Category: Business

If you ever thought about buying followers, likes or comments to boost your Instagram account keep on reading as there are a few things to consider before you make a decision that can’t be undone and that you might regret later on. Things aren’t as straightforward as you think, there are some serious risks attached to these kinds of practices so hopefully, I make you a little wiser in this post.

Let’s start with the cons first to not influence your opinion in a too positive light

Your followers are most likely fake

There are dozens of services but there are less than a handful that results in real followers, and even in those cases you can’t be 100% sure that the quality of the service gets maintained in such way that they remain real forever. Most providers have a database of accounts but once you exceed certain thresholds they tap into less legitimate ways to gain followers for you.

Others don’t always appreciate it

If you gain a lot of followers in a short amount of time you might deal with prying eyes from your competitors. Good chance that they get jealous and start to report you so be careful and never share what you are doing with anyone, not even your best friends as it can easily work against you.

Engagement levels drop big time

Do you know that Instagram belongs to Facebook? They purchased it a few years ago and the advanced bot detection methods they apply to Facebook are integrated at Instagram as well. Because of that, there is a very real chance your practices won’t stay undetected. At Facebook, it’s a known fact that the less engaging your audience is the more they lower your reach to get in touch with your genuine fans. This is probably the most important reason to stay away from dubious practices to grow your Instagram account.

Getting your account deleted

If you really take it to the extreme they can ban you for buying Instagram followers. you won’t be the first one to have experienced that. Just browse around on online forums or at sites like Trust Advisor and you’ll see many people complaining about this.

It’s not all bad though, let’s look at the benefits

Giving yourself a headstart

When you are just starting on Instagram and you have zero followers it looks unattractive to people to follow you, as the first thing they think is that you are unpopular so buying a few hundred followers is not that bad of an idea, simply to get the ball rolling.

Trading followers for followers

Although this isn’t the most ethical method of methods it does work, adswaps are common practice at Instagram and this can start as small as you want. Sure the other party won’t be happy with this but you can always publish one of their post at a later point when you do have legit followers so that you don’t come across as a thief.

More credibility = better conversions

We all use these social widgets on our website, even I bought 2000 fake likes for my main website, simply because 200 likes don’t look all that great so now clients are much more likely to purchase one of my services and conversions are all that matter.

Summing it up

As you can see there are some serious downsides to buying Instagram followers so make sure you don’t overdo it. Nothing wrong with giving it a little push in the right direction though.

Whether you want to replace a broken appliance or are shopping for a new unit, you certainly wouldn’t mind saving a dollar here or a dollar there. If this sounds more like your latest endeavor, following the frugal tips will help you save money on your appliances.

Buy Energy Efficient Appliances

Some appliances are more energy efficient than others. Machines that come with Energy Star certification have rebate plans that can lower your buying costs significantly. CEE Tier certified appliances have exclusive discounts attached to them as wells. It certainly does feel good getting some money back upon purchasing new equipment.

Go for the Function, Not the Frills

The more features a home heating appliance has, the more expensive it becomes. While you wouldn’t mind a tankless water heater with programmable settings or a boiler with a delay function, the truth is, such features add on to the unit’s price. Go for a cheap appliance that delivers value without compromising on the quality.

Hire an Affordable Installation Company

If you’re mounting a boiler, for instance, you need to look for a heating company that can do the installation without charging you an arm and a leg. Most importantly, the company must be reliable, with years of experience under its wings. One such outfit is Eco Heat, a plumbing and heating company operating in Balham South West London. Be sure to get more info about Eco Heat and how it can help with the installation of your heating appliances.

Avoid Appliances with Expensive Maintenance Costs

Saving on appliances goes beyond buying the actual unit at a departmental or online store. If you want to make savings in the long run, you need to go for an appliance whose maintenance costs are cheap. For instance, you may choose to buy an air cleaner with a permanent or blow-able filter as opposed to a model with a replaceable filter.

Shop Right

Where you shop for your appliance determines the price you end up paying for your it. You need to know a couple of discounted sites such as Amazon, Craigslist, or eBay. Such site offers incredible deals on an assortment of appliances that you can help save you money.

Negotiate

Sometimes the obvious choice you may have is to negotiate for the price of your appliances. Most sellers particularly on sites such as eBay or Craigslist are willing to lower the costs but will hardly do so if you don’t ask for it. Do not assume that the listed price is the final price you can pay of the appliance can.

Watch and Wait for Appliance Sales

Be on the lookout for online sales. You may as well choose to wait for such offers to buy your appliance at a discounted price. Black Friday is also another sales day you may want to check out. Sign up for sales alerts so that you can know when there is an ongoing or upcoming deal on your favorite discounted site.

