Shirley Barnes, Author at Find Dir

Business

August 28, 2018

Why You Should Definitely Check Out Coworking Spaces

A rally point, a kind of area where people with the same goals meet; it’s an area where people can gather based on an agreed time for various types of agenda. It doesn’t matter if all of your services are home-based or offshore or if you’re all in the same area, there will be times when there will be an opportunity or a need to meet up. While most would go to coffee shops, it’s not always the ideal place to stay in because not everyone in a coffee shop can be a behaved individual. Besides, eating a lot in a coffee shop just to justify your stay is costly and unproductive, especially if what you’re eating is something that can drain your energy or make you weak.

It’s the reason why some are using coworking spaces not just for formality’s sake but because it has everything you need for a positive meeting experience, like the environment and the equipment. If you’re still not convinced, below are some of the perks that coworking spaces offer in their meeting rooms (and it’s not a good Wi-Fi connection, FYI).

No distractions: Informal places (cafés, restaurants) are distracting, especially during rush hours. If you’re doing something special and it so happens to be in rush hour, maybe you should take that as a sign that coffee shops aren’t conducive to company matters. But with coworking spaces, you can rent a meeting room with no distractions whatsoever. You can continuously work and get the job done without cringing that some person just interrupted you by spilling their drinks, talking, yelling, laughing, and running.

Presentation-friendly: Coworking spaces are presentation-friendly because they’re well-equipped with everything you need, from network phones to projectors. Whatever you need, they have it. There are times when you will need this equipment, like during a product presentation. You can’t expect people to appreciate your product presentation if you’re in an informal place; you’re not doing networking.

The table is big enough to accommodate everyone comfortably: In any informal place, you will be lucky if you can gather a total of 6 people. But what if you’re having more than 6 people, like 10 or 12? They won’t fit on one table. Why don’t you avoid the hassle and go for a coworking space instead? Do you know that most of them offer complimentary coffee as well?

Sometimes, it’s a no-brainer to go to informal places like cafés and restaurants to meet. While these places are cozy, have good food, and drinks, and have free Wi-Fi, their limitations show, especially if you’ve been a solid customer. What if it’s rush hour and you’re in an important meeting? What if you need to do a product presentation and what if you have more than 6 people? In those instances, don’t you think that it’s more reasonable to opt for a coworking space? If you’re looking for a coworking space with a solid meeting room,

Finance

August 28, 2018

How To Find Money For Your Startups

There are thousands of new startups who are not able to move beyond the first few months as far as they are concerned. This is because of lack of funds as a startup organization. Hence it would not be a bad idea to learn more about ways and means by which one can find out avenues to find sources of funds for their startups. Let us learn more about it over the next few lines for the benefit of our readers and also for those who are keen on starting up their own ventures but are struggling to find ways and means by which they can raise the required amount for their startups.

Loans, Credit Cards & Other Borrowings

This perhaps is the simplest and most sought after way when it comes to borrowing funds for your startup organization. If you have a good credit history you can borrow a few thousand dollars in your name and if you are working as partners, the others can also use the same method to raise the required money for starting up their business venture. If you look around there are many websites where you find lot of information. Hence it would not be a bad idea to discover this info here. You also could borrow against your credit cards but you must do it with caution given the fact that it is extremely expensive and the interest rates might simply pull you down quite a bit. You also could look at other less expensive methods such as second mortgage on your homes and raise some low cost loans. If you have some jewelry you also could mortgage the same and this also could be a low cost avenue to raise enough funds for your start up.

Savings

If you are a prudent person and believe in savings it is quite obvious that you could have some big money saved over the years. The same could be investing in your startup venture. This could be a very good move because you would not be burdened with heavy interest costs which often are the case with credit cards, personal loans and even mortgage loans. But you must be careful to set apart some savings for emergencies and should not empty out the entire thing.

Crowd Funding

This is one of the most common ways of funding for startup organizations. If we look at the history of some of the most successful companies, it is quite obvious that most of them would have received significant amount of money from these crowd funding organizations. The interest rates are nominal and they would ask for a share in the profits of the new startup company and this could vary from 5% to 10% depending on the type of company, the loan amount and so on.

Business

August 24, 2018

Is This The End Of The White Van Man?

The white van is an iconic sight on Britain’s roads. However, government plans to replace them with more eco-friendly alternatives could see them begin to disappear. The government hopes that electric vehicles will be able to take the place of white vans.

Current Issues

There are currently over four million white vans registered in the UK. The number has risen in recent years, partially because of an increase in online shopping. White vans are often used as delivery vehicles. Many of them are fuelled with diesel. A report by the Department for Transport suggests they are major contributors to congestion and pollution, particularly in large cities.

Future of Mobility

In the “Future of Mobility” and “Last Mile” plans, the DFT looks at potential alternatives to white vans. Future of Mobility focuses on the wider opportunities and possible problems that accompany the ongoing development of the transport system in the UK, whilst Last Mile is a consultation specifically on vehicles that deliver goods.

Possible alternatives to white vans include electric vans, microvehicles, quadricycles, and electric cargo bikes. These vehicles are smaller than traditional white vans and will therefore be less likely to block narrow streets. They are also less damaging to the environment and air quality. The Last Mile call for evidence on this topic closes on October 10, 2018. It hopes to explore the potential advantages and disadvantages of these alternatives.

Other future transport plans include extra taxes for cars with higher emissions. New low-emission zones in London will charge £12.50 a day for diesel vehicles, including vans, which travel there. Leeds and Birmingham also plan to charge extra for high-emission vehicles to enter their city. These fees will come into force by 2020. These charges are also likely to affect white van drivers not based in these cities, such as Man and Van Slough at, as they make deliveries into larger cities such as London and Birmingham.

Overall, the government currently has six projects that aim to integrate connected and autonomous vehicles. This has involved the commitment of £12.1 million in funds. By 2035, it is estimated that the sale of autonomous vehicles will be worth £52 billion. The UK Transport Minister claims their plans are just one part of ensuring the UK benefits from future innovation in transport.