5 Extras Every Small Business Should Offer Employees

If you’re running a business, something that you should always be thinking about is the range of employee benefits that you’re offering your staff. A good employee benefits package will not only attract better talent to your company, but help your business retain staff for longer, meaning less time and resources spent hiring new staff in the long run. Employee benefits come in many forms, and all are important for the well-being and productivity of your staff. Whether you’re contributing to childcare costs, offering regular training or even providing unlimited paid time off for your staff, the benefits you choose to offer your staff are crucial to the success of your small business.

1. Childcare contributions

If you’re a small business, you likely have a small team of employees who work hard for your company. However, for those staff members that are parents, the burden of looking after children while also working can be immense. From the costs of childcare alone, as well as the logistics of parents needing to be there for their children at a moment’s notice, this can sometimes take a toll on work. To combat this, consider offering your employees contributions towards their childcare. This will help them to rest easy knowing their children are well cared for while they can work well, and reduces the financial burden on them.

1. Professional development/training schemes

One of the most important and valuable things that an employer can offer their staff is the opportunity to develop. Whether this is in the form of career progression opportunities or regular training sessions, especially if you can offer employees training with a certification of some sort at the end, progression is so valuable in today’s economy. Nowadays more than ever before, people change jobs several times in their life, so offering your employees an incentive to stay by constantly developing their skills is great for both employee and employer.

1. Teambuilding days

Boosting morale in the workplace is always a good idea. Happier employees means more productive employees, and a workplace full of people who can work and collaborate well together is extremely valuable. Take your staff on regular teambuilding days to help to forge bonds between them and increase morale. If you need ideas on where to bring them, consider putting it to a vote or simply asking your employees what they would enjoy doing together.

This tactic can also be used for other employee benefits. If you’re not sure what your staff want - let them choose. If you want to use a great platform to organise and collect all of your employee benefits, then sign up for https://www.zestbenefits.com/ for a fresh approach to employee benefits.

1. Gym memberships

Employee benefits are not just about improving life within the office, but also for giving your staff a better quality of life overall while they are working for you. This is where benefits such as gym memberships can really come into play. Paying for your employees’ gym memberships is a great way of promoting a healthy lifestyle and encouraging active lives amongst your employees.

1. Holidays

A good holiday scheme is one of the best ways to not only attract new employees to your business, but to retain the employees you already have. Whether you are offering a high number of holiday days or even in the case of some companies, unlimited holiday days, ensuring that your staff have enough time off to recoup and recover from the strain of working is essential in preventing burnout, increasing productivity at work and generally promoting a happier work-life balance for your staff.

5 Smart Ways to Cut the Operating Costs of Your Business Vehicles

The economy is putting more and more strain on businesses, and many small business owners and entrepreneurs are looking for ways to reduce their overheads and tighten their belts.

If you run a business that operates a fleet of cars and vans, or even if you just have one company car for getting to meetings, there are some significant savings out there if you know where to look. 

Here are five simple things that any business owner can do to cut the costs of their business vehicles and pump up the balance sheet.

Find Cheaper Car Insurance

No matter what type of vehicle you or your business uses, savings can be found if you shop around for car insurance. Even cutting the cost of your personal car insurance can help by giving you more time and money to invest in your company.

Looking for car insurance has never been easier. Searching for car insurance at CompareNI.com takes seconds and shows you deals you will not find on other sites from over 80 providers. This will allow you to find relevant insurance to protect your vehicles.

Switch To EVs

Electric vehicles, or EVs, are becoming more common on the roads around the United Kingdom. They are particularly popular as commercial vehicles, as they offer substantial long-term savings over their traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) counterparts.

They are much cheaper to maintain, and by having car chargers at headquarters, and using the rapidly expanding network of car charging stations in the UK, you can make massive savings on fuel.

Use Tax Incentives To When Buying Or Leasing

There are several schemes available to businesses that can make buying or leasing new commercial vehicles cheaper, especially if you are considering switching to electric cars and vans.

You should work closely with your accountant to look at all of your options. Limited companies will often find leasing more tax-efficient in the long term, as the entire lease payment is a legitimate business expense. When financing a car with a loan, only the interest payments are tax-deductible.

Reduce Your Fleet

Operating lots of vehicles can be complex, time-consuming, and costly. By organizing your fleet more efficiently and having workers share vehicles you can considerably cut your costs. 

Arranging the logistics of vehicle sharing can be complicated, though there is help out there. By investing a little time, however, you can make massive regular savings on your vehicle overheads. Using smaller vehicles, with more efficient engines, can help reduce costs too, on fuel, insurance, and road tax.

Train Drivers To Drive Efficiently

Fuel costs are one of the biggest regular expenses when operating a commercial vehicle. The more cars, vans, and lorries your business needs the more you are spending every week on petrol and diesel.

