Business Plus Baby

The best way to think about a business is as a gigantic mechanism, something like an old clock with various interlocking gears all turning perfectly in tandem in order to keep the whole thing ticking. As long as each and every gear is working, things are going to get along just fine. But as soon as one gear stops working, the whole thing can inevitably grind to a halt. Of course, some gears are going to be more important than others, and few are more important than IT. While it’s been somewhat important in business for more than twenty years, it’s now an indispensable part of just about any business in the modern age. If something is wrong with your IT, it can sink your business entirely. In order to keep that from happening, here are a few ways that you can make sure that your IT is always an asset that keeps your business ticking away like clockwork.

Outsourcing

One of the best ways to make sure that your IT is always working is to take it out of your hands entirely. By putting it in the hands of an IT consultancy such as Prosyn then you’re able to rest easy knowing that it’s well taken care of. An outside company can not only take the responsibility of your IT away, allowing you to focus on other things, but it can also ensure that the people working on it have exactly the kind of up to date expertise that it really needs.   

Specific training

Of course, there are always going to ways in which your employees and yourself need to interact with your IT on a daily basis. As much as you might like you, you can’t have someone else deal with every part of your business. Because of that, you need to make sure that you’re providing adequate and specific training to each and every member of your staff. If you don’t then mistakes are going to end up being made and trying to go back and fix those kinds of things often takes up a lot more time, resources, and money than if you had taken the time to train your employees properly in the first place.

Streamlining

One bad habit that far too many business owners end up getting into is that they try to use as many new pieces of technology as possible in a misguided attempt to stay ahead of the competition. The reality is that you should only have the IT in place that your business really needs. Anything else is going to be a waste of time at best, and the cause of some serious problems at worse. Carefully assess the needs of your business and make sure that you’re only using IT that will actually help improve your business on a day to day level. Streamlining really is the key to any successful business.

Of course, this isn’t to say that IT is the only part of your business that you should pay attention to. As with the metaphor of the clock, if each and every gear isn’t working properly, then there’s a chance that the whole thing could end up falling down entirely.

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Promotional marketing is an excellent technique for positioning your brand, and gaining greater brand recognition. It’s a series of products, or actions, that have a common characteristic, for example, the name of the company, visual aspects, specific colours, etc. that help establish a relationship between your brand and customers.

That something extra

The purpose is to achieve greater visibility for a product or brand, through additional incentives. The ultimate objective is to drive a greater volume of sales in the specific targeted niche. What the public perceives is the product and the added “promotional plus” resulting in a product with added valued, which, in many cases, can become a true motivator in the purchase decision-making process.

The recipe

In all cases, the key is to establish a short-term concept based on the promotion. It should be time-limited otherwise the public will perceive it as just one more (permanent) characteristic of the product, therefore detracting from the intended stimulus of the promotion. It’s a simple concept: a product + promotional plus + time-limited offer.

You need to consider the kind of ‘plus’ incentive that you want to use to support your branding campaign. The additional stimulus should be chosen according to your product, or offer, and the target audience. You should carefully research the attitudes of your intended audience, and consider the positioning of your brand, the incentive chosen, the means to communicate the promotion, and the mechanism by which consumers will access it.

Developing a strategy

The various promotional activities should follow a planned strategy, and be part of your company’s marketing and communication plan. Simply using promotional merchandise without the correct planning could produce little effect, or even adverse results. A comprehensive strategy is essential.

The starting point should be the analysis of your business intelligence data regarding the market, customers, etc. This will allow you to identify the most appropriate strategy, and thus a successful approach. Secondly, you must know the target audience, and consolidate the specific actions that will attract attention to your brand, either to make it known, or to contribute to greater customer loyalty.

This kind of marketing offers a wide range of possibilities and ways for you to make your brand unforgettable. You can organise a promotion with a gift, which can be obtained in different ways, instant POS delivery, accumulation of points, labels, participation in contests, games, etc. It will basically depend on the product that you want to give, the audience, and the strategy which will be implemented. However, overall, the primary aim should be to try and reach the greatest number of customers, and potential new customers possible within the target audience.

Are you ready to make your brand more visible?

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As a business person, you’re probably used to being independent; you probably think that if you want something to be done right, you need to do it yourself, as the old saying goes. However, if you actually want to see your family from time to time, you simply can’t do it all, and anyway, collaboration is a fantastic tool for helping businesses grow.

Check out these very important reasons why, as a business owner, you need to start collaborating more:

Access to Expertise

I’m sure you’re a capable, intelligent individual, but that doesn’t mean that you’re great at everything. Sure, you might be able to do a passable job of setting up your server, for example, but can you do it as well as Mustard IT? Probably not. Although collaborating with another company or service provider might cost you a  little extra upfront, it will give you access to a greater level of expertise, which means your business will be better set up than many others, and you’ll probably save money by not having to do various fixes over the long-term, too.

Inspiration

When you spend time with other entrepreneurs, experts and business people, you learn more about their processes; how they do their work and what drives them forward. This can inspire you to try out new ideas and improved techniques in your own business, which will stop you from stagnating and may just help you hit upon that one big idea that propels your business further than you ever imagined possible.

