Up For Anything

Living life to the Full

The Different Ways Your Business Can Grow

By 1 Comment

Growth is essential for any business. If you’re not looking at ways that you can grow, you’re at risk of being overtaken by competitors who have more ambitious plans. There are lots of different ways a business can grow, however not every form of growth is suitable for every business. Today we’re taking a look at some of the ways your business can grow to ensure its long-term survival and success!

Exploring New Markets

One of the most popular ways for businesses to grow is to bring their successful model and products to new markets, filled with fresh customers.

It’s easy to see why this is an attractive option: it simply requires you replicate the business model that has worked for you in the past, in a new area, or even a new country. You have to beware if you’re looking at taking your business into international markets though. Not only do different countries have different laws that might affect your business, their consumers behave differently. You need to work with an international research company to make sure you know what those international consumers are looking for, and what about your brand you can expect them to value, to make sure your marketing campaign speaks to them as effectively as possible.

Adding New Products

Another way you can grow your offering is to add new products to your store, whether it’s online or in a bricks and mortar building.

Diversifying what you offer has lots of advantages: as well as giving your customers a fresh reason to be excited in your business, and perhaps bringing more people to your door, the more products make up your revenue stream the less dependent you are on any one of them. Whether it’s a change in financial circumstances or the trends governing customer behaviour, a product can become unavailable, or untenable at any moment. The broader the base of your offering, the safer you are when a product or product group loses its appeal.

Growing at Home

If you don’t want to expand into new markets or change what you’re offering, you’re left with the marketing challenge of broadening your appeal in your home market. This is the best choice for a smaller, younger business with plenty of untapped potential in the market surrounding them – it’s bigger businesses that have to radically reinvent themselves to find new customers.

You might want to work with a market research firm to help find the best way to spread the message of your company, and ensure you’re speaking to the biggest possible market for what you have to offer.

Coworking Space Specialist – Why You Should Consider A Servcorp Coworking Space

By Leave a Comment

Servcorp has already established itself as one of the premier serviced office providers in the world. Around for more than forty years, Servcorp has found an ingenious way to provide businesses of all sizes office space. In addition to the executive suite, Servcorp offers businesses a menu of office plans including the virtual office, and the ever popular, coworking space.

When it comes to international coworking space, Servcorp has offices in Bangkok that can offer your business competitive rates while styling out your office in some of the finest buildings in the city. Moreover, Servcorp’s reputation for fitting out some of the most famous companies is just yet another reason for going with this established company. However, businesses should go with the Servcorp coworking plan for a few other reasons.

Keep reading to learn how Servcorp’s coworking spaces in Thailand can work for you and your business.

Three Great Locations

If working in Bangkok, businesses should consider Servcorp simply because the company has three locations around the city. The Offices at CentralWorld was built with feng shui principles in mind, is known for its state-of-the-art technology, and is known for its sleek design. Then, there is the office in the Ecoplex, which has 34 stories and is built with innovative, green construction in mind. Finally, the Mercury Tower is also another amazing building connected to various transit systems in the city.

All of these buildings give occupants spectacular views of the city. Furthermore, the buildings are connected to dining, shopping, and entertainment. Finally, if looking for centrally–located offices, these three office locations can plant your business right in the middle of the action.

Sophisticated Office Space

These buildings are not only in prime real estate, they are also fitted out for the sophisticated businessman. Corporate-styled offices fit out with the finest furnishings are a part of the landscape. The buildings are retrofitted with the latest technologies making set up for business a lot simpler. Finally, the offices are maintained and cleaned every day by the maintenance crew who are trained to keep the space looking immaculate.

Transition Into Other Office Space

The Servcorp model is the best way to transition into other office space because the company offers a variety of plans to professionals. As stated previously, Servcorp can transition your office into either larger or smaller space, and very quickly. If you find that the coworking space is too much for your business or it does not adequately meet your business’s needs, you can easily slide into a virtual office or an executive suite, and with little downtime. Servcorp just makes it easy for businesses to transition into other space whether scaling up or down or relocating to an office in another city that Servcorp has offices.

World-Class Office Support

On top of having the benefit of working in amazing buildings, professionals get the benefit of bilingual support staff. Receptionists that can field calls while you are away on business and IT professionals that can resolve any of your computing needs are all a part of the office menu. The coworking space through Servcorp can inevitably save you time in searching for and paying qualified support staff.

