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business

Office Safety Essentials: 6 Steps to Maintaining a Safe Office Environment

Office Safety – Photo by kate.sade on Unsplash

Creating and maintaining a safe work environment should be a priority for any business owner. Safe employees are happy and productive employees, not to mention the fact that keeping workers and work areas safe complies with OSHA standards.

If you’re a business owner who strives to maintain office safety for your employees, make sure you address the following areas:

1. Keep Worker’s Compensation Insurance Up to Date

We all hope no one has to use it, but every business needs workers’ compensation insurance just in case. Not only is this type of coverage mandatory in most states, but having it protects your business from the high cost of medical bills should one of your employees get hurt on the job. You can get a workers’ compensation insurance quote online from most providers – just be sure to compare features and prices to get the best policy for your needs.

2. Keeping Things Clean and Tidy is an Office Safety Essential

Keeping a clean and organized work area is an office safety essential. It will help prevent accidents and injuries. So take care to remove any visible hazards, and encourage your staff to report any risks or violations they witness. OSHA regulations exist for a reason, and your business must be in compliance. So make sure you are addressing any unsafe situations as quickly as possible to prevent accidents or injuries before they occur.

office safety essential

Office Safety Essential – Photo by kate.sade on Unsplash

3. Make Sure Employees are Trained

Safety training should be conducted as part of the onboarding process and then periodically as new processes and procedures are created to further increase safety in the workplace. Make sure your team members understand the proper way to lift and carry heavy objects, what to do in case of chemical spills, what type of PPE (personal protective equipment) they should be wearing, and any other special safety rules that pertain to the job they are doing.

4. Provide the Proper Equipment for the Job

Employees can only carry out their daily tasks correctly and safely if they have the right equipment and quality office furniture. Quality office furniture will give your employees the right conditions to keep them motivated and maintain the air of professionalism your business needs. The equipment must also be well-maintained. Making do with tools and machines that aren’t made for the task or attempting to use broken-down equipment can quickly result in injury.

Don’t let your workers use inadequate or incorrect equipment while on the job, and encourage them to report broken or ill-functioning machines or tools when they see them to ensure your everyone’s safety while on the clock.

5. Display Visual Safety Reminders

You can never have too many safety reminders posted throughout your business. Use digital and/or paper signage to remind workers how to lift properly, what to do if they get something in their eyes, and any other relevant messages. You may think they aren’t seeing these signs and that you’re wasting money posting them, but in the event of an accident, having the right instructions in the right place might just make a world of difference.

6. Make Being Safe Fun

While the subject of safety isn’t all that entertaining, you can make being safe at work fun by providing comical videos about safety and offering incentives for following the set protocols. For instance, if your employees have remained accident-free for six months, a small bonus on their paychecks will encourage them to keep it up.

Maintaining office safety is essential because not only does it keep your staff from getting hurt, but it also ensures your business is compliant with OSHA regulations. Workplace safety doesn’t have to be a challenge as long as you follow the helpful tips above.

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travel sports

Surf Cities: 6 of the World’s Best Cities for Surfers to Consider Living

Surf Cities – Photo courtesy of Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Surfing in the same city at the same beaches with the same waves can soon grow tiresome. You might be seeking out the biggest and best waves or may simply fancy a change of scenery and a chance to surf with the world’s best. In that case, finding some of the best surf cities in the world might have crossed your mind.

Pack your surfboard and consider setting off to the following surf cities:

Torquay, Australia

While not technically a city, the seaside town southeast of Melbourne might be at the top of your must-live list. Find a job, enlist the services of a local builder in Torquay to build your dream home, and start calling some of the most famous surf beaches – like Jan Juc Beach and Bells Beach – your local spots.

Torquay might be small, with a population of less than 20,000, but it’s renowned for its surf beaches, many of which are ideal for beginners due to their small and gentle waves. You’ll also be perfectly placed to catch the annual Rip Curl Pro.

