4 Categories Of Team Building Activities

Whether you are a business owner, a sports coach, or a leader within an organisation, you know that to be successful, the people within your group need to work together as a team. This is why team building activities have become a crucial part of any successful organisation’s progression towards achieving the goals that it has been set.

A problem often raised by team leaders and managers is that they do not know enough about team building and in particular what sorts of activities they can use to help galvanise and empower the individuals within the group to work together as one united team.

Basically, team building activities can be broken down into four distinct types, and the benefit of knowing them is you can then determine which category or categories of activity would be most applicable to the team you are working with. Thereafter, you can choose the specific activities with each category that you are going to pursue.

#1 Skill Based

This category is used where you wish to improve some specific skills of those in your team. The obvious example of where these might be used is a sports team, but it also applies to skills found within other sectors. In the business world examples would be sales skills or managerial skills, whilst some organisations might want their members to improve their speaking skills or negotiation skills.

These sorts of activities normally require an outside treating company or consultant to come in and train your team, and therefore they can require a reasonable level of investment. However. the return should be significant given that your team will have a higher skill levels than before.

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How To Protect Yourself When Buying An Established Business

Buying a small business is something that must be done with care, because if it is not, as commercial lawyers will tell you, the legal and financial ramifications can be dire. Many a lifetime’s worth of savings has been lost by someone trying to short cut all the due diligence and other checks, only to find themselves left with massive liabilities, and a business that is not what it seemed.

Of course, there are many positives to buying a business, rather than starting one from scratch. These obviously include the fact that the infrastructure is there to allow you to trade immediately, and there is already a level of cash flow. You are also able to take advantage of the fact that the business has an existing client base.

However, all of these can only occur if the process you go through ensures that you have covered yourself against any issues or losses. Do not let the excitement of owning the business cloud your judgement or lower your guard with regards to being caught out.

Obviously, employing a commercial lawyer to help oversee the purchase of the business and to ensure that all the legal elements are correct, including the purchase contract, is certainly going to make a huge difference. Beyond that, there are also several other steps you can take to protect yourself, and one of them is to look out for the following red flags.

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Quality Building Material – Glass Fencing & Swimming Pool Safety Trends

When building or renovating a home, one of the significant decisions you or your designer or builder will make is choosing your building materials and locating a reliable supplier.

Whether you are looking for fencing, cladding, insulation or partitioning, it is always important to find the right building materials supplier at the right price.

A fence is essential if you plan on having a swimming pool. Glass pool fencing is quickly becoming one of the trendiest options on the market. It is seen by many as a modern, stylish option and can be used with pretty much any landscape and home design style.

One of the best aspects of glass balustrading is its low maintenance and durable design. They’re made from a rigid material like glass combined with durable stainless steel or aluminium fittings, so they usually have a minimum lifespan of at least ten years.

Glass pool fencing is a great lifestyle choice that can brighten your pool area and improve your backyard design. Let’s have a bit closer look at glass and how it can be used as a pool fencing material:

What Types Of Glass Fencing Are There?

Glass pool fencing is highly customisable, so you can usually modify and change it to suit your needs. However, there are two main glass fencing styles, including:

Frameless Glass Fencing – Frameless glass fences are usually constructed with rigid glass panels secured to the ground with strong stainless steel fittings. They aren’t joined together and aren’t supported by anything other than these fittings. This means that they offer complete visibility, along with a minimalistic style.

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Should I Secure My Home With CCTV?

Using a high-quality, reliable CCTV system is a great way to secure your home against fire, intruders and burglars. However, it can be expensive to get set up with security cameras and a video surveillance system, which means you should think very carefully before deciding to set up your home with CCTV.

In saying that, there are also plenty of budget surveillance options available for those who want to protect their freshly renovated home on some level. In general, we always recommend using whatever security options are available to you, even if they are a little on the pricey side.

With this in mind, we’ve put together the following list of things you should consider when deciding whether or not to use security cameras and CCTV surveillance.

Will It Lower Your Insurance Premiums?

Some insurance companies will charge you significantly less if your home is equipped with an approved security system. In many cases, you will be required to use CCTV video surveillance to qualify for these discounts.

If you’re not sure what sort of offers your insurance company has, consider giving them a call and asking them about it. In the best-case scenario, the reduction in your insurance premiums will cover the cost of installing CCTV or some other type of security alarm or surveillance system.

