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Keeping It Cool: The Rise Of Modern Temperature Control

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There is a very fine range of temperatures in which humans will feel comfortable. Even a slight variation can result in health issues which are impossible to overcome, with both heat and cold putting your body under a lot of stress. As time has gone by, people have slowly mastered this, with shade and fires being used in the past, and HVAC systems being popular in the modern world. Of course, though, temperature control has gone far further than simply keeping humans comfortable. To give you an idea of where technology like this is used, this post will be exploring some of the key uses for temperature control in the modern world.

First, though, it’s a good idea to have an understanding of how these systems work, as they aren’t too complicated. There are a few main components which can be used to create a basic temperature control system, and most people would be able to piece something like this together for their own home with just a small amount of research. You can find some examples of the pieces you’d need below.

Thermostat: Most homes use a thermostat to keep themselves at the right temperature. These small devices act like automatic switches, turning on and off when specific conditions are met. This will usually be a minimum or maximum temperature. These enables people to control the temperature of their home, while also saving the effort of turning heating on and off whenever they want to make the place more comfortable.

A Heater: Modern heaters have been around for a long time, though there are several methods which are used to achieve higher temperatures. The most common of these will involve some sort of heating element. This will be a piece of metal with very low resistance which electricity is passed through to create heat, and they are very easy to control. Along with this, though, gas burners are also very common, though these are less accurate.

A Cooler: Cooling something down is a lot more complicated than heating it up, as you have to take the heat and put it somewhere else. Liquid-filled radiators are often used for this, with air being pushed through a grid with a very high surface area to lower the temperature of the water inside. Of course, there are other ways to cool things down, with a liquid spray also having a big impact, though this is most commonly found in server applications. 

An Insulated Chamber: There isn’t much point in trying to control the temperature in an outdoor space. Instead, when approaching something like this, engineers will often start with an insulated chamber, whether this is a room, the inside of a fridge, or even a computer. This makes the process of changing the temperature far more effective, while also ensuring that proper measurements can be taken.

Where Is It Used?

Temperature control has many uses, though most people will only be able to think of one or two of them. As time has gone on, the need for this sort of technology has only been increasing, with people across the world looking for ways to take control of their environment. There are some examples of where this tech is used below, giving you the chance to develop an insight into this complex market.

In Homes: Controlling the temperature in your home is crucial if you want to stay healthy. People can’t live in places which are too hot or cold, and this is especially so for the young and old. In some places, heating is used the most, as the weather outside will be very cold. In others, though, people will use air conditioning to cool the air around them, but this is mostly in hotter places.

Fridges & Freezers: People have been using ice to keep food from going off for a very long time. In fact, long before the use of electricity for this task, people would work extremely hard to create spaces which could be kept cool, usually relying on spaces beneath the ground for this. A modern pharmacy fridge is far more complicated than this, giving medical professionals the chance to control temperatures to an incredibly fine degree. This isn’t used for food, though, instead holding samples and treatments.

Servers & Computers: Computer processors produce a lot of heat and can easily destroy themselves if they are left to their own devices. This makes it crucial that they are kept cool, and air is often used for this job. In more complex or powerful systems, though, this can get a lot more complicated. Liquids are often used, flowing in a system similar to what you’d find inside your car. Unlike a car, though, these loops have to be carefully designed, as the machines ability to work will be largely based on their temperature.

Transport: Finally, as the last use of temperature control, it’s time to think about transport. There are a lot of goods which have to be kept hot or cold during transit, and this makes moving them very difficult. To overcome this, some trucks are built like freezers, with think insulating walls, and a compressor which can be used to lower the temperature. Control is crucial for this, as it enables the companies which rely on these machines to keep their products from being wasted.

