How to organise yourself for maximum productivity

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Most of us want to learn how to be more productive. Who doesn’t want to get more work done in less time? But aside from reading countless articles about productivity and hearing about super-heroes that wake at 4am and get everything done before breakfast, most of us don’t really take the time to consider what it takes to organise ourselves for maximum productivity.

Like most important things, the secrets to being more productive are simple – once you know them. That doesn’t mean they’re easy though! Any time we ask ourselves to change our default approaches it’s always going to be difficult. But it’s also one of the most important life skills to learn.

I’ve been studying the theory and practice of productivity for the past few years – and of course, experimenting on myself. If you want to be truly productive, here’s how to get yourself organised…

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Low Investment Business Ideas

7 Low-Investment Business Ideas You Can Start Online

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Buy stock, store it, pick it, pack it, ship it.

Managing inventory is a big commitment when you’re running an online business. But there are actually many business ideas you can start that let you focus less on the logistics associated with inventory and more on your business.

These low-investment, no-inventory online businesses make a great entry point for beginners or anyone with a busy schedule, giving you a hands-on education in entrepreneurship at a fraction of the cost.

You still need to come up with a solid idea, build a brand, do marketing, and provide customer service. But you won’t have to keep a stack of products in your living room or ship every order yourself, making them excellent home businesses to start. Here are some low-investment business ideas that let you make money without investing a lot upfront, while freeing you from the demands of inventory management.

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Home Office Design for Success

Inspire the Entrepreneur in You: Home Office Designs for Success

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For the average hard-working person, taking the work home has become a crucial job requirement. That’s why many homeowners have decided to create their own home offices where they can completely focus on their work and run their business successfully. In order to help you follow in their footsteps and build your dream home office, we have singled out our top décor trends that will inspire the entrepreneur in you. Let’s take a look.

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Tips for Small Business Owners

Tips for Small Business Owners

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  1. Know your basic targets- your Break-even point (BEP) is the absolute first target.Most businesses I have worked with, have this made up number based on what they ‘think’ it is rather than what it actually is. This will scare most of you as most think it is much less than what it truly is, but without this as a minimum target, you will actually lose more money as you do not have the basic turn over target. Read more
Business Startup

5 Questions to Consider Before Starting Your Business

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When considering the option of becoming self-employed, we are often focused upon the financial elements needed for successful trading. Forecasting your earning potential is an important exercise before taking the plunge into self-employment and having a contingency plan in case of failure is always recommended. However, the emotional and psychological implications of self-employment are often overlooked by potential entrepreneurs, and herein lie many of the challenges faced by new business owners.

Why do you want to do this?

The first and most important step to preparing for potential self-employment is to be completely honest with yourself. Identifying your real motivations for wanting to leave the 9-5 grind will help clarify if starting a business is right for you. If your motivations centre solely around an annoying boss or co-worker, then you need to consider if finding another job might be the best solution for you. The idea of being your own boss can be alluring, but not everybody is cut out for entrepreneurship. Self-employment often poses far more difficulties than working for an employer, and it is advisable for one to ascertain whether they are willing to make sacrifices in terms of financial security, as well as job stability, to develop a business. Taking the time to consider this question deeply will either save you a lot of trouble or help steel you for the challenges ahead.

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Organised Office

Seven Ways to Organize Your Home Office to Create More Space

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Keeping an organized and tidy workspace is essential. Studies have shown that concentration is negatively affected in an untidy work environment. So it’s just as important for home workers to keep their workspace clean as it is in a conventional office. As the specialists in both home and office cleaning, at Helpling, we’re uniquely qualified to offer tips on how to keep your home office clean and organized. We’ve put together some of our top tips on how home workers can keep a neat and tidy workspace.

1. Go digital

If you’re working from a home office, space is likely at a premium. Maximise what room you have by digitizing as much of your paperwork as you can. Use laptops or iPads for meetings to shorten your paper trail and reduce printing costs. It is also much better for the environment.

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Website Design - Small Business

Tips For Running a Business With Your Loved One

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Running a business with someone you love can be tricky at times but the many benefits that come with it far outweigh the challenges. My partner and I started our business together about 3 years ago and I can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Having said that, there have been plenty of obstacles along the way and 3 years in, we’ve got a few tips that might help other couples who are starting out in business together.

We started our ecommerce business as a side project while we both had full time jobs. Over the years we gradually reduced our time at our jobs as the business grew. Now we are both about to make the leap into full time entrepreneurship and we are more than a little excited! Not only will we get to choose what we do when we wake up everyday, we’ll also get to spend the majority of our time together, instead of with work colleagues.

Here are some tips we’ve learned along that way that have really helped us to succeed in our business:

1)    Plan your life and business goals together. When your income and life are so intertwined, having life goals that are fuelled by your business success can be the best motivator there is! Location independence is one of the most motivating incentives for us and has helped drive us through the tough times. Connect something you want in your life to the success of your business and you’ll have all the motivation you’ll need to make it work.

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5 Digital Success Tips For Small Business

5 Digital Success Tips For Small Business

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Our competitive landscape has completely changed. Customers expect more from businesses, on and offline. Technology is transforming the way we search, connect, engage and purchase. New tools, platforms, lower barriers to entry and accessible insights are evening the playing field for small businesses.

Is your mobile and digital technology use currently limiting your digital potential?

Here are five tips to help you become a leader, not a laggard.

1. Get the basics right

•    Stalk your customer – Understand your customers’ buying journey and exceed expectations. Tailor the online experience to complement your other channels and customer interactions.

•    Have a realistic budget – Customer attraction and retention are crucial for small businesses. Have you set aside a budget for marketing? As a guideline 5% of revenues is recommended for existing businesses and approximately 10% for start-ups. ROI (return-on-investment) should always be key when measuring your marketing efforts. Smart investments will ensure you are well positioned to attract consumers now and in the future.

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Small Business Branding

Keeping It Simple to Stand Out

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Branding is more important for big corporate business right?

Wrong.

Branding is even more vital for small business, where there is usually limited time and budget available for promotion and you can’t afford to waste it on marketing that doesn’t work.

Without a brand. most businesses end up with WOFTAM marketing – a waste of flipping time and money, because they lack the simplistic yet clear message that a brand provides.

A brand is like a compass for your marketing, keeping you in the right direction, ensuring your message is on-brand and that you consistently stand out and engage with the right target audience.

And standing out is crucial when competition is fierce.

Without a strong brand a small business disappears amongst others in the industry, leaving you competing on price alone and that’s a race to the bottom. That’s especially important for service providers where you are exchanging your time for money.

Without a clear brand direction you tend to get a bit lost, you waffle and flounder when it comes to explaining why someone should choose you.

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How to Maintain Business Continuity in Uncertain Times

How to Maintain Business Continuity in Uncertain Times

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Business continuity planning should be an essential priority for any business including small and medium sized companies just as it is for large companies. Every year, around 20% of all businesses face an event that is unplanned and unwanted that may just challenge their survival. The threats may come from fire, flood, theft, illness or something much worse, but regardless of the problem, businesses that successfully recover are those that have planned their response in advance.

All businesses are unique and there is no generic template that can be applied to every business. However, the following areas of consideration when it comes to continuity planning can act as a start point to prepare your own plan:

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