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Starting a new company means you expose yourself to lots of problems and hassle. That is especially the case if this is the first time you’ve attempted to become an entrepreneur. You don’t have much experience, and so you’re prone to make mistakes others wouldn’t. With that in mind, we’ve tried to predict some of the most likely errors in this article. Hopefully, reading about them now will stop you from repeating them as your business grows. At the end of the day, even the smallest mistakes could cost you dearly. That applies in particular if you don’t have a lot of cash from investors. If you waste money on anything at all, you could dig your venture a shallow grave. Nobody wants that to happen, which is why we encourage you to pay attention. If you manage to avoid the problems mentioned below, you might stand a fighting chance.

Spending too much money before you launch

There is no getting away from the fact that you will have to invest some cash before your start date. However, the last thing you want to do is overspend. You have to remember that you could encounter many new problems when customers begin to place their orders. Maybe there are bugs in your system that you didn’t notice until that time? Perhaps you identify new methods that will speed your packing and loading processes? There are lots of different reasons you might want to spend money in the weeks and months after your company reaches the market. So, the last thing you want to do is discover empty accounts. With that in mind, try to save at least 50% of the cash you got from investors.

Giving away too much of your company to investors

Getting investment for your business idea is never easy. However, most people manage to get the cash they require. Firstly, you would take your business plan to the bank and ask to speak to the manager. With a bit of luck, they would offer the capital you need to get your company off the ground. If that doesn’t work, you have to think outside of the box. If you don’t know anyone with a lot of cash to spare, you might have to contact private equity firms. The chances of getting the investment you need will increase. Even so, you will have to hand over a percentage of your operation. Whatever happens, you should never sell more than 49%. If you do that, you lose control of the venture.

Failing to create a growth plan

As a business owner, you need to know when the time is right to expand your operation. That could mean hiring more employees or moving to larger premises. Ideally, you should aim to create your growth plan before you accept a single sale. There are business experts out there who can assist with the process if you’re unsure. The document just needs to outline the milestones you need to reach before you take action. Maybe you’d like to wait until you’ve made $100,000 in profit before you relocate? Whatever you decide, make sure you stick to the plan unless new information surfaces. You can also use that file to ensure you understand your goals and ambitions. It should give your company an element of direction at the very least.

Employing workers too early

Regardless of the nature of your venture, there will come a time when you need assistance. You’ll notice that when you find yourself working all the hours God sends. Even so, you don’t want to offer permanent contracts too early. So, it makes sense to use temporary workers from a recruitment agency. You pay a little more for their services per hour. However, you don’t have as many financial responsibilities. For example, you won’t have to worry about sick pay. You also don’t have to provide the individual with holiday pay if they decide to spend a week away. If the person starts slacking on the job, you can swap them for another worker straight away. So, don’t make the mistake of employing full-time staff too early. It’s not worth the risk, and it could cause cash flow issues.

Not factoring your business

Like it or not, some companies might not pay your invoices as quickly as they should. When that happens, your business could suffer lots of cash flow issues. You provided the goods or services, and so you want your payment as fast as possible. Thankfully, there is a solution, and it comes in the format of factoring. Specialists like Business Factors & Finance purchase unpaid invoices and provide the money when you need it most. Firms in that industry will perform a credit check on the brand that hasn’t paid. If everything comes back clear, you could have the cash you require in a matter of hours. The factoring experts will then chase the original payment on your behalf.

Failing to develop a marketing strategy

Advertising and promoting your new business could require a lot of hard work. For that reason, it makes sense to design your plan as early as possible. Spend some time researching the most fruitful marketing avenues available to you today. You should then create a plan that explains how you are going to utilize them. Failure to do that could mean you waste your investment on techniques that don’t produce the desired results. You probably can’t afford to outsource promotion at the moment, and so you need to get things right. The internet is your friend, and there are many digital marketing tips articles online. Now is the time to read as many of them as possible.

Not using social media to your advantage

Hundreds of millions of people use social networks on a daily basis. They do that to keep updated with the latest news and stay connected with their friends. Facebook and Twitter are excellent platforms for marketing. You just have to open a business page and start posting updates. With a bit of luck, your audience will grow at a steady rate. You can make an investment in the paid advertising tools on those domains if you have enough money. That would assist you in making sure your posts reach as far as possible. You just need to know some information about the people in your target market. For example, their ages, sexes, locations, and interests will assist you in getting better outcomes.

