It’s not just homes that can benefit from curb appeal, it’s an important factor for businesses too. If your business relies on people walking through the door, such as a store or a restaurant, then that passing street trade is important. Making sure your business looks great from the outside can help tempt people inside and help your business grow.
Read more about maintaining the curb appeal of your business below.
If you’re dealing with various issues that need repairing, then make sure you get them done. From dirty or broken windows to a filthy sidewalk directly outside of your property, then it’s time for some maintenance. You might also want to look at deeper cleaning and maintenance – sewer jetting can unclog your pipes and drains to prevent flooding, as well as get rid of nasty smells. Spend time figuring out which jobs need doing and don’t put them off any longer.
Update your signage
Is your signage looking a little dated? Perhaps it’s time for an upgrade. There are several signage trends that you should consider adopting to help give your business a fresh, contemporary look. Keep things simple and try using a new color palette to help add some interest to your storefront.
Dress the outside
Could the outside of your business do with some freshening up? Then give the outside a style treatment. Stylish, eye-catching storefronts are popular with passersby – who doesn’t love a cool photo opportunity? Try pretty florals or invest in some quirky outdoor furniture to help breathe some life into the front of your business. You can adapt many fantastic ideas for window displays and help turn heads as they walk by on the street.
Be more visible
Is your business visible enough to tempt people inside? Bright lights, some ‘open/closed’ signs and maybe some outside A boards or chalkboards can help drive footfall into your business. Visibility is a must to ensure that people know that you’re open, as well as what kind of business you are. Keep things friendly and welcoming rather than closed off – if your business looks dark and lifeless from the outside then it’s unlikely that people will step inside.
Being visible can also mean being physically present outside of your business. If you have any deals or promotions to push, it doesn’t hurt to have an employee stood outside flyering or talking to customers as they walk past. First impressions are important for any business, but when your business is reliant on people walking in from the outside, it’s even more important that you get it right. From fixing the obvious problems to wowing street traffic with your signage and window displays, there are plenty of things you can do to make improvements. And what’s next once you’ve got them through the door? Maintain that customer journey by making your store safe and providing an excellent service to everyone.
Sometimes when you run your own business, you will need to travel for various meetings, conferences, and industry trade fairs. It’s a good sign if you are busy with traveling for all these kinds of things as it shows that you are in demand! However, you might be a bit worried about how all of this travel is going to impact your company. After all, you will be leaving your team without their leader!
There isn’t too much reason to worry about trying to run a business while on the road, though. There are plenty of things you can do to ensure it goes as well as possible. Read on to find out more!
Do Manage Your Time Well
First of all, you need to know just how important it is to manage your time well. Sure, you are away so that you can attend various meetings and conferences, but if you are clever with your time, then you should be able to squeeze in a bit of work as well. The best way to figure out when you can do some work is to write a plan for every day. Figure out when you are booked up with meetings, and you should see how much free time you have. See if you can fit in an hour of work into this free time.
Don’t Forget To Keep In Touch With The Team Back At The Office
It’s really worth trying to keep up to date with everyone back in the office. That way, you can tell them how it’s been going with you in your meetings, and they can update you with news from the office. They might tell you of some developments that mean you need to change a pitch for a meeting slightly. Not only that, though, but this will give you peace of mind knowing that everyone is still working hard even in your absence!
IT networks have a tendency to go wrong at the most inopportune moment. You can guarantee that your office will experience some technical issues while you are away and aren’t able to fix things. To make sure that doesn’t happen, you could pass over your IT network to a firm that offers managed IT services. They will be able to offer an around-the-clock helpdesk support service, so your employees can call them for help and advice if anything should go wrong.
Don’t Neglect Being Transparent With Employees And Clients
It’s important that you are open with your communication while you are away. That counts for both clients and employees. You need to let your clients know that you will be traveling so you might only be checking your emails sporadically. It’s also important to keep your employees up to date with everything that happens in your meetings and when you are on the road, just in case you learn something that could impact the projects they are working on.
Hopefully, all of these tips make it easier for you to run your company on the road!
For many years now, the level of conflict around the globe has been on the decline. This fact, however, often surprises many people used to consuming the endlessly negative news cycle, which seems to indicate that the world is a dangerous and unstable place.
Granted, we still live in a world where conflict flares up from time to time, but the overall trend is one of decline. The world has actually been getting a lot more peaceful according to the raw data.
