Successful Blog

The Benefits of Investing On Your Employee Health and Fitness

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Being a business owner or employer, you have got more than one reasons to be concerned about the well being of your employees. You might think that you should only be concerned about their performance and productivity, regardless of how physically or mentally fit they are. After all you are just an employer and not a guardian, and as long as you have provided them with proper working environment, you are not responsible for their health and well-being. Besides, you are paying them good remuneration, so what’s the need to go one step ahead and invest in workplace wellness programs like health education, weight management coaching, on-site exercise equipment, healthy diet options, or activities like fitness boot camp?

Truth is, taking care of your employees’ health and well-being is extremely important, not only because it sounds ethical or virtuous, but also because it will directly affect your business. Let’s see how such an investment can make a difference.

  • To start with, healthy workforce means fewer employees calling in sick. And knowing that too many sick leaves on frequent basis can be costing your business in more than one ways, it will save a lot.
  • Even if the employees don’t take a day-off when they are not feeling well, they will not be able to put their best foot forward and perform their tasks proficiently. Even worse, they might pass on the disease to fellow workers
  • Showing concern and taking care of your employees’ health will result in loyalty and a sense of attachment on part of your employees, and that alone is a cause worth investing in
  • If your employees are not fully fit, they will be more prone to errors and mistakes, they wouldn’t be able to think clearly and come up with ideas, they will lack creativity, and they will lack the stamina or energy to get the things done
  • You can plan while keeping the public holidays in mind, but some team members getting ill and going on sick leaves in the middle of an important project cannot be anticipated, and it will make it difficult for entire team to deliver in time
  • Obesity is becoming a major cause of concern in developed countries, and looking at the nature of jobs, it will continue to grow unless businesses and corporations take concrete steps
  • Good health and a general sense of well-being is a big morale booster, it can be quite difficult to motivate someone when he/she is not feeling good

All in all, healthy workforce will result in more work and better productivity, which will bring in more money and profit for your business, so the investment will more than pay off in the longer run.

Things To Do:

Now that you are (hopefully) convinced on the importance and benefits of investing in your employees’ health and fitness, here’s how you can put it into practice.

  • We are what we eat, so you need to start from food or nutrition, by providing access to nutritious diet and encouraging healthy eating habits like bringing food from their homes instead of ordering junk food. You can invite in some nutrition expert for a small session to speak on healthy eating habits at work
  • Lack of physical activity is one of the biggest culprits behind many ailments, for example obesity. Again you need to work on staff awareness, and allowing them to take small breaks for moving around. If possible, invest in an on-site gym or some sports equipment like table tennis or Foosball
  • Another big contributor to bad health is work related stress. Not only it messes up our mind, but it can push us towards many different unhealthy practices like overeating or smoking. So you need to create an environment and work plan that reduces stress
  • Use print outs and posters on walls to promote healthy lifestyle, for example motivational messages to help them quit smoking, cutting down on tea or coffee consumption, importance of organizing their work for minimum stress, or inspirational messages to raise their spirits
  • Last but not the least; organize day outs, trips, and similar events on regular basis, while making sure that these events involve some adventure, sport, and lots of physical activity. Arranging an event like fitness boot camp or hiking trip can be a great idea to rejuvenate the minds and bodies
Rahil writes on health and fitness related topics for fitness boot camp that offers services like fitness holidays, luxury boot camps, and weight loss camp.

How to Compete in Logistics to Grow Your Business

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Alan Murfee

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What Is and Why Logistics?

Logistics deals with where, to whom and how the product is to be supplied.

Due to the increasing online businesses, the demands of the logistics services have taken a huge leap. With the growing importance of timely and efficient delivery, many successful firms outsource their logistics services. The competition in the logistics business has grown fiercer and impending recession has further worsened the situation.

