Author: Scott Asai

Helping people develop their leadership skills to advance in their career

How to Go Green in Your Home Office

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If you have a home business or are looking to get into having a home office, then you are in the prime position to start going green. There are hundreds of things you can do to make your office more environmentally friendly.

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Some of these are common sense, and others are quick tips to help you tackle going green a little easier.

Turn off your computer totally when not in use. There is no need to put it in sleep mode or rest. Just save everything properly and turn it off.

Update you stand-by settings and set the times for the standby mode to kick in within about 30 minutes of you not using your computer (during working hours).

Make sure all of you electrically equipment is up-to-date. While you might think ‘it works perfectly well, so there is no need to replace’ and there is some truth in that, the newer technology is much eco-friendlier, simply by being more energy efficient.

Use a scheme to recycle your old computers, rather than just get rid of them.

Replace all of your bulbs with LEDs wherever possible, they use around 75% less energy than standard light bulbs. And, last longer too, saving money in the long term.

Rather than have darker décor and use a lot of lighting to lift it, swap for some whiter – lighter walls. It reflects light better and will be well lit for longer during the day – meaning you’ll be reaching for the light switch less.

Whenever possible, refrain from printing – however, if you do need to print something, switch to recycled paper and use both sides. Again, newer printers will have this option, so it is worth the upgrade.

Aim to get a printer with an eco-mode.

Recycle your used printer and toner cartridges.

If you find yourself either grabbing bottled water on the way to the office or stocking up on bottled water then switch to something like a 30 oz yeti rambler, they keep drinks cooler for longer, and you won’t be trucking through so much one-use plastic.

When picking office supplies, try and get things like staple-less staplers and pens that can be refilled rather than just thrown away.

Try and find a program that recycles anything in your office that you notice you use a lot of.

Add some plants to your office space, not only does it do wonders for your productivity, but they also do their own air recycling. Keeping your office air cleaner and better for you.

Add a note to the bottom of your emails with a friendly reminder that unless it is essential not to print the email.

Where possible, ensure that if you are buying anything, you look for an eco-friendly brand or one that specializes in recycled materials.

You can even swap out your current cleaning products to ones that are less damaging to the environment.

Going green is natural if you tackle it bit by bit!

Hey Entrepreneurs: How You Manage Your Down Time This Summer Matters!

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There’s nothing more liberating and emancipating than being your own boss. All those years spent trying to climb the greased pole that was the corporate ladder were so frustrating that they were beginning to take a toll not only on your sense of self worth but your mental health. You slaved for so long under the yoke of the system; overworked, undervalued, under-appreciated and worst of all… Underpaid. The best thing you ever did was quit the day job and dedicate yourself to your own business. Now you run a fully functioning enterprise either from the comfort of your own home or from your very own premises. But while your business may be growing and even thriving and you may now enjoy the freedom and sense of agency that comes with trading the life of a worker drone for a life of entrepreneurship, now it’s more important than ever to guard against entrepreneurial burnout.

As your business expands, so too does your responsibility to it and if you’re not careful, you may become a victim of your own success. With the inevitability of the summer slump draining workplace productivity, it’s likely that you’re working twice as hard and putting in more hard work than ever to compensate for the slump. But this is neither sustainable nor conducive to good health. Carry on like this and you’ll be reduced to an emotionally volatile and creatively stunted shadow of your former self. It’s vitally important that you take some down time. But that doesn’t just mean sitting at home and playing video games (although a little of that is fine too). Here are some genuinely restful activities for downtime which will relax you while also stimulating your mind and body and growing the skills you need to come back to work stronger and smarter than ever…

Boating

What could be more restful than taking your whole family out for some “vitamin sea”. Renting or buying a vessel from Premier Boating and taking to the water is not just a fun way to spend your down time, it also has proven restorative qualities for your mental health. The color blue is known to have calming and stress relieving qualities while watching the ebb and flow of the ocean actually changes our brainwave activity and lulls us into a more meditative state. Likewise all that sunlight and fresh air are nourishing for the mind and body, ensuring that you return to work bursting with new ideas.

