Safety razors are old-school tools, but they are the secret to a comfortable shave while also being surprisingly easy to use. Cartridge razors can also be impressive, but they can hurt sensitive skin and be quite expensive. Straight razors look slick and cool but are difficult and terrifying to use. Well, you might ask – what is the middle ground? Safety razors. Here’s how and why to use one.

The Advantages

The single razor blade reduces your facial hair slower than a five-blade cartridge would do. Regardless, you still get a smooth face but without irritation and ingrown hairs.

Safety razors glide smoothly across your skin, and unlike a cartridge razor, they don’t tug on your whiskers.

Additionally, the replacement blades are incredibly cheap, also making the safety razor very affordable.

And let’s face it: a safety razor is pretty damn cool. You will love the feeling of holding a true classic like a Merkur 34C.

How to Load a Blade

There are three distinct types of safety razors, all easy to load.

Three-piece

An old Gillette vintage safety razor is an excellent example of a three-piece razor. To load the blade, unscrew the handle; then, take apart the top piece and the safety bar. Load a blade into the top part, place the safety bar, and screw the handle back.

Two-piece

In order to detach the top of the razor, loosen the knob at the bottom. Load the blade, insert the top, and tighten the knob on the handle.

One-piece

Open the flaps at the top by twisting the handle. Load the blade and twist the handle in the opposite direction to close up the flaps.

Prepping Your Skin

Before shaving, you should loosen the whiskers on your face and open up your pores by using steam. You can easily do this by shaving while taking a hot shower. If you prefer to shave outside, soak a towel in hot water and hold it against your face for a few minutes to create the same effect.

Lathering Up

If you have a shaving brush, use it because it will generate a thicker lather while exfoliating the skin. Take your time to wet your brush properly in hot water, load it with a good amount of soap and lather your face.

The Essential Part: Shaving

Finding the best angle and pressure for your skin is a trial and error process since everyone has a different skin type. However, after you get used to it, it’s pretty straightforward; don’t worry!

Try to aim for a 30-35 degree angle between the razor and your skin.

Don’t apply too much pressure. The key is to use the weight of the safety razor.

Make sure to avoid dragging the razor across a large portion of your face. Use small strokes!

If it’s your first time shaving that day, always shave with the grain.

If you want an extra close shave and your skin isn’t too sensitive, reapply lather and repeat the same process. This time, either shave across or against the grain.

Post-Shave Care

Wipe down your face with a warm towel to soothe your skin. Then, cool the towel and hold it against your skin to close the pores.

To finish your session in a luxurious way, use an alum block. Before rubbing it on your face, make sure to run it under warm water so that it can tone and clear your pores. It’ll also stop any nicks from bleeding.

You can find a wide selection of wet shaving products at the New England Shaving Company store online.

 

While invoicing clients may not be the most enjoyable task in the world, it is vital that you ensure that you keep getting paid on time. Otherwise, the cash flow can end up taking a hit, which can impact your business negatively in all sorts of other ways. There are a number of components involved in the effective invoicing of clients, and this article will be looking at as many of these as possible. 

Set Out Your Expectations in the Contract 

When you send out the initial contract or invoice, you need to ensure that the expectations are clearly set out in terms of when you expect to be paid. Make sure that this is clearly set out rather than buried away in the small print. You should include some clear information about how payment can be received and any penalties for late payment. You may even include bonuses for early payment. Whatever system to chase up payments, it is still a good idea to ensure that everybody is on the same page right from the start. 

Use Invoicing Software 

Invoicing software is an increasingly popular way of getting paid by clients. There are a number of different advantages here in that the invoice templates can be made and stored online, and clients are able to pay online instantly. If you have to work between different currencies, this can also be useful in ensuring that the conversion rates are more effective. One popular option is using an accounts receivable solution. Not only will you get paid 2x faster, but you will also simplify the tracking and follow-up process and send all invoices with flexibility. 

