5 Reasons To Switch Over to VoIP Business Phone Service

If you’re a business owner and you don’t know about VoIP systems yet, you should, so here’s the rundown. VoIP stands for voice over IP.  VoIP phone systems are just like traditional phone systems, except that they connect your calls over the internet rather than a traditional phone network.

What’s so great about that, you ask? Well, it turns out that they have a ton of benefits over traditional phone systems that could dramatically improve your bottom line. If you’re still relying on a traditional phone system, you’re missing out on an opportunity to save money. Here are 5 reasons why:

1. Quick Installation

VoIP phone systems take all the hassle out of installation. You don’t need to pay for someone to come and wire your office. Instead, you can just pay for hosted VoIP software and quickly set up and configure your own web portal. You don’t need any hardware except for IP phones and it can all be set up over your browser. It’s super easy, even for those with little to no technical knowledge.

2. Inexpensive

VoIP phone systems also often make more economic sense, particularly if you’ll be making frequent international calls. Call rates on traditional network phone lines can be expensive, but as VoIP phone systems connect through your data package, it often works out much cheaper. Plus, you don’t have to pay for all the hardware and installation costs that come with traditional phone systems either.

3. Easier to Scale

If you’re a small, growing business, a VoIP phone system will scale with you. Every time you add a new employee, you don’t need to install a separate phone line. Instead, you just log onto your web portal and add a new user. It’s as easy as that.

4. Flexible arrangements

As VoIP phone systems are all based over the internet, it’s a very flexible arrangement. If your employees travel around a lot for work, their work numbers will travel with them.

5. Call Tracking Data

Last but not least, let’s talk about call tracking data. This is probably the single biggest advantage to using a business VoIP phone system. Most VoIP systems – even the most basic packages – come with built-in call tracking. This means that you get easy access to important data about where your calls and coming from and why.

The upshot of having these call tracking statistics at your fingertips is that it allows you to make better business marketing decisions. Think about it: if you know that one of your local ads is only bringing you in a handful of calls per month, and none of those calls are converting to sales, you’ll know that it might be better to divert those marketing funds to something with a better ROI. A VoIP business phone service with call tracking will show you that and much more.

There you have it – 5 reasons to switch over to a VoIP phone service. Good luck!

Japan’s Tourism Boom: Why So Many Tourists are Flocking to the Country

Japan is in the midst of a shocking and unprecedented tourism boom. In 2008, they set a target of reaching 20 million annual tourists by 2020. They hit that goal 5 years ahead of schedule in 2015.

By 2017, they’d already exceeded their goal by more than 8 million, when 28.7 million tourists visited the country. To put that into perspective, that’s around double the number of tourists that visited just 4 years earlier in 2013 (10.4 million). This tourism growth rate is one of the highest in the world.

Since then, Japan has set itself a more ambitious goal. They’ve doubled their initial target and now hope to reach 40 million tourists by 2020. They’ve also made plans to focus more on the tourism market outside of Asia, as most of their annual visitors come from neighboring countries like China.

So, what’s driving this incredible tourism boom? And why is the Japanese government so keen to increase tourism? Let’s find out.

What’s Driving Tourism to Japan?

Here are three things driving tourism in Japan:

Relaxed Visa Requirements

One of the main factors driving the tourism boom relates to visa requirements. As part of its efforts to boost tourism, the Japanese government made Japan more accessible by relaxing visa requirements. Chinese tourists, in particular, now find it much easier to access tourists visas.

Tokyo Olympics

The Olympics will take place in Tokyo in 2020. This has provided plenty of international media coverage for Japan ahead of the event, and lead to increased visitor numbers. Japan hopes to capitalize on the Olympics even more next year as even more tourists flock to the country to experience the event.

Influencer Marketing

Japan’s tourism board has been working closely with influencers as part of its tourism marketing campaign. YouTubers, social media stars, advertisers, and bloggers have been publishing marketing content that shows off the country in its best light for hundreds of years.

Investment in the Tourism Industry

Japan is becoming a more attractive holiday destination for many tourists due to the diverse,rich, and unique cultural experiences on offer in the country.

There are plenty of things to do in Tokyo, from the iconic ‘hanami’ (cherry blossom festival),where visitors can witness the beautiful spring colors; to cutting-edge experiences like the ‘Robot restaurant’, where tourists can dine in style and witness a bizarrely entertaining show,complete with giant robots.

As investment in the tourism industry continues to grow, more and more small businesses are popping up to add to this list of exciting things to do. Tourists are never short of choice when it comes to amazing dining experiences, hotels, tours, and events. Visitors can easily find a list of these exciting things to do on sites like https://metatrip.com/top-things-to-do/tokyo.

