Business Plus Baby

Keeping on top of technology has been a wild ride for small business owners in the last few years. It’s not stopping anytime soon, either! But here at Business Plus Baby I want to help small business owners embrace the changes rather than being afraid, overwhelmed or just left behind by them.

So today, let’s look at the the Internet of Things (IoT).

So what is the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things is connecting any device to the Internet, and to each other.  This could include the types of device we’ve had around our homes for decades such as washing machines, lamps and even coffee makers right up to wearable devices, smart phones and the components of industrial machines. And if you think this is some way off in the future you’d be wrong, according to analysts Gartner there will be over 26 billion connected devices by 2020.

In fact the IoT is already here. Last year Amazon launched its Dash service in the UK where you press a button on your washing machine to order replacement detergent. The button uses your wi-fi and a smartphone app to place an order at Amazon. It’s not just washing powder either, you can get buttons to order replacement supplies from printer ink to dog food, deodorant and mouthwash.

Here’s another example; if you need to get somewhere by car, your car could work out the best route to take based on your calendar. If you run into traffic your car could text the person you’re meeting to let them know you’ll be late.

How would this work for you as a small business owner?

It’s not too hard to visualise how this would work for a huge company like Amazon, but how would it work for a small business? It’s tempting to feel overwhelmed by how complex this seems, so first let’s consider the benefits. You could use IoT to reduce operating costs, for example if you start to automate tasks that you’ve previously done manually. That, in turn, could increase productivity. It could even help you expand into new markets or launch new product offerings.

A good way to get started is to use tools like Trello, Slack, OneNote and Google Drive to automate workflows for you. This will save you time on repetitive tasks and mean you spend less time digging around in your inbox because the information you need has already been sent to where you need to action it. You could also consider a digital personal assistant such as Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.

For more complex business systems you’re going to need a platform to handle your IoT business activities including your ad-hoc reporting and self-service reporting. As automation increases it becomes more important to monitor the status of your orders and other activities. Giving your customers or uses access to their own reports will cut down on the time you spend on customer service, too.

If you haven’t already explored the potential for using the Internet of Things for your business, why not give it a try now? Start by automating a simple but repetitive task and then you can develop from there.

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There will always be a point during your business that you decide on getting some extra things for the office or home. It could be an extra desk for a new employee, a new piece of furniture, or even some equipment such as a printer or machine. Whatever it is that you need to add to your existing space; it will most likely mean that you have to shuffle your home or office around to accommodate for it.

To make that job a little less stressful, here are some great tips you can take on board when looking to make room for new things.

Keep Things Minimalist

If you have a limited amount of space to work with in the first place, it can seem even more difficult to move things around and even consider buying anything new. However sometimes the best solution is to have a bit of a clear-out before you decide to buy an item and then you know exactly where it should go in your office. Use a storage unit from a company like Safestore to keep your items safe while you strip the room and paint the walls. Once you have a blank canvas you can measure a space for your equipment and then decide what items you will bring back into the remaining space. It could be that a few items are left in storage ready for you to sell or give to charity.

Shelves

If you want a place to store your items without having to buy a whole cabinet for it; stick to shelves in the wall instead. You can install shelves as high up as you like so they won’t get in the way while you are working, and it means that they will take up much less room in the office. You can use them to keep your folders with paperwork in, stationery and other small items.

Multi-purpose

If you only have a small space to work with, then the best thing you can possibly do is to find items which can have two purposes. This can be seating which has storage underneath, a chest which you can also use as a coffee table and loads more.There are tonnes of clever ideas and choosing something like this will save you so much space. An ottoman is the perfect addition to any room because it offers storage as well as the opportunity to sit down or hold things on top.

Get Hanging

Have you ever seen people hanging their pans up in the kitchen? Well, believe it or not you can do the same thing in your office to make room for new tools and equipment. Hanging baskets on the walls can provide the perfect place for small items which would otherwise make your office look cluttered and chaotic. They can even be made into a lovely feature of the office and add colour to the room. You could even hang items on the wall such as fabrics or tools which you need for your business.

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Working to a budget is a reality of life as a business owner. You can only do as much as your bank balance or overdraft will allow. For new business owners who are not yet familiar with the concept of running costs, there is a lot to understand. What are the most important costs, what makes them the price that they are and can they be reduced in any way?

The typical business will have several common expenses, the first of which is staff. Either by paying yourself a salary or hiring someone else to do tasks like admin, someone needs to be paid to do work. Salaries are often the biggest running cost a business will have to cover, but is arguably the most important.

Budget-wise, the average UK startup business spends £22,756 in its first year. If you pay yourself, most of that money will come in the form of a salary, but what other expenses should be accounted for?

Office and Transport

Office space is usually the second biggest expense, unless you are running your company from home. In most cases, renting an office or warehouse would involve making weekly or monthly payments. For accounting purposes, this is extremely useful, as the amount paid in rent would be unlikely to change over at least a 12-month period.

The cost of transport can be a little more difficult to calculate, whether it’s for meeting clients or delivering goods to customers. The price of fuel fluctuates on a daily basis, while there are costs besides buying a company vehicle such as insurance and maintenance to consider.

