5 Tips to Help Your Home Sell Quickly

Selling your house is always somewhat of a gamble – it’s hard to judge which properties will sell  fast and which  won’t. There is always an element of the luck of the draw to it – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things you can do to nudge your property into the ‘quick sell’ category rather than the ‘listed-for-months-with-no-bites’ category. So here, we’ve put together five top tups for what you can do to help your home sell quickly.

1. Use an up-to-date real estate agent

While there are many great real estate agencies out there, not all of them are making the most of the tools available to them. Before you commit to listing with any particular agent, you should discuss with them what tools they use and how keyed in they are to their market research. For example it’s a great idea to ask them if they’re familiar with the idea of data driven proce optimisation, a  new approach to house valuation which uses data from previous sales and market trends to price your property appropriately, ensuring the right buyers are attracted and significantly improving the speed of your sale. While there’s value in an estate agent that’s been doing this job for decades, you do want to make sure that they’re up to date with tech based developments like that so you know you’re getting attention to your property from every avenue.

2. Give the bathroom a lick of paint

A property can be forgiven a lot of mistakes, but the bathroom isn’t one of them. There is something quite specifically unpleasant about spying a mouldy wall or a dripping tap that really changes the impression of a whole property in a way that a few stains and mucky carpets elsewhere just don’t. However, don’t go redoing the whole room as you’ll likely spend more money on the renovations than you add to the price of the house – honestly, just giving the room  a spring clean and a decent lick of paint ought to do the trick. It will make it look clean and bright, and conceal all those signs of wear and tear by making the room light and airy. This is likely to make buyers keener on the property as they won’t be looking at all the flaws they have to fix – but instead, all the things they like.

3. Take good photos

It’s hard to overstate the importance of this element of selling a house. If you go on any property website and compare listings, note your own reaction when a property is shown with poor quality photos – it makes it impossible to accurately judge the property and simultaneously creates a negative impression of a seller who wasn’t professional enough to present the property nicely. If you’re in charge of taking the listing photos yourself, make sure you send them to a few friends before confirming them with your estate agent so you can be sure they’re good quality photos. If your realtor is in charge of taking the photos, absolutely do not be afraid to check over them before confirming and ask for them to be redone if you are not happy. You and your realtor are a team, but at the end of the day you are paying them for a service – make sure you get what you pay for!

4. Ensure the place is tidy

You would think this would be obvious, but it’s amazing how many viewings are conducted around messy houses – or rather, obviously lived in houses. The kind of tidy we’re looking for for a  viewing is not your normal level of tidy – it’s what you might expect from a TV show. Imagine you’re renting from a dodgy landlord, and you’re determined to leave the place absolutely sparkling to get every penny of your deposit back – that’s how clean we’re talking here. As much as people want to see a house with furniture in so they cam get a sense of the space, it’s still the case that they need to feel like they’re being shown a show home rather than somebody else’s house. It can make all the difference between an on-the-fence buyer and a buyer making an offer.

5. Replace the Old Kitchen Cabinets

This is one of those oddly specific tips that makes a surprising amount of difference. Once you’ve lived in a place for a long time, there are things you stop noticing, and one of them is how tired your kitchen cabinets look. If they’re just looking a bit dingy but are in perfect working order, a lick of paint could do the trick, but often once you start looking you’ll realise there’s a door hanging slightly off its hinges, and a chuck of wood gouged out on one of the doors. One of the easiest things you can do to make your house look more attractive is to put up some new kitchen cabinets; they don’t need to be upmarket options or anything like that, a few simple ready to assemble kitchen cabinets would do the trick. You can assemble them yourself, and it’s a totally affordable way to give the heart of your home a facelift.

Selling your home is always a bit of an arduous and unpredictable process – but if you follow these five tips, you’ll be well on the way to selling in no time.

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Why Is It Important To Maintain a Warehouse Floor?

Warehouse safety is an issue that is often neglected by most businesses, but it is a critical element that must be addressed in any warehouse. Failure to properly protect your employees from the dangerous conditions that can arise from unsafe warehouse environments can result in serious injury or even death. 

You can tell a lot about a warehouse by the condition of its flooring. In no other commercial setting is the floor underfoot expected to soak up such constant abuse. With forklifts and other heavy machinery dragging heavy loads this way and that, and boots trampling everywhere, it’s easy for cracks, tyre-marks and chemical spills to accumulate. 

If the floor looks like it’s seen better days, then it’ll create a poor impression on visitors, and on would-be workers. But such problems don’t just make the floor look unsightly; they also pose a significant safety concern, and reduce productivity in the warehouse. 

Safety

Where flooring is worn out and uneven, with cracks radiating everywhere, then it’s likely to slow down vehicles and create trip hazards for foot traffic. In areas where spillages are likely, it’s vital that adequate grip is available. Providing the floor with a protective coat of resin will also help to protect the underlying concrete against permanent damage. The same applies to specialist floor paint, which makes a great match for smaller spaces.

As well as more obvious threats of injury, we should also think of hygiene problems. Dust and dirt can accumulate over time, getting thrown up by vehicle and foot traffic. This is a significant problem in warehouses where food is stored. But it will also help to drive absenteeism. Treating the floor with an epoxy coating will prevent loose particulates from getting thrown up, and make it much easier to coat.

Lighting

There are several different factors to consider when designing a warehouse lighting design. 

How many high bay lights, how intense they are, and how far they are spaced will all depend on the overall size of the room. A large open warehouse style room with high ceilings would need plenty of strong, fluorescent lights because they need to illuminate an expansive area. However, smaller spaces, such as those with low ceilings would benefit from low bay lighting solutions. Not only would these types of warehouse light fixtures provide plenty of light for the interior, they would also create minimal shadows on the ceiling due to the angle of the lights.

First, you must decide how you plan to illuminate the warehouse interior. Do you plan to use fluorescent lights to help out during the daytime? If so, then fluorescent lighting is usually the way to go.

Other lighting products to consider would include LED lighting products. These warehouse light fixtures are extremely popular and can be purchased in a variety of sizes, styles, colors, as well as shapes. The great thing about LED lighting products is that they offer high levels of light for a very reasonable cost. LED lighting products can also be used as accent lighting by pointing them at windows or walls or even creating unique art pieces using LED lighting products. All in all, choosing from among the various warehouse light fixtures that are available today is sure to result in an efficient workplace for your business.

No matter what kind of illumination you decide to go with, a gloss-covered warehouse floor will reflect more light back up toward the ceiling, helping to distribute light evenly throughout the space, and ultimately to make it easier to spot hazards. A gloss finish will also make it easier to spot areas where the floor has been damaged, and thus make it easier to care for the floor in the long-run.

Durability

Treating a warehouse floor with resin will make it more resistant to caustic chemicals, and to heat and cold. For cold rooms, where goods need to be stored at low temperature, epoxy resin is a good fit. Polyurethane resin, on the other hand, is more resistant to impact, and will lend a degree of ‘bounce’ to any surface on which heavy objects are at risk of falling.

Markings

One of the easiest ways to ensure that your employees and your equipment are properly covered is to install floor markings. Using appropriate floor markings can help your team members know their place in the overall scheme of things. If there are particular areas of the warehouse that are generally used for particular tasks, then you should mark them. For example, if you commonly use the stockrooms for storage, you should mark the floor lines. You may also want to mark walls or ceilings in the area in order to make it easy for your employees to identify where they should be going. By being specific in your warehouse floor markings, you will help prevent accidents and ensure that everyone is happy with their work surroundings.

Clear and visible markings are a great way to partition one section of a warehouse from another, and to direct traffic to where it needs to go. You might use colours and striping to mark loading zones, and to warn of hazards. If the floor has been treated, then these markings can remain clear and unambiguous, leaving less room for misinterpretation.

