Over the last few years, a lot of physical retail businesses have gone online, either to become completely online businesses or physical-online hybrids. This makes a lot of sense. Huge online businesses like Amazon have changed the way that people shop, which means physical stores can have a hard time keeping up. Taking at least part of your business online is a sensible strategy that has worked well for many businesses. However, we are not starting to see the opposite happening too, with online businesses opening physical retail locations. So what can your online business do to make this transition to the real world as smooth as possible?
One of the biggest decisions you will have to make is choosing where you will set up your business. You need to research where your target market can be found, what sort of competition an area has, and what kind of deal you can get on a lease or a building purchase. For a small online business, this might be very tough to do. Online businesses have much lower start-up costs. Do a lot of research, and talk to other business owners in the area you’re considering to get a feel for it.
Invest In A Good Point-Of-Sale System
Your POS system will play a big part in how successful you are. How difficult or intuitive it is will determine how well your employees are able to manage their responsibilities and how satisfied they feel at work. How robust the system is will determine your customer experience too. Look for a system with easy integration with a number of different devices, so you can accept payments with your phone or a tablet, as well as at the till. This is useful on the shop floor and if you go out to events.
Cross-Promote
Once you have got a secure foot online and offline, don’t keep the two sides separate. Promote your physical business on your online channels, and promote your online business in your physical store. You want to generate as much business as you can across both, so make sure all your customers know that both options are available to them. They will find both options useful for different things.
Start Small
Some online businesses are making huge investments in physical spaces. Don’t do the same. It’s better to start small, especially if you have a more limited audience. Invest in a small location, with limited inventory, and a minimal staff. You could start out by attending conventions and trade shows. Don’t invest too much into space until you know that it can work for your business.
Gather Data And Adjust
Keep careful details of exactly how your business is performing in both offline and online channels. Gather as much data as you can on how your customers behave, such as how they buy and how they respond to surveys about your brand, and adjust what you’re doing according to the results.
If you’re familiar with the industry events known as trade shows, you will know how valuable they can be to your business. Trade shows offer a lot of opportunities, from raising brand awareness to networking with potential clients and making sales.
Trade shows need a lot of planning, from staffing to stunning trade show displays. Start your preparation two to three months in advance. Don’t just show up and hope for the best. There is a lot of competition, and it’s easy to get lost in the sea of booths and attendees. Use these tips to nail your first trade show.
Find Out Who Will Be Attending
Attendee lists are usually available in advance. Check the list to work which contacts might be interested in your business and send them a short introductory email.
Think about reaching out to them to let them know that you would love to meet them and encourage them to stop by your booth. Be careful not to go straight in with a sales email. Keep this first contact light and personal. You’re introducing yourself, not trying to sell your products yet.
Bring Your A-Team
The team that you take with you to staff your booth can have a huge impact on how the event goes for your company. There are two options. You could use an event staffing agency that has experience working at trade shows, or you could bring an in-house team. Whichever option you go for, remember that the people working will be the face of your business. They need to be friendly, motivated, and professional.
An in-house team is usually the better choice, as they know your company best. Don’t fall into the trap of only sending your marketing team, or sending junior team members because you don’t think you can spare anyone senior from the office. Think about what attendees are likely to what to know and who can best help with that. Send a team with complementary skills. Someone from PR can deal with the press, a salesman can convert leads, and a tech specialist can answer any technical questions.
Prepare Your Staff
Be prepared to answer questions. Everyone staffing your booth will be asked specifics. Everyone on the stand needs to be an expert in your company and your product. Make sure your team is ready by preparing a list of anticipated questions and role-play before the show to get some practice in.
Ask people who come to the booth questions too. Your goal isn’t to sell, but to build mutually beneficial relationships. Do you offer something they will find useful? The only way to know this is to ask questions. If your product isn’t a good fit, they might know someone who would want it.
Be Ready To Give Product Demos
Display your product and be ready to let attendees test it out. Before they buy, people want to see, touch, or taste something. Product demonstrations can be a big help at a trade show.
With the trend of homeworking expected to continue, it’s more crucial than ever to stay productive and maintain your health. To assist you in doing this, we’ve compiled a list of 15 top recommendations for feeling well and performing well at work while working from home.
As comforting as working from your bed or favorite spot on the sofa sounds, selecting a space specifically for work will increase your productivity. If possible, choose a separate room with a good source of natural light, which can become your dedicated home office. Using different spaces in your home, like this, can help to create a physical distinction between working and relaxing, making the boundaries between home life and work-life much clearer. If this option isn’t available to you, opt for a space in your home that is furthest from household noise and distractions. If you can’t do this at home, you may want to consider looking for a coworking space.
