One of the most important things for any business is its office. This is where all the important work gets done, so it needs to be suitable. If you get it right, it could be part of what pushes your business towards success. Here’s how to choose the right office for your company.

Consider the Needs of Your Business

Every business is different, so every business also has different needs. You need to think about what your business needs from its office space. If the business has a large workforce, you will have to make sure that the office is big enough to fit everyone in comfortably. There are so many different considerations that you have to make. But start by listing what your key priorities are. This should be done before you even start exploring all the options out there.

Decide Whether to Rent or Buy

This is one of the very first questions you should answer when you start looking for an office. If you want to rent, you should have a look at the options at Level Office. The advantage of renting an office is that you don’t have to worry too much about the cost. As long as you have a steady flow of income, you should be able to keep up with the rent demands. On the other hand, owning your own office space does give you a level of permanence and security that you don’t get when renting.

Think About How Flexible the Space Is

Flexibility is a big deal in the modern working environment. You don’t want to be tied down to one specific way of working. You want to be given as much room for manoeuvre as possible. Businesses change over time. Sometimes they grow and expand, and sometimes they downsize. Think about how this will effect your needs, and whether the office space you choose will be able to cope with the change. This is why it’s important to choose an office that is as flexible as possible.

Make Sure the Light is Adequate

Lighting is a big thing to think about when you’re choosing an office space. A lack of natural light flooding into the room can make it feel small, cramped and dull. That’s not the kind of environment you want to create for your employees to work in, is it? Of course, you can add as many electric lights as you like when you actually move into the office, but that will cost you more money. The best idea is always to choose an office that has lots of light and brightness in it.

Think About the Impact of the Location You Choose

Last, but certainly not least, is the location. This might be the single most important thing to decide upon. If your business relies on passing trade and you need to be easy to find for customers and clients, it might make sense to locate it in the city centre. The problem with this is that it costs a lot of money. So, if getting passing trade is not so important, it might make more financial sense to situate the business out of town.

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Travelers are always looking for ways to save on their hotel room. You can tell by all the deal websites available. But hotels are also always trying to find ways they can reduce their costs. For them, it can make the difference between profiting and falling into the red. Their guests might be trying to scrimp and save. But they’re attempting to do the same while encouraging their guests to spend more. There are a number of different methods hoteliers use to cut their costs. They need to avoid adversely affecting the experience they offer their guests. Many of the solutions they use are green initiatives that also benefit the environment.

Water and Energy Efficiency

Green projects will help to save any business money. Hotels around the world have been trying to be greener. Cutting down costs for energy and water can help to save a hotel a lot of money. But it’s often an initiative they have to ask guests to get involved with too. The hotel and its staff can lead the way by reducing their usage of water, electricity and gas. One thing most hotels do is require a key card to turn on the electricity in a room. So nothing is left running when the guest leaves. Using alternative energy, such as solar panels, is also an excellent idea. However, it’s also important to ask guests to contribute. They can be asked to reuse their towels, for example.

Waste Reduction

Throwing out too much waste can be expensive for a hotel. They may have to pay more to dispose of their waste, and they lose money by not using things they have bought. One of the places a hotel should focus their efforts to reduce waste is in their restaurant. It’s essential that everything in the kitchen is used to its full potential. For example, trimmings and offcuts should be used to make stock, rather than immediately thrown away. Hoteliers can also encourage recycling among both staff and guests. As well as helping to save money, it makes the hotel look good too. Kitchen scraps can be composted instead of thrown away. They can be used for the hotel’s various landscaping needs or restaurant kitchen garden.

Finding the Right Suppliers

Choosing the best suppliers can make a big difference to how much a hotel spends in a year. By working with the best firms to suit them, they can ensure they get a great deal on anything they need to order in. For example, they often need to spend a lot of money on linen, such as sheets and tablecloths for hotels and spas. Hotels can save money by being able to buy what they need in bulk or smaller numbers whenever necessary. Having an account with their preferred suppliers makes it easier to secure better prices. Renting supplies can also be a good idea in some cases, helping to reduce costs in the short-term.

