Brick & Mortar Business

As a small business owner, you should know how important it is to keep your customers safe, but that doesn’t make this task any easier. Unfortunately, operating your business from a brick and mortar store only makes this job more of a challenge, as you open yourself up to risks and dangers that you simply wouldn’t encounter if you run your business online, such as crimes like vandalism and theft, and slip and fall accidents. If you want to keep your customers safe when they enter your brick and mortar business, then here are six factors that you need to consider.

1. Fire Hazards

It doesn’t matter what type of business you run; if you operate out of a brick and mortar business, then there will always be a risk of fire. Of course, this risk will be increased if you sell flammable products, like clothing and furniture, but there are plenty of other factors that could result in a fire, such as exposed wiring from computers or the fire risk of a neighboring business. To keep your customers and business safe, it’s vital that you have a proper fire exit and fire extinguishers installed. You should also keep flammable materials away from heat sources.

2. Lighting

Many businesses like to keep their lighting low to create a relaxed ambience, but this is a pretty risky move. Depending on the type of business you run, this could lead to a higher number of accidents within your store, as customers won’t be able to see the aisles properly.They also won’t be able to spot things on the floor that could trip them over. Low lighting also makes it more difficult to spot thieves, which leaves your customers at the mercy of pickpockets. It’s much more sensible to have bright lighting throughout the entire building.

3. Slips And Falls

Slip and fall accidents are incredibly common within brick and mortar stores, and although you may never be able to eliminate the risk completely, there is a lot that you can do to avoid a call from your customers’ slip and fall lawyers. The first thing that you should do is give your store a thorough tidy, removing any potential trip hazards from your floors, such as boxes, pallets, and wires. You should also make sure to clean up any spillages as soon as they occur and display clear signs when the floor is wet.

4. Signs

Signs are incredibly important for your brick and mortar business, as they can help to dramatically decrease the risk of many safety concerns. Placing a sign on a wet floor, for example, will let your customers know that they need to be careful, which means they’ll be a lot less likely to slip over, and that you won’t be at fault if they do. You should also clearly identify any other important pieces of information, such as where the fire doors are, areas your customers shouldn’t, where the toilets are, and whether the doors are push, pull, or automatic.

5. Security Measures

Brick and mortar businesses have to face a lot more crime than most online based businesses do, including vandalism and theft. To reduce the risk of crime in your store, and in turn, reduce the risk that this has on your customers, it’s important that you assess your security and consider increasing it. If you don’t have one already, you should definitely consider installing an alarm system, as well as security cameras throughout the entire building. You should also make sure that you keep back doors locked, and keep as little money on the premises as possible.

6. Employee Training

There is a range of emergencies that could arise in your business, and the reactions of your employees could be the difference between everyone leaving safely and someone getting hurt. Because of this, it’s vital that your employees are properly trained for many of these possible emergencies so that they know what to do if they’re ever faced with one. For example, if there’s ever a fire in your store, it’s important that your employees remain calm, and that they lead your customers out of the store in an orderly fashion.  

While there are many benefits to running a brick and mortar store, there are also a lot more hazards you have to face when compared with online businesses. This means that your customers also have more hazards to face. It’s your job to keep your customers safe, so make sure that you consider the advice above.

The best startups are ones that you actually enjoy and are passionate about. In my eyes, too many small businesses fail because the owners are just trying to copy what’s already popular, without actually being passionate about it. When you have a passion, you instantly have more drive to work harder and achieve the highest level of success possible.

This brings us to today’s topic; hobbies that you can turn into startup ideas. A hobby is something you enjoy, which is why it can become a great business idea. Here are some thoughts:

Writing

If you like writing, then you can immediately turn this into a business idea. Writing comes in many different formats; you may like writing your own stories or blogging about certain topics. Either way, there are countless ideas at your fingertips here.

I suppose the most obvious is to start a blog that you contribute to whenever you’re bored. It’s a fun hobby to keep your mind ticking over, and you may start to see a decent group of people reading your work. Then, you can take things seriously and invest in marketing for the blog while contributing more regularly. Monetization follows in the form of adverts on your blog, and then sponsors and brands come calling too. What started as a little blog has now grown into a rather large business that may well employ numerous other writers to cover different topics!

