Steve Volk's Blog, page 10

Setting up your own makeup studio

It is not easy to stay calm when a career in makeup artistry is waiting for you. You have the right opportunity and you cannot wait get to work. You are something of a magician and it would be a shame to let your talent go to waste. So, get your certification and open your makeup studio already. The demand for beauty services is high in Austin, Texas and it is a lucrative market to get into. There is no better time like the present to start your own makeup studio. In this article, you have everything there is to know about opening your own makeup studio.

Find the right location  

 It is very possible to start a cosmetic business from home. If you have the necessary knowledge and know-how, then there is nothing to worry about. You can do simple and complex makeups within the comfort of your home. When working from home, you have to make compromises. You can no longer afford to enjoy a good book when you feel like it and you need to invest a great deal of money. You are better off renting a storage unit and do your thing there. Storage units in Austin are simply perfect for starting a business. You do not necessarily need a business location. What if you have a nook around the home? Your attention will be distracted. Have a designated space like a storage unit. You will not regret it.

Do some market research

You have the business idea in your mind, now, all you have to do is to find out if there is a market for the services that you are going to provide. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, makeup services are in high demand. Yes, but that does not necessarily mean that your chances of success are guaranteed. Not only do you have to discover who your target market is, but also you have to gain feedback concerning your idea. It is important to understand that the beauty industry is driven by the global and local trends alike. Get a comprehensive overview of all the possibilities and pitfalls that lie ahead of the road.

Organize your supplies

It does not matter whether your makeup studio is a permanent or temporary one. You need to get your hands on the right supplies. There is a strong likelihood that you have a moisturizer, primer, concealer, eyeliner, blush, highlighter, and eye shadow palette. If you are not organized, then your business will not thrive. So, have a corner that is especially designated for the supplies. You need a place where you can leave your tools and supplies. Have them present on the table. This will give you a better view of what you have got. It is a good idea to invest in drawers. This way, you can organize various categories of products. Labels will make things even clearer. It is very important to prove to your clients that you truly are a professional. Have a neat makeup studio!

Anxious Dogs: Help Them Manage Separation Anxiety and Other Distressful Scenarios

Dogs also experience anxiety and there are many scenarios that may cause distress to your pet. We all know it: dogs are terrified during thunderstorms, the 4th of July fireworks make them tremble and so on. When such events occur, dogs are more likely to try to escape the safe indoor space and run away. Others might feel the need to hide in a dark, quiet space. But one major source of distress for dogs is separation anxiety. However, below we will discuss some of the dogs’ most common fears and how to help them overcome those.

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The most common fears in dogs

As previously mentioned, separation anxiety is the most common that dog behaviour experts see in canines. This phenomenon occurs when the dog is hyper-attached to the owner and can’t manage their feelings when the owners are not around. Second come aggression issues, but these are once again deeply rooted in a dog’s fears, insecurities and anxieties.

In most of the cases, dogs that show aggressive behaviours are labelled as dominant dogs, when, in fact, they are feeling scared in most of the case. Aggression is a defensive pattern that has been misinterpreted as dominant behaviour by humans. A good solution to calm down your companion would be to offer them some CDB dog treats that will help them relax. This will most likely help you help them eliminate aggression and anxiety, but for more information on the topic, click here.

Are some dog breeds more likely to develop fears and anxieties?

Certain dog breeds are more sensitive to environmental stressors thus, more likely to develop fears and anxieties. For instance, border collies, are incredibly sensitive to their surroundings, especially sounds. The same goes for German shepherds. These two breeds, in particular, can be predisposed to experience a number of fears and anxieties. Regardless, all dogs can develop any sort of phobias and anxieties, regardless of their breed. Each dog’s upbringing and predisposition will play a big part in this.

The best approach to clam down your dog or treat their fears

Many dog owners wonder if they should ignore or comfort their dog when in distress. This depends on the fear and on each dog. We established below that offering them some CDB treats is the best approach. This way, you will avoid reinforcing their fear each time when you comfort them. You want to be moderate when it comes to cuddles and pets when they are in distress. Instead, use a reassuring voice to let them know that you are present and with them throughout their episode.

