Tips every startup can use

May 16, 2014/0 Comments/in Business, Co Working, Event Space, Marketing, Meeting Rooms, Office Space, Offices, Toronto, Virtual Office Toronto, workspace /by admin

FAST GROWTH IS A GOOD PROBLEM, BUT WITHOUT GUIDELINES AND STRUCTURE, CAN BE A DETRIMENT TO YOUR NEW STARTUP. HERE’S HOW ONE FOUNDER GREW HIS COMPANY, AND WHAT HE LEARNED IN THE PROCESS.

BY MATT EHRLICHMAN

Over the past eight months our company has tripled in size, expanding from 25 employees to 125. During this time we transitioned from working in the basement of my home to a 17,000-square-foot office in Seattle, outgrowing two other temporary spaces in the process.

Growing so rapidly in a short of period time isn’t easy, especially for a young startup, but it was a great experience and learning process. Here are six things we learned during this time of fast growth:

1. YOU ARE PROBABLY OVERLOOKING PARTS OF YOUR BUDGET

It’s crucial to sweat the details and have a very clear understanding of the cash flow curve for your new office. Without a plan, spending can quickly get out of hand.

Take into account both the “people” and the “property” costs surrounding a big move. You must have a clear employee target number and growth timeline. Factor in the costs required to get newcomers hired and up to speed as well.

5 non-digital tips for business growth

May 16, 2014/0 Comments/in Business, Co Working, coworking, Marketing, Meeting Rooms, Office Space, Offices, Toronto, Virtual Office Toronto, workspace /by admin

5 NON-DIGITAL TIPS FOR BUSINESS GROWTH

BY Frances Dickens

SMEs are constantly searching for the next technological advancement but digital isn’t the sole driver of business success.

Here are five non-digital tips for growing your business.

1. Stay true to your values

Clients and consumers want to do business with companies whose values they can respect and share in. Work out early what your company’s values are and make sure they underpin everything you do. This includes being prepared to turn business away if you are not 100 per cent certain you can deliver the deal.

Refusing business may seem like madness for a growing company but why compromise your values for the sake of a quick buck? Repeat business and recommendations are real drivers of growth but they come through staying true to your values and remembering that you are only as good as your last deal.

2. Reinvent sectors with a poor reputation

Identifying new areas of growth can be tricky, however, existing sectors such as estate agencies and payday loans are crying out for a fresh approach. Introducing a radically different business model that delivers what customers want is key. We launched Astus in 2003 when media barter had a “dodgy” image because the way it was done left many advertisers out of pocket. We changed the business model to deliver the advertiser’s side of the deal before taking payment. This removed the risk for them and so persuaded some to give our approach a chance. Changing perceptions of a sector involves rebuilding trust one deal at a time but it is possible to do.

Read the rest…

30 Simple Tips That Can Significantly Improve Your Business’ Online Marketing

May 16, 2014/0 Comments/in Business, Marketing, Toronto, Virtual Office Toronto /by admin

By Tara Banda

If you didn’t already know, this week is National Small Business Week. This week celebrates all small businesses and what they do for consumers, the economy, and the country. And now that today’s consumers rely more on the Web to find and choose local businesses, online marketing has become a high priority on the list of things SMBs need to do.

But that list is often long and takes a while to sort through. So, here’s a roundup of some of our most popular blog posts with quick online marketing tips. From search advertising best practices to social media tactics, these are tips that any small business owner can use to help consumers find them online.

Tips for Great Search Advertising:

1. Know the Text Ad Format – All text ads aren’t created equal. Bing, Yahoo!, and Google all have slightly different text ad formats, so identify and follow the rules of each before running your search advertising campaign.

How to be more productive in the meeting room

May 15, 2014/0 Comments/in Business, Co Working, Event Space, Marketing, Meeting Rooms, Office Space, Offices, Toronto, Virtual Office Toronto /by admin

5 TIPS FOR MAKING MEETINGS MORE PRODUCTIVE – Lou Orfanos

Whether taking place over the phone, online or face-to-face, meetings are where deals are made, decisions agreed, and relationships with clients and colleagues strengthened.

