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Furnace vs Heat Pump Systems for Heating Homes and Offices Compared
Furnace vs heat pump. What are the advantages of a heat pump when compared with a furnace? It is clear that a heat pump emits less carbon dioxide per unit of heat produced, but the cost for the initial installation is higher. Is the furnace which uses the fossil which is fuel natural gas really so bad? Does the heat pump really provide cleaner heating? And, why do you say “reducing carbon emissions can’t wait, or it’ll be too late.”
What Goes on in a Heat Pump?
It is not always clear to people who are not familiar with the science and history of heat pumps that they were developed from day 1 to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide. It is principally carbon emissions that are proven to be heating up our planet. This will have dire consequences for mankind if it is allowed to continue. A heat pump is an appliance that transfers the heat from one area from one source to another. In other words, it transfers heat from a cooler part of space to a warmer part of space.
Even a Heat Pump is Not Perfect for Our Planet
A heat pump does not currently produce zero carbon emissions because it needs electricity to run the pump. However, as globally all nations reduce their use of fossil fuels in old power stations and electricity generation moves on to renewable sources heat pumps will become “cleaner”. That’s because the power used by heat pumps, running on electricity from the grid, the carbon emissions they reduce will also go down as decarbonization progresses. That’s a point often missed in the Furnace Vs Heat Pump debate.
Heat Pump Was Though to be an “Impossible Invention” When First Sold
The invention of the heat pump was amazing to everyone when the concept was first explained in the 1960s because people said that you cannot take something cold, and pull warmth out of it. “How would you use that heat to make another cold thing warm-up?”; they asked. But it was shown to be perfectly possible to do in a heat pump. During heat pumping that “warmed up thing” becomes warmer than the original cold thing, and can be used to heat homes, offices etc! When people started to use the heat pump to heat up their homes it was not believed that this could be possible. They said entropy is an inviolable principle of nature! Everything in the universe gets cooler and heat dissipates everywhere all the time. The entire universe has been running down since it was created and one day everything will turn cold. As that continues, all reactions, eons into the future will slow down to a stop. But, they forgot that science is clever and can (in this small way) for a while (by expending energy in a particular way) reverse an inviolable Law of Nature, namely “entropy”.
However, we all have refrigerators and inside their systems, they have been quietly reversing “entropy” by pumping heat out of the food in the fridge. The pumped heat warms up the radiator wires on the back of every fridge. Yes, a fridge is a form of heat pump, but nobody quite thought of it that way.
In fact, if the original inventors had not thought outside the box about fridges, we wouldn’t even be having a Furnace Vs Heat Pump debate, because heat pumping would never have been discovered.
Furnaces Which Burn Natural Gas are Damaging Our World – The Truth
The great majority of furnaces in the US and Europe burn natural gas. The name “natural gas” is to a degree deceptive because most people assume that what is natural is also “green” and in harmony with nature. However, natural gas is just as much a fossil fuel as coal and oil, which once burnt releases fresh new carbon into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide from burning natural gas is almost as damaging as that from coal, or oil, and that’s highly relevant to the Furnace Vs Heat Pump debate.
Thankfully though, natural gas is both:
- warms the globe less than coal and oil from the point of view of the fact that releasing each calorie of heat causes less carbon dioxide when using natural gas, and hence for the same heat output, less carbon is emitted
- the result of burning it releases far fewer impurities than are emitted from within the coal or oil, when those are burnt. This means that there is far less air pollution from burning natural gas then when using coal or oil.
Furnaces are OK – Except “Not Renewable” Powered By Natural Gas and Oil
Furnaces are damaging simply because the energy source is not renewable. If a renewable replacement was available for natural gas the furnace in your home could be replaced by another when it is worn out, and there would be no need for a heat pump instead. If that was true I doubt we would even be having this Furnace Vs Heat Pump debate. People have been talking for the last 20 years or so of hydrogen as the new fuel and there are plans afoot in Europe to construct a completely new gas grid distribution for hydrogen. In other countries, including the UK the idea is to add hydrogen in with natural gas, and “renewable natural gas” (natural gas made through the use of anaerobic digestion of organic waste – for example from sewage sludge).
Converting Gas Grids to Hydrogen/ Renewables Can’t Happen Any Day Soon
Unfortunately, in all nations, the conversion of gas grid distribution systems to renewable gases and especially hydrogen will take at least 20 years to progress. At the moment solar and wind turbines are used to make renewable electricity. Once enough of those have been built to replace all fossil fuel used to generate electricity for day to day grid supply, a huge quantity of yet more renewable energy will be needed for heating and transport use. In fact, three or more times more solar and wind sources will need to be built to decarbonize heating, transport, and industry and used to electrolyze water and make hydrogen gas to replace natural gas for heating our living spaces and powering all transport.
While the more permanent renewable solution of hydrogen gas grid distribution is developed, heat pumps plus much-improved heat insulation will tide us over. It is often said that hydrogen is “the future for energy”, and so it most probably is, but it isn’t here yet! Hydrogen is a much better option than batteries as a 24/7 always available power source. Batteries need rare elements in their construction and present major problems for the environment when disposed of.
Furnace vs Heat Pump – How Does a Heat Pump Work?
There are 3 main components to a heat pump:
- a low-grade heat source, such as a fan to collect the ambient air around a building, or a pump and a loop of pipe buried in the ground in the garden. Swimming pools in the home have also been used.
- a compressor and condenser system to do the heat pumping
- a fan or a water pump to convey the pumped heat into the property. If so designed, this system can also cool the property in summer.
It is a closed-loop system. The most common type is an air heat pump. The air heat pump uses a fan to collect low-grade heat from the ambient air outside the property. A compressor is used in a condenser pump system similar to the workings of a fridge in reverse and releases the heat during the process which emanates as very warm (not hot) water. Just don’t get the idea anything particularly high-tech is going on in a heat pump! It is exactly the same principle as a refrigerator. It just works in reverse. The main component is a compressor to compress the gas in the condensing system that will be the energy source to power the system. The heat exchanger is normally a system of warm water pipes laid beneath the floors of the property. An alternative is to provide heat as hot air which flows out via fans into the rooms to be heated. For more information on heat pumps visit: https://sites.google.com/site/groundsourceheatpumpuk/
Air-Source and Ground-Source Heat Pumps
The other basic heat pump in the market is often called a fluid heat exchanger usually fed by water from a ground heat source (Ground Source heat pump). It acts in exactly the same way as an air heat pump. The fluid heat pump will extract the heat from an intermediate fluid, typically water which has passed for example, through buried pipes in the ground, outside the property. This fluid will become cooled as it flows through the heat exchanger, the warmth will then be emitted to heat the property. The cooled water will flow back through the loop into the ground and its temperature will be raised again in a repeating cycle. It is the same principle as for the air heat pump except rather than from the air around the building, the fluid heat pump extracts warmth from the ground. When the heat exchange air is released from a heat pump of both types, it will become warm air.
The Unique Advantage of Heat Pumps Which Double as Air-Conditioners in Summer
Now you might ask, what is cooling and heating? It is when there is a need for both heating in winter, and air conditioning (air cooling) in summer. Heat pumps can do both, although for summer cooling they may need some additional controls. Furnace technology simply can not provide any air-conditioning.
It is important to keep in mind that while heat pump appliances are perfectly easily run in reverse to bring immediate cool relief, there are no guarantees that it will work that way after a long winter if the equipment is not maintained regularly. It is important to make sure that all appliances are kept up to date and maintained. It will give you peace of mind.
Heat Pump Maintenance Versus Furnace Maintenance
Whether you have a heat pump system or a furnace is also important to remember not to panic when you feel that something isn’t right. Heat pumps tend to be more complex than a traditional furnace. There is more to go wrong in a heat pump than for a furnace central heating system. For example, if the fluid of a heat pump is not flowing through properly or the fan is not functioning then your heat pump will not function.
Furnace vs Heat Pump – Heat Pump Air Filter Problems
Another cause could be the air filter. The air filter is what removes the dust and other particles that are floating around in the air outside or the air of the room, depending on your system type. With the air filter clogged, you will not be receiving the cooling effect as well as the heat removal. Make sure that you always change your air filter at least once every few months. If you don’t it is possible that you will be losing the heat as well as the comfort of your home. There are several other causes of heat pump system failure, but the most common ones can cause your house to feel like a furnace during the summer season.
Furnaces Cannot Do Cooling But Heat Pumps Can…
However, as we have said earlier no furnace will ever cool a home or office, so if you have a furnace you will have to buy and maintain a separate air-conditioning system for the summer. That increases the complexity of your home systems and once again raises the chances of things going wrong and costing you money on maintenance and repair.
