Brain Wave – Sasha Says…

5 Home Improvement Projects That Add Value

June 12, 2023 No Comments

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Remodelling your home can be a stressful experience, especially with larger projects. While there are multiple benefits to this, such as making your house more functional and appealing, it’s still headache-inducing to get through. Focusing on the benefits is a great way of getting through this.

With some home improvement projects that add value to your house, you’ve all the more reason to get through them. If you’re considering selling your home at any point, you’ll end up getting a much higher purchase price for it. It’ll make the home improvements all the more appealing, and it’s worth diving into five of the more notable of these.

1. Bathroom Remodel

One of the easier ways to add value to your home is to get a bathroom remodel.

2. Add Decking – Most home improvement projects that add value to your house focus on adding usable and livable space on the property. One great way of doing this is by adding some decking to the outside, if you have the space. While that means making your garden smaller, it adds outdoor space that you can use without being too exposed to the elements. It’s worth investing in.

3. Improving Energy Efficiency – Energy efficiency is one of the more notable home improvement projects you’ll have to focus on if you’re selling your home. Inspectors and potential buyers will keep an eye out for this and it’ll be a decent factor in buying decisions. Even small changes, such as adding some more insulation and replacing the doors and windows could be enough for this.

4. Replacing Appliances – Speaking of energy efficiency, replacing your appliances can be a great area to focus on. Not only should this improve your home’s energy efficiency, but it can make your kitchen more visually appealing, especially if the appliances have the same style. If your appliances are already relatively old, there’s no reason not to put the effort into replacing them.

5. Updating The Kitchen – The kitchen is one of the more notable areas to focus on when adding value to your home, but that goes beyond replacing the appliance. Making it look more appealing while being more functional should be the main goal when updating your kitchen. The easier it is to use the kitchen and the nicer it looks, the more value you’ll add to your house.

There are more than a few home improvement projects that add value to your house. These can be quite appealing when you’re considering selling your property, or even renting. Some projects can be better worth it than others, so they’re more than worth considering.
Improving your energy efficiency, updating your kitchen, and remodelling the bathroom are some of the more notable of these. With the benefits they have outside of increasing your property value, there’s no reason not to consider them.

Brain Wave, Entrepreneurship & Business Talks

Building an Efficient Warehouse: A Comprehensive Guide

June 7, 2023 No Comments

The efficiency of your warehouse operations can directly impact your business’s bottom line. More efficient warehouses can lead to timely deliveries, happy customers, and higher operational costs. Here, we’ll provide actionable steps to transform your warehouse setup and boost your business’ efficiency.

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Understand Your Space
Every warehouse is unique. Before setting up or redesigning your warehouse:

Create an Effective Warehouse Layout
A well-thought-out warehouse layout can significantly increase operational efficiency. This process involves strategic placement of your inventory, equipment, and workstations. Here are some key considerations:

Inventory Placement
Position your high-turnover goods in easily accessible areas, preferably close to the parking area. This strategy, known as slotting, reduces the time taken to retrieve items, boosting productivity. On the other hand, low-turnover items should be stored in less accessible locations.

Equipment Accessibility
Ensure that your necessary equipment and tools are always within reach. Workers should be able to save time looking for the right equipment. Implement a tool organization system that enables easy access and replacement of tools.

Workstations Design
Design workstations to minimize unnecessary movement. A practical workstation will have all the necessary materials within arm’s reach. The packing area, a critical workstation in a warehouse, should have packing materials, labels, and the necessary equipment readily available.

Embrace Technology
Technology can be a game changer for warehouse efficiency. Implementing a Warehouse Management System (WMS) can help manage inventory, pick and pack processes, and restocking procedures. Additionally, consider automation technologies like robotic process automation and automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) that can significantly enhance your productivity.

