Set and start a Pomodoro timer – http://tomato-timer.com/
This allows you to work it ‘sets’ of 25 minutes, with 5 minutes break in between. Ideal for focus. Wait until your 5 minute break to think about what else you need to do etc.
And off you go…
If you don’t like binaural beats, instrumental rock (or any music without vocals and with a beat) seems to work just as well for focus.
Here’s an interesting infographic too – cancel all meetings is the basic, underlying message by the looks of it!
So I attempted to make a tutorial about Google Analytics.
All the beginners ones on Youtube are 2-3 hours long, so I thought I’d try and create a very basic one:
Great infographic from PPC Hero for those who are learning about and thinking about using Google Adwords for there business:
I’m personally a fan of using modified-broad-match type and creating one Ad Group for every single Keyword. Create 4 or 5 ads in each Ad Group and pause the 2 that perform least well in each group.
You can read more in my article on Business2Community
When someone goes about starting a business, the nervousness and the excitement is highly motivating, and it’s easy to get straight stuck into doing all the interesting stuff, like the marketing, sorting out the website and creating your company logo.
It is important however, to get the basics in place first, and to give the fundamentals, and the ‘boring stuff’ the same thought, care and enthusiasm as the more interesting and rewarding elements of starting your own company.
Choosing the right accountant for example, is not the most exciting task, but can be pivotal in regards to your businesses success. It’s pretty interesting, but also a bit worrying, that any Joe Bloggs can call him or herself an accountant without any relevant credentials or qualifications. In spite of this fact, very few business owners speak to a number of potential accountants, or research around them and their reputation. This is potentially a huge mistake.
Ensure that any accountant you are considering hiring, are qualified through one of the main associations/accrediting bodies such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW),the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), or the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
It goes without saying, or it should do, that you should also look into how you will pay your accountant. Are there set fees, or does he/she charge an hourly rate? If possible choose someone that can audit and advise you in regards to your business, as well as being a bookkeeper. Ideally your accountant will have experience in your business sector; but not conflicts of interest.
Ensure that you do not choose an accountant, just because they are situated right next to your office. It is an important decision, that should not be just a quick decision or after-thought. They will after all, be in charge of your money. Look what happened to Mike Tyson! (he wasn’t screwed over by an accountant, but still…).
I live in North Wales, right on the border with England, and my accountant is based in Chester. It’s definitely worth looking outside your home town. I did have an accountant based in Wrexham, but it was impossible to speak to, or get in touch with him, via phone or email, so he may of well be based in Australia. Good customer service and ‘contactability’ are also crucial.
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) states that businesses that provide ‘goods and services’ must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled people.
The DDA may influence your entire business, from how you treat your staff, people who apply for jobs at your business, and of course – your customers. If you fail to do what is deemed as reasonable to adapt your business to the needs of disabled people, then legal action could be taken against you.
If you’re not motivated by compliance with the law (or the ethics behind disability access), a free service created by directenquiries.com allows businesses with ‘good’ access and facilities for people with disabilities to be listed on their directory.
Direct Enquiries will also provide an action plan to identify areas that need improvement. These are generally simple changes that can be done at low or no cost to the business.
The directory and the corresponding action plan aims to encourage more businesses to improve their access and services, and in doing so, attract more of the UK’s disabled individuals.
In addition to the improvements in disability access (to new buildings and businesses in general); there has been an increase in the sale and manufacture of recreational vehicles and cycles for the disabled, or people with specific needs.
Inactivity is a major problem; and can compound existing health problems for people with mobility issues:
Companies such as Quest88 are now providing a range of disability aids and cycles that give disabled people a range of ways to become active. With the success of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics this market has seen an exponential increase over the last 3 years – improving people’s lives and boosting British manufacturing at the same time.
As technology continues to evolve at an exponential rate, point of sale is developing to correspond with customer’s expectations of speed and efficiency. The shift from traditional high street and in-store shopping, to online shopping, represents a demand for convenience. The rise of internet speeds, web-enabled mobile phones and the increase in the use of tablets like the Nexus and iPads; is good news for online retailers, but creates a separate issue of optimisation across channels.
The issue of Conversion Rate Optimisation across different platforms and technology is the subject of many articles, and many tutorials; however less is written about integration across platforms. Over the past 5 years, in order to meet customers’ preferences and to increase efficiency, a number of retailers have launched online kiosks in store.
The kiosks are able to provide the customers with detailed brand and product information at the touch of a button (or maybe a few buttons). They can also check availability of specific products and many kiosks now come complete with chip and pin technology, so that customers can effectively ‘self-serve’ themselves, and potentially avoid long queues and delays that are often seen in busy retails outlets. They can also potentially be integrated with mobile phones, remembering customer details, and even enabling customers to use coupons found online.
In the aftermath of the last British recession, people are demanding more product information and specifications before making a purchase. Kiosks are an ideal way of providing instant access to this information without over-stretching resources in terms of staff time and availability. In addition some larger stores stock thousands of products; with dozens available for a given purpose.
Kiosks can help people follow simple questions, and narrow down results to give one, or several products that perfectly fit the customer’s individual needs and requirements.
Kiosks can also provide retailers with additional information to fill their ever-expanding database of customer data. Customer journeys and ‘bottlenecks’ now have a whole new dimension; as does Conversion Rate Optimisation.
