July, 2018

3 Reasons Maintenance Costs Should Always Be in Your Company’s Budget

Many businesses create a tight budget that allocates every dollar earned to specific categories. Some of the more common categories are marketing, rent or mortgage, insurance, employee wages and more. One expense that is easy to overlook budgeting for is property maintenance. You may have overlooked this important expense altogether, or you may have intentionally chosen not to budget for property maintenance. Instead, your strategy may be to wait until something is broken before fixing it. The reality is that maintenance costs are a critical component of any business’s budget, and these are three of the leading reasons why this is true.

Online as well as offline retail stores can benefit by setting up pop up shops

Retail marketing establishments are going through a complete makeover as it shifts focus from the traditional big box stores and brick and mortar stores to the trendier flash retailing.  The idea is to set-up an impromptu store known as a pop-up shop or pop up store or temporary retail store to attract consumers and bring them closer to brands. The trend began in the early nineties when retailers across the globe from London to Tokyo and from Los Angeles to New York City started setting up temporary retail spaces for selling all types of merchandise.  The desire to create close consumer engagement and offer them more exciting options for shopping prompted retailers to come up with pop up stores. The stores are ideal for those trying to gain mileage from experiential marketing as it helps to set up a store where consumers gather.

Product-Based Businesses: How to Make Sure Your Shipping is Timely and Efficient

When you own a product based business, half of how you’re judged is by how quickly your products can be received. You have to get it right in order to keep your customers satisfied. An unhappy customer is less likely to do business with you in the future. Here are some methods for ensuring that your products are received in a timely and efficient manner.

Restaurant Startup Equipment and Supplies Checklist

If you’ve decided to start a restaurant, one of the most important things you need to do is set up your kitchen the right way. It’s the center of your new business and the place where all the dishes you prepare come to life. Therefore, it’s very important to get all the high-quality equipment and supplies for your kitchen. In order to help you, we came up with an equipment and supplies checklist for your project.

Tips for Being Taken Seriously as a Young, Female Business Owner

For anyone who’s ever filled out a job application or been interviewed for a position, you know that employers are looking for two things - education and experience. If you want to be a surgeon, lawyer, or psychologist, education is key. But in the world of business, experience is everything. Sure, you can get your degree in business administration or marketing to learn the basics of the trade. But when it comes down to building a business from the ground up, experience could make or break your success.

Key Steps Toward Starting Your Own Business

There is no easy way to launching a company. It takes time, capital and the support of loved ones when things aren’t quite going to plan. While everyone may have a business idea, not all ideas are worthy of a multi-million business adventure that’ll stand the test of time. In fact, even the biggest of brand names have struggled, and so anyone looking to start their business needs to recognize that no business idea is foolproof or easy.

Reasons It's Time to Invest In an Office Space for Your Startup

Many would argue that in today’s digital reality, there is no reason why you wouldn’t build your success in the business world from the comfort of your living room, working with a remote team and building financial independence from a virtual office space. While the idea does sound tempting, many would be wrong. Some of the most successful companies might have started out in a garage or a home office, but that is not where their headquarters should ultimately be.

A Customized Koozie Can Promote Your Business

There are different ways in which you can promote your business. Right from pens to key chains, from water bottles to balloons, from plastic bags to even a customized Koozie can promote any business to the desired limits.

You will be able to deal with the stiff competition and enhance your brand image, products, and services. It is probably the most innovative measure for effective marketing that will encourage the customers to get attracted to your products and pursue them to make a purchase. Here are a few ways to customize a koozie to promote your business.

Opening a Fitness Facility? Top Tips for Running a Successful Gym Business

Starting a gym is one of the noblest things you can do as a new business owner. By opening a business focused on health and wellness, you can really improve your community. However, you can’t just put a few treadmills in an empty space call it a day. These are the top tips for running a successful gym business.

Zoning Changes and Kitten Showers

June was a big month for us at Mew Haven Cat Cafe. At the beginning of the month, the Board of Alders held a vote that would ultimately result in adding “cat café” as an allowed business use under the local zoning ordinances. This was of utmost important because the City Planning department determined that our business did not fit into any current classification; we were not merely a café, nor were we a kennel. We needed this new definition to realize our concept.  

If the Board of Alders voted positively, we would then have to apply for zoning approval to take advantage of the newly created “cat café” use. Because of the way that schedules lined up, we would have only a week and a half to submit our request. We had to quickly provide answers on a form that required in-depth zoning knowledge. In some cases, businesses choose to hire an attorney for this purpose – providing specific descriptions of the business model, detailed floor plans, and more.