Bilbao, Spain

If unpredictable weather frustrates you as a surfer, and you don’t like surfing in the middle of a rainy spell, Bilbao in Spain’s Basque Country might pique your curiosity. Not only is Bilbao a de-facto surf city, but it also boasts consistent sunshine year-round, allowing for ample surfing opportunities in both summer and winter.

It doesn’t hurt that this Spanish city has one of the country’s highest household net income rates, with most people earning approximately €19 an hour.

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

While you might need to wait in line to nab the best surfing spot, you won’t mind when you see what’s on offer at one of the many surfer beaches in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The water is warm, turquoise, and ideal for surfers, with consistent swells and a thriving beach culture.

Whether you surf at Barra, Ipanema, or Arpador, you’re bound to find miles of peaks breaking along the sandbars to get your fix.

surf citiesSurf Cities – Photo by Johannes Andersson on Unsplash

New York City, USA

There’s a high chance you’ll spend more time in traffic than surfing, but New York City is one of the excellent surf cities if you’re trying to find a challenging surfing spot to take your skills to the next level.

In particular, the Rockaways are a firm favorite for consistency. Otherwise, you can venture further out to the Long Island surfing scene. You’ll likely encounter harsh weather conditions throughout the cooler months but ridable surf and warm waters throughout spring and summer.

Honolulu, USA

The iconic crescent beach with high-rise hotels and palm trees makes you feel like you’re in paradise in Honolulu, but they aren’t the only drawcards. There are many standout surf spots, such as Tonggs Beach, Banzai Pipeline, and Sunset Beach, to test you to your limits.

In your downtime, you can also pay a visit to various sites relating to the World War II attack on Pearl Harbor, such as the USS Arizona Memorial.

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa, might experience frequent political turmoil, but its desirable surfing spots are hard to beat. Beginners, intermediate, and experienced surfers are bound to love the challenge of Big Bay and Long Beach, while beginner surfers can meet their needs at Muizenberg, The Hoek, Glen Beach, and Scarborough Beach.

If the time has come to relocate to somewhere offering surfing challenges galore, you can’t go wrong with these surf cities. Now might be the right time to consider a move that takes your surfing skills to a whole new level.

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saving tips savings

Lifestyle Resolutions to Save Money in 2023

Lifestyle Resolutions – Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

New Year, new lifestyle resolutions, and new goals. Most resolutions are geared towards personal and career growth but financial wellness also falls at the top of the 2023 New Year’s Lifestyle Resolutions. This year can prove to be both challenging and exciting as we all come out of our covid experience with new perspectives. For some financial priorities have shifted to health and wellness while others prefer to cultivate financial growth. Whatever plans you may have for the year it is essential that you save money not just for a rainy day but for your 2023 goals.

Ready, Set, Go

Get ready for lifestyle resolutions that can help you achieve your financial goals. It doesn’t have to be big or drastic, a small change or shift in your choices can go a long way for your savings. Before you get going you’ll have to set your financial goals and stick to one that’s doable given your current finances. This is basically a look at your regular income vs fixed expenses and planned expenses. Then apply the 50-20-30 rule to save money. Once you’ve crunched your numbers then it’s time to implement changes that can help you with your financial resolutions this 2023.

Lifestyle Resolution 1: Cut Down to Save Up

Find ways to cut down on costs for your living expenses. Spending less on your purchases and expenses translates to savings too. Don’t worry because you don’t have to give up anything or at least anything significant to do this. Cutting down on costs simply means making practical choices and planning your daily activities.

Plan Ahead. Scheduling your day efficiently can easily help you cut costs. For example, instead of taking separate trips to the mall for bank errands, salon day, or shopping, you can simply schedule it all on the same day. This way you don’t just save on travel time but also on your gas or transportation expenses.

Go Online. One of the gains that we had during the pandemic is the improvement of online services and this is also an area you can exploit to cut down on costs and save money. You can do your bank transactions, bills payment, and shop online to save on gas and transportation costs. Even with delivery fees online shopping can be a more practical choice compared to going to the mall yourself. In some cases, you can even have delivery fees waived.