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The Benefits of Health Insurance

Everything comes with a price tag, which can ultimately sway your decision on whether to purchase something or not. You may decide that a particular vehicle is too expensive, or you choose an inferior brand of something because it’s more affordable. But how much value do you place on your health or health services?

We are blessed here in Australia to have a reasonably decent healthcare system that allows most people to get the care they need. The public system includes community-based services that the Australian public can access for free or at a reduced cost due to taxpayer funding.

Knowing that if you’re sick, you can get help, you may be wondering why health insurance would be important and necessary at all. However, if you speak to an insurance advice consultant, you would be surprised at how much value it can add to your life.

Shorter Wait Times

When you access treatment through the public health system, you can wait a considerable amount of time for non-urgent treatment. During that time, you may experience increased discomfort or find yourself waiting and waiting until a medical professional can fit you onto their list.

If you have private health insurance, however, those wait times are far shorter for planned and elective surgeries. If you are in extreme pain and discomfort, it’s often not all that long until that pain is alleviated.

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The Truth Behind Botox

For many people, the science behind Botox injections doesn’t so much matter, as long as the result is everything they could want it to be, and more. However, isn’t it essential to understand at least the basic information behind Botox and how it works so you can make a fully informed decision? Below, we cover a few facts about Botox injections.

The Toxin

Botox injections don’t consist entirely of a synthetic product. Instead, they are a direct result of toxins released by a soil bacteria called Clostridium Botulinum. These toxins released by the bacteria affect the body’s muscular junctions, stopping your body from releasing acetylcholine – a chemical it uses to help your muscles contract.

This chemical forms a vital role in transmitting information to your nerve cells. Because the toxin interrupts and ultimately ceases this process, it causes a reaction known as chemical denervation, resulting in paralysis in that area.

How Have We Used Botox Over the Years

One of the first discoveries, before medical professionals came to understand how effective Botox injections were, was that the Botulinum toxin could interfere and alter your neuromuscular signal transmittances. Both doctors and scientists then set about isolating this property, trying to figure out how they could apply it to the medical field. First, however, they would have more sinister uses.

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5 Scams to Avoid in Bali

As reported by Luxury Villas Bali, every country has scams, but when it is a popular tourist destination and the locals are mainly poor, it is more likely that there will be even more scams to watch out for. Whether you have never been to Bali or are a regular there, here are some scams to watch out for.

  • Money changing scams. What happens is that the money-changer counts out your notes while quickly slipping one back behind the counter and you – mostly – don’t even notice. Another scam is to put up the exchange rate. You’ll see plenty of boards advertising amazing rates and no commission. Most are too good to be true. Instead, choose the more reputable businesses that do money changing; PT Central Kuta, Dirgahayu Valuta Prima and Wahana which all have branches in and around Legian and Kuta. You can also get good rates at Ngura Rai International airport. When out shopping, always put your fare for the trip back aside so you can’t spend it and then need to get more money changed over at the last minute.
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8 Easy Ways to Improve Your Web Design

When you have a website it is usually because you want to interact with others in some way, whether to sell a product or service, or just get visitors to sign up for something. According to Slinky Web Design our web design plays an important part in accomplishing this, but in some cases it does not do the job you had hoped, or does not do it as well as you thought it would. The reason could be your web design.

If visitors find navigating your website difficult, or they can’t find what they want they will soon leave. But don’t despair because there are easy ways to improve your web design so that the user experience is enhanced. Here are some tips you can implement to make your web design better.

  • Link each page to the home page. Many webmasters think that visitors only come to their site via the home page, but this is not true. When visitor come via another page you need to make it easy for them to find the home page so they can take the action you want them to. Make the link back to the home page obvious and easy to see and tell them to click on it.
  • Use responsive design. It is essential in this day and age when so many people connect to the internet via their iPhones or other small device. If your website is set up to be read on a desktop PC it will be difficult to read on a smaller screen.
  • Ensure your navigation is intuitive. Most links are found in a line across the top of the page while secondary ones go down the left side the page. It is better to put all those links that are not so important down in the footer where they can be found but are not cluttering up space where it is needed.
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How Juvederm Dermal Filler can Help You

Juvederm is a dermal filler product used to smooth out wrinkles and lines in the face. It is made from Hyaluronic acid, (HA) a substance that is found naturally in the body that delivers nutrients to the skin and helps it to remain soft and plump. Some dermal fillers also contain lidocaine, a topical anaesthetic that helps with localised pain of the injection. Many women find dermal fillers can help them even better than Botox, but you don’t have to choose one over the other, because both can be used.

