Businesses are facing an unprecedented challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has forced countless companies to shut down momentarily, and some may have no choice but to remain shut. But people still need to rely on your services and products for their everyday needs. As a result, if your business provides essentials, you need to explore the potential of digitalized and modernized processes to stay open for your customers and employees.
Businesses face a double challenge during the COVID-19 crisis. Firstly, they need to do everything they can to reduce interactions with their employees and customers. This implies ensuring your processes can be digitized safely. Being able to check and access customers’ data without reaching out for the filing cabinet at the back of the office is a game-changer! Secure digital storage can help you to stay relevant online.
Additionally, you can also use digital tools to streamline and automate your processes, helping your team to achieve more with fewer manual and physical interventions.
Make it easy for customers to buy online
More and more customers need to order online to limit the risks of going out. However, what this means is that you have to provide a secure and effective payment method for your site. Consequently, understanding PSD2 to establish a safe online payment service that authenticates customers effectively can support digital commerce activities. You also want to invest in a delivery tracking tool that keeps people informed about their parcel journey. Indeed, the surge of orders is causing a slowdown in deliveries and shipments. Now more than ever, your customers need to know when to expect their parcels.
Working together from different offices
If you’ve been working with your team in the same office until now, businesses that go into self-isolation are discovering how to set up their teams for remote work in a matter of days. Ideally, what do you need to make it work? The answer is: Not as much as you think. Your employees need a secure Internet connection and a working device such as a desktop or a laptop.
Additionally, by that point, you should have sorted out your accessible and secure digital storage, using a cloud account. You can make sure to add collaboration tools to keep the team connected. Slack and Trello are favorites that are easy to set up and implement.
The first thing your team will notice when they work from home is how productive they will be able to be when they can avoid all unnecessary office interruption. The second thing is loneliness. It’s essential to make time for social exchanges throughout the day to help your team feel united. Why not create a space for people to chat and share photos of their day-to-day routines, for instance? Your employees miss the socialization part of office life when they’re at home.
Digitizing your business processes and embracing the potential of virtual teams and online purchases is now a priority in the current situation. Businesses that can implement the necessary changes to keep their employees and customers safe have got a better chance to see it through the end of the crisis and avoid the worst when it comes to financial consequences. In the meantime, stay safe and look after your people as best as you can.
If you’re thinking about building a gym, whether this is a small project or a massive one, read on to discover some useful advice.
CrossFit equipment that all gyms need to invest in today
Regardless if it’s for improving your personal physical health or it is part of a training business, you will know that there’s 4 types of CrossFit training equipment that you just can’t do without. Such equipment is a necessity for exercises such as CrossFit because of their durability and versatility. You will surely get the maximum value for your money when you have these kits.
The first CrossFit equipment that you will need for your gym is a good quality set of kettlebells. If you research online, kettlebells are known to be the ultimate tool to use for working out your muscles, and you will know this if you have the first-hand experience of doing kettlebell circuits. The flat bottomed kettles with smooth handles are the best kettlebells to use for CrossFit as they’re wide enough for two-handed grips.
Another equipment you can’t do without is the Olympic grade barbell. Because a 200lb drop from head height can easily bend a low quality and cheap bar, it is important that you purchase a good and high-quality one. Don’t get the pin barbells too. Another essential piece of cardio kit is the jump ropes as it helps in improving the user’s dexterity. Although skipping ropes may be unexciting or unadventurous compared to different kinds of gym equipment, but they’re a useful piece of kit that can help in your exercise especially when you’re in space that does not allow sprints. Lastly, an Olympic gym rings set will be great for working out your chest, back and arms. It also teaches control and endurance to the user. Depending on what you choose, you may get wooden or plastic rings.
These are the essentials, but you are also going to need to have custom equipment as well, which caters specifically to your target audience. Check out tkstar.com for more information about this. You will definitely benefit from having a good partner that can assist with all of your needs, whether it is designing a custom cable for your gym equipment or helping with any of your other requirements.
Changing room lockers, a must-have for all gyms
A gym is not complete without a locker room. If you currently own a gym and do not have changing room lockers available for your potential members then you will undoubtedly be missing out on a wealth of customers.
When people use your gym they need a safe and secure place whereby they can store their personal belongings. A lot of people like to arrive at the gym in their day to day clothing and they will then change into their gym gear once they have arrived. Thus, they will require somewhere to put their clothes. Aside from this, a lot of people will have their purse, keys, and mobile phone with them. Not everybody drives to the gym and thus they have no choice but to bring everything inside with them. If you do not provide safe changing room lockers then individuals are likely to go to an alternative gym. They won’t be able to exercise at ease whilst worrying about the potential threat of their belonging being stolen.
