Friday, November 25, 2011

Jump In Anytime! There’s Always Room

Are you that person who just cannot see yourself working for someone else, at least not long term? Many of us feel too darn independent – and perhaps passionate as well – to envision ourselves not being the one who calls the shots. It was not that long ago that starting a home-based business was a bit risky; the employee route seemed the safer bet. Then came the internet and all things mobile. Now, starting a business, whether on the side at first, or with full speed ahead, has been made a lot simpler, thanks to all the resources at our fingertips.
The spark behind it
A good indication of your future success as an entrepreneur is easily spotted if you can demonstrate any of the following:
·       A unique idea that you see would fill a void for many
·       The ability to perform a service that is in demand
·       A strong passion for products or services available from an established company that offers an opportunity to be a distributor or agent
·       A burning desire to be your own boss no matter what
If you are reading this, you probably see one or more of those characteristics in yourself. However, keep in mind that not everyone does. Many would rather work for someone else and skip the responsibilities and the rewards. Fortunately, both the faithful employees and the fellow entrepreneurs comprise your potential customer list.
The groundwork
A large percentage of home-based businesses make things very easy to start up. If you decide to work as an independent contractor or distributor for an already existing company, you may not have to research anymore than what it takes to make sure they are reputable. They have already handled most of the groundwork. If your venture is totally stand alone, make sure you thoroughly check out all the rules governing licenses, taxation and name procurement. These can vary depending on your location. It is also a good idea to determine what kind of facilities are needed, such as an occasional executive office or phone answering services. Even though your business is home-based, you want to maintain a professional appearance.
What to expect
The aforementioned part about “responsibilities” comes before its counterpart, “rewards.” Having your own home-based business does not mean you have no boss. You will probably be the most demanding boss ever, which is the way it is suppose to play out. Be prepared to work harder and longer if you want to succeed. Find a mentor, someone who has already been through it, to give you support when you hit any challenges.
All those amazing resources
Some home based endeavors only need a laptop and cell phone, but for those that are more elaborate, there are so many options to make your daily operations streamlined. Global Business Centers offers a way for you to focus on what you do best as they virtually step in to be your telephone answering service, or even to supply a live receptionist. Need shared office space or a Beverly Hills address complete with a mailroom? Wherever you are and whatever you need – there really is no limit. What a great way to save on overhead, you get to pick and choose based on your personal needs.
The real R & R
There has never been a better time to start your own business. In today’s arena, it might be more secure than many jobs. Responsibilities and rewards are the best R & R. Taking the responsibility at the beginning is what makes the rewards even better.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

How your business can survive in a downturned economy


There’s one main answer to the oft-asked question “how can I help my business survive in an economic crisis?” Cut costs. You heard me right! Your business can have a fighting chance even in the worst of economies, especially if you cut all unnecessary costs.
Economic downturns are bad, but they aren’t the end! Especially now that technology is on our side. So here are some ways to cut your small business’ costs.
Telecommute – even closing up shop a few days a month will help lower the cost of your utilities.
Cut down your paper use – not just in the printer, but also envelopes, paper towels and any other paper based supply.
  • Keep track of your supplies – a note pad here, a pen there…it all adds up.
  • Keep your supplies in line – remind everyone that supplies are money.
  • Buy refurbished equipment and furniture – Fax machines, new desktops, chairs and just about anything else for the office can be bought refurbished.
  • Choose to go virtual – having a complete virtual office eliminates nearly 90% of your overhead while still allowing you to receive mail and phone calls.
  • Employees can work from home offices and save their time and money by cutting the commute!
  • Switching from a traditional office to a virtual one could make all the difference to your small business.
  • Cutting costs is imperative, and this move might be the biggest way to trim your expenses.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Doing What You Should With Your Time and Money