Farming

Farming is a very popular hobby for people that either own a bit of land or live out in the country. After a day at work, you can head out to the farm and tend to some crops or check how any animals are doing. It’s a fairly peaceful hobby, but you can definitely turn it into a business.

To start, you can sell your animals or collect their eggs/milk and sell that. You can also grow popular crops or vegetables and sell them as well. As you move from it being a hobby to a business, you just need to take things more seriously. Invest in things like a low profile holding tank to collect water supplies for crops. Buy a better tractor to help you get around the farm and two things. If you’re passionate about it, then it becomes a very fun job to have, and you’ll be rewarded with sizeable profits.

A post shared by New Food Houston (@newfoodhouston) on May 2, 2018 at 10:01am PDT

Baking

If you like baking, and you’re good at it, then the world’s your oyster. Who doesn’t like eating cakes or buying freshly baked bread? It’s a nice hobby, but it’s also a business idea waiting to happen.

Start by giving away your baked goods to friends or family and see how they respond. If you’re a good baker, they’ll be coming back for more and telling you to start selling them! Duly oblige and start selling baked goods to people online or at local markets. Then, you could invest the money you make in retail premises and open your own bakery!

The purpose of this article is to show you how a simple hobby can be taken and turned into a great small business idea. Instead of looking all over the place for startup ideas, think about things you’re passionate about!

If you are thinking about starting your catering business and would like to support events in your local areas, you will have to face a huge competition. The good news is that what you don’t have in experience and reputation you can make up for by staying unique and catering for specialist markets. By staying flexible, listening to your clients, and building positive relationships, you can make it in the industry. Below you will find a list of things you should consider before you get started.

1. Check the Current Food Hygiene Regulations

Whether you would like to make your own food items freshly, or order it from a supplier, you need to study the current food hygiene regulations, health and safety, and industry standards in the area you are setting up your business. You will need to build a sustainable business that complies with all the legislation and focuses on customer safety. If you need specialist equipment to run your business, or need to keep certain items at a level temperature, you might have to invest more in the beginning.

2. Evaluate Suppliers

You need to make sure that all your business partners are able to meet the industry standards and can show you their working practices. If you don’t know how the food you serve at events is produced, you cannot guarantee the quality. Check the reputation of your potential supplier, and interview different companies before you choose them as your partner. You want a reliable supplier with a proven track record to make sure they don’t let you down at the worst possible time.

3. Traceable Food

It is also important in the 21st century that your food is traceable, and doesn’t have a huge carbon footprint. If you have corporate clients that pledged to make their supply chains cleaner and greener, they will not appreciate your salmon dishes that traveled thousand of miles. Likewise, an increasing number of Millennials are concerned about the carbon footprint of their food, so if you focus on catering for weddings, you might be asked the question.

4. Ethical Consideration

Employee relations within your company are important if you would like to build a strong brand with a great reputation. You are likely to work with temporary workers and women, in particular, therefore, you need to talk to an HR professional about your options. Make sure your employees get adequate time off and breaks when needed, and make health and safety one of your top priorities.

5. Waste Management

When dealing with food and leftovers, it is important that you create a detailed food waste management plan. From donating to charities on the day to disposing of the wrapping ethically, there are several things you must pay attention to, if you would like to pass inspections with flying colors and avoid fines.

6. Catering for People with Special Diets

Today, an increasing number of people choose a special diet. Others have developed milk, gluten, wheat, or nut intolerance. You are likely to come across some customers with special dietary needs. Try to find alternative ingredients to make sure that everyone is able to enjoy the food served. Check out Global Foods UK – Wholesale Date Paste Supplier For The Food Industry to find out how you can create cakes without flour, using date paste. You can offer gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian options on demand, depending on the size of the event.

7. Finding Your Unique Selling Point

In the event management business, added value matters a lot. You need to check what your competition is offering, and provide something more, better, or cheaper. Before you start building your brand, it is necessary to search for your unique selling point, so you can stand out from the crowd. Whether you would like to cater for a small group, or specialize in corporate events, you need to give your potential customers a good enough reason to choose you and not another company.