Trying to manage the books without assistance

No company boss wants to make mistakes when it comes to recording financial information. An IRS investigation could cripple your operation during the early stages. So, you need to ensure your accounts are always correct and up to date. It’s sensible to employ the services of an experienced accountant at the very least. You might also consider buying some specialist software to simplify the accounting process. There are programs available that will record all outgoings and income automatically. So, you’re left with more time to concentrate on expanding your firm.

Not keeping a close eye on your competitors

The brands that compete with yours can play a significant role in your success. You need to watch them carefully if you don’t want to miss anything important. Specialists like Michael Hunter have said that for years. It’s essential that you keep your prices in line with theirs. You also need to know when they are running deals and offers. If you keep a close eye on your competitors, you’ll manage to counteract their moves. With a bit of luck, that should mean you can compete with and counter any new strategies they develop.

Failing to offer routes of progress to employees

There should come a time when you have lots of permanent workers, and you’re making a healthy profit. You’ll want to maintain that success as much as possible. So, it’s sensible for you to develop routes of progress for your employees. You want the best workers to stay with your company for as long as possible. That stops you from having to train new people, and it means you can relax a little. Always try to offer training and advertise any vacancies internally. That will show your staff that they can move on to better roles if they have the motivation. If your managers started as order pickers, you should create a stable operation. That is because the people in power have risen through the ranks to reach their positions.

That’s all we’ve got time for today guys. We hope you will learn from the mistakes mentioned on this page and stop yourself from repeating them. Don’t worry if you get things wrong from time to time because that is always going to happen. You just need to ensure you don’t waste time and money on errors you could have avoided. After reading this article, there is no excuse for falling into the traps we’ve mentioned. With that in mind, we wish you every prosperity for the future and hope your new business goes from strength to strength.

All startup company bosses will need to work hard to master the art of marketing. The truth is, it’s not an exact science. That means an idea that should work won’t always produce the best outcomes. All promotional strategies can become hit and miss. However, certain techniques seem to work well across the board. With that in mind, we’ve released this post today in the hope of giving you some inspiration. Take a look at each of the points below and then try to find a way to apply them to your operation. You’ll never make a killing in the business world if you don’t market effectively. So, now is the time to improve your approach and learn some new ideas. With a bit of luck, that will assist you in reaching a wider audience this year.

Getting better results from social media

You’ve probably opened social media pages for your business already. Well done! That suggests you performed at least some research in the past. Websites like Facebook and Twitter are essential to the success of modern businesses. They allow you to reach almost anyone in the world and increase the size of your customer base. If you want to get better results, now is the time to start using the paid advertising tools. Both Twitter and Facebook offer them, and they could assist you in attracting lots of new people. You just have to know some basic information about those who you want to contact. You then enter the targeting details into the platform and let it work its magic. The best thing about social media ads is that you don’t usually have to make a minimum investment.

Improving your Adwords campaign

Google Adwords is the single most valuable tool for marketers today. It allows you to place advertising banners on millions of relevant sites all over the internet. With a bit of luck, people from within your target market will click those banners and discover your website. However, it’s easy to waste your investment with Adwords, and you probably aren’t getting the best results. Still, we have a couple of tips that could make all the difference. Firstly, you need to learn more about your target market. Try to work out what type of website they might visit most frequently. That information would allow you to refine your targeting. You also need to make sure you use professionally-designed graphics for the best outcomes. Don’t worry if you don’t have the cash to contact an established design firm. You can save money by using freelancers.

Reaching more people with print advertising

Print advertising seems like a thing of the past to some forward-thinking business owners. Still, lots of smaller companies use it if their customers are based in a particular geographical area. Getting some leaflets printed and pushed through doors could have a positive effect on sales. However, the process of doing that can become time-consuming. You can’t afford for a member of your team to take a week off while they make deliveries. That said, there is a solution you might find suitable. Search online for leaflet distribution firms in your local area. There are sure to be at least a couple of them. Companies of that nature handle large deliveries on your behalf. They don’t charge a lot of money for the service, but they do employ a lot of workers. So, it’s possible your leaflets could reach their destinations in no time at all.

Attracting more smartphone users

Hundreds of millions of people are walking around this planet with a smartphone in their pockets these days. It makes sense that you will want to use that device for business promotion. The best way of doing that involves creating a custom app for your customers to download. They can use the program to check your latest items and make purchases at the tap of a screen. So, it’s convenient for both you and them. Most business owners don’t have a clue how to build an app, but that doesn’t matter. Many professionals working in the industry dedicate their time to that process. You just need to find a specialist that has a history of creating superior designs. Upload your app to all the most popular smartphone stores, and allow people to download it for free for the best results.

