Business Archives - Page 8 of 8

November 13, 2017 by Greg Underwood

5 Best Flowers and Gifts Combo for the Festive Seasons

Flowers are the oldest gifts for sure. People have used flowers since a long time to show respect, love, and admiration to others. Till today, the special place of flowers have not been snatched by anything else. So, you can combine flowers with other modern gifts to impress your loved ones during festive moments. Here are 5 thrilling flowers and gifts combo for you to consider.

Carnations and Crockery:

Carnations look lovely and they are regarded as the flowers for moms. So on your mom’s birthday, present a beautiful bouquet of red, yellow, and orange carnations. Match these flowers with a crockery set and make her happy. Opting for an online flower shop, you can arrange for a flower delivery tomorrow and get instant delivery of your ordered gifts.

Rose and Painting:

Rose is that flower that symbolizes love, beauty, and passion. For a precious person in your life, show your love and respect by giving them a thrilling bouquet of mixed colored roses and a painting by a world famous painter. As a house-warming gift, birthday gift, or for the upcoming Mother’s Day (along with a Mother’s Day card), this combination would work wonders.

Lilies and Personalized Cushions:

The big petals of lily flower symbolizes devotion and peace. As a Christmas gift, you can take a bouquet of lilies for your loved ones. Match the beauty of lilies with an alluring personalized cushion and make your loved ones happy. Select a favorite picture of the gift receiver and get that imprinted over a cushion to create a magical moment. For Diwali or birthday, you can carry this mesmerizing combo and surprise your people.

Tulips and Perfumes:

Tulip is one of the most famous flowers of the world and in terms of beauty and popularity, it comes second to rose. This flower symbolizes perfect and true love. So, presenting this beautiful flower to your lover, fiancée, or spouse on occasions like anniversary or the upcoming Valentine’s Day would be suggested. A graceful vase arrangement of tulips along with a basket full of some world famous perfumes would make the best gift.

Orchids and Sweets:

Keep this wonderful flower and gift combo for the occasion of New Year. New Year is that time when people want to forget all the past aches and welcome another year with hope and positivity. Orchid is a flower that resembles beauty, royalty, love, luxury, and strength. A charming flower arrangement of orchid flowers along with a platter of mesmerizing sweets like Kaju Katli, Cassata Rolls, and Pista Barfi would be thoroughly enjoyed by your loved ones. In any online flower shop, you can check out the orchids flower bouquets and arrangements and place an order to enjoy the festive season.

November 9, 2017 by Greg Underwood

Should I Set Up a Trust for My Business?

When you put your business assets into a trust, you protect them from legal proceeding, which is highly beneficial if your own a family-run company. This option is a smart one, but it doesn’t come without its own obstacle. To answer the question once and for all, we take a look into the advantages and disadvantages of obtaining a business trust, looking into the legal jargon that often overcomplicates things.

What Makes a Trust?

Different to a limited company set up, a business trust isn’t a separate legal entity in itself. When broken down, it is a business structure where the trustee – often a registered company – conducts business for the benefit of the trust’s members. The trustee responsibility is then to distribute the trust’s income out to its beneficiaries, whilst safeguarding its overall financial health. This can sometimes incorporate larger business decisions such as the sale of assets or money lending. A trust will also come with an appointee, who has the power (as laid out in the trust deed) to remove the trustee and appoint someone else in their place.

What Trust Type Will You Need?

For businesses, a company typically acts as the trustee, with each beneficiary being designated a certain number of ‘units’ in the trust. It is these units that outline how much income that member will actually receive. In addition to this, discretionary trusts can also be created for businesses. More often than not, this will be family trust, where the trustee has full power over the funds that are dished out to the beneficiaries. You can also look to embark upon a hybrid trust that combines units and discretionary trusts depending on your set up and preference.

What Is the Downside?

In contrast to a partnership or sole trader set up, a trust can often be expensive to put in place with required fees from trust solicitors on an ongoing basis. The initial installation fee can typically be reduced if a pro-forma trust deed is used but this can be complicated so it is best to seek professional insight from trust solicitors in Manchester. If you opt to be more private than what you’d see of a company, the legal and compliance trust requirements become a lot more difficult and stricter. Something worth noting is that a trust comes with a limited life span, which is commonly a total of 99 years.

Trusts can be highly beneficial for family run businesses as they offer tax advantages and flexibility in regards to how profits are distributed to beneficiaries. It simply depends on your situation but whenever making a decision that is of such importance, it is always best to seek legal advice to highlight if a trust is the correct path for your business. Whether you choose to go with a trust, partnership, company or sole-trader arrangement, it is vital that you understand your specific needs before signing on the dotted line to avoid an unneeded costs and headaches.

October 15, 2017 by Greg Underwood

How To Make a Positive First Impression in Your Business Meeting

How are first impressions formed?

You only get one chance at a first impression and, according to recent studies, 55% of a first impression is formed by the way you dress, act and walk through the door. That’s over half of the impression you’re trying to make being given, without you even saying anything! Another 38% is simply from the quality of your voice; the grammar and confidence you have, leaving a mere 7% of your first impression to the words you say themselves. Wow.

So how do we achieve that perfect first impression?

Make eye contact.

In my experience, someone who doesn’t make eye contact with me when we’re talking, makes me feel a little uneasy. I find it slightly unsettling when I’m having a conversation with a person, and they’re looking at everything but me. I don’t know why, but it makes me feel suspicious and a touch paranoid. Now, imagine I’m someone who you’re having an important business meeting with…

If you’re simply a little shy and nervous about making eye contact with people, then, for the purpose of this meeting, you might have to embrace it head on. Likewise, too much eye contact can be equally as unnerving. We aren’t looking to acquire a restraining order from our first encounter.

Smile. Genuinely.

A smile; one of the simplest of movements our faces can do, one of the first we learn to do, and quite possibly one of the best expressions to display. But it must be genuine. Anything forced, or fake will be obvious, so smile genuinely, at the opportunity arising to you, as you greet a new person.

Give a firm handshake.

Now, we all know this one. This pearl of wisdom that is passed around through generations of families, strangers in the street, careers advisors. Just the right amount of pressure; too much and you’ll hurt the person, this isn’t a world’s strongest man contest. But not enough squeezing and your bordering on just simply allowing the other person to hold your hand; and you might not know each other that well yet!

If you could combine a firm, but not too firm hand shake, with a genuine smile, whilst making eye contact with that person then you are onto a winner.

Be presentable.

Dress for the part. Smart, appropriate clothing is always the best option. I would always rather be over dressed for an occasion, than under dressed. Hair should be neat and tidy, this includes facial hair. Err on the side of caution as you don’t know how strict or relaxed a company’s policies are.

Say their name.

You’d be surprised at how effective simply referring to someone by their name can be in creating a great first impression. It shows you’ve paid attention, you’ve retained some information and it can make that person feel special and important, to be individually identified.

Listen.

A fundamental skill. It shows respect, enthusiasm and empathy to listen to another person. Showing them signs that you’re actively listening is even better. Smiling, nodding and responding to what is being said shows you are present and engaged in the conversation.

First impressions can make or break your success in any situation. Undertaking some simple steps to ensure you create a positive and lasting first impression could be a lot simpler than you thought.