Temperature control is a lot more important than a lot of people realise. While this field isn’t anything new, there are advancements being made all the time, and this is something which most people know little about. This technology keeps your food in the right conditions, can provide you with great comfort, and, most importantly, could even save your life, making it far more crucial than you might think. Of course, though, the best tools aren’t used in homes, and you have to look further if you want to learn more about this field. Hospitals and food places are a great place to start, though you could also think about the devices you use each day.

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Financial Independence Means Having a Plan for Retirement Income

Originally Posted by Jerry Golden on silvernest.com on Jul 10, 2017 

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Maintaining your financial independence throughout your life is dependent on the plans you make to create retirement income.

When you are working, you have to decide how much to put aside for your retirement savings account. You have to plan for your kids’ education, you plan for owning or renting your primary residence, and to take care of your insurance needs, plus a whole lot of other decisions.When you approach retirement, to maintain your financial independence you need to decide where and when to retire and whether to continue working part-time. Financially, should you collect Social Security payments as soon as you can or wait as long as possible until age 70? Roll-over your 401(k) or other qualified savings? Begin a withdrawal plan, elect to annuitize your savings or a combination?

Late in retirement, your decisions might concentrate on downsizing, simplifying your finances, and reducing financial risk. Unfortunately, maintaining financial independence during this stage may require making smart decisions in the earlier stages.

At each stage, the focus should be on ensuring you have enough dependable, spendable income – for life. (The key is to find income that is guaranteed for the rest of your life.)

Financial independence means having enough income to meet your basic expenses and income you can count on.

Creating financial independence from your savings

  • Your home can be an excellent source of tax-free income. Used in moderation, a reverse mortgage can provide both income early in retirement and liquidity later in retirement.
  • Your rollover IRA acts as a replacement for a traditional pension, which most of us don’t get any more, and you can create some of the same peace of mind by allocating a portion of your IRA savings to purchase income annuities. You can also take a portion of these savings and purchase a QLAC (see below).
  • Your deferred annuities have been compounding at tax-deferred rates of return for a number of years and building a nice nest egg. Like the rollover IRA, you can exchange all or a portion for income annuities to create both secure income as well as spread out any taxes that would be due if you merely withdraw the savings.
  • Your personal savings can be a source of secure income if you have sufficient assets to generate meaningful dividends or interest. If not, take a portion of your conservative fixed investments to purchase an income annuity, which will increase the cash flow from these savings.
  • Your Social Security is an important source of guaranteed income. If you can find income from other sources until you reach age 70, you may be able to delay taking Social Security payments to maximize the payout.

How to create dependable, spendable income

In addition to Social Security or a traditional pension, a product called an income annuity is the only other way to provide guaranteed lifetime income. In return for a one-time payment, an insurance company will send you a monthly check for the rest of your life. The income can start immediately or at a later date, and there are other provisions you can apply, such as continuation of payments to a spouse.

One form of deferred income annuity called a “QLAC” or “Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract” is purchased with rollover IRA savings. It provides income in the second stage of retirement, when health expenses can be expected to increase. A QLAC starts paying out at an age you choose, usually 80 or 85. And the payouts are substantial. That’s around the age many retirees start to recognize that their savings, which seemed very large 20 years earlier, might not pay all the bills over another 5, 10 or 15 years.

Lifestyle decisions

If you decide upon retirement to move into a smaller house, you might also consider the community and services: Will you require a car? Is there a local bus or train service? Is the library or community center easy to get to?

For peace of mind, the simpler your finances are, the less likely you will need help keeping track of them. You know what to expect if your income is deposited monthly from Social Security and an income annuity. You can also set up automatic bill payments, too. That means you don’t have to rely on a financial advisor and your kids don’t have to worry, either.

When you visit Go2Income, you can research what type of annuity might best suit your needs. It will also let you determine how much income your savings can provide, based on facts, not guesses about the stock market’s future.