International Leverage

Finally, because the company has offices all throughout Asia and the rest of the globe, businesses who find travel is involved in a lot of their work can rest assured that they have access to office space. Whether it is just space to work or access to conference rooms, your Servcorp vouchers can be used in any location globally. Not too many small operators can offer your business this feature.

Reasons To Go With Servcorp

Servcorp is an internationally-renowned company known for providing businesses with quality serviced offices. The rates are much less than many of the office fit outs you might find in Thailand for the value. Ultimately, the country can fit your business out with style and class while offering concierge office support at a much lower cost.

Top Ways To Advertise – Regardless Of Business Size

By Leave a Comment

Source

When it comes to advertising products and services, many people find that one or two types are highly beneficial for their different businesses while others find that they see success through many different forms. Effective advertising means that you can easily showcase products and services to your specific customer base leading to customer conversions, sales and retention of customers, all of which are key to success in business – whatever type of business it is. Here are the top forms of advertising that many businesses choose to use to get customers to their sites and buying their products.

Pay Per Click

Pay per click advertising is one of the best forms available. With qualified SEO consultants that work through businesses such as https://www.click.co.uk/services/paid-search-ppc/ you can be sure that your customised searches with specific key words designed to help potential clients find you easily will work. Not only is Pay Per Click advertising a highly productive way to showcase your  company and products or services, but it helps your SEO search results too – something integral to your online presence.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a great way to engage clients and let them know you’re still around and offering services or products. With many options for email marketing from sending small updates or full scale newsletters, many marketers find this is the most common, easiest way to grab attention is through getting into their clientele’s inboxes. Newsletters can be a great, bright and cheery way to advertise new products, ask for reviews and let customers know about promotions and sales.

Social Media

Without a doubt, social media marketing is one of the fastest growing ways to advertise amongst businesses of all size. Between Twitter, Facebook and Instagram alone the possibility to attract customers and followers is enormous, especially when you consider adding in the use of paid adverts to attract more attention. Social media advertising is a great tool that any level of business can use with ease, making it hugely popular and a great option to use in conjunction with other types of advertising such as email marketing or pay per click as well.

Old Fashioned Word Of Mouth and Referrals

One of the most common ways to get more customers and get people interested in your business as well is through old fashioned word of mouth and asking existing customers for referrals. When a customer has an excellent experience with your business, the likelihood of them sharing that information with others is high, resulting in more people searching out your services. If you want referrals or reviews, offer a small prize of types such as 5% off their next purchase or bill for a review or referral, helping prompt people to tell others about your services.

So there you have a couple of great ways that many people use to market their products and services. With so many different ways to catch the attention of clients these days, it’s no wonder more and more businesses are finding advertising easier. Good luck!

3 Reasons to Take Your Company Global and How to Get Started

By 1 Comment

As new technology continues to pave the way for globalization, it’s more appealing than ever for businesses to expand abroad. Going global helps you increase profit margins and reach a larger consumer base. By cutting costs, expanding operations and increasing sales, you can boost your bottom line and take your business to the next level.

Here are three reasons to take your company global:

1. Higher Revenue Potential

Globalizing is cheaper than ever, as the Internet has made it easy to have a presence in foreign markets without physically being there. If you want to sell more, start distributing your products in other countries. You might even discover that another country brings in more revenue for your business than your own country.

Globalization continues to homogenize cultures around the world. This makes it easier than ever to succeed in various markets with just one product. If you have an e-commerce store, analyze your data to check which countries are attracting most of your buyers. Then, adjust your marketing strategy to reach the people in those countries.

2. Increase Your Profit Margin

When you look beyond your home country, you not only find new customers, but also new ways to cut costs in your supply chain. For example, you can expand your company’s operations to another country where the cost of manufacturing is lower. Plus, by expanding your production to reach a global market, you boost your profit margin by lowering the per-unit manufacturing cost.

3. Utilize Global Experts

Marketing your products to consumers in other countries is easier than ever thanks to the Internet. On networks like Upwork, you can link up with talent and expertise from around the world to help you create a marketing strategy to enter various local markets. Having your online content translated to or created in different languages helps you build an international brand that can be recognized worldwide while appealing to specific local markets at the same time.

