What We Can Do For You

 

 

 

What we can do for you

Perception and Business Decisions

A customer’s perception of a potential new supplier is key to getting them to contact you, so before that all important first impression they have of you, most people will look at where you are, geographically.

We all know that if we live in County Antrim then suppliers in County Armagh or Tyrone may not seem as attractive as those in Belfast or County Antrim.

Similarly those of us who live in County Armagh or Tyrone may not consider anywhere other than their own county or Belfast. However most people agree they would consider a supplier in Belfast regardless of where they live.

Question: How many of you have goggle mapped an address to see where a company is based at before deciding to do business with them or not? I know I do and my perception of the company and its ability is based on seeing a private home or commercial premises.

While my perception could be completely wrong, when I see a private home I think ‘Part-Time’, not able to service my needs, not a serious business and when I see an office building in Belfast my perception is opposite.

The right perception can win you business so why miss out on the opportunity to be able to make a first impression.

You can use our address for your business on:

·        Websites

·        Business cards

·        Stationery and marking materials

With our business address service which costs £30 + VAT per month.

Visit our website for full details and benefits of our services.

 

Check out the Belfast Business Centre social media accounts today for updates, offers, business tips and incentives!

 

PINTEREST FOR BUSINESS

Pinterest for Business Part Four of Four

In our last  Pinterest for Business blog, we have identified a study which gives interesting advise on the images you use in your pins.

Pinterest’s Most Engaging Images

A study by Curalate has revealed the characteristics of Pinterest’s most socially engaging images. Reviewing over half a million pictures and 30 different features, engagement was measured based on Pins, Repins and Likes.

Pinterest Users Favour Colour

The more colourful your image, the more likely it is to be repinned. Pictures with multiple colours in vibrant hues were shared 3.25 more times than those with a single dominant colour. Red is one of the most repinned colours, and images with red, orange and brown tones were shared roughly twice as many times as blue-based pictures.

Avoid Black & White

Very light and very dark images see few repins, with the study finding that “repinning rate for images of medium lightness is 20 times higher than for images that are mostly black, and eight times higher than images that are mostly white.” Pinterest images with mid-saturation have 10 times more repins than those that are completely desaturated (e.g. black and white).

Avoid Empty Space

Images with less than 30% background white space are repinned the most, with repins dropping off for pictures with 40% white space or more. Vertical images with an aspect ratio between 2.3 and 4.5 also got 60% more shares than very tall narrow images (so simply cutting out the white space around the edges doesn’t help).

Face-Free

In one of the more surprising findings, the study revealed brand images without faces receive 23% more repins than those that do have faces. Contradicting the traditional marketing belief that faces provide a connection for the customer, less than 20% of pictures shared on Pinterest include a face in the frame. 

(If you are interested in setting up a Pinterest Account, we are happy to invite you to join.  Email us at elaine@belfastbusinesscentre.com  and we will send you an invite).

Check out the Belfast Business Centre social media accounts today for updates, offers, business tips and incentives!

Biz NET - A forum for small businesses to come together and network

Friday 2nd August 9.15 AM to Friday 20th December 10.30 AM

Get involved with other small businesses by both receiving and giving support and assistance to each other in this challenging economic environment

What is 9:15 Biz NET? A forum for small businesses to come together and network in the belief that it is only by working together that each business can thrive.

Why 9:15? It is when the meeting starts (finishes at 10.30am)

Why Biz NET? Because small businesses can best grow by developing a group of like-minded organisations all geared towards helping each other succeed.

You’ll get your chance at the meeting to:-

• ·Meet potential customers and suppliers
• ·Find out how others look to generate business
• ·Seek help for problems you may be encountering
• ·Hear interesting speakers giving their knowledge and expertise free to small businesses
• Promote your business

But most importantly, get involved with other small businesses by both receiving and giving support and assistance to each other in this challenging economic environment

This week’s event will allow for the opportunity for 1-1 meetings to take place between members and visitors.

OCCURS EVERY 2 WEEKS

Check out the Belfast Business Centre social media accounts today for updates, offers, business tips and incentives!

Kay Johnson Gee Expand Company to Belfast

Chartered Accountants Kay Johnson Gee have expanded their Client Base into Northern Ireland and are located at the Belfast Business Centre

Services:
Tax Audit & Accounts
Business Advice
Corporate Recovery
Payroll Services
Personal Financial Planning
Forensic Accounts
Charities


Full details can be found at www.kayjohnsongee.com    

  Belfast Business Centre for Serviced Office Space and Meeting/Boardrooms

LRA Guide for New Employers

We have received a very comprehensive Guide for New Employers from Labour Relations Agency in Belfast, contact us for a pdf download.  This is a very worthwhile guide.