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Big Mistakes To Avoid Managing A Healthcare Business

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A successful business should be more than the gizmo or gadget it sells. Anyone can come up with new product ideas, after all. The reason why certain businesses succeed while many others fail is that they satisfy a need. In fact, that need is so persistent that customers can’t help but keep coming back. It’s because of this that the healthcare industry is so profitable. Whether you’re a medical professional, or merely interested in the sector, you might decide to start a healthcare business of your own. To make it a success, here are ten big mistakes to avoid. 

1. Missing Out On Planning

The decision to launch a business is certainly an exciting one, especially when your new venture intends to help many people. However, that doesn’t mean you should get ahead of yourself. Before you begin buying equipment or renting buildings, you must make a business plan. While this can be a tedious task, unless you have a plan to follow, you’ll be operating in the dark. All business plans are different, but every one must define the venture, as well as your goals for it.

Software and online assistance is also available to help improve patient care. If you run a medical spa, for example, consulting a med spa emr professional can be very helpful in this regard.

2. Forgetting About The Money

As you write your business plan, you must consider the financial side of things. Many startups launch with very little capital, but that isn’t an option for healthcare businesses. After all, there are many high costs you have to cover before you get up and running. This means that you will likely have to apply for financing. To make a profit with your venture, you should plan how to spend every penny you borrow. Make sure you also protect your money by investing in insurance. 

3. Working On Your Own

Being an experienced business person doesn’t make you a healthcare professional, just like being a healthcare professional won’t make you a successful business person. Unless you’re an expert in both topics, you must have plenty of support from those that are. Often, this means finding yourself a business mentor. Being an entrepreneur is a time-consuming task, so you will need employees too. It also helps to outsource certain tasks, like accounting and marketing. 

Another task to outsource is the contracting process. When it comes to managed care contracting, the help of a reputable firm can transform this headache into a much easier process and maybe even a competitive advantage.

4. Hiring Unfit Employees

While you will need plenty of help to make your business a success, you shouldn’t hire just anyone. Where healthcare ventures are concerned, it’s particularly important that you employ individuals that are qualified for the positions. You must also make sure that they have similar values to yourself and the rest of the team. Hiring people unsuitable for your business will put a strain on other employees. This will impact morale and productivity, which could affect patients.

5. Avoiding The Essential Purchases

Managing a healthcare business isn’t cheap. However, that doesn’t mean you should avoid spending. There are many purchases you have to make for your venture to be a success, such as medications and medical fridges from Ethicheck Ltd. Avoiding buying these things will make it harder, if not impossible, for you to do your job. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t spend more than you have to, so make sure you shop around for great deals and haggle with suppliers for money off. 

6. Paying Yourself Too Little

Paying yourself a small salary is a mistake many new business owners make, particularly in the healthcare sector. The reason for this is that many entrepreneurs get into healthcare because they want to help others, rather than make money. As a result, they pay themselves less to compensate for the emotional rewards. However, even with the other benefits, you need a decent salary to live. Because of this, you should try taking home a percentage of the revenue.

7. Neglecting That Marketing Plan

Without marketing, no one will know that your healthcare venture exists. The same is true for any other business out there. This means that you won’t make money and will likely go under. Thankfully, there are many marketing tactics that you could try. If you’re working with a small budget, digital marketing strategies, like social media and content marketing, can be effective. This is a task you should definitely outsource if you don’t have the knowledge to do it yourself.

8. Being Inaccessible To Patients

The location of your healthcare business is key. Effective marketing won’t do you any good if your practice is located in an inaccessible area. Sick and injured people don’t want to travel far for treatment, so your premises must be easy to reach. It’s also important that the building has parking spaces and public transport routes nearby. This means that even those a little further away can become a patient at your practice. The premises should be big enough to grow too.

9. Ignoring Any Local Competition

What seems like a perfect location will be proven not to be if there is another practice nearby. Unlike retail stores, most people visit only one pharmacy or doctor surgery. If you were to open a healthcare business close to another one, you would probably struggle to find patients. Picking an area with no other practices nearby means that people are likely to come to you. When this isn’t possible, you must find ways to stand out, such as by offering treatments that others don’t.

