Ideal Fertilizer for Garden Plants

A discussion on fertilizer for home gardening plants seems like a dated topic. Yet the importance is utmost as per the interest of growers and gardeners. For all the gardeners, the knowledge of using fertilizers and ways to apply them is crucial. For attaining the vigorous plant growth, you must know about the hardiness of plant zones. In order to grow the plants, we are continuing the brief discussion on why, how and what multivitamins should be applied on the plants.

All ideal fertilizer for garden plants carry three chief elements named as Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium.

Nitren is important for promoting the leaf development and growth. It helps iogn the development of chlorophyll. Basically, it helps in converting sunlight into food.
Phosphorous is very important for the growth of stems, roots, blossoms and fruits.
Potassium is another important element helping your plants in digestion and making of food.

Why do they need Fertilizers?

Often, we may wonder that, all the important nutrients are available in soil and air, so fertilizers are important? Fertilizers act as a mediator as some plants cannot get complete access of soil nutrients. So, the choice of nutrients also depends on the type of soil, the plant is growing into. Some modern farming techniques, traffic and construction can disturb the soil’s nutrient chemistry leading towards limited nutrient base. For such reasons, the gardeners must use fertilizers to help plants reach to their full nutrient capacity.

Some Homemade Options:

1. Seawood:

This fertilizer type has the long-held lineage of 1000+ years. It is considered as all-embracing organic option. However, it carries mannitol which can increase the plant’s ability to absorb more nutrients. You can use fresh or dried seawood in this regard.

2. Fish Emulsion:

Fish emulsion works like a homemade option which is obtained from fish-waste. The results with this have been truly great. However, it works very gradually. Also, the smell can bother you a little more.

3. Aquarium Water:

The aquarium water while cleaning the tank also works as a great source of fish waste for plants. It is easy and anytime available option.

4. Coffee Grounds:

Used coffee grounds are a good source of two percent of nitrogen. It can also provide some phosphorous and potash. Let them dry and scatter lightly over your plants.

5. Egg Shells:

Egg shells can be the most ideal and practical fertilizer option. They carry calcium which makes an important element in cell growth. You can simply crush in grinder and sprinkle over the soil.

7 Money-Saving Content-Marketing Tricks Every Marketer Should Try

With the right strategy, a marketer can easily enjoy the amazing benefits of content marketing. Some of these benefits are more traffic, a better reputation, and continuous growth in both traffic and reputation in the long run with only a little increase in the budget. With entrepreneurship, costing and keeping the marketing budget within the limit is really important.

Though content-marketing is very popular due to its cost-efficiency, it is not free nor cheap. Investing heavily in an internal employee or respectable external firms is necessary to produce excellent work and execute a high-quality strategy. And always keep in mind that in marketing, an effective brand design is necessary too so keep your audience hooked.

Fortunately, a marketer can still cut costs without having to sacrifice the campaign quality with the help of some money-saving tricks. Below are the strategies found to be incredibly useful by many marketers.

1. Reusing old content.
For some, this is not a good idea. But honestly, it will only be bad if the old content is reused in the wrong way. If for example, a marketer has a successful ‘evergreen topic’ blog post which he posted two years ago. Since the content of this blog stays fresh and can attract lots of traffic, it wouldn’t hurt if he will revisit and re-post such article.

Evidently, reposting the same article say every month will not give him new results. His possible option is waiting for a year or two before reposting, he could even get away with a full republication.

If in case he decides to repost a blog of his with an evergreen content but without waiting for it to turn one-year-old, he can do so by changing the headline, reorganizing the internal sections, or editing the body content to give the article a new “look.” He just needs to ensure that the URL where it was initially published is the same or else, he might lose the SEO equity that the article has already built up.

2. Re-envisioning content in new mediums
A marketer can convert his successful article to different mediums such as infographics or video highlights. He can also use certain snippets of his article and share it on social media as a tweet or a Facebook post. Reimagining new ways to republish an old but effective blog will definitely help in cutting content-marketing costs.

3. Don’t stop at content publication, move forward with content promotion.
Content marketing starts with idea brainstorming and content creation, editing, and publication. But successful marketers do not stop and think that their job is done after publishing their articles, they go beyond that and promote their content.