Though training staff does require some financial investment, by training them on efficient driving techniques, you will see consistent regular savings every month on every vehicle. Simply reducing the amount of equipment or supplies that your vehicles carry can significantly impact your fuel costs if you operate a large fleet.

Just one or two of these top tips can help you reduce your vehicle overheads and give your business some significant savings.

What to Look for in a Car Insurance Provider

Next to a house, a car is one of the most significant purchases you’ll make in your lifetime. Regardless of which size, spec, make, or model you opt for, the average cost of a vehicle in the United Kingdom is between £12,000 to £28,000, and the prices don’t stop there! As well as the upfront cost of the car, you’ll also have to consider maintenance fees, insurance and much more. 

The latter should be one of your biggest priorities when purchasing a new car. Make a mistake when choosing your insurance provider, and you could end up not being covered for something crucial or paying over the odds for cover you don’t need. There are many things you need to consider when shopping around for car insurance, some of which we list below: 

Price 

Like when making any purchase, the price will be at the top of our considerations but ensure that it’s not something you focus on. Instead, begin by looking at what’s included in the policy so that you can gain an understanding of what you’re paying for. 

Since most car insurance providers often have add-ons or perks in the hopes of attracting more sales, so it’s worth checking what is included. Plus, don’t forget that a car insurance provider will use various factors to determine how much you will pay. 

So, if a friend or family member has recommended you, it’s worth noting that you might not receive the same deal – even if you have similar cars. To better understand how much car insurance might cost, use price comparison platforms like Quotezone to compare a wide range of financial services products, from home insurance to car insurance. Consider visiting their site today to see how their services could help you find the best car insurance, provider. 

Excess 

When you damage your car and claim against your insurance, the excess is the amount of money you will have to pay to make a claim. Some claims may have a separate excess charge, like repair or windshield excess, but these are usually lower than the damage caused to your car. Car insurance providers use two types of excess to stop policyholders from claiming for every little scrape or bump on their vehicle, which are as follows:

• Compulsory Excess – This is set by your policy provider and is fixed, so it cannot be negotiated in any way. 

• Voluntary Excess – This is an amount that can be added if you want to reduce the cost of your insurance. 

Special Policies 

Some car insurance providers will also offer policies to appeal to different drivers, such as learner driver insurance, European driving insurance, classic car insurance, telematics insurance, and young driver policies. Many car insurance providers will offer these types of policies so that they don’t just attract one kind of customer and so those who don’t have a full license or those who have recently passed their test can feel safe on the road. 

How to Become a Sustainable Business: Tips to Consider

Today's world is one that expects businesses to take responsibility for the impact their actions have on the environment and society, which means companies need to be more sustainable. As a business owner, you can implement strategies and sustainability initiatives to help your company become more eco-friendly. You may even want to go so far as making your business fully sustainable with a green focus. In this article, we'll look at the top tips you should consider when working towards creating a more sustainable business.

Set Attainable Goals

When working to become a more sustainable business, it's essential to set goals for yourself. You can't be expected to change every aspect of your business overnight. You also shouldn't try to do everything at once. Instead, you should set smaller, more attainable sustainability management goals for yourself and your team to work towards. For example, you could start by aiming to reduce your paper consumption. It's a small change, but one that will add up over time.

Take An Online Sustainability Course

If you're just getting started with your company's sustainability plan, then we recommend that you take an online sustainability course. These courses are designed to help you understand how to make your business more sustainable. They also provide useful tips, advice, and information on different sustainability topics, such as waste management and water conservation. When you're looking for a business sustainability management online course to help you take your company down a greener path, it can be challenging to find the course that's right for you. Consider this short course, which will help you understand business sustainability management and how you can implement changes in order to create a more eco-friendly company. Once you've taken an online course, you can use what you've learned to help make small changes in your business. This can include how you purchase products, how you communicate with customers, and how you handle your company's waste.

Let Staff Work From Home

If some of your employees drive long distances to get to work, you may want to consider letting them work from home a few days per week or even full-time. This can help reduce the amount of carbon emissions your business creates due to transportation and can also help reduce traffic congestion in your community. 

Use Recycled Office Supplies

Recycled office supplies are another way to reduce your company's environmental impact. For example, recycled paper products are readily available and easy to incorporate into your office. You can also encourage employees to use digital communications whenever possible, such as email or online collaboration tools, in place of printing hard copies of documents or other printed materials. Additionally, you can implement a paperless policy in your office.

Make Charitable Contributions

Another way your company can become more sustainable is by making charitable contributions. There are many organisations and non-profits that need help, and your business can contribute in a meaningful way. This can include donating money, supplies or your time to local organisations.