Ask for a Deposit 

If you are signing up clients to a big contract or you are fulfilling an especially large order, asking for a deposit is not a bad idea. There are two main things that it helps to accomplish. First of all, it helps to put off any clients that are less likely to keep paying on time. By putting this clause in place now, you help to prevent any future issues from arising. Responsible clients should not feel like this is an unreasonable thing to ask. The second advantage is that it sets the overall tone for the invoicing process, and you can establish the payment method right from the offset. 

Include Enough Detail on the Invoice 

When you are putting together the invoice, it is important that you include enough key information on it. To start off with, this means having all of the basics, including contact information. You should also double-check to ensure that you are sending off the invoice to the right person to stop any delays from occurring. You should also include some basic level of description of the work that has been completed rather than just one or two words. This helps to convey an extra level of trust in your clients. The invoice should also include some info on late payments. This will help to encourage them to pay on time and also ensures that nobody should be left shocked. 

Present the Invoice in a Prompt Manner 

To ensure prompt payment, you are better sending off the invoice sooner rather than later. This means completing the work and not hanging around to send the invoice. Otherwise, it is not going to be fresh in the minds of the clients, and you are more likely to have to chase them up further down the line. Again, this ensures that you give off the impression that you are a reliable and efficient business.

Aim to Move onto a Retainer Contract 

If you are engaging in some work over an extended period of time, you can try moving the client onto a retainer contract. This way, you can keep the payments coming in on a regular basis rather than having to wait until all the work is actually completed. Making your cash flow situation more predictable and regular can help your business and allows you to plan for the future rather than worrying about your invoices getting paid on time. If clients are satisfied with your work, they are more likely to be happy to move onto a retainer contract. 

Build Relationships Based on Mutual Trust 

When you have been in business for a long time, you start to build up relationships with your clients that are built on mutual trust. At the same time, you will probably start to identify the warning signs that tell you that a client is simply not reputable. You can then avoid working with them entirely as you have enough regular income to cover your bills and beyond. 

By establishing a series of good invoicing practices based on the information that we have offered above, you can help to ensure that your business cash flow is managed effectively and your company thrives as a result. 

It’s a recognized truth that the majority of cybersecurity breaches are caused by staff. No matter how tightly you guard your digital files and online networks, unfortunately, humans have been proven time and time again to be the weakest link when it comes to the dangers that lurk online. 

However, it doesn’t need to be this way. By just spending a few hours educating your staff, you can greatly mitigate their risks, causing a breach in your cyber defenses. Below are just a few tips for educating your workforce in cybersecurity and increasing their knowledge of the more common threats that exist online. 

Let your staff know the importance of complex passwords

One of the most common ways hackers gain access to a network is through easy to guess, weak, or multiple-use passwords. Nonetheless, if your staff aren’t aware of the dangers, you can’t really blame them if they compromise your network through bad user credentials. 

To reduce the risk of compromised passes, you should insist staff use only alphanumeric passwords and change them regularly (once a month should, in most cases, suffice). You should also make sure they don’t use the same password for multiple accounts – for example, using the same pass for your network as they use for Gmail, Facebook, etc. 

As passwords are such a common route into networks for hackers, it would also be wise to seek extra advice on Account Takeover (ATO) prevention from a network security specialist.

Ensure your staff are aware of just how frequently cyberattacks happen

The vast majority of online security breaches go unreported – partly because firms aren’t overly keen to advertise the fact their (and, potentially, their clients’,) data has been compromised. However, even at conservative estimates, it’s suggested around two-thirds of all Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have fallen victim to a cyberattack in the last 12 months. Worse yet, there’s a commonly held (yet thoroughly mistaken) belief among SMEs that they’re in some way too small, their revenue too insignificant, or their company is just too unimportant to be a worthwhile target for hackers. 

Actually, the total opposite is true, and cybercriminals have increasingly turned their attention to SMEs over the last few years. The somewhat lax and lazy approach taken by many smaller firms makes them the ideal picking ground for hackers compared to larger, better-prepared firms who invest properly in their online protection. If you – or your staff – are still of the opinion your firm is under the hackers’ radar, it’s time to get yourself better educated. 

