How To Cut Costs When Setting Up a Restaurant


It can be incredibly expensive to start a restaurant. By the time you have factored in the cost of buying kitchen equipment, furnishing the dining area, and purchasing stock, it could easily cost you around $100,000 to get to opening night. Cost is the main reason many restaurants fail in their first year. Here are some tips on how to cut costs when setting up a restaurant.

Set A Budget

Before you start, set a budget, and make sure you stick to it. Costs can spiral out of control if you are not strict with yourself. You can always upgrade or buy things you don’t need desperately once you have been established for a while and you have a regular flow of customers coming through the doors.

Rent Rather Than Buy

To keep your initial costs down, it is a good idea to rent equipment rather than buy it whenever you can. There are some fantastic commercial coffee machine rental options as well as deals to be had on kitchen equipment, and even furniture. Renting means that you pay a monthly price rather than having a huge initial outlay, so this can come from the sales you have made month by month rather than having to find money upfront. You can always buy once you have made the money to pay for equipment.

Get a Good Accountant

Hiring a good accountant from the outset could save you a fortune. They will be able to advise you on how much money you will need to set aside to pay various taxes and let you know if you can claim any tax breaks. Many restaurants are popular and well run but they go under once the tax bill arrives and the owners realize that they didn’t set enough money aside to pay it. If you get a good accountant from the beginning, you will avoid getting caught in that trap.

Carry Out Regular Inventories

This will help you to see what is selling well and what isn’t. You can then stock up on your best-sellers and order the minimum of things that don’t sell as well or discontinue this product entirely, which will save you money. This exercise will also prevent you from over-ordering and wasting money that way.

Keep Track of Waste

Keeping track of waste means that you will know what food is popular and what isn’t. It will also help you control the portion size. For example, if you load dishes with a side of chips and a quantity of these are regularly returned to the kitchen, you will know that your portion size is too big. Reducing it will save you money and help you to reduce waste.

Marketing

Some new restauranteurs make the mistake of spending a fortune on traditional types of marketing because they think they need to use expensive advertising to attract customers. This is no longer true and many successful restaurant brands have been built through social media alone. Get your name out there advertising for free on local Facebook sites and set up a Twitter account. Ask satisfied customers to write a review about your restaurant and post it on social media. You will be amazed how quickly your reputation will grow without you having to spend any money on marketing.

Opening a restaurant may be nerve-wracking to begin with, but it can be very rewarding too. Here are six ways of keeping the costs down when you open a restaurant. Use these and you will be able to turn a profit on your new business venture faster.

How to Enjoy the Benefits of Kratom Tea

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Kratom, or Mitragyna speciosa as it is technically named, is a collection of tree-like plants that belong to the coffee plant family. It has a long history in Southeast Asia (including Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand), where its leaves have been utilized for medicinal purposes as well as for their stimulating properties. In recent years, people in the West have begun to consume Kratom, and consumption is constantly increasing. Some people use Kratom for therapeutic purposes, while others use it recreationally.

Tea is a common way to consume Kratom, and it is well-suited to this approach due to its characteristics. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to making Kratom tea. You can find a variety of recipes and guides if you look around. The benefits of Kratom tea are numerous. Kratom tea is said to boost energy, reduce anxiety, and improve sexual function, among other things.

Grab a Cup of Tea

Unflavored Kratom tea tastes a lot like green tea. It might be a little bitter for some people, thus other ingredients are frequently added to enhance the flavor. These include lemon juice, citrus juice, sugar or even vinegar for a more acidic drink. You can experiment with recipes to your personal taste. The tea can be drunk warm or served cold.

Making or brewing the tea is really simple. In essence, Kratom tea is prepared by steeping Kratom powder or crushed leaves in hot (not boiling) water, and you can make numerous batches with the powder. To do so, strain and remove the powder from the tea. This powder can be soaked for a subsequent batch.

A teapot, a stovetop pan, and a coffee maker are the three main methods used for making the tea. The coffee machine approach produces Kratom tea that is weaker and less potent than the other options. It is important to remember that the darker the color of the steeped tea, the more intense or stronger it will be.

Dosage and Benefits

So why should you drink Kratom tea? Coughing, diarrhea, diabetes, and high blood pressure are among the ailments for which the kratom leaves can be employed as herbal medicine. They have also been employed to treat opium withdrawal or as a replacement for opium, a powerful pain reliever.

