EPC – Industry Trends

Why You Should Consider New York For Your Business HQ

November 16, 2023

The business environment is ever-changing all around the world. Choosing the right location for your headquarters is very important depending on which parts of the world you provide goods or services. This place will be central to all operations and supporting business branches and subsidiaries. Once you have decided and started operating, it will be very costly to shift in future. Hence, there is a need to consider your options wisely.

One of the cities that is most popular in the United States and for global businesses is New York City. It hosts most of the major multinationals and multi-million companies in commerce, technology, finance and hospitality. Hence, it has positioned itself as a place of diverse opportunities for expertise, with companies enjoying the benefits of large economies of scale.

In this article, we will highlight the top reasons why as a business owner, you should consider having your business headquarters in New York City.

Keep reading.

Compelling Reason for NYC as Your Business HQ

New York is positioned as a strategic home for most business headquarters, both local and international. Hence, before deciding to establish your business headquarters in any other city, let us highlight the reasons why NYC is the best.

Access to Expert Knowledge

The most important resource necessary for a headquarters is the availability of a highly trained human resource to manage businesses with high capitalization. Fortunately, New York City is a hub for all types of skilled professionals ranging from finance, commerce, IT and innovation. The city hosts some of the prestigious universities and innovation centers around the world. Hence, it produces its own talent in addition to the pool of professionals from other places.

Diversity and Economies of Scale

Where many industries converge in one city, there tends to be a mutual relation that exists between them making the cost of operations lower. NYC is an economic landscape that comprises all industries and their respective sectors, spanning from finance (the famous Wall Street), Technology and innovation (the Silicon Alley), media and Medical /healthcare, just to mention a few.

Cultural diversity is another striking feature of NYC, evidenced by clients and employees who come from different parts of the world. This brings out the cultural richness and mix of lifestyles of New York. This aspect gives business owners more ideas about customers’ preferences and trends. Hence, resulting in more creativity and innovation of products that are acceptable even for customers abroad.

Availability of Service Providers

This diversity provides opportunities across businesses and partnerships. It also makes it easier for companies to enjoy the benefits of combined utilities such as security, state-of-the-art and reliable transport and communication.

In New York, there are tens of service providers that every business requires. For instance if you rent a previously utilized office, you will want it to be sparkling clean and free of crawlers. In this case, you only need to go online and search for services such as pest extermination in NYC from PositivePest and hire them to do a thorough fumigation.

All this translates into operational efficiency by ensuring that businesses and workers operate smoothly and in a clean environment.

Networking Opportunities

On many occasions, New York has been the host of major world events and conferences. From industry-related meetups to cross-industry meetings, there are many opportunities to enroll potential clients and attract new investors and partners. This allows business owners to network easily in between meetings and establish connections for mutual benefit.

Access to Capital and Market

New York City happens to host major financial institutions hence providing businesses with easy access to funding. Not only is funding available but also at fair rates due to competition. Therefore if you wish to expand your business venture through capital injection via private equity, or traditional bank loans, the financial institutions will be there to fund you.

Additionally, the city is located strategically on the East Coast allowing entrepreneurs to access the huge market for goods and services. This also provides an opportunity for new businesses looking to establish themselves in North America. In the future, they can grow their market to other places after becoming stable.

In Summary

New York City is often considered a prime location for various reasons. From unparalleled access to talent and rich industries to a global business hub with resilient adaptability, New York presents a compelling case for those seeking a growing environment to anchor their business goals.

While New York City offers many benefits, it’s important that you carefully analyze your business needs. Also consider the industry requirements, and how much money you can spend before choosing NYC as your headquarters. Other things to put into consideration are taxes, NYC business regulations and the imminent competition you may face.

What Financial Aspects of Your Building Business Do You Have to Consider?

March 18, 2023March 17, 2023

Starting a building business can be exciting and rewarding, but it also requires careful consideration of various financial aspects. From securing funding to managing cash flow and expenses, there are several critical financial factors that you need to keep in mind when starting and running your business. In this article, we’ll explore some of the essential financial aspects of your building business you should consider ensuring long-term success. Keep reading;

Seeking Finances

Securing funding is one of the most critical financial aspects of starting and running a building business. There are many reasons you may want to seek funds for your business such as expansion, to pay emergency expenses and purchase assets.

Without proper funding, your business may struggle to get off the ground or sustain itself in the long run. There are several ways to secure funding for your building business, including:

You can apply for loans from banks or other lending institutions. These loans can be secured or unsecured, and their terms and interest rates will depend on factors such as your credit score, income, and collateral. When seeking finances, you must shop for lenders offering favorable rates.
Often, it can be challenging because there are many banks on the market. But you can read online guides and reviews such as the best national banks of 2023 to identify a lending institution that will meet your needs.
Various grants are available for small businesses, including those in the construction industry. These grants may come from government agencies, non-profit organizations, or private foundations.
You can seek out investors willing to provide funding in exchange for equity in your business. This option is suitable if you have a compelling business plan and growth potential.
Crowdfunding platforms allow you to raise funds from many people who contribute small amounts of money to support your project or business idea.

