How Not to Let Your Pop-Up Shop Dream Burst

February 2, 2017February 2, 2017 / nancyrubin

A pop-up shop is a short-term venture that makes temporary use of a physical space in order to create a long term, lasting impression with potential customers, but if you’re already thinking about running a pop-up, then you probably already knew that.

If you haven’t already considered it, then are a number of reasons why you should. A pop-up shop allows your business to communicate with a larger audience and make them aware of your brand’s promise and everything that offer. It is a highly engaging and immersive way of marketing and selling a business, and it beats sitting in the office all day marketing online (although that is crucial in this day and age) or sitting on the telephone. If it is your plan to set up a pop-up venture, or if you haven’t considered it all, make sure to check the hints and tips below to make that when, or if, you do it, the idea doesn’t burst.

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Use flags and banners

An interesting way of grabbing the attention of the passing public is by utilising flags and banners, those if which found at selbys.net. This is a marketing and advertising option that differs from the run-of-the-mill use of billboards for promotion as it’s something a bit different, and people like different. Different is more likely to catch the eye of the general public.

Hand out your information personally

Going old school by handing out flyers and posters is a way to personally ensure that the general public are getting your information. Of course, they may just scrunch up your flyer and throw it in the bin as soon as your back is turned, but at least you know the information got to them in the first place. This strategy is most effective for businesses that are heavily involved with the local area and are oriented around it.

But don’t become intrusive

Before setting up a pop-up, however, you must be aware of everything that you will be taking on. Firstly, you have to keep on the right side of the law. When being in such an immersive and communal environment, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and become a bit too intrusive. Retaining a distance from prospective customers, knowing who should and should not approach and always knowing when you’re beat are just some of the way that you can remain as far away from the boundaries as possible.

Important points to remember

Remember, it is still a business, and should be treated as such. This means no slacking off in the nearby coffee shop (or pub), and no finishing early; you wouldn’t do that in an office, so why do it here. Also, do not even attempt a pop-up venture if you have difficulty speaking to people. If you haven’t got the courage to approach somebody and try to sell them your product, then unfortunately, this idea just isn’t for you.

Pop-ups are a great and fun idea when it comes to business. Make sure to click here for more information on setting up a pop-up.

Keeping Your Business On The Right Side Of The Law

January 31, 2017January 31, 2017 / nancyrubin / 2 Comments

Any business that wants to stay in business for as long as possible needs to think about how to legally protect itself. If you are a business owner, this is something that you might want to learn about as early on as possible after you set up the business. Legally protecting your business ensures that no disaster can befall the business, and you would be surprised at just how common they can be for businesses which do not go out of their way to seek protection. There are a number of things that need considering here, and in many ways it is quite a complex issue, so we have put together this post to help you understand what you need to think about. Let’s take a look at the ins and outs of protecting your business from legal issues.

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Protect The individual; Protect The Company

It is often all too easy to forget that a business is made up of individuals. In essence, much of what you need to do to protect your business is really more about protecting the individuals within that business. As long as you are doing that, there should be no problem. It is particularly important that you protect those individuals high up in the company, such as yourself and your fellow management staff. This helps to keep the image of the company positive, something which is important for all businesses. So if you or a colleague have trouble with the law, ensure they have a decent lawyer on their side. And don’t forget to look for a lawyer who will deal with their type of case. For example, Scheiner Law Group will defend against wrongful DWI, so they might be your option for that type of accusal.

Know The Regulations – And Stick To Them

There are all manner of legal regulations and red tape which a business needs to adhere to. Making sure that you do is bound to help in the long run, as a business which remains within the law at all times is always more safe in the eyes of the law. If you are unsure about whether or not your business is remaining legal, then it is always best to check. There are many ways to accidentally skirt the law, and it is definitely in your interest not to do that, so make sure you always check with the experts on all matters which might have legal restriction.

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Patenting & Other Methods

The other form of legal protection is in the protection of your business’ ideas and other assets. There are many ways that you can use the law to protect your intangible assets, and it is worth getting to know those methods as well as possible. The most popular and one of the most effective of these methods is patenting, for obvious reasons. Patenting an idea protects your business in that it stops other businesses and individuals from using that same idea for their own profit. Clearly, this is a vital thing for any business to engage in, so make sure that yours does.

Is Your Startup Making Any of These Huge Legal Mistakes?

December 5, 2016December 5, 2016 / nancyrubin

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The last thing you need when you’re starting a business is legal trouble. And that’s why you shouldn’t underestimate the task of making sure you’re compliant with the law! Unfortunately, a lot of new business owners make these sorts of mistakes. We’re going to go through some of the most common.

