Category: Marketing blog

Throughout your career, there might be times when you have the opportunity to undertake some sort of training or go on a course. Any learning is good, but some can more helpful to your job than others. Here are a few training opportunities to keep an eye out for.

Food Safety

If you provide food, prepare food or have food on the premises then getting a food safety certificate can be a great use. It shows that you are aware of how to look after and prepare food. Companies like to have a few people with this sort of qualification so that they can help to prevent any food poisoning or illnesses due to poorly prepared food. If you work in a company which deals with food regularly, then this is a must have even if you aren’t always the person handling the food. It shows that you care about people’s health and safety and it can make a great addition to your resume. A food safety certification will expire after a certain number of years, so you will need to get it topped up each or go on a full course again once it has expired.

First Aid

Having a first aid qualification is useful for any role, in any company and is likely to continue to be so for a long time to come. Employers love people who have a first aid qualification, and it makes a great addition to your resume. Through first aid training, you will learn how to help people who are injured, prevent potential injuries and know what to do in an emergency situation. Employers will often pay for employees to attend this kind of training and then make them the first aid officer or similar for a floor/part of the office. It can a be a great way to take on some additional responsibility that is also an excellent life skill in its own right. Even if you don’t have an employer paying for you to attend, getting a first aid qualification can be a great asset.

Job Specific

There is little point in explaining in depth about all the various qualifications, courses and training opportunities for every single job it can go from forklift training to project management software. You would be here for years, and most of the information wouldn’t be relevant to you. Instead, here are a few that might be interesting and you can do some Googling if you’d like some more. If you work on a computer a lot, but struggle with IT skills then attending a computing course could help you work. It could make it much easier for you to access the information that you need. Likewise, if you are a manager then going on some management courses can help you improve your skills in leadership and management. This will make your job easier and make you better at what you do. If you are serious about advancing your career, then these are the kinds of things you should look into doing.

The very nature of running a business means that you have to find new and dynamic ways of cutting costs, improving performance, and getting your product out there. The biggest way of cutting corners in an economic sense is to outsource. Many entrepreneurs look at outsourcing with a raised eyebrow, because it can begin a chain of events that means every aspect of your company is going to other contractors, which can result in a loss of identity. But, outsourcing can be the best thing for your company in many ways, so let’s look at a few.

Overcompensating For A Lack Of Knowledge

By outsourcing aspects that aren’t your specialty, it does a lot to relieve the tension and stress that comes with upskilling and upscaling your company. For those that work in very technical areas, but don’t have the adequate knowledge on site, you would outsource specific frameworks to pre-treatment plant contractors, manufacturing specialists, or long chain suppliers that can do everything you’re not able to on site, and vastly better than you would ever be able to do on your business premises. The first thing people normally do if they have a lack of specific skills is to acquire the relevant people, but sometimes this isn’t feasible, especially if you have a very niche skill set, that could take years to train your company on, so outsourcing proves to be a valuable asset.

Entering The Modern World

Businesses can thrive across different continents now thanks to high-speed internet connections. So this means your communication remains total. So, if you outsource to a contractor based on the other side of the world because they are cheaper, the telecommuting aspects become an indispensable approach in the running of a company, but also it helps to get your product across a wider landscape. Communication has reached its zenith in the modern business world, and this means that outsourcing to an independent contractor doesn’t have to feel like it’s a different part of the business. You can integrate them effectively into the business processes.

Diversifying Knowledge Of Different Markets

Certain aspects of outsourcing can be very negative for a business, but when you are changing the operation, or outsourcing specific parts of the company to offshore contractors, or in another country, you get a sneak preview of what the markets are like in those countries. You develop more knowledge of the global marketplace, which better prepares you to compete with bigger names, and you can go up the ladder more effectively. This can have a profound impact on how you market your business, instead of making it a company with a local mindset; it can become a mindset that is more globally oriented. And this can only have positive effects on your company as a whole.

Outsourcing has become very useful. So if you find your business at a dead end, for many companies looking to diversify, outsourcing might be the solution you need. It’s going to be a very useful way to reinvigorate your company, and have a positive impact on aspects that you didn’t think of.

When you’re starting out in business, it’s an all-too common instinct to try and do everything by yourself. Your business is, after all, your baby and nobody knows it as well as you. You keep an eagle eye on its daily operations and prefer to keep all operations “in-house”.

Even if you do choose to outsource you apply laser focus and unmatched scrutiny to the companies to whom you entrust your business’ future. You ensure that their work ethic and ethos matches your own. This is commendable, and applying this level of scrutiny means that even outsourced aspects of your business feel organic and homogenous. While this logic is applied to any outsourced company that facilitates your business operations it also needs to be applies to an oft-overlooked facet of business… Your accounts.

Why You Probably Shouldn’t Do Your Own Accounts

The resourcefulness and determination that enables entrepreneurs to take the reigns and build their own companies can also be a rod for the dogged entrepreneur’s back. They tend to assume that with a little research and a whole lot of willpower they can turn their attention to virtually any facet of business but this mindset can be hugely counter productive.

Not only will it draw your attention away from the important daily operations of your business, your lack of familiarity (and inevitable time constraints) can leave you open to irregularities and errors in your accounting that could create a serious hindrance come tax season. Attempting to cut costs by doing your own taxes is likely also wrong headed as good small business accountants will likely save you more than they cost. With so many accountants out there, however, it can be hard to choose the right one for your business.

They should be chartered or registered

Believe it or not, anyone can legally call themselves an accountant without any formal training, qualification or experience. In the fast paced and ultra competitive world of today’s business landscape you need to cling to whatever dependability you can get and a chartership is a mark of quality in accounting. It means that their practice meets certain professional standards and that the accountant will have had at least 3 years’ training and have passed a series of stringent exams. Your business deserves the best and that means choosing chartered!

They should be affordable but not cheap

It’s understandable that entrepreneurs should want to control their overheads but high quality and low cost rarely go hand in hand. If someone is advertising themselves as the cheapest on the market, they’re unlikely to have the expertise your business needs.

They should be busy

If you’re courting an accountant who seems a little too keen to get your business this may be a red flag. A good accountant worth their salt will have a healthy cohort of clients. Ask them about their existing clients and whether they have any clients with comparable businesses to yours. This will show that they have an interest in and understanding of their clients’ operations.  

They “get” your business and share your enthusiasm

As with any outsourced asset, an accountant needs to share in your passion and vision for your business. Your dream accountant should be on board with your business strategy and will be able to tailor their services to suit your business’ individual needs.