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7 Habits of the Most Successful Business Owners

If you are looking at your business or are just starting out in business, then it can be easy to look at those who have experienced a lot of success and compare yourself. Although they will be in a very different position to you, there are some examples that you can look at and learn from, rather than compare. There are some habits and characteristics that successful business owners all have. If you take the time to implement these habits then they could help the success of your business. 

1. Commitment to customers

Having success in business can involve a big commitment to your customers. Having customers is what all businesses need, but if they are just an afterthought then it will show in your business decisions, and ultimately, your business success. Understand who your customers are, what their needs are, and it will help to provide you with loyal customers who follow the business.

2. Initiative with their IT

Successful business owners will take initiative with the IT that their business uses. They will source an external IT provider in Kansas City where required, rather than wasting resources in-house, when they know that the budget is limited and expertise is lacking. Knowing your business IT and making sure that it is safe and secure is a must for all business owners.

3. Positive Outlook

If you are someone who sees the glass as ‘half empty’ then you may find it more of a struggle in business. When you look at those who have achieved business success, they won’t just gloss over challenges, but will see both sides of it; all problems have an opportunity. When you have a more positive outlook like this, it will make being in business much more enjoyable. 

4. Adaptability

No matter how much you can plan out a business, there will be some areas that just never go to plan. You can predict sales of something but that isn’t guaranteed. You can recruit the best person for the job but they still might be quite up to the right standard. Learning to adapt and to change things is a must for anyone who wants to be successful in business.

5. Learning to balance life and work

It can be quite easy to have a business take over your life, especially when it is going well and you want it to be a success. However, something that all entrepreneurs and successful business owners have, is the ability to balance their work and their life. Planning really helps this because you need to be able to have downtime when you’re busy.

6. Networking

Something that all successful business owners will make part of their life is networking. This means that they will use different opportunities to meet new people who they can share their business with can call on when needed. Collaboration is part of being successful, and that is something to get into the habit of.

7. Play to strengths

In business, you will quickly learn that you don’t know how to do everything. The good news is that you can call on others who know how to do the things that you don’t. Play to your strengths and get help in your weak areas, and you’ll be able to be productive and efficient.

When you look at new ways of doing things and find new habits to implement in your life, then it can have a big impact on your success.

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How Is Employee Engagement Beneficial for a Business?

Let us take a rapid recap to understand the meaning of employee engagement briefly. It is primarily the emotional connection that employees have with their organization. It is the same feeling that influences them to work harder for the betterment of the business there. 

Now, the question is, why are engaging employees beneficial for the company otherwise? You will find the most primary reasons to justify the same in the upcoming section of this article. 

Primary benefits of employee engagement:

Here is a small list of some of the significant reasons why employee engagement is substantial. 

Enhancement in productivity

Experts believe that employees’ engagement in an organization is directly proportional to the amount of effort they put in. According to Gallup’s research work, more connected teams are at least 21% more productive than those who are not. Therefore, engaging employees must be your goal, too, as a business owner. It should be the very first step when you are moving ahead to create an effective workforce. Better employee engagement means the workforce is more dedicated than otherwise. 

Better retention rate

A famous Gallup research from 2017 shows that over 50% of employees worldwide are thinking of quitting their current jobs. The main reasons for the same include internal conflicts with co-workers, lack of appreciation and recognition, and a very low or zero pay raise. 

As a business owner, you must understand that every employee joins an organization with specific desires and expectations. So, they will undoubtedly want to look for better options around whenever you cannot fulfill those. Therefore, employee engagement is critical when you want to improve the retention rate and cut down on turnover costs. 

Revenue increases gradually

There is no doubt about the fact that engaging employees will gradually bring in more revenue. According to Aon’s 2018 research on global engagement, the results are pretty interesting. It clearly shows a minimum 3% hike in revenue against a five-point increase in employee engagement. 

Of course, when an employee has a good connection with the organization, he/she will walk that extra mile to achieve goals. They like finishing tasks before deadlines, and their capacity is higher too. Precisely, the revenue generation is two and half times more than companies in which employee engagement is low. 

Clients are happy when employees are satisfied

The great Richard Branson once said that clients are not the priority. Instead, the employees are. So, if employees are satisfied, they will surely keep clients and customers happy too. As a business owner, it is always a good idea to enhance employee engagement. It is the best trick to improve client satisfaction. 

Moreover, loyal employees take fewer leaves, are friendlier, and more attentive. These are pretty much all the essential qualities that are required to make keep clients happy and improve the relationship with them. Engaged employees make for the best representatives as they can put forward the best face of the organization. 

A lesser rate of absenteeism

Every employee deserves a couple of primary leaves, considering unforeseen events and sickness. However, extra leaves hamper overall productivity and can also cause disengagement and dissatisfaction. It can become the reason why the performance level of an employee falls. The company’s general business is affected ultimately. Therefore, ensuring that your employees have a proper work-life balance is a significant responsibility. This will lower the rate of absenteeism and enhance productivity. Besides, wellness programs and vacation policies are great ways to bring down the total absenteeism rate. 

Engagement makes employees more loyal

A significant benefit of better employee engagement is that they become more loyal towards the organization. Employee engagement is the most important factor that leads to them becoming more connected with the company. Since the employees, in this case, form an emotional attachment with the organization, loyalty will follow naturally. However, mere engagement won’t make them more loyal. The management must appreciate employees, 

decentralize and autonomize power too. 

Work quality improves

When employees are emotionally attached to an organization, they will put in the best efforts in their work. They are more dedicated than the employees who are less engaged with the company. As a result, employee engagement leads to more preciseness and better quality of work. Besides, engaged employees enjoy the work they are doing, which is why they perform more efficiently. They can bring new ideas to the table, learn quickly, and do better teamwork. Moreover, they participate in seminars and attend professional courses to upskill themselves. 

Positive vibes

When employees are connected to their organization, they bring in positive energy and spirit. They are naturally motivated to succeed and so pass on the same vibe amongst their co-workers. Such workers are more active, and their participation in all tasks is always better. 

Overall, employee engagement is prime for better operations in any organization. The first criteria for a lot of employees are to get a good workplace, management, and co-workers. They value it more than a large amount on their paychecks. Therefore, it is the responsibility of business owners that such employees can connect well with the organization and perform better. 

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Why Entrepreneurs Need to Talk About Identity Theft More

Entrepreneurs and small business owners face a lack of significant representation in mainstream media, where identity theft is concerned. This creates somewhat of a sociological issue.

Most of the big data theft attacks you read about are centered on corporations, and public sentiment towards corporations can be apathetic or even hostile.

Stories of companies like Facebook or Amazon being hacked are often applauded in social media, seen as an egg on the face of soulless corporations.

But as much as these stories drive media narrative, the truth is that business identity theft affects some of the most struggling among us, small business owners from lower-middle classes.

Most average people are aware of personal identity theft, but the myriad of ways small business owners can be attacked is not often spoken about. Let’s address those a bit.

Committing business identity theft is easier for criminals

Individual consumer information is mostly private, as consumers are afforded a lot of protections in privacy laws.

Businesses however are required to make a lot of information public, which includes sensitive information such as financial statements, EINs (employee identification numbers), sales tax, and business numbers.

Without privacy protection, business owners need better ways to address identity theft protection, availing services like Identity Guard.

This isn’t something that affects big corporations as much, but the small ma and pa shops in your community, so small business identity theft actually hurt local community economies overall.

Why are small businesses a perfect target for identity theft?