Cycling

Cycling is another great way of relieving stress while also ensuring that you get a great anabolic and cardiovascular workout. The act of cycling stimulates both the heart and the mind, ensuring a greater flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain, thereby ensuring that you return to work at your most rejuvenated and productive.

Hiking

We all know that a good, brisk walk is a great way to stimulate the mind while also burning a surprising 94-200 calories per 30 minutes depending on speed. Aside from the shot of dopamine and endorphins that come with cardiovascular exercise, you will also get all the mental health and productivity benefits that come with spending time in nature.

Remember, it’s not only important to allow yourself plenty of down time. How you spend it matters too!

UX And SEO: Why They Need To Be Considered As One

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For many years, a lot of business owners and marketing pros for that matter have viewed search engine optimisation and user experience as two separate entities. However, these days are long gone. If you want to rank highly on the search engine result pages, you need to master the art of UX. Both go hand-in-hand. With that being said, read on to find out more.

Why UX matters in terms of SEO

So, why is UX all of a sudden an important factor when it comes to your search engine ranking? Surely it is all about links and keywords? While both are important, UX also plays a critical role. This is because search engines have changed their algorithms over the years so that the most relevant and user-friendly websites rank at the top. They now consider elements such as bounce rate and page load speed when ranking your website. If your website does not offer a good user experience, you are going to struggle to rank highly.

Elements of UX that will impact your SEO

With that in mind, it is a good idea to work on the UX you provide online customers in order to improve your visibility. There are a number of ways you can do this, and here are some examples:

–    Include image tags – Google cannot look at images in the same way that we do. Moreover, some people may not be able to view images on certain devices or if they have a poor connection. This is why adding image tags is a good idea to make sure the UX is the same no matter whether the image uploads or not.

–      Improve the speed of your website – A poor page load speed is one of the main reasons why people leave websites and look elsewhere. Look for ways to increase the speed of your business website, such as deleting large media files, and you will boost the UX and your ranking as a result.

–     Make sure all blog posts and content is over 600 words – Why is this important? Well, it ensures that the content you produce provides value. It sends a signal that the content answers the user’s questions and that it adds value.

–      Ensure your web design is responsive – There is no excuse for having a website that is not optimised for mobile use in 2018. You need to make sure your site can be used and viewed optimally irrespective of the device being used. You can make the most of digital transformation services to assist with this, as companies providing these services can make sure your website’s design is responsive while also improving other UX elements.

So there you have it: hopefully, you now have a better understanding regarding the relationship between SEO and UX. You need to master both and consider them as a joint venture if you are going to be able to reach the heights you want to on the search engine result pages.

Running A Business From Home Is Easier Than Ever Before!

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Many people these days find themselves totally dissatisfied with the standard model of employment, that’s hardly anything new. After all, the standard work-a-day world has had a reputation for sucking the life out of people for as long as it’s existed. For decades, people have dreamt of throwing off the shackles of their employer and striking out on their own. People have always wanted to start their own businesses and take charge of their lives. The big difference now is that it’s something that many people are actually able to do. It truly has never been easier to start your own business. One of the major things that have lowered the barrier to entry when it comes to business is that people are, more than ever, are able to run their businesses from the comfort of their own homes. Where you once might have needed a dedicated office space in order to get your startup off the ground, now you really only need the drive, the time and the inclination. Here are a few reasons why it’s never been easier to run a business from home.

Cloud storage

Running a business comes with the need for a pretty hefty amount of storage. This used to mean purely physical storage but over time that was replaced by digital storage. While digital storage definitely takes up less space than physical storage, not many people have the room (or budget) for a large series of servers to store all of their files and information. This is where cloud storage comes in. Cloud storage is essentially a huge network of online servers that allows you to safely and securely store your data. This means that your files and information are always available without taking up huge amounts of room on your personal servers. Not only does this save you huge amounts of space but will also prevent your servers from slowing down due to the massive drain from trying to accommodate all of that storage.