Achieving more conversions from your mailing list

Many company bosses decide to purchase email mailing lists these days because they help them to reach more new customers. However, you might not get the results you desire when you send your bulk messages. With that in mind, it makes sense to improve the content as much as possible. If you want to boost conversion rates, you’ll have to think about the way in which you construct the messages. Make sure they always open with a tag line to get people hooked. You should then include a short paragraph that seems fun or humorous. After that, you need to highlight products or services and publish website links. The links are important because lots of people will click them, and you should notice a spike in traffic. With a bit of luck, that will lead to more conversions.

Whatever happens this year, we hope you now have some brilliant ideas about the best ways to improve your marketing strategy. As we said at the beginning of this post, it’s not an exact science. Sometimes timing has more to do with success than anything else. For instance, you might try an idea out today and fail to achieve the desired results. However, if you did the same thing tomorrow, the outcome could blow you away. So, never slate yourself too much if something goes wrong. Most of the time, success is mainly out of your control. That said, using the right strategies and working hard every day is the best way to tip the scales of balance in your favor. Thanks for reading guys! We’ll see you back here tomorrow for some more actionable business tips. Remember to take a look around before you leave us.

The statistic that eight out of ten new businesses fail in the first year isn’t surprising. What is shocking is that entrepreneurs don’t learn from their forefathers mistakes. There can be no doubt that a lot of the reasons companies fail are hard to avoid. A lack of capital, for instance, isn’t a quick fix even if you plan ahead in advance. Still, there are plenty of obstacles that firms can hurdle. Avoiding the significant barriers is the difference between success and becoming a statistic. Here are a few tips to help you beat the odds.

Be Conservative

Do you want to know a secret? The reason businesses fail in their first year is because they bite off more than they can chew. Yep, new companies aren’t very good at keeping the bar low in the beginning. By the time they get half way through the year, their targets come back to bite them on the ass. New firms have to start slow if they want to maximize success. By going slow, there is more room for flexibility should something go wrong. Problems often occur out of nowhere, so it’s a savvy move as expanding too fast can lead to cash flow issues and irreparable errors. There is plenty of time for that later!

Know The Customer

The sad truth is that businesses like to think they know their customers, but they don’t. Over a longer period, it becomes easier to spot the people that are going to make a difference. After all, you know the products inside and out, so you know who is likely to make a purchase. In the beginning, the usual suspects are hard to spot, a lot like Keyser Soze. What you have to do is figure out who the key players are so that you can market to them to maximize sales. Surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups are good places to start, as is analyzing customer data.

Think Security

Far too many firms don’t take security seriously enough in the early stages of life. Not treating security with respect is a huge danger because it leaves the business vulnerable. You might only be small, but any hacker can take a shot just because they are bored. Companies have to turn to sites like https://hstechgroup.com in their time of need. These sites not only deal with cyber security, but they also cover physical security. As https://www.wsj.com says, people don’t place enough emphasis on non-cyber security any longer. Don’t make the same mistake because not all thieves use a keyboard to steal.

Spend Wisely

As the introduction alluded to, money will be tight. To survive, you have to stretch your budget or make more. It’s that simple, but it isn’t a simple goal to hit. An error that is common among startup bosses is the unwillingness to splash the cash. Because they don’t have much of it, they want to hoard it for a rainy day. The problem with this tactic is that it encourages you to miss opportunities. A security camera could reduce employee theft and save money, or a new hire could raise productivity. You’ll never know if you are scared to dip into the budget.

A firm needs to be frugal, but they also need to have financial conviction.

Networking groups can be an incredibly valuable tool in the business world, especially when you are just starting out. They are a great way of making contacts that could bring in business, and they are also useful for scoping out the competition. The links that you make at networking events can make or break a business so it is important that you attend them. But even better than attending them, is setting them up yourself. That way you can invite people that are most beneficial to you, and maximize the effectiveness of the event. It can be difficult to set up a successful networking group, but if you do it right, the benefits will be enormous. Here are some of the key things you need to do to make your networking events successful.

Do Your Research

There is a simple way that you can do this, attend as many events as possible. Not only will you get the benefits that come with attending a lot of networking events, you will also be able to see which ones are most popular and work out why. That way, when you start your own networking group you will be able to imitate these features. In some cases, it might be possible to change the focus of an existing networking group to suit your own interests, this will save you a lot of work.

