Advantia Business Solutions Blog

Every parent knows that the summer holidays can affect your business. Depending on your child’s school, you could be looking at your kids being at home for about six to ten weeks. And as lovely as it is to spend quality time with your children, the summer holidays can play havoc with your work life. So what can you do about it? Here are some suggestions: 1) Prioritise Decide what is both urgent and important in your business, things like existing clients or new business requests. Make sure you give yourself time to action these at work, also remembering to give yourself time to arrange childcare if needed. 2) Ditch and automate Ditch the urgent but not important stuff. For example, you can schedule social media updates to be posted when you aren’t in the office (on weekends, etc.) so you don’t feel sucked into unimportant social media chats that aren’t really making a difference to your business. 3) Make a list Take an hour out of each week to list all the ...

Every parent knows that the summer holidays can affect your business. Depending on your child’s school, you could be looking at your kids being at home for about six to ten weeks. And as lovely as it is to spend quality time with your children, the summer holidays can play havoc with your work life. So what can you do about it? Here are some suggestions: 1) Prioritise Decide what is both urgent and important in your business, things like existing clients or new business requests. Make sure you give yourself time to action these at work, also remembering to give yourself time to arrange childcare if needed. 2) Ditch and automate Ditch the urgent but not important stuff. For example, you can schedule social media updates to be posted when you aren’t in the office (on weekends, etc.) so you don’t feel sucked into unimportant social media chats that aren’t really making a difference to your business. 3) Make a list Take an hour out of each week to list all the ...

Work trends have evolved dramatically over the past few decades and it is likely to never stop changing over the coming years. To prepare businesses for some of the possible changes, here are five ways the office will change in the next five years and how business owners can adapt to keep up with the ever changing pace at work: 1) Openness and transparency will be key The population of the workforce are beginning to be filled with the Millennials who are a generation of ‘caring and sharing’ – having shared most of their time on social media, blogs and vlogs. In a recent study it was found that both Generations Z and Y believed honesty is the most important quality for being a good leader. With them being used to open and transparent environments outside of work, it is becoming a common demand within their working lives too. There will be no management offices dividing the workers, and teams will sit according to projects. Small businesses will benefit greatly from this as ...

Using sport as a marketing tool goes way back. Ever since Roman aristocracy bought or supported gladiators, people have aligned themselves with the prestige and excitement of sport, whether or not they’re running onto a pitch or facing an opponent. With 2016 bringing Wimbledon, Euro 2016, the British Open, the Rio Olympics and the Tour de France, this year’s summer of sport gives resellers ample excuse to stand out, capture customer attention and sell even more across all the categories. Here are nine reasons why mixing business with sport can make the difference: 1. Capture attention In this fast-paced digital world, consumers have messages coming at them from all directions. Whether we’re sending an email, writing a Facebook status, or placing an advert, our materials have to make their way through the clutter and into our consumers’ minds. Moving the conversation into areas that the consumer has an interest in could perhaps result in a more engaging meeting. 2. That wi...

Summertime is always welcomed with open arms after a cold winter and a rainy spring, and all we want to do is make the most of it whilst it lasts. If you’re stuck in the office during this beautiful time of year, you might find yourself daydreaming more and working less. While you probably have a summer holiday booked, you still have to be at work for the rest of the season. It can be hard to stay on task, especially since summer is usually the slowest time of the year for most businesses, so it’s important to keep yourself motivated and productive at work. 1. Plan Sunshine Breaks During the winter season it is common that a lot of us choose not to go out for a walk during our working day. However, now that the weather is brightening up, plan some time to get outside and soak up the sun! A mid-day walk can help reinvigorate you for the rest of the day, helping refresh your mind and bring back that motivation. 2. Stay Hydrated Drinking water is a great health habit ...

As National Stationery Week continues on for the last couple of days, we thought it would be nice to know some interesting facts about the subject of celebration. From breadcrumbs being used as erasers to the world’s most expensive pen – these stationery facts are worth the read: 1. The average office worker handles around 10,000 sheets of paper every year It has been calculated that the average tree is capable of producing around 80,000 sheets of paper, which is enough to sustain around 8 office workers every year. 2. The post-it note wasn’t invented, it was created by accident In 1968, Spencer Silver, who was an employee of 3M at the time, was trying to create a super-strong adhesive. Yet despite his best efforts, all he could come up with was a very weak adhesive that could be removed without leaving behind any residue. This accidental discovery was then used to create the world’s first post-it note. 3. The ballpoint pen first gained popularity becau...

National Stationery Week has arrived (25 April – 1 May 2016) and it is a good reminder that we all love having a good selection of stationery in our house or on our desk at work. In this digital age, some people might opt to use their laptops for writing notes or letters, leaving handwriting to seem invaluable. However, the benefits of picking up a pen go much further, with gains for our brainpower and wellbeing when writing by hand. So whilst the nation are celebrating their love for stationery, we’ve taken a look at why handwriting is the best tool for capturing information and inspiring creativity on paper: The public agree! It appears the British public would agree that writing matters. In a YouGov poll for National Stationery Week, 92% of people agreed that handwriting is very or fairly important, while 97% agreed that it’s important to teach handwriting to school children. Calming Increased calmness has been proved to be among the advantages of writin...