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04/03/2023 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

How To Promote Sustainability as a Small Business Owner

When you start a business, you should ensure that its practices reflect your values. If sustainability is important to you, you can take steps to reduce your company's environmental impact while maintaining profitability and building a positive reputation. Today, Bnpositive Communication and Design shares some tips and resources to help you get started.

Prioritize Sustainability From the Start

You can make environmental responsibility central to your business from the beginning. When developing the idea for your business, research various sustainable options. For example, you can open a shop that sells eco-friendly household goods or start a company that offers green landscaping services. Look into your local market and find a niche that matches your skills and interests.

When creating your business plan, include a mission statement describing the purpose and goals of your company. A business plan should also describe the structure of your company. Forming an LLC is a good idea because you can limit personal liability while still being a flexible small business with simpler taxes and manageable paperwork.

You should research your state's unique regulations because the rules can vary. Save money by filing your own paperwork or using a formation service instead of expensive legal services. However, not all formation services are the same, so check reviews to make sure you’re getting the best deal.

Create an Eco-Friendly Workspace

Whether you work from home or operate your business from a separate building like a store or office, you should try to create a green work environment. For example, research shows that leaky faucets and running toilets can waste gallons of water daily, so you should not procrastinate repairs in the washroom and kitchen.

Also, if you’re involved in ecommerce, it’s obviously very important that your customers be able to browse and purchase from your site with ease. Luckily, you can try this platform and help to streamline the process for all involved, thus increasing customer satisfaction while maximizing efficiency.

In addition, you can encourage recycling by placing bins in convenient locations, such as near the printer or copier. You should also invest in reusable office supplies, like pens that you can refill. When buying furniture, look for second-hand and refurbished pieces. You can even use recycled materials and indoor plants to make your decor reflect your values.

Digitize and Reduce Paper Use

Paper may not seem expensive, but it has a significant environmental impact. Your business can take steps like using double-sided printing and unsubscribing from mailing lists to reduce paper waste. Digitizing documents and records can also help you use less paper. You can find digital alternatives for tasks like bookkeeping, maintaining records and sending faxes. You can also use paperless billing and invoicing. Select a pre-made invoicing template and add custom colors and a logo. Make sure you include your business's name and any relevant text. Then, you can create an invoice template that is consistent with your brand.

Improve Energy Efficiency

Making energy-efficient upgrades is good for the environment and your business's finances. You should shut down electronics and other energy-drawing equipment when not in use. Furthermore, consider replacing your lighting with more efficient LEDs. You can also significantly reduce your heating and cooling costs by fixing windows, sealing leaks and adding insulation. Keeping your HVAC system clean and well-maintained is a good idea, too.

Promote Your Green Values

Surveys show that customers value sustainability and look for companies with eco-friendly values. Featuring your green practices in your marketing and branding efforts can help you reach consumers whose environmentalist values align with your own. You should use recycled and sustainable materials when possible. Communicate the steps you take to reduce consumption and lessen your impact. Finally, listen to feedback and be willing to look critically at the entire supply chain that impacts your business.

Sustainable business practices, from energy-efficient building upgrades to paperless digital invoices, allow your company to make a difference. You can make eco-friendly changes while growing your business and your brand.

Bnpositive Communication and Design has been helping businesses and individuals with their technological needs for over 25 years. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

02/07/2018 By Jason Bean 1 Comment

The Benefits of Spending a Weekend Outside

Physical activity is endemic to human nature, but modern life has twisted our habits and resulted in many not getting the exercise they need. On average, 90% of a human's life in the developed world is spent indoors – fundamentally antithetical to how we as a species have lived for eons.

Because of this, it is important that we look for opportunities to be active and be outside whenever possible. Spending time in the great outdoors has a variety of unique benefits we may not even realize. In order to be at our best and healthiest, it is essential to get out, be active, and enjoy nature. So prepare your camping gear and outdoor accessories and set out on outdoor adventure!

Below, we'll discuss several benefits you and your body can enjoy by merely spending one weekend out in nature.

More Intimate Family Time

For those with spouses and children, spending a weekend outdoors can help reduce the technological isolation so many of us experience on a day-to-day basis. Through family activities such as camping and hiking, you'll be removed from the hectic modern world, and will be more reliant upon one another.

