Tag: work

How to get business premises that work for you

How to get business premises that work for you

Your business premises are more than just a place for you to do your work. It’s an extension of your company, influencing how both customers and employees view your organisation. It can also impact the quality of the work done, too; people work better when they’re in an attractive and comfortable environment rather than one that’s a little more uninspiring. Therefore, it’s worthwhile looking into whether it’s worth upgrading your business location. In this post, we’ll run through some useful tips that’ll point you in the right direction.

Pexels – CC0 Licence

Where do you need to be?

Location is more important to some business types than others, but all need to think about it. It’ll impact how easy it is to reach the space, how easy it is to connect with other businesses, how customers view your business (some addresses are more prestigious than others), and so on. You’ll need to decide whether you want to be in the centre of town or whether being slightly further afield will work for you. There are advantages and disadvantages to both!

How much can you afford?

If your business premises are to work for you, rather than against you, you’ll need to ensure that the space is in line with your financial situation. No company wants to spend more money than is necessary on rent, and they positively don’t want to run the risk of financial problems because of overspending on their premises.

Five years’ time

You’ll hope to be in your premises for a while, so it’s a good idea to think about the plans for your business. Where will it be in 5 years’ time? If you’re planning to add a lot more employees or make the move to remote working in the future, then that should influence your decision.

Getting the lease

You’ll have identified the location and can see that it’s the right place for your business to be for the years to come. Now, you’ll need to get your hands on the lease. Since commercial rentals work a little differently from residential rentals, it’s recommended that you work with solicitors such as Beyond Law Group Solicitors to thrash out the details. This will be doubly important if you’re planning to buy the space that you’ll be occupying. Working with legal experts will ensure that your lease doesn’t come back to bite you in some way later on down the line.

Smooth transition

Moving into a new office isn’t as stressful as moving home, but it’s not far off. You’ll likely have a lot of equipment and furniture to move into your new premises, plus it might take a few days before you’re fully up and running. Since it’s important that your move doesn’t disrupt your work operations, it’s best to either move into the new office slowly (transitioning from old space to new) or to pick a quiet time of the working year. That way, you’ll have time to settle into your new space without it having an impact on your customers.

[disclosure*]

5 tips to make your artist studio more productive

5 tips to make your artist studio more productive

Having a home studio provides flexibility like no other place. But, to get the most out of it, you need to make wise decisions with the resources you have. And, no matter how much space you have, there are always small things that you can do to make your artist studio more productive. So, here are some valuable tips to help you make the most of your space and get more done.

Make your workspace the focus

One of the first things you must do is make your workspace as clear as possible. This is the focus of your studio: whether it’s an easel, pottery wheel, kiln or drawing board, keeping this area your focus will ensure you set to work quickly.

For best working conditions, keep this area clear. Each night, after you finish working for the day, clear up what you can. This way, you’ll enter into a clean studio each day, fresh for new ideas.

Stand up your desk

Many people who work in an office use a standing desk. Standing desks have been shown to have many physical benefits like decreased risk of obesity and diabetes and improved mental clarity and mood. But there’s another benefit to getting off your butt – standing up increases the blood flow to your legs, which will help you focus better when you sit back down.

Using a standing desk can make you feel more proactive and increase your ability to work.

Have spaces to think

Thinking over your work is an essential part of any art process. Building space into your studio specifically for thinking, brainstorming, and planning will help you to develop projects better. Get a comfy chair (some feel good massage chairs if you really want to relax your brain!) and leave some paper and pens around in case you need to write anything down.

Add lighting to highlight your workspace

Light is essential to all artwork. Getting bright lights to ensure you can see your work at all times is key. Think about where is best to place your lighting. Consider where shadows will fall: where would benefit from brightness, and where would benefit from darkness.

Natural light inspires productivity, so if you can access a big window, place your workspace near it.

Utilise storage and have an organisational system

As with any space, it’s important to utilise storage and an organisational system. You have the opportunity to be creative and use the area in various ways. But if you don’t have a plan beforehand, you may end up with chaos.

One way to create storage is by installing shelves on the walls. This allows you to make use of the vertical space, which is often overlooked but can be utilised in many ways. This will help de-clutter your floor space and allow for more room to work. If you have lots of supplies, this is a cost-effective way to minimise clutter and maximise your workspace.

Another tip is having an organisational system that works for you, your specific needs and your level of efficiency. This can be anything from how you organise your desk or how you store materials for projects at hand.

Using bins can help keep things more organised and help you quickly find what you are looking for. You might want to use different methods depending on the type of project or client you are working with and what stage it is in (i.e., idea stage versus final product).