Botox vs. dermal fillers?

Botox is often the preferred treatment for wrinkles on the top half of the face, although it can be used for the bottom half as well. But often, a better result is obtained by using dermal fillers to plump up the lips and fill out vertical lines around them. It is also used for those deep lines that run from the edge of your nose down to the mouth. Once these creases have been softened you will notice a big difference in your appearance. It can take years off your age.

Dermal fillers last longer

Juvederm is one of the most popular of dermal fillers, although there are other products used in the same way. Dermal fillers such as Juvederm last much longer than Botox injections, with two years being the expected length of time before you need to have it done again. With Botox, the time is 3-4 months, so you can see what a difference it is.

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What Causes Hair Loss?

Whether you’re male or female, hair loss can affect anyone. What’s more, there are many different reasons, and sometimes it doesn’t matter whether you use natural hair care products or not – you can’t always avoid it. While organic and natural ingredients can help to promote healthier hair growth, there are a host of reasons why hair loss may be something from which you suffer. Here are a few of the many reasons why, and what you may be able to do to make a change.

Genetics

Unfortunately, genetics is not something you can change. If your parents suffer from hair loss, then there’s every reason to believe you can too. Even conditions such as alopecia can be passed down through the generations.

Changes in Your Hormone Levels

If you suffer from a hormonal imbalance as a result of a thyroid issue, menopause, or even an ovarian cyst, then your hair can suffer as a result. Your hair follicles and roots can weaken, accelerating hair loss far beyond what you would typically see. You may like to try a natural hair care shampoo to see if it can slow it down.

Stress

When you find yourself stressed at home or work, your entire body suffers – both your skin health and your hair. You can become dehydrated, exhausted, and hair follicles are not able to access the same nutrients as before. Therefore, they weaken which can cause your hair to fall out. Get your stress under control, and you may be able to stop the dramatic hair loss.

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8 Ways to Enjoy Landscape Design

It doesn’t matter how wonderful your home is, if the surrounding area is left to its own devices the whole look of the place with be spoiled. Worse still, this neglect can really bring down the value of the property as well as inhibit your lifestyle. When the outside elements of the property are designed with care to reflect the kind of lifestyle you want, then the whole ties in together and you can really enjoy all that your back garden offers.

Landscape design needs a professional

Many people design their own gardens, or allow them to design themselves. Usually such a person has no idea or feel for landscape design and cannot envisage just how good it could be. They get caught up in their work or sports and hobbies and just use their home for relaxation rather than any of the outdoor parts of the property. This really reduces their lifestyle down to the essentials, instead of allowing them to expand and explore new ways of having fun and relaxation.

Rather than allowing your backyard to be bland and boring, you can really make it pop by having a professional landscape designer take a look and suggest ways to make the most of it. Here are some suggestions.

  • Add a deck with an outdoor kitchen for alfresco meals and entertaining.
  • Add a pool so that the children – and adults – can have great fun in the hot weather.
  • Installing a shade sail over the pool or on the hottest side of the home so that you can enjoy being outdoors more often.
  • Fence off a pool with glass fencing from Glass Pool Fencing Perth, so that the area is not made to look smaller than it really is. In fact, it will look larger since all the plants and features in the garden will be visible from the pool and vice versa.
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What Happens at an Orthodontist Appointment

Most children or teenagers go to an orthodontist like Candlewood Dental Centre to have braces fitted to their teeth. It is natural for them to feel very nervous about the whole thing, wondering what will happen and whether it will hurt. This is natural since they can easily equate this trip with going to a dentist, where they may have had some fillings done.

However, when you go to the dental specialist to assess your teeth for treatment, the good news is that it won’t cause any pain, at least on the first consultation. This is the time when you will have –

  • x-rays
  • photographs
  • digital scans or
  • perhaps plaster moulds are done,

often by a dental hygienist rather than an orthodontist.

The second part of the dental checkup is when the orthodontist examines all these things, assesses the shape of your face, teeth, gums and jaw, and tells you precisely what is needed. They will give you all the details you need, and you can ask questions about things that might worry you. You may want to consider this for a while before making any decisions. However, if you or your child needs braces, it is best to go ahead quickly with the treatment to get it over and done with.