Reasons Why You Need To Get An Electric Vehicle For Your Business

When it comes to choosing the right vehicle for your business, you need to make sure that you choose one that meets all your needs and also helps you get from one place to another. It is not easy to find the right vehicle for any business. There are so many different factors that need to be taken into consideration when making this kind of decision. An electric vehicle may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about a car or van for your business, but it does have some benefits that may make it worth considering. Here are some good reasons why you need to get an Electric Vehicle for your business.

Plenty Of Sizes To Choose From

The first reason why you need to get an electric vehicle for your business is that they are available in a wide range of sizes. Whether you're looking for an electric car or an electric van, you can find electric vehicles to suit any business need and at a lower cost. With all the different options available, there's bound to be one that meets all of your needs, and if you need help building your fleet, check out the low cost electric vans from Van Sales UK.

Reduction In Transport Costs

If you use an electric vehicle as your business vehicle, then you will be able to reduce the amount of money that you spend on fuel. If you use a traditional fossil fuel-powered car, this can have a huge impact on your profits. An electric car is going to be cheaper to run and cheaper to maintain. This will save your company money in the long run and could also help to increase profits. The savings that you make by using an electric vehicle for your business will really add up over time, so it is worth considering.

Lower CO2 Emissions

One of the major benefits of an electric vehicle is that it has lower CO2 emissions. Now, the environment is something we should all be looking out for. With more and more people becoming environmentally conscious, companies are starting to invest in green energy. Electric vehicles are one of the best ways for companies to make sure they're using energy responsibly. With a lower CO2 emission rate, electric cars can help reduce the amount of pollution in our environment.

Significantly Lower Running Costs

The first major benefit of an electric vehicle for your business is that it has lower operating costs. This is because electric vehicles don't require fuel as a traditional car would. Electric vehicles work by being powered by batteries, which they can either plug into an outlet or recharge via solar power if available. As you may know, this means there are no petrol or diesel expenses, and the cost of electricity is relatively low, especially if your business uses renewable energy sources.

More Charging Ports

Another great reason why an electric vehicle may be worth considering for your business is that petrol stations across the country are installing more charging ports for electric cars. The vast majority of petrol stations now have charging ports available, so if your battery does run out of power, you don't need to worry about not being able to recharge it as quickly as possible.

Key Business Functions That You Can Outsource Right Now

One of the most common challenges for small businesses today is handling the number of tasks they need to complete to remain competitive in their industry and not fall behind. There are still plenty of benefits to sticking with being a small business instead of evolving into a large, sprawling corporation, however. Customer trust can remain high much more easily if you don’t become a large entity and managing your business can be a lot easier when you don’t have to wrangle thousands of employees. However, this also means you will likely not be hiring employees to fill each and every role you might need. For example, a large corporation might have its own legal and accounting departments, whereas you might not be able to justify those overheads. Instead, you will want to do some outsourcing to cover these tasks without needing to create new in-house departments. But which tasks should you outsource? Here are our top suggestions.

Market Research

First of all, you’ll likely be aware of just how much research you need to conduct to stay ahead of your competitors. This may include direct research into what those competitor businesses are doing to see if you can implement some of their new innovations into your own business, as well as the many hours of market research to identify any changes in your customer base’s wants and needs. There are pros and cons of outsourcing research and development, but for the most part, this can save you a lot of time and resources while also providing you with some very useful results. This research will also help you to develop new innovative ideas yourself, and ultimately provide you with more time to focus on these innovations without having to collect the important data yourself.

Web Design

A well-designed website is a very important feature for all businesses today. A quick browse of the other sites operating within your industry will likely show up with many beautifully designed sites with exciting graphics and an easy-to-navigate layout. It’s highly recommended to make use of an expert web design agency like e-innovate, based in Surrey. Hiring a professional company to design your site will improve the initial impression of visitors to your website. This better impression will naturally lead to better customer retention, as well as turning certain casual visitors into customers themselves. Working with certain web design agencies will also provide you with continued maintenance, allowing you to receive regular support and updates too.

Customer Services

Something that takes up a lot of resources, as well as time, is running your own in-house customer services. However, it’s worth noting that while it is resource-heavy and takes a lot of manpower to manage properly, customer service is incredibly important to the success of a business. If you choose to ignore this aspect of your business, dissent can spread among your customers when nobody can get answers to queries and complaints. This will lead to an increase in negative reviews and will drive your customers away while also repelling potential new customers too. To deal with this, outsource this to a specialist customer service agency which can take care of your customers while also being more cost-effective compared to in-house customer service.

How Small Business Owners can improve the performance of their Junior Staff

Training up staff for your business is an ongoing and involved process. It is crucial to get the best performance from your team, and as a manager or business owner, it is your job to help your team achieve the best they can. There are many ways to do this, and the way you choose will largely depend on your resources available, the budget you have and the people you employ.  

It is important to keep your people at the front and centre of all decisions you make. People have different learning styles, strengths and weaknesses, so all options you explore should be tailored to individual employees.  