Save on energy. Aside from gas, electricity is another area where you can cut costs and help save the environment too. There are two ways to do this, one is to start a green habit of saving on electricity. Remember to turn the lights off when no one is in the room. Another is to choose wisely when buying new appliances. Don’t just look at the price tag when buying appliances because you might end up paying more in the long run. Cheaper appliances can consume more energy compared to others with higher energy efficiency ratings. Thus you pay less on your purchase but more on your electricity bill. Go for appliances with higher energy efficiency ratings so you can cut down on your electricity bills and save money in the long run.

Lifestyle Resolution 2: Keep an eye out for savings opportunities and grab them

Check your pockets. Collecting loose change is one of the easiest ways to save money. How many times have you checked pockets during laundry and found a loose change in them? You might be surprised at how much money you can save by collecting them all in a jar or a coin bank. You can double your savings opportunity by having a money jar by the kitchen for spare change every time you come home. Be notified. Discount deals and promo purchases are also great tools to save money. By now most people have their favorite shopping sites with promos and deals going year-round. Turn on your notifications for your preferred sites so you don’t miss out on any savings opportunities.

lifestyle resolutions save money

Save Money – Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

Join a community. Saving money is more fun if you’ve got friends rooting for you. Join a community with people who are into savings too. This way you’ll get more creative and doable savings ideas and get dibs on the latest savings opportunity around.

Lifestyle Resolution 3: Make the most out of what you have

Going back to the 50-20-30 rule, 20% of your income should be allotted to your savings. You can save much more than that if you make the most out of your 20%. This can be done by putting your savings into high-yield Investment products that guarantee returns. But aside from your income you can also make the most out of the things that you already have and add them to your savings.

Use credit cards to your advantage. Some people cringe at the mention of credit cards because it’s associated with debt. But if you use them to your advantage then they can help you save money. For instance, most credit cards have perks and rewards that give out freebies and discounts. There are also some that offer 0% installment deals for your purchases. As long as you stick to your budget and pay your bills in full then this could work for you.

Use apps to add money. If you want to save more then having extra income can help you. There are plenty of side hustles that you can get online to make this easy and convenient. In fact, you can use apps to make money and add it to your savings. Sometimes this can be as simple as answering surveys but it can also be as big as having a second job. But whatever hustle you choose just remember that sometimes it takes patience to save money.

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education

Copy That Converts: The 5 Golden Rules of Effective Copywriting

Photo by Negative Space/Pexels

Whether you’re looking to hire the best copywriting agency or simply want to improve your own skills, knowing and following some golden writing rules can help. These rules provide guidelines for what to look for and can help you deliver your message far more effectively. From CTAs and strong headlines to customer focus, here are five rules to keep in mind when copywriting.

Do the Research

If the goal of copywriting is to persuade readers to do something, then the information persuading them must be accurate and well-researched. You’ll lose your reader’s trust and make your company look bad if it’s not.

So, always research your topic thoroughly. That means reading over what others have written, summarizing it in your own words, giving credit where credit’s due, and double-checking for accuracy.

Focus on the customer

Copywriting is customer-focused, so knowing and using your customer’s language is crucial. Customer-centric copy builds a connection that can blossom into a conversion. Speaking the customer’s language isn’t only about using words and phrases they’ll relate to and recognize – it also means understanding (and speaking to) their worries and challenges.

To do that, you’ll need to explain how your product or service benefits the customer. Remember that benefits differ from features. Benefits describe what something does, whereas features only explain what it is. Customers want to know how your product or service will directly benefit their life, so make sure you lay that out clearly and simply.

copywriting golden rules

Effective Copywriting – Photo by Judit Peter on Pexels

Write a strong headline

Whether you like it or not, more people will read your headline than the entire piece. To ensure readers click through, scroll down, and act on the call to action (CTA), you must spend the right amount of time on the headline. Usually, your first headline isn’t your best, so brainstorm as many as possible. A straightforward method is to state the main benefit and wrap it in words that hook people into reading more.