How to Get Glowing Skin for Summer Season

Your skin needs extra attention at ALL TIMES! When summer season sets in, it can make you sweat and the sun could damage your skin in a number of ways. In order to get glowing skin, you must follow a beauty regime. Every woman in this world deserves to feel fresh and flaunt naturally glowing skin. The good news is that it is quite simple to get the glow! Here’s a quick post that talks about the ways to get glowing skin for summer season.

The Best Natural Ingredients For Happy Glowing Skin 

The skin is fragile and applying chemical-induced products can cause a lot more damage. When you are exposed to the sun and harmful rays, your skin may turn dark and dirt/excessive oils could cause pimples.

Let’s start with natural ingredients!

  • Turmeric and Gram Flour – Mix turmeric and gram flour with rose water or milk. Make a thick paste and apply it on your face. Leave it for 20 minutes and wash it off. Gently pat dry and see the difference! You can use it twice-thrice in a week.
  • Lemon and Sugar – You do not have to make a lemonade! Mix lemon juice and sugar. Use this solution as a scrub on your face. Leave it for 5-10 minutes. Rinse it off with warm water. Lemon is used as a skin-lightening ingredient. You will find it in most of the skin-lightening skin products. The sugar helps in removing the dirt and dead cells.
  • Yogurt and Cucumber – Simply grate the whole cucumber and mix it with yogurt. Apply it on your neck and face. Leave it for 5-10 minutes and wash it off. Cucumber is used for providing a cooling effect and it also rejuvenates your skin. This will also reduce the swelling and help you feel fresh all day long. You can use it twice in a week.
  • Rose water – You can soak rose petals in water and keep it in the fridge overnight. It will be better if the rose water has the goodness of aloe vera and witch hazel. Use a cotton ball to dab the rose water deep into your skin. You can also use the sprayer and then dab with a cotton ball.
  • Aloe Vera – Aloe vera is a natural ingredient that is excellent for your skin. People usually use it for burns and cuts. It leaves a cooling effect! You could buy an aloe vera mask or use fresh aloe vera for making a mask for your face. You can mix aloe vera with honey, milk and turmeric. Apply it on your skin and leave it for 10 minutes. Wash it with warm water and you will notice that the skin gets brighter.

Takeaway Advice 

In summer season, you love to dress up and look fresh. With the above-mentioned home remedies, you can get glowing skin without shelling out a lot of money. Bid adieu to chemical-induced products. Also, stay hydrated and invest in natural products from reputed brand.

Make sure you get enough sleep and use all-natural ingredients to take care of your skin. Summer heat can be harsh and so, you must stay fresh all day long!

6 Easy Ways to Create a Healthy Workplace Environment

Workplace environment has a lot to do with the productivity of your employees. A healthy workplace leads to happier and healthier employees, which means improved quality of work, better retention, low absenteeism, and happier clients. Here are a few tried and tested ways designed to create a healthy and positive workplace environment:

#1. Focus on promoting wellness

Providing health insurance and health benefits to your employees may not be enough to keep them healthy. You should also take steps to ensure their overall wellbeing. Provide them best possible office stationery and so that they can focus better on their work. Put up a few exercise equipment and encourage your employees to use them every once in a while. Have weekly yoga or aerobic sessions either before or after work.

#2. Engage with your employees individually

Every employee is different in a workplace. What motivates one may not necessarily motivate another. In order to find out what motivates each of your employees you will have to get to know them on an individual level. Encourage them to discuss their issues with you. Suggest solutions to maximize their productivity. Monitor their performance regularly and reward them whenever they do well.

#3. Implement a fair employment policy

Treating every employee equally is crucial when it comes to maintaining a balance in your workplace. Implement policies and procedures for everyone to follow. Make sure every employee takes these seriously, irrespective of their designation or position.

#4. Organize team building activities

Team building activities can be best for motivating employees and improving the bonding amongst them. Keep in mind the interests of each and every employee while coming up with such activities.

#5. Allow quick breaks in between work

Working continuously will not only stress out your employees it will also impact their productivity negatively. Encourage them to take small breaks whenever they need. You can also put up apps on their systems to remind them to take these breaks.

#6. Make sure the workplace is clean and comfortable

Providing a clean workplace environment is crucial if you want to keep your employees healthy, happy, and comfortable. Hire a professional office cleaning service to keep your office dirt-free and hygienic. Invest in some comfortable furniture and work equipment. Add in a couple more lights to make the place look brighter.

You don’t have to spend too much of money to create a healthy workplace environment. All it requires is a change of mindset. Make sure you always think about the welfare of your employees. After all healthy and happy employees are the ones that make great companies.