Show Appreciation 

Showing you appreciate your team is a simple and effective way to improve performance. Employees like to know that their hard work and dedication is appreciated, and feeling undervalued is one of the biggest causes of employee dissatisfaction. You can show your appreciation in many ways, whether through a monthly or yearly bonus, by giving shout-outs in team meetings or emails or by dropping positive feedback into workplace conversations.  

Provide Comprehensive Training 

Employees will perform best when they feel confident in the work they are doing. In order to feel confident in their abilities, they will need to know how to do the work they are tasked with to a high standard. This means that training is one of the most crucial parts of boosting performance available.  

You should have a comprehensive onboarding process that covers all the information on the company and role that an employee could need. You should also offer ongoing training in relevant areas and elements of the role. It is also an excellent idea to upskill employees and train them in duties and responsibilities that can boost their overall skillset.  

Use Change Management Consultants 

Change management consultants can have an incredible impact on your business's operations and success. These are individuals who reshape an organisation to make it more efficient and less wasteful. They can also provide coaching for employees, both as a group and one-to-one. For more information and to understand the quality you should look for, check out The Speakers' Gym. 

Provide Clear Goals 

Goals are essential for employees, giving them a target to work towards. This can boost motivation significantly, which has excellent benefits for performance. The goals you set should be achievable but challenging and should be carefully tailored to each employee. Any goal that is too easy to achieve or too difficult can be incredibly demotivating. Goals should also change over time based on your employees' performance, strengths and weaknesses.  

Give Useful Feedback 

Feedback can be invaluable for employees, as it helps them understand how their performance is rated by their managers and what they can do to improve. Feedback should never be overly critical and should provide useful and practical advice on what to do differently and what they are doing right. It is a good idea to get feedback in return from your employees on how you can better support them and help boost their performance.  

Why Every Employee Needs an Employment Contract

Employees need to know the advantages of having employment contracts to ensure they are doing the work properly. An agreement between a company and an employee should not be accepted over mere terms. There is a need for a well-outlined, documented and signed legal statement between the two parties involved in the business. 

An employment contract is a signed legal agreement between an employee and employer. It usually contains the salary or wages, duration of employment, well-detailed responsibilities, benefits, schedule, holidays, non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and sometimes non-compete agreement. Here are reasons why every employee needs an employment contract. 

Clear Roles and Responsibilities 

Bankers, Doctors, Programmers, Engineers and basically every professional newly employed in a company will expect to play specific roles and responsibilities. However, employees can work more than expected if this is not well defined. The employers may assign extra duties asides from the general position, which would be a loss on the employee's side. 

Fortunately, an employment contract solves this problem. It consists of clearly defined duties you need to carry out as an employee. You'd know the exact schedule, timeline and different tasks you are to carry out daily. 

Protection Of Rights 

An employment contract protects the rights of both parties in agreement. Employees will now have legal backing to prevent power abuse from employers and neglect of duties from employees. It can also form the backing behind contract termination if anyone breaches the agreement. 

Companies have to state clearly their set terms, which usually include the non-compete and non-disclosure clauses. These are mainly employed when the company doesn't want you to work for a competitor as you have all their insider information. 

As an employee, you should also negotiate suitable conditions that favour your work—for example, a discussion of benefits and job protection against unwarranted contract termination. 

It is recommended you get an employment contract from experts like The HR Dept to get a legally compliant statement covering your work conditions. They are a professional company that ensures both working parties are protected. 

Maximize Up-front Investment 

Professionals are knowledgeable individuals who have expertise in a particular field. Nevertheless, some specific information is required to carry out certain tasks in companies and industries. To maximize effectiveness on the side of employers, they set up up-front investments in the employees. This can come in the form of pre-training sessions, courses and lectures. 

However, employees may take the training sessions and leave the company with the information. To prevent the high risk of losing information, it is best to have a signed employment contract. The signed document will state all work conditions and ensure they stay to benefit the company afterwards. 

Protect Company's Sensitive Information 

For job offers which involves handling secret company document and information, an employment contract is the best way to protect your business. A non-disclosure agreement is a document that employees sign to pledge to never leak or disclose insider information to the outside.

A non-compete form can also be in the contract to prevent employees from working in a competitor's business. In summary, a well-written agreement precludes the leaking of sensitive information to the wrong party and safeguards business. 

Invention Assignment 

A company hiring an individual to build a product or an invention can protect against ownership theft using an employee contract. The clause will state all conditions pointing the ownership to the company. Hence, employees have no right to it despite using their creativeness and the company's resources to develop it. They would also agree not to share information used in building the invention. 

Legal Purposes 

Another benefit of having a signed employment contract is to provide legal binding in case of contract breach. If your employer abuses or breaks an agreement, you can always go the legal way when you have the document. This will serve as proof and justify your plead.