No matter what is the cause for your dog’s fears and anxieties, try to implement some relaxing strategies, including the treats all pet owners are raving right know. They will help your pet relax, eliminate anguish and fears and help them become more independent and less sensitive to various stressors, be those sharp sounds, changes in the air pressure or unnatural lights. This may be the best solution for many pet owners to reinforce a good and positive behaviour in their dogs.

 

How to find enough money to start your own small business

If you have found a fantastic business idea which you think is going to be a huge success but whether you do not have money at all to invest in it or you have just a small amount of money from the investment which you need to make, it is definitely a stressful dilemma to find the best solution to find the necessary money to start working hard in opening your own business. Being limited to a strict budget or no budget at all is definitely not going to take you on the top of the market but giving up should also not be an option if you wish to be a successful entrepreneur in the future. So, you need to find a strong motivation and not allow the challenges each entrepreneur comes across at the beginning and do your best to find the best solution for getting money for the business you are planning to open.

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Start saving

If the business idea which you have in mind and think about investing in is not putting you under the pressure of time and you are a patient person who can wait for a better opportunity, you could postpone the  moment of opening your own business and start saving as much money as possible until you have the right amount of money to start investing in your business. However, you need to take into consideration the fact that while you are still saving for opening your business, someone who already has the right budget could think about the same business idea and invest in it which would make it more difficult for you to successfully enter the market.   

Get a homeowner loan

If you wish to find the money you need to open your own business you might also want to consider a homeowner loan as another available option. If you already own a property, getting a homeowner loan to borrow money to invest in your business idea should not be such a complicated process. However, if you have already tried this option but you have been refused credit in the past, you need to understand why you have been refused and try to fix the problem if it is possible, if not, you should definitely wait more time and not apply immediately after getting a refuse because this might make the lenders think that you are desperate to get cash which can look bad on your credit file and cause you some problems of getting a credit in the future as well.

Ask your friends and family members for help

Surely, it is not such a pleasant idea to ask your loved ones for help because you wish to be an independent entrepreneur and prove that you can do it on your own. However, you need to be aware of the fact that our loved ones are always willing to help us in our hardest moments to give us the right support until we reach success. So, there is no shame in asking your family members or friends to borrow you the amount of money you need to achieve your goal of opening your own business.

 

Selecting a Storage Unit Is Not That Hard

A storage unit is one of the best places to store odds and ends that cannot be stored at home or in your business place. If your home is packed to the brim and you want to free some space, the storage unit is one of the best solutions to the problem. You can remove some of those things that you are not using often and store them up at the storage unit. A public storage El Segundo is the best place to consider if you reside in this town and you need to stow away certain items that are occupying space to no benefit in your home.  If you are confused about how to find the right storage space for you, the hints provided in this write-up will guide you and make the prices easy for you.

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Go local

When searching for a storage unit for any purpose, it is always better to limit your search to your locality. The local ones are easier to investigate compared to those located far. You will also not have to spend a lot of money to transport the items to be stored in the storage unit when you deal locally.  Local storage units also tend to be more affordable than those located far away. Dealing locally helps you to compare the various available facilities for public storage el Segundo so that you can go for one that perfectly suits your need in the locality

Determine what you need

Before you go in search of a facility for public storage El Segundo, first determine the number of items you want to store up in the facility. This will determine what size to rent.  The type of item you want to store up in the storage unit can also determine the level of security or protection to consider.

If you are going to store precious items, then, you should closely consider how much security that outlet can offer.  Does the place have a storage gate? Is it well fenced around?  Does it have electronic key codes for entry and exit? What of video surveillance?  If anyone ever intrudes on the property, the video records can pick out the intruder easily.  Furthermore, find out if there are human security personnel within the premises 24/7 since the physical presence can discourage potential intruders.           

Conclusion

The points mentioned above can help you locate that perfectly suitable facility for public storage El Segundo.  You can compare as many of them as possible and go for the most affordable storage facility among them.      

