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Factors to Weigh Before Buying a Backyard Pool

If you have been seeing advertisements for pool companies or if you have just been thinking about how nice it would be to be able to take a quick dip on a hot summer day, you might be thinking about investing in a pool for your home. This can be a wonderful decision for you and your family, but it is a big decision that should not be taken lightly. Luckily, if you consider these things before making the jump, you can help ensure that you are fully aware of what you are getting yourself into. Then, you’ll know for sure that you are making the right decision when having a pool installed.

 

Cost

First of all, you have to think about how much money you can afford to spend on a swimming pool. Luckily, there are various types, styles and sizes of swimming pools, and you can choose anything from a simple and affordable above-ground pool to a large, custom-designed in-ground pool, depending on your preferences and how much you can afford to spend. Before you decide to invest in a pool, make sure that you sit down and create a budget so that you can determine how much you can afford to spend. Then, you can avoid accidentally spending too much when you get excited about various upgrades.

 

Also, when calculating the cost of a swimming pool, make sure that you think about the costs that go along with it on top of the installation. For example, you have to pay to have it filled up, and you can expect increased energy costs each month for running the pump and other related components. Additionally, you will need to buy cleaning supplies and pool chemicals in order to maintain your pool throughout the season and year. Doing your research beforehand can help you determine how much you’ll have to spend in order to keep up a pool.

 

Maintenance

Not only do you have to think about the cost of maintenance for a swimming pool, but you also have to think about the physical work and time that can go along with it. Once you have a pool, you won’t be able to just jump in any time that you want to. Instead, you’ll have to be prepared to handle maintenance, such as vacuuming it out and using a net to fish out any debris. It also takes time to check and balance out the chemicals. Once you get the hang of these things, it will get easier. However, you should still be aware that it is a time commitment.

 

Frequency of Use

Before you buy a pool, you will probably want to think about how often you will actually use it. If you have a whole family living at home and if all of your family members are interested in the idea of a pool, then you will probably get a lot of use out of it. If you are single and spend a lot of time traveling, however, you might find that it won’t be worth the investment since it won’t get much use at all.

 

Safety

A swimming pool can be a lot of fun, but it can also be very dangerous. If you have small children in the house, you may want to take steps to make the pool area even safer, or you may choose to wait for a few years before making the investment. Even if you don’t have kids, it will be important for you to hang up signs, put up a fence and otherwise make the pool area as safe as possible. A quick search for “best pool builders near me” yielded plenty of suggestions for companies that know what they’re doing in that realm. Even if you can’t find a local company, you can consult with pool builders in Las Vegas or Arizona on safety. Many hot-weather areas where residential pools are popular have stringent laws for pool safety and fencing requirements.

 

Having a pool in your backyard can be a wonderful thing. However, before you make this major investment and this major change to your property, it’s important to think about a few things. As long as you do so, you can help ensure that you are making a smart, well-informed decision that will be right for you and your family.

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Which Benefits will Motivate Your Staff?

For most organizations, retaining workers can be a challenge. Surprisingly, most employees value a good working environment and other incentives more than money. While a company’s workforce may leave for a variety of reasons, money is often touted as the main motivator. However, there are some isolated cases where employees have shifted to jobs that pay less money.

An employee can leave to work closer home or move to another town to enjoy a lower cost of living. Besides the remuneration, employees expect other rewards after reaching some milestones in the company. Employers can motivate their employees with monetary and non-financial rewards to thank them for their commitment, loyalty, and dedication.

Motivation through Non-Cash Rewards

Companies should not exclusively use money to motivate their staff. While money is important, the strategy can lose its effectiveness if the employees begin to think that the company values money more than anything else. Instead of offering money, the company can be creative with the benefits it offers. For example, providing shopping vouchers can be a great idea. Companies can also offer gift cards and vouchers for hotels, travel, and even discounts at amusement parks. For some employees, a discount program that gets them cheap Disneyland tickets and restaurant vouchers can can be just as motivational as cash.

Surprisingly, non-financial rewards can sometimes have a more substantial impact on employee motivation and gratification compared to traditional financial rewards. Besides financial bonuses, employees list career development, work environment, recognition, and other opportunities for growth as the main reasons for leaving for a different company. As such, even well-paid employees will leave a company if the benefits are insufficient. Companies with non-financial incentive plans can motivate, attract, and retain their talented workforce.