10. Growing Way Too Quickly

Growth is a goal every business should have, regardless of industry. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t attempt to scale your healthcare venture too quickly. Even with money coming in, you must consult your budget before any big purchase. The last thing you want is to overspend and be left with too little to cover operating costs. Growth won’t happen by itself, but it should do so naturally. If you try to force your new business to grow, you’re likely to cause disastrous problems. 

Launching a healthcare business definitely isn’t easy. Even experts in healthcare, business, or both don’t know all there is to know about the topics. This can result in some very serious mistakes being made. Hopefully, with the advice above, you can avoid harming your venture and make it a success instead. 

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When IT Doesn’t Work

There is no business without IT, but more importantly, there is no sustainable business without reliable IT solutions. Indeed, IT is at the core of your everyday processes, helping you to organize your workload, manage customer demands, handle transactions, and maintain your communication activities. You wouldn’t picture an office without a computer or a laptop. But while we can’t imagine working without direct access to technology, we sometimes struggle to make the most of our IT solutions. Indeed, when IT doesn’t work, businesses are left without any further option to carry out with their day-to-day jobs. More to the point, poor IT system can have dramatic consequences on your company. Here’s why you don’t want bad IT: 

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It affects your business rep

Your IT is the bridge that connects you to your audience. In the age of DIY digital businesses, you can’t afford to neglect your IT solutions. Indeed, poor setup or lack of setup plans can not only cause delays, but it can also hinder your customer relationship. Your customers want to be able to visit your website and interact with your brand without hitting the unpleasant 404 or 500 error page, for instance. Additionally, another setup issue could occur for self-made sites when the contact form isn’t correctly linked to a mailbox. As a result, your business doesn’t appear professional. 

It slows you down

Things break. Even with the best of care, your IT system might fail to update properly or hit unexpected roadblocks. However, without dedicated IT consultancy services, you might find your team struggling to get past issues. Indeed, IT downtime is unpleasant. But with professional troubleshooting and monitoring, you can avoid issues – or get them fixed rapidly. Getting in touch with an IT specialist and making an emergency repair appointment could cost you precious time when you don’t have a dedicated team. 

It costs you money

How much does IT downtime cost you? According to Gartner, the average cost ranks at around $5,600 per minute. However, the majority of companies report that one hour of downtime can cost a whopping $100,000 or more. For global companies, however, the cost of one hour is measured in millions. Ultimately, downtime means failure to process transactions, inability to carry on projects and meet deadlines, and potential loss of customers who turned to a competitor for their needs. The real question is: how much money can you afford to lose? 

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It costs you your team

Finally, your team gets frustrated. Nobody wants to get ready for work just to be met with the blue screen of a failed update, or to be stuck offline all day. Gradually, the frustration can feed their job dissatisfaction. Indeed, your employees don’t want to feel stressed out to meet tight deadlines as a result of your IT problems. Additionally, they don’t want to waste their time trying to maneuver their tasks around IT obstacles. In the long term, if IT disrupts their work, they’re likely to look elsewhere for a new employer. 

IT breaks, and it’s unavoidable. Not everything works all the time. But being able to rely on a professional team for support can ensure that your downtime won’t have any lasting, negative effect on your company. 

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Making The Most Of Being A “Homepreneur”

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As a way to express ourselves, it can seem that so many people out there are thinking about setting up a freelance business and following that trend of being a “homepreneur” where you set up a business from home. But is this a truly effective way to acquire professional and personal freedom? Let’s break down the trend and see what it can really do for us personally and professionally.

Getting Out More

Working at home means that you are, in one respect, operating with the blinders on. You may not be able to get a proper sense of the industry as a whole at home. In one respect, it’s helpful to stay away from bad influences, but conversely, you need to find the right ways to harness business help wherever possible. Because we can fly blind, especially at the outset, we need to make sure that we are protecting our business as much as possible. Minimizing naivety is crucial. And whether this is through IT protection like Safebit Solutions, or actually getting out there and networking with other entrepreneurs to capture a true sense of what is going on, we certainly need to get out more than we would stay in.

