Tips & Advice

Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. Now that many have reached retirement age, their need and desire to continue working has increased. By the year 2030, roughly 20-percent of the population will be baby boomers. Opening franchises in an industry that interests the individual often produces better results since there is more drive to succeed.

Promedica24

Franchising with Promedica24 is ideal for those wishing to enter the senior care sector. The program is structured to place live-in caregivers with clients to assist with daily tasks, appointments, housecleaning and managing their health. Having a live-in caregiver gives families of loved ones with diminishing mobility and/or health issues a bit of peace-of-mind knowing that someone is with their loved one at all times.

Eazi-Apps

Internet-based franchise businesses are ideal for baby boomers. Eazi-Apps teaches those interested in marketing a new mobile application from the development to launch phases and beyond. For those that require more flexibility and the ability to be creative, mobile applications are ideal. Baby boomers can easily design apps for those in their generation to add convenience to their lives. Apps created by those for a specific generation by that generation have greater success since those creating it have experienced the issues requiring the need for the app.

No Need to Paint

Painting is something that many homeowners and business owners just do not have time to do themselves. Operating a professional painting franchise is a good option as both residential and commercial properties require painting from time-to-time. This is often the case when homes/businesses are bought and sold and require décor changes.This is an ideal option for a baby boomer that wants to own a franchise and have the label of business owner without all of the responsibility. A general manager should be sufficient for day-to-day operations. The general manager would answer to you (the business owner) with any issues and updates on the dealings of the business. Transparency is a must between you and your general manager so that you (the baby boomer) can enjoy your life and still receive an income.

Business Doctors

Coaching and mentoring new business owners is a lucrative way to work for yourself and own a franchise. This is an ideal option for those that wish to work with small and medium businesses in a variety of industries to help efficiency, productivity and strategic marketing tactics to increase revenues and improve overall business operations.Working in business consultancy helps struggling companies adopt rules, regulations and structure to improve operations. Safety concerns can also be addressed and the consultant (you) would help implement proper safety protocols.

Tutor Doctor

Tutor Doctor has over 400 franchised locations throughout the world. Private tutoring offers struggling students the one-on-one attention they need to grasp what is being taught in the classroom. Each student is paired with a tutor that specializes in the area of study they struggle most in. Lessons are made to adapt to each child’s style of learning to ensure that they excel in the classroom.Services like this are easily franchised as the benefits of the flexible learning techniques catches on. Testimonials from satisfied parents and students help a small tutoring business gain attention, build a reputation and grow.

Coldwell Banker

Franchising with Coldwell Banker is a good option for those interested in working in the real estate industry. This brand is well-recognized and has a strong reputation around the world. A franchise opportunity here means that the realtors working in your office may have more success than those working independently simply due to the brand’s name and long history in the industry. Realtors work with residential and commercial property buyers and sellers for a variety of reasons from those looking to start a new business venture to those looking to begin a family in a home of their own.

Final Thoughts

After working for someone else their entire lives, many baby boomers want to venture into new territory. Many are not ready to stop working or their financial requirements require continuous income. Franchises are ideal because these businesses come with guidelines already in place. It is easier to start-up a well-developed franchise than a ground-floor business. It is important to select a franchise, or new business in an industry that interests you for better success.

Advice on how to start a business when a Loan is not an option

Starting a business requires the owner to have the capital available to sustain the business for at least one year. While this is likely the case with most startups, having a way to access additional funding without seeking a bank loan is ideal. Even without investors and doing most of the work yourself, you can still start a business without applying for a single loan.

Maintain a Primary Job

One way to ensure that you can take care of your household expenses and have some available to put into your new business is to maintain a primary job. In other words, don’t quit your day job. Have management personnel in place to handle the business while you work to make sure the doors stay open.

Consider Hiring Friends and Family

Friends and family may volunteer some of their time to help you out with your new business. As a startup, they are likely to work for free. Once you are able to put them on payroll, it is ideal to do so. Friends and family make great employees when they are appreciated and their hours at your business do not interfere with their regular jobs and/or family schedules.It is important to hire those that you can trust with your business. If something with the business were to go sour, or your relationship in general, it could jeopardize the business and the relationship. It is tricky to ask friends and family to work for you when you cannot offer pay, but in most cases, they will be happy to help out. Make sure that their kindness is not taken advantage of.