Identity theft is a problem that creates millions of victims every year, but criminals get the largest scores from business identity theft, rather than identity theft of individual consumers. It has a lot to do with internal structure, and financial incentives given to business owners.

According to the California Secretary of State department, some common examples of business identity theft are:

• Establishing temporary office space and/or merchant accounts in a company’s name;
• Ordering merchandise or services with stolen credit card information or with bogus bank account details in the name of a victimized company;
• Scamming company employees or using phishing attacks to get to a company’s banking or credit information;
• Going through a business’ trash and recycling bins for account numbers and other sensitive data; and
• Filing bogus documents with the Secretary of State’s office in order to change the business’ registered address or the names of directors, officers, or managers of the company, which can later help thieves establish lines of credit with banks and retailers.

Furthermore, “Consumer protection laws, such as the Credit Card Act of 2009, generally don’t apply to small-business credit cards.

Even though most issuers extend consumer protections as a courtesy to small businesses, it’s a good thing to keep in mind since certain protections may not be available in every case.”

So essentially, small businesses are able to avail of business credit with better terms and loan amounts than consumer credit but have lesser protections.

One way this manifests is in how quickly consumer credit fraud is reported versus business credit fraud.

If you, as an individual, rarely use your credit card, your bank would likely immediately notify you of a suspiciously large purchase. They may even immediately temporarily block your card until they’re able to verify that you are the one making purchases.

For small businesses that make regular transactions, the quota for what is deemed “suspicious activity” is a bit higher.

A criminal could get away with running up purchases on stolen business credit much longer than with a consumer credit card, and in many cases, the criminal activity isn’t caught until discrepancies are found in expense and accounting reports.

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Custom Skin Care from the Professionals

As human beings, we are all unique in many ways and for those who have skin issues, finding a solution can be a question of hit and miss, as no two people are identical regarding skin makeup. Fortunately, there are forward-thinking skincare providers that offer a virtual consultation followed by a skin product prescription that is tailored to suit you. Virtual healthcare (tele-healthcare) has come a long way in the past few years and when the pandemic struck, healthcare professionals turned to digital solutions to deliver their services.

Online Consultations

When you are looking for professional skincare treatment, it normally involves travelling to the medical facility or clinic, where the experts can examine you, yet the pandemic has seen a major surge in virtual healthcare solutions, which eliminates human contact. 

Aside from virtual skincare, telehealth services include:

• General Practitioner – Family GPs are now offering virtual consultations, which in most cases, enables the medical professional to make an accurate diagnosis. This allows the patient to stay in the safety of their own home, plus the doctor does not have to risk infection with minor issues. The correct medication can be prescribed and a follow up video consultation can be arranged to monitor progress.
• Physiology – Most physios now incorporate virtual sessions into their list of services and with guided exercises supervised via a video call, the patient recovers quickly. The sessions are cheaper than regular therapy, as the provider has less expenses and passes this saving onto the patient. If an athlete suffers an injury, they can receive advice from their physio via a Zoom call
• Yoga & Fitness – With global lockdowns, fitness centres and yoga studios turned to virtual solutions that enable their customers to continue their programs; all you need is a laptop and a stable Internet connection and you can interact with the instructor and the other students.
• Mental Health Counselling – The pandemic has caused many people to suffer with stress and thanks to VoIP technology, qualified counsellors offer their services via a Zoom call.

Four Step Process

When you register for virtual skincare treatment, the following process occurs:

1. The Online Questionnaire -The virtual skincare service starts with a secure online questionnaire, which you upload, along with images of your skin and this data will enable the skincare team to create a personal profile that will assist them in prescribing the best solution. This background information would typically be gathered during a face-to-face consultation, yet this can be completed online and uploaded to the provider.
2. Skincare Product design – Shortly after receiving the questionnaire, the skincare team set about designing the perfect skin cream, which involves a video consultation with the client. This is a critical stage of the process, as it allows the skin experts to gain a deeper understanding of you and your skin. The best skincare for acne by QR8 Mediskin will see a remarkable improvement, as the product is designed for you.
3. Product Manufacture – The product is manufactured at the company’s pharmacy and delivered to your door, along with full instructions, plus you have one-on-one support from a skin expert throughout the duration.
4. Video Support – Throughout the treatment period, you have access to one of the provider’s skin experts, who monitors your progress and ensures you get the most out of the treatment. When the time comes for a refill, the product is adjusted as recommended by the skincare experts and your progress is continually monitored. If you’re suffering from inactivity during the lockdown, check out this fitness instructor’s tips on staying fit while at home.

Treatable Skin Conditions

The skin conditions that can be custom treated include:

• Wrinkles and lines.
• Acne.
• Sun damage.
• Skin pigmentation.
• Melasma.
• Rosacea.

If you would like to learn more about custom prescription skincare, search online for a leading provider and enquire about the treatments they offer and with the help of skincare professionals, your skin condition will improve and disappear over time.

Reduce the Risk of Covid Infection

Rather than visiting a skin specialist at their clinic, why not take advantage of the virtual custom skincare treatment? The smooth online process gets right to the heart of your skin problem and with a professional team of skincare experts on your case, your skin will soon be back to its glowing former self. The 4-step process can take place at your convenience and while browsing the provider’s website, check out the great online reviews from happy customers.

As the second and third wave of Covid-19 comes and goes, we should all keep in touch with the latest updates, as things can change very quickly and regarding your skin treatment, everything can be done over the Internet, with a team of skin specialists creating unique skin cream specifically made for you.

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Departments to Outsource in Small Businesses

Outsourcing in small businesses has many benefits. Often smaller companies don’t have the resources to hire entire departments, or the necessary training and experience to perform certain services themselves.

In order to save time and money, it’s better to outsource departments such as accounting, human resources, and outsourced IT services. This way you have access to better tools and trained professionals. Outsourcing in small businesses allows you to save money while still getting effective services.

Here are five examples of the most common departments to outsource for small business.

1. Marketing

Solid marketing strategies are essential to the success of most businesses. Small businesses that outsource their marketing to an agency will be more likely to gain a competitive edge. 

Professional marketers will have sector-specific experience and will know how to target the right audience. They will also have access to advanced marketing tools such as CRM software and state-of-the-art image and video editors. If you outsource your marketing you won’t have to spend money on hiring an in-house team, and you can budget according to each project or campaign.

2. Accounting

Managing your own accounts is a challenge for many small business owners. It’s time-consuming and complicated, and without a degree in finance, rules and tax regulations can be confusing. Accounting is one of the most common services for outsourcing in small businesses because it saves so much time.

By hiring an accounting company you can ensure your business is fully compliant and that your books are up to date. It’s the best way to make sure everything is above board and that you’re running your business legally.

3. Fulfilment

Fulfillment is the entire supply chain process, from storing and managing inventory, to packaging and delivering items to customers. If you run an eCommerce business, for instance, it’s advisable to outsource your fulfillment. Third-party logistics providers will have access to larger warehouses and vehicle fleets. They’ll also be able to reduce delivery costs and improve the efficiency of your service.

4. Human resources

Human resources is another area that can cause headaches for small business owners. It’s important to ensure your staff are paid correctly and on time, every time. Calculating deductions, for example, can be challenging and time-consuming.

By outsourcing human resources, you can ensure that each paycheck is 100% accurate and that your business complies with all regulations related to employee welfare.

5. Outsourced IT

Last but not least, outsourced IT has many advantages for your business. Outsourcing your IT generally costs less than one full-time salaried employee, and you get a whole team of professionals to help you.

As well as experienced personnel, you’ll also have access to better resources and technology. Outsourced IT services from an IT company in New York can provide secure and encrypted cloud hosting, cybersecurity protection, and fully managed IT.