If you think because of the title that this is going to order you around and tell you how to cut costs and budget your money, you are only partially right. Let’s narrow it down to the “nitty-gritty” of you and your business. Do you want to sit comfortably in your “executive office” and see more money flow in and less flow out? Along with enjoying what you do and offering a valuable service or product to others, that cash-in and cash-out thing should be your goal. Seems logical in black and white, but how often do we witness it in living color?
The inflow
Raise your hand if your business does not requiring promoting. If you raised yours, we need to talk. It does not matter what business you are in, you need to convince your customers or clients that you are the one, hopefully the only one. Nobody will get that across like you do because nobody cares as much. If you are not spending most of your time and energy creating new business, your cash-in will suffer. If you have a home-based business it is so easy to get distracted – you might find yourself looking for a client’s folder and somehow end up on the hallway floor playing Junior Trivial Pursuit with your 9 year-old. You certainly do not need to fill your head with all the stuff behind the scenes that prevents you from performing the activities that create the inflow of money. The ideal scenario is having enough money and lots of time, so you can play all the games you want.
The outflow
It is so easy to find things to do when you have a business. The amount of hats we wear is overwhelming. We become the errand runner, the accountant, the phone answering service and the mailroom all in a day’s routine. We probably even get to be the janitor, and if we need a location that requires a very professional appearance we put out the feelers for a real executive office or temporary office space. Who in the world has time to do what increases our cash-in when we are so busy wearing all those other necessary hats? Guess what? You can get rid of all those heavy hats and only wear the one with the big, gold, dollar sign. Global Business Centers, whether near you - or not - because it is a virtual world we live in, can solve the delegation issue. Stop doing what a virtual office can do for you. Cloning yourself in those important, but interfering, capacities will cost little and result in abundance. 
The best consequence of all
Sometimes, we need to really look at what we do to keep our businesses running. If you think you cannot afford the relief of a virtual office system, make sure you look deeper. Many of us find reasons not to do what works best because we are afraid to do those activities that produce the most. We keep ourselves busy with the other stuff to avoid doing what counts. Raise your necessity level by delegating almost everything but passionate promoting. One of the best rewards is how much you will enhance that vital ability.
And, that is a basic guideline to follow for what you should do with your time and money.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

How the Economy Can Affect Our Lifestyle

Depending on the type of job you have, and accordingly the salary you receive, will help dictate the type of lifestyle you live. Although most people tend to stick a budget, some budgets allow for only the necessities while others are able to set aside some money for discretionary spending, which can be quite fun. This has been the way of the workforce for a long time now, which is due to the variety of jobs that are currently available in our capitalistic society.

Even though capitalism is deemed to be the best economic system due to the fact that anyone can participate and possibly make a fortune from virtually nothing (and with a lot of hard work and determination!), there have been some highs and lows experienced by workers when this particular economic system encounters a bump in the road. Small business owners know this better than anyone, and are some of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to understanding the economic system.

A Changing Economy
When the economy changes, some people will not be (negatively) affected at all while others may experience some financial hardships.

Financial Hardships. For those who have unfortunately been affected by the changing economy and find themselves having to change their lifestyle because of these effects, the need to cut back on expenses is most likely necessary. One of the areas where cutbacks can be made while still providing the same if not better services, is by means of  a virtual office. When you choose to use a virtual office, you are choosing a way to cut office overhead costs by nearly 90%, a very impressive number!

Not Affected. For those fortunate enough to escape any negative effects that can be felt by many during a changing economy, a virtual office is also a great idea! First, you never know what the future holds so cutting overhead costs now is a really smart idea. Secondly, virtual offices are a forward-thinking idea, and are predicted to be more popular than traditional offices one day due to the ever-growing popularity of telecommunication. Lastly, virtual offices will save you time as others are able to assist in managing your calls and mail, giving you more time to spend focused on your small business.

Either Way, Virtual Offices Can Help!
If the economy has affected your current lifestyle by making it necessary for you to make a few financial changes, a virtual office can help save you a lot of money when it comes to overhead costs. If the economy hasn't affected your lifestyle at all, considering a virtual office is still a great idea, allowing you to be ahead of the curve when it comes to this new way of managing administrative services. Global Business Centers offers some of the best choices when it comes to choosing your virtual office, making  it a wise idea to check out what they have to offer you today.

University Graduates - Looking to Start Your Own Business? A Virtual Office Can Help!

If you have recently graduated from a University and have discovered that finding the perfect job is not as easy as you thought it was going to be, it just may be well worth your while to look into the benefits of starting your very own business. Although the thought of becoming your own boss may seem a bit overwhelming due to the fact that you'll have to make a lot of important decisions that are critical to whether or not your business will succeed, if you do indeed succeed the rewards will far outweigh any risks you had to initially take.

