December 4th sees the return of Small Business Saturday, the one day of the year where customers are encouraged to rebel against the retail chains, overlook the massive online shops, and buy from local stores instead.
This year marks the ninth anniversary of the event, and all small businesses are being encouraged to get involved, from family butchers to online sellers.
Is your home under attack from hackers?
If you any wireless devices linked to the internet, such as computers, tablets, games consoles, and smartphones, there’s every chance someone could hack your network and access your data. Even if you have smart devices such as printers and even kettles, you could be at risk of attack.
And you may be completely unaware until it’s too late.
The danger could be even more acute if you work from home and access sensitive or confidential business files via the wireless network.
So it’s vital to keep security tight – here’s how to secure your home network.
If the coronavirus lockdown forced you into working remotely, the novelty of being able to wear your pyjamas while working and holding meetings over a conference call may well have worn off by now.
You might even be welcoming some calls from some in government for us all to get back to the office. Even the morning commute might seem like it would offer some respite if you’re sick of working from the spare room.
If you’re hankering for a return to the communal kitchen and your open plan workspace, here are five things you might well be missing about working in the office.
Malta is an archipelago of seven islands that lies around 50 miles south of Sicily – and it represents a great opportunity for foreign trade as its lack of natural resources mean it imports most of its food and fresh water and all of its energy supply.
Malta became a member of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and joined the eurozone in 2008. Its economy is mainly dependent upon tourism, trade and manufacturing and its EU membership, combined with traditionally well-trained workers, low labour costs and favorable tax regime make it an attractive option for foreign investment.
With flight times from the UK clocking in at around three-and-a-half hours, you’ll need a more cost-effective and convenient way to do business with your Maltese colleagues – an international conference call offers exactly that.
Video calling has become very popular in the last year or so – the technology and available broadband speeds have improved immeasurably in recent years and remote conferencing became the only way to keep in touch with clients and colleagues during lockdown.
Video calling isn’t without its flaws though – as anyone who has had connection issues will attest to (not to mention Microsoft’s insistence on moving everything around when it updates Teams). Sometimes, simply picking up the phone is the best option.
So, which is best – a conference call or a video call?
Malaysia is one of South-East Asia’s most vibrant and successful economies – after benefiting from years of political stability and strong industrial growth it is now the world’s largest producer of computer disk drives and rubber and is one of the largest producers of timber.
If investing in Malaysia sounds like a viable business proposition you’ll need a cost-effective and reliable international conference call provider.
It’s Monday morning and, if you’re anything like me, you’ll have struggled to even get out of bed this morning, never mind get showered, dressed, fed, and into work – it almost makes you wonder whether Monday mornings are actually worth going into work for.
Of course, there will be those of you out there who spring out of bed on a Monday morning, relishing what the working week has in store, and while job satisfaction has a lot to do with it, your natural body clock and work cycle can’t be underestimated.
So if you’re looking for a good reason to request flexible working so you can stay at home on a Monday morning, read on…
The Baltic states are a growing European market. If you want to start doing business in Lithuania and the surrounding nations, you’ll need cost-effective and reliable conference call provider – here’s how to set up an international teleconference to Lithuania in a few simple steps…
It feels like the switch has been flicked to ‘winter’ and the shorter, colder days are well on their way.
It hardly seems like any time at all since we were all enjoying the heat of the summer out of lockdown, asking if you let your staff dress down in summer, and offering advice on how to help your smartphone survive the heat.
But suddenly we’re well into October, and there are Christmas adverts on the TV. And the Daylight Saving Time is due to end in a few short weeks.
The changing of the seasons can also lead to feelings of depression, if you suffer from Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD), here’s how to combat the symptoms of SAD. And if you struggle to drag yourself from under the duvet during the darker, colder months, here are some top tips to help you wake up in winter.
Handshakes are taken very seriously in the business world – too hard, and you’re a go-getting alpha-type who would sell their own granny to get to the top; too weak and you’re a simpering subservient, simply asking to be crushed, probably by someone whose handshake is way too hard.
But forget all that anyway, because the pandemic has all but killed off the handshake, leading to a confused system of fist bumps, elbow taps, and meek waves.
So, before we get into how to give a professional handshake (it will be back), let’s take a look at some alternatives…