The Pros And Cons Of Working In Serviced Offices

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Many industry experts never fail to remind business owners about the importance of always creating and maintaining a good and solid impression. And there are many recommended ways to do this. But the process of establishing and sustaining a good impression usually starts with having an impressive business premise and address.

Having a really prestigious office or business address can certainly be easy if you have the money and resources to do so. However, there are many starting and start-up entrepreneurs who may not have enough money to do this or even if they do, they would rather invest such funds in other areas or aspects of their business such as in promoting or marketing their brand and in hiring and paying some new additional employees.

But having an impressive office in a highly prestigious location is now a more reachable goal today, thanks mainly to many innovative business and office solutions providers. And one of the more contemporary ways to have a remarkable office in a good location without shelling out too much money for this endeavor is by investing in serviced offices.

Serviced Offices

A serviced office is an office or work site that is fully furnished, equipped and ready for occupancy and use anytime by any interested party or entrepreneur. These offices are owned and managed by a serviced provider and you simply rent a space from them to carry out your work or run your business.

This innovative business solution offers entrepreneurs several attractive benefits but there are some disadvantages as well.

PROS:

  • You can give your business a good professional image. This specific type of office always boasts of stylish interiors and the building where it is located also has an attractive façade as well. Your clients or customers, partners or investors will be impressed by both the exterior and the interior part of your office since these are always well-maintained by the service provider.
  • Lease or contract flexibility. You can rent such an office for just a few months or even weeks but you are allowed to extend the length of your stay anytime. And in case you want to increase the space you are leasing, your provider can easily grant your request.
  • Marginal overheads. These types of offices do not require costly deposits and down payments.

CONS

  • A serviced office space will become quite expensive if you continuously rent it for long periods of time.
  • These types of offices may lack some unique and endearing aspects. These types of offices tend to be too uniform and traditional looking. And you may get tired of looking at or working at too common and unchanging, even boring designs and arrangements.

7 Common Immigration Mistakes To Be Avoided

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While applying for immigration benefits, there are some common mistakes people make, but can be avoided. These mistakes can sometimes cause serious trouble at the end of the road, like not being able to reunite with their family, loss of both the application filing fee and the immigration fee, being deported and inability to re-enter the US. So, caution must be taken to avoid these simple mistakes listed below.

1. Providing Incorrect information:

When applying for immigration benefits, it is necessary to provide all the right information. This is right from the point where the immigration forms are filed. Fraudulent information or misrepresenting any facts for obtaining the immigration benefits must be avoided.

2. Late Responses to USCIS queries:

If the US Citizenship and Immigration Services needs any additional information for processing any immigration application, it sends a Request for Evidence (RFE) to the applicant. This request has to be replied with sufficient documentation within the stipulated deadline. Ignoring or missing the deadline for the RFE can lead to denial of the application.

3. Immigration Interviews and Court Hearings:

Attending the interviews set up by the USCIS and the court hearings is very important in the process of granting an immigration. Ignoring these interviews and court hearings can also lead to the application being rejected.

4. Filing application without the fee:

USCIS forms usually have a processing fee. Fee waiver is also available for most forms. Those who cannot afford to pay the fees, can send the application along with a request for fee waiver. USCIS does not process any application which does not have the fee or the proper fee waiver request.

5. Send the application to the wrong office:

The instruction form along with the application should be read carefully. The address to which the application form should be sent to is given clearly in the instruction form. The application must be sent to the correct address to avoid delay where the application is either returned to the sender or sometimes forwarded to the right address.

6. Not everyone who applies is successful:

Some of the applicants, even though they do not meet the criteria for immigration benefits, simply apply because their friends or relatives have applied and have obtained the benefits. Every applicant is evaluated and not everyone who applies is eligible for the benefit. Reading the instruction forms thoroughly clarifies the eligibility criteria and provides newer options available.

7. Eligibility:

Applying for an immigration benefit for which they are not eligible is a very common mistake. Reading the Instruction Form before applying and checking for an individual’s eligibility can be done before applying.