Maintain Low Overhead Costs

Try to keep your overhead costs low. Use services that bundle rather than individual services for everything your business needs. A prime example of this is combining your Internet and phone services, with voicemail service. Work as much at the business as you can yourself. Not having a big payroll right out of the gate is ideal as it will allow for more revenue to go back into the business.Blend ServicesConsider offering consulting services along with your main product or service. This shows other business owners that you are an expert in the industry and have something to offer them that can help their business goals at the same time. What this does is creates income for your business and develops working relationships. There will be times when other businesses in the industry will need what yours offers, and when you are in good standing with them, your business will be their first choice as a vendor.

Liquidate Unnecessary Possessions

Sell everything you do not need. Take these funds and create a business savings account that earns interest. This will become the starting point for the business’ emergency fund if a major financial hit occurs or business does not take off as quickly as planned. This is a responsible measure to take to prevent taking out a loan and paying back one and a half times (on average) the amount you borrowed.You may only have one opportunity in life to start a business. You will have multiple opportunities to buy “things” in your life.

Approach Investors

Don’t be afraid to seek out investors. Investors do not really have any say in what decisions you make for the business; they just provide the money to keep you going. Of course, they are going to expect a return on their investment. This is typically an additional percentage of their investment in a set period of time.

Reinvest Profits

Reinvest your business’ profits back into it. This way, you literally are funding the business yourself, without the help of investors or banks. It also helps during tax time to account for the profits that are not reflected in a bank account balance.

Closing Thoughts

As you write up your business plan and prepare to put the wheels in motion, create a list of business goals. These should be small milestones for your first year, with one large goal to achieve by the end of your first year in business. This helps keep you, as the business owner, motivated to market the business and expand with new products and services over time.

Working from home comes with ample opportunities for distractions and loss of motivation. It all starts with doing something you truly love to do. If you are unhappy in your career, even working from home is not going to make you more productive. You must have a solid work ethic and the desire to succeed in order to remain productive while working from home.

Design your own Workspace

Create a workspace in your home that is separate from the sleeping and common areas. It should be on the opposite side of the home from the bedroom, when possible. Design the space with things that make you happy. Use prints of inspirational, motivational and productivity building quotations from your favorite people.The happier you are to enter your workspace, the more productive you will be. Keep the space organized as clutter leads to tension and being out of sorts. Clutter kills productivity quicker than a cloudy day.

Put a Value on your Time

Your time is not free. It is important to establish your worth and make sure that you are receiving your value (pay) for the time you give to an employer. The more value (pay) you receive for your time, the more productive you are likely to be. Low wages often cause at-home workers to stray from work duties and lose interest in performing those duties.Compare your average hourly earnings and make sure that it matches the dollar amount that you have placed as the value of an hour of your time. If your numbers are not matching up, it is ideal to examine your work situation and make adjustments accordingly whether it is to complete more tasks in an hour’s time or take on additional clientele.

Collect Past Due Balances Diligently

If you are working as a freelancer, from home, it is up to you to collect on past due invoices. All of your clients should have signed contracts and in those contracts it should state that legal recourse will be taken for all unpaid balances. This allows you to send collection notices and demands for payment to clients with the intent of filing in small claims court.When freelancing, it may be a good idea to require payment in advance for brand new clients for a period of time to develop a working relationship. This ensures payment, you just have to be sure to deliver what the client has paid for. Once trust is established, invoicing can occur for services rendered.

Prevent Distractions

Extensions exist for browsers to block you from accessing specific websites, such as Facebook and Craigslist as examples, during set hours. Preventing yourself from accessing distractions during work hours promotes productivity and helps you develop a stronger work ethic.

Get Dressed Everyday

Even if you only have to walk 10 steps to your home office, get dressed for work. Looking the part, even at home, promotes productivity and makes you want to work harder to get back into your street clothes. Make sure that you keep a business-appropriate wardrobe available as you never know when a client may request a formal video conference call. In those instances, you will at least need to be dressed the part from the waist up, so it does not matter if your bottoms are sweats. You are, however, more likely to perform better in conference calls when you are fully dressed in the appropriate attire.

Keep a Schedule

Even if you aren’t leaving the house and don’t have specific due times for projects, keep a schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night. Set your alarm and get up at the same time every morning. Keeping a schedule, with hours created to your preferences, helps you stay productive while working from home. It is also a block of time that you will tell friends and family is off-limits for work purposes and is a timeframe given to clients for contact.

