Kitchen remodeling and bathroom remodeling los angeles are great ways to increase the value of your home while also making it more aesthetically pleasing.  In addition to remodeling important rooms in your household, there are also several ways in which you can make your home look nicer in an instant.  Any home can benefit from having an indoor fountain because they immediately add style and elegance.  A unique way is to welcome your guests is by placing a fountain at the entrance of your home.  Not only will a fountain in your garden enhance your décor, it will have positive effects on your guests.  Even before your family and friends enter your home they will feel less stressed.  A great way to also improve your home is to add indoor water fountains.  By including a water fountain inside your home, you will be able to enhance the appearance of any room without spending a fortune.  An indoor fountain can make a huge impact on the environment of any room and can create a peaceful ambiance in seconds.  Depending on your personal preference, you can find the perfect fountain to suit your kitchen, living room, bedroom or even bathroom by choosing one that complements the style of your home.

Having extraordinary skills and talent in a business area, being hardworking and determined, persistent, having great ideas and full of energy is a fantastic mix for a successful business career. But all those exquisite qualities mean nothing if the end result is not represented in the bottom line.

The financial section of the business plan is where all the operational items included in the rest of the business plan come together. There are three essential elements to a properly thought through and well constructed business plan. Those elements are a forecast profit and loss account stating the income and expenditure, a cash flow statement that determines the liquidity and a sensitivity analysis that indicates the risks and opportunities within the business plan.

The forecast profit and loss account should be prepared on a monthly basis for the first year with an annual projection for the second year. The first year of every new start up business can be difficult due to financing and funding growth from a standing start which is why the first financial year should be detailed.

The forecast profit and loss account is the financial calculation of all the sales, purchases, expenditure and prices contained within the other areas of the business plan. In addition full account should also be taken of the business administration costs. All the figures in the business plan income and expenditure account should be fully supported from the physical projections contained in the other sections and derived from those sections.

From the sales section multiply the sales volume of each product by the considered selling prices. Keep to a minimum sundry additional income that might be expected. The resultant financial calculation produces the expected monthly sales turnover.

Using the information in the production or operations section of the business plan and if included the purchasing section the sales volume should be evaluated at the expected purchase cost of the products and services. This produces a cost of sales figure which when deducted from the sales turnover provides a forecast gross profit figure each month.

The business plan should include notes and comments of all other main cost items including projections of staff requirements. Together with administration and overhead costs a monthly projection of the expected running costs of the business start up can be produced. The business running costs are an important area to forecast in detail as while sales prices and costs may be determined with some accuracy errors in the business running costs could cause a good business to fail.

The monthly forecast profit and loss account is complete by entering the sales turnover, deducting the cost of sales and the business running costs, overheads, to produce a net monthly profit. The bottom line may start in a monthly loss until volumes grow but should indicate a satisfactory profit. If a loss is indicated do not manipulate the numbers to show a profit which would be hiding the truth, instead go back to the sales and costs sections and consider what action is required to justifiably increase gross profit margins or reduce overhead costs.

Cash flow is often critical to a small business plan and a lack of capital or liquidity to carry out the ambitions and projections of the small business owner is a principal cause of small businesses going into liquidation before those business aspirations are achieved. The cash flow statement is based upon the volumes and prices included in the business plan and stated in such a way as to indicate the financial resources required.

Cash flow is different to the profit and loss account as the profit and loss account only states the different between sales sold and costs incurred. The cash flow statement takes account of both the profits made plus volume changes of purchases and stock, one off payments, financing debtor balances offset by creditor balances and shows how liquid and solvent a business is.

Producing cash flow statement tends to come within the province of accountants. A simple cash flow statement can be produced by starting with the net profit or loss each month, deducting the cost of stock which has not been sold yet including both raw materials and finished goods stock and also deducting any one off payments such as bills that have to be prepaid and the cost of paying for fixed asset purchases.

In addition when a new business starts up the amount owed to suppliers, creditors, is zero and the amount owed by customers, debtors, is zero. During the year these balances will change each month in proportion to the financial terms and conditions of the business and the movement of these balances need to be entered on the cash flow statement. An increase in debtors reduces the cash flow liquidity and an increase in creditors increases cash flow liquidity.

The third element of the financial section is an analysis of the whole business plan and the projections in what is called a sensitivity analysis. A technical accounting area for the majority of non accountants but nevertheless an important area as it is the financial sensitivity analysis that should indicate both the increased financial opportunities and the financial risks carried within the business plan.

