Business Plus Baby

January 24, 2017January 25, 2017

The Do’s And Don’ts Of The Perfect Website – When You Work For Yourself

When you work for yourself, you have to be skilled in a number of different areas. Big companies have specific people to manage their accounts, HR and marketing issues. If you are running a startup, or if you work on a freelance basis, you have to be your own boss AND fill all these roles as well. It can be pretty challenging, especially if you are starting out from scratch. But with the right kind of knowledge behind you, you can be sure to pull it off. Take marketing, for example. You might be a successful writer, photographer or consultant – but if no-one knows about you, you are not going to get any business or make any money. Most marketing goes on online these days, so having a strong online presence is crucial to your success. Here are some of the ways you can use your website to your advantage and you can start attracting clients to your business.

The overall ‘look’ of your website

First impressions count; especially in business. A client will figure out whether they want to work with you or not in the first few minutes of looking at your website. Two things are important here: functionality and design. If your website doesn’t have a clear heading, navigation bar and contact form, potential customers are simply not going to be interested. After all, no one has time to spend ages trying to figure out how to use a website – your service should work for them, not the other way around. Secondly, pay attention to the colors, fonts and photos used on your website. If your business is, for example, a bespoke marketing service, the whole thing should look classy, expensive and sleek. A multicolored website with six different types of font is not going to tell your customer that you will be able to create something modern and timeless for them. If you are in any doubt, contact a Website Design Agency who will help you create a website that truly represents your brand.

The right amount of information

When you are freelance, you often work quite closely with your clients – often on a one to one basis. In order for people to want to work with you in the first place, they will need to know a bit about you. An ‘about me’ page is designed to give an insight into your personality for the potential client, so they will know if they want to work alongside you. However, be careful not to overdo it. After all, they don’t need your life story. A paragraph or so about your professional background, and maybe some personal interests to (to lighten the mood) should suffice. Include a professional picture too – everyone likes to put a face to a name.

Portfolio

In order to trust you, a client will first want to see some examples of your previous work. If you are charging a lot of money for your service, it is only right that they know they can put their faith in you. Build your portfolio carefully – avoid anything of little worth, or any material that is over five years old (unless it is groundbreaking). You can add different types of plug-ins to your website in order to display your previous work effectively.

January 24, 2017January 24, 2017

Increased Infrastructure Spending Welcomed by the FTA

In his first Autumn Statement since becoming Chancellor, Philip Hammond announced a large increase in infrastructure spending. This has been welcomed by the Freight Transport Association (FTA) as great news for the industry, that should improve business and save costs for many working in the sector. The increased spending covers many different areas related to the finance of freight and trucking transportation, along with improving processes.

Investment Funds

Local transport investment will be boosted by £1.1 billion, split out across rail, road and more specific schemes and projects. Of this, £220 million has been pledged towards tackling traffic pinch points, which should hopefully work towards improving roads during busy commuter times. For freight and lorry drivers this is a major issue that should hopefully reduce the number of hold-ups and delays they experience.

The FTA has welcomed such investment news and claims it will be presenting a list of preferred schemes to local highway authorities, highlighting key areas that will most benefit freight movements. Especially after Brexit, trade and the movement of goods via freight is incredibly important, so investment and improvements will be required.

Fuel Freezes

Another part of the Autumn Statement was that there will be a price freeze on fuel duty of 57.95p a litre. The FTA admitted that they would have preferred a 3p cut, that could have saved up to £1,5000 a year when running a 44-ton truck, but accepted the freeze positively anyway.

Fuel duty has been moved from a so-called ‘sin tax’ that keeps increasing, such as for alcohol and tobacco, to a more regular one with this price freeze. The FTA are hopeful that it will eventually swing in the opposite direction and the fuel tax duty is reduced, in order to help the industry as well as individuals and families.

Savings for SMEs

With the new infrastructure investment and price freezes, many SMEs could save around £9,000 a year based on running a ten-vehicle fleet. Additional investment in improving roads, traffic and other processes will cut the costs brought on by delays, accidents and more. While the fuel duty freeze means additional costs will not be added on top to stretch many budgets in the freight business.

Overall the Autumn Statement appears to be good news for the industry, with any spending increases likely to improve proceedings. Depending on how the money is split out, it could see the freight business in the UK improve in many different ways.

January 24, 2017January 23, 2017

How to Fit a Degree around Your Business and Family

Running a business is no easy task, but then neither is raising a family. Pair the two together and you’re faced with a mission that will require a lot of planning and support. But, with business competition only growing fiercer in many industries, entrepreneurs who’re juggling a business and a family are increasingly considering adding another commitment into the mix – a degree. Studying for a program such as an MBA can be hugely beneficial for entrepreneurs, but how do you juggle this around an already hectic schedule?

Learning from Home

For parents who are also entrepreneurs, finding the time to attend classes whilst still running their business and looking after little ones can be an impossible task. Thankfully, there are many alternatives to learning in a classroom environment that you might like to consider. Firstly, online programs are one of the best ways to learn as they offer you a huge amount of flexibility and the ability to design your own study timetable to fit around your current commitments. For more information, take a look at Concordia University Online, where you can choose from a wide range of great degree programs for business owners, including MBAs.

Studying Part-Time

If you feel that a classroom based environment is more suited to you, then there’s no need to worry, as with part-time courses, although it may take a little longer for you to get your qualification, they are much more flexible, with many colleges and schools offering evening or weekend classes. These can be much easier for parents – and entrepreneurs – to make. Part-time study means that you’ll only be committing to a couple of hours per week of education, so the adjustments that you’ll have to make will be smaller.

