5 Essential Networking Strategies for Your Business in 2024

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March 10, 2020

Markkinointi — Source: Elisa Ideat Yrityksille

Leading a business seems like a very appealing thing to many people around the world, but is it easy to do? We don’t think so.

When it comes to becoming a successful businessman, you have to understand that it’s a lot more difficult than you think it is, and it will require a lot of time as well. Also, one mistake is more than enough to set you back many months in the game.

We’re not trying to scare you away from living your dream and owning a successful business, but it’s not an easy job, and we don’t want to sugarcoat it.

Fortunately for you, we are here to talk about networking strategies, and if you are even slightly familiar with the corporate world, you probably know the importance of networking already. In this article, we are going to list the five most essential networking strategies for businesses of any classes and sizes, so if you are eager to improve in what you’re doing, definitely keep reading until the end. Let’s take a look.

Learn to take “no” as an answer

When you are trying to expand the network of your business, you will run into many situations where people will reject you, even if you think that your offer is the best possible option for them. However, this should never impact your future decisions or your motivation to continue building an even larger network. Instead, it needs to be a motivator and a lesson that’s going to help you in the future.

So, learn how to take no as an answer, and understand that not every chance you take is going to end up with a successful and positive outcome. The corporate world is cruel, and often people make mistakes or they blindly reject someone’s proposition, but it’s not the end of the world.

Leave a positive picture

Learn to always leave a positive picture in the mind of people you meet on the way to the top. A famous saying goes something like this: “Be nice to everyone you meet while going towards the top because you never know who you might run into while falling from it.”

This means that every person you meet now has something to offer, and even if they are not very helpful or useful to you at the moment, it doesn’t mean that they won’t be able to do something that’s going to save your entire career a few years forward.

When building a network, it’s very important to keep a very positive reputation in the eyes of everyone you meet, so try to do that as much as possible. If required, you can also do a certain action instead of doing it with just words. Help as much as you can, and eventually, everything that you did will return to you, making your career very successful.

Communicate and never stop doing it

Building a network is all about communication, and communicating only. This means that you’ll always have to reach new people and try to build up your contact list as much as you can because you never know who might be very helpful in a given situation shortly.

Reaching people was a lot more difficult in the past than it is now, and you should use this to your advantage to build a business that’s stronger than ever. Back in the day, people had to wait for hours or days if they wanted a certain message to be carried over to another continent, but now everything can be done instantly through the Internet.

We also have famous platforms and websites such as LinkedIn that allow us to find people with similar business interests in our area.

Make sure that you always stay communicating, because communication is the key to success in the corporate world. If you are not sure how to reach people easily and professionally, make sure to check out VoIP Phones at vdsae.com.

Give without expecting a return

We all know how things work in the corporate world nowadays, so when you are wondering how a certain small business managed to get a lot of success in such a short amount of time, the answer is that somebody helped them. This is just an example that’s going to help us explain what we have to say next.

If you ever reach a point where you’re at the top and smaller businesses are below you, make sure to offer them help, and do it without wanting anything in return. Times change and tables quickly turn in an environment such as the modern business world.

You never know what’s going to happen five years from now. Maybe the circle is going to spin completely, and you’ll end up being on the bottom, looking for help from someone. If you rejected a lot of people in the past, nobody will end up helping you. Believe it or not, networking also plays a huge part in career-recovery solutions and similar situations, so businessmen always strive to have as many connections as possible, in case they ever need them.

Set your goals and be clear

Setting your goals is something that you should be doing from day one if you are planning to be successful in the business world. Whenever you want to step into the corporate world, you need to have a clear goal of why you want to do it, and a clear goal of what you are trying to achieve.

Well, the same thing goes for networking, and when building a networking strategy. Imagine reaching the networking agent of a certain company, and just randomly talking about pointless things. Doing this a few times will result in you earning a bad and unprofessional reputation, and people will just know you for your abilities to waste the time of others.

To avoid this from happening, make sure that you always have very clear goals, and learn how to present them in front of others. You might be talking to investors in the future, or designers, marketing agents or even other CEOs, so knowing what to say and when to say it is crucial. Just like we mentioned earlier, without proper communication, even the best ideas fail to execute properly.

Training Your Kitten – Obedience Tips and Tricks 2024

By

Дмитра Врачарић

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March 10, 2020

Kittens don’t need to be trained like dogs, and it would be pretty tricky to do that, but it is useful nonetheless to establish some parameters for your new house guest.

Kittens can behave atrociously, and so you may end needing to lay down some ground rules even if you didn’t expect to. Here are some handy hints brought to you by Zoo Awesome:

Try and designate a sleeping area for your kitten by buying them their bed or basket
Reward good behavior and reprimand undesirable behavior. As with puppies and toddlers, it is all about clear boundaries and tons of patience
Kittens don’t sit and plot lousy behavior (even if it seems like it!), they are merely learning the rules and testing them out
Repetition is king, remember to be consistent and not weaken otherwise you will send your kitten mixed messages
Kittens will quickly learn to use a designated litter tray, remember to keep it clean and clear of soiled cat litter because that can put the kitten off. Kittens are fastidious and don’t want to do the wrong thing in the wrong place. You can spray the litter tray with a proprietary spray such as Cat Attract to help encourage your kitten in the right direction
Likewise, provide a scratching post that is just so much more tempting than your sofa. Your kitten is less likely to scratch you if you let them fulfill what that healthy and natural urge to scratch and flex their claws.
Fighting is part of natural kitten behavior, and if you have a sole kitten on their own, then fighting with your hand or your ankles may be the next best thing. Try not to play with them using your hands as this will become very painful quite quickly. Use designated cat toys which the kitten can claw and chew quite safely
Try and ignore nocturnal antics. It is quite reasonable for a kitten to be awake for some of the night and want to play and create a disturbance
As with toddlers, bad behavior can be borne out of boredom or lack of stimulation so do remember to give your kitten enough affection and attention and some good uninterrupted playtime
Bad or unwanted behavior can be discouraged quite quickly and harmlessly with a short squirt from a spray bottle of water. Remember, mother cats are pretty strict with their offspring and would not think twice about telling them off
Manage play that is too rough by just walking away
Kittens love to jump and climb, and they won’t distinguish the desirable from the undesirable. If your kitten accidentally falls onto some unwanted surface, remove it and put it back down on the floor. They will quickly learn which surfaces are not permitted.