Whether you would like to team up with wedding planners and offer special menus for the big day, or start small with corporate events and meetings, you will need to create a sustainable plan to stay competitive on the market in the 21st century. A catering business is highly regulated, as it deals with food and perishable items. Research the regulations, your market, your competition, and develop a business strategy that is built on your unique selling points. To win the game, you need to listen to your customers, meet their individual needs, and offer more value than the competition.

As a professional builder or tradesperson who has been in the industry for years, it’s probably crossed your mind at one time or another to set up your own business. Instead of working for someone else, you can cut out the middleman and be the boss. You get to call the shots and do things your way, and as you’ve already spent year in the industry you have the skills and experience- maybe even contacts already that you need to make the venture a success. However it’s not all plain sailing, construction businesses are some of the most difficult industries to get established in, and there are some significant drawbacks that can make it tricky for startups. However there are some incredible benefits too, and if you’re able to make it a success you have the opportunity to earn a significant profit. Here are a few things to bear in  mind if you plan on going in this direction.

Start-Up Costs

One of the reasons starting up a construction business is so difficult is because of the high startup costs. Things like machines and construction vehicles like diggers and cherry pickers don’t come cheap. You need power tools, materials and much more and that’s just for starters. One option would be to finance the cost of these things, or you could hire instead of buying. Another thing you could do is look online and at auctions. Often companies sell off machines, vehicles and equipment when they upgrade or if they go out of business meaning you can snap up a great deal. Taking on a business partner, or even finding an investor could be ways to raise the money you need to get started. They would give you a cash injection in return for a share of your company. Investors often act as mentors too, and could provide you with invaluable advice needed to make your company a success.

Earning Potential

The bottom line is always going to be profit when it comes to business. Your success all boils down to how much you earn after balancing all of the various elements of your business.

You need to source the materials, employ staff, deal with marketing, transportation costs and much more- and still make a healthy return from each job you do. So when you’re looking to set up a company, choosing a type of business that’s known for doing well is a smart move. Of course, much depends on you and how much of a success you can make it, but some businesses do tend to earn bigger profits than others. One of the reasons it’s so beneficial to start a business in the construction industry is because of the high earning potential. They can cost a lot to start up with high overhead costs. However, they have the potential to earn a lot of money. This comes down to the fact that projects that involve building work are generally larger and more expensive. Having a conservatory built, a kitchen fitted or an internal wall removed or built, for example, is going to always cost a good chunk of money. They’re the kind of thing that customers spend a lot of money saving for to get done. Other businesses that usually tackle smaller projects mean it’s easier for work to dry up. They need lots of customers, whereas you don’t. You have fewer customers but do bigger jobs that earn more money. However there are some downsides here, one being that a lot of building work can only take place in fair weather. Bricklaying and anything to do with electrical, for example, can’t be done in the rain, and so losing days to bad weather is common in this industry. However, if you’re smart about it you can time projects well, for example if you are putting up a large builder, you could ensure the outer work is done before the wet and cold weather of the year starts to kick in. That way you’re inside a structure and everything else can be completed regardless of the weather.

Health and Safety

Workplace safety can be a minefield with any job. Even in seemingly safe workplaces such as offices and shops, there are slips, trips and falls that can land a business owner with a lawsuit. Health and safety always needs to be taken seriously but in companies in the construction industry there are extra considerations to bear in mind. When you’re working with vehicles, machines, power tools and heights, there are lots of added risks. Make sure suitable clothing is worn by anyone on site, steel toe cap boots, a hard hat and a high visibility vest are examples. In some cases, eye and ear protection will need to be used as well depending on the equipment and type of job being worked on. You need to make sure all of your workers have the correct health and safety certification, if you’re in the US this could be the americansafetycouncil.com/content/OSHA-card. In the UK, it would be a CSCS card. You should ensure that employees have proper training and qualifications to use the machines and vehicles too.

Is It Futureproof?

When you set up any business, it’s a good idea to ask yourself whether the idea is futureproof. After all, you don’t want to end up out of business in a few years where your entire concept was made obsolete. When it comes to construction and building work, it’s fair to say that it’s always going to be in demand. Both commercial and residential clients will always want buildings erected, extensions, layout changes and more. The only thing to be aware of is dips in the market. Take the recession for example, this lead to a net loss of over two million jobs in ten years. However, this is an extreme example and not something that’s likely to happen very often. Right now, the construction industry is thriving and business is booming in this area making it a great place to consider setting up.

