Overheads

If you are self-employed and are working on your own, working from home is most likely the best option. If you’d like to distinguish your home life from your work life, consider co-working. Co-working allows you to rent a desk in an office so you can experience a work environment but not feel as isolated if you were to work at home. Co-working will also free you of any distractions but is much cheaper than renting out office space.

If you have a team of people and need office space, opt for industrial as opposed to commercial space as the rent is cheaper. If possible, allow staff to work from home as this will save on the amount of space needed. Stagger shift times and allow flexible working patterns so that workers can hot desk, this will reduce the amount of office space needed.

In addition, if you are expanding at a rapid rate and are fortunate enough to have high ceilings, you could consider installing a mezzanine floor. Mezzanine floors are intermediate flooring which adds another level to a building.

Workforce

Consider hiring a college graduate as an intern, as many are looking for a CV opportunity and are willing to work for free. Graduates are brimming with ideas and are keen to utilise them. If you’re business fluctuates throughout the year, employ freelancers at busy periods or temporary staff to work during those periods. Cross train staff so that if someone goes on maternity leave or are sick, you will have competent staff to cover without having to pay for additional staff.

Save Energy

If you’re business needs computers, use laptops instead of desktop PC’s as they use 90% less energy. Energy saving light bulbs are a quick and easy change to make but will have a major impact when it comes to your energy bill.

Pay Bills Early

If you pay your suppliers early you may be offered an early payment discount. In some instances you can save up to 25%.

Advertising

Online Marketing

Traditional marketing can become expensive but when promoting your business, make the most of marketing for free online. Create a business blog and write about industry related topics. Be considered as an authority in your area by providing up to date and relevant information. Get active with social media and create a LinkedIn profile as well as a Facebook business page and twitter account.

Word of Mouth

Think about giving a talk or presentation at a local event such as a coffee morning, fete or exhibition. Give out free samples or do a demonstration depending on what your business is.

Piggybacking

Include promotional material such as money off vouchers into mailings such as invoices rather than paying for additional posting.

YouTube

Create a video demonstrating your product or speaking about your service. Make the video quirky and unique to help it go viral.

Office Supplies

Buying refillable printer cartridges can save around 50% as opposed to buying new cartridges. Negotiate with your supplier if you order a large amount of supplies each month to get a bulk discount. Only buy the things you really need.

Buy Used

To kit out an office buy second hand desks and chairs from companies that are going into administration. If you need warehouse space, buy previously used pallet racking to store items in. You can buy second hand pallet racking at a fraction of new warehouse racking and it is also more eco-friendly.

By Boris Dzhingarov is passionate about writing on different business topics. Follow him on Google+.

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small. With changing trends in business, changes have also come in the various sales and marketing strategies. The advent of the internet has also played a crucial part in the same. Today there are many marketers and sales personnel who believe in online sales and marketing rather than offline marketing. However, still there are people who believe that offline marketing provides better results and is more acceptable. Interestingly there are many facts and statistics that are in favor of offline marketing only.

Reports obtained from a research done way back in 2011 have some interesting data regarding offline marketing. The research was done on a filthy rich producer’s company, which was involved in financial services. The company financed some of the top notch and highly affluent clients. Now the analysts reached out to the various clients and wanted to know as how they came to know of the producer’s company. They also interviewed the clients regarding the way of finding the company and what attracted them to the same as well. Different kinds came up with different kinds of reactions and interestingly majority of it belonged to offline marketing tactics.

As per the survey, reports it was revealed that almost 34% of people came to know about the company from their friends, peers,

relatives and known people. The information spread via word of mouth through different kinds of conversations. Proactive referrals also played an important role in the same. Another 33%-34% people opined that they came to know of the company from various offline marketing strategies that the company had. Advertising on offline media was crucial. The company organized various workshops and educational seminars where various participants were invited. Direct mail was also sent to people.

Apart from the above mentioned 67%-68%, additional 15% of the marketing was done via media exposure, but it was not related to any kind of specific event or program. Various kinds of advertisements went out on the television, radio and even in the various newspapers. Interestingly, not a single member or client cited online marketing as a source of knowing about the company. This proves that still there are people for whom online marketing is not their cup of tea. They are more comfortable with the conventional offline marketing strategies and techniques. It is still acceptable if both online and offline marketing are carried out hand in hand with one another.

It is also true that many companies and businesses are choosing the internet to reach out to their potential customers and clients. However, if you note carefully you will see that majority of these clients and customers are young people. Usually senior marketers and boomers will not be much interested in online marketing. They might use the internet and also the social media networks, but that is for staying connected to family and friends. They will never use the web for professional reasons. Seniors and boomers will hardly search on the internet for finding professional assistance on a thing or look for various services that are available online.

It is true that with the coming of the internet, marketing has taken a new leap altogether. Search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing etc have helped in finding services and assistance of various kinds. Social networking websites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc can help in reaching out to the common people in almost no time at all. But senior marketers and boomers still believe and rely on the old ways of offline marketing as they help in creating bonds and helps in understanding the real demands of the clients and customers.

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There are plenty of ways to promote yourself to potential clients, but have you ever considered using YouTube.

The Benefits of YouTube

Thousands if not millions of videos are accessed daily on the YouTube website. You want to promote your products or services to the masses, right? YouTube is a good option. YouTube is not just for entertainment purposes anymore, now there are people who promote their businesses with it. It’s fairly easy to upload a video to the website, and your business will be basically promoting itself when your videos uploaded. The best thing of all about YouTube is that it’s free to broadcast your footage.

