Daily Biz Solutions

Are you thinking about expanding your business structure to include an offshore company? This is something that is not impossible and that does not have to be difficult – but it is something that you should consider carefully before doing. If you decide that setting up an offshore international business company makes sense for your organization, be sure to enlist the assistance of qualified legal professionals with specific offshore company formation experience.

Only those who are truly knowledgeable about setting up these types of ventures in the specific country where you want to establish a corporate identity can provide you with proper advice and assistance, making sure that all of your decisions are in compliance with the relevant laws and filing requirements specific to the area. After all, what you know about business formation and licensure requirements in your home country may be completely different from the requirements that exist in the new location where you are establishing a company identity.

Don’t venture into unchartered international business territory without working closely with experienced legal professionals who know exactly how to go about setting up offshore operations in a manner that ensures that you will not face any structural or compliance problems related to the way that your business enterprise was set up and established now or in the future.

Are you a small business owner struggling to juggle all of the responsibilities associated with operating a successful e-commerce or mail order enterprise? There is so much to do when you own this type of business – from production to marketing to technology to fulfillment of orders to inventory control and management (and more!) that it seems like you just might need a small army to make everything come together and flow smoothly. However, hiring that small army internally just might result in more expense than you want – or are able – to manage on the budget of your small business.

That’s why it makes sense for business owners who deal with inventory and shipping concerns to enlist the assistance of a professional order fulfillment company. Rather than focusing your own valuable time and energy on packing orders, shipping them and tracking inventory, a professional product fulfillment firm can handle that part for you in an efficient, cost-effective manner. Making the decision to allow professional fulfillment experts to assist with this part of your business can free you up to work on product production, new product development, marketing and the other critical aspects of running a successful small business so that you can enjoy the success that you want and deserve.

By Jim Gates, CAFS

Controlling energy costs in office buildings can be difficult due to the constant coming and going of employees and visitors to the building. There are a number of methods that can be used to reduce the amount of energy used in the office building and the methods chosen for each building should be based on the characteristics of that particular building to ensure maximum energy savings.

Five Strategies to Control Office Energy Costs

Here are five of the most essential strategies for controlling the energy costs of an office building.

1. Turn Off Unnecessary Lights

Turn off lights and equipment when not in use. Areas that are not being used can remain dark until needed unless keeping the area unlighted would pose a safety hazard in an emergency.

Some office buildings have all of the lights and sockets in a particular office area connected to a single switch to ensure that everything can be turned off quickly and easily at the end of the workday. If yours does not have this type of master switch, consider installing one.

2. Use Window Coverings Wisely

Use window blinds to block direct sunlight in the warmer months to reduce cooling costs. The cost of the window blinds will be significantly less than the cost of the energy being used to cool the building, and they should last for many years before needing to be replaced.

During the colder months, open blinds or remove window hangings during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat the office building. The sun beaming though the glass of the windows will create enough warmth to significantly decrease the amount of energy needed to bring the building up to a comfortable temperature.

3. Unplug Equipment Not in Use

Any equipment that drains energy when not in use should be unplugged, especially when the office building is closed. Items that are known to drain energy as long as they are plugged in include coffee pots, radios, desktop printers, fans, and cell phone chargers. To make it easy to unplug multiple items at once, plug these devices into a power strip that can be unplugged with a single action.

4. Change Air Filters Regularly

Change the air filters in the building’s HVAC system regularly. A dirty air filter can increase the amount of energy needed for the HVAC system to work properly and can damage expensive equipment. High quality air filters are able to trap more dust and dirt than cheap air filters, so it may be more cost effective to invest in a higher quality product that can be in use for a longer period of time.

5. Upgrade to Programmable Thermostats

Replace manual thermostats with programmable thermostats. Programmable

thermostats can effectively regulate the temperature of a large area of the office building and can be set to a level that is comfortable for the occupants of the building. Some of these thermostats can be locked so that only authorized personnel will be able to change the programmed temperature.

Big Savings from Small Changes

Each of these actions to conserve energy in an office building takes a minimal amount of time or effort to put into effect. The energy savings that can be realized by taking these actions is well worth the effort involved.

About the Author

Jim Gates, CAFS, is the brand manager for Quality Filters, Inc. (http://qualityfilters.com), a leading manufacturer and distributor of high quality home and commercial air filters. The company’s products are available online at BuyFilters.com (http://buyfilters.com).

As a small business, you know how important it is to keep your computer systems up and running at all times – and to be able to put things right with those systems as quickly as possible if something goes wrong. However, you may not actually need the services of a full-time, in-house expert IT professional. Instead, it may make more sense for you to hire an IT company to set-up, maintain and troubleshoot your company’s information technology infrastructure.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when selecting an IT solutions provider.

Local provider – Choose a provider with a location and dedicated personnel in the area where your business is located. There are information technology solutions providers everywhere – if you are in the U.S., choose among options in your city or town; if you are Down Under, consider top IT companies Australia when looking for a provider.

Full-service provider – Make sure that you have a single point of contact for all types of computer needs by selecting a provider that provides a full spectrum of information technology services. Choose a company that provides managed solutions, infrastructure services, cloud computing, resourcing, training and more. After all, you don’t want to have to diagnose your IT problems before figuring out what vendor to call – you need your solutions provider – whether you are working with IT companies Australia or providers in other locations appropriate for your business – to identify your needs, find solutions, and implement what you need to get – and stay – up and running.

Do you have a truly multicultural workplace? Does your company hire workers for jobs for which being able to speak or read English is not an essential job function? If so, there’s a good chance that you have a number of employees who either don’t speak or read English fluently – which means that your employment application, new hire paperwork and company policies and procedures need to be made available to them in the language that they understand.

That’s why every company that hires employees that do not have to speak English needs to utilize professional translation services to ensure that all relevant pre-hire and post-hire documents are available in the language(s) necessary to communicate effectively with the members of your workforce. It’s important to use a company that can provide accurate language services for the legal documents that you use to effectively communicate with your applicants and employees.

The money that you invest in creating translated documents is definitely money well spent. After all, it is up to you to be able to demonstrate that you clearly communicated your company’s policies to your employees in a manner that they will be able to understand. Developing a relationship with a quality localization and translation company can help your company adequately communicate with members of your workforce and those who are applying for positions with your company in an appropriate manner.