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Commercial Business Advice

RENTAL STUDIOS

A rental studio requires more than a big space divided into separate rooms. Meeting the requirements of photographers, film makers, bands, broadcasters and those who are looking for a space to support their artistic endeavors can be difficult. The individual studios must be soundproofed to create a secure, private environment, with no outside interference. Lighting and power should never be an issue because there’s got to be plenty of both. The outlets must be able to handle a large draw from sophisticated equipment. Amenities such as storage closets, seating areas, bathrooms, changing rooms and even a spot to get a cup of coffee or store lunch in a refrigerator are helpful. Along with offering customized spaces for rent, the majority of these facilities include a wide spectrum of sound, lighting and staging equipment available. The tools of the trade are cost-prohibitive for many. Staging, lights, speakers, amps, mixing boards, cables and all of the latest recording, broadcasting and DJ technology is typically rented as needed. Even items such as backdrops and props for photographers can be in demand. LED walls for recording artists are rapidly gaining in popularity. It is always worrisome that clients may fail to treat the space or the equipment with the respect  and care it deserves. The rental agreement should include a security deposit, damage clause and make sure the client understands their responsibilities. No one wants to walk into a studio they’ve rented for the day and find empty take-out containers and coffee cups left behind from the last client. They don’t want to face a tangle of cables or equipment that no longer works properly. Little things such as turning off the lights at the end of a session or thermostat adjustments make a big impact on overhead and comfort. The running costs on these types of facilities are astronomical. Live audio equipment can be expensive, but it will really improve the quality of your event.

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Commercial Business Advice Homeowner Advice

BUILDING A STAGING RENTAL BUSINESS

It can be rather difficult to build a successful audio, visual and lighting equipment rental business. The initial start up expenses can be extremely high and overhead is costly. To provide for a variety of clients, it’s necessary to invest into a broad spectrum of very expensive equipment. It’s vital that your facility and equipment represents the most advanced technology on the market in order to become and remain competitive in this industry. Even when you’ve gotten a facility and inventory in order, additional money is required for advertising. Getting your name out there and establishing a well-recognized brand takes effort. Word-of-mouth can make or break a business, meaning you need to work hard to earn positive reviews from customers. In your local area, it’s possible there are quite a few competing companies who offer similar services. It’s recommended to keep my competitive and affordable while providing the most comprehensive and sophisticated equipment and services. You will have clients ranging from knowledgeable professionals to beginners. You want to be able to fulfill all of their needs through experienced and friendly personnel. Providing  sound stage equipment for local venues, bands and recording studios can be profitable when handled efficiently. Offering portable stage rental for local events such as community fairs, concerts in the park, fundraisers and corporate events is a growing business. A selection of film, video, protectors, cameras, PA speakers, DJ equipment, LED walls and various equipment caters to the hobbyist and those looking to take their art or career to the next level.  From weddings and photo shoots and to the needs of local film makers, there are plenty of opportunities. Offering rental space to photographers, broadcasters, bands looking to rehearse/record and advertising companies minimizes overhead and generates a steady income. Helping people achieve their vision and objective is part of the job.

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Commercial Business Advice Homeowner Advice

3 REASONS TO HIRE A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER

You may get into a situation where you need to hire a lawyer to represent you. If you’ve suffered an injury, the legalities are compex. There are instances when the insurance companies fail to settle in good faith. It’s always smart to consult with an experienced and qualified personal injury lawyer in your area right away. Here are four compelling reasons:

  • You’ve been injured – Any serious injuries that necessitate long-term care have left you with permanent disabilities are reason enough to contact a personal injury lawyer right away. A knowledgeable and experienced attorney can help you determine proper compensation. It can be difficult to recognize how injuries you’ve sustained will affect your earning capacity over time. Expert assistance sees to it that you get the dollar amount you need and deserve. For a successful personal injury claim or lawsuit, you require a lawyer who can and will pursue every available avenue of compensation for your injuries and other losses. 
  • You’ve sustained severe injuries – The dollar amount of compensation you ultimately see from your injuries depends on the severity of your injuries. Insurance companies calculate the severity of injuries by the type, the amount of medical bills incurred and length of recovery time. As the total amount of your possible compensation adds up, the higher the probability you’re going to reach and exceed the policy limits of the at-fault party’s insurance. At that point, the insurance company may only agree to pay you a portion of what you deserve and require. In these instances, a personal injury attorney is invaluable. He/she will make sure you receive the total amount of compensation to which you are entitled.
  • Multiple parties are involved or liability is not clear cut – Any accident where multiple parties could be liable for your injuries becomes complicated. It’s definitely recommended to hire a qualified lawyer. With multiple parties involved in an accident, navigating insurance companies becomes a challenge. Because more than one person may have sustained injuries, there may not be sufficient settlement money to divide. There’s the chance of becoming the subject of insurance claims from other parties and having your settlement offer reduced or eliminated due to your proportional fault for the accident. Don’t wait to contact an attorney. If you’ve been injured in an accident and might be partially at-fault, a licensed lawyer can help protect against counterclaims.
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Commercial Business Advice Homeowner Advice

