Michael Levitt's Blog, page 79

4 Ways to Reduce Your Business Energy Costs

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The energy cost for your business is something that you should be thinking about constantly. If your business is like many others out there, then electricity is one of the highest utility bills you have.

 In order to save money that you can use for other areas of your business, you will need to find a way to reduce energy costs. Thankfully, there are many ways that you can efficiently reduce energy costs and save money for your business. 

Here is a look at some of the best ways you can save energy for your business. 

Energy-efficient Equipment

Using energy-efficient equipment is one of the first steps you can make to start reducing your electricity bill for your business. Always check to see that any equipment that you buy is energy star rated. 

If you have older equipment you might want to consider replacing them with one that has an energy star. Getting new equipment is costly in the beginning but in the end, you will save a lot more money than you would have if you had kept the old equipment. 

Consider selling them to somebody who may want them so that you can at least make a small profit from them before reinvesting in energy star equipment. 

Conduct an Energy Audit

Many electrical companies will give you a free electrical audit if you ask them. When you get to the electrical audit you will be able to determine the peak times when electricity is being used in your office. 

Once you know this, your next step is to reduce these times. Many people do this by staggering work hours and start times. You may even consider running certain office equipment that burns a lot of energy only during specific hours in order to save on energy.

Go Solar

One of the things you should definitely be considering is going solar if you want to save on your electricity bill for your business. Installing solar panels can be expensive especially if you are a small business but they are worth the investment if you can afford them.

If you cannot afford to have a solar system on your own you might want to consider using community solar. There are many places where community solar is now popping up and there is often community solar for businesses.  This is a great way to get the benefits of solar power without having to make a huge investment.

Program Your Thermostat Wisely

You will not need heat in the office or to keep it cool when everyone has gone home. Even if you have a team that works at different hours, there is still likely to be many off-hours. 

Program your thermostat so that there is no heating or cooling taking place at these times. This will severely reduce your electricity bill.

As you can see there are many ways that you can save on energy costs but you have to be cognizant of how you are using electricity. Once you know then you make a consistent effort to change what causes you to burn excessive energy.

Thinking Of Hiring Professional Office Cleaners? It's Probably Wise!

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When a business looks into office cleaning services, they can keep their business reputation high and their staff happy (and safe). Offices gather dust and grime easily and oftentimes it is time consuming to keep things under control. If you hire a commercial cleaning company to make sure your office space is thorny and wide, you can also take steps to ensure that your staff is also keeping hygienic. Proven cleaning methods help you clean an office building to the satisfaction of your clients. In addition to cleaning, you should also ensure your staff promote it too.

By maintaining the order of all your office space

You can ensure your workplace is safe by being free from germs, bacteria, viruses and dust. Keep antiseptic wipes near your desktop so that your desktop can be wiped quickly - before you clean your phone or fax. The use of the office cleaning administration gives you the opportunity to perform your work in an increasingly competent manner. All work areas are ready for use during cleaning. Quick wiping which can be administered by workers, can help prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses in the workplace and the accumulation of dust and dirt. You should also offer your team hand sanitiser and tissues etc so that they are less likely to spread germs if they sneeze, cough. If you want to take advantage of your investment in office and cleaning services, you need to choose the right provider for you. You need a team that is reliable, professional and has five star reviews. You don’t want to sink your money into poor service. 

Next time I'm in the office

Ask yourself if service services are doing their part to keep your office in a clean and healthy place to work. Once you know the answer to this question, you are in a much better position to evaluate their work and know exactly what you are paying for. How do I know if my office cleaning is right for me and if so, how much do I pay? It is not really wise to choose a person or organization that does office cleaning and requires only a very small fee, as their work may reflect that price. Therefore it is important to get many quotes in and research them next time you are in your office space. Weigh up just how much needs to be done, and if you want them to extend the cleaning to outside - afterall a messy looking entrance is not attractive.

Keeping the outside spic and span

We just touched the outside. You may find rubbish bags collecting and you may need to clean outside the area and even remove spray paint. They will disinfect certain areas, wipe floors, clean doors and windows, empty trash and clean doors and windows, to name a few. If so, order them and make sure the workplace is clean. Afterall you want your workers and your clients to know that you’re putting time and effort into your business. 