When seeking funding for your building business, it’s essential to have a solid business plan that outlines your goals, strategies, and financial projections. This will help potential lenders or investors understand what you’re trying to achieve and how they can benefit from supporting your business financially.

Managing Cash Flows

Cash flow management is critical for any building business, as it helps ensure you have enough money to pay your bills, invest in growth opportunities, and any financial challenges. Effective cash flow management involves:

You need to accurately forecast your expected income and expenses for the coming weeks and months. This will help you identify potential shortfalls or surpluses in your cash flow and plan accordingly.
You should aim to invoice your clients promptly and follow up on unpaid invoices to ensure timely payment. This can help improve your cash flow by reducing the time between providing services or products and receiving payment.
You should keep track of all expenses related to running your building business, including rent, utilities, salaries, materials, equipment, and taxes. Regularly reviewing these expenses can help you identify areas where you can reduce costs or negotiate better deals with suppliers.
If your building business involves selling construction materials or tools, you must manage your inventory carefully to avoid overstocking or stockouts. Overstocking ties up valuable capital that could be used elsewhere in the business, while stock outs can lead to lost sales opportunities.
A cash reserve can provide a safety net during lean times or unexpected expenses. A good rule of thumb is having enough savings set aside to cover at least three months’ operating expenses.

By managing your cash flow effectively, you can ensure that your building business has enough liquidity to operate smoothly and seize growth opportunities as they arise.

Budgeting

Creating and sticking to a budget is essential to managing your building business’s finances effectively. A budget helps you plan for expenses, allocate resources, and avoid overspending.

Here are some key steps to creating a budget:

Identify all sources of income, including revenue from construction projects, rental properties, or any other sources of income.
List all expenses such as rent, salaries, insurance premiums, and variable expenses such as materials and supplies.
Group your expenses into various categories such as; labor, materials, equipment, rent/mortgage payments, utilities, marketing or advertising costs.
Set financial goals and monitor progress.

Creating a budget can help you make informed decisions about allocating resources in your building business effectively. It also helps identify areas where you may be overspending or underutilizing resources so that you can take corrective action before it’s too late.

Conclusion

Managing the finances of your building business is essential to ensuring its success. Two critical aspects of financial management are cash flow management and budgeting. By following these best practices in financial management, you can ensure that your building business has enough liquidity to operate smoothly and seize growth opportunities while avoiding overspending or underutilizing resources.

Easy Ways to Make Friends in the Workplace

April 20, 2022

This year a lot of us have started brand new careers. Last year was a difficult time in the working world and a lot of businesses were forced to close, which meant that a lot of people were unfortunately out of work.

Now that the world is starting to return to normal, more businesses are opening and this means that there are far more job opportunities than there have previously been. A lot of people are starting to brand new jobs and they are excited to get back to work.

Though starting a new job is incredibly exciting, a lot of people are finding it intimidating. For the last couple of years, those of us that could work were mainly working from home. This meant that we spent a lot of time in our own company and we are no longer used to working in a working environment.

Starting a new job can be difficult no matter what, but it is even more difficult if you have been working at home for the last couple of years.

Many of us have preferred working at home more than going to the office, but unfortunately, we have no choice but to push through. There are ways that you can make your working experience much easier and one of these ways is by making friends.

When you have friends at work, you feel much more comfortable heading into the office and you are much more likely to enjoy your time at work if you have someone you can confide in and even joke with. However, we have all been pretty isolated for the last couple of years and so you may feel pretty out of the loop when it comes to making friends.

Making friends is actually pretty easy and it is incredibly important that you try to make friends if you want to enjoy your working environment. Here are some easy ways that you can make friends in the workplace.

Be Good at Your Job

Something that you may be surprised to learn is that a great way to make friends in the workplace is by being good at your job. If you have ever been in an office environment, something that you will know is that nobody likes someone that is bad at their job.

If you are not good at your job, you put a lot of strain on the people that you work with and they have to pull some extra weight. Nobody likes having to work hard because someone else in their work is lagging behind and so if you gain a reputation for not being great at your job, the people that you work with will not like you.

Just make sure that you are doing everything that you have been asked to do and if you are struggling with work, don’t be afraid to reach out to your fellow work friends. They would much rather you ask for help than make mistakes and make everyone else suffer.

Working through problems is also a great way to build bonds with your fellow workers and it is a good conversation topic if you have nothing to speak about with the people that you work with.

Be Funny

Work can be boring and it can be incredibly difficult. Sometimes we all need a bit of comedic relief. If your work pals have been a part of the business for some time, then it is likely that they feel quite worn out and not many of them are in the mood to tell jokes and make people laugh.