THE NEED FOR A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER

If you’ve been involved in an accident or suffered an injury, there’s the question of whether or not you should contact a personal injury attorney. For any serious bodily injury it’s essential you consult with a personal injury lawyer. It requires specialized knowledge of the legal system to file a personal injury lawsuit. You should never proceed without a lawyer. For certain types of accidents and injuries, hiring a certified professional is worth the fees you’ll pay him/her to represent you. A licensed personal injury lawyer can make sure you receive proper compensation for your injuries and the impact on your life. Even if you’re not sure, there is no drawback to consulting with a licensed attorney before moving ahead. Reputable personal injury attorneys offer free, confidential consultations to potential clients.

Choosing and hiring a personal injury lawyer is an important decision. Your lawyer serves your interests, representing you in settlement negotiations with the at-fault party’s insurance company. They further handle the proceedings in court if you and your attorney determine that filing a personal injury lawsuit is the right course of action. Before you make any decision or investment, make certain you connect with your attorney. You should feel comfortable working and talking with him/her and trust their judgement. It’s essential that your attorney provides an open and honest line of communication so that you can get in touch when you have a question or concern. The legal processes involved in a personal injury claim are very complex and you don’t want to make a mistake and miss out on the compensation that you have coming to you.

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Commercial Business Advice Homeowner Advice

ASK YOUR LAWYER A LOT OF QUESTIONS

You’re involved in a real estate deal and you realize you need the assistance of a professional. It’s reasonable to first determine how much the service is going to cost. You want to know up front how much the attorney charges. This can eliminate some unpleasant surprises down the road. Fees often depend on the type of case. Billing can be based on an hourly rate or a flat fee. For billing by the hour, you can expect to pay between $150 to $450 per hour. The rate generally fluctuates according to the complexity of the case and adds up very quickly. Most attorneys require a retainer upfront as well. The cost is a big part of choosing a real estate attorney, impacting your overall budget for the deal. However, it shouldn’t be the only consideration. Sometimes it’s advantageous to invest a bit more to achieve a successful outcome. Always request an estimate and feel free to negotiate for a more reasonable price. Like any other professional service, you typically get the quality you pay for. Settling for the cheapest attorney may cost you more in the end. If you’re looking to hire a larger firm, start by asking whether assistants other than your attorney will be working on the case. It’s not unusual for a portion of the workload to be managed by paralegals or junior attorneys. Make sure you’re agreeable with the people who will be sharing your information. You also want to know who you’ll be contacting in the event of a question or concern. An open line of communication is extremely important and the opposite can prove terribly frustrating. It’s essential that you know when and how you can reach your attorney and who else is available if the attorney isn’t accessible. Sharing information is vital to the working relationship and a swift, smooth completion.

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Commercial Business Advice Homeowner Advice

CHOOSING A REAL ESTATE LAWYER

Whether you’re buying or selling real estate, in most situations it’s advantageous to have the assistance of a qualified legal professional. If you’re considering real estate investing, attempting to purchase a foreclosure or faced with unexpected difficulties with a simple transaction, a real estate attorney can help simplify the process. Before hiring a lawyer, it’s best to ask some questions and make sure of their qualifications. Start by asking how long the attorney has been practicing. Experience is one of the most important factors. Experience comes into play when transactions become complicated. If they’ve already resolved a similar situation, they are familiar with proper procedures. However, you’re most likely going to pay more for an attorney who’s been practicing for 20 years as opposed to one who’s one a couple years out of law school. Find out where they earned their law degree, whether or not it’s an accredited school and if they specialize in any particular area of real estate law. If they graduated from law school in a different state, you’ll want to know how many years they’ve practiced law in your state. Real estate laws vary from state to state and you want an attorney who is aware of the local regulations. It’s to your benefit to choose an attorney who has familiarity with situations similar to yours. Having prior experience in the type of transaction ensures an understanding of possible issues that can come up and how to handle them quickly and properly. Although you can’t request information about specific cases they’ve dealt with, you can ask for their thoughts when dealing with your situation. You’re looking for a real estate attorney who can provide a detailed course of action rather than a generic promise of a successful outcome.

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Commercial Business Advice

WHAT IS PPC?

