January 2019 - Official Blog-Phoenix Pop

Benefits of Water Softener on Skin

January 31, 2019

The water you use can have significant effects on your skin. More often than not it comes down to whether you have hard or soft water in your home. The type of water is probably the last thing most of us think about when taking a bath or washing our faces. Did you know there are certain benefits of water softener on skin? If you are using hard water and your skin is sensitive, we will discuss some reasons why you may want to switch.

There are plenty of reasons why soft water is beneficial to your skin, compared to the adverse effects of hard water. As more people get to understand the differences between hard and soft water, they’re discovering the benefits of water softener on skin. Let’s have a look at the effects of hard and soft water on your skin.

What is Hard Water and Soft Water?

Hard water is comprised of minerals such as magnesium and calcium. Over time, these minerals can leave a buildup of residue on your skin, coating it with an insoluble film and making it hard for soap and water to form an effective solution. The same residues found in hard water responsible for clogging pipes and damaging fixtures and appliances can clog your skin pores and leave a layer of impurities on your skin.

Moreover, the soap scum clog can also make your skin feel itchy, dry and irritated, worsening skin conditions such as eczema and acne. Soft water, on the other hand, is achieved by using a water softener.

Benefits of Water Softener on Skin

Soap reacts with the minerals in hard water to form a curd-like residue that clogs skin pores and makes it hard to moisturize. Once your pores are clogged, your skin dries up, making it susceptible to cracking and flaking. Using hard water may also result in dry hands, rashes or dandruff.

Using soft water helps to keep your pores open so your skin can breathe. This helps to prevent dry skin and symptoms of skin problems such as acne. Soft water also makes it easier to lather and rinse the soap away. The soft water will remove mineral ions and wash all the soap off your skin, leaving your skin feeling smooth and clean. This also means you’re likely to use much less body and face wash to get a deeper clean.

There’s a widespread misconception that hard water gives a better clean as it results in a squeaky-clean feeling. Using soft water will leave you with a slippery or slimy feeling, which is actually how your skin is supposed to feel after a bath. The slimy feeling comes from natural oils which play the critical of protecting your skin and keeping it hydrated.

Bottom Line

Some showers even come with built-in water softeners, so you don’t have to worry about the damaging effects of hard water on your skin. Instead, you can focus on the benefits of water softener on skin. Use soft water and enjoy clear, smooth and healthy-looking skin.

Unusual Team Building Activities – Bringing the Team Together

January 18, 2019

Are you looking for some ways to boost the productivity on your team? You want to inspire them to work with their full potential. There are many proven steps that you can consider to increase the productivity of your team and the efficiency of your organization. Don’t forget to get notebooks for everyone for them to have something to take back with them. To help bring some more excitement and unison to a team, consider trying these unusual team building activities.

Different Unusual Team Building Activities

Blindfolded Food Tasting

This unusual activity can really help you to build your team and to win the trust of your team members. It is fun and entertaining. All your team members are going to love this idea. Blindfold them and ask them to choose from a variety of food.

Paintballing

Unusual Team Building Activities

Paintballing is a common team building activity. Organize a paintball event to develop the team spirit.

Board Games

You might have a team with different age groups, interests, and passions. Therefore, it is important to organize an event or activity that can be enjoyed by all. If you are looking for such an activity, you can think of board games. This game can entertain all regardless of age. You can arrange multiple games set up and declare a winner to make it even more fun and interesting.

Cardboard Boat Racing

Cardboard boat racing can entertain many. Divide your team members into different teams and ask them to build their own boats. Make sure that everyone is able to get the same resources to build the boat.

Zombie Evasion

This activity is a bit different from the paintballing. You do not need to shoot each other. Instead, you will have to try to get rid of all those zombies coming to get you and find ways to escape them. There are different escape rooms that can really help bring a team together and build communication and critical thinking skills.

Sports Day

You can also plan for a sports day to bring all your team members together. They will enjoy having fun. This is also an idea that can be done on the weekends where the team can bring their family out with them as well. Don’t forget to get matching graphic tees for the event!

Bottom Line

All of these unusual team building activities will work well with proper planning. The best way to create a productive team is to bring them together and to inspire them to enjoy the moments most. Sometimes even getting together to have an online fundraiser to help with costs can help your team out. Some ideas for these activities included a blindfolded food tasting, paintballing, board games, sports events, a zombie evasion, and boat racing.

