How to keep your pipes from freezing next winter

How To Keep Your Pipes from Freezing Next Winter

It is inevitable that pipes freeze in winter. However, the damage can vary. Sometimes it is merely an inconvenience of not being able to run water until it thaws, but other times there is extreme damage to the property caused by flooding. While it is the cold temperature that causes pipes to freeze, a combination of frigid temperatures with high winds allow the cold to penetrate the pipes even deeper.

Virtually any pipe can freeze, but the most susceptible are pipes in the garage, crawlspaces, those in exterior walls, and basements that are left unheated. Even though it is impossible to stop freezing temperatures, it is possible to prevent pipes from freezing. Begin by disconnecting all water hoses and accessories that are located outside of the house. The hose will hold water in and cause it to freeze as opposed to letting it drain before it reaches that point.

As an additional precaution, shut off the interior valves that control the outside faucets. To prevent damage to your garage, make sure all the doors and windows are closed as much as possible. You may even consider supplying heat to the garage to keep the temperature from dropping below freezing. Just make sure you choose a safe method to do this.

Many more measures can be taken to prevent pipes from freezing inside your home where the damage will be more detrimental. First, open cabinets that hide water pipes . This will allow heat to penetrate the pipe with greater ease. Next, during frigid weather when the chance for frozen pipes is highest, allow both hot and cold faucets to drip slightly.

The risk of freezing is decreased due to the movement of water. Call in a plumbing company to clean your drains. They will remove the buildup of debris that may be causing your pipes to run slow. Under normal conditions this can be an inconvenience, but it can turn disastrous when the temperature is below freezing.

Crawlspaces and attics are not to be ignored when it comes to freezing pipes. Just as with the garage, make sure all openings of the crawlspace are closed, and consider safe heat. Also, electric heat wrap can be applied to the pipes that are prone to becoming frozen. The same ideas can be applied to prevent pipes from freezing in the attic, raise the temperature, keep cold air out, and allow the water to move.

All these precautions apply to houses that are occupied and unoccupied. Do not leave your house unheated if you plan on traveling unless your home has been winterized by a professional. Also, do not over rely on insulation. While it does slow down heat loss, it does not produce heat. An insulated pipe can still freeze if heat is not added and the water does not move.

When winter weather is upon you, consider calling a plumber to inspect your pipes. This is especially important if you have an old house. It may take a professional to adapt some of the new methods to your old building that can prevent pipes from freezing. Make sure the water in your water heater is kept at an ideal temperature to prevent freezing in such conditions.

Is your business making you sick

Is Your Business Making You Sick?

Our business environment could actually be making us sick. Think about it. We sit in the same chair in the same position for hours at a time. We breathe the same air in and out… in and out… get the idea?

On a hot day in summer the heat can be unbearable and if you have air conditioning that just makes things worse, by removing all the moisture from the air.

Skipping breakfast and eating on the move whilst answering the phone or on the way to the bank leaves our body in despair. The highs and subsequent lows in blood sugar levels make us hyper one minute and grouchy the next.

All the electronic equipment around us… from fax machines, mobile phones, printers, computers and monitors create an unhealthy electromagnetic field all around us.

Sorry for the doom gloom but take heart — with small changes we can counteract most of the above.

Start the day with a good healthy breakfast — nothing beats porridge and a nice cup of tea. Keep some fruit on your desk — nothing beats a banana for a mid morning snack. Hey don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that porridge, bananas & fruit are the only combination, but they work for me. I find that foods that release energy slowly keep me going all day.

Drink plenty of water — I know that we have heard this before but I feel that it must be repeated again. Water serves to remove the toxins from our body and helps our skin to stay hydrated. How much water is enough? A glass an hour is sufficient.

Move all electronic equipment that you can away from your sitting area. Does that printer need to be so close? Use a headset when talking on the mobile and buy an anti glare screen for your monitor. Hide all your wires. Not only are they a hazard but the also make our minds cluttered.

Stop being so intense all the time! When typing, caress the keyboard rather then hammering it so hard. Keep your monitor at eye level and get a cordless mouse and keyboard that you can move around to suit your posture. Buy a decent office chair with arm rests — did you know that if you have arm rests and use them, you reduce the pressure on your spine greatly.

By taking simple measures you can greatly reduce your chances of getting repetitive strain injury (RSI).

Stress is another major issue we all face. Computers not connecting to the internet, phones constantly ringing, email responses not arriving on time and far too much spam! Buy a decent spam filter and every time you feel stressed out go for a little walk. If you followed the advice about drinking plenty of water — you will help to alleviate stress, as you will be forced to get up and go to the loo regularly!

Taking regular short breaks will actually serve to make us more efficient and productive in the long term and cut down on the number of days we are ill. Enjoy your working day.

Know your "best alternative to negotiated agreement"

Know Your "best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement"

BATNA stands for «Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement».

BATNA is not an acronym you see very often but it is probably the single most powerful method of successfully negotiating favourable terms and conditions relating to a sale or agreement.