Reasons Why Kittens Misbehave and How to Stop It

Cats love us and respect us, but sometimes, due to a lack of training, they follow bad behaviors that directly influence humans. We have to learn to avoid it.

Cats do not deserve the reputation of antichrists that they have but, sometimes, for not having received a correct and firm training, they can misbehave with us. The game, bedtime, or moments when you do not let them do what they want can be a cause of discomfort between the owner and his pets.

When they play, cats get aggressive

It does not happen to everyone, but sometimes it is their natural urge, and they cannot help it.

The game for your cat represents an extension of its hunting instinct. During the play, your pet shows its hiding, attacking, and predator skills. If they do not have furry companions to clear themselves, you will be the recipient, especially if your animal spends time alone.

The procedure of the game will be to start it quietly, but, as you get excited, you will lose your manners so it will bite and scratch you.

Solution: our animal needs to be entertained, but if it keeps biting and scratching, we will have to keep our body away and try to focus their attention on some toys.

Unprovoked attack

Sometimes, the owners or the people who visit them receive a bite or a blow without apparent reason. It may be attacking us because he feels cornered, for its territorial rights, because there is someone unfamiliar, some smell it has never experienced, and males usually do.

Solution: in such cases, you are scared, so it is good that you know that you are going to be exposed to a situation that makes you nervous so that you can prevent such behavior and protect yourself. You can give it pampering, add some delicious food, or give it its favorite toy.

Try to learn your cat to socialize from a very young age so that it will better support visits to your home. If the problem is acute, consult a specialist in cat behavior.

Your cat keeps scratching you

Our legs are a perfect mattress for our cat’s naps. There is nothing wrong or uncomfortable about it; what annoys some owners is the endless kneading they do before taking the desired posture. Before remedying it, know that this is an automatic action, your cat did the same thing as a child to stimulate its mother’s breast. Now that it is an adult, it means that it trusts you; it is a gesture of affection and means that your pet is at ease.

Solution: the only solution is that you remove it from your legs when it is doing it or sprinkle with a lemon scent that cats don’t like, but do you want to do that?

They steal food

Leaving your food is an unnecessary risk. Even if a cat is well fed, it will be able to attack this succulent prey when you are not around. After all, it is a hunter by nature, even though it doesn’t need to show its predatory skills at home.

Solution: do not leave delicious food around. Keep it out of reach from your furry friend.

Final Word

It is possible to train your kitten to do tricks; it’s a great way to engage with them and provides mental stimulation and distraction.

5 Reasons Why Air Conditioner Servicing is Important for Your Business

By

Billy Voss

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March 10, 2020

Running a business brings numerous concerns to its owners – there are so many things and people to worry about. When everything seems to depend on you as a boss, all the things become more stressful and harder to cope with. Apart from those serious, professional major issues that you need to take care of, it’s also necessary to maintain a satisfactory level of well-being of your employees, as they’re the most valuable ace up your sleeve.

As those people keep working for you regardless of the season of the year or other circumstances, they should be provided with the best possible working conditions. We need to make them feel good physically in their own skin, which means that the solution for too hot or too cold days simply needs to exist – mostly thanks to the appropriate air conditioning system and its general maintenance.

Yes, it might sound weird – why would anybody consider this as one of the concerns? Well, if you think about all those scorching days in July or August, when you have the feeling that you’ll start melting down any moment, it’s not so difficult to conclude that a simple fan won’t do the job properly. Having an air conditioner and caring about its features and possible servicing could bring many great things and sometimes even improve your job and business plans. How? Let’s find out.

1. Better for the ones who work for you

Let’s suppose that you’re not alone. There, in your company, in your office, bar or store, there’s a bunch of people who spend their full-time working schedule inside the same space. And, let’s suppose that you’d like all of them to do their best in order to perform their tasks properly and make the business flourish. However, are you really supposed to expect that in case you don’t provide them with necessary working conditions? Exactly – of course not. Their performance success decreases if they experience any kind of discomfort or if something simply starts making them wish they were somewhere else. This is why: 1) you need to introduce a new team member – the air conditioner; 2) you need to take care and service the device so that it can remain useful to all of you as long as possible. Not only is it good for everyone that shares co-working space with you, but you’re also making a general gesture which implies that you care about people who you work with.

2. It’s not only about your coworkers –it’s about your clients, too.

If your business is based on working with clients, then of course, their needs should also be considered. In the event that your company is one of those whose doorways are always wide open to the customers, it’s assumed that you want them to feel comfortable and cozy with you. Some of them walk for hours to get to your place on a really hot summer day and will be more pleased to see the AC on your wall than anything else. This makes another reason why you should consider placing the device into the place – it’s for everyone’s good, right? Customers will be more eager to come and visit your object, as they’ll know that they can expect a cool atmosphere and that they can actually sit and rest without bathing in sweat. You’ll also make a good impression, which means a lot when it comes to the growth of your business – just think about it.

