What Are the Benefits of a Flexible Business?

People are talking about flexible businesses quite a lot these days but what is a flexible business and why should you aim to have one?

 

There are different levels of flexibility when it comes to business, from being a little flexible in your approach and changing production techniques according to new technologies, to being fully flexible with a ‘virtual office’ to run the whole business. A fully flexible business is one which can operate from anywhere and is generally internet based, I say this because a manufacturing company would find developing a fully flexible business difficult due to the machinery used.

Now we know what a flexible business is, why should you have one?

1. Office costs. This is the biggest reason that businesses become flexible. When you are staffing the office with a flexible approach, you don’t actually need an office. This cuts the costs of running a physical office, no rent, electricity etc to pay. There is also no need for the office furniture, this makes a flexible business a great option for new business as the start-up costs are very minimal.

2. Quality staff. As your team can work anywhere, they can also live anywhere. This opens up the entire country as a pool of employees, allowing you to find the best candidate for a particular role even if they are based in Scotland and you are in Cornwall.

3. Lower staffing costs. Working for a flexible business can be seen as being self-employed, this means that the business can negotiate a rate of pay and doesn’t have the worry of dealing with the Inland Revenue for employees. This also cuts the cost of Employer Contributions for National Insurance. Once you have paid the staff for their work they deal with their own tax affairs. There is also no holiday pay or sick pay, you only pay for the work completed, making it a very cost effective method for your business.

4. Managed Network Services. Finding a company you can trust to set up a cost-effective, efficient and reliable network service can be hard, but it can save a business tonnes of money in the long run and is well worth investing in.

5. It is flexible. I know, wouldn’t it be great to work in your PJ’s? Sit in the coffee shop all afternoon and earn money while you drink? This is the point of a flexible business, it can be run from absolutely anywhere. With the advent of the smart phone this has become even easier to accomplish. Taking the kids to a swimming lesson used to mean an hour or two away from work, not any more. With Cloud storage widely available online, just a smart phone and internet access means you can work while the children are swimming. In fact, the only times you wouldn’t be able to work are when you are sleeping, in the shower or driving! Just remember to take some time off every now and then.

As you can see there are many reasons for having a flexible business. How can you make your business more flexible and work better for you?