Virtual office

While a virtual office might sound like something from the future, it is in fact very real and extremely useful. One of the biggest roadblocks that a lot of startups face, especially ones run from home, is that they find it difficult to make customers, clients and investors take them seriously. A lot of people will see that a business is run from home and automatically assume that whoever is running that business is doing it as a hobby and perhaps not really that interested in it. This leads them to assume they won’t get the same level of service that they would expect from a more established company. Services like yourvirtualofficelondon.co.uk allow you to present your business in a way that seems far more established. Virtual offices can also include telephone and email services that will make sure that no matter how you are being contacted, your business always seems professional and legitimate.

Of course, none of this means that running your own business is suddenly something easy that everyone in the world can do at the drop of a hat. But it does mean that you don’t have to spend your life stuck in the standard work situation, slowly losing any spark of passions or drive that you once had. Instead, the modern world has allowed people to take control of their lives and their businesses.

So You Want to Run Your Business Remotely?

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Running a business remotely is becoming more popular, especially for new start-ups and the self-employed. The advances in technology of recent years have made this possible and it is a trend that is likely to continue to grow. Then as the business grows and you need workers to help you, is it possible to still run the business remotely?

Embrace Technology

One of the biggest worries for any employer in this situation is if the employees are working the hours and completing the tasks they should be. That need not be a concern anymore. As long as everyone concerned has a good Internet connection and the right software, you will always be aware of these things. Using a cloud-based time and attendance system is a good way to achieve this. You can also set up alerts so that is someone does not sign in when you expect them to, you will be notified.

Keep In Touch With Your Employees

Studies have shown that a digital workplace can empower the digital worker and make them more productive, as long as they have the support they need.  Always keep in touch with the staff, and be there to communicate with them if they encounter a problem. Be vigilant with checking email and voicemails so that you do not miss a message from them, as from their point of view it can be very frustrating if they feel they are being ignored.

Because you are running the business remotely, does not mean the staff is not working together in one place. If you have a workplace for your workers, make sure you visit sometimes so that they are aware that you are always around.

Keeping in touch with your employees will help to keep them motivated and will encourage a team spirit. A base camp for project collaboration is a good idea, and use things such as Skype for face-to-face chats.

Interact With Your Customers

Communicating is one of the most important aspects of running a business remotely, and you should endeavor to do this with your customers as well as your employees. Interacting with them on social media, or replying to emails they send is always crucial as it makes the customer feel they matter, and helps to build trust in your brand.

Employ The Right People

This can be easier said than done because until they have actually worked for a while you will not really know how good they are at their job. When hiring new employees try to opt for people who you think will understand the demands of your business, who are honest and enthusiastic and who will support you as a remote manager.

Just a few years ago the possibility of running your entire business operation remotely was far less of an option, and would even be considered impossible by some, because of all the challenges involved. Now it is so much simpler to do, which is why so many business owners and managers are choosing this way.

How to Increase and Manage Your Social Media Presence

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Building a social media presence is a must for businesses that want to become successful online.  А gооd Іntеrnеt mаrkеtіng strаtеgу nееds tо сrеаtе gооd соntеnt аnd share it асrоss thе sосіаl web, start with a website and use a WordPress landing page creator, this will be where your content starts its journey.

Irrеsресtіvе of whether уоu hаvе а small or big business, you need to have a social presence.  Ѕосіаl mеdіа mаnаgеmеnt іs оnе оf thе еаsіеst wауs tо соnnесt wіth сustоmеrs аnd most businesses have stаrtеd usіng іt tо rеасh thеir tаrgеtеd аudіеnсе.