In conclusion, visit the dent or scratch appliance store. See, a scratch or dent on an appliance does not compromise its functionality. Machines with dents or scratches are inexpensive, and you might be lucky to get an appliance that serves you right even with the dents or scratches.

People make the decision to move to a new city or a new home for a lot of different reasons. Some people are moving so that they can be closer to family members because they don’t want to be that far away anymore. Sometimes they are looking to start fresh in a new city where no one knows them, and it will be easy to start over. A big reason why people decide to move is so they can downsize. It is a way for them to save money and it can also be a great way to ring in a new stage in their life. Downsizing can be difficult because you are going to have to decide on what to do with all the things that you are not going to keep.

Here are some great tips to help you with your downsizing process.

Short-term storage solutions can be a great way to start the process. You can bring everything that is going to be a necessity to the new place and you can put everything else in a storage unit. Renting the storage unit will allow you to go through your things at your own pace. It will give you the time you need to decide what you love, what you need, and what can go. This can be a perfect way to make progress without having to feel like it needs to be done right away.

One of toughest parts about downsizing is figuring out what to keep and what to get rid of. One of the things that you may want to do is to classify all of your belongings. It is a jumping off point to help you figure out what you need, what you love, and what is just not necessary. It can be a long process that may take some time. Some great questions that you can ask yourself to help the process is:

• Would I buy this if I were to find it in a store right now?

• Do I have more than one of these things in my home already? This can be the case many times with kitchen appliances and beauty care products.

• Is this something that I feel I just can’t allow myself to live without?

• Is this something that I am keeping just because I feel like I have to? You would ask yourself this in the case of things that were given to you as a gift or something that you got for a really good price.

Moving can be an exciting time in anyone’s life. When you have made the decision to downsize, it is for a good reason and because you are ready to embark on this stage of your life. It will take time to complete this process and you are going to want to give yourself plenty of it. You are going to go back and forth on some things and you are going to be definitive on others. This is the type of process that should not be rushed.

Surgeons are some of the most respected members of society. What most people don’t know is that this profession isn’t as easy as it looks. It involves long working hours and decisions that at times don’t give the results that you are looking for. At times, it is hard to get patients to grow your practice.

However, what most spine surgeons don’t know is that they can make headway if they decide to use Instagram.

With over 800 million users each month sharing 70 million pictures each day, Instagram has become a platform that you can use to get an audience for your medical practice. With Instagram being the number one platform in terms of engagement, you can get an opinion regarding your practice easily.

So, how can you integrate this app into your medical practice without losing momentum?

Determine if the App is Right for You

The Instagram app has worked for different areas of medicine, and it might work for you as well. If you are too busy, you need to know that there are some tools to help you handle the common tasks on Instagram without the need for you to be online each time. These tools are aptly named bots, and you can check out the best ones on Free Your Spine.

If you wish to build a direct awareness and be in contact with your audience, as well as create patient awareness, then this app is right for you.

Know What Instagram is All About

You need to understand what Instagram offers you as a physician. You need to find out how it works and what benefits you stand to gain from this app. You also need to understand the tasks you need to perform to make your account work for you.

The first step is to come up with a perfect profile picture. The profile picture needs to reflect the practice that you run. For instance, have a picture of the logo of your practice, or the tools that you need.

You also need to understand the kind of content you can share on the app. Instagram gives you several types of content to use including images, video and more. Take time to find out what works for your practice. Take time to understand the need for hashtags and which ones can work for your practice.

Before you go ahead and start posting the images, you need to understand that many users don’t have the guts to look at some graphic images which you find normal to you.

Know How Well to Communicate Your Message

As a spinal surgeon, you need to find a way to reflect the things that are most important to your practice. You will have to post before and after pictures of previous surgical procedures, behind the scenes images of your day-to-day life and other facts.

Instagram is an app that is meant to draw attention to various aspects of your surgical practice and put a face to your practice.

As a spinal surgeon, you wish to talk about back pain, athletes, sports events, dancers, drivers and so on. You want to talk about the various aspects that lead to back problems and tell the audience what solutions you have for them.

Learn From Experts

Follow other medical professions to get an idea of what is happening in their niches. You can get a few ideas from them so that you grow your Instagram account the right way.

The Lowdown

It takes more than just posting images on your Instagram account as a surgeon to get the followers you need. Make sure you post images that are relevant to your audience and learn some more from experts.

Do you know that laser engravers are treasure chests for a business that is on the go? In this digital age, laser engraving is everywhere, from electronic items to fabrics. If you browse items on online e-commerce sites, you will get a huge percentage of the items being personalized, just the way many people want them to be.