Have a Clear Aim

The best networking groups are clear in their purpose. You need to remember that the idea of networking events is that they are mutually beneficial. If you have a clear idea of the types of links you want to forge, it will be a lot easier to decide who to invite. As a result of this, everybody in attendance will make better connections and will be more likely to be a regular member of the group. If people arrive and the guests they speak to are not really in their field, they are not likely to return.

Make your Events Enjoyable

This might seem a bit obvious, but it’s still worth mentioning. After all, people are giving up an evening to attend these events and while they are there to make business links, they will still be reluctant to come again if the event is boring. Make sure that you have interesting and relevant speakers. You should also make sure you get the best catering, you would be surprised how much difference it could make. The venue needs to be carefully considered as well, if it is not very accessible to your guests, you might find that people stop showing up. Pick somewhere that is easy to get to and is a nice venue.

Listen to Your Members

If you have done everything else right, you should have some regular members by now. Speak to them regularly about any changes they think could be made to the group and listen to them. After all, you want them to keep coming back. If you do not listen to your members, and just operate the group in a way that is only beneficial to yourself, you will soon see it fall apart.

If you follow these steps, there is no reason why you can’t create a successful networking group and widen your professional circle.  

As a start up, it can be very difficult to make sure that you have the very best procedures and processes in place to run your business well. And, one of the biggest areas affected by this difficulty is IT. You may not see it now, as your business is still quite small. But, after a short amount of time; you will find that daily IT problems start to become far too much to deal with. If you don’t have the right systems in place, or you invested in the wrong options; this could be catastrophic for your business. So, to help you out, this post will be going through some of the best ways to make sure that your IT is started off right.

To start this off, you’re going to need to do some research. Your business will be unique the work that it does. So, there’s no easy way to get this sort of research done. You have to think about the tasks that your employees will have to perform. And, try to find the very best option for the job. But, while doing this, you also have to make sure that all of the tools you choose work together. So, now, it’s probably quite easy to see how hard this research can be. Most companies will benefit from a little bit of help here. So, you may need to get the advice of a consultant before you start signing up to things. This sort of professional will also be able to help you when it comes to making sure that you have the right hardware in your business. This can make a huge difference, especially for businesses on a small budget.

Consultants in the modern age will often advise that you start using as many off-site services as possible. This greatly reduces the amount of servers and hardware that you have to buy yourself. And, will also benefit you when it comes to security. There are loads of options out there for things like file storage and backups. But, the best ones offer a little bit of everything that your business will needs. Google’s GSuite is a great example of a service like this. It enables businesses to have all of their files in the same place. And, even gives staff access to industry leading software, like Google Docs. So, it’s a good idea to listen to anyone who is offering this sort of advice.

Of course, not everything will be able to be handled by another company. Ideally, you’ll want to have control over your own computers. And, this will mean that you have to own them. Along with this, employees will need to be able to connect to the internet. This will mean that you need to have at least some basic networking gear to get started. Thankfully, though, you don’t have to do this by yourself. And, you don’t have to hire someone to do it for you. Instead, you can use another business. There are loads of IT support companies out there. And, most will be able to help you with all of your IT needs; big or small.

Hopefully, this will give you a good idea of what needs to be done if you want to avoid some bad IT problems before they come. Preparing for things like this is often the very best way to deal with them.

The safety of your employees is vital. If they’re not secure at work, it can harm the company as well as the workforce. Employee lawsuits are no laughing matter, after all. But, even if you take health and safety seriously, you can still end up on the wrong side of the law. It isn’t enough for a company to create protocols – they have to maintain them too. A business that places emphasis on maintenance is one that respects its worker’s rights. With that in mind, this post is going to guide you through the tricks of the trade.

Inspect Hardware

Every business has equipment which they keep in case of an emergency. A fire extinguisher or sprinklers are two of the main examples. However, they are used very little because fires aren’t common in offices. So, when the time does come, there is a chance they might not work correctly. According to ECSCorrosion.com/dry-pipe-faq, an inspection will ensure that everything goes to plan. Every once in awhile, you need to test the equipment so that you know it works. And by equipment, that means every piece in the workplace that involves health and safety.

Adjust Protocols

Creating safety measures is a good first step, but it is only a first step. To ensure that they are current, you need to adjust them at regular intervals. The landscape of the health and safety industry changes every year. That means that new measures are put in place, measures which companies have to adhere to if they want a safe working environment. As the boss, it’s your responsibility to understand what needs changing and how to change it. At the least, you need to put someone in charge that can keep up with the latest processes.