Create great content

When you create compelling content, users may believe they may need to share this content with the rest of the world.  Use humor аnd рrоvіdе іnsіght sо thаt rеаdеrs want tо shаrе your content with their friends and family. The content has to be visually attractive as this can make a significant impact.

Sharing the content – Make it easy.

You will need to make it easy for the users to share content.  If the visitor to your website is using a mobile to surf your site and there are no visible sharing buttons on the page, they may not be able to share the content, and you may lose оn роssіblе еngаgеmеnt wіth thе сustоmеr. Вusіnеssеs wіll nееd tо mаkе іt еаsу tо shаrе contеnt wіth јust а сlісk оf а button.

Be sociable.

Businesses will need to engage with the audience if they want to be successful.  Networking is a powerful tool, and it can be used to connect with customers, fellow specialists and others in your blog community.  Іt іs еssеntіаl thаt уоu rеsроnd tо аll of your customers as they have spent their valuable time to talk about their thoughts. When you begin responding it recognizes the gratitude you have towards them.

Share your content.

Yоu mау bе аblе tо rеасh а brоаdеr аudіеnсе whеn уоu stаrt shаrіng уоur аrtісlеs іn аs mаnу sосіаl рlаtfоrms аs роssіblе. You can opt to share the content immediately when it’s posted or at an appropriate time in the future.

All articles require proper formatting and an attractive picture so that it’s appealing.  Оnе оf thе thіngs thаt уоu wіll nееd tо avoid is excessive connection dropping. Whеn уоu kеер роstіng еndlеss lіnks tо уоur аrtісlеs, уоu mау gеt blосkеd bу grоuрs, аnd thіs саn сhаngе уоur оnlіnе rерutаtіоn.

Mistakes to avoid in Social Networking management

Insensitive or inappropriate posts that are inflammatory or topics that inspire strong emotions among your viewers need to be avoided. It is vital that you begin with a complete social media marketing strategy.

Identify the most appropriate channels for reaching the target market.  You may need to determine the type of content that may interest the audience and how frequently you may want to view new content.

Тhе соntеnt thаt іs сrеаtеd nееds tо аlіgn реrfесtly wіth уоur brand sо thаt customers саn еngаgе wіth іt еаsіlу.  Νеw рlаtfоrms will nееd tо bе rесоgnіzеd аnd еmbrасеd аs thеу mау bе thе іdеаl sрасе fоr а раrtісulаr рrоduсt оr sеrvісе.

One of the essential things that you will need to remember is that handling a social media account for a business can be time-consuming.  A dedicated team of professionals managing the account may be able to utilize the capacity of your internet presence better.

A little bit of structure and organization can help in handling the account efficiently.  It is best to create a calendar so that you can plan and post systematically. Make use of tools to deal with the multiple accounts and share content across platforms.

Social media is continually changing and what was applicable a month or two earlier may not be relevant now. Yоu wіll nееd tо kеер uр tо dаtе so that you can benefit from the new evolving concepts to reach a broader audience.

Building a Flexible Workplace for the Future

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With all the advances in technology of recent years, employers and businesses need to be more flexible than ever. New innovations will continue to appear, and if companies cannot cope with them, they will soon fall by the wayside as their competitors take things on board.

Flexible Buildings

Flexible buildings are usually of a modular design that makes it not too difficult to adapt or move to another location. They are designed for multi-use applications and to make relocation as stress-free as possible. If you need to move your business to a new place, just think how much easier that will be if you can take your physical building with you, and be inconvenienced for a very short time.

You may not have heard of this sort of building before, but industries and governments in over 100 countries use them all the time, as the need for flexible buildings is far greater than many people think.

Flexible Hours

One of the things that technology has done is to make working remotely very much easier. Now when there are school vacations, or a child is sick perhaps, the parent is still able to work, but from home. Flexible hours have been in use in some businesses for quite some time, but in the past it has meant still going to the workplace for the same number of hours, just at various times.

