Tag Archive for: Entrepreneur

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Taking Time Off As A Business Owner: How to Plan Ahead

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You would never expect your employees to work without having any days off, so why expect the same for yourself? Taking time off (and not just a sick day) is not only important for your own health and wellness, but for your business as well. 

After-hours, weekends and vacations can sometimes look less like time off, and more like working from a different spot. 

As a business owner, taking a vacation can seem impossible. However, planning ahead of time will allow you to actually relax and give you confidence that your business will be okay. 

Here are a few tips to help you plan for some downtime:

Predict Slow Times

Taking time off during your peak months will most likely prevent you from having a stress-free vacation. Even if you aren’t working, you’ll likely be thinking of work. Scheduling your time off during a known slow period will allow you to enjoy the moments and not have to worry about there being a thousand tasks and projects that are waiting for you when you return.

Have a Second in Command

Appointing a manager or top team member to take on any urgent matters is crucial to being able to step away. This should be someone you can trust. Maybe they’re already your go-to or the team member with the most experience. Whoever it is, make sure you provide them with any necessary information that they may need and don’t already have while you are away, this way they only have to reach out to you if it is an emergency. 

Give Your Clients Plenty of Notice

You have done the planning on when you are going to take time off, and who will be running the show while you’re relaxing, now it’s time to let your clients know. We suggest sending out an email to clients a few weeks before, letting them know that you will be out of the office, as well as introducing them to who will be taking care of them during that time. Including a reminder of your time away in your email signature is also a great way of reminding your clients leading up to your time away. Setting up an automated email saying that you are on vacation will help you put work on the backburner and not feel guilty about not responding to your clients. 

We know that stepping away can be a hard decision for any business owner, but it is important to be able to take time to relax. Whether it is a day or a week, there can be many benefits that can come from taking time off, such as reduced stress, clearer thinking, increase in productivity when returning to work, creative flow and most importantly, can also prevent burnout. If you plan ahead, the only thing you’ll be thinking of is why you didn’t do this sooner. 

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How to Work Remotely Effectively

With the global pandemic of COVID-19 going on, many people have been asked to work from home to lower the spread of the virus. However, it can be difficult when working from home to manage when and where to work, and to set boundaries between work time and personal time.

If you’re new to working from home, you will need to alter your normal habits in order to be successful.

We have come up with 10 tips to help you work remotely effectively.

Maintain a Set Schedule

It is important to create a set schedule and stick to it. When you have set work hours, this helps to maintain your work-life balance. If you are working at odd times during the day, this can make it harder to create that balance and hard to decipher when it is time to work, and when it is time to relax.

Don’t Oversleep

When you’re working from home, it makes it easier for you to decide to get those few extra hours of sleep in the morning and then start your work later on in the day. We don’t recommend doing this. If you stick to your typical schedule of waking up at the same time you normally do when going to work, this will make it a lot easier to be productive and easier to adjust to your new work lifestyle.

Create a Separate Workspace

One of the most important things to do when working from home is by creating a workspace environment for yourself. We understand that having a whole room for an office space is not realistic for everyone as not everyone has that extra space. However, try to at least have your own desk in a quiet space of your home. When you have a dedicated workspace, it makes it easier for you to separate your work time from your personal time. Doing your work from your bed or kitchen table can make it hard to separate your work and personal time. When you’re in your workspace, you are expected to work. And when you aren’t in your workspace, you are on your own time.

Leave Your House

It is important to still keep your body moving and getting some Vitamin D. Take a break from work at least once a day and while of course maintaining social distancing, try going for a walk, sitting out in your backyard, cutting the grass, etc.

Maintain a Morning Routine

Start your day off right by maintaining your regular morning routine. You wouldn’t go to your regular place of work without getting dressed, washing your face, brushing your teeth, making yourself breakfast, etc. So, don’t do that while working from home either. Working in your pajamas is okay on occasion, but doing this everyday will lead to tiredness, laziness, and lack of desire to actually work.

Have an Understanding With the People in Your Household

Ensure that the people you live with understand your situation. It is key to not be bothered while doing your work, the same way you are not bothered when you are at your physical job location. Let your family members know that you need your own time and space while you are working. Make sure you have ground rules with your family in regard to what they can and can’t do while you are working. For example, having someone play the drums in the room beside you is not beneficial to your focus and concentration. This is a time of understanding and working together to ensure that everyone can still continue their work and responsibility effectively.

Stay Connected with Your Colleagues

It’s a hard time for everyone right now, so be sure to stay connected with your colleagues and check in with them. Working from home can make you feel disconnected, so be sure to continue to socialize with the people you work with, even if you’re not working in the same environment right now.

For us here at Rosewood, we absolutely love using Slack. Slack is a great business messaging app that you can get on your smartphone and computer. For visual communication, we recommend Zoom. Zoom is great for meetings and makes collaboration easier.

