Create the Marketplace – Own the Marketplace

People want something unique and different, so don’t compete—create your own.

In a nutshell that’s the motto CEO and business founder Jeff Pedersen lives by, and what enabled him to start, and continue running, his successful business, Cariloha.

Jeff Pedersen, CEO/Founder Cariloha

Many of today’s current marketplaces are saturated. So if you don’t have the time and/or money to compete with well-known and well-funded brands, find a niche where you can create your own marketplace.

Pedersen recalls first starting his company in 2007 where they produced and sold island-leisure products. Unfortunately, sales were not anywhere close to what he and his executive team had projected they’d be at after opening their first three stores.…

Continue reading →

Before You Start a Tiling Business – Read this First

Starting a tiling install business is arguably much easier than other businesses, provided you have a few years of real-world tiling experience, and are comfortable managing a crew, if applicable. The difficult part comes after registering your new business and setting it up for the taxmen at HMRC.

Tiling business owner

First Thing’s First: Planning and Registration

Before setting out to find your first customers (though, hopefully you have this step taken care of already) it’s important to head on over to Business is Great Britain website to get the paperwork side of things all figured out – such as creating a business plan, choosing and registering your business structure, becoming licensed, bonded and insured, and all the financial considerations you’ll need to know including how to file business taxes with local and state governments.…

Continue reading →

Office Options: 5 Things to Consider When Renting a Workplace

There are many options a business or enterprise has when looking for a place to conduct their daily duties. Often-heard buzzwords, like ‘co-sharing’, ‘open-plan’ offices, and ‘time-share’ renting all sound like viable and important things worthy of your consideration and time, but what are they exactly?

And, more importantly, why should you even be considering them in the first place (hint: unless you’re in the process of getting together a tech start-up, they’re probably not for you).

Here are five (more) relevant, universal, and tangible things for you to consider when you’re looking at renting a workplace.…

Continue reading →

5 Commonly Overlooked Network Security Threats

When it comes to network security, there are two types of companies:

  • Those that are serious about security, realizing that something or someone dangerous is lurking around every corner.
  • Those that don’t think anything bad will ever happen to them.

Where does your company fit in? Even if you’re serious about network security, it goes without saying that you could overlook a threat that could cause major damage, financial loss, and hundreds of hours of lost time.

Hacked

Despite the fact that no network security threat should be overlooked, some of the most common continue to sneak past companies of all sizes in all industries:…

Continue reading →

Why Bigger Can Be Better When Choosing a Surveying Company

There are times in life when you might want to work with an individual – such as an artisan baker or dressmaker – but choosing a surveying company is generally not one of those times.

A good number of talented individuals and small surveying firms are out there and quite capable of doing the job, but generally speaking, bigger is better for several reasons.

Surveying construction worker

We spoke to an established Liverpool based surveying company City Surveys & Monitoring Ltd to find out just why a bigger company, can provide more efficient results.

It’s a matter of scalability and resilience – if an individual falls ill or a piece of equipment breaks, a larger firm is in a better position to replace them quickly and keep your project on track.…

Continue reading →

How to Market Your New Independent Pharmacy

Opening up the doors of a pharmacy is not like any other kind of business. The aim of a pharmacy is genuinely to assist the clientele that walks through the doors with sometimes the most personal of needs. Those needs can range from the medications they need to stay alive and at their healthiest, to lighter and more topical needs like a new package of Band-Aids –and everything in between.

Pharmacist in a drugstore

When first starting up your independent pharmacy, there are quite a few options you have in how you may want to market your new business to the surrounding community. Below are some methods you may want to consider to get your new and independent pharmacy off to a running and sustainable start.…

Continue reading →

6 Practical Steps to Grow Your Small Business

How do you turn your small business into a major corporation? You may have a brick-and-mortar business, or you may have a digital business, or you may have an offline business with an online presence. Regardless of the business structure of your company, it is possible to gradually grow it into a large business.

Managing business

On the surface, it may not appear self-evident how to grow a small business into a big one? Should you just borrow more money and amplify what you’re doing? Should you create new income streams? Should you try a combination of both strategies?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple to transform a business.…

Continue reading →

5 Underrated Skills Every Business Owner Needs To Master

Being an entrepreneur or a small business owner comes naturally to some. Most startup CEO’s will admit they already had the capacity for risk, ability to manage people, and knack for marketing required to create a valuable business from the ground-up.

Business owner using spreadsheets

Yet, there are some skills that entrepreneurs need but end up ignoring. Here are five essential skills every small business owner must take the time to master:

1. Coding

The world absolutely runs on code now. Business decisions are made based on big data analytics and every marketing strategy is A/B tested to infinity. One-third of online shoppers bargain hunt products from other countries online and employers are increasingly likely to use social media in their recruiting campaigns.…

Continue reading →

Tips to Set-up a Business Website on a Shared Hosting Plan

Regardless of the size of one’s business, every venture needs a web presence. A business website is an informational platform that allows companies to introduce their service and product to the world. It is the most convenient way to establish communication with potential clients or customers.

Business website hosting

A business website is also the unique identity for ventures on the web and is an essential part of branding or brand awareness. Despite the obvious advantages of a business website, research conducted by clutch.co (B2B Research Company) revealed that nearly 46% of small businesses don’t have a website.

Almost every small venture is open to the idea of setting up a business website but is unsure of how to go about it.…

Continue reading →

How to Strengthen the Weakest Points in Small Business Security

Small business cybersecurity is an important and often overlooked part of running a business. From employee security problems to information storage, you never want your small business to be vulnerable to information breaches. Unfortunately, small business owners and employees often overlook key security areas. If you want to improve your business’ security, check your weakest points.

Small business IT security

Never Store Your Customers’ Private Information

Most credit card hacks come from small businesses. You should already know not to save CVV numbers or full credit card numbers. If you keep a customer list with any sensitive data, including names and phone numbers, store that information in a secure cloud server.…

Continue reading →