All major areas within the business start up plan such as sales volume, sales prices, important cost elements and other factors that may have an impact on the business should be evaluated. For each item set an upper limit and lower limit based upon potential market conditions and risks.

Make a financial evaluate of each upper and lower limit for every item and determine the impact each would have on the profit and loss account and the cash flow statement. Also combine the financial effect of several factors to assess the impact of a combination of events on the small business. A lower sales volume may be uncomfortable for a small business but combined with lower sales prices and higher costs the risk could be severe.

The financial section of a business plan should be accurate and reflect the projected financial performance of the start up business. It is also important it is honest and evaluates the risks involved so that should any of those risks become reality urgent management action can be taken to limit the financial effect. In practice some of those risks will happen and being forewarned can be the difference between survival and failure with liquidity being the most dangerous risk of all.

A week ago I invited a very fit and adventurous girlfriend of mine (whom my husband says reminds him of Angelina Jolie) to join me in climbing in the largest aerial forest adventure park in North America. If you are wondering what an Aerial Forest park is, it’s a gigantic obstacle course in the tree tops consisting of platforms connected by bridges in various configurations of cable, wood, rope, and zip lines. You get to walk on tight ropes, beams, and other rickety contraptions several stories up in the air, climb up wiggly rope ladders, and swing between trees Tarzan style. It requires balance, strength, and guts to defy one’s fear of heights. The kicker is, unlike my girlfriend, I am in what I call a “tip-top proposal shape” – other than a couple of hours a week at a gym, my only regular physical activity is typing.

So, one sun-dappled October Sunday, we buckled ourselves into safety harnesses and set off to climb. I hung onto the cables for dear life as I was teetering at a three-story height. Mixed with fear was the awe at the surreal view of tall trees with golden leaves, crawling with people, like fairies at the Fern Gully. Desperately balancing and trying not to fall (or worse yet, lose my glasses), I kept up with my better-fit girlfriend.

It was going on two hours when we picked an even more difficult course. It was no cakewalk with a ladder hanging four stories high with nothing underneath, and a four-foot distance between steps. The ropes made it twist and turn as I struggled to swing my legs high enough while my arms were getting weaker by the minute. But there was no quitting at that point. Upward and onward was the only way out. I scaled the ladder, but it brought me to an even trickier obstacle. It was a contraption with two horizontal cables adorned with more than a dozen vertical pairs of ropes. At the end of each of those ropes dangled wooden logs, with three-inch horizontal wood stumps at the bottom. To get to the next platform, in theory I had to pull myself up on my arms on the cables and then move forward while “resting” my feet on the tiny stumps. In reality, the contraption wiggled out of control as my legs were going into splits and my arms were aching from the strain. I struggled and pushed myself forward anyway, past the point at which my whole body shook uncontrollably and cables cut into skin. I managed to force myself almost to the end of the bridge when my muscles simply gave out. I reached the limit of my physical capabilities. As if in slow motion, my arms released and I fell.

Half a second later, to my huge relief, I realized that the harness worked. The only problem was, I still had to get out of there. I had to push past exhaustion and get back up on the contraption, climb the last few feet, and struggle up the platform. Then, I had several more obstacles to tackle before being able to make it to the ground.

The next day I felt as if a truck had run me over. My body hurt and my arms had ghastly looking cuts and bruises. Yet, I felt happy. Only Marines, Special Forces, avid athletes, and outright masochists would relate to the level of exhilaration I felt despite my injuries. I had outdone myself, and felt proud.

My adventures weren’t over. The next weekend my girlfriend invited me to do it again. I jumped at the opportunity. To my huge surprise, this time it was a different experience. I balanced easily on the beams, and even got fancy letting my arms go and walking without any assistance. I only had a couple of scary moments. And the next day, my body didn’t hurt nearly as much as the first time.

As I was enjoying myself, it struck me that my experience with this aerial forest is similar to one’s professional development in the proposal arena. Here are five parallels that I found:

1. Challenge yourself and push yourself harder to sharpen your proposal skills. Just like me inviting the fittest of my girlfriends to come along, have someone stronger than you set the “bar” higher and light some fire under you. Watch and make notes of how a much-respected capture or proposal manager does their work, or ask someone you respect to mentor you. Put yourself in a challenging situation by inviting upper management to your reviews, or by bringing in a powerful teammate. Do it the way it should be done and not the way you may have done it in the past. Impress everyone with your professionalism and build self-confidence by stretching yourself.

