Michael Levitt's Blog, page 33

It's Time To Bring People Back To The Office

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Are you eager to bring people back into the office to work in your business? This might be easier said than done as a lot of people have grown accustomed to working from home. Here are some of the key steps that you can take.

Be Flexible 

First, you need to make sure that you are providing a high level of flexibility to your business team. This is one of the greatest benefits that people can take advantage of by freelancing or by working in a different company from your own. To improve levels of flexibility, you should think about looking at the work hours that you are providing to your team members. You might also want to think about making the office space itself more flexible. You can do this by adding key features such as sit-stand desks. 

Put Safety Measures In Place

It’s important to put the right safety features in place if you want people to return to the office. One of the big benefits of working from home is that people don’t need to be around others in a shared space. This is important, particularly when you consider that a large number of individuals are still worried and nervous about COVID-19. There are various steps you can take to provide a safer space for your team. For instance, you can think about using sneeze guards for desk environments. These can be used in any area where people are sharing a workspace whether that’s a school or a typical company office. 

Make It More Comfortable

Next, you should explore how to guarantee that people in your office are going to be more comfortable overall. If you look at the latest reports, you’ll see that the most common injury in American offices today is RSI or repetitive strain injury. This is caused by people working for long hours in the same position, often with the wrong posture. You can avoid problems here by investing in ergonomic furniture whether that’s office chairs or keyboards or other smaller pieces of equipment. 

Listen To Their Feedback

Finally, it’s highly likely that your team members have their own ideas of things that they want to see or need to return to the typical office space. As such, you just need to listen to the feedback they provide. If you’re wondering how to get responses like this, then you may want to think about embracing an open-door policy. Alternatively, you could think about sending out a quick questionnaire to get the right feedback from your team overall. By showing your team that you are listening, you can guarantee that they feel like a more significant part of your business model, rather than simply another cog in the machine. 

We hope this helps you understand some of the key steps that you can take to bring your team members back to the office. By exploring these possibilities, you can ensure that a space that may be costing you a fortune and adding to your business budget isn’t going to waste.

Must-Have Equipment You Need at a Bakery

Before you open your bakery, you must have a solid plan for how you’ll run it. This plan involves investing in equipment that makes your work easier, keeping your bakery organized, and making it a comfortable place. If your bakery has well-organized rows of pastries and cakes under lit display shelves, this display will attract customers. But you wouldn’t be able to make these goods without the right equipment! To help you run a successful bakery, we’ve listed some must-have equipment you need at a bakery.

Oven

An oven is practically the most important piece of equipment you can have in a bakery—after all, you can’t run a bakery without it. However, not just any old oven will do. When it comes to ovens, make sure to invest in a quality one that bakes at different temperatures consistently. You don’t want an oven where you’re never sure if your pastries are baking well.

Food Processor

Even if you like doing things the old-fashioned way, a food processor is a must-have piece of equipment if you’d like to automate the processes in your modern bakery. You don’t have to shave chocolate or crush nuts by hand, as a food processor can tackle these tasks in seconds. Its sharp blades slice the butter into the dough precisely without melting it.

Dough Mixers

In baking, you must evenly smooth and texture every product. For this to happen, you must use quality flour and mix the dough thoroughly, and dough mixers do this best. You can opt for planetary mixers, which can mix batter, make a cream, whisk eggs, shred vegetables, and mash potatoes. Spiral mixers that can mix large quantities of dough. These mixers also make it easier to prepare creams, sauces, and meringues for topping your finished products.

Dough Sheeters

Dividing and molding the dough to suit the desired shape of different products requires precision—this is where dough dividers, dough molders, and dough sheeters come in. Choose a dough divider that is durable and energy-saving. Also, make sure it doesn’t stress or warm the dough.

Dough molders come in different types and make preparing buns, bread, and rusk easier. Dough sheeters are another essential piece of equipment you need in your bakery. They take a ball of dough and level it out to the required thickness and size. When making pastries and pizzas, it provides consistency in dough size and thickness. You can find them in manual and automatic form.

Now you know the must-have equipment you need at a bakery if you’d like to increase efficiency and production in your establishment.