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Why Should You Hire a Realtor for Selling Your House?

With all the information so easily accessible because of the internet, people can easily learn the things they are supposed to do before selling their house. That’s what makes them think if they really even need a realtor or not. But selling a home takes time, research, negotiating skills and knowledge and this is why even though some people do fine by themselves, many do not. Here’s why you should find yourself a realtor before putting your house on sale.

  • Experience

The house that you want to sell is most probably your very first step in the field of real estate and that’s why what realtor brings to the table is his experience in the housing market that he has attained after being in the business for years. Although that experience will cost you some money but you again you will not have to do any work on it. You can just sit back and relax and let the realtor do all the work, which he will do efficiently because he knows what he’s doing.

  • Familiarity and knowledge of the neighbourhood

A real estate agent has an intimate knowledge of the house and he knows how to use to it to his (and that means yours) advantage. He is well aware of the fact and the data on demographics and thus makes the thing more professional.

  • Marketing Skills

A good real estate agent will market your house persuasively. He will make the place look really good, he will narrow down the list of perspective buyers as he will be able to match their needs with your demands and get you a sweet deal for the house. The good thing about this is that you will not have to waste your time because an agent will approach serious buyers.

  • Negotiation Skills

A real estate agent has some professional skills when it comes to negotiation and he can get you a good deal with that. They take a practical approach towards negotiation and unlike the buyers and sellers can eliminate any emotional aspect from it.

  • Leave the paperwork to them

The paperwork related to housing can beyond ten pages and who wants to deal with that when you are not even familiar with the jargon of the housing market? A tiny mistake can cost you a lot of money and can even land you in court. So it is better to leave something like this to a professional.

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Things You Should Know Before Seeing a Chiropractor

Doctors of Chiropractic Medicine (DCs) are healthcare professionals who have completed extensive schooling and ongoing training, including passing four national board exams, as well as a state licensing exam. Chiropractors are not Medical Doctors (MDs) though they study many of the same premedical subjects to earn their certification; they do not prescribe medication or perform surgery, instead specializing in the treatment of neuromuscular disorders and injuries through the use of controlled force.

What does a Chiropractor do?

Chiropractors provide a number of services including comprehensive patient examinations and the pain relieving adjustments they are best known for, but their practices extend far beyond that. Common additional therapies include hot and cold treatments, soft tissue massage, electrical muscle stimulation, prescribed exercise regimens, and dietary counseling.

Do I need a Doctor’s referral to see a Chiropractor?

You do not require a Doctor’s referral to see a Chiropractor, in fact, if you are experiencing joint pain or persistent aches in your neck or back it is recommended that you consult with a Chiropractor right away. However, if your pain levels are severe, consider visiting your regular Doctor anyways as they can provide you with pain relibackfef medication that your Chiropractor cannot.

What will happen at my first appointment?

At your first Chiropractic appointment you will be given paperwork to fill out describing your medical history and explaining the reason for your visit, a more in depth history will later be taken by your Chiropractor detailing your regular activities and anything that may be relevant to your injury. You will then receive a comprehensive full body exam, including orthopedic tests and evaluating your active range of motion. Your Chiropractor may request x-rays based on your initial exam which will allow them more insight into your problem, enabling them to diagnose the issue and move forward with treatment if appropriate. If there are no concerns that prevent them from doing so, you may receive your first or multiple adjustments at this appointment.

What happens during an adjustment?

There are several types of adjustments though most involve similar techniques, if you have questions specific to your treatment, you should ask your Chiropractor before you begin. A typical adjustment will take around 10 minutes and involve your Chiropractor using their hands to apply short but firm bursts of pressure to the affected or referring area of your body. You will likely hear a popping or crunching sound immediately following the application of pressure, this is not cause for alarm, and is actually a sign that the treatment is working. The noise is created by joint cavitation, which is gas being released between your joints and relieving pressure, it is the same thing that happens when you crack your knuckles. After the adjustment, many patients feel an immediate relief.

Is getting an adjustment painful?

Adjustments are not typically painful, however first time patients may experience some slight muscle aches in the day following their treatment, as spasmed muscles return to their natural relaxed state. Warm baths and gentle stretching can help alleviate this ache.

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Are You Ready to Cut the Cable Cord? Tips to Make the Transition Easier

If you have been watching channels on your cable TV connection for years, then the decision to cut the cable cord and switch to streaming services can really be big. Cable TV must have become your comfort zone and getting out of it after these many years and moving to an unknown streaming territory may be an overwhelming feeling.