2. Don’t stop when it gets tough – keep going. Do whatever you have to. The platform, or a place you can rest at, is not as far as it seems. Sometimes in developing winning proposals things get excruciatingly hard, but don’t despair. Often the goal seems farther away than it actually is. You will get that proposal done on time no matter what. Staying with it while others quit will help you prevail.

3. Know what’s the worst that could happen, and deal with your fear. I was very afraid in the beginning, because I was scared to fall. After I actually fell and knew that the harness would catch me, I had less fear. I lived through my fear and I was OK at the end. In proposals, you can do all kinds of things that could be an equivalent of falling – submitting a proposal late; making a crucial compliance mistake; not doing a good enough job and losing; and so on. This is why you build some contingency into your schedule no matter how tight it may be, and don’t skip the reviews where others triple-check your work – it’s an equivalent of a harness. Regardless, falling may feel awful while it happens, but the truth is – once it happens to you and you survive – you actually get tougher, more dangerous, more competitive. It liberates you to play harder and take the precautions better than anyone who has never experienced it first hand – even the people who have been wildly successful.

4. It gets easier the more you do it. The first time I went climbing, I was awkward, working way harder than I had to. The second time I was shocked at how much easier it got, mentally and physically. The obstacles were familiar, and I already had the faith that I could get through them. Suddenly I had better balance and greater strength. I also learned strategies and shortcuts on how to get things done, and got more efficient. It’s the same with proposals – not knowing what’s ahead is harder whenever you are doing something for the first time: putting together a technical solution while you have a shortage of subject matter experts, or going after a “must-win” opportunity that’s a “make or break” of your company; or just trying to finish a short-fuse proposal. Now that you know, and you have the confidence that you can deal with whatever comes up, it gets much easier.

5. Don’t skip instruction, no matter how much you believe you know. The first time I was there, I went through a safety brief, so I thought I didn’t need to pay attention in the safety brief the second time. I kept half an ear open anyway, and to my surprise, I learned something completely new from a different instructor. As a result, I became more efficient at working with my safety gear, and learned a few more tricks that gave me greater confidence. Same with capture and proposal development – keep up your professional training. Even if you have 20 years of experience, there are always tricks that you can pick up that will make you better and faster. Remember that the technology continues to change, and so do your customers. You need to keep up with these trends and changes or risk getting “out of proposal shape.” Just like remaining physically fit, staying on top of your game requires more than a few hours a week of exercising your fingers.

One essential financial decision every smart and money-conscious person must make, asides from how to make money, is how to save their money. Of course, you have endured all the hustles and bustles involved in gathering wealth, and you finally have some money to your name. 

One essential financial decision every smart and money-conscious person must make, asides from how to make money, is how to save their money. Of course, you have endured all the hustles and bustles involved in gathering wealth, and you finally have some money to your name. You deserve some congratulations. But then, you should also know that the hustle does not end there. If you wish to sustain your accumulated wealth for a longer time, you must also consider saving up your wealth. 

In the old days, people considered safety deposit boxes as their best option for saving their wealth, and they used to put jewelry, cash, and other valuable items in such boxes. Indeed, these boxes were efficient in keeping valuables in those days, except for the government who wielded the right to come in when a person dies. Nowadays, however, the government can use any flimsy excuse to freeze your safety deposit box.  

A couple of years ago, the UK government froze people’s safe deposit boxes across various financial institutions. Their excuse for such action was that there were in search of terrorist ties. The accounts were frozen for three months, and no one could access valuables during this time. Many people could not travel during this period because their passports were held in the safe deposit box. Everyone was agitated by the fact that they couldn’t access their valuables for that long. But then, there was nothing tangible they could do. 

More smart people are recently looking for better ways of saving their precious belongings and avoiding these occurrences. This article will highlight some saving options and techniques that might prove to be better for you. 

Safe deposit boxes are still considered amongst the best options for saving valuables in recent times. However, people are becoming smarter in their decisions to save their money, jewelry, papers, etc., through this saving method. Many people prefer to split their precious items amongst different banks or financial institutions for safety these days. This is so that a problem in one of the banks does not affect the whole of their assets. 