Set Your Desk Up Correctly And Maintain Good Posture
For employees who spend several hours each day at their desks, looking into the ergonomic factors relating to your desk set-up is a must. Making small enhancements to workstations can have a wealth of benefits, from reducing the likelihood of lower back pain and tension headaches to increasing energy levels and boosting confidence. Try to follow these steps from the NHS for setting up your desk to improve comfort, posture, and productivity whilst working from home.
Try To Limit Distractions At Home
While there are many benefits to working from home, it can introduce several new distractions to contend with. It might become tempting to start household chores during work time or to turn on the TV whilst at home. To overcome these potential distractions, try to allocate a certain time for completing housework and ensure that your workspace is clean and tidy, ahead of the working day. Instead of turning on the TV, try listening to music instead. Research from Harvard Medical School explains how listening to certain types of music at different times can boost your mood, reduce stress levels, and enhance cognitive performance. Not only will you overcome a distraction, but you will discover a solution that boosts productivity instead!
Incorporate Decompressing Into Your Routine
For a lot of people, getting off of work is just the start of their day; they still have a lot of things they’ll need to do, such as chores at home, running errands, picking up the kids, and maybe even going to a second job. It all depends. But regardless of what choice you make, you’re going to have to keep in mind that you’ll need to decompress and find ways to just let go and relax for a bit. It doesn’t have to be long, either. Ideally, something like fifteen to twenty minutes can massively help! For example, during this time, you just do things that are good for your health, such as playing a game of Mahjong on your phone, doing some breathing exercises, practicing meditation, or even consuming positive content But overall, you just need to keep these in mind.
Don’t Be Consumed By Social Media
As more time is spent on devices, one of the most popular sources of distraction comes from an increase in social media use, which can become addictive without the usual boundaries that limit access in an office environment. If you’re losing too much time to social media, our team suggests logging out of your accounts during working hours or turning off notifications, especially on mobile devices. In addition, removing social media links from your desktop browser can help to reduce temptation and encourage you to make a more conscious decision about when you would like to browse and publish updates there.
Set Healthy Boundaries With Your Household
It’s easy for family members, friends, and flatmates to forget that while you’re at home, you’re also working. To maintain healthy relationships and minimize disruption, have a conversation with your household in advance so that they are aware of your working hours and appreciate the type of environment that will support your arrangement. If it isn’t possible to follow your usual pattern, depending on individual circumstances, modifying your working hours and responsibilities might be an option. Discuss this with your line manager in the first instance and communicate any changes to your colleagues and professional network, where required. If your hours do change, we would also recommend updating your diary to manage expectations and help you maintain the boundaries between your work life and home life.
Introduce A Homeworking Routine
Whilst there is no pressure to ‘get ready’ when you’re working from home (unless you have video calls scheduled), it’s a good idea to change out of your pajamas and maintain usual levels of grooming and hygiene. In the same way that setting aside a space for work helps to establish boundaries, getting ready in the morning will help you to adopt a professional mindset while signaling that your working day is due to begin.
Create A Schedule That Suits You
Having a schedule helps you to manage their workload, complete allocated tasks on time, and recognize when they can take on more work. While there are many templates available to help you plan your day, and we would always advise using one, have you ever considered how to optimize a schedule for you? Informed by genes, age, and environment, each person has their biological rhythm (chronotype), which determines when they feel most awake, ready to get up in the morning, and fall asleep at night. An article in Business Insider outlines the best sleeping times and work schedules for Dr. Michael J. Breus’ four chronotypes: dolphins, lions, bears, and wolves. Identify your chronotype and combine this with the flexibility homeworking offers, to create an effective schedule, tailored to the needs of your internal clock.
Develop A Short Routine To End The Working Day
Without the journey home to mark the end of a working day, it can become more difficult to switch off afterward and get the rest that’s needed to stay productive and maintain high standards of well-being. To combat this threat, we recommend introducing a short routine at the end of your working day, to replace the usual endpoint that traveling home provides. As the end of the day approaches, review and update your to-do list, check tomorrow’s schedule, and try to finish on a positive note, so you feel more relaxed and prepared for the next day. Before switching off, say goodbye to your colleagues, so they know that you’re leaving, and tidy your workspace, ensuring that all equipment is packed away. This last suggestion is particularly important if you don’t have a dedicated room to work in, as it will help your house to become a home again.
How Often Should Break And For How Long?