When you work with a team of industry veterans, you can rest assured your data and systems are in the hands of the experts, and focus on growing your business.

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COVID-19 Has Ushered in Generosity

Traditionally when people are in need, there is a desire among members of the American public to rise up to the occasion and seek to help the problems plaguing the populace. There has recently been an influx of a younger breed of philanthropists like Josh Nass who have sought to do the same.

Generosity comes in many forms and the Coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated that there are a wide array of different measures people from all social strata can take, in order to execute appropriately to help their fellow man. We have seen citizens across the globe try to help others with social and healthcare issues during this horrible pandemic.

Josh Nass and others like him are unique in that they don’t illustrate what one thinks of in terms of the typical philanthropist. One does not need to give only material items in order to qualify as being generous or philanthropic. Instead, it can be a way of life for some people.

Indeed, during the Coronavirus pandemic there was an outpouring of support among people of all faiths to their fellow man to help them attain essential needs. Whether that be for nourishment or for daily needs. What this reaction on the part of humanity demonstrates, is a deep and abiding love for one’s fellow man. It’s no secret that the American people are the most generous people of all of mankind. This view has only been reaffirmed as we’ve seen the outpouring of generosity and support those in vulnerable positions have received, throughout this pandemic.

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These 6 Company Workspaces Will Make You Want to Go Back to the Office Post-Covid

Normalcy remains elusive for most white-collar employers. By and large, nonessential employees have worked remotely since March of 2020, when the full magnitude of the coronavirus pandemic became impossible to ignore.

That’s beginning to change. One by one, major employers have announced tentative plans to return to the pre-pandemic status quo. Countless smaller employers have followed suit or already returned to more or less normal operations. A tracking poll by Morning Consult finds that nearly seven in ten American workers want to return to in-person work as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Not everyone feels that way, of course. Many of us get along just fine in a home office and are loath to resume our old routines, with all the politics and distractions they entail.

But even the most enthusiastic remote workers know a good shared workspace when they see one. If you’re reluctant to get back to the grind after Covid, maybe your employer needs to up its game. You’d surely want to go back to the office if it looked like any of these amazing spaces. 

1. Gusto, San Francisco

HR startup Gusto is disrupting the way the business of work gets done. No wonder its San Francisco office is widely regarded as a top place to, well, work. Occupying 50,000 square feet of space on the city’s historic Pier 70, Gusto’s headquarters is more quaint wholesale market than bustling tech workspace. A vaulted, part-glass ceiling with soaring trusses allows for ample natural light and plenty of (literal) breathing room — a must in the post-Covid world.

2. Yieldstreet, Manhattan

On the other side of the country, fintech startup Yieldstreet’s Midtown Manhattan digs occupy a stunning, fully re-renovated space overlooking Park Avenue (complete with a balcony boasting views of the iconic thoroughfare). Close to Grand Central Station and several subway lines, it’s near the nerve center of the most dynamic city in America — and a hub for a second-to-none employee culture featuring group workouts, happy hours, lecture series, and outings.

3. Googleplex, Mountain View

Two swimming pools. Eighteen cafeterias. Three laundry rooms. An entire fleet of WiFi-enabled buses serving two million square feet of top-shelf office space.

Like the vast number it references, Google’s original headquarters is huge. It’s also seen as one of the best places to work in Silicon Valley, a high bar to clear in the region that redefined employee perks for the millennial generation. And with Google on track to resume full-time in-person work in the third quarter of 2021, it’s about to get much busier.

4. Bark, Columbus

BARK designs and manufactures premier dog products. It’s no wonder that its Ohio headquarters consistently earns plaudits as the country’s most dog-friendly workplace. 

“Dog-friendly” is an understatement, actually. Employees’ furry friends have full freedom to roam just about anywhere at BARK HQ, with cozy nooks and engaging play spaces taking priority over shared desks and cubicles for boring humans. 

5. Amazon, Seattle

The United States’ biggest online retailer also operates one of its biggest contiguous urban work campuses, a sprawling collection of far-out offices in Seattle’s trendy South Lake Union neighborhood. Yet, in keeping with its home city’s laid-back culture, Amazon’s campus keeps a surprisingly low profile. You’d walk right through the place were it not for the telltale Spheres, a set of eye-catching geodesic domes in the midst of it all.

6. Vital Proteins, Chicago

Health supplements maker Vital Proteins promotes its West Loop headquarters as a “California-style” workspace with an unmistakable Windy City vibe. The sunny two-story atrium, meandering boardwalk, and plant-draped “green walls” certainly have a year-round coastal flavor, even when it’s snowing outside. 

Back to Normal…In Style

The initial panic that the pandemic would spell doom for the office real estate market has not been borne out, fortunately. While Covid has undoubtedly weakened demand for office space in the U.S. and beyond, it no longer appears to be an existential threat. Brian Robb of the Forbes Real Estate Council expects the Class A office market to bounce back especially well in the months and years ahead, even as demand for Class C space remains low.

What does this mean for the average professional who loves them a beautiful shared office space? Only that such spaces will continue to flourish for the foreseeable future, creating near-endless opportunities for productive enjoyment. And that’s one thing more to look forward to as we put Covid behind us.

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What Text Message Marketing Can Cook Up for Your Restaurant

Are you looking for a way to engage with customers and get more butts in seats at your restaurant? Maybe, with COVID-19 still raging in many parts of the country, you want to promote more take-out deals and encourage more curbside pickup. Perhaps you’re changing your seating arrangements — adding a bar or installing a patio, for example — and want to disseminate that info to your customers. Text message marketing can help you achieve all that and more.

You have to get permission from customers to be able to send them marketing messages directly to their cell phones, but it’s worth it for the high level of engagement you can enjoy from these targeted messages. Text message marketing is far more effective than advertising on television or even on social media or popular websites, because it cuts through all the noise to reach customers exactly where they are — reading their text messages. Everyone texts all the time — it’s the most popular form of communication. And customers appreciate the exclusive deals and access they get from SMS loyalty programs.

Customers Want to Text You

Customers overwhelmingly prefer to communicate with businesses via text message — and that’s a big part of the reason why they open 98 percent of the text messages they receive, even when they’re from a business. Customers also know that text messages they receive from businesses are likely to be credible and not spammy, thanks to consumer protections, like the TCPA and the CAN-SPAM Act, that regulate how businesses can market to consumers over the phone. You have to get permission to send customers marketing texts, you have to disclose how often you plan to send texts, and you have to give the customers a clear path to opt out if they change their minds.

Furthermore, you can’t send marketing texts that aren’t relevant to your business, and it’s best practice to create value for the customer, anyway. Customers enjoy signing up for SMS loyalty programs, because they know they’ll get good deals they can’t get anywhere else. Most people who opt in to text marketing programs are happy with what they get out of them.

Give Them Something to Feel Loyal To

Text message marketing is great for restaurants that want to turn casual customers into loyal regulars. With text marketing, you can send promotions, coupons, and specials directly to the segments of your customer base that would be most interested. Reach out to younger customers via text with student discounts to turn your cafe into a hip college hangout. Send your lunch specials and free dessert coupons to working adults and those with young families.

 Customers these days prefer personalized ads and want marketers to cater to their interests. By giving them exclusive deals only available to customers who opt in to text messages, you create some incentive for customers who like your food to subscribe and get access to that value. By segmenting your subscriber list, you can further tailor your marketing text messages to appeal to the unique sensibilities of each group.

Offer Surveys, Contests, and More

Text message marketing is more than just an avenue to bombard your customers with coupons for free wings. It’s a point of contact you can use to strengthen the customer relationship. You can send customer surveys a few hours or a day after a meal is eaten, to collect more data on what customers do and don’t like about your restaurant and what you might change to improve the customer experience. 