Eric Siu, an Entrepreneur contributor and Single Grain CEO, mentioned that a marketer should spend 20% of his time in creating content and 80% on promoting content. One can start by showcasing his work across his social media channels and move along by sending paid ads to it, conducting influencer marketing, submitting it to StumbleUpon or Reddit, and building internal links to it

Benefits of Hiring an Asbestos Removal Company

Asbestos is mostly used as a fire-resistant material in houses and other buildings. They have been in practice since the later 20th century as well. But even if it’s useful in resisting fire – it still is extremely harmful to health and the surrounding. Diseases like lung cancer and asbestosis are ailments that people can suffer from exposure to asbestos. That is why before buying a building or house, even selling it, there should be a thorough inspection for any signs of contamination of asbestos. If there is, eliminating and removing such toxic substances should be carried out as soon as possible.

All of these can be done by a reliable and professional company that specializes in removing asbestos. They have the right resources and skills that are needed in the removal of asbestos. They are also experts in handling this type of dangerous thing, so you can rest assured that a proper and legitimate asbestos removal company can take care of the elimination of asbestos materials from your property. The more the dangers and risks of asbestos are coming out in the open, the more people are contacting removal companies to take off this. With the safe removal of asbestos, people are resting in peace, knowing that they are out of danger from the side effects of the fibers present in the asbestos. This is why it is important to contact a removal company dealing with asbestos.

Here are a few more reasons talking about the benefit of hiring a removal company concerning asbestos contamination.

They Work with Safety Measures and the Right Equipment – As we have already seen, asbestos can lead to serious health issues. If you by any chance inhale the asbestos – it will cause swelling in the neck as well as difficulty in swallowing. Asbestos is a toxic substance, and it is to be removed at any cost to prevent any other problems in the future. With an asbestos removal service provider, you can be assured that they will use high-end equipment to remove such dangerous material. Moreover, they are professionals and will use safety measures to secure asbestos from the property or building.
They are Trained Professionals – As you probably know, an asbestos removal service provider needs to hold a license to run the company and prove its legitimacy. The same goes for the employees of the company as well. Since asbestos is very dangerous and should be removed with care, the workers must undergo extensive training and be professionals as the asbestos fibers should be removed carefully and handled delicately. They also have to acquire experience to work in this field. This is why all the removal company workers are trained and experienced for being able to work in this field. They work so that they succeed in removing the asbestos and preventing the spreading of the particles around.
Proper Disposal – Just removing the asbestos from a building is not the only thing that the removal service providers do. This is because the asbestos also needs to be disposed of to prevent it from further spreading. An asbestos removal company can help in doing so by taking proper measures to dispose of the substance.

6 Qualities/ Details To Consider About A Property!

If, you are a qualified, committed, potential home buyer, be careful to, pay close attention, to many details, but, be certain to fully consider, and examine, the property, characteristics, etc, as well as the house, before committing to purchase, what, to most, is their single – biggest, financial asset! There are many characteristics to consider, but, this article will briefly, consider, six of the key ones. After, over 15 years, as a Real Estate Licensed Salesperson, in the State of New York, I have discovered, few buyers, are, as prepared, as they should be, and it would be wise, for them, to pay, far – more attention, to many aspects, related to the property, the house, is situated – on! With, that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, these six, and why they are essential, important considerations.

1. Size of property: Are you seeking a specific – sized, property? In general, larger properties, require more maintenance, and expense, to up – keep! How would you like to balance, your needs, wants, reality, costs, expenses, privacy, and other considerations, and, is, the specific size of this particular property, up – to, your preferences, etc?

2. Tree – filled, versus open: How much of your lot, is usable, and, how much is not? Different areas, have, specific regulations, regarding, protecting trees (as opposed to knocking them, down. How would this impact, your desired enjoyment, of the land?

3. Terrain: Is it, a hilly, flat, or something, in – between? How this terrain, affects usage, and possibilities, should be considered, from the onset! Does the pitch, of the land, keep water, from flowing, away, or towards, the house? Obviously, expansion – related issues, etc, are simpler, and less – costly, when property, is more – flat!