Amway is a great example of a global direct sales company that continually expands into local markets around the world. It does this by empowering independent business owners to profit by selling Amway’s products in their local economies. This allows Amway to use local expertise to expand its global consumer base, instead of trying to reach the entire world at once with one generic marketing campaigns. Sometimes direct sales companies are accused of being pyramid schemes. Amway is not a scam, though, because independent business owners only earn bonuses based on product sales volume—not for recruiting.

How to Expand Your Business Abroad

To get the most out of the other markets you tap into, you want to work with a company specializing in translation and cultural consulting to help you create authentic marketing strategies. Before you hit a new market, it’s imperative you know what will resonate with its consumers, so be sure not to skip this step. Create localized landing pages and implement local and global SEO strategies to help target these other markets.

Getting Started

Ready for world domination? With the ease of telecommunications and cloud-based technology today, it’s never too early to reap the benefits of being a global business. By outsourcing steps in your supply chain to other countries, distributing products abroad and employing international experts, you can start competing in the global economy.

A Guide to Choosing Branded Products That Will Help Your Business Stand Out

By Leave a Comment

Branded products can be great for promoting your company at trade shows, from your office, and elsewhere. Use this guide to choose the right ones.

Every business strives to find ways to help them stick out from their competition. There are many ways to achieve this goal.

A company can create an amazing advertising campaign that gets people talking. The company can run a contest complete with prize money.

A company can also invest in products made with their brand on them to help their business stand out. The best part about branded products is that it works with every budget.

But if your company doesn’t choose the right products, it could end up being a waste of money.

To ensure your brand doesn’t end up in a pile of clutter, keep reading this guide.

Know Your Audience

Your business is unique and so are your customers. If you’ve branded your company properly, you already know what your values are.

Which means you should also know that your consumers are responding to your brand positively.

Taking into account your brand and the niche group of people who are responding to your brand, this should help you determine which products to use.

In other words, if you own a vegan soap company, then it’s safe to assume your customers are environmentally and animal-friendly.

Your branded products would then reflect that perhaps in a t-shirt made from recycled plastic.

Your goal is to provide them with branded products they actually want. Otherwise, it ends up as junk in their closet or garbage.

Your Branded Products Should Offer Value

There’s nothing worse than cheaply made stuff. Too often, companies choose poorly constructed items to use as their branded products.

It just ends up becoming landfill rather than hitting their intended mark. Your goal is to have people use these items.

Those people you hand your branded products out to are really acting as brand ambassadors who just happen to be working for you for free.

Since they are in a sense working for you for free, it makes sense to pay them back by giving them something they like and can use.

Make sure these items are well made and will last at least for longer than 6 months.

Be Consistent

Consistency is key when it comes to effective marketing. And that’s what branded products are used for – to raise awareness of your company through grassroots marketing efforts.

Make sure your brand standards are clearly defined. Appoint one person to oversee these standards.

The entire goal is to get your customers, followers, and readers to stick around as long as possible. Which means you need to provide them with a sense of familiarity and predictability.

Determine your business’s values and qualities before you look into which branded products will work best.

Then ensure that all employees who work on your marketing campaigns are skilled and aligned with your vision.

Determine Your Budget

It’s really easy to go over budget with branded products. It can get expensive if you’re not careful.

And determining your marketing budget isn’t exactly easy. It’s hard to predict how people will react until it’s already set in motion.

Most experts agree that around five percent of your revenue is a good starting point as a marketing budget. However, that’s not true for every business.

And as your business grows, that number might increase or decrease.

Those companies operating on a shoestring budget will have more of a challenge. Obviously handing out a customized leather briefcase is a poor choice.

Instead, starting with customized pens is a smarter choice for a company just starting out.

Customized coins also make good gifts. Read more here to learn why coins are a great choice.

A new coffee shop looking to give Starbucks a run for their money might start out with customized coffee cozies.

However, if you’re an investment firm making millions of dollars then your options are nearly limitless. Customized wine bottles, golf balls, and gold-plated pens are at your disposal.

Plan Ahead

Depending on your needs, make sure to factor in how long it will take to plan and order your branded products.

If you need them for an event or a meeting, make sure to give yourself enough time to have them made and shipped to your company.