Understanding The Difference Between Your Work Life And Home Life 

One of the most agonizing aspects of working at home is that your work life and your home life are under the same roof. You need to understand the difference between the two, not just for the benefit of how you work but also how the people that live with you can fare better under the constraints. In one respect, you are better off setting up a home office far away from proceedings, but also, you’ve got to learn how to avoid checking those emails at 11 at night. It’s a very hard thing to get right, but one of the key components is all about discipline, in work and outside of it…

Bringing A Sense Of Discipline To Your Work 

Because being at home comes with a plethora of distractions, you’ve got to learn how to focus on the task at hand. It all depends on the time of day in which you work, as well as how many people are at home at the same time. A lot of people fare better by working a more twilight shift. But once you decide how you work best, that is when you will learn how to focus more. It’s always worth setting up some ground rules, especially if you have children.

Minimizing Loneliness

In an emotional sense, working at home by yourself means that you are, for a lot of the time, by yourself. Minimizing loneliness may not be a problem, especially if you’ve got a million things to do and plenty of people to speak to. But also, you’ve got to be aware of how isolating it can be. If you feel yourself getting like this, you work from home with a remote internet connection, so you can shake it up a bit and go somewhere else!

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Must-Have Tools To Improve Freelance Life 100%

The working world has been changing, and there are more people than ever that work from home, or that work as a freelancer. There are rising number of people that are skilled in what they do, but are choosing to work from home with a freelance career. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that when you work from home, you could actually be more productive and efficient, as well as saving time and money. But because things have changed in the way that we work, we need to give ourselves some time to equip ourselves with the kinds of skills and tools that are going to improve freelance life, especially if you’re new to it all. So with that in mind, here are some essential online tools that can help digital nomads improve and be the best that they can be.

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Organization 

If you are someone who tends to have quite a few tabs open on your computer, but can’t get away from it all, because you want to keep them for some point down the line, then you need some tools that are going to help to keep things really organized. You could use a tool like OneTab as a way to declutter, which is a browser extension tool that puts tabs all into a list. You could also use boards on a site like Pinterest, as it means you can bookmark things for later. Can be handy when you need to save client pages, and so on. 

Sharing of files

If you have often been sharing files with clients, for example, graphic artists or photographers will have large files to send to others, then you will want to use a platform that is going to make a massive difference and speed things up a little. You could use a VPN to help you to file share with other clients, as it can mean that you can send things much more quickly as you are using a private network. A VPN can also help to keep data and files secure, which, depending on what kind of freelance work you do, could be of paramount importance for your clients. There are different providers of VPNs to choose from, so make sure you look up something like an Opera free VPN review to see what the pros and cons are. It can be simple to do but it does make a difference.

Time Management

If you are someone who has to balance work and life, as well as someone who does things by the hour, then you need to make sure that you are using your time wisely, as well as tracking how long you spend on certain projects. Software like Toggl can let you keep track of your working hours quite easily, and you can assign out the time for the different clients that you are working for. The software can also generate some weekly or monthly reports, which can be a great way to help you keep track.

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Can You Make Your Business Seem Better Established?

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Running a small business is a serious undertaking. Of course, that’s not to say that it isn’t hugely exciting and rewarding because it is, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore just how much work you’ll need to put in. This is especially true for a startup where you a) don’t have that much experience in the business world, and b) are usually working with a pretty small team, perhaps even on your own. This means that it’s pretty easy for mistakes to slip through the cracks. Mistakes that get made in the early stages of a business’s life can have some serious and long-reaching consequences in the future. Fortunately, a lot of them are relatively common and, once you know what they are, they’re pretty easy to avoid. With that in mind here are some of the most common startup mistakes and how you can make sure that you don’t make them.

