Tips

Advantages of virtual meetings

The multiple advantages offered by video conferences have attracted the attention of many companies for years, in many cases SMEs, which communicate with clients and other professionals without leaving the office. In addition to this benefit, we find other great potentials of this type of technology that are interesting to analyze.

Cost reduction

One of the obvious benefits of using video conferencing and virtual meetings is the reduction in travel and travel costs. Undoubtedly, many meetings can be held remotely without the need to spend time or money traveling, something that any company values ​​positively and contributes directly to the income statement and productivity.

Greater number of communications

The convenience of using some of the video conferencing tools on the market means that any company can communicate with clients, partners, or suppliers in a very agile way. In turn, this allows the number of communications to be increased whenever necessary.

Better monitoring of projects with the client

Clients always value the follow-up we do on their projects or the professional relationships we have.
With virtual meetings, distance is not a problem to speak face to face frequently, with the client providing adequate follow-up and transmitting much proximity through virtual meetings. Without a doubt, it can become a great tool to build customer loyalty and improve customer satisfaction.

Better monitoring of projects with collaborators/employees

The same happens with the projects we carry out with company professionals relocated to places other than headquarters.
The possibility of meeting virtually with them through video conferencing solutions allows for a better relationship with the professional, a more adequate follow-up of the project, and a feeling of greater closeness to the project.

Greater agility in decision making

Usually, decision-making in a company takes place in a face-to-face meeting, since several people, partners, etc. must intervene.
The use of video calls and virtual meetings means business decisions can also be made.
The possibility of bringing together the executives or people involved in the decision in the same space is essential, so a firm agreement can be reached in an agile way than if we had to find a face-to-face meeting of all members, with displacements/trips, and more associated scheduling difficulties.

Main tools and functionalities

Year after year, the market offers better video conferencing tools and a greater number of functionalities for professional use. The best-known and longest-running program is Skype, which since 2003 has experienced exponential growth. Is widely used both at a private and business level.

The options have multiplied lately, and there is one for every need.

By reserving a conference room, the benefits are potentiated, and the development of the meetings flows better.

Many of us have a list of things to do (to-do list), but just because it’s on the list, it doesn’t mean it will get done. Ideally, you do it all at once. David Allen in “The Two-Minute Rule,” suggests anything that can be done in less than two minutes should be done all at once, rather than added to the to-do list.

There are 5 basic decisions to be made when something new arrives:

• Do your homework on the task as soon as it arrives
• Delegate this task to someone more prepared or with more time
• Put it on schedule to do it later
• Archive it to get to this at another time
• Delete it and forget about it

Other things we can do to be more productive are:

• Eliminate distractions
• Combine the same tasks to do them all at once. You can’t be productive if you switch from task to task all day. It is most convenient to group the tasks.
• Identify priorities
• Learn to say no

To get tasks done, there are several tools we can use to help us be more productive:

1) Wunderlist: It’s synchronized on all devices (computer, iPad, cell phone) and you have access to everything everywhere. It can be a notepad and organizer where completed tasks are marked. It helps to know the degree of productivity in a day.

2) Evernote: You can save everything digitally and have quick access. Saves time searching for annotations.

3) Text Expander: This is another tool that can save you a lot of time because it gives you instant access to your resources.

4) Alarm: This tool can give you a period to perform tasks and assign the appropriate time for each one.

The new normality has led us to integrate into different spaces between a mix of the conventional way and the remote way. Many companies have chosen to leave their facilities to operate from shared, versatile spaces with the potential to make the most out of them.

In these types of spaces, the importance of feeling part of a community should not be underestimated, while operations are carried out safely and efficiently.

These may be reasons to join coworking:

1. Spaces designed for your well-being. Due to the pandemic, working conditions have changed radically. Coworking spaces are designed for the well-being of users. From the distribution of spaces and furniture to the environments, they allow you to work comfortably, improve productivity, answer calls, and have meetings and places to rest.
2. Encourage innovation. The difficulties of holding virtual meetings can occur unexpectedly. Therefore, having a suitable place is critical for innovation. The exchange of opinions between colleagues is stimulating to propose diverse ideas and improve teamwork.
3. Allow collaboration. Precisely, collaboration is one of the foundations of the creation of coworking. From this foundation, benefits are derived for the projects of the work teams, since contacts in other industries are established and increased due to co-existence in one place, the so-called networking.
4. Cyber ​​security. Home connectivity has security gaps and leaves users unprotected. There are contingency measures against potential threats of theft or vulnerability of confidential information in coworking spaces.
5. Offer focus and commitment. Being in an office avoids the blurring of efforts and attention at work. It is the place where work-life is separated from the domestic life and organizational culture is built, where the values ​​of the company are reinforced.
6. Savings. By optimizing costs in coworking, the costs of renting or buying places and the payment of services for the operation of the companies are avoided. It is not only saving money but also time and other efforts.