Going Digital

Choosing to use a range of digital services for guests and behind the scenes is another way hotels save. One significant change in many hotels is offering digital publications for their guests. This can be in addition to or instead of paper newspapers and magazines. Guests can download their favorite publications to their smartphone or tablet, which is much cheaper for the hotel. It also saves on recycling costs, as it means that old copies of publications aren’t left behind. Hoteliers can also save money behind the scenes by using digital technology in their office. They can avoid printing things unnecessarily and safeguard their business with cloud computing.

Bookings

Hotels are always at risk of losing money through cancellations. That’s why they often overbook. This sometimes leads to having to find guests accommodation elsewhere, which can be inconvenient. One of the ways they save money is by locking in a booking straight away. This method is used especially for special offers, when the guest must pay on booking to secure a deal. Another option is to have the cancellation fee as the cost of the room, even if the guest doesn’t have to pay right away. It’s also a good idea for hotels to use booking sites to fill their empty rooms. Websites with last-minute deals help hotels to avoid empty rooms and losing out on money.

Hotels use a range of methods to try and save money on a daily basis. As well as reducing costs on their own, encouraging guests to be green also plays a significant role.

While most people are concerned for their online accounts for credit cards and bank accounts, new information reveals that hackers are now targeting rewards program cards held by consumers.  While not holding specific monetary value, the hackers are looking to these programs for two simple reasons - passwords and the rewards themselves.

Reports indicate that many people use the same password or passwords for their online bank accounts or credit cards as they do for the rewards programs.  Hackers accessing this information use it for access to credit card and bank accounts.  In addition, these hackers have been known to also steal rewards points transferring them to other accounts in order to gain bonuses or even cash out on these bonuses.

Several companies have sent alerts to members regarding these intrusions.  American Airlines as well as United Airlines both sent out notices to frequent flier members that an attack had been made on their systems holding mileage rewards and that some accounts had their miles transferred away to other accounts.  Hilton Hotels also notified customers to a data breach of its rewards program last year.

Reports indicate that consumers have been shocked at the news that rewards programs are the new target of thieves.  Experts strongly warn consumers to create different passwords for each program and that these passwords differ from anything related to accounts or credit card online access.  Keeping these separate will be more complex for users to remember but can help lower the risk for unauthorized access.

Some experts even suggest foregoing such programs as well as online access in any form.  Consumers are constantly being asked for personal information such as email address, phone numbers and address information at checkout lines or when signing up for programs at stores.  With the recent data breaches at several large corporations, experts wonder how secure this data is and what other methods hackers will use with the data breached.

A recent report by the American Pet Products Association showed how much Americans love their pets.  Spending on these animals topped $58 billion in 2014 which includes everything from goldfish to dogs and reptiles.  Americans care for a reported 397 million pets as found in the recent survey.

The American Pet Products Association gathered statistics from several areas and reported that Americans focus on five distinct areas when spending for their pets.  Food accounted for the most money spent at $22 billion.  Next was veterinary costs for keeping a pet which topped $15 billion.  Supplies for the pets was third on the list at $14 billion.  Almost $5 billion was spent on miscellaneous needs which includes grooming, pet sitting, training and other related expenses.   Rounding out the list was $2 billion spent for the animal.

An interesting topic raised in the report centered around the spending on veterinarian care.  While the $15 billion amount spend annually did not change much from previous years, the type of services provided did change.  More expensive treatments were done on pets than in previous years possibly showing many pet owners will forego the costs in order to do what is best for their beloved pet.

Not surprisingly, pet food has jumped in quality with some of it even being considered good enough for humans to eat.  Manufacturers are focusing on much higher quality of ingredients for pets including organic, sugar-free and low calorie food supplies.

The most shocking numbers from the report in 2014 was the increase Americans spent on pets overall.  In the first year of the survey started in 1994, spending was just $17 billion.  Twenty years later, the spending has tripled to over $58 billion with no sign of slowing down.

Car sales in the United States jumped 5% in February when compared to the same month in 2014 as the sudden drop in gas prices has carried over to purchases of new vehicles for many Americans.  While the percentage increased over February 2014, many automakers did report sales that were lower than expected for the month.

