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A home business is a perfect way to integrate your personal and professional lives, but there is always more to do if you want your business to thrive. Make sure you have the best productivity strategies in place and that you are investing in the right areas to grow your business at home. 

Focus Products 

When you are running a business from home, it’s tempting to diversify your products and open up new lines of business quickly, but that is not the best way to grow from the ground up. Focusing on a single product reduces risk and improves the quality of service to customers. 

When you focus on a single product, you create direction and streamline marketing efforts. Having a single product also allows you to problem-solve and improve the product before moving on to a new product range. Try to master your flagship product in the early days.      

Automate Processes 

Although you are operating a small business based in your home, you can still automate processes to save time and improve revenue. Do you have an email list? Why don’t you schedule your emails to coincide with special dates in the calendar or discounts and deals? 

Other things you can automate in your home business include social media scheduling and SMS marketing. If you operate your network on a Microsoft platform, you might benefit from a Microsoft-Partner that can help improve the security of your network and automate processes. 

Build Relationships 

Don’t forget to build relationships with your customers in the early days. Customers and client relationships are the foundations of your business and the beginnings of your network and testimonials. Every customer and client is different, so ensure you maintain quality standards.

At the start, you might only have a handful of customers, but it allows you to learn more about their core interests and how they align with your business and marketing strategy. Using a customer relationship management system, you can start to segment your audience for results.       

Use Freelancers 

Are you running a home business by yourself? Even the most skilled business people don’t have all the answers, so look out for opportunities to build a team with expertise in key areas. If you don’t plan to hire employees, you can always hire a selection of freelancers with core skills. 

Websites like Fiverr are an excellent resources of freelancers. Whether you need someone to upgrade your website, design new graphics for your brand, proofread documents, or carry out digital marketing, you can find some excellent temporary workers by visiting Fiverr or Upwork.      

Grow the Website 

Sometimes a small business website can be neglected for some time; after all, you are busy running the business, finding new clients, and improving your brand. But remember, your business website is the shop face of your business online, and it can be central to your success. 

A website can do a lot for your business. It is the hub for your brand, but it is also a place where customers and clients can find out about your business and industry. The website is also your portal for payment processing and updates about your products – try not to neglect the website. 

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We all know that our phones are our lifelines and when it gets to the day our children want their own it’s about making sure we provide the sensible foundations first. We need to keep them safe online and be confident they have the ability to use their phones wisely. But teenagers will think of their phones as an extension of who they are. Personalizing their phone is a great way to establish their identity. Here are some great ways to help your children personalize their mobile phone.

Customize the Skin

One of the best ways to customize the outside of their phone is with a case or a skin. You can find plenty of case options online but if your child’s got a phone they like the color of but they want to do something a little extra, vinyl customized stickers are a great way to make it a bit more them.

A Different Ringtone or Text Tone

You might have heard the default ringtones of the iPhone in public and, no doubt, many people reach for their phones because they never even bothered to change the ringtone! You can easily change the text tone, email sounds, and so forth on an iPhone, but it’s also a good idea to let them feel a bit more in control of what their perfect ringtone would be. If your child is entering their teenage years this is the time they start to discover music that will be with them for the rest of their lives. Let them go wild on Spotify and find what music really speaks to them. You never know, they might be into 80s hair rock or 90s grunge rather than what all their friends are into, which will make for a far more pleasant-sounding ringtone every time it goes off at the dinner table!

Change the Widgets

Widgets are really useful because it makes the home screens look more interesting, but it also makes everything easier to access which saves them from jumping back and forth between apps. On Android, there are many default Google ones, but the options are endless.

Alter the Wallpaper

Your child is going to spend most of their day looking at the wallpaper so let them choose things that really speak to them. It could be a photo of their closest friends but there are always websites like Unsplash that provide free images.

Install Custom Icon Packs 

If they want to give their home screen a more unique feel they can change the icons from the traditional shapes to something more creative.

When your child wants a phone of their own you might think twice about giving them their own phone, but it gets to the point that they need to assert their independence. Their phone is going to be the most important thing in their lives and therefore, you need to let them personalize it so it feels truly theirs. You may feel concerned that they are going online or being incredibly secretive but it’s important to remember there are many parental locks you can put on your child’s phone, so giving them a phone that they can personalize can make them feel like they’ve won the battle!

