2-1-2 Small Business Sense

Running a small service business without the use of an office is actually done in many areas by many different business owners. Of course there is the home office concept that most of us are familiar with but there is another concept that is making the rounds.

All across the country, people are using cafes, coffee shops and cafes to conduct business meetings, write sales proposals, interview prospective employees and even access their email and the internet. It is such a happening that you now see restaurants put up signs indicating that their free WiFi is not available during busy times.

Panara Bread is one of the places that is offering free WiFi and is used on a regular basis in my area by many professionals. In fact, I am writing this article while sitting at my local Panara Bread drinking a cup of coffee while I am waiting to meet with a client. The convenience of the free WiFi at Panara Bread makes it easy for me to conduct business and not be in a sterile environment like my office all the time and opens up my creativity as the atmosphere is ever changing in the restaurant due to the comings and goings of the customers.

It is also a great opportunity to see what others are doing to achieve the goals of their respective businesses. For instance, today I had the opportunity to see an internet marketing firm interview a prospective sales person. This company offered advertising on the internet to brick and mortar businesses and was offering a commission based sales opportunity to an aggressive up and coming young man.

The interviewer was pitching this service pretty hard to the interviewee and the interviewee was pitching his work ethic, experience and drive. It appeared to be a good match from what I could see and hear and they walked out together with plans and goals. In other times, the prospective employee would have to drive to an office and be put in an environment that would not be real conducive to an open exchange. A neutral location is almost always better to keep everyone at ease and eliminate some tension.

I am personally a big proponent of working in a neutral free wi fi friendly environment as it allows me to think outside of the box and also gives me the opportunity to get ideas from other successful business people. Panara Bread and free wifi along with some of their signature sandwiches are great for small business!

By: Will Stone

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An office is not only the place in which you conduct your business but it reflects a lot about the business – its nature and potential. It is not just a space where people occupy seats on desks and go about minding their own business but it’s a place that, with the right interior furnishing and decor can make a lasting impression on your potential clients or office visitors. The kind of furnishing used and the office supplies arranged in and around the office surrounding indicates the professional nature of the business and involves a lot of systematic planning.

When it comes to setting up a new office space for an upcoming business or while shifting to a new office the first and foremost thing to be taken care of is purchasing the right office supplies for your work place. There are many established office supply merchants who have gained reputation throughout the years and who claim to sell the best of the goods related articles ranging from office stationery to office furniture. But little did you know about ways and means of curbing your costs incurred on office supplies by logging on to the internet and looking for cheaper office equipments or discount office supplies.

Normally, it is assumed that compromising with the price means compromising with the quality. However, you need not worry because not everything that is cheap refers to a cheap quality of the product. There are a range of new websites on the internet that offer a range of standard quality products at slashed down prices. The major companies involved in this business include heavy prices in the name of shipping and handling costs onto the original equipment. You sometimes end up getting the same product of the same brand without the additional costs from other discount office supplies distributors.

The money saved in the smart purchase of the discounted products can prove to be very useful on your other business endeavors. When it comes to being an entrepreneur you must always think in terms of profit and while you are getting the best deals online for the same product which is otherwise hugely priced at major stores why go for the latter just because it carries the brand name. It’s these small aspects that make a huge difference to your life. Whiteboards for writing down important official announcements or for writing down notes during meetings, papers for printing and faxing, desk staplers and scissors, printers, fax machines, computers, computer table, chairs, paper clips, paper cutters, paper weights, pens and pencils, notepads, calendars and so on are the numerous essential office accessories that are available at well reduced discount prices online. All you need is a little research here and there on the internet and comparison study between the various prices and a complete check on any other hidden charges associated with the product to establish a very economic but sleek office décor at profitable rates.

By: Patrick Beatty

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Finding office machines can be a real problem is the budget is tight. But the problem can be solved when you shop smart. And let’s face it, furnishing an office and finding high quality office machines on budget can be a little bit of a challenge. But with a little more effort, nothing’s impossible. Usually, a cubicle in an office can fully furnished within $6,000…but let’s just say that if you shop smartly, you can get furnishing for each cubicle done for under $3,000! And who doesn’t know you can get office machines from eBay at low prices?