3 Reasons to Love Glass Stairs

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It’s not hard to see why glass staircases, in particular glazed side panels, have become so popular in recent times. As new-build houses seem to get smaller and smaller, and rising prices force many buyers to settle for modestly sized properties, home owners are finding creative ways to make the best of what space they have.

Using glass instead of wood or metal in your stair banisters can bring several benefits:

Light

The hallway is often the darkest part of the house, which isn’t ideal for making a good first impression on visitors. A traditional staircase balustrade, consisting of a handrail and base rail connected by wooden or metal spindles (also called balusters), will contribute to the gloom by blocking precious natural light. Using glass panels as the banister infill will instantly brighten the room by encouraging light to flow more freely.

Space

It’s amazing the way glass can make a room feel so much bigger. A transparent balustrade offers little or no barrier to the eye, increasing the sense of space. This is particularly useful for staircases situated in a living or dining room, as clear panels make the structure seem less obtrusive.

Style

Glass is much favoured by interior designers at the moment, and will suit almost any age of property. It can improve the look and feel of a modern house, boosting its contemporary credentials and bringing it bang up to date. At the other end of the age scale, glass can offer an interesting twist to a period home. A dark cottage with beamed ceilings and small windows, for example, can be brightened up and made more appealing by replacing solid wooden balusters with light-enhancing glass panels.

Which type of glass should you choose?

Good quality glazed panels should be made from toughened safety glass at least 8mm, and ideally 10mm, thick. Large single panels will create the most impact and allow maximum light flow. These normally have to be made to measure, so be prepared to wait a bit longer and pay a bit more than for standard sizes. Installation can be complicated, and is best left to professionals. Small panels are less showy, but more versatile and often the best choice for awkward layouts. They can also be combined with wooden or metal spindles if desired.

How is the glass fitted?

Depending on the staircase design and personal taste, you can usually choose whether to fix the panels to the balustrade with metal clamps (either at the top and bottom or at each side) or slot them into pre-cut grooves in the handrail and base rail. It is sometimes also possible to attach the panels to the handrail only, without using a base rail, so that the glass is suspended just above the steps. From an aesthetic point of view, fitting the panels directly into the wooden banisters results in a cleaner outline, but some people prefer the contemporary look of shiny metal clamps, or brackets. These are most often found in a chrome or brushed nickel finish. You can also use stainless steel discs if you’re after a particularly striking design.

Which handrail?

Wooden handrails are the most popular, and the most comfortable to use. A low profile (small and narrow) style will produce the most streamlined, modern effect, whereas a chunkier design may be more suitable for period properties. Metal handrails go well with glass for a contemporary look, and can be attached using brackets or grooves.

What about other glass stair parts?

Treads and risers are both available in glass. Treads can be made in a variety of thicknesses, usually between 20mm and 40mm. The glass should be toughened and laminated for extra strength, and include a non-slip finish. Glass risers are growing in popularity too. They can be fitted to the back of glazed treads or, more unusually, to wooden ones. This is guaranteed to produce the wow factor, letting light shine through the steps while keeping the safety benefits of a closed tread staircase.

Summing up

When it comes to creating a light and airy feel in your home, glass stairs are ideal – and the panels are available in such a wide variety of shapes and sizes that there’s a good chance of finding something to suit your particular circumstances. Just keep a cloth handy after installation, as smudges and fingerprints could spoil the impact of your stunning new staircase.

The Benefits of Building a House Extension

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One of the big issues generated when the children are growing up, and new members are included in the family, is how the space will be enough for them. Precisely for that reason, a lot of people start considering what to do in order to find solution for the problem. For example, some of them buy a new house or apartment, while others begin to think how to extend the current house. To be frank, I do not know the answer of this kind of problem but at least I can help by providing the benefits of the house extension.