Toscanini Transportation is the best fulfillment solution for businesses anywhere in the world

Toscanini Transportation is a fulfillment company that targets both businesses and individuals who need quality services. The services offered to businesses are available all around the globe and they are customizable which means they can suit all the needs that a company may have. Toscanini Transportation deals professionally with the processes and notifications that are related to the fulfillment sector. The team is ready to communicate and collaborate with all sorts of clients, regardless of their individual needs. The EDI systems they use ensures great communication between Toscanini Transportation and their clients, as anyone can contact the team through various methods. From online chat, email and fax to phone calls, clients can ask any questions they may have. The team will go an extra mile to make sure that any customer is satisfied with the services at Toscanini Transportation (Elterro.com)

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The company also accentuates the use of advanced protocols. Handling packages in terms of business is a sign of professionalism. Respecting delivery times and giving customers the possibility to choose when to pick up the packages are two of the factors that make a difference between different order fulfillment company. At Toscanini, advanced protocols include setting up delivery times, including complex forward instructions, setting up an expiration date for some packages and many other. Basically, Toscanini Transportation gives customers the change to fully personalize their order fulfillment services. As for emergency cases, when things go wrong with the tech systems at Toscanini Transportation, the professional team is ready to take over the tasks.

For companies that need to consolidate their order fulfillment services, Toscanini Transportation is the perfect choice, as it offers competitive pricing for consolidation services. For instance, if a company receives a lot of mails or packages, Toscanini Transportation can recognize them and combine them, repackage them and send them to the respective company in the same package, thus reducing the transportation costs visibly. For tracking the packages, Toscanini Transportation uses TMS (Transportation Management Systems). These systems allow the company to effectively track packages by communicating with the carriers. Since advanced protocols are used, keeping carriers up to date with the delivery instructions received from clients is a necessity. Toscanini Transportation relies on TMS for receiving and sending notifications regarding the packages.

To face the continuously evolving industry of order fulfillment, Toscanini Transportation uses the latest advancements in terms of technology to keep the packages safe and organized. This is why the company implemented a mechanism for quality control. If any problems are encountered with the packages, Toscanini Transportation will find the appropriate solutions to handle them. The company works with a barcode system which seems to be the easiest and most efficient method to track batches of packages on time. Because Toscanini Transportation also works with fragile packages or hazardous ones, it is highly important to engage the team into the process, because automated systems must be carefully supervised to avoid any errors. This makes Toscanini Transportation a complete solution for order fulfillment.

 

Family pool safety tips that you can’t miss

The summer season is near, so you must prepare your pool for all the parties that are about to come. Backyard pools are pretty difficult to maintain safe and in good condition during the whole year. This is why you might need to make certain investments that improve your pool safety, such as fences, water-resistant cell-phones, safety covers and so on. This article will present some tips that will help you ensure maximum safety around your pool. Your family is going to be safe at all times if you respect these few requirements.

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Install a fence  

First of all, go ahead and look for pool fencing. This way, you will keep people out of your pool’s area when you are not around. You should look for a pool guard website where many products are listed. You will surely find one that suits your pool’s size and shape. Don’t worry about pricing either – it’s a one-time upgrade that will last for years. Most communities require fencing by law, and if that’s your case – get informed about the requirements for height and sizing. The regulations differ from one region to another.

The don’ts around the pool

There are some things that you must avoid at all costs when using the pool. You must share these rules with your family and make sure that they respect them as well. The first rule would be avoiding swimming on your own. You never know what can happen when you use a pool on your own, and having someone around to act if things go wrong is paramount. Pay tremendous attention to children.

They can’t be left unattended at any cost. The numbers are scary and you should keep them in mind whenever you throw a pool party where children are invited. 75% of drowning victims were out of sights for less than 5 minutes, so your attention must be distributed carefully. Alcohol should be kept away at all costs. Even though it’s called a party, drinking alcohol around pools is not allowed. Being drunk and swimming don’t mix at all and can lead to serious consequences. Also, running around the pool is not allowed either, especially for children that can easily slip and fall into the water. Glass or sharp objects must be kept away from the pool. Use plastic cups instead of glass ones and ask your children to keep toys away from the pool. Only inflatable toys are allowed in the water.

