Often when we near retirement, seniors have big dreams of all the places they want to visit. However, as we get older, traveling often isn’t quite the delight we hoped it would be. Although it can be great fun traveling to new places and meeting new people, the logistics of traveling can be challenging for many seniors.This is especially true if you are traveling alone. However, with some advance planning, you can make your next trip much more pleasant and enjoyable. Here are some travel tips that I follow myself, to make sure my trips are as enjoyable as possible.First, consider your particular health conditions. If you need to take medication daily and you are traveling internationally, it is important to make sure that you always carry medications and copies of your medication list with you at all times. Never check your medications in airline baggage, as you may be facing a life threatening situation if your baggage gets lost.Second, plan well in advance. Although spontaneity is great for many things in life, as we age, making well thought out travel plans is very important. This is especially true for those who face mobility challenges. For example, if you have trouble standing in lines for a long time or climbing stairs, then you will want to avoid situations that requires this. Ask the questions you need to ask before you leave on your trip.Third, make back up plans as well. Even the best plans can backfire, and having a contingency plan for when things do not go as planned is important as well. Although the idea of making not one, but two (and maybe even three) travel itineraries may seem overwhelming, if things go wrong you will be very happy you made the effort.Four, travel as lightly as possible. You do not need the added difficulty of lugging heavy bags around. There are some wonderful new luggage models that have very useful features such as wheels and multiple handles. Don’t go with the cheapest you can find either, as you want your luggage to be durable and last.Finally, always think about safety. Seniors are often the target of pickpockets and thieves. Consider investing in a money belt, and maybe even carry a decoy purse or wallet with only a little money in it in case you get robbed.With proper thought and preparation, you will find that your journeys are much more comfortable, safe and enjoyable!
Start Buying Rental Property With This 5-Step Process
If you’re very new to all of this, you’re probably wondering how to dive in to the wonderful world of buying rental property. I’ll share with you what worked for me, and it involves 5 specific steps:- Find a good real estate agent
- Practice running the numbers
- Conduct physical inspections (drive-by’s & showings)
- Make an offer & negotiate
- Manage the contract processSTEP #1: FIND A GOOD REAL ESTATE AGENTEventually, you will need your own “team,” including a real estate agent, mortgage broker, insurance broker, title company, attorney, home inspector, and a handful of trustworthy contractors. But with the exception of a real estate agent, your team does not need to be brought together right out of the gate. You will gradually assemble it as you go.STEP #2: PRACTICE RUNNING THE NUMBERSAsk your new broker to send you all the active 2-8 unit multifamily rental property listings in your target area, and practice running the numbers to identify the most beneficial ones. As long as you know a simple formula and have a few key numbers from the property, can use those numbers to do rapid-fire “back of the envelope” calculations to quickly screen properties for financial practicality. Read my property valuation article to learn how to do this.STEP #3: CONDUCT PHYSICAL INSPECTIONSOnce you have a list of financially viable multifamily rental properties, take some time to do drive-by’s. Whether the numbers work or not, you do not want to get any property in an especially bad area (in fact, you’ll find that the numbers usually work best in such areas…you get what you pay for!). Plus, while not a flawless science, if the outside looks like it’s falling apart you may want to pass.After this process, you will have a list of maybe 3 or 4 properties to look at with your Realtor, instead of, say, 10 or 15. Have your Realtor schedule weekly showings, and bring a notebook to jot down notes so you can later use this info to adjust your bid amount.Keep physically inspecting properties with your agent in this manner every week and do not get discouraged. The majority of rental properties you come across will be poorly maintained and/or overpriced. Tenants beat them up, and many, many landlords could care less about maintaining their investment.So, buying rental property takes time. All I can say is be patient, and remember that the more deals you inspect, the better deal you are likely to get when you finally pull the trigger.STEP #4: MAKE AN OFFER & NEGOTIATEOk, so you’ve run a bunch of initial numbers, did a bunch of drive-by’s, and physically inspected a bunch of hot prospects with your agent. Finally, you’ve found a 2-8 unit multifamily rental property you’d like to purchase. Time to negotiate!STEP #5: MANAGE THE CONTRACT PROCESSYippee, your offer was accepted! So now what? Well, there are various steps that round out the process of buying rental property:- Get the property “under contract”
- Initiate title work; note that some states require an attorney
- Conduct a property inspection
- Get an appraisal
- Arrange financing
- Get property insurance
- Get a property survey
- Review settlement documents and close the dealThis may seem complicated if you happen to be new to all of this, but it’s really not. After you go through the entire process once, you’ll be ready to start buying rental property like there’s no tomorrow!