Improves Working Standards 

When you understand all the set roles that your company demands, you will efficiently work at high standards resulting in increased productivity. With the set standards, there'd be less room for unacceptable work behaviour and ethic. You would also develop a good relationship at work and feel happier, contributing to the company's success. 

Retain Good Employees 

Labour turnover costs organizations a lot of money and can disrupt day-to-day operations. An employment contract has many advantages, including defining the conditions of employment and limiting the circumstances under which an employee may be allowed to quit early.

An organization can't prohibit an employee from leaving, but it can put up incentive schemes to maintain the best employees. Vesting schedules for stock options are an excellent example of this.

It can be pretty tricky to land the best employees when the hiring market is so tight. Most top-tier job seekers don't hang around for very long before receiving various offers. You may be able to set yourself apart by negotiating a good work contract.

Endnote 

Do not begin an official job with a company without having a signed employee agreement. The document saves you a lot of stress and provides clear information on duties, salary, holidays and lots more. It also protects rights and provides legal backing in an agreement breach. 

4 Advantages of Distributing Your Company's Content Globally

Any company that wants to grow significantly will know that this can’t be done without some sort of expansion. Although it can be costly and time-intensive, distributing your content and your brand globally can do wonders for your business. Nowadays thanks to international travel and social media it is easier than ever to ‘go global’ and so we’ve put together the top reasons why you should consider distributing your content globally.  

Reach new markets 

One of the most obvious and biggest advantages of distributing your content on a global scale is the fact that you will reach new markets.  Expanding to new territories means that you will have the chance to raise your brand awareness and recognition and hopefully in return you will see an increase in sales over time. It can also make things easier for your distribution and management of teams, for example, many American brands such as Nike have headquarters overseas in the Netherlands as it gives them direct access to Europe, one of their largest markets. It could also be a great time to expand into more developing markets such as India and Indonesia where we are seeing a boom in the economy and so people have more disposable income than before. 

Diversify your audience and products 

Expanding your content more worldwide also helps companies to diversify their audience and product range, like trying playout services. When you enter new countries and markets it gives you a chance to analyse your customers, in certain territories your demographic may be different to what you expected. You can use this to your advantage by carrying out consumer research and analyse your sales to see what products may be of value to the consumer. This ensures that you continue developing and growing your brand, and your offerings will be more innovative and in line with customer demand. You could trial services and products in different areas to cater to local tastes and allow for more experimentation and diversification. 

Get ahead of competitors

Most companies will keep themselves up to date with what their competitors are doing and if you catch yours distributing their content on a more global level it may be time to follow suit. Think about what countries your competition has yet to expand to and start sharing your content there as you will have the advantage of building your brand awareness before others have arrived. You can also start to build trust and a good brand reputation ahead of competing companies and gain a competitive edge. If you are first to distribute your content, it is also likely that you can build good relationships with the local suppliers and partners and use their knowledge to help your development. Being first into a new market puts you in a good position for foreign investment if you are looking to expand soon and many governments welcome international companies to aid the development and investment in their county so it is worth exploring your options. 

Find new talent 

Lastly, if you start to expand your content and company reach, you put yourself in a great position to acquire new talent. You can take advantage of more diverse skillsets, backgrounds and languages which can all help to diversify your team and your products or services.

Distributing your content globally can have numerous benefits. While it may mean some investment at the start, money put into operations and infrastructure and effort from many departments of your company, in the long run, you could reap the rewards of increased brand awareness, sales and a competitive edge over others.

The Key Questions to ask a Potential Packaging Supplier

When you are selling an item, it is not only the item that is important. The packaging says so much about a brand and can help set the tone for the whole business, so luxury packaging is definitely an option to consider. When looking for luxury packaging suppliers, there are some key elements that you should think about.

Will It Do Its Job?

The main reason for packaging is to get an item from one place to another, securely and intact, protecting the item inside. If the packaging can’t do this, then it’s not up to the job. It is important to make sure that the luxury packaging you wish to use is going to be the right size and that it will be strong enough to hold it securely. It is definitely worth asking for samples of the packaging so that you can see that it is up to the test. 

Do They Have Good Stock Levels?

It’s no good finding the perfect packaging only for it to then be no longer be available 6 months down the line. Once you have sourced a luxury packaging provider, ask them if the packaging you require is going to be readily available and that stock levels are constantly replenished. You need to be confident that there are not going to be supply issues, and if there are, what do they offer as an alternative?

Do They Do Bespoke Packaging?

As well as being functional, luxury packaging should also provide the receiver with an experience they want to repeat. Having custom packaging with your logo on it makes it that extra bit more special and memorable compared to others. Look at luxury bespoke packaging providers such as Maxipos, which offers bespoke branded merchandise. Whether it’s rigid boxes, folding cartons, or acetate boxes, they can provide you with luxury custom packaging suited to your business and brand. They are not only supplying luxury packaging, but they are also supplying a marketing tool. Your packaging can tell a story about your brand and influence your consumers.