Yet, despite offering many benefits, they can also be a big drain on workers’ time if they aren’t managed effectively or organised with a clear purpose.

A study by Epson and the Centre for Economics and Business Research suggests that less than half of the time Brits spend in meetings is actually productive. With the average worker in meetings for four hours a week, the impact of unproductive meetings can be substantial. In the UK, estimates suggest that unproductive meetings could be costing the economy as much as £26bn each year.

Here are five tips for having more productive meetings.

1. Be prepared

As any good businessman will tell you, preparation is the key to success and meetings are no different. Whether you’re attending a weekly catch-up or pitching to a big-name prospect, it’s important to have a back-up plan in place in case the session doesn’t go as expected. For instance, if you are due to give a presentation but your PC won’t turn on, it could be game over, but if your files are saved on a USB stick or stored in the cloud, you can simply switch to another machine.

When presenting, practice really does make perfect. It is well worth taking the time to rehearse what you want to say so that you can see how much time you will need to say it. If you keep running over or find yourself being repetitive, you can cut down on your slides or how long you spend on each item and prioritise the points that you want people to remember.

Create Increased Customer Engagement

May 15, 2014/0 Comments/in Business, Marketing, Toronto, Virtual Office Toronto /by admin

SIMPLE TIPS TO CREATE INCREASED CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT – Scott MacFarland

Simple Tips to Create Increased Customer Engagement

Customer engagement is a term that is tossed around frequently in marketing circles. I am finding out that even though many of us are using it in daily conversation, there is an element of confusion. This phrase has become more buzz-term friendly than user friendly. Let’s clear up the confusion, shall we?

The goal of this article is to not provide a comprehensive guideline to create customer engagement. However, it will provide some simple basics that will jumpstart your thought process and point you in the right direction to increase your customer engagement.

• Provide A Clear Customer Path: Think about where your brand is coming in contact with the customer. Consider how this is happening as well as all the touch points along the customer path. Keep in mind, there many be channel hops and places where the brand is not displaying your message consistently along the path. Many times this causes the customer to click away from your brand.

Up your game in 2014 with social media management for your business

May 15, 2014/0 Comments/in Business, Marketing, Toronto, Uncategorized, Virtual Office Toronto /by admin

20 SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS TO RULE IN 2014 BY Drew Hendricks

If you’re in charge of social media management for your company, it’s time to up your game in 2014. It requires more than the random postings about your great sale, latest product or a shameless plug in the local paper. Social media marketing is easily a full-time job, and for good reason. Here are 20 ways to optimize your social media strategy in 2014 and beyond.

1. Choose the right platform

There are hundreds of social media platforms, which means there are many options beyond Facebook,Google GOOGL -1.16%+, Twitter TWTR -0.43%, Instagram and YouTube. Take some time to see which platforms are best for your business and limit them to five max. No full-time employee has time to manage anything more, and you may find you’re a better fit for an underdog platform than Pinterest.

Read more of this ‘Forbes’ Article…

Marketing tips for small businesses

May 15, 2014/0 Comments/in Business, Co Working, coworking, Marketing, Office Space, Offices, Toronto, Virtual Office Toronto /by admin

BE IMAGE CONSCIOUS AND FLEXIBLE: MARKETING TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. IT IS ESSENTIAL YOU THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT THE IMAGE YOU WANT TO PROJECT AND SPEND TIME ON A MARKETING PLAN – BY JAMES CAAN

Marketing is essential for the success of any business. It doesn’t matter how great the product or service you are offering is if nobody knows about it. You need to market every strand of your business – and that includes yourself.