Involve Employees

Sites from https://ishm.org to http://www.hsa.ie understand that employees have a major role to play in their safety. Workers, though, aren’t always as bright. The reason for this is that most of the responsibility is with the employer. You are the one that has to make sure everything is safe. Employees, then, now think that all of the blame lies at the feet of the company. The truth is that they are just as liable. Their actions have consequences, so they need to understand their involvement in the process. A clever tactic is to involve them so that they begin to appreciate their role. Also, the workforce is a handy tool to help maintain workplace safety.

Train Everyone

Everyone in the office needs to know how to react when they face hazards. If they don’t know what to do, accidents will happen. The only way to teach the office is to train every single person. And, that means people like you and the rest of the higher ups in the firm. Anyone that steps foot in the building is a potential danger, but training negates the risk.

Finally, remember that when your methods slip, people in the office start to slip. When that happens, it can be costly.

Want a great business idea? Well, how about three?! Below, we’ve listed three great business ideas in the very profitable technology industry:

Software Developer

The first idea we have is to create a software development company. This idea is pretty straightforward, you put time and effort into developing a piece (or pieces) of software than other people can download. It’s a proven business model, as almost everyone needs software in some way or another. Businesses require software that’s tailored to help them with certain things like HR, marketing, or accounting. Schools need software to help them with things like attendance tracking. Then, you have individuals that need software to help with things like graphic design, word processing, etc. Your hardest task is deciding what software you’re going to develop. Our advice is to create something worthwhile that people will want to download. Look at the current market and try to spot a gap that you can exploit.

Smartphone Manufacturer

More and more small, independent, smartphone manufacturers are popping up these days. People realize how profitable this idea is, and are deciding to try cut themselves a slice of the cake. You could start a business that makes a new smartphone for people to buy. It’s a fairly easy concept, and there are loads of places like digsemi.com where you can get your hands on the electrical components required. Mainly, you want to create a phone that offers something different to others on the market. A good idea is creating a good and powerful device that’s extremely affordable. Or, creating a device that can be adapted and altered is a good idea too. For example, you can make a phone where you can remove certain parts of it and swap them for different parts. So, you could remove the camera and attach a better one. Or, you could go all out and try to create a real top level smartphone to compete with other flagship devices.

Cloud Provider

Another business idea that can bring a lot of success is starting a cloud computing business. This is where you provide companies/people with cloud computing services. They go to you for cloud storage, cloud applications; you name it! It’s a very popular idea as the cloud is getting more and more popular. As you can see from this article on salesforce.com, lots of businesses are moving to the cloud. So, there’s demand for your service, and you can earn a lot of money.

Any of these business ideas will lead to great things for you. Remember, it’s very important that you tread carefully around all the legal matters when starting a company. We touched on a few of them in this article here http://seriousstartups.com/2017/03/30/ if you want to learn more. A good business idea is nothing if you don’t know how to properly set things up and register your company, so, bear that in mind.

If you’re interested in starting your first business and have a lot of knowledge in the tech industry, then these three ideas could be perfect for you.

Starting a new business is like doing anything for the first time: there are a lot of unknowns. First, you can never be sure that your idea is any good until you go out into the world and find out. Consumers will not have any problem letting you know if you have something that they’re not interested in. Secondly, and especially if you haven’t run your own business before, you will not know how you will perform in that role. Shakespeare was right four hundred years ago when he said ‘uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’. You will quickly have to learn how to improve on all the things that you aren’t great at. Thirdly, and as strange as it sounds, you will not be aware of all of the things that you don’t know yet. It is one thing to work on the faults you recognize in yourself but quite another to try and fix things that you don’t even realise are going wrong. Running a startup is going to be stressful.

It is not until you are actually in the thick of your business that you start to appreciate just how many costs are associated with running it. Everything will cost something, whether it is your time or your money. You will find that things break and need repairing or that a law will change that means you have to pay your employees more. Whatever it is, you will want to save as much money as possible. Here a few tips for trying to keep everything as under control as you can:

Organisation is key to any business and it can save you a lot more money than you expect. To get off to a great start, you should implement good practice from your first day. For some people that means investing in a way of labeling everything so you can always know its place (check out Dial A Label) but for others it could mean that the office is a complete mess but the person who runs it knows exactly where everything is. As long as you have a system that works for you, it will be cheaper than getting everything mixed up and being stymied by it.