Closing Thoughts

With a bit of discipline, you can be productive when working from home. Allow yourself to listen to music for motivation. Set timers for tasks and make productivity a game to keep improving the number of tasks completed per day. The more you challenge yourself and keep working from your home office interesting, the more you will want to work.

Business insight specialists are predicting the rise in demand from customers for improved customer-centric services as well as more flexibility in the workplace for employees. Business owners are now listening more to the needs of their customers and workers to help generate greater success and improved possibilities for the future.

The rise of the CCEO

A greater focus on customer experience is a big trend this year. Customer-centric businesses are now becoming more profitable than those who don't focus on customer services, so more companies are now looking to recruit Chief Customer Experience Officers (CCEO) to their boards.Forrester Research have revealed that loyal customer bases spend on average around 13% more per transaction than single speculative customers who buy once and are never seen again. Many businesses will work their sales and marketing techniques from their staff downwards, but it is the job of a CCEO to work from the customer upwards. CCEOs understand what customers want and will work within the team to streamline product and service developments, and make them more tailored to better suit their customer demands.The main aim of bringing a CCEO on board is to build the business around the customer, and then everything from there upwards will be about delivering the best value to the customer and building a culture within the business that prioritises customer care. It is all about delivering a frictionless customer experience with a personal human touch.

The demand for Same-day delivery

Market leaders such as Amazon have been at the cutting edge of customer service technologies since their inception. They have been looking at ways to develop a same day delivery service for a while now, and their drone delivery service is still being tested.Customer fulfilment is a high priority for all major businesses, so offering the fastest delivery service possible will always be a lucrative revenue channel. While same day delivery is still the domain of the local fast food industry in most areas, new companies such as Deliveroo are taking this a step further. By partnering up with restaurants that do not offer a delivery service, Deliveroo are now bringing more revenue in for different restaurant owners without the need to employ their own delivery staff.This trend has now spilled over into the retail market where people may order goods online to pick up themselves or book a delivery service to pick up for them. Same day courier services are now offering a service to customers to book a pick-up or delivery at a cheaper rate than some overnight carriers, and through an app the customer can keep track of their goods on every step of the journey.The demand from customers for more convenience means that in most cases they are willing to pay for it. This has opened up a niche for a fast delivery service for perishable items as well as urgently needed items for work or home.

Increasing SME and micro-business exports

Business analysts are predicting a further rise in micro-businesses this year. Micro-businesses are essentially companies that employ no more than ten staff, and a lot of these are expected to be very small-scale businesses where people are turning their passions and hobbies in to a moneymaking enterprise.With the rise of the internet opening up worldwide trade opportunities, the creation of the micropreneur has seen an increase of more than 55% in micro-businesses in the UK since the year 2000. It is now thought that there are over 8.4 million people employed in 5.2 million registered micro-businesses across the UK.A key growth in exports is predicted this year for smaller traders. With the market opening up to trade in China and India, there are more opportunities for SMEs to trade abroad amongst new growing economies. There is a lot of potential for small business owners to expand their reach further this year, especially if they produce something unique that other countries will provide a demand for.

Growth of flexible working and the freelance market

With an ever shifting and changing workforce, there is expected to be a boom in freelance and flexible working options for employees. Along with a rise in commercial rents, many new businesses will be looking to share office space and workshops to keep costs down, which will also include the use of virtual offices.Even in smaller towns across the country, shared workspaces are on the increase allowing entrepreneurs and sole-traders to come together to share facilities and overheads, as well as opening up the potential for skill-sharing across the wider community.Freelancers are also taking on much more specialist work than ever before. This means that they can no longer rely upon a quiet corner of a coffee shop to get their work done. With an increase in freelance workers wanting flexible hours to fit their lifestyle, many are choosing to work from home or use a local hub that can offer secure and reliable internet connectivity.Many freelancers working from home like to get out of the house and interact with other like minded people to share ideas and collaborate together on larger jobs. The ability to join forces with other freelancers as well as providing regular social interaction in a creative atmosphere can be very beneficial for both worker and client.

Conclusion

The main trend for this year will be for businesses to get to know their customers inside and out. New businesses just setting up will be more likely to succeed if they can take the time to engage with their customers in new ways.