Without the refreshment breaks, conversation, and in-person meetings that naturally break up the working day, employees may need to learn when to schedule breaks, so that they can stay productive and feel well. A long-established time management method, that improves focus and productivity, is the Pomodoro Technique. This method advocates breaking your day into 25-minute intervals, which are followed by five-minute breaks, known collectively as Pomodoros. After completing four Pomodoros, take a longer break of 15-30 minutes, and repeat this process throughout the day. By giving a task your full focus for a manageable amount of time, it allows you to concentrate on completing it and rewarding yourself with a break afterward, to stay refreshed. Use this technique to stay productive, schedule adequate breaks, and feel a greater sense of achievement at the end of the working day.
How Can Breaks Boost Your Productivity?
When a break begins, one of the most beneficial actions you can take is simply moving away from your desk. Remaining in the same workspace all day can become tedious while stepping away during break times allows you to take stock and return with a fresh perspective. Making a healthy lunch or drink, reading your favorite book, or catching up with a friend are all great options for making the most of your time out. However, with more time spent at desks, carrying out physical activity is fast becoming a crucial part of the working day. Activities like stretching can reduce aches and pains while attending a virtual fitness class or going outdoors for a jog or brisk walk can raise energy levels while reducing feelings of stress and loneliness. To get you started, BUPA has a selection of desk stretches for homeworkers, while the Guardian has reviewed the best virtual fitness sessions on offer.
Virtual Conferences, Online Training And Nsocializeetworking
A more opportunistic aspect of the shift towards homeworking is that many meetings, conferences, and training courses have moved online, which improves accessibility for all. Whether it’s the cost and inconvenience of travel, or funding for accommodation and admission that have stood in your way previously, many of these barriers to participation have now been lowered or removed altogether, so there’s no better time to learn more about your sector, grow your network and upskill. Browse your professional body’s website to discover the range of qualifications, accreditations, and networking forums that could work for you. Meanwhile, sector-specific publications and their social media channels can be an excellent outlet for discovering more informal learning opportunities and virtual conferences, to boost your career.
How To Socialise With Your Colleagues Remotely
Working remotely doesn’t mean that the social aspect of spending time with your colleagues must come to an end. There are many ways to stay social while working remotely, from virtual water cooler conversations and team lunches to quizzes and office parties on Zoom! If you’re searching for an activity to improve health and fitness levels, then setting up a sofa-to-5k running challenge for your team could boost morale, help you all stay connected, and provide a social opportunity as you discuss progress. If you’re looking for an activity with more meaning, then a charitable endeavor could be a great option. Organizing a virtual coffee morning will provide an opportunity for colleagues to catch up and socialize while generating funds for a deserving charity.
These 12 tips should help you to stay productive as well as look at your well-being. Do you have any others that should be included? Please add your thoughts in the comments below.
As a business owner, your goal is likely to be driving your company towards success to enjoy increased output and bigger profits. However, making this happen is not always easy and is certainly not something you can do alone. To achieve a high degree of success and maintain it, your business needs to have a team of willing employees to help. Building a productive workforce of experienced staff will help your business achieve success both now and in the longer term. But, to have a team of employees that are as committed to the success of your business as you are, you need to foster a positive culture in the workplace. A positive culture is not something that can be created overnight. It takes time to create a workplace culture that supports a happy and productive team. Read on to learn more about the benefits of a positive workplace culture and how you can make it happen:
The Benefits of a Positive Workplace Culture
Are you thinking that developing a positive workplace culture sounds like a lot of effort and may not matter too much anyway? If so, take a look at the benefits your company can enjoy when you dedicate a little time to improving your workplace culture:
Reduced staff turnover
Increased employee engagement
Fewer sick days
Higher levels of productivity
Greater collaboration between employees
Improved customer service
When these benefits are combined, they put your business on the path to success, which makes fostering a positive workplace culture well worth the effort.
Building a Positive Workplace Culture
Now that you can see the benefits that a positive workplace culture can provide, here are some ways you can start to make it a reality:
Praise and Reward
No one likes to work without recognition for their efforts, so making a concerted effort to praise your staff when they perform well is essential. To create a positive workplace culture, your team needs to feel valued and know that their hard work is acknowledged. The more you praise and reward your employees for their efforts, the more likely they are to feel positive about their job and to want to continue working hard. Praising employees is an essential element of a positive work environment as it boosts morale and demonstrates to staff that they are valued members of the team. This creates a cycle of positivity and appreciation in the workplace that benefits everyone.
Ensuring that managers praise team members is vital, but the need for praise extends beyond management rewarding effort. Ensuring that team members praise each other is also crucial and positively impacts your entire workforce. Using peer to peer recognition tools, your team members will be equipped to show their appreciation to one another, which will enhance their working relationships and the work environment.