You may also find it relevant to know, that it is just as possible for you to experience a malfunction when it’s a problem in the furnace. You might feel that the furnace is not bringing you heat, but it is possible that the furnace is not delivering the hot water or air that it is supposed to deliver. This is the main cause for complaint from furnace users, it may also be possible that the furnace water pump is circulating cold water to the radiators when you need hot water for the room heating.
Heat Pumps vs Furnaces and Technical Complexity
On balance, heat pump systems are more complicated than a fossil fuel burning natural gas furnace central heating system. But, as natural gas furnaces have been made to condense for greater efficiency, and gas safety controls applied, furnaces have become more complex and more prone to failures.
When you also take into account that with global warming raising summer temperature more and more people require air conditioning, there is very little benefit in lower maintenance bills from having a furnace. This is because the maintenance costs, including maintenance of a separate air-conditioner, are likely to be very similar.
Heat Pump Materials Used in Manufacture Versus Furnace Construction Material Use
Both heat pump and furnace product can equally be made with eco-friendly, reusable and recycled materials, which can help save the earth and its environment. You can also take note that air conditioner prices vary according to the features they have. However, it is always wise, to pay attention not only to the price you will require, which means that a unit with an additional feature is probably more costly than a unit without the additional feature, both ecologically and in terms of cash expenditure.
Furnace vs Heat Pump – Which is Best for Temperature Control?
There are many reasons for buying an air conditioner, but the primary and major reason is always temperature control. This is the reason why a unit with an additional temperature control summer cooling feature is always more costly than air conditioning without a temperature control feature. If you want to have an air conditioner that controls the temperature with 100% accuracy, you will need to pay around $1,000.00 or more for a unit. There are some air conditioners that can control the temperature with 65% to 75% accuracy. This is less expensive but more complicated to install. A thermostat is a device that is placed in the room to control the temperature.
Why Should I Buy a Heat Pump if I am Not a Green Eco Freak?
There are many reasons for people to buy an air conditioner beyond the intention to be “green”. The main reasons are to have a cool and comfortable room during the summer and winter seasons and to have the protection of the environment. If you want a unit that can control the temperature with 100% accuracy and you want to control the temperature of your room with high accuracy, then you’ll need to pay $800.00 to $1,200.00. The best temperature control units are less complicated to install and are slightly less expensive than the less accurate air conditioners, but more expensive than the units that can control the temperature with 65% to 75% accuracy. These units are less costly to purchase but more expensive to operate and are the most expensive overall.
Comparing Furnace vs Heat Pump Systems – The Verdict
For convenience and minimizing the initial installation cost, there is no doubt that a furnace heating system, even with a separate air-conditioner system in the main rooms, wins. But despite that fact society needs to stop using furnaces and go for heat pumping systems in a big way! That’s due to the rate at which the planet is warming which is exceeding the rate predicted by scientists even a few years ago. The Furnace Vs Heat Pump debate is becoming more urgent every month. The increased risk from a much more variable and volatile climate is there for us all to see, from melting glaciers to forest fires, drought and floods.
Choosing a Heat Pump System in preference to a new Furnace is not all bad news either. Once installed the cost of running it may be as low as just one-third of your past monthly energy bill, even allowing for the cost of the electricity to run the heat pump system. Over a period of 8 to 12 years, the cost of the heat pump will be recouped in lower monthly power bills.
Now, most will say, “that’s too long”.
But if you have children they will tell you 8 to 12 years is nothing to them, because they hope to be around in 50 years and if carbon emissions are not abated now, their lives will be extremely uncomfortable by then…
The verdict: We all should consider installing heat pumps and stop buying new furnaces. Like it or lump it. Heat pumps ain’t perfect, but they are the best tried and tested technology to decarbonize home and office heating. The climate change reality is that reducing carbon emissions can’t wait, or it’ll be too late.
The Article Furnace vs Heat Pump Systems for Heating Homes and Offices Compared was found on https://limitsofstrategy.com
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What is a Load Bearing Wall? Understanding Structural Home Conversions
So, you are just starting out thinking about a home conversion, and you would like to know “What is a Load Bearing Wall?” We know the feeling that maybe if you remove a wall, the house will fall on you. Of course, get it wrong, and you are right! It really might! Never knock down a wall unless you are certain that it is not a loadbearing wall. Read on, and we will do our best to explain how to identify loadbearing and structural walls and how to distinguish them from non-structural walls or living-space partitions.
What Is Load Bearing Wall? A “Load Bearing Wall” Definition
A load-bearing wall or structural wall is a wall that is a structural part of a building, which supports the weight of the parts of the building over it. A loadbearing wall holds up what’s above it by “conducting the force created” by its weight down into a foundation (footing) structure beneath it.
But that’s pretty obvious. When you plan or do a home conversion, what matters is distinguishing between the loadbearing walls and non-load bearing studding. Here are a few ways to assist budding “home converters” to distinguish between load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls that can be demolished. The first step to identification is to understand the design of the building.
Load Bearing Wall Types Used in Construction
Very often, just looking at a wall from within a house won’t provide any evidence to decide if it can be demolished. Architect-designed modern houses and old properties that have already undergone structural alteration, such as having extended floorspace added or rooms added, are tough to interpret. In those cases, the best way to find out is to ask an architect, a structural surveyor, or an engineer before you start putting it under the hammer. (In your location, there may also be restrictions to ensure only qualified technical experts decide for structural walls versus non-structural walls, so contact your local council’s building inspection or building regulations department.)
Timber-framed buildings can be the most difficult to interpret but can be the easiest to strengthen with a strategically placed additional beam or two. However, while that may be possible, care still needs to be taken that any added beam has an adequate strength to support the beam ends where the additional load from the span will be transferred.
Much of the modern timber commercially designed and framed home stock provides an internal space designed so that the developer can partition the space flexibly. In these homes, flats (apartments, etc.), non-lead-bearing partition walls can be erected anywhere within the external walls’ curtilage. For those designs which span the full floor space, all structural loads are (in theory) carried out to the external walls. That means that it may remove virtually any internal wall.
However, removing every wall for a completely open-plan living space may result in a rather “springy” or “lively” upper floor. This happens because, without the restraint of non-load bearing walls, the floor is not as stiff as is normally provided when walls are present. While not dangerous, the occupants may become concerned about floor movement. Hence, once again, the expertise of a structural engineer is advisable. Some risk is also present that heavily loaded areas of upper floors may, over time, settle, causing cracked plaster, creaking floorboards, etc. An example of heavy-loading maybe a library or even a large-double waterbed!
In Europe, most detached and semi-detached homes built since the 1930s have been brick cavity wall designs. However, to keep construction costs low and minimize wood use, internal load-bearing walls may have been used. Even so, the uppermost floor internal walls are more likely to be non-loadbearing. Meaning that the roof structure spans across the full width, the lower floor(s) may have load-bearing walls usually constructed in brick or breeze blocks with mortar joints.
Homes may look like brick-built cavity-walled homes but may not be. Some houses will be structural steel or wood, framed with heat-insulated, uninsulated, dry-lined plasterboard internal finishes. Less common are wide-variety of proprietary concrete and modular building systems houses, about which the general comments given here will indicate very little.
Returning to traditional forms of construction. Just because an internal wall in a cavity-wall type-construction property is made of wood does not conclusively show it is a non-load-bearing wall. So, let us next consider some basic indications of load-bearing walls:
How To Tell A Loadbearing Wall (LBW) from a Non LBW
However, beware of making judgments on house structural forms without entering the roof-spaces and picking up hints on the structural form using some easy methods that can help distinguish a load-bearing wall from one the is simply a partition.
The following are easy methods to detect a loadbearing wall:
- By Sound: Tap the wall in a way that will not damage plastering or decorations. Even a gentle knock with your fist or knuckles may help here! An engineer may use the rubberized handle of a hammer, for example. Listen. Does the wall sound hollow, or even vibrate? With experience, this provides a good guide for walls that are merely in insubstantial plasterboard dry lined over a wooden studding. In such instances, there can be reasonable confidence a wall being non-load-bearing.
- External Visual Inspection: As the original external walls of a building will normally have been load-bearing and older properties have often been extended so that external walls have become internal walls, always look for telltale signs of building extensions. If you find a wall that you want to demolish was once an external wall, it is usually best to assume that it is load-bearing. Extensions to properties can usually be detected from differences apparent from the roof heights and spans, tile type and color differences, etc. Looking lower down at walls, the brick or plaster types and color may also vary between original construction and extensions and alterations added later. A bit of detective work can raise questions in your mind, which should then be checked in this method’s next step.