We all know what a media stir Jeremy Corbyn caused last year during his rise to become the leader of the Labour Party. Whether you follow politics or not, his sudden rise to fame from the ranks of near obscurity can offer the small business owner a lot of important lessons.What makes JC stand out from the bland rank and file politicians we see every day on our newsfeed is that he stands for change. He is noticed because he is very different to the navy-blue suits that litter the halls of Parliament, both in his beliefs and in his appearance. Despite the PM suggesting during Prime Ministers Question Time that he should 'put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem', Mr Corbyn refuses to let himself blend in with the crowd.The public are led to believe that Corbyn really doesn't buy into the whole spin-doctor, PR machine, styling or image marketing that the other leading politicians tend to favour, and that has been trendy since Tony Blair started it all back in 1997. But instead JC forges his own path – which to me is pure marketing genius by itself!

What lessons can Jeremy Corbyn can teach us in business?

Image is important

Your image counts for a lot in business, but it doesn't mean that you have to look exactly the same as everyone else. Corbyn doesn't look like your average politician - he doesn't like to wear a tie, has a bit of a scruffy beard, and he rarely wears a suit, but it still didn't stop his image going viral on the run up to the party elections.So although you want your company image to look professional so you can be taken seriously, it can actually help raise your company awareness by being a little bit different to the crowd. Do you really want to look just like everyone else in the club, or would you rather have an image that sets you apart from others and gets you noticed?It is up for debate whether Corbyn intentionally crafted his brand image to be able to connect and engage with an audience that has become tired of the same old generic PR machine manufactured politician. However, contrived or not, it seems to be working very well.

What makes us different, sets us apart.

When we look at Corbyn and Cameron we can see that they both stand for very different political ideals. In the marketing world, we are often told to mimic our most successful competitors because what works for them may also work for us, right? But what really happens is that the marketplace becomes too similar.Corbyn himself was heard to quote, ‘I think one of the problems in the election was there was not enough difference between the parties' – Jeremy Corbyn on why Labour didn’t win. In recent years it has to be said that both the Labour and Conservative parties has developed blurred lines where they both meet. But by having a completely different strategy, Corbyn has been able to rise to from the ranks of obscurity to take the leadership title.We can apply this logic to our business-related activities too. If you are in a business sector with a lot of competition, what makes people choose your product or service over another that at first glance is just the same? Quite often it boils down to how you package your product or service. If your brand stands for something that your customers can relate to, then they will be more likely to buy from you rather than from one of your competitors.This is exactly what Corbyn has done – he has found a niche audience that are looking for something different. He got people to vote for him that wanted to see change in politics.Separating yourself from your competitors rather than imitating them can help you to align with a whole new audience that will connect with you. Attracting a different audience that share your views is a whole lot easier than competing for the same customers who already buy from your opposition.I bet you never thought you would be picking up business tips from Jeremy Corbyn – but don't forget that politics is also a business. Each party are vying for the ultimate prize of winning our vote and running our country – they do this through engaging a large enough audience to win them that power. It is just the same as a small business winning customers to help their company thrive.Our London based virtual office service and help improve your image and set you apart from the competition!

When you want to make your business official, it can be much easier than you think to register your own company – you can now do this quite quickly and simply online through a formations service, such as Capital Office, and you can be up and running within the day!We can take care of all the official notification work for you, such as registering your company with the registrar of companies at Companies House. All you have to is to decide what structure your company is going to take, and then follow our simple step by step process online to get registered.Here in the UK we have a choice of different legal structures that your company can take. Which one you choose for your company will depend on how you wish to operate. By far the most popular types of business formations are companies limited by shares, and sole traders. However, these two options carry some rules and regulations that need to be adhered to that you should be made aware of.For your information we have listed below the primary differences between these two structures, so you can see which one would be more suited to your type of business.

Limited Liability

For your greater protection it would make sense to register your business as a company limited by shares. This is because if the worst should happen, each shareholder or member of the company would only ever be liable to pay what their individual shares are worth. For example, if you and three friends or family members where shareholders in your company, and you each owned a share at just £1.00 each, then you would only be liable to pay £1.00 each should your company go bust. Their personal finances will remain unaffected and protected.This is not the case for a sole trader however. Because there is no distinction between a sole trader and their business, they would be held entirely liable for all debts run up by their business. So if the worst should happen and the business went bust, the sole trader would have to pay out costs from their own pocket. This can often be catastrophic as the sole trader would have to use their own personal finances to cover costs, and this can impact greatly on an individuals ability to keep up with their mortgage payments, bank overdrafts and credit card repayments.So you can see from the two examples listed above why it makes perfect sense to register your company with Your Company Formations and the process is very easy to complete. In fact, all you will need for your company formation process are the following details:

Your Company Name

What you choose to officially name your own company is down to personal choice, however under The Business Names Act 1985, you must make sure that the name you choose is not already owned by another UK registered company. It is worth doing an internet search to see if your preferred company name pops up as already being used by someone else.There are also some words that you cannot use within your company name without express permission, and obviously names that contain sensitive words such as swear words or profanities will not be acceptable by Companies House. Also use of words like “association”, “group”, “federation” and similar words within your company name is prohibited.If you are really confused about coming up with a suitable name for your company, then one of our friendly customer service team members will be on hand to help and guide you.