Do They Do Eco-Friendly Options?

It is well worth asking if the luxury packaging supplier offers an eco-friendly option. In this day and age, a lot more consumers are bothered about whether the packaging their goods come in is friendly to the environment. Having eco-friendly packaging may sway customers to purchase from you over your competitors. Making sure that sustainable packaging is an option is a vital question to ask a potential luxury packaging supplier.

So, whilst packaging may not seem important at first thought, it really is the first impression that consumers will have of your business. It is important to get it right. Luxury packaging and bespoke packaging can be so beneficial to your business so it is important to find a great supplier that you can trust to not only deliver the goods but work with you to find a suitable custom packaging option for you and your business.

Why Is Water Efficiency So Important For Business?

It doesn’t matter what type of company you operate; water will always be a fundamental need to help your staff get the job done. Unfortunately, your business can run into problems if your current provider offers poor water efficiency.

Water efficiency refers to your ability to exercise sustainability by reducing the amount of water used by your business. While it may not seem like much of a problem, using more water than you need can have some negative effects. Read on to find out what these effects are and why water efficiency is so important.

Eco-Friendly

A big problem that a lot of companies are facing right now is that they aren’t using enough environmentally friendly practices. Not only does this mean that our planet is slowly being damaged, but political bodies are putting in new laws to stem non-eco-friendly manufacturing processes. So, what has this got to do with water efficiency?

The water you run into your building must be cleaned and treated first, two processes that take up a lot of power. Therefore, you are draining more natural resources by using more water than you need. By increasing your water efficiency, you are reducing waste and decreasing the amount of waste accumulated each year. It is only a small step, but every little helps when it comes to tackling climate change.

Saving Money

Of course, the real problem with poor water efficiency is that it can end up costing you a lot of money in the future. The more water that you use, the more your water provider will charge for the privilege. However, if your water suppliers aren’t checking for efficiency, you may end up paying more.

That is why it is important to find business water suppliers that take water efficiency into account so that you aren’t having to pay too much for someone else’s carelessness. A site like businesswatershop.co.uk can measure what you are paying now against their prices to save you money on your water bills. 

Increased Productivity

There is nothing worse than having to shut down production because of a manufacturing error. One such error could be the result of a water leak. Too much debris in your water systems could cause a clog, and this blockage will eventually result in a burst pipe somewhere down the line. 

A water supplier that is big on efficiency will have a system in place to reduce the number of blockages that can occur. This means that you never waste water when on the job, but also that you can continue production with the knowledge that you aren’t going to encounter any unfortunate delays. At least none that are caused by poor water efficiency, at least.

Conclusion

As you can see, poor water efficiency can affect more inside your business than just money. Try to look at how much water you are using to see if you can make the difference needed.

3 Reasons Entrepreneurs Should Seriously Consider a Delivery Service Startup

If you are an entrepreneur seeking a business with huge potential for growth, you just might consider the benefits of launching a delivery service. Not only is the time ripe for a business of this type but there is a real need as you may already be aware of. In fact, the following three reasons why a delivery service makes sense at this point in time might be just what you are looking for to help you make that all-important decision on how to invest your time, talents and resources.

1. Addressing the Ongoing Supply Chain Crisis

If there is one thing that can be said empirically about the coronavirus pandemic, it would be an awareness brought about by the global breakdown of the supply chain. While keeping workers on the job in manufacturing was a large part of the breakdown, it was mostly due to insufficient drivers and vehicles to serve a literal explosion in eCommerce. With all but necessary services and shops closed down to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2, consumers had no choice but to shop online. This caused an overload of deliveries to be made, and as stated, an insufficient number of trucks and drivers to deliver those goods to their doors. 

You can plug the gap with a fleet of delivery vehicles, including larger lorries to handle bulk shipments. With this in mind, one thing you can begin doing is pricing HGV vehicles and the cost of HGV insurance. Shopping around for HGV insurance and other types of commercial vehicle insurance can help reduce your operating costs. 

2. Shift in Consumer Shopping Methods

One thing that has become quite evident is that there has been a real shift in the way consumers do the bulk of their shopping, even with what appears to be a levelling out of cases in hospital. While many people are still testing positive, vaccines have largely prevented serious infection, but people are still choosing to shop online. 

All the current data being gathered and analysed indicates that fewer people are shopping in person with the bulk of shoppers still choosing to order online for home delivery. In fact, most forecast models point to a long-lasting shift in consumer buying habits so starting a delivery service at this time fills a need which is also forecast to last indefinitely now that consumers are comfortable with the benefits of shopping online. 

3. Unlimited Growth Potential Through B2B Partnering

As a delivery service you will also be partnering with B2B companies that have suffered during the pandemic. By giving them a shipping option, you will be helping them to stay afloat while also gaining ongoing business for your start-up. It can be a symbiotic relationship and if ever there was a time to help other businesses stay alive, now would be the time.

