Monthly Archives

March 2021

March 31, 2021
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Texas is Re-Opening at 100%, is Your Business Ready?

By | Industry, Tips

As the weather gets warmer and Summer approaches quickly, Texas businesses are opening back up at a rapid pace. Consumers have been cautiously saving their money for the past year, but now cash is starting to flow back into the community as people begin to travel and spend discretionary income once again.

Is your business ready for an influx of new customers? Many owners have had to trim back staff and inventory due to decreased capacity and spending throughout much of 2020. Consumer spending has started to rebound though, with multiple states opening. Consumer Spending in the United States increased to 12999.10 USD Billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 from 12924.72 USD Billion in the third quarter of 2020 (source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis).

If you traveled for Spring Break this year, then you may have seen some of the signs of rising spending: full flights at the airports, long lines at retail stores, longer waits for restaurant seating, and the return of a vibrant nightlife scene with packed bars and clubs.

You might have also noticed that some of these businesses were not prepared to handle the influx of customers, having to turn them away or due to being understaffed or out of stock of certain items. At a time when small businesses are struggling, nobody can afford to turn away customers. Make sure you are prepared to handle any sudden surges.  Do not go overboard and buy too much inventory or hire lots of new full-time staff, but make sure you have plans in place should the need arise. Here are some helpful tips for preparing for a busy summer as Texas opens back up completely.

  1. Start posting job openings online and around town – You don’t have to hire anyone right away, but start building a network of quality candidates that you can call on when the time comes for you to increase your staff. You want to avoid being desperate for help and having to settle for subpar employees. As other businesses are re-opening too, the talent pool will dry up quickly. So, get your name out there and start lining up candidates now and stay ahead of the competition.
  2. Begin selectively increasing inventory – Gas prices are rising which means transportation costs for good will be increasing. Now is a good time to start strategically stocking up on non-perishable products that you know will have a high demand as we get into the summer months. Look into securing additional storage or warehouse space so that you won’t be scrambling to find room once demand increases. If you deal in perishables, see if there is affordable refrigerated or freezer storage in the area. Even if you do not need it right now, be prepared should the need arise quickly.
  3. Ramp up marketing campaigns – Marketing expenses are often one of the first areas that owners and managers will cut back when times are lean. As consumers start looking to spend their cash, make sure your company is at the forefront of their consciousness. Digital marketing such as Google or Facebook ads are an easy way to advertise with any size budget. Start small and target certain groups of consumers, then widen your net as you start to see an uptick in interactions. Make sure everyone knows that you are open for business!

Just by following these small tips, you can make a world of difference for your small business and ensure that you are ready as Texas opens and businesses start to see increased traffic.

If you found this article helpful, then we think you would love being a part of our community at Business E Suites. We are home to over 50 local businesses in the Sugar Land area, and we hold regular events and workshops that help entrepreneurs develop the skills necessary to succeed. Come and see us and learn how we can help take your business to new heights!

 

March 31, 2021
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Work From Everywhere: Here’s How to Succeed as a Digital Nomad

By | Industry, Tips

This article is brought to you by Business E Suites.

Once upon a time, hopeful travelers had to choose between exploring the world and maintaining a career. These days, however, remote work has made life as a digital nomad possible —  meaning, you can do the work you love and travel where you’d like all at once. This is a phenomenal way to live life on your own terms, but it’s one that requires some serious forethought. Here are some tips for how to make this lifestyle work for you:

Market Yourself as a Business

Finding a staff position at a company that allows for the digital nomad lifestyle is far from impossible, but it will be challenging. That’s why many people who go this route prefer to work as contract employees. This puts you in charge of your own schedule and workload, which can make it far easier to enjoy the places you visit on your travels. Moreover, it can make moving from place to place simpler since you won’t have to negotiate time off every time you want to wander.

That said, if you go this route, it’s important to treat yourself as a small business. Depending on what kind of work you’re doing, you may be taking on legal and financial risks if you work as a sole proprietor. Forming a limited liability company, or LLC, creates a legal barrier between your personal and professional assets. This kind of protection can offer invaluable peace of mind.

Stay Organized

One of the biggest challenges facing digital nomads is keeping their work organized. This is hard enough to manage for self-employed people and remote workers in general, but add the inherent instability of travel into the mix, and it gets a whole lot trickier. That’s why it’s so important to foster a reliable organizational method you can use to keep your work on track.

There are several approaches you can take to this. For example, there are many different types of task-management programs that can sync between several devices. This can make keeping track of tasks and deadlines possible when you’re frequently transitioning between your phone and laptop while on the go. You can also use a physical planner or bullet journal system to keep your tasks organized. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution here, so try out several approaches until you find one that’s best for you.