Why Cultivating Your Business Premises is So Important

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In a world of always-online services, just-in-time delivery, and remote work, it can seem as though cultivating a business office or premises is less important than ever. That’s not true in the slightest, of course, because it’s actually very important to make sure that your business is firing on all cylinders, and there’s perhaps nothing as tangibly consequential to your branding as having a nice office is.

While it’s true that not everyone will visit your office, your staff will, and so it’s important to make sure that no matter how you choose to expand from now in the future, you’ll always have that same standard of excellence you’ve become known for represented in the maintenance and architectural influences of your building.

Of course, renting an office, or not owning property, or running a business on a shoestring budget hardly means you are ‘less worthy’ of operating your best business, but when you are in this position, it’s important to never take that for granted and ensure your business premises is cultivated properly. The benefits of doing so, and some tips in that direction, are laid out below:

Staff Utility Is All

It’s essential to give your staff a confident, competent, interesting place to work. That means ensuring they have the utilities and pride necessary to ensure they want to stick around, that they’re okay with spending a third of their day here for five days of the week. To appreciate this, you might find it worth investing in ergonomic furniture, large branded sections of wall art, and greenery that helps the premises feel natural and cultivate. Of course, cleaning and litter picking plays a huge role in this, too.

Branding Impressions

Your premises is also a mark of your branding, and it can be quite important to keep that in mind. Speaking plainly, if your premises is disheveled from the outside, if the paint is peeling, if moss is growing on your walls, or if your business simply looks dull and indistinguishable, then your staff and visitors feel it. 

Even if they know the real magic happens online thanks to your business offering solely digital services, they feel as if your brand isn’t being properly respected. Even some greenery, investment in pavement and carpet repair, as well as exterior lighting can work wonders for your branding, as can proud signs illustrating that yes, this is your building and you’re happy to be there.

Long-Term Utility

Long-term utility of your business premises is very important and can make a massive difference. For instance, metal composite panels can ensure the longevity of your building while also looking fantastic, modern and uniform from the outside. Utility might also denote using a wall for free advertising space, or perhaps ensuring your windows are large enough and well ventilated enough to ensure comfort even when working in the hot heat of summer.

To this degree, and following this advice, you’ll be cultivating your business premises in the best possible sense.

Good Qualities that Every Good Leader Demonstrates

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A business leader has to be able to motivate a group of people. They also need to be able to work with everyone to achieve a common goal for the company. If you want to make sure that you are a good business leader, or if you want to ensure you are not holding your company back, then this guide should help you to find out everything you need to know.

Curiosity

Great leaders tend to remain curious at every stage of their career. They are always trying to seek out new ideas or even innovative tactics so that the business can be improved. This level of curiosity and willingness can trickle down into the company culture, as the best leaders tend to breed inquisitiveness in employees too.

Self-Assessment

Successful leaders also pause so that they can survey their own strengths and weaknesses. A good leader will always examine their vulnerabilities and they will also look at their shortcomings too. Successful leaders will also continually try and improve, as it helps them to change and adapt to the ever-growing demands of the workplace.

Communication

If you want to be a good leader then you have to make sure that you have an open level of communication with your team. This means that you need to articulate your goals and expectations.  Clear communication is very important for those who have a decentralized workforce. It’s not common for leaders to be responsible for team members who are all across the world. If you want to make sure that you are being the best leader you can, then you need to try and make sure that you forge a strong bond through communication. If you want to be a good leader, it’s a good idea for you to invest in a virtual team building activity for team members across the globe, as it will help you to forge a strong relationship with ease.

Goal setting

One essential part of good leadership would be setting good goals for your company. You need to do this for your team and yourself. At the end of the day, successful entrepreneurs and leaders are way more likely to motivate their teams to do hard work when they are able to articulate how best to achieve the results they want.

Taking Risks

The business world is full of challenges to say the least. Effective leadership often entails knowing when to take risks so that problems can be solved. A good leader will always be willing to try some more unconventional strategies so that they can boost performance or even achieve goals. Risk-taking is not at all the same as being reckless. It’s about taking data and then working out how much risk there is, and if it is worth the reward. This will help you to make the best decisions possible and it will also help you to ensure that you are not taking risks that do not have the potential to pay off big-time in the future.