Depending on your required or directed dosage, the tea can have various beneficial effects. Kratom serves as a stimulant and appears to improve energy in smaller dosages of one to five grams, making users feel more alert. Kratom appears to have a sedative effect in higher dosages of five to fifteen grams, similar to opioid pain medicines like morphine and codeine, leading people to feel tired, tranquil, and euphoric. Traditionally, the greater dosage range has been utilized to treat illnesses such as diarrhea and coughs, and the symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

Kratom for Depression Symptoms

Kratom and its impact on mental health has received little attention from researchers. However, people who used Kratom to self-treat mental health disorders like depression and anxiety reported a perceived reduction in symptoms, according to a 2017 study. These findings were validated in a 2018 evaluation of Kratom usage and mental health, which indicated that some people found that Kratom improved their mood and reduced anxiety symptoms.
You can now enjoy the benefits of drinking Kratom tea by following these simple guidelines. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

For Keeps

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“Men grow cold as girls grow old
And we all lose our charms in the end
But square cut or pear shaped
These rocks don’t lose their shape
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”

— Marilyn Monroe as Lorelie Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Who can forget an all vamped up Marilyn in her skin tight pink dress, all decked out in sparkling diamonds, all sultry and flirty as she promotes the significance of diamonds in a girl’s life? Her portrayal as Lorelie Lee in this show stopping number is probably one of her most timeless and iconic roles. This might be one of the most rousing endorsements for jewelry in the history of movies but it was not the first and I am sure it will not be the last. Man’s love affair with gems started a long time ago and shows no sign of waning. If anything, technological innovation and human creativity have created the perfect environment for new ways to craft more beautiful and intricate jewelry than ever. It has also allowed us to revisit some jewelry making techniques that we thought lost in time.

Jewelry is not just pretty, sparkling pieces. Beyond the exquisite aesthetic they are viewed as investment pieces and heirlooms to be passed on to the succeeding generations. This is why so much thought is given to the containers that house them. As a matter of fact, jewelry boxes can be considered works of art by themselves. Aside from its main function as a storage system, it can also be something more beautiful.

Jewelry boxes have probably existed for as long as there were jewels to keep. However, it wasn’t until the Victorian Era from (1873 – 1901) that jewelry boxes captured the popular imagination and became all the rage. The Victorians called them Trinket Boxes and were usually much smaller in size than the jewelry boxes we know today. Initially, these trinket boxes were designed with flowers, animals and sculptures of children but later on evolved to miniature replicas of common household furniture such as cabinets.

The advent of the Industrial Revolution was a boon to jewelry boxes since for the first time in history it made mass production possible. Mass production meant that more jewelry boxes were now produced at drastically cheaper prices. These mass produced jewelry boxes gave the middle classes a taste of the affluence that only the wealthier classes could enjoy in previous generations.

Nowadays the jewelry box still holds a special place in the hearts and vanity tables of women everywhere. In an age where trends come and go at the speed of light and online shopping has made it possible for us to browse all kinds of items at any hour of the day or night now more than ever we need jewelry boxes to keep our accessories and jewelry organized. Jewelry boxes now come in all shapes and sizes from the small and simple to large and elegant creations that can serve as one of the focal points of your vanity.

Buyer’s Guide: Features of a Safe Trampoline

Trampolines are fun to use; however, it can be dangerous too.

According to the statistics, at about ten thousands of people are reported rushed to the emergency rooms every year due to trampoline-related injuries. If you are going to purchase a trampoline you should consider these following trampoline safety features.

  1. Well-padded spring

Every trampoline is designed with springs; this is to provide the necessary lift when the person starts to jump. When looking for a trampoline make sure to choose a model with springs that are not exposed and it should be covered with a sturdy mat or padding.

For better spring protection, you should consider looking for a trampoline that uses composite rods instead of a metal coil spring underneath the frame; these rods will still provide you the lift when you try to bounce on the trampoline.

  1. Well-designed frame

A trampoline designed with a metal frame may pose risk; in a scenario when the jumper miscalculated his or her landing, he or she may painfully land upon the metal frame, even if it is well-padded. So, if you are planning to purchase a trampoline, it would be ideal to look for a trampoline with its frame constructed beneath the trampoline’s jumping surface.