Incorrect legal form

Before you operate as a business, you need to decide what kind of legal form you will be operating as. This is also known as deciding your legal entity type, or your business legal structure. It’s absolutely vital that you get this correct. This isn’t always a safeguard that prevents you from filing your company incorrectly. If you’ve filed as a partnership when you, in fact, operate as a corporation, for example? Then you could find yourself in big legal trouble. Make sure you pick the legal form that works best for your business and keeps you on the right side of the law!

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Dealing with diversity incorrectly

Okay, so you probably know that discriminating against job candidates is against the law. Unfortunately, what a lot of modern employers are doing is trading one form of discrimination for another. In an attempt to increase diversity, many employers are reducing the amount of white males they’re hiring. The end, of course, is a more diverse workplace. A good thing in theory, right? But hold on – what you just did was discrimination! You should be hiring people based on merit alone.

Not treating safety as a priority

You may be under the impression that there are a million other things to be more concerned about than employee safety. Wrong: employee health and safety is your top priority. After all, employees are basically compelled to work for you by their need to pay their bills. They have to spend hours in the building you’ve arranged to do business in. And if that workplace puts them at risk, then you’ve messed up pretty bad! Law firms such as Strom and Associates take special aim at those who violate employment law. So make sure your workplace is safe.

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Misclassifying workers

How do you misclassify a worker? Well, put broadly, there are two types of workers. There are employees. They work for you either part-time or full-time. They’re on your payroll and must be paid minimum wage. They have more laws protecting them. The other kind are contractors or freelancers. They don’t have to be paid minimum wage and don’t have as much legal protection. Some business owners may classify an employee as a contractor. Sometimes, this is a simple mistake. Other times, however, employers have done this in order to get away with paying someone less.

Neglecting data protection

Data is a pretty big thing in business these days. The average modern company has an absurd amount of data on both employees and customers. Of course, you need to make sure that data is protected. If your security negligence results in a data breach that releases private information to others? Then you could be in a world of legal hurt! Ensure that your business is properly secured from such threats.

Build Your Business Defenses One Step at a Time!

December 1, 2016 / nancyrubin

Building defenses for your business is hugely important. You have to come up with a way of looking after yourself and the company. And the way to do that is to look after the business as much as you possibly can. Here are a few ideas you can use to build your business defenses.

IT Support

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What’s the most important area of your business? Well, this is likely to be a subjective question, but for most people, it will be your IT network. This is the basis of how you run and grow a modern business. And that means you have to protect the digital platforms on which your company operates. The way to do that is through the likes of IT support. Bringing in people who are IT experts, and who will be able to take the time to sort out your computers is important. You have to look after your sensitive information, as well as ensuring that your company is always operational on a virtual level. And the only way to ensure that is to make sure you have a really strong IT support team working for you.

Secure Premises

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Your business premises matters just as much as any other part of your business. So you have to understand why it’s so important to protect the premises. There are a lot of things you need to get right if you want to look after your commercial property. First of all, think about the design and layout of the place. Does it suit your needs? Are there many inherent security risks? You might need to consider moving to alternative premises. But, it’s also important to look at how much you can make the property more secure. This is imperative for ensuring that you’re keeping your employees safe at work. Getting a security system installed is a wonderful way of doing this, but you also have to make sure you take more practical steps too. Get someone to examine the structure of the building and make sure there are no inherent safety risks to worry about. Defending your business from the outside world, as well as intruders, is very important.

Attorney

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Why is an attorney so important for protecting your business? Well, the reason is that there are so many things that pose a risk to your company these days. For instance, you may have a customer who received a personal injury while on your premises. And you’ll need a lawyer to protect the legal interests of the company. One of your trucks may have been involved in a road traffic accident. This will mean visiting http://queenerlaw.com/ and getting in touch with someone who can help. Lawyering up in a business sense is not only sensible, but it’s also necessary. So you have to make sure you do this now, and don’t put it off. Lawyers play a huge part in business, and they can ensure that you keep the company on the straight and narrow, and fulfill your legal obligations.

As you can imagine, keeping your business safe and protected is really important. The good news is that there are a lot of different things you can do to go about achieving this. That’s why so many companies these days are so we’ll run and looked after. You can use some of the ideas on this post to help make your business better defended and more secure.

Ease The Load – Don’t Take On These Business Tasks Yourself!

November 21, 2016 / nancyrubin / 1 Comment

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Many solopreneurs and small business operators try to do far too much themselves. Handling business tasks without hiring someone can feel more practical sometimes. After all, it saves you money and can be convenient. But while it’s easy to handle things like cleaning and admin work, some jobs should be left to the experts.