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How to Get Insurance for Engagement Rings

The cost of purchasing engagement rings in Australia, on average, is around $5,300. If you bought a car for $5,300, you would get insurance for it – wouldn’t you? Therefore, getting insurance for your engagement rings of similar value makes sense as well. If you lose your ring, it’s stolen, or it becomes damaged, having insurance offers peace of mind that you are going to be able to replace it with a ring during your wedding reception of similar value – even if the sentimental factor is not the same.

How do I Get Insurance for My Engagement Rings in Australia?

Diamonds and Pearls Perth tells us that there are two primary ways you can go about getting insurance for your engagement rings. You can cover it under your home and contents insurance – as long as you include portable contents cover, or you can opt for specialist jewellery insurance. Even though you may pay a little more for specialist insurance, it can, in many cases, offer a higher level of cover.

What Happens If I Insure My Rings with Contents Insurance?

If you decide to include your engagement rings under your home contents insurance, it’s imperative to upgrade your policy to include portable contents. If you don’t, you may find yourself not covered if you lose your ring outside your property. When you upgrade to portable insurance, you can generally cover up to $6,000 but may only receive $2,000 for an individual item.

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Basic Principles of Social Media Marketing

Are you looking for organic ways to get more customers for your online business? You may have decided to try one of the more common forms of digital marketing, social media.  One of the most common ways is to set up a Facebook Business Page to showcase your products and get your friends – and hence, their friends – to Like it. There are varying opinions on whether it works, how it works and why it should – or shouldn’t – work for specific business models. But if you have never done it before, here are some basic principles of social media marketing (SMM) you need to know about.

  • No matter what kind of business you have, ‘the customer is always right’ is an excellent adage to go by, but even more so in social media marketing. Why? Because if you try to argue with a customer, it will soon be all over the media, often to the detriment of your business. So take hasty steps to make that customer a happy camper.
  • Don’t offer personal triviality. Potential customers don’t want to know what you like for breakfast. They want to know about the quality of your product and whether your company offers returns.
  • Don’t be satisfied with a business page. Do a paid ad as well. It will promote your product and people that see both will trust you more.
  • Take part in the community, don’t just post and run. If you befriend people, especially those that are considered influencers, you’ll have more success yourself. But be genuine and sincere, don’t just do it for selfish reasons.
  • Be positive. People have enough negativity to cope with. They love to see how people rose to meet a challenge. Even just being happy and positive about little things helps.
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8 Essential SEO Tips

SEO Perth Experts explains that Search Engine Optimisation is a term for several ways and means of getting your page ranked higher in the SERPs, or Search Engine Results Pages. Why is this desirable? If you have ever searched online for something you will very likely have clicked on one of the websites that the search engines offer from their first page. And of all the choices on that first page, you most likely clicked on one of the first three.

So if you can get the search engines to show your website in that position you will get a great deal more organic or free traffic than a website that is on the second, third or other pages.

But how can you get the search engines to choose your website and put it on their first page? Here are 8 SEO tips to help you.

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10 Benefits of Using Limestone Products

It is a well-known saying that you get what you pay for. What it really means is when you try to save money by buying cheap, you will find yourself with a cheap and nasty product that either doesn’t do what it is supposed to, or it breaks within a year or two. So when choosing products for the home and even building materials, cheap is not the best way to go.

Not only will you end up with a home that has little value, all that money you saved will be spent replacing parts that don’t last or maintaining them so they last a bit longer. Plus, some building materials still cost a lot but don’t have some of the properties of stone and so you spend more on comfort – heating and cooling – over the lifetime of the home. That said, let’s look at the benefits of using Perth limestone products.

  • Limestone bricks or blocks as cladding will give you a home that has a high value and thus, a high resale value even in many years time.
  • Cladding your home with limestone will ensure that the temperature remains constant so there is less need for heating and cooling. You save money.
  • A feature wall in limestone not only looks decorative and adds value; it can also have practical uses such as cutting glare, offering privacy and creating shade.
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What To Do If You Get Into Trouble

There are many ways to get into trouble and sometimes the consequences of doing something on impulse are far reaching – even devastating. The first and foremost thing to do if you get into serious trouble with the law is to contact someone like PCLB Criminal Lawyers for help. They will even come to the police station, if that is where you are, and see what the trouble is about. Then they will be able to post bail to get you out of gaol, or they may be able to make the police let you go, if they are holding you without enough evidence.