Unusual Fundraising Ideas – Attract Potential Donors

January 15, 2019

Fundraising is challenging for all. If you are involved in PTO, nonprofit organizations, and a school community, you might have gone through many difficulties to get funding for your purpose. You will need some unique, easy, and convincing ideas to create a fundraiser that is captivating to donors. Below are some unusual fundraising ideas that will not only catch the attention of potential donors, but will also help in earning funds for a good cause.

Fundraising Ideas

Shoe Drive

Shoe drives can be very fun if done properly. The benefit of this idea is that it is easy, fun, and cost-effective. You can inspire your supporters to donate their used and new shoes to the collection material. Organizations will then take all these shoes and will send you a check. This idea is effective since it can make the best use of used shoes. You can make around thousands of dollars from this idea. It can be used both for the small and large organizations.

Matching Gifts

You might not be familiar with this idea. You will find this option in some corporate philanthropy programs. This idea enables companies to match a portion of the gifts that their employers present to the non-profit organizations. You can maximize the amount by persuading your donors to boost the donation and to get the most out of it.

You can consider posting on social media and can also send them emails about the matching gift programs. Also, you can develop a partnership with matching gifts database to enable the supporters to utilize the programs in the best possible manner. This is more effective since the donors do not need to offer more donations. Instead, they can contribute by a being a part of the matching gift programs.

T-Shirt

unusual fundraising ideas

Customized t-shirts can help you to collect more funds — especially if you are hosting a fundraiser for a high school sports team. You can also use it as the marketing strategy to get better exposure. Design your t-shirt with a compelling design to create a special recognition for your brand. When t-shirts will come with an inspiring and customized design, people will prefer to buy it to remember your organization. You can also promote it on social media to find more people for your organization.

Peer-to-Peer

Peer-to-peer fundraising will enable your online supporters to promote your organization and that will ultimately help you to get more funds for your purpose. You can design this campaign with striking imagery, custom branding, and some other exciting features. With a proven marketing plan, you can reach out your supporters and can motivate them to get the desired exposure for your brand.

Raffle Night

This unusual idea will enable you to collect fund for your organization in a unique manner. This idea will help to influence the local businesses to donate to raffle. At the same time, it provides an opportunity to the local businesses to spread their local brand to the community.

Bottom Line

These are some unusual fundraising ideas that can help a nonprofit organization or community to raise funds without much complication. Some ideas include: a shoe drive, matching gifts, t-shirts, and many more. In addition to these ideas, you need to follow some proven strategies to get the desired benefits.

Types of Japanese Warriors – What Did They Do

January 11, 2019

Time has been fair to some Japanese warriors of the golden age, carrying their legends to our present days. Be that as it may, some of them have been swept beneath the sands of time. That, however, does not mean that they were less glorious. These types of Japanese warriors were forged in a fire of bravery, honor, and dedication to serving the powers that were. Japanese warriors excelled in various fighting techniques

Today, everyone is familiar with Samurai warriors and Ninjas. However, there are additional types of Japanese warriors, that ranged from pirate soldiers to monk soldiers. Each of these groups had their own version of battle principles and fighting techniques.

Types of Japanese Warriors

Samurai

Their story is quite familiar today and their swords very much alive and still awe-striking. The samurai warriors were known for discipline and elite fighting skills. When they were not in battle, the Samurai served as bodyguards to nobility. Over time, their fighting skills became more formidable, powered by the special blades named after them.

Wokou Pirate Warriors

Wokou warriors lived on the coastlines and served under the coastal feudal lords. This group of warriors was popular around the 13th century. The wealthy feudal lords used the Wokou pirates to achieve their agendas and ‘foreign’ missions’ on Chinese and Korean vessels.

Ashigaru Warriors

Ashigaru soldiers served under the Samurais in the medieval centuries. The highly trained Samurais were few in numbers, and therefore they needed reinforcements to win wars. In the place of a national army, the Samurais, thus, led the Ashigaru foot soldiers. Think of them as mercenaries with limited fighting skills. They played a vital role in the battles where the other side had intimidating large numbers of fighters.

Sohei Monk Soldiers

The Sohei were Buddhist warrior monks in ancient Japan. They had a battle principle rooted in both bravery and enlightenment. The masters trained recruits in monasteries, equipping them with unmatched battle skills.

With the constant warring in feudal Japan, the monks were responsible for their protection. These fighters also often took fighting missions for honorable causes. Through time, however, they become full-time warriors who wielded similar weapons as the Samurai. The Sohei’s special weapon of choice was a long pole with blades on both ends for long range combat.