- By Loft (Roof) General Space Inspection: Before carrying out a roof space inspection, identify all hazards and ensure that the entry made is with the property owner’s permission and in a safe manner. While taking due care while moving into and around the roof space, look for which walls to roof loadings where rafters or trusses rest upon “wall plates.” Wallplates are usually beams laid horizontally on the top of walls. They rest on the single skin of early stone-built and brick houses. Where there is a cavity wall, they usually rest on the internal leaf of cavity walls. They serve to avoid excessive point loads being placed on small areas of walls that would otherwise exert an excessive “shear force” and crack or distort the wall members’ bricks, blocks, etc., upon which they rest. Wherever rafters and roof beams in general rest on a wall, that wall is load-bearing. However, any wall extending above a wall at one level should also be considered load-bearing because it supports the wall above’s the weight.
- By Loft (Roof) Space Inspection: The way that floor joists run and where they end and rest on internal walls is an important guide to load-bearing that we give it a separate mention here. You may need to lift insulation to see the joist. It is important to do that over the full area above any wall you would like to remove. Don’t damage the insulation material. Take care to avoid inhaling dust and always wear a mask and other suitable PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). Wherever you see joists resting on a wall or wall plate, you have a load-bearing wall. Where joists span over a wall below and have no connection through which they can transfer any loads to the wall below, you don’t have a load-bearing wall immediately below that point.
- Basement Inspection: Basement inspections are vital wherever a building possesses a basement. A good indication that a wall above is probably load-bearing is where that wall extends downward and therefore passes its load on down into the building’s foundations. Conversely, if by inspection from the basement, there is no wall or support column or beam beneath an internal wall above, that can be a good indication that it is a non-load-bearing wall (partition) and can be removed.
- Looking into built-in cupboards, metering cabinets, and space under the stairs: In fact, shining a torch into any space that reveals the building’s structure is always worth doing. It will confirm the building structure, and in older properties also help identify later additions to the structure through differences in construction type and materials used.
Load Bearing Wall (LBW) Design
For a structural engineer, load-bearing wall design is a complex subject in which complex mathematics very soon features heavily. The simple concept of conducting the force created by the load above into a foundation has to be considered with a detailed knowledge of the physical strength, stiffness, and creep under load characteristics of the materials used. Factors of safety, design life and such factors as local wind velocities and earthquake risk may also need to be considered.
Thankfully, in-house building, all this has been rendered down into the standard, tried and tested using bricks, blocks, mortar, etc. As long as the wall height is not excessive and point loads are dispersed using wall plates, standard building details will be all that is needed to design a satisfactory load-bearing wall.
For the person contemplating demolition of a structural wall for a home conversion, we recommend that a non-expert become involved in their design, beyond the normal standard details listed in Building Regulations and accepted “Codes of Practice,” is not feasible. A few hours spent reading up on the requirements will not help. Short of taking training courses and taking professional examinations, lasting years to complete, you will not succeed in creating load-bearing wall designs ready to be approved by most nations’ legal bodies. This is an area where the DIY’er should accept the need for professional help and seek it out.
LBW Removal
Deciding to carry out a load-bearing wall removal is similar to the design of these as walls. Whether it can be done or not, the province of engineers qualified to do structural engineering calculations unless common solutions exist. If a full wall removal is required, the circumstances will be particular to the load, which must be supported. The forces will need to be assessed and loads supported by beams and lintels etc. The loads which will flow through beams, lintels, etc., will also need to be adequately supported at the beam ends. These displaced forces will then need to be considered for the additional weight they load onto the footings in the new support pathways created. Such concepts as stiffness, slenderness ratios (for columns, etc.), and creep over time will also need to be applied.
However, no such professional advice may be needed where only part of a loadbearing wall is removed, say for a door opening. It could equally be for another type of load-bearing wall opening, such as a window. If a DIYer does this, one method is to ask an online lintel manufacturer to provide a suitable lintel that their structural engineers have designed to perform a stated function to support the brickwork (for example) above a new door opening of a stated width within a larger wall.
How To Replace an LBW With a Beam?
Replacing a load-bearing wall with a beam is a common and effective way to continue to hold up a building after removing a load-bearing wall. All the comments we made previously apply to the need for professional advice. There will be a need to specify and provide dimensions for the beam itself and add whatever plates or reinforcement support at each end of the beam are necessary. The concentrated “beam forces” will be conveyed downward into the foundations.
Load Bearing Wall Removal Cost?
When a loadbearing wall is removed, there are a whole host of factors that affect the price. Not least is the amount of work needed from a qualified structural designer, but other factors will be the:
- ease or complexity of the demolition work needed first to remove the wall
- cost of propping the wall while the new beam or other structural support is provided
- cost of removing the rubble and its reuse or disposal
- cost of the permanent beam or other provision for the permanent support of the structure above.
How to Determine Load Bearing Wall?
Determining whether a wall to be removed by demolition is a load-bearing wall has already been discussed in this article. We covered this subject in the section titled: “How To Tell A Loadbearing Wall.” Please scroll back up to that section above.
Load Bearing Wall Beam
A load-bearing wall beam is any horizontal structural part (beam) to take the distributed and any point loading forces imposed on that part and convey those forces to the ends of the beam where they are thrust onto suitable plates, blocks, or bricks with mortar, or other fixings. This is done without the beam bending or deflecting at a percentage of the total span beyond a maximum permissible within the relevant Codes of Practice in force in any jurisdiction.
Load Bearing Wall Beam Calculator
The purpose of a load-bearing wall beam calculator is to size the required beam to withstand the forces applied to it. Beware of using such a calculator online unless you know what you are doing. Have you been able to fully assess the loads being applied to the wall by the structure above? Unless you have been trained in structural building works to design and are aware of any local legal requirements, you should not do this/ rely on your results. Regulations may exist which must be applied where you live. We do not recommend the use of a load-bearing wall beam calculator to a novice or DIYer. However, at https://sites.google.com/view/localplumbershrewsbury/home the business owner carries out many home conversions each year and is highly skilled in building work and plumbing; and is anything but a novice!
How Much Of A Load Bearing Wall Can Be Removed?
To say how much of a load-bearing wall can be removed by writing down even the most general advice here is not worthwhile. There are so many variables, any of which will be unique to a particular project home or office building, that rule of thumb guidance here would not be helpful.
The Article What is a Load Bearing Wall? Understanding Structural Home Conversions was found on https://limitsofstrategy.com
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Environmental Toll Of Plastics In Our Environment
On This Page
- What is Nestlé doing to tackle plastic packaging waste?
- Environmental toll of plastics
- Reimagining, rethinking and recycling our packaging
- Why do you use plastic in your packaging?
- How much plastic packaging did Nestlé use in 2019?
- How is Nestlé reducing its plastic usage?
- How are you phasing-out non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle plastics?
- Our ‘Fractured’ investigation found disturbing evidence of fracking pollution leaching into our bodies. Readers responded.
What is Nestlé doing to tackle plastic packaging waste?
Environmental Toll Of Plastics In Our Environment: The issue of packaging waste, especially plastic waste, is of particular public interest. However, the packaging is necessary for food safety and quality, protecting food during transport, extending its shelf life, and reducing food waste. This makes food and beverage packaging a unique challenge for Nestlé and our industry. it is necessary to develop solutions that reduce packaging volume and impact without compromising on protection. We envision a future without waste, which means increasing plastic recycling and finding alternatives, whether in the form of dispensing systems or materials.
Tearfund’s report “the burning question” highlights the ongoing challenges we face as a society in addressing packaging and plastic waste. Nestlé is committed to exploring every option to solve the complex challenges of packaging waste. We are committed to multiple solutions that can already have an impact on our consumers and communities. The vision is that none of our packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfills or oceans, lakes, and rivers. To achieve this, we have committed to making 100% of our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.
The ten corporations that produce the most plastic on the planet, The Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, Mars, Incorporated, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, Pepsico, Perfetti van Melle, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever, have formed a well-funded network that has sabotaged government and community efforts to address the plastic pollution crisis for decades, according to a detailed investigative report by the Changing Markets Foundation. The investigation documents how these companies delay and derail legislation to continue to flood consumers with single-use plastic packaging.
Traditionally, their products’ viable recyclability has not necessarily been the priority of brands (something MRF operators often grumble about) but rather cost and appearance. Also, single-use plastics have been driven by consumer preference. Particularly for food packaging, they have several positive environmental benefits, including a potentially lower overall environmental impact when the whole life cycle is considered. But that’s a whole different discussion. Numerous companies have announced targets to reduce plastic waste and packaging or use more recycled material in their products, including Aldi, Starbucks, Walmart and nestlé, to name a few.
