Tag: home business

4 Questions You Should Ask About Commercial Properties

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Are you the owner of a commercial property? If you are a business owner or a manager, it’s important to handle an asset like this the right way. Here are some of the key questions that you need to consider.

What Improvements Can You Make?

First, you should think about the different improvements that you can make to your business property. Improvements can be used to ensure that a property doesn’t cost you too much money or is more practical in general. For instance, if you have a flat roof, then you can think about applying elastomeric roof coating. This can be used to boost the insulation of a property which will, in turn, ensure that you can lower your energy bills. Alternatively, you could instead focus on the interior design of the building to ensure that it is more welcoming for customers and clients who are visiting. 

Does Your Property Have Curb Appeal?

You should also consider whether a commercial property does have curb appeal. Curb appeal is key because it will make it more likely that customers will want to explore your business and what it has to offer. This is important regardless of whether you are creating an office or setting up a business store. Your business still needs to look great from the outside. If you are wondering how to increase curb appeal, then there are a few possibilities. For instance, you might want to consider adding a unique feature outside your property like a sculpture. 

Is It Secure?

Next, you need to consider whether your business is secure. It’s often assumed that business break-ins are no longer an issue. The reason for this is that there’s a lot of issues surrounding cybercrime these days. While that is the case, break-ins do still occur, particularly if a commercial property does not have the right type of security in place. You need to make sure that you are investing in advanced securing to protect your business assets. 

Are You Better To Buy, Rent Or Work From Home?

Finally, it could be worth considering whether you should rent, buy a commercial property or if you would be better off working from home. The majority of businesses can now be run from home, but there are both advantages and disadvantages connected to this possibility. The main advantage is that you can save money. However, there is still a certain stigma connected to home businesses. Clients will often assume that they are smaller and may not be able to handle the requirements of larger contracts. Renting can be cost-effective but you do still have all the responsibilities of a landlord. These will usually be addressed in your contract. 

We hope this helps you understand some of the key questions that you should ask yourself if you do own a business property and the right changes that you can make here. If you explore the key options then you’ll be able to improve your property in a variety of different ways.

Clean Office Space, Clean Mind

Scott Asai1 Comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

Running a business from your home can be challenging. Working at home often means you’re tackling a lot of distractions, so you need to make sure your home office is as distraction-free as possible. For many people, a clean office space can help you to focus more. A clean workspace makes for a clean mind. Here’s how you can do it.

Keep It Clean and Ventilated

Keeping the home office clean is a good way to concentrate. A dirty office can lower the air quality in the room, and breathing in poor quality air can cause you to lose your ability to concentrate. Clean your office regularly. If it needs a deep clean, a floor scrubber can help. Keep the space well ventilated too to get in fresh air to help you focus. Open a window, or buy a fan to keep stale air moving and the air quality high. 

Clear Your Desk

Keep your desk clutter-free so you don’t get distracted by visual mess or trying to rearrange your desk. Get a set of desk drawers so you can put things away but keep them close by for when you need them. Only keep things you need out on your desk. A desk tidy is a useful place to keep pens and other bits of stationery, like post-it notes and paperclips. Get in the habit of tidying your desk at the end of the day to reset it and get it back to a clear space ready for work in the morning. 

Make It Relaxing

Working at home can make it hard to unwind and disconnect from work at the end of the workday. For that reason, it’s important to practice self-care to keep your stress levels under control. Make your office somewhere that is relaxing to be to help you stay calm. Decorating the office in relaxing colors, like blues, can really help. Add some plants to the room. Succulents are good for on your desk, as they’re easy to keep alive with minimal care. Plants release oxygen into the room which can help you to relax and feel more focussed. 

Other tricks to make the space more relaxing is to take advantage of having an office at home, rather than a traditional office. Bring in relaxing elements you couldn’t have in a normal office, like scented candles. Play soft music that you find focussing, as this can aid concentration and block out noise from elsewhere in the house. 

Make your home office a place that you like being and a place where you can concentrate and focus easily and avoid distractions. With the right workspace, you will be better able to work, making your home business more successful, with less pressure on you. Working at home can be a challenge, but is also a privilege as you have lots more options to personalize your space in a way that helps you to work to the best of your ability, in a space you love.

Practicing Self-Care While Running a Home Business

Scott Asai2 Comments

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

Self-care is essential, especially in the modern world where most of us feel stressed out at least some of the time. Self-care means different things to different people. But, it is basically putting yourself first sometimes. It’s committing time to take care of your mental and physical health and finding ways to give yourself what you need to be happy and healthy. 

When you run a home business, it’s hard to take any time for yourself. You might find that you’ve got no work-life balance at all. That your business has totality taken over and that you struggle to take any time off at all, let alone make time to practice self-care. You might commit any time you have to your business, thinking about it or worrying about problems even when you aren’t working. This can be damaging, both for you and ultimately, your business. So, let’s take a look at some ways that you can practice self-care when you work from home. 

Get Some Help

Running a home business doesn’t mean that you have to do everything for yourself. You could outsource work to other companies and freelancers. You can learn more about managed IT services and support, so that you have less to worry about. You could even hire an assistant, even if it’s just someone to help out when you are very busy. Explore your options, and don’t ever feel as though you have to do it all yourself because it’s your business. 

Exercise

Exercise has so many benefits. But, it’s often one of the things that go out of the window when we start working from home. Suddenly we don’t need to walk to the office, and we can sit and work on the sofa in our pajamas if we want to. But, failing to exercise doesn’t just affect your weight and fitness levels. It could impact your immune system, your mental health, your confidence and your mood. 

Do something for yourself by exercising. Practice yoga, Pilates and other mat work at home. Go out for a run or walk and head to the gym when you have time. 

Build an Online Support Network

Working from home can be lonely. Your friends and family might still be going out to work, and you might miss sharing your office with colleagues. Building an online support network can be a huge help. Join groups online, get to know people on Twitter, and try to make friends with other people in similar situations.

Take Time Off

Perhaps the best thing that you can do for yourself as someone that works from home is to take a day off — a whole day without checking work emails, replying to messages to checking in with your business. It’s even better if you don’t feel guilty about it. 

Schedule Daily “Me Time”

If you are struggling with your work-life balance, you never take time off, and you don’t make enough time for your friends and family, start scheduling it. Make plans and write them in your diary, you’ll be more likely to stick to them. Then, even on workdays, when you have nothing else planned, write some me time on your to-do list, even if it’s just ten minutes to read a book or enjoy a coffee.