Encourage Breaks
Presenteeism is something that may sound positive but can actually have a negative impact on your business. Absenteeism is often seen as the enemy of a successful business and a drain on productivity. But while absenteeism is bad news for companies, the same is equally true of presenteeism.
Presenteeism often exists in companies with an aggressively competitive culture. When employees feel they will miss out on promotions or other favorable benefits, they may be keen to spend more time at work, even when sick, to ensure they are visible in the office and their presence is noted by management. Skipping breaks and coming in when sick, and staying late are all seen as ways to get noticed ahead of colleagues when it is time for promotions and performance bonuses to be awarded. But, it is essential to note that spending lots of time in the office rarely helps productivity. Often, presenteeism harms productivity and impacts the entire workplace culture, as employees strive to outdo each other by becoming increasingly competitive.
Pitting employees against each other can impact staff morale, but encouraging team members to leave on time each evening and take regular breaks has the opposite effect. When employees take breaks and maintain a healthy work/life balance, it improves their performance at work and makes the workspace a much happier place to be. Rather than reducing productivity, you should see it increase when presenteeism is discouraged, and breaks are viewed as an aid to productivity rather than an obstacle.
Open and honest communication is essential in a workplace environment. When there is little communication, employees often distrust what is happening in the organization and feel a sense of insecurity in their role. In contrast, keeping employees informed of what is happening in the company and how it is performing helps them to feel more engaged in the business. Employees are far more likely to take ownership of their role and try to perform it to the best of their abilities if feel that they are being dealt with openly and fairly.
A positive workplace culture is not something that can be created and then ignored. To maintain a healthy and happy work environment, you need to keep on communicating. Requesting feedback from your team and acting on this will help you to understand your business from your employees’ perspective and gain a picture of how things can be improved.
Enhance the Workspace
The physical work environment plays a crucial role in your workplace culture, so ensuring that this enhances a positive atmosphere in your office rather than harms it is essential. Providing your team with the equipment needed to perform their jobs well is critical. But, there is even more that you can do beyond this to enhance your workspace. Ensuring that you have plenty of natural light in your offices and a comfortable space for your team to take their breaks will also help nurture a positive workplace culture. Many of the world’s most successful companies go the extra mile to create a positive workspace for their employees. So, why not try it out and see the benefits that your new positive workplace culture brings to your business?
If you have been instructed to work from home like so many others due to covid-19 then you will potentially need a home office. If your home doesn’t have the space available for a home office then you will need to make sure that you separate home life and work life. When you are finished with work put it away don’t leave it on the table or sofa so you see it each time you walk past.
Below is a list of things that might help you set your working space up so you can work efficiently and effectively.
One of the first things you are going to need is a comfy chair. Think about how long you will be sat down, you don’t want to be restless and get up with a backache. A good supportive, adjustable chair with a high back will feel amazon. Make sure it has some padding so you are not sitting and resting against a hard surface. You can even invest in memory foam office chairs these days. You might be lucky enough to be able to take your chair from your office space, you will have to speak to your boss and find out.
Big Desk
Once you have your chair or at least one in mind you need to think about your desk space. If you have a job that involves a lot of paperwork you will need a lot of space available so you are not drowning in paperwork. Again, your company may provide you with a desk or you might need to purchase one from a store.
Make sure you get one that isn’t going to look out of the place where you are putting it and also ensure you have enough room to work comfortably at it. Make sure you place the desk somewhere near plug sockets and the internet box for practicality.
Accessories
When it comes to office accessories you need to make sure you have everything you need. You will need a mouse and a keyboard at the very least if you are using a computer. If you are using a laptop you might find it easier to use a rest for it. This ensures it is in the correct position when typing.
So you don’t put extra strain on your wrists it is recommended that you use an ergonomic keyboard and mouse. This reduces your chances of developing repetitive strain injury in the hands and wrists. Take a look at something like the goldtouch ergonomic keyboards, these are adaptable to your needs.
Storage
Finally, your home office should have some form of storage such as a shelving unit. This ensures that paperwork and other bits you don’t need can be stored safely out of the way. Depending on the type of work you do you may also need a lockable filing cabinet to keep confidential information hidden away.
We hope you found this article helpful and it gives you some insight into getting the right office space for you.
All good business owners know that adopting a continual improvement strategy is the only way to stay ahead of the game. Even if your company is doing well, that is no reason to stop looking for ways to improve. That fact is, new technologies and better procedures are being created all the time, and if you do not keep up with the research, it is only a matter of time before your competitor is way ahead. So you need to embrace change as part of your company vulture and be willing to make small incremental changes all the time as well as large changes as and when you need to.