Maintain Positivity

We know it can be difficult to remain positive through all the negativity going on right now. However, maintaining positivity is a must in order to work remotely effectively. I always try to keep positive by listening to my favourite songs while getting ready in the morning, by allowing myself the breaks I deserve during the day, and by always reminding myself that I am blessed to still be able to continue working during this pandemic.

Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself

Working from home isn’t easy – and it isn’t for everyone. That is perfectly okay. Some people work more effectively when they are in a separate physical space for their work that is not their own home. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Try to remember that this is difficult for everyone and that you are not the only one struggling. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! If you are struggling, reach out to your boss, manager, or colleagues for help.

Keep Organized

With all the new adjusting to working from home, it may be hard to keep track of everything you need to do in a day. That is completely understandable, and you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself if there are things you forget. We are all human and this new version of life is taking some adjusting. Using organization applications like Trello or ClickUp can really help you for all your organization needs. Or, if you’d prefer something that is tangible, a good ol’ fashion day planner is extremely beneficial.

Let’s Connect

Rosewood is a full-service digital marketing agency outside Toronto dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their online presence. We work with clients across North America and Europe to identify, strategize and reach their marketing goals!

You can join the conversation online on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Or contact us to chat about your marketing goals for 2020 or to discuss how Rosewood can assist you in building your website!

Sign up for our Newsletter to keep up with our latest news!

Until next time,

Cassandra

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COVID-19 Government Support for Small Business in Ontario

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Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, I have been thoroughly impressed with our government’s responsiveness. Not only are they developing these programs quickly, but they are rolling them out in a very organized fashion.

Because we work with so many entrepreneurs and small businesses, we wanted to put together this COVID-19 Cheat Sheet of Programs available to Small Businesses. We will continue to update this article as more information is released by the applicable governing bodies.

Main COVID-19 Programs Currently Available to Small Businesses in Ontario:

Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)

What is it: Interest-free loans of up to $40,000.

To Qualify: Have paid between $20,000 – $1.5 million in total payroll for 2019.

To Apply: Via your online banking with bank/credit union.

Note: Interest-free if paid back by December 31st, 2022.

Quite a few of our clients have applied and been approved for this program. It’s a great relief to have peace of mind and use this when absolutely necessary to keep things moving smoothly and stay afloat. The application process is simple. Log into your normal online banking and there will be an intake form to complete. Once approved the money will deposited into our account within 5 business days.

We recommend keeping a detailed excel document of any uses of this loan, and then creating a payment plan based on when things get back to normal. Ensure you pay back and loan amount by December 31st, 2022 to avoid any interest payments. If you do that you may also be eligible for up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness.

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

This is an incredible effort to keep as many people employed as possible during COVID-19. The responsibility is still on the employer to provide a safety compliant workspace for the employees.

What is it: Subsidy covers 75% of an employee’s wage up to $847/week.

To Qualify: Your business must have suffered a drop in gross revenues of at least 15% for March and 30% in April & May.

To Apply: Apply via your CRA Business account on April 27th.

Note: Be ready to apply; calculate how much you’re eligible for via the CRA website: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy/cews-calculate-subsidy-amount.html

We have a few clients who are eligible for this wage subsidy program, Rosewood included. It’s a good idea to use the calculator now so you are prepared for a quick and easy process on April 27th.  You will need to have copies of your payroll statements or your T4’s for individual employees.  It also takes into consideration whether you are an “arms-length” employee or not, meaning if you are related to the business owner.

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)

Small business owners with brick and mortars have been begging for this program. We have signed petition after petition to have this program made available. Without this, it would be the demise of main street businesses across Canada.

What is it: The Canadian government is partnering with provinces to provide a subsidy program for commercial building owners. The business owner pays 25%, the building owner pays 25% and the federal and provincial governments split the remaining 50%. This in effect will lower rent by 75% to commercial small business tenants. It also includes a moratorium on eviction during COVID-19.

To Qualify: The building owners must give their renters a 75% reduction in rent for May and June.

To Apply: The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will administer and deliver the CECRA via a rent forgiveness program. Forgivable loans will be dispersed by the mortgage lender. Application details are coming soon and we will update here.

Note: We will update this post once more details are made available. More information is available here: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/04/24/prime-minister-announces-partnerships-provinces-and-territories

We’re trying our best to stay up to date with details on these programs available to entrepreneurs and small businesses in Ontario during COVID-19. We will continue to update this article as new details are released regarding these three programs.

Let’s Connect

Rosewood is a full-service digital marketing agency outside Toronto dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their online presence. We work with clients across North America and Europe to identify, strategize and reach their marketing goals!

You can join the conversation online on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Or contact us to chat about your marketing goals for 2020 or to discuss how Rosewood can assist you in building your website!

Sign up for our Newsletter to keep up with our latest news!

Until next time,

Deanna Simone

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