Many businesses fail to find a footing in this niche because they fail to define their success in terms of revenue. They don’t know what to do to make more money – all they know is that they are in business.

Today we change the myth that the engraver can just add a few benefits to your business. The sky is the limit!

Service

The first rule is exceptional service. Service in this sense means what you offer to your customers. If you offer proper service, your customers will come back to you for more great service. Repeat purchases make it easy to make profits and to convince the client to pay more for a given job.

Service depends on both workmanship and the kind of materials you use. It is better to take 10 minutes to get the perfect look for the client and get 20 new orders rather than finish the task 10 minutes earlier and send the client to the new service provider.

Size is everything

The size of the engraving bench you purchase dictates the kind of money you make. The bigger the size of the bench, the more the applications you can handle. With the large bench size, it is rare for you to turn away any job, regardless of the size. Go for a bench size minimum 12”x24” or more. This bigger size also works great for smaller jobs too.

However, you need to consider the jobs at hand before you make the perfect decision. Don’t go for a machine that is too big yet the kind of jobs you handle is small. For handheld laser engravers, you can consult the experts at Needham Coding to understand what is suitable according to your needs, then make a decision.

Deliver on Time

The date you promise to deliver the task should be honoured, not a day after and certainly not a week later. Make sure you run your business on schedule, and make sure you under promise and over deliver.

Always Get It Right the First Time

To make more money, always know exactly what your customers are looking for from the word go. Clients might bring in rush orders, but make sure you take your time so that you don’t waste materials. Wastage is one of the top aspects that make losses. So, prepare everything before you sit down to design the item.

Know the Process

One of the best ways to make money in your engraving business is to understand the process of handling different materials. Handling glass isn’t the same way you handle plastic.

Takeaway Tip: Purchase in Bulk

Buying items in bulk is one of the best ways to save some money on the engraving. Buying in bulk puts you in position for a discount, and you don’t have to spend money on travel expenses each week to get supplies.

The internet these days is making everything easier – ordering food, clothes, connecting with long lost family on the other side of the world, and starting a business. Never before has it been easier to get your name and brand out there, market to a mass amount of the demographic you’re aiming for, and grow traffic to your service or product just by clicking the mouse a couple of times.

It’s highly recommended to be on the internet these days with your business – that way you’ll be able to grow it from home, and you’ll have to best chance of reaching the most amount of people. Word of mouth is still valuable but especially when paired with other marketing strategies. Here are three basic tips to starting a business that’ll help you overcome those initial hurdles you may have.

The first simple tip

Starting a business in the age of technology is one of the first things you should do if you’re serious about your business – trademark. Trademarking your name and your logo can potentially save you from legal strife in the future, especially if you’ve come up with a unique idea and you want to build it from grassroots.

With thousands of names and brands floating around the virtual world, the value of intellectual property is high, so it’s best to secure your branding and name right from the start by making sure that nobody else can use it for their business idea. This will protect you from others taking your thoughts and tarnishing them with their copies – it could ruin your reputation as its easy to affiliate one similar brand name with another. Making sure that you’re unique and protected gives your business a great chance.

The second simple tip

Starting up a business is going to put you ahead before you’ve even begun – although you won’t be lacking in healthy competition. Building a secure website that garners attention and traffic is your best chance at starting and maintaining a consistent following of the demographic you’re wanting. This comes down to the age we live in – if you want to be seen and heard, you’ve got to get yourself online.

There will be plenty of competing websites that are unique to your business’s niche, so it’s worth doing your research and figuring out what exactly is working for people so you can give your website the best chance it has. Check out WebFireThemes for an impressive selection of custom built websites that can cater to your needs. Choosing the right website and doing regular maintenance is key to a successful business.

The third and final tip

Starting up a business is just as important as protecting your name and brand – setting up a living will. A living will is like life insurance – it protects you and your property in the event of anything happening. It allows you to determine exactly how your business is managed, and whose hands you would want it to fall into should something happen.

Like a personal will, it gives you control of the operation of things posthumously as well – preventing it getting into the wrong hands, or operated at a level that you had envisioned. You can leave your business and instructions for its operation in your will, but this way more often than not has its complications and legal hoops that make it harder to transfer to the beneficiary than just placing it in a living will.

Final words

It’s an exciting and opportunistic time to be starting up a business and creating something unique and original to you that you’ve always wanted to have time for but never could quite get to it.

It’s always good to do your research and ensure your time invested in starting something up is well spent – it will give you the best chance of success in the long run, allowing more time for profit and focus on what it is exactly the consumer/client is wanting from you. Set your foundations right before you’ve even started, and you have a much higher chance of being successful.