Motivation through Gifts

While monetary rewards can motivate employees, the secret is to combine financial and non-financial rewards. Money can be forgotten as soon as it is spent. However, a visit to a luxury hotel builds memories that will remain with an employee for years. While monetary awards can only be differentiated by their literal value, there is room for creativity while offering other gifts. In addition, gift vouchers provide different types of value in terms of price, size, and emotional importance to the worker. A visit to an exotic place with the family or a loved one will make a huge impression on the performance of the employee. Such gifts encourage your workforce to exert themselves and engage more deeply with their work. Even if your employees do not come early and leave late, the work they do while in the office will be of a significantly higher quality.

A company that offers these extra perks demonstrates that it is doing well financially. In addition to the financial aspects, such a company also demonstrates that it has a sound management board that cares for its workforce. Gifts can be used in a variety of ways to motivate the employees. The special bonuses include cash rewards, gifts, and commissions. Matching rewards with employee achievements is another way to encourage your workforce to put forth extra effort.

With gifts, rather than financial rewards, your employees don’t always know what to expect. Employers and managers can use personalized gifts as an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with their teams. Gifts show more commitment compared to money because the employers actually need to spend time deciding what to buy.

Matching Rewards with Benefits

Offering commensurate rewards that match employee achievements is an effective way to keep your employees motivated. While money is a simple, straightforward way to give reward your employees, gifts pose some challenges to the employers. Fortunately, they give your company higher returns compared to monetary gifts. Research a variety of offers that will suit your employees and their families.

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Bouncing Back from Disasters: First Steps to Recovering Your Home

Fires, floods, severe storms, earthquakes and more are some of the most devastating forces that homeowners may contend with during their years in a home. Depending on where your home is located, you may be more susceptible to experiencing damage from one specific type of event than others, but all can wreak havoc on your home.

They can disrupt your family life or even displace you entirely for several months or more. They can also cause tremendously expensive damage and can impair your home’s property value. Understandably, you want to return to life as usual without delay. More than that, you want to restore your home’s property condition and value so that you do not suffer financially from the impact of the event. With a few steps, you can more easily move past this issue.

 

Address the Immediate Concerns First

There are a few immediate concerns that you must think about before restoring the home to its former condition. For example, you need to make plans to provide for the daily sustenance and shelter of your loved ones. Consider staying with friends or family if possible, or stay in a shelter if a community-wide event has damaged your home. If you plan to stay in the home, ensure that it is well-protected from the elements. Seal doors and windows that have been damaged, and patch the roof with a temporary covering. These steps will help you to prevent even more damage from developing. You may need to take other steps to protect your home from additional damage. For example, if a plumbing issue caused your home’s first floor to flood, you may need to turn off the main water valve to your home. If you are concerned about the possibility of a gas leak, turn off the gas line. These steps should be done immediately to prevent additional damage from developing.

 

Make the Call for Help

There are several people you need to call for help after a major event damaged your home. You may have already called family and friends to tell them you are fine or to ask for help with living needs. After making these calls, call a plumber, roofer or other specialist to make specialized repairs to features that have caused the damage, if possible. You likely also need to contact your home insurance provider to begin the claims process. Some insurance companies can immediately forward money to you so that you can make arrangements for an alternate home, replace clothing and to otherwise provide for your family. You also need to call a home restoration company for assistance. Some offer a full range of services for fires, floods, earthquakes and more. Others offer specialized services. Therefore, carefully choose the right company to assist with the restoration process.

 

Walk Through the Home Restoration Process

Home restoration can be a lengthy, complicated process that requires many steps. If you have  standing water in the home, the water may need to be extracted, and the home may need to be dried out through de-humidification processes as initial steps. A thorough tile and grout cleaning could be necessary if there was standing water or ash causing stains or buildup. You may not want to steam clean carpet in the home if a flood has taken place. Steam cleaning may leave behind too much water and result in further mold or mildew damage. Some surfaces may need to be replaced, such as wood floors, cabinets and other items. You may be replacing damaged or lost furnishings as well. The entire process may take a few weeks or longer to complete, depending on the severity of the damage. While disaster recovery companies may not be very common, you should be able to find local providers of each of the services you need.