With all things considered, this is one much-needed service that is only just beginning to be addressed. What many thought was a temporary break in the global supply chain has been much more permanent due to a consumer shift in shopping habits. Starting a shipping and delivery service now will get you in on the ground floor in a business that is forecast to be in high demand for years to come. If you are looking for a profitable start-up, this would be a perfect opportunity for a profitable venture.

How to Transition from Mechanic to Garage Owner in 4 Steps

If you’ve been working as a mechanic for many years, you may have considered opening your own garage at some point. If you have the skills needed and know how to reach your clientele, then you could have a successful business very fast. The car repair business is very tough and competitive, however, so you have to be ready for the challenges that come with it. But, if you prepare correctly and study your market thoroughly, you could find a way to make a space for yourself and thrive. Let’s take a look at how you can transition from mechanic to garage owner in four steps.

Learn About Permits, Licences, and Hidden Costs

Before you even think of starting a garage, you need to learn about all the permits, licences, and insurance you’ll need. Some of the licences you’ll need include a vehicle repair business licence, one to trade licence plates, and MOT authorisation. You might also have to get environment permits and premise-related permits like discharge of trade effluent, public space surveillance, and even licences to play music.

In addition to this, you will also need to start looking into motor trade insurance, even if you don’t intend to sell vehicles. If you want to compare motor trade insurance and learn more about it, you can use this site to find your cover. You’ll learn exactly why garages need motor trade insurance and you can compare motor trade insurance right on the spot. They have connections with all the top insurers in the country, so you should be able to find a great deal in no time.

Decide to Franchise or Not

One of the most important decisions you'll have to make when starting a garage is deciding to stay independent or join a franchise. It might be a good idea to start looking at franchising first. A franchise is usually the best option for someone who's just getting started since you’ll benefit from all the expertise franchisors have to offer. You'll also be able to get savings on supplies, help with marketing, and all the branding will already have been done for you.

Working independently can also work, but it is very tough if you don't at least have a partner that truly understands the business part of running a garage, so think twice before going that route.

Find a Location

When choosing a location, we suggest that you look for an area near a busy road or highway. You want as many drivers as possible to see your business. You also have to make sure that the area is not saturated with other garages. Industrial estates and city centre locations are also popular choices. City centre spots might be limited and cost more, however, so consider the other options first.

Start Hiring

Once you have everything in place, you can start hiring. You will need a strong team of specialists that can perform all sorts of repairs. 

As a new garage, you may have difficulty attracting seasoned mechanics, so we suggest you look at local trade schools and look for upcoming talent there. You will, however, need to have a few veterans on your team, so work hard to recruit someone with experience who’ll be able to guide younger workers on the floor.

This is all you need to know to start the process of opening your own garage. This could be the best decision you’ve made in your career, but it has to be carefully thought out so that you don’t end up burning yourself.

How You Could Save Money Within Your Business: 4 Tips

There will be many businesses out there that are burning money without even knowing why. This will be able to be avoided easier than you think, which is why we've put together this article containing four tips to help your business save money. Let's get started.

Plan Your Finances

First things first, you should plan your future spending and work out how much you're currently spending in order to get started. You can prepare for a short amount of time and look towards longer periods of time. Planning will give you more of an understanding of where your finances are, and where they should be.

Consider planning with others within your business so that the burden doesn't entirely fall on you alone. The more eyes looking at your financial plan, the easier it will be to find mistakes and correct them.

Control Your Expenses

You will find that you are able to save more money within your business if you have more understanding of your expenses. Expenses refer to the money that goes out of your business, and there could be various reasons for this. You should know where your money is going so that you know you aren't wasting any potential funds.

There will be a few different ways you can control your expenses, with some of the most effective ways involving software. You should look into expense management software, such as the one available from Payhawk. This software gives you more financial control and will allow you to track your company's spending habits via company cards. Expense management will allow you to create reports and trace payments, allowing you to chase up spending when needed. The end goal of this will be to help you find ways to save money within your business.

Don't Buy New Goods

A common mistake some people make when looking to upgrade their workplace is to purchase goods brand new. The issue is that as soon as you purchase these new goods, they will lose some of their value immediately. You can often find good value in used goods that may still have the same quality just at a fraction of the price.

Look into a variety of goods that you are currently using within your business, as it is more than likely the case that you will be able to find a cheaper alternative. If you are able to reuse some goods over and over within your business, then this will just be more of a bonus. The less you are spending on brand new goods, the more money you will be able to save. Consider making appropriate cuts to make this happen.

Go Paperless

You may be surprised to know that there is a range of savings to be made with your paperwork and general paper situation. In particular, you will be able to make mass savings by going paperless. You will be able to go paperless in a variety of ways, such as switching to online account management and digital receipts.