This information can be applied relatively easily, as most e-commerce kiosks can be updated with relative ease. Are in-store kiosks the Sales Assistants of the future? Hopefully not literally, but they can certainly be used to streamline store processes and optimise sales figures.
We all know the stat, well, approximately – 90% (ish) of businesses fail in the first year…
Most of us have dreams of starting a particular type of business. Be that as it may, when the fantasy turns into a reality, many don’t really have a clue about running or maintaining a business.
There is both an art and a science behind running a successful business. From the income administration through to the business’ operational procedure. There is a wealth of learning and data for organisations to influence, with the goal that they can control their business in the right course. From choosing the right accountant, to sorting out the company website; there is lots to learn, and fast, when you start your own business.
The longer it takes people to pick up and learn basic business procedures and best practices, the more money it will cost.
So what are a few things that they can do? All things considered, they can embrace courses that won’t upset their business hours and permit them to take in the essentials that will make their business develop. Courses are normally available on bookkeeping and business management at local vocational colleges.
The business must have clear and quantifiable objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Without an unmistakable system, the business will be meandering heedlessly and there won’t be any reasonable strides for the associations movement. This will influence the business all in all and workers inside of the business. Choices that will influence the business’ development will dependably return to the business technique that is set up.
The business can just become effectively if there is an in number group of representatives, consultants and offices that are working towards the fruitful execution of the method. The business should have an in number ability securing procedure and needs to recognize and contract ability that will best execute the method for the business. The ability ought to be procured taking into account quantifiable results. Enlist a group of authorities that will be committed to dealing with the complete workload for one of the offices in the association, to guarantee that specific zone of the business is performing as per the dispensed targets.
Income is lord to a business. It is key for dealing with the development and money related danger to a business. The straightforward guideline is to keep expenses low and to keep income high. This likewise means overseeing organization income and benefit conjectures, and in addition watching out for operational expenses and to keep looking for approaches to minimize them.
Imagination is crucial for the business. By what means will the business keep on enhancing with anticipated buyer patterns and changes to nature, innovation and that’s just the beginning? Apple is one of the idea pioneers regarding the matter of development through outline. It’s this ground breaking that will permit the business to develop into a brand pioneer.
Build up the business’ novel worth suggestion.
The business needs to keep showing quality in its industry and to its purchaser market. What is it about the business that makes it a pioneer? The business ought to look to enhance its quality through accreditations, perceived industry affiliations, grants, testimonials and customer portfolios, to give some examples. The more the business enhances its apparent worth, the more open doors will emerge for the business to work with higher profile customers and for new business to go ahead autopilot.
Entrepreneurs and supervisors need to make a move in terms of satisfying the business technique. This must be accomplished by having an unmistakable heading and activity arrangement for the business. In the event that the work force inside of the association can take in the obliged activities as has been demonstrated by other effective organizations, they will make an in number open door for their business to well over the long haul.
Is it a retirement fund, or a permanent stress and worry?
You may have heard that property venture is the golden ticket for getting to retire before your 80th birthday. On the other hand, you may have heard nightmare stories about terrible tenants. Two rather differentiating thoughts and it’s critical to know which one is correct. The uplifting news is that you can get rich putting resources into property. Be that as it may, just on the off chance that you settle on the right choices.
Know You’re Tenants The following thing to ask yourself is who are your occupants goings to be?
In the event that you are leasing workplaces, you will be searching for new and up and coming organizations. They won’t anticipate that the property will be outfitted, however they will be stressed over security and area so put these two components at the highest point of your list of things to get. On the off chance that you are expecting to offer to couples, you are taking a gander at cutting edge reasonable lodging in a sheltered neighborhood. Maybe the simplest and best occupants are understudies. This is on account of they are searching for shabby convenience with the nuts and bolts included. You can make the property look more costly by purchasing the right furniture and spare cash buying it in mass. You will likewise have the security net of an underwriter on the off chance that they can’t pay their rent.
Do your researchbefore Buying
Along these lines, you’re going to buy property however you need to choose what kind and there are focal points and impediments to every decision. Case in point, you may decide to purchase a house or two. On the off chance that that is the situation, you should be mindful so as to purchase one that is marketably practical. Then again, maybe you are purchasing a piece of workplaces to auction to organizations. The vital variable to think seriously about here is if the workplaces are close transport joins. On the off chance that they’re not, you may experience serious difficulties them off to organizations. Your best technique for assault is to inquire about the business sector deliberately and search for the best arrangements. You have to get a vibe at the kind of costs you will be taking a gander at so you won’t be cheated.
Get some type of Insurance from an Estate Agent and/or Bank
A ton can turn out badly with a property so it is essential to realize what you are getting yourself into. Keep in mind, on the off chance that you are putting resources into property to lease it out, you are tackling every one of the obligations of a landowner. That implies it is your obligation to care for the building and the occupants inside it. In the event that anything turns out badly with the property, and it is not the occupant’s issue, you will be obliged to pay for it. This is a reason why it is essential to get the best arrangement on protection. When you buy property, you ought to make a proprietor protection examination online to locate the best arrangement. Be that as it may, you will likewise require a retirement fund of money for crises.
These are a fundamental things to consider before making any purchase on a second home.
Small Business Dad 