The Upward Curve: Keeping Business Morale Up On A Budget

The Upward Curve: Keeping Business Morale Up On A Budget

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For many businesses, it can seem that morale and costs run in opposite channels to each other. If you end up cutting costs in your business, morale can easily go down. But when you start to invest more money into your employees they can feel better as a result which transforms the business in terms of its productivity. But what happens if you need to boost morale but you don’t have the budget? Morale is crucial across the board but if you need to minimize your outgoing, what does it take to boost your business?

The Little Tokens Of Appreciation

When we think about spending money on our employees we tend to equate it with a certain amount in our mind. We think that if we spend a “certain amount” this shows employees that we care a “certain amount.” But while you can purchase staff appreciation gifts for your company, this, in conjunction with showing them that you appreciate their effort, will go to boost morale. If you don’t have the money but whatever little you can afford you pass on to your employees, this communicates to them that you have their interests at heart. Much like the person that will give their last dollar away if you are able to get something together which you can pass on to your employees, no matter how little it is, this speaks volumes about your character.

Include The Families

Many organizations have a very professional relationship with their employees and it goes no further. If you really want to make your employees feel part of the framework you’ve got to go the extra mile and think about it from their perspective. If you are a company that is obsessed with targets and deadlines and nothing else matters what does this communicate to the husbands, wives, and children of your employees? They’re not going to have a good opinion of you! Think about an open invitation for significant others at your next event or a “bring your kids to work day.” This doesn’t just benefit them, especially if they’re struggling to get child care, but it helps employees to see a more human side of each other and yourself. This can help to nurture a stronger connection because you’re getting that sneak preview of what they are like outside of the office.

An Open-Door Policy

If you really want to encourage morale but you don’t have the money you must look at how you operate. If you are someone who is shut away in a corner office and too busy to speak to others, this doesn’t communicate the right message at all. When you think about how your employees perceive you, taking the opportunity to sit amongst them is one thing, but actually ensuring that your employees feel heard is another. You may want to sit among your employees on occasion but if everybody has their head down and doesn’t feel they can speak up, what does this really say about how you lead? It’s possible to have fun and get work done. Besides, when people are happier they will work better. And having an open-door policy is hard to nurture but it could make all the difference to your organization.

4 Ways To Reduce Electronic Waste In Your Business

4 Ways To Reduce Electronic Waste In Your Business

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As a business owner, it’s important that you make an effort to reduce your impact on the environment. There are so many ways that you can do that, but reducing waste is one of the most important things that you need to consider. Most businesses have taken steps to reduce waste these days, but many businesses still generate a lot of electronic waste, and that’s a big problem. 

We all rely heavily on computers and smartphones, and when they are discarded, they end up in landfill and can potentially release harmful chemicals into the environment. That’s why it’s so important for businesses to take steps to reduce electronic waste. These are some of the best ways that you can reduce your electronic waste. 

Repair Old Computers Instead Of Replacing Them 

It’s important that your computers are in good working order because a slow computer has a big impact on productivity. Many businesses will simply replace computers when they start to slow down or they break, but that contributes to a lot of waste, so you should consider repairing them instead. If you have issues with a computer, take it to a company like Nerd2Go and see if they can fix it. In many cases, it’s only one single component that is broken and the rest of the hardware is perfectly fine. Replacing a few simple parts will get the computer up and running again, which means that you save money and you don’t unnecessarily contribute to electronic waste. 

Donate Old Computers 

Computers have a natural lifespan and, after a while, they will start to run slowly. But even though they’re not fit for business purposes anymore, that doesn’t mean that they’re completely useless. Instead of throwing them in the bin, consider donating them instead. There are some great charities that refurbish old computers and give them to schools or community projects. You could even consider selling them on and putting the money towards your new computers. If you cannot find anywhere to donate your old computers, it’s important that you recycle them in the right way so they do not damage the environment. 

Maintain Your Electronics

If you can make your electronics last as long as possible, you don’t need to keep repairing and replacing them as often. Simple things like cleaning inside computers to remove dust can stop components from overheating and extend the lifespan of your electronics. You could even consider simple maintenance, like upgrading the RAM and the hard drive, so your computers will work effectively for longer. 