The environmental impact of plastics
For many, plastic is a modern marvel: versatile, cost-effective to produce, and long-lasting. To others, it is a problem: a ubiquitous, non-degradable pollutant that threatens to choke the global environment. The world consumes more than 100 million tonnes of plastic annually but recycles less than 5 percent of it. The rest – plastic bags, water bottles, disposable lighters, takeaway food packaging, and the like – ends up in the world’s oceans and on its coasts. Plastic waste also clogs sewers and causes deadly floods, suffocates animals, and contaminates fish with toxic chemicals, which can be dangerous for people who eat the fish.
Redesign, rethink and recycle our packaging.
Many companies are rethinking the design and lifecycle of their plastic products at the business model level and applying the circular model. Shopping platform Loop, for example, is rethinking food and product packaging. The company is pushing the development and use of reusable, returnable packaging of well-known brands; for example, you can buy Haagen-Dazs ice cream in stainless steel containers and Dove deodorant in glass tubes.
Why is the plastic used for your packaging?
Since the development of plastic at the beginning of this century, it has become a popular material used in many different ways. Today, many of the items we buy or use are made of or wrapped in plastic. Problems arise when we no longer want these items, and we have to dispose of them, especially the disposable plastic used for wrapping or packaging.We have pledged $20 million to support the G7 Innovation Competition to address plastic litter in the ocean. It will incentivize the development of innovative social or technological solutions to manage plastics more sustainably throughout their lifecycle. In support of the g7 innovation challenge, we are investing in innovative Canadian technologies to help small companies across the country find new ways to reduce plastic waste and turn it into valuable resources that support a circular economy. So far, seven Challenges have been launched to provide over $10 million to 18 Canadian small and medium-sized businesses.
The authors said that plastics when produced and used responsibly, can help solve some environmental problems. A study found that packaging beverages in pet (a type of plastic) reduced energy consumption by 52 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent compared to glass or metal. Also, solar water heaters containing plastics can provide up to two-thirds of a household’s annual hot water needs, reducing energy consumption.
ExxonMobil is developing innovative products that help society reduce plastic waste by meeting consumer performance needs with less material, developing new materials for packaging that are easier to recycle, and enabling customers to increase their recycled content. For example, our vistamaxx
performance polymers increase our customers’ ability to use recycled materials while improving toughness and tear strength. Our products can be used to make all-polyethylene laminate bags that are easier to recycle and can replace hard-to-recycle traditional multilayer packaging in non-food applications such as laundry detergent and dishwashing pods while maintaining the benefits of packaging performance.How much plastic packaging did Nestlé use in 2019?
Indonesia is one of the Southeast Asian countries taking action against marine plastic pollution. In January 2019, Nestlé became the first food company to join Project Stop, a community initiative launched in 2017. The project’s main goal is to prevent packaging waste from entering the environment by increasing local recycling efforts. By 2020, the project stop aims to prevent 2000 tonnes from entering the sea each year.Nestlé’s total plastic packaging consumption (including laminates with different material combinations) was 1.5 million tonnes in 2019. This represents one-third of all packaging used in our shops.
In 2018, 359 million tonnes of plastic were produced globally.
Only a tiny percentage of recycled bottles are used to make new bottles. Coca-Cola sources only 20% of its packaging from recycled material, while Nestlé Waters North America uses just over 16% recycled content.
According to the American chemistry council, more than 60% of Americans have access to various plastic recycling programs.We will be investing in developing and sourcing a wider range of food-grade recycled plastics. Also, we will increase our target to use recycled content in our water bottles to 50% by 2025. Together with our continued efforts to introduce alternative packaging materials and new delivery models, these two measures will help Nestlé reduce the use of virgin plastics by a third by 2025.
How is Nestlé reducing its plastic usage?
If you’re like most people, it’s difficult to get through the day without acquiring some form of plastic! This is where reuse comes into play. Once the plastic is in your possession, it’s your chance to be creative and find different uses for it. Use plastic bags for sandwiches, plastic bags for small rubbish bags, and reuse your plastic cutlery! If you can’t find a use for something, donate it! By doing so, you not only reduce waste but also help others. Most people skip this step and go straight to recycling, but reusing plastics can reduce the demand for new plastics to be manufactured.
We support the design and implementation of affordable and effective mandatory extended producer responsibility programs and are actively engaged in many markets. We have identified 20 countries 1 that account for more than 50% of our plastic consumption and where we will first work to improve recycling rates and infrastructure. This is likely to be a long-term task. In the meantime, we have identified a number of countries that are important to Nestlé and where waste is currently escaping into the oceans. These 12 countries account for more than 10% of Nestlé’s plastic consumption.
Research into the global production of plastics and the associated pollution has shown that plastic waste is a major environmental problem. The impact of plastic waste on marine organisms, humans, and the environment, in general, is of public concern and requires saving ecosystems and the life within them. Despite the fact that plastics are very useful in daily life, the toxic chemicals used in their manufacture need to be thoroughly monitored to ensure environmental and health safety. Reducing the population’s exposure to toxins from plastic waste increases the chances of a clean environment and a healthy society.
How do you eliminate non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle plastics?
We eliminate unnecessary packaging and exclude materials that are not recyclable or difficult to recycle. We are also investing more in the development of single-material packaging and alternative materials such as paper and bio-based plastics and new refill/reuse systems.
Our Fractured research found disturbing evidence that fracking pollution is seeping into our bodies. Readers responded.
Plastics have value throughout their life cycle, including at the end of their life. Traditional and advanced recycling methods are needed to help society maximize the value derived from plastic waste, but there are some limitations to traditional recycling as it is currently configured. Traditional mechanical recycling – shredding discarded plastic and melting it together with new plastic – is an efficient approach when the waste is well sorted and for waste products predominantly one type of plastic. But every time plastic is recycled via traditional processes, and it loses some of its performance benefits.
Globally, plastic production was estimated at 380 million tonnes in 2018. From 1950 to 2018, approximately 6.3 billion tonnes of plastics have been produced globally, of which 9% and 12% were recycled and incinerated, respectively. In the UK alone, about 5 million tonnes of plastics are consumed annually, of which only about a quarter are recycled and the rest landfilled. Researchers suggest that by 2050 the oceans could contain more plastics by weight than fish. About 500 billion plastic bags are used incredibly annually, of which an estimated 13 million tonnes end up in the ocean, killing about 100,000 marine animals.
EPA measures the generation, recycling, composting, incineration with energy recovery, and landfilling plastics in municipal waste. The primary data source for plastics generation is the American Chemistry Council. In 2018, the plastics generation was 35—7million tonnes in the united states, representing 12. 2 percent of MSW generation. Epa used data from the American chemistry council and the national association for pet container resources to measure plastics’ recycling. While the total amount of plastics recycled is relatively small – three million tonnes for 8.
Canada is a driving action within the federal government and taking practical steps to manage plastics’ use and disposal within our own operations. In 2018, we set targets to also:
Reroute at least 75% of plastic waste from federal operations by 2030. Eliminate the not always necessary use of single-use plastic in organizations, meetings, and events and also purchase more sustainable plastic products that can be reused, recycled, repaired, or repurposed.
The Article Environmental Toll Of Plastics In Our Environment was found on https://limitsofstrategy.com
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Paylinks: Simpler Than Invoicing
How can we better serve budding entrepreneurs?
It’s been a few weeks since we launched Paylinks. Thousands of small business owners have already tried our new service.
Paylinks helps you create a quick checkout page for a product or service you want to sell. It’s simpler than invoicing or point-of-sale systems, so ideal for entrepreneurs who are just starting out.
We launched Paylinks with PayPal and Stripe as payment methods. We have now added Square as an option too. To receive payments from customers, all you have to do is (1) connect your PayPal, Stripe or Square account, and (2) generate quick payment links to share with your customers through any channel. Your customers can click on the link or scan the QR code to pay you through an automatically-generated hosted payment page.
Paylinks might not be the best choice for small businesses that require an invoicing service like Hiveage—nor is it intended to be. Our goal was to create an app for entrepreneurs who are just starting out.
Keeping that in mind: how do you think we can improve Paylinks? What features and functionality should we add—and equally importantly—not add?
Please check out Paylinks (available on both Apple App Store and Google Play Store) and share your comments with us!
Please send your feedback and suggestions for Paylinks with a quick reply to this email, or by writing to us at support@hiveage.com. Best regards, The Hiveage Team
The Article Paylinks: Simpler Than Invoicing was found on https://limitsofstrategy.com
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How to Start a Website for Your Small Business
Nowadays, it’s almost mandatory to start a website, regardless of the size of your business and to have an online presence. If yours doesn’t have a website yet, you are most likely missing the chance to attract new customers and increase your visibility.