How to Compete in Logistics to Grow Your Business

Whatever product your business might build or deliver, logistics is how you get that product to the people who want and need it. So to maintain the strong hold of your business in market and to grow it, use the following helpful tips when making decisions about how to deliver the best of your business:

  • Plan Ahead: There is nothing more beneficial than planning well ahead in time. It does not just minimize the scope of any last minute problems but also gives you quite some time to plan each and every detail thus leaving nothing to chances. The shipping of large consignments is never easy and that too when it has to be transported overseas. So, making a checklist would greatly help in proper implementation of the task.
  • Avoid panicking: Panic hinders you from taking right decisions and judgment. So, avoid panicking if a delivery gets delayed or a consignment gets misplaced. Keeping cool in such stressing situations would multiply your effective logistics management skills. When a situation goes out of control, you should come up with temporary solution rather than going tizzy.
  • Relationship along the supply chain: An efficient logistics solution knows that their entire operation relies on an effective supply chain, especially during an impending recession. So, a strong relationship with the suppliers and vendors becomes utmost important. As there is nothing better than the good words to attract and retain the clientele.
  • Research Market and Identify partners: Develop an effective strategy to effectively research the market for potential clients and partners. This would not just give you an edge over other competing services but will also generate huge profits in the long run. At the same time, keeping the high standard of the services will maintain the client base for you, thus giving you an edge over the other competitors.
  • Logistics strategy: Logistics is not about timely shipments of the products but also maintaining the funds for efficient supply chains. So, to be the best 3PL globally, you need to look for the cost effective strategies for the timely overseas shipments. The modes of transportation should cover sea, road, rail and air. Having a tie-up with these services will not only reduce the transportation cost but with the increased efficiency more and more companies will choose your logistics business over the others.

Staying strategic about logistics can add the advantage that can grow your business and even move it into a category of one.

Author’s Bio:
Alan Murfee writes about Logistics Solution. You can find him (or her) on Twitter as @Alan

How Trust Raises the Bar

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What Is Trust?

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What is trust?

Trust is a very big word. I talk a lot about being authentic online because we can’t see the person on the other side of the screen. Truth is we can’t see what other folks are thinking even when they’re standing right before us. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about trust, writing about it.

Three years ago, when I was sick and couldn’t do everything for myself, I had to trust that the people who offered really wanted to help. It was trust that they would hold me in the same place with the same affection had I not asked. I had to trust that their help wouldn’t lead them to think less of me.

I choose with care, asked with care, and cared about the people I chose.

The help I received showed itself in ways I will never forget. I had forgotten that trust is a powerful relationship builder. Those old and new friends not only showed up, but came as if my request for a hand was a gift to them.

And because I choose to trust with care in my life. I could trust without fear.

How Trust Raises the Bar

Trust in business works the same. When we worry about who will speak for us, it’s a moment of trust. Whether it’s at a conference booth, in an email, or on a social networking site, we just need people we trust. Employees, vendors, partners, customers — the question isn’t about controlling their words. It’s about choosing people who share our values, because shared values build trust. Choose people you trust to build your business.

If we choose the people we hire with care, assign them to work they care about, and care about them and the work they do, we find out that the trust goes both ways. We don’t have to fear how they’ll respond when the going gets tough. When we take time to answer questions, listen, engage, build relationships by aligning our values and goals, trust occurs in both directions. Build trust relationships and your policy documents won’t have to weigh tons, because …

Trust raises the bar for all of us.

How do you recognize people you trust?

Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Embrace the Chaos

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Rosemary O’Neill

The best (and worst) part of being an entrepreneur or small business owner is the sheer unpredictability of day to day life. Planning anything is tricky when you have no idea what’s going to happen next.

Welcome to life as a glamorous business person!

There’s a scene in the movie Parenthood in which the grandmother reflects on life as either a merry-go-round or a rollercoaster. Later, Steve Martin’s wife (played by Mary Steenburgen) tells him that she “loves the rollercoaster.” He’s worried about everything that happens, and she is excited by the thrill of not knowing what’s around the bend.

If you can’t embrace the chaos, you should not own a business.

So how can you cope with life’s curveballs?

  • Go ahead and make strategic plans for 3-5 years out, but also incorporate flexibility. Revisit your plans routinely and update them to account for changes.
  • Create some very short-term plans as well. Do you know what you want to accomplish this week? This month?
  • Make sure you have activities that you love outside of your business. Don’t sleep with your phone under your pillow. Leave a zone of peace that you can escape to when the rollercoaster takes you upside down.
  • Keep friends close to you who will support you when things get scary. Business is unpredictable, but a strong network of “people who won’t let you fail” offers a refuge of comfort so that you can carry on.
  • Remember that chaos works in both directions—if today’s surprise is a total disaster with your shipping, tomorrow’s surprise could be a big new customer inquiry.
  • Have standards, routines, and training in place to make sure that the little things are under control (or as under control as they CAN be). You shouldn’t have to be reinventing the wheel every day.
  • Find a way to keep it all in perspective. Volunteer for a non-profit, look out at the ocean, stargaze, find a touchstone that will show you your place in the universe on a regular basis. It’s easy to start thinking that if the FedEx doesn’t arrive on time, all is lost. Step back in humility once in a while and realize the true importance of things. Let your dog lick your face, kiss your son or daughter.
  • Don’t surround yourself with people who live in chaos on purpose. You know them, right? They carry a cloud of disaster around with them, and they attract it. Keep those people at arm’s length and maintain your sanity.