Move To The Cloud 

Cloud storage is one of the best ways to reduce electronic waste because it reduces the need for new storage devices to be manufactured in the first place. Having access to all of your data on the cloud also allows easy data sharing within the company and facilitates remote working, which is becoming the norm for a lot of businesses. This is just one of the many reasons why your business should adopt cloud computing.

If you make these simple changes to the way that you manage technology in your business, you can reduce electronic waste in a big way.  

Explore New Markets For Business Success!

Explore New Markets For Business Success!

One of the best ways for a business to turn over more cash and increase the profit is to expand into other areas. Areas where revenue streams can be developed and tapped in to. Finding these markets can be hard, and they’re of course industry specific. The trick is to do it without overstretching yourself, and to be able to test the waters to see if your idea will succeed without necessarily wasting too much money. Now is better than ever to do this. So many businesses have had to shut down due to Coronavirus. Others have had to lay off staff, or decide to close down certain operations. If you have the ability to push into new areas, you might just save yourself running into a wall and flatlining your business. There’s undoubtedly going to be a global recession, where businesses struggle even more in the wake of Covid-19. Look ahead. If you can see any holes to push into with your business, you might just mitigate the issues the recession might bring. 

New Products To Ship

If you sell specialty or even general products, then it’s usually easy to start selling more of them. If you just distribute these, it’s even easier. The trick is finding a gap in the market and then selling on a product into that market. If you manufacture products yourself, you may have more difficulty as there are updated guidelines for manufacturing during COVID-19. Whatever you decide to do, it has to be backed up by well informed market research. Will the items you want to manufacture or simply just sell on be needed and wanted during a recession? Are they a luxury item or a necessity? Luxuries will be bought less if the recession bites particularly hard. Focus on your due diligence and remember that areas all will respond differently. This is also the case with whole countries. Some will be hit worse than others. Research is the only true chance at success if you push new products.

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Expand Into The Online Space

If you don’t currently have an online presence, now is the time to cultivate one. Some businesses are still high street operated or have no actual need to operate online. The issue here is that if something goes wrong, like it likely has with Covid-19, then your business won’t have any other option than to close. If you move into another area, you might be able to have money coming in from another stream. First you need to analyse what you do and work out whether it is suitable for the online space. It probably is. In fact, if you look online you might find competitors from other areas doing just the same. Look at what they do and work out how to best emulate them. It can be costly to do so, so make sure you really put the research in to see whether it would be cost effective. Pushing into the online space can range from simply setting yourself up on social media, to paying a lot of money to developers to set up your website.

Use Your Competitors

If you want to move in a new direction, have a look at what your competitors have done or are doing. This might be something you’ve resisted in the past, but it doesn’t mean outright copying them. Instead it gives you something to work off. If they operate in the same sphere of business as yourself, and have moved into other areas, this can be a logical step for you to take. Essentially, you can see whether that element has been successful or not and can use it to your advantage.

Employees May Have Ideas Too

If you’re struggling for ideas too you can use your employees. Especially those who have been in your sphere or industry for a long time and have experience outside of your workplace. Ideas sometimes come right from the bottom. Those people who are helping you run your business. It’s always worth asking them what’s going on and how they think the business can grow. They might have seen interest from somewhere else, or perhaps they have had a direct query. Brainstorm some ideas with them and see what they can come up with. For a start, this will increase morale because it shows that you’re willing to listen to other people’s comments and it also shows you’re fighting for your business and by extension your employees’ futures. You can do this online if you didn’t want to meet up due to Covid, think about Microsoft Teams or Zoom to conduct your meeting.

How to Effectively Cut Costs on Your Business Operations

How to Effectively Cut Costs on Your Business Operations

Ways to Reduce Business Expenses

by Sharon Jones

Given the current situation of the world, economies around the world are getting more complicated, and it’s taking a toll on small businesses. It’s expected that after the coronavirus pandemic, there will be around 7.5 million small businesses closing in the United States alone.