Securing Funding For Your Business Doesn't Have To Be A Nightmare

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Securing funding for your business doesn’t have to be a nightmare. There are a lot of ways to catch the attention of investors, some of them easier to achieve than others. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you can do in order to secure funding for your company, proving that it doesn’t have to be a nightmare to achieve. Keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.

Make Your Business Stand Out

The first thing that you need to think about is how you can make your business stand out from all the rest. If you are heading to a tradeshow, then you want to make sure that you have a high-quality tradeshow banner to grab the attention of those who are walking by. The more colorful, eye-catching and enticing you make it, the more likely people are to stop by and at least see what you are all about.

Even if you aren’t exactly what they would normally invest in, if you can catch their eye and you can ensure that you provide a good sales pitch, this is what is going to matter the most. Some people will be willing to take a risk on you.

Come Up With A Good Idea

The next thing that we are going to mention is that you should spend your time coming up with a good idea. If you are trying to offer another generic product or service, or something that a lot of other people are offering, why would someone want to invest in your business? What makes it different from all of the others? If you are going to offer the same thing that a bunch of people are already offering, then you need to make sure you can explain why your business is different.

If you can do this, you are more likely to get your funding than if you can’t do this. Every business needs a unique selling point, and you are no exception.

Make Connections In The Business World

Finally, you can make connections in the business world who can help you secure investors. Having friends in high places is fantastic because most of them know the other people high up in the industry. Helping you secure funding might be super easy for them, and the more people that you know the higher the chance that one of them is willing to help you. Connections are everything in business, so you need as many as you possibly can.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you can do to secure funding for your business. The last thing that you want is to put no real effort into this, and then realize that this means you won’t be able to launch your business. You need money to make money, and that means doing everything you can to secure the funding that you need. We wish you the very best of luck.

How To Stir Creativity Amongst Your Employees

Does your business rely on your employees being creative and innovative? Then it’s in your interest to help kickstart their artistic minds! Learn how to stir creativity amongst your employees in your workspace with these simple additions!

Art Wall

A trendy décor accent that you’ll find in many office spaces is an art wall. These walls encourage creativity amongst employees. We’re not talking about a wall that people can pin art pieces on, but an actual wall designed to be drawn and written on so the wall itself becomes art.

You can go with a chalkboard or whiteboard wall, but either way, you’re giving your employees a blank canvas to do with whatever they want. It provides the people in the office a chance to take a quick break and draw a fun doodle or write an encouraging note. Getting to see others draw and write will energize the creativity of the office.

Creative Workshop

If you want to go a step further, you can give your employees a separate creative workshop filled with art and craft materials they can use to bolster their innovation. Some offices use a repurposed shipping container as a detached workshop for the office, and there are many other ways your business can use a container to benefit your employees.

Cultivate a Garden

Seeing something beautiful grow and flourish is an excellent way to get your creative juices flowing. Consider starting a communal garden for your office that lets people take their minds off work for a few minutes and nurture something for growth.

The added green and color will make your office feel more vibrant and comfortable, making workers enjoy their time there and coming into work more.

Space Strictly for Fun

We all want to work hard, but pushing our mental capacity to the limit each day can lead to burnout. Having an extra space or room available exclusively for having some fun, playing a game, or just relaxing can do wonders for clearing your mind.

We’re not talking about a break room where people eat lunch, but a separate room that’s only for taking your mind off work for a few minutes so when employees return to duties, they feel refreshed. A ping pong table or foosball table is a trendy pick for many offices.

Now that we’ve shown you how to stir creativity amongst your employees, which strategy will you choose? A creative workshop or game room? Whichever way you decide, we’re sure you’ll see the benefits of a more creative workspace!

How Small Manufacturing Companies Can Compete

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Running a manufacturing company can be particularly difficult if you are working in an area where there is a lot of competition. Big companies tend to have more resources, bigger budgets, and a whole lot of brand recognition which makes it difficult for smaller companies to forge their own path. However, it is not impossible to do so.

If you run a small manufacturing company, and you want to compete with the big boys, here are a few things that can help you with that: 

Making a great product

Whether you are manufacturing dpms upper parts for guns or circuit boards for computers, one thing that can really help you to compete with the big boys is ensuring that you make the highest quality products possible. 

When your product is known for being well made, good at what it does, and long-lasting, you will have no trouble attracting the best customers, and you will be able to charge a premium price. So, even if you aren’t selling the most products by volume, you should be able to forge a successful future for your company. 