Since your business will likely start small and hopefully grow, in the first few years, you will probably know everyone who works for you. You’ll work alongside them on a day to day basis and that can present challenges of its own. If there is a problem, you will not have an entire HR department to help you. That is why you should be completely clear and honest about every aspect of your business. You do not want anyone to have any feelings of resentment or antipathy towards you. Remember: happy employees are more effective employees.

Finally, work hard but remember to have fun sometimes as well. To be at your fighting weight, making the best decisions for you and your business, you need to be relaxed and feeling good. Working too hard will not always produce better results. Besides, life is too short to spend at the office all day.

If you have ever dreamed about setting up your own business, chances are that at some point you have thought about going into the hospitality industry. Most likely while sitting in a restaurant while frustratedly waiting for your meal to arrive or in a bar after a beer or two too many! For most people it remains a pipe dream, but some actually take the plunge and start a very rewarding business.

Obviously all startups need a great deal of hard work and determination, but the food and drink industry is particularly tough to break into. If you are looking to enter this world but don’t really know where to begin, here are a few things you need to think about before starting a hospitality business.

Make Sure the Products are First Class

People go to particular restaurant or bar because they know what they are getting there is special – whether this is a delicious menu cooked by a master chef or an extensive range of hand-crafted cocktails. Before you think about investing in premises, make sure you know what products you will be serving and how you will differentiate yourself from the competition. Also, do some taste testing before so that other people can confirm or deny your thoughts about how good your products actually are!

Find the Right Premises

You may find that your business is suited to a busy high street where there is a particularly high footfall. You may want to be based in a more exclusive location in which case you will need to work harder with the marketing and actually getting your name out there. When you find a place, make sure to scout out the competition so you know exactly who you are competing against.

Think About the Decor

Obviously the food and drink itself will play a central role in the business, but so will the actual layout and decor of the place. Many food and drink establishments follow a certain theme. Often this theme is dictated by the type of clientele you will welcome, so try to profile exactly what type of person you expect to attract. Once you have worked out your target audience, you will be better able to cater to them.

Day to Day Running

The food, drink, decor and location are all the bigger picture things you will need to consider, but you should also think about what you will need to actually run the place on a daily basis. You will certainly need some specific equipment, so check butlerequipment.com.au for some different options. You will also need a strong team, so consider how many staff members you will need initially as well as the training programme and company structure.

Brand the Business

Branding plays a central role in every business so make sure your company name is strong, as well as the logo and colour scheme. You will also likely have all sorts of branded items such as uniforms and menus so take the time to get these exactly as you would like them.

If you haven’t yet realized that data is the new currency, it is only a matter of time. Just think about it for a moment. Everything is linked by some form of data management tool or system. Data has even got so big and complex that we are having to call it Big Data. But the fact it is becoming increasingly hard to manage is just one of the reasons why companies are now choosing to outsource their IT and computing needs.

So let’s take a quick look at what the biggest benefits are when it comes to outsourcing your needs to a third-party supplier:

Money Is Massive

It doesn’t matter what business you operate in, you operate in business, and that means you have to think about your bottom-line and make decisions that are going to save you money. Well, that’s where outsourcing your IT needs comes in. It is just a lot more cost-effective to have a company specialize in IT, and one that has other contracts to keep them successful, than it is to employ an in-house team. That’s what makes this the biggest benefit, and the number one reason why companies are making the switch.

Access To Experts

The world of technology is the fastest changing industry out there. Advancements are made everyday and the next generation of things comes out every week. As such, it is unlikely that you are going to be able to keep up, not will your budget allow your in-house team too. That’s where outsourcing comes in. Not only will they be able to take on tasks like data recovery, they will also be able to provide you with access to latest technology and resources. This will allow you to stay competitive without having to shell out a ton of money.

State Of The Art

For a third-party IT company to stay at the top of their game, and stay competitive, they are going to have to stay up to date with the latest techniques, software, and hardware. That cost is on them, though, not you. Sure, their premiums will match their capabilities and offerings, but this will be a fraction of the cost compared to trying to keep up with the changes yourself.

Broader Shoulders

When you bring on an external IT support provider, you are instantly relieving yourself of some of the burdens you carried as a company. The reason for this is, you are now sharing a lot of the infrastructural risk that came with the IT side of your business. This will see you lap up the increased flexibility granted to you, and allow you to become a more agile and dynamic company. What does that mean? It means your customers and clients will experience the benefits of a better product and/or service.