You often hear the expression of building a business from the ground up. Usually, this refers to when you start with nothing and create a business idea that blossoms into a successful company. But, when it comes to starting a retail business, it may actually benefit you too – literally – build your business from the ground up.

What on earth does this mean? Essentially, I’m talking about actually physically building your retail business. Instead of renting or buying retail space, why don’t you purchase some land, and construct your business right there? Of course, there are many things to consider, and plenty of pros and cons.

Top Things To Consider

If you’re going ahead with this idea, then you need to know some of the key things to think about.

Firstly; finding the land itself. Now, this can be easy or difficult, depending on where you look. There are loads of places with empty land just sitting there waiting to be snapped up. The key is finding land in sought after locations that make a good site for a business.

Next; construction. When you buy the land, you have to think about the whole construction process. You’ll need to find many suppliers and contractors to help you out, from crane manufacturers to electricians – you’ll be on the phone to everyone. Think about how much it costs to construct your new retail store, and how long it will take.

Finally; marketing. While all the construction is going on, you need to work overtime to market and promote your business. The last thing you want is your shop to open, with absolutely nobody keen to enter. While your contractors work on the construction, you work on the marketing.

Pros & Cons Of This Idea

Naturally, there are plenty of positive and negative points to think about here.

Pros:

• No rent, meaning fewer monthly overheads
• No limit on how big your store can be
• Bigger store means more products, which potentially means more sales before re-stocking
• Gives your business a huge reputation boost as you look like an industry giant
• If the business goes bust, you can always rent out the store to another company and still make money

Cons:

• Very expensive to build a store from scratch
• Very time consuming as well, which means you could potentially miss out on months of business during the construction
• Might not find land in a good enough location

Is this a good idea for everyone? No, clearly not! But, it feels as though money is the main obstacle to get around. If you have the money to invest in some land and build a business on it, then why not? There are pros, and the fact you own the building and the land means you have a contingency plan in place if your business sucks. Now, you don’t have to completely start a business from scratch like this either. You can grow a small business in the conventional sense, then expand it by doing this and building a new store yourself. This is a smart idea as you can keep the old store open during construction, meaning you don’t miss out on business!

At the end of the day, it’s just an idea. If you feel like doing things differently, and taking full control of your retail business, then give it a thought.

Every budding restaurateur must be filled with passion, excitement, and determination if they want to make it in such a competitive industry. Of course, anything worth having is worth working hard for, so you can guarantee all the blood, sweat and tears will be worth it once your customers start walking through your doors. To make the process run a little smoother, learn about the five big steps to take to open your first restaurant.

1. Pick the Right Restaurant Concept

Before you do anything, you will need to identify the type of restaurant you want to open to the public. For example, you can choose to launch a fine dining restaurant or a casual eatery. You will also need to select a cuisine to serve to your customers, such as French, Italian, American, Vietnamese, or Indian. The location and brand name must also be a factor when choosing a restaurant concept, as this will determine your image to potential customers and critics. Try to find a restaurant location that provides plenty of foot traffic with adequate parking nearby.

2. Write a Business Plan

Once you understand the type of restaurant you want to create, you should then write a business plan for your new restaurant. If you don’t have a business plan, no bank or private investor will be willing to finance your concept. Once you have created your business plan and have the financing in place, you should apply for licenses and permits, such as liquor licenses and sign permits.

3. Source the Finest Suppliers

Once you have secured financing and have your permits in place, your next step must be to source an excellent supplier. The quality of your food will determine your customers’ enjoyment and satisfaction, so you should aim to work with the best suppliers possible to ensure you never disappoint your patrons. For example, if you are looking for high-quality fresh or packaged meat for your restaurant, you should look no further than Smithfield Foods.

4. Design the Restaurant

It’s important to find the right balance between seating capacity and aesthetics when designing your restaurant. Functionality should be at the forefront of every design decision you make, which will allow both customers and employees to move throughout the restaurant with ease. Also, remember to choose the right color scheme to create a comfortable, stylish, and welcoming environment for your customers, which should also complement your branding.