Public Education Can Save Our Country
Public education is broken. I wanted to grab your attention with something much more impactful. But the way I see it, what has more impact than the absolute and simple truth? Our public education system is broken and it has been for a long time.
Some of us believe it is the responsibility of our elected officials. Others think our communities can fix it. Parental involvement is the answer for many. “If only we had more funding” is another cry. They are all right.
Of course, the debate continues about No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Remember, this is the measure which was passed in January 2002 during the Bush Administration. It requires states test all students in certain subjects every year to be sure they are prepared for college. I don’t believe the problem is entirely about NCLB; it’s about public education in general. However, this initiative has had such an impact, mentioning one practically begs a mention of the other.
NCLB was supposed to fill in the gaps of public education. It was likely intended to do just as it says…leave no child behind. The goal is admirable, but the execution has a detrimental effect on how children are taught. We tried to solve the problem with one sweeping measure. There is no one answer and no one entity with the complete solution.
The reason I see the problem of public education in the United States as a national issue, and not an individual, family, group, regional, or even state issue, is very simple. Let me use myself as an example. I am not an educator or a student. I do not have a child in the public school system, or any school system. But I am a citizen of this country and have a vested interest in its present well-being and hope for its future. So, it is my problem. It is our problem.
We all know the future of this country and our place in the world depends on our children. How they fare and compete on the world’s stage depends on their access to quality education. That is why I am so afraid.
We are not preparing our children to compete. We are not teaching them to think. We are not teaching them to react. We are not teaching them to create. We are not teaching them at all. We are preparing them for tests. We are filling them with facts, having them regurgitate them at the appropriate time, in the appropriate format to attain the appropriate score.
Creativity, individuality, and inventiveness are practically discouraged. If a child shows too much individuality in the way she learns, acts, or interacts, she is considered inappropriate. She is relegated to a special class, isolated, or even worse, medicated.
We live in an age of entrepreneurs and innovators. The time has passed when we stay on a job at a factory for 25-30 years or even in a corporate cubicle for that long. We are not training our children to be innovative in the workplace, or to build businesses like the type built by the entrepreneurs and solopreneurs that are the backbone of my own industry, virtual business assistance.
The Public Education Network’s (PEN) National Survey of Public Opinion lists 10 key findings in its Survey of Public Opinion about our responsibility for our educational system. Top among those were:
1. Education continues to be a top national priority, even in the midst of war and concern about the economy, joblessness, and healthcare.
2. Americans want funding for public education protected from budget cuts, and they want to see more public investment in education.
3. The jury is still out on No Child Left Behind. [1]
What does this tell us about what we need to do to fix our broken system?
We have to stop making education a mere campaign promise and make it a policy priority for our elected officials. Any official who does not fulfill his promises to improve public education, especially our national officials, should not be re-elected.
Realize quality education comes at a cost. We must be willing to pay our teachers a competitive wage so that we can attract the best and brightest…or provide tax and other benefits to supplement their salaries. Be open to studying tenure and pay for performance as options for teachers. Even if these are not the best or only options for improvement, let’s at least consider them and be open to new, inventive options.
Consider a moratorium on NCLB, nationally, or on the state or local levels. This measure affects too many of our children to continue with so many unsure of the long-term consequences. If a moratorium is not practical, at least reconsider the amount of funding for the program so that schools are able to place more focus on traditional or creative teaching methods as well.
The results of the 2008 National Poll and the Civic Index for Quality Public Education conducted by the PEN shows that over 63 per cent of us do not think public officials are held accountable for the status of public education. Four in 10, nationally, and over one third of local respondents think our schools are declining. [2]
We have an election coming up on November 2, 2010. Let’s not forget education when we go to the polls. We can save the future of our country.
[1] 2004 NATIONAL SURVEY OF PUBLIC OPINION Learn. Vote. Act. The Public’s Responsibility for Public Education
[2] Public Education Network, Community Accountability for Quality Schools, Results of the 2008 National Poll and the Civic Indexor Quality Public Education
Top 5 Reasons to Take Office Space in Austin, Texas
Deciding to move office space is a big move for any company. Executive suites, cubicle space, window offices, conference rooms; the choice of commercial real estate is endless, as is the choice of location.
