Choosing a Commercial Cleaning Service

Before deciding on a commercial cleaning service for your office, it is a good idea to get at least 3 quotes from different cleaning companies. A good cleaning company will want to meet with you and walk through your facility before establishing a monthly price for their cleaning services.

During the walk through it is important to notice a few things:

1) Your first impression of the salesperson - is he/she well groomed with neat and clean clothes and shoes? Do they offer you a confident handshake? When they hand literature to you, are they're fingernails clean and well trimmed or are they dirty and bitten?

2) Is the salesperson friendly, enthusiastic and sincerely interested in you and your concerns? During the walk through, does he/she locate any cleaning deficiencies?

3) Does he/she ask any questions about why you are not happy with your current commercial cleaning service and convince you that their commercial cleaning service can solve your problems?

For instance, does the salesperson point out:

• mineral deposit build up on drinking fountains
• soap and mineral deposit build up on rest room faucets
• odors in the rest room
• metal surfaces that are dull, stained or spotted
• toilet bowls and urinals with build up or stains
• tile floors with wax build up or dull finishes
• carpets with heavy stains
• dust build up behind computers and surfaces above eye level

It is important that the commercial cleaning service you hire understands your needs. Does the salesperson give you the confidence and establish trust that they have your best interest in mind? Have you discussed cleaning frequencies and the desired level of cleanliness and appearance you expect? If you are interested in just a spot cleaning and emptying of trash on selected days, has the salesperson tried to identify your needs?.

Making the decision to go with a certain office cleaning service depends a lot on compatibility, competence and character.

Has the salesperson described how your building will look after they have finished cleaning? Has he/she offered any guarantees on the quality of their work? A commercial cleaning service should be so thorough that you rarely ever have a complaint and so efficient that their service also saves you money.

If a professional well-kept workplace is important to you, your employees and clients, then hiring a commercial cleaning service is the best way to give the exterior and interior of your commercial space a polished image for your successful business.

Desktop Management - 5 Tactics To Help

Overview:

For those of you who are fortunate enough to possess a desk, or at least a workspace, the more organised you can maintain it the better. An uncluttered workplace implies a greater degree of management efficiency. The objective is not actually to look busy but to function effectively. This is desktop management.

Equipment:

It could seem trivial but having much of the necessary materials within easy reach, at your desk, is useful. Take into account which things you specifically use and ensure they are close by. While a lot of people would suggest they already make use of digital means to record items, note pad and pencils are usually faster for making initial records. Make sure that any priority files and to-do lists are to hand.

Ergonomics:

If you choose to operate effectively at your work area it is a useful practice to think about the ergonomics involved.

For most, consideration of the aspects beneath will be a luxury but it is as well to be aware of them.

So, let's think about your workdesk.

Where? Is it located in the ideal spot? Does it point to a window or a door? A desk pointing towards a doorway can attract unwanted callers and further interruptions. Is the desktop area big enough? Is it next to power outlets to reduce wiring. Do you use shelving, if so, is it suitable in terms of dimensions and situation. Do you require a notice board?

Is the upper level of the desk OK? Is your chair adequate and relaxing? Do you make use of an ergonomically designed computer keyboard? These latter objects are very important in helping decrease back pain and repetitive strain problems.

Make use of your computer's capability:

You will acquire a lot of documents and routine data that you ought to gain access to at a later date. Constantly think how you might modify things to digital format. Access of data will be a lot quicker from a database in contrast to searching manually. Some paperwork is not easy to modify to a helpful digital format. There are a lot of techniques to choose from for recording information. No matter what you make use of teach yourself to appreciate all of the softwares components.

Make certain that you back up all of your records regularly. Think how you backup your files, ensuring that the copies are secure. A lot of people have certain worries when it comes to using computers which can limit their ability to increase their potential. For instance, concern of carrying out online transactions could prevent a lot of people making use of online banking. If you do have a worry, rationalising it could help you create a plan of action to conquer it.

Computer training:

Improving computer abilities is a prerequisite for improved time management in general. Particular training courses can provide a swift in road into the use of specific packages and processes. However, there is frequently no alternative for simply spending time making use of computer software and trying things out. In many situations computers should improve what you wish to do but they can additionally open your eyes to new ways of approaching problems.

In-tray:

If you have a system that is the equivalent of an in-tray, for collating information, keep on top of the items. As information increases there is little point in obtaining a second in-tray. Consider why you are not clearing your task in-tray as promptly as you ought to be. Good practice in this area will encourage you to get on with the following job and establishes a level for good planning and efficiency.

You will find it harder to achieve your aims as a Project Manager if you don't organise your local area effectively. Maintain that clutter at arms length with excellent desktop management.

Apart from writing about topics covering desktop management, for example, we put together direct jargon free advice covering a wide breadth for business and personal use. If you wish for more material why not see Time management.

Hate Cold Calls? Maybe You Need Cold Call Therapy!

If you've ever suffered from 'call reluctance' you know it can be miserable. Call resistance can strike when least expected. No one likes to think they are afraid to pick up the phone and indeed the feelings related to this malady can be complicated.

