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Whether you’re making your own products, providing metalworking or woodworking services, or offering repair services for all kinds of items, you don’t need to run a home business from entirely inside the house. Your garage can make for a great working space, as well. However, you need to make sure that you’re able to turn it into an appropriate work environment as well.

Create a clean workspace

The first thing that you should do is, naturally, clean out the whole space to make sure that you have the room to get to work without distraction and without the slip, trip, and fall risks that those odds and ends can make up for. If you need to hire a removals team or a skip to do it, then start making the call. From there, make sure that you have the space to install your own workbench. You might be able to make your own but there are plenty of great workbenches for sale that has a host of features that can make them much easier to work with.

Secure and create a good working environment

Even if it’s cleaned up, your garage might not make for the very best of work environments. You might need to invest in some renovations to make it a safe and comfortable place to live. Sealing it fully from the elements, be it with caulking or new roofing materials like polycarbonate roofing sheet might be the first order of business. New flooring, one that’s designed to be stood and worked on all day, might be a good idea, too. If there is any need for additional lighting or wiring, get that done before you begin any work, too.

Make it an organized space

You want to make sure that you have the appropriate storage place in your workshop for any tools as well as materials that you’re likely to make use of. You can use different storage installations for different needs, as well. Metal tool storage drawers, especially those with wheels, can be easily transported across the workshop floor, while you might make use of storage drawers and bins for the materials that you need to keep on hand. Wall racks for some of your less dangerous and more frequently used tools can be a good idea, too.

Make it a healthy place to work

You want to make sure that your health is not at risk in your new workspace. Aside from creating a good working environment by sealing it off from the weather, you should also think about the airflow, especially if you do any work that involves the use of chemicals, gasses, or creates a lot of debris, such as woodworking or metal work. To that end, you can install a simple air conditioner into a garage window without too much trouble.

Using the tips above, you can transform an underused garage into a workshop that helps you build the business that you want to run. Just make sure that you get the space ready before you try working in there.

We are all reliant on the agricultural industry, whether we eat meat or decide to eat a plant-based diet.  Agriculture is one of the oldest business models we have in the world, and with all the technology in the world, we will still need it. Sadly, rising costs in this industry make it difficult for many smaller businesses to stay afloat. 

As with most industries, the issues tend to stem from rising prices for materials and land and the fact that, sadly, the money that agricultural businesses have coming in no longer matches these steep costs, thanks to supermarkets selling products at crazily low prices. If you are a farmer and don’t try to get on top of this, you will likely be one of the many farms that stopped production in the last few years. 

The good news is that plenty can be done as long as you are prepared to put in the time and effort and tackle these ever-rising costs before they have too much impact on your business. Here, we have a few tips that could help you do just that.

Increase your earning

As we said above, the most significant issue facing an agricultural business is that the money coming in is much less than the money going out. It is almost impossible to maintain a business that way and buy the things that you need, such as stillages for sale.  so you need to get creative. You could strike some deals with larger enterprises and pair up for larger purchases and split the profits, or set a farm buying group to make purchases of essentials. You could also consider alternative revenue streams – perhaps selling products to local shops or setting up in farmer markets. You may also consider using some of your outhouses or barns, renting them out, or even opening an on-site farm store. People love to shop local – take advantage of that! They can come straight to you to buy the produce, while cutting out the middleman for both of you. 

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Invest in seeds that keep on giving

Whatever farming business you are in, you probably spend a lot of money on agricultural seeds. It might be to grow the produce you sell or to grow crops for your animals, but either way, they’re essential. Over time, these can eat into your profits. Cheaper seeds might seem more cost-effective in the short term, but you may find that they only provide one year’s worth of produce. In comparison, more expensive varieties can see your harvest carrying over yearly, saving you a lot of money in the long run. Not only will you end up saving money on seed, but on manpower planting the seed. Sometimes, you need to spend a little more to save a lot more. 

Become more self-sufficient

Farmers are a lot more time poor these days or want to use the time they have to focus on growing their business, so they use a fair few shortcuts. This might be using another farm or to supply fertilizer or buying in expensive feed. However, if you need to save some money, you need to put the effort in and become a little more self-sufficient. You can use the waste from your animals, assuming you keep them, for fertilizer, and make compost from any unused fruit and vegetables. Instead of throwing away any produce with damage, use them as animal feed. Not only will you save a bit of money by doing this, but reusing and repurposing is beneficial for the environment. These are small steps, but each one can stretch your money that bit further every month. You may even find that you can make cakes or other products with ‘wonky produce’ – fruit and vegetables that might not be perfect enough to sell on their own but are perfectly edible.  You could then sell them for cheap in your shop as you will find that many people don’t care if their banana isn’t quite bendy or straight enough, or that their carrots are a bit strange looking. Again, this is a great way to diversify your income and encourages locals to come to your farm shop or market stall that we mentioned above. 

Invest in solar power

Farmers spend an awful lot of money on utilities, but what if you could make your power? If you have some spare land, it might be worth investing in solar panels or even wind turbines if you have enough space. It costs a lot up front, but will save a fortune in the long run – and some energy companies will buy the energy from you, giving you the chance to make a profit!

Would you like to improve the standards within your business? Then you’re in luck, as this guide aims to provide you with some of the most effective steps that you can utilise to take your business to new heights in no time at all. Read on to discover more. 

Train Your Staff Regularly 

Far too many bosses make the mistake of only training their staff during the initial hiring period, as in fact a productive team is one that is trained on a regular basis. It’s far too easy for your staff to forget their training if it was done years previously, so taking the opportunity to remind them of your expectations and the responsibilities of their role is always going to be beneficial. It’s also important to note that no matter what industry you operate in, your business will need modernisation so that it can keep up with new releases and changing needs, so this can be covered in your regular training modules. This means that your staff can continue to grow and learn new skills while employed with you, so their abilities are constantly improving (as will your standards). Always make an effort to train your staff on a regular basis if you want to stand a chance of achieving the greatest successes! 

Upgrade Your Tech 

Another brilliant step that you can follow to improve the standards within your business is to upgrade your tech. The technology that you use within your business can have an enormous impact on both the time it takes for your team to complete their work as well as the quality of the finished piece, so it’s vital that you can take advantage of the latest and greatest equipment for the sake of your business standards. Whether you need to get in touch with next level chemical etching companies to source high quality machinery or upgrade your office leasing contract to get the most modern laptops and more, make sure you upgrade your tech if you want to improve your standards! 

Set Goals For Your Staff 

If you fail to set goals for your staff then they’re never going to truly know what you expect of them, so it’s important that you can think up a few aims that will assist your team in reaching the best possible standards. Whether this means a goal of no customer complaints or even a goal of creating a certain number of products which proves minimal downtime, there are so many different aims that you can set which will help your team to head in the right direction. It’s a good idea to offer rewards for those who reach their goals as this can be a great motivator that encourages your staff to take their aims more seriously. 

Improving the standards within your business has never been such a simple task when you can take the time to utilise some of the brilliant ideas explained in this guide. It might take a little hard work, but it will certainly be worth it when you can reap the many rewards of top quality business operations!