4. Distance from neighbors: Some prioritize personal privacy, and, thus, should seen properties, which are a significant difference, from their neighbors, while others, care, far – less, about this! Is there significant distance, to ensure privacy, or, some sort of barrier (such as bushes, etc)?

5. Frontage/ side – yard/ back: In many communities, frontage, is a major factor/ consideration, in terms of real estate taxes! What balance do you seek, between, frontage, front – yard, set – back, from the street, usable side – yard, and back (behind the house? Since, we are all different, with differing tastes, needs, and requirements, make certain, the property layout, fits your needs, and personality, etc!

6. Grounds condition: Evaluate the condition of the grounds of the property! How much will it cost you, to bring – it, to where, you desire? Will landscaping renovations, be urgently needed, and costly, or, basic? What is the overall condition, and what might require immediate attention?

Before buying a house, pay attention to the overall property, and, whether, it fits your needs, requirements, specifications, and will bring you pleasure! The better prepared a buyer is, the more he will enjoy his new home!

Richard has owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, Director of Development, consultant, professionally run events, consulted to thousands, conducted personal development seminars, for 4 decades, and a RE Licensed Salesperson, for 15+ years. Rich has written three books and thousands of articles

Free Grants For Home Improvement Repair Costs

If you would like to fix or repair your house, home improvement grants provide free money to Americans who can use some financial assistance when it comes to covering the cost of home repair. These grants are typically provided by the government. More specifically, your local government has the greatest interest in helping you finance your home improvement projects, as they are the ones to benefit the most.

The home owner, also benefits greatly from these programs. Home improvement grants provide free money that never has to be paid back. As long as these funds are used for the purpose agreed upon in your grant application, the cash is yours to keep.

Once you access the grant database to find the government grant programs that you are eligible to receive, you’ll realize that there are a number of grants to choose from. Some provide money for home repair, others provide free grant money to expand your home, while others offer the cash you need to upgrade your appliances to energy efficient equipment. It all depends on what government programs are specially available in your community and how much funding is left for you to claim.

When you apply for home improvement grants, you do not have to worry about your credit score, collateral or down payment money. Because these are not loans, the government is not interested in this information. What you will need, however, is the details on your project, an estimate as to how much it will increase the value of your property, and a good idea of how much money your project will cost.

The Basics of Acquiring a US Visa

It’s not uncommon to dream of visiting places you see in the movies. Let me guess, most of them are in the United States. To name a few, New York, LA, Miami, Washington and Chicago are some of the common tourist destinations in the US. You have the resources but you harbor this apprehension of being denied.

This should not stop you from making your travel plans a reality. If you have relatives in the US or you would like to travel solo, the key is to know what type of visa you must apply for, the necessary documents you must fill out, and more importantly, the purpose of your visit to the US.

First things first, know the difference between a US Visitor Visa (B-2) and a US Visa Sponsorship.

These two things are not the same.

The visitor visa often known as B-1/B-2 visa is a non-immigrant visa for people wishing to enter United States temporarily for pleasure, medical treatment, and business. In this case, you apply for your US Visa with the US Embassy or Consulate. Whereas, a U.S. visa sponsorship is applied for by the employer or close family member by filing an immigration petition with the U.S. government for getting a residency card (Green card) for their employee or close family member. This is also known as non-immigrant petitions such as work visa (e.g., H, L visa) as well as family visa (e.g., Fiancé or K visa).

What is the purpose of your visit?

You will be asked this question by the US consul who you will meet when you get to the embassy. But before that, determine the purpose of your trip. If the purpose of your trip is to visit USA for a short duration for pleasure, tourism, and visit relatives, family, or friends, then visitor visa known as Tourist visa to USA or B-2 visa is the right visa for you.

However, keep in mind that you if apply for a visitor’s visa, among other things, you must show to the US Consular officer that they have strong ties to the Philippines as you home country and they intend return after their temporary stay in the U.S. You must also show that you have enough money available to take care your expenses for your U.S. trip such as air tickets, visitors insurance, lodging/boarding, transportation expenses, tourism expenses and all other expenses.