When we've experienced success in a number of other areas like, sports, business, attracting members of the opposite sex, school, even managing our budgets, it's disturbing to find out we have a mysterious weakness. Furthermore, we don't want to talk about it with friends, family, or business associates.

What are the options? Speaking from personal experience, one painful and undesirable choice is to buckle down and through sheer determination and brute force, make the calls. It's not pretty or fun but most of the time the rewards prove to be so great the misery of cold calling is forgotten, at least temporarily.

Another option is education. The problem with educating the heck out of us as to why we should not have call resistance is, it is fundamentally insulting. Anyone with experience dealing with cold call issues can recite a dozen motivating reasons to make their calls. The problem is, uncomfortable feelings are not reasonable. We know it does not make sense, yet this oppressive, ridiculous, 'weakness' follows us around like the Plague.

I suggest you try an 'out of the box', uncommon, extraordinary treatment if you want to banish call reluctance from your life forever. Listen up! Don't waste your time putting something down you have not tried. As the saying goes, "Just Do It!".

I'm talking about cold call therapy. There is something called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) that in my opinion, should be called 'Miracles For You'. Think of EFT as emotional acupuncture.

Here's a mini-summary of how EFT works. There are specific points on your body that when tapped with two fingers, and coupled with specific affirmations, send signals throughout your body to release long standing negative emotions. EFT is an energy therapy. The tapping sends energy signals throughout a system of energy meridians, and alters messages in your brain. Obviously I'm not a scientist but I'm a successful person in business who can testify to astounding personal results.

Descriptions like, life changing, transformative, miraculous, are flowery terms and accurate. EFT can be used to eliminate negative habits, addictions, depression, and physical pain. Once you experience results in one area you'll want to apply it in other areas. Be open to give this process a try. You can thank me later!

Top 5 Mistakes Freelancers Make and How You Can Avoid Them

1. Underestimating time & project costs

Underestimating both time and project costs is easily the biggest mistake I've made, and also the biggest mistake freelancers make in general. Why? Because it's extremely difficult to calculate the length of time a project takes if you haven't completed another similar project beforehand to utilize as reference.

I've found that the largest "unknown" factor that consumes much more time than I expected is communicating with clients and making countless revisions and minor changes to a project.

I believe the only truly effective way to generate more accurate estimates is to carefully track time on projects now to make sure that later on, as soon as you have projects similar in scope, there's real, hard data to work with for calculating the estimates.

2. Accepting equity (shares) in startup companies as compensation as a substitute for hourly compensation

Accepting equity, or shares, in a startup company to replace hourly compensation is the second largest mistake I've made as a freelancer. The reality is nearly all startups fail.

On a few occasions earlier in my career as a freelancer, I met with prospective clients who were extremely enthusiastic about some new great idea they had for a website (internet startup). It's very easy to get tangled in all the hype and excitement surrounding the potential of becoming rich quickly from a new idea, but be cautious (and rational).

Unless you are absolutely certain the "idea" provides real value, is truly unique (or better in comparison to the competition), and is marketable (do your research!), chances are you will end up working for countless hours with no compensation whatsoever. Additionally, it's likely your relationship(s) with your business partner(s) will worsen if you start having doubts about whether the business has potential to prosper.

3. Not requiring 50% downpayment before work begins

I'm an incredibly trusting person, and the truth is most clients (and people as a whole) can be trusted to pay for what you've done, but it's significantly better to be safe than sorry. There exist individuals who may decide - even after you've worked hard - that they no longer want what you've produced for them, or worse, they simply don't have an interest to pay money for your precious time.

It's very easy to safeguard yourself financially by asking for at least 50% upfront for the project cost estimate. I admit it is usually a little awkward to ask a brand new client (who you could have just met) for cash before you've even started working, but it's an important protection that ensures that even in the worst case scenario, at the least, you've been paid something with regards to your efforts.

4. Not having both parties sign an explicit contract beforehand

This mistake goes hand-in-hand with not requiring a 50% downpayment upfront - even if it might be annoying investing time and resources writing up the contract, it's critical to put together a clear, concise contract (wow, alliteration!) or agreement between you and the client before beginning a project. A well-worded contract will shield you, along with your business, legally and financially.

As I explain in mistake #5 below, a solid contract prevents scope creep; that is, it clearly sets expectations for your client that shields you should your client ask - throughout the life of a project - for added features, elements, or services that you initially didn't expect when you first estimated the project cost.

Alongside establishing expectations for your client, a good contract also clearly sets expectations for what you should be paid (compensated) as the freelancer.

5. Not being clear enough about precisely what deliverables or services are included in the cost of a project

This mistake is a subset of #4 - be certain every contract specifies just what is covered in the project cost, especially what number of revisions and whether or not ongoing support is included. Scope creep (also called feature creep) is among the most commonly encountered problems freelancers face - that is, whenever a client asks for more and more as the project goes on. The problem is, most often, the client expects for more without paying more for the effort and time.

For instance, a client may ask for another page to a website after the project is in progress. The problem is, that added webpage wasn't contained in the initial estimate, so either you as the freelancer can basically design the page for free or you can remind the client that that part wasn't in the contract and that you will have to charge extra for that page. A legal contract should specify that any additional services are billed in addition to the original cost estimate.