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.

Time is Money: Boosting Productivity in Business

Time is Money: Boosting Productivity in Business

Image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-jacket-holding-black-smartphone-4064833/

We’ve all heard the old adage ‘time is money’,  but in business this really is true. Your time is money, and making the most of it will boost your profitability and ensure your company is reaching its full potential. There are a number of ways you can make sure that you’re getting the most out of yours and your employees working hours and earning as much money as possible- here are some ideas for going about it. 

Go open plan in the office

While individual working still has its place, it’s no longer considered the optimal way of working. A more team led environment comes with open spaces will promote the sharing of ideas. Open plan environments tend to be brighter, airier, and more pleasant areas in which to work, which can boost worker morale and improve productivity overall. Unfortunately, coronavirus has impacted the way offices and the world in general works, so now it might not be possible to schedule any significant changes, ensuring you’re abiding by social distancing guidelines. But long term as the world returns to normal; this is something to consider. Happy employees make productive employees, giving them a nice space to work from is just one way you can boost morale and get the best from your workers. 

Update your hardware and software

There’s nothing that can stifle the flow of activity quicker than inferior technology or equipment stopping you in your tracks. Whether it’s outdated software that crashes, printers that jam or computers that crash, and lose information, these things can seriously affect your entire business. You need to spend money to make money, invest in new hardware and software so that your staff can do their jobs properly. You may need to update things like cabling with a company like jabbercomm.com as you go along to keep everything up to date. 

Outsource when you need to 

Even if your business is a smaller venture, as you grow, you might find that you struggle to keep on top of things, If so, now would be an excellent time to consider outsourcing and hiring other companies to tackle some of the workload for you. These are non competing companies to yours which specialise in specific areas allowing you to hire them to do individual tasks or run entire departments. For example, you could hire a company to deal with your marketing, so you don’t have to, or look into managed IT services. You could work with a freelance writer who will write blog posts for you, or utilise an accounting company to deal with your finances. It means you can continue operating without falling behind or having to go through the hassle of hiring your own employees (or more employees). It boosts productivity while staying manageable for you to run everything from the top.

A Step-By-Step Guide to Converting a Campervan

A Step-By-Step Guide to Converting a Campervan

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Who hasn’t dreamed of living the van life? Out on the open road, driving into the sunset with all your worldly belongings in the back. No worries beyond where your next meal is coming from. It’s all about freedom, breaking free from the shackles of convention and living life on your own terms. 

All you need to live this idyllic existence is a vehicle that will take you wherever you need to go. You could buy a fully-formed campervan outright, but this will set you back financially, and it means you won’t be able to customize it to your preferences. Many people under the spell of wanderlust opt for the DIY approach. 

Your campervan is not just a vehicle; it is a home. For this reason, it takes a lot of time and effort to create the perfect space, from designing the layout to installing electricity and plumbing. A camper conversion is not a project to be taken lightly. If you are dreaming of lost highways and desert sunrises, here is a step-by-step guide to converting your DIY campervan.

Choose your vehicle

A van is just a vehicle that gets you from A to B. It takes a tremendous amount of imagination and perseverance to turn it into a home. Deciding on a vehicle to convert is a big decision and will depend on several factors, including your budget, personal preferences, and your road trip requirements. There’s a lot to think about when choosing a van and a few critical questions you will need to ask yourself to ensure you make the right decision.

Size: You can convert any vehicle you like, from a small car to an old school bus. You probably already have an idea of what size you need, but there are a few things to consider. How many people will you be traveling with? Do you need room for a pet or even capacity for picking up hitchhikers? The length of time you’ll be touring is also important as that will determine how much storage space you need. Write down a list of your requirements in priority order and determine how much space you will need to accommodate them.

Cost: Buying and converting a vehicle is not going to come cheap, but if you are restricted to a budget, you will want to cut costs wherever possible. A used van will be less expensive than new but may need more maintenance. You could buy a campervan that requires minimal customization, but this will be a lot more costly than buying a plain old panel van and kitting it out yourself.

Brand: You may have your own opinions about which brands and models are best, but there is no right or wrong answer. Some brands are more reliable, whereas others may benefit from better availability of spare parts. Do your research and get some recommendations before you make your mind up. And remember that a reliable, long-lasting vehicle is more important than one with a fancy logo.

Design your layout

Now that you have purchased your vehicle, it’s time to make a plan for your conversion. This is the most exciting part of the process, and the possibilities are endless. You will need to consider how much stuff you need to accommodate and the functionality you want your campervan to have. Here are a few things to consider:

How many people will be living in your van? The more people living in your van, the more space you will need for sleeping and storage. You will also need some open space for everyone to hang out without getting in each other’s way. 

How tall are you? If you are particularly tall, then you will be limited in your sleeping setup. A crosswise bed will be too short for you, so make sure you take this into account.

How much storage space do you need? When embarking on the van life, it’s a good idea to downsize as much as possible and get rid of anything you don’t need. For everything you can’t part with, you will need a special place for it. If you have oversized items like bikes or surfboards, decide whether you want to incorporate storage inside your van or find a way of hitching them onto the roof or back. Try to include multi-functionality items to save space—for example, a bed with storage underneath or a kitchen table that doubles up as a workspace.

Will you be cooking in your van? Many van owners just cook outside, but having an internal kitchen means you can prepare your meals comfortably in any weather. A kitchen area will take up space and require proper ventilation. You will need a fridge, cooker, sink, water tank, countertop, and food storage space.

Do you want a bathroom? One of the biggest questions you will need to ask yourself is whether or not you need a toilet. The cheapest option would be to rely on public restrooms or digging a hole when there are no facilities, but if you prefer to have your own bathroom, that’s not a problem. There are many toilet options for a campervan which will give you peace of mind when you really need to go but will take up a lot more space.

Will you need plumbing? Whether you need drinking water, a shower, or a way to wash your dishes, clean water is essential. Although you could get by with just filling up a load of jerry cans, many van owners opt for a more elaborate plumbing system. You could have a manual pump system, a hose-fed water tank, or if you have the budget, you could invest in an electric pump. You should have a water filter too, particularly if traveling in remote areas.

Will you need electricity? Electricity is essential when you’re on the road. It will help you refrigerate food, charge devices, and see at night. But it can also be one of the most costly aspects of owning a van. Most people opt for a solar-powered system linked to panels on the roof, but you could also buy a gasoline generator or rely on power from electric hookups at campgrounds.

Do you need a workspace? If you’re a digital nomad who works from a computer while on the road, you will want a space to set up a workstation. A table will be essential, and can also be used for meals.

Convert your van

Now that you have designed your perfect mobile home, it’s time to put your plan into action. If you know what you’re doing, you can do all the work yourself. This will be a much more budget-friendly option and will give you a feeling of personal accomplishment and pride when the work is complete. If you want to get it done as quickly as possible, you could hire a professional campervan conversion company to carry out the work for you.

Before you go

With your newly-converted campervan all shiny and ready to go, there are a few last things you need to take care of. You will need insurance to cover you and any other drivers on your road trip. The insurance your van had when you bought it will no longer cover you, as a converted van is no longer legally classified as a standard van. Your specific insurance policy will depend on many things: the type of vehicle (do you need van insurance, motorhome insurance, or truck insurance?), what you are using it for, and the specific features and functions.

As soon as you are insured, packed, and have said your goodbyes, it’s time to hit the open road and begin your big adventure.

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