3 Ways to Differentiate Yourself in the Job Market

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In a 2017 report by the International Labor Organization, it was estimated that the global jobs gap would increase to about 75 million. Fast forward to three years later, and the gap continues to be a worsening concern for employees, employers, and job seekers. Therefore, in a torrid job market like the current one, what does it take to beat the intense competition and differentiate yourself? Some of these strategies are discussed here below.

Be open to new career opportunities

If you work in print media, technological advancement may have stalled your activities over the years. This trend is expected and accepted as over 60% of the world’s population has access to smartphones and can access news on countless portable mobile devices. Therefore, the culture of reading physical newspapers is not as strong as it was a few decades ago. Nearly every industry has seen the great impact that technology continues to have and many are responding accordingly.

Fortunately, this trend opens up new career opportunities for savvy career-focused individuals. As expected, an online newspaper requires a web designer, an app designer, and other technical persons to put it all together. Additionally, that opens up room for online marketers, among others. In effect, being open to new career opportunities means an affinity for flexibility. As systems and strategies change, job opportunities are lost and created, and without a malleable personality, it is almost impossible to differentiate yourself in the job market.

Invest in earning competitive and relevant certifications

Day in day out, the job market requires new skills and qualifications. Aside from the academic certifications that may get you through the door, others will enhance your value. Furthermore, these other certifications can change your employer’s perspective to view you as a valuable employee. Currently, project management certification courses are hot programs in the job market. It opens up a world of opportunities for those looking at upgrading their qualifications.

Furthermore, other in-demand professional qualifications you may find worthwhile include:

Network certifications

Human Resource certifications (SHRM or SPHR)

Google Professional certifications.

Be proactive in professional networking

You don’t expect to sit in your little corner and hope that others will notice you. It takes a great deal of proactive effort to build a solid professional network. Remember that a reliable contact base can propel you to greater heights, especially where your career is concerned. Apart from building your professional network, you will do yourself a lot of good when you source opportunities made available within your network.

On the contrary, being reactive does nothing to your desire to be relevant in the job market. Moreover, all it does is set you up on a sluggish professional path that leads nowhere. Perhaps, being proactive goes against your normal nature, but for the sake of thriving in the job market, it is worth the effort and time committed to it.

In conclusion, it takes dedication, enthusiasm, and a focused personality to go the long haul that may be required to set yourself apart from others. Hopefully, these three points provided you with some relevant insight into what you should do.

Recognizing Different Learning Styles In The Classroom

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If you want to keep your students engaged during lessons, it’s important to recognize their learning styles. Children learn in different ways and unless you employ methods that cater to their learning style, they will struggle to take in information.

When you are able to recognize the different learning styles around the classroom, you can then differentiate the curriculum and introduce fun elements to help different learning styles. These are the main learning styles to look out for in your classroom. 

Visual Learners

Visual learners take in information by seeing things. These children are often very in tune with the facial expressions and body language of parents. They also think in pictures rather than fully formed sentences a lot of the time, and they will struggle to take in information if they don’t have visual aids. When trying to teach visual learners, make use of bright, colorful educational games from sites like ABCmouse, for example. They also respond very well to demonstrations and diagrams. Whenever you are trying to explain things, always make sure that you have visual aids to hold their attention and help them grasp complex concepts. 

Auditory Learners

Auditory learners learn through listening. Written information does not go in very well so they will need verbal explanations too. Auditory learners tend to pick up on information best when they discuss it and talk it through, so group discussions are great. Auditory learners are often distracted by lots of loud noise, so they learn best in a quiet environment where they can clearly hear verbal directions and explanations.

Tactile Learners

Tactile learners are practical learners that prefer to do things with their hands. If you explain information to them or show them visual aids, it won’t always stick. They tend to solidify information by drawing it. They also work well with educational toys that teach them new ideas and concepts through play. Tactile learners like environments where they can explore and use toys and games to learn things themselves, instead of sitting down and having things explained to them. 