Focus on customer service

When you’re a small manufacturing company, you need to focus on what you can offer the customer that the bigger companies in your niche cannot. Customer service is an easy win in this instance. 

Big corporations tend to focus more on manufacturing as many products, as they can, and less on providing a personal touch to their customers. So, if you can focus on having good customer service staff, answering calls and emails quickly, and going above and beyond to provide good service, you can easily find a way to compete.

Invest in the best equipment

Yes, you might be a small firm with a small budget, but if you want to compete with the manufacturing big boys, you need to be as efficient as possible and that means that you need to ensure that you are using the best equipment you can afford.

If you are using old equipment, it is likely to malfunction more often and work more slowly, which means you will struggle to compete, but by upgrading you can more easily keep the train rolling, so to speak., produce a lot of products and satisfy customer demand. Any investment you make will undoubtedly be worth it.

Think about outsourcing

Outsourcing is a great way to ensure that you can meet increases in demands that might otherwise see your customers going elsewhere while keeping costs as low as possible. It will also enable you to gain access to highly skilled individuals on an ad-hoc basis when you need them the most, which means you can streamline your budget while also ensuring that your company is at the cutting edge of manufacturing in your industry. 

Although competing against large manufacturing firms may be difficult as a small operation, it is definitely possible to do so if you are determined, and the above will help you to get started with that. 

How to Put a Spring in Your Employees' Steps

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When it comes to the workforce, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to keeping them motivated. What works for one company might not work for another, and what works for one employee might not work for another. However, there are some general tips that can help you put a spring in your employees' steps and keep them productive throughout the year. This blog post will discuss three of those tips and share some examples of how other businesses have used them successfully.

One of the best ways to motivate employees is to set goals for them. These could be individual or team goals, and they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). By setting tangible goals, you give employees something to strive for and help them stay focused on their work.

A great way to set goals is to use a tool like OKR (Objectives and Key Results). This system helps managers create objectives for their team members and track their progress towards those objectives. It can be used in any industry or company size, and it's been shown to increase productivity and employee satisfaction.

#2 Ensure they prioritize their health

It's no secret that employees who are unhealthy are less productive. In fact, studies have shown that workers who don't get enough sleep or exercise are more likely to be absent from work, and they're also more likely to make mistakes when they're on the job. So what can you do to help your employees stay healthy? One option is to offer fitness benefits, like a gym membership or subsidies for fitness classes. 

You could also start a company-wide wellness program with activities like yoga or meditation and find a Bulk wholesale botanicals supplier. And, of course, encouraging employees to take their vacation days is another great way to help them recharge and come back to work feeling refreshed. Another way to promote employee health is by providing health in the office or giving employees access to a standing desk. And, of course, you should always encourage employees to take their vacation days.

#3 Offer Recognition and Incentives

Employees love to be recognized for their accomplishments. A simple "thank you" can go a long way, but sometimes a little extra incentive is needed. That's where rewards come in.

There are a number of different types of rewards you can offer employees, including financial bonuses, gift cards, time off, and public recognition. 

In addition, some businesses also give their employees the chance to win prizes or have fun team-building activities. Whatever type of reward you choose, make sure it's something your employees will value. And remember to keep track of what they want so you can continue to motivate them throughout the year.

#4 Encourage Learning and Development

Employees who feel like they're stuck in a rut are less likely to be motivated at work. That's why it's important to encourage learning and development opportunities for your employees.

One way to do this is by offering tuition reimbursement for employees who want to further their education. You could also provide on-the-job training or cross-training so employees can learn new skills. And, of course, you should always encourage employees to attend industry conferences or take advantage of online learning resources.

In conclusion, there are a number of different ways to put a spring in your employees' steps and keep them motivated throughout the year. By setting goals, providing recognition and incentives, encouraging learning and development, and promoting employee health, you can help your team stay productive and happy.

How To Develop an Effective Hiring Process for Your Company

If you want to attract the best talent, you'll need to refine your hiring process. What's recruitment like at your company right now? Do you wind up with competent team players or mismatched professionals that quit in a few months? If your answer is the latter, that's a telltale sign you have a flawed hiring process.