Entrepreneurship Benefits
Starting your very own business can be very exciting! You get to make all the essential decisions that will allow your business idea to grow into an actual business. Your vision along with a lot of persistence and determination will allow your business to become exactly as you envision it to be.

Benefits You Can Expect To Receive When Starting Your Own Business:
·         You get to make all the essential decisions
·         You get to make all the rules
·         You get to be part of doing something that truly interests you
·         The excitement of finding a niche that hasn't been explored yet
·         A feeling of accomplishment in doing something of importance

Getting Organized
Now that you have your business idea and are ready to start putting things into place, it's time to start looking at some of the things you must do in order to keep everything organized so you are able to effectively manage your business. You'll need to start looking at the practical side of managing a business in order to have the strong foundation that's needed for you and your business to be successful.

Virtual office - The Best Solution
Ask any entrepreneur and they will tell you that although starting up a new business may be a lot of work, it's well worth it once everything starts to fall into place and business starts to take off. A big concern when starting a new business includes wondering if there is enough money to get everything up and running. The great news here is that if you choose to use a virtual office, you'll be able to save nearly 90% of any overhead costs that are associated with using a traditional office! Global Business Centers is the go-to company when it comes to receiving the many benefits that a virtual office can offer, which is without a doubt one of the best solutions for anyone who is wanting to start their very own business.

How Can I Expand My Start-Up Business Globally?

A lot of various responsibilities come with owning your own start-up business. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, thoroughly and consistently researching your particular business niche, having essential computer skills, being extremely organized, managing employees, creating business and marketing plans, and knowing the laws that govern your particular area of business. Of course, one of the main goals of owning your own business is doing everything in your power to ensure that your business is able to grow and expand. This means that you are always striving  to reach new levels, making it so that you are able to be one of the leaders when it comes to your particular business niche.  

Expanding a Business Globally
The last few decades has witnessed a large number of businesses that have decided to place a large focus on expanding their business globally. This is mainly due to the fact that when it comes to business-related ventures, the reduction of economic barriers has made it so that it pays to do business on a global basis. The upside is that there are more options, meaning more companies to partner with as well as a whole new base of people that may be interested in buying your particular product and/or service. The downside is the fact that there will be more competition, but this just means that you'll have to work a little harder when it comes to finding out some of the best ways in which you can acquire new customers.

How To Expand a Business Globally
Ask yourself the following questions that can help determine if you are indeed ready to expand your start-up business globally.

1. Is my current business plan enough or do I need to revise it?
2. What additional resources will I need? 
3. What exactly am I going to sell? Is there a global market for this product/service?
4. What market will I specifically be expanding into? 
4. What is my ultimate goal/reason for expanding my business globally?

As you can see, there is a lot to consider when thinking about expanding a business so that it is able to successfully compete with the many other businesses that are currently competing with each other in the global business market. This means that every available resource that can help make this significant transition be as effortless as possible should be investigated.

Resources to Help You Expand Your Business Globally
If you feel that you are in fact ready to expand your business globally, consider using Global Business Centers as a way to set up a virtual office for your start-up business. A virtual office means there are no boundaries when it comes to managing your particular business, making the transition from a localized area to a generalized one smooth and simple.