What if I don’t have enough resources but my friends and relatives in the US are willing to shoulder my stay there?

Then this is where sponsorship sets in.

Who can sponsor my trip?

Any US-based person can sponsor visa for his/her parents, relatives, and friends. This means that he/she must either be a holder of an I-94 (US Green card) or a US Citizen. Your sponsor should provide an affidavit of support (form I-134). The form is a confirmation that the sponsor is ready to undertake the financial liability of the applicant during the visit.

What documents do I need to submit?

Must have Documents for US Visitor Visa interview:

  1. A valid passport that does not expire prior to 6 months beyond of your intended stay.
  2. Printout of your confirmation page from the form DS-160
  3. Fee receipt US Visa Fees
  4. One photograph
  5. Original/Copy of Visa interview appointment letter

Supporting documents to show your Ties with your home country include:

You must demonstrate strong economic, social, and familial ties with your home country. You must also show that you will not become a burden on US by proving your financial stability to cover the expenses in US. These facts will ensure the interviewing officer that you will return to your home country after the authorized period of stay in USA. The required documents are:
1. Evidence of sufficient funds for the visit to US (Bank statement and passbook, etc.)
2. Evidence to show that you have strong ties to your home country. Documents related to the property you own and your employment are good evidence
a. If you are employed get a verification letter of employment
b. If you are self-employed get a financial and other documentary proof of the ownership
c. If you are a government employee get a Certificate of Employment and an Authority to Travel Certification
d. Tax ID, and recent tax-related documents
e. Original property papers like house, shop or business ownership documents etc. which you own in the Philippines/home country. If no papers available, make a notarized affidavit for the same
f. Documentary evidence of running any business or organization
g. Evidence of family ties like unmarried children, old aged parents and other family responsibilities
h. If person is an employee, other than proof of employment and proof of leave granted from the office, any such document that would show proof that you have reasons to come back

Documents and other proofs aside, the assistance of an immigration counsel/consultant who would facilitate your application and better your chances of getting approved is strongly suggested and highly encouraged.

Expand Your Brand Using Other People’s Money by Using Franchisor Strategies

Back many years ago, I met a fellow franchisor, he’d built a nice company with 250 franchisees which operated Kiosks in shopping malls – you know those carts in malls that sell various wares. What he did was make each Kiosk its own business, at first as “independent contractors” but later as Franchisees due to the Franchise Law rules. Each franchisee had to sign a two-year franchise agreement with non-automatic renewal, where the Franchisor could merely take over the business, location, as he already had the lease-space agreement with the malls, including the corporations that owned many malls around the country.

After two years, he stopped renewing franchise agreements, took control of all those little businesses, and then sold the whole thing and retired a very wealthy man. Unfortunately, many of the independent contractors, turned into Franchisees were forced out after building up their businesses and providing a substantial amount of goodwill. The franchisor’s concept was built by the blood, sweat and tears of all those individuals, who did make decent money in the meantime, but were then basically terminated when their franchise agreement term ended.

Recently, there is an interesting company in the “Handy Man” sector which has a franchise agreement that states it may unilaterally buy back the franchisee’s business at any time after 2-years of operating. In the Franchisor’s option to purchase there is a mathematical formula for valuation of the Franchisee’s business that negate the value of any “goodwill” and allows the Franchisee to choose if he will see at “Fair Market Value” of assets (used equipment, office furniture) or twice the earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA).

Why would a Franchise Buyer buy a franchise like that? I suppose there might be a few situations where it makes sense for instance, the Franchisee just needs a couple of years of income and believes they can build up a good “book” of business, and if it starts to go South, the Franchisor may buy him/her out and they can move on, less risk? But what if the Franchisor chooses not to buy and the business fails? What if the business succeeds wildly and the Franchisee is forced to sell-out a thriving and growing business?

If you think about it, it is a brilliant strategy for a Franchisor, have others build your business, take all the risks, and if they succeed, you terminate their franchise agreement instead of renewal, and if they fail, you simply let them fail, then sell that territory to a new franchisee, until one succeeds and then you just keep winning and building on the backs of others. As a franchisee buyer it may be wise to recognize such strategies and be weary of them, unless it serves your temporary purpose of a short term business and solid temporary cash flow based on your abilities and the Franchisor’s model. Think on this.

