Tag: covid-19 business

Tips To Modernize Your Organization And Boost Efficiency

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To succeed in business, you have to be able to move with the times and ensure the services you offer cater to evolving customer needs and preferences. If you run a company or an organization, it’s essential to embrace new ways of working and harness the power of modernization to boost efficiency and gain a competitive advantage. If you’re looking to push your business forward, here are some tips to take on board. 

Invest in technology

Technology plays an increasingly influential role in the way modern-day businesses and organizations operate. The pandemic has highlighted the impact and importance of investing in cutting-edge tech. Technology streamlines operations, it saves businesses time and money and it provides invaluable opportunities to connect and engage with customers. If you’re not up to speed with innovation, it’s wise to carry out a tech audit, to analyze what your competitors are doing and identify investment opportunities that could boost efficiency, cut costs and drive your organization forward. Look for solutions that would be beneficial for your business in line with your objectives. Not every company will need to buy every new gadget, machine or device that comes onto the market. Tailor your purchases to suit your requirements and goals.

Use tailored software

Software plays a critical role in the day to day running of millions of organizations across the world. When buying new software or upgrading existing programs, it’s always beneficial to look for tailored solutions. Search for industry-specific programs and apps and software that is designed to offer targeted benefits and solutions. Local governments can benefit from using municipal software. Healthcare providers can take advantage of software that is designed to ensure compliance and simplify tasks such as accessing and updating patient records. Retailers can use programs to manage inventories, update sales figures in real-time and provide remote access for teams located across several stores or offices. If you have an in-house IT department, ask for advice. If you don’t have IT experts on your team, consider enlisting the services of IT consultants or outsourcing. 

Embrace flexible working patterns

Flexible working had become more common before the pandemic, but the Covid-19 crisis has undoubtedly accelerated the shift towards remote working and alternatives to the traditional 9-5 working day. As a business owner or the manager of an organization, it’s wise to use the pandemic as a means of gathering information about remote working and identifying ways to capitalize on the benefits moving forward. Research suggests that employees want more flexibility. Ask your employees questions about their experiences of working from home, communicate openly, identify potential challenges and try to find solutions to any problems that have cropped up. Analyze performance, keep an eye on the data and consider strategies you could employ once restrictions are lifted. Some businesses will continue to operate remotely, some may introduce hybrid working patterns and others may encourage employees to return to offices full-time.

If you run an organization or a business, it’s crucial to understand the importance of modernization and evolution. Investing in technology, taking advantage of tailored software and IT solutions and embracing flexible working could all help you take your company to the next level.

 

Work Out Your Business Finances To Avoid Future Problems

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Any new business that requires funding for machinery, equipment or labor, is subject to certain difficulties. Now more than ever, companies are struggling to find adequate funding, which means that taking care of finances is becoming ever so more apparent. The speed that your business grows depends on numerous factors but one of which is the way in which you prioritize funding and take care of your company’s finances. Here are some common mistakes to avoid.

Credit cards pose a problem

New Entrepreneurs, Please Note: According to financial advisors, extravagant purchases using the business credit card are one of the known reasons for financial failure. You do not have to be a business owner to fall into the honey trap of credit cards. Many of us tend to refer to them as “out of nowhere”, and psychologically, it is easier to spend money with a credit card than to pay in cash. When it comes to a new business, financial extravagance using credit cards is very risky. Without noticing you may find yourself in the red, even if “on paper”, the business is profitable. How do you make sure you do not overdo it with credit card shopping? In many cases, financial advisors will recommend using an instant debit card instead of a regular credit card. Perhaps you have already used your credit card for purchases related to your business. You may have needed to purchase something specific such as tungsten carbide bushing or an oscillating saw (if you are in construction). 

Lack of readiness for crisis

Life is unpredictable, as we have all had to discover recently with the advent of Covid-19. No one is immune to the economic crises, even the good ones among us and you will be surprised to hear – this may happen to you too and not necessarily your fault. But why do some businesses manage to get out of the crisis relatively easily and others fail?  Experienced business owners who have experienced financial crises in the past, tend to be overly cautious in their expense funds and regularly keep in the bank account the amount of expenses of about 3 months, for any trouble that may arise.

Lack of a clear and pre-defined budget framework

This is an important rule in the field of financial advice – every business needs a budget plan and it is the only one that will determine how much you will spend each month (this rule is also important for household management). Simply put, a business plan with a budget framework will help you understand what are the financial resources available to you and how much free money you have in the account (and also how much will be at the end of the month). In the process of building a budget framework, expenditures must be defined and classified by areas, such as: Purchasing equipment, investing in advertising and marketing capabilities, recruiting staff, regular payments and more, and calculating them both separately and as part of the total expenses. 