It is well known that the market of houses is quite expensive. So in this sense I would like to say that this is the biggest benefit of the building of a house extension, the money you will save. There are other factors, which are also beneficial but this is the most important. Moreover, everyone searches for cheap and affordable solution of any problematic issue. Hence, it seems that the generated extra space of the house will be the best manner to accomplish such aim. As a matter of fact, I can say this in other way. It isn’t worth it to purchase a new property with two or three more rooms only because there is a lack of space, especially when you have chance to have them with less spent means. As a consequence, you and your family will have the necessary rooms with many other pluses.

Other merit of the building a house extension is the fact that you will be in your home. Everyone loves to spend his or her whole life in the birthplace. This is a dream for everyone, so when there is an opportunity for that to be done, we need to catch it. What is more, if you move in a place somewhere else you will encounter many problems. For instance, you need to move all your stuff. Probably, there will be a need of changing the schools of your children as well as their itinerary to the schools. Another bad thing is that you are supposed to have new friends and neighbors, something unnecessary if you extend the house. The route to your work will be different too. Hence, if you want to omit those obstacles, the best way is to make your home bigger.

When you extend your house, you will have supplementary space only for you. However, this is not as important as the next advantage of that to have extended house. To stop beating against the bush I will say that you are supposed to have bigger value of the house price.

Ideas for Home Improvement

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Most of the people take on a home improvement project to increase the value of their home. By adding new features to your home or doing a repaint can really increase its value of your home. However, there are also a lot of people who decide to work on the repairs or remodeling of their home if they haven’t gone through for their home renovations for.

There are so many ideas for home improvement that could be carried out to increase the value of your home while making it more attractive. Putting these ideas into action will makes your home more livable, enhancing the comfort you experience daily.

There are many home improvement projects like kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling and window replacement that have been using as the main aspects of home improvement. You can implement numerous ideas to make your home more good looking and comfortable.

Kitchen is a good place to start when considering a home improvement project. The good start would be to make your kitchen to have a new and shiny look. The biggest problem here is the kitchen cabinets. To get around this, you can either rebuild with new cabinets or reface the existing ones.

Another idea for home improvement work from your kitchen would be to change the kitchen floor. Kitchen flooring can make a huge difference in the general form of cuisine. There are many options for you to choose from, you can either use hardwood floors, ceramic and stone tiles or you can use laminate, which is a relatively new but increasingly popular option.

Bathroom is another prime area of the house when it comes to home improvement. If you decide to put your house on the market, a bathroom is one place that could easily put a potential buyer. So directing some attention that way can only be an advantage.

When it comes to the bathroom, there are some home improvement ideas that can be applied. Here, the change bar can be just what your bathroom needs a more modern look. Adding panels or changing the one that is already there could give the bathroom a more finished look. You may want to change a bathroom or add another one, there are only so many things you can do to give added beauty to the bathroom and make it more upscale.

Changing your windows, sliding windows, picture windows, bay windows or any of a variety of window styles are available may also be important for the appearance of your home.

Phoenix Real Estate Schools

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Travel and home magazines describe Phoenix as a tropical paradise. Financial and investment publications feature articles about the real estate situation in Phoenix and its rich economic vitality. As a result of this demand for property, real estate brokers and agents have a thriving practice. This has motivated many people to seek a career in the real estate business. As in any other field, professionals in the real estate business require specialized education.

Real estate schools coach and train aspiring real estate agents and guide them through the mandatory certification and examination process. These schools also offer their expertise in helping a student acquire real estate licenses.

Real estate schools in Phoenix offer online courses and the duration ranges from a month to a year. Typically, one year of study is required to complete a pre-license course. Completing a pre-license course gives students 63 hours of credit, which is required as a prerequisite for the real estate sales associate license. On completion, a student would have met the educational prerequisite to appear for the Phoenix State Exam. It is not necessary to be a U.S. Citizen or a Phoenix resident to obtain a Phoenix real estate license. The eligibility criterion are that the applicant must be at least 18 years of age, he/she should not have had a real estate license denied within one year or revoked within the two years prior to the application date.