Overdoing your marketing

Now, this is not to say that marketing isn’t a massively important part of any business because of course, it is. The issue that a lot of startups run into however is that they assume that by throwing out at much marketing as possible then they’re definitely going to bring in the maximum number of customer. This is not only incorrect but ends up being a serious waste of time, energy, and money. Instead, what you should do is to make sure that you’re marketing precisely and effectively. The only way to make sure that you’re doing this is to do your research. Figure out who your target customer and what the most effective marketing methods are to connect with them.

Neglecting your IT

This one is especially true for smaller startups who assume that a well-managed IT infrastructure isn’t something that their business really needs. In the age of DIY online businesses, it’s easy to assume that you don’t need any support to get by but that’s simply not true. Without well-managed IT solutions, you’re going to end up hitting roadblock after roadblock. Ironically if your IT isn’t up to scratch, then the issues will only get more pronounced as the business grows and the strain on your infrastructure increases. By setting up your IT services early on, you avoid any delays or problems further down the road.

Getting too ambitious

It’s important to look to the future, and it’s just as important to think about growing your business, but that doesn’t mean you should let your reach exceed your grasp. Far too many startups end up getting into trouble because they try to grow too fast in a way that ends up being unsustainable. They simply can’t handle the increased expectations and responsibility that comes with running a larger business. Instead, make sure that you’re always working at a level that your business can actually sustain, otherwise you could end up in some serious trouble.

Looking amateurish

It’s surprisingly common for a lot of people to pass over smaller businesses in favor of better-established ones simply because they assume that it’s going to be a safer bet. People tend to see bigger businesses as more reliable and imagine that they would offer higher quality work. It’s your job to try and prove those expectations wrong. As well as improving your web design and overall branding, there are plenty of things that you can do in order to make your business seem bigger and more well established. A virtual office and answering service like VHQ answering services, complete with well-trained receptionists, can make even the smallest home business look well established and professional. It might seem odd to need to do something like this but customer perception is an essential part of business success.

One of the most common mistakes that a lot of people make is that they assume that it’s going to be easy if their business is small. After all, there’s certainly something to be said for how much easier it is to run a smaller business than a larger corporation. However, it’s also important to remember that your business often grows alongside you which means that you’re going to be far more capable as your business expands. In the early days, your business might be small, but you may be inexperienced and unable to fully handle all of the challenges that come with running any kind of business. Understanding this and being able to adjust the way that you do things in order to really make the most of your business is an essential step that you simply cannot ignore.

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A Lifelong Journey: Learning How To Be A Better Driver When Everyone Else Is Terrible!

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How much time do you spend behind the wheel of a car? It’s something that most of us have to do, whether it’s for your job or you’re the only one in your household that can do it. And over time, it can serve to increase our frustration, but also, if we want to get anywhere, we start to imitate those around us and take their terrible skills on board. Before we know it, our ability to drive goes down the drainpipe, and it’s because everyone around us is operating in the same haphazard manner. But driving better doesn’t have to be a difficult thing to attain; and if you really want to make a difference on the road, improve your commute, or just feel less stressed behind the wheel, try a few of these approaches… 

Truly Get An Appreciation Of Everyone Else Around You

As drivers, we can be absurdly single-minded, and only focus on our journey. But this means we don’t get a true appreciation of what’s going on around us. Sometimes we have to get a different perspective, and we can do this in simple ways. We could get a dual dash cam, which is something that many drivers now utilize on the road, not just to recognize the idiots that are causing near misses but also, giving ourselves an appreciation of the things we might very well not have noticed on the journey. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and if we can get a better perception of what’s going on around us, it’s the perfect place to start.

