Category: Business Blog

When it comes to where you’ll build your company, there are few places better than a workplace that was designed with your company’s needs in mind. As such, you may want to consider developing your office. When you do this, you won’t just be moving into a pre-arranged space, and learning to live with whatever you find; you’ll be designing the place yourself. This gives you the chance to create a space that will allow you and your workers to work productively, efficiently, and in an environment that they love. Below, we take at some things that you’ll need to keep in mind in order to get a place that will be great today and in the future.

What’s Your Long Term Goal?

You won’t know all the answers, but you should have an idea of where your company will be in, say, five years time. You’ll know if you may have grown by then, or if you’ll still be offering the same goods and services, and so on. When it comes to developing your office space, then keep these future plans in mind. If everything you predict for your company comes true, will the space you create be able to accommodate your business?

Setting a Budget

Of course, you’re not going to be able to have an unlimited budget when it comes to developing your new office. If you throw too much money at it, then you might find that you’re running out of money for other areas of your business. However, it’s important that you don’t try to cut too many corners. This office will represent your company for years, so you want it to look as good as possible. Make sure you’re using top-quality materials like stainless steel pipe fittings, that your furnishings will stand the test of time, and that your decor is modern and well put together. If you do, your office will look as fresh in ten years as it does on the first day of opening.

Adding Non-Work Zones

Yes, you want your office to be a place of work, but it should also be more than that. The modern workplace also helps a worker to relax, have fun, and socialise, and if you want to be in keeping with modern trends, then you’ll want your office to have these features. Consider adding a ping-pong table, relaxation zone, and high-quality kitchen that is also suitable for after work drinks.

Into the Modern World

We know now that humans have an impact on the planet. To be socially responsible, make it so that your office is environmentally friendly. You can do this by introducing a paper-free culture, adding a vegetable garden, and making sure that all of your infrastructure is energy efficient.

In Keeping With Branding

Finally, make sure that your new office is in keeping with your branding! Your branding is everything, and be having an office that is in keeping with it, then you’ll be helping to reinforce your company’s identity.

If you’re bringing your digital business into a physical location, it would suggest that things are going well, and whilst many people opt for the remote working lifestyle where they dream about lying in a hammock underneath a palm tree on a tropical beach… the reality is that often the most productive and effective way to build your business is to have a grounded physical space you can operate from.

There’s something psychologically meaningful about having a physical address too from a consumer’s perspective – in that it creates trust a sense of authenticity about your online presence.  There’s always the option to have a physical address that is a virtual address, but there’s something about having a physical location that makes your business feel less like a hobby.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with having a business as a hobby, and many people turn their online business into an automated cash cow generating in excess of £10,000 per month, from their bedroom (or hotel room, if they are chasing the freedom lifestyle dream).

Now, chances are you’re not going to want to invest too much money in premises, which means there’s a good chance you’ll be starting off with a relatively small space.  This article looks at three ways you can optimise the spacious feeling of a small space in order to feel more comfortable and prosperous.

1. LIGHT

The term “dark and dingy” seems to go hand in hand with the idea of small spaces.  The darker a space is, the smaller and more claustrophobic it tends to feels; conversely, the more natural light that enters a space the more airy and spacious it feels.

The key to making the most of a small space is to get in as much natural light as possible, or failing that, use mood lighting to create a warm yet will lit ambience.

2. UNCLUTTERED

The more cluttered a space feels, the smaller the space feels.  The challenge when working in a small space is that it’s incredibly easy for the space to feel cluttered even when it’s not, and for this reason, you might want to consider using a minimalist approach when it comes to decoration, furniture, and organisation.

3.  COOL

A further challenge with small spaces is that they often feeling stuffy and hot, particularly in the summer months and in large cities like London.

You’ll want your space to feel as light and airy as possible.  The best way to do this is to paint the walls white in order to bounce light around the room, and deflect rather than absorb the heat.  You’ll also want to ensure an adequate supply of fresh air is able to come into the office, ideally by having open windows, rather than relying on air conditioning.

In summary, if you’re considering upgrading to an office, but want to do so in a way that doesn’t break the bank, consider finding a small unit and making the most out of that space by ensuring an abundant supply of light, fresh air and free space by keeping it uncluttered.

Excel is the big name in spreadsheet applications. It’s been a staple piece of software for many years, and a huge number of businesses use it. You might have been using it for a long time, especially as it’s something that many use at school, but there are always new things that you can learn. If your business uses Excel, you can always think of ways to get more from it. As well as learning different functions and formulas, there are a few tricks and tips that you can use to make your Excel use more beneficial to your business. Here are some of the useful things you can do.

Collaborate Using Excel Online

More than one person often needs to work on an Excel workbook. No one wants to have to email files back and forth or have lots of copies of the same spreadsheet. If you need to work with other people, Excel Online makes it easier to share and collaborate. It’s free to use, so there’s no reason not to try it out. It also makes it easy to access the files that you need from anywhere, so you can get your work done wherever you are.

Keeping Workbooks Secure

Security should be important for any files and data that you keep. Whether you have information about your sales or you’re keeping your customers’ personal data, you need to protect it. If you want to take Excel data security seriously, you can do a few things to make it happen. Using passwords to protect your workbooks is one of the simple steps that you can take to get started. Check that your spreadsheet coding is secure, and that you have security policies in place for everyone to follow. You can provide training and education for staff so that they all know how to maintain security.

Speeding Up Excel

Time is of the essence when you’re doing business. You don’t want to waste precious minutes waiting for Excel to do something that you’ve told it to do. Obviously, using various functions and formulas helps you to work faster. You don’t need to spend too long repeatedly putting in similar information or doing the same sums. You can also speed up Excel and get it to calculate faster. Simple things like closing other programs can help, and you can also make sure that Excel is using all available processors. Go to File, Options, Advanced and then Enable multi-threaded calculations, followed by Use all processors on this computer.

Linking Workbooks

Sometimes you want to link more than one workbook together. By linking two workbooks, you can make sure that data in one workbook can be used in another one. To connect two workbooks, you can select the Data tab, then choose Get Data, From File and From Workbook. Find the workbook you want in the Import Data window and select the table or worksheet you want, then click load or edit.

You can make more out of Excel, whether you use it on your own or others in your business use it too.