When it comes to a gaming mouse, they are not all created equal. Some are expensive but don’t perform as expected. Some are cheap but perform surprisingly well. Some have bells and whistles that you don’t need, and some don’t have enough. It’s time to meander your way through the land of the gaming mouse, so let’s go to some gaming mouse reviews.

The gaming mouse has come a long way since it began.

Questions

Questions about gaming mice are similar to the ones you ask yourself when buying other products, like cars, microwaves, or air conditioners. It can be all about the technology, or all about the look, or something in between. The choice often comes down to a personal one—what you can afford, or what it can do for you as far as gaming goes.

What are you looking for in a gaming mouse?

Is it speed? Sensitivity? Features?

How well does it fit your hand? Is it comfortable? Is it personal enough?

The word “personal” may seem odd here, but you’d be surprised at how intimate and intricate the mouse-buying process can be.

How many side buttons do you want? Do you even like side buttons?

Laser or optical?

The optic lens may be the best because of its response rate, but the laser can have higher DPI.

Do you want wired or wireless? Is your hand too large? The mouse too small?

Are looks important to you? Some gamers love RGB lights on their mice, and some don’t.

You don’t have to be a hardcore gamer to know what you like, and knowing what factors to look for is the first step in owning the perfect gaming mouse.

FACTORS

Where you purchase your mouse is perhaps the most important factor when mouse-hunting. Don’t buy from a dollar store when you should be browsing Amazon.com, Newegg.com, or BestBuy.com. If you’re after a generic toothpaste, that may be fine. But when it comes to a gaming mouse, a little discretion is called for. Don’t expect a lot from a $5 mouse.

Near the top of the list of gaming mice, or the very top in some circles, is Zowie. Both casual and competitive gamers love Zowie. They have great sensors and are all about accuracy and comfort, with ergonomic designs. Their most popular is an optical mouse, 1000 pulling rate, at  up to 16,000 DPI. Zowie also has mice in different sizes to fit any hand. They have mice for right-handers, like the EC Series. And the FK Series and ZA Series for the ambidextrous. You can visit their link for comparison shopping.

Razer is a second great mouse brand. They have wired mice, like the Mamba Tournament Edition, DeathAdder Elite, and Abyssus V2. And their wireless includes Lancehead and the Mamba. They have dual wired/wireless choices too, with a DPI of 8200. Visit their site to compare and contrast.

SteelSeries.  This brand has been around for a long time, and is known for consistent quality and innovative concepts. They also offer a lot of accessories. But let’s stick to the mouse. This brand offers mice at affordable prices, like $39 for a basic, and goes up from there. They also have a handy, at-a-glance comparison chart of specs and features to help you find the mouse that is right for you. Check out the chart at their site: https://steelseries.com/gaming-mice

A niche brand is ROCCAT. In a market dominated by the aforementioned brands, this one holds its own, and pushes the envelope with popular design and comfort. They can be a little pricey, but sometimes value is in the hand of the beholder. Er, gamer.

Can a Gaming Mouse Make you a Better Gamer?

If you’re a hardcore gamer, yes, but it has to be the right mouse.  If you don’t have a good sensor, you’re going to be at a disadvantage. A mouse that doesn’t fit right in your hand is going to hurt your performance.  A casual gamer wouldn’t need a great mouse, just a good one. If you’re a serious gamer, you have to shop around. Make your mouse a priority, next to the game and your system of course. The next item to focus on might be the right mouse pad, but that’s for another article.

Check out more gaming mouse reviews at Armchair Empire:

Vacuum sealers are irreplaceable kitchen appliances that prolong the shelf life of various food products. There are several terrific models in the world and the KitchenBoss Vacuum Sealer is among them. It’s an easy to use, powerful, and efficient machine that should be included in everyone’s kitchen.

Keeps Foods Fresh

First of all, if a vacuum sealer is incapable of keeping food’s fresh then it should not be released to the general public. After all, that’s exactly what they are designed to do. However, the KitchenBoss does more than just keep food products fresh. By properly sealing every single bag, this machine will protect all food items from outside bacteria, freezer burn, and excess oxygen.

Several Ways to Seal

The KitchenBoss accommodates many different ways to seal. For standard purposes, there is the option for automatic vacuum sealing. Most likely, this will end up being the most used option. As one would guess, the machine does all the work. Another option available is the Seal Only function. This comes in handy for resealing bags that have been opened. For example, instead of putting a clothespin on a bag of potato chips the Seal Only function can reseal it. Thus, it’s like opening a new bag of chips every time.