If you will be making change a fundamental part of your business that hasn’t been up until now, and if you feel your business needs some large structural changes to improve it, then it is time you wrote a new business plan. A business plan does not only need to be written when you first decide to go on to business. You can write a new one at any time. A business plan will enable you to take a holistic look at your company with an objective view. You will see what is working and what is not, and this an help you decide what needs changing. It will also force you to drill down into specifics to gather a deeper insight into each area; this will also help you identify your company’s weak and unprofitable aspects. It is best you make a plan with as little emotion as possible. Emotion will only muddy your thinking and may prevent you from making the best decisions for your company.
Outsource
Outsourcing has many benefits, especially to the small and medium-sized organizations that do not have the work to employ full-time professionals for certain jobs. Instead of relying on one of your in-house teams to do a complicated task and run the risk of it not being done correctly, you should think about outsourcing. By doing this, you will benefit from expert knowledge. It will free you up to focus on your day job, it mitigates risk, and it takes a lot of stress off yout5 shoulders. So many tasks can be outsourced, such as accounting and I.T security. These tasks are associated with a lot of highly technical risk too, so it makes sense to get a professional to do them.
Marketing Strategy
If you want to make more sales and generate large revenue, then you need to work on your marketing campaigns. By investing in marketing, you will research your customer, develop your brand and company philosophy, create targeted marketing material, and generate more sales. A marketing strategy advises you on how and when you post particular marketing material to meet a specific need based upon relevant KOPIs (key performance indicators) you have set up. This will help you create better material in the future too.
Tasks Audit
If you really want to know what goes on inside your organization, then you should create a tasks audit. Go around every area and speak to all your staff and create a list of all the tasks that are completed. You may be able to eliminate some redundant tasks straight away and then look to automate some necessary but slow manual tasks. There may even be scope to merge some tasks into others. You may also find tasks that are more expensive than they need to be. Perhaps you are using expensive cheques, and by doing a little investigation, such as on cheapochecks.com, you may be able to find cheaper alternatives. When you have the completed list, have a good look through them and maybe discuss with your I.T personal and some key staff to see how you can make these all more efficient.
Motivate Staff
One of the most important factors you need to consider when looking to improve and change your business is whether or not you have the support of the team. Staff that are resistant to change may cause you s problem when you implement any improvements you have in the pipeline. So, you need to motivate them. So, consider your company culture. Is it conducive to a happy and engaging working environment? Does it embrace your staff’s opinion and make them feel valued? If not, then you need to work on developing these things. Also, you need to create a reward system for hard work. Additionally, you need to make sure that your staff a comfortable.
Meetings are a big part of any company or business, big and small. It’s a way to connect with coworkers and team members and ensure everyone is on the same page.
It may be that you need to brainstorm new ideas or go over upcoming projects you want your staff to work on. Regardless, it should be your goal that these meetings are well worth everyone’s time. In this case, continue reading to learn how to have better and more productive business meetings.
Choose the Right Location
Your first order of business is to choose the right location for your meeting. There are many options and you shouldn’t always assume one is better than the other. It all depends on what you’re talking about and who you’re talking with and how long it’ll last. For instance, you can meet over the phone, on a video call, or in person in a conference room. The majority of meetings will likely take place in person if you’re in the office so it’s wise to invest in a proper boardroom table you can use.
Establish an Agenda
What you don’t want to happen is to host a meeting and get off track or waste time. Therefore, you must establish a detailed agenda ahead of time and know exactly what you want to cover. Have better and more productive business meetings that help keep your business going by setting an agenda and mapping out bullet points for what will be discussed. Send it out in advance so that the people attending are prepared to talk about the topics you’ll be going over at the business meeting.
Invite the Appropriate Attendees
You should also carefully think through who to invite to your business meeting so it’s productive and effective. You want to avoid having people there who shouldn’t be because the matter doesn’t directly pertain to them or they may not have much feedback to share. Determine which staff should be in attendance and then make sure you send out an invite early on so they can put it on their calendars. Having the right attendees present will help ensure you get the desired outcome from the meeting you hold.
Follow-up
It’s easy to forget to circle back around after a meeting but it’s so important to ensure you have better and more productive conversations. Send follow-up information and details about what was discussed and action items that each person needs to do if any. Highlight and summarize the main points and make sure everyone can clearly see what came from all of you getting together to meet in the first place. It’s also a chance to make any clarifications or answer any questions the participants have.
Conclusion
When you’re a business owner or work for a company you’re likely going to be pulled into many meetings over the years. Make sure they’re better and more productive by following these pieces of advice and tips. Most importantly, always start on time and stick to the agenda so you get the most out of it.