Fortunately, today it’s easier than ever to create a website. Even if you have little to no experience, it is possible to get a great looking and functional website up and running quickly and inexpensively.
Why your small business needs a website
If you operate a small business, especially one with a local focus, you may think that a website is overkill. However, there are many benefits to creating even a simple business website.
Probably the most important reason to have a website is that it is more or less expected. Businesses of all sizes have a website, and the chances are that most (if not all) of your competitors do too. In fact, not having a website could make you look unprofessional or even call your credibility into question.
Having a website also allows you to provide relevant information about your business and services. This will ensure that your customers get the right information without having to rely on third parties. You can also increase your brand’s visibility, especially if your business comes up in a search.
And if you sell goods or services, you can use your website as a storefront. There are many ways to create an e-commerce website that you can use to place orders and process payments.
How to Create a Website for Your Small Business (in 4 Steps)
You may think that setting up a website takes too much time and money. However, it’s much easier (and cheaper) than you might expect, even if you have no prior experience. To help you get started, we’ll show you the basic steps to launching a website!
1. Choose which platform to use to start a website.
The first thing you need to do is to choose a suitable platform to start a website. There are several options available to you, and your choice will largely depend on your needs and experience. We’ve already described how to choose a website platform, but let’s summarize.
Our recommendation is to use a content management system (CMS). This allows you to create websites by uploading content and expanding functionality virtually at will. The most popular is WordPress, which is also particularly user-friendly for beginners.
Those who want it even easier can use a site builder platform like Wix or Squarespace. These are specifically designed for users who have little to no experience with creating websites. For example, with both of them, you can use pre-configured templates to create your website and don’t need any programming skills.
Keep in mind that the type of website you create matters the most. WordPress offers almost unlimited scalability and flexibility since you can extend the platform through “plugins”, “themes”, and by programming. You likewise get complete flexibility when it concerns “working” under the hood of your website.
2. Purchase a hosting plan
Your next consideration is where to host your website. For some platforms (Wix, for example), this step is unnecessary, as the platform will host your site. For a CMS, however, you will likely need to purchase a hosting plan.
The main point to keep in mind is what type of hosting you should choose. There are three main options:
- Shared: The cheapest option, where your website has to share server resources with other websites.
- VPS: A mid-priced option that is faster and more secure than shared.
- Dedicated: This premium option allows you to get an entire server just for your website, which you can configure according to your requirements.
As mentioned earlier, your choice here mainly depends on the nature of your website. A simple site with only static content probably doesn’t need more than shared hosting. In contrast, a high traffic e-commerce site would undoubtedly benefit from the performance and security that dedicated hosting can provide and may even be necessary.
3. Create a domain name
Next, you need to select a domain name for your website. This domain name is the address that visitors will use to access your site, but it is also an important factor for your branding. As such, it should be memorable and clearly associated with your company name and overall brand.
Most web hosts also sell domains and usually offer a domain checker, but there are also several independent options. You can use these to search for available domains. A good place to start is to search for your actual company name:
If this is not available, you will be presented with a number of alternatives, related options:
When you find a domain name (or names) you like, you can purchase it and point it to your website.
4. Start a Website – Build your Site
Finally, it’s time to put together your actual website. Of course, this process depends heavily on the type of site, its scope, and the features you want. However, to help you along, let’s take a look at some of the things that every business site should absolutely include:
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- Information about your products.You need to sell your products and services and make it clear why the user should consider buying them.
- Contact information. You should offer multiple ways to contact you, such as email, phone, contact form, and Social Media.
- A strong Call to Action (CTA). Give users a clear goal and prompt them to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter.
This list is not exhaustive, of course, and you’ll also need to consider things like search engine optimization (SEO) and content creation. This is a good beginning for your website, which you can expand over time as more customers come to you!
Conclusion
Developing a site for your small business is practically mandatory. It is also crucial to increase the visibility of your business and promote your offers. The bright side here is that you don’t need to be a developer or designer to do it.
In this article, we’ve covered the basic steps to setting up a website for your small business. These include:
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- Choose which platform you want to use
- Purchase a hosting plan.
- Create a domain name.
- Create your website.
Do you have any questions about developing a business website? Let us know in the comment section below!
This post How to Start a Website for Your Small Business appeared first on www.hiveage.com.
The post How to start a website for your small business appeared first on Vesess.
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Small Business at Home – How to Start and Things To Consider
Home business ideas that let you work from home
Working from home is a great benefit for many people, but what is the best online business to start today? Sometimes a person is a stay-at-home dad who wants to earn money on the side for his or her family. Other times, a person enjoys the convenience of working from home. One way to accomplish the dream of working from your residence is to begin an internet business. This checklist of the very best online organizations to begin in 2021 are some ideas, to begin with.
Not all ideas will work for everyone because your target market is different. To get the most out of your investment, you should tailor your strategy to your audience. Let’s say you work in the furniture, HVAC or home improvement industries. Real estate offices are perfect for reaching property owners who are in the market for your services. On the other hand, daycare centres and entertainment-oriented businesses make sense if you sell products for families and children. Hair and nail salons or spas are ideal for appealing to a wide female audience.
Not all home-based jobs are done sitting at a computer or in a garage turned workshop. If you’re even more of a go-getter, don’t stress; there are plenty of home business concepts that require you to be on your feet.
Find a home business idea that suits you best
If you’re ready to invest time and maybe some money to build a high-paying, career-level business, here are our favorite ideas:
Proofreading. Earn up to $30/hour or more proofreading and help writers and editors get their writing clean and professional. No degree is required, and there are plenty of opportunities to freelance from home. Proofread anywhere is an online course that offers a free introductory proofreading workshop to find out if you have the skills to become a proofreader. The good news is that these workshops are on-demand, so register now for free.Income and deductions for businesses
Cost deductions will lower your effective tax rate. Since that would be detrimental, you don’t want to take on excess expenses. Business owners can subtract things like car payments, cell phone expenses, web use, travel, meals and more. Below is an example of how a company owner can significantly decrease their taxable income. Related: How to pay little or no taxes for the rest of your life.
Many Americans, from high school and college students to senior citizens, make additional earnings through freelance writing. Composing blog site posts if you have a flair for words and web copy is an easy and fun way to supplement your full-time income. If you want to become a freelance writer, follow these steps:
Create a home-based business. First things first: you’ll need a professional set-up to help you with acquisitions and writing, and not get in the way. If you don’t currently have one, set up a home office – from a guest room to the corner of your living room – with a comfortable chair, a spacious desk, adequate lighting and storage space for papers. Buy a reliable laptop with a serious word processor like Microsoft Word and video chat capabilities via Skype or a cloud-based phone system.
What should I name my online store?
If you love fashion and want to share your sense of style online, you can consider opening your own online fashion boutique. You don’t have to become a fashion designer either – you can curate items from other sellers in your own online store (using the dropshipping model we’ve already discussed). From dresses, shoes, swimwear, devices, and more, you can use one of the many product sourcing apps for Shopify to build your own fashion brand, design it in your own product pictures and social media posts, and construct an online following as an innovator.
An online store is much cheaper compared to brick-and-mortar stores, as there is no physical location to rent and maintain. You can reach a bigger audience by utilizing SEO practices and effective branding. Remember that 87% of shoppers begin their product research online.
It’s fantastic to connect with your consumers online, but in some cases, it’s great to see them in person too!
Hosting an event can take many different forms. Maybe it’s a champagne and canapé soiree at your store to celebrate the launch of a new product line. Maybe it’s a Q&A session with a respected thought leader in your field that your customers would like to meet. In either case, this is an exciting way to meet your brand’s loyalists and have the opportunity to make a strong, positive impression.What a home-based business is
The opinions expressed by business owners are their own. There are approximately 18 million home-based businesses in the United States. But about 60 per cent of them are putting the future of their businesses at risk – and most of them don’t even know it. Most of them don’t even know it. These home-based business owners do not have adequate insurance coverage for their businesses, according to Independent Insurance Agents of America Inc. (iiaa), a trade group based in Alexandria, Virginia.
Here’s a list of businesses that can make it big in 2020. From New York to San Francisco, home-based businesses to local businesses, you don’t necessarily need a bachelor’s degree to succeed. Just take a profitable idea, open a bank account, and watch the money roll in. All you need is good prior work experience, a solid, well-thought-out business plan, and a lot of focus and determination.