Strong for February 2015 were sales of light duty trucks and SUV’s which experts say is directly tied to the lower gas prices seen in the past two months.  Buyers have been purchasing much larger vehicles including trucks and sport utility vehicles which has taken the automotive industry by surprise.  Strong sales in these areas had not been seen since 2010 as gas prices had almost doubled in that time.

Analysts predict the trend of consumers purchasing larger vehicles will continue as many families long for additional space for children or pets which sometimes can be an issue in the standard four door family car.  With lower gas prices, many Americans are moving towards these larger vehicles but experts warn this could be a mistake as the average loan period is five years.  Experts predict gas prices to spike upward in 2015 and return to the mid $3 if not higher which would put many consumers in a difficult position with a auto payment and higher gas bill on a larger vehicle.  The combination might cause the owner to either trade in the large vehicle at a loss or even forfeit it due to being unable to afford the fuel as well as the monthly payment.

At Ford, overall sales declined in February but were up from February 2014.  The lower sales were reportedly due to reduction in passenger car purchases.  Also factoring in was the introduction of the new Ford F-150 truck made with an aluminum body which has added a new element to the marketplace.  SUV sales at General Motors skyrocketed with huge demand reported for the high-end Cadillac Escalade SUV as well as the GMC Yukon.

While gas prices have been lower today than in several years, the average price of a vehicle has increased to about $33,000.  The increased average pricing has helps the manufacturer as it allows them to maximize profits which is their ultimate goal in business.

Goods exported in 26 U.S. states during 2014 showed record setting levels over 2013 statistics as announced by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.  Eight states grew in merchandise exports over their 2013 numbers as well.  In total, all of the exports from the United States set another record in 2014 for the fifth year in a row with reports indicating a total of $2.35 trillion.

With these impressive numbers, nine states had exports higher than 10% over 2013 figures.  Leading the states was Hawaii which recorded growth of 143 percent over 2013 for goods shipped to other countries last year.  Exports of goods from the U.S. has grown every year since 2009.

The 26 states hitting new record exports in 2014 include:

Texas ($289.0 billion);
California ($174.1 billion);
Washington ($90.6 billion);
Illinois ($68.2 billion);
Louisiana ($65.1 billion);
Ohio ($52.1 billion);
Georgia ($39.4 billion);
Indiana ($35.5 billion);
Tennessee ($33.0 billion);
North Carolina ($31.3 billion);
South Carolina ($29.7 billion);
Kentucky ($27.5 billion);
Wisconsin ($23.4 billion);
Minnesota ($21.4 billion);
Arizona ($21.1 billion);
Oregon ($20.9 billion);
Virginia ($19.2 billion);
Iowa ($15.1 billion);
Maryland ($12.2 billion);
Nebraska ($7.9 billion);
North Dakota ($5.3 billion);
New Hampshire ($4.4 billion);
New Mexico ($3.8 billion);
Rhode Island ($2.4 billion);
Wyoming ($1.8 billion); and
Hawaii ($1.5 billion).

President Obama is aiding this growth by announcing a new program titled “Made in Rural America” which will help small rural businesses better find information about exporting as well as offering assistance to those companies that request help.  These federal resources will help the smaller, rural businesses find new markets for products both in the U.S. as well as overseas.  Included in this program are ways for these businesses to meet buyers from foreign nations as well as assist rural businesses to attend international trade shows in order to bring new business opportunities.  Other highlights of the new Obama initiative are forming relationships with the U.S. Postal Service as well as community bank  relationship building.

“Exports are critical to economic growth and job creation in communities across the country,” said Secretary Pritzker. “With 95 percent of the world’s consumers living outside the United States, opening more markets to ‘Made in America’ goods and services is fundamental to our nation’s competitiveness, job creation, and the economic security of our families.”

