Blog - Hirescott

09 Jul

These Ideas Can Help You To Run A More Efficient Home

We all know that adulthood is basically remembering to pack your lunch, separate the recycling properly and turn the lights off when you leave the house (home), until you reach retirement.

But striving to run a more efficient home – one that’s tight on energy consumption, eliminates food waste and in which the keys are somewhere you can always find them – doesn’t need to be so hard.

Ben Edwards, a confidence coach who specialises in productivity and organisation, tells HuffPost UK that technology is a great tool in helping to relieve stress.

“Anything that helps to alleviate day-to-day worries, such as remembering that you’ve left the oven on after you’ve rushed out to a meeting, is well worth doing,” Edwards says. “This will allow you to focus on the important tasks at hand, and dedicate more of your time to things that really matter – like your children or partner. Use tech to your advantage and be smart with your devices.”

nything that helps to alleviate day-to-day worries, such as remembering that you’ve left the oven on after you’ve rushed out to a meeting, is well worth doing,” Edwards says. “This will allow you to focus on the important tasks at hand, and dedicate more of your time to things that really matter – like your children or partner. Use tech to your advantage and be smart with your devices.”

Juliet Landau-Pope is a professional organiser and the author of What’s Your Excuse For Not Being More Productive. She recommends starting the week with a to-do list, and every morning circling the most important item on it, to tackle first.

“Learning to plan and prioritise are key to organising,” she tells HuffPost UK. “Save time and effort by streamlining systems and creating routines that work for you and your household. The most effective systems are the simplest.”

Here are the experts’ top tips for maximising efficiency in your home.

Cost up your carbon

With a gazillion electronics in your home, calculating how much carbon everything is going through isn’t so easy. The Energy Cost Calculator app helps you to understand just how much energy your phone charger, microwave, TV or other appliances are using, in order to give you a carbon figure per device, annually. One hell of a motivator to cut down.

Track your energy use

E.ON See is an exclusive customer online portal that makes tracking your energy use – and seeing where you can make efficiencies – super easy. You can access your energy use stats (in easy-to-read graphs, and in pounds and pence) and see where you’re using too much.

Fill in all of your home’s details for extra accurate data and access loads of energy-saving tips and tricks (just one of the benefits of being an E.ON Energy customer.) Find out more about the latest tariff offers and enjoy seeing how much energy you’re using. If you’re an E.ON Energy customer already, you can benefit from E.ON See by logging into your account.

Master meal plans

Meal planning and food shopping is pretty boring. But there are plenty of apps to help you cut down on the time you spend at it.

Pepperplate is an app that helps you compile and organise your recipe collection, create tailored meal plans, and generate shopping lists. Recipes can be imported from your go-to food sites by pasting their URL, and then can be used to create interactive shopping lists, so you can keep track of what you’ve bought.
pepperplate.com

Nail the chore list

Taskify’s beauty lies in its ability to streamline all your chores, jobs and general admin – meaning no balls dropped and a day that you’ve got a firm handle on.

itunes.apple.com

Lost and found

Who doesn’t spend at least five minutes every day hunting for their keys? With Tile, a small, portable bluetooth tracker, you’ll never waste time looking for them again. Simply pair the tile, which attaches to your keyring, with the associated app on your phone, and you’ll be alerted as to exactly where your keys are.

thetileapp.com

Make it a game

Because convincing everyone in your household to go green isn’t easy. The Joulebug app lets you track your own, personal goals (cycling to work, eating local produce), as well as joining in with challenges with your family, friends or neighbourhood.

joulebug.com

By Lucy Sherriff (www.huffingtonpost.co.uk) 09/07/2018

02 Apr

10 Tips for Hiring a Contractor

Sometimes it makes sense to hire a pro rather than take on a job yourself. But choosing the wrong contractor can lead to delays, subpar work, and even legal problems. These guidelines will help you choose a professional contractor and ensure a good working relationship.

1. Go with Your Gut

A contractor could be in your home and around your family for days, weeks, or even months while changing the way your house looks and functions. So if you don’t like a contractor for any reason, don’t hire him or her, says Tony LaPelusa, president of LaPelusa Home Improvements, Inc., in Niles, Ill., and past president of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.

“The biggest thing is choosing the right contractor,” he explains. “If somebody says something that’s even an embellishment, it’s enough of a reason not to trust him and move on to the next contractor. You have to trust the contractor 100 percent, not 95 percent.”

2. Make Sure the Contractor is Licensed to Work in the Area of work, and Insured

Having a license and insurance demonstrates a contractor’s credibility and knowledge, says Bob Peterson, co-owner of Associates in Building & Design Ltd., The license shows that contractors have taken an exam and proved they know building codes and processes. “A license minimizes the risk to homeowners of getting ripped off,” he says. To be sure, get the contractor’s license number.