First off, determine the space that you have and the budget that you have got to work within. Discuss the style that you want on the furnishings and the kind of office machines that you will need. Once you’ve got that all settled, you’re ready to get going.

Now, one way to save cost on furnishing your office is by purchasing used workstations and used office machines. Used furniture is not always drab and dirty. In fact, some used office furniture and office machines are almost brand new. They sell the office machines off cheap. There are tons of used office machines in the market, so, navigate through the flood of used office machines and furniture carefully. Although the price of the used office machines and furniture is of utmost importance, the quality and condition of the office machine and furniture should be taken into serious consideration.

Another way to get cheap tasteful office furniture and high quality office machines is to buy refurbished office machines and furniture. Refurbished office machines and furniture are, essentially used office machines and furniture, but they have been refurbished or repaired to an ‘almost new’ condition. Be careful to test out the office machines and furniture before you buy them because refurbished office machine and furniture may look fine and dandy on the outside but it may already be worn out on the inside. So, if they don’t allow you to test the office machine and furniture out, don’t buy.

Of course, another way of getting your office furnished is to lease the office machine and furniture instead of buying them right off. This helps free up some cash for the daily operations of your business. Most of these office machines and furniture leasing companies have a wide range of office machines and furniture for you to choose from and they are mostly top-of-the-line.

As you can see, furnishing an office need not be an expensive feat. The only condition is that you look at the right place at the right time. In fact, if you find someone with good contacts with office machines and furniture dealers, they may give you a big discount if you buy the office machine and furniture in bulk.

By: Dakota Caudilla

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Many people operating an office do not even know or understand the purpose of an it. Ignorance on the part of the average office user is strongly responsible for it’s abuse and failure of many offices to operate with maximum efficiency and produce effective results to it’s customers or the public.

Since an office is a room(s) used as a place of business and clerical work, it therefore should project the image of the business in a more effective, professional and audible language of excellence.

Anybody entering an organized and well arranged office will find it quite homely than a disorganized one. Strictly speaking, expensive furniture and it’s machineries does not denote an organized and efficient office, no thanks to vain glory and show of opulence.

The general purpose of an office can be broadly spread across two main reasons:-

1. To enhance the efficient management, controlling, directing of communications, information and records, i.e. receiving, recording, controlling, and managing efficiently information. 2. To safeguard assets and control loss.

In order to achieve maximum office efficiency irrespective of the type, size and location of such an office, it is paramount that every entrepreneur, businessman or persons running an office should maintain a high degree and consistent office routine.

Office routine has been defined as, the systematic method of carrying out office administration to ensure the efficient execution of day to day office duties. This will enhance the efficient directing and controlling of an office, in order to achieve its specific purpose in the most economical way.

Every office should have a systematic work-frame for achieving its set objective efficiently, continually and progressively. Generally speaking, to enhance an efficient office operation certain rules most be employed. For example, it is extremely important that in any type of office, a good relationship MUST exist between employer and employee. This is important, if the feature of a happy, pleasant office atmosphere is to be a reality. Since an its is like a home to the public or office user, it should project the comeliness of such. Absence of such has the tendency of making prospective clients, and other user’s to easily loose confidence in the office thereby reducing the effectiveness of the office.

Although, certain guiding principles are responsible for the efficient running of any type of office yet not so many adhere to this principles. This has caused so many a businesses to loose patronage and clientele recommendations!

By: Iroegbu Austine

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Your office hours are a component of your brand of chiropractic and one that should be carefully considered before determining when you will deliver patient care to your patients and the prospects in your marketplace. Many consultants promote and advocate that you only need limited office hours to enjoy success. As little as twenty hours per week is acceptable allowing you to have more time to enjoy your lifestyle.

This approach can, on the surface, sound very attractive… from the doctor’s point of view. Who doesn’t want to get wealthy without working? It’s the American dream. But, it is a limiting strategy from many perspectives.

