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Showing posts with label home-based business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home-based business. Show all posts

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Home & Garden: East, West, Home's Best



Home is where the heart is


There are so many things that come to mind when I think of the word 'home'. First of all, it's that safe place... that sanctuary where you are at your comfiest. Yes, East, West, Home's Best.  But when it comes to maintaining your home, there are so many things to take care of, so many issues to resolve, so many damages that need repairing.  If you have a garden, your garden needs maintaining, or your lawn mowed and fence maintained.  Talk about the walls and you sigh, yes, the walls need painting too.  Taking care of your heart is hard work.  It isn't easy to run a home while ensuring that all your bases are covered.

The other day, when Oman was hit with the tornado, there was a heavy thunderstorm (November 02, 2011).  Water kept seeping in from under the window frames.  The bed rooms  where flooding with water  despite the windows being shut. I ran between rooms trying to mop up the water as fast as possible so that it wouldn't spread all over the place. It was quite a mess.  I love the rain... but this?  Nope.  The reason why the water kept seeping in was because the window ledges slant inwards and not outwards and the water was collecting at the base of the window and finally making its way in.  Now this is bad construction.  Oman is a desert country.  The buildings are not designed for the rain.  When we had the next tornado warning last week, I made sure I sealed the window bases so that water doesn't seep in.  Thankfully the rain did not hit our area, except for a bit of a drizzle.

There are quite a few writers that I admire for their Home & Garden opinions.  All of them are no strangers and are in fact very involved with what's happening around discussion boards and offering helpful advice related to Home and Garden.  Moreover, these writers are real good friends and very helpful, should you require helpful tips, suggestions and support with your work. 







“I’ve had quite an interesting life and hopefully, the next thirty years will be as interesting as the first fifty.  As a boy, I wanted to be a farmer and I spent quite a bit of time on farms that belonged to friends, family and farmers who needed temporary help. I’ve milked a cow into a glass and drank it the way God made it. 

I’ve done a lot in my life; engineering, computer networking and coding software, real estate investment and I owned a remodeling company.  I have loved just everything I’ve done.  When I started writing back in the late eighties, I didn’t realize I’d found my passion and what a passion it is.  Today, I have over a thousand articles published on the internet under my pen name, and many more that were ghost written for other companies.  Other work has appeared in magazines and newspapers.  Of all the things I’ve written, I enjoy writing fiction the most, but so far my bread and butter comes mainly from Home & Garden articles on remodeling, design and building. 

One thing is certain, when your work is your passion, it is no longer work.”


MJ Logan is a writer with diversified writing calibre.  He manages a website under his pen name which is his main writing portfolio, linking much of his work that can be found on Helium, Demand Studio, and Bright Hub to name a few.  

Articles by MJ Logan that you may like:

  

MJ Logan's websites:


Latest eBook, short story published:  Snowed In






           
 




Mac is an avid gardener and his writing portfolio on articles related to Home and Garden is impressive. I have had the pleasure of knowing Mac for quite awhile now, more especially after we joined forces to play Kingdoms of Camelot on Facebook as a team.  Chatting with him, I have come to understand his passion for gardening (especially growing vegetables), his knack for dealing with raccoon when they attack his corn, and his skill at being a handyman for practical home maintenance.   In Mac's own words, "Mac Pike lives in the northern, wooded section of New Jersey.  He hunts a little, fishes a bit and grows many vegetables.  He splits firewood and infinitives with equal enthusiasm, and is often on the throwing end of interminable games of fetch."  Mac is a good friend to me and I am proud to feature him today for his impressive contribution to the Home and Garden channel at Helium.   

Articles by Mac Pike that you may like:










Is there a rat menace that you are having a difficulty dealing with?  Perhaps this article on How to get rid of rats will help you.  You will find helpful tips on rat traps, glue traps, and also  about the feeding habits of rats.  





It is probably time, or you might have already pulled out your sweater from storage.  If you are residing in places like Australia where it is summer now, this may also be applicable.  Either way, to use, or before storing, one thing is common - you might want to hand wash your sweater.  B. Leslie Baird gives a pretty neat description on How to hand wash a wool sweater





East, West; Home's definitely best.  Especially when it come to home grown  fruits and vegetables. Many gardeners choose the period of fall to plant their vegetables, so that they may harvest them during spring or summer.  In this article Fall vegetable planting guide, Susan Klatz Beal gives a handy list of spring or summer vegetables that can be planted in the fall.  Most definitely useful, as you will find not just vegetable names, but also tips on the type of planting method too.  




Setting up a home is fun as well as a pain.  When you think you know what colors you want to choose  or how you want your home interior decoration set up, out pops another suggestion from another source. Confusion and uncertainty are some of the terms that best describe what one goes through while setting up home.  However, this confusion can be minimized with tips from the article Choosing interior design color combinations by Alexandra Heep.  In this article, you will find that Alex stresses on important aspects such as themes, contrasts and lighting.  




Now this is something I do not hear often although this has pretty much been in use when I was a kid too.  This is how our fence used to be.  Of course, I never knew it by this term.  What am I talking about?  Read Organic fences as an option for your garden by Glory Lennon.  You'll have to agree it's a nice way for you to go green, and not have to invest in too much raw material.   How much more healthier and economical can it get than that? 






Home is definitely where your heart is. There might come a time when you decide to plant roots and build your home.  Consult Jim Bessey for advice. He will tell you all that you need to know about tips for building your own home.   There are important points that you should not overlook such as planning, blueprints, etc...  but he's got it all covered in this article so that you may be able to go ahead with your project with ease. 



