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How to Turn Your Love for Parties Into a Career

Sam Allcock
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How to Turn Your Love for Parties Into a Career

Nothing beats a good party. A well-planned party can be unforgettable for all the right reasons. If you love trying to throw the perfect party, becoming a party planner could be the career you never realized you always wanted. Party planning is a job that is accessible to almost anyone interested in pursuing it.

One of the great things about party planning is that unlike many other jobs that most people can do, there is a very high opportunity to turn this job into a rewarding career that you’ll love. Depending on how comfortable you feel in your abilities when starting out, the financial situation you are in, and the opportunities available to you, you can either start working for a party planning company or start a company that is all your own.

Practice Makes Perfect

There are many options for how you can dip your feet into the water of event planning to see if it is right for you. One great option that you can do on your own schedule as you work around other obligations that you may have, is to practice throwing parties for your friends and family. When you have a free weekend, plan a party but view it like you would if you were being paid to throw it.

It doesn’t matter what kind of party you are planning. It can be a dinner party, a game night, or a rager. Generally, all of these parties can be thrown with careful planning or slapped together.

However, you will want to take the carefully planned approach when practicing to become a party planner. Carefully think out the menu and focus on the presentation. Send out invitations even if everyone already knows they are invited. Make sure that activities are planned in a way that makes the party roll smoothly from one portion of the evening to another. Create a theme for your party and decorate accordingly.

Remember to consider the type of party you are planning. How rigidly or loosely you will want to structure the evening will depend on the vibe you are trying to cultivate. You can even have your friends fill out comment cards to rate the evening and provide you with constructive criticism.

Volunteer

Volunteering can be another great way to get the practice you need. You can volunteer to throw an event yourself or volunteer to help with an organization. Your friends and family will likely be very grateful to have someone throw their kids birthday parties, so they don’t have to worry about it. Many organizations accept voluntary help for events. Festivals are often looking for volunteers, and you usually get to enjoy the festival for free when not working.

Take a Course

You can also take a more structured approach, to learn how to plan an event by signing up for party planning classes. There is a wide range of classes available, from single-session crash courses to long in-depth study and training. These classes can help anyone looking to get into party planning, whether you are hoping to plan festivals, weddings, corporate events, or bachelor/bachelorette parties.

Some in-depth classes will take you beyond the pure planning of events to the business side of things. They will go over things like how to deal with the billing of clients, how to negotiate with vendors, and the necessity of things like wedding insurance.

Figure Out What Type of Events Are Right for You

While it is possible to be in the business of all-purpose event planning, unless your company is quite large, you will most likely want to focus on a specific type of event as you build your personal brand. If you are starting your own business, you may take any sort of party that people are willing to hire you for at first. However, the earlier you can start focusing on a specific party type, the better.

By developing expertise in a specific area, you can start focusing your advertising in that direction and become one of the top choices for that event type in your area. Being an all-purpose event planner as a small company is going to leave you far down the list for any specific event. However, by focusing on one event type, you can be one of the top choices in the field.

When determining what to specialize in, you will want to primarily look at two things.

The first thing is the types of events you are best suited to throw. This is a combination of your personal skillset and what types of events you enjoy. If you are more structure-oriented, then corporate events might be your thing. If you are more fluid and flexible, you might be more suited to birthday parties.

The other thing is to figure out where there is a hole in the market. You don’t want to try to squeeze into an area that is already overserviced in your area. You want to find where the supply is not meeting the demand and focus your attention there.

Create a Website

If you are building your own event planning business, one of the most important things you can do to increase your chances of success is to create a professional-looking, well-functioning website. Word of mouth can really help a party planning company get work and grow. However, if potential customers are unable to find you online, they are likely to turn to another provider of party planning services.

Your Guide to Mastering All Things Horse Racing

Sam Allcock
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Your Guide to Mastering All Things Horse Racing

Horse racing has so much more to it than the standard preconconception of ‘fastest horse to the finish line wins’ notion that many brand it as. The sport offers so much more than such a basic categorisation like that. Many struggle to get into it or simply don’t understand all the intricacies of the sport and are put off by this. The sport has some crucial technicalities, not least of which are related to the huge betting market which symbiotically exists with horse racing. This ancient sport has traditionally always been a part of human civilisation and it’s here to stay, so why not get yourself clued up and get stuck into all the entertainment from betting to photo finishes that this wonderful sport has to offer, not to mention keeping up to date with the big events, especially Cheltenham Festival news as it is just around the corner.