So be sure to look after your money well and avoid any problems as the road goes along. The current crisis is crippling many companies which is why it is best to tighten your belt and focus on the positives.

Outgrown Your Business Premises? Here’s What To Do Next

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Are you one of the fortunate ones that have seen a boom in business in 2020? Maybe the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t affected your business in any negative way. Maybe you have been one of the businesses that have been able to – or has had no choice – adapt by switching up their manufacturing process and producing something new to help with the fight against the virus. This is how many manufacturing businesses stayed afloat during the height of the pandemic, buy turning their hand to making PPE or ventilators.

Whatever the reason for your growth, if you are have outgrown your existing business premises, here are some things that you need to take into consideration.

Are there any production processes that can be done off-site?

Have a look at your production process and see if any of it can be outsourced to a third party and done off-site. While having something such as Plasma Spraying done elsewhere will obviously cost you, it will be a lot less expensive than moving premises or extending. It also gives you the chance to focus on other aspects of your process. 

Sometimes moving to a whole new site is necessary or can be the cheapest option, but it can also be a huge upheaval. You have to look for somewhere new that is big enough, that is suitable and in the right location, and finding something that does all of those and is within your budget can be a challenge. If this is the case, why not look at expanding your existing premises? Of course, there are other things that need to be thought about – can your business cope with the disruption that an extension and building work can bring? Is the cost of the work going to weigh up positively in the long term against the cost of moving?

Is the location suitable?

For this point, we are going to assume that you have made the decision to move rather than outsource or expand. One of the most important things to think about when moving is the location. 

Location is important for many businesses. It may be that you need to be highly visible., so need to be right next to a busy highway or in the center of a major city. Maybe you don’t, and you can take advantage of more space and lower rates on an out of town space. However, consider whether potential customers, vendors, and deliveries/pickups can get to you easily – access via major transport routes is a necessity. Also, consider your existing staff. If you are thinking of moving, you need to think about whether it is still in reasonable traveling distance for them and if they can access the site easily via public transport if necessary. If you don’t think about this, you could find yourself hit with the additional costs of hiring a new workforce and training them all up.

Making the decision to expand or move can be an exciting one –  it usually means business is going well and that’s a great thing. However, weigh up the pros and cons of all options before settling on something.

How Your Business Can Stay Ahead During This Pandemic

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As coronavirus continues to spread around the world, business owners and managers are preparing for a long period of recovery. With normal operations suspended or greatly reduced, the effects of COVID-19 will be felt throughout every industry. However, there are a variety of innovative ways you can safeguard your business against the long-term impacts of the pandemic…

  1. Adapt to different delivery methods

Businesses that already operate online will be well-primed to continue delivering services to customers. For companies that rely on face-to-face interactions or bricks and mortar stores, however, things will be trickier. To overcome the barriers your business faces, explore alternative delivery methods to ensure your customers can still access your products and services. 

Adaptability is a valuable trait, and, in these testing times, your business has a chance to show just how versatile it can be. Restaurants switching to subscription-style food deliveries, theatre groups hosting online performances and teachers delivering lessons in real-time via the internet are just a few examples of how you can adapt your operations to continue trading, despite the disruption to your business. 

  1. Diversify your product range

Coronavirus is affecting every sector but it’s having a varying impact. While some industries are effectively on hiatus, others are under immense pressure to increase their output to serve local, national and global communities. 

Depending on your set and facilities, you may be able to modify your processes to join in the effort to overcome COVID-19. If your company has its own production line, for example, the addition of sanitary tubing may enable you to start manufacturing products and equipment for the medical or food and drink industry. By diversifying your product range in this way, you can continue to operate and deliver extremely valuable support when it’s needed most. 

  1. Consider the long-lasting impact self-isolation has

As people are either encouraged or required to stay at home, the way we live, work and interact is changing. With an increasing reliance on technology, remote working facilities, at-home entertainment, and delivery services are in higher demand in ever before. However, don’t assume that things will ‘return to normal’ following the outbreak of coronavirus. 

Instead, take the time to consider how this period of self-isolation and ‘lockdown’ will change your customers’ behaviors. By doing so, you can get ahead of the curve and begin to tweak your business operations to satisfy your target audience in a post-coronavirus environment. 

Keep Your Company Operational Amidst Coronavirus Outbreak

Depending on your specific location and the nature of your business, you may be prevented from trading as normal while the coronavirus outbreak continues to wreak havoc. Many firms considered ‘non-essential’ are being asked or instructed to close until further notice, for example. 

If you’re prevented from trading as normal, this doesn’t prevent you from modifying your processes to continue operating. Furthermore, you can still safeguard your business by planning your return to standard trading. With a compassionate outlook, patient perseverance and creative solutions, your business can continue to serve its customers during these unprecedented and unpredictable times.