Registered Office – Your Company’s Official Address

This address will be your main company office base, and can be any UK address that you use. Most small businesses will operate and trade from just one address, but your company does not need to trade from the address you choose as your registered office.The address you choose to register should be an address that is staffed frequently so that all important and essential mail coming from HMRC and Companies House will be attended to right away. This address will also appear on the public register, so anyone looking for your company address will see your registered office address on display. Because your registered office address will be on display to the public, like many other company directors, you may prefer not to register your home address as your registered office.Capital Office offers a registered address service where you can have your registered office listed, and our mail-forwarding service will ensure that any mail sent to you at this address is sent on to an address of your choice promptly. You can find out more information about our registered address service on our website.

Your Company Directors

When you form your company, you can register as many directors as you wish, but you need at least one person to be appointed as a director at the time of formation. The directors are the people who run your company, so if you want to form a company and run it with three of your friends for example, you can register yourself and your three friends as company directors. This does not mean that you cannot add any more directors further down the line, so in the future you can appoint more directors if you want to.To appoint a director you need the following information from them: Their full name, their occupation, date of birth, nationality, home address, and their service address. The service address is the official address that is listed on the public register, in a similar way to the registered office. Again, many directors may not want their home address appearing on the public register, so they may choose to register their service address as the business address.

Your Shareholder details

Shareholders are the people who actually own the company through their shares. When you first form your company, you can form it with just one single shareholder if you so choose. The shareholder can also be a company director, so you can form your own company with just one person who takes on the role of director and shareholder.To register your shareholder(s) you will need the following information from them: Full name, service address, town of birth, eye colour, phone number, number of shares to be held, currency of shares, value of shares

The Memorandum and Articles of Association

Put simply, these documents outline how you will be running your company. There are many templates you can use to draw up your documents, and Capital Office can provide free support and advice via telephone, email and our website chat portal to help you with this if you need it.All companies are formed at Companies House through the UK’s registrar of companies. You can register your business online directly with them for a £15 fee. Many people new to company formations find it much easier to register through a formation company such as ourselves, and our formations packages start from as little as £10.99 – including the fee from Companies House!So you can see from the information above just how quick and easy it is to register your own company. The process is so easy that you can be up and running after a few short hours.

Running a physical office creates considerable expenditure in the budget of novice entrepreneurs. Sometimes, it is even an unnecessary luxury to entrepreneurs who have spent years in the market. However, just because you may be an employee or owner of an SME, it doesn’t necessarily require you to have a physical space to run and manage your business from. That's why many new business owners are turning up to virtual offices.The advances in technology and communication channels have enabled hundreds of people to work from home and to manage business in the comfort of their homes or other places, including parks and cafes. However, although this option can provide numerous benefits (especially in reducing costs and travel time), it also has some disadvantages. If it is not given to good use, it may result in an unprofessional image that can project the entrepreneur in a negative light to potential customers and investors.Purchasing a virtual office gets you a personalised telephone number and professional PA to answer your customers, handling correspondence and most importantly a business mail forwarding address. It is generally believed that being an SME or entrepreneur means you cannot have a first rate office, but thanks to this system, added value is implemented onto your business and can be achieved at very affordable prices.You can enjoy an hour of sleep and avoid morning traffic chaos and a more relaxed approach to your workplace attitude. In the past this was not possible, and you had to move every day to a fixed place to use computers, telephones and other office equipment to keep in touch with customers and employees, whereas today there are attractive alternatives to streamline your work routine.As a measure to better control costs, some companies have chosen to engage the services of a virtual office. The UK has not lagged behind in this trend, which is driven by the rapid development of the service sector and the dynamic growth of the economy.