Whilst the ground, conditions, types of horses and ability of jockeys varies from country to country and race to race there are a few things which remain the same. Firstly, horse racing is typically split into two main racing types: flat races and jump racing (national hunt/steeplechase). Flat races see competitors battle it out in a race of speed, whilst steeplechase races require the need for stamina and endurance. Within these racing types certain horses can only compete in certain events with thoroughbred, arabian and quarter-horse being preferred on the flat and jockeys inclined to use thoroughbreds alongside AQPS horses in jump races. Alongside the logistics of the sport, there are also a lot of intricacies when it comes to other areas of horse racing, notably the betting side of the sport.

Horse racing and betting are synonymous. The two are intertwined in culture and have a long history together. Gambling is a massive part of the horse racing sport and the markets and bookies offers reflect that. Punters frequent bookies to place wagers on horse racing events around the world. Betting on horses is not like many other sports though. The unpredictable nature of the sport means you really should know what you are doing before wagering any great deal of money on the races.  It’s all well and good having a lucky punt on a horse you fancy but knowing what to bet and how to bet well on horses is another story entirely. Doing your research and knowing what you are betting on is so important. And understanding the racecards or how to accurately assess horses in the parade ring can be difficult without practice and adequate knowledge. By informing yourself on form, outside factors such as conditions and race magnitude or body language of the horse you are much more likely to pick a winner than randomly looking at which odds are the best on any given horse. It’s about knowing the sport and reaping the rewards from that, there’s only so far luck will take you in horse race betting.

The Gartner Magic Quadrant and Field Service

Sam Allcock
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The Gartner Magic Quadrant and Field Service

According to research company Gartner, a Magic Quadrant is “a graphical competitive positioning of four types of technology providers, in markets where growth is high and provider differentiation is distinct: Leaders execute well against their current vision and are well positioned for tomorrow.”

The tool helps leadership make strategic decisions about future investment. For Field Service Management (FSM) organizations, the Gartner Magic Quadrant is a great way to assess their strengths and weaknesses against competitors in order to make decisions that increase their market share.

The current Covid-19 pandemic has created a crossroads for the field service industry. Companies are beginning to understand that in order to remain sustainable in the new normal the pandemic will create, they must invest in technology that automates their processes, embrace data analytics, and incorporate real-time analysis to increase customer satisfaction and accuracy, among other benefits.

By 2025, Gartner reports that over 50 percent of field service management deployments will include mobile augmented-reality collaboration and knowledge-sharing tools, up from less than 10 percent in 2019. 

By the same year, over 50 percent of equipment manufacturers will offer outcome-based service contracts that rely on access to digital twin data, up from less than 20 percent in 2019. 

Additionally, algorithms and bots will schedule over two-thirds of field service work for field service providers dependent on automated schedule optimization, up from less than 25 percent in 2019. 

The investments that FSM operators can make in this new normal is in technology that operates across multiple communication channels. This way, dashboards, mobile devices, workplace and vendor management software, supply chain solutions, chatbots, and more can speak the same language among each other so that work performed becomes more accurate, timely, and predictive. 

Indeed, this synergy can help field service operators solve problems for customers before breakdowns take place, which protects the uptime of their customers and builds loyalty with the vendor at the same time. This added value to the full service that field service operators provide will help distinguish them from competitors. The companies that emerge successfully from the pandemic will be those that invested in devices, software, and systems that are enabled to solve problems before and after they take place.

How to Take Care of Your Mental Health During the Lockdown

Sam Allcock
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How to Take Care of Your Mental Health During the Lockdown

From wildfires to a pandemic and everything in-between: 2020 has been a tough year, and that’s a wild understatement too. Everyone’s mental health took a bit of a knock (some more than others) with the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Things don’t seem to be letting up soon, however, so it’s time to start focusing on self-care.

1. Create a routine

Most people have probably heard this advice before – but that’s because it’s good advice! People are creatures of habit, and having a routine helps create a structure that the human brain seems to enjoy. Purposeful routines also help instill good, healthy habits and can be greatly helpful for breaking bad ones. They also help diminish the type of stress that comes from not getting important things done.

2. Stick to Work Hours & Take Breaks

When working from home, it can start to feel like work and home life begin to blend into one non-stop cycle. Working extra (often unpaid) hours suddenly becomes normal, and it can even feel like it’s not enough.

Going to the office creates a way to separate work and life. Being around co-workers and in the work environment also helps people fall into a natural pace alongside everyone else. So it’s harder to fall into negative feelings of inadequacy or like not enough is being accomplished throughout the day.

To combat these feelings, try to stick to a set number of work hours. These don’t have to coincide with a regular 9-5 if it isn’t necessary for the job but don’t make overtime a habit. Remember to take breaks throughout the day too. Not only is it better for mental health, but stretching those legs has a lot of physical health benefits.

