Chances are, once the holidays roll around and temperatures start to drop, your employees probably start to resemble the cat in this gif to the right. While space heaters are nice and staying warm is wonderful, that coziness might just cost you big time. As we at Evosus learned recently, space heaters eat up a huge amount of power and should not be plugged into an extension cord or power strip. Our always-cold-employee (isn't there one in every office?) had her space heater plugged into an extension cord, causing a short circuit that resulted in half the upstairs immediately losing power at the worst possible time. Fortunately, no one lost any vital data, but it raised an important question: what would we do if we didn't have a backup in place?
Brick and mortar retailers in the pool, spa, and hearth industries have many challenges. The rise of e-commerce and price-checking tools make it difficult for retail stores to keep prices competitive and stand out against competition without hurting the bottom line. Not only that, but finding, training, and retaining sales associates is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. For many small retailers, keeping up with the constantly evolving retail industry can feel like a high stakes poker match or a shot in the dark.
Self-care is a big buzzword these days. From books about the Danish concept of hygge to TED talks to “Treat. Yo. Self” on Parks and Recreation, it seems like everywhere you turn there’s yet another discussion about self-care. Although self-care might seem like another Millennial fad, it has existed for decades and has long been encouraged by healthcare professionals. From a business standpoint, proper self-care can reduce stress and improve office efficiency. More importantly, self-care combats burnout -- an epidemic problem that sabotages productivity for businesses. For a business owner, proper self-care is essential to maintaining a healthy work-life balance -- particularly during the holiday season, when stress levels are at an all-time high and you’re told to think of everyone but yourself.
The holidays are upon us and for consumers and retailers alike, this means one thing: gift shopping. The holiday season accounted for roughly 20 percent of total annual retail sales in 2013-2014 and has been growing ever since. This year, holiday sales are expected to increase by as much as 4.5 percent, with each shopper estimated to spend an average of $743 on gifts. Naturally, most of this shopping is expected to take place during major sale events, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. RetailMeNot reports that at least half of all consumers are planning to shop for deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Here at Evosus Software, we believe in loving where you work. We scoff at the idea of work being boring and jobs being a necessary evil. We laugh at the concept of tolerating co-workers. We pity those that dread going to work and despise what they do. How can we not? At Evosus, we foster a company culture of positivity and gratitude. We encourage collaboration and welcome feedback. Laughter is heard daily at the office (usually from Development) and employees are regularly plied with doughnuts, zucchini, and other goodies. This happy work environment is apparent year-round, but especially during our annual company event, Spirit Week.
If you’re a business owner, summer is like every other time of the year: busy. Instead of family vacations and cruise getaways, there’s work, meetings, contracts, emails, work, deadlines, reports, and work. In the past, this meant spending long hours at the office and never seeing your family. These days, modern technology has allowed business owners to focus on work and family simultaneously. With the right technology, you can keep track of all your business proceedings, from analyzing performance to reviewing contracts, from the comfort of your home. And for busy business owners on the go, no technology is more right than the new Evosus Dashboard.