[disclosure*]

Why employees demand a robust environmental policy and what companies can do about it

Why employees demand a robust environmental policy and what companies can do about it

A recent survey carried out by Unily found that 83% of workers thought their employers weren’t doing enough to make sure that the workplace was eco-friendly. 65% of employees said that they’d rather work for a company that had a robust environmental policy. If offices and workplaces were more sustainable they’d only cut down on their energy consumption, but also make choices that were better for the planet. If you run your own business, there are many changes that you can make within the workplace that are more green and sustainable. This will ultimately make it a better environment in which to work.

Office cleaning

Many of the cleaning products used in offices and workspaces contain chemicals and toxins that are harmful to the environment. Bleach, ammonia, air fresheners, antibacterial products and any cleaning spray with an artificial fragrance are generally toxic. Research done by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that 53% of air fresheners also damage your lungs if they are inhaled. Common ingredients include sodium laureth sulfate, triethanolamine and PEG compounds – all known carcinogens. If you have a large workspace, using a professional company that specialises in green cleaning is a good idea. This will minimise the impact that cleaning has on the environment. If you’re responsible for cleaning, swap harmful cleaning agents for natural alternatives. Use only recyclable paper products and reusable mops, dusters and micro-fibre cloths for cleaning.

Water consumption

Many offices and workplaces have large water bottle coolers for staff to use. Once they’ve been used, the majority of the plastic bottles will end up in landfill – plastic takes 450 years to biodegrade, and in the meantime the Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) seeps into the soil and the water, ultimately ending up in rivers and oceans. An easy alternative is good old fashioned tap water. You could also invest in a filter jug for staff to use, so that the water tastes better. The filters need replacing every 6 months, but this creates far less waste than using water coolers.

A paperless office

For the vast majority of communication between staff, clients and customers, there’s no need for paper. In your workplace environmental policy, set targets for reducing the amount of paper and set up limitations for office supplies, printing, packaging and marketing materials. Delegate someone in the workplace to be a “paperless champion”, helping to motivate others. Within the workplace, make full use of emails, digital signature software and PDFs to share information and communications. You can also move to digital financial statements with all your clients and suppliers. Where you do absolutely have to use paper, make sure that recycling is promoted.

Making the workplace a more sustainable and eco-friendly place is everyone’s responsibility. Limiting the use of paper and plastic and using green cleaning supplies can help to protect the environment for the future.

[disclosure*]

Benefits of remote access for small businesses

Benefits of remote access for small businessescredit

With a small business, it’s important to note that remote access isn’t something that will only be beneficial for larger corporations. A lot of small businesses are finding that when they can access office files and resources remotely it provides a lot of benefits for the business as well as for employees. Supporting flexible and remote working is an obvious benefit, and by using remote access it means that the business will still be able to keep up to date and catch up, in this post-pandemic era. Remote access solutions are something that can benefit your small business, and they don’t have to be things that are expensive or out of your budget.

Illustration of remote working outdoors

Flexible office solutions

One of the big costs that a business will have is the office space that they occupy. With employees who work flexibly and work remotely the majority of the time, you can reduce the office space that you use, if you need one at all. If there are fewer workers that need a desk space, the cheaper or smaller place that you could rent for an office, if at all. As the site https://physicaladdress.com shows, you don’t have to have a physical office space to be able to get business mail, neither do you need to include a personal address on a business website. If you do decide to go down the route of getting rid of the physical office, then you have real flexibility as well as more adjustable office solutions.

Interview taking place over a conference call

Talent recruitment

If you work flexibly and run this across the whole of your small business, then it improves the talent pool that you can reach when it comes to recruitment. Normally, the talent pool for a business only extends to people who live in a commutable distance from the office. However, if you work flexibly and allow employees to work remotely, then it increases the geographical location of potential candidates. You can really choose the best people that apply, rather than having to choose the people that apply only because they live in the vicinity.

In a similar vein, you can also have continued access to existing staff. If they’re moving home to a different part of the country, they don’t have to leave working for you when remote access is implemented. Another benefit for business and the business budget.

Three people working remotely and collaboratively

Collaborative working and resource sharing

When you have a remote working business, you can work with colleagues on a collaborative basis, as well as externally with clients, third parties or suppliers. When you interact remotely, it helps to save time on travel, save money and improve productivity on the part of all involved.

Using remote access and accessing something in the cloud for document sharing means that you can share work with others, wherever they are in the world. As documented here, https://workplace.com/cloud-collaboration, cloud collaboration can be something that can really benefit business and be a good thing for employees too. You just need to think outside the box and it will help to make a difference to how your business works.

[disclosure*]