3. It’s not money-consuming like its simpler versions – fans.

Well, yes – in order to implement the air-condition, we sometimes need more money than we can afford. That’s a fact. And all this mostly because we bear in mind how high the costs of the electrical power can be. However, once you do it, you’ve done a big part of the enhancing job. Of course, it’s necessary to spend a certain amount of money on some crucial parts that are required for the installation of the device. But, it’s less stressful and less expensive to do that than to just fill your office with a few not-that-strong fans that won’t help much. Both options will take a certain amount of electrical energy, but you won’t have to worry if other means of cooling will be able to perform it properly – the resolution is just a click away! In case you don’t want to do something wrong, there’ s always the alternative – professional help from ac-hawaii.com or any other company dedicated to AC servicing.

4. The heat damages technical devices – prevent it!

So, basically, it’s not a rare scenario that the computer gear which you might use for your everyday tasks and activities tends to overheat. It happens everywhere, and it can leave permanent damage if not treated properly. These variations might end up with our programs, software and devices starting to crash and it’s also possible to lose some crucial data if the situation is bad enough. Therefore, the air conditioning systems help keep the computer equipment safe and sound, while also assisting with the good performance of the activities your business requires.

5. It’s quite effective in removing bugs, insects and parasites

This one depends on the quality of your air conditioner. A good one reduces the presence of parasites and insects around.These beings aren’t so keen on low temperatures, so, if we want to prevent them from intruding your special place, we should just make sure that we’re implementing the best alternative.

While reading these points and acknowledging the most important reasons why we should give a chance to the air conditioner servicing concept, we do hope that this short explanation was enough to possibly make you change your point of view. The use of these units has become a usual thing. And, although it looks like a secondary aspect to worry about, it can mean much for things you do within your business.

Everything You Need to Know About Studying in Germany

By

Daniela Meyer

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March 9, 2020

Like other fancy trends, to go abroad for further studies is now in fashion. As they said, “knowledge is power”; therefore, people from all over the world travel miles to satisfy their thirst for knowledge and spend years in another country. It was the time when traveling was not easy, but today, the mean of traveling makes it easy to go from one place to another.

Moreover, the host countries also provide many facilities for overseas students. It is another reason why people attract towards study abroad. If we talk about the top of the host countries with an excellent education system and facilities, America and European countries are taking place.

Here we are going to discuss Germany, who attracts many international students each year thanks to its reputation for its low cost and high-quality education. If you are looking for a degree program or exchange program in Germany, there are few things you should consider before going to study in Germany.

Apply for grants

Fortunately, there are many fellowships and grants for foreigners; whether you specialize in engineering, an art school, or a student of German literature, if you have the right skills of your field and hardworking in your applications, you will get the desired funding. There is no field in which the German government is not supporting international students, and they also offer many scholarships for Graduates and Post-graduates.

German academic exchange service, DAAD, is supported by states and offers the most extensive collection of scholarships to international students, and there are many other institutions with specialized scholarships. Obtaining one of these scholarships can work positively during the university application process.

Although there are many facilities out there but being a new person, you may face other problems in which cultural shock and language issues are common. Be prepared yourself before landing in Germany.

Be ready for the immigrant struggle

Unless you are a citizen of the European Union, expect to have a good time with the immigration office. If you are from the United States and are admitted to a university program, the visa application should go smoothly, and the ones who get a degree in Germany are entitled to an extension of up to 18 months to stay and seek employment. According to schengen-visa, for the students of developing countries, this procedure can be a bit complicated and it will take some time, so it’s always better to use online applications and speed up the process!

The primary issue that almost all the developing countries are facing is that the value of money is less. Therefore, they have to save more money to take it with them. Moreover, they may struggle for a part-time job in Germany. The student may get the job as he goes out for searching it, but most of the time, people struggle many hard to fulfill their living expenses. It is essential to have some money while traveling to nay country for initial days.
Make sure your student visa is allowing you to do the job part-time because many courses are not allowing students to work, and if you find guilty, they will deport you right away.

Learn Germany language

German is a beautiful and relatively easy language for English speakers. In the larger cities of Germany, you can survive without knowing the German language, and even some study programs are available in English. However, all parts of your abroad life will be more comfortable with functional language skills, from dealing with government employees to building local friendships. If you decide to stay at work, mastery will give you a significant advantage in the job market. Germans like to arrive on time or early by the American standards.

If you are planning to go to Germany, then it will be convenient for you to learn the german language first. Moreover, English is also understandable, but the locals only speak the german language. So, we suggest to learn german, and it will be easy for you to communicate.

Know the options where you can study

More than 40 German universities are included in the QS World University Rankings, which means that you have a choice from many of the best universities in the world. If you want to study in a world-renowned student city, you can think of Berlin or Munich, where they both rank in the top ten most important cities in the world for students in the ranking of the best student cities in QS.

To find the best university, you can go online and find the top-ranked universities according to your major subject. Make a list and start the process of application. It will take time, but you will get the answer from any university, but your grades must be good.

Estimate the cost of studying

Studying in a public higher education institution has been free since the year 2014 in Germany. However, the costs of food, transport, and rent are increasing rapidly. If you want to save money here, it is worth considering the cost of living when choosing a place to study. You can search for the list of the cheapest and most expensive university cities in Germany. Estimating the cost of studying in Germany will help you to manage your expenses in a right way.

It should be noted that some universities in Germany have agreements with large companies, providing students with training. They may not always be paid, but they can lead to excellent future work after graduation.

Keep one thing in mind that not all the courses offered by the German government are fully funded. You have to pay per semester/ year fees according to the nature of the degree. If you think that you can spend all the expenses with a part-time job, it is not possible because the per hour salary of the student is less as compared to the average person. You can either study there or a job, and now the choice is yours. We wish for your better future.

