Smart Ways To Grow An Eco-Friendly Business

Smart Ways To Grow An Eco-Friendly Business

May 10, 2019

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The planet is in trouble. Every day you hear stories on the news of melting ice caps, extinct species, deforestation, and even worse. You can’t reverse these disasters yourself, but you can play a big part, especially where your business is concerned. When you operate your company in an environmentally-conscious way, it has positive effects on the world around, but can also lower operating costs. With that in mind, here are five smart ways to grow a green business.

1. Allow Flexible Work Schedules

The cost of lighting and heating an entire office is huge, which is why many new entrepreneurs try to put it off for as long as possible. Unfortunately, the damage that this space contributes to the planet is also significant. Introducing flexible work policies can remedy this issue. By allowing your team to work from home, even if for only part of the week, you’ll significantly reduce your energy bills. Your team also won’t need to travel to work, which lessens your impact further.

2. Install A Bike Rack

The cars you see commuting to work each morning are one of the biggest contributors to emissions, which cause damage to the ozone layer. If you can’t let your team work from home, then you should at least give them the option to travel to work in a green way by installing a bike rack. This is a relatively small investment, but one that can have positive results for everyone in your business. You can encourage cycling further by offering your team incentives to do so.

3. Switch To Efficient Equipment

Everyone knows that leaving equipment on unnecessarily wastes huge amounts of energy, but few people realize that you can consume more power than you need to even when these tools are in use. To avoid this, you should switch to newer, more efficient devices. Depending on your industry, you might also benefit from investing in condensate return pumps. These expenses will increase costs initially, but you’ll soon make money back in lower energy bills.

4. Sort Through The Trash

Throwing all of your rubbish and junk into a single bin may be convenient for you and your employees, but it isn’t a very ethical decision. After all, many different types of materials can be recycled these days, but, if you put all of your trash in the same place, then it will all go to rubbish dumps. A better choice would be to provide three bins – One for general waste, one of plastic, and another for paper. This ensures that at least some of your waste is disposed of properly.

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5. Turn To The Web

Initially, ink and paper may not seem particularly large costs, but, over time, they can have a huge impact on your budget, as well as the planet we call home. For this reason, you should try to limit the amount of paper that your business uses. Instead of printing pamphlets and flyers, you can send marketing emails and link to PDFs on your website. You can also store important documents on the cloud, rather than in filing cabinets, and take notes on phones and tablets.

With these smart tips, you can save money and the planet at the same time.

8 Steps To A Successful Dental Practice

8 Steps To A Successful Dental Practice

May 9, 2019

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Running a dental practice takes a lot more than just opening up for the day and welcoming in the patients. You need the right staff, the right location and the right equipment to be able to keep your patients and ensure that you get the reputation that you need to remain successful. It is not an easy thing to do, owning a dental practice, and while you can excel at giving your patients the right care, you cannot forget about the actual running of your practice.

At the end of the day, the management of your dental practice will leave more than just fillings with your patients. You need to leave a good impression on the people that walk through the door, and that starts on the very first day you decide to open a practice in the first place. Everything that you do for your dental practice will impact your numbers, and business needs to run smoothly if you hope to keep the patients coming through the door. So, if you want to ensure that you have the best-run dental practice in the area, then you need these eight tips below to remain successful.

Learn What Makes You Different

Almost every single dental practice out there share the same successful pieces of the puzzle, but to be able to stand out as a dental practice you have to be able to figure out what makes you unique compared to all the others. Not only that, but you have to market your advantages to prospective patients while protecting what makes you different all at the same time. You could offer various oral health services to other practices, or you could choose to learn about Zen Supplies and figure out the best dental accessories you could use for your business. Whatever it is that makes you different compared to other practices you have to own and market heavily. Promotion is essential, here, if you want to succeed.

Make It Somewhere Amazing To Work

The one reason that patients will always come back to the same places is because of the office culture that is created by you and your staff. It’s not just in the interviewing for the right personality fit, it’s the decor and atmosphere, too. How you run your entire practice will make it the right place to work, and you have the power to ensure it’s a productive and happy place to be. When you do this, you encourage the best staff and the right customers, and all you need is for everyone to be on the same page.

Take Note Of The Right Services To Offer

Patients want diversification and something edgy where possible to keep them interested. You are running a business, and so you have to ensure that your patients are happy. Comment cards and feedback forms can help you to pinpoint precisely what it is that you could be doing for your patients so that you can grow your patient base and expand your services even more than you could have hoped. Expansion doesn’t just strengthen your position in the market; it helps you to improve your value as a business.

Offer Excellent Financial Options

People need more than one option when it comes to paying for treatment. Some patients will be able to afford therapy in one swoop, and that’s wonderful, but others need payment plan options alongside their insurance. Patients are there because they need help and support, and you have the chance to give them that support regardless of their financial position. Be the dental practice that offers financial assistance to your patients, and you’ll have patient loyalty.