You can use text keywords to confirm customer bookings and even make it easier for customers to book tables, or cancel a reservation, by allowing them to do it over text. Most customers might not think it’s worth the trouble to call to cancel a booking, or they might forget to do so. But if they receive a confirmation text the night before, they’ll get both a reminder and an easy avenue to confirm or cancel the booking — and that could mean fewer no-shows for you.

Contests are another great way to engage with customers, and get more customers to sign up. The chance of a prize can be enough to get many people to subscribe to text messages, and if it’s something simple like a cup of coffee, you can afford to give away enough of them that customers won’t feel cheated.

Text marketing is a great way to get more customers coming into your restaurant — again and again. With a few targeted texts a month, you could see your customer base grow steadily, and save money on marketing, too.

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Tech Tips to Become an Efficient Freelancer

One of the best things about freelancing is you get to work on your own time and on your own terms. However, due to the solopreneur nature of the freelancer, it can be challenging to organize your time to achieve maximum efficiency.

Thankfully, there are various technologies you can embrace to help you become more efficient. Here are five tips to help you improve your efficiency.

Use Document Converters

As a freelancer, you will need to possess the right tech skills if you want to stand the best chance of gaining clients. You will also probably be dealing with different types of files on a regular basis.

If you have documents in different formats littered across different devices, finding the files you need will slow down your workflow. But you can become more efficient by ensuring all files are in the same format and in one place, such as the cloud.

The PDF is one of the best file types available, and with an online PDF converter, you can convert documents in other formats to PDF within seconds.

You can also easily edit and change text while keeping the PDF formatting completely intact. Find out more about PDF conversion on this page.

Use Online Calendars and Apps to Manage Your Time

The key to efficiency is learning how to best prioritize and manage your time. By using technology, you can anticipate how much time you need to spend on certain tasks and limit the number of distractions you have during your work time.

You can use online calendars for organizing your work and online apps that include time trackers so you can prioritize your workload and ensure you meet deadlines.

Use the Right Tools to Communicate Regularly with Your Clients

In this digital modern age, you should embrace various types of communication tools to suit your clients’ preferences. Some individuals and organizations prefer using email while others prefer Skype.

By using a wide variety of communication methods, you can ensure you can easily get in touch with your clients and they can get in touch with you as needed.

If you use online conference tools like Zoom, you will also have access to a broad range of additional features to enhance your communications.

Make sure you set up a variety of communication tools in advance so you do not waste precious time installing apps and software for specific clients later down the line.

Utilize the Cloud for Empowered Efficiency

By moving your workload to the cloud, you can ensure your work is always protected and backed up. But the greatest advantage of using cloud tools like Google Drive and Dropbox is you can access documents and work on projects anytime and anyplace.

It also makes it simple to share your work with your clients, and by having your work in the cloud, your clients can easily make comments and amendments to your files. When you utilize the power of the cloud to the max, you can increase your efficiency no end.

Improve Your Grammar to Enhance Your Professionalism

The more professional you appear to be, the more potential clients will take you seriously. That means paying attention to every small detail. One factor that many freelancers overlook is the importance of using the correct spelling and grammar in their communications and projects.

To ensure your English is correct and you are writing in the best style to suit your needs, use a writing and editing tool like Grammarly, which checks your spelling and corrects grammatical errors.

You can also use tools like Grammarly to check for plagiarism. By utilizing a tool like Grammarly, you can save precious time checking your spelling and grammar manually.

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A Guide to Exploring Vietnam: What you Should Know

Vietnam is one of the unseen treasures of Southeast Asia and a destination that is on many foreign tourist’s bucket lists. A combination of stunning mountains and lush green rainforests is contained within 58 Vietnamese Provinces that cover a total of 331,700 square km and a population of more than 96 million reside in this tropical paradise nation.

Obtaining a Visa

Don’t just assume that you’ll get a visa on arrival; this might be the most common approach, but there are long queues at the airport and you will lose out big time on the exchange rate. Better to enlist the help on an online visa service, who will deal with everything on your behalf for a small fee.

Hanoi

Of course, you simply must spend some time in Hanoi, a vibrant northern city that experiences 4 seasons throughout the year, so be prepared for showers if you go between May to October. The capital city that is home to more than 8 million people is growing at an alarming rate, as the country develops at an alarming rate.

Crossing the Street

While you might be used to pedestrian crossings where traffic dutifully stops when the lights are in your favour, this is most definitely not the case in any Vietnamese city. You literally take your life in your own hands when crossing a busy street and the oncoming motorcyclists judge your movements and take avoiding action. It might sound nightmarish, but the system seems to work and that’s the most important thing.

Street Food

Vietnam is up there with Thailand for tasty street food and they probably have as many varieties as their Thai neighbours, with chicken, pork (and insects), all with rice, of course. Yes, there’s a chance you’ll fall ill (avoid lightly cooked meat) but you would miss out on some amazing food!

Dishes to try:

• Pho – Very much the national dish, Pho is a hearty soup that is usually consumed in the morning, but trust us, it’s great at any time of day!
• Bun Cha – Barbequed pork and noodles.
• Goi Cuon – Freshly made spring rolls filled with seafood, noodles and vegetables.
• Cha Ca – Found mainly in Hanoi, this is white fish cooked in a palm butter, with spring onions and it is one of our favourites.
• Cha Gio – This is a dish for special occasions and the deep-fried spring rolls are very tasty. You will find this dish at street parties, social gatherings and restaurants.

Local Money

The dong is the local currency and there are thousands to a single US dollar; the good news is there are no coins to deal with, although the notes can be a bit confusing – watch the 50,000 and the 500,000 notes, as they look similar and that extra zero makes all the difference! It’s easy to think you’re a millionaire in Vietnam, and like any other country, you should be careful with money and keep your valuables in a safe place.

Saigon

Now called Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Saigon has much to offer the tourist and this is the biggest city in Vietnam, which is located in the south. Check out the amazing French colonial architecture in District 1, which is more than a little impressive, while there are a number of museums dedicated to the Vietnam War and also when under French control, which gives you a unique insight into this colourful culture. While accommodation in rural areas might be a bit basic, a luxury boutique hotel in Saigon is very reasonably priced and this will be one of the highlights of your visit. If you are into rooftop bars, Saigon has more than its fair share and a lively night scene is easily found with the many young tourists that stay in this city while in the south of the country.

Beaches in Vietnam

Nha Trang Beach is well-known to be one of the best and this is a big attraction for travellers that wish to take a few days rest from sightseeing and relax on golden sands. All forms of watersports are available here and you can even take your scuba PADI and experience the wonders of the diverse marine life. Click here if you have jet lag issues when flying long haul.

One thing that really does stand out is the warmth and friendliness of the local people and you will encounter many smiling faces while touring the colourful nation of Vietnam.

It is advisable to check with the Vietnamese government regarding Covid-19 entry requirements, which may be in force. The tropical countries do not seem to have been affected as much as the rest of the world and if you are planning your 2021 holiday in Vietnam, it should be a memorable experience.

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Medicare Subsidy Discusses 3 Unexpected Expenses That Could Derail Your Retirement – and How You Can Prepare for Them

Planning for retirement is a difficult job, and a single misstep could derail your hard work and sabotage your dreams of a happy post-work life. If you want to disaster-proof your retirement, you need to know which threats are the most serious. In this article, Medicare Subsidy exposes three unexpected expenses you should plan for.