Yamabushi

If you thought the monk warriors were religious; then you haven’t heard about the Yamabushi. These warriors resided in the mountains, separating themselves from all forms worldly pleasures. Legend has it that the Yamabushi possessed supernatural powers which they often unleashed in high stake battles.

In addition to their mystique and religious way of life, the Yamabushi excelled in close combat. Like the Samurai, the Yamabushi also wielded unique swords and wore body armor. They were famed for martial arts.

To Summarize

There were many diverse types of Japanese warriors in the ancient ages. Some high school clubs can go more in-depth about Japanese warriors and their history. They all came with a different set of skills, battle principles, and general life beliefs. The Ashigaru warriors were battle fillers hired when enemy numbers were high. The Wokou served the interests of coastal lords in ancient Japan, while the Samurais were elite soldiers who also served as bodyguards to nobles. There were also religious warriors including the Sohei monk warriors and the Yamabushi.

What to Do During a Job Interview – 6 Tips & Tricks

January 10, 2019

Do you have an upcoming interview? No need to panic. Interviews are a great way for the employer to get to know you, but also for you to get to know the employer. Every interview you attend is basically a chance to meet new individual, sell your skills and get the third degree on what you don’t know and you need to remain fervent through it all. The key to a successful interview is preparation. If you have been wondering on what to do during a job interview, here are some guidelines to help you out.

What to Do During a Job Interview

Do Comprehensive Research On The Company

Bristol Associates says doing comprehensive research on a company before attending the interview is essential since it can help you answer some interview questions. For example, a question like” why do you want to work with us?” can be asked. Unless you understand a company’s dynamics and what an employee must possess to be integrated into the company, then you are likely to fail the question.

What to Do During a Job Interview

Bring Copies of Your Resume

Even though you are sure that the organization or the company you are walking into has a copy of your resume, it is essential to tag your copies along just in case the interviewer needs to refer to it but doesn’t have a copy in front of her.

Be Early For the Interview

Turning up for the interview five to ten minutes early is essential. Arriving late for an interview is often a red flag, while showing up early will leave a great impression on the interviewer. Avoid unexpected delays resulting from traffic and other inconveniences by being around the interview spot. If you are late for the interview, demonstrate that you are considerate of your interviewer’s time. Call in to let them know the time you’ll be arriving.

Practice is Vital

It’s one thing to have a mentally prepared answer, and it’s another thing to say it out loud. Make sure to practice several times before the interview. You can ask a friend to be the interviewer while you are the interviewee and let him or her ask you some common interview questions as you answer them out loud. You can also tape record your answer and play it back while assessing where you went wrong. When you prepare and practice right answers, they will be at the tip of your tongue, and you will be able to say them with more confidence. Even company executives practice for interviews, so you can see how crucial it is to practice prior to interviews.

Prepare Some Questions For the Interviewer

When attending an interview, make sure you’ve got some right questions prepared for the interviewer at the end or during the interview. Prior to your interview, grab a pen and jot down some questions you would like to ask the interviewer during the interview. Interviewers always ask if you’ve got any questions and you should have at least one or two questions lied up. Also, make sure you pay attention throughout the interview so that you’ll have questions related to what the interviewer was talking about. This will show him or her that you are an active listener.

Use the Appropriate Body Language

Always be cautious of how you carry yourself throughout the interview, because eye contact, good posture, a firm handshake, and a relaxed position can make a positive impression on your interviewer. Also, avoid using strong perfumes when attending an interview since this can be a major turn-off, especially if the interview room is small and not well ventilated.

Below are tips and tricks on what to do during a job interview. Interviews and be stressful but with preparation, practice and following the right interview etiquette can attain his or her dream job with ease. The more time you invest in preparing for the interview, the more confident and comfortable you’ll feel during the interview.

How to Get Your First Clients – Get Your Brand Noticed

January 9, 2019

Congratulations on deciding to become your own boss. Working for yourself can be liberating and utterly satisfying. But before you pop that bottle of champagne, here’s the catch: working for yourself means that you have to get your own clients. Your job as a freelancer will never really kick off until you do something for someone, knowing how to get your first clients will help get the ball rolling.

If you are unsure how to get started, this article features a compilation of all the methods used by freelancers to land new clients. Be advised, some of these methods require you to actually leave the comfort of your home or office and meet new people out there. Don’t forget the importance of compliance in your new business. So, if you’re ready to finally get your business up and running, here’s how to get your first clients.