Back To Your Priorities

Whether you care to admit it or not, your business relies on your IT capabilities, which means that a lot of your focus is on the maintenance of this area. Once you offload that responsibility to an expert provider, you will be able to refocus your priorities on the things that really matter. Typically that means growing your business and improving your service.

If you are a recent startup and are now running a recruitment drive then congratulations are in order. Your business is clearly growing, meaning you have made it a success. Something to be proud of considering most fail in their first year. A recruitment drive isn’t an easy thing to manage, in fact it is quite tough, depending on the amount of people you are recruiting of course. You want them to be good, well vetted and committed to your business and the only way you are going to ensure this is by doing proper checks on everyone you have considered and ensuring the interview process satisfies all the questions you want answers to.

Get a Plan Together

First you need to get a plan together. You don’t want to over recruit or under recruit, check the exact amount of people you really need in your business. You don’t want to end up spending more money than you need. Analyse where you are going to recruit from, the level of experience and qualification needed and think about using an applicant tracking system to make sure everything is done smoothly and so you have everyone who has applied in one place. The organisation will see you through and help you make the right decisions.

Set Appropriate Interview Parameters

First, don’t do it alone. Even if you are the only person in the business. You will need a second opinion here. They could see something you don’t. It could be someone with interview experience. A friend or ex-colleague. Just someone else to sit their with you and help assess the candidate. You need to set questions that are pertinent, but not invasive. Be careful what you ask. There are things you should never ask at interview. Don’t forget you can set little tests too. They can be role playing test or specific tests set to find out whether the candidate would be appropriate for the role offered. Be thorough and ask all questions you feel necessary without being invasive. Remember you aren’t just checking their qualifications and references you are also looking into their attitude and working out whether you would work well together. They need to fit in more than anything else to encourage a good working relationship. They need to have a good work ethic too, if you are careful during the interview you can work all of this out.

Ensure Your Vetting Is Good

This is important. You must ensure your vetting is done right otherwise you could end up with someone that has lied and slipped through the net. Check everything they say, especially their references and their degree or other relevant qualifications. Call the university and previous employers and ask about their conduct and the way they worked. You could check absence, behavior and the like too. Check up on everything they say, even if it seems meaningless. You want to make sure you get the right person who fits in with you and the business. You would be doing your business a dis-justice if you didn’t do the proper checks.

As you probably know, it’s now easier than ever to start a business. The wide accessibility people have to the internet, and the various collaborative resources that come with it, means that all you really need to start trading is a device and an internet connection. This shift may sound great on the surface, but it’s really something of a double-edged sword. The sheer ease with which you can start a business has led to a lot of complacency in all the wrong areas. Here are a few legal blunders business owners need to avoid like the plague…

Choosing the Wrong Structure

If you don’t choose the best legal structure for your business, you may wind up becoming personally liable if the company makes a significant loss, or a claim is brought against you (although it’s possible to insure yourself against this). The right structure to adopt will depend heavily on the nature of the business you’re starting. Some of the most common are; sole trader, a partnership (which can be a limited liability), or a limited company (more legal responsibility, but you get more hedging between your finances and the company’s). Do your research into what each of these structures mean, and choose the one that’s right for you. You can start with this helpful Entrepreneur article.

Not Knowing your Industry’s Regulations

While there are certain universal laws that all businesses have to stick to, there are going to be regulations which are exclusive to the business niche you’re planning to tackle. Most businesses will need to hire in services like Analogue Electrics Ltd to make sure they’re keeping to legal safety standards, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Cafés, for instance, exist in one of the tightest regulatory environments in the UK in terms of health and sanitation standards. Any company that has to dispose of hazardous waste will also be subject to extreme scrutiny, and businesses whose operations represent any kind of threat to the environment are under an increasing amount of pressure to follow the law to a tee. Ignorance is no defence for brushing over your industry’s regulations, so don’t let this mistake slip through the net.

Lack of Solid Contracts and Workplace Policies

Your entire workforce may be made up of close friends and associates, but that doesn’t mean you can get away with not having formal employment arrangements. Things may be fine now, but if you hit some rough waters at some point in the future, you could find yourself facing a massive claim. You need to have contracts in writing that include all the basic necessary details such as the rate of pay, holiday entitlement, obligatory working hours and necessary notice periods. You also need to make sure you have properly documented policies outlining the minimum statutory requirements, such as flexible working and maternity or adoption leave. You should also outline the company’s disciplinary and dismissal procedures in an employee handbook, and make sure this information is readily available to your staff.