Located in Gordon Street, a few minutes from the Belfast Business Centre, the Labour Relations Agency website has excellent resources for both employers and employees.


Contact Elaine or Clare for the pdf download at info@belfastbusinesscentre.com

Creative Web Fusion at The Belfast Business Centre

 

 

 

 

Creative Web Fusion are the latest client to the Belfast Business Centre.  Details of this young and dymanic team's services can be found at www.creativewebfusion.com and also in the Belfast Business Centre's Business Information Pack.

Hot Desking at The Belfast Business Centre

Hot Desking at The Belfast Business Centre is a pay per use service with access to a desk, broadband and complimentary tea/coffee/chilled bottled water on an hour/half and full day basis between the hours of 8.30 am and 4.30 pm.  The price is £4.80 per hour, £14.75 per half day (4 hours) and £30 per day (8 hours).  There is also access to business support services available to all our clients.  A Professional, quiet environment to work into and work.

Contact Elaine or Clare for availability 02890 439393 info@belfastbusinesscentre.com.

Check out the Belfast Business Centre social media accounts today for updates, offers, business tips and incentives!

Event Costs

Obtaining a preliminary budget for an event is crucial!

Comparing venues and costs can be a timing consuming task and that is when you have finally extracted costs of some of the venue who almost need to know your life history and several forms of future contact details before they can be pressurised enough to release some figures. 

Beware those who are vague about costs and what is included, this can mean you find a lot of ‘extras’ on your final invoice that were not included in your initial quotation. 

Venues who are happy to provide clear and transparent figures from the outset are very customer focused and know that time is money for their clients.

At the Belfast Business Centre we provide  clear 'pick and mix' and an 'all inclusive' pricing structure for our meeting rooms so that our clients get the best price for what they really need!

Price vs Quality and Service

E-Bidding for any type of contract is valuable but should not be used in isolation as decisions made purely on price don’t necessarily lead to the best service or quality.

Your contract is important to you and the successful bid company will work with you closely to fulfill it so there must be a good working relationship.  E-bids with no personal contact give you no opportunity to ensure that the companies’ personalities will gel with yours.

When we communicate, about half our message conveyed is non-verbal.  That includes body language, gestures, eye contact – even how close or far you are placed to the other person you are speaking to.  

The other half is voice pitch and volume.  Whether you are speaking confidently or your voice is wavering.  Whether you are being enthusiastic and keen or barely showing interest in what you are saying.  Effective communication is being personal.  

Create the right situations for good conversations and outcomes to happen in one of The Belfast Business Centre’s meeting rooms.

Organising A Meetings or Event?

How The Belfast Business Centre can assist you in organising your meetings and events.

1.  Knowledge & Experience:  We have over 19 years knowledge of the Meeting Room Industry and a wide range of experience of the different types of meetings, needs of our clients and options available.

2.  Attention to Detail:  We know what you will need to make your Meeting or Event a success and work with a range of successful professionals from Caterers, to Limousine Drivers to ensure every detail is discussed and dealt with.

3.  Saves Time & Money:  As we have the experience and professional network to assist you with every aspect of your event this reduces the time you spend on making all the arrangements and pricing as we know the most effective quality suppliers.

4. Reduce Stress:  Planning events can be stressful, especially if the event is not being held close to your work location and The Belfast Business Centre Staff will work with you and support you through all the decisions and provide regular feedback to keep you informed.

Tips: Conduct a Successful Social Media Strategy to promote your event

Use your social media profiles to promote your live events such as Training and Product launch seminars.  

Social media is a very effective promotional channel to increase awareness, attendance and participation.      Both Facebook and LinkedIn have the facilities to create event postings and invitations.

Use your social media to give details, share links where readers can get more information or RSVP and generate more interest in your event.  

As the date approaches, send out reminders and have a countdown.  

Offer incentives for those registering through your social media.  Create and use Twitter hashtags to increase awareness, updates on twitter help to keep attendees informed of the event.

Check out the Belfast Business Centre social media accounts today for updates, offers, other tips and incentives!

Restructuring your Business Staffing Needs in 2013?

Use the Belfast Business Centre’s Telephone Answering Service for a professional image, where Full Time, Experienced local staff will answer your calls in your company greeting between 8.30am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday.