Most promotional products take at least one to two weeks. Some take even longer.

Also, if you’re having items like customized beach towels made up and you live in a part of the country where winter arrives, plan ahead. It may not make any sense for you to order 10,000 of them if winter is right around the corner.

And don’t forget to ensure you have a space to hold all of your promotional items. It won’t do if you end up with a massive amount of clutter in your office because there’s no place to efficiently store them.

Be Bold

As a business owner, you can choose to play it safe or you could decide to be bold.

While playing it safe definitely means you won’t alienate anyone, you probably won’t excite anyone, either.

Bold brands aren’t afraid to experiment. They take a stance on controversial issues.

Acting so boldly will definitely bother some people. But it will also generate fierce loyalty and respect from those who do choose to stick around.

It’s up to you to decide if you want to play it safe or take a risk.

Consider Distribution

Even if you choose great products to give away to customers, you still have to figure out how they are going to receive those items.

You and your team need to determine how you’ll distribute your promotional products.

Luckily, there are plenty of ways and reasons to give out free items, but if you want to succeed, you need to understand that certain products are better for others for certain distribution plans.

Items like magnets and calendars are flat and lightweight. These types of items are perfect for direct mail campaigns.

Save your bulkier items like t-shirts and tumblers for trade shows. Potential customers then have access to a tote bag to carry their goodies around in.

Expensive items like watches or are fragile like wine bottles or glasses are best given in person.

Try saving the expensive items for charity events or company parties.

Keep Reading

Running a business is much easier when you have the right information. Our blog is dedicated to helping people take bold steps in their life.

To learn more about stepping out of your comfort zone and living your best life, keep coming back to read our blog.

Why Use Professional PPC Management!

By Leave a Comment

If you’ve made the decision to invest some of your business’ available funds in PPC campaigns, it’s well worth getting professional PPC management, in order to manage your PPC campaigns. To discover, why it’s well worth handing over the responsibility of your business’

Why use professional PPC management:

  1. PPC management is a task best left to professionals

While you may be tempted to assign the responsibility of managing your business’ PPC campaigns to one of your staff members, learning how to effectively run a PPC campaign is a steep learning curve, so it may a far more cost-effective decision to hire a freelance PPC manager. Which will leave your employee free to concentrate on tasks which they are skilled at completing.

  1. You’ll be able to pay the lowest price per click as possible

If you hire a well-established PPC management firm, due to the volume of work which their business attracts, they’ll be able to ensure that your business pays the lowest price per click as possible. So if you don’t want to overpay individuals per click and waste valuable resources, which could be used in other sectors of your business, it’s well worth hiring a reputable PPC management firm.

  1. If you hire a PPC management firm, they’ll handle paying all of the freelancers who click on your advertisements

If you’re unsure of how to go about paying all the individuals who spend some of their free time clicking on your business’ ads, it’s well worth hiring a PPC management firm as they’ll be able to pay all of the individuals who click on your ads for you. Which will decrease the number of tasks which you’ll be responsible for completing.

  1. A PPC management firm can find workers for you

If you don’t know how to go about finding freelance workers to click on your PPC advertisements, your best option is to use a PPC management firm. As their experts will be able to organize hundreds or even thousands of users to click on your PPC advertisements.

As an added advantage, a PPC management firm can ensure that the clicks on your advertisements are spread out so that the hits to your website appear organic. As the last thing you need is for a search engine such as Google to become wary of your website’s new found fame.

So if you’re not sure of how to ensure that all of your websites’ hits seem natural and organic, it’s well worth leaving the management of your future PPC marketing campaigns to a trusted PPC manager.

  1. A PPC manager will be able to complete keyword research for your business

If you don’t have the time or energy to complete essential keyword research for your business‘ future PPC campaigns, it’s well worth hiring a dedicated PPC manager who can complete your business’ essential keyword research on your business’ behalf.

In conclusion, if you’re committed to driving traffic to your website and increasing your website’s sales by utilizing PPC campaigns, it’s crucial to hire an experienced PPC manager.

Innovation Labs and Their Link to Business Growth

By Leave a Comment

Innovation is absolutely essential to the growth of any organization. It was Albert Einstein himself who said that anyone who continue to do what they have always done will never get anything other than what they already have. Innovation is also not something only large organizations need to think about or even have the capacity to do. While it is certainly true that those with the bigger budgets also have the bigger innovation labs, some of which are actually purpose-built, even the smallest organization in the world can have a semblance of an innovation lab.In fact, all organizations must focus on this.