Friday, November 18, 2011

The Evolution of Our Work Space

If you are old enough to have owned a home-based business before the 1990’s, you can relate to all the different scenarios of its operation, a converted extra bedroom, a desk in the kitchen, a workstation in the garage, just to name a few. Actually, those scenes are still probably pretty common, with many of us sitting at our desk in front of our personal computer for most of our work week. Even though we are based at home, we can take advantage of moving to the kitchen counter or the family room with our laptop or tablet. The real home office can now mean the whole house, unless you are smart enough to close the door to the “executive office,” at least sometimes, so you can have a break.
Moving out of the house
If your “shared office space” means sharing with a bedroom or even what seems to resemble a day care center, it can present a problem when professionalism is crucial.  Fortunately, about the same time we started acquiring cell phones and laptops, we also welcomed back coffee shops in a way never seen before. Who would have ever imagined we would be sitting in a living room setting with our own personal phone and hook up to cyberspace as we work with a client who joins us, or even another entrepreneur we meet. This coffee shop office environment takes on new meaning in many areas where the selling of coffee is worked around a bigger purpose for the location, which is to provide the perfect setting for those running their own business. Hence, the home office becomes the coffee shop office. A good example of this can be seen with Starbucks strategy called “third place marketing.” They want to be the third place in your life after home and office, and they certainly contribute to the coffee shop office idea with that strategy.
Moving beyond
Whether you work in your home, a coffee shop, or even your car most of the time, one thing is certain; maintaining a business presence with the outside world is important. That professional presence is easy if you move into the world of the virtual office, and you don’t need to rent a moving van. Visualize your business having all its needs met while you are still enjoying the atmosphere of home, or any other favorite place. Global Business Centers is the perfect solution if you want to appear fully staffed without having the hassle and overhead of any employees. Totally different than needing to sign a lease to use services or space, a virtual office provides all the services, and even a physical location when needed. That means you get to pick and choose, within your budget, what will make your business prosper, such as virtual office suites, a live receptionist, temporary office space and even mailroom services. You can “pretend” you are wherever you want to be. Your business will look professional even as you sit by the pool or stand at the kitchen counter making cookies with your kids.
What’s next?
Each decade brings bigger and better concepts to help us all become more flexible with our lives. Although it is easy to think it could not get any more advanced, that we have the full answer or solution, be prepared! The virtual office may compliment both the home office and the coffee shop office, but it is highly likely that something in our future will trump it all!

Danny

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Jump In Anytime! There’s Always Room

Are you that person who just cannot see yourself working for someone else, at least not long term? Many of us feel too darn independent – and perhaps passionate as well – to envision ourselves not being the one who calls the shots. It was not that long ago that starting a home-based business was a bit risky; the employee route seemed the safer bet. Then came the internet and all things mobile. Now, starting a business, whether on the side at first, or with full speed ahead, has been made a lot simpler, thanks to all the resources at our fingertips.
The spark behind it
A good indication of your future success as an entrepreneur is easily spotted if you can demonstrate any of the following:
·       A unique idea that you see would fill a void for many
·       The ability to perform a service that is in demand
·       A strong passion for products or services available from an established company that offers an opportunity to be a distributor or agent
·       A burning desire to be your own boss no matter what
If you are reading this, you probably see one or more of those characteristics in yourself. However, keep in mind that not everyone does. Many would rather work for someone else and skip the responsibilities and the rewards. Fortunately, both the faithful employees and the fellow entrepreneurs comprise your potential customer list.
The groundwork
A large percentage of home-based businesses make things very easy to start up. If you decide to work as an independent contractor or distributor for an already existing company, you may not have to research anymore than what it takes to make sure they are reputable. They have already handled most of the groundwork. If your venture is totally stand alone, make sure you thoroughly check out all the rules governing licenses, taxation and name procurement. These can vary depending on your location. It is also a good idea to determine what kind of facilities are needed, such as an occasional executive office or phone answering services. Even though your business is home-based, you want to maintain a professional appearance.
What to expect
The aforementioned part about “responsibilities” comes before its counterpart, “rewards.” Having your own home-based business does not mean you have no boss. You will probably be the most demanding boss ever, which is the way it is suppose to play out. Be prepared to work harder and longer if you want to succeed. Find a mentor, someone who has already been through it, to give you support when you hit any challenges.
All those amazing resources
Some home based endeavors only need a laptop and cell phone, but for those that are more elaborate, there are so many options to make your daily operations streamlined. Global Business Centers offers a way for you to focus on what you do best as they virtually step in to be your telephone answering service, or even to supply a live receptionist. Need shared office space or a Beverly Hills address complete with a mailroom? Wherever you are and whatever you need – there really is no limit. What a great way to save on overhead, you get to pick and choose based on your personal needs.
The real R & R
There has never been a better time to start your own business. In today’s arena, it might be more secure than many jobs. Responsibilities and rewards are the best R & R. Taking the responsibility at the beginning is what makes the rewards even better.
Danny