Kinesthetic Learners 

Kinesthetic learners are a group that often gets overlooked because teachers don’t always know how to deal with them. They are children that like to learn through movement and they often have trouble sitting still. Just like tactile learners, they like to explore their own learning environment, but they need to be active. Kinesthetic learners respond well to simple games that involve full body movement. Try not to keep them glued to their seat either because they will soon become fidgety and lose concentration. 

Many teachers struggle to engage their students because they don’t recognize that they have different learning styles and they don’t know how to tailor lessons to different styles. If you try to teach a child with a kinesthetic learning style by engaging them in group discussions, for example, you won’t get very far. So, pay attention to your students and try to determine what their learning style is and you will have much more success. 

How To Optimize the Space in Your Warehouse

Running a warehouse is all about utilizing your space correctly and making sure that nothing is wasteful. Every small mistake in your warehouse storage costs you potential profit. That is why you need to know how to optimize the space in your warehouse. Otherwise, you are effectively losing money.

Use Overhead Space

A lot of warehouses do not use the space above their heads, this is a great storage area. Find racking that is capable of utilizing all that space that no one uses. Just be careful that it does not get in the way of any machinery or block any worker’s path.

Find Unused Space

Just like the overhead space, there are usually plenty of areas that warehouses could use as storage space. When you are not taking advantage of these spaces, you are losing potential profits. Just make sure that you leave enough room to access all your storage area, otherwise it is not worth it.

Alter Layout

It can be to just magically find space, but you can create layouts that utilize it more efficiently. You should check through your plans every so often to see if there is a change you can make to give your warehouse more storage area.

Correct Racking

A lot of places use the most basic racking, but there are tons of specialty racks that can handle your products much more efficiently. This can free up a lot of room for extra storage. The trick is knowing the types of pallet racking systems so you can make the best choice.

The Workers

It is easy to just focus on improving your storage systems, but your workers are where your productivity comes from. Do not just pack every space with racking and storage—workers need about 75% of the area to be efficient. Also, look into training so everyone is on the same page and knows the most up-to-date information.

Hopefully, you learned a bit about how to optimize the space in your warehouse. By focusing on updating your layout and equipment, you can maximize your profits greatly.

The Different Types of Sanders for Your Workshop

So, you are looking for a new sanding machine for your workshop. It can be hard to choose the right one when there are so many different tools for the job. That is why we have defined the different types of sanders for your workshop to ensure you don’t make the wrong purchase for your business. All sanders listed below can be used on wood or metal, depending on your specialty. Each sander fulfills a different need, so consider what roles your workshop might be missing and read on for the solution.

Belt Sander

Belt sanders are handheld models. These sanders are very powerful and can make quite a dent in your material if you are not careful when using them. When using the belt sander, let the weight of the tool do the work. Don't add extra pressure, or you’ll risk digging into and ruining your material rather than leaving it with a polished finish.

When using a belt sander on metal materials, be cautious of sparks created from the contact. Keep your workplace free of debris like sawdust, and shavings and always empty the dust bag attached to the sander if your model has one.

Disc Sander

Disc sanders are ideal for tackling bigger sanding projects with more area to cover. The disc sander is great for filing down any burred edges that may result on your metal pieces after the cutting process. This sander is so multi-purpose that it is also suitable for some detailing and finishing work. Overall, the disc sander is a great choice if your workshop needs an all-purpose machine. This machine has so much customization that we recommend you research how to choose the best one for your workshop.

Edge Sander

As the name implies, edge sanders specialize in creating smooth edges for your pieces and materials. Like the disc sander, this tool is also great for eliminating burred edges on your metalworking pieces. Edge sanders are less flexible in their size and design, as most models are stationary floor machines. But, if your shop has the room and budget, edge sanders are great for expediting sanding work.

Spindle Sander

Finally, the spindle sander is great for adding detail to your metal and wood pieces. This sander is situated on top of a built-in surface where your materials rest. This helps ensure the most precision when sanding and results in the most accurate details. You can find spindle sanders that are both movable and stationary, which helps them fill their role on your shop floor without sacrificing space.

We hope this list of the different types of sanders for your workshop has helped narrow down your search for your next sander. The above sanders are all great tools for any wood or metalworking business, but the decision comes down to you and what your shop needs most.