Additional precautions

Moreover, don’t forget to remove vegetation around the pool margins, any tables that are too close to the pool and any other item that may interfere with swimming or lead to an accident. Teach yourself basic CPR for crisis situations and have a water-proof cell around the pool to call emergency numbers if something goes off. It’s best to take all the necessary precautions in order to ensure pool safety. After you are done, use your pool safety covers and close the fence’s gate. Set up alarms in the pool area as well.

Your body image perception is related to your mental health – see how

Since people are in direct contact with social media and the Internet almost on a daily basis, they tend to be influenced by what media delivers to them. In most cases, media promoted body image over anything else, and that leads to frustration. Women often try to obtain the look of the celebrities or models they see in fashion magazines, and that’s how mental health issues begin to appear into their lives. At first, it sounds like a problem that doesn’t deserve that much attention, until people realize that these unattainable expectations make their self-esteem inexistent. Their quality of life suddenly lowers and the effects become visible.

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The infinite loop between mental health, body image and self-esteem

There are two main situations: when you have a positive image about yourself and your self-esteem versus when you have a poor image about these. The first situation leads to an overall good mental health and keeps you away from depressions and anxiety. The second one leads to an overall poor mental health condition that may lead to multiple issues. Here’s how the three factors influence each other:

·        CASE 1

When you are comfortable with the way you look, you respect your bodily needs and you are aware that you can’t change this detail in your life, your self-esteem will be instantly boosted. You’ll start feeling more confident, more capable and have realistic expectations from your body. This, of course, results in a great mental health. You’ll deal easier with difficult situations in your life, you can handle disappointments and rejection the right way, you accept the fact that you are not 100% perfect and that no one is and you understand that frustrations can affect your relationships.

·        CASE 2

When you don’t like the way you look, you constantly compare yourself to others, you consider that there’s something wrong with your body and you don’t nurture it as it deserves, your self-esteem goes down. You’ll feel like you’re not good enough, that other people will always outrun you and that you are not allowed to do some things because of your aspect. This leads to a poor mental health, meaning that you can develop depression or other diseases. Models often develop anorexia or bulimia because they can’t fulfill all the unrealistic expectations. They don’t care for their bodies the way they should and that reflects in their mental health as well.

 

 

 

 

Healing your skin after addiction – beauty tips for recovering addicts

So after long and overwhelming efforts, you might have managed to finally give up on drug consumption and start pursuing a healthy and sober way of living. Perhaps you have understood the gravity of your problem and have resorted to holistic rehabs that treat addiction as a mental health problem, or you have accessed other solutions to remediate this problem. Regardless of what you have done to achieve sobriety, now you might be confronted with several concerns revolving around your post-recovery status. After a long time of illegal substance abuse, your appearance has probably been affected, and now you are dealing with various skin problems. Here are a few beauty tips that will help you in this department.

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Combating acne

Acne is one of the first things that you will be faced with after starting to consume drugs. Your body will try to detox itself, and an acne breakout will be a natural reaction. While you are no longer taking harmful substances, treating this issue won’t be difficult. The key in this situation is to keep your skin clean at all times, while not rubbing or touching the acne spots. In case of major breakouts, it’s best if you pursue a professional treatment as well.

Wrinkles

Dehydration is something any addict experience during their addiction period. This affects wellness on multiple levels, and the health and appearance of the skin is one of them. Although you might still be young of age, noticing wrinkles on your complexion is likely to happen. After your addiction healing at holistic treatment centers, you need to start prioritizing effective hydration for skin texture improvement. Start eating plenty of Omega 3 rich foods, take vitamin E supplements and use natural moisturizing products and you will prevent your wrinkles from becoming more accentuated and you;ll make your skin look more glowing.

Eczema patches and dry lips

From the same dehydration consideration mentioned above, eczema patches, flaky skin, chopped and dry lips are also things you might be facing at the moment. Besides increasing your daily water intake, exfoliate and moisturize your skin using high quality products that work on the skin texture in-depth. It’s recommended to choose options based on natural ingredients to avoid potential side effects.

After you have managed to reach sobriety and get the help needed to escape this life-threatening issues, you’ll start worrying about things that might not have seemed important until now, your appearance being one of them. Use these suggestions to your advantage and you’ll soon stop having issues or worries on the matter.