Here are some advantages of having a virtual office:

1. Save up to 50 percent of the initial capital of consuming the rent of an office or remodelling an owned office. Therefore, it is ideal for start-ups.
2. Suits all budgets and professions. With flexible monthly payment plans, the virtual option is easy to manage and control.
3. It has a commercial address where you can receive mail and which can be printed on your cards or letters. It also has secretarial answering service under the name of your company which can link your calls to your phone or another phone.
4. When you have a work meeting, you’ll find all the necessary elements to provide a professional image as a boardroom, internet, projectors, coffee service and other amenities will be provided for.
5. It reduces operating costs because a secretary and cleaning staff, for example, are already included in the cost.
6. It will often have a beneficial location because regular virtual offices are located in the most important and strategic points of the city.
7. It gives you the ability to interact with other entrepreneurs and there will also be plenty of chances for you to form a strategic alliance with your virtual neighbours.

But like everything, there are also disadvantages:

Communication: While the tools of today are safe to make smooth communication, there is nothing faster than the conversation of person to person.Absolute dependence on internet: If the internet becomes disconnected for whatever reason, then it is practically impossible to work.Lack of meeting space: Sometimes it is necessary to have a place to meet with clients. This helps to improve the image of the company, at least in the eyes of the more traditional companies.These are some of the issues that come to mind broadly, however today’s climate means we must all adjust our financial belts and so a virtual office represents a major cost-cutting solution.Obviously not all projects can run through a virtual office, such as a mandatory video blog in need of a fixed place of work, at least for the recordings.

Hybrid Possibility

In conclusion, the virtual office is a good choice, although there is a third possibility which is a hybrid between the two possibilities. Here you gain the best of both models, i.e. have a physical office with a small workgroup and secondly, a distributed group. A computer model that comes to mind is to have all those responsible for areas installed in an office, so that each manages their team virtually. In that way, the corporation would be closely related and would be able to make decisions more quickly on the virtual model. As well as the commercial sector, you would be able to take steps in physical space, such as arranging meetings, organising actions, etc.

Most consumers who make ​​purchases aren't considered to have made any ​​significant savings through promotions.The reason? Most of the "promotions" consisted of card payments consisting of months without interest. Only 0.6 percent of buyers saw more than 50 percent savings.Although implementing promotions that do not bring significant benefits to consumers in the short can attract and increase sales; in the long term there is the risk of negatively affecting the image of your company and thereby avoiding repurchases and struggling to generate loyalty.To solve this problem, the key is to create valuable to your target consumer promotions that also suit the demands of digital commerce. This is possible if you have the following considerations in mind:

Watch your advertising discounts

Avoid lying at all costs to your customers to communicate discounts and promotions that you offer them. If the advertising message is inconsistent with promotions that are on your site, the bounce rate or percentage of abandonment after seeing a single page will increase, hurting the metrics of your site in general.It also uses different and less saturated platforms to advertise your promotion channels. For online shops in particular, they are ideal for the generation and sale of coupons and discount codes. Psychologically, consumers are confident that a discount is a legitimate reduction of the original price. Coupons and discount codes help reinforce this idea and discourage bargain hunting in the shops of other competitors.

Focus on customer satisfaction

Although the success of your business will provide a great opportunity to increase the volume of sales of your business, making your customers a priority will need the implementation of certain tactics. When creating your plan of promotions, it establishes a final objective to meet and exceed the expectations of your target consumer.This approach could even provide your business profitability during the remainder of the year, for generating a truly valuable promotion; you will be promoting customer retention in the long term.

Offer valuable promotions and discounts

Offering mediocre consumer promotions can foster a negative image of your business; chances are, that you will be the victim of negative reviews by other means (such as social networking) and they can strongly influence the opinion of potential customers.However, it is not necessary for your company to go bankrupt in order to offer valued promotions. An offer is valuable when solving the problems, needs and interests of your target consumer. Based on your needs during your marketing campaign, analyse what your customers look for this time of year : what will Christmas shoppers want in advance, for example? Should you perform large volume purchases for the rest of year? Should you make the payment of the product or service you offer on deferred amounts? Finding discounts on specific products?To obtain accurate answers, it is best to create a poll. If your budget allows, you could conducted a market survey among a significant potential sample and repeat customers. You can also use free tools like social networks or surveys of users of your online store site. Remember to offer some type of incentive to encourage them to respond.

Align the deals with your products or services

Promotion offers benefits aligned to the consumer, the business and also complements the products or services you offer. In this regard, aligned promotions are those that provide an additional benefit to customer acquisitions as a reward. An example of these developments for success is the gifts on the purchase of goods or services and the payment of loyalty point’s programs and frequent purchases. In general, these developments do not incur high costs for businesses and also they generate a return of high investment.