You can adopt this strategy for saving your money or other items too. It is even better to split the belongings across countries if you can afford that. 

Suppose you decide to save up your valuables in banks and other financial institutions. In that case, it is best to always read through the terms of the contract agreement very carefully before signing. This is so that you can fully understand all their terms of partnership and ensure it suits your requirements and situation before signing. Also, watch out for any hidden charges before you sign. It would be best if you hired a lawyer to guide you through the agreement processes too. 

Because currencies are sometimes unstable, saving your investments in them might not be the best financial decision for you. This is because the currency you are saving in might begin to devalue after you have deposited your savings. Instead of saving up in cash, it is better to keep your valuables in more stable investments like gold, River, etc. 

Conclusion 

It has already been established that saving your wealth is as important as making wealth. In this article, we have discussed some of the best ways to keep your money safe in turbulent times.

When you think about a treehouse, you might think about the custom house your father has built for you in the trees, where you and your siblings could play and have fun. Just a simple built house with a couple of logs and a roof.

When you think about a treehouse, you might think about the custom house your father has built for you in the trees, where you and your siblings could play and have fun. Just a simple built house with a couple of logs and a roof.

But things have changed. Now treehouses are so much different. There are huge treehouses where you can even rent a room for the night. A hotel, houses, and guesthouses. You name it, and you will find a treehouse for it. And, the designs are fancy, almost like a real home. If this is something you dream about or plan, then we have all the information for you. 

Treehouses aren’t what it was years ago

This is a fact. Treehouses aren’t what it was years ago. When our fathers tried to build one for us in the trees. With cheap wood, a simple roof and a ladder to get up to the treehouse. You even might have built one for your own children back home, with the same simple design as what your father built yours.

Things aren’t the same anymore. These days, you are able to hire a treehouse designer and builder. You can get a complete home up in the trees. With a kitchen and bathroom. With stairs instead of a simple ladder. If you are thinking of a treehouse as the same house your father built for you, then you should think again. 

Different treehouse design ideas 

When you search online, you will see that there are many different treehouse design ideas. Some are larger than your home. More expensive than your vehicle and more luxurious as a hotel. 

You will need to make sure that when you are looking for your own treehouse, that you think carefully about what you want, your budget and design or idea that you want your treehouse to look. 

Finding the right tree for building your own treehouse

This might be a problem if you don’t have a huge backyard with a couple of good, large and stable trees. This is the base of a treehouse and something you will need to have, in order for you to have your own treehouse in your backyard. 

If you are living on a large piece of land, finding the right tree will not be as hard. Especially, if your land is covered in trees that are large and old. Making sure that you are finding a tree before you start thinking about the design and budget.

Finding a treehouse builder for the best treehouse

With your design in place, a tree that might work, and your budget all set the only thing that you need to do is to find a treehouse builder. You don’t want to hire just any contractor. The person needs to have experience in building treehouses. 

There are many things that a treehouse builder needs to know and consider to ensure a stable and safe treehouse. So, when you are looking for a treehouse builder, you need to make sure that you are looking at qualifications, experience, recommendations and get some reviews from previous treehouse owners. 

Treehouses. No, not that simple platform with the roof that you might think about. Treehouses have become a real home in the trees. And, you will need to consider a great design to make your treehouse unique and special. The most important thing that you should remember is that you should hire the best treehouse designer and builder. A normal builder and contractor will not cut it. The end result will be a treehouse with a design that is going to make other people envy you. 

If you’ve been thinking about running your own business, then you should give some serious consideration to investing in an established franchise. Investing in a franchise typically involves much less risk than trying to start your own business from the ground up. With a franchise, you’ll have the benefit of having an established brand, product or service, and customer base. Not to mention that most franchises will provide franchisees with all kinds of continual training and support—something you won’t get with a startup.

When it comes to figuring out what franchise you want to buy into, you’re going to find that there are thousands of franchises that you can invest in, which means you should narrow them down to a specific industry. One industry that has seen a lot of consistent growth and demands is the home improvement industry. The following are five examples of home improvement services that can be franchised that you could invest in:

The cleaning and stain removal business may be a small niche in the cleaning industry, but it’s one that experiences a lot of demand. More and more homeowners and business owners are looking for methods to clean floors and remove stains that are environmentally friendly and that don’t contain harsh chemicals that can pose potential health problems or cause damage to the environment. With a franchise, you’ll have access to an already established cleaning and stain removal product instead of having to create and market your own.