Build a Stronger Network

When you collaborate with others on various projects, you meet new people (obviously), and these people become part of your network. You can then leverage those contacts to forge new relationships with people you may previously never have had access to, and as I’m sure you know, the more people you’re acquainted with in the world of business, the more opportunities are available to you.

You Learn New Skills

Collaborating with others is also a great way to boost your own education. Everyone has at least one skill to teach or one vital piece of wisdom to impart, so if you isolate yourself and try to be a lone wolf, imagine all of the things you’ll miss out on!

You Can Make Savings

It might seem counterintuitive to say that hiring a freelancer to help you with your graphic design or a content writer to help you whip your website into shape could save you money, but it really can because, not only will it free up some of your time (which you can use to grow your business in other ways) but you’ll get a more professional job that will bring the money in.

It’ll Solve Your Problem

If you’ve been struggling to come up with a piece of software that will automate your print process, or you’re having a hard time working out the one design flaw in your otherwise perfect product, then obviously, collaborating with a third party could be just the thing you need to iron out the wrinkles and go on to make more money.

The bottom line: collaboration rocks.

 

Working a business around a family is not an easy feat. Not only are you balancing people and numbers for your livelihood, you’re balancing people and numbers for your home life. It’s a difficult thing to separate, especially if the children aren’t yet old enough to be in school. It’s a balance and if you own your own business, you know that it’s a cutthroat place to be. The competition is fierce, so you will know that keeping on top of things and being a force of nature is an absolute must. The trouble here, is that you cannot always do it all.

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Balancing business, family and your personal life is tough, and this is where something has to give. You can’t let go of the family, you need to have a personal life and your business is keeping your roof over your head. The answer is to let some of your business go a little, and outsource to others. Outsourcing has – for a long time – been the right practice for businesses. It allows you to focus on what you are good at in your own right while keeping the rest of the business afloat.  Accountants like Atkinsons are those that work independently, so outsourcing your finance and bookkeeping could be an investment you never regret. There are many ways you can outsource, but a lot of people question why they should outsource a part of a business that they are fiercely protective of. Realistically, outsourcing can be fantastic for your business. We’ve got some solid reasons why it’s a great idea for you:

Costs. Depending on the department, outsourced work often ends up in places that is far more cost-effective, such as overseas. IT work from a distance has come on in leaps and bounds due to the developments in the digital world and you could save yourself a fair bit of money simply by letting go of pieces to others.

Timeliness. Telecommuting has become easier than ever over time, so working with independent companies for marketing, IT or finance has also become easier. You can connect and communicate from anywhere, to anywhere at any time. Work can be monitored from a distance so that you can keep an eye on it and as most outsourced work goes to freelancers, you can guarantee it done in a timely way.

Change. One thing that every business needs sometimes, is change. You don’t have to break up your business and outsource it all, nor do you have to relinquish total control, but as you become more successful, you need to be able to watch from a distance. Change for your business could be a huge positive, and getting the ideas from the perspective of other people is a nice way to see where you could learn something new for your own company.

Letting go doesn’t mean losing control and giving outsourcing a chance can mean big things for your company. Take the time to get to know your company from a distance and embrace something new!

For any business, big or small, having the right amount of funding is crucial. This is true whether your business has been running for a long time or whether you’re a business startup. Having a positive cash flow is crucial to your business’ day-to-day operations, and it can certainly be a big help in case of emergencies. But if you’d like to enhance or retain your business’ cash flow but you need to have certain office equipment such as a photocopier, you don’t need to dip into your precious funds just yet – there is a solution in the form of office equipment leasing. Here’s what you need to know about the benefits of leasing – and how you can free up your business funds by leasing a photocopier.

No lump sum

When you buy office equipment such as a photocopier, this can be a big expense. Photocopiers nowadays are not the least expensive equipment around, especially if you want a photocopier that has multi-functionality. When you lease your photocopier, however, you don’t have to deal with a big lump sum. Leasing a photocopier from companies such as CRS Document Solutions (specialists in photocopier leasing in Oxford) involves just paying a monthly sum, so you don’t have to worry about not having any cash or funds left over. This frees up your budget for other necessary expenditures, such as bills, employees’ salaries, investment opportunities, the purchase of stocks, and more. Rather than being left with very limited funding, you can still hold on to your funds and use it for other, more important purposes that can help you grow your business.

It helps with your budget

By leasing rather than buying a photocopier, you can have an easier time planning your budget as well. Since you haven’t used up a big sum from your funds, your budget can basically stay the same, and you don’t have to give up certain necessary items or expenses.

Better flexibility with your photocopier requirements

If you purchase your own photocopier, know this: it can quickly depreciate. In fact, office equipment, meaning electronic equipment, can depreciate much faster than other equipment simply because the industry is constantly coming up with newer and better equipment. When you lease a photocopier, you don’t have to worry about the equipment depreciating – in fact, you can have it upgraded as your needs change without worrying about the expense. All you have to do is let the leasing company know your new needs and requirements, and you’ll have a new photocopier in no time.

Leasing a photocopier, printer, and other office equipment has become an ideal solution for many businesses just because it brings some significant benefits. If you want to have a positive cash flow, better office equipment, and less hassle with maintenance or repairs, then photocopier leasing is definitely for you.

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