Your Future May Depend On What You Do Today

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Looking ahead at your future, how are your prospects? Do you look ahead with positivity, knowing that you are doing all you can today to give yourself a better life, or are you filled with dread, worrying about what tomorrow (and all the days to come) will bring?

While we can’t always predict the future, there are things you can do today if you are fraught with worry. You can improve your life, in so many ways. It begins with you, and you do have to be proactive.

Look at your financial situation, and ask yourself if you are meeting your earning potential. If you are stuck in a low-paid career, perhaps now is the time to start looking for those other jobs that will give you a better salary. You might also consider asking for that promotion you have always wanted, especially if you want to stay within your current employment, so find ways to improve the chances of your boss saying “yes.”

There are also ways to earn extra money, so if you have time on your hands, there may be a side-hustle you can take on to bring in some extra cash. From freelance work to writing a blog, think about the skills and passions you have, and formulate ways to turn them into money-making ideas.

You can also earn a passive income, meaning you don’t have to do very much at all to increase your wealth. There are simple things you can do, such as renting out your garage as storage space, or signing up to cashback offers on your favourite online sites, or something with a little more risk, such as investing your money in property or on the stock market with CMC Markets. And while there are risks with investing, know that this could be your best means at getting rich quick if your career isn’t taking you down a profitable path.

Look at your health, and ask yourself if you are doing all you can to maintain your physical and emotional wellbeing. You won’t enjoy your future if you are suffering from ill-health, so perhaps today is the day you finally get off the sofa and into some form of exercise. It doesn’t have to be a chore, either, as if getting your training shoes on for a jog is unappealing to you, then know that there are fun ways to keep fit to improve your level of motivation.

Concerning your emotional health, start to put into practice those things that will improve your mental wellbeing. From growing your social circle to managing your time better, the ideas here will reduce your stress and improve your life. And for both your physical and mental health, cut out the bad habits you take part in, be that eating junk food or bingeing on alcohol. By eating and drinking anything that pertains to a healthy diet, you will feel better today, and in all of your tomorrows.

So, look at today. What can you do to improve your life now and in the future? One thing is for sure;  you won’t have much of a future if you don’t make an effort to improve your current situation it is in any way lacking, so for your sake, start to make any changes necessary today.

 

A Quick and Easy Guide to Designing Customized Bracelets for an Event

In the past years, many venues have replaced paper tickets with silicone wristbands as a physical proof that an attendee has paid the price of admission to an event. Making the switch to these bracelets is a convenient choice for many event organizers since these bracelets don’t get lost as easily as paper tickets do, plus they make security checks faster and much easier for both the event staff and the guests. However, for the wristbands to become effective tickets, they need to have a design that’s exclusive to the venue and event.

But how do you come up with a unique wristband design for your event? There are actually a lot of ways to do this. Wristband Creation, a manufacturer of low-cost wristbands and lanyards, offers a number of creative options that can help their clients come up with a stand-out event bracelet. The company can, for example, provide wristbands that are wider than the standard 0.5 to 0.75 inches silicone bracelets. Here are a few of the other aspects that can be customized during the design phase:

Material

Silicone, by far, is still one of the most common base materials for creating wristbands because of how durable and cost-effective it is. It also helps that silicone bracelets are easy on the eyes and easy to manipulate. However, there are options other than silicone. Vinyl, the same plastic material that’s used to make floorings and musical records, is one. It’s a bit more rigid compared to silicone, but it’s also very resistant to wear and tear. Cloth offers an alternative that’s more skin friendly, but it needs to be coated with a water-resistant solution for it to last. If you need something that only lasts for a day, you can use thermal paper as a wristband. While typically printed on demand, thermal paper wristbands are resistant to smudging as well as oil and water.

Custom Color

It’s easy to customize the color of silicone wristbands, and you should definitely take advantage of this quality while designing your own. Colors are often added before the silicone material is cast into the mold, but the manufacturing process also allows the addition of another layer of ink after molding. Silicone wristbands come in all colors. It’s easier to create wristbands with one solid color, but you can also opt to go with a multicolored bracelet, or choose different colors for the inner and outer layer of the band. Take note though, that you should also consider the color of the accompanying text and ensure that the colors of the bracelet and the text won’t clash.