Creating a Good YouTube Video

The entertaining videos that are on YouTube have at least fair quality. Videos that are grainy and or choppy are less attractive. And it’s even worse if they can’t hear the speaker clearly. Make sure your camera is focused and that there’s good lighting in the space that you’re shooting the video. Also, make sure you are close enough to the microphone so that you’re not hushed or muffled. There may be settings on your computer or recording device to adjust your footage and make it more presentable.

Make short videos

With longer videos, it’s easier to lose the interest of the viewer if you’re trying to promote something. If you spend too long trying to deliver your message, you’re more likely to stray from important information that you should talk about. Stay away from the minutia. Remember you’re trying to get more customers, not start a sitcom.

Edit your finished recordings and add special effects to make it better. Editing software is available for your computer for free, though not all of these programs are good. Do not overdo it with the special effects; just do enough so that it looks more professional. Too much would make it look cheesy.

Keeping People Interested

It’s all about the presentation, right? When you don’t sound enthusiastic and you don’t appear excited about your own products or services, don’t expect anybody else to be. Try to sound and look livelier. Do not dress as if you’re spending the day lounging on your living room couch. It might help to dress a bit more casual Try to involve something in your message that is relevant in today’s society and that a lot of people can identify with.

Things that are going on in the media, stuff that people see on TV and in movies, these are some examples of things that you can mix into the message that you’re trying to convey. It can’t hurt to have more of a sense of humor if it calls for it; people love to be able to laugh at things, don’t they?

By Boris Dzhingarov 

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This is what people think about how Apple will change the future with their new AppleTV (by Business Insider):

• Customers would be able to see any TV show at any time, there is a DVR, which stores TV shows using Internet.
• Apple wants to create something like a souped-up Apple TV version, which will be able to work in a similar was as a cable box.
• The new interface of AppleTV should be similar to iPad’s or iPhone’s interface. (It might just look like the current Apple TV interface, just a few icons more?)
• Users would be able to share what they watch on TV on different social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.
• The interface of new Apple TV should be better and much easier to use than interfaces of most current cable boxes.
• There would be an easy way for people to see the whole season of any TV show on demand, instead of a few episodes that most cable companies are offering at the moment.

The thing is, the current version of Apple TV v2 already can do this easily. All you have to do is jailbreak the AppleTV. Once you jailbreak AppleTV you can easily install XBMC, which has tons of video content. There are XBMC video plugins for simple access to different channels, including ABC, ShowTime, YouTube and even foreign TV channels. I currently use Rurem.TV, which requires a paid subscription, to watch a lot of Russian channels.

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If you want to watch Russian TV and want to replace the traditional cable service then just find the right reputed website that will make it happen for you and serves you with the best services and deliver the feed over the Internet directly from the source. Among the rest of the sites the best one is the “RUREM.TV“. This site aims to serves you the best quality of videos, movies, TV shows or documentaries with the speed of 600 kbps and up.

Watching Russian TV online includes wide variety of benefits such as one can get the facility to watch their favorite Russian TV channels at the time of work from anywhere in the world. By using Russian TV Online one can travel into the boundless world of global television entertainment in effective budgetary levels.

While that Rurem.TV charges a monthly subscription, which is less than $20, you would get over 100 live channels with a 2 weeks archive of all channels. Another great additional is Netflix like huge movie library for many Russian movies as well as Hollywood titles, which are dubbed in Russian.

Nowadays people want more choices and freedom on what to watch without spending a fortune, which at the moment TV Network companies can’t offer.

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If movies like Home Alone aren’t enough to make you double and triple check your home before leaving on vacation, then perhaps stories of high energy bills after a month of air conditioning a home with no one in it? It happens to everyone. You forget to turn off the light, the automatic coffee maker has been making three cups a day since the day you left and it’s colder than the North Pole when you get home. There’s some good news for those who forget the basics before leaving on vacation. New smartphone apps and cloud programs have descended upon the American homeowner with convenient remote home automation devices. while it may sound like something out of a robot movie, it’s actually something that many homeowners have installed to make sure they don’t ever forget to turn off the coffee maker again.

The Basics of Home Automation

In recent years, home automation devices have grown in popularity thanks to smartphones and tablets. Household activities can be automated with a simple press of a button. Things like lighting, air conditioning and heating, appliances and other devices can all be controlled remotely in effort to make things more convenient or just to turn off your alarm clock while on vacation so your roommate doesn’t smash it before you get home. Home automation is particularly important for those who have difficult with tasks due to medical conditions or arthritis. Senior citizens often have a few home automated devices to improve the quality of their lives. While many of these devices used to be quite expensive, the development of cloud software and smartphone technology has made it more accessible more than ever.

Types of Home Automation

Most homeowners install simple home automation devices that link from a mobile app to an electrical device. If you forget to turn off the lights while in a rush to leave for work on time, you can always turn off the light from your office with your phone. Home entertainment systems, houseplant watering, yard maintenance, pet feeding, appliance control and more can all be automated using a computer or mobile network nowadays. It may sound like something out of science fiction, but it’s actually a common tool found all across America.

How Home Automation Works

Starting with home automation means installing a few devices and programs to connect your home to your computer, mobile phone or tablet. For example, you can buy a home automation package from companies like Vivint, who install electronic door locks, remote light control, air conditioning and heating adjustment, alarm system control and many more activities. These devices can now be controlled with a touch of a button through a mobile app or computer software on your office or home computer. It’s the easiest way to save money on energy while also securing your home with a smart future. Make sure you look into reviews for the companies you are interested in. For example search “Vivint Reviews” or what ever company you are interested in.

Author:Annabelle Smyth – Follow her on Google+.

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