If a contractor doesn’t have insurance and a worker gets hurt on your project, you could be liable. The same goes with accidents that damage your next-door neighbor’s home. “If you have scaffolding that fell and damaged the property next door, you want the contractor’s liability to cover the cost of that damage,” LaPelusa says. Get proof of insurance.

3. Pick a contractor who specializes in your project type.

“It’s important to research contractors to know if they have experience in a type of project,” Peterson says. “Today, so many projects are regulated and code-specific that you want someone who knows the details of what’s required.”

He points out that pros often take classes and research the kinds of projects they undertake, so they’re experts in their fields. This enables them to address potential problems and perform the work correctly. “A good remodeler knows how to anticipate the nuances of the work,” he says.

If you’re asking several contractors for a bid, make sure each one is using the same set of plans and specifications, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) advises on its website: “You can’t effectively compare estimates from contractors who plan to use different brands of building materials.”

4. Have a Detailed Contract in Place Before any Work Begins

The contract should cover costs, brands of items being installed, approximate start and finish dates, and the complete set of drawings being used with written specifications, LaPelusa says. “There’s never too much detail in a contract.” If a specific brand for a part hasn’t been agreed upon yet, the contract can include allowances instead, such as “up to $500 for a front door.”

A lot of homeowners talk to multiple contractors to get bids on the job, and then they can’t remember who told them what, LaPelusa says. The contract spells out everything. “A contract is really an expectation setting, right down to what color the hinges are,” Peterson adds. “It’s all about expectations. If we agree on everything upfront, then there are no surprises.”

5. Find out Who’s Performing the Work

6. Give the Contractor Guidelines for Working In or Around Your Home

If you don’t want the workers showing up before a certain time, staying past a certain hour, using your bathroom, or you need to have the project finished by a specific date, tell the contractor before you hire him, LaPelusa says. The contractor may not want or be able to accept the job based on your parameters.

“The contractor has to know what your limits are and what your expectations are,” LaPelusa explains. “If people don’t want you starting until 9:30 and want you out by 4, that project—instead of taking 30 days—might take 45. That means it might cost additional money.

7 Know What Your Responsibilities Are

You may have to move everything out of a room so it can be painted or remove a fence so a concrete truck can be driven into your backyard.

Peterson’s company, for instance, doesn’t move items out of a room because he doesn’t want to be responsible for broken TVs or stereos. Because he recommends a furniture mover, he holds a pre-construction meeting with homeowners to discuss their roles. “We set all of those expectations in writing,” Peterson says. “It may be that you need to take everything off those six walls and move the furniture out of the room.”

“My biggest fear, to be honest, is losing someone’s dog or cat,” he says. “We want to know upfront where they’re putting the cat or dog.”

8. Ask About a Mechanic’s Lien (applies mainly in America)

Under the mechanic’s lien laws in some states, anyone who worked on or supplied materials to your project and is not paid can place a lien on your home. This means that even if you pay your contractor, but he doesn’t pay the lumberyard for your materials, you can be liable for that bill. “It’s important for homeowners to understand the lien laws in their state because they vary from state to state,” Peterson says.

And definitely check on your contractor’s legal status before you sign anything. “If a contractor owes $30,000 from his last job, there’s a good chance your money is going to pay the bills on that last job.”

If a contractor has a lien against him, it’s best to move on and avoid a potentially messy situation, Peterson advises: “It’s called a big snowball going down a hill.”

9. Look at Work Samples

This lets you see a contractor’s handiwork and may spark ideas for your project. “Samples are more important than references,” Peterson says. “They allow you to see the quality of our work. You can see the designs we came up with and how creative we are.”

Looking at a contractor’s past projects also lets you see the variety of work the company has performed, such as contemporary, Craftsman, or historic designs.

10 Think Locally

Area contractors who have been in business for a long time are usually reliable and safe bets for projects. If they didn’t do good work in your community, they wouldn’t still be around.

“I always say shopping locally is the best approach,” LaPelusa says. “The company is involved in the community, the workers are probably local, and if you have a problem later, a local contractor is going to be on top of it.”

By Brett Martin (www.popularmechanics.com) 2/04/2018

12 Jan

Your Guide to: networking like a pro

They say that your network is your networth.

We’re not too sure who ‘they’ are exactly, but whoever they are they’ve definitely nailed it.