The Global Peace Index Says That The Middle East Is Getting Safer
If you follow Middle East news, then you’re used to the idea of conflict. In 2003 there was the US invasion of Afghanistan followed two years later by coalition forces invading Iraq because of alleged weapons of mass destruction. Then there was the ongoing civil war in Syria, a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, not to mention unrest in Saudi Arabia and the war in Yemen.
All of this together makes the world seem like a dangerous place with constant ongoing wars. But the truth is that there has been a continual war somewhere on Earth and that today’s wars, however horrible, are less widespread than they were in the past.
Several factors are driving the trend towards lower conflict. Perhaps the most powerful is the rise of democracy, not just in the West, but all over the world. There are more democracies today than in history, and that number continues to grow with each passing decade. The era of authoritarian governments appears to be coming to an end, and with it, the ability of elites to wage wars.
The renowned development economist Amartya Sen made the observation many years ago that no two democracies have ever gone to war. His view holds to this day, making it much less likely that we’ll see armed conflict in the future. It’s almost impossible today, under the current political setup, to imagine two democratic countries, say New Zealand and Canada, going to war for any reason.
Another factor that’s driving the reduction in military conflict is the fall in population displacement. Despite the news from Sudan and the displacement in Syria, the total number of people worldwide forced to become refugees is on the decline.
What Are The Most Peaceful Countries In The World?
The Institute for Economics and Peace compiles the list of the most peaceful countries in the world, a New York think tank. It ranks countries based on their level of military spending, the number of refugees, the level of internal and eternal conflict, and the export of weapons.
According to their metrics, the most peaceful place in the world is Iceland, an island nation of a little over 300,000 people. The next most peaceful place is New Zealand, followed by Canada, Japan and parts of Western Europe. The least peaceful places are those that you hear about regularly in the news: Sudan, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Keeping yourself, staff, and your products safe and secure inside your store should be a top priority every single day. The reasons for doing this are seemingly endless, but most importantly to minimise the chance of loss (product or profit) and the health and wellbeing of your workforce. There are many risks associated with a common retail or convenience store, most of which can be prevented or at least minimised with a little bit of thought and a few precautionary measures. It shouldn’t be too hard to ensure security throughout your store, but if you think you may need a little help then carry on reading to find out where to start.
Protecting Products From Theft
A large amount of profit can be lost through not protecting your products properly. If you fail to install any kind of precautionary measures, thief’s will see your store as an easy target and you will start to see your stock dwindle. This is also the same situation for untrustworthy staff, as they will see your lack of security as a chance to pick some extra cash or products. One of the best ways to prevent these situations from happening is by installing some kind of CCTV system throughout your store. With the extra bonus of security camera POS integration you can keep tabs on what is happening at the till, as this is where most of the money you receive gets handled and stored each day, and is usually the way out of your store for customers. If you carry some more expensive products, you may want to think about fixing electronic tags to said items that can only be removed by you and will trigger some kind of alarm if they are taken from the premises. This will decrease your levels of theft drastically, because the tag will be unremovable for the average person and will then render the product completely without value or function. These tags are not expensive to purchase and do not cause damage to the products they are attached to, so it really is a no brainer.
Managing Crowds On Busy Days
If your store is on a high street or in a city center, its probable that at times you will feel somewhat overwhelmed with the number of customers you serve in any given day, especially on weekends. This can bring a whole host of different risks and dangers, including damage to products and safety concerns for staff. If too many people pile into your store, there’s also an increased likelihood of one of your customers being hurt too. Any stock on display could be knocked over, produce could fall off shelves, and staff will have too many people to watch to notice any bad behaviour or stealing. One of the best ways to combat these problems is to hire a security guard or 2 during your peak hours, to limit the number of customers that are able to enter and ensure the safety and security of everyone inside when its gets a little busier. They can also act as a deterrent for any hopeful thieves, as they will see your extra efforts and probably take their chances elsewhere.