4 Ways World Of Warcraft Changed The Gaming Industry Forever

By

Billy Voss

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March 9, 2020

Nearly 16 years ago, Blizzard graced us with one of the most iconic video games the gaming industry has ever seen; World of Warcraft.

This gem of a game caused millions of players to spend endless hours farming, PvP-ing, questing, dungeons, and raiding. Not only that, but WoW was a release of a completely new genre of video games. This was the genre of MMORPGs, and WoW was the grandfather that kept beating the younglings.

World of Warcraft can definitely be described as a revolutionary game that created the fundamentals of which MMOs would be played. The MMO genre was super hot after the release of WoW, but very few if any managed to captivate the audience the same way WoW managed.

After Blizzard’s award-winning MMORPG hit the market, it wasn’t possible for another game in the genre to exist without taking some elements from World of Warcraft.

So, to celebrate how Blizzard managed to do just that, we’ve pieced together the X ways WoW changed the gaming industry.

1. The WoW Factor

No pun intended, but the WoW factor was the single thing that players were attracted to when buying this game.

To put it simply, the colors, the humor, the visuals, the cinematic’s, everything was special with this game. It was something that the industry had never seen before, and they called it the WoW factor.

WoW gave players something they had never experienced before. Colors that were never before seen, visual representations of events that they didn’t know was possible to create, and stunning cinematic’s that would make Hollywood ashamed.

The game was designed to create something never before seen and entertain like no other before, all through an excellent level of detail.

But Blizzard also managed to humor the player through the game. Blizzard has always been known for having excellent writers, and they defiantly showed their quality through the NPS dialogs.

You could even say that Marvel was inspired by this. So much that humor is the single most relatable thing with the Marvel cinematic universe.

2. Game Mechanics

One of Blizzard’s most praised innovations in the gaming industry is how the game questing and leveling mechanics worked.

Previously, leveling and questing went hand in hand. A player would kill a monster and in return get an XP reward. But what Blizzard did was not change that, only make it better.

Previously, you’d had to wait in your spot so that mobs would spawn. What was even worse was the fact that anyone could steal your kill, and ultimately your quest. This only made it harder for players to finish their quest; something that many took issue with.

What Blizzard did was a game mechanic called “tagging” the monsters so others couldn’t steal the kill. This was revolutionary as the issue of stealing was no more.

What’s even more interesting is that Blizzard completely changed the narrative of how you would quest. Instead of running around the map for mobs to kill, Blizzard introduced towns in the form of questing hubs. A player would teleport to a particular hub, accept the quests, and go on from there.

While questing has become something repetitive over the years, it is still a necessary game feature that everyone has to go through. This can be very frustrating especially when a new expansion would come out.

The latest is the Shadowlands expansion and there are ways to avoid questing and leveling and actually enjoy the game from the get-go. With legionfarm, you can get your WoW Shadowlands carry and have it level and quest for you so you can enjoy the expansion without needing to spend endless hours on it.

3. Instances

Instances were definitely a feature that changed the gaming industry. After Word of Warcraft, nearly every MMO maker had instances in their game.

Instances refer to dungeon runs that were very tedious. Before this feature, dungeons were only holes in the ground, abandoned castles, and scare places where monsters spawned. They were separated from the game so they would give the player something to do.

In most cases, dungeons would drop the best loot but there was a very real problem with them. Namely, the number of players that would join a dungeon was uncontrolled. That would mean that dozens of players would all queue for the same dungeon, resulting in havoc.

That not only took the fun away from it, but players didn’t feel anything while doing it. If a particular dungeon needs 5 players to make it challenging, what’s the point of having 20 players do it instead?

So, to solve this inconvenient problem, Blizzard introduced the instance system. Instances would eliminate the player count issue and make it possible for a group of players to do it instead.

It brought back the fun factor, but it also forced groups to come up with a plan; a complicated and well-thought-out plan to beat it.

This turned the dungeons into co-op challenges that players couldn’t resist but solve it in the least amount of time and taking the least amount of casualties. You could even say that WoW’s eSports scene revolves around dungeon runs.

4. Raids

Okay, Blizzard isn’t solely to thank for this feature, but they placed the rules as to how large groups would raid in the MMO genre. First off, Blizzard made an entirely new game with the introduction of the raids.

Raids work similarly to instances, in a way that it takes planning and cunning to succeed. At the end of the raid, only a randomly select few would get the main rewards, leaving the rest with nothing.

Blizzard changed that with the introduction of raid points, which essentially guaranteed the player would eventually get some sweet gear.

While there is far more to it than what we’ve given credit, raids were definitely a game-changing mechanic that made the game a lot more meaningful to the player. It allowed the player to strategize as to how the group would approach the raid, how the raid would pan out, and how the final boss would be fought.

How is Social Media Changing The Franchise World

By

Billy Voss

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March 9, 2020

As you already know, an increasing number of individuals utilize their smartphones for using social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube every day. And, this is the primary reason why a wide range of companies started using and relying on the aforementioned websites for marketing their merchandise and services, and, of course, they also use it for communicating with their audience.

Social media websites can be considered as tools that provide various aspects of advertising and engagement in one program, and that is something that was previously unavailable to companies. Although you might think that these platforms are time-consuming and simply a fad, you cannot deny that the platforms allowed businesses to thrive.

Until recently, these websites were somewhat optional for business, however, now, companies cannot survive without it. The franchise market’s success story has been defined by being consistent and continuous, but, without the powerful tool of social media pages, the entire industry can easily break down.