Invest in regular staff training

The speed at which hackers move these days means new threats appear monthly – if not daily – so it’s no longer enough to just offer sporadic or annual online security training. Rather, you should keep your staff regularly informed on emerging risks and ensure they’re properly educated.

You should also resist the temptation to automatically blame a staff member if they cause a security problem. Instead of just apportioning responsibility to the employee, take a step back and try to form a more impartial view of your security procedures. Rather than viewing the employee as being at fault, if you look at things differently, you’ll more likely see it was your security standards or training provision that was to blame.

Remove the culture of blame and instead encourage communication

Sure, training your staff is important, but there will still likely come a time when a team member is unsure whether to open a sketchy-looking email or attachment. In line with the above point about looking at your organization’s culture impartially, you should also make sure your staff has the confidence to ask for support if they have doubts. This may involve a shift change in how you run your firm and the level of openness that’s endemic in your company, but you will soon reap the benefits if your staff have the confidence to seek advice. 

Get everyone on board

Depending on the size of your firm, you’ll need to ensure everyone’s on the same page when it comes to the value of training and educating staff. There’s little point in one department enforcing rigorous security provisions if another flagrantly ignores the rules. 

Also, it’s vital to get support from the top. As with most aspects of running a company, change has to come from above and trickle down through the various layers of a firm. For example, if you have trouble convincing bosses of the value of adequate cybersecurity training, point them to this page where they can learn the catastrophic damage online breaches cause firms annually. 

Make sure staff know the tell-tale signs

Over the last few years, phishing attacks have become one of the most popular means of compromising accounts and gaining network access for hackers. However, just some basic training will help your staff recognize the tell-tale signs of phishing attempts and help save your firm from falling victim to these – and other – forms of social engineering attacks. 

 

Be it a video content creator, a professional filmmaker, or a videographer, one cannot risk compromising the quality during video production. A strong and quality video production is what distinguishes the outcome from an amateur video creator and professional ones. 

If you are also interested in video production or are working in the video creation industry, you would also be wanting to improve your skills. So, it is likely that you wonder how to enhance your video production and attract more viewers. 

If you want answers to such a question, you have come to the right place. Here, we will discuss some tips and methods that will help improve your video production quality and boost the viewership of your video. 

As per the analysis of video production quality, the higher the value of production, the higher the impact on the outcome. That’s why many companies and even individuals prefer to hire the best video creator or producer from Tampa video production company to produce advertisements or corporate videos, or promotional videos. If you choose to go with this option for your video projects, trust me, you won’t be disappointed. You can even get a consultation on video production. 

That being said, let us see the top proven tips and tricks of video production to improve the video quality and how it will help attract views. 

• Planning

Having a clear plan of proceeding with the whole video production project is crucial for the team members and the video creator. You should research widely on the project storyline and concept, script, and decide on a full-proof strategy to carry on the production. While drafting a plan, you should not exclude the location and set for the video. When the site is identified, planning becomes more effortless. However, make sure that your video production plan is original concerning the video content. 

• Originality

Whatever project you work on, your own creativity and originality for video content is a must component. You cannot improve your video production quality by copying someone else’s work. Thus, you should do keyword research for a similar video angle and check out the popular video content in the industry to curate an impactful and unique video. 

• Target audience 

To plan factual video content, you should conduct or build the audience’s persona. This way, you can create much more compelling video content by pulling in your targeted viewers.

• Camera and other necessary equipment

Your planning may be perfect, your video content could be unique and targeted. Still, if the video footage is not outstanding, your hard work will go down the drain. It is always recommended for high-quality video production to use a professional camera with varied lens types & functions. This helps get striking and clear footage which would not create any post-production damages to the video. Moreover, a good quality camera and lenses ensure a better footage quality with available options for customizations. 