Now that is not so much of a problem. With digital devices where people can talk face to face if the need arises and meetings that can be held with participants in different locations, flexible hours have taken on a whole new meaning.

Flexible Work Practices

It makes sense that is someone is particularly good at a specific job they do it all the time. The problem comes when that person is taken ill or goes on holiday, what if no one else knows how to do it?

These days, savvy bosses are not letting this happen. They are introducing flexible work practices where workers get to do various jobs, not just their own. This can be very advantageous when something unexpected happens that creates a situation where someone else needs to take over a job, even on a short-term basis.

Flexible Staff

It is not just employers that need to embrace flexible buildings, like the ones at https://calhounsuperstructure.com/q, flexible hours and flexible work practices. The employees of the business need to as well. It is not much use an employer putting all these things in place if the employees are not backing them. Of course, these things are in the interest of the staff, so it should not really be a problem. All good bosses realize that a happy workforce is more productive, and will do all they can to keep them that way.

The workforce needs to realize that these measures are not put in place so they can sneak time off, but to help them manage a work to life balance. If the business starts to suffer because they take advantage, the employer will soon stop trying to be so helpful.

The Importance of Finding The Time For Fun

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Time is an incredibly precious resource, much more valuable than money, and one of the best ways we can consume our time is to use it having fun… yet, we live in such a busy and chaotic world that fun is often pushed to the backburner of life, with productivity, making money, and getting things done seen as a much higher priority.

In addition, we are so digitally connected today that it can be hard to switch off from checking emails and social media notifications, even when we should be relaxing for the night or doing something relaxing with our family.  We now, seem to always be on the go as our work life balance has certainly been knocked off kilter.

Whether you work for someone else, yourself, or own a business many people don’t seem to be able to find the time to fully switch off, disconnect from work and enjoy their lives – it’s like we’ve stopped making time for fun and replaced this with being on a constant treadmill of work that is often referred to as the rat race.

The reality is that we need to proactively make time for fun stuff.  Here’s some tips on how to make the best use of your time in order to get things done as efficiently as possible and therefore have free time and headspace to fully enjoy your life.

  1. ORGANIZE YOUR TIME

The convenience of online working and online studying means you have much more time to enjoy your life.  We spend far too much time living in reaction to work – trying to fit our lives in, yet it doesn’t have to be that way; the amount of time you can save by having a good planning system in place is phenomenal… a lot of “time management” comes down to first planning your tasks so that you can keep on top of things with ease.

  1.  OUTSOURCE

The power of outsourcing is huge from a time management perspective.  There are many things you can outsource from having people write up your audio recordings, to managing social media presence and web development.  However, outsourcing isn’t just about outsourcing tasks to people; today there are many ways that data can be incredibly useful to our business growth, but rather than struggle and get to grips with it yourself, it can be a time saving, and therefore money saving, idea to outsource the learning to cloudstream partners for instance as you are essentially reducing your learning curve.

  1.  THE PARETO PRINCIPLE

The Pareto Principle, often referred to as the 80/20 rule suggests that twenty percent of our activities account for eighty percent of the outcome.  You therefore want to focus on the tasks that are going to have the greatest impact and get these done first.

In summary, it’s important to make time for fun, and not to focus solely on work, but the only true way to be able to enjoy your time is if you have got enough done to enable you to relax, rest and have fun rather than for your mind to be preoccupied with work.

Communication Is Crucial In Business – Is Your Company Up to Scratch?

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A business is much like a complex machine. It’s made up of lots of different elements which need to function separately as well as in harmony together- when one thing goes wrong it can lead to failure of the overall venture. In business, each of your departments need to be doing their best work, while ensuring that communication throughout the rest of the company is good to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible. Here are some things to bear in mind when it comes to communication in business.