Businesses are built by people and their success is dependent on the quality of those people. Both you and your employees represent your company so it is essential you think about the image you are projecting. When creating and implementing your marketing plan, it is important to think about your branding and how you want your business to be perceived, both in the short and longer term. Here are my key tips for successfully marketing a small business.

Meeting Room Special: Book One, Get One 50% off

May 14, 2014/0 Comments/in Business, Co Working, Cowork, coworking, Event Space, Events, Marketing, Meeting Rooms, meetings, Office Space, Offices, Toronto, toronto meetings, video conferencing /by admin

After a long and dreary winter, we are ready to celebrate SUMMER. We are excited to be offering a summer special for meeting room reservations.

Book your meeting online with one click!

During July and August, when you book one meeting room, you get the second one for 50% off. Simply book both your meetings at the same time and get 50% off the second one. Please note that the discount is applied to a second meeting reservation of equal or lesser value and does not include catering or AV requirements.

The Rostie Group is Toronto’s premier mid-sized meetings and conference centre and boutique provider of fully furnished personal and shared workspaces including virtual offices, team rooms, workstations, pro and coworking spaces as well as event spaces. Situated at Bay and Queen’s Quay in the city’s thriving south core, our experienced and professional staff are always on hand and dedicated to your business success.

Please feel free to contact our team if you would like to take advantage of this limited time offer or if you have any questions. We can be reached at 416-214-1840 or meetings@rostiegroup.com

5 Tips for Launching a Successful Product

May 14, 2014/0 Comments/in Business, Marketing, Office Space, Offices, Startup, Toronto, Virtual Office Toronto /by admin

GroundReport | Author: KM123
Filed Under: Health, Lifestyle | Posted: 05/13/2014 at 6:28PM
Region: Colorado | United States

According to the Small Business Association,small businesses have provided 55 percent of all jobs and 66 percent of all net new jobs since the 1970s. In today’s economy, small businesses are struggling; although many people have great product ideas, few of them follow the fundamental steps necessary to successfully bring those products to market. A success story, Peter Champe’s idea for a new kind of nasal aspirator started with a personal need—his infant son was chronically congested and he discovered that the standard bulb and battery-powered aspirators didn’t work. From this problem grew the Baby Comfy Nose, a nasal aspirator that uses the parent’s own suction, now sold at 7800 Walgreens retail stores nationwide, and he is sharing his five tips for launching a successful product.

“In the process of creating and marketing my first invention Baby Comfy Nose and then founding the larger company Baby Comfy Care, I have some advice that could be useful for others developing their own products” explains Peter Champe, engineer and owner of Baby Comfy Care. “I’ve condensed these ideas down to 5 principles to make them easier to apply.”

Can you use Pinterest to build your Small Business?

May 14, 2014/0 Comments/in Business, Marketing, Office Space, Toronto /by admin

By Janel Martinez (Madame Noir)

Sure, Twitter and Facebook are great for marketing your small business online, but have you considered Pinterest? Many people think Pinterest is only for home décor collages and party-planning tips. Not true! Small business owners have the potential to take their brand marketing to the next level if they use the social media site wisely.

Last week, Pinterest unveiled its new business site where entrepreneurs can check out Pinterest buttons and widgets to add to their website, sign up for the business newsletter and read how brands such as Nordstrom have grown using the visual discovery tool. Pinterest announced last week that the company is working with a small group of brands across various industries, including Kraft, Target and ABC Family, to help the company test out its Promoted Pins feature. “We hope Promoted Pins give businesses of all sizes a chance to connect with more Pinners,” said Joanne Bradford, head of partnerships, in the company’s blog.

Book your meeting online with one click! The Rostie Group is Toronto’s premier mid-sized meetings and conference centre and boutique provider of fully furnished personal and shared workspaces including virtual offices, team rooms, workstations, coworking spaces and event spaces. Situated at Bay and Queen’s Quay in the city’s thriving south core, our experienced and professional staff are always on hand and dedicated to your business success.