Intelligent Office University

7 Reasons to Rent a Meeting Room

Cost, Flexibility, & More: Why Meeting Room Rentals Are Ideal For Small Businesses

Protecting Your Business from Cyber Attacks

A Proactive Approach to Cyber Security for Small Businesses

A Helpful Checklist for New Small Businesses in Canada

Congratulations, you’re starting a new small business! It’s an exciting time, and you want to make sure you get things right the first time around. From the required paperwork to considerations around .ca domains, here are some of the things new small business owners in Canada need to know to get started.

Where to Set Up Shop in Toronto: Choosing a Virtual Office in the GTA

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is the second largest financial center in North America... which makes it tricky to pick a spot to do business. That’s why the Intelligent Office (IO) team has put together this quick guide — with several locations throughout Toronto and Ontario, we understand what business owners need from a virtual office.

How to Get More Done in Less Time

In today’s bustling world, work demands are high and the distractions are never-ending whilst down time may be limited. With so much to do in every single day you need to ensure maximum productivity to keep up with your busy schedule. This means you need to more with less time, here’s how.

4 Steps for Giving Effective Feedback

If you want your employees’ performance to improve and for them to overcome previous errors, you must continually give them feedback. They rely on your input to gauge their performance. When provided with the right information, employees can thrive and outperform themselves. Feedback is therefore essential, however a poll commissioned byInteract revealed that 37% of managers were uncomfortable giving feedback, and 69% reported being uncomfortable communicating with their employees in general. These figures show that it is crucial to learn how to give good feedback so that you can be the best manager possible. Here’s how:

What Makes an Entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurs can be distinguished by certain factors from the rest of the population, such as a certain drive that motivates them even when the going gets tough and everybody else would quit, or by their can-do attitude that flies in the face of pessimists. Some people refer to the specific characteristics of entrepreneurs as the “it” factor. But what is this “it” factor? And how can you tell if you have it? What makes an entrepreneur an entrepreneur, and are you a natural born entrepreneur or not? Here’s how to tell.

Working Remotely: What Tech do you need to Work from Home?

Any telecommuting position, whether you work remotely from home, a coffee shop, or a co-working facility, will mean that workers need to be able to communicate at all times and have specific tools for the job. Depending on the role, you may need different technology, but there are some key tech tools that anyone who works remotely will need. This article tells you what tech you generally need.

7 Top Tips for Public Speaking

Any public speaking event has the potential to cause stress, and when you get stressed, you may mumble, mispronounce words, blush, fidget or engage in other behaviours that reveal your anxiety. However, this need not be the case. This article will teach you some basic tips and tricks for engaging and confident public speaking.

Where to Sit in Meetings

Believe it or not, where you and your team or clients sit at a table during presentations plays a factor in the conversation flow and meeting energy. Here's how to strategically plan meeting seating arrangements.

How to Be A Hardworking Professional Without Sacrificing Your Personal Life

In a world of hyper-communication, when having a mobile phone, PC and other such hi tech devices means you never really leave the office, as emails and other data sweep in from your office constantly even when you’re at home, it’s hard to detach from work. Increased responsibilities, competitive corporate environments and intense job demands means it is often hard for employees to stop working, relax and take time to have their own personal life, dedicating time to the hobbies and people they love. Here’s how to be hardworking but not sacrifice your personal life.

3 Crucial Money Mistakes to Avoid

When it comes to money mistakes there are a lot of factors to consider, but the number one obvious rule of thumb is that if you don’t start focusing on making wise decisions in regards to your money then you will inevitably increase the chances of making money mistakes. The good news is that if you have the time and discipline to make a difference, there are many straightforward ways to ensure excellent financial health and achieve your financial goals. What is most important is that you make a plan to avoid money mistakes and an effort to incorporate shrewd money decisions into your daily routine. Here are our top 3 money mistakes.

Outside Investment - Is Your Company a Candidate?

Every entrepreneur needs to raise capital at some point in time, as a business requires a large cash injection to get off the ground and even survive long-term. Crowd-funding, social media and other new avenues to getting media attention and capital make it is easier than ever to launch a startup, but investment capital has become increasingly competitive as a large sea of companies vie for the attention of angel investors and venture capitalists. Crowdfunding platformFundable reports that investors or venture capitalists fund less than 1 percent of startups, whereas 57 percent of startups receive loans or credit, and another 38 percent are financially supported by family or friends. The issue is not that investment firms don’t want to invest in startups, or that they lack the capital, overall the larger problem is that many companies just aren’t a suitable candidate for outside investment. Here’s how to determine if you startup is.

Key Signals You Should Turn Down a Franchise Opportunity

Any successful entrepreneur needs to know how to say no and walk away. If you want to make big bucks in business, you must be ready to grab opportunities but you also mustn’t be afraid to turn them down. The key to finding the perfect franchise opportunity is not just to acquiesce to anything that comes your way but to do your due diligence and make sure you fully evaluate every potential franchise opportunity beforehand. It is likely that you will have to turn down multiple deals before you find the right one for you.

Realistic Tips to Pay Off Your Debt

Nobody wants to be up their eyeballs in debt, but it can be an inevitable outcome of university education, a tough couple of months, or simply being in business. The bad news is that the longer you stay in debt, the more interest you may have to pay. The good news is that debt needn’t be permanent; if you are dedicated and savvy you can pay it off quickly and forget it ever existed!

Here’s Why Business Founders Should Pay Themselves

As a business founder, it may be tempting to reinvest every dollar you make back into your startup. However this is not a wise idea. When business founders make the mistake of paying themselves zilch, anticipating that one day they’ll be able to suddenly draw millions when business is booming, they cause themselves nothing but trouble. The truth is that the magical day when business is booming may not come, especially if you plan to expand your business. There will no doubt always be bills to be paid, investments to make, new equipment to buy or staff to pay. Although for a while you may need to sacrifice your salary, you shouldn’t do so indefinitely. As a business founder you should pay yourself once your company has grown sufficiently. Here is why you need to start taking a salary.

4 Ways to Move Past Funding Rejections