Security Outside Working Hours
Your store in still under threat when you close the doors at the end of each trading day. As soon as you and your staff leave the premises, the only level of security you were able to keep is gone you won’t discover any foul play until when you arrive the next morning. There are a few easy ways that you can keep your store safe outside working hours, one of the best being the installation of roller shutters. They can provide you with an extra layer of protection from the outside world, and work to keep your store and it’s contents secure and inaccessible. Simply locking the door behind you isn’t enough to protect your business, especially if your store is lined with glass windows that could easily be smashed or broken. By making the investment, you can have confidence that you will return the next day to find your store in the same condition as yesterday, with the shutters having successfully done their job through the night. Another great way of protecting your business when no one is around is by installing a security camera on the outside of the premises. This can be streamed through onto your phone or laptop, so you can check your store at any time, and also keep a record of anything if it were to happen.
General Healthy & Safety
Everyday smaller risks should still be taken into consideration, as they can be just as dangerous as bigger situations if not handled properly. Consider any possible fire hazards around your store, and make sure that you have the right equipment to deal with any kind of blaze that may break out. Invest in the suitable signage, such as wet floor signs to notify any customers of a potential slip risk in their path. Give your staff the sufficient training when it comes to using ladders or any other equipment that might pose a danger, so they can feel confident and ready whenever the time comes to use them. It’s useful to just take a slow walk around your store every so often, so that you can assess the different risks to customers and staff, and then take steps to resolve or minimize the issues you discover.
Hopefully the information above can help you ensure maximum levels of safety inside your store. With a little bit of forward thinking and the installation of some new security technology, you can be confident that your workforce and products are out of harm’s way at all times. Even a small issue has the potential of becoming a massive problem, so don’t overlook anything raised by staff or customers and be committed to finding a resolution. Don’t forget about the security of your online store if you have one, as there are equally as many different dangers out on the internet too!
History is a wonderful thing. Records which have been kept over the years and events which have happened have all come together to make us who we are today, and this is something amazing. One event which is particularly relevant right now as the anniversary was mere days ago is D Day. It saw the allied forces of the UK and USA amongst others storm the beaches at Normandy to save countless lives. To honour that today we are taking a look at some of the facts you should know about D Day.
1. D-Day launched operation overlord.
On the 6th June 1944 allows forces launched a large naval, air and land assault against the Nazis in France. This was codenamed operation overlord and it was the beginning of the end of the war for the German side. By the end of the day on the 6th June the allied forces had managed to establish a camp on the beach and this allowed them to start really helping French soldiers.
2. It opened a second front against Germany
As the war started and became more and more aggressive in 1941, allied forces can together and decided that the needed to be stopped. The idea of opening a second front would allow France to be freed from the Nazis and this would put more pressure on Germany and the Nazis. The idea would be that this assault would drain German resources and also cut them off from access to key sites.
3. It took a lot of planning
If you think it is hard to get a team of people in your office to come together and complete a task; imagine how hard it is for different countries to band together in a time of need. D day took a lot of planning and was first drawn up in July of 1943. This means it took almost a year to happen.
4. It was international
As you will know, the allied forces of World War II featured a few countries working together to help the Germans be defeated. It took the efforts of all of these people to come up with and plan d day so that it would be a success.
5. It remains the largest in history
As far as a collaborative effort of naval, air and land forces goes: this remains the largest in history and the most significant one of all. The operation took the skills of many forces to use again the Germans for different goals. After midnight on 6th June, 18,000 paratroopers were the first to hit the beaches. After this forces flew over heard, and boats also began to travel in bringing soldiers with them.
6. Germans tried to defend
Germans had already invaded much of france at this point in the war and this meant that they were ready to defend themselves against an attack. Germany tried to defend the coast with something known as the ‘Atlantic Wall’. However their defences were not very good.
7. It wasn’t just allies who were present that helped
The reason why this event was possible and so effective is because of all of the efforts of allied forces in and around the time of the operation. There were many allied forces who made efforts to weaken the Germans before D-Day and it was this that made a difference.
8. Normandy is a great place
Because of the significance of this event in history, many people will only really travel to Normandy for the memorials. However there are a lot of reasons to visit Normandy and it can be a great place to visit for a holiday.
9. It was the most significant
Out of all of the events during the war, it is safe to say that this one was the true turning point for the allies and it provided them with the strength to be able to go on and eventually liberate the continent of Europe. Now that 75 years have passed, we can look back and see that this day made a huge impact on the world today.
10. It’s not the only one
D day isn’t the name of a specific event, it is simply a general term for an operation of this sort and scale. When we wonder How Many WW2 Veterans are Still Alive? We need to think also that there were many of these kind of events happening throughout the war and all of them had an impact on the final result.
Recent Comments