – so that you’re encouraged to get to work?

Sport

One sure-fire way to build fitness into a busy work schedule is to play a sport. Team up with your friends and set aside a night every week when you’ll get together to play. You don’t have to enter into a serious league to get the most from this but by setting a regular time slot aside you’re more likely to go… and you won’t want to let your friends down either.

Making exercise a regular part of your working day will help it to become a key part of your schedule and, eventually, it won’t feel like you always have to ‘find time’. Little adjustments to your commute will help – keeping an eye on your diet and activity while at the desk can create the right starting point for fitness work. Exercising at home – and with friends – will also help you to build it into your working week.