The good news is you can turn that around by using hiring best practices. With these methods, you can attract stellar employees and retain them for the long haul. If you want to improve your recruitment strategy, you're in the right place. Here are our tips on how to develop an effective hiring process for your company.

Start an Employee Referral Program

Your employees likely know other qualified professionals that could work at your company. But if you don't have a referral program, they lack the incentive to let them know about an opening. That's why employee referral programs are so effective. Offer an attractive monetary reward for any employee who refers a qualified prospect.

That will motivate your staff to notify their colleagues about your open positions. You'll expand your talent pool network by starting an employee referral program.

Research Your Affirmative Action Requirements

By law, certain businesses must have affirmative action plans. This ensures that you have a workplace free of discrimination. Do some research to determine whether you need an affirmative action plan for your company. Implementing one will help you diversify your workforce and widen your talent pool.

Make Decisions Based on Data

Do you have a data analytics system? If you don't, then you'll want to invest in one as soon as you can. Analytics software lets you see how many people applied, which candidates are best, and more. You'll be able to whittle down your list to the strongest and most qualified candidates.

Make Use of Automation

Another handy piece of software is an applicant tracking system (ATS). It enables you to automate several essential hiring processes. With an ATS, you can automate job postings to various job boards. You can also track each candidate to see when they applied.

Key Takeaways

By now, you should have a better idea of how to develop an effective hiring process for your company. Recruitment is one of the most significant factors in determining your company’s success. If you don't attract and retain top-tier talent, all the best employees will work for your competitors.

Managing A Fleet Comes With A Range Of Expenses

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Managing a fleet is not as simple as it looks. If you have got a whole fleet of vehicles, they could all be on the road at the same time, and not only is this expensive, but if something goes wrong it can be a nightmare. Ideally, you need to manage your fleet tightly so that you know that you are covered no matter what. One of the things that you need to be thinking about though is the expense behind a fleet, and this is what we’re going to be looking at today. Keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.

Insurance

The first thing that we are going to be thinking about is insurance. It’s true that you may be able to get a discount on this due to the fact that you will be insuring multiple vehicles with the same company, but it’s still an expensive thing to do. Depending on how many vehicles you have, you may be paying what seems like a ridiculous amount in insurance. You do need to remember though that the type of vehicle you own is also going to impact how much insurance you pay. Bigger vehicles cost more money to insure, so if you have trucks or vans, be sure you’re getting specific insurance for these kinds of vehicles.

Sorting An Accident

If an accident happens, this could be an absolute nightmare for you. Not only are you going to be worried about your driver and the other party involved, but if the car is damaged that is going to cost you more money. Depending on whose fault it was you may have to hire a truck accident lawyer to deal with this which is even more expensive than paying the insurance and any repairs if the insurance won’t cover it for any reason.

Sorting an accident can be a complicated process that involves multiple things happening at the same time. Try to stay calm and keep your head about you so that you can get through it without issue.

Fuel

The final thing that we are going to mention is fuel. Fuel is already expensive and it looks like the price is only rising. You don’t have to pay for fuel for one vehicle, but multiple and this can get expensive really quickly. Make sure that all of your drivers are handing in receipts for fuel so that you can check that it all matches the account that the money goes out of.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the expenses that come with managing a fleet. It’s essentially the same as owning a personal car, but there are often more hoops to jump through, and you are not only attempting to manage a single-vehicle. It’s important that you keep the expenses at a manageable level as often as you can, as the last thing that you need is to be going over budget. We wish you the very best of luck and hope that this helps.

Dodge The Downtime Disaster In Your Business

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When you are running your business, you need to make sure that you are considering the issues that could cause you to stagger and ultimately fail on the market. One of the greatest concerns must always be downtime. Downtime can cripple your business and cause your finances to take a hit. So, let’s explore this issue in more detail and discover the right steps that you can take to avoid a disaster scenario here.

Why is Downtime Dangerous?

First, it’s important to understand some of the key reasons why downtime can be dangerous in your business model. The first is the cost. Depending on what systems stop working and your business model, downtime could cost your business thousands in sales every day you are unable to operate effectively on the market. That’s likely thousands that you don’t have to spare. This means that any downtime is always going to put additional pressure on your business model. This is one of the reasons why you want to avoid this as much as possible.