Innovation Labs Are Key to the Success of an Organization

Businesses with huge budgets sometimes have a full innovation department or even separate innovation labs. Google is an example of this, but so is Microsoft, IBM, Facebook, and so on. It is certainly true that the small mom and pop store down the road does not have the capacity to build a department of this size or to invest as much money into developing ideas that are most likely going to be pipe dreams. However, every business can put at least some time aside for people to come together and think innovatively, coming up with new ideas that can drive the organization forward.  whether this is done in a separate building somewhere and Silicon Valley or around a desk in a corner shop makes no difference.

All organizations, no matter what size they are, should make innovation of priority. Running innovation workshops is an ideal way to do this. Unfortunately, in corporate environments, there is still a lack of space and place for innovation. The main resource that has to be allocated however, is time. People need to have time outside of their regular workload to come up with ideas, and this is not something that should be done as an afterthought. It is something that will actually drive the success of the business as a whole. That is worth making time for.

It is heartening to see that more and more companies are now taking part in innovation training. This shows that they truly are interested in the potential and the creativity that each of their employees can bring. It recognizes that individuals have their own sets of competencies, processes, talents, knowledge, and more. By focusing on innovation, a business starts to take a holistic approach towards generating more profits. It also starts to develop a true vision in terms of where the business wants to go and how it will get there.

Innovation is difficult. Embracing innovation itself is already a form of innovation. It means changing an existing culture and that is perhaps the most difficult thing to do in any business. Again, it doesn’t matter how old that business is, what size it is, what its budget is, or where it ranks on the Fortune 500 list. Doing things differently, which is what innovation is, is always difficult. But equally, it is an absolute necessity.

Why charity is important for your business

By 4 Comments

If you’re a business owner who is interested in discovering some of the major benefits of donating to charity on a regular basis, Yigang Tang believes to discover why charity is important for your business.

Why Charity is Important for Your Business:

  1. Choosing to donate to charity can drastically increase your employees’ morale

One reason why it’s well worth considering donating to charity is that your employees’ morale and productivity levels should increase as a result of your employees being proud of your company for choosing to donate to charity! As most employees are far more likely to work hard for a business, which they believe is guided by high moral standards and ethics over a business which only cares about profits.

  1. Donating to charity can be an excellent marketing opportunity for your business

While the primary aim of donating to charity should always be to make a difference in the world, there’s absolutely no harm in using your business’ philanthropy in order to market your business to your target audience!

One way to donate to a worthy charity and to publicize your business at the same time is to sponsor an event which raises funds for your chosen charity. As an example, if your business sponsors a charity gala, your business’ name will garner plenty of attention and may even be publicized on major news websites as well as in local newspapers.

  1. Your business may be eligible for tax deductions if your business chooses to donate to charity

Did you know that your business may be eligible for major tax deductions if your business chooses to sponsor charity events or decides to become a major sponsor of a charitable organization? While you may not want to donate to charity, with the sole intention of qualifying for lucrative tax deductions, qualifying for tax deductions is a great bonus, if you choose to donate to charity.

  1. Owning a business puts you in a great position to make a substantial impact on the world

No matter whether you’re the proud owner of a small start-up business or you’re the owner of a well-established business which operates in several countries, you have a unique opportunity to give back to society and to make a positive impact on the world. So it’s well worth choosing to support charities which you’re actually interested in helping.

  1. Donating to charity will give you a fantastic opportunity to support your business’ local community

While many businesses choose to donate money to high profile organizations such as the Red Cross or Unicef, you can also choose to donate money to local charities, which will help transform your local community. So if you have your sights set on donating a significant amount of money to charity, it’s well worth looking close to home, as well as donating to major charitable organizations!

So if you’re a business owner who has been contemplating donating to charity in order to make a difference in the world and to promote your business, it’s well worth beginning to donate money to charity.

How to invest in a business

By 1 Comment

Source

Before investing your savings into a business venture, Marc Leder believes it pays to conduct due diligence and to take the necessary steps to make sure that the business which you plan to invest money into is a viable business, which is likely to provide you with a decent return on your investment.