Pay-per-click or PPC is a means of internet marketing. Advertisers pay a fee each time someone clicks on one of their ads. It’s a strategy that buys visits to your site rather than earning that traffic organically. Search engine advertising is one of the most widely used forms of PPC. Advertisers are able to bid for ad placement within a search engine’s sponsored links for keywords related to the specific service. For example, if you bid on the keyword “furnace repair,” your HVAC company ad might show up in the very top spot on the Google results page. Every time the ad is clicked, a potential client is directed to your website and you pay the search engine a small fee. The fee is typically minimal and the traffic is worth more than the payment. The idea is that each visit is a potential sale of your product or services. Quite a bit is involved with building a successful PPC campaign. It requires researching and selecting the ideal keyword as well as organizing those keywords into proper campaigns and ad groups. PPC landing pages need to be optimized for conversions. Relevant and articulate pay-per-click campaigns are rewarded by search engines, paying less for ad clicks. When the ad is satisfying and useful, Google charges less per click, resulting in higher profit margins. In other words, it’s not enough to use PPC, you need to do it properly to get the most out of it. To manage an effective PPC campaign, you might want to enlist the help of knowledgeable professionals. SEO agencies and consultants are in the business of maximizing the results. 

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Commercial Business Advice

WHY IS SEO IMPORTANT?

Paid advertising, social media and other online platforms successfully prompt website traffic. However the majority of online traffic is generated through search engines. Organic search results blanket more digital real estate, seem more legitimate to informed searches and earn more clicks than paid advertisements. SEO is one of the only online marketing opportunities that, when handled properly, can continue to supply dividends over time. If you create an intelligent piece of content that merits ranking for the right keywords, the traffic can steadily increase over time, unlike advertising that requires regular funding to drive traffic to your site. Search engines are steadily getting smarter but still need some assistance. Optimizing your site ensures better information reaching the search engines so that your content gets indexed and displayed properly within the search results. There is some debate over whether it’s wise to hire an SEO professional or agency. It’s possible to complete some basic SEO on your own. Since your expertise probably lies in other areas, it can be extremely helpful to take advantage of professional expertise. Like any growing industry, there’s lots and lots of agencies and consultants to choose from. While these companies may all provide SEO services, the quality varies. Understanding how to choose a worthwhile SEO company saves time and money.

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Commercial Business Advice

WHAT IS SEO?

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a means of maximizing the quantity and quality of traffic to the website. It increases exposure to your brand through organic or non-paid search engine results. While SEO is centered around technology, it’s also about people. SEO needs to cater toward what people are searching for online. The answers and services they are looking for, the words they’re typing in and the style of content they find most appealing directly impact the success of an SEO campaign. The goal is to connect with people who are searching online for the services you provide. Once the client’s intent is identified, the next challenge is supplying results in a way search engine crawlers can find and understand. So what are search engines? They pour over billions of bits of content and consider thousands of factors to choose which content is most likely to satisfy your query. They work by finding and cataloguing the vast amount of content on the internet, including web pages, images, videos and etc. This process is known as crawling and indexing. They then order the information by how closely it matches the query and put it in order or ranking. The organic search results are those that come up through effective SEO. They are not paid advertising. The paid ads used to be easily identified. Today, search engine results pages or SERPs are filled with a lot more advertising and more dynamic organic results formats or Serp features than ever. Search engines make money from advertising. The priority is to solve queries within SERPs in the best possible way to get searchers to return and keep them on the SERPs longer.

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Commercial Business Advice

CHANGES IN MARKETING STRATEGIES

Not too long ago, advertising was limited to advertisements in the newspaper and the yellow pages. While options for marketing a business were few, the process was much more simple. It wasn’t difficult to call up the local newspaper and work out the layout of an ad. You chose the size of the ad, the font and added your logo. You didn’t need to be technologically savvy to advertise your business. With the introduction of the internet, the marketing work has changed drastically. There’s also sorts of new terms to learn and managing an online presence is both necessary and a challenge. While online marketing is much more expensive, it provides much greater benefits. In this day and age, it’s just about impossible to run a successful and productive business without a website at the minimum. When potential clients look for a specific type of service, they typically start with Google. They type in keywords that narrow their search. For example, a homeowner having a problem with their furnace might type in heater repair. The goal is to have your business show up on the first page of the search results. Getting the client to click on the link to your website is the goal. Now you need an informative and visually pleasing website that encourages the client to browse your services and hopefully contact you. While a phone number used to be enough, people now expect the option of an online contact form. This means of communication is less personal but also quick, simple and efficient. The client avoids the back and forth of a conversation, potentially getting up on hold and taking up needless amounts of time. This is why an online marketing campaign could be great for your business.