Where to Work?

Life as a digital nomad means you can take your work on the go, but this does mean you have to keep your itinerary filled with destinations with a reliable internet connection. Many hotels and vacation rentals come with WiFi — be sure to check the booking information thoroughly to make sure you know if internet access is included in the price.

If your temporary home doesn’t have internet access, you can often find restaurants and coffee shops that do. It’s important to follow etiquette when using these kinds of establishments as workspaces, however. Be sure to pick up a drink or food item, tip well, and avoid lingering during busy times whenever possible.

Finally, you may be able to find coworking spaces on your journey. A coworking space can be especially useful if you’re spending a month or more in a single area. Business E Suites offers memberships that you can use throughout your whole stay. Coworking spaces don’t just offer internet access — they also give you access to a desk, a quiet space, and amenities that can make your workday substantially more pleasant.

Although this work style isn’t right for everyone, it can make exploring the world feasible for people who don’t already have the funds to sustain long-term travel — or who aren’t willing to sacrifice their careers along the way. We hope this article helps you to figure out whether or not you’d like to dive into the digital nomad life and, if so, how to make it happen.

Looking for a great workspace in Sugar Land, TX for your remote role? Check out Business E Suites today!

Photo Credit: Pexels

Article By: Lance Cody-Valdez

March 4, 2021
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A Sanity-Saving Guide to Working From Home With Young Children

By | Tips

As a mother with young children, working from home is both a blessing and a curse. You can spend more time with your little ones, avoid the daily commute to and from work, and save money on childcare, but you’re also faced with constant interruptions and distractions that make working seem close to impossible. And due to COVID-19 concerns, you may not feel comfortable hiring a babysitter or sending your little ones to child care — even when you’re desperate for a break.

To help you juggle it all, the team at Business E Suites is here to share some sanity-saving tips and strategies to make working from home with young kids much more feasible. Read on to get started!

Work While the Little Ones Sleep

If you’re a sleep-deprived mother of a newborn, you may be tempted to catch up on some sleep whenever your baby goes down for a morning or afternoon nap. However, nap times are the perfect opportunities to power through your important work tasks — even if you only have 20- to- 40 minutes to yourself. The same goes for napping toddlers and young children!

In addition to working while your little ones nap, you’ll accomplish more if you aim to work when your children are at their calmest. For most children, this usually means immediately after waking from a nap or eating a meal.

Share Responsibilities

If you and your partner are both working remotely during the pandemic, try splitting your parenting duties between the two of you, and scheduling childcare shifts throughout the workday. If your partner has deadlines, phone calls, and meetings in the morning, you could care for your little ones in the morning and your partner could take the afternoon shift. If each workday looks a bit different, however, you’ll want to sit down with your partner every evening to plan out the following day’s activities.

Try Virtual Babysitting Services

To keep young children entertained so you can focus on your work, you could turn to online games and activities — or you could enlist the help of a virtual babysitter. To find a virtual babysitter to engage with your little ones via Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime, Kelsey Hurwitz of Woman’s Day recommends:

  • Obtaining referrals from friends and family.
  • Visiting websites such as SitterCity and Care.com.
  • Asking for recommendations on Facebook.
  • Looking for virtual sitters on NextDoor and other neighborhood platforms.

As another option, you could check with your friends and relatives to see if they might be interested in a virtual visit with your little ones. Grandma and grandpa, for instance, can read stories to your young children, draw and color with them, and play fun virtual games like I-Spy and Mad Libs.

Preserve Your Sanity

When you’re at home with your young kids all week long, some days may test your sanity — and you may start to feel as if you’re on the verge of losing your mind. However, this is where self-care comes in. Even as a busy work-from-home mom, self-care is a must!

Here are some simple self-care strategies to keep you happy, healthy, and sane:

  • Try a coworking space. One day a week away from home could be a boon for your productivity. If you can work it out with your partner, plan to use a coworking space for a whole workday. You may be able to work ahead to lighten up the rest of your week.
  • Dress comfortably. Skip the tight jeans and business clothes and opt for comfortable yet stylish leggings, tanks and joggers. When you’re chasing toddlers and young children around all day, comfortable clothing is a must.
  • Remember to breathe. Try a meditation app like Insight Timer, Calm, or Omvana — even if you only have a few minutes to spare.
  • Drink plenty of water. Nourish your body and mind by sipping on water throughout the day, and aim to drink at least eight glasses of water daily. If you’re breastfeeding, however, you’ll need to increase your water intake by about four glasses.
  • Do something for yourself. Extra time at home may have sealed the deal for you on future plans. For example, if you aspire to become an entrepreneur or finally want to get your MBA, you can join a program that fits your busy schedule but allows you to advance your career. You owe it to yourself.