5. Hire the Best Employees

The staff you choose can make or break the success of your restaurant – so pick your team wisely. You will want to hire a chef you can happily work alongside day after day and can effectively run a service. Preferably, pick a talented chef with extensive experience within the industry, as they can help you to choose the right kitchen equipment and can plan the perfect menu for your customers. It is also important to hire hard-working, dedicated, and friendly waiting staff, bartenders, and managers, as they will shape the customer experience.

There’s never been a better time to get into the contract catering game. It’s burst to life like never before. What has been a sector dominated by restaurant-goers and food-lovers that want to indulge in nutritious, delicious and – let’s be honest – experimental foods, has suddenly seen a real shift into some massive and foreign areas.

Venues now want amazing in stadium foods to complement their spaces and help make the experiences offered that much more memorable. Businesses have jumped on the Google bandwagon, understanding just how important freshly prepared and yummy food is in keeping employees happy and top talent knocking at the door. Assisted living hospices have upped their interest too, which is because food is at the heart of every community. And even schools across every age group have focused on making their meals healthier and more educational. Basically, food has taken over the world in a whole new way.

So, like we said, if you have had one eye on this area of industry, then now’s not the time to hesitate because the stars have well and truly aligned.

Location Will Always Be A Priority

If you are hoping to start small and grow, then you are looking at a long road that starts with your cooking from a small office or maybe even your home. However, if you are looking at the bigger picture and hoping to take this realm by storm with the capabilities that will attract events, stadiums, schools, businesses and assisted living companies, then you need to an industrial kitchen space. It’s as simple as that. You need somewhere that will let you prepare, cook and store foods on a large scale. If you’re leasing a space, then always ask if you can make it more specialist by adding things like insulated roof panels, industrial fridges and large ovens. You may even find it easier to start off by subletting a space from an already existing business. Of course, if you have the financial backing and a plan for taking a large slice of the market, then making a custom-made space could be the best option. Essentially, the aim of the game is to have somewhere that allows growth but doesn’t stretch you too thin financially.

Always Know What You Are

How you go about placing yourself in this market depends on what you want to be and where you want to begin. For example, if you want to focus on contract catering, then you may find that your startup size and status isn’t the hindrance you thought it might be. So long as you can guarantee consistent quality at the right price, you may find a lot of clients prefer the individuality you offer over the bigger catering companies out there. If, however, you want to focus on the events side of the business, then you need to make sure you position yourself at the pitch in a smarter way because most organizers are not willing to take a chance and ant people with proven track records. Always know what you want, what your unique selling point is and how you will deliver a fantastic solution; that’s the key ingredient when looking for success.

All Dreams Require Financing

It doesn’t matter what niche you are entering or what pie you want a slice of, a business plan is absolutely always, totally essential. It isn’t just about giving yourself a roadmap that you can follow on your journey to the big leagues, it is about proving to investors that you are serious and that you’ve seriously thought about the future – where the market is ready for the taking, where the main pitfalls lie, where the big contracts lie and how much it will take to make your dreams become a reality. To do that successfully, you need to know why half of all applications get turned down. Now, we know the whole drawing up a business plan thing is terrifyingly daunting, but there are plenty of free resources out there that can help you get underway, so don’t let ignorance become a factor that encourages failure.

You’ve Gotta Go Get ‘Em

Traditionally, the food industry has been one where people come to you. Pubs, restaurants, hotels and even popup places all heavily rely on their target audience coming to them. You, however, as a contract caterer, need to adopt a more food truck approach and work out how you are going to get in front of your target audience. You need to work hard to get yourself into the marketplace. How do you do this? Well, a big part of it is marketing yourself. That’s how relationships first start. It is also about networking. After all, you may be doing a small canape party for your friend and the next thing be getting a call to do a wedding and then find yourself in the waiting room of a school canteen with a pitching board. Of course, with this comes certain details, such as legal requirements and financial needs. As such, always read the small print of any contract you are set to read and always have a legal professional oversee it before that squiggle of yours goes down on paper.