The concept of BATNA was developed by negotiation researchers Roger Fisher and Bill Ury of the Harvard Program on negotiation. BATNA is the course of action that will be taken by a party if negotiations fail and an agreement cannot be reached.

So if the outcome of your current negotiations with another party is not as good as your BATNA, then there is no point in proceeding further towards an agreement. In essence, BATNA is a very effective way of maximizing your confidence when negotiating because you know your second best option (first is a mutually agreeable negotiation). You don’t have to agree to a bad deal.

BATNA allows you to have the confidence to reject any unsatisfactory agreement. It gives you confidence. In any event, having confidence can be a very important part of negotiations because HOW you negotiate has been proven by research to positively affect the outcome, regardless of the actual substance of the negotiations.

But I can sense you asking ‘Why do we need to go through all this trouble?’

In today’s competitive business climate, good selling involves not just getting a deal — it’s about getting a profitable deal. So in the closing stages of a sale, intelligent negotiations can be a way of achieving a favourable outcome for you without giving in too much to the other party’s requests. It can also assist in getting to a Win / Win outcome for both parties.

I like to use a simple but effective example of how a BATNA can literally be a life saving technique. Imagine if you will, two trapeze artists have an argument. One trapeze artist says he is more important because he has to catch the other one at 100 metres in the air. The other one says that she is more courageous because she is the one risking her life by releasing the trapeze in mid air and flinging herself over to the other artist. All he has to do is catch her. They argue bitterly until the catcher says «Fine. Let’s see who is more important when you jump tomorrow».

«Oh oh» thinks the female trapeze artist, «what if he only pretends to catch me and he deliberately doesn’t?» One hundred metres is a long way to fall. She goes home thinking ‘Do we have a negotiated agreement tomorrow?’

What is her BATNA? Falling to her death is not a good BATNA!

Let’s look at a few obvious BATNA’s the female trapeze artists should have in place before she potentially leaps tomorrow to her death.

1. Install a safety net (I bet she feels better already) 2. Call in sick 3. Wear a parachute (although 100 metres may not be high enough) 4. Grab hold of her colleague instead of letting him catch her

So BATNA has the immediate effect of making her feel a little more confident. Of course, she should talk to her colleague before the act and make peace but at least she can do that without a lot of anxiety. How else can BATNA help?

If you have a particularly strong BATNA, it is probably worth pointing it out to the other side. They may then realize that they stand to lose out if the agreement is not negotiated. This strengthens your side a great deal and you can more forcefully state your case to reach an agreement. You can act as if you can break off negotiations because you are comfortable with your BATNA. This is a powerful concept to use when appropriate.

For example, let’s imagine that you are negotiating an important deal that would constitute 10% of your yearly sales target, something you’d really like to get. At the same time, you know that this customer is very budget conscious and from past experience you know that they will try to squeeze your price as much as possible.

Let’s further assume that your target gross margin in your business is 30% and that for that reason, you need to achieve a unit price of 10,000$. Your proposed unit price was 11,000$.

What would be the lowest price you would accept? 10,000$? 9,500$? 9,000$? Or even less? What would it mean to say no at any of these points? Knowing your BATNA will protect you from accepting an unacceptable deal.

BATNA A: If you know that you have another three hot big projects in the making which could total 25% of your yearly target volume and if you additionally know that these 3 prospects would be less price sensitive, i.e. 30% gross margin wouldn’t be a problem, then you may feel comfortable to say ‘no’ at a price of less than 10,000$.

BATNA B: If you know that it will be very difficult to achieve your yearly sales target without this deal because your pipeline is not very promising and if you additionally know that your company’s overall sales is far behind target, then you may want to have a discussion with your manager first to see what would be the lowest acceptable price. Perhaps you could even try to be creative in thinking how you could create additional value for your customer so that you don’t need to agree to a too low price. Once you have figured all this out, then you also know what would happen if you say ‘no’ if you reach your lowest acceptable price. Then you can make an informed choice.

In summary:

I strongly recommend applying this thinking to a particularly tough negotiation you may be going through now and see what happens. I am confident you will be pleased with the outcome.

Keeping the cash flowing

Keeping the Cash Flowing

IT’S TOUGH OUT THERE in retailing You read the papers, you walk through the shopping malls, and retailers are closing up or being bought out. It’s been a long time since retailing was so tough. Having personally gone through the extreme highs and the lows in retail, I can now comment on why I feel a lot of retailers are going through hard times.

Whether you are a start-up, small business or a multi-national, cash flow is imperative to business survival. Retailers have gone through a stop-start love affair with cash flow management, by putting out fires when they arise, rather than implementing some simple management tools.

To understand how to manage cash flow, you must fully understand what its components are:

Pay accounts slower — Your suppliers that you have good relationships with should give you some leeway with time frames to pay your accounts. Sometimes we chase the discount that is given for early payments on accounts, but should ask ourselves if that discount will make a major impact to the bottom line.

