Category Archives: Featured Articles
Choosing an Office for a Mini Cab Firm
Running a minicab firm comes with many challenges. In addition to keeping your business competitive and dealing with customer and driver issues, you must also make sure you have a good location for your head office.
Some of the key things questions to ask yourself when choosing an office for a mini cab firm are –
- Is there enough space? – Space is always going to be important when choosing a mini cab office. You want to be sure that there’s enough space and light for your operation to be run from it without any problems.
- Is it in a good location? – Location is another key factor. Since you’ll need to communicate with your drivers while they’re on the road, the office should be located on high ground, or at least not in a dip.
- Can I afford it? – Knowing that you’ll be able to afford the rent is another key consideration. Depending on how established your company is, you might decide to invest in the premises, especially if you’re sure you’re happy with it.
Keeping your insurance costs down
A big part of running a successful mini cab firm is to keep the cost of your mini cab insurance to a minimum. Below are some of the best ways to do this –
- Be selective with who you hire – The drivers you hire to work for you will always affect the cost of your mini cab insurance. This is why most mini cab firms will not hire drivers who are under the age of 25. Age isn’t the only factor though. You also want to consider the experience and attitude of any drivers you hire. Insurance providers will assess your drivers and consider how likely they are to be involved in an accident when coming up with a price for your policy so always bear this in mind.
- Get quotes from different providers – Getting quotes from different insurance providers will enable you to easily compare them and choose the policy that’s right for your business and at the most competitive price.
- Pay upfront – Most firms will choose to pay for the mini cab insurance on a monthly basis so there’s no major upfront payment. Although this makes sense, if you can pay for your policy in one lump sum, you’ll be able to negotiate a better rate with insurance providers.
Finding an Office for A Taxi Firm
When you run your own business, choosing a good premises is vitally important. This is certainly is true if you run a taxi firm and are looking for a new head office.
All the administrative side of things are done from your office so you want to be sure you pick a premises that’s conveniently located and that is secure. Below are some of the most important things to consider when looking for an office for your taxi firm.
Things to consider
- Location – Location is extremely important when choosing an office for your taxi firm. Ideally your office will be located on high ground and also be in a location that’s convenient for people to get to and with plenty of foot traffic. A good location can make or break a business so you definitely want to take the time to choose a premises that’s well situated.
- Cost – Cost is another key factor when looking for a new head office. You should think about how much you’re able to spend and also consider renting a location for a few months first so you can decide if you’re happy enough with it to buy it.
- Security – If a building has good security features already in place then this is a great bonus. Things like security lights, a security alarm and working CCTV all help to make a building much more secure and will also lower the cost of your insurance.
Getting insurance
When you run a taxi firm you have a few different options when it comes to getting insurance. You can choose to get a combined motor trade insurance policy that will cover all your vehicles as well as your premises, stock, tools and cash.
The other option is to get a separate building insurance policy for your office and get your vehicles covered by a taxi fleet insurance policy. Which is the better option will depend and usually it will come down to which is the least expensive. Whichever you decide, you should always make sure you get plenty of quotes from different insurance providers and make sure you have insurance for private hire or public hire as well.
Some great ways to save money on taxi fleet insurance include –
- Be selective with your drivers
- Limit cover options
- Pay annually rather than monthly
- Get quotes from many insurance providers
Investing in Your First Property as a Landlord
Although certain sectors of the property market are expected to slightly weaker in 2017, investing in property is still one of the best ways to make money in the UK. Residential property is particularly strong as many people are now unable or unwilling to invest while the job market is so unstable.
Below are some of the most important things to consider when investing in your first property.
Location
Location is extremely important when investing in your first property. Many people think of London as being on the best places to invest in property due to how densely populated it is, however that isn’t necessarily the case. A recent article by Money Week explains how Birmingham currently offers a better return for property investers than London.
Type of property
The type of property you want to invest in is another thing you should think about carefully. Certain sectors are predicted to perform better in the 2017 than others. For example, industrial property is predicted to perform very well, as large retail chains require more stock space. You should do your research and think carefully before committing and never be afraid to ask for advice from people who are currently operating in the property market.
Current state
When considering a property, you should always think about how much work and money it will take in order for you to be able to let it out. If a property needs a lot of renovation then you not only have to think about the time and expense required but also that you’ll need to have it insured while it’s unoccupied. Residential buildings that are unoccupied are at considerably greater risk so you should certainly take this into account.
It can be a good idea to invest in renovating a property to make it more appealing to live in too. Small touches like adding nicer furnishings and having bifold doors blinds installed can go a long way to making the property more attractive to prospective tenants. Perfect fit blinds for French doors are so easy to fit, so you can probably even do it yourself.
Insurance
In addition to the initial expense of a property, you also need to think about how much it will cost to insure. Properties in low crime areas typically cost less to insure so they’re usually a wise investment. A good landlord insurance policy will cover you for structural damage, liability claims and contents. The value and security of the property will affect the price you pay for landlord insurance, as well as where the property is located.
…