Get In Front Of The Right People

Cold calling venues, approaching local schools and care homes, and getting meetings in the books with businesses is the aim of the game here. But it is never as easy you hope it would be. That is why you need to think long and hard about how you are going to approach your potential customers. Now, you may be thinking, “I’ll invite everyone I can to an open day where they can come see and taste the kind of foods we’ll produce,” and that’s a great idea. But you also need to be a little more proactive than this. You need to speak to venue managers and try and get on their supplier list, you need to try and find people on the procurement panel of different places and get in the door that way and you need to be the first to react to new businesses opening up. All it takes is one client to get the ball rolling, so long as you know how to use that one client to market yourself.

You may not think it, but the construction industry can actually be a very profitable sector to enter into. If you think about it, there are always businesses, governments and private individuals who need construction work completed and it is a specialist skill. Not everyone can succeed working in construction, that’s for sure. That said, there are a few issues on the road to profit in this industry that you need to be aware of. If you don’t tackle these issues head-on, they could bring the bricks of your construction business toppling down.

Watch Those Hours

The first issue that you need to be prepared for is allowing your employees to work long hours. You have to keep a tight control of how long you’re letting employees work for and make sure that they don’t get overstretched. While not in the construction industry, recently attention has been brought to the dangerously long hours that the cast and crew members on hollywood sets work. This will no doubt cause a ripple effect and make every industry explore just how long workers are on the clock and on the road without breaks. As such, it is crucial that you keep this under control and make sure that you are protecting the safety of your workers and the safety of your company.

Keeping Costs Constrained

One of the biggest issues in the construction industry is definitely the cost and from that the competition. You will constantly be up against businesses that can promise a much smaller bill for their projects. If that’s the case, then you can bet that you will lose contracts with your clients. One of the best ways to handle costs is to consider what work you need to do yourself and what should be outsourced. Obviously, you will want to handle the actual construction work yourself. But what about getting rid of waste materials or bringing in materials that you need. That’s a basic level job and can be completed by an outside company. If you click here for more info, you’ll see that you can hire a plant company to complete this work for you and make sure that you’re not spending a fortune on equipment and transportation.

Gaining Attention

It’s quite common for construction business owners to think that their hard manual labor company should play by different rules compared with the typical office business. But actually, a lot of the requirements are the same, and that includes marketing. You need to make sure that you are marketing your company effectively, making sure that you do get the interest you need on the market to succeed. Otherwise, you will be left in a position where you’ll be struggling to keep up with the bigger construction companies.
We hope this helps you fill in the potholes on the construction industry roads. Once you do, you’ll find it’s smooth driving traveling from profit to profit, without any trouble at all. Take our advice and there will be nothing in between you and great success.

If you’re going through life, wandering and wondering what bigger things are out there for you – you’re right to do so. A lot of people are content in having a nine to five job in an office, going home, and doing that all over again, and again. But some people don’t get anything from that. They need adventures, they need something that changes every day – no two days the same, and requires them to really use what they’ve been blessed with. The idea of doing anything else may shatter them. – Does this sound familiar?

If you know you’re a creative soul that knows your way around tools, and are the go-to handyman at home, then why not use your skills and experience that you’ve mustered up for however many years, and build up your very own construction company?

You will be able to provide yourself a source of income – that means you’re your own boss – no working under anyone – you work for yourself! Going by your own hours, and deciding when you want to work, and when that much-deserved vacation is in order.

As this is only the beginning, your business will start small, just like any other startup, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy nonetheless. You will need to plan very carefully, with a lot of research and time taken into making this happen if you want any kind of success. It is also essential that you follow all the different regulations that are required for the industry you are getting into. All while working hard and doing all you can in terms of the service you put out to ensure that you earn your customers confidence. Remember, you’re not just trying to persuade them to buy a product off you – you’re encouraging them to trust you enough to accept a service that you provide, and that will take a lot more motivation, time, and effort. Having said that, it’ll all be worthwhile when you’re doing what you love.

Here’s how to get there.

Write out your business plan

Your business plan is a written document (produced by you) and essentially maps out exactly how you plan on getting your company up and running. You should include all the goals that you have, along with what you think you need to do in order to reach them. You will also need to add all the financial aspects of what your business will require, like the budget to get it started – the tools and equipment that are needed, not to mention all the different forms of marketing to get your business out there to the people. And don’t forget about any potential business partners that you can work with along the way. Think about it, you’re going to need supplies, like wood, so you’ll want to contact timber harvesting suppliers who can help you with that.