Text Options

There are quite a few ways to customize the text in a wristband design. You can choose to have the text debossed or engraved via laser carving onto the surface of the band, which makes the design last longer, and then shade the text in a different color to add visual appeal. Embossing or printing the text on the surface of the wristband to give it texture is another option, as well as printing the letters on top of the embossed text using ink with a different color. You can also just print the text on the surface of the band for a simpler style. Finally, it’s an option to add a graphic at the center of the band that will serve as its centerpiece.

It’s important to consider these specifications at the earliest phase of the creation process. You’ll want to go over every detail of the design and pay special attention to graphics that you want to include in the final product. With enough time and proper coordination with the wristband manufacturer, you won’t have any trouble getting a final product that’s unique and visually appealing—something that truly represents the event you are organizing.

Growing Your Fashion Business

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If you own a fashion startup, it can be difficult to go past the first stage and achieve growth in your business, even if the products you sell are beautiful and desirable. There are so many things that can hold you back from securing more finance,s to making enough products to simply getting your name out there.

If you are struggling for whatever reason, here are some simple things you can do to grow your business and make headway in the world of fashion:

Do Some Serious SEO

You are not going to have much success in growing your business if few people can find it, which is why it is always worth reviewing your search engine optimization practices. If you aren’t seeing a lot of traffic to your website, it might be worth employing an SEO expert who can find the right keywords to bring those fashionistas to you and optimize your online presence so that you feature further up those search engine results.

Consider Selling on Other Sites

Although you should undoubtedly build your own business website if you’re serious as making it in the fashion world, it might be worth, while your company is still young, selling on other platforms so that you can get your creations seen by as many people as possible. Selling just a few of your creations on a platform like Etsy, for example, will boost your viewing figures because that platform is very well known and has millions of visitors every day. You can use that as a stepping off point to direct people to your own website (put a business card in with the package) and to boost your profile.

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Think About Rebranding

If you haven’t been seeing the success you expected and you know that it isn’t because your purses or garments or whatever aren’t good enough, you may want to think about whether your branding is holding you back. In the fashion world, you really need to create a desirable brand that appeals to your target audience if you want to build up a following. So, do some market research and see where the land lies and if you don’t think you’re quite hitting the mark, check out this rebranding checklist and start making changes. You might be surprised how much this can help.

Attend Fashion Shows

Okay, so you’re probably not going to be invited to Paris or London Fashion week as a small fashion startup, but are there any smaller fashion events near you? Look at what you need to do to show your creations there and work hard to secure a place. The more people who see your creations and the more publicity you get, the better it will be for your business.  

Use Recipe for Press

Recipe for Press is a fantastic tool for entrepreneurs which helps you to pitch stories about your business to the professional press so that you can generate a buzz around your creations. Their staff are all seasoned professionals in the business and they’ll help you to get write-ups in publications such as Conde Nast and InStyle, which will undoubtedly give you a boost.

Are You Staying Safe On The Internet?

If you’re someone who spends a lot of time on the internet, you’re probably aware of the amount of scams there are out there. Chances to lose your money, your details, the use of your computer even; these are all very scary things an inexperienced user could fall into! But could you as well?

The internet is a big place, and there’s a lot of people using it day in and day out. Of course, you’re one of those people, but not everyone has intentions as pure as yours… A lot of time regulations are missed by mistake, sometimes it’s a deliberate attempt to hack you. Either way, now’s the time for you to know the ins and outs of operating safely when online. It’s not just something we need to teach the kids!

Even just a quick browse on your phone can open you up to a world of attacks. (Source)

Know What the Data Regulations Are

When you know these, you know when a site is asking a little too much of you! As a general rule, never fill in non-essential fields until you’re sure of a site’s providence. If you’re buying something online, you’re going to need to look for that SSL lock in front of the URL at least, and you’re going to need to pay attention to the full length of the terms and conditions. Yes, all two hundred or something pages of it.