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Managing hair with a low porosity can be a little bit difficult, but if you use the right products and techniques, you can keep it looking healthy and shiny all the time. The following are some things that hair with low porosity will enjoy:

Product Recommendations

• Lightweight oils: Because hair with low porosity typically has difficulty absorbing heavier oils, you should choose lightweight oils such as jojoba or argan oil instead. These oils can help prevent moisture loss while not making your hair feel weighed down at all.
• Leave-in conditioners: Because hair with low porosity frequently requires additional conditioning, the use of a leave-in conditioner can be of great benefit. In order to prevent buildup, look for one that is not only easy to apply but also water-based.
• Protein treatments: Protein treatments are helpful for repairing and strengthening hair and can be beneficial for those with low porosity hair. Buy Olaplex, it’s a great option to strengthen your hair.

Styling Techniques

• Steam: If you steam your hair, it can help open the cuticles, which will allow products to penetrate your hair more effectively. In order to add steam to your hair, you can use either a steamer or a hot towel.
• Finger detangling: It is best to use your fingers to detangle your hair rather than using a brush or a comb with wide teeth because these tools can cause damage to hair with low porosity. This method is gentler, and it also has the potential to reduce breakage.
• Air drying: Low porosity hair can be sensitive to heat, so it’s best to air dry your hair whenever possible. If you must blow dry your hair, use a diffuser and keep the heat on a low setting.

Hair Care Tips

• Avoid sulfates: Sulfates are harsh cleansing agents that can strip the hair of its natural oils, so it’s best to avoid them if you have low porosity hair. Look for sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners.
• Don’t over-wash: Low porosity hair doesn’t need to be washed as often as other hair types, so try to extend the time between washes. This can help preserve the natural oils in your hair and keep it moisturized.
• Deep condition: Low porosity hair can benefit from deep conditioning treatments to help hydrate and strengthen the hair. Try to use a deep conditioner at least once a week.

You can maintain the appearance of healthy, shiny hair even if it has a low porosity if you use the appropriate products and styling methods. Remember to be gentle with your hair, stay away from harsh products and heat, and use lightweight oils and leave-in conditioners to help seal in moisture. 

Being gentle with your hair will help it look and feel healthier. In addition, don’t forget to pick up some Olaplex; it will assist you in fortifying your hair. Everyone you know will covet your low porosity hair if you just take a little bit of extra time and effort to care for it.

A lot of parents find that having a rewards system helps them to get the very best out of their children, whether that’s in terms of their learning, their behavior, or anything else. And the truth is that rewards can definitely help instill learning and good instincts into children – the same can be said of adults. How many times have you worked harder or done something you weren’t all that interested in because there was some incentive for you to do so? It happens all the time, and parents can definitely make use of the idea. 

However, knowing how to reward children is important, otherwise you might do too much or too little, or you might give the wrong thing – something that reinforces bad behavior, for example. With that in mind, here are some of the best ways to reward children that will help everyone get all the benefits. 

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich

Give Points 

A great way to reward children is to make a points-based system. For every good deed they do, for every completed task, for every pass in a test at school, and so on, they can be awarded a point. Once a certain number of points has been gained, they can choose a prize of some sort. The more points, the bigger the prize. This is a great way to do things because it means they will do positive things and behave well even without being asked to, and the lessons you’re teaching them about how to be good people will sink in more quickly. 

To really help the lesson stick, you can also remove points for bad behavior. This will help children to immediately understand what’s good and what’s bad. 

A Reward For Them 

It’s very simple for parents to choose a reward for the child, and although this will sometimes work, it’s usually best to let the child choose. This eliminates the possibility that you’ll pick something you think they’ll like (that they actually don’t) or that you want them to have (but they have no interest in). This won’t reinforce good behavior as the reward is, to the child, not worth working hard for. 

This is why allowing them to choose their own reward is a good idea. If you want to limit their choices to ensure the prize falls within your budget and is suitable, that can be useful. You could suggest a choice between a book or a learning video, for example, if your child has a love of gaining knowledge – if this sounds like it would help your child, you can get more information about that online. Another option could be they get to choose what to have for dinner if they’re interested in food. Or perhaps a day out is in order, and they can choose the location. 

Tell Them Why 

When a parent sees that a child has done something good and that whatever they have done deserves a reward, it’s easy to pick out that reward (or have the child choose, as we’ve mentioned above) without also remembering to explain why you are giving it. 