 

You have a significant amount of money invested in your home, and you may be most concerned about restoring the home’s value so that you do not suffer long-term financial loss as a result of the issue. However, you also want to return to life as usual without delay for the comfort of your loved ones. By focusing on these critical steps, you can walk through the restoration process with ease.

 

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Employee Training: Good ROI Choice

Companies that are focused on driving their employees’ productivity tend to invest more on training sessions, especially about technological advancements. Effective employee training events are often focused on tailoring sessions that are meant for catering for the company’s needs and employees’ preferences.

The National Center On the Educational Quality of the Workplaces (EQW) study that was carried out on over 3,100 U.S workplaces indicated that an increase of about 10% on workforce training or education translated to 8.6% boost on levels of productivity. You can successfully hold a credible employee training program that encompasses the employees’ needs and the organization’s predetermined objectives.

How to Introduce Employee Training Programs

You ought to come up with a credible plan that will guide you into customizing a training program that will reliably benefit your business’ needs and satisfy the expectations of your employees. As you analyze your business’s needs, you should also conduct a random check with your employees to be sure you understand their areas of concern. This is a sure way of preventing an implementation of redundant strategies that won’t be of the benefit to the business.

Depending on your type of business and employee levels of education, then you can design a reliable training model. If your employees require video tutorials with closed captions to illustrate the videos and audio of the clips you will be using for the training, you can hire a closed caption services from a reputable company.

Besides enabling the deaf and hard of hearing employees to get the content of the videos, there are many other benefits of integrating closed captioning services into the training videos.

You can improve indexing for searches where you can utilize metadata to optimize them for major search engines to make the video text-searchable if they are online based. Captioned videos might also increase viewer flexibility, including making them for accessible for ESL viewers. You could also include Spanish captioning in videos to have the same benefit for Spanish speakers. Studies also show that captioned videos improve viewer comprehension.

Identify Areas of Concern

Create a training needs assessment that can help you in identifying the most critical areas where your employees need more training. This is a simple practice shown to improve training efficiency anywhere from private MCAT tutoring programs to software training processes. The needs assessment will also help you later in getting feedback from the success of the employee training program.

Analyze needs by assessing areas such as collating data that gives you an overview of the current state of your organization’s performance levels; anticipate other future training needs that can be included in the current program; and identify the type, level and methods of training that will be required to satisfy these needs.

When identifying the methods of learning, consider options such as classroom style of learning, E-learning, hands-on learning, and computer-based training.

How Training Improves Productivity

Employees who undergo regular training programs are always motivated and knowledgeable at their various workplaces. Training also sharpens and reinvigorates old skills that might feel basic to your employees yet provide a way of preventing mistakes. When mistakes are prevented in sensitive fields such as the medical industry, performance is dramatically boosted.

Training can help in introducing new skills and products or services so as to acquaint the employees about the current state of affairs. It also shows that the company is evolving and experiencing positive developments. Employees get more confident with the company’s security of tenure whenever the management invests in training them regularly. Confident employees are more productive.

Employees who have been given the necessary support, skills, and resources are always more productive. An employee training program will help your employees perform their duties more reliably.

 

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Technology Shifts that Your Small Business Needs to Follow

Today, small businesses rely more on new technological solutions to make their customer engagement, product development, and marketing activities stronger. Adopting technology is one of the best ways to gain an advantage over your competitors, especially among small businesses. Although your company might be technology enabled, you could be missing out on fast-evolving technologies capable of supercharging your business such as:

Over the internet financing

Getting the small or mid-sized loans needed to grow a small business can prove challenging, which is why the rise of online lending and funding opportunities is bound to have a big impact. Selling small amounts of equity to a multitude of online investors is one of the technology trends small businesses need to follow. Crowdfunding has evolved from a fad to one of the accepted methods of funding product development and business ventures. You can take advantage of this trend by inspiring investors into investing in your products or services.

New marketing channels

The availability of new digital marketing channels is another major technology shift that small businesses need to follow. Print advertisement is losing ground to new, over-the-internet marketing channels such as Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Apart from being more effective, internet marketing costs significantly less than print advertising. Location-based mobile marketing has matured and adopting a social network strategy works to enhance online visibility. To supplement your current sales efforts, you need to focus on social media as your primary marketing channel. Start by identifying the platforms preferred by your target audience and create a strategy to engage their interests and provide them with interesting and useful content.