If you’re considering moving to US office space and you want to move somewhere hot then Texas could be the ideal choice for you.
Hot, humid and vast; Texas is the perfect location for any business. But where’s the best place to take office space in Texas? Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth are all great locations for commercial property in the Texas area but in my view, nothing can beat Austin.
Why’s Austin such a fantastic choice to take office space in Texas? You’d better read on!
1. Austin is the capital of Texas. This means it has a growing population, which currently stands at around 790,000 people, so you’ll never be short of employees or customers. The city of Austin was christened 2nd Best Big City in “Best Places to Live” by Money magazine in 2006 and according to Travel magazine ranks as number 1 on the list of cities with the best people.
2. Austin office space is rich and plentiful. Affordable pricing, stylish interiors and versatile floor space means it’s one of the top office space locations in Texas. As a result, the city’s office space is home to 3 of the Fortune 500 companies – Whole Foods Market, Forestar Group and Freescale Semiconductor. Dell also has an office in the city, while earlier this year Facebook announced plans to build a new downtown office in Austin, which could bring around 200 jobs to the area.
3. Austin is hot, hot, hot! The city has a sub-tropical climate which means that it experiences hot summers and mild winters. This makes it ideal for companies who hate the cold and enjoy warm winters.
4. The city of Austin is a fantastic choice for technology and defence companies thanks to a steady stream of graduates from The University of Texas at Austin. As a result, Austin is known as major centre for high-tech and boasts a large number of major technology companies such as Apple, Google and AMD.
5. Austin’s official slogan is “The Live Music Capital of the World”, which reflects the city’s vibrant music scene. The city is full of nightclubs, particularly on 6th Street and Austin’s annual film and music festival, South by Southwest, attracts thousands of tourists each year.
In conclusion, Austin might not be the most high profile city in the United States but it’s certainly a fantastic choice for commercial real estate for any business.
10 Easy Saddle Fitting Tips
If you want a good fit take a few minutes and answer these basic questions.
1. How much does your horse weigh? If a 1000 lbs or more, look to a Full Quarterhorse Bar (FQHB)/wide saddle.
2. What kind of withers does your horse have? Mutton-withered? Look to a FQHB if your horse is anywhere close to a 1000 lbs. i.e. 900 lbs or more.
3. Consider your horse’s back. Is he wide or narrow? Can’t tell? A wide back will require a FQHB. A narrow back will need a semi-quarterhorse bars.
4. Is your horse short backed? Look for a shorter skirt or round skirt saddle. You don’t want the saddle skirts to rub the horse’s hips.
5. Is your horse gaited? Seriously consider a gaited saddle. Gaited saddles have more rock with wider bars in the front and are smaller in the back to allow for the movement of their shoulders.
6. What is your budget? Be reasonable in your expectations. Leather saddles cost more than cordura saddles. You will find few leather saddles for under $500, so be realistic. Most of the time you will get what you pay for.
7. Consider what you are going to do with this saddle. Yes, the trail saddle looks nice, but you won’t rope off of it for long.
8. What seat size do you need to look for?
9. What saddle pad will work? Most horses do not need special pads, but some horses do. Think about what will work, and do the necessary research.
10. Answer all the questions. All these questions need to be considered to insure a good fit. If you don’t answer all the questions you may find a saddle that fits and you might not.
5 Tips on Product Marketing in a Video
Businesses have taken their marketing techniques a notch higher, and now enters stiff competition. Without effective promotions, your business will lag behind. Here, on this page, you will learn how to create a kick ass videos for marketing your products.
The best way to ensure you get happy clients is by building a solid business that will satisfy their needs. But while you might have the very products they need, presenting to them is another thing worth considering. Marketing is all about creating awareness and convincing potential customers to purchase or subscribe to your products or services. As a business owner, there are many marketing solutions out there, but choosing one that will be effective and remain so for quite a long time will not only cut down the costs of marketing but also increase the profitability of your business. Video marketing is high, mighty and trending. Let’s get into the details of marketing products effectively using video.
Writing the Script
Before getting down to produce a video, a master plan or blueprint bust be laid down. A video script is a written description of every visual and audio element, the same way an architect plans and specifies every detail of a building. Like all movies, marketing videos are made on paper first before they are actualized visually. In order to write a good script for a product video, consider the following:
1. Brevity is next to genius: Keep the script of the video short even though length here depends on the kind of audience you are targeting. According to research, a captive audience endures just about 6 to 8 minutes before beginning to slowly drift. That would be in an auditorium, but when it comes to internet videos, the longest threshold audiences register averages between 2 and 4 minutes. Therefore, avoid unnecessary lengthiness in your product videos.