You have a right to some kind of legal aid. If you can’t afford a lawyer, one that offers their services for free will be designated. While this is better than none, it is much better to get your own as they tend to work harder on your behalf. When speaking to your criminal or family lawyer, it is always best to tell them the truth of the matter so they can form a better idea of what will happen to you and how they can best help you. The truth usually comes out in the end anyway, so you can be a few steps ahead by telling your lawyer exactly what happened.

Why good behaviour is best

However, sometimes you can get into trouble that is not so serious. If you are picked up by police or even just come into contact with them it is best if you behave politely and respectfully. If you use the services of criminal lawyers, they will tell you that if you even swear around police – rather than at them – they can arrest you.

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Why Designer Garden Pots are a Good Choice

Many people love gardening but for some reason cannot have a garden. This may be because of their living environment or due to their health. However, most people can have at least one pot plant to keep them happy. If you have a tiny courtyard or room for just a few planters on your patio, it is important to get it right if they are to look pleasing. Using designer garden pots has several advantages.

  • Visual appeal. Designer garden pots can be sophisticated or casual, but no matter what type they are they will add visual appeal to your surroundings.
  • A pot plant can be enhanced by the pot it lives in; it will have much less appeal if you dump in into a black plastic pot.
  • The pot that contains the plant provides at least half of the appeal of the whole. When your plants are not flowering, or when the display has gone past its best, the attractive pot below it will still provide something good to look at. Even if there is nothing in the pot at all, it can still provide an attractive focal point on the patio or in the courtyard.
  • Courtyard and balcony plants often don’t have showy flowers; rather their appeal is in the shape and colour of the leaves or the shape of the plant. A designer pot has a similar subtle beauty that will set off those plants to the best advantage.
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What Is Capital Gains Tax And Does It Apply To Me?

Australian tax laws can be complicated even to experienced accountants, which means that they can be nearly impossible to navigate for the average person. Sure, you might have finally figured out how to fill out your own tax return at the end of the year, but what about capital gains tax?

What is capital gains tax?

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is tax that you pay on the sale of a property or other investment. It only applies to the profit or loss that you made on the sale, which means that you have to be careful when calculating CGT. For example, if you bought an investment property for a million dollars in the past, and then went on to sell it for two million some time later, you would have made a capital gain of a million dollars. This capital gain needs to be added to your tax return, and you will have to pay tax on it.

What is the taxation rate for CGT?

The CGT taxation rate can actually be a little bit confusing to work out. A lot of people think that you have to pay tax on the entirety of your sale. This is not the case. You will only ever pay tax on a capital gain, and you can claim capital losses back on your tax return.

If you have held an asset for more than 12 months, you will get a discount on your capital gains. Instead of adding the entire gain to your tax return, you will only need to add half of it. This means that you will only pay tax on half of your capital gains. Once your capital gain amount has been worked out, it is added onto your normal income tax return, and you will pay normal tax rates on it. The actual amount of tax you pay will depend on your total income and on what tax bracket you end up falling into.

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How Your Dentist Will Treat Gum Disease

Gum disease is basically inflammation of the gums that occurs due to the bacterial growth caused by the plaque that remains on the teeth when teeth and gums are not cleaned and flossed daily. Every dentist will tell you that oral health is essential and you need to keep your teeth clean and to know how to clean them properly.

In addition, having your teeth checked regularly will ensure that tartar is cleaned from under the gums. Tartar forms when plaque is left on the teeth and eventually goes hard. In this condition it is impossible to remove it with a toothbrush; it can only be removed by the dentist. If it is not removed, it is one of several conditions that lead to gum disease. to avoid sharing some dental myths that you may believe, we have set out the facts.

There are two types of gum disease

  • Gingivitis, which causes soft, swollen, red gums that often bleed easily. With careful cleaning and treatment to remove tartar, this condition can be reversed.
  • Periodontitis otherwise known as periodontal disease, happens when gingivitis is not properly treated and spreads to ligaments and bones around the teeth. If not treated it can lead to teeth becoming loose and falling out. Even then it can continue to effect the jaw bone. It is essential to have professional dental treatment for this condition. If this does not happen the infection can spread to other parts of the body and cause many serious problems including stroke.
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