New technologies

In addition to streamlining the management of inventory and creating user-friendly websites, call centers, and online catalogs, most companies are now using financial systems such as QuickBooks. Although you may have adopted technology is these ways, there are evolving applications that small businesses need to adopt including:

  • Online customer relationship management (CRM)
  • Subscription-based SaaS, providing different services on a pay-as-you-go basis to minimize up-front investment.
  • Real-time, on-demand video marketing tools
  • Smartphone or tablet-based systems that allow your employees to provide instant, coordinated responses to your customers.

Outsourcing expert and core services

Outsourcing services is another technology shift that small businesses need to follow. By allowing small businesses to pay for what they need when they need it, outsourcing reduces the cost of business operations and allowing companies to stay lean, which is the exact opposite of hiring people with the required expertise. Since virtual bookkeepers don’t need office space or office supplies and can work as much or as little as required, virtual bookkeeping services are not only cost-effective but offer flexibility as well. This arrangement could be particularly beneficial for businesses with fluctuating financial needs and those that don’t need a full-time on-site bookkeeper. Additionally, outsourced service providers do not require insurance, benefits, or employment taxes, all of which can help small businesses to save a significant amount. Outsourcing services enable the redirection of internal resources to mission-critical activities, cutbacks on expensive infrastructure requirements, and access to lower labor costs.

Cyber security

Cyber security is yet another technology shift that small businesses need to follow. You have probably heard of the high-profile hacks perpetrated against large organizations in recent years. Although you may not consider yourself a target, small businesses aren’t immune to such incursions and should look into data loss protection. Prioritizing cyber security plays a major role in protecting your business operations and data.

The cloud

By delivering both software and hardware services through a network, the cloud is arguably one of the most significant technology shifts for small businesses. In addition to providing incredibly cheap storage solutions, the cloud offers an array of shrink-wrapped options, all capable of reducing the capital investment of a small business. With the use of tablets to take orders, fulfill orders, and manage automated systems, companies and consumers are already benefiting from the cloud.

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How to Decide Whether to Buy a New or Used Car

The primary hazard with most major purchases are the hidden costs. Cars are no different. Whether you believe you can get a better value for a new or used car, the main thing you need to be aware of is the number on the sticker is rarely an accurate indication of how much that car will actually cost. In fact, you are unlikely to get off the lot before that number changes several times.

 

If you are trying to decide whether a new or used car is the right financial decision, you need to take several factors into consideration, including how the vehicle will be paid for, what your other expenses will be, and how soon you plan to replace the vehicle. Here are some things to consider.

 

Maintenance and Warranty

 

New cars gain a massive advantage over most used cars because they are far less likely to break down. Even if they do, new cars are usually covered by comprehensive and quite valuable warranties that will either reimburse a driver for repair expenses or replace the vehicle altogether if the repairs become burdensome or expose a flaw in that particular vehicle’s manufacturing.

 

While used cars are less expensive than new cars overall, the fact is they don’t have the same kind of protection or practical means of avoiding additional expenses due to wear and tear. To be fair, many used cars, especially those that aren’t that old, do have warranties. However, used car warranties are usually rather limited in both duration and what they cover.

 

Replacement Schedule

 

If you are planning to keep a vehicle for a long period of time, a used car is often the better option, even with the increased potential for repair costs and increased wear and tear. The reason is vehicle financing for new cars is designed around the same basic concept as home financing. Far more loans are paid off through trading one vehicle for another than they are by making the 60th out of sixty payments. This is one reason new vehicle leases are so popular. Since lessors of vehicles generally plan on replacing the car within two to three years anyway, there is little reason to go through the expense and hassle of purchasing the car in the first place.

 

Insurance

 

Anyone who has ever been in the market for cheap car insurance quotes has run into the problem of the sometimes dramatically increased cost of insuring a new vehicle. Even if a driver pays cash, the necessity to protect an expensive vehicle from damage or theft leaves owners with little choice but to buy comprehensive or full coverage for their cars. Over the course of five years, those insurance premiums can add as much as 20% or more to the overall month to month cost.

 

This is doubly true if the vehicle is financed, as the finance company will almost always insist on full insurance coverage for the vehicle at the buyer’s expense. Not having insurance can breach the purchase contract for these cars, so it again leaves drivers with little choice.