Franchises can, in fact, build an active social media advertising plan – or several of them – and if you are interested in learning more this, you’ll find this article to be quite helpful for you. The text below is going to feature the uses and advantages of these platforms for advertising your franchise. Let’s take a closer look:

What Can Social Media Provide My Business With?

There are various things that these advertising tools can provide your organization with. However, the most significant things include:

1. It Changes How You Communicate Your Brand’s Mission

Naturally, the process of making your brand will start offline. Before you choose 1 or 2 platforms, both your advertising team and you need to build an engaging story that will tell people what your vision is for the future of your organization, as well as what your end objective is.

The objective you have will shape the strategy you need to implement. This means that you should not base your decisions on the popular trends, instead, that a closer look at the objective you have, and then make that vision a reality. No matter what the external factors are. When you figure out what your vision is then you can start engaging individuals on the website you choose.

2. It Can Be Automated, Meaning That it Will Make Things Easier For You

Social media comes with automation, which means that it will allow you to be consistent and successful when advertising online. Of course, you do not only want to be consistent with answering customers’ questions but in how much you post as well. Naturally, one of the biggest benefits of these websites is that you can quickly react and engage with clients.

However, you should also focus on establishing a balance with your posts – so, you can make sure that the most important topics for your brands are covered in the things you post. You should take advantage of automation programs that can publish your posts when you want. Hence, you will have time for other things.

3. It Can Allow You to Engage With Your Clients Instead of Only Selling Products/Services to Them

When it comes to being successful in your social media advertising campaigns, there are three things you must keep in mind. The first thing is that you need to be consistent – which is quite essential when you are writing, as well as posting images and videos on your pages.

The next thing is being interactive. This means that your posts need to be interactive. For example, you can create polls and quizzes that your customers can engage with. And third, provide your clients with insights, meaning that you should show them how your company works. If you want to see what experts can help you with, check out Rallio for more information.

What Benefits Can I Gain?

When it comes to marketing your franchise organization on a wide range of social media platforms, there are hundreds of benefits you can gain. However, some of the most notable benefits, one that can allow your business to thrive even more include:

1. Affordable Advertising – when you choose to market your products or services on websites such as Instagram or Facebook, you won’t need to have a large budget. In fact, you’ll only need a budget for sponsoring or promoting your posts so that they can reach more people.

2. It is Naturally Viral – one of the best benefits you can gain is that your clients can share your posts and products with their family members or friends by clicking a button. This means that you can easily gain more clients by word of mouth, which basically means – free advertising for you.

3. Boosts Brand Awareness – by using these platforms, you can ensure that you boost your brand awareness, as well as your online reputation. Which is something that is quite important in the technology-driven world we live in, especially since people use their smartphones every day.

4. It Can Increase Traffic – if you implement an online advertising strategy that is well-planned, you can boost and improve the traffic to your website. Additionally, by doing so, you’ll also be able to increase the number of sales, hence, increasing your monthly earnings and overall revenue.

5. You Can Find Your Franchise Community – by finding your franchise community, you’ll be able to start publishing common messages and posts via the Franchiser’s corporate social media channels. This can boost your audience on other platforms as well, hence, increasing your audience and building your brand further.

6. Engaging With Your Customers And Getting Data – as previously discussed, you’ll be able to engage with your customers more, however, you can also get data from them. This data is crucial for your business, especially since it can provide you with insights about what your customers want and need.

Conclusion

So, social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, are, in fact, changing the franchise industry quite a lot. And, as you were able to read, it is changing it for the better. To make things even better, it will provide your company with various benefits, ones that you can use to your advantage.

Hence, now that you know how it is changing the franchise industry, as well as the benefits you can reap, you should not waste any more time. Instead, you should start thinking about what social media advertising would fit your business best!

Why is Grease Trap Cleaning Important For Your Business?

By

Billy Voss

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March 9, 2020

Owning a restaurant or any other foodservice establishment requires the installation and use of certain devices in the kitchen. Anyone who has ever worked in the service industry is probably quite familiar with a device known as a grease trap and has most likely experienced the disadvantages it brings along if it is not cleaned regularly and properly. And while at home, individuals can try cleaning it on their own, it is a difficult and time-consuming task that is best left to the professionals. This is why commercial establishments that use grease traps should always hire a cleaning service to do the job.

These devices are also often referred to as grease interceptors and businesses are required by law to install them into their kitchens. They offer many advantages, not to mention they are great for the environment too.

With proper care and regular maintenance, they will serve you a long time, but if you are unfamiliar with what they are exactly, how they work, and why cleaning them is of utmost importance, here is everything you need to know.

What Is It & How Does It Work?

A grease trap or interceptor is a plumbing device designed to trap fat, oil, and grease collectively referred to as FOG and prevent them from entering and clogging pipes and sewers. These devices have been around for a very long time with very little changes to the mechanics behind them.

The traps mainly use the rules of gravity to trap not only FOG but also chunks of food and they are a basic part of any food establishment’s sanitary system. Since oil and grease float atop of water, this is the main principle these machines were constructed upon.

Using only a couple of mechanical components such as a reservoir and water pump, they allow the water to cool down and settle before releasing it through a pipe and into the sewer. In the meantime, it traps FOG by letting it rise to the top of the reservoir while the chunks of food sink to the bottom. And although the water that remains in the middle might still contain some grease, the majority of it, about 90%, will remain in the tank.

Does it Prevent Clogs and Blockages Completely?

Logically, clogs or blockages will only occur if one does not clean the trap often enough and properly. Although commercial machines can hold a lot of waste, they might need a thorough cleaning every month or at the very least, every 90 days, mostly depending on the reservoir size and how often the device is used.