Unless you offer this important information at the same time as giving the reward, how will the child know what it relates to? They won’t learn a lesson and will instead feel as though they are being given a gift. You will need to link the act to the reward if you want it to teach a lesson. 

When it comes to moving, it doesn’t have to be a nightmare in the way that lots of people believe it to be. It can actually be a pretty simple process, and an easy time if you are not leaving it all until the last second. There are some super basic things that you can do to make moving simpler than ever, and we’re going to be talking about what they are in this article. Keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.

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Declutter In Advance

As soon as you decide that you want to move, you should immediately start decluttering your house. This gives you so much time to get through everything, that you could literally be moving at a snail pace and it’s still unlikely that you will be rushing when moving day comes around. If you start at one end of your house and then work your way through, this is going to be your best bet. Pick a room at one end either upstairs or down, then work your way across the house. Once you’ve done this, start on the other level and do the same.

You don’t want to take everything that you own to the new property, so you’ve got to get rid of some things. If you feel attached to certain items but you don’t want them in the new place, you can always look at storage units.

Hire Everything You Need In Advance

You also need to make sure that you are hiring everything that you need in advance so that you’re not scrambling to find it close to the day. There are a lot of people who think that they can leave it to the last second, but the likelihood decreases that someone is going to be able to provide whatever you need. For example you are going to need to look into things like roll off rentals for your trash, then you’re going to need to hire a removal team to help with the process, cleaners and so much more. The more hands on deck, the easier it is.

Make Yourself A Handy Checklist 

Last but not least, to keep yourself on the right track you should make yourself a handy little checklist of everything that needs doing, and cross things off as they get done. This will keep you organized, and make sure that you are staying on track in terms of deadlines and dates.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you should be doing to make moving simpler than ever. It doesn’t have to be made a mountain of, it can be a simple process if you allow it to be. Too many people don’t take the time to plan in advance and that is why they will find themselves facing challenges that could have been prevented in the moving process. We wish you the very best of luck.

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What you eat has quite obvious effects on your overall health and physical well-being, and the same goes for your brain. By consuming specific nutrients, you can enhance your mental clarity, reduce stress, and even improve your memory. Below are five examples of food types which are thought to improve cognitive function along with different ways to incorporate them into your diet. 

We have also included ways in which to incorporate these foods into your lifestyle in the most eco-friendly way. Often people who switch to a greener lifestyle improve their mental health, as they are taught, through the change, to be more mindful. 

1. Blueberries

Blueberries are high in antioxidants and have been shown to improve memory and cognitive function. Whether you’re looking to make a refreshing smoothie by blending them or eating them as they are, they are an excellent source of Vitamin C and can help reduce inflammation in the brain.

When choosing blueberries try to source them from local farms or opt for frozen organic berries that are grown without harmful pesticides.

1. Salmon

Salmon is a protein rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are crucial for brain health.   Omega-3 helps to boost cognitive function, memory and mood. Wild-caught salmon is often the better alternative, as farmed salmon can contain harmful chemicals and contribute to overfishing.

If you’re looking for a quick and healthy dinner, salmon will taste great when grilled or baked with a squeeze of lemon, herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil.

1. Avocados

Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats and vitamin E. These are two nutrients which are thought  to improve blood flow to the brain and improve cognitive function. Avocados are a very versatile ingredient. Simply mashing an avocado with lime juice, salt, and chili flakes will give you a quick and easy guacamole dip. 

Doing your best to choose avocados that are grown locally and organically will help reduce their carbon footprint.

1. Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds are a source of essential fatty acids, protein, and Vitamin E, all of which are essential for brain health. The things you can do with them are endless, from making a nutritious snack mix by tossing together a variety of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and dark chocolate or sprinkling them on a dessert for a little added flavor.

1. Leafy greens

Leafy greens like spinach and kale are high in Vitamin K and antioxidants, both of which are beneficial to brain health. These are great additions to any diet, being low in calories and high in nutrients. From salads to soups and stir frys, make sure to add these into your meals for a little brain boost. Just make sure you have your cutting board and casting iron pans care cleaning products to hand when preparing these, they sometimes can get a little messy!

Final Words

By incorporating these 5 mind-boosting foods into your diet, you can give your brain the nourishment it needs to function at its best. Whether you choose to buy fresh, organic, and locally grown produce, or not, you can be sure that you are either making a positive impact on your brain, the environment or both.