• Sound quality

Gone is the time when embedding and balancing a sound to the video was difficult. But, even to this date, sound quality influences the number of viewers of a video. So, you should think about investing in a good sound recording tool like boom setups and a microphone. Then use your skills to adjust an impressive audio effect to the video that would engage the audience. 

• Budget maintenance

Do not forget to consider your budget range in an attempt to curate high-quality video production. The reason is that some of the video creation components come out more costly than the rest but may not be able to deliver the desired end product. Thus, you should try to eliminate any unwanted expenses and usage of extra tools that you can make do with another. You should try producing cost-effective yet improved video production.  

• Editing or post-production 

A lot of effort goes into editing or at the post-production stage of video creation. You have to use various editing features and functions and combine elements to get the expected, resulting video. You can input transition effects to improve the overall video and audio effects. You should also think about how the resulting video will impact the viewers and do the editing likewise. The post-production must be done so that it does not end up damaging and distracting the video content’s goal and idea. 

• Use B-roll 

If B-roll footage is used correctly, you could get an excellent result concerning the video. Why? Because during editing, that b-roll footage can be used to improve the video. 

• Lighting 

Lighting is an excellent element that complements the overall vibe and tone of the video. You have to ensure that lighting is correctly adjusted and focused on all the right places that do not over-expose or under-expose the video’s background. Use the illumination in a proper way that blends in with the video narration. A suggestion to get the required brightness with various angles is the three-point lighting setup. 

• Video message and text

You must have often come across videos or clips whose text is unusually distracting and unrelatable to the viewer’s mind. So, while optimizing the video’s text and title, make sure that it is simple, striking, relatable, and classy. Keep the wording to a minimum and input required designs or animated text that keeps the viewers engaged.  

Closure 

Apart from all the video production tips stated above, you should also keep in mind where your video will be uploaded, shared, or the platform where it might end up. Overall, all the essential elements must be in sync so that the video production value is realized. 

Do you often receive emails from online sites offering you suggestions similar to those you may have checked? Often these emails are personalized, which directly captures your requirement. This is one area of data analytics that is called customer data analytics.

But the data analytics market is not just limited to customer analysis. It expands much beyond that. It is on the ball and has brought a huge revolution.

Data analytics is analyzing the data collected by a company. This helps them in optimizing their marketing campaigns, improving operation efficiency, increasing revenues, and improving customer service.

No doubt technology has given companies the chance to connect to more people. They have the position to predict customer behavior and target them more personally.

Without much ado, let us blow our minds with amazing information about how the data analytics industry is using technology to change the global market.

Using Data Analytics For Decision-Making

With so many new businesses in the market, you need to beat the other with what you choose. Companies today are fighting tooth and nail to go ahead, and market share analytics plays a huge role.

Companies can no longer win by guessing but by knowing what their customers and the market wants. You can only do this when you have actual data to support your decision.

There is not just one by four major type of data analytics. Before you use data analytics, you need to know which one would be the most suitable for your business.

We will start with the simple type and move up to the more complex ones. When it comes to the data analytics market, complex analysis will provide you with more valuable data.

Descriptive Analysis

If you want to know the “what” to your problem, you can use this kind of analysis. For example, you get the monthly income, monthly revenue, and production for the month. The data that you receive is what happens in your company.

The analysis does not answer the reason for the occurrence. This means if there is a fall in the revenue, you will not know the reason why. It knows what the problem is without knowing why the problem has occurred.

Diagnostic Analysis

Diagnostic analysis is the one that answers the “why” to your problem. Hence, you know that the revenue for a particular month is less than the previous month, along with the knowledge of why.

You know the reasons why the target was missed, which help you form a better decision. The analysis provides you with in-depth insights regarding the problem.

Predictive Analysis

We all predict numerous things in our daily lives. Whether it is about our personal life or professional life, prediction never leaves us!

Hence, it is not surprising that even data analytics uses prediction for decision-making. These analytics helps businesses understand what would likely happen in their business. This is done keeping in mind the market condition and their position in the market.