The last two functions are an inching function and an air suction function, respectively. The former is designed to be used as a manual sealer. This gives full control to the user when sealing something delicate. The air suction option allows a hose to be connected to various jars and containers to properly seal them.

Incredibly Powerful

This particular vacuum sealer uses a commercial grade vacuum pump. What this provides is a highly effective motor with a super-strong air function. Thus, sealing can be done efficiently in a matter of seconds.

An Included Warranty

No matter how great an appliance is designed, including a warranty is always a good idea. Great comfort will be taken knowing that the KitchenBoss Vacuum Sealer comes with a five-year warranty; which includes technical support and customer service.

Vague Instructions

Unfortunately, the instructions that are included with this model are very vague (and overall disappointing). Before one gets used to the machine, it can be quite difficult to position the bag correctly to get it to properly seal.

The lone downside of below average instructions doesn’t take away from the KitchenBoss’s many sealing functions, power, ease-of-use, and efficiency. For those who want to go a different way, though, check out these other vacuum sealer reviews.

There are lots of places online where you can find stylish and affordable parrot cages for sale. Parrot cages can be found new, used, or even refurbished, available from specialty retailers and general marketplaces alike – Amazon itself does a brisk trade in parrot cages and related accessories. Costs aside, of course, you want to know what it is that you’re getting into; what is honestly the best cage for your particular feathered friend?

There are a lot of blogs, forums, and other websites concerned with parrot ownership in the US. We scoped out all of them, by which we mean “the ones that appeared on the front page of four different optimized searches,” because that’s what it’s all about, right? Right. So, we spent the day looking over these websites, and we put together a small list for your benefit. That’s right. That research? It’s on us, bro.

Whether you need a new cage for an old bird, or an old cage for a new bird, or a fancy cage for a middle-aged bird that’s going through some sort of crisis (better than an unexpected sports car sitting in the driveway… right?) you’re going to want to find something well-suited to your particular “intended.” So, give the following list of four items a perusal… and, as always, let us know what you think about our choices!

YML Tall Round 4-Perch Bird Cage with Stand

This is a four-feeder cage, meaning that it’s capable of maintaining four birds at once. The cage itself is sized for small birds, such as parakeets. It provides ample space for them to move up and down between its two separate interior perches; a standard cage would only be between one-half and two-thirds the height of this particular cage. The cage is quick and easy to assemble, and relatively painless to clean; its door opens wide, and its bottom detaches to facilitate complete access to the interior. It comes with a four-wheeled stand for mobility, in case you want to attach a motor and give your parakeets a remote-control ride they’ll never forget (please don’t do that).

Kings Cages Flat Top Aluminum Parrot Cage

This is a high-tech cage that is particular to the coming year, meaning that it involves trends which are only just cresting the horizon. Trends, such as aluminum cage construction: an aluminum cage is lighter than a steel or a wrought iron cage, and it rolls more smoothly as a result. In addition to requiring less effort to move about, this cage can safely be taken out of doors; flaking paint is no longer a concern, and the scattered dust slowly chipping away from a stainless steel powder-coated finish is likewise not a problem anymore.

Yaheetech Play Top Bird Cage

Parrots are naturally curious creatures. They enjoy exploring their surroundings, investigating new items in their cages, and climbing, crawling, and swinging from more or less anything presented to them. With that in mind, one of the popular additions to large bird cages is the outdoor “play top” area, which often includes – as this cage from Yaheetech includes – a ladder, an additional perch, and some feeding bowls. Don’t worry about the mess; unlike many large parrot cages, this particular cage features an expansive debris guard. There are also interior feeding bowls, of course – if you would rather abstain from teaching your bird to expect food up top. This cage is designed for one to two medium-sized birds, or one large bird. Due to its relatively spartan features – such as only one interior perch – we do not, despite its overall size – recommend it for larger numbers of birds, regardless of how small they may be.

Prevue Hendryx Wrought Iron Flight Cage

A “flight cage” is a cage intended to allow a small community of small birds, such as between three and six individuals, plenty of room to fly around within the cage itself. This helps to keep the birds healthy and happy, as it resembles the less restrictive environs in which they evolved. There are a series of three escalating perches within the cage, which your birds can flit quickly between as they so desire. There are also four food dishes included with the cage. The bottom of the cage, and the bottom grill, both slide out to facilitate ready and immediate cleaning of your feathered friends’ debris, and there is a large “main entrance” to help grant complete and unrestricted access to the cage’s interior. If you want to keep a small cadre/company/party/entmoot of feathered companions, this would be an excellent cage to contain them… although we don’t suggest going higher than six with this cage alone. Even that’s pushing it. Four is ideal.