3. Eliminate potential stress points where possible

This is a hard one because what counts as a stress point will be different for everyone. Of course, it’s also not always possible to take steps to prevent things that cause stress. However, some things can be planned for, in a way, to avoid any potential issues.

For example, this year hasn’t just been challenging on people’s lifestyles, income, and mental health. It’s also been a nightmare in virtual terms – with cyberattacks, especially phishing attacks, increasing exponentially. Cybercriminals have taken advantage of the pandemic, and people weren’t prepared for these attacks on top of everything else.

A way to avoid that potential outcome and deal with a stolen identity or compromised accounts is to use cybersecurity basics. That is especially true while working from home. These can include using a VPN online, making sure not to reuse passwords, and adding two-factor authentication for added protection.

4. Come to terms with stress and things that can’t be controlled

Since some things just can’t be changed and certain causes of stress can’t be avoided, it’s best to accept them. That’s much easier said than done, of course, especially for any significant triggers that impact one’s life.

Working through trauma and stress is good. Continuously worrying or ruminating about circumstances that cannot be changed isn’t helpful, though. It’s a process that can quickly start deteriorating someone’s mental well-being. So try to direct that energy into something more positive, where possible, and take action to change things that can be changed instead. Those small wins add up in a big way in the end.

5. Limit social media time

Social media is a significant source of anxiety for many people and can exacerbate symptoms of depression. Of course, it depends on how someone uses their social accounts and what they expose themselves to. But it’s all too easy to fall into several downward-spiraling traps.

Anyone who’s ever gotten into a fight with a stranger online (which is probably everyone) has seen the futility of the endeavor. Yet it’s a pattern that’s easy to fall into because there are so many conflicting opinions – regularly backed up with some hateful words – online.

It’s important to remember that it’s highly unlikely that engaging with someone will change their mind. It doesn’t mean the urge to tell them they’re wrong isn’t valid, but it’s better to pick those battles. At least for the sake of personal mental health.

6. Focus on Physical Health Too

A lot of people may be cut off from their conventional means of exercise right now. Yet, there’s still no excuse for not getting in a bit of a workout because it’s beneficial for improving mental health. This has been scientifically proven over and over. Also, try to avoid junk food as much as possible and focus on getting enough sleep.

Conclusion

With a pandemic and lockdown affecting people’s health and jobs, more physical isolation, and political issues ramping up, it’s no wonder everyone’s mental health is suffering. All of these additional stresses can have a severely damaging effect on people’s mental well-being. Make sure to set some time aside to self-reflect and implement any changes that can help foster better personal wellness.

7 Ways AI Software Is Helping Businesses Manage Their Contracts (2021)

Sam Allcock
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7 Ways AI Software Is Helping Businesses Manage Their Contracts (2021)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way businesses manage contracts. AI contract review helps companies manage agreements in more efficient and better ways. This is important as companies have hundreds of contracts stored in different locations and files.

Manually managing these contracts becomes exceedingly tricky because a lot of time and effort is spent finding and collating information. Moreover, inadequate contract management systems can cause companies to lose money.

The use of computers and AI software can help reduce the time and labor wasted in manual systems so that more time can be spent on productive work.

With that said, let’s find out how AI software is changing contract management methods.

  1. Organizing, Classifying, and Extracting Information

AI systems can be used in various ways such as to:

  • Classify documents – They can identify similar types of documents and group them, making it easier to search for a particular contract type. This reduces time in searching for documents of a specific type. AI systems can use natural language processing (NLP) to extract clauses, notes, dates, comments, and metadata from contracts.
  • Classify contracts by type – Businesses can group contracts by their type and implement templates for these. For example, they could group all of their MSAs and set up a Master Services Agreement template to automate the specific terms in these contracts. The same could be achieved for lease agreements, statements of work (SOWs) and Non-disclosure Agreements (NDAs), etc. This can help decision-makers select required contracts for modification, renewal, renegotiation, or draft new contracts.
  • Classify by clause – By scanning different contracts, important clauses can be picked up and placed in groups. The clauses can then be studied and modified or improved for future agreements. In some AI systems, the software can pick out relevant clauses for a new contract that a human can review.

This classification of stored information helps companies make informed decisions and better contracts. Computers can do this classification in a fraction of the time it will take an army of humans to do the same task, making AI systems indispensable.