Consider taking out a loan

If you don’t have thousands of pounds worth of savings to help, then your best bet is to apply for a loan so that you have enough money to fund your new business. Rather than just going to the bank and asking, you should bring your business plan with you, and show the banker exactly what you intend on doing. Talk about all of the reasons why you want to start your own construction business, and most importantly, all the reasons why you think it will be a successful one. Then you can go through your options, and look properly at the interest rates and terms and conditions.

Get all your tools ready

Have a good look through all of your tools and equipment to make sure you aren’t missing anything vital. Any equipment that isn’t brand new, make sure you service it to ensure you get the best outcome and desired effect, as, over time, some things won’t work as well and may even need to be replaced. Buy anything that you don’t already have and know it will be needed for basic tasks, like measure levels, ladders, saws, and any little drill bits and pieces.

Market your services to the world

If you don’t market your business well, no one will even know you exist, and how do you expect to be successful that way? Advertise what you offer with different media outlets, whether that be the tv, radio, or online via social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can draw in some faces by offering discounts to new customers, or by them referring other people to you. Lastly, you can ask friends and family to spread the word, as most people find their services through word of mouth recommendations.

There could be quite a few reasons your office needs a bit of a redec, so make sure the areas we mention below aren’t ones bothering your employees! It could end up severely lowering the productivity of your workplace at the end of the day, and no one needs that when they’re in business. Check a few of these most hazardous areas to make sure they’re not disturbing the livelihood of everyone you work with.

It Doesn’t Look Good from the Outside

Curb appeal is something we’ve all heard of, but we usually apply it to the residential sector. Yet it applies to the business world as well; when something looks out of place, as soon as someone sees this they’re going to be off on a badfoot with you! It’s simply human nature at the end of the day, so make sure you’re using it to your advantage, rather than working against it.

Call in some commercial roofing contractors to make sure you’ve got no rotting tiles or thousands of moss patches on the roof of your building. These are unsightly and can immediately inform someone’s opinion on you and what you’re offering; even if you are a hidden gem, people will walk away! Don’t let your deals come out unfruitful simply because people place value in appearances.

When the Cold Runs Straight Through You

Similarly, psychology tells us time and time again that environment perception has an effect on how we feel. With that in mind, make sure you use more warm colors around the rooms of your office. When people feel comfortable, they’re more likely to settle into the tasks they need to get on with, instead of wasting their energy shivering to themselves!

Buildings get worn down all the time, At the end of the day, make sure all your employees are feeling appreciated, and that they’re being treated fairly by the people around them. A lot more work is done as a result, and you’ll be in good business surrounded by talented people for years to come!

When There’s No Space

So work can feel cramped a lot of the time, especially when we’re in a bad mood. However, when you’re fitting 10 or so people into one room, it can be an extreme squeeze. You need to be able to get all the necessary furniture in the same space, and the computer wires can be a real hazard for someone to trip over.

It’s time to increase on your space without actually having to build some new walls. Put some mirrors up if you’re on a bit of a budget, as these can immediately make a room feel a lot bigger due to the reflective element. They can also make the space feel a lot more aesthetically pleasing!

Is your office harming your business operations? Sometimes we don’t even notice it, but make sure you check things out every so often. It’s all for the good of your business, and the effort pays off!

Safety isn’t exactly the most exciting aspect of starting a new business for the first time, but it is undoubtedly one of the most important.

Let’s face, it not only does no one want to work in a place that isn’t safe, but business owners don’t want to be faced with an employee who’s consulted a law firm for personal injury and is now on the hunt for compensation either. That’s why you need to take safety seriously from the very second that you start your business.

Obviously, you can’t 100 percent guarantee that no accidents will ever occur within your company, but if you take the following steps, you will cut the odds significantly…

Ensure Safety Rules are Easy to Access

There’s no point doing all kinds of risk assessments and setting up the best safety procedures you can think of to protect your employees, and your company from litigation, if you don’t make them accessible. Your employees need to be able to see a clear list of safety rules that have been explained in simple language that anyone can follow if they are to follow them. That’s why it never hurts to create an employee handbook and hang up safety rules around the workspace.