1. Major Medical Expenses

Routine medical expenses are high and are expected to climb even higher. An injury, illness, or significant medical expense from an accident can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Medicare is designed to cover some of these costs, but out-of-pocket costs such as your premium, deductible, and co-pay can be financially devastating. Medicare doesn’t cover every medical expense, and in the case of a major medical event, serious illness, or need for long-term care, additional protection is advisable.

One way to protect against unexpected medical expenses is to purchase Medicare Supplement Insurance. Sometimes called Medigap, Medicare Supplement Insurance is purchased from a private insurance company. It works with your Original Medicare Part A and Part B plans to cover some of the “cost-sharing” expenses not covered by Medicare. These cost-sharing expenses include deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments.

Another popular way to protect against unexpected medical expenses is to purchase a Medicare Advantage Plan instead of Original Medicare Parts A, B, and D. Like Medigap insurance, Medicare Advantage plans are purchased from private insurance companies. Also called Medicare Part C plans, Medicare Advantage plans include an annual out-of-pocket spending maximum, so you are protected from large, unexpected expenses. Also, unlike Medicare Supplements, if you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan after your initial enrollment period when you turn 65 you cannot be denied or have your premium affected by pre-existing conditions.

Most importantly, there are also great programs like Low-Income Subsidy, Medicare Extra Help Programs, and State Medicare Savings Programs to help cover medical expenses for anyone with low or fixed incomes.

2. Unexpected Prescription Costs

The rising cost of prescription drugs in the United States has become a source of concern for people of all ages. The per-person prescription drug spending in the US exceeds that in all other countries. These rapidly increasing costs are primarily driven by brand-name drug prices that rise at rates far beyond the consumer price index. As we age, our need for prescription medications increases, and unless planned for, these rising costs can put stress on your budget.

The most common way for retirees to protect against rising drug costs is a Medicare drug plan called Part D. Medicare Part D helps pay for prescription drugs. Even if you don’t currently take prescriptions, you should have a Part D plan to protect against the future need you will likely have.

There are two ways to get your Medicare prescription drug coverage. If you use Original Medicare, you can purchase a Part D plan from the government just like your Part A and Part B plans. If you use a Medicare Advantage plan, your Part D prescription drug coverage may already be included. Most, but not all, Advantage plans include prescription drugs, so be sure to check.

3. Large Home Repairs

Things break and wear out. Many retirees plan to stay in the home where they raised their children. It’s full of memories, and their grown children still think of it as home. When living on a limited or fixed income, a major appliance on the fritz or a roof leak can submarine your budget.

Home repair warranty plans are a popular way to protect your budget against unexpected home repair costs. These plans usually require a quarterly or yearly premium and a sizable deductible. They are not designed to cover minor repairs and routine maintenance costs, but many retired homeowners are glad they have them when something substantial goes wrong.

About Medicare Subsidy

Medicare Subsidy is a company that provides resources related to Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Prescription Drug plans. The company works to help people 65 and older with low or fixed income save thousands annually from premiums, deductibles, and copayments. Medicare Subsidy makes the process of qualifying for benefits seamless and straightforward for their clients.

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What to Include in Business Resiliency Planning

When a business faces a disaster, a business resiliency plan outlines the steps that the company will take. The idea is to keep operations running and provide an adequate damage control solution. Disasters might involve a cyberattack or extreme weather that physically damages the building.

Failing to have a business resiliency plan means that your company will experience downtime. If unable to sell your products and services, you’ll suffer financially, and possibly reputational loss. So what exactly should you include in your business resiliency planning?

1. Establishing potential threats

When creating a business resiliency plan, first you should establish your potential threats. Certain natural disasters might be more likely in your area, and so you should prioritize planning for these. A roadmap for a natural disaster might include preparing digital services so that you can operate remotely.

Cybersecurity threats

All businesses are vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks, and so it’s vital to have the correct IT support. There are many different ways that IT can protect you from a cybersecurity attack. Businesses can gain security support from managed IT services. 

They can also use systems such as multi-factor authentication, and provide security training for staff. An IT consultant can advise you on your business resiliency plan, and security options. Businesses might also want to invest in cybersecurity insurance, as part of their business resiliency plan.

2. Data Backup

A business resiliency plan should also include a backup of all your data. Your backup should be off-site, or cloud-based. Remember that your physical hard drives could end up damaged or compromised. A managed IT service can support you to ensure that all your data is backed up. With the right preparations, you’ll still be able to access your data.

3. Your Essential Services

Your business resiliency plan should include preparations that cover all of your essential services. You’ll need to identify how you’ll support your team, customers, and suppliers. The plan should detail how you’ll keep on top of your inventory and shipping to minimize disruption. Businesses need to figure out a new communication plan to support their customers through the disaster. You should find backup supplier options, to keep inventory levels high.

During the coronavirus pandemic, many companies needed to quickly improve their technological practices. Deloitte Digital and Salesforce joined forces, to “help organizations transform to online offerings in as little as two to five weeks.” Those companies that already had e-commerce services, experienced zero downtime.

4. Train Your Employees

Once you’ve established how you will respond to a disaster, it’s important to train your employees, so they know what’s expected of them. Show the resiliency plan to your stakeholders and staff. Gather feedback and use this to make improvements.

Whether it’s your digital communications, your eCommerce, or your supplier management systems, you’ll need a robust IT infrastructure to support your business. A business resiliency plan is essential to protect your company from various losses.

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The Importance of Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising refers to an important retail strategy that uses the beauty of a product to increase sales. The retail spaces tend to appear more pleasing and attractive for clients, encourages impulse purchasing, and entices foot traffic. Due to advancements in online marketing, the performance of physical retail businesses has declined gradually. This has necessitated the incorporation of visual merchandising to enhance customer walk-ins and retail sales. Visual merchandising helps to encourage customers to visit your store and make a purchase and may also result in increased customer loyalty. It comprises the feel, looks, and culture of the shop and brand. Here are the advantages of visual merchandising.

Brand Loyalty

You must choose visual components that help consumers to experience the brand you market. For instance, to promote beauty products to a youthful audience, try and use a vibrant and colorful product for display. This will attract them to visit your shop and make a purchase. On the other hand, if you promote your cosmetic products to a more mature audience, use script-writing, soft imagery, and pastels to display them. Using particular strategies, you make it easier for your customer to understand your brand. They become loyal to it, leading to a sturdy consumer base and repeat purchases.

Elements

Visual merchandise comprises appearance, lighting, signage, textures, menus, ticketing, shapes, color, packaging, and point of sales. When you combine all these elements, your customer will comprehend your brand more clearly. This will result in increased sales and a positive experience for the shoppers.

Avoid Overwhelming

In the business world, you will always come across new product opportunities, and you often find yourself introducing them to the customers. Adding every product to the display list of product offerings may make your customers find your business a bit complex. You also risk having excess stock. As a visual merchandiser, choose products that appeal to the target audience, and you will record increased sales. Display the products with the most appeal to attract customers. Perform an analysis of your store and determine which products you should display more than others. If the product you display does not result in a higher margin line, change your products’ arrangement.

Marketing

Consistency is very important when it comes to brand promotion. Marketing is the pillar of every successful business. If you employ effective marketing in your business, you will promote brand recognition and increased sales. Your marketing conveys your business’s feel, look, and completeness while encouraging customers to make purchases. When marketing, use customer loyalty discounts, flash sales, capturing client information, and social sharing incentives. All these are beneficial to encouraging return customers and enhancing retail sales.