Get the right software

The right software will allow information to reach the right people in an instant. Take phone software such as virtual receptionists; these can be embedded on your website, blog, online stores, and several similar shortcuts. They’re effective in converting random visitors into paying customers. You also have cloud based phone systems, thes boast enterprise-level communication capabilities which include texting, call handling, voicemail, fax, mobile apps and more. You also have software which can help you to communicate and collaborate with other businesses, these help companies to organise and hold online business meetings, web conferences and presentations. And of course, social intranet software allows everyone within your business to be able to pass important messages over in an instant and for information to get to where it needs to be. The right software saves you time, and therefore money. It makes you more efficient and can help to automate areas of your business.

Update worker’s training

As well as having the correct softwares in place, you also need to know that everyone in your business knows how to effectively use them. Having refresher training can massively help with productivity. Another way you can improve communication is by booking team building activities, businesses spend millions on these every year because they really do work. You could have a company come into your workplace, or even book something fun that you’d go and do one weekend. Team building activities can include everything from treasure hunts to escape rooms, they’re a great way to get the team chatting, working together and building trust. If you have staff members who struggle with areas of communication then giving them some additional help or training would benefit both you and them.

Consider translation services

If you sell globally then there will be times when you’ll need the assistance of translation services. If you’ve recently expanded operations and are now selling global, then a translation department is something you could set up within your own business, otherwise look into international translation services from a third party. This will make you far more efficient and prevent mistakes, and is something you need to do if you’re selling to places in the world that speak different languages.

Communication is everything in business, you need to be doing what you can to improve every area of it possible if you want your company to succeed and thrive.

Have you ever had communication issues in business, and if so – how did you resolve them?

Areas In Business You Should Almost Always Outsource

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Starting a small business is incredibly fulfilling, but what many people realize too late is that it’s also a massive amount of work. In fact, it’s more work than you will have ever dealt with so far in your adult life. Despite this and what some people claim, you shouldn’t be dealing with every small job yourself. It’s not cost-effective, and it’s incredibly unproductive. Instead, it’s important that you delegate and outsource jobs wherever you can. With this in mind, here are five areas in business you should almost always outsource to freelancers and other companies.

  1. IT Services

Unless you’re incredibly technologically savvy, it’s always easier to have someone else take care of the computers and other technology in your office. Of course, you could hire a permanent IT department, but, more often than not, it doesn’t make financial sense to do so. Instead, you can outsource specific IT tasks to different companies. These tasks could include designing and maintaining your website, maintaining and updating your computers, and installing software.

  1. Content Marketing

Content marketing is a great way to nurture relationships with customers and potential customers and generate leads. Unfortunately, it can take some time to produce and distribute content that will get this job done well. Rather than hiring a marketing team to handle this, you could outsource to an agency or freelance writers. This will likely produce better content, and you’ll save money too.

  1. Legal Services

Running a business isn’t as simple as creating something and selling it to whoever comes along; There are a lot of laws and rules you need to follow. Because of this, it always makes sense to speak to corporate law solicitors and make sure you’re doing everything you should be. Unfortunately, lawyers can get quite pricey, so you probably can’t afford to hire one in-house. Instead, you can outsource legal work to law firms when you need to.

  1. Human Resources

As your team grows, human resource tasks can take up a lot of your time. Unfortunately, more often than not, this is time you simply can’t afford to lose. Rather than mishandle your HR and risk headaches, angry employees, fines, and lawsuits, you should outsource tasks to different agencies and providers. This will save you a lot of work and ensure that every job is being handled as it should be.

  1. Administrative Tasks

From running focus groups to organizing travel arrangements, business owners have a lot of small administrative tasks they need to deal with every single day. If not dealt with properly, these small jobs can get incredibly overwhelming and distract you from the important work you should actually be getting on with. To free up some time, you can outsource some of this work to a virtual assistant. This will ensure your day is more productive, thus saving you time and money.

Business owners have a lot that they need to get done each day. To make your life a whole lot easier, consider outsourcing the tasks listed above.