If you don’t quite know what’s up, now’s the perfect time to do some research. And there’s plenty of sites to help with that too. So feel free to read up on data protection and everything else to do with it right here at https://jumio.com/about/compliance-regulations, and then go forth with the ability to spot a scam straight off the bat.

Know What Information About You is Available

It would seem social networking sites such as Facebook change their terms and conditions every other week, so make sure you’re always on top of what’s available for people to see and what isn’t. You don’t want your boss to catch a look of the party photos from last night, especially if you got a little too tipsy… And you don’t want people you’re not friends with using your photos for catfishing schemes, or present yourself as an easy target for identity theft.

Know What a Good Password Is

If you tend to use the same password for everything, now’s the time to change your habits. People can easily take control of a bunch of your accounts if they get a hold of your accounts, and we always want to minimise the damage of a hack.

If you can’t remember letter and number sequences very well, write the passwords down on a bit of paper, and the store it somewhere only you know about. Just try to make sure you’re using a few different passwords here and there.

It’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security when online.

What Do You Need to Get a Philippine Passport and How Do You Set Up a Passport Appointment?

A passport is important to have around. If ever there’s an emergency like for instance a loved one who is overseas needs our help we can always fly to them at any time. Another example would be if there’s political instability in your country and things turn for the worse you can always flee and go somewhere safe. A passport is also handy for identification purposes. It also makes you want to be more adventurous and travel to where your heart desires, and as a result you get to enjoy life more.

There’re several things to remember when getting a Philippine passport. There’re a few passport requirements to accomplish weeks before the date of the appointment. The passport requirements for new application are: personal appearance; confirmed Philippine Passport appointment; duly accomplished application form – emailed to you when you secured your passport appointment; valid IDs with your picture and the supporting documents proving your identity; Birth Certificate (BC) in Security Paper (SECPA) issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) or Certified True Copy (CTC) of BC issued by the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) and duly authenticated by PSA.

If you already have a passport but need it to be renewed, there’re also requirements to be submitted. The basic requirements are the following: personal appearance; confirmed Philippine Passport appointment; duly accomplished application form – emailed to you when you secured your passport appointment; your expired or expiring Philippine passport; and valid IDs with your picture and the supporting documents proving your identity.

If you want to schedule a passport appointment in the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) you’d have to pay the processing fee first before your appointment will be confirmed. Visit the DFA’s official website to book an appointment (www.passport.gov.ph). Click on the Schedule an Appointment link in the Menu located at the upper portion of the website. When you’re already in the Appointment page, click the check box stating “I have read and understood…”. Click the Start Individual Appointment button if you’re booking for yourself and the Start Group of Appointment button for appointment involving two or more people.

The page for Site Location selection will pop up and you’ll have to choose which region, country and site where you want to apply for Philippine Passport. Set the appointment date and time. Only choose from the available slots shown in the website. Then, enter your personal information and family information. The page Application Information for DFA Passport Appointment allows applicants to choose between New or Renewal. After that, correctly provide your contact information such as complete address, occupation, office address, and their contact number.

Click Save once you’ve double checked your entries. Press the check box “I’m not a robot” and the check box that says “I am aware that possession…” as well as the Confirm button. You’ll then be directed to the page where you’re asked to choose the Passport Application Processing Type. Then to the Payment page where you’ll see the Pay Now button (it’s required to pay for your Passport Application in advance). Click it then a small pop out window will be displayed. Once you read this, click the “I Agree” check box and click the Proceed To Payment button. The next page is the DFA Epayment Services where payment for the passport application appointment is required to be settled by the applicant. This page must show you your Passport Application Reference Number. Click the Proceed button and then the Confirm button. You have the option to choose from several authorized payment centers and pay the application fees. A confirmation email will be sent to you which confirms your appointment for Philippine Passport Application. After all those steps, all you need to do is wait for your appointment date.