  1. Better Contract Lifecycle Management

One of the ways companies lose money is by missing important renewal dates, expiry dates, key performance indicators (KPIs), and follow-up dates. AI can step in to stem these problems and help companies keep track of important milestones in the contract lifecycle. For example, AI can help with:

  • Diagnostic and Analytical Searches – These can pick up important information like expiry or renewal dates to keep compliance on track and save the company a lot of time, effort, and money. Never miss a renewal deadline with AI systems to keep track of expiry and renewal information.
  • Predictive and Cognitive Support – Using AI systems’ predictive intelligence, it is possible to find out where existing contracts are failing or falling short. This is so corrective action can be taken for future contracts. It is also possible for AI systems to point out differences in clauses and contracts, making it possible for a company to standardize its contracts and clauses.
  1. Smart and Dynamic Contracts

AI systems can understand and pick up similar clauses from stored contracts using machine learning (ML) and NLP. The similarities and differences in clauses from different contracts can be presented for human review to draft better contracts.

Some AI systems can do this on their own, subject to a legal team’s final review, enabling faster drafting of better and accurate smart contracts.

  1. Smaller Teams

One of the issues with manual systems has been the need for huge teams to spend hours and days poring over documents attempting to manage and keep track of contracts. Most of the tasks involving managing contracts are repetitive.

Such tasks are very suitable for computers that can work non-stop. Therefore, computers using AI to complete the job much faster enable companies to have smaller, leaner human teams with the computers doing the hard, monotonous, repetitive work.

  1. Managing Quality Contracts

The use of AI systems can improve contracts’ quality because they can compare and analyze clauses in different contracts. This can enable the legal team to draft contracts with similar clauses or enhanced clauses.

  1. Optimizing Time Spent in Reviewing Contracts

Using AI systems’ ability to pick, understand, and highlight differences in clauses, different versions of contracts can be reviewed in shorter periods, enabling faster turnarounds times.

  1. AI in Contract Risk Management

AI systems can provide risk assessment information. This enables officials to visualize the potential risks and take corrective action, thus saving the company from losing money due to faulty contracts.

The ability to assess and predict risks allows contract managers to make informed and effective management decisions in much shorter times.

Some Challenges in the Use of AI Systems in Contract Management

One of the biggest challenges in AI systems is the “training” of the “intelligence.” To train the system, it has to be given many existing contracts in a similar format. First, all contracts in an organization need to be converted into a standard format that can be fed into the system.

This means they first have to locate all the contracts stored at different locations in different formats. Once contracts are located, they need to be stored in a standard format.

This is a complete exercise involving finding all existing contracts, scanning and digitizing them, and storing them in a similar format. This enables optical character recognition (OCR) to convert them into usable text and arranging them in a way that allows a machine to “learn.”

The system has to be trained to make sense of the data it has been given. Only after the system learns and understands the documents can it provide useful contract management inputs.

Conclusion

The benefits of using computers and AI has grown in recent times. The advantages and benefits of using AI systems include creating and managing standard contracts and keeping track of important dates and deadlines.

However, these are just a few reasons why AI software is the future of contract management.

As we understand the systems better, they are sure to improve and provide even better facilities in the foreseeable future. However, we need to realize that there is a lot of initial work that has to be done to ‘train’ the AI system before it can produce results.

Is Buying a Home Out Of Reach When You Have Bad Credit?

Claire James
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Is Buying a Home Out Of Reach When You Have Bad Credit?

Buying a house can be intimidating for anyone, but even more so if you’ve been struggling lately and your credit has been affected. Maybe you thought about homeownership but were assuming that it wouldn’t be a realistic option because of your financial situation. This might be true in some cases, but is buying a house always out of reach for people with bad credit?

Is it Possible to Get a Mortgage with Bad Credit?

The answer is yes. There are plenty of ways that you could get a mortgage, even if you missed payments before and your credit isn’t stellar. It’s all about knowing where to look and understanding how financing works. Let’s take a look at a few things you can do to qualify for a mortgage with bad credit.

Know What’s in Your Credit Report

The first thing you have to do is know what your credit score is in the first place. This will allow you to not only know what type of mortgage you could apply for but whether your credit is that bad to begin with.

Know that you are allowed to get one free copy per year of your credit report from the 3 major credit agencies: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. You will be able to see what’s on your report. You might be surprised that some things you were expecting to be there are not there anymore. That’s because most debt has a statute of limitation. Under British law, all outstanding unsecured debt has to be erased from the report after 6 years.

The next thing you have to do is check if there are any errors there. You could have an account that was settled but still showing. This can have a direct impact on your credit score. So, make sure that you dispute it. Agencies have a clear set of procedures that you can follow to settle a dispute and you will have to show copies of documents that are proving your claim.