Brain Wave, Life in general

4 Areas Where AI Can Help Your Business

June 2, 2023 No Comments

You’ve most likely heard a lot about artificial intelligence (AI) in the last few years. Recently, discussion of its merits and drawbacks has increased further. This is in part due to the release of new tools and technology, such as ChatGTP, that has displayed how AI is evolving and capable of new things. But even though you might have heard some impressive stuff, you might be unsure about how AI can help you or how it specifically applies to your business. There are many ways you could make use of AI, whether you’re thinking about how to use it now or in the future.

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Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing are two key areas where AI can help with a huge range of tasks. It can be useful for content creation, marketing automation, forecasting, competitor analysis, SEO, and much more. The entire process of promoting your company and securing leads and sales becomes a lot easier when you have help from AI. There are already plenty of sales and marketing tools that use AI to help businesses achieve their goals. Some tools roll multiple functions into one suite so that you have it all in one place.

Legal Tasks

Getting everything right in your legal department is one of the most important parts of running a business. Legal mistakes can lead to all sorts of problems, from financial issues to reputational damage. Fortunately, there are plenty of tools to help, including those that make use of AI. One solution to look into is contract automation software, which makes contract management a whole lot more simple. When you don’t have to do it all manually, your business saves a huge amount of time and money. Your most important resources can be reallocated to where they’re needed most while your contracts look after themselves.

Customer Support

Without good customer service, it’s difficult to create a good reputation for your company. You need to treat your customers well and answer them when they need you. Of course, this can be challenging, especially when you have a small business and customers with high expectations. But AI can help in this area too, making it much easier to meet your customers’ needs. AI can be there for your customers when you can’t, taking some of the strain off your support staff. For example, AI chatbots can answer their basic questions so that your employees can deal with more complex cases.

Human Resources

AI is helping in HR too. In fact, AI could be used to help reduce bias in the hiring process. It can be used to help analyze candidate profiles when hiring so that people can be matched to the best roles. Artificial intelligence also makes it easier to manage employees and for HR departments to remain compliant, among other things. With new AI tools, HR professionals can do more with their time and optimize their processes too.

AI is rapidly offering a broad range of ways for businesses to improve the way they do things. Even small businesses can make use of AI right now.

Brain Wave, Health and medicine, Self-Care Corner

The Science of Self-Care: Why You Need To Be Selfish To Be Well

June 1, 2023 No Comments

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Self-care is a buzzword that you might have heard a lot lately. But what does it really mean? And why is it so important for your health and happiness?

That’s what you’re about to find out. Weirdly, self-care isn’t something you should do after you’ve done everything else. Instead, it needs to be something you do before you commit to other activities. In other words, you should approach it selfishly so that you can give your best to the rest of the world.

What Does Self-Care Mean?

Essentially, self-care is the practice of taking your physical, mental, and emotional needs seriously. Instead of burying them under a pile of guilt, you accept them for what they are and act on them. In practice, it means prioritizing your well-being over other demands and obligations and, sometimes, not getting into destructive relationships that could harm you.

Many people view self-care as selfish or indulgent, but it’s actually the opposite. The more you practice self-care, the more service you can be to the people around you, helping them achieve the things they want to do in life.

The more self-care you practice, the more energy you have to offer those around you. Suddenly, you become a positive force for your local network, not someone who drains other people’s resources without thinking.

How To Practice Self-Care

As you might expect, self-care is not a one-size-fits-all concept. It can look different for everyone, depending on their lifestyle and personality. For some people, self-care is simple things, like going walking, while for others, it is more elaborate.

Here’s a list of self-care activities that fall into the category:

Celebrating your achievements and strengths
Setting healthy boundaries and limits
Expressing your feelings and thoughts
Asking for help when you need it
Saying no to things that drain you
Learning something new or pursuing a hobby
Spending time in nature or with animals
Taking a bath or getting a massage
Reading a book or listening to music
Meditating or practicing mindfulness
Exercising regularly
Drinking enough water

Hopefully, by now you get the picture. Self-care involves pretty much anything that enhances your life and health. Of course, it’s a fine balance. You don’t want to shut the world out entirely because then your life might get more challenging in the future. But, at the same time, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin or feel burned out.