First, let’s address the glass ceiling component of reduced office hours. If you are open twenty hours per week and your average time with a patient is ten-minutes (Average allowing time for new patient exams), then you are limited to 120 patient office visit. If your Average Visit Income (AVI) collected is $80 per visit, then your maximize gross income per year would be $460,800. Now, you could counter that is all you need!

But, for every hour you add to schedule, you would be adding $480 per hour or another $23,040 per year… with just one extra hour per week! Of course, do your own calculation, using your current numbers to determine how much impact limited office hours impact your potential wealth building.

The reality is that chiropractic is a personal service business. The only thing you have to “sell” is your time, backed by your skills and expertise, which will set your fee schedule. When you restrict the “time” that produces revenue, you limit the amount you can earn. It’s that simple.

Patient Service

The other component of your office hours is delivering quality patient service… when it is convenient for the patient to receive your care.

Most Chiropreneurs will report that they deliver quality care. And, mostly this is true. But, one component of quality patient care is to have patient’s who are able to receive your quality care when it is convenient for them. When you limit your office hours, you are stating that this is when they can get your quality care… otherwise they are out of luck.

Office hours need to be structured based on your demographic and geo-graphic marketplace. If many of your patients are employed… then the best time of the day may be during the lunch hour for these patients. If your office is in the financial district of Wall Street, then you may need to open at 5 A.M.

Forcing people to come in for care when it is inconvenient for the patient is not exceptional patient care. You load up the patient with stress trying to plan their day so they can fit your schedule. Eventually this stress will create no-shows and inactive patients who did not complete their program of care.

Marketing

Limited office hours can impact your marketing. Conduct a survey in your marketplace and ask people what they consider to be normal office hours for health care providers, i.e., M.D., Dentists and Chiropractors? O.K., let me say you some time… it will be a normal business hour of at least 40 hours per week… not twenty.

From a marketing perspective, which drives new patients to the office and retains patients, you need to be available and accessible when they respond to your marketing efforts. The worst thing possible is for a prospects to see your marketing and call the office only to find that it is closed during the perceived normal office hours.

Reduced office hours can limit your ability to grow your practice.

Office Coverage

Hospitals can be open 24/7, but they don’t rely on one doctor to cover those hours. Nor do you need to cover your entire office schedule. You can grow your practice with a group practice.

The more hours you offer, the better your patient service. You can recruit better talent by having full-time career opportunities instead of finding those who only need part-time employment and you can get a better return on your investment from marketing, when you can answer the phone and book the appointment!

Peak your practice with your patient-centric office ours.

By: Lawton Howell

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The recent surge of virtual office has become the hype of small business entrepreneurs as well as large corporate firms. This is due to the fact that the borderless internet world has opened up many business opportunities to anyone who is willing to enter into this realm.

However, sometimes there are the occasional meetings in which the employer and employees gather to discuss certain business proposals as well as to brainstorm. Since doing everything virtually such as having online conferencing could hamper bonds between employees to employees and employers to employees, meeting up and seeing each other face to face could give a breath of fresh air to such virtual companies.

There is however a problem, how are the virtual team supposed to meet up when there are no proper business base in the first place? Should they meet at the boss’s house? Nope too awkward! What about one of the employee’s house? That would be privacy intrusion.

Therefore, acknowledging the fact that virtual office companies need to have a place to meet up once in a while, certain companies have came up with a novel solution of providing such space. The same way as a hotel works, these companies rents out their company space for virtual office companies to conduct their office activities. Among the rental space that some companies are willing to rent out are meeting rooms, conference halls, office cubicles, business lounges as well as executive virtual office space.

The executive virtual office space is particularly important because it offers the boss of the company a place to interact with potential clients in a formal setting. You can’t expect to seal the deal within the premises of one’s abode. This not only gives a bad impression to the client, it also creates idea to the client that the boss is incompetent.

So the downsides of setting up a virtual office could be solved simply by having companies who are taking advantage of the “space dilemma” by renting out their space.