Replacing bathtubs is not only expensive, it also requires a lot of work. Bathtub reglazing and refinishing options have become an increasingly popular way to update the bathtub without having to replace it. This is a more sustainable option as well since homeowners and business owners won’t be contributing to the production of more bathtubs or the negative environmental effects caused by the transportation of new bathtubs. A bathtub reglazing franchise will have the product, method for applying the product and the marketing in place to allow you to hit the ground running.

Home remodeling franchises allow you to take advantage of a growing section of the home improvement industry without needing in-depth knowledge of the home renovation process. This is because a home renovation franchise will provide you with all the education and training you need. Not to mention that if you run your own company, you’ll end up having to pay more for materials than you would if you bought into a national brand. Established renovation companies can usually obtain substantial discounts on materials.

Landscaping is essential for both businesses and homes. Good landscaping not only helps improve the curb appeal of a property, which helps homeowners to sell their property more easily and helps business owners attract more customers, but it also improves the value, safety and security of their property as well.

Starting a landscape business on your own can be extremely challenging because of the design knowledge required. Not to mention that a lot of the work involving landscaping is specialized, such as lawn care, light installation, water feature installation and the construction of pathways and more. A franchise can help you hire the right people to work for you and give you proper managerial training to ensure everything goes smoothly.

As long as people own appliances, appliance repair services will be needed. However, if you plan on building your own appliance repair service from the ground up, you’ll have to have an in-depth knowledge about appliance repairs yourself. This may not be necessary if you invest in a franchise since this will allow you to focus more on the managerial side of things. You can hire experienced technicians and provide them with training through the franchise’s support and training programs instead.

If these five services interest you, then consider looking for franchises instead of attempting to build your own company from scratch. For example, there’s much less of a risk of failure when it comes to running a home renovation franchise than there will be if you attempt to start a home renovation business on your own.

Interior design for couples is one of the hottest, most popular types of design these days. In the past, men have not taken the initiative to actually be involved in the interior design of their homes, often resulting in very female orientated, elegant designs that are beautiful although not exactly appealing to the Saturday afternoon football crew. This type of design is often beautiful and can be ideal in certain situations. Although, more and more men today are interested in helping to decide what their home looks like on the inside!

Beware! Interior design for couples can put you (the designer) into a bit of a hot seat in the battle of the sexes. Here are a few tips on how to avoid disaster. First of all, always communicate with and listen to what both parties involved envision as being their dream space. Many times one party or the other will be much more dominate in the planning and conversations then the other. Take note of this and pay special attention to the quiet party by asking the questions and making sure to offer them the opportunity to express themselves. In this aspect of interior design for couples, you are the mediator. Take both sides into careful consideration before doing any planning.

During planning stages, again, be sure to include both parties in the process and if one person is noticeably quiet during the conversation, don’t be shy to point things out that might be important to them. This way, you tend to buffer any arguments or resentment that may arise from your interjection of a neutral opinion or thoughts. If there are any problems, remind them both that your vision is to create a space that is pleasant and acceptable to both of them and that interior design for couples can be unpleasant but it is very easy to work within both person’s boundaries in order to ensure that everyone is happy with the outcome.

If you see certain situations that you, as a designer can find ways to compromise in order to fit things into both peoples’ expectations this is key. Also, stress to both parties involved that a little give and a little take is vital when discussing and planning interior design for couples and that while they won’t always reach the same conclusion, if they both make some trade offs it will create an environment they are both comfortable in.

If all else fails, encourage both people when making references to certain aspects of one another’s design ideas that they are good ideas that can be compatible with the other’s thoughts. Whenever dealing with interior design for couples, a certain ‘he says, she says’ attitude is likely to arise at some point and it is your job as the designer to see that things work out smoothly and in the best interest of both people.

Color and furniture are normally the main items that are disagreed upon in interior design for couples. Suggest to the female counterpart that the leather sofa her husband is interested in can be a very classic and comfortable edition to any living space. Explain to her husband that the peach color she is looking for can actually be considered a light beige. You would be surprised what miracles a little bit of convincing can do when carried out in the right manner.

If neither party is willing to compromise, I have seen for instances when the designer actually had both of the couple write down their design needs/wants and do a point by point comparison/bargaining session that allowed each person an equal amount of yes and nos. Sound ridiculously childish? Be prepared!