Despite the advancement in technology, businesses should remember that predictive analysis is just estimation. You need to focus on stability and data quality to make these predictions accurate.

Prescriptive Analysis

One of the most complex data analytics processes is prescriptive analysis. In this, the business will determine the action they need to take to eliminate any issues that could occur in the future. Moreover, the company can also make use of any recent trends in the market.

The customer analytics we mentioned, in the beginning is a result of prescriptive analytics. Numerous technologies are used in this type of analysis.

To give you proper analysis, the technology focuses both on internal and external data.

The Right Data Analytics For Your Business

You now know about four types of data analytics that can help you with your business decision-making process. However, do you use all the four types of focus on one? To find the answer to this, you need to answer some questions.

• How competent is my company is using data analytics?
• How in-depth do I need to analyze my data?
• Do I have obvious problems that do not require deep insights?
• How much gap do I have to better my current insights and the depth of insights I require?

These questions will help you decide the type of data analytics that would be the most suitable for you. Ideally, you need to start from the simplest type and then move on to complex analytics.

You also need to ensure that you have the right means to make use of the data. This would need a dedicated team that could use the analytics for the advantage of the business.

After all, there is no point in having data only to let it get old in your system.

Applying Data Analytics For Business Success

Data analytics have become a crucial part of companies. According to a survey by Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services, almost 97% of businesses have started using data analytics.

Even though there is an issue of keeping this process consistent and accurate, the usage has been increasing. Companies mainly venture into the data analytics industry to increase company profit, improving risk management and reducing costs.

You can use data analytics in your business to target customers better. Studies show that using data analytics helps you increase your marketing productivity by about 15 to 20 percent.

By taking the four considerations (what, why, future prediction, and future decision) into account, you could build a stronger business structure.

Summing Up

The data analytics market has seen huge progress in the last few years. Whether customer analytics or market share analytics, every business knows the importance of data.

Companies understand how they could apply data analytics in their business structure. This has led to several sections of the business growing in a much stronger manner.

With the world becoming more accustomed to data analytics, this technology will become an integral part of every single business decision-making. This will ensure that all business decisions are made on actual data and not assumptions.

What Is E- Invoicing? 

An electronic invoice or e-invoice is a digital document exchanged by a buyer and a supplier and authenticated by the government’s portal. GST e-invoicing software was primarily built for invoice preparation of business to business (B2B networks.  The invoice is prepared in a format indicated by the GSTN. The seller of a product now generates an invoice and reports to the e-waybill and GST portal. 

Why Do We Need A Standard E-invoicing System?

Worldwide tax administration departments want to make the GST software a success because of the following reasons.

• If the pre-decided format is followed for the invoice generation means it is more accessible for all parties to read, share and understand the document
• The invoices thus prepared can be checked by the central system
• Under GST software, specific fields are already prepared when a seller is filing returns to avoid any disparity during data reconciliation

How to Generate An E-invoice Under Goods and Service Tax?

The GST e-invoicing software’s flow is classified into two parts

• First is the interaction between the IRP (Invoice registration portal) and the business
• Secondly is the communication between the e-waybill systems/GST, buyer, and IRP

Under the GST e-invoicing software, the taxpayers will have to generate an e-invoice in the way they have been doing, with the only exception being that the invoice will be electronic.  They must fill in specific mandatory details like

• Details of transaction like the type of suppliers they are, the tax scheme they are under
• The document details like date, number, type
• The suppliers’ details like name, address, pin code, state code, GSTN address
• The buyer details like name, address, pin code, state code, GSTN address
• The address from which the goods are dispatched (it is mandatory if it is not similar with the details of the supplier)
• The shipping address (required if it is not similar with the buyers’ address)
• Details about the item like what goods, GST rate, the total amount, assessable value, number of items, HSN code. If the goods are being sent in batches, then the batch number should also be mentioned
• Invoice details like the total value of the invoice and the assessable value

These details are mandatory, but optional parameters introduced by the Council which may be filled if the business requires. After the e-invoice in the GST software has been finalized, the taxpayer needs to plan if the billing or the accounting software will create a JSON depending upon the IRP.