Focus your promotions

Before making your promotions, you should know your customers in depth: their personality, interests and needs. One of the great advantages of online trading is the possibility of using Business Intelligence tools to obtain this information through the website of your shop and grouping the types of customers who visit and shop at your online store. This allows you to create personalised promotions, consistent with the interests of each type of customer, increasing the effectiveness of your promotions.Keeping in mind these points will help you choose promotions that will provide valuable benefits to your customers, which will result in a positive impact on your online store for the proper completion and, more importantly, in the long run.

A few decades ago, thoughts about the future imagined flying cars, androids, space suits and intergalactic travel. Today, thanks to the rapid development of technology, many of these things have come true; others not, but perhaps we are not as far away from seeing them materialise as we think.Therefore, it can be said that the only constant is change itself. This also applies to the way you work and the tools with which we now have to undertake and conduct business. For example in recent years, new, more efficiently run office models arose. This was to assimilate all these changes to meet the needs of users who sought to maximise their performance and make use of available resources.Currently, the lines that are leading the way in working spaces are interdisciplinary collaboration, mobility, connectivity, sustainability and real-time response. Also, gone are the cables to connect to the Internet, the outdated furniture and equipment such as fax, to make way for wireless connections, ergonomic furniture and tablets from where you can conduct business accounting to installing videoconferences and design prototypes.

• First step: the design

Thinking of the future office, your mind travels to places like Google's corporate headquarters. There, employees have the flexibility to work in different areas, according to their personal taste and at their own pace. Although the concept sounds great, not all small businesses or start-ups have a place or budget to replicate the same practises. However, this is no excuse to not be part of the new trend of work.The main, but not exclusive basis should be the design. This refers to more than just furniture. The design of the physical space of every business is not limited to the aesthetics. It should be part of the branding. Positioning your brand is crucial for innovative companies and the design is a large part of a greater message, a constant reminder of who they are and what they represent.Moreover, space has the ability to stimulate conversation, cooperation and creativity. The first important concept in traditional office change came with the creation of the cubicles in 1967. The idea was to isolate workers and create fewer distractions, promoting a more practical, modular space. At that time, it was almost revolutionary, but today is somewhat outdated and limiting.Cubicles, as with many models to which we are accustomed to, are changing or disappearing. Hierarchies and confined spaces will soon be a part of the past. Companies are rethinking the way they grow a community and the context provided for interpersonal connections; the result can be seen in the design of space.Experts agree that transparency should be the key element that defines the new design of offices. For almost all sectors, (except traditional) formality is no longer a priority, which is reflected in the layout. By incorporating walls and glass doors and open spaces, used by any employee regardless of their position, barriers are broken and the flow of ideas is increased. Similarly, open minds are encouraged.This trend also extends to areas designed for customers such as reception or meeting rooms. The detachment between different areas within a company is long gone. Customers value the access to ideas; a traditional lobby evokes nothing.

• Culture Change

Business owners and entrepreneurs have a challenge and also an opportunity to improve their practices, achieve higher growth rates and even save money. For this, it is essential to keep in mind that the concept of the future office does not refer exclusively to the design of space or adding more gadgets as work tools or the latest technology.Yes, more and more companies, especially start-ups are more aware of the individual needs of their employees, because some people work best in private spaces, others prefer to live together and exchange ideas or those who work best when operating from home . An alternative to foster a collaborative work environment are centres of co-working. This is a group of people who do not necessarily work for the same company or project, but share the space, infrastructure and resources.On the other hand, there are virtual offices, which consist of business centres usually located in major corporate areas of cities. In return for a membership and a monthly payment (or contracted service), the user has sales management, package delivery management, a virtual receptionist and secretary, local phone number, mail forwarding address, access to a boardroom, among other features.