Small is beautiful. Slow and steady wins the race. Inch by inch, row by row, that’s how my garden grows. While this wisdom is fine for the common folk, it can be terribly frustrating for an ambitious home-based entrepreneur who wants to take his or her business to the next level of growth and success. Sure, a flourishing one or two-person service business without any stock, lease or employees can appear like an easy way to generate income initially, but when the phone is ringing off the hook and the customers keep coming, home business owners who fail to plan often become victims of their own success. Either they get burned out trying to manage whatever themselves or they invest so much money and time working with individuals to help them that their revenues go down the drain.
Type of business structure
Proper planning is critical when starting a new home construction business or any other business. Define the exact steps to start a home building business, set realistic goals, and decide on the time frame and resources you need to achieve your goals. A solid business plan should cover every aspect of running your construction business, from market research to financial projections to building permits. Determine your customers, the types of jobs you will bid on, how you will structure your business and how many employees you will need.
There are many types of insurance policies available for craft businesses. These include:
Ancillary Business Insurance: this policy attaches to your homeowners’ policy and covers structures or equipment within your home that you use for your business. It can be personalized to include liability coverage as well!
Entrepreneur Business Package Policy (BOP): This is a choice for small to mid-sized companies and offers home and liability protection in one efficient package
The Article Small Business at Home – How to Start and Things To Consider was found on https://limitsofstrategy.com
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Free Invoice Generator – Get Paid Faster with Hiveage
Not every business can afford, or perhaps even need a dedicated invoicing generator. If you generate invoices only occasionally, or if you simply want to save time and money on administrative work like invoicing, creating your invoices by hand (with, say, word processing software) might not be a bad idea after all.
But for many other businesses, especially those that generate a large number of invoices, the idea of creating invoices by hand is simply not feasible. A lot of businesses simply can’t afford to invest time and resources into creating invoice templates, and would much rather automate most, if not all, invoice generation tasks, and focus on generating invoices more often.
If you fit within this category too (and you should), then, if you’re able, and if your business generates invoices a lot, there’s no reason not to try to automate invoice generation as much as possible. And with the advent of Hiveage Invoice Generator, it’s now possible to automate some key parts of invoice generation, so that you and your employees don’t have to be involved in the decisions that influence the appearance of every invoice.
Or there’s an even better option: simply use our free invoice generator!
This new tool by Hiveage makes most of the invoice-specific features of our popular invoicing software freely accessible online. You don’t have to sign up for an account or add any data for reuse: just type in the information each time you want to create an invoice and it will prepare an elegant PDF file complete with your branding.
Our goal in designing the free invoice generator was for it to be the ideal tool for freelancers and small business owners who are just starting out. Usually, new businesses have a low volume of invoicing, and it makes more sense to hustle your way through those early days using tools and services that are accessible at low or no cost. When there’s too much sales and information to keep track of manually, you can switch to an efficient invoicing service like Hiveage.
Using the Free Invoice Generator
Creating invoices with our free tool is simply a matter of typing the correct information into the relevant form fields. The following is a brief description of each of the most important fields:
Your Business Logo
An invoice does not necessarily have to carry your branding, but it certainly makes a lot of sense to add it. Your logo on the invoice is an opportunity to strengthen your brand in the mind of your customer.
Contact Information
The invoices you send must carry your business name and contact details (in the From field), and your customers’ details (in the To field). These are essential elements in an invoice that are used in accounting and tax filings.
Invoice Number
Every invoice sent by a vendor should have a unique number. The easiest way to do this is to have a single invoice numbering format and increment the number per invoice you generate. In fact, in some jurisdictions, a sequential invoice number is required by law. The easiest approach is to simply start with one (1) and work up from there. However, it is common to have a prefix (e.g.: INV-001) or a bigger starting number (e.g.: 1001).
Invoice Date and Due Date
The invoice should specify when it was sent, and when the payment is expected. In most cases, a due date of 14 days or fewer yields the best results.
Line Items
This is where the money happens. You should include a sufficiently detailed listing of the products or services you are billing the client for in your invoice. These details are organized as line items, specifying the product/service, amount, rate (per item) and the total amount to be paid for that particular item.
The free invoice generator—just like Hiveage—supports four types of line items:
- Item, as the name implies, is the most common line item type. Here, you simply mention the goods or services, their quantities and the rate. The amount will then be automatically calculated for you.
- The Expense line item type can be used when you’re billing the client for a straightforward expense where there’s no need to mention the quantity or rate: simply type in the description and amount.
- With the Mileage line item type, you can set a per mile or kilometer rate. The free invoice generator will then calculate the amount based on the distance and rate.
- Use the Timeline item type to bill for your time: mention the task in the description field, enter the time you have spent on this task in HH:MM format in the quantity field, and set an hourly rate.
For all these line item types in our invoice template, you can include a date (e.g.: the date worked on a task), and links (e.g.: a web URL where the work is available for view).
Free and Premium Invoicing with Hiveage
The free invoice generator is our way of helping budding entrepreneurs with their administrative work related to getting paid.
For growing and mature businesses, our online invoicing software offers an easy-to-use, elegant and efficient way to send invoices and estimates, accept online payments, manage recurring and subscription billing, view detailed financial reports, and much more.
Visit www.hiveage.com to learn more about how we can help you get paid faster.
The post Get Paid Faster with the Free Invoice Generator from Hiveage first appeared on https://www.vesess.com/.
Additional Invoicing Information
Here are some ways that invoice generator can help:
* Hiveage Invoice Generator makes it possible to build an invoice that is more professional and less prone to errors than before. You can choose from a range of professionally designed templates. You can also download templates directly from third-party websites. The possibilities are nearly endless here, and you can make your invoice look exactly as you want it to so that your customers will see it in the way that you envision it.
* The way that invoices are formatted in Hiveage has been completely redesigned. The invoices generated with Hiveage invoicing software look great. As your need grows, you can add custom text and images to invoices. The amount of customized fields you can place in invoices is nearly endless.
* Invoice Generator is designed for use with Hiveage Invoicing Software. You can easily place invoices in one of two ways. You can place the invoice in the Invoice group of an Hiveage chart of accounts, or you can place the invoice in a Custom Invoice area that is pre-configured in Hiveage. Either way, the invoice is automatically closed in Hiveage Invoice Generator. If the invoice exceeds the space available in the Custom Invoice area, you can then choose to close it on either general, vendor, or customer terms.
* You can choose to include or exclude amounts in the invoices generated in Hiveage. In the Custom Invoice area, you can choose to make the invoices exclude amounts, or you can choose to include the amounts in the invoice. This can be customized in your invoice builder
* Invoice text and images you include with your invoices in Hiveage can be deleted in your invoice builder if you no longer need it.
* You can include your company logo, custom text, company dates, and company colors with your invoices. This can be customized in your FREE invoice generator
* In the Custom Invoices area of Hiveage, you can customize your invoice’s summary text and the summary image. In the summary text box on your custom invoice, you can type custom text and make the image include images of checks or invoice totals.
The Article Free Invoice Generator – Get Paid Faster with Hiveage was found on https://limitsofstrategy.com
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Receive Money With PayPal – The Complete Guide
PayPal is a leading online payment and transactions payment processor that’s been around since 1998. Today, it’s the world’s second most popular payment processor.
E-commerce has become a booming industry and only expected to continue growing. Small businesses that only rely on physical payments or card transactions are switching to online payment methods to increase business.
Services like PayPal won’t only make receiving money easier for your business but will also help you expand your business to global consumers.
Setting up an account on PayPal takes just a few minutes. But once you’ve set up your business account, navigating your way towards sending payment requests and receiving payment can seem confusing. PayPal also charges transaction fees for business accounts, as well as when you’re receiving money from a person from another country.
Setting Up a PayPal Account so You Can Receive Money
There are a few payment methods through which you can make transactions on PayPal. These include:
- PayPal Checkout
- PayPal Subscriptions
- QR Codes
- PayPal Buttons
With PayPal, you can also create invoices. You can create a single-use invoice for one transaction. You can also create a recurring or subscription-based invoice. This allows you to receive money on PayPal regularly without the need to generate new invoices every time. After receiving money on PayPal, you can see the new amount reflect in your PayPal balance.
Finally, you can also create an estimate based invoices. These invoices can be customized as per the needs of your business. Say your small business offers a service where you may need to change the amount in your invoice at a later date, such as if the customer needs more work done, etc. This is where the ‘estimated’ invoice can help you.
If you run a small business on eBay, then receiving money on PayPal will be useful to you. Instead of providing personal details of your business or asking your customers to do the same, an email address is all you need.
To start sending invoices and receiving money on PayPal, you first need to create a PayPal account. As a small business, you’ll need to create a Business PayPal account. A Business PayPal account caters to anyone that offers goods and services in return for payment on PayPal. This also applies to freelancers.