Things to consider before hiring a nanny

Finding a reliable caretaker for your little ones can be quite of a dreadful process at times, but some things that you should pay attention to might make the whole process significantly easier. Keep reading below to find out some inside information from leaders in the industry.

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Hire a candidate through a reputable nanny agency

It may be tempting to discuss with one of your relatives to look after your child, or even looking in the local newspaper, but in the end, you want to make sure that you hire only the best person to look after your child. This will assure you that the education received during the hours spent with a nanny will rise to your expectations. Besides, we all know that grandparents and other relatives seem to overlook parent’s rules for raising a child, which might interfere a lot with their authority. Bottom line is, you should only consider collaborating with one of the best London Nanny Agency.

Carefully interview all candidates

If you want only the best nannies out there to interact with your children, make sure that you ask them very specific questions. This will help you tell with more accuracy if the nanny is truly relating with your family and the household rules. This may be a time-consuming process, sometimes, but by hiring a nanny through a reputable agency will cut some of the time usually needed.

Consider your nanny’s childcare experience

Think if this person actually took care of a child previously. Have they been paid to do it? A reliable nanny has at least a year of cumulative experience in childcare services. The experience that matters could be as a teacher, day care provider or as a camp counsellor.

Get references from other clients

The references should be from former clients. Ask what their collaboration with a certain nanny looked like, make sure that the nanny has recent clients that can vouch for their experience. Otherwise, this may be an enormous red flag. Ask the reference dates, duties, the schedule, the age of the child the nanny took care of, etc.

The nanny’s education matters

Consider your candidate’s education and pay attention to it thoroughly. If you collaborate with nanny agencies, you can be certain that all nannies have diplomas and special professional certifications. These certifications matter enormously if you want a candidate with teacher-like roles in the process of raising your child.

Do a background check

A reputable agency will always perform background checks on their employees.  However, if you’re not hiring through an agency, you may want to do your own background check. Check the sex offender database, if there is one available in your country. Do a DMV check at least, as well.

These are some of the most important things that you should consider when planning to hire a great caretaker for your children. Make sure that you follow all the steps described above and always remember that a nanny hired through a nanny agency is better than any other option.

 

Some tips that will help you stay sober while traveling

If you try to picture the ideal world for a person who is struggling with addiction, no triggers would be present and the disorder would be so easy to manage. But you live in the real world where these sorts of triggers are present at each step and could cause a relapse any time if you are not careful enough. People who need to face the history of addiction will always find it difficult to be around triggers. Protecting your sobriety while traveling is even more complex, since you’ll visit a new place and you never know what you will meet in your path. Here are some tips that should help you with it:

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Self-care is a must

Regardless of the reason why you travel at the moment, whether it is for work and relaxation, you need to maintain your self-care routine. Wellness cannot be ignored, even when the circumstances change. A person who had a drug problem in the past has to respect the schedule he set during rehab. Traveling will make you more vulnerable to relapsing, so this is the time when you have to focus on self-care. Find Ayahuasca retreat centers in case you want to combine your rehab with traveling. It’s a perfect location to stay away from triggers. Massages and SPA treatments are a great way to forget about triggers and enjoy your stay in a different city.

Carefully choose the activities you engage in

Staying in a hotel room all day might not be the best decision while traveling if it is related to avoiding drug triggers. You shouldn’t ruin your trip just because you are afraid of triggers. You need to engage in activities that are well-organized and that keep you away from potential triggers. Group tours are the most recommended activities to get the best out of the city you are visiting. Hiking in the nature, swimming, enjoying local gardens and parks and staying away from bars, pubs or other locations that may contain triggers is what you need to do. Traveling is a great opportunity to connect with yourself at a different level.

Keep in touch with your support group

In case you are not ready for traveling on your own, you can keep in touch with your previous support group and ask them to organize a trip outside your town. Actually, you can find drug rehabs for all of you and enjoy a one or two-day programmes there. It’s easy to travel when everyone is there with the very same purpose and you won’t have the chance to fall back in the dark pit of addiction again. The more you get used with traveling, the easier it will be to do it on your own once the rehab is completely over. The fear of relapsing will no longer constitute an issue. Manage your coping strategies and apply them to your trip. You’ll find it easier in time.