This is why many businesses are struggling to stay afloat amidst the pandemic. There are various ways to cut costs while resuming operations, and here are three of the most effective options to continue business without reducing the quality of your products or services:

Outsource Your Labor

Being one of the popular cost-cutting strategies businesses have been using even before the pandemic, outsourcing specific tasks to BPOs has become a common practice in various industries. While most business owners assume that outsourcing is limited to administrative tasks, it can extend beyond that depending on the outsourcing company you hire: from regular BPOs to software-outsourcing companies that can provide specific needs.

By outsourcing your labor, you won’t have to pay for an in-house team for all your business operations. Of course, there are disadvantages and benefits of outsourcing and hiring an in-house team. It all depends on how much you want to save and how practical it is for your business to outsource certain operations.

Lower Your Office Space Costs

If your business is renting office or commercial space, it might be practical to find cheaper areas to operate for the time being if you can’t negotiate for better terms with the property owner. The closer you live to your city’s business center or high-end district, the more valuable the space will be.

If you want to cut office costs entirely, you could change your business to a work-from-home model until such time your business can return to working in an office. More companies are adapting to a work-from-home model, removing the need for an office. If your business can operate without an office and have all your employees working remotely, this is an excellent way to reduce your overhead costs significantly.

Cut Supply Costs

Your business’ supply costs can pile up and prove to be one of the most significant expenses in your operations. Now is an excellent time to start buying directly from manufacturers to avoid the added costs of shopping retail or from a middle-man that’s making the cost of your supplies higher. Now is also a good time to start buying supplies in wholesale or bulk to reduce the overall cost of supplies soon.

If you’re not willing to ask your supplier for discounts, you might want to start looking at the market for another supplier who can provide the same supplies for much less. If your original supplier isn’t willing to meet their competitor’s price, it’s in your business’s best interest to take your business with the new supplier. But if you have a good relationship with your current supplier, don’t be afraid to ask for a discount to help your operations during these trying times.

Like any business owner, you want to keep your business running and help it survive the current situation. You might have to tighten your purse and cut out a few non-essential costs in your business. But if you act smartly, you can avoid the worst of the economic changes and slowly rebuild your business when things slowly go back to normal.

Things Can Always Go Wrong, So You Need A Plan

Things Can Always Go Wrong, So You Need A Plan

When it comes to business, things can always go wrong. Nothing is ever perfect, and often things change in the blink of an eye. They can go from good to bad, or bad to worse depending on the situation that you are in. We don’t want to see your business fall because something has gone wrong, which means that you always need to have a plan in place. In this article, we’re going to be looking at some of the things that should be included in your plan for when things start to go badly. If you want to know more, keep reading down below.

Have Lawyers On Retainer

The first thing that we are going to suggest is that you always have a lawyer on retainer. You might hire specialists and have more than one depending on the financial situation of your company, but most people have one lawyer they call when things start to go south. By doing this, you ensure that your lawyer is available to you so that they can help you figure out a solution to the problem and provide you with legal advice. You don’t have to wait or find a lawyer on short notice, you get what you need when you need it. This is the biggest benefit of having a lawyer on retainer, and we can’t stress enough how valuable this can be if you find yourself in trouble.

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Always Have IT Solutions

You always need to have IT solutions. Cybercrime is on the rise, and if something happens to your business network, your Cloud or any other piece of tech in your business, you need support. It might be the case that your business is in danger of having to shut down operations while the issue is sorted, but instead, you should look into Business Continuity Solutions so that it doesn’t get to this point. By doing this, you ensure that you have the IT help that you need and they will do their best to ensure that your business does not have to shut down for any technical reason.

Insurance Is Key

Finally, you must have insurance. Now, this should be part of your plan for when things go wrong as you should be able to call your insurance and report what’s happened to them, avoiding a huge lawsuit. This only works if you are covered and if it’s something such as someone being involved in an accident. Other problems can’t be solved with insurance, but the ones that can, should be. Talk to a broker and have them find you the best insurance deals and policies for each type of cover you need, so that when things hit the fan, you are prepared. Your business must be ready to take responsibility if someone gets hurt, and it’s the fault of your company, and having insurance ensures a payout to them without costing you massive amounts of money.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now understand that things can go wrong, so you’re going to need a plan.

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