Getting Support

As a business owner and a parent, you’ve probably already realized the importance of having the right support available if things get tough. Making sure that you have people there, such as family and friends who can help you by perhaps looking after the children or helping you with everyday tasks such as housework, can make it much easier for you to juggle three large commitments and be successful with each one of them.

Delegate Business Tasks

Studying for a degree is likely to make you better at running your business, so now really is the time to focus on that and delegate more business tasks to others who you can trust to handle them well. Delegating as many tasks as possible will enable you to free up more time to study and revise and earn your degree. If you feel that you may be financially unable to do this, you might be able to receive some support in the form of financial aid, depending on your circumstances and the type of program that you are studying.

Juggling a business and a family can be difficult enough, but many entrepreneurs are also considering going back to college. These top tips will help you fit a degree around a busy home and work life.

January 23, 2017January 23, 2017

How to Balance Family, Business and Education

There is a lot you need to do as a parent and a business owner. You need to stay on top of the things happening with your business while keeping the family taken care of at all times. You also need to face challenges from the market and competitors, as well as problems that your loved ones are facing.

On top of that, you need to have a balanced life and continue to grow in order to reach your full potential. All of these things sound like too much to handle, don’t they? Well, a lot of successful business owners have done it before, and we are going to take a look at how you can balance your own life in this article.

Be Strict with Your Time

The moment you start bringing work home, you’ll never stop. Before you can move on to the next steps, you need to make sure you can organize your time meticulously. Allocate a portion of your day for your family, and another for your business. You can then set aside some time for your own personal needs, as well as for learning; both of these elements are important if you want to achieve balance.

It is also important to remind yourself that you can’t expect to be 100% strict with schedules; what you need to focus on is setting boundaries. There will be time when your children need your attention during work hours. There will also be days when you have to get some more work done before you can go home. Keep the boundaries in place and you’re on the right track.

Take Advantage of Online Education

Online education has really transformed our education landscape. More business owners and professionals are realizing their dreams and pursuing higher degrees in various fields thanks to today’s best online courses and distance learning programs.

There are plenty of courses and universities to choose from, too. The University of South Dakota, for instance, has a wide range of business and finance degrees to choose from. Its nursing department is one of the reasons more people are returning to school, and these extra students are helping to solve the South Dakota nursing shortage.

Online degrees are very flexible. As long as you can allocate an hour every day for studying, you can choose to study at any time and from anywhere. This will be the second step towards a more balanced life.

Get Help and Learn to Delegate

You have help! As a parent and a business owner, there are a lot of people that can help you complete important tasks. In fact, thinking that you can do everything yourself is a big mistake; one that many business owners still make.

Invest time and energy on finding the right people and keeping them close. The more you can delegate, the less you have to worry about smaller things. You can direct your energy towards bigger challenges instead. You can even start thinking creatively and find new ways to grow your business. At this point, you will have a balanced life.

January 23, 2017

Why Your Small Business Needs To Trash The Cash Register & Go POS

Running a small business is no easy feat, which is why as a business owner, you need as many beneficial factors on your side as possible. When it comes to growing your business, your efforts should run the gamut: from rebranding your website to to creating a loyalty program, opportunities to improve are boundless.

One way to improve and increase your long-term sales is to convert from a cash register to a solid point of sale system. Many times, it’s difficult for small business owners to make this transition because they’re accustomed to dealing with cash registers and afraid of dealing with the learning curve of POS. However, the slight challenges of adjusting to POS far outweigh the cash register in value. This year, make it a goal to get rid of the clunky calculating machine of the past and upgrade to a technologically savvy platform.

Understanding the Difference Between A Cash Register & POS

Both cash registers and POS systems are able to achieve the most basic use: processing cash orders. Cash registers employ a more manual change-giving system. Employees punch in the price cost, the dollar amount given, and provide the difference that appears on the screen. POS systems streamline this process using a scanner and eliminating the need for unnecessary manual inputs. Administering change is the only viable use of the cash register, but with retail now being primarily credit-based, this is largely unnecessary. Additionally, the most advanced credit card terminals aren’t compatible with traditional cash registers. To truly leverage the technology of today, having an all-around up-to-date system is important.

The Benefits of POS

Cash registers do not come equipped with the many tools POS systems do. One of the most beneficial aspects of POS is inventory management. Moving away from the paper-based record system helps business owners focus more on the marketing and managing side of the business as opposed to just keeping up with the day-to-day business operations. POS inventory management helps you understand what’s being moved, what’s available, and what you need more of. Because POS utilizes the SKU scan, you’ll be alerted when any particular item is running low, and these alerts are completely customizable.

Furthermore, POS systems offer a quicker checkout process. If there’s one thing a customer hates, it’s waiting. A survey conducted by Great Clips found that a third of customers will abandon the checkout line with no plans of returning if they are waiting in line for more than five minutes. Watching a customer walk out may not seem like a big deal, but keep in mind that these “isolated” incidents add up. Consider the amount of customers who walk out of a long line annually, and think about the purchase total of all those people combined. Then consider the long-term value of those customers who might have come back again had they had a better experience.

Choosing A POS System

Once you’ve made the decision to go the POS route, there are additional decisions you have to make, like deciding what type of POS system would work best for you and your employees. For example, if you’re interested in touchscreen POS systems, you should determine the pros and cons before making a commitment.

When choosing your system, begin by identifying your needs and making a list of goals. For instance, perhaps you want to begin an integrated loyalty program. In this case, you’d make sure your POS system supports this (many systems do). You’d also want to take note of the required hardware and how many units you’d need. This will help you determine overall costs.

Once you’ve compiled a short list of POS systems, compare them based on factors like costs, installation, and features. Speak to representatives for an idea of what their customer service teams are like, as you’ll likely have questions during the setup process.