You should look to transfer all of your files onto a digital format where possible. Once you've got these digital files placed online, you will be able to back them up further to suit your needs and give you more flexibility. It may be the case that you can't go entirely paperless, but you will be able to do something.

3 Tips To Help Companies Boost Efficiency In Marketing

The marketing industry is a formidable force. It has the potential to alter a brand or company’s image. Social media is a powerful tool in marketing, helping businesses to increase brand awareness by reaching a wider audience. Effective marketing can also help to create a positive brand image. This allows a company to generate leads that could potentially become clients.

Understandably, companies need their marketing teams to operate efficiently and effectively. These are a few tips that business leaders should consider to help them boost efficiency in marketing.

Utilise Online Productivity Tools

Online productivity tools can be incredibly beneficial in business, especially when increasing efficiency. They help make specific tasks easier to complete and reduce the time spent on achieving them.

For example, large Word documents can use a lot of space. When sending emails, multiple Word documents can prevent an email from being able to send. Saving them as PDFs helps to reduce file size. The reduced file size means multiple documents can be sent without exceeding the limit. If the email receiver needs the documents as Word files, they can use tools to convert PDFs to Word documents when required.

Having these tools readily available can help increase the turnaround time for projects to be completed. Some online tools can also help to reduce errors made. This allows the company to maintain an image of delivering quality content.

Improve Communication Skills

Communication is an essential tool for any business. It enables a business to run efficiently and helps ensure that the entire team is on the same page about the company’s standards on the quality of its service. In marketing, communication amongst the team needs to be strong. The marketing team is creating content that will be shared on behalf of the business. They are helping to improve the company’s reputation as they aim to attract new leads. The information they publish for all to see has to be accurate and concise. If any incorrect information is published, it could have a damaging effect on the business.

Ensure that all team members are clear and relaying messages to others. This helps to minimise the chances of any vital pieces of information being missed or not adequately communicated. Having strong communication can help to maintain a positive image to customers. They will see a well-informed company, and the quality of their work is maintained throughout the business.

Set Realistic Future Goals

All companies will plan for the future. Goals are what they hope to achieve by a specific month or year. Having these goals motivate the team to work hard to obtain them. The plans in place need to be clear and realistic. It will help ensure the team knows what the company is trying to achieve and when they hope to accomplish it.

Knowing how to set realistic business goals can be challenging. There are a few factors to remember that will help make it easier. Business leaders should decide what they want to achieve and when they hope to do it. This will help them see if their timeline for achieving their goals is realistic with the resources that they currently have.

Companies that implement one or a few of these tips could see a positive impact on the efficiency of their marketing. These improvements could then have a noticeable effect on its brand image and the number of leads it generates. An effect that any company would be happy to see.

6 Key Benefits of Leasing an Electric Car

Electric cars are a great alternative to petrol or diesel cars, especially with rising fuel prices and growing concerns over climate change. The price of an electric car, on the other hand, can be a little bit steeper than other cars. But thanks to the savings on fuel, electric cars are still the superior option. Moreover, leasing an electric car is a great option when you don’t want to spend money on purchasing one. Leasing a car is like renting a car, because you don't build equity in it. Let’s look at some of the benefits of leasing an electric vehicle.

Lower Financial Commitment

Leasing is way cheaper than outright purchasing an electric car. You can further lower your financial burden by choosing to pay every month or every couple of months, instead of paying upfront for a longer lease. You can research in-depth about electric car leasing on the ElectriX website. They have tons of resources and articles explaining every facet of leasing and using an electric car. You can also look around the site to check which is the right electric car insurance for you.

Easy Upgrading of Car

With leasing, you get to try newer upgrades of electric cars much more easily since you’re not tied to the older car through a purchase. You are also able to change cars often to have first-hand experience of driving a variety of car brands. 

No Stress Over Reselling

You don’t need to spend time and energy trying to sell the car once you are done with it. With a leased electric car, you simply return the car once you decide to look for another one. This can save you both time and energy when you want to get another car. 

Fewer Repairs

Because leasing lets you use newer and more upscale cars, you usually have to go through fewer repairs than when you own a car for a few years. This can result in substantial savings over the years.

No Need to Stress About Depreciation

When you own a car, you know that the value of the car will decrease over time due to a depreciation in the value of the vehicle. But in the case of a leased car, you don’t need to worry about depreciation since the car belongs to the leasing company. 

Tax Breaks 

When you lease the car for your business, you can reclaim the VAT. The tax relief can also include mileage rebates. These might seem like smaller sums of money, but they add up over time.

Electric cars are here to stay. They emit fewer greenhouse gases that warm the planet, and don’t rely on fuel. Look into leasing a car if purchasing one isn’t an option for you in the near future. Who knows, when you actually begin driving one, you might decide that the benefits of an electric car over other cars far outweigh the concerns over the initial price difference!