Stop Speeding 

We start to imitate others around us because we feel that pressure. And when it comes to something like speeding, if everybody else is doing 5 miles over the limit, and they are doing that passive-aggressive thing to you because they’re stuck behind you and you were “only” going the limit, that temptation to speed up can develop into a full-blown habit. Speed limits are there for a reason. If you stop speeding, you’re not going to cause an accident, and you won’t have your license taken off you!

Stop Being In A Hurry

We are forever in a rush to get somewhere, and we witness this by the people risking their lives to take over us on a quiet road, but there’s a lesson to be learned here. If we are forever in a rush, then clearly we’re not leaving enough time to get to our destination, but also, being in a rush means we start to take risks that we wouldn’t if we had more time. It’s something you see all of the time. People cutting across all four lanes to get to an exit, and this is such a major mistake that could cause one massive accident, but the lesson is simple, if you are always in a hurry, bad habits will always up.

And probably the biggest lesson we can all learn is to address our own bad habits. One of the best ways to do this is, unfortunately, to have them checked by a professional. Being a good driver isn’t just about passing your test, it is a lifelong journey.

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Three Ways To Make Your Life Greener

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We are living in a world that is on the edge of extinction. We have very little of our precious time left to fix the issues that humanity has caused to our beautiful planet. Climate scientists agree that we need to act, as the effects of the years of abuse on the environment will become unrepairable. It is believed that if we change our ways now, we can stem the tide and help to overcome the problems that the world is today facing. 

Governments hold climate summits, and politicians, business leaders, and scientists talk it out. But progress is far slower than it needs to be. With most of the world falling short of its agreed targets to reduce carbon emissions, drastic action is required. 

While governments can legislate, or seek to gradually prevent certain practices that cause the world the worst harm, this change is slow. It takes businesses to get fully behind it and start to put the health of the planet before the health of their profits. It takes us, as individuals, to stop certain behaviors and adopt a much more conscientious approach to dealing with the issues that we are facing right now. 

You may be asking yourself, what can you do? When you are just one person, how can you help to change the world? Well, if you start to adopt new ways of dealing with things, and you can help one other to do the same. Eventually, a more significant proportion of us will be adopting greener lifestyles. Here are a few things that you can do to help to combat the climate crisis. 

Water Conservation

The world is at risk of coming under the grips of a drinking water shortage. It is estimated that by 2025, over a quarter of the world’s population will no longer have access to clean, safe drinking water. 

There is enough water on the planet to cover 70% of its surface. Yet 0.007% of the water on the earth is actually safe to drink. We have a growing population who all need to drink and wash. Then, we use good clean water for farming, giving to animals that are bred for food, washing your cars, filling up swimming pools, flushing toilets, and watering the garden. And in many countries, people act as though our water supplies will last forever. However, in South Africa recently, they discovered that it may not be the case. When it’s water supplies dropped to around 20% of the average capacity, the government was on the verge of permanently switching off the state-owned water supply to Cape Town and the surrounding areas, meaning the people of the country would not have running water. Fortunately, the South African citizens adapted to the changes it needed to make to help to conserve enough water so that they could keep it open. 

Although that crisis was averted, others may not be. But there are things that you can in your life so that you are less wasteful of water. Firstly, have a look at getting slimline water tanks fitted to harvest as much rainwater as possible. This can then be used for all manner of things such as toilet flushing, to watering the garden. You should adopt a more cautious attitude to the amount of water that you are using. Think about showering instead of having a bath. If you do shower, cutting the length of time that you are in there by just a minute or two will help to save a considerable amount of water. 

Stop Burning Fossil Fuels

Many of the world’s largest energy suppliers are still burning fossil fuels to provide us with electricity. This creates a dangerous amount of pollution which the environment cannot handle. With fewer trees on the planet, much of the carbon that gets emitted is not getting processed through photosynthesis.

If your energy company still insists on using coal to fuel its power stations, have a look at what alternative companies there are in your area that can supply fully renewable power for you. With so many wind, solar, and hydroelectric plants out there, there is no reason why you should be getting clean energy in your home. 