It is now that remote work and coworking show that they are complementary activities.

It does not matter what phase your company is in; there are some highly inspiring examples to follow that can be emulated.

Just like you, some of these people were also entrepreneurs with a goal in mind, which perhaps seemed far away.

They share their way of thinking with those who want to reach the top.

1. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to lose it.” —Jeff Bezos
   The Amazon CEO was clear about how important it is to build strong relationships with your customers and the environment. From the first phase of business growth, focus on being one of the companies that the world expects. Grow according to your corporate values and don’t deviate from them. Everyone makes mistakes, but how they’re resolved is what will stick in people’s minds.
2. “It’s okay to celebrate success, but it’s more important to heed the lessons of failure.” —Bill Gates
   As you have seen, business growth requires several complex phases that require a lot of nerve, effort, patience, and intelligence to complete. Going up is a great success: celebrate it, but as the tycoon says, don’t just focus on it. Analyze how your journey went, the things you did well, and the things you can improve in the coming stages.
3. “I always did something I wasn’t ready for. I think that’s the way to grow up.” — Marissa Mayer
   Entrepreneur and IT specialist Marissa Mayer, a former Google employee (number 20, to be exact), CEO of Yahoo! and founder of Lumi Labs, invites you to seek growth despite not having safe bets. You can overcome the fear of failure and “not measuring up” only when you still decide to do things.
4. “Constant growth is the best survival mechanism” —Amancio Ortega
   The growth of your company will give you the engine to continue accomplishing more and more achievements. As you grow, your skills and knowledge increase. This is shaping you as a wiser and more expert person in making strategic decisions. This experience will help you grow and face adversity in the environment of your company.

Business growth has many aspects and depends exclusively on the needs of your company, knowing where you want to go and how to go about it. Perhaps your constant goal is customer acquisition; but, as you advance in your stages of business growth, you’ll have more and more needs to solve.

Markets are different and can be uncertain; though, with a business growth plan designed from a clear vision, you’ll be able to diversify your products or services and identify your opportunities and weaknesses to face the obstacles that may appear.

How to be more productive with the 80/20 rule

The 80/20 rule refers to a phenomenon that states that approximately 80% of the results come from 20% of the actions. In other words, a small percentage of causes have a huge effect. This concept is great, because it can help identify which initiatives you need to prioritize to achieve the greatest impact.

Vilfredo Federico Pareto, an Italian economist and philosopher, noted that 80% of the land in Italy was held by only 20% of the people. The same was true for the plants in his garden, since 80% of the fruit was grown by 20% of his plants.

This is a pervasive phenomenon that can be seen in economics, business, time management, and even sports… in just about every walk of life.

This rule can be useful for prioritizing daily tasks.

The purpose is to complete 20% of the daily tasks and achieve 80% of the impact that can be generated on that day. To achieve better results, it’s important to highlight which are the tasks with the greatest impact on the work crew and focus on them.

Also, with the 80/20 rule, you can make better decisions during the troubleshooting process. This is the process:

• Identify equipment problems; that is, those that are to be resolved with this decision-making process.
• Determine the causes of these problems. By questioning the origin of problems, it is easier to find possible solutions.
• Classify problems into related groups. It could turn out that one solution is being used on several of them.
• Assign a value to each problem based on its impact on the business. This can indicate importance.
• Develop a plan to focus on issues that occur in the top 20%. The idea is that a solution can solve several problems. Based on the values assigned to each, it will be calculated which ones are in the top 20%. The 80/20 rule can also help increase metrics in less time by prioritizing initiatives in the right order.
• Clear priorities.
• Greater daily productivity.
• Ability to divide work into groups of simpler tasks.
• More focused strategy.

The goal is to focus effort on a specific aspect of the job for greater impact. 100% effort must be used in that 20% to achieve 80% of the results

Whether you plan to launch your first small business or have been running one for many years, implementing an effective marketing strategy has never been more critical. As the business landscape continues to evolve and marketing trends change, it’s up to you to stay on top of the strategies, channels, and messaging you use. If you want to improve your company’s marketing efforts, this crash course can help you lay a firm foundation!

The Strategies                        

Effectively marketing your business will require you to create and execute various little strategies that makeup one overarching marketing strategy. Much of your plan will factor in the channels and messaging you utilize as a brand, which we will discuss in more detail below.

A good place to start is by defining your goals, even if it means redefining the ones you already have in place. You should also ensure you have a unique selling proposition (USP) and a new method for demonstrating how your product or service stands out from the crowd.