Running a construction business can be very lucrative. A good contractor with a healthy customer base can bring in a large profit every year. Unfortunately there are some things that could damage your profits. Here are some things to watch out for if you are running a construction business.

Supply Costs

The cost of the materials you need to complete jobs will be constantly fluctuating. If you do not factor this into your pricing, you could end up reducing your profit margins drastically. There are a few ways to avoid this; firstly, buy all of your materials for a project at the beginning. It will cost you more upfront, but you might get halfway through the project and find that the supplies you need have jumped up in price. You have already agreed a price with the customer and they can’t be expected to pay more, so you will end up eating into your profits to pay the difference.

It is also a good idea to be aware of price levels at all times. This way, if prices start to creep up, you can buy the supplies for future projects while the price is still relatively low. If prices are exceptionally low on materials that you use often, it may be worth buying in bulk before the prices rise again.

Health and Safety

You might not think that Health and Safety has anything to do with your profit margins. It doesn’t, but only if you abide by regulations to the letter. If you are caught operating outside of health and safety procedures you could be hit with a big fine, and work could be halted. This means you’ve probably lost all of the profit you would have earned from the project, and you’ll be behind time finishing it. Health and Safety is often ignored because workers don’t realise that accidents happen as often as they do.

Every year there are thousands of deaths on construction sites. Nearly forty percent of workplace deaths in 2014 were caused by falling. So, you need to make sure that, when using ladders, scaffolding and aerial work platforms, you are following safe working practices.

If anything were to happen, and you were liable, you could be in store for a huge fine or even time in prison. Depending on the seriousness of the accident, you may be ordered to pay up to $10 million, or spend as long as two years in prison if you cannot pay. It only takes one incident to completely cripple a construction company.  

Time

When giving prices for projects, you aren’t charging by the day or the hour. You’ll get paid a fixed amount on completion. The longer you take to complete a project, the less money you’ll be earning on each one. However, you do need to be careful not to rush jobs as this will increase the risk of workplace injury as well as sacrificing the quality of work. If the work is bad, you will lose custom, regardless of how quickly you completed it. Try to strike a good balance when giving estimates, so everything is done professionally in as little time as possible, then you can move onto the next project and get paid again.

Using these tips, you can maximize the profits of your construction company.

So, you’ve struggled through the first year or two getting your business off the ground, and despite the challenges, you’ve managed to grow to a point where your operation needs to expand into a physical premises. First of all, congratulations! Setting up a new office, especially if you’re starting with nothing, can quickly become a very expensive project. If you’re already feeling the pinch of your budget, here are some handy tips to make sure you stick to it.

Less is More

By keeping a firm cap on the amount of stuff you’re going to have in your new office, you’ll not only stand to save a lot of money, but also help yourself and your team to be more productive. In order to establish this cap, make sure you fill your office with the essentials and only the essentials from the word “go”. Do you really need to have hundreds of pens at the ready? Are you going to have a use for a whole cabinet of notebooks, binders and scrolls of printer paper? If the nature of your business means you’ll need these things in bulk, then go ahead and stock up. However, to make the most of the budget and space you have, set a limit on what you’ll buy.

Don’t Forget About Services

Your budget should include more than just the physical items you’re going to have in your office. Aside from all the desks, chairs and other practical purchases, you may need to budget for commercial cleaning services, regular maintenance, printing services from firms like Xeretec, site security, visits from food trucks, and so on. Obviously, this is all going to depend on the nature of your business, and if you’re going to be running a small office with only a handful of employees, you may not need any of these recurring services at all. However, if you are planning on having regular services, make sure you include this in your budget. You don’t want to blow all your money on plant pots and contemporary art, and realize that you can’t source the essential services your office needs!

Go Digital

These days, one of the most cost-effective ways to trim down any unnecessary space is using as many digital alternatives to traditional functions as possible. For example, you could try using a phone-routing system that’s compatible with smart phones, in combination with a good BYOD policy. This will make all those clunky, bible-sized phones more or less obsolete. Obviously, if you’ve had a long history with these old systems it can be a little daunting to adopt, but you can still set up voice mail systems, phone menus, and various other functions from more conventional phone systems. Another good way to save space and money is using digital filing systems. All businesses need good record keeping, and moving all your important records over to digital storage will eliminate the need for bulky filing cabinets, and save you a small fortune that you’d usually spend on paper.