2. The first 30 seconds count: What’s your video about? Put that in one sentence and map it in the first 30 seconds of the script. Your audience will know what to pay attention to in the video.
3. Speak to the audience directly: Here, personal pronouns such as “your” and “you” come in handy. Ensure that you engage the audience as much as possible by showing them the aspects of your product they are interested in. Don’t waste their time by telling them what they already know.
4. The right tone: To find the right tone, you need to create a mental picture of your clients first. There is need to write a sentence on why you are making the video and then describe exactly what you want the viewers to do about it at the end.
5. Tell a story: Simple enough – present a problem in a way your audience will relate to, and then be quick to provide a solution when writing the script. Dry facts never make the cut in online marketing.
Video Content for Product Promotion
With that knowledge on writing a killer video scripts, the next question is what content to include in the video in order to make it effective in presenting your product to the market. Here’s are 5 tips on what to include in your product video.
1. Feature the Product
Just like in the movies, there should be a star, and this time the star is the product. Showcase the features of the product in a good portion of the video. Obviously people are watching the video to see what the product is like, so while shooting the video, show multiple angles of the item. Shooting close-ups will help show off the product’s features and details. The main aim here is to show the best side of the product, so it is recommended that, if possible, shoot the video in wide screen and high definition, paying close attention to things like lighting to avoid harsh shadows.
2. Include Customer Reviews
Most of the times, a video beats written product reviews because they can easily and quickly demonstrate to the customer all the ABCs of a product. But there is more to that – real customers can be featured pitching in a word or two about the product. Therefore, collect some customer reviews and include them in the product video.
3. Pros and Cons
One of the reasons why people will view your product video is authenticity. But how do you add this to your videos? Reviewing the pros and cons will help add some touch of authenticity to your video. You don’t want to look biased in the review, so it is important to ensure that you meet the customer’s expectations by including a section on the shortfalls of the product, though you can really foreground the positives so to avoid undoing the purpose of the video in the end.
4. Personal Opinion
Customers want to know the personal opinion of the reviewer. Since your opinion counts, it will make the product review become unique. Therefore, you have to be that person who has used the product before, just after creating it so you know exactly how it is using it. Let the audience know your comment about the product. For what purpose do you recommend it? How is the product different from those already in the market? Answering this will lead you into giving a personal opinion about the product.
5. Call-to-Action
A very important element often forgotten by people when creating their product videos – the call-to-action. This is what should tell all your viewers what to do next. This part of the video needs to be very direct, specific and with a smooth transition. For instance: Get the best deal on X product by ordering online NOW. That way, the purpose of your video will be complete.
Overall, the quality of your video should be great; no fuzzy images and inaudible or inconsistent sound. Product videos should never go wrong. Where there is need, hire professionals to produce such videos for your business to take it to the next level. Video production at Kickerinc is an example of the kind of service a business can use to create highly engaging customer videos.
Attention Brides – Choose an Online Bridal Shop Smartly
Why Shop from an Online Bridal Shop?
The element of time is crucial when wedding planning. Everything must be ready months before the wedding starting with the bridal gown down to the littlest detail. Brides are burdened with all the shopping details for her own outfit, bridesmaid dresses, wedding invitations, cakes, and wedding favours. With this list, brides had to hop from one shop to another, haggle here and there, and often end up more confused and tired.
But not anymore. The internet changed all this hectic shopping with several online bridal shops popping on the virtual scene. These shops had the smart idea to copy the one-stop-shop strategy to get more sales and to give tired brides the convenience of shopping without taking long commutes and pounding the length of super malls in search of the perfect wedding gown and wedding cake.
The best online bridal shop carries all wedding trappings — wedding gown, wedding invitations, wedding cakes, bridesmaid dresses, and dresses for the mothers of the soon-to-wed couple. As an added bonus, the shop will give discounts for your purchases if you shop for all your wedding paraphernalia there. For shopping online, you enjoy discounts and convenience and get all the wonderful things you need for your wedding.
How to Choose a Dependable Online Bridal Shop
Online shops stage their goods beautifully for the picture pretty shots; but what you see online might be entirely different from what you will get. Take for example, you espy a princess gown in pristine white lace. This gown is described in adjectives that will bowl you over but it is entirely different when you see the gown and feel it against your skin or put it on to check the fit.