End on a call-to-action

Most online articles aim to get the reader to do something by the end. The easiest – and most effective – way to do that is by ending on a call to action. These range from signing up for a newsletter to leaving a comment below the post.

To craft the perfect CTA, ask yourself the following:

Where is the customer in the buying cycle? Are they ready to purchase, or are they still gathering information?
Is your offer simple, or do customers have to fill out a long form just to subscribe to a newsletter?

Is your CTA in line with what customers want?

After considering the above questions, remember to use strong verbs that inspire action – “download,” “start,” or “sign up” – rather than weak verbs that are vague.

Edit for simplicity

Your first copywriting draft is unlikely to be your last one. So, after completing it, take a break and then come back to edit. Focus on cutting extraneous words, including a mix of short and long sentences, and expressing your thoughts as concisely as possible.

Online content should be scannable, allowing readers to get the gist of it as quickly as possible. To help them do that, copywriters should use headers, subtitles, bullet points, and other elements that allow people to scan a piece quickly.

Keep these five golden rules in mind next time you sit down to write, and you’ll soon have some killer copy on your hands.

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eco-living business environment

Eco-Friendly Upgrades: 5 Best Ways to Make Your Small Business More Eco-Friendly

eco-friendly materials

Eco-friendly – Photo by Anna Oliinyk on  Unsplash

From individuals to small businesses, every contribution towards fixing global warming counts. In addition to using serviced and virtual offices, there are many other solutions you can adopt to make your business more eco-friendly. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Recycle and Reuse

Using biodegradable or reusable packaging for your products is one of the easiest ways to go green. If you’re in the food and grocery business, you can opt for recyclable cups and bottles. It’s also worth upgrading to reusable shopping bags instead of their plastic counterparts.

Regardless of your industry, you can incorporate recycling bins into your office or shop to encourage employees and customers to recycle and reuse wherever possible.

Save Energy

Even the smallest business can have energy needs that contribute to pollution in some way, especially if you run a brick-and-mortar location. One way to reduce the energy you use is to open up the windows instead of cranking up the air conditioner.

If you have access to natural light, make the most of it to maximize the amount of sunlight you get each day. For example, design your business layout in a way that doesn’t obstruct light, and use energy-saver bulbs and motion-sensing lights that only come on when needed.

Encourage your employees to carpool or even cycle to work when possible. Consider working from serviced or virtual offices to limit the work commute and save on overhead costs. Better yet, find one of the many serviced offices worldwide that have been designed from the ground up to be eco-friendly.

eco-friendly shop

Eco-friendly Shop – Photo by Jason Briscoe on Unsplash

Conserve Water

Apart from putting up signs around the office reminding everyone to be careful with water, there are many ways to conserve water in a business. For instance, you could encourage employees to wash their dishes at the same time instead of doing it separately. It can even help to opt for a dishwasher instead of the hand washing method.

You may also upgrade to water-saving dual flush toilets and collect rainwater for flushing. Any rainwater you collect can also be used to water your office plants.

Use Less Paper

As we all know, the number of trees that are cut down to make paper every year is devastating. In fact, the paper industry accounts for 0.6% of all annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Be a part of eco-friendly solutions by going digital. Everything from memos to invoices and order fulfillment can be done online now. Another benefit of going digital is that you won’t have to spend money on new filing cabinets each year, and you can run your business from anywhere.

Plant Trees

Trees are the lungs of our planet and an essential part of our fragile ecosystem. They convert the carbon dioxide released by cars, humans, and industrial activity into the oxygen we humans breathe. They also provide shade and shelter while beautifying the environment.

Despite all this, ancient forests are being decimated at an alarming rate each year, displacing animals and threatening habitats all around the world.

What can you do about this as a business owner? Aside from sponsoring local tree-planting initiatives, you could regularly donate to a reforestation non-profit as part of your company’s corporate social responsibility strategy.

As we continue to face the accelerating effects of global warming, it’s important to remember that we all have the power to help reverse the damage being done to the planet. Get started today by applying one or more of the solutions shared above to make your business that much more eco-friendly.