Decorate a Sophisticated Office for Less than $2000

You started a business.  You bought a suit.  You received your business and license and all you need now is an office where you can spend the next year of your life getting your business off the ground.  The last thing you want is to look to customers like your company doesn't make enough to stay in business.  Let's face it.  Appearance is everything.

So how do you put an office together without much money?  We found a few companies that you can bet on for all the high-quality stuff you need, at affordable prices, and no hidden charges.  Ready? Pay attention!
The most important online company we found was Versa Tables.  Never heard of them? You have now!  Versa Tables designs and manufactures high-quality, affordable, computer furniture for offices and schools, and best of all, ships directly to the consumer without a middle man.  And anyone can order from their online site.

For our demonstration, we ordered five attractive black vinyl side chairs (two for your office and three for the reception area), two 48-inch Enclosed Classroom Desks, two task chairs, and two ergonomically enhanced Deluxe Keyboard Arms and Trays for comfort.  The whole thing cost us less than $1800, leaving an extra $200 for a few framed pictures, plants, or even a fish tank.

The best thing about Versa Tables—besides their high-end, attractive furniture—is that they don't charge for shipping at all.  So what the site says you'll pay, is exactly what you'll pay.  No hidden handling fees or weight fees for shipping heavy desks and chairs.  They also accept PayPal.

In addition to the basic office furniture, you'll need some supplies:  staplers, pens, paper, desk organizers, calendars, etc.  We found an impressive variety of products from file containers to pencil sharpeners at Target online.  Another great online source is Green Light Office.  The site actually tells you if they have the lowest price or not on each item.

When decorating an office, keep in mind that aesthetics are everything.  You want your office to look inviting, clean, neat, and convey an image of success.  Avoid furniture that's too big for the space, plastic plants, and colors that don't match.  Purchase all your office furniture from one source, ensuring the colors work together and the style of the pieces you've chosen are compatible.  You don't need to be an interior designer to do this. 

Purchasing everything from one source will guarantee that they'll work.
As a small business, you probably won't have retailers bending over backward to get your business, but that's okay.  Going direct to the manufacturer's websites can often give you the same prices the 'big guys' get without having to prove yourself first.  It's always a good idea as well to start building good credit as soon as you can so that your application will pass when you'd like to begin using purchase orders.  The privilege of being able to send a purchase order (which is basically a written guarantee that you'll pay for whatever you're buying so the company will process your order prior to you actually paying for it) only comes with good credit, which is priceless.

Are You Stacked?

Get your mind out of the gutter. We're talking chairs. If you're still using folding chairs, you better be running a Bingo night. If you're storing extra chairs for conferences, presentations, or anything else that needs to appear professional and not give your guests a backache they'll spend more time thinking about than your Power Point slides, you'd better make sure you have decent chairs.

We found attractive, comfortable stackable chairs at Versa Products. The Versa Stack Chair features a black polypropylene seat positioned on a solid chrome frame. An opening integrated in the sculpted 19 inch by 12 inch seat back allows for ease of movement and enough lumbar support to help your guests think about something besides how badly their lower back hurts (it won't).
The chairs are light, easy to carry, and one person can stack and move up to forty chairs at a time, cutting down on time intensive set-up and break-down. The floor glides prevent marks and scratches on the floor, and eliminate "tipping."

Perfect for schools, conference centers, churches, meeting halls, and offices, these chairs are also great for home use and take up less space than folding chairs. Priced at only $45 each for 51 units or more, or $49 each for ten units or less, they're also affordable. And you don't need to worry about the cost of replacing them. Like all of Versa's products, the Versa Stack Chair is guaranteed under Versa's no-hassle Lifetime Warranty.

Versa also offers three other types of chairs, all protected under the company's comprehensive warranty and all made of the same high-quality materials. The Versa Task Chair is a height-adjustable, easy-to-tilt, comfort-cushioned chair ideal for any computer desk or workstation. It's ergonomic and can be ordered with or without arms. Steel rollers on a weight-distributing base allows for easy movement, and the Task Chair comes in gray or black.

The Versa Drafting Stool makes up the third chair in the line-up, a perfect companion to both Versa's Drafting Table and Art Table. It features one-touch height adjustment, steel casters, and can be purchased with or without arms. The contoured cushions—available in both black and gray—cradle your body, making it one of the most comfortable drafting stools on the market.

Last but not least, is Versa's beautifully upholstered black vinyl Side Guest Chair. Attractive and sleek, the contoured back rests on a steel frame, sporting comfort pads on the elbow rests. These chairs are wonderful as guest chairs in any office, but also work well in conference rooms, waiting rooms, and home offices, too. At $79 each, they're a bargain, but Versa's Side Guest Chair also boasts one of Versa's best quantity discount pricing tiers. At only 25 chairs, the price drops to $69 per unit, and of course, as is with all of Versa's products, shipping is totally free. This chair is only available in black.

In addition to seating solutions, Versa also carries complete lines of computer desks, computer lab tables, computer desk accessories, drafting furniture, computer carts, laptop drawers, cable management systems, and much more. Visit them online to request a catalog.