How You Can Avoid Burning Out At Work

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You may have heard of workplace burnout before, but it’s not until you experience it for yourself that you truly understand what it means. As a business leader, you need to do all that you can to ensure that you get the very best for your business, but you need to be able to do it without all of the worry that comes with exhausting yourself. Exhaustion is not a joke, and it can have a negative impact on several aspects of life - including your ability to function day to day in your business.

If you want to avoid failure in your business, you need to reduce the risk of burnout as much as you can. You have to know that you are working hard, but that doesn't mean that you stop taking care of yourself. It’s not negotiable - you must do everything that you can to reduce your chances of feeling so exhausted that you cannot function day to day. Avoiding burnout is important for this, and we’ve got four tips that will help.

Get organized. You need to have a clear idea of what you want from your working life and your personal life. Without this vision, you will fail and that’s not an exaggeration. When you have a plan and you have organization in that plan, you can stay focused and put the right amount of time and energy into each piece rather than overdoing it. 

Ask for help. Whether you add outsourced IT Services to your budget so that it’s one less thing to think about, or you step back and hire managers to help you, you need help. It’s one of the most important things that you can do to avoid burning out. People who can help you will be there for you to take the load off. The mental load of work is just as bad as the physical, so make sure that you have help. 

Start putting yourself first. If you are running a business, you know it’s expected that you are in early and working all the hours you can. While it’s true that getting started in business isn’t always easy, you don't have to make yourself sick as a result. Own your hours and put boundaries on yourself so that you are only working what you should and no more than that.

Seek professional help. You need to be able to sleep and rest, recharge and get your mental health in order if you want to be an effective business leader. So, if you put plans in place to stop your staff from being affected by this, you need to do it for yourself, too. Take a look at what you put in for your staff and do the same thing for yourself.

Burnout happens to staff, but it also happens to business leaders, too. You have to ensure that you are working in a way that makes sense for your mental health and well being to be on point. Otherwise, you’re not effective.

Essential Equipment for Expanding Businesses

For virtually all tech startups and small businesses, one of the long-term goals is to grow your business. However, the last thing you want to happen is to be unable to accommodate your business needs as you increase in size or face rapid expansion while gaining investors. Having the proper infrastructure already secured can help your business meet broadening demands. This is why we’ve put together this guide on the essential equipment for expanding businesses.

Wi-fi Routers

Almost any form of business, from restaurants to retail, has a critical need for reliable wi-fi. One of the best hardware investments that can ensure you’re not only meeting but exceeding your internet demands is a router. A router is vital for the fast, effective, and secure connection of multiple networks and internet traffic in your business building. In recent years, the quality of routers has improved with many dual and triple-band routers that enable fast internet for numerous networks. These routers are helpful if you operate a company where consumers and staff need to connect to individual networks.

Printers

While many business operations have shifted into the digital world, there’s still a need for physical documents and products. If you’re in a business like photography, healthcare, or design, investing in a commercial printer that can keep up with your demands can be crucial. A high-quality, multi-functional printer will allow you to keep services like photocopying, printing, and faxing in-house. While it seems counterintuitive, having a machine capable of quickly faxing documents is still incredibly beneficial.

External Storage

Each year, the volume of data people produce increases dramatically, requiring tremendous hardware storage demands. Some small businesses and startups may have the capital to invest heavily in data storage from the outset, but these costs can be exorbitant for many others and may not fit their budgets. Data centers represent an opportunity for these businesses to rapidly and easily extend their storage capacity to accommodate future workflows. If you run a data center or have onsite data storage, you should consider investing in dependable power distribution equipment to safeguard data.

Mailing Equipment

The ability to do many functions you may usually outsource in-house can save you time and money in the long run. Whether your business sells products or provides services, you will have mailing needs. Investing in essential equipment like stamps, packaging, envelopes, and label printers helps you to design, print, and send different materials without the need to spend money on third-party vendors.

Having to address the demands of a growing business is an excellent problem to have because it means that your business is doing well. However, if you have trouble meeting those demands, they can quickly spiral out of control. Take charge now by getting essential equipment for your expanding business to ensure that you’re ready to meet them head-on.