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Be More Than A Name

As with every business, you need to be more than the name you put outside. The patients will always come because they need a dentist, that’s never going to change, but if you want the patients to remain loyal, they need your engagement. They need to know that you care if they recommend you and you care whether they are happy with your services. You have to do more than just offer excellent greeting staff and reasonable rates of service; you need to be present and reach out on a level that will earn their trust and build a new relationship.

Grow Your Base

Getting those initial loyal customers through the doors is one thing, but growing that patient base is another ball game altogether. You need a stellar marketing plan, and you need to ensure that you are bringing in the patients regularly enough to keep your business relevant. Recommendations and word of mouth are still the best way to grow business from nothing into something wonderful, and you can rely on the internet to help. Your social media presence is going to help you to engage with people, which is going to up your patient referral rate.

Have The Right Scheduling Systems

Smooth moves in the office are going to help you to maintain productivity and minimize stress, and you can do this with the right dental scheduling systems. Your software will make the difference between having excellent service and one that remains frustrating and slow.

Send Your Staff On Training

One of the best ways to create a loyal workforce is to ensure that you offer them something that keeps them on staff. Training is one of those things, especially when the team is the main point of contact. The way that they engage with patients is just as important as the way that you engage with people, so you need to ensure that your staff is professional and communicative at all times. Continued training and education are essential all round, and a dental front desk should be of the best possible quality for your office to be successful.

 

Take the time to plan your practice to ensure you put patients at the very core of your business. The happier they are, the better you will do.

 

Responsibly Removing Your Business’ Waste

Responsibly Removing Your Business’ Waste

May 9, 2019

 

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As a small business owner, you’re going to have a whole lot on your mind. You’re likely to have a seemingly never-ending to-do list and you’re going to be dedicating most of your attention to things that will push your business forward – product design and development, manufacturing, packaging, market research, advertising and marketing… the list goes on and on. But it’s also important that you pay due attention to areas of your business that may usually fly under your radar. Waste removal and disposal is an extremely important factor in any business – big or small – and it’s absolutely essential that you do tackle it and ensure that waste is being disposed of appropriately. This will ensure that working spaces are clean and that you are complying to special regulations that your business may have to align to. Let’s take a moment to look at a few different areas to help get you started in the right direction!

 

Recycling Paper Waste

 

If you’re running a business with an office, chances are that you’re going to generate a whole lot of paper waste throughout the working year. Of course, for the sake of the environment, you should aim to minimise your office’s paper usage anyway. Go paperless with documents, use emails instead of sending letters, and cut down in any other way that you can. For paper waste that is produced, you should try recycling. This means that the paper can, at least, be reused rather than more trees having to be cut down to accommodate our businesses. Put bins specifically designated for paper waste in your office spaces and ensure that employees know to use them. Arrange for these to be collected by recycling agencies. When recycling paper waste, you do need to make sure to bear your customers and other individual’s privacy in mind. Make sure any documents with personal information on them are appropriately shredded before being placed in the paper recycling bin.

 

Recycling Other Waste

 

While paper tends to be the most used recyclable resource in offices, it’s important that you consider recycling any other waste that your business produces. If it can be recycled, make sure to recycle it! Ink cartridges, water bottles, excess food packaging from employee lunches – the potentials are endless. Make sure to provide appropriate bins for recyclable materials to be separated for collection.

 

Removing Construction Waste

 

The majority of businesses will have construction work carried out on them at some point or another. Not all construction companies will remove leftover materials and other waste on your behalf. If you find that you have a lot of material (gravel, rubble, etc) to dispose of you need to look into professional removal. This kind of material can’t just be thrown in the usual bin – that’s if you could even fit it into a usual bin. Instead, look into cheap bin hire where the waste can be safely stored in a strong bin and removed to an appropriate site elsewhere.

 

Disposing of Food Waste

 

There are plenty of businesses out there that dispose of a whole lot of food waste or edible waste. More obvious businesses include restaurants, cafes, and other establishments that prepare and serve food. Less obvious examples include any business that disposes of employees’ food waste from the staff room (leftover lunches and old tea bags and coffee grounds, etc). It’s extremely important that you dispose of this sort of matter responsibly. Remember that when businesses are built, humans are consistently encroaching further and further onto wild animals’ territory, so it’s really not all too surprising that many creatures will start roaming around your business premises in search of food. Where else do they have to find something to eat? While they will generally stay away from people, it’s still a good idea to be extra careful when disposing of any food waste. Ditching bags outside will just result in the bags being ripped open. This is messy and unpleasant to deal with when you and your employees return to work in the morning. Make sure you have sealable and lockable food waste bins and that you arrange for them to be delivered by appropriate services.

 

Garden Waste

 

Increasing numbers of business owners are investing more time into developing gardens around their commercial properties. There are various reasons for this. Not only is it a great pastime, but it can make your business a whole lot more appealing to customers, clients, employees, partners, and all of the other people who work together to make you a profit. But remember that garden waste can’t just be thrown in with your usual waste. Many collections will refuse to take garden waste away. Make sure to collect all garden waste up in biodegradable bags and to dispose of them according to the regulations set by your local council.

