5 Tips to Help Your Small Business Impress Clients

No business is going to succeed unless it has satisfied customers. Without their money, there is no way that a company is going to generate enough revenue to keep its doors open. With that in mind, what are some ways that a small business can keep its clients happy at all times?

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Always Act Like a Professional

Even if you are just one person running a business as a side project or a hobby, you should always act like a professional around your clients. It is important to project an image as someone who is knowledgeable about what he or she is doing at all times. This will cause the client to see you as a viable partner now and in the future. If you're a home based business a meeting room hire is a great idea if you need to meet with clients, and is a sure way to help inspire confidence.

Be There At All Times

It is critical that you are there when your clients need you. Regardless of what time it is or how many hours you have worked during a given day, you need to be there when a client needs you the most. While you are entitled to charge more for responding to an emergency situation, you can't ignore the needs of your clients. If you do, you will find that you don't have many clients paying for your services.

Be Ready With Ideas to Help Your Clients

Take the time to come up with new ideas that can help your clients expand their business. For example, if you hear about a new technology or a new best practice that could help your clients increase page views to their blog, you should be ready and willing to share that information with your clients.

Understand the Needs of Your Clients

People come to you because you have a special skill or knowledge about a specific field that your client needs to tap into. However, you need to understand why your clients have chosen to work with you. Determine early on how you can best use your skills to make it easier for your clients to get the best value for their money.

Develop a Good Working Relationship with Your Clients

Although you never want to mix business and pleasure, there is nothing wrong with developing a good working relationship with your clients. In other words, you should get to know the names of their kids, what they like to do for fun and what cars that they like to drive. This can help you gain the trust of your client and cement a long-term business relationship.

Implementing some or all of these strategies will help you win over your clients and make it easier for them to give you more business. In time, your clients will tell others about your good work and refer new clients to your business. This will help you go from a small business to a well-known company before you know it.

5 Ideas for Your Guest Room

Having guests stay over is a lovely way to be able to spend time with your friends or family and share your home with them. Once you’ve got a nice space set up as your guest room, hosting your loved ones becomes easy and pleasant for both parties. Here are a few great ideas to help you do just that. 

Colours and Pleasant Perfumes

To leave a good impression and ensure your guests feel comfortable in their temporary room, the space should be welcoming and pleasant. Neutral shades accented with splashes of warmer colours or striking bright textiles will help to create a space that is neither too dull nor too bold.
Make sure it’s a nice space for sleeping and for spending a little down time during the day – it should be well lit but able to be kept cool, dark and quiet at night. Subtle, soothing aromas are a homely touch that also create a calm and inviting space.

Creature Comforts

When your guests are staying with you they’ll want a little time to themselves. In order to create a space in which they can feel comfortable they should be provided with a few creature comforts that can be enjoyed in their room.

A mirror in the room means guests can ready themselves without having to wait for the bathroom, it helps guests feel a little more self contained. This can be complimented with a nice dresser where they can keep cosmetics and toiletries rather than in their travel bag.

A tray with tea cups, tea bags and a kettle is another lovely touch. Some spare towels and blankets should also be accessible – if your guests get up earlier than you for a shower, or are cold during the night, they won’t want to wake you up to ask for a towel or blanket.

Books and Magazines

A few recent magazines or simple, short books by the bed give guests something to pass the time when they need to escape for a few hours and just relax, or to wind down at night. Try opting for gender neutral magazines and books that make for an easy read.

Towels and Toiletries

A dresser for toiletries, towel hooks, a small desk for the laptop and a chair in the corner are all nice ideas for furnishings. Necessary items like towels and face washers should also be placed in the room. You might also like to provide a small cake of soap and some travel-sized shampoo, conditioner and body wash, so that your guests don’t have to share the family supply. They’ll feel as though they’re at a five star resort.

Futons and Foldaways

If you’re a little stuck for space in your home, why not combine purposes for your spare rooms? When there’s only one room to spare, have your office space or games room double as a guest room when you have people come to stay.

The easiest way to do this is by having furniture than can easily be stowed away, moved or transformed. You might like to have your room as primarily an office space or a play room for the kids, with a stylish futon or fold-out sofa bed included in the room so that when guests come to stay you can simply convert the seating to bedding. You could also use a desk that folds away and can be stored in a small space. Make sure there’s plenty of spare cupboard space so any office items, toys or electronics can be neatly tucked away while your guests are present.

If your guest room is mostly used by your children’s friends or younger family members, you could search for any bunk beds for sale to include in your spare room, maximising sleeping space while leaving plenty of room for an office desk or a play space.

By following these basic tips you’ll create a lovely in-home respite for your guests to sleep, relax, and recharge for all the day’s activities. They’ll be back in no time!

5 Tips for Living Without a Credit Card

For many people, credit cards symbolise a trap which continues to keep them in debt. While they can be very handy, credit cards often cause more harm than good. If you’re looking to shake your debt for good, here are 5 top tips for living without a credit card.

Get Your Finances Sorted

To ensure that you can really get the best start on living without a credit card, you should take a good look at your financial standing first. Without a solid foundation, you may end up having to revert to credit once more just to get you out of a difficult financial situation. If you are experiencing difficulty paying your bills, meeting your loan repayments and balancing your credit cards, it might be a good option to seek professional help.

Professional debt solutions specialists such as Fox Symes provide a range of support and advice to help you to consolidate and eliminate your debt, as well as alleviate financial strain. Fox Symes is one of Australia’s leading debt solutions specialists, and their team of professionals can help you to regain control over your finances for good. With this sorted, you can focus on living life without your credit card debt and take charge of your finances.

Update Your Budget

If you’ve been living off your credit card, chances are your budget will need a serious adjustment before you can get rid of your card for good. Sit down and work out exactly what your weekly expenses are, and weigh them against your income. Focus as much of your leftover funds into paying off your credit card as soon as possible. Once the card is paid off, allocate the money you were using into a separate savings account. Now instead of using your card, you can work with your own savings and stay debt free for good.

Resisting Temptation

The simple thing to remember about living without your credit card is this: if you have to use credit, you can’t afford to buy it. Don’t let the temptation of bargains or a special deal ruin all of the hard work you have put in to becoming debt free.

Cut Up Your Card

The reason so many people advocate cutting up your card is that it is a simple and effective way to remove the temptation of using credit without actually harming your credit rating. If you cancel your card, you run the risk of damaging your credit rating and undoing all the hard work you’re currently putting in. When you cut up the card, it is a physical as well as psychological commitment to living without credit.

Use Debit Instead

The majority of debit cards issued by banks can be used just like a credit card. They are designed to work with internet transactions as well as over the phone, so you can use your own money to pay bills and buy online rather than putting it on credit.

Breaking the cycle of credit card debt isn’t easy, but it can be achieved with a bit of hard work and determination. Credit is designed to be easy to access and hard to pay off, so you need to put all the odds in your favour if you are going to get rid of your card for good. Remember to seek professional help if you feel like you’re struggling with your finances, and find a reputable company such as Fox Symes who will work with you to eradicate your debt. Following these top tips will have you well on your way to enjoying life without the financial stress of credit card debt.