Just to make your transition easier, we have listed a few tips below;

Cable TV and Streaming Services are Not Mutually Exclusive:

It is not necessary to opt for streaming services; you should cut off your cable. Subscribe to a streaming service, most of them offer a one-month free subscription. Test your waters and try to become comfortable watching streaming services, frankly, there is nothing to hate about it as it a brilliant way to keep you entertained. This trial phase will help you get used to watching streaming services and your cable TV can also be watched along so that you feel comfortable through the transition.

Reduce Your Cable TV Package:

Many cable TV services let you choose channels and only pay for the ones you want to watch just to compete with satellite TV. Make use of this feature and start reducing the channels you do not need to watch. This way, you will be able to afford to subscribe to streaming services.

Experiment by Pausing Your Cable TV Subscription:

The next step would be to call your operator to pause your subscription for a month just to experience how you feel about absolutely no cable TV and only watching streaming services. Most probably you will get so hooked on to streaming services that you may not miss your cable TV at all but if you do, then you can always turn it back on.

Consider What Your Family Feels:

Getting rid of cable TV cannot be your individual decision if you are living with a family. You need to ask individually everyone in your family about how they feel if you decided to cut off cable TV. They may not be as ready as you are to cut the cords then you just will have to wait for them to be prepared for the transition. Also, make sure to check the number of users that can access the streaming service you are opting for as a few do not allow multiple users and you will have to buy an individual subscription. Consider and compare the costings as well before making a decision.

Choose Streaming Services that Also Stream TV channels:

There are streaming services which streams video on demand as well as TV channels hence by subscribing to such a service, you will not miss your cable TV as well as you can enjoy the benefits of streaming. Opting to get an IPTV subscription can let you enjoy the perks of both TV channels as well as VOD (Video on Demand) on all your smart devices. You need not worry anymore about missing your favorite news broadcast or watching live sports anymore.

Most people get used to streaming services quite soon and do really miss cable TV, but if you feel that streaming service is not your cup of tea then you can always go back to your old cable TV until you are ready for the shift.

Vocabulary Building – Common Mistakes to Avoid

Building your vocabulary is an important part of learning. Many wish to get there; but very few manage to. The reason is mostly one of these common mistakes that they end up doing:

Learning words only to pass an exam

No matter how much time and money you spend on taking English lessons; if you cannot remember any of them, it is of no use. Building your vocabulary is not something you need to do just to pass an exam. In fact vocabulary is something that will be of use to you throughout your life, at each and every phase. Understand the real purpose of building your vocabulary and keep it in your mind.

Memorizing words without practicing

Many people try and learn at least 10 words on a daily basis. They write them down in their notebooks again and again. Yet they hardly get there when it comes to building vocabulary. The reason is because they don’t use them. You can memorize words perfectly; but unless you start using them again and again, you cannot expect them to get registered in your mind.

Practicing words before understanding them

What do you do when you come across a new word? Read stories that have that word? Sing songs about it? Play games with that word? Bad idea! These things might give you an explanation; but they won’t really help in making you understand the word. The main purpose of practicing words is to increase your understanding. Without any idea about the meaning of the word that you learn, such practicing it would be of no use.

Don’t just rely upon understanding the context

Many teachers feel that it is always better to understand words from their context. However, it may not work always. At times, this might make you end up with too many new words, the meanings of which you have no idea about. For instance, what would you make out by the sentence – “Marta has a parasol.” You can sit and guess the meaning all day long; but would it lead you to the right answer? Probably not! There is an easier way of understanding this. Look it up on the dictionary. Once you understand the meaning of the word, it starts to make better sense.

Knowing words is not going to help build your vocabulary.  You have to understand their meaning and figure out ways to use them during your conversation. You can’t just invent new meanings to words. The guessing game hardly works when it comes to building vocabulary. The secret lies in understanding the words and then practicing them again and again. With time, you will be amazed to see how far you have gone.

Thankfully technology has brought to light many options such as Vocabulary builder app and Vocabulary quiz, which can help you understand the new words that you learn, efficiently. Make sure you choose the best option make the most out of it.

Remember – it is not just to pass your exams that you should build your vocabulary. Make sure you understand the purpose of building vocabulary before you give it a try.

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E-cycle Waste Management: The Door to a Cleaner Future

We live in the world of IoT, where manufacturers are continuously investing in how everything shall be done using mobile devices. This means the next generation of mobile devices are becoming increasingly complex, and at the same time, older generation devices such as laptops are suffering from a lower product lifecycle. We tend to buy new gadgets, and sometimes either keep the older ones or discard them in thrash.