 

Used cars, on the other hand, often have lower insurance costs because replacing them is far less expensive. Further, many used vehicles are not valuable enough to insure, since the cost of the premiums can often exceed the entire value of the car over a long enough time frame.

 

Many factors must go into the decision to purchase either a new or used car. The amount of the payment and the purchase price are among many things that must be weighed before a good decision can be reached. If you are considering one or the other, make sure you are aware of all the potential costs before you buy.

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How Education And Training Affect The Economy

Education and Training are both crucial to the advancement of every business from the smallest to the largest. What many companies overlook is the importance of not only initial training but ongoing training as well.

As we all know business, the economy, and markets change continuously. It should therefore come as no surprise that the training programs meant to support employees and management at every company must change to match. Here are some ways education and training can be utilized to not only affect business but the economy as well.

Education as a Foundation

There can be no reasonable doubt the average person’s increase in literacy, mathematics skills and knowledge of history over the last 150 years has dramatically improved the economy, quality of life and overall strength of the United States and other countries like it.

The reason these things make it possible for national economies to improve is because at a basic level it allows one group of people communicate their skills and abilities to another group of people in a standardized fashion.

Never before in human history has it been possible for the anyone to obtain the wealth of knowledge and understanding available to an average person in the United States. For a minimal monthly fee a person can obtain access to over a million professionally written books. With an Internet connection an average person can obtain access to an encyclopedia that contains more knowledge than any encyclopedia ever published on paper.

The combination of just these two elements means it is possible for an average person to educate themselves to at least a novice level on nearly any subject known to man. In business, this makes employees far more versatile and far better at obtaining knowledge and skill sets extemporaneously.

Training as Practical Application

What training does is teach these new educated employees how to put their knowledge into action. For example if someone teaches themselves how to use video editing software they might be able to help their company produce a video series to train other employees of that company to use the same software.

Without that knowledge such a video series would either not be produced, or require considerable investments of time and money. The remaining employees in the company would likely be required to obtain the knowledge on their own.

Training and education can even be combined. When the results are considered, even the impact of the Course Hero cost to students or teachers is trivial. Such a platform not only allows for education, but organically improves it through feedback, peer critique and evaluation.

Combining Foundation and Application

These two phenomena when combined lead to something called institutional knowledge. This allows a company to “know” things about its market without having to invest the time or money to obtain the knowledge on its own. It is among the group of economic phenomena called “wealth amplifiers.” Institutional knowledge brings better products to market faster and makes the companies that take advantage of education and training more profitable.

A collection of companies utilizing education and training and becoming more profitable as a result contribute to a better economy.

A corresponding and potentially far more powerful effect of education and training is that a group of more skilled and more capable employees make the company itself more valuable. This leads to increases in stock price, decreases in debt and an overall improvement in the equity value of a company and improvement in the value of the products or services that company produces. It is been famously said the most valuable thing a company has is its employees.

With the right combination of education and training this wise statement becomes more true every day.

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Winning the Renovation ROI Game

For those considering selling a home it’s important to know that 64% of what you pay into remodeling or renovating will be recouped during a sale. Best of all, not all home renovations require extensive time, labor or money. Although you may be dreaming of creating the perfect chef’s kitchen or a spa-like master bathroom for the new owners, by reviewing a few statistics you’ll see that sometimes the little things count more than the bigger projects.

Curb Appeal

The first thing buyers see when they drive up to a house is the front yard and exterior facade. If they can’t even see the house from the street it may be time to spruce up the yard and make a few changes to the exterior of the home. Knowing that 75% of what’s invested in the project will be recouped during a sale could help inspire and motivate sellers. Remember that the goal is to get buyers through the front door so they can evaluate the home themselves.

For some home exterior projects painting will suffice, but consider upgrading to vinyl siding with a fade-resistant finish. The return will average about 92.8% and will result in a quicker sale. Additionally, warranties on this type of siding is often lifetime and transferable to new owners when the home is sold. Another simple curb appeal change is replacing the front door with a quality product. Steel doors have become more popular than ever lately and they generate the biggest return.