Themes

To execute visual merchandising, implement themes and subject matters in your optical displays in the optometry industry. A theme focuses on telling a story that encourages the customers to make purchases. It mainly accompanies the new launching of a product. A major benefit of themes is that they allow the reinvention of a brand with new layouts, colors, design, fonts, photographs, and pictures during the luncheon. You can get numerous theme ideas starting with grouping products to coordinating colors to personal motifs. It is important that as a visual merchandiser, you consider the season, store, overall look, new product, and brand feel. Also, consider the compatibility of the theme in an in-store promotion.

Tonality

This is the consistency of your brand across all marketing platforms. It is the voice or personality of your business. Tonality conveys the feel and looks of your brand with the marketing elements that are in existence. This means that visual merchandising should be consistent on all platforms, including websites, third-party websites, and in-door displays. This will promote brand loyalty since customers are sure that the brand will deliver. Also, it strengthens the emotional connection of your brand.

Making Purchases With Confidence

As a visual merchandiser, select clear and concise signage for your store. Excess signs or inadequate signs might confuse your clients. Ensure that your signage is simple and in line with the store’s existing brand. Present your products so that the consumers can easily understand and make the product’s benefits easy to capture. At this point, employ merchandise displays and point of sale.

Conclusion

Visual merchandising is a technique that offers you endless opportunities to improve the look and feel of your shop. Since the introduction of online marketing, retail stores have been trying to remain competitive through visual merchandising. It is essential to understand that most of your sales are impulse purchases. This makes the strategy of visual merchandise a major difference between a thriving retail store and those making small profits. Due to the competition in the market, ensure your theme is unique and consistent across all platforms. This will increase your sales and customer loyalty.

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7 Things to Remember for Your Agricultural Business

Are you interested in venturing into agriculture but you’re not conversant with the basics? You can learn more about agribusiness in this article. The venture is quite profitable as long as you know what you’re doing.

As you invest in agribusiness, some of the things you should remember include:

1.    Choose What You Want to Produce

In farming, the first step entails learning more about what you want to produce. There are different types of farming and you can look into each one of them to determine which one suits you best.

You can grow different crops or raise animals in your farm depending on the circumstances. Your interests and preferences will play a key role in determining what you will produce. As you kickstart your agribusiness project, there are ethical questions that normally come about in the process.

In agribusiness, you should also understand there is a symbiotic relationship between different creatures and the land. If sustainability matters to you as a farmer, you should focus on planting crops in a way that promotes biodiversity.

After investing in agriculture, you should determine the type of agricultural products that will ensure you have amassed a significant profit margin.

2.    Learn About the Basics of Each Product

In farming, there are variables that a farmer cannot control. In most cases, learning is not as simple as you may think. Some colleges, trade schools, and other institutions normally offer lessons on agriculture and later on issue a certificate to each person who has excelled in their studies.

There are also programs that offer grants targeting people who are interested in agricultural education. You can apply for a grant and take time to learn about how to farm like a professional. After completing your studies, you can kickstart your career as a farmer with all the knowledge needed to succeed in your venture.

If you’re not interested in partaking in formal education, you can work closely with a seasoned farmer. You can act as their apprentice with the sole aim of learning about farming.

There are also organizations that can assist with all the resources you need to get started in your agricultural business. Always opt for the agricultural education option which aligns with your lifestyle and preferences.

Agricultural business doesn’t only focus on maintaining animals and land. Agribusiness is currently expanding such that farmers can interact directly. There are agribusinesses that deal with the buying and selling products directly from the farmers.

3.    Always Determine the Type of Products and Services You’ll Offer

Before you get started, you are supposed to define the services and products that you’ll provide; this is more of a business plan and it will guide you throughout your venture. In the plan, you’re supposed to indicate the profit margins you expect within a certain period. Also, indicate the supplies you need to ensure this has taken place. Ensure you have applied for the correct licenses such that your venture will be legitimate. Also, you should apply for an appropriate insurance cover for your agribusiness in case of an emergency or accident.

4.    Acquire Funds for the Project

There are different ways to finance your business including getting a bank loan. The only issue is that it’s not that easy to get a bank loan to finance a business startup. However, if you have an already established business, you can easily get a loan to finance your business. Always keep in mind there are different financing options in case you fail to get that bank loan.

You should take into account agricultural factoring if your agribusiness has orders from clients. Agricultural factoring ensures that you’ll have better control of the cash flow in instances whereby you have more outgoing orders rather than those coming in.

There are instances whereby you’ll have pending orders and invoices; a factoring firm can acquire the contracts and you’ll be issued the money upfront. The money ensures you can control your finances in a better manner as you oversee the progressive growth of your business.

5.    Ensure You Have the Appropriate Licenses

In each state, you need to apply for a license if you want to establish a new business venture. The secretary of the state’s office will provide you with the necessary paperwork to fill in. If you’re working with other farmers outside the state, you should complete the necessary paperwork for each state since you’ll be involved in purchasing and selling different products from different region.

6.    Come Up with a Marketing Plan

After ensuring the business is up and running, you should ensure you have a marketing plan. The sole aim of the marketing plan is to ensure that suppliers and farmers are knowledgeable about the existence of your business. If you don’t have a marketing plan, your business will crumble down within a short period.

7.    Tarp Systems

A tarp system is made of flexible and strong material that is waterproof. In most cases, the material used is either polyester or canvas and it has been coated with polyurethane. The tarps can be either suspended or tied down. The affordable tart systems are normally made of woven polythene.

After ensuring you have a solid marketing plan and your business has attracted a considerable number of clients, ensure you have hired the right employees. The main focus is on working with a team that is dedicated. You cannot complete the agribusiness orders on your own. Ensure you’re getting the help you need such that you’ll ensure each client is delighted. With time, you’ll learn more about the importance of working with like minded individuals.

Final Thoughts

You will come across different challenges as you establish your own agribusiness. We hope that each point listed above will enable you to succeed in your agribusiness.

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How to Make Your Business More Accessible

If you are a business owner, how accessible is your business? As much as you focus on attracting customers and increasing sales, it is important to ensure your business is accessible to individuals with or without disabilities. This will promote a strong and increased customer base. Here are ways you can use to make your business more accessible.

1. Train Your Employees

The best way to break the barriers for individuals with disabilities and change employees’ attitudes is through sensitivity training. Train your staff on how to assist individuals with mobility issues and how to relate with service animals. This will ensure everybody knows how to include and accommodate all kinds of people.

2. Allow Service Animals

Allowing service animals is another way to make your business accessible. These animals help people with disabilities both mentally and physically.

3. Clear the Passageways

To increase accessibility and give your customers a wonderful experience, ensure the passageways are clear. Clear passageways allow for easy mobility for both the disabled and the non-disabled. This is because chances of accidents such as tripping are minimal.

4. Include Individuals with Disabilities in Your Business Marketing

Follow the best practices to ensure your business is accessible. For those running online businesses, ensure your site utilizes the latest technology and it’s fully accessible. It is also important to make individuals with disabilities aware that your business accommodates them by featuring them in the marketing materials.

5. Install an Automatic Sliding Door

To promote your company’s accessibility, install an automatic sliding door. Sliding doors promote the safe flow of customers, and accessing the offices or store is quick. This also makes it easy for individuals with disabilities to access since the door is automated and there is no force required.

6. Make Your Website accessible

To make your website accessible to everyone regardless of their abilities, name the links. With named links, anyone can use a screen reader to know what your link entails. Also, design an easy-to-navigate website such that even those who can’t use a track-pad and mouse can use the keyboard.

7. Add Captions to Your Videos

A common form of online content is videos which most businesses use as a strategy for marketing. Use closed and opened subtitles in your videos to make your business more accessible. This will not only make the content accessible but also boost the number of views.

8. Offer Access to the Print Materials

Ensure your business has Braille on menus, signage, and business cards to help blind people. Also, include images on your meal menus to make it easy for deaf-mute customers to select the meal they want to order.