• Tailored solutions

Besides co-working spaces and virtual offices that can represent considerable savings in rent and equipment, entrepreneurs also have at their disposal a range of solutions designed to solve many of their basic needs for communication, administration, data storage in the cloud collection systems and mobile cards, among others. The good news is that these providers want their customers to maximise their time and resources, offering flexible schedules and options to order.Before deciding what services to hire, analyse what the requirements of your business are. For example, if you want to be in constant contact with your customers and suppliers, but it is not always possible to be aware of the phone, then perhaps hire a receptionist. This solution allows a fixed number, which can be answered from a landline, mobile and Skype. It operates through the purchase of credits according to user needs.Another key point is to have a permanent Internet connection. To do this, it is best to hire a mobile data plan that you can use on your laptop, tablet or smartphone. Also make use of cloud solutions to always have access to your information and used tools like Google Docs that give you the opportunity to work together remotely and in real time. Just remember to protect your computers with antivirus and firewalls.Also, caring for the environment is not a fad, but a fundamental part of any business strategy. Soon you will notice that in addition to reducing the impact on the planet, it is also a way to save money and attract more customers. Therefore, a good measure is to reduce the amount of paper you use. How to do this? Through the software PrintEco , the format of your impressions are more efficient. It even encourages the use of alternative means of transport such as cycling, installing racks in your workplace or, hires shipping services messaging through bikes.

What is a virtual office?

A virtual office is a space where you can conduct similar activities to those of a physical office. A virtual office often consists of a business mail forwarding address, telephone answering and modern meeting room space. The relationship between people is electronic, performing the work without being in a physical office. The work is done wherever and whenever the person may be connected to the network.Companies that use a virtual office are those seeking a low-risk solution as opposed to investing in a conventional office. Perhaps they want to try new products or service ideas, seek to establish a commercial presence in the place of establishment of the provider, improve their corporate image or seek business support services such as answering service, among others.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a virtual office?

As in all things, the virtual office is no exception and has advantages and disadvantages that must be taken into account when considering if it is a viable option to conduct your business and entrepreneurship from.

• The advantages of a virtual office

A virtual office has several advantages for a company. Among them are:-The savings for installation. Allow savings due to employees working from home.-Work will be more productive in times of contagious illness in the workplace that prevent the transfer of employees. The same applies for employees who would normally commute or use public transport in times of traffic jams, break downs or strikes. All these scenarios are averted because they will be working in their homes without being affected.-Benefits people with mobility difficulties, as they can perform work from the home.-Less installation cost. Companies do not have to have an office with as much space as some workers are elsewhere other than the main office. This reduces the cost of rent and expansion of a common office.-Less cost of equipment. The companies, instead of providing office equipment to each worker, can share much of the equipment.-Formal Network of communication. Because of the need to stay informed and receive instructions, companies are giving more attention to have a communication network, thereby leading to the development of better communication among workers.-Social Contribution. The virtual office allows companies to hire workers who otherwise would have no job opportunities, whether disabled, elderly or parents with young children. This also includes high-value employees geographically located away from the offices of the company.-The Virtual office provides a great opportunity to increase the activities of a company, and thus their productivity while reducing costs.

• The disadvantages of a virtual office

The virtual office also has disadvantages and it is important to know these to consider the risks:-A company that uses virtual office should make sure to provide its employees with the necessary for them to work from home tools. Also, it is important to have an efficient control from established offices and ensure closely monitored telephone calls of employees working remotely. It is important to maintain meetings in order to promote communication and motivation are conducted to carry out the activities.-Sensation of isolation. Having no contact continuously with the other employees of the company, means that they may lose the feeling of being part of a team.-Fear of job loss, decay in the mood, family tension. These disadvantages can bring related motivational and psychological aspects, which is why companies should pay special attention to both the stage of selecting candidates to work as teleworkers (workers in virtual offices), and to support activities, feedback, motivation and communication.

How do you work in a virtual office?

The way you work in a virtual office is very similar to that of a physical office. However, it is important to maintain the following activities:-You must have an address and in turn be responsible for the area, to report on this every day about what each person has worked on in the respective area to which they belong through an activity report.-To keep up with a selection of work and more importantly, meet the objectives and tasks set.-To be engaged in the work involving initiative.-To control the pace of work.-The worker must be connected wherever you are to maintain communication with the central office. In this mode it is known as telecommuting.-There's a person taking on the role of the correspondence, faxes, e-mails, phone calls and visits to call attention.

What characteristics should the personnel working in a virtual office have?

Some of the most important features that personnel working for a virtual office should be:-Responsibility and maturity-Ability to organise-To use initiative-Have a suitable atmosphere and work area at home-Professional temperament-Ability to communicate-Adaptability

What activities are most fit a virtual office?

The activities that most fit a virtual office are:-Sales-Consultancy-Accounting And billing-Software development- Computer Programming-Work Publishers-Journalism and advertising-Teaching and training-MarketingThe virtual office is a step ahead in the use of technology and is definitely an option for the future of business, an alternative for those who have to travel constantly to close agreements. As a result, work and communication becomes more effective.