It’s also important not to forget the simple things like gutters, drains and roofing. If a roof leaks or a basement floods every time it rains, a home won’t sell. Additionally, upgrading windows for energy efficiency is also important. It doesn’t matter how great everything else looks if the basics aren’t upgraded and/or repaired as well.

Interior Upgrades

One of the simplest and least expensive home improvements that will reap huge rewards is adding attic insulation. For every $100 you spend in an attic space a return of 117% on average can be expected. The logical question is why. It all has to do with the buyers’ perceptions of energy efficiency. That’s also why replacing older appliances with newer energy efficient models is so important.

Bathrooms and kitchens are important but require a much larger investment to get off the ground. If you’re looking for lower cost improvements, consider upgrading the look of a fireplace by adding a manufactured stone veneer or spend your budget on painting the home’s interior in neutral colors to freshen its look.

Backyard Improvements

The backyard can sell a home especially to families. One option is to add a swimming pool but the return on investment directly relates to where the home is located and the quality of workmanship. In the Midwest, for instance, few people have pools and installing one can actually decrease the overall value of the home. In hotter, more tropical environments, however, the opposite is true. For example, inground pools in Naples, Florida, or even in Athens, Georgia could add a significant amount of value to a home if done right.

Just as with other areas of the home, making a few small changes can pay off big. Things like adding outdoor lighting will generate a 50% return on investment, creating a deck returns an average of 73% and to generate energy efficiency outdoors, shade trees should be planted. Two of the biggest returns on investment are outdoor kitchens which have an average return on investment of 100-200% and fire pits that average 150%.

Some remodeling and renovation projects can increase a home’s overall value while others cost more than you could ever get out of it. If you plan to stay in the home then you need to do whatever makes you comfortable and happy. However, if you plan to sell the trick is to do the minimal number of projects that will ensure you get the most bang for your buck.

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Important Question: Should You Get a Dog?

 

Potentially adding a new furry member to your family can be quite an exciting experience. Pets can make perfect companions for the entire family. They are great playmates, perfect confidants, and our best friends. However, there are many important things you should consider before getting a pet for your child.

This article is going to explore some of the pros and cons of getting a pet for your child. We will look at a wide range of elements that will hopefully make this decision easier for you and your family. By reading this article, you can make an informed decision and likely reduce the chance that you will join the 5% of people who rehome their pets.

The Pros

Learning Responsibility

One of the largest benefits of child pet ownership is that it helps instill a sense of responsibility in your children. Your child will have to learn to care for their pet appropriately. This includes things like making sure they get plenty of exercise, have reliable food & water, are taken out to potty if applicable, and make sure they are adequately played with.

While all of these tasks are great ways for your child to learn to be more responsible, it is important to always remember to keep a watchful eye out on the pet and your child. Some children will take more time to adjust to the added responsibility their furry companion requires.

Stress Reduction

Pets can be a great way to help children calm down after a rough day or other stressful situations. Many times, pets will serve as your child’s listening ear when they need someone to talk to. Even just going out and enjoying playing catch with their new puppy can be a great way for kids to unwind after a rough day at school.

Incentive To Exercise

Another great benefit of pet ownership for children is that they offer a great incentive to exercise. This holds to be especially true for dog owners. Your child will get plenty of exercise taking their canine companion out for walks, playing fetch, and much more. It is the perfect outlet for their bundled energy.

The Cons

Dogs Require Consistent Training

One thing to be particularly cognitive of if you are considering getting a dog for your child is the amount of time you will need to spend training that dog. Dogs are just like children, if you don’t take the time to tell them how they are to behave and do it in a way they can understand, you will have an unruly dog. While children can understand your words and usually communicate with words, dogs don’t have that ability. Dogs communicate with growling, barking, body language, and if all else fails, biting. If you do not take the time to socialize and train your dog, that dog will be unpredictable and much more of a liability. Almost any behavior can be overcome and re-trained by a qualified trainer. If you and the dog are struggling, keep trying. Different training styles will work for different dogs.

You May Have to Dog-Proof Your Home

Just like babies, dogs can get into all sorts of trouble if a house isn’t child-proofed. Some main elements to think about child-proofing are your dressers, cabinets, drawers and doors. There are many products fit for securing furniture to walls and keeping the curious kids and fur-kids safe. But don’t forget about your yard. If you have a pool in your yard, you will likely want to install a protective fence. Companies creating pool designs in Houston, Phoenix, and all of New York are good about designing pools where fencing will fit around the perimeter. There are many other cities where fences are required around residential pools.