The Bottom Line

Whether you’ve been working from home for years or you’re still adjusting to remote work amidst COVID-19, the challenges of being a work-from-home mom are vast — especially when you’ve got young children to feed and care for. However, focusing on the many advantages of working from home with your children will help to keep your sanity and remind you of how fortunate you really are to be given this opportunity.

Some days will certainly be tougher than others, but in time, you’ll fall into a routine that works for you and your little ones. Before you know it, working from home with a baby or toddler (or both!) won’t seem so impossible after all.

Are you looking for an affordable office space away from home? Look to Business E Suites for a monthly membership that allows you the opportunity to work in a professional environment so you can be more productive.

Image via Pexels

Article by: Janice Russell

March 3, 2021
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The Changing Workplace

By | Business

Are traditional office owners in denial about the change in demand that will persist after the pandemic is behind us? Since COVID-19 forced the hand of companies in allowing workers to work flexibly, Mark Dixon of Bisnow in London, said now they are actively embracing the benefits. He pointed to a study from EY that found that moving a worker from full-time office occupation to hybrid work could save a company $11K.

“Previously, if a company said they wanted you to work remotely, that wouldn’t have been acceptable,” he said. “But now they realize they can hire better people and save money as well. It is not just benevolent, they are businesses, and they realize that people are more productive, and it costs less.”

He thinks up to two-thirds of companies will adopt a hybrid working model of some staff in a central HQ some of the time and working remotely for the remainder.

At Business E Suites, we saw this new remote workspace model as a new way of working 3 years ago. It’s actually not new, it started over in Europe over 10 years ago. Fortunately, we were already under construction when the pandemic hit, but we didn’t plan on opening DURING a pandemic. Nevertheless, the remote office concept is becoming more popular every day.

Not only do workers need space, but they also need meeting rooms as well. Now, instead of meeting at a Starbucks, facilities like ours rent meeting room space out by the hour for as low as $10. And the coffee is included!

If you are a realtor, and you refer business to us, we pay referral fees.

Source

https://www.bisnow.com/london/news/office/its-a-100-year-storm-the-worlds-biggest-workspace-operator-on-why-offices-have-changed-forever-107735

March 3, 2021
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Featured Member: Faisal & Will (SNS)

By | Business, Industry

Faisal Shaikh and Will Peoples comprise SNS Ventures, a Sugar Land IT consulting company that services clients all over the country. They joined our community at Business E Suites in 2020 and have been growing ever since.  Faisal has been in IT and Cybersecurity for much of his career, and he met Will while they were both at GE. After advancing in the industry, Faisal saw an opportunity to start working as a consultant. This gave him more freedom to work with different kinds of clients, and he was not tied down to one company which gave him more security.

Before he started IT consulting though, Faisal got his first taste of small business ownership by opening a couple of restaurants called Saruzzos NY Pizzeria in the Houston area in 2016. Ultimately, Faisal’s goal is to be self-sufficient and get to retire early. Although the restaurants were doing well, there was an opportunity in consulting to potentially reach that retirement even earlier. That is how Faisal operates, he is always open to new opportunities and ideas, and he has the drive and ambition to make them happen.  Like any good business owner, Faisal knew he needed to assemble a winning team. He started by calling Will. After years of working offshore on oil rigs and a hectic schedule, Will was ready for a new challenge working together with Faisal. Will has his own experience as a small business owner, and his time in Oil & Gas provided him with lots of good connections in the industry. He was thrilled at the opportunity to work with Faisal again and work for himself “like a boss.”

SNS Ventures found Business E Suites in December 2020 when Faisal actually came to rent a van from one of our other tenants: Luxed Vans. Faisal toured the facility and loved the clean, professional look and the flexibility of month-to-month terms. As a project-based company, that flexibility is a major plus. It gives SNS the ability to scale their workspace up and down as needed when they take on extra clients or complete a long-term project.  The project-based nature of the business has also been one of the greatest challenges SNS has faced so far. Going from 2 contracts to 3 contracts is a massive increase to their workload, and likewise going from 2 contracts to 1 contract cuts their revenue in half. These big swings can be stressful, but it is just part of the challenge of being a small business.

If Will and Faisal could give one piece of advice to other small businesses out there it is this: Enjoy it!! You are your own boss now, so act like a boss and enjoy the freedom and opportunity provided to you from working for yourself.  Business E Suites is very happy to have SNS Ventures as one of our core members, and we look forward to watching them grow and accomplish all of their goals for 2021 and beyond.