With the cold weather set in and the water in the pipes freezing, that time of year comes around when you have to turn the hot water system on.  For some, heaters are already in place, while for others a fresh one might have to be bought.  Should you choose to buy a new water heater, you should know the different types of water heaters that are available.  Fortunately Evelyn Berger has taken care of this and gives a brief description about the types of water heaters for different settings. 





Many are already in their Thanksgiving mood, and before you say Jack, Christmas will be upon us.  With all the decorations, festivities, parties and visiting, casualties and damages can happen if one is not careful during this season.  Conny Manero gives a brief outline of suggested indicators that can prove disastrous, and also advises on how one may prevent hazards with Christmas trees and decorations. It is helpful to be aware of these hazards. 


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Here are some of my contributions to the Home and Garden channel at Helium





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Credit for images: Google images

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Monday, July 11, 2011

Business

Motivating the mind to think 'BUSINESS'

Earnings are short; expenses are soaring high and all that we hear is ‘there’s not enough to keep us going’. Unemployment is on the rise and with added number of broken families, expense splits have only doubled.


There has to be a way to deal with this crisis and one of the main ways to battle this is by turning to one's own resources and talents. Well then folks; let's do it together.

It's Time to make a difference in our lives and we're going to do it the business way. Let's get down to BUSINESS.


Business is all about the money. You invest funds to gain funds... or you invest time and talent to reap monetary benefits. Business involves the execution of an individual or collective plan that may vary from simple to complex operations and projects.



Writer of the Week

“Dedicated, focused and determined to deliver the highest possible value, Christina Pomoni is constantly getting the job done. Talk about the economy dipping or improving, and you pick her interest. Christina is a professional who dedicates most of her time online as a professional writer; her expertise ranging chiefly from Business, Personal Finance, Investing & Banking and Careers to even channels like Computers & Technology and Arts & Humanities. An honest, hardworking and highly-driven writer, Christina is an awesome person to interact with.”


People are constantly involved in some form of business strategy or another. It may range from Small, Home-based businesses to Large Enterprises consisting of many employees. As the gradation of improvement increases, so does the gradation of complexity. Likewise, the risk and gamble involved with a business can make or break your financial score. Lets take a look at some main features involved with setting up a business and running it. While this might be green turf for the business mind, this might also be a window, opening to possibilities for those unfamiliar. This comes especially handy when you're clutching at straws, almost sinking, and looking for some means to add pennies to your coffers.




Are you interested in starting a business of your own? Calvin Merrick gives us his ideas on how you can start a business without money.

Without money????

Yep, that's right. Without money.

Fact is, there are so many things we can do without money. I have a sewing machine and am skilled at sewing. The opportunities to earn via sewing clothes are open right there for me. All I have to do is harness this skill. Similarly, if you are skilled at artwork, maybe it’s time for you to start a class to teach little kids how to draw and paint or do little crafts activities. Initially it might not pay you well, but the investment costs are only your time and skill. Especially handy when one's unemployed, I must say.

On the flip-side, should you require to invest funds into a new business, government grants and loans come in handy, especially for women-owned and minority businesses. John Garger walks us though "Are Government Grants real or Hype?"

Oh.. you tell yourself that you're either not a woman or you're not eligible for a loan. What then are your start up costs? Anyone starting a business has to be forewarned and prepared for all costs involved with a business venture. Perhaps "The True Costs of Starting Up a Small Business" by W. A. Swan can shed light on what could otherwise be a very worrisome start.

I hope by now you are encouraged to think of stepping into something to make ends meet. You know, there are so many things we can do to earn more income, but half the time we're just too scared to even think about it. So then.... what would it be next once we think of starting a business?



There are many options for a business venture. Sometimes it can be based on the place we live in. For example, M. J. Joachim describes how you can start a business in Wisconsin. This can apply to wherever you are and not necessarily to Wisconsin alone.

Other options can be based on things that you CAN DO as a business. Adam Clark has a lot of suggestions to offer as the Best home-based businesses for stay at home moms. Ladies, there's so much that we can do. Identify your skill or talent and you're off to a good start.



I can see you still haggling between options and wondering if you really should get into a business venture. Or even still.... "Will others pay for my services or products?" It could be that you require guidance of how to study your market. In other words, you need to know what you can sell and who will buy it. Proven methods over a period of years have given rise to research tools such as the "Pestle Analysis" Use this tool to gauge your customer base, your product or service range and to modify your plans accordingly. Using this tool at the start of a business will lessen business risks to a large extent.




Uh oh... did we just say Business Risks? Yep. Business Risks can and do occur if you do not plan your start right. But then again, all is not lost. You have to take some risks to achieve some gains. And many times, the larger the risk, the larger the gains (or the loss). However, if you want to minimize your risks, you have to do a bit of homework about your business setting.Understanding the different approaches to Risk Management outlines the basics or the importance of identifying and assessing risks.

By now.. you’re are all set to launch your business. So let's turn our attention to Shaheen Darr. In '10 secrets to success in franchising', Shaheen reveals the most important tips to succeeding as a franchisee; ie., should you want to partner with another business. At the same time its also important to know 'what successful businesses have in common'. Being armed and geared and prepared can get you a head start in comparison to businesses that start out without any specific goal in mind.

Ok... here's assuming you've started a business and it's off to a great start. You're full of enthusiasm, energy and drive. The honeymoon period is almost over and then you see that you're in for the real deal. You're business has grown a bit, you've hired a few employees and your services or products are coming along just fine. Well, almost. Somehow there are just too many loose ends to tie up and the whole business structure doesn't seem to be balancing out as you planned.Leigh Goessl steps in with her advice on 'Essential management skills' that any enterprising individual should be skilled at. There you have it.. all spelled out for you. What more do you need?






Amanda Dcosta - Writer, Helium.com