Smart Ways To Shield Your Business From Disaster

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Protection! That is what your business needs, otherwise you could see all the effort, time and money you put into it come to nought. Want to know which kind of protection that is best? Just keep reading the post below. 

Data loss 

Businesses that run without IT are few and far between in today’s market. What that means is if you are to protect your business from disaster, you need to minimize the risk of data loss. After all, many of a company’s most valuable assets such as leads, content, concepts, and professional systems are all online now. Something that means if you lose them or have an extended time where your employees cannot access them, your business will grind to a halt. 

Happily, safeguarding against the disaster of data loss isn’t as hard as many think. In fact, the best way of doing this is to recruit the help of a specialist like the one you will find at 

https://www.realitsolutions.com/services/data-backup-solutions/ because they can offer you a  reliable data backup solution. Something that means all your valuable data is protected against hackers and scammers, and technical failures as well. 

PR nightmare

Another common disaster that a business can go through is one of bad PR. In fact, because our companies operate in such a connected environment, even the smallest criticism, unhappy customer or minor scandal can be blown up into a disaster.

Fortunately, there are several actions as suggested at https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/ you can take to minimize the risk of a PR nightmare. Perhaps the most important one is to effectively vet your employees and suppliers before you work with them. While the second is that you put company-wide policies in place that prevent harassment, abuse of those that work for you. 

Finally, you may also like to try a reputation management service. The reason being as they can provide you with easy to manage alerts whenever your business is mentioned online. Even if you are not actually tagged in the post. Something that means you can stay on top of things and deal with any bad press before it sets values. 

Fall in the market/demand

To some extent, all businesses are dependent on how well the market in which they operate is behaving. Of course, that is excellent news when things are up, but it has the potential to result in disaster when things take a downturn. A situation that there is much anxiety about currently. Due to the reduction in demand for many products and services because of the COVID-19 crisis and associated lockdown. 

Sadly, safeguarding against market and demand fluctuation can be one of the most challenging things to protect your business against. Although there are some steps such as the ones listed at https://www.kyero.com/join/en/sales-tips/ that you can take. With the one that is particularly important being to make sure that you don’t overextend your markets. That is you only expand when there is a proven need for your product. Otherwise, you could incur costs that will quickly become unsustainable. This being something that can easily lead to a disaster if there is a crash in the market.

Crucial Steps For Leading Your Company Out Of A Crisis

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When a crisis hits, you can wallow in self-pity or take action. Businesses that do the latter have a better chance of surviving Covid-19 and coming out the other side relatively unscathed. Of course, it’s easier to say you should act than it is to do, mainly because the starting point is never evident. You want to do something, yet you don’t know where to begin.

It’s a tale as old as time itself. Still, the fact it’s common won’t point in your company in the right direction. Instead, let the tips in this article do that. 

Below are the crucial steps to consider if you plan on leading your business out of a crisis.

Avoid Firing People

Liquidity is essential, especially if you’re a small or medium-sized enterprise. As a result, the labor bill is the first thing to be cut, which means laying off employees. However, while it may relieve the pressure now, this move will only put the company in a tricky spot in the future. Without physical employees, it’s almost impossible to create a comprehensive customer experience or generate leads and make sales. Nearly 50% of workers in the private sector are relying on businesses such as yours to maintain their employment, according to sba.gov. The ‘Small Business Workforce Stabilization Fund’ is available if you’re struggling.

Ask Customers For A Show Of Faith

Selling goods and services is going to be challenging for the next couple of months. So, you need another way to keep money coming in so that the company’s arrears don’t escalate out of control. In the US, and around the world, businesses are asking for a show of faith from shoppers. Broadway, for example, said theater-goers should continue to purchase tickets or gift cards. Cnn.com, on the other hand, is reporting that restaurants in Seattle’s Chinatown are offering discounts if you can prove you shop at local stores.

Plug The Gap In The Market

Finding a niche in a crisis such as Covid isn’t easy as everything is specialized. Still, businesses are doing their best to fill a gap in the market. ‘Uber Eats’ is probably the most popular takeout service in the country right now! Tcsupfitting.com is also a shining light of how to get creative during tough times. By upfitting emergency vehicles, such as police cars and ambulances, they’re helping to keep emergency services safe. And, which one of these institutions isn’t going to ask for extra security?

Do Something Memorable

Making a grand gesture is a long-term investment. When the chips are down is when communities must come together to help one another. If you are willing to do this, sometimes at your own expense, the public won’t forget your dedication to the cause. Whether it’s paying employees even if they aren’t working or offering discounts for medical staff, now is the time to invest in the community. After all, people will gladly return the favor when they finally have the resources.

Is your business in trouble? What are you doing to survive the current crisis?