Getting value for money is important for keeping down car running costs. This means finding the cheapest or best-value insurance policy, seeking the cheapest gas station and, most importantly, the best vehicle you can afford. Looking out for hidden costs like servicing is also useful.

Utilities and Raw Materials

Regardless of where you run your business, a running cost you will have to pay for is energy. Without it, you would not be able to run a computer or make your products. Like you would with transport and office space, it is possible to find a cheaper deal. The average electricity bill for a small business in the UK is £5,100; switching to another tariff could slash that cost.

Finally, there are the raw materials your business may need. If, for example, you run a printing business, look for the cheapest paper and ink you can buy. It is worthwhile to look at different suppliers’ costs before choosing one. Should they hike up their prices, do not be afraid to take your business elsewhere.

Image: TheDigitalWay

 

Many people can get a job as a restaurant manager. But it takes a special skillset to work professionally and effectively as a successful restaurant manager, commanding a good wage and developing a long-lasting career in the industry. All successful restaurant managers, no matter their personality or where they work, have a specific set of skills that they bring to their work, which make them effective and more likely to progress further in their careers.

Take a look at the following key attributes that help form a highly successful restaurant manager today.

1. Ability to Manage Stress

There is no doubt that the restaurant manager role can be stressful. The job can be demanding and the stresses can come from all directions. You need to be able to manage multiple tasks without feeling overwhelmed. You should be able to manage your stress levels so that stress doesn’t get in the way of running a successful business.

2. Multi-Tasking and Organisational Skills

Every hotel recruitment head looks for a restaurant manager with the honed ability to manage multiple tasks at the same time. You need to be able to demonstrate your skills at staying highly organised even when you are doing more than one thing at a time.

3. Passion for the Job and for Customer Service

If you don’t really like people, this is not the job for you. If you’re just doing it as a means of making some money, you are unlikely to progress far in your career. Demonstrate that you have the passion for the role and that you are determined to make a great career and succeed in a people-facing role.

4. Creativity

You need a good amount of creativity and inventiveness when you are taking on a restaurant manager role. New ideas from you help keep the business fresh and making a profit. Staying creative also gives you greater job satisfaction and keeps your knowledge up to date and keeps your business ahead of the local competition.

5. Ability to Develop Relationships

You should know how important it is to cultivate business and customer relationships in order to develop loyalty and brand. Make sure that you can generate good feedback and create long-standing relationships that lead to repeat business and satisfied customers. Customer service should be focused on bringing people back again, not just on solving immediate issues.

Being a successful restaurant manager is challenging, but at the same time extremely rewarding. It’s a dynamic, ever-changing work environment in which you’ll need to stay alert and responsive to the needs of all involved: staff and guests alike. Do you have what it takes to be a successful restaurant manager?

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The packaging is a very important part of a product, since it differentiates it from the competition, it identifies the manufacturer, and it creates brand identity. This will help the product be appealing to buyers when compared on the shelf with competing products.

A very important part of packaging that also protects the product, is the label, as it provides additional information, and in many cases, is required by law in each country.

So, here is a guide which will help you to make your labels effectively.

Remember to include any mandatory information required by law in association with your product. If you consider its inclusion from the beginning, it will be easier to choose an ideal place to position it, and you won’t have to redesign or alter the general design of the label later. Also consider the type of labelling machine which will be used, so as to design a suitable label.

Proper label design will attract consumers. It will also provide key information on the brand, manufacturer, content, ingredients, suggestions for use, care, etc. The price of a well-designed label can be justified, as it highlights quality and adds value.

Labels for food:

As a minimum you should include the following information as part of the packaging:

• Product name and denomination.
• Ingredients: ordered from highest to lowest, with respect to the initial weight.
• Net content (on the face of the container).
• Name, business name and particulars of the producer / importer.
• Country of origin and / or manufacture.
• Authorisation, as required by the Ministry of Health or the entity in charge.
• Production date and expiration date.
• Lot number, to be able to follow and monitor products, and facilitate internal management.
• How to use, cook and store. (You can also add small tips or recipes that can help customers)
• Nutritional information

A very commonly used and legal strategy, used by many healthy products, is to include portion information, when each package can contain up to 3 or 4 servings.

The first thing to include in the nutritional tables is the size of the portion and the number of portions present in the content declared on the package. This is followed by the calories contained in the unit of intake.

The following is the required information regarding macro nutrients, expressed in grams, in the following order:

• Total fat.
• Saturated fats.
• Trans-fat.
• Dietary fibre.
• Sodium (mg).

Followed last by vitamins and supplements that are contained in the product.

And don’t forget to highlight any information you believe can add more value according to your consumers, such as “without sugar”, “without preservatives”, “light”, “without cholesterol”, or any other thing that can help you create brand preference.

Clothing labels:

These should include, as a minimum, the following information:

• The materials and percentages with which the product was manufactured
• The country of origin
• Care of the garment
• Sizing

Finally, you can also mention additional value information for customers, such as that employees were not exploited, that sales help a certain charity or organization in a developing country, etc.

Remember, in general, how important it is that your product label adds value.