Because of the definition of self-care, it can encompass a wide range of activities. For instance, if you’ve been watching breast augmentation surgery videos, you might decide that going under the knife is actually a form of self-care. You may come out the other side as a happier, healthier, and more confident person.

You might also view self-care as removing yourself from a particular line of work and doing something different with your time. You may find that quitting a high-paying job and doing something different could be the ultimate way to improve your lifestyle and enjoy your day-to-day existence more.

Brain Wave, Money matters

Key Reasons Why You Should Invest in Real Estate

June 1, 2023 No Comments

The benefits of investing in real estate are well and truly endless. Investors can take advantage of predictable cash flow, great returns and even tax advantages. Diversification is also possible, and it is a great way for you to build wealth. If you want to invest in real estate, then here are some of the top reasons why you should take the plunge today.

Building Equity
One of the main advantages of investing in any kind of real estate is the power of equity. If you buy a house or a piece of property, then it will appreciate over time. As you pay the mortgage down and as the house appreciates, you will then build equity. This is one of the most straightforward ways for you to build wealth. If you sell the house at the right time then you can expect to gain a large profit, or you can rent it out and generate a steady income over time. Either way, you can get huge returns from your investment if you take the next step today. If you need money to invest in real estate, then use FasterFunds Lending hard money lending guide.

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Long-Term Investments
Even though the real estate market does indeed fluctuate, it’s important to know that it is a stable investment. It is going to continually increase in value, and when you compare it to the stock market, it’s not volatile at all. It is not prone to market swings and properties do not change immediately based on contributions or even political volatility. It’s safe over the long term and this is great to say the least.

Inflation Protection
A lot of people fear inflation, but real estate investors don’t have to. Properties are rarely impacted by inflation, and this makes them one of the most valuable assets around. Real estate investments rise in value along with inflation and they are also very consistent. If you are a real estate investor then your expenses will be relative to your income and the increase in property value. If you are a landlord then you can increase your cash flow by changing how much you charge for rent. When the time comes for you to increase your price for rent, you can then increase your profit margin. Just make sure that you are aware of the rules and the laws regarding rent so you can make sure that you are not being unfair to your tenants and so you can make sure that you are always accounting for any future fluctuations.

So, as you can see, there are many things you can do to try and make the most out of your real estate investment and if you follow this guide, you will soon find that there are many benefits to investing in property as a whole. If you want to increase your investment potential, then make sure that you work with a financial advisor as they can give you all of the support you need with your income and your cash flow in general. They can also prewarn you of any negative market trends.

Brain Wave, Family and Home living, Money matters

Let’s Make Your Home Somewhere Incredible Without Breaking The Bank

May 30, 2023 No Comments

One of the things that a lot of people don’t believe that you can do is turn your home into somewhere incredible without having to spend a fortune. No matter how many times people say that it’s possible, nobody ever truly believes it until they make some changes themselves and see the results. This is completely fair, as we would be skeptical too if someone said that you could make some pretty incredible changes to your home without having to panic about the price tag. But, it is possible, you just need to know how to do this.

In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you can do to make your home somewhere incredible without having to break the bank, so keep reading if you would like to find out more about this.

Set Your Budget First

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The first thing that we are going to say is that you should set your budget. You need to know how much you have to spend on these changes, and ensure that everything that you want to do at the moment will fit into this budget. In order to set this budget you need to look at your finances and work out how much you have available to spend on changes to your home. Some people find it easier to have a completely separate account that they put this money into so that they don’t get it confused with their other finances.

When thinking about your budget, you have to determine what you can comfortably spend without causing yourself financial problems. This means looking at the money that you have spare that does not already have a use in mind. Most people like to set themselves two budgets when they are looking at changing up their home. The first is the main budget, the amount that you can afford without really batting an eyelid at it, and the second is the higher budget that can be used if needed. Try to stick to the first budget, but use the second where necessary.