By: Dennis Moore Hopkins

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In a conventional office, it is always the boss who has the say over every decision that has to be made. It has been said that full accountability is on a boss’s shoulders. The future of a company depends much on the ability of a boss to leverage the business that it will survive that will sustain its employees financial needs. In addition to the given responsibilities of a boss, power comes with it. The boss has the power to decide who to hire and who to fire. Indeed, the boss is the most powerful entity inside an office. That said, most of the people’s goal is to ensure that the boss notices their presence. That way, on every career advancement opportunities, they will be on top of the list. It makes sense so sadly. Someone the boss knows is most likely to get the position. No matter how the company reiterates equal opportunity for everyone, the fact remains that a boss would always prefer somebody he knows. That is because most companies are performance based. An excellent performance and a good working attitude are always the criteria for selecting somebody for a position.

The truth of the matter remains, if you want to stay longer in the company or if you want an early promotion, you have to tell the boss you exist. Looking at the positive side, it is every boss’s prerogative to choose someone with experience and a good working attitude based on his preference. This is so due to the fact that whatever decision has to be carried on will be passed along hence if trust is not established between you and the boss, you are less likely to pop that champagne after getting a note that says ” you got the position”. So its really up to you how you take it. If envy lingers your mind over somebody who just came in yesterday gets promoted while you have been sitting there for quite sometime now, these are certain realizations that you can think of before you feel bad and leave your current work. Its not always a bad thing to think of office politics. It should motivate you to excel in performance and to show a good working attitude. Those in effect would certainly ring a bell on the boss’s ears.

A major example of office politicking is a simple getting-close-gesture with the boss. Not anyone is made alike hence there are people who has the ability to stir up interest from the boss’s eyes. Maybe what you need to do it so to ensure that good performance and working attitude go a long way with camaraderie. Its not a bad thing to rub elbows with the boss just as long as you keep your values. In some cases, people who wants to get close to the boss would do odd things like volunteering to be a nanny for his kid or be a chaperon to his teenager something like that totally ridiculous!

More than the bad perception towards office politics what you need to bear in mind is the idea that camaraderie, good performance and work attitude when combined together can move you a long way to the top of the corporate ladder. Go on say high and be nice to your boss! Enjoy the office politics.

By: Frank Carbon

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Give Your Office some Contemporary Style!

More and more people are working from home and need some office shelving to make a proper home office and organize their work professionally. There are some great new styles of office shelves available that will make your office space look efficient and attractive and here is a selection of the latest designs:

Elfa Platinum and White Office Shelving provides good looking storage systems for file binders, reference material and documents. It’s open back shelving that allows good air circulation around the shelves to keep away any mold from developing when the office is closed up and cold. The Elfa storage system is easy to install on hollow, stud or internal walls without causing any wall damage. Once you have fixed the vertical wall bars, the wood shelving just clips into place with screws. The wall mounted shelving bars are made of epoxy bonded steel and the shelves have a Melamine veneer that looks modern and is easy to clean.

The dimensions are 30″ x 56″ x 8′ and set up against a plain wall this office shelving looks contemporary and professional. You can buy it from The Container Shop online and it costs $352.62. Elfa is a Swedish company which produces really original and contemporary looking storage systems and closet organizers too. It’s worth a look at more Elfa products online if you want some lovely modular shelving in birch or walnut which looks very elegant and sophisticated.

The InterMetro range of office shelving is another range which looks modern and efficient. Their steel shelving storage systems have extra-strong open back shelves which are designed to take the weight of libraries of books, boxes of stationery and computer equipment. The metal shelving can support weights up to 500 lbs and it’s easy to assemble without tools. This system has open back shelves that allow a free circulation of air which is very important when you’re storing paper products. The dimensions of this basic unit are 18″ x 48″ x 74 1/2″ and the colors are black, silver or white. The InterMetro Office Shelving unit is available from The Container Store online and costs $234.25.

For office furniture that’s both useful and attractive you’ll find that the Office Depot 48″ Office Shelving For Books is just right. It’s a bookcase with 4 wood shelves finished in a rich looking Natural Cherry color. It’s commercial shelving, but it would look good in any home as well. The bookcase has sturdy, adjustable shelves which can support a weight of 50lbs each. This is deluxe office shelving that looks expensive, but isn’t! The dimensions are 48″H x 35 5/8″W x 11 5/8″D and it costs $77.19 from Office Depot online.