Reasons for Hiring a General Contractor

When it comes to home remodeling projects general contracting can bring about a lot of changes in running the project. A few common remodeling jobs include kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling and office remodeling. When planning to remodel your kitchen your requirements generally will include setting up new cabinets, creating extra counter space, creating space for appliances etc.

Bathrooms are another area where we would like to see changes every now and then. Changing the tiles, repairing leaking pipes, changing sanitary wares and fixtures are some of the remodeling works that we consider while renovating bathrooms. Whatever the project is hiring a general contractor can make your work a lot easier. You can literally find a huge difference in the total cost on hiring a general contractor for all your remodeling jobs.

If you have very little knowledge on interior and remodeling tasks then a general contractor is the one whom you should contact as they can simplify your task and give you ideas, completing the task for you just as you wanted them, perfectly and flawlessly. You can share your views and ideas with your contractor who will help you execute your ideas and vision into reality.

Expert advice can help you shape your plans flawlessly. Experienced and professional General contractors know exactly how to execute remodeling projects without affecting the structure and safety of the house. They have got better insight on things that will work. They know well what type of material will suite your needs and budget.

Based on the remodeling work you may require different workers to work on the project. Hence once you plan to start the project you will require the service of any one or all of the following workers – electrician, plumber, painters, carpenters etc. If you are entrusting the task to a general contractor then you need not have to deal with all these workers but just one person, the general contractor himself, who will make the necessary arrangements and will deal with the workers without your intervention. All you have to ever bother with is to pay the contracted amount.

The workers will not contact you for payment or for leave but will contact the general contractor who will deal with their issues and payment matters. The work will be managed by the contractor who supervises the work and ensures that the work is completed on time. It will be very difficult for you to manage a remodeling project involving multiple workers. You can make things simpler and less stressful by hiring a general contractor to complete the task for you.

High Performance Teams

How does your team perform? How do you rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor and 10 excellent? Is it massively successful constantly delivering way past all expectations? Is it full of positively minded people working together to achieve challenging business goals? Is it autonomous, responding effectively to challenges and opportunities large and small?

If the answer to these questions is “yes”, congratulations, you can score a 10 and don’t need to read any more of this article. In fact, as you are likely to have plenty of time for high yield activities, give me a call to discuss how your team got there.

Sadly, this isn’t the case for most of us. Your team may not be a “10” but I doubt if it’s a “1” either. Hopefully you are somewhere on the path and have the right attitudes, values and approach develop your team into a “10”.

Empowerment is a key ingredient to the high performing team. If your team feels undervalued, lacking in authority and capability, frightened to make the slightest mistake it’s unlikely to be hitting the high notes. Perhaps there are some individuals that show real potential but others are negative and unproductive?

Are you creating the right conditions for success? Does the team have a clear understanding of what is required of them? Have you a vision of what success looks like? Are the goals you have set, or been set, shared and meaningful to all team members? Reward and fear motivation is common in business today. A common example is rewarding success with a bag of money and punishing failure with the sack. The trouble is we get used to this, we need more and more money to get the same level of motivation and become resilient to threats of the sack.

Internal motivation is far more lasting and effective. It needs more work, it needs you to really understand your people and what drives them. If you know this and use personal, meaningful goals your team will self-motivate. If you have linked their personal, meaningful goals to team and company goals you are well on the way to a successful team.

The whole team is raring to go, but have they the capability to execute? Are team members allowed to make decisions? Have you delegated effectively packaging the task with the necessary authority and resources? Effective delegation is important to team success and team growth. It is a wonderful growth tool for teams and individuals. It does, however need certain attitudes and process to succeed.

Flexibility is a good starting point. The way you do a task may not be the way a team member does. They can be innovative and bring unexpectedly good results given the opportunity. It’s worth letting people test out new ideas. Sometimes different is really good, just think of Amazon and Facebook.

How self-confident are you? Enough to release authority and responsibility to team members? Enough to heap praise publicly when they bring success? Lack of self-confidence and micromanagement are the enemy of productivity. Conquer them and you will become an indispensable profit and productivity generator both for yourself and your company.