 

These are just a few areas of waste disposal that you should focus on at some point or another when it comes to running a small business. There are, of course, other areas that you should look into too – these may be more niche and specific to your own business and the field that it operates within. Medical waste, nuclear waste, and other hazardous waste, for example, will have more stringent and regulated rules that you have to abide by. But hopefully, the above information will get you off to a good start! Sure, this may not be the most thrilling area of your business to focus on, but it is an area that needs to be considered!

Ways To Spend Quality Time With Your Children Without It Costing A Small Fortune

Ways To Spend Quality Time With Your Children Without It Costing A Small Fortune

May 8, 2019

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With busy schedules such as school and work, modern life seems to make it more difficult to spend quality time with our children. Not to mention that technology really gets in the way a lot as many children have at least one device and they can often seem more interested in living in virtual worlds behind a screen than in seeing what’s going on in the world around them.

Then there’s the aspect of cost. Almost everything seems to come with a hefty price tag, and whether you have one child or a few to entertain, it can really mount up quickly and make spending time together a luxury instead of a priority.

In this post, we’ve shared some really fun activities you can do with your children that will help you spend quality time together without it costing you a small fortune because these activities are either very low cost, or completely free.

Go camping:

Camping is something that’s pretty much a perfect activity for the whole family to enjoy and really helps children to develop a sense of adventure and connect to nature.

The great thing about camping is you can do it pretty much anywhere, and you don’t have to go far in order to make the most of the great outdoors. From national parks, camping grounds, and even your own garden are all places you can pitch up a tent and enjoy the experience of sleeping under the stars.

Making a point to take a camping trip once a month or every few months for one night or a weekend is a really great way for you to spend quality time with your children that doesn’t cost a lot of money at all.

Have picnics:

Like camping, picnics are easy to do and something you can do anywhere for very little money. You don’t need a fancy picnic basket and expensive foods to enjoy a great picnic and spend some quality time with your children. You can even make it more fun by preparing the food for your picnic with your children, and this is a great way to encourage them to eat healthier foods, such as fruit and vegetables or even just new, healthier snacks that they haven’t tried before.

Go fishing:

If you live near a lake, the sea, or a river that allows you to fish, then this can be the perfect activity to enjoy with your children. It’s not only educational, but will teach them certain skills, such as how to fly fish for trout, is quite a relaxing activity and doesn’t cost anything other than your equipment and maybe any permits you need, but in general these are pretty low cost, and you can find different types of fishing reels online at various price points.

Attend a class together:

If you and your child share any common interests or hobbies, then taking a class, such as cooking, sports, or even a language class together can be a great way to spend some quality time together whilst doing something that’s productive. Many classes are subsidized through local community schemes, so they certainly don’t have to cost a lot.

Safety Tips for a Long Road Trip Over Summer

Safety Tips for a Long Road Trip Over Summer

May 7, 2019

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If you are getting ready for a road trip over the summer, whether for business or for pleasure, then there are plenty of things to be planning for. The route, pit-stops, planning what to pack, and driving safely are all things to be thinking about. So one of the things that you can think about doing is making sure that it is a fun and safe drive, regardless of where you’re going. So here are some top safety tips to help you plan, have fun, but be safe.

Buckle Up!

This is something that might seem really simple and basic, but making sure that you buckle your seatbelt is such an important one; it can save your life. So even if you’re going to be driving for a long time and the seatbelt can feel a little uncomfortable, then you need to remember to buckle up. Accidents in a car or truck is one of the number one cause of death in the US, as any trucking expert could tell you. But when you wear a seat belt, you reduce the risk of injury by half. So everyone in the vehicle should be buckling up!

Give the Car a Clear Check

Before you head off on a long journey, then you need to check if your car is road worthy. One thing to do before you go on a long journey is to check a few specific things on your car. It could be a good idea to check at a local garage if you’re not too sure what you’re looking for. Otherwise, you could quite likely be able to do things yourself. Some of the things that you should be checking are:

  • Checking your tire pressure
  • Look at and check the tread levels on the tires
  • The oil levels in the car need to be checked too
  • Are the wiper blades working, just in case you experience some hazardous weather

It is so important to make sure that you deal with anything before it gets worse, so if after these checks there are a few things left wanting, then get them resolved before you head off on your journey.

Make Sure You Rest

Driving when you are tired is something that is really dangerous for you, as well as for other road users. When you feel tired, your ability to react in a timely manner and make some decisions, as well as keep your car in the driving lane that you are meant to be in. So making sure you’re rested before going on your trip is so important. But it is a good idea to think about things like medication that can cause you to become drowsy. So have you been taking any for things like hayfever or allergies? They should be avoided when heading off on a long trip. Boredom can also cause problems and sleepiness, so having things like music to listen to is really important, as well as having passengers stay awake with you, if you need their help and support.

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