Phoenix real estate schools provide adequate knowledge and support to its students in order to make them masters of the profession. It is advisable to plan the course as per each individual?s requirements and availability of time.

In recent times, many real estate schools have sprung up in Phoenix. Experts advise caution when choosing one for enrollment. Some of these schools are relatively new and do not have sufficient credentials to back their claims. It is believed that many don’t even have a standardized curriculum. Choosing a reputed real estate school with a updated curriculum and practical sessions is critical to becoming a successful real estate professional.

The Health Care System is Broken – Should Big Parma Buy Hospitals?

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We all know that the health-care system in the United States of America is broken and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. As podium pushers and politicians tell us that they will give us universal health care we all know that that is impossible. We also know that the Social Security system is running dry and we can barely afford that.

We know that there are all kinds of lobbyists from the health-care industry in Washington, DC trying to keep it going and keep the government paying for all these health services in our hospitals. The truth this is the Medicare system in the United States was originally ill-conceived and it is only gotten worse throughout the years. Today it represents a huge cost that we can no longer afford.

Indeed the health-care system is broken, but who is coming to the rescue and how come these politicians keep promising us universal health care – a scheme that would clearly bankrupt our nation? So who is going to bail out all the hospitals if the government stops footing the bill?

Maybe big Pharma and the pharmaceutical companies might buy up all the hospitals in order to make sure that those hospitals only sell their drugs? America is on drugs there is no doubt about that and the average Grandma now is probably taking 13 different medications all counter-acting each other, wow, now that is certainly quality of life.

It is incredible this crisis – maybe we should combine these two crisis – the health-care industry and big Pharma and put them together so we can manage them better as we cut off some of this excessive corporate welfare? Too hard hitting for you? So, what’s your solution then?

New Home Improvement Products Can Create Big Problems For Homeowners

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I rarely buy new products that guarantee instant success for home repairs anymore. To be honest with you, I probably purchased over 50 of these items, before finally getting disgusted with myself for wasting so much money on these miserable products.

I’m not about to tell you what types of products these were, I’m just here to get you in the right mind, before you purchase any more of them yourself. If you’re looking at a product that guarantees some sort of plumbing pipe repair, find out if it has any type of guarantee. Can this item be returned if it doesn’t work?

Even if this item works temporarily, will the company who guaranteed it, cover and additional home repair expenses if this product fails in the future? For example, you fix a bathroom water supply pipe and everything looks great, but you leave for work one day, and when you come home half of your house is flooded.

I think you’re starting to get the point here, you purchase these products and they either work or they don’t. It’s like gambling at your local casino. They are painting you an illusion of winning large fortunes, but rarely deliver the product.

Whenever I walk into my local lumber yard, hardware store, home improvement center or large retail department stores, I see these products all over the place. I make jokes to myself and anyone around, but at the same time, I realize that these products wouldn’t be here if they didn’t sell.

I’m just trying to get you to think, before making some of these purchases. There are some products that give you a false illusion and you need to be aware of them.

Tips For Filing a Liability Lawsuit

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A Los Angeles liability lawyer can assist you with any liability problems that you may have. In most cases whenever people hear the term liability, they often times think of it as referring to car insurance. When in all actuality liability pertains to the state of being legally responsible for a particular event.

A Los Angeles liability lawyer will usually handle cases that involve a person who has sustained an injury either through a faulty or mislabeled product or hazardous property.

Product liability is the liability of a product that a manufacturer has to a consumer. To make things a little easier to comprehend, a product liability lawsuit would occur in the case that a product was faulty or malfunctioned. For instance, if you were using a blow dryer and it electrocuted you, this would be means for a product liability lawsuit. The manufacturer, sold a faulty product to you the consumer, and they are liable for any damages that product may have caused.

Premises liability is a little trickier then product liability. Premises liability deals with someone’s dwelling or land that they have sole ownership for. According to the laws pertaining to premise liability, if anyone is injured or something occurs on your land, the person that owns the land is held liable for whatever ailments they may have caused another individual.

