Crafting A Better Business Image

When it comes to your business, don’t underestimate the power of how things look. That’s the brand in effect, using what you can to create an image that helps draw and maintain more business. They say that beauty is only skin-deep, but new clients and customers aren’t likely to look too far beyond that surface, to begin with. For that reason, we’re going to look at what your business image is made of, and what you can do to help reshape it to your business.

Professionalism and organisation

How your business interacts with the world its boundaries is going to be tightly scrutinized by those who are considering reaching out. How you advertise, how you offer support, and how you deliver your services will all be under the magnifying glass. For that reason, making sure that you are organised, such as working with a brand bible when it comes to advertising, is essential if you want to earn trust. The business needs to look unified and like it has a sense of direction to it. However your business interacts with the outside world, you want to make sure there are no weak links.

The visual appearance

Your brand depends on the imagery that your business uses, as well. A lot of care and attention must go into website design to make sure that your online space doesn’t look amateurish or incomplete. Otherwise, you’re likely to lose your visitors to your competitors. If you’re not a graphic designer, then it’s worth considering working with one to help establish a visual image for the business that fits the brand you want to present to the world.

The brand visuals

Your brand image is created not only by your marketing material and your website, though those do have an impact on it. It’s about how you project professionalism and project your business image, as well. As such, no matter how your business runs, you should something of a veneer set-up to assure clients that you are the right choice. For instance, virtual offices can help small and growing businesses find an established address and phone number. This can help them avoid the stigma that often comes with being a smaller fish in the big pond, allowing them to prove themselves through their services first and foremost.

Your personal presentation

As the leader and head of your business, you also matter to the success of your business. Dressing appropriately for whichever business space you inhabit should be a number one concern, but making a good first impression goes beyond that. It’s about seeming confident, open, and ready to listen to the client, without being overconfident or overbearing. Showing your clients respect, and paying them your full attention is key. Public speaking courses and the like can help you get over any nerves when it comes to meetings, too.

To your business, image is everything, at least for the first steps. Proving yourself beyond that image becomes undeniably important. However, first of all, you have to get your foot in the door, and the image is what does that.

3 Things to Consider When Setting Up in the…

Taking your dream of owning a bar or a local pub from a dream to reality requires a passion for the drinks and food trade and the ability to create an environment that people love. Being able to master the art of becoming a landlord takes dedication to your craft and a desire to want to engage with customers to keep them frequenting your premises.

After all, a pub or a bar is built on repeat business and you are in charge of creating a sanctuary for people to go to enjoy themselves and get away from the world for just a little while.

In an increasingly competitive market, do you think you have what it takes to create a successful brand in this sector?

Enthusiasm.

If you aren’t enjoying what you do, then chances are this will show in your business. Taking on a pub or a bar requires you to be passionate about what you do to help you create a successful business that wants to strive to make a success of.

If you don’t enjoy it, chances are you let things slip and undo all your hard work. So ask yourself, how much do you want this? Can you deal with working with people under the influence of alcohol on a daily basis? Will you be able to dedicate the hours it takes to run a business that is open pretty much every day of the year and at a lot of unsociable hours too?

Eye for Detail.

What kind of establishment are you looking to run? Knowing what vision you have for your new venture and the look and style will go a long way in being able to bring that to life.

Creating your signature style is essential to attract the right clientele to your premises. Following that look through from Contract Furniture specifically for this type of venture. Right up to the type of glassware you use, dishes and cutlery if you are serving food, and into the flooring bathrooms and much more.

People want a place they can connect to, whether it is a local corner pub, trendy upmarket bar or a specialty venue concentrating in a particular area such as a gin bar.

Research, Research, Research

Make sure you look into everything in detail before forging ahead with your new venture. Making sure you have the correct licenses for the business you are starting as well as looking into costs associated with running a bar or a pub. The cost of drinks, equipment, staffing, and utilities are all big factors that determine how you can set your prices so that people will come and drink with you and still be able to make a profit.

Look at your location, demand for what you are offering and what your competition is in the area.

Run the costs carefully and make sure you are happy with how much you can expect to make and if it will be feasible in the long term to take on a project of this magnitude.

4 Ways To Save Money As A Business Owner

As a business owner, you aim to make as much money as you can so that your business can keep running and so that you will hopefully be left with a profit. This means that you may look for ways that you can reduce the amount of money that you spend. When you are looking at ways you can save money, you should make sure that it does not compromise the quality and integrity of your business. Here are a few ways that you can save money without cutting corners:

Outsource work

Outsourcing is a great way to save money because it reduces the amount of staff that you need to hire. Sometimes small businesses do not have enough money or work to justify hiring one person for a specific job. That is where outsourcing helps because it allows you outsource work to qualified contractors when you need to. You can do this with things such as accounting and finance, and IT support.

It can also allow the staff that you already have to get on with other work that needs to be completed so that there is no need to keep them on for more hours then you have accounted for. 

Make your premises energy efficient

Energy bills can be a big part of the cost of running a business, so if you can find a way to make the cost of running your business premises lower, you will be able to save some money. For example, you could do big jobs like getting spray foam insulation so that your premises retains heat and you don’t have to spend as much money keeping your employees warm. This may cost you more in the short term but will save you money in the long run. You could also do smaller jobs like replacing light bulbs with led bulbs or ensuring your employees turn off switches when something isn’t in use. Even small changes will help to save your business some money.

Use social media for marketing

Social media is a great way to market and advertise your business. On most social media platforms, you can sign up for free and start building an audience. You can post content in the hope that it will be shared or pay for a sponsored advertisement that will share your post with a broader number of people within your target audience. This can work out much cheaper than traditional forms of marketing and advertisements like posters and professional videos, so is an excellent option for a smaller business, but is also very useful for bigger companies as well.

Negotiate

If you work with any type of supplier, try and negotiate with them. If you are buying bulk quantities and you are a regular customer, they may consider a discount as they will want to keep the regular business. The supplier wants to stay in business as much as you do. There is no harm in asking for a discount because the worst answer you can get is no, and anything else is a saving.