There are other things that you can do here too. Make sure and turn everything off when it is not in use. Even leaving things on standby uses up power. Turn off lights if you are not in the room. These things will also help to reduce your electricity bill considerably too. 

Buying appliances that have good energy efficiency ratings will be helpful too. That will mean you will use less power to run them. Similarly, use lower wattage, energy-saving lights throughout your home. 

Driving Ourselves To The Edge

If you are a motorist, there are ways that you can help the environment out considerably. One of the main things that you can do will be to choose environmentally considerate cars. If you are planning on buying a new car at any time soon, have a look at an electric model. If that is not an option for you, there are also hybrid cars. If you must buy a petrol-engined vehicle, get a small one, with a low emissions rating. 

If you can, start sharing rides wherever you go. If you can give somebody a lift in your car that may have otherwise driven to the same place as you, you will be helping to reduce the number of cars on the roads. 

If you can walk somewhere, try and get into the habit of doing so. It may not be as convenient as taking the car. However, it is better for your health and the health of the planet. 

If your employer offers a cycle to work scheme, take them up on it. Using bikes to get around is an excellent way of reducing your own carbon footprint. They may be able to help with the costs involved in buying the bike in the first place. 

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How Your Freelance Business Could Gain Customers This Year

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Being a freelancer in the modern world can be a very rewarding career path. Of course, it requires a lot of dedication and perseverance. When you become a freelancer, you have to appreciate the fact that you’re not just starting a new career; you’re starting a new business. So, if you want to be successful in this highly competitive marketplace, you need some entrepreneurial skills as well as some skills in your particular professional field. If you’re going to sell marketing copy to companies, for instance, then you’ll need to be knowledgeable with regards to the latest marketing practices in the business world and you’ll need to be a skilled wordsmith. However, if you don’t know how to push your own company out there, you’ll struggle to build up a substantial client base. So, let’s talk about how your freelance business could gain customers this year.

Create a trustworthy brand.

Firstly, if you want to gain customers this year, you should create a trustworthy brand for your business. People don’t care whether they buy their products and services from a solo entrepreneur or a huge corporation with a large workforce. Consumers just want high-quality goods from reputable brands. So, if you want to turn heads in your particular target market, you need to prove that your company is reliable. For starters, you should aim to gain good reviews from your existing customers. This will boost your reputation in the industry.

But you can go further than good reviews. You should focus on your business’ security. In today’s digital world, plenty of companies have been hacked. When customers see that their data has been leaked, they struggle to trust that business in the future. Consumers want to know that their details are safe when they purchase something from a company. Take steps to keep your data safe. Update your firewalls frequently, get help from IT experts to test your system for weak spots, and so on. In turn, you’ll create a trustworthy brand for your business.

Work on your online campaign.

You should also work on your online campaign if you want to gain customers. Everybody searches for the goods they want on the internet in the modern age. Obviously, most modern freelancers are based online because it’s much easier for solo entrepreneurs to operate that way. Still, the point is that you should focus on digital marketing if you want to reach the largest number of potential customers in your industry. You could get help from an SEO company if you’re struggling to increase your website’s ranking on search engines. Showing up at the top of the first search result page is your goal. That’ll increase the likelihood of you reaching potential clients. After all, people don’t often go beyond the first page of results.

Start a referral scheme.This is another way in which your business could gain customers this year. You might want to start a referral scheme so as to encourage your existing clients to bring in new clients. If customers see that they’ll receive rewards such as discounted prices or even free gifts, they’ll feel more inclined to spread the word about your company to their friends and family. For every person that they successfully refer to your business, you could give them rewards. There should also be a reward for the person who’s been referred to you. That way, it’s a fantastic opportunity for both of them. And, obviously, it’ll benefit your freelance company in the long run because your customer base will grow. You should keep offering rewards to your existing customers to maintain loyal relationships with them, of course.

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