When you set up a Business PayPal account, this will operate slightly differently from a Personal PayPal Account. Money sent and received through Personal PayPal accounts doesn’t incur transaction fees. These can only be sent to friends and family members.
A Business PayPal Account does incur transaction fees, and these depend on the kind of business you own, the location of your customer, the kind of currency being used, and other factors. PayPal fees can also change depending on whether you’re sending or receiving money using a credit card or a debit card.
In the US, a Business PayPal account is charged a flat fee of 2.9%+$0.30 per transaction.
Your Business PayPal account allows you to receive money on PayPal, and this money is then stored in a digital wallet, your PayPal balance. You can withdraw this money and deposit it from your PayPal balance and deposit the sum into your bank account. This process takes between 2–3 business days.
To set up a Business PayPal account, you’ll need to provide basic details about your business, such as your business email address and email. Someone you’re sending an invoice to should also have a PayPal account. To send an invoice, you’ll need to provide their email address as well.
Then they can send money to you by clicking on the link. Someone who is receiving the invoice can then open the link, view the invoice, and send you money on PayPal immediately.
You’ll also receive a notification when someone has sent you money on PayPal. The new balance will reflect in your digital wallet’s balance after the money has been deposited.
After you’ve registered your Business PayPal account, you can log in and start sending and receiving money on PayPal.
How to Generate an Invoice and Receive Money on PayPal
This is everything you need to know about how you can send money requests and receive money on PayPal:
- Log in to your PayPal Account. Look for the icon that says ‘PayPal Balance’. On the right side of this icon, you’ll notice another icon that says ‘Request’. Click on this icon.
- Another option available to you is to click on the ‘Send and Request’ icon located on the top of your PayPal account page. When you do this, a menu will be visible to you.
- On the menu, click on the ‘Request’ icon.
- On the right side of the page, you’ll see an option that allows you to create an invoice. You’ll also see a PayPal.me link on the right side menu.
- Someone can use these to send you money or create a money pool on PayPal.
- Once the Request link has opened, you’ll see various fields that need to be entered. These fields include the recipient’s email address, the amount of money the recipient should send.
- On the first screen, you’ll be asked to enter the recipient’s email address. After this, click ‘Next’.
- Next, you’ll need to add the amount and the currency.
- On this screen, you can also add a customized message.
- Then, double-check all the information to make sure that it’s accurate. Once you’ve confirmed the details, click on the ‘Request Now’ icon.
This will send an invoice to your customer’s email address. There, they can click on the link provided to them in the email to send you money on PayPal.
Receiving Money on PayPal With a Business PayPal Account
A Business PayPal Account provides you with a few more options than a personal account. While a Personal PayPal Account restricts sending and receiving the money to friends and family, a Business PayPal Account is more versatile.
Unlike with a Personal PayPal Account, you can create various kinds of invoices with a business account. If you run a business where your customer is expected to send you money on a monthly basis, then the recurring payment option becomes useful.
Instead of manually creating new invoices every month, you can use the recurring or subscription invoice option to let PayPal do the work for you automatically. This saves time, energy, and overhead costs by freeing up your accounts department.
You can also use the ‘PayPal Checkout’ option if you run an e-commerce website. To check and see whether your customers have sent you money on PayPal, you can track progress on the ‘Summary’ page in your PayPal account.
Receiving money on PayPal is easy, but the money will be available in your digital wallet. You can link your bank account to your digital wallet. This allows the amount to be transferred to your bank account when you’re ready to draw money out of your digital wallet.
Receiving money through PayPal can also be done in retail locations. Just send the invoice to your buyers once they’re ready to make a purchase. Buyers will receive a notification at their email address. Then customers can send you money on PayPal immediately by clicking on the send money link in the invoice.
Convenient Alternatives to PayPal
PayPal is a leading payment processor, but it’s one among many great options. Having multiple payment methods enabled for your invoices or payment requests will reduce friction at the moment of paying or checkout and increase the chances of you being paid on time.
This is where Hiveage’s multiple payment gateway integrations come in handy. You can sign up for popular and easy-to-use payment services like Stripe or Square, and enable them alongside PayPal in Hiveage. Your customers can choose which payment method they want to use when paying you.
We also have a separate convenient solution that allows you to receive money on PayPal, Stripe or Square without even having to send invoices. With our payment links app Paylinks, you can simply generate payment requests that can be shared through any medium (such as email, social media or messaging apps). You can also generate QR codes with Paylinks that your customers can quickly scan and pay in person: a handy alternative to Point-of-Sales systems.
Thus, with just one app, you can accept online payments from multiple payment processors, including PayPal. After you receive money on PayPal, you can transfer it to the checking account you’ve linked.
Send professional looking invoices with Hiveage, or just send payment requests with Paylinks, and receive money without worrying about complicated processes using PayPal!
The Article Receive Money With PayPal — The Complete Guide first found on https://www.vesess.com/
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How To Optimize Video For Content Marketing Funnels
Video For Content Marketing Funnels
Video is an outstanding way to communicate your message, narrate, and share appealing material in an absorbable format. Organizations that utilize video marketing in their content funnel and overarching strategies see much better outcomes than those utilizing static assets.
- Social network posts that contain video have 48% more views than those that do not.
- According to Buffer, 25% of companies publish video material weekly…
- Hubspot discovered that 93% of marketers who use video say that it’s an essential part of their marketing techniques…
Perhaps you’ve meddled with video content marketing before; maybe you’re thinking about video for the first time– in either case, if you don’t include video throughout the various stages of your content marketing funnel, you’re missing out on an efficient way of development. In this short article, we’ll specify the marketing funnel, information on the different types of videos that work well in the funnel, and offer the metrics you require to measure to make sure success in your campaigns.
What Is A Content Marketing Funnel?
If you’re new to the marketing video game, or even a seasoned veteran, it pays to comprehend the content marketing funnel…The content marketing funnel assists to specify and frame each phase of the purchaser’s journey– from awareness to conversion. The funnel sometimes includes additional phases of post-conversion, consisting of adoption, retention, and advocacy…
By coordinating your video marketing method with the marketing funnel, you can actively plan campaigns that hit every stage of the purchaser’s journey and accomplish much better outcomes.
Awareness Stage – Top Of Funnel (ToFu).
The awareness phase is a chance to acknowledge your brand name or business by creating interesting, relatable content that notifies and informs your target market. As a target audience member begins to engage with your brand name or company, they will move further down the marketing funnel, becoming a lead…
Factor To Consider Stage – Middle of Funnel (MoFu).
The factor to consider phase is an opportunity to positively position your business as the very best solution for the audience’s issue by producing content that fixes an inquiry responds to a question or eases a discomfort point. The middle of the funnel is likewise where your audience will evaluate how you compare vs your competitors.
Conversion (Decision) Stage – Bottom of Funnel (BoFu).
The conversion phase is an opportunity to convert your lead into purchasing or registering for your services or product. This is done by creating the material that demonstrates how your product works, explains its functions and affects your lead’s acquiring choice.
How to position videos in the content marketing funnel.
Awareness.
Producing video content that familiarises and informs your audience is the key to success at this content marketing funnel phase. Your customer knows they have an issue that they wish to fix– it’s up to you to create video material that shows you understand their issue and are the best individual to help them resolve it. You’ll need to make your brand stand out, produce an impactful response, and position your business as an authority in its niche. How?.
How-to videos.
At the top of the funnel, your audience will look to understand their problem and start to look for solutions. Let’s say you offer home brewing equipment. A possible lead may look for terms such as “how to brew beer in your home” or “how to get going brewing your own beer.” This is your opportunity to create appealing video content that addresses their inquiry.
Explainer videos.
Explainer videos are a great way to provide your audience with a succinct photo of exactly what your business does and assist to educate them on your service or product and place your business as the solution to their problem. Nobody has time to scroll through pages of text; explainer videos do the heavy lifting for you by providing details in an easily absorbable audiovisual format.
If you need some inspiration to begin, Dropbox included an explainer video to their homepage and, as a result, saw a 10% increase in conversions that contributed to an extra $48,000,000 of income over the next few years. Something to consider, huh?.
Social media videos.
Social network videos require to engage, educate, and amuse, all while getting the attention of your audience and stopping them from scrolling thru material. Post on the channels where your biggest addressable audience hangs out the most, and keep in mind that some videos are more suitable for some channels than others.
Awareness phase success metric: View count.
An excellent beginner’s strategy to determine your video marketing campaign’s success– check if people are seeing your video or not. If you’re seeing a low view count, this is a signal that you require to enhance your title, description, or even alter the static image that’s shown prior to somebody viewing your video to help increase your view count…
Consideration.