It might be a good idea to create a weekly or bi-weekly check-up schedule to monitor how full the tank is. Optimally, once about 25% of it is filled with FOG, one should contact a commercial grease trap service.

Is Hiring a Commercial Service Truly Necessary?

Unless you have the experience, time, and the right tools for the job, hiring a team of professionals is the best thing you can do. Just like with the installation, they are trained and equipped with the necessary skills to quickly and effectively get the job done.

You can visit houstontxgrease.com if you are interested in learning more about the types of services these companies offer.

Why is Regular Maintenance Crucial?

There are several reasons why this is important. These reasons include:

1. The Prevention of Clogs & Blockages

The more waste piles up, the higher the chances of clogs or drainage system blockages are. Moreover, it will also send more chunks and FOG through the pipe and into the sewer, eventually slowing down the entire system. Over time, this might lead to waste back-up and overflow, causing issues and expensive damages to your establishment.

2. Avoiding Foul Odors

Food and waste decomposition is a natural process and once it starts happening, smells that are far from pleasant start to spread, even when it is happening underground and not inside the tank. Besides being bothersome and unsanitary for the workers, the nasty odor can soon begin to spread throughout the restaurant.

Not only will you start losing customers but your establishment’s reputation might also face irreversible damage. This is something you will want to avoid at all costs since it can leave long-lasting negative effects on your business.

3. Making it Easier to Clean

The longer the waste sits in the reservoir, the more it will harden, eventually sticking to the bottom strongly. This will make cleaning it almost impossible, drastically reducing the capacity of your tank, not to mention it is also quite unsanitary.

4. Bypassing Unnecessary Expenses

Waste contains a variety of chemicals that can become harmful as they start decomposing. These substances can also lead to tank corrosion which then leads to leakage, meaning you will have to replace your device and spend money on something you could have easily avoided with regular maintenance.

5. Avoiding Penalties & Losses

Individuals will have to pay fines for violating laws that are based on the number of committed offenses. What’s even worse, if any of the neighboring properties have suffered any damage, for example, due to sewer backup, the person at fault will be required to pay for all the necessary repairs.

In the worst-case scenario, a business’s operations can be temporarily suspended or in the most extreme cases, business owners can lose their licenses.

6. Preventing Pollution

The chemicals released by stagnant food waste isn’t only detrimental to the machine’s tank, but also the environment, especially animal life. Additionally, preventing it from entering the sewer system is also important for public health and safety, not to mention that it will also prevent the formation of harmful bacteria.

Source: New Orleans Grease Trap Cleaning

Conclusion

Cleaning a grease trap properly requires appropriate tools and this is exactly why hiring a service to do the job is the best decision you can make. Moreover, these professionals have the proper training to finish everything efficiently, saving you time and money in the process.

Regular maintenance will help you avoid unnecessary issues and ensure that your business is following all the codes and regulations it has to as well. This will keep your working environment sanitary and safe, protect your reputation and keep your business running efficiently and smoothly in the process too.

13 Genius New Inventions in 2024

By

Billy Voss

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March 9, 2020

For something to be considered an invention, at least some part has to be something that has never been seen before. If such an idea has ever been mentioned or used before, it is not subject to the rules of patents. It doesn’t have to be 100% unique in terms of technical elements, but the idea must be unique.

The exception is if two known ideas merge into something that has a completely different application. The point is, it’s a whole new invention.

Many believe they have invented something completely new and are trying to protect their patent. But they are often rejected because they do not meet all the requirements. Therefore, it also brings a very poor market placement. If by any chance you have an invention worthy of attention, learn more here how to get your product to market

But that is certainly not the case with the inventions that we will outline here, and which will be of great importance to the world in 2024 and beyond.

1. Flight Forward

UPS is in the testing phase of this amazing program. They use drones to deliver tissue, blood and other medically related things to hospitals. Everyone who participated was delighted, results was much better than conventional delivery, so more is expected this year.

2. A mind-reading bracelet

A US scientist has devised a special bracelet that reads the electrical impulses of neurons traveling along the muscles of the arms or legs. He tests them by sitting in front of a screen equipped with a bracelet, moving his mind around the objects his computer displays.

The neuroscientist has envisioned that the bracelet will assist in the rehabilitation of patients recovering from stroke or amputation, as well as those suffering from Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and other severe neurodegenerative diseases.

The bracelet is connected to a computer and reads electrical impulses of motor neurons. It transmits these impulses to the computer as a movement. This means that the owner of the bracelet can only think of moving objects around the screen as if it were a mouse.

3. 3D digital heart

To help patients with heart disease avoid invasive diagnostic methods, the professors designed an individual 3D model of the heart where doctors can design treatment for each patient without invasive procedures.

4. Pocket ultrasound

Instead of expensive hospital appliances, pocket ultrasound will make this examination more accessible in poor countries. This will allow patients to go to this type of examination more often.

Instead of expensive ultrasound devices that many hospitals cannot afford, a small portable device that fits in their pocket is designed. Its ultrasound can be paired with an app on a smartphone.

Mini ultrasound cannot replace the original apparatus, but it can assist in diagnosis. There are hundreds more such smart innovations on the market that will make healthcare cheaper and more affordable and allow humanity to make the most of what modern technology can provide.

5. AI diagnosis for cancer

In lung cancer, radiologists often misinterpret the results. That’s why the Google team designed an artificial intelligence system that reads the findings more reliably. They say the project is still underway.

6. Virtual Recovery

The British doctor designed glasses that, with the help of virtual reality, help people with neurological injuries perform many types of exercises that help them recover much faster.