A big part of the success you achieve (or don’t) in life can be directly attributed to the calibre of the company you choose to keep. It’s your responsibility as a business owner to surround yourself with people who will inspire and encourage you to grow, instead of those who hold you back.

A strong network will act as an invaluable source to bounce ideas off of, build strategic partnerships, pick you up when you’re questioning if it’s all worth it, celebrate in your wins, get tactical advice, hold you accountable to your goals and inspire you to dream bigger.

That’s the ideal right?

But making meaningful connections isn’t always easy, especially if you’re new to the networking game. The key to building a strong network is simply getting started. You’ll be surprised at how quickly your network starts to grow when you start putting effort into building new relationships.

We chatted to networking pros about the value of connecting with like-minded people, and got some tips on how you can get the most out of any networking event:

Peter Larkovic (Head of Training & development at Entourage)

How has networking helped you?
Networking is a way to communicate your brand, message, vision, mission and values. It lets you create strategic partnerships, open doors and can be an accelerator to get you from where you are, to where you want to be. There is no substitute for being liked by a bunch of people.

Can you give us your best networking tips?
Tip 1: Remember the TED vs TING law
People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care, so be interesTED before you try and be interesTING. Be more engaged in the people you are talking to than you are in yourself.

Tip 2: Prepare your 5 second commercial
You’ve got to know your own 5 second commercial – Americans call this an ‘elevator pitch’. Introduce yourself using this 5 second pitch at all networking events. Here are the ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ of a strong elevator pitch:

DON’T
1. Don’t just tell others what you do. People don’t care about your business name, industry or job title.

DO
1. Write down what you do.
2. Write down the outcome of what you do.
3. Write down the outcome and effect this has in the eyes of your customer.
4. When networking feed this back to the person you are meeting in reverse order.

For example if you are a social media coordinator you would write this down:

1. What I do? Social media coordinator
2. What is the outcome? Build community and generate leads.
3. What is the effect in the eyes of customers? Produce inspirational and educational content.

Your 5-second elevator pitch would be:

“I create inspirational and educational content for our audience to build community and generate more leads.”

Tip 3: Use the Law of Reciprocity
This law states if you do something to somebody than they feel indebted to do the same back. Always introduce yourself by name first and then ask theirs.

Jack Delosa (Founder & CEO – Entourage)

How has networking helped you?
Not for how I’ve grown The Entourage, but rather how I’ve navigated my career. Entrepreneurship is often founded in being able to unite people around a purpose. The strength of an entrepreneur’s path is often a direct reflection of the people they surround themselves with – mentors, advisors, friends, team members, investors, partners – everyone you need to actualise your vision will be carried through by relationships.

Do you have any networking tips?
To network effectively put yourself in the right environment. Free networking often ends up costing you more in time wasted. Get around the people that will help lift you higher, that means getting in the right circles and often we need to invest to do this.

Jess Wilson ( Founder of Stashd)

How has networking helped you?
Networking when you’re starting out is pinnacle as it helps you meet people you wouldn’t normally come across. I met my contact from Forbes in a girls bathroom who has helped me with PR coverage! People like to go to people they know, so I’ve had multiple PR opportunities from people who automatically approach me as we have connected before.

Do you have any networking tips?
Don’t treat networking like a business transaction. Instead just be real with people, start up a genuine conversation, don’t make it sound too forced. You can then lead into a business conversation. Make sure you exchange details with them before you leave and then send a follow up email afterwards. I always include something from the conversation we had at the event to make it more personalised.

Now you know how to effectively network, you just need to find where. Here’s our top 5 recommendations for building up your personal network:

1: Go to industry networking event
If you want to use networking to build strategic business partnerships and expand your business’s reach, then attending industry networking events is a must. You’ll meet people who operate within the same space as you, and as long as they’re not a direct competitor, they could be perfect for your next partnership.

2: Join Meet Up groups
You might be surprised by just how many Meet Ups exist solely for business owners. Some are focused on networking, other are focused on education. Try out a few and find one that suits your needs.

3: Find a mentor
Leverage off people with been there done that experience by finding a mentor, or multiple mentors, who can give you advice and direction.

4: Join a coworking space
Being an entrepreneur can be lonely, especially if you work from home or have a small team. Joining a coworking space enables you to work alongside other entrepreneurs who are in similar position to you. Most coworking spaces have quite a vibrant atmosphere and host regular networking events.

5: Educational courses
Signing up to educational workshops and courses is an easy way to meet people who are as committed to their personal and business growth as you. At The Entourage we offer a range of courses for entrepreneurs at various stages of business. We find that while people generally come to us for the content, they end up staying with us for the community.

Source – (www.the-entourage.edu.au) 02/04/2018

12 Jan

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