How to Get Your First Clients

1. Try Some Offline Networking

We all dread meeting new people, especially if they’re in large groups. However, you need to shove this feeling of dread aside if you hope to land new clients any time soon. Go out there and attend local events where you might meet prospective clients. Use Google to search for business events in your locale and make a point of attending them as frequently as you can manage.

2. Do Some Work for Free

No one will hire you if you have no experience and no clients, but a few might consider letting you work for free in exchange for testimonials. Don’t turn down the chance to impress a new client even if you’re not getting paid for it. The experience and testimonial you will get in return is invaluable, and it will ultimately be what your business needs to attract the attention of prospective clients.

3. Let Everyone Know What You Do

People won’t automatically know what you do if you don’t tell them about it. Update your social media pages and let all your contacts know that you’re looking for work. Word of mouth is still a powerful marketing tool, so don’t be surprised if you start getting referrals left right and center.

4. Ask for Referrals

If you’re still not getting referrals, why not just come out and ask for them directly? Ask any old clients, businesses, old schoolmates, and acquaintances if they can refer you to someone who needs your services.

5. Search Through Job Boards and Freelancing Sites

The pay here is meager, but job boards and freelancing websites offer a good starting point for new businesses. If not for the money, getting clients from these sources will give you experience and can also serve as a foundation for your client base.

6. Try Cold Outreaches

If you have a clear idea of the type of clients you want to work for, go online and Google them, then perform a cold outreach via email or phone. Adopt a friendly, non-salesy tone with these people, and let them know how your services can help them in their respective fields.

7. Do Plenty of Follow-Ups

Follow up with any clients from the past and see whether they still need your services, or whether they know someone who does. Again, reach out to them in a friendly manner, ask about their kids, their families, and have some friendly conversation before getting to the core of the matter.

8. Work from Co-working Spaces

Try shifting from your home office to a co-working space every so often where you can meet like-minded business people. Networking with such people can be very beneficial to all parties since they can direct some clients your way if you return the favor.

9. Maintain an Active Online Presence

Don’t be shy about answering questions on online forums especially if you consider yourself knowledgeable in that particular field. This bit of information can reel in more clients with the same problem in the future, so you never really know how far being active online can take you.

Bottom Line

Talk to anyone and everyone about referrals as well as your services when your business is just starting out. It’s best to know how to get your first clients so your business can grow right from the start. Project confidence when talking about your services, but be kind and affable to leave a lasting impression.

How to Make Softened Water Drinkable – Is It Safe to Drink?

January 3, 2019

Are you looking for ways on how to make softened water drinkable? Many people wonder whether it is advisable to drink softened water. It is healthy, considering that the process of softening water reduces high amounts of calcium and magnesium to healthy levels. There are several ways water can be softened. You can add sodium ions which will replace the hard minerals in water, or go for reverse osmosis. In the reverse osmosis process, the technology leads to the removal of hard minerals in the water. Some of the ways you can soften water include the following:

Add Sodium Ions

This process is referred to as sodium ion exchange. It works in such a way that it introduces small amounts of sodium into the water. How to Make Softened Water Drinkable - Is It Safe to Drink?

There is a difference between the sodium ions which are added and the table salt. Table salt consists of 40% sodium and the rest is chloride. Sodium is not considered a risk when added to water because it has several health benefits to the body. You can add sodium in your hard water to make them soft.

Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Filter

Another option you can explore to keep drinking water soft is through the use of a reverse osmosis water filter. The filter has an built in mechanism which works well in removing excess hard salts from the water. If you can apply the filtration system, it will work very well in helping you remove the hard minerals.

Is Softened Water Safe to Drink?

Softened water is safe to drink because it complies with all water regulations. The addition of sodium or removal of calcium and magnesium aims at making the water achieve a level which will not compromise the quality of drinking water. In comparison to hard water that contains many minerals that has been said to cause health issues such as kidney stones and whatnot, softened water is a safer alternative.

There are also cases where you may not be allowed to drink softened water. They include the two cases:

In the Formation of Infant Formula Powders

If you are trying to mix infant formula powder, then you should not use softened water. The softened water can lead to interfering with the nutritional balance of the infant.

If You Have Been Prescribed to a Low Sodium Diet

If you have been prescribed by a doctor to a low sodium diet, then you should not drink softened water. In the process of softening the water, more sodium can be added to the solution which will lead to more sodium than your recommended levels.

Bottom Line

Are you looking for ways on how to make softened water drinkable? The above are among the tips you can apply to make hard water soft. The two methods include either adding sodium ions or installing a reverse osmosis system into your home.