Remember — don’t mistake profit (the money that you make after you have paid for everything) with cash flow (the money that pays the running and growth of the business).

Reduce inventory — Retailers are generally very good at doing this. But rather than slashing prices, have a look at some other alternatives such as: setting open-to-buy budgets; standardising layouts across stores that maximise sales in core departments; reviewing/implementing a replenishment program; concession arrangements with suppliers; and returning stock that has not sold and replacing it with faster moving lines.

Collect accounts receivable — Because most retailers don’t have large accounts outstanding, this really applies to those who have a corporate section of their business. If you are a retailer that has account systems in place, look at ways to reduce the terms of the account from 30 days down to 14 days, or take deposits.

Reduce costs of goods — Internally this would be your processing in which you receive, store, and distribute stock. When dealing with suppliers, organise strong trading terms, which gives you more margin in the backend for rebates, co-op advertising and return-to-supplier programs.

Increase prices — «You’re insane, you can’t increase prices, we’ll get murdered out there.» Yes, retail is competitive, and the majors have pushed everyone into discounting mode to increase sales. But without freaking you out, have a look at the stock on the floor, and determine which items you have that experience high levels of competition (and keep these prices competitive), and review the items which have little or no competition (and increase the prices of these products).

Stopping the leaks

In understanding what makes up cash flow, retailers should put in strategies to ensure that they maximise their cash position at all times. Here are some simple strategies that can be implemented in your retail business.

Measure stock turns — This is the cost of sales times the cost of goods in stock for a 12-month period. So if you had $1 million of total inventory for the year, and sold $1 million at cost, you would have one stock turn a year. The benchmark is to have four stock turns a year, to maintain a healthy cash flow.

Measure wages as a percentage of sales — Setting a benchmark on wages as a percentage of sales is a very basic, but important, strategy. Remember to factor in all of the add-on costs that are associated to wages such as commissions, payroll tax, superannuation, workers compensation, etc. Also when deciding on your wages percentage target, look at what you can afford within your margins, and also adequate floor coverage, so in order not to miss any sales opportunities.

Measure marketing expense as a percentage of sales — It is amazing how many businesses burn cash on useless or over-marketing expenditure. Some of the budgets are plucked out of the air, with no real understanding of how it impacts cash flow. Then when times get tough, retailers rein in advertising, which compounds on the loss of sales. Set yourself a marketing expenditure budget based on a percentage of sales, so that you don’t overspend, or lose traction when business slows down.

Evaluate your rent expenditure — Evaluate your location strategy on a regular basis, if you can rent cheaper premises without hurting the business, then move. We know how hard it is negotiating rents with a major shopping centre, which is why we focus on location strategy rather than negotiating a cheaper rent.

Hvac marketing in the internet age

HVAC Marketing in the Internet Age

So you’re starting a new business, great. It’s a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning company…even better. After all, every home, office building, and well, just about every indoor structure needs some combination of the three. With the way the economy is going, it’s a relief to be in an industry that’s pretty much indispensible.

But, as with any new business, it takes more to achieve success than simply smiling and doing a good job. You have to build a reputation of quality service and dependability. To do that you must first have clients.

So, where do you go to get the word out? An obvious and increasingly popular choice for HVAC marketing these days is the internet. But what do you do when you get there? Well, since most HVAC professionals do not have the requisite computer skills to successfully market their companies online, many of them are turning to HVAC internet marketing professionals.

What can a HVAC online marketing team do for you?

Quite simply, an online marketing service that specializes in HVAC will help you direct traffic (potential customers) to your website.

Yes, but what specifically do they do?

Specifically, they will use a combination of proven methods and techniques to help you market you business through your website. In the next few paragraphs, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular promotional techniques.

Website Design

Any quality online marketing service will begin by taking a look at your website and will offer helpful hints and constructive criticism about how to improve it. Oftentimes, new companies are so eager to get up and running on the internet, that they don’t pay close enough attention to some of the most common website concerns like ease of use and clarity of text.

Search Engine Optimization

Once your website is exactly the way you want it, you must improve your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or customers will never be able to find you when they do a basic web search on Google. This is a big part of HVAC marketing because without an improved SEO you will be lost in a sea of anonymity.

Social Marketing

This is a relatively new method of marketing, but one that has nevertheless been embraced by many successful businesses. It consists of simply promoting your website and company on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Email Marketing

Email is indispensible form of marketing that allows you to directly contact current and potential customers and lets them know about your company, services, and upcoming sales.

What else?

Well, you should look for a site that is highly interactive, especially one that gives you access to other HVAC professionals who have already been through the process of successfully marketing themselves on the internet. These marketing service professionals should be able to answer your most important questions.

It is also a good idea to locate a site that includes a lot of videos that can provide you with easy step-by-step instructions and worthwhile advice about HVAC marketing. Some sites also include blogs as well as instructive and informative articles that can be perused by their members.

Lastly, you should look for a marketing service site that charges only monthly fees. That way, if you don’t like the service they provide, you won’t be caught up in a one-year contract.