This is particularly dangerous because older gadgets have dangerous metals like Mercury, lead, cadmium, lithium, copper, and arsenic, which if not disposed of properly, has harmful effects not only to you but also to the environment. Many manufacturers have initiated a buy-back recycle program, where the buyer is given discounts on new purchases of their products. But that is just roughly 1% of the manufacturers who have dedicatedly worked towards e-waste recycling. In developing countries, there is hardly any incentive to recycle e-waste, which causes a deluge of the unorganized sector for e-waste management, which in turn does more harm than good.

However, there are some important points to consider before you think to dispose off your old laptops.

  1. Wipe off all Your Personal Data:

Before discarding your laptops, do make sure that the hard-disk is erased completely. You do not want your personal photos/videos to land in the hands of anyone else.

  1. Do Not Discard Laptop Battery in the Thrash-Can

Laptop batteries are made up of Lithium-ion, which in the wrong hands, is an explosive device. Hence, before discarding, do make sure that the battery is properly disposed off separately.

  1. Reuse is Better than Recycle:

Rather than discarding the laptop completely, you can reuse the working components to build your own personal desktop or just an extended monitor device.

  1. Do Not Attempt to Disassemble Old Laptops without Proper Training:

Laptops contain harmful carcinogenic chemicals and metals in components, which may adversely harm you if you do not have proper training of the correct and safe way of disassembly. You can recycle old laptop by selling it to companies and make a profit of your old useless laptop easily.

Laptops also contain precious metals such as copper, aluminum and even gold in the housings. Hence, one can separate them to be given back to the government, so that precious metal mining can be reduced. E-waste recycling reduces the waste in the landfill, thus making landfill maintenance cheaper. The main reason as to why people avoid recycling e-waste is because it is time-consuming and tedious. Critical components recycling such as power-ICs and step-down transformer are universal in all gadgets. These need to be recycled and re-used in other components.

Mandatory regulations with respect to recycling of e-waste needs to be implemented. This would force manufacturers to follow important regulations and safety guidelines while processing e-waste. This would not only reduce the chances of accidentally poisoning of an individual but also make sure that there is proper recycling and re-use of the essential products. This would, in turn, bring down the overall cost of the manufacturing of new gadgets by re-using old components in it.

The Unexpected Environmental Consequences of the Cannabis Industry

As you probably know, the liberalization of laws on cannabis use has been speeding up in recent years. Towards the end of 2018, Canada’s administration took the momentous step of legalizing the recreational use of cannabis. Just a few months later, the US Congress voted in favor of the farm bill, thus legalizing medicinal cannabis across the country.

These two important events, in particular, caused the cannabis market to expand rapidly. Since then, people up and down the continent have been growing, purchasing, and using cannabis at unprecedented rates.

In light of this, a lot of attention has been directed at the potential consequences that this widespread adoption of cannabis can have on people.

For example, billboards across Canada have been erected warning people not to drive after smoking or eating cannabis. Meanwhile, policymakers in the US are paying close attention to medical research and using it to inform regulations on how medicinal cannabis can and can’t be used and sold.

However, it’s not just people that the cannabis industry can have consequences for – it’s the environment too. Unfortunately, far less attention has been directed towards this important topic.

Energy Consumption: A Cause For Concern

The biggest cause for environmental concern in this area relates to the cultivation of cannabis. Regulations and policies on cannabis cultivation in the US favor indoor operations, which is pushing many farmers to grow their cannabis plants indoors.

The problem with this is that cultivating cannabis indoors really isn’t all that energy efficient. According to a study by the International Cannabis Farmers Association, just half an acre of indoor cannabis production uses the same amount of energy as 298 households would use across a whole year.

The reason energy consumption is so high is that artificial lighting and heating is required to maintain the right climate for the plants to grow. If these farmers were to grow their plants using the sun’s light instead, operations would be much more energy efficient.

In fact, data shows that four season greenhouses use as much energy as 82 households, whereas greenhouses that rely on the sunlight use as much as just 15 households – that’s more than 5 times less.

Energy consumption is the driving force behind climate change, and reducing national energy use should be a key goal of all environmentally conscious nations. The US and Canada need to do more to address this pressing concern and encourage more sustainable farming practices if they want to meet the energy consumption targets set by the Paris Accords.

The Impact of Cannabis on Fresh Water Supplies

The effects of the cannabis industry on the environment extends beyond energy consumption. Another area of concern is how it may affect our fresh water supplies. The problem is that all pharmaceuticals can potentially have a significant impact on the freshwater environment by contaminating bodies of water.

More governmental discussion is needed to ensure that this doesn’t become a problem, especially seeing ass North America’s lakes account for a huge portion of the world’s freshwater supplies, and millions of citizens are dependent on them for clean, safe drinking water.