March 3, 2021
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Marketing Tips from Ahava Marketing

By | Business, Tips

Whether you’re a marketing pro or just starting out, we’re here to pass on some helpful tips to reach some exposure and even some goals.  Remember, a brand is not just about a pretty logo, a cool website, or a simple business card, it is about the service and experience you offer your consumers, and where it is, really matters.   As a marketing agency we can tell you there are endless opportunities to market your product/service and brand your business on the way but today, we’re going to offer you some free tips to take advantage of and get started.

Start with the simplest of all; create a Google My Business Page

Most of your traffic if not all will flow through Google and having a steady presence is vital to look serious and mean business

Post and engage on social media

Almost 80% of adults use social media today, where more than half happen to be women, and the biggest age group using a social media outlet today happen to be between 18-29, plus in a world where Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram are the top three most used social media platforms.  This means, that a big group of people not quite this huge percentage, but a good amount could be potentially engaging with your brand and learning all about your product and services.  So, it’s vital to have your business engaged with a social media presence, post relevant content, and talk about what you do.  The chances of getting organic traffic and possible conversions are extremely high through social media channels.

Use hashtags and tag people

Posting content and engaging with the audience is not the only thing you need to focus on, you also need to use trending hashtags and tag relevant influential people that could boost your brand and products.  Now, posting trending hashtags, that’s just something you’re going to have to follow among other influencers specifically to your industry and take it from there.  As far as tagging people go, even if they are not influencers, you can tag people that have engaged with your brand, perhaps even acquired the product you sell, and tagging them will get you to share now your brand with their network; think about it as a word of mouth marketing tactic.

Develop an email marketing plan

Emails have become the number one method of communication among businesses and taking advantage of this new way of communication is a must.  Did you know sending something simple as a welcome email has a 21% open rate and when you offer personalization to this very same email, it increases the open rate by 50%.  Now, what you communicate, is really a world of opportunities to upsell, convert, or even just say hello and keep customers engaged.

Create useful data infographics

If your customers are visual learners like me then offering an infographic relevant to your business and its services is quite helpful, giving them the 411 as an overview with some interesting data and graphics, trust me, it will give your consumers and potential ones something to look at and become ongoing engagers with your brand.

Publish great content about your industry

In 2021, content is king and talking to the digital world through blogging and helpful articles and/or newsletters will boost your business brand and website traffic if set up correctly.

Other great tools you can use are posting helpful tip videos and even hosting contests and giveaways on social media.

To learn more about other free tips, feel free to reach out to hello@ahavamarketing.com or follow us on Facebook or Instagram: @AhavaMarketing.

March 3, 2021
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Lunch & Learn Recap: Cold Calling with Dave Fisher

By | Business, Tips

Business E Suites held its first-ever Lunch & Learn workshop on February 4th. This is something that we will be held each month on the 1st Thursday of the month. The topic for our first event was Cold Calling & Sales hosted by our very own David Fisher of Western Aviation.

Mr. Fisher has been in Sales for over 20 years and has experience selling all types of products from cars, jets, software, telecom, and more. He shared with our members some great tips for how to use cold calling to help make your small business more profitable.

We won’t give away all of his secrets, but here are a few tips he had:

  • Be prepared: Have a list of contacts you are calling and be sure to know as much about them as possible. Do some quick research so you know who you are calling and what their interests are how your business can help. Download lists of industry professionals you are targeting, or create your own list using excel and googling the business you are targeting. The more information you have the easier it will be to get past the gatekeeper.
  • Get past the gatekeeper: Every business or executive is going to have a receptionist or gatekeeper that you must get through before speaking to your actual target. There are many different strategies for getting past them. Ask for the person by name, sound familiar. Don’t start off with a sales pitch, you will get shut down right away. Be polite but assertive, be vague but intentional. Keep it as simple as “is Jim there? I need to speak with him.” And see where that gets you.
  • Get an email address: Even if you can’t get past the gatekeeper, get the email of the person you were trying to reach. Usually, the gatekeeper or receptionist will give it to you or let you leave a voicemail. Getting the email lets you at the very least send a follow-up message and add them to your marketing list, which is valuable. If they are unwilling to give it to you, a simple way to figure it out is just to find out the naming conventions of the email (ex: CThomas@CompanyName.co) and plug in the name of your contact to see if it works.
  • Put in the time: Even if you only have a success rate of 3% where your calls turn into deals, but it the time to make it worth it. If you can hammer out 100 calls in a day, that would net you 3 new deals! If you don’t put in the work, you won’t get the return you are looking for. You must ignore the rejections and just keep pushing till you get that one new deal you have been waiting for.

Cold Calling is far from the most enjoyable aspect of the business, but if you work hard it can be a valuable tool for growing your company and landing deals you otherwise would have missed.