At the factor to consider phase, you’ll require video content that continues to develop trust with your audience (now leads) and reveal to them that you’re the very best solution for their problem. Add in particular calls to action in your video material that will drive your audience even more down the funnel and provide a chance to support them as a lead. The consideration phase is all about empowering the audience to make decisions based on the content you show them.
Product videos.
A well-put-together product video will showcase your product’s distinct functions and describe how they’ll benefit the consumer. Product videos are an ideal format to inform your potential users how you’ll help them fix their issues in a quickly consumable way. Bear in mind that customers are up to 84% most likely to purchase after enjoying a product video, so it frequently pays to include this video format in your content marketing funnel.
You can share product videos across social media, embed them on product pages, or distribute them through email campaigns…
Landing page videos
Sharing key landing pages through e-mail marketing projects and support streams will further press possible customers down the funnel. Embedding videos on landing pages can help improve conversions, with some services seeing up to a 34% increase in conversion rates.
Consideration stage success metric: Click-through rate
To comprehend whether or not your video marketing is driving your leads further down the funnel, you’ll want to measure click-through rates. This suggests assessing your calls to action and if your leads are taking the required next actions to the conversion phase…
Conversion.
At the extremely bottom of the funnel is the conversion phase, where a user is ready to convert on a solution to their initial problem but requires a couple of more triggers to seal the deal. This stage of the buyer’s journey is a golden opportunity to place your product as the very best option, and video content can assist with that strategy…
Client reviews.
Video reviews from your existing consumer base function as the supreme trust signal and are an effective way to help transform a user into a possible customer. A happy consumer is your company’s greatest salesperson– so use them to your advantage…
Case study videos.
Marketers and account executives comprehend the value of case studies. They work as a trust signal and evidence factor in closing deals. Nevertheless, by integrating case study videos into your content arsenal, you’re loaded with more easily absorbable ammunition to support conversions.
Webinars.
Webinars make your business feel more “genuine” and supply a chance for your team to connect with potential consumers. The interactive format is a terrific way to engage with your audience and empower them to talk about any pain points they have with your brand or business straight with your team.
Conversion stage success metric: Conversions.
Unsurprisingly, you’ll wish to define conversions as your success metric at the funnel’s conversion stage. You’ll need to set up an attribution model in your analytics platform to measure each video campaigns traffic source. This data will show you precisely how your bottom of funnel video content produces more conversions for your business…
Optimizing video for the content marketing funnel is no easy task. That’s why we use Lumen5 to help make video creation fast, economical, and simple. Test different formats, ascertain the correct metrics, and discover what videos contribute to leads, nurture prospects, and transform consumers.
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How to Make $100 a Day Creatively – Inspiration Within!
How to Make 100 Dollars a Day Creatively?
If you require a modest quantity of money, it’s not that hard to find ways to get it. Nevertheless, if you require a significant amount on a regular basis– say, an additional $100 a day– you face a far bigger difficulty.
Freelancing
If you’re a business, you have the versatility to change variables such as your regards to payment, however sole traders and freelancers have fewer choices. With a pound of endurance, a pinch of imagination, and a cupful of lateral thinking, the recipe for victory could be yours. While it may be intimidating to consider, there are lots of methods to make additional money if you’re prepared to put in the effort.
Listed below, we’ll analyze a few of the leading opportunities for making money, and how you can best make the most of them. Let’s take a look!
1. Compose a Book
e-Publishing is easy and complimentary– certainly when using a service such as Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. If you can compose a book or series that people wish to purchase, you can produce a stable stream of routine income.
In regards to what to compose, fiction is a competitive category– and from the huge numbers of reduced or totally free titles available at any offered time, it’s clearly a tough sphere in which to generate wealth.
Nevertheless, there’s a far more lucrative and accessible market for niche ‘how-to’ and nonfiction books on a large range of subjects such as pastimes and crafts, for example. To be found by your target audience, ensure the title contains the real keywords that people will be searching for. For instance, the titles for books on sophisticated crochet, Hawaiian cooking, or esoteric DIY should include precisely those words.
Include words to the title that attract people to buy, such as “100 Great Ideas For …”, “X Made Simple”, or “The Ten Best Ways to …”. For the content itself, make sure your text is easy to understand and utilize bullet points and pictures to guarantee any complicated directions are clear.
2. Introduce a YouTube Channel
YouTube has turned into a substantial market where materializing money is possible. For a start, it’s simpler than doing the exact same thing on your site, due to the fact that the entire YouTube structure exists to support you.
Of course, you need to be able to talk and perform on camera ( always necessary), and it will take a while and effort to build up a subscriber base. You’ll have to publish frequently to keep people interested and get the faithful audience you need, however, start-up costs are fairly low in comparison to other opportunities.
If you can generate sufficient interest in your posts, you can allow monetization. YouTube links your channel to paying marketers so you can generate income from advertisements or commission from links to affiliate videos. You can also make money from YouTube Red memberships (where members pay for advantages such as enjoying YouTube videos without advertisements), fan funding, or merchandising.
YouTube offers a wealth of guidance through its Creator Academy, consisting of a truly helpful guide to making money– and additionally, we’ve formerly provided our own take on how to get your material to go viral!
3. Produce a Niche Must-Have Product
If you need significant additional cash, developing a product to make people’s lives more comfortable in some way could certainly assist you to achieve that dream.
You’ll require a terrific idea for a product or service that people will really desire, and checking out desirability versus need is essential for success.
You’ll also research for a specific niche that few individuals currently make use of, which implies your own level of expertise is important. You’ll require to choose a market you currently understand well, then dedicate to more research to ensure your brainchild fulfills an unfulfilled existing or prospective requirement.
Provided the enormous market for apps and other web-based products and services, your product need not be something solid and three-dimensional– it’s equally possible that you might define a digital space instead of a physical one.
4. Do Something Better
This is known as the ‘build a much better mousetrap’ option, due to the fact that rather than thinking about an initial product, you determine a preexisting service or product you might improve on, simplify, or make more affordable.
There’s an intriguing Forbes post that argues products and services do not just have to be better today, but also an excellent fit with what customers wish to perform in their lives. To succeed with a better mousetrap, your product or service not only needs to really do more than existing mousetraps, but it also needs to be attractive to today’s picky and choice-spoiled consumer.
To start, determine elements of existing products or services that trouble consumers by looking for unfavorable product feedback on user online forums or the maker’s website. From this, you can recognize what’s wrong with it and how to enhance it– however, beware not to breach copyrights! For further reading, you may wish to check out the United States Copyrights Office‘s detailed FAQ?.
5. Monetize Your Blog (or Website).
If you have a blog site with a healthy following, you can monetize it by using a ‘Pay-Per-Click (PPC)’ advertising service such as Google AdSense (the greatest player on the market).
Go ahead, sign up, utilize the AdSense tool to construct an advert code, and put it up on your blog site or site. Naturally, the amount you make depends on the quantity of traffic your website draws in, and the number of individuals who click the advertisements. You need to be truly creative in developing fantastic ads if you want to drive enough traffic to your blog site or main money site.
Generating income in this way (likewise to YouTube advertisements) provides you what’s called ‘passive earnings‘, which means you don’t have to really make or do anything (apart from developing content and preserve your website) to make money. For an extensive list of other money-making blog and site concepts, have a look at this site, which provides all sorts of intriguing tips.
6. Host Webinars.
If you have gathered yourself an audience, and you have a service to one of their key issues, you could attempt hosting a webinar– in essence, a live online seminar.
This alternative needs substantial ideas, knowledge, time, and additional skills in creating and editing videos– not to mention possibly some investment to succeed. Not only do you have to gather all the info needed (and potentially pay experts to fill in the gaps in your knowledge), but you also need to market your webinar extensively to draw in your audience. You’ll need to be able to arrange the live online experience so your paying customers are happy.
There are a number of intriguing articles out there taking a look at both the risks and positives of webinars, and lots of others offer their thoughts on the requirements for an effective webinar, and how to earn money from it.
Conclusion.
Making an extra $100 a day might appear like a difficult dream, however in reality there are numerous alternatives that can make you this much and more! You need to be ready to work hard and think hard, but the potential exists to generate routine extra cash for the long term.
Our Summery of Possibilities consist of:
- Composing an e-book.
- Introducing a YouTube channel.
- Producing brand-new services or products.
- Improving existing products and services.
- Monetizing your blog or site.
- Organizing a webinar.
Do you have any other concepts for making an extra $100 a day? Let us know in the remarks section listed below!
Content Inspiration Below:
How to Make an Extra $100 Daily – 6 Ways to Improve Your Cashflow
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