7. A cure for diabetes

Instead of continuous insulin injections and a controlled diet, patients with type 1 diabetes may soon have the disease controlled by stem cell implants. They will produce the necessary insulin in the body. The author says that the invention works on animals, so it is believed that it will affect humans as well.

8. Additional advancement of artificial intelligence and expansion of use

Although we have become accustomed to artificial intelligence all around us, especially with mobile phone assistants like Siri, we are looking forward to further improvements.

Advances in the use of artificial intelligence in manufacturing are expected, with several US start-ups leading the way. The richest people in the world like Bezos actively participated in the project.

9. Expanding and developing the Internet of things

The Internet of Things is certainly a concept of the future and we will all use it someday, but it has not been so widespread so far. With the development of 5G, large growth in IoT users is expected. All leading companies like Amazon are developing applications that will fit into this system. Stay tuned!

10. Increasing prevalence of quantum computers

Due to the increasing volume of work that ordinary computers have to do, the commercialization of quantum computers is underway. We expect a major leap in 2024 and to expand to various government administrations. Google, Microsoft and all the other tech giants have invested heavily in the development of quantum computers. By the end of the year, expect a new chip of unimaginable data processing speed in the market.

11. 5G will take over the primacy

Although it already hit the market in the world’s largest cities last year, it is expected to expand massively this year. The “war” between China and the USA, which will be the first to cover the entire country with the 5G network, will reach climax in 2024. For the time being, USA seems to be leading, with the help of SpaceX’s Starlink project, which will launch a large number of small satellites to further improve internet speed.

12. Autonomous vehicles

Autonomous vehicles are no longer a matter of SF films. It’s something that will become a common thing in the coming decades. There is increasing progress every year, and so will it be in 2024. What is currently an unachievable goal for all companies is the level 5 autonomy of vehicles. And that means they are completely independent of human assistance. It would not be surprising that Tesla or Volvo or some of the leading companies are approaching or achieving this goal in 2024.

13. 8K TVs

Although they already exist, they have almost no purpose because of the extremely low 8K content. New 8K cameras are expected this year, which will contribute to the advancement of TVs of this type and more widespread use. It also mentions the emergence of a TV that can roll like a picture. So far, we have not seen what it looks like or what technologies it will use to achieve it, but the leading companies in this field announce that it is not far from the final realization.

Conclusion:

Humanity is making unstoppable progress in every field, bringing us things from the future every day. We cannot wait to see what will surprise us all in 2024.

How the China Ban Uncovered the Flaws in Global Recycling

By

Дмитра Врачарић

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March 9, 2020

Since recycling started being promoted as the solution to the impact our ever-increasing amount of waste was having on our environment, it has developed into a $200 billion global industry.

Companies all over the world lined up to take this waste off our hands and turn an impressive profit in the process. But when China drastically reduced imports at the end of 2017, this lucrative trade went into crisis, uncovering the flaws in a system reliant on exporting rather than efficient domestic management.

The “National Sword” Policy

Strictly speaking, China still allows some types of plastic waste, but it has imposed such a high standard in regards to purity, that most of those working in the industry view it as a ban. The reason was that it was receiving a high amount of contaminated materials that were very difficult or impossible to recycle which was raising environmental and health concerns for both the government and the population.

The “National Sword” policy was so strict that when the announcement was made, many of those in the industry speculated that it wouldn’t actually be put into practice, but nevertheless, China and Hong Kong shifted from importing 60% of the world’s plastic recyclables at the beginning of 2017 to less than 10% when the policy started being reinforced.

This led to higher waste exports to other countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia where semi-legal and illegal recycling companies started popping up to make some easy money. But their practices quickly triggered a reaction from local environmentalists and now governments across the region are cracking down on imports.

To understand how this is affecting the local population let’s use electronic waste as an example. Unethical recycling companies will declare electronic waste as plastic and then burn it to extract the copper which they can sell. This releases noxious smoke over the surrounding villages, causing health issues. Processing of e-waste is far more toxic than that of plastic, as it contains harmful substances like lead.

All this may shift the trash from one part of the world to another but it does nothing for the environment as it does not curb air and water pollution which affects us all, no matter in which country we live.

The Basel Convention

Many of these companies cite the Basel Convention to make their practices seem legitimate. This treaty, called The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, came into effect in 1992 and it regulates the movement of hazardous waste between countries, with a focus on less developed nations.

However, it fails to offer any enforcement provisions and only requires “prior informed consent” which as we have shown with the e-waste example, can be easily sidestepped. As a result, many countries and NGOs argue that this is not enough and are pushing for a total ban.

Since the Treaty doesn’t cover plastic waste, Norway proposed to add some forms of plastic to the list of regulated materials so that shipments with these types of plastic would also require “prior informed consent”.

The EU opposes the proposal as it would stifle trade and possibly lead to more restrictions reducing the possibilities for export. But many of the facilities that are supposed to recycle this waste are not verified by their clients, they don’t check if they actually have the equipment to safely recycle the waste they’re importing.

Recycling Programs in Developed Countries Are at a Standstill

In many parts of Europe, incineration is on the rise as a temporary solution to handling the massive amounts of waste that no longer have any place to go but the landfills. In the UK, almost 11 million tons were sent to waste-to-energy plants for burning in 2018. That’s a huge difference from the 665,000 tons in 2017. Even the most advanced incinerators can still emit harmful pollutants like dioxins, a problem which has garnered strong reactions from environmentalists and scientists.

For many cities in the US, decades of reliance on China has led to a crisis, now having to reduce their previously well-established recycling programs or sending a large part of the collected materials to the landfills.

Australia is likewise struggling to handle the millions of tons of recyclable waste it was sending to China.