Also, know that there isn’t one universal credit score across all agencies. Not only that, but scores can be conflicting. For instance, a score under 560 would be considered “very poor” with Experian but would be excellent with Equifax. In fact, some mortgage lenders don’t use credit scores at all and simply check your file for the presence of adverse credit without applying a numerical rating.

Do What You Can to Improve Your Credit Report

There are a few simple things that could allow you to instantly increase your credit score. One of the easiest would be to get on the electoral roll if you aren’t already. Another thing you can do is reduce your credit utilisation ratio. This is the ratio of debt vs available credit you have. There isn’t a hard number on what the best utilisation rate is, but most experts advise to keep it under the 30% mark.

Now, the best thing to do would be to start paying down your credit card with the highest limit first. Then you can start moving down. Credit utilisation is one of the biggest factors that will determine your credit score.

Next, you could start looking at alternative financial products, like secured credit cards, for instance. These can allow you to rebuild credit and usually have guaranteed approval. These will use an initial cash deposit as collateral for the card. It will also be the card’s credit limit. Use it responsibly and you will be able to improve your credit score if you had a few missed payments recently.

Know the Type of Mortgage You can Realistically Get

It’s also important that you know what you can realistically qualify for before you make your search. You already know that lenders will be more reluctant to offer a mortgage to someone with bad credit. That doesn’t mean that all of them will turn you down. What this often means is that the conditions will usually be different, and you’ll have a smaller pool of products to choose from.

Some may ask you to put a larger deposit down, for instance. This at least allows you to save up and maybe improve your credit at the same time so you can lower it. Others will limit how much you can borrow or will have higher fees.

Another option would be to work with firms that specialise in bad credit mortgages. These are often referred to as subprime mortgage lenders. If you want to know more about these and more tips on how to get a mortgage with bad credit, we suggest you check out onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk. They run down everything you need to know from what credit issues will be accepted to how much money you may need to put down. They also explain some of the factors that could affect your chances of getting a mortgage with bad credit.

Mistakes You Need to Avoid When Looking for Bad Credit Mortgages

Just because you have bad credit and fewer options, it doesn’t mean you should despair. The first mistake to avoid is going for the first offer you get even if the rate is too high. It’s surprising to see how many people will spend weeks and weeks finding the perfect home but won’t put any effort into looking for the best rate and loan type.

The only way to know how good of a deal you can get is to shop around. Also, make sure that you look at lenders that will perform a soft enquiry on your credit report to see if you have a chance of getting approved first. That’s because multiple hard enquiries on your credit report can end up affecting you negatively. Also, know that companies expect you to do some shopping, so if you do all enquiries within a 30-day window, it will affect your credit score the same as if you went with only one lender whether it’s a hard check or not.

You also have to make sure that you are realistic with the type of home you’ll be looking for. Know that lenders are mandated by law to not lend money over a certain limit, depending on the income. This limit is usually 4.5 times your annual income. For instance, if you make £70,000 per year, you could get £315,000. We also suggest you speak to a broker for professional advice before picking an adjustable-rate mortgage since you may never know in which direction rates will go.

Another mistake you should avoid is systematically closing accounts. Closing some accounts may help you increase your credit score, but some might actually hurt you. For instance, it’s better to keep a credit card active if the balance is low. Closing the account will end up affecting your utilisation rate negatively. Paying loans before their term will not necessarily help you either. It could be a wiser decision to invest that money towards your deposit. This at least will directly improve your chances of getting approved by the lender of your choice instead of getting marks on your credit report.

As you can see, there are plenty of ways that you could qualify for a mortgage even if your credit is not as good as you’d wish. The goal is to look at as many options as you can, try to turn your situation around, and have realistic goals. You also need to have a basic understanding of how credit works so you can adjust your habits.

Five Crazy Ideas For Neon lights

Sam Allcock
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Five Crazy Ideas For Neon lights

Guess what? Your search for a new modern interior love is over. If you are looking to move away from the ordinary, you’re at the right place, mate. Here’s the john dory for you – when in doubt, neon light it up! These rustic yet futuristic designs will infuse your surroundings with a soft, romantic glow.

As they swiftly shoot up in popularity, we thought of a few insane ideas you could try. Warning! They’re really going to make neon lights an irresistible idea.

1.    Highlighter Hues

Get the fancy fashion runway décor right to your doorstep with the current neon craze. They not only look cool hanging from the wall but bring in sophistication. Bright colours are married to light accents to get that finesse your heart craves. From neon yellow to blues, there’s a whole palette to experiment with. Make that next gram click, a sensational highlight!