Furthermore, it can help to define your target audience and create a customer profile. Knowing your target market will help you develop a strategy that accommodates your goals. And, of course, you will need to do plenty of market research to get an idea of what your target customers are looking for.

The Channels

There’s no shortage of channels through which to roll out your marketing strategy. To keep up with the business landscape today, you must consider using online and offline marketing channels. Sure, most of your marketing efforts will likely stream through online channels like social media, email marketing, content marketing, PPC, and SEO. These are critical for remaining relevant in today’s world, and you must learn how to implement these practices best in-house.

Be sure to use an image size converter for your various marketing images. You will likely use several versions of the same image throughout your various marketing channels, so having the access to the tools to resize them yourself is a major convenience.

Offline channels refer to more traditional means of promoting your brand, which might include posting ads on billboards and telephone poles around town. Or, it might consist of leaving business cards and brochures on community bulletin boards at restaurants and coffee shops. Moreover, word-of-mouth advertising remains one of the most effective ways to build your brand identity, which requires you to maintain top-notch customer service and quality.

The Messaging

Once you know what channels you want to use as a business, craft your marketing message to represent your brand through your content. Your message essentially refers to the words and content in your marketing materials that persuade people to choose your company.

Your brand must have a specific and unique voice that distinguishes you from your competitors. And your messaging needs to coincide with your selected channels and the needs of your target customers.

To develop the appropriate messaging, you need to understand your audience’s problems and craft concise, catchy content that speaks to solutions for those problems. Try to avoid sounding too “salesy” or using too much industry jargon; all of your content should utilize familiar, casual language while still establishing your expertise in the industry.

Evaluating Your Marketing Success

Finally, you must understand how to assess your marketing success to determine how to adjust your strategy in the future. The best method is to evaluate your marketing outcomes instead of your results.

While results refer to social media statistics, website traffic, lead sources, and similar factors, outcomes are defined by the sales, revenue, customer satisfaction, returns, and customer lifetime value that stem from your marketing efforts. Learn to measure the outcomes, and you will have valuable information for making critical decisions for the future.

Whether you run an audio-video business or any other type of company, marketing is critical to your overall success. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the strategies, channels, and messaging your team should implement, and consider the advice above for planning your company’s marketing efforts. In no time, you will see excellent outcomes from the extra time and energy you put into promoting your brand!

Visit Business E Suites for affordable move-in-ready office space that will boost your team’s productivity. Call 281-862-3150 to schedule a tour today!

The internet has made our dream come true: we are in charge of our productivity. And it doesn’t matter if you are an employee, a freelancer, or an entrepreneur. You have to be good at managing your time. One very popular way to do it is through the Pomodoro Technique. But how does it work?

What is the Pomodoro Technique?

The Pomodoro Technique is an approach to managing your working time. It’s all about finding a balance between periods of intense activity and short breaks. Downtimes are important to relax a bit, keep your mind clear, and then get back to work. This way, when you’re active you will be fresh and effective.

Its origins date back to the late 1980s. Francesco Cirillo, a college student, implemented it with a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. The Italian word “Pomodoro” refers to a sauce made from tomatoes.

How does the Pomodoro Technique work?

The Pomodoro technique is very simple. You need a timer, a piece of paper, a pen, and a great desire to organize your time.

First, write the tasks that you want to complete. This can be a simple “to do” list. Next, divide your work session into 25-minute productivity periods. You will call them “Pomodoros”. Avoid all distractions!

Between each Pomodoro, take a 5-minute break. This is will allow you to clear your mind. Every four Pomodoros take a longer break of 20 minutes.

Your goal is to give your total attention to a single task. Thus, interruptions are not allowed. If an unforeseen issue demands your attention, you can write it down to take care of it during the next Pomodoro. If you MUST take care of it, cancel the Pomodoro and start again later.

At the end of each Pomodoro, cross off the tasks you have completed. Add any comments you feel are necessary. Later, this will allow you to reflect on your productivity.

Is the Pomodoro Technique effective?

The Pomodoro Technique can help you to maintain mental agility thanks to its breaks. Also, when you avoid multitasking, you can finish your work with effectiveness.

The 25 minute periods are recommendations. Everybody is different, and you may find that longer or shorter Pomodoros work better for you.

Some people feel that the Pomodoro Technique can discourage teamwork. One proposed solution is the “Pair Pomodoro”. This is the application of the approach with two people working together for the same goal. This reduces interruptions and increases creativity and satisfaction.

The Bottom Line

The usefulness of the Pomodoro Technique varies depending on the type of work you are going to do. Certain tasks allow you to work on your own time. Others demand that you respond to various stimuli one after the other.

The Pomodoro Technique is not a cure-all solution. Some people work as freelancers, entrepreneurs, employees, or even artists. Try it and find what works best for you.