We might have gotten a good feeling out of putting our trash in the recycling bins, but we didn’t really give much thought to how effective or “sustainable” this practice really was.

Long-Term Solutions

The over reliance on Chinese recycling facilities has held back the development of domestic infrastructure and markets. Right now, our most cost-effective option is incineration. But over the next decade, over 100 million tons of plastic waste will need to be handled, preferably in more environmentally friendly ways.

One approach is to reduce the rate at which we produce this waste. Since the 1950s, plastic has become one of the most widespread man-made materials on our planet, with the amount doubling in the past 16 years as single use, disposable products became more common.

In an effort to reduce pollution, the UK intends to increase the taxes for plastic packaging manufacturers who use less than 30% recycled materials. You can find out more about UK recycling strategies by visiting miltek.co.uk. For the same purposes, Norway has developed a system of taxation for single-use plastic bottle. The manufacturers will pay an environmental levy which decreases with return rates and the bottles must have no toxic additives and water-soluble labels.

The European Parliament is in turn, banning single-use plastic products such as cutlery and straws. In the US, several cities and major companies are doing the same.

Hundreds of new sorting and recycling facilities will need to be built by 2025 in order to mitigate the effects of the China ban, so in the meantime, working with manufacturers to redesign packaging and reducing the amount of waste we produce is the best we can do.

We still don’t know how much the China ban will contribute to pollution but, in the long term, this wake-up call might prove to be positive as it forces us to see the importance of waste reduction and of developing better legislation and infrastructure to handle it.

Wedding Day Beauty Prep Guide for Bridesmaids – 2024 Guide

By

Billy Voss

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March 9, 2020

The wedding day is one of the important days of the lives of the bride and the groom. But this day is also a really important event for the bridesmaids and groomsmen. You’ve been honored with that title by people that love and cherish you and you definitely want to look the best on that day.

Every girl wants to look amazing at her friend’s wedding and who knows, maybe you will find the love of your life at that event. There are so many things that the brides must do so they look perfect on their special day, but the bridesmaid also needs to take care of a lot to look amazing.

Here we are going to talk about the beauty prep every bridesmaid must do before the big day. Luckily for you, you don’t have to start preparing months in advance as the bride does, but there sure are a lot of things that you have to do to look as good as you can.

Dresses

The dress is usually chosen by the bride along with her entourage, but if somehow you can pick your own dress, then you need to take care of that as soon as you can. Do you plan on changing your weight or hitting the gym before the big day? If the answer is yes, then you can pick the dress you like, but be prepared to make some changes to it. Make sure that the people in the store know about it and make sure that the last fitting is scheduled one week before the wedding.

Don’t pick anything that’s white and try to color coordinate with the other bridesmaids. If the bride does not want that, then you can pick whatever style or color you want. Try to opt for something modest that will show off your curves, but that won’t be too revealing.

Hair

There is one rule that you should not do anything drastic to your hair days before the wedding. If you want to cut it short, do that a few months before the big day. If you plan on changing the color, change it at least a few weeks before the event so that you have time to re-dye it if needed. You can even schedule a test hair appointment to have some idea of what would look the best for you and what style or color to choose.

In these cases, you need to pick a good saloon and a good hairdresser and you should trust the expert. They know what color looks best on your skin type and they know which style will look the best depending on the shape of your face. However, if you don’t like the test hairstyle, you can choose something else for the main event.

Face and Makeup

To have a nice and glowing skin you need to take care of it every day, not just before big events. Don’t forget to use the proper lotions every day on your face, exfoliate once per week and always use a night cream. If you want to keep your skin looking fresh and smooth and if you want to postpone those wrinkles and fine lines you have to remove the makeup and clean your face before you go to bed.

There are many ways to keep your skin young and not just your face. If you want to make your skin look fresh and spotless, bi-inter suggests using hyaluronic acid and vitamin c. If you have problematic skin and acne, it is smart to go to the dermatologist at least a month before the wedding.

When it comes to makeup, you should follow the same guidelines as the hair process. Try to schedule a test makeup appointment so you have some idea of what your face would look like and to basically test the skills of the person who is going to do your makeup.

If there is anything you don’t like then you should not stick with those colors and that person or cosmetic salon. Make sure that their brushes are clean and just pay attention to the little details.

Tan

If you want to have a little bit of tan, there are few ways you could do that. You can go to a tanning salon or you can do it at home. If you are doing it at home, then you need to be really careful and really smart about it.

Make sure you exfoliate your body first and that you use high-quality products. It is good if you have someone there to help you so that you don’t have spots all over your skin. Be extra careful when it comes to your face. There are a lot of self-tanning lotions that will help you do the job, and you need to follow the instructions on how much product you should use. It is also important to wear protective gloves so you don’t end up with your hands and palms looking too dark.

Try gradual tanners and do that at least a few weeks before the wedding so you have time to reapply it if needed or to exfoliate it off if you don’t like it.

Nails

Last but not least, having nails that look perfect will complete the whole look. For this, it is best to visit an expert that can get your nails done in just an hour or two. Try to combine the colors with the color of your dress or with your makeup.

They should complement your look and they should not stand out too much. Just make sure the place you are visiting has high ratings because you don’t want your nail to break just a few hours before the wedding. If you put fake nails on, try to do that at least a few weeks or a month before the big day so you can get used to them. Get them done again a few days before the wedding so you have fresh and beautiful nails.

Do you have any special way to take care of your skin and to make yourself even more beautiful? One thing you should know is that you should take care of yourself every day and not just before big events. Your skin and your hair will be glowing if you follow the right diet, drink a lot of water and if you use the right product. Don’t put too many products on and just find the combination that works for you.