Focus on results don’t strive for perfection. Perfect is no friend of productivity. Set standards that are right for the job and always be mindful of the Pareto principle. 80% of your results are going to come from 20% of activities. This means a lot of the work delegated will contribute relatively little to overall performance. It’s intelligent to accept less than perfect in relatively unimportant areas.

Taking credit for the work of others, not really listening to their ideas or working solo crush team morale and productivity. Some people believe effective leaders must always be in total control. They see this as the way “good bosses” should behave. Many bosses do behave this way but I question if they are good. It’s most certainly not the way a good leader behaves so, if that’s what you want to be I suggest you avoid this behaviour entirely.

Delegation develops employees into effective team members. Risk is inherent but you can balance it against the likely reward in terms of personal and team growth and overall performance. It’s also possible to limit risk by adopting a multi-level delegation process.

Tiffany is a bright, driven girl with her foot on the first rung of the marketing ladder. She is doing a great job creating very successful direct mail campaigns. She is eager for something new and looks like a good candidate for development. You have just the task and would like to delegate it to her. It’s running an event which will be a challenge for her but offers a great development opportunity.

A good first step is to her for an opinion. You might say “I’m thinking of doing things differently and wondered who you think might be able to handle this task, perhaps even you? This gives her the opportunity to express opinions but not feel forced to accept the task.

If Tiffany accepts, consider this approach. The first time the opportunity to run an event comes along you run it, let her watch you do it and ask questions. The second time let Tiffany do it with you assisting and helping out where needed. The third time she runs the event, but this time without your support unless absolutely needed, reporting at regular intervals. Subsequent times she always runs events unaided and only reports in exceptional circumstances.

One seemingly small point is very important for Tiffany’s confidence and status in the team. If she performs well, make the praise loud, long and public. If she needs coaching make it supportive, private and non-judgemental.

I hope this is useful to you and help you build your own high performance team.

Natural (Holistic) Health Care – Key Purpose

Natural Health Care (Holistic Health Care) has many modalities that were developed and perfected from the beginning of human existence. Nutrition and herbs, that are used to boost your metabolism or enhance your natural ability to ward off diseases, are the mainstay to creating and maintaining good health.

Many other modalities such as: Hypnosis, Meditation, Reiki, Chi Kung, Qi Gong, Dowsing, I Ching, Yoga, Ti Chi date back thousands of years B.C.E, Acupuncture is rooted in the Taoist tradition, which is believed to be over 8000 years ago.

Such modalities as Reiki, Body Stress Release, and other energy transmuting techniques are valuable tools for practitioners to provide non-invasive and natural health care remedies. Reiki was discovered by Dr. Usui during a mystical experience on Mt. Kurama, a sacred mountain north of Kyoto, Japan in March 1922. Body Stress Release (BSR) was developed in South Africa, 1981, by Gail and Ewald Meggersee, American trained chiropractors.

The key purpose of Natural Health Care is to assist the body’s ability to heal itself by eliminating the roadblocks that are preventing the body from doing the job it was designed to do. Sometimes the remedy is so simple, most people are suspicious, because of their indoctrination and conditioning that it takes a huge blast of a powerful drug.

Many times the remedy is to simply learn how to tune into your intuitive self using the different tools like Intuition, Hypnosis, Meditation, Tarot Cards, Runes (believed to be used as early as 200 B.C.E), or other forms of divination techniques to allow your subconscious mind the ability to communicate with the affected body part and bring the cause of the symptom and remedy to the conscious level.

The connection between Mind, Body and Spirit has been established for thousands of centuries. Hippocrates, 400 B.C.E, believed that the root of all illness had a physical and rational explanation. Thus, his practice was based on observations and the study of the body. He rejected the views of the times that considered illness to be caused by superstitions and by possession of evil spirits and disfavor of the gods.

Your lifestyle, nutrition, stress, thoughts, values and beliefs all influence your health – either positively or negatively. That is why natural remedies are 100% effective as it treats the whole person rather than treating the symptoms of the dis-ease or illness.