What’s the WHY of Your Business?

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Influence and Attraction

Purpose, Mission, and Vision

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Whether we’re working with a new businesses, a project, or a team that needs rebuilding, it’s typical to start with purpose, mission, and vision.

You have to choose your future before you can make it happen.

Though we might not fully agree on the exact definition of those terms, a true strategy will investigate, establish, and articulate these foundational ideas of mission, vision, and purpose before …

  • before auditing market share and position;
  • before studying current trends, cycles, and conditions;
  • before making product or customer service decisions,
  • before choosing a core community;
  • before considering processes and systems.

This list represents the “who” “how” and “what” of a business.

What’s the WHY of Your Business?

Making any key decisions without agreeing on mission, vision, and purpose is dangerous. It’s an invitation to hidden assumptions, shallow thinking, and miscommunication. Without clarity, everyone who might help you, your team, or your business — employees, vendors, partners, customers, friends — will construct their own definition of your mission, vision, and purpose.

Next time you want to influence people to support your idea, project, or business venture, next time you want to attract people to participate with you, answer these four basic question sets:

  1. Who are we? / What do we value?
  2. Where are we going / what are we building?
  3. How will we get there / how will we build it?
  4. Why is this quest important? / Why are we uniquely suited to meet this call better than any other?

These foundational questions require priority attention because they build they WHY of your business.
They underpin your best true, compelling story — the calling and commitment — that fuels your business and the people who want to help it grow. Yet, the last of these, the “WHY” fuels is of what moves us and the people we serve to action.

The WHY of your business is the bedrock of influence and attraction.
The WHY attracts people who share your values and believe in what you’re building.
The WHY calls the ideal employees, customers, vendors and partners to pitch in to help you build it.
The WHY is irresistible reason to join you in making something you can’t build alone.

What’s the WHY of Your business?

Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

The Ultimate Pre-Conference Checklist

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Rosemary O’Neill

SOBCon NW Here I Come!

As you read this, I should be happily rubbing elbows with Liz, Terry, and tons of other smart enthusiastic entrepreneurs and small business owners at SOBCon NW in Portland.

The trip inspired me to share my personal pre-conference to do list.

I hope it helps make your next conference experience more productive!

  • Try to connect with other attendees in advance (Twitter is my weapon of choice).
  • Start following the conference hashtag (if you’re really hardcore, make a Hootsuite column for the conference stream).
  • Charge all devices and pack chargers, cords, Mophie juicepack, and a power strip.
  • Download a movie or two to the iPad.
  • Re-look at and update all social profiles, since they’ll hopefully be getting looked at a lot. You want to make a good first impression.
  • Back up your laptop and phone, in case either gets misplaced or stolen. You should already have your important stuff stored in the “cloud” on DropBox or elsewhere.
  • Try to arrange specific meetups in advance (sometimes in the heat of the action you can lose out on meeting specific people).
  • Consider whether you want to capture some content for your blog (be ready to shoot impromptu interview videos or live-blog a session).
  • Include flat shoes that can be tossed in a briefcase (I saw you do that, Gini Dietrich!).
  • Always bring a couple of powerbars (good if you get stuck in an airplane, or if the conference food is bad, or if you skip lunch to meet with someone).
  • If there’s an attendee list (check the event site, or Lanyrd.com) scan for new people you can meet.
  • Decide what your ‘ask’ is, in case anyone says, ‘so what can I help you with?’ (I learned this one painfully ).
  • Brush up your two-sentence pitch for when someone says, ‘what do you do?’
  • Scan the session information and think in advance of what smart questions you might ask if the speaker does Q&A at the end.

Note that this is the ‘attendee’ version of the list. Mitch Joel posted the definitive ‘speaker’ version of this list a few months ago.

What do you do to make the most of your conference attendance?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Thank you, Rosemary!

You’re irresistible!

ME “Liz” Strauss