Create an Invoice Reference Number (IRN)

Based on the details provided by the seller, such as the document type, document number, fiscal year, and GSTIN, the invoice registration portal (IRP) will develop a hash factor. The IRP will decide whether similar invoices can be found in the Central Registry. If no similar invoices are found, the IRP will include a QR code and signature in the JSON data of the invoice. The previously stated hash will be the (invoice reference number) e-invoice number.

Generation of a GST e-invoice is primarily the responsibility of the taxpayer reporting the IRP in GST.

If you want to know the benefits you will get by using an e-invoicing software, here are some,

Benefits of Using the E-Invoicing System

• When prepared by the supplier, e-invoicing software allows for real-time tracking of invoices. This expedites the availability of input tax credit
• E-invoicing in GST also simplifies generating e waybills by pre-filling all details from the GST portal except the vehicle details, which the taxpayer must fill out
• The buyer can then compare the invoice to his purchase order and accept or reject it in real-time
• In Electronic invoicing (E-invoicing), data can be accessed in real-time, thanks to the software. As a result, the possibility of manipulating invoices is significantly reduced because invoices will be generated before carrying out a specific transaction. This reduces the production of bogus GST invoices, and only the real input tax credit can be claimed. Because input tax credit and output tax credit will be available in real-time, tax officials will easily detect a forged input credit

The use of electronic invoices is growing by the day, and software and standards are constantly being improved to assist users in resolving issues. To avoid falling behind in time, businesses must adapt to such technological advancements at the earliest.

Did you know that fun quizzes for fun are a great way to make your personal assessment easier? These questions will help you determine your strengths, weaknesses and areas of interest. You can even use fun quizzes to do some extra research if you find the time to devote to them. Whether you just want to relax, unwind or get ready for a big event, taking a fun quiz will help you reach your goals with ease.

The beauty of taking quizzes for fun is that they allow you to control the difficulty level. You don’t have to worry if you are answering difficult questions or not answering at all. Sometimes it is better to just skip right to the easier ones. As long as you are getting an accurate assessment, nothing should be stopping you from setting your personal quiz apart from the rest.

Fun quizzes for fun really are a fun way to assess yourself. If you are unsure about yourself, answering a difficult quiz can sometimes bring out your greatest fears or the worst possible flaws. By answering fun quizzes for fun, you are letting the world know how you really feel about yourself. If you are a strong person with no flaws, then you probably wouldn’t be afraid answering general knowledge quizzes about almost anything. If you are completely honest and love yourself for who you are, then you might not answer funny questions about your weight or height.

General knowledge quizzes include things like how many kids you have, how old you are and what is your address. These types of quizzes for fun are great because they require broad information and are generally easy to answer. You will learn about your average weight and height as well as about where you work and where you live. Most people answer these types of quizzes without giving it much thought and often it is forgotten that the purpose of the quiz is to learn about you.

Some more fun quizzes for fun involve things like crossword puzzles. These types of quizzes are fun because you are developing an interest in the subject matter and you are also testing your skills with every correct answer. These types of quizzes for fun are great for developing your memory as well. In many cases, the best type of general knowledge quizzes for fun are those that encourage you to utilize your memory. For example, if you are required to answer sixty multiple-choice questions, you will be working on increasing your ability to remember the information. There are many fun memory quizzes online that you can take to help develop your memory.

Finally, the final category of quizzes for fun are those that just have a certain relevance to you. Some examples of these types of quizzes for fun tests regarding what is the smallest city in Texas and what color is the most popular among baby boomers. All in all, if you are having trouble learning something and you think it might be a good idea to take a quiz, try one of the fun quizzes for fun. You never know, you may discover you have been learning all along that there actually is more to know than you thought. No matter what the purpose of your quizzes for fun, make sure you take them seriously and you will do well in college.