There are various different options at your disposal when it comes to security. Nonetheless, most gyms seem to operate via a lock and key system. The key and the locker is typically colour coordinated. Furthermore, each key and locker will have a corresponding number printed on it so that people can easily locate their personal belongings once they have finished working out.
Whilst security is the most obvious need and benefit of having changing room lockers in place, there are other advantages as well. For instance, you need to consider how much more organised your gym will be once you provide lockers for your members. You will have a system of storage in place and this means that people will know exactly where to put their belongings once they enter your changing rooms. If you didn’t have lockers people would be merely leaving their belongings all over the room. Not only can this create a lot of confusion, but it generates a lot of clutter too. Your gym will look messy, untidy, and unorganised. In a place where hygiene is imperative, this would be evidently extremely detrimental to your reputation.
Not only this, but just consider the amount of hassle you will eliminate by having lockers in place. Of course, people worry about the threat of their things being stolen whilst they are exercising if there are no room lockers. However, sometimes people might accidentally take somebody’s belongings by mistake. After all, it is not unlikely for people to have similar or identical clothing or gym gear. You then have to deal with operating a large lost and found section. Your staff will experience an added workload as they will have to locate lost property and hunt down the rightful owner too.
In simple terms; changing room lockers are a must-have for any gym. If you don’t provide these for your members then you will lose out on a substantial amount of business because people will not want to use your gym when there is a real threat that their stuff could be stolen.
All in all, there is a lot that needs to be considered when you are looking for the perfect plan in terms of setting up a gym. Not only do you need to think about the equipment that you need to get, but you also need to consider all of the other purchases that you need to make in terms of creating a gym that is convenient and appeals to people, ensuring they will want to sign up for your services.
5G refers to the new generation of mobile broadband which is expected to phase out current 4G LTE connections. The technology works by using three spectrum bands, and these different bands will affect the way that you use your broadband overall. The first level is low-band spectrum, which offers wall penetration and good coverage, yet only reaches speeds of around 100Mbps. Secondly, there’s a mid-band which has a lower latency and is faster, with top speeds of 1Gbps. Last but not least, you’ve got a high-band spectrum that offers the best performance with 5G. The main drawback of high-band is that the latency is actually lower than the other bands.
The foundation of 5G is made up of all three spectrums. For 5G to operate at high speeds, both mmWave and sub-6 are needed to work together. The technology is available now; however, depending on your wireless carrier, phone and location, you may not be able to make use of it yet. Throughout 2020, more companies are making changes behind the scenes to roll out 5G technology to as many users as possible. Before long your business will be able to make full use of the tech. Let’s consider a few of the benefits to using 5G.
1 . Data speed
5G wireless offers improved data speeds; for instance, peak rates can reach 10Gbps uplink and 20Gbps downlink for each base station. It’s been reported that 4G can hit a max of 100 megabits whereas 5G reaches 10 gigabits. With improved data speeds, your company can transfer vast amounts of data with ease. By improving data speeds, you’ll decrease your downtime and prioritize efficiency.
2. Remote capabilities
Business owners know that mobile devices allow maximum convenience and the ability to work from wherever you please. When you allow your employees to work remotely, you immediately facilitate increased flexibility, less downtime and increased creativity. Due to the improved data speeds, you’ll save your employees time when accessing your network remotely. With improved remote working possibilities you’ll soon boost productivity.
3. Increased device capacity
Any network is only capable of serving a set amount of transmissions and devices at the same time. It’s been estimated that for every square kilometre 5G can serve as many as one million devices. The technology relies upon a larger spectrum band which means increased radio frequencies and more transmissions at once. These data transmissions are faster than 4G networks due to the higher frequencies used.
4. Enhanced efficiency
Spectral efficiency refers to the best use of bandwidth so that max data amounts are transmitted with minimal errors. It’s believed that 5G can offer improved efficiency when compared with LTE.
Entrepreneurs must consistently strive to make productive use of their time. Keeping on top of the latest advancements in tech will allow your company to do things faster and with increased creativity. When you adopt high-level tech to support your operations, you’ll find that you’ll improve the efficiency of your company.
So you’ve set up your business, but you’ve just hit your first speed bump on your road to success. What do you do? Keep reading for the two biggest lessons you will need to learn.
