by Sharon Jones

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There's no denying that we live in a digital world. The internet has, for better or for worse, almost entirely taken over most of our lives and we are all pretty much always staring at our smartphones, tablets, or other devices. Now, you can debate until the cows come home as to whether or not this is a good or bad thing, but there's no denying that it's the way things are. Because of that, it's tempting to assume that running a business is now a purely digital affair. However, that's not the case. The truth is that the offline aspects of your business are just as important as the digital ones and if you ignore them, you're letting your business down. With that in mind, here are some of the offline parts of your business you should never neglect.

Your actual premises

Whether you're running a high-street store or an office, making the most of your business premises is one of the most important things you can do. Everything from making sure that you have enough space for your employees to work comfortably to ensuring that you have a secure parking system for customers are essential for creating business premises that are fit for purpose. If your premises aren't fit for purpose then you're going to constantly feel as though you're swimming against the tide.

Your employees

Your employees are the beating heart of your business. Nothing that you want out of your business would be possible without them and that means that you have to remember to take care of them. When you're working digitally, it can be all too easy to forget that your employees are human beings with needs, desires, and limitations. You need to be able to work with your employees and keep them happy and motivated, rather than just expecting them to deliver great work all of the time. The promise of a paycheck simply isn't enough, you have to give your employees a reason to care.

Physical presentation

Branding and marketing are two of the most important parts of running any business. However, far too often people focus on that in terms of their website or social media presence. However, the physical presentation of your business is incredibly important. Whether it's creating a store window that will entice customers or if it's decorating your office space in a way that makes clients and investors feel as comfortable and at ease as possible, the physical presentation of your business can make a huge difference to the way in which it is perceived by others.

As with just about anything else in business, and in life for that matter, the key is always going to be maintaining a sense of balance. If you can't maintain a healthy balance between both sides of your business then you're never going to be able to succeed. The key is to make sure that you're always thinking in terms of what's best for the business as a whole rather than chasing trends or trying to innovate for its own sake.