My final choice is wire shelving from Walmart; The Whitmor Chrome Stacking Metal Storage System is an inexpensive and practical way to get your office organized. It’s made from sturdy steel shelving with an individual shelf weight capacity of 200 lbs. This is part of an office shelving system with pieces that fit together so you can buy more and increase your storage area if required. This unit includes six wire shelves and would be perfect for a home office when you don’t want to spend a fortune on commercial shelving. I also think this storage system would go well in a teenager’s bedroom and provide useful open shelving for school books and papers. Wire shelving doesn’t catch all the dust in the air and so is very easy to keep clean and it looks contemporary and sleek. The regular model measures 16″H x 14″D x 15″W and the wide model is 30″ wide. You can buy this office shelving from Walmart online for $94.74.

Office shelving is available in many styles and sizes to accommodate your storage requirements, while still looking attractive and stylish to make your working day more pleasant. Commercial shelving is also a way to show your clients what sort of personality you have and an efficient looking office space which shows attention to detail will say more about you than any words can!

By: Hassan Ouda

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Temporary office space is usually the property rented out or leased out by companies who don?t want to use the location for more than a year or so. Until a more permanent location can be found, temporary office spaces are used for all practical purposes.

This may be because the project that the company is doing might be a short-term one, and on the completion, the office space will no longer be required. Or, small business owners for start-up offices rent out temporary office spaces. They may not be ready to build a permanent office space. Temporary office spaces are also very popular during elections, when different parties set up makeshift offices for their campaigns. Another popular use of temporary office spaces is by transient business owners like telephone solicitors, employment centers and fundraisers.

Organizations with permanent offices also may look for temporary office spaces, when opening a new branch in a new city or when their old office is being repainted or renovated.

Many buildings rent out temporary office spaces with many common areas for individual business owners. Like the waiting rooms and reception all the offices on the floor of a building as well as the lounges and the coffee bar can use areas. Private offices and conference rooms are used by individual organizations in the same floor. These facilities are ideal for small businesses that need office space, but cannot afford to enter into a long-term lease agreement with the building owners.

Facilities and people who rent out temporary office spaces are called business incubators. There are many such agencies operating in all major cities, owning and renting office spaces that just need to be filled in with furniture and other amenities.

When choosing a temporary office space, it is important to find prominent locations and fix lease terms, according to your requirements and convenience. Choose office spaces that provide features like personalized telephone answering services and mail services.

By: Kent Pinkerton

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When you hear the term “office supplies,” you usually think of products such as pens, paper, paperclips, and staples. Everyone always forgets that the cleaning supplies used in offices are also considered part of the office supply category.

Products

The cleaning supplies used in the office can include dusters, vacuum cleaners, rags, and cleaning solvents for desks and computer monitors. These products are a necessary part of a business. Even with their high level of importance, these products are usually underappreciated, as well as always forgotten.

The reason these products are generally forgotten is because cleaning is usually seen as a lower form of work. People who work in an office are generally all highly educated and have a certain status symbol. People who work in the cleaning industry are usually seen as simple laborers who do not have a high level of education. When people think of office workers, they usually think of the person wearing a suit working in cubicle using the computer. People generally will not even think about those who come in and keep the office clean.

Uses

A business cannot run successfully without cleaning supplies. Being able to maintain a clean building is beneficial to the maintenance of the company’s electronic devices. The dust and dirt that can collect on the equipment can adversely affect the condition of its functions.

Costs

The cost of office cleaning products for businesses will vary depending on how large your office space is. The larger the office, more cleaning supplies will be necessary to clean the office. The unit cost of cleaning supplies is generally inexpensive compared to the other products used in offices. For example, the most expensive office supply is the computer, which can cost over $1,000 per unit, whereas the most expensive cleaning supply for offices will be the vacuum cleaner, which can cost as little as $100, depending on the model.

By: Eddie Tobey

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