Know Your Expectations

If you want to make your home somewhere incredible without breaking the bank then you have got to know what your expectations are before you begin making changes. Expectations are one of the most important things when it comes to changing up your home, as they are what will drive you to make the choices you are making. This is why it’s important that you set your budget first, as you will then be able to manage your expectations accordingly, and you won’t be setting unrealistic goals for your home.

Writing down your plan is probably the best way to do this. Some people go in without a plan and they end up making decisions on the fly, but these tend to be the ones that you don’t like further down the line as they weren’t thought through. It’s more important that you have a plan in place that you are able to look at, refer to, and follow throughout this entire process. It’s true that there are going to be times where you want to deviate from the plan, and that’s okay as long as it fits in with the overall goal and the budget that you have set.

Find Cheaper Alternatives

There are going to be times where you want something in your home, but it’s massively expensive and just unaffordable. For example, some people like marble as a material for their home, but this is probably one of the most expensive materials that you could have chosen, and it doesn’t fit with smaller budgets. Having said that though, there are some pretty great dupes that you can look into that look pretty similar, but don’t have the massive price tag. If you look into these cheaper alternatives, while they are not exactly the same, there are some pretty impressive ones that you wouldn’t know at first glance.

Some people will choose to use things like peel and stick wood planks which are reasonably priced and you can install them yourself which is a massive bonus. It’s all about being willing to look around, do your research, and find the best option for your home that you can afford.

Brain Wave, Health and medicine, Life in general

Tips For Helping Heal From Trauma

May 26, 2023 No Comments

We are lucky that we live in a world where trauma is something that is more often spoken about, and it is something that more people now understand. While labeling everything isn’t always healthy, in this case, with a label comes the ability to begin a healthy healing journey.

Healing looks different for everyone, and it will depend on the type of trauma that was experienced. Still, it is a good idea to consider what actions you can take to help yourself move forward in a positive way.

Photo by Ksenia Makagonova

The Three Parts of The Traumatic Experience

Any traumatic experience can be broken down into roughly three sections.

The event or events.
The experience of the event (seven people could be in the same accident and will have different experiences)
The impact on everyday life

Not everyone deals with the same thing in the same way, and that is something that needs to be accepted when it comes to the healing process.

What is healing from trauma?

Some healing is active, like taking control of the situations, changing things, and being vocal. Other times it is quiet healing, writing, feeling, and moving forward slowly. Most often, it is a combination.

Healing means acknowledging the events, understanding how they impacted you and still do, and finding a way to move forward.

Tips for healing from trauma

Not all of these tips will be applicable; you often need to consider what is good for you and how it can positively impact your life.

Acknowledge
The thing that happened happened. And, no matter how much you try to rewrite it, ignore it, avoid it, or play the what-if game, it still happens. Denial is pushing it down and away until you don’t think about it anymore. The problem is that it is not dealt with and will come out in other ways.

Support & Help
There are a lot of different types of help and support available, but it is up to you to decide what you feel will be useful. Friends and family might offer great cups of tea and listen, but they might not be able to help you unpack it. For accidents and injuries, there could be help with time off or help from personal injury lawyers.

Therapists and support groups can be of great help. Ideally, avoiding anything that would be in the unhealthy coping mechanisms category.

Self-care
Self-care in terms of trauma is about putting yourself and your recovery first because that is what is best. It can happen in many different ways, including quiet, long walks, music, painting, cooking, boundaries, and more.

This is not a one-size-fits-all. Instead, you will need to work on a combination that helps you feel good.

Write
You don’t have to be a writer to be able to express yourself. Writing has been one of the most important ways to process emotions and things that have happened. And although you might see hundreds of options, a simple notebook and pen will work just fine to get you used to it.

Your physical health and your mental and emotional health can all be linked; when and if you are able, these tips can greatly help: Simple ways to feel healthier – Sasha Says…

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