We will politely explain that you are ‘out at the moment’ and offer to take the callers name and number to enable you to call them back.  Immediately on completion of the call, we will send you an email of the callers details.  We can tailor your instructions and send to different or multiple email addresses as required.   The Telephone Answering Service is  £40.00 per month plus VAT with a minimum one month agreement and is paid for on a monthly basis.

You can use the service permanently or divert your calls to the Belfast Business Centre just when it is necessary.  

We have no telephone call limits and there are no per call/message charges.

Contact Elaine or Sarah today and arrange to have the service set up for 2013.

The Royal Exchange Brings New Life To Cathedral Quarter

The Royal Exchange scheme is a mixed use redevelopment of the North East Quarter of Belfast City Centre. Ewart Properties have been buying up land in this area for years in preparation for the project which evolved from an initial proposal in the late 1990's.

Based on proposals submitted by Leaside Investments in October 2010 Royal Exchange could provide up to 250,000 sq ft of retail space complemented by restaurants, bars, cafes  art and leisure uses, apartments, offices and car parking.  This £360m development has been given planning permission in September 2012.

This development can only enhance the business and cultural offering in this area of the city.  The inward investment of a major anchor tenant will bring even more opportunities.

Welcome Back!

The Belfast Business Centre are delighted to welcome back O3 Solutions, Dermot Murphy Photography and Studio 23 Trust.

We consider the return of these clients to be the highest of compliments and look forward to working with them once again.

Elaine

The Belfast Business Centre for Serviced Office Space, Virtual Office Services including Mailing Address and Telephone Answering.  Business Meeting Rooms and Boardrooms available by the hour.

Between Leases?

The Belfast Business Centre has over 8 years experience in assisting companies who need short term space when they find themselves between leases or when an unexpected delay leaves them without an office for a few weeks or months.

We can provide immediate 'Walk in and Work' facilities with full telephone and broadband connectivity, fully Serviced and furnished offices and a Management team to ensure your move into and out of the centre goes smoothly.

One such client, Bell Lawrie made use of our short term office facilities prior to moving into their Waterfront Plaza Suite of Offices, leaving behind a thank you note!

'Trevor, Thanks for helping us start with 0 and leave with a business with £150 million under mgt. Henry Algeo'

For full details contact Elaine on 02890 43 93 93 or elaine@belfastbusinesscentre.com 

Starting Up?

The dynamics of the business owner has changed dramatically throughout recent years.   Many people in what was considered secure employment within ever increasing business markets, find themselves facing the option of starting up their own Companies.   

The Belfast BusinessCentre’s clientele reflects these changes and has resulted in a new and exciting era for the company.  

New Clients with great business ideas have created a busy environment,  generating business throughout our client portfolio.  

If you are considering Starting Up in Business contact Elaine or Sarah on 028 9043 9393/ Elaine@belfastbusinesscentre.com today.

Growing Business

A positive side of our economic situation is the increase in professionals and experienced individuals taking the step to start their own businesses, the range of services offered in the Belfast Business Centre are proving to be useful on many levels.

With 9 new businesses taking services in August 2012, we have seen the largest increase in new Virtual Services business for several months. Our services combined with the additional complimentary marketing opportunities are designed to support businesses of all sizes to grow.


Clients can choose from the Full Virtual Office Service, Mailing Address Service or Telephone Answering Service all of which have a fixed fee with no telephone call or mail receipt limits.

To be part of this growing community of businesses in the centre of Belfast contact Elaine or Sarah today on 028 9043 9393 or email elaine@belfastbusinesscentre.com

100%

The arrival of Lightsource Renewable Energy and Mindwise has brought the centre’s serviced offices to 100% occupancy, we wish them every success in growing their businesses with us.  

Providing flexible office solutions on a minimum one month term, means the Belfast Business Centre’s office availability is ever changing, please contact Elaine or Sarah  on 028 9043 9393 / Elaine@belfastbusinesscentre.com,  if you wish us to keep you up to date. 

Check out the new post from the Travellers Mail Service

http://travellersmailservice.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/avoid-bad-news-and-enjoy-the-good-instantly-with-the-travellers-mail-service/

Avoid Bad News and Enjoy Good News Instantly with the Travellers Mail Service from the Belfast Business Centre.

Belfast Business Centre Welcomes Back Clients!

July 2012 has seen both Magus Software and Griffin College return as clients of the Belfast Business Centre together with Will Hawkes and his new Funny Money Print company.

It is an encouraging sign to see clients re-establish or set up new businesses and a real compliment to our team at the Belfast Business Centre that they have chosen to return to the centre.

We wish them every success and look forward to supporting them along the way.