A Podium is No Place for a Projector

Remember the days when presentations before an audience consisted of boring lectures told from a podium while someone clicked slides or moved transparencies? The world has changed. Both in education and business, presentations are now more visual, more interesting, more dynamic.

And the furniture industry has jumped on board. No longer do you need a second person to run that Power Point projector for you. No more turning around to make sure he/she switched the slides at the right time. You can do it all yourself with a projector cart—something no university lecture hall, conference center, or meeting room should be without.

So what exactly is a projector cart? We found an excellently designed projector cart from Versa Tables, called the Projector Fusion Laptop Cart. Available in two colors and for under $300, the Projector Fusion Laptop Cart provides four distinct surfaces designed to help you keep your presentation organized. The first is an adjustable, pole-mounted laptop tray with a raised lip and locking mechanism to keep your laptop securely where it should be—at your fingertips! Adjust the laptop for your most comfortable standing or seated height and control the laptop yourself. In addition, the cart also offers three more adjustable platforms constructed from high-density wood; ideal for holding a projector, printed handouts, visual aids, and more. The frame is made of scratch-resistant steel and the entire cart is mounted on liquid-ease rolling casters. The casters also lock, keeping your cart in place even on uneven surfaces.

Base storage trays and cable management units can be added for a nominal charge giving you even more storage space and easier cable organization. The carts fit easily into a closet or storage space when not in use. The platforms can be added or removed as needed and adjust independently, giving the user the option to customize according to the needs of his/her presentation. The platforms, as well as the laptop tray, also rotate around the core pole, so they're perfect for right-handers or left-handers.

Show the speakers you invite to your venue that you care about their comfort by providing them with everything they need to give a successful presentation.
Podiums are great for debates, but with today's business and education trends leaning toward the visual, a laptop fusion cart is perfect for any speaker. They're also ideal for trade shows, medical offices, and retail stores.
Several manufacturers of computer furniture are now offering similar products, but Versa Tables' Projector Laptop Fusion Cart carries Versa's no-hassle, lifetime warranty, and ships for absolutely free to any customer in the contiguous United States. Versa also offers a quantity discount on this product—like all of their products—which is a great bonus for institutions like hotels, conference centers and universities which need to furnish multiple lecture halls or meeting rooms.
Available in Warm Gray or Black River, the colors are pleasing to the eye. An additional pole-mounted monitor arm can be added for a fee, but the cart is truly functional without it.

9 Ways to Improve Staff Morale

Staff turnover costs American companies millions of dollars every year. The cost of lost work days, interviewing candidates, reviewing resumes, checking references, filing paperwork and training the new staff member is much more expensive, in most cases, than creating a work environment where staff members are happy and want to stay. If you're worried about waning staff morale in your company, here are some things you can do to keep employees happy and productive.

Give bonuses. Even a little bonus can mean a lot. Bonuses improve morale and increase productivity. Explore the possibility of different bonus structures including: holiday bonuses, birthday week bonuses, sales bonuses, hire date anniversary bonuses, and education bonuses.

Plan a staff retreat. Time to relax and get to know your colleagues in a social environment improves teamwork and again, productivity. However, many people won't want to spend a weekend away from their families even if you put them up in a nice hotel. Think one-day staff retreats twice a year. Close the office on a work day and spend the day at a spa, golfing, at a theme park, going to dinner and a movie, hiking, kayaking, or at the zoo.

Pay for education. Most community colleges and computer centers offer relatively inexpensive classes to help people improve computer skills, management and leadership skills, or language skills. If an employee is willing to spend time taking one of these classes, reward him/her by reimbursing part of the tuition or giving them a completion bonus. The desire to increase education and learn new skills is an attribute of a good employee.

Involve their families. An annual holiday party or summer picnic is a great way to bring employees together along with their families. Even a barbeque at the park with a game of softball or water balloons can be a lot of fun. During the holidays, rent an ice skating rink or get everyone together to volunteer at a soup kitchen.
Buy new chairs and keyboard trays. Let your employees know that their comfort and safety is your concern. Most employees won't spend over $100 on a keyboard tray, but you could. And who wouldn't appreciate a top-of-the-line ergonomically-correct keyboard tray that adjusts for height and tilt with the touch of a finger? We found great deals at Versa Products

Have casual days. Casual Fridays are nice, but so are special casual days once a month. Let people come into work in jeans and comfortable shoes and they'll be in a better mood.
Free kraft services. Most employers provide coffee for their staff but the staff end up making it. Bring in healthy snacks once a week like a fruit basket, individual mini salads, or trays of bagels. You can also stock up on Stash or Tazo teas, biscotti, yogurt, granola bars and those 100-calorie bags of chips, cookies, and pretzels. Having lunch delivered once every couple of weeks is also a nice gesture and employees will appreciate the money they save from having to buy lunch out. Another fun event is to have the employees make lunch once a month. Alternate between the men and the women, different divisions of the company, etc. Make sure even upper management gets involved. Staff will learn new recipes and techniques from other employees and they'll have fun. The rest will enjoy eating!

Flexible schedules. If possible, give staff schedules that accommodate their needs and reduce commute time.
Gym memberships. Paying for their gym memberships or paying a Pilates instructor to come once a week after work is a nice way to encourage employees to stay fit.