2.    My Style, My Rule, My Neon Sign, My Cool

There are more than a million words or designs that can be used to create the neon lights. So many possibilities to change your world, and they all easily available. If your style doesn’t speak too out of the box, then there are bright colours for the rescue. Pick from a collection or craft your own; the lights will definitely carry a piece of you like a tattoo.

3.    Tube It Out

Another fancy fad to try is neon lights shaped like tubes. Hang it for some drama, jazz, and pizzazz that will downright dazzle. It’s so simple and yet makes a loud impression. If you strategically place them, they’ll even look like light sabres. Wouldn’t that be awesome? The ambient fluorescence emits a stunning glow that’ll pull you to switch some tunes on and chill!

4.    Flaunt OG Photoshop Style

Make any brick wall speak the language of a graphic designer with Photoshop-style neon lights. Different fonts, the mix of colours, contrasts, sizes, you name it, and there will be an edit to try. Sway towards the bright hues or pick the pastels. The wilder it is, the more every dinner party will find it a hot topic to discuss. Who said Photoshop rocked only the digital world?

5.    Keep It Classic, Keep It Neon Lit

Typically, if neon lights had to be classified into a personality, they would be bright, vivid colours. Unique stencilled patterns mingled with a play on shading and shadows will make the sign stand out. There’s nothing like being old school and having a quote or design you absolutely love hung up. It’s not just pubs or official buildings that should have these lights. You can bring the essence of New York, Tokyo, Paris, all straight to your home. So, let’s talk class?

These are just touching the base that the world of neon lights can open for you. Don’t we love trying new adventures? Let’s try one more. This isn’t about being random but soaking in the fact that you deserve to spoil yourself now and then. Once you go neon, you would love to keep neon! 

5 Ways You Can Style Your Leather Jacket

Sam Allcock
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5 Ways You Can Style Your Leather Jacket

A leather jacket is a classic staple in any woman’s closet. It’s one of the fashion pieces that are both functional and fashionable. If you’re on a time crunch, leather jackets are the easy way to spice up an outfit. Here are the five ways you can style your leather jacket on a daily basis.

Black Leather Jacket + Plain White Tee

You simply can’t go wrong with a classic plain black leather jacket and a plain white shirt. This outfit is certainly timeless. Whether you are out to go some errands or on your way to a night out, this classic look keeps you stylish and edgy without trying too hard. Pair it with a nice light or dark-washed jeans and your chosen footwear, and you’re good to head out the door!

Leather on Leather

Mix and match is the general rule when it comes to fashion. However, if you’re daring to be bold, going leather on leather just gives off an edgy and sexy vibe. Pair a black moto leather jacket with a nice black leather skirt and you’ve got yourself a flattering movie night or date night outfit. Keep it fresh by completing the look with some nice pair of heels. However, if you want to stay comfortable, a cute pair of ballet flats, or even sneakers, will also do the trick.

Tan Leather Jacket

Tired of the usual black leather jacket? Change up your look by sporting a nice tan leather jacket. If you’re staying away from edgy fashion statements, leather jackets are still a good fashion piece to have as your staple. If you’re going for a business casual outfit, this would be perfect. Simply layer it with a white button-up shirt and one of your best pairs of pumps. Voila, you’ve got yourself a stylish and put-together outfit.

Animal Print + Leather Jacket

Want to make a bold fashion statement? Why not pair your favorite animal print top with a nice leather jacket? Pair it with a nice mini skirt and some heels and you’ve got yourself a party outfit. You can make it as edgy as you want. You can even go all out by wearing an animal print dress under the jacket. Leopard prints are a no-brainer as it’s one of the most flattering prints you can wear.

Quilted Leather Jacket + Dress

Leather jackets can certainly remain feminine if you dress them right. Layer your favorite girly dress under a quilted leather jacket for going out or a party. If you have been hesitant to sport a leather jacket, this might make it less intimidating. Even a plain white maxi dress under a quilted leather jacket can make a statement without even trying.

Leather jackets are great for being a highly versatile piece of clothing. If you get a good quality jacket, they can be a really good investment for your wardrobe. They are durable, comfortable, and undoubtedly one of the easiest clothing items to style.

How to pick the best plagiarism checker for your academic institution

Sam Allcock
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How to pick the best plagiarism checker for your academic institution

With a huge variety of plagiarism checkers on the internet nowadays, it is more important to get a very clear idea of your necessities and missions since you make your pick.

There are different factors to consider when selecting the best plagiarism checker for your academic use:

  • What exactly are crucial criteria and concerns to consider when locating the very best solution for the students, tutors, and organizations?
  • And just how can a plagiarism checker not only verify the plagiarism in the homework but also function as a learning tool?
  • How does a plagiarism checker can help an educator for checking the assignments of the students?