Bank of Israel decreased main interest rate with 0.15 percentage points to a record low of 0.10% to fight persistently low consumer prices. The base interest rate of Israel was at the level of 0.25% since September. While some analysts expect a decrease of interest in the coming months, the market consensus was that the bank will leave unchanged the level in March. The surprising move comes amid declines in interest rates in Asia and the program of quantitative easing from the European Central Bank. After the news, the dollar rose 1.4 percent to 3.91 shekels.

Central Bank of Israel officially announced that it took the decision because of the continuing decline in consumer prices, the appreciation of the local currency - Sheqel, and lower interest rates globally. The bank said that after the decline in consumer prices in January by 0.9% monthly and 0.5% yearly inflation expectations remain below the target range of Government of between 1% and 3% annual inflation. The decline in consumer prices was mainly due to lower energy prices.

Although Israeli New Sheqel depreciated against the US dollar at the end of 2014, he again began to gain momentum in January - something that the bank may weigh on growth in the export sector, and more expensive imports.

In January, which is traditionally the most grateful tax revenue month of the year, the British public balance on surplus of 8.8 billion GBP in January, the largest of January 2008, according to data of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The surplus was generated primarily by the increase in income tax and capital gains tax. However, corporation tax and VAT receipts also rose, while state taxes have decreased, said ONS. Besides this surplus in January was 2.3 billion GBP more than in the same month last year.

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) targets government tax revenues this year are 91.3 billion GBP, which is about 6.3 billion GBP less than in the previous financial year. According to the authorities, this will be the second smallest decline since the peak in 2009-2010 OBR explained that this was mainly due to slower wage growth and low productivity in the labor market.

Today’s ONS data also showed that the total debt amounted to 1.6 trillion GBP at the end of January, which is equivalent to 86.2% of the total gross domestic product. Immediately after the presentation of the GBP is exchanged for 1.5372 USD.

Greece offered reforms to creditors with fight against corruption and restructure state-owned enterprises. The Greek Ministry of Finance sent a letter to international creditors with the reform measures that the government of Alexis Tsipras will take. Athens expects to receive tonight relevant remarks to take them into account in the final list, which the cabinet will present tomorrow. The measures are in the form of policy proposals. They are referred to the ways in which the government will fight corruption and restructure state-owned enterprises.

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis expressed confidence that the list will be approved by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. On Friday, Greece and its creditors from the Eurozone agreed to extend the rescue program for the country. In order to obtain the remaining tranches, however, the Greek government must present a series of economic reforms, which must be approved by the creditors.

China will become the biggest retail market overtaking USA in next three years, according to a new World Bank report. Turnover in retail trade in the Asian country will rise by 7.9% in 2018 compared to growth of 2.6% in North America and the world average 3.4%, states the joint study of the World Bank, consulting firm PwC and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Look at trends in China reveals that the pace of growth declined over the years, but the figures are much higher than other countries.

“Despite its slow growth China remains invulnerable to global trade links. Although the annual growth rate of turnover in retail trade dropped by 15.6%, as it was in 2009, is expected in the next two years for China to achieve average growth of 8.7%”, the report said.

As home to 19% of the world population, the rise of Chinese consumers has become extremely important in the last decade, thanks to higher wages, growing urbanization and improving standards of living. By 2022, 75% of the population in mainland China will be middle class to share from 4% in 2012, according to the consulting firm McKinsey. Businesses took note. In 2014, foreign direct investment in China soared to 128 billion USD, which overtook the US for the first time in a decade, it became clear in January at the Conference on Trade and Development United Nations. International markets fear the expected slowdown in Chinese economic growth after the 2014 Asian country GDP expanded only by 7.4%. The pace was the slowest since 1990. However, PwC and EIU believe that such fears are exaggerated.

Traders, however, may also rely on other countries, not just China. Estimates are that the revolutions in Asia will soar 10.3 trillion USD in 2018, which is twice higher than the estimate for North America. After China, the growth of trade turnover will be the highest in India - 6.6% in 2018, followed by Vietnam and the Philippines. The chances of India to catch up with China are small, the study states. The lack of reforms and the government’s refusal to open the market to retail goods to foreign investors means that global traders cashing lost profits, as expected in 2015 volumes in India to transfer 1 trillion USD.