Invest in Employee Training and Encourage Your Staff

It’s much easier to keep your startup safe when all of your employees have undertaken safety training relevant to your line of work. It’s even easier when you’ve made it very clear to them how important safety is to all of you. It is for that reason that you might want to consider encouraging safety by, for example, offering small rewards and bonuses to any members of staff who identify potential dangers in the workplace. It’s a simple way of ensuring that everyone in the office is on the ball and always scouting for potential dangers.

Install Safety Officers

Even if you are a small business with very little money to spare, it is not a bad idea to designate a` safety officer for each floor of your company. That way, you can be sure that if there are unsafe practices going on, you will be notified of it. A safety officer doesn’t have to be a separate employee – just give one of your existing staff members some extra training and a slight pay rise and have them take on the role.

Don’t Cut Corners

So many workplace accidents happen when employees cut corners, often at the behest of their employers. If you don’t want to end up getting sued, you absolutely must not encourage or demand that your employees skip out on safety procedures, no matter how much pressure you’re under. Sure, it might speed things up and ensure that you don’t lose that contract, but if it means there’s an accident and you end up having to pay so much compensation that your business is bankrupt before it even gets off the ground or even worse one of your employees suffers life-changing injuries or even death as a result, is it really worth it?

Practice Makes Perfect

If you’re doing it right, you should be training your employees in workplace safety as they join you, but that shouldn’t be the end of it. From time to time you are going to want to get the team together to refresh their memories of the correct safety procedures, work out new improved strategies for keeping everyone safe and do some refresher training where applicable.

Use Protective Equipment

If you work in a dangerous environment, you should always look up the rules and regulations on safety equipment and not only ensure that all staff are using it where necessary, but also that the equipment you use meets official standards. It’s so easy to go for the cheaper option, only to find that it isn’t quite as safe as it should be and end up in a whole lot of trouble. This is one area where, as a small business, you will want to pay more.

Get Insurance

Despite your best efforts, accidents can and do happen, which is why, as a small business owner, you should always make sure that you are insured for every eventuality. If you aren’t and one of your employees ends up getting hurt on your watch, you could be hit with a huge negligence suit that would ruin your company. That is the last thing you want to happen, and you can mitigate against it by having that all-important policy in place.

Stay safe!

The legal industry is vast and varied in terms of the options available to businesses. That makes it a particularly enticing industry to entrepreneurs looking to be more than a lawyer working the 9-5. Starting your own law firm can be highly rewarding in terms of building a reputable brand and making a sizeable profit. Of course, you have to get your company off the ground first. It isn’t enough to simply have legal qualifications; you need to understand how a business works. Here are some pieces of advice to help you on that journey if you’re looking to start a business in the legal industry.

Make a plan.

You need a rough plan in place before your business can get anywhere. Obviously, you’ll fine-tune this plan over time and it’ll change as your business changes. You need to constantly adapt to your industry but every business needs a place to start. One of the most important parts of your plan needs to involve your target market. There are so many different kinds of legal practice out there, as mentioned in the introduction.

What kind of legal practice are you going to be? Maybe you’re qualified in criminal law or court law but you should find a niche within those areas. Perhaps you’ll specifically help people with DUI charges or divorced couples. Finding your gap in the market has to be part of your plan. You need to specialize so that you don’t spread yourself too thinly. A successful legal firm finds its market. But if you’re struggling to form a fleshed out plan then the rest of this article should help you flesh out your business model…

Get a team together.

Your legal business also needs a strong team in place in order for it to do well in this industry. Perhaps you and some fellow colleagues or friends have qualifications that you’re ready to use in order to help clients in a certain target market but you don’t have a business yet. How are you going to reach those clients? You need a marketing campaign to do so, which means you need to hire marketing professionals to help with that. You might need financial advisors to help organize your business’ profits. You could also look into a company such as Answering Legal to enlist the help of professionals who could provide the customer service side of your law firm.

And you’ll need managers to manage those sub-teams. As you can tell, there are lots of different departments you need to think about when you’re creating a business. Your law firm will mainly depend on experienced professionals in the world of law but you need employees who are experienced in other areas of business if your brand is going to succeed. It’s very important to have all the components in place for your practice to be more than a small group of legal professionals: you need your firm to be a full business in order for your brand to really take off and conquer the legal industry.