Because you are new to the business, you likely have a lot more energy than the people that you work with and so a great way that you can make everyone in your workplace like you is by making them all laugh.

Everyone loves to laugh and if you continuously make your workplace laugh, then they will start to associate you with feeling good. If you are not sure what kind of jokes to tell, you could always go for a classic funny yo’ mama joke or a good dad joke.

Though being funny is great, don’t tell jokes too early when people are not yet ready for the day to start.

Why is There a Call For More Contractors In Australia?

March 12, 2022December 26, 2022

Australia is a beautiful country filled with stunning wildlife and beautifully constructed cities. And it maintains this beauty due to the hard work of its loving citizens. But recently there has been a sharp decrease in the number of contractors available in Australia. Both for industrial services and more personalized services, such as home renovation. But why is this? Today we are going to break down the causes that have led to there being a call for more contractors in Australia.

The Global Pandemic

If you’re anything like me then you’re sick of hearing about the pandemic. It dominated our lives for too long. But the effects of the pandemic cannot be understated. And one industry that was hit hard was the contracting and industrial sector. People weren’t able to go to work in Australia during the lockdown. As a nation, it had some of the toughest restrictions anywhere in the world. But the furlough schemes in place didn’t help everyone survive. So a lot of people had to look for alternative ways to make money. This meant a lot of people previously working as contractors quit and changed career paths.

This mass exodus from the field created a staff supply issue which is still being felt now. The Iron Mining civil contractors Perth division spoke to us about this issue. According to them, they lost about 20% of their worksite workforce during the pandemic. This has hampered productivity greatly. Especially considering the company was already behind schedule due to the pandemic.

Increased Industrial Work

Because of the pandemic, every major construction project was put on hold. This included regular maintenance projects such as road fixtures. And, as the pandemic went on, more new projects started to pile up while the older ones were still unfinished. This means there is double the amount of contracting work available post-pandemic as there was pre-pandemic.

This is another key reason why the Australian government and industrial sectors are desperately seeking new contractors. So much so that a lot of companies are offering incredibly competitive salaries, joining bonuses, and incredible training schemes to anyone willing to work. To that end, it is a great time to become a contractor if you are considering a career change.

Will this Slump End?

Most experts predict this staff shortage won’t last forever. In fact, it will most likely be over in a couple of years. People are still acclimating to the post-pandemic world. Figuring things out again. So it will take a little while for people to feel comfortable returning to more manual labor. But with the incentives currently around joining this field, people will still start to flock to it.

Australians are industrious and proud people too. If there is something in their nation that needs doing, the people always eventually rise up and tackle the problem head-on. And this will be no different. In a few years’ time, I predict there will actually be too many contractors again. But this is quite a good problem to have given the alternative.

Common Pests that Invade Water Wells

October 30, 2021October 31, 2021

Water wells are vital to human infrastructure. We need them in order to access underground deposits of water that can then get redirected to homes, and businesses everywhere. How do water wells get water around the city though?

Well in Perth for example, after the water is pulled up from the well, it is then sent to filtration facilities to make it safe for human consumption. After that, water pumps Perth force the water through a maze of underground pipes that link to every building in the city that needs it. It’s a fairly simple concept really, but there is one issue that can put this whole system in jeopardy, and they are pests.

Why might pests be attracted to water wells?

There are a great number of pests that could be attracted to water wells. The main reason for this is that a fair number of pests thrive off of damp environments. The same pests you find infesting water wells, are often the same ones you could find in your own bathroom.

Of course, water wells these days are very well protected and the water that comes out of them goes through an intensive regiment of filtration before getting anywhere near the taps but its still important to be aware of the risks.

What Pests might show up in a water well?

Luckily the type of pests that will often be found in damp and moist areas are all similarly and easily dealt with. For the most part, you’re going to be finding insects, but what types specifically?

First of all, you have cockroaches. Known for their undying nature, cockroaches are very prevalent in areas full of moisture, especially pipes. Some studies have shown that cockroaches are able to hold their breath for nearly a full hour and can survive for weeks on end without a scrap of food making them completely able to thrive in a place like a water well.

Another common type of water loving pest is the drain fly. Often confused for moths due to how they look, drain flies are more likely to be drawn to a toilet over a lamp. They nestle themselves in constrained and damp environments to lay their eggs which have a very short gestation period, meaning they can reproduce fast if not handled with care.

Another incredibly common pest is the silverfish. They are absolutely going to be found in humid and damp environments as they require that moisture to survive. Whilst not completely harmless to humans, they can be responsible for damaging property and contaminating food, so they are definitely not something you want in a water pump.

Whilst this can seem like a major epidemic there are plenty of things in place that stops these pests from getting into wells. Massive professional wells are often completely sealed, this means that these bug would have to wiggle their way through steel to get at the water which is highly unlikely, and even if they do show up in there, they will definitely get separated at the filtration plant so don’t worry about critters falling on you from the shower!