9. Install the Right Lighting

To support and meet the needs of the customers, adjust your lighting. For instance, for a romantic or casual setting, ambient lighting is the best; however, the customers might not be able to read the menu, communicate using sign language, or find their way. In such cases, increase illumination by providing clip-on lights.

10. Easy Access to the Washroom

Ensure your washrooms are accessible; for instance, the door should have a minimum width of 85cm, a space of 80cm beside the toilet, a 1.2m turning radius, and a grab at the back and side of the toilet. If the door swings out, you can provide more space.

11. Create Office Space That is Accessible

If it is hard for people with disabilities to maneuver your office, you should make it more accessible. Install ramps, provide lower desks and tables, and remove every object that may get in the way.

12. Add Descriptive Texts to Images

If you add text that describes an image, you make your content more accessible. The screen reading software can describe the image, and this helps individuals with visual impairments. You might see these as minor adjustments to your website, but they increase accessibility.

13. Volunteer

Encourage your team to volunteer at events with the disabled. This will allow you to interact with them and make your brand known to them.

14. Offer Flexible Point-of-Sale

An extendable cord or portable debit machine will give your customers a convenient method of payment. This will be of great benefit to short individuals and those using a wheelchair.

15. Minimize Noise Levels

Most people with disabilities are very sensitive to noise. Ensure your business provides a calm environment, and this will increase customer and profits. Let everyone feel comfortable when coming to your company or business.

Finally, business accessibility is very vital if you want to increase your profits. It is also important to make sure that anyone can access your business regardless of being able or disabled. Also, make sure that you handle individuals with a disability with enough care and respect when they come to your business. For you to increase accessibility, employ the above-discussed ways.

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How to Surround Yourself With Positivity

Being positive in life can reduce stress and make things easier for you. People with negative self-talk and a self-limiting inner voice usually create a lot of stress in their life. Surrounding yourself with positive energy can help you lead a better life. Are there close friends in your life that encourage you when things go wrong?

A lot of good things will happen to people surrounded by good things. So surrounding yourself with positivity is highly recommended. This is something Father Rutler encourages and supports. The Father understands the importance of surrounding yourself with positivity. He preaches positivity and asks people to have positive energy around them. Below are some ways that you can surround yourself with positivity.

Gratitude

People need to be thankful for the little things in life. When we are thankful for small things in life, then better things tend to happen. Be thankful for what you have around instead of complaining about more. When you wake and the first thing you do is complain about what you lack, you build negative energy. This can spoil your moods and productivity during the day. Make sure you practice gratitude for the simplest things in life.

Religion

Religion is something Father Rutler uses to encourage positive energy around the congregation. There are several religious inspiration stories and books to read and cultivate positive energy. Meeting with fellow church members and sharing a word or two can be uplifting for most people. If you’re not sure where to start creating positive energy, then think of religion.

Exercise

Exercising regularly can help build positive energy around you. This is the case especially when you’ve had a long stressful day. Exercising makes one feel light and fit. Once you exercise and sweat, it feels like some burden has been taken off your shoulders. A visit to the gym makes you meet others and talk. Talking can help reduce stress especially when you speak out on what is disturbing you.

Performing breathing exercises has been shown to increase the positive energy around people. Breathing well expels toxic air from the body and fills it with fresh air. You’re bound to feel better and have positive energies.

Volunteerism

This is a simple yet effective way of building positivity around you. Look for a charity, a community center, or a public event and volunteer your services. Giving free aid that supports the community is a great way to surround yourself with positive energy. It feels good when we do good to the community. People feel proud when they positively contribute towards a good course.

Surround Yourself With Positive People

A positive vibe attracts a positive vibe. When you surround yourself with positive people, you’re bound to be surrounded by positive energy. There are instances where you enter a room with people and feel some negative energy. People around emanate energies that can be either positive or negative. It all comes down to choosing the right company.

Have Mental Breaks

When people are exhausted, they tend to develop negative energies. Be sure to take breaks when tasks become overwhelming. This can be going for a stroll, swimming, or taking a nap.

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What to Consider When Building New Store

Are you thinking of building a new store? Are you expanding your business? Or are you just starting out?  Building a new store makes most people overwhelmed as they reflect through the whole process. It is essential to do your research and prepare before getting started. Here are some tips on what to consider when building a store.

1. Planning and Development

Generally, this is the initial stage in any building project. Planning and development include:

· Choosing a convenient location. This needs to be based on where your customers are and where you are more likely to get more business.  

· Pre-designing your store. It’s important to have a strong idea of what you want your store to look like and the functionality of it before discussing it with an architect and contractor

· Familiarizing with the general contractor and the architect. You need to find a contractor and architect that you can work with well. They will be with you the whole project, so it is essential to find someone that shares your vision. 

2. Store Design

Have both the architects and contractors join during the design stage for easier cost estimation. Using this route will help you gain market price information which will again help you make sound and timely decisions.

Additionally, getting both contractors and architects joined will make the building detailing stronger. The design team’s work is to ensure all designs are as per building regulations and the codes.

It is essential that your store is accessible. This includes making sure the storefront door is large enough and automatic. Aisles need to be wide enough for wheel chairs. Public bathrooms need to have handicap stalls and appropriate sinks as well. These things need to be included into the store’s design and plans. 

3. Pre-Construction

During this stage, ensure you prepare and send lists of the required materials to various contractors and vendors requesting quotes. This will help you (the contractor) to identify the vendor who has the best offerings.

Gather at least three quotes to help assist you in budget analysis. Additionally, it is during this stage where you obtain the mandatory insurance requirements and building permits.

Usually, as the store owner, you are the one to give a go-ahead signal to the general contractor for a pre-construction. Then the contractor will allocate roles forming a project team. Some of the assigned roles include the following:

· Project manager who is the overseer of the entire project team

· Superintendent who directs all project activities and maintains time schedules (including materials and equipment deliveries).

· Contract administrator who works together with superintendent and project manager to help with the contract particulars.

· Field engineer who deals with important paperwork. Usually, they examine your site and point out any steps necessary before the store construction.

4. Procurement

This is where the purchase of all the necessary materials and tools is made. An agreement (purchase order) is usually created between the seller and owner for contact keeping. The purchase order helps make sure that the materials bought are as per the specs and agreed price.

Where you allow the general contractor to perform all the building work, the company can manage the procurement stage. You can also use subcontractors who generally specialize in one particular construction task like concrete, glass, or woodwork.

5. Construction

This stage starts in a meeting prearranged by the controller (superintendent). Generally, this meeting entails discussions about material storage, quality control, site access, and working hours. Usually, what follows after this meeting is the groundbreaking.

Based on your functionality and design, the steps to be followed may involve excavation, underground utilities installation, pouring of concrete, steelwork, all the way to interior work, and any other specifications. The state inspector, together with your project manager, works to inspect all these steps.

Additionally, it is during this stage where your already specified commercial doors will get fixed. Types of commercial doors may include hollow metal doors, commercial wood doors, metal building doors, and sliding doors. The doors may take either overhead or scissor gate structure, depending on the store functionality. 

6. After-Construction

After your store is fully built, several steps are necessary before it becomes operational. These steps are completing your stare punch list, including final walkthrough works like changing the paint color and replacing broken tiles. Once the work list is done, your store can become operational. Usually, this stage involves calibration and installation of furnishings and equipment. After the store meets the requirement, a certificate of completion will be issued by the architect. The certification signifies that your store has been officially completed. Lastly, the building official will perform the last inspection.

Finally, building a new store is a big step for every business owner. Discussed above are the things to consider when constructing a store.

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