Another issue is the impact it can have on the perception of your business. For instance, you might find that customers turn away from your company because while it’s offline they forget that it exists. If your business experiences significant downtime, then it will also cause customers to call into question whether you can deliver the service and support that they want. 

Now that we know why downtime is dangerous in your business, let’s look at some of the key steps that you can take to ensure that it doesn’t become an issue. 

Backup Power Solutions 

It is possible that your business goes down for a minor reason. For instance, you might find that the problem is due to a power outage caused by a storm or extended period of bad weather. You might think that there’s no way to dodge an issue like this, but that’s not quite true. One of the ways that you can deal with this problem is by making sure that you do invest in a backup power supply. The right backup solution will mean that you can instantly switch to the secondary power supply, effectively dodging any downtime at all in your business model.

Disaster Recovery Plan 

There will always be critical systems that are running in the background of your business. If you don’t keep these systems running, then your business will be weakened on the market. To avoid an issue here, you should make sure that you do have a disaster recovery plan in place. Often run and managed by an IT company, a disaster recovery plan is often going to be the difference between minutes and months of downtime. 

When you are choosing the right disaster recovery solution, make sure that you do find a business that you can trust. You need to guarantee that you choose a company that won’t let you down at the worst possible moment.

24/7 Support

As well as exploring disaster recovery solutions, you might also want to think about investing in services that offer 24/7 support. This will be crucial for critical systems that are necessary to keep the lights on in your business. For instance, you might explore the uses of an IoT SIM card. If you decide to invest in a solution like this, 24/7 support will mean that you can quickly correct any issue that you might have. This will be important for ensuring that you can always remain connected to customers and clients. Particularly in business models that depend on call handling. 

Security Requirements 

Finally, you should think about the security requirements that must be considered to ensure that you don’t run into a downtime disaster with your business. If your company does experience significant downtime, then it’s possible it’s caused by a hack on your company. Hacks are often easy to avoid. You just need to make sure that you do choose the right antivirus software and security solutions. The best solution will check for signs of a hack and correct an issue before it becomes a massive concern in your company. 

As you can see, there are numerous reasons why downtime is dangerous for your business. The good news is that there are clear steps that you can and should take to protect your company. In doing so, you can make sure that your business isn’t put in jeopardy in the long or the short term. Instead, you will be able to keep your business on the right track.

The Best Ways To Make Your Retail Store Stand Out

If you’re planning on starting a new retail business, you’ll need to find ways to distinguish yourself from others. After all, there are plenty of retail stores out there, and they probably sell similar products. The challenge, then, is convincing customers that they should shop at your store above all others.

Creating a unique brand is one of the most reliable ways to make it in the business world. To do so, you not only need great products, but you need to stand out. That way, customers won’t help but notice your store. These are a few of the best ways to make your retail store stand out.

Keep Up With the Trends

The last thing you want people to view your store as is outdated. Don’t expect many people to care if you’re using old in-store displays and tactics. Instead, consumers crave the latest and greatest.

It would help if you kept up with seasonal trends and pop culture. Is there a big TV show or movie that’s trendy at the moment? If so, try to find a way to incorporate it into your store displays. You could even do a pop culture-themed pop-up shop.

Customers appreciate brands that are savvy and know what’s hot. It shows that you care about your business and staying current.

Use Eye-Grabbing Digital Signage

If you want to stand out from the crowd, try using digital displays instead of static ones. Why’s that? Because digital signage does a fantastic job of standing out. With a digital sign, you can create displays that move, animate, and more. These will capture a lot more attention than a sign written in chalk.

Digital signs grant you the ability to interact with your customers as well. Some signs use cameras and motion sensors to detect when someone is nearby. When they do, they change their message to entice the customer. If a pedestrian passes by a sign and it changes as soon as they do, they’re far more likely to notice.

Re-Engage With Customers

You need to take care of your existing customer base as well. A great way to do this is to use re-engagement text messages or emails. These are automated messages that let customers know that you miss them. That way, you will enjoy lots of repeat business and will start building your brand. It’s also a great way to get the word out about special promotions at your store.

Key Takeaways

By now, you should have a better understanding of how to make your retail store stand out. It’s a highly competitive industry, so you need to stay one step ahead of the competition. By using the latest trends, eye-grabbing signage, and re-engagement messages, you’ll stand out for sure.