A weekend spent camping can present many opportunities for family bonding and athletic activities, both of which are hard to come by when living from day to day and cheque to cheque. If you need a family-sized tent to begin planning your weekend out, visit myfamilytent.com for recommendations.

Higher Vitamin Production

Being confined to indoor spaces with artificial lighting has a bigger impact on our bodies and minds than many know. One such impact is the level of natural vitamin production in our bodies.

One notable example is vitamin D. It is estimated that around 35% of people are lacking in vitamin D due to the indoor and sedentary lifestyle of modern living. Vitamin D helps our immune systems fight off illness and even has an impact on our mood.

By spending a weekend outdoors, your exposure to natural sunlight will result in a natural boost of this valuable vitamin.

Improved Exercise

While any kind of exercise is better than no exercise at all, a weekend spent in the great outdoors can yield even bigger benefits with outdoor exercise.

The natural conditions of outdoor settings result in us having to work harder when engaging in physical activities. Natural elements such as inclines, wind, and even temperature will push our bodies harder than the same activity would in an indoor setting, meaning that an identical exercise will burn more calories and increase strength more.

Better Mood

Finally, an entire weekend outdoors can leave you feeling refreshed and in higher spirits, thanks to the natural power of both sunlight and exercise. Even during colder and drearier months, the exposure to natural light and exercise has been shown to boost mood and even self-esteem. If you want to be sexy, look sexy and feel sexy without ever trying too hard, consider using True Pheromones everyday.

As little as a few minutes of outdoor presence has been shown to produce results, so an entire weekend in the great outdoors definitely is worth the effort if you're feeling gloomy. Escape rooms are also a great way to get out of your routine and have fun reconnecting to real people! Visit https://thesecretchambers.com/escape-rooms/rage-room/ to book a schedule today!

With notable benefits both for yourself and your relationships, planning a weekend outdoors could be just what you need. Whether you're ready to be in a better mood, get more exercise or enjoy close connections to people you care about, this form of activity is definitely worth planning.

Photo Credit:
Scott Goodwill

05/24/2017 By Jason Bean 1 Comment

What to Do if You are Injured at Work

Most people don’t go to work expecting to sustain an injury, however, there’s always the risk of an accident happening. No matter what line of work you’re in, there’s always the risk of injury, even though some careers are definitely riskier than others. But, even if you have a nice comfortable office job, you never know what’s going to happen. So, if you ever find yourself having sustained an injury in the workplace through no fault of your own, here’s what to do to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible and that you get the workers compensation that you deserve.

#1. Inform a Supervisor or Manager:

The first thing that you should do if you are injured on the job is inform your supervisor or manager straight away. Not only will this allow them to quickly get you a first-aider or call for emergency medical help if needed, it will also begin the process of you receiving any worker’s compensation that you may be entitled to. However, a verbal exchange may not always be enough. In certain states, you’ll be required to inform your manager in writing about any injuries in order to get worker’s compensation. Since you may not be in a position to write a letter after recently sustaining an injury, you should aim to do this at the earliest possible convenience.

#2. Get Medical Attention:

If you sustain an injury at work that you will likely be eligible to receive worker’s compensation for, then the next thing to do after informing your supervisor is to seek medical attention. Of course, how you go about doing this will depend on the severity of your injury. For smaller injuries, it’s probably fine to make a doctor’s appointment as soon as possible, whilst more serious issues may require an emergency response. Depending on your role and the company that you work for, you may be able to see your own doctor, or you could be required to see one chosen by your employer. Be sure that you are clear on any guidelines regarding this before making your appointment. For your full recovery, you may need the services of a massage therapy Cary NC specialist.

#3. Keep Records:

If you have been seriously injured and expect a large benefit pay-out from your worker’s compensation, then it’s a wise idea to keep detailed records of your injury and your recovery period. Share all important documents to your work related accident lawyer Vegas. In addition, if you are currently seeing a doctor who has been provided to you by your employer, then you should be very careful – a doctor paid by your employer could be more motivated to minimize the seriousness of your injury, or link it to a pre-existing condition. So, don’t exaggerate your past health or give them any reason to believe that the injury could have been caused or worsened by a pre-existing condition if this is not true. You may also want to speak to another doctor, or even hire a qualified injury attorney or a workers compensation lawyer. A workers comp attorney can help you improve your chances of getting the full amount of compensation.

Have you ever been injured at work? Share your story in the comments.