How to invest in a business:

  1. Decide whether you can commit to launching and operating your own business

The first critical decision you’ll have to make is whether to launch your very own business or whether to invest in an existing business. If you don’t have the necessary capital and time to invest into a new business, you may be better off investing in a business which has already launched. As your only responsibility will be to inject money into your chosen business.

However, if you’re willing to invest a lot of time, money and energy into your own business, you may be able to set up a business which will earn you passive income for the rest of your life.

  1. Try to figure out your initial operating costs of investing in a business

If you choose to launch your own startup business, one of your very first goals should be to work out your initial operating costs. Costs which you may need to factor in include the cost of purchase or renting a storefront and paying manufacturers to create your first batch of products.

If you choose to invest a private company, you will still incur investment related costs such as paying an investment company to purchase stocks on your behalf.

  1. If you choose to found your own company, decide how you plan to fund your business

While it’s highly likely that you’ll invest a great deal of your savings into your startup, you may require a great deal more capital, in order to get your business off the ground. So you may have to consider taking out a business loan or opting to sell a small portion of your business, in exchange for much-needed capital.

  1. Make sure that the business you choose to invest in has a sound, calculated business plan

Whether you need to decide whether or not to turn your plans for a business into a reality or you’re looking to sink cash into someone else’s business, make sure that the business in question has a sound business plan, which shows you exactly how the business will make a profit within the first six months of operation.

Never make the mistake of sinking your savings into a business, which doesn’t have a well thought out business plan as chances are high that you’ll lose all of your initial investment!

  1. Consider meeting with a financial advisor

It’s well worth meeting with a financial advisor, you’ll be able to look over your investment plans, to tell you whether or not they are viable.

Before you invest your money into a business venture which you’re excited about, simply refer back to this handy guide in order to decide whether or not you should go through with your investment.

What is Vacuum Excavation?

By 1 Comment

Source

A lot of people are unfamiliar with the process known as vacuum extraction.  It is a recent technological advance that has allowed for workers to dig safely, but without affecting existing structures.  This means that workers can use this device to dig without damaging buried pipes or cable lines, for example.  Also known as a “soft dig”, the vacuum excavation process is much safer than hand digging, as it uses water to loosen soil, then a vacuum to remove the wet soil.

In this manner, vacuum excavation uses only air and water to loosen soil, and then suck it into a debris tank.  As you can imagine, this is a revolutionary process that many have considered extremely safe and environmentally conscious.  Vacuum excavation is especially cheap when one takes into consideration the costs that injuries can mean for a company.

The applications are endless, whether one chooses to use an air excavator or a hydro excavator.  It has been used and will continue to be used for countless residential and commercial purposes and is the perfect choice for specific incidents such as storm drain cleanout.  Many excavators even offer filtration systems to ensure that the air is clean so that maintenance isn’t excessive.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that vacuum excavation is without its own hazards.  Whether it’s not following procedure, or not wearing the right protective equipment, there is the possibility of injury.  However, it should be noted that this device can greatly reduce any risk of injury when used properly.

Although the process uses air and water, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t an extremely effective process.  Specifically, high pressure water can cut through skin, wood, clothing, and even metal.  This is something that many people may not actually know but is the kind of technology that allows vacuum excavation to affect the soil enough to get the job done – see here, for example: http://adpgroupltd.com/vacuum-excavation/. Vacuum excavation isn’t some specialized process – it should work for almost any soil, and the only time it may not completely operate is when you are dealing with solid rock.  Even then, vacuum excavation can still work, but might take longer than usual, which of course means it could be more expensive and less safe, which is a combination no company often wants to deal with.  The point is that air and water can go a long way towards making progress, which is remarkable considering the alternatives such as hand-digging, or drilling.  In fact, some contractors have even noted that the process has worked on frozen soil, although it might not be regularly recommended by any means.

Vacuum excavation leads to safer workers with a higher morale, often because they aren’t absolutely exhausted after a day’s worth of digging.  It’s these kinds of benefits that often lead to vacuum excavation devices paying for themselves, over time.  The fact that the entire process is non-conductive is an added safety aspect, which of course can save even more time and money.  There is a great possibility that vacuum excavation may help your project get done more efficiently than previously thought.