Selecting and implementing new technologies to get an educational benefit may be a dangerous procedure.

The number of available alternatives can conquer the management of the institute. Nonetheless, utilizing the ideal plagiarism checker technologies is vital for the development of the productivity of the organization.

The way to make the ideal choice and purchase the ideal tool? Let us discuss the factors to consider.

1. Functionality and effectiveness

Each LMS administrator understands the instructional technology needs of the department or establishment.

As a representative of your college, it is possible to tell for certain exactly what characteristics you need to raise the operation of educators and students.

A selected solution ought to assist teachers to save time while becoming more efficient and effective. If applications under consideration add additional effort to the workflow, then continue searching for a greater one.

If the tool is not effective then you are not utilizing the correct technology for your education institute.

2. Technology updates

Among those things that you ought to check before committing to your item is if its founders always update it. The supplier should boost its present algorithms and roll the brand-new ones if there is any need or complaints by the audience.

Assess user reviews of this product to figure out whether the upgrades and enhancements are friendly, efficient, and bug-free.

3. User experience

Another critical consideration to take into account when choosing a tool for the academic institution is its user-friendliness.

The application you pick shouldn’t be difficult to work out. After being introduced to it, teachers ought to be in a position to acquire the most of their performance straight away, along with the navigation shouldn’t be confusing or insignificant.

In the end, technology should simplify matters for us rather than digital products.

Every modern college requires an up-to-date plagiarism checker. It assists teachers to assess the assignments of the students quicker and more while deterring cheating.

If you are finding a user-friendly plagiarism checker then you can consider online tools like Prepostseo, Quetext, or Grammarly.

All of these plagiarism checkers are quite efficient at finding plagiarism with accuracy without any technical setting.

4. Speed

Obviously, every new tool demands time to set up and find out. However, following the setup and introduction procedures are finished, there should not be any more replacements and hindrances in its own functionality.

Ensure the solution you pick for your organization works fast enough.

Let us have a plagiarism finder for teachers, for instance. Though some services set your documents in a queue which may endure for hours and require a very long time to confirm every record would take a lot of time.

Instead, if you use an efficient plagiarism checker then it would help the teacher to check hundreds of assignment’s originalities within a few times, usually in minutes.

5. Pricing version

The selection becomes complicated as it comes to the funding of an educational institution.

Additionally, it is true when talking about tech alternatives. As an LMS admin, then you most likely have to hunt for the maximum price-efficient alternative.

However, saving a couple of hundred dollars, in the beginning, may not be well worth it in the very long run.

Assess what you’ll get before paying to get this and think about the way the technician solution can affect your institution long-term.

6. Integration

However promising and functional a solution may seem, do not neglect to think about its integration procedure. You should match the following criteria to consider a plagiarism checker for yourself:

  • Is it simple for the academic institution to combine it?
  • Are you going to require support from the support staff to set this up?
  • Can there be some onboard training and execution help supplied by the service provider?

Clearing these things will help you save you from an unpleasant situation when used by the students or the teachers.

A fantastic plagiarism checker for educators will correct in response to fresh cheating techniques such as spun assignments, or from offline databases.

7. Team and technology

The folks behind the product will also be of fantastic significance. If it comes to schooling technologies, its founders will need to reveal a detailed understanding of the modern educational system, its own procedures, targets, and challenges.

Their customer care service ought to be responsive, capable, and fast. If you happen to have any troubles with the preferred alternative, then you have to be positive it will be immediately addressed and repaired.

You must consider the technology because if you are spending some money on the purchase of a good plagiarism checker then this should be taken into account.

If the technology is not based on modern methods then it should be a negative point for consideration.

The modern tools are based on artificial intelligence and in this regard, you should select the one which works better with the help of AI technology.

5 Marketing Tips For Small Businesses During COVID-19

Sam Allcock
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5 Marketing Tips For Small Businesses During COVID-19

COVID-19 has hit small and medium businesses exceptionally hard. Early in the crisis, specialist SME bank Aldermore reported that the virus had led to an average 34% loss in monthly business revenue for UK SMEs, while one in four businesses had seen a decrease of more than 70% of their income. Sadly, things have not got any better, and although some light is at the end of the tunnel in the form of vaccine roll-outs, the uncertainty is poised to stretch well into 2021. For businesses to get through the pandemic they will need to take a shrewd approach to their operations, and a strong marketing strategy will be a vital element in maintaining and even strengthening relationships with audiences. While the crisis presents some severe challenges, there are also opportunities to embrace, allowing you to protect your business while building a platform for success in the post-virus world. Here are 5 ways you can market your business during COVID-19.

