Creativity can be a mysterious process. We all want to achieve originality in our designs yet no idea is truly original. Ideas are always inspired by a combination of things. It’s the novel combination of ideas, concepts, trends, aesthetics, materials and approaches that, in a practical sense, make a design.
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Grow a Small Business
Cycling to work is on the rise, but many office workers still feel discouraged from the active commute by poor office facilities. A survey by the British Council for Offices found that 40% of office workers would commute by bike if their workspace offered better facilities. Here are a few ways to kick start active commuting.
Generally, after Christmas, consumers cut back on spending meaning businesses do too. With little business activity, the economy becomes sluggish and businesses find it difficult to get things going again.
For those who don’t know, mobile optimisation is the process of designing and adapting any website online to ensure that it works well on the mobile platform. There are a lot of different things that you can do to ensure that your website is fully mobile optimised, enabling the user to have the same experience as your online shop as the desktop user.
Office designs are becoming one of the major sources in increasing workplace productivity. Employee-friendly workplace furniture promotes easiness and allows employees to work more productively. Today, more and more people are choosing to work in a place which has more productive furniture set up for their employees.
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Useful and actionable advice is priceless, especially when it comes to your small business. If you feel like you bit off a little more than you could chew, consider finding a mentor to help you overcome obstacles.
The hard truth? Most mobile apps get deleted just six days after they’re last used. With so many applications on the market, you need a way to capture users’ interest. You need to keep them coming back. If they encounter app issues or find your user interface (UI) frustrating, they won’t wait for a fix.
Printer manufacturers provide us with the opportunity to buy their hardware at ludicrously low prices, but then more than make up for it with the price of consumables. However, with some clever thinking, you can come out on top. Here are some simple ways to reduce your ink or toner consumption.
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Leasing office space is a big cost for a small business. Securing a favourable lease is vital, as this can save you money that can be used in other areas of the company, such as recruiting talent or developing your product.
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If you’ve started a micro-business recently and you’re feeling like it’s time to leave the shed then you’ll no doubt be bewildered by the sheer range of options on offer. There’s hot-desking, leased offices, short-term rentals and shared spaces, all of different sizes and arrangements.
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Failing in business at some point is not only inevitable but essential. Failure is the biggest teacher, therefore there is always a lesson to be learnt. Failing at anything can be horrible and it can definitely knock your confidence, however, it’s vital that you get back up. As the small business owner and decision maker, you are allowed to fail, however, it’s your recovery that says everything about you as a leader. You need to make sure that you are leading by example and showing your team how to recover from a failure in business.
A company succeeds or fails on its reputation; a good reputation will bring you more customers, more sales, and ultimately more profits. You will be able to grow and thrive exactly as you want to. A bad reputation will result in fewer sales because fewer people will want to be associated with your company name, brand, products, or services. Although this sounds fairly frightening, it’s not something that you should lose sleep over – as long as you commit to doing the right thing at all times and admit your mistakes (because every business makes them, no matter how established they are, and it’s how you deal with them that counts).
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Decorating your office can be as challenging as it is rewarding. And being limited to a budget does not make the job easier! It is much more challenging to decorate an office than it is to decorate your bedroom or living room because the office is a much more sober place. Even if you run a small business, you probably get a lot of people coming over to your office, and you need to make sure that they get a good first impression of the place. After all, they will use that impression to make their initial judgement of you
This advice is based very much on experience. Only two years ago, I was about to close my digital agency. I had been forced to let six staff go and it was down to just me and one other.
The work-life balance is something that has become more important in recent years, even though it has also become more difficult to obtain in many cases. There was a time when working long hours (and at weekends), losing sleep and sacrificing family time, was seen as something admirable, but thankfully the pendulum is beginning to swing the other way, and now most people understand how important it is to have some downtime.
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A franking machine is one of the most interesting postage devices we have out there. What makes a franking machine unique is the way it simplifies the mailing process in your business. Furthermore, a franking machine has the option of customising the company logo and business brand on letters. The one thing that makes this machine admirable is the way it reduces the high costs of posting letters.
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A business needs to increase its customers in order to grow. One of the most obvious ways to do this is through advertising. But advertising comes at a cost and doesn’t always guarantee results. With that risk in mind, is there such a thing as free advertising and can you use it to grow your business?
Growth is one of the key watchwords for any SME. While a state of stasis is preferable to decline and loss, it’s growth that provides the reassurance that you’re making the right decisions. But what do you do if part of your growth strategy includes moving into the markets overseas? How can you give yourself the best possible chance of success?
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When small businesses become stable they should consider looking beyond their border to grow their business. Business growth is incredibly important and the lack of it can leave small businesses stagnant leading to failure. One way to grow a business is by taking it international and catering to customers across the world. It may seem daunting leaving the security of what you know, however, it can be a worthwhile challenge. There are multiple ways in which you can appeal to customers all over the world.
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With all the difficulties of setting up a business in the first place and with how saturated the market is, you’re certainly busy as a business owner. But you can’t be too busy to think about the future, set up a plan for your business, and figure out how to grow your business this year.