There are certain daily business functions you should never try to take on yourself. Although it’s possible, it can cause you a lot of stress. It can also prevent your business from reaching its potential if you can’t handle them as well as an experienced professional. When it comes to these tasks, you should try and ease the load.

Accounting

Every business needs to keep track of their financial matters. Small business owners might find it easy at first to track all their incoming and outgoing funds. But as your company grows, you’ll find it much harder to manage finances on top of everything else.

It’s much wiser to have an accountant to help your business with these matters. Although you’ll need to pay, they can help identify financial patterns and bring in more money. It also eases the load for you a great deal- finances can be stressful!

Having a financial expert on hand is also invaluable when it comes to filing taxes. A mistake can cost you a lot.

Information Technology

IT is one of the most vital operations for every business. You need your computer and network to be up and running at all times. But these things are prone to error. While it’s easy to fix certain problems yourself, it’s much better to have an expert on hand in other cases.

Many businesses benefit from using managed IT services. Many companies can help with all your technology needs, such as ProviDyn. You can run your business with much more efficiency and have peace of mind you have computer experts to call on.

Having the help of IT professionals is ideal for keeping all your technology running smoothly. It’ll also help make your business fit for the 21st century. They can assist you in implementing technology such as cloud computing and disaster recovery. These things can improve your company’s performance massively.

Employment And Staffing

Small businesses need to take care of all their employees and staffing issues. It may be easy to recruit the right people and put them to work at first. But as your company develops, it’s something that you’ll want help with.

There are many professionals and services which can assist you. You may want to use a recruitment firm to fill important roles. Having an in-house HR manager can help with many things. Human resources staff can handle the whole hiring process as well as staffing issues. They can also assist with employee training and satisfaction.

Legal Matters

You might know the fundamental laws and legislations when it comes to business. But there’s so much more to consider. From health and safety to employment laws, accidentally breaking one of these can cripple your business.

Make sure you find a law firm specializing in business. Enlisting the help of a business lawyer can ease the load for you when it comes to legal matters. They can give you advice on handling everything in your business. They can also help prevent any costly legal battles for you.

Saving Your #Business Money On #Legal Costs

July 7, 2016July 7, 2016 / nancyrubin

If your business is unfortunate enough to become the victim of a lawsuit or legal movement, then it could prove costly.

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This could spring from dozens of situations, including failure to pay taxes, poor staff treatment and breach of contract. However the case arises, reducing costs will prove tricky – but not impossible.

So, if you’re concerned about the legal status of your company or just want to prepare for a rainy day, look no further. This is how you save your business money on legal costs!

Control the working environment

The best time to prevent accidents is before they ever happen. So, perhaps the best way to cut legal costs is to simply… not get involved in any type of legal movement. If someone slips at work or if your health and safety isn’t up to par, it could be you who ends up being sued.

So make sure you take a basic set of steps to protect yourself from litigation. It’s not going to take thousands and thousands, though it could if things go to court. You could try the following:

Placing ‘wet floor’ signs above slippy patches.
Lighting dimly-lit areas.
Give staff regular breaks to prevent accidents
Run emergency drills frequently
Maintain and check equipment for faults
Place floor markings
Thoroughly train staff in health and safety

This way, you reduce the chance of an accident happening, which could lead to a lawsuit further down the line. A safer environment can also bump staff productivity and increase revenue.

Consulting law experts

Let’s look at an example. You have had a severe disagreement with one of your employees, which is resulting in legal action being taken. By enlisting the help of a company who offers employment tribunal services, the impact on your business is reduced.

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This tribunal could lead to a lengthy court case and could result in your company losing lots of cash. By seeking aid at this stage, your company is more likely to live to see another day!

Don’t pay with money

You may not think it, but yes, this is possible. In some cases, anyway. If your business has a valuable service to offer the lawyer, then perhaps they’ll take that instead of a cash payment.

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For example, you could be a marketing firm and offer these services to a lawyer in exchange for legal aid. Or, you could be a web designer and spruce up their website at no extra cost. It’s worth a go – if the lawyer needs those services anyway, then it makes sense to offer them for free.

Alternative payment arrangements

If you’ve ever haggled the price on a house or a car, you’ll know exactly what to do here. By attempting to negotiate the cost of your legal fees or trying to pay them in a different way, you can cut them substantially.

For example, some lawyers may lower their price if you pay in a cash lump sum, while others allow you to spread costs over many months. Not every lawyer will agree, but it can’t hurt to give it a try!

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