Other than this, you also have to know if the online bridal shop ships their orders on time, and what kind of customer service they have. To find this out, make an initial small order just to find out if:
* The ordered item looks the same as featured on the website
* The item was shipped on time
* Customer service is available at all times
Why test the shop?
* Some spurious shops copy items from other websites and pass it off as their products and when you receive it, you are duped with a poor copy of the item. after you have shelled out a lot of money.
* Some shops tarry when it comes to shipping the goods. For your wedding, you cannot take a chance with late deliveries because there are gown alterations that might be needed.
* If the shop promises a gown specialist to you, she or he should be on call. A helpful specialist can ease your mind and boost your confidence in your choice of gown, wedding cakes etc.
If you want more proof if the online bridal shop is authentic check out their contact numbers and addresses, and check the shop against the Better Business Bureau for any unresolved complaints. If you can visit the shop just to make sure you are dealing with the right shop.
Shropshire Employment Law Solicitor Warns About Protecting Staff From Stress In The Workplace!
Shropshire Employment Law Specialist at Martin-Kaye Solicitors, in Telford, warns that staff must be protected from stress in the workplace. The warning comes after a UK woman was awarded over £130,000 after she suffered a nervous breakdown brought on by pressure at work.The case was a timely reminder for employers that they must take stress seriously!”The woman had repeatedly told her employer about the amount of work she was struggling with, and she claimed they did nothing to help her tackle the issue.” The High Court ruled that the demands made on her were totally unreasonable, and if action had been taken, her breakdown could probably have been avoided. The employer in the case had referred the woman to a stress counsellor, but at no stage was anyone brought in to share her workload.”Simply offering stress counselling is not a long-term solution – if the root of the problem is the amount of work an employee is facing, the management team have to tackle the problem directly. As an employer, you are ultimately responsible for the welfare of your staff, and it’s vital that you take their concerns seriously. “Although access to stress counsellors and medical advice is a supportive step in the right direction, it’s not the answer to the problem as a whole. “Many employees feel under pressure, particularly when a company is working to meet tough deadlines, but it’s the employer’s responsibility to ensure their health does not suffer as a direct consequence of striving for business success.” Always seek professional legal advice form a specialist employment solicitor if in any doubt of employee and employers rights.This article is free to republish provided this resource box remains intact.
Selecting Your Health and Fitness Equipment
Fitness items can be an excellent group of tools, which are employed in physical exercise and are referred to as work out items. These can contain things like uncomplicated products this sort of as balls, track shoes and skipping ropes as well as much a lot more complex items of products these types of as treadmills, pounds load, bicycles and numerous other individuals.Right now, a wide range of health and fitness gear is out there for sale with new styles continuously being produced do towards popular for gear that is useful in building muscles and strength as nicely as for losing excess pounds.These contain things like those that totally free weights and gear referred to as the opposition equipment.The most common type of pounds device is one that utilizes gravity like a pounds source. This layout is utilized mostly in fat equipment. Gravity in mixture having an uncomplicated style of pulleys, wheels and inclines, utilizes a percentage on the pounds on the user since the resistance transferred. Other kinds of resistance machines can use other forces other than gravity to offer resistance. These contain friction, spring-loaded, fan-loaded or fluid-loaded machines.One more range of products belonging towards strength exercising gear will be the bands and tubing, which are lightweight selections for education at house and within the office.The other class could be the aerobic conditioning tools, which is mostly the endless-path equipment. These contain devices such for the reason that stationary bicycles, the treadmills, the elliptical trainers, aerobic riders, the stair climbers, the ski and rowing equipment. The stationary bicycle focuses the activity about the legs by the activity of pedaling. The treadmills are an all body activity as you may walk or run at numerous speeds. You will discover also some models, which will simulate slopes for any a lot more intense work out.The stair climbers reproduce the activity of climbing a stairway. The elliptical trainers are a cross between the stair climbers along with the ski machines. The aerobic riders also work out the arms and legs at the same time because of the use of a simultaneous pull and push motion.There is certainly also a miscellaneous group of wellness and health and fitness gear. These consist of items this sort of as heart rate monitors and physical exercise balls as perfectly as many other individuals. The use of workout balls has grown to become very critical in coaching these types of as flexibility training and for balance as perfectly.When employing any variety of physical health and fitness tools it is often important to seek specialist advice simply because the improper use of this apparatus can bring about severe harm.