Create your business around something that you are passionate about
You might have a great business idea. Something unique, niche and that people would buy. Sounds perfect right? In theory, yes, but if you’re not going to enjoy working on it, day in and day out and on a level that’s needed to sustain your business model, then your business isn’t going to do well no matter how brilliant the concept is.
You have to enjoy your daily tasks, and your business should be a constant source of inspiration for you, leading to an abundance of fresh, new ideas for products, growth and business sustainability.
Make a list of the things that you enjoy and are passionate about if you don’t know how to get started. A standard working week is 37.5- 40 hours. It is often said that when you are running your own business these hours can sometimes double, if not triple, because there is so much that you have to put into it. But if this isn’t a labour of love and doesn’t set your soul on fire, then the hard truth of the matter is that it won’t be successful. However, if you are genuinely passionate and love what you are building and creating then yes, the hours might be long and maybe all of your spare times go only into your business at the beginning, but it will no longer feel like work, and that’s when you know that you are on the right track. Turn your passions into gold.
Preserve, Persevere, Persevere
There is no sugar coating it, starting a business from scratch is never going to be easy. In fact, if we are really getting into the nitty-gritty, truth be told, it might take many months if not years, to get the kind of business growth you want. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go for it – success is out there and 100% possible if you just keep on pushing. It has been estimated that 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years and only 50% survive to make it to the five year mark. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the business models and ideas are bad, but that the business owners gave up too soon and many people fail because they give up too early at the first few signs of difficulty. The saying’ nothing in this life worth having comes easy’ can now sound like a cliche, but there is some truth to it. Did you know that Bill Gates’ first business venture was a failure? This didn’t discourage him, though, and he took all the lessons he learned from that failure and tried again. Just imagine that if he didn’t, we would never have Microsoft. So try, try and try again. Research and try out the many resources and services that are available to you and use them to help you if you are struggling. Maybe you have your own plumbing business and require a plumbing answering service to help with customer service during those times when you are simply too busy to get to the phone, or you need the help of a website designer to get your site up and running. Whatever it is try, try and try again and if something doesn’t work out, rather than giving up, think outside the box and adapt your business models. While it may feel like you are working against the odds at times when you encounter those first few problems and signs of difficulty, just remember that perseverance will be the key to your success.
Entering into the manufacturing industry in the near future is something you have always wanted to do. Your business minded brain won’t let these thoughts slip away from you, so now is the perfect time to start making a plan of action. With any new business, you need to make sure that you’re 100% on board with your concept before you execute any ideas. Setting up a manufacturing company won’t be an overnight action, but you can start to map out your ideas right now. You want your new business to be your legacy one day, so you need to enjoy what you do. Entrepreneurs who take on businesses that they truly love, never feel like they’re working for a day in their life! This is exactly the type of feeling you want to have with your new venture. Here are some important pointers to keep you on track when it comes to manifesting your manufacturing company goals.
Invest in Excellent Equipment
Your number one goal as a manufacturing business is to create high quality and profitable products that your ideal customers want to keep investing in over and over again. This is the ideal time to start digging deep into what you want to create and how you’re going to do that. You may need to look into a Rapid Tooling Production Facility, which has the ability to print in 3D very quickly and effectively. Believe it or not 3D printing shortens manufacturing lead times and gives you the ability to product complex products that may otherwise be too costly or time consuming to make. Staying well informed on the latest manufacturing equipment within your zone of genius will serve you well when you’re first starting out. Investing in excellent equipment now will make sure that your new company is well prepared for your launch in the future.
Be Willing and Able to Evolve
As you know, businesses need to adapt to change and evolve frequently to suit the changing demands of their target audience and the economy. Keeping up with the latest trends and shifts will allow you to stay up to date with demand. Becoming tunnel visioned or set in your ways can be quite damaging to your company as this will prevent you from progressing and aligning with the needs of your customers. Keep your eyes open for new opportunities at all times and you will always be one step ahead.
Value Your Employees
The lifeline of your business will be your employees, no matter how big or small you are. You need to make sure that they are well equipped and well trained to deal with their day to day duties. Keeping motivation levels high in the manufacturing industry is often difficult, but if you hire people who are really passionate about the industry, this won’t be as much of an issue.
Hopefully these ideas have given you some inspiration to kickstart your new manufacturing business. First of all, you should discover where your true passions lie; the rest of your plans will follow after this. As the owner and director of your new business, you have the power to pivot your ideas in any direction. So take this opportunity to start mapping out big plans for your future.
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