Monday, July 14, 2014

3 Tips on Going Green in the Office

If you own an office, you probably already know how important it is to follow wise practices such as going green. Taking on green initiatives will not only make your business stand out from competition, but will prove to be a wonderful way to help the environment.  Take it from Seament, a company who Maurice Bouri is affiliated with; their green efforts have truly expanded over the years thanks to this caring company and the measures that they take to ensure a healthy and clean environment for their employees.

Alexander Bouri started Seament about four decades ago. Ever since he began to operate this company, he was always concerned with staying mindful to the environment. In fact, it was one of his biggest priorities. That is why Seament has sponsored various projects to help incorporate environmental management systems into their very own business plan. If your company is looking for ways to introduce environmentally-friendly measures into your business, here are just a few tips:

1. Encourage your employees to take public transportation rather than to take their own vehicles to work. If it is at all possible, please tell your coworkers about the importance of going green by asking them to take public transportation. If your employees can carpool, then that will also help the environment. If your employees can arrive at the job by bike, then that is also encouraged.

2. Make sure to take advantage of technology by digitalizing your office. By having everything accessible through a digital device, you can cut down on your paper usage. This means that you will not have to rely on printing on items; instead, you can access them through your computer at a time that is convenient for you and your employees.

3. Have your employees work from home more often. This will eliminate the need for your employees to drive, which ultimately benefits the environment. Luckily, instant messaging, video conferencing, and other workflow tools make working from home easier.

Both Alex and Maurice Bouri believe that going green is a wonderful way to help your office and the environment. If going green is on your agenda, then make sure to follow these tips; they can help you out tremendously in your journey to go green and help the environment. 

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

3 Mistakes Rookie Businessmen Make

Mistakes are an unpleasant, but ultimately unavoidable part of life. That truth can be applied to anything, but it's especially true of people that have started their own businesses. Businessmen like Alexander F. Bouri know about the unique situations that can arise in these situations, but when you're new to the business world, everything can feel like one long series of trial and error. You will make some unavoidable mistakes, but there are some more troublesome problems you can avoid if you're prepared. When starting your new business, try to avoid these common errors:

Taking on too much work

The first few years of your business may have you doing a lot more "behind the scenes" work than you anticipated, and on the surface there's nothing wrong with that. You should be involved with your business, but you shouldn't feel like you have to do everything to get anything done. People hire employees and managers for a reason – if you feel like you have to do all the work because the people you have on staff won't be able to, you need re-evaluate your employees. In fact, that brings us to another common mistake…

Not letting go of bad employees

Like we've said before, it's natural to make mistakes at work. A few mistakes are nothing to worry about, but continuous screw ups are something that can't be tolerated. Some people are reluctant to fire an employee that isn't working out because they feel like they've sunk too many hours into training them, and hope that they'll eventually improve. Others don't want to have to deal with the hassle of finding another employee to fill their shoes. While both are valid points, dealing with an employee's mistakes will end up being much more troublesome than having to get rid of them.

Not getting customer feedback

The only way to run a successful business is to satisfy customers, and you won't be able to know that you are achieving that goal unless you take time to see if they're happy with your services or goods. Most people just assume their new business is doing well naturally because they believe in it, but if you don't have paying customers that share your vision, your business days will be over. Always ask new and returning customers how they feel about your services. You can do this personally, or via online surveys and in-house questionnaires.