Potty Accidents Will Happen

Another downside of pet ownership that will happen at some point is the occasional potty accident. Pet urine removal can be quite a chore that will likely require the supervision of an adult. Even on hardwood or tile floors, pet accidents can leave stains if not taken care of promptly. Thankfully, there are many pet waste cleaning products with special enzymes that help to clean up the occasional mess, and there are professionals that can help you with carpet cleaning or grout cleaning for tile floors.

Allergies

This one can be quite an issue for the entire family. Roughly 10% of people are allergic to cats or dogs. Cat allergies are roughly twice as common. If you’re considering getting a cat or dog for your child, consider getting an allergy test done beforehand for all members of the household. This will reduce the chance of rehoming your potential furry companion due to a severe allergic reaction.

Conclusion

Getting a pet for your child can be a great thing. There are many benefits such as learning responsibility, increased physical activity levels, and stress reduction. However, there are cons like aggressive behavior, potty accidents, and allergic reactions that need to be considered as well.

By considering factors like these you can help make the best decision for your entire family. Remember, getting a pet is a decision that should involve everyone in the household. With appropriate thought and consideration, you are sure to make the best decision for your child and your potential animal companion.

 

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5 Companies with the Best Sales Teams That Have a Direct Impact on the Stock Market

Stock markets are very volatile, and a small change on many factors or events would lead to its rise or fall. Retail sales are not an element to ignore when speaking about the stock market with consumers spending almost 70% of the United States Gross Domestic Products every month. This means that with any sudden drop in the consumers’ retail spending, the GDP will indicate a slowing country’s economy and vice versa. Therefore, companies should pay attention to the sales processes in their businesses to ensure that they improve their bottom line while at the same time avoiding the fluctuating of the stock market values.

The efficiency of the sales teams lies on their level of training, motivation, use of sales data and communication strategies as well as teamwork. It is evident that a company’s sales team and their ability to make a sale reflect back to the growth of an enterprise. Some companies have developed an efficient sales team to enhance their productivity and increase their overall income meaning that their profits or losses would have an effect on the company’s stock market. Some of the companies with the best sales teams that have an impact on the stock market include:

 

  1. Heartland Payment Systems

The sales representatives at the company undergo an immersive sales training and coaching program aimed at improving their honesty, respect, and transparency while at work. The company processes over $11million transactions a day and over $80billion a year. The payment processing company serves over 300,000 companies in the country where it offers a variety of payment, security technology, payroll, credit, and debit card processing among others. The company offers a very competitive package as well as a benefits package to over 4,000 professionals that it has all over the country.

 

  1. Hilti

Behavior and ambition are some of the traits that the sales teams at Hilti uphold. Their peer mentorship program aimed at strengthening the teams helps in building supportive teams that make up of the 221,000 employees in the 120 countries where they have their locations. Most of their employees serve the customer in the sales area, making the company one of the best in the country.

 

  1. Unifirst

UniFirst has its location in North America and won two Bronze Awards in Sales Training in February 2017 at the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service. The sales organization has also received numerous awards since its inception following the good services provided by their sales team. The work wear and the textile service company specialize in clothing and uniforms as well as leasing properties and facilities.

 

  1. Life Force Laboratories

The company specializes in the sales of pharmaceutical products and various drug brands such as Tudorza, Viibryd, Daliresp, Fetzima and Bystolic. The sales representatives have to undergo medical sales training courses to help them in making the maximum sales of the pharmaceutical brands.

 

  1. Iron Mountain

The company serves leading enterprises in the United States including 94% of the Fortune 1000 companies. The company has over 1000 facilities and a fleet of vehicles of more than 3,600. The information storage and management company employ over 70,000 professionals after undergoing training and coaching.

 

Conclusion

Most of the companies aim at promoting their bottom line and industries while at the same time improving their shares and profits in the stock market. Business owners should focus on interacting with other highly ranked business managers to learn the methods and tactics that their sales teams have been employing to increase sales in business. Comprehensive training, dedication, and transparency go a long way in building a functional sales team. Sales managers should also retain a consistent approach in motivating the workers to ensure a constant stock market value.

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