Look after your customers

It may be a given, but the cornerstone on which SMEs operate is customer relationships – without them your business wouldn’t be where it is now. It is easy to assume that your clients or customers will have more pressing concerns on their mind and look to reduce or cease communication with them, but this should be avoided at all costs. Everyone is living with confusion and uncertainty, and if you stop talking to your audience, they may assume you are struggling. This is true of both existing and new customers and you risk losing a large portion of them to competitors. It will be exceptionally hard to win them back after the virus abates. You don’t need to go in with a sales pitch either, just check in, ask them how they are doing and reassure them that you are moving forward through the crisis and are here for them. Seek to reaffirm you are here for the long term and be sensitive and empathetic – avoid the hard sell. Look to the future and see the crisis as an opportunity to learn more about your customers, this will help you target your future marketing campaigns more successfully. Speak to your customers regularly over the phone or use video-conferencing apps such as Zoom or Teams. Refresh your website regularly with new information and send email updates to your client base. Still posting regularly on social media is a great idea too. Keep a calm and measured tone and remain positive at all times.

Go online

If your bread and butter is usually bricks and mortar custom, think about how you can adapt, optimise and serve them online. With consumers likely to remain at home and concerned about heading into your store for some time to come, it is going to be difficult to rely on that traditional income stream any longer. The crisis has forced people to spend more time online than ever before – and as your customer base is there, that’s where you should be too. Websites have long been the primary shop window for many businesses – make sure yours sings to stand out from the competition. You don’t have to break the bank to build a website, you can do it yourself using a website builder or if you prefer the help of a professional to help you build a new website or redesign your current one, there are many individuals and companies that offer web development, build and design at cost effective prices.

If you already have a shoppable website, use this time to review it, make sure everything works, all the information is up to date and look at how you can optimise the landing pages on your site to open up new revenue streams. Its also worth spending some time focusing on your SEO to boost your presence on search engines.

Be creative        

We live in a time of lightning-fast change, with people having to adapt to new situations posed by COVID-19 equally quickly. Many old ways of thinking are going into the dustbin of history and it is a time when new things are being tried and new models put into place. Whether it’s an individual getting fit or learning a language during lockdown, or a restaurant pivoting to takeaway and delivery because they can’t open, people are taking a creative approach to events more than ever before. It’s time for you to be creative and find new strategies to connect with your audience in new, relevant ways too. Loyalty schemes, contactless and free home delivery, gift offers, virtual events/webinars, local charity work with rewards for customers who donate, free shipping and returns, crowdfunding – the list is endless. And while it can be tempting to cut costs by reducing your marketing spend, avoid this if possible – just look for the new niches and opportunities that have and will continue to emerge through the pandemic and pivot your thinking and spending in those directions.  Remember history shows that businesses taking a progressive, long-term approach to their spending during lean times tend to do better than those that make cuts when better times eventually arrive.

Enhance your online presence

With more people going online than ever due to COVID-19, promoting your products and services with a strong digital marketing strategy is a must. If you get this right you will make your business more accessible to your audience, boost your brand awareness, keep hold of your existing customers and attract all-important new ones. Getting the highest possible position on search engine pages should be a priority, so look at improving your SEO to utilise the best keywords to get your business on the first page and keep it there . Once your search engine page ranking drops it can be very difficult to get it back – so this is an ongoing job. Make sure your website is optimised to work as well on smartphones and tablets as well as laptops. Get the look of your site right, ensuring it is always focused on the user experience; you want to attract people, get them on your site for as long as possible and make sure they keep coming back. Content is also critical – you need to use well-written, pithy pieces and update and add new, relevant material on a regular basis. Never stop creating it. Finally, keep working on your digital marketing, do not neglect it and you will get good results.

Get the best out of social media

Social media was already a huge part of our lives before the pandemic, it is now bigger than ever as more people use it due to heavy restrictions on meeting up with our friends, family and colleagues in person. It is an excellent tool for marketing, sales and customer service; a marvellous way to connect immediately with your audience and get them engaged with your brand. Be it updates about how you are dealing with COVID, changes to services or opening hours, new offers, the great work you are doing in your local community or simply news (good and bad) about your organisation, social media offers an opportunity to constantly stream informative and helpful content. Keep your posts concise, transparent and on point – and make use of video content too, a great way of promoting your business and you don’t need Hollywood-level production either. A personal video filmed on your smartphone can really impart the human side of your business and get great engagement. Get your messaging right and you have a powerful ally in social media, be it Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter or the many other platforms available.

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