It is very easy for a Los Angeles liability case to become complex, particularly when it comes time to gather evidence of the occurrence. Witnesses, security camera recordings, and photographs of the injury and the premises that caused the accident are just a few of the things that could prove useful in supporting your case.

We are all only human, therefore we are generally understanding when an accident occurs, but that doesn’t mean that the victim should be left footing medical bills, lost wages, and future treatment expenses when the fault truly lies with another person or company. If you believe you may have been injured through a faulty product or premises, please speak with a Los Angeles attorney as soon as possible.

How Is Your Worksite Wellness Program Addressing The Biopsychosocial Nature Of Health? (Are You?)

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Health is a complex concept. And you do want to understand how to best address it, correct?

I have previously written that health and wellness are two clearly different concepts. As a result, I see the work-site wellness programs of today as not really being wellness programs at all, but really being employee health status management programs. If you accept this premise, this means that as a work site wellness professional you should have a clear understanding about the nature of health. Do you think you do?

Health, like wellness, can have many different definitions. Again, like wellness, there appears to be agreement around the idea that health is a complex concept which has several different determinants. The determinants of health can be classified into several broad categories: policy making, social factors, health services, individual behavior and biology and genetics. Health is often referred to as being a complex bio psycho-social concept.

Breaking the term bio psycho-social down into its component parts suggests the term consists of three major components: biological, psychological and social. So how do these component parts each contribute to an individual’s health?

Biological – The biological and genetic or physical (physiological) determinants of health, as well as individual behaviors, are generally the focus of most work site wellness programs today. Programming often takes the form of health risk identification and measurement (commonly called risk reduction) and disease or condition management strategies. These speak to the biology and genetics of health.

Two common measurement tools used in work site wellness programs today are health risk assessments and bio-metric screenings which are designed to measure and categorize health risks and basic biological body measures respectively. The basic biological measures serve as markers for an individual’s health status. Ideally, these measures should be within what has been determined to be a normal clinical range.

Psychological – It is now generally accepted that our brain and our body in separable. There is an undeniable connection between the mind and the body. While the exact mechanism may not yet be clearly understood, there is agreement cognition, thoughts, attitude and feelings influence our health. Our thoughts and feelings do have a physical impact on our body. They influence our nervous system, our immune system, our hormone system and subsequently our health.

Disease states are strongly influenced both in onset and duration by the way we think and behave. Our emotional responses result in hormone releases which in turn affect our health. It is clear that how a person feels, or their psychological states including a sense of energy, vigor, durability, hardiness, resilience, optimism, high life satisfaction and positive emotions all reflect the psychological connection to physical health, thereby representing the psychological component in bio psycho-social.

Social – The person – environment fit is reflective of the social component in bio psycho-social. The social determinants of health typically refer to the social environment and the physical environment, which are not controllable by the individual, but affect the individual’s environment and health.

Social determinants are complex, integrated, and overlapping social structures and economic systems linked to a lack of opportunity and to a lack of resources to protect, improve, and maintain health. Environmental factors, such as housing conditions, living conditions, social networks, and social support are also key drivers.

Examples of social determinants include:

• Availability of resources to meet daily needs, such as educational and job opportunities, living wages, or healthy food

• Social norms and attitudes

• Exposure to crime, violence, and social disorder

• Socioeconomic conditions, such as poverty

• Social support and social interactions

Social support, social interactions and friendships have been determined by researchers to provide many benefits. They influence many major aspects of our life. They also provide many beneficial life enhancing roles. Social support is critical. In fact, a lack of friends can be deadly.

We lean on social support, social interactions and friendships for:

• Intellectual stimulation

• Emotional support

• Fun activities

• Support for making behavior changes

The skills necessary for making good social support, interactions and friendship are also the skills necessary for success in life. Social support, social interactions and friendships are also great wellness tools for the work-site wellness professional to tap into.

How is your work-site wellness program addressing each component of the bio psycho-social nature of health?