  1. Safety net

Do not miss out this feature; this is one of the essential features that you should look for when buying a trampoline. However, not all trampolines available today are equally designed with the best trampolines with enclosures; this is one of the reasons why there are still trampolines with the enclosure are unreliable when it comes to safety. So, when looking for the best trampoline, make sure to look for a flexible net that can efficiently catch the jumper when jumping miscalculations happen.

  1. Well-padded trampoline

Most of the trampolines are made out of metal; if you want to keep your children from getting bruise when jumping miscalculation occurs, look for a trampoline that is well-padded.

If you find a metal spring-based trampoline, you have to make sure that the trampoline is well-padded, which helps keep the spring from getting dangerously exposed. If you are going to use a foam-padded trampoline make sure that it is padded at least 1 inch at minimum padding; however, a trampoline with two to three thick-inch pad are a better option.

Also, make sure that the edges of the trampoline (if you are going to buy square or rectangular trampoline) are well-padded to eliminate all sorts of danger.

  1. Durable

Finally, make sure that the trampoline you are planning to buy is durable. The frames of the trampoline must be constructed stable and sturdy.

To ensure you are getting the best and safest trampoline, do not hesitate to read reliable posts, guides, and product reviews. Also, look for a trampoline that has positive consumer ratings and reviews; this is one of the effective ways to know how reliable a product is.

If you are still unable to decide which trampoline you should choose, try to visit some review websites to get details on the trampolines that you can trust to buy.

Top 3 Essential Things You Need to Know Before Buying a Kratom

Kratom is one of the controversial plants today; however, unlike the other controlled plants in the US such as cannabis, kratom is legal in most parts of the US.


What is kratom and how it can affect the body? To understand more about kratom, here are the top 5 things you need to know about kratom before buying any kratom-based product:

1. Kratom and its long history

Originally, kratom is indigenous to Southeast Asian countries, specifically, Thailand, Malaysia, and other nearby countries. Kratom, also known as Mitragyna speciosa, has been used by the locals for years as an energy booster, pain reliever, and as a sexual stimulant just, not until it was banned by the government of Thailand and other nearby countries.
Due to its popularity, even after being banned throughout Thailand (including cultivation and distribution of kratom), it had eventually made its way to the Western countries.

2. What does kratom do to the body?

Since ancient times, the kratom was used to cure several diseases; however, due to its psychoactive properties, the use of kratom was banned in Thailand and other nearby countries. Even so, several agencies are aware of their potential contribution to medicine, which may include the following benefits:

  • Pain reliever

As mentioned, kratom was used by the locals of Thailand as a primary treatment to pain during ancient times. Several scientists have proven that kratom is rich in analgesic properties, which can quickly relieve pain. According to the studies, the extract from the kratom leaf contains alkaloids that help dull the pain receptors. Moreover, experts explained that the kratom does not have addictive effects like the opioids do.

  • Help boost the immune system and energy

Some independent studies have shown that kratom helps boost the immune system, as well as, your energy too. The kratom is believed to eliminate free radicals in the body and some microbial activity.
It helps optimize some of the essential metabolic processes that help boost hormone levels, providing these results:

o    Increase blood circulation
o    Increase oxygenated blood in parts of the body that most needs it
o    Boost energy

This is the reason why kratom extract is one of the best alternatives to beat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

  • Reduce or eliminate anxiety

Several experts have proven that kratom contains anxiolytic properties that help people recover from depression, chronic stress, anxiety, and even mood swings.

  • Recovery to addiction

The kratom leaves contain essential substances that help people with addiction to recover from it, including the symptoms of withdrawal, which may include:

o    Nausea
o    Vomiting
o    Pain
o    Anxiety
o    Pan
o    Sleeplessness

3. So, is kratom safe or not?

Kratom is safe to use; however, you have to use it according to its dosage – anything that goes beyond its recommended dose can cause various health problems, including the symptoms of psychosis such as hallucination, confusion, and delusion. So, make sure to take the right dose of kratom. If you want to get additional details on kratom-based products, check this site here – www.kratomiq.com/buy-kratom/ .

Final Thoughts

Kratom is both remarkable and dangerous plant; however, if you use any kratom-based products according to its recommended dosage, kratom can be a big help too.

Top Kitchen Accessories You Didn’t Know You Needed

Being in the kitchen is always a lot of fun, especially when you enjoy using appliances and trying new recipes. It is even more fun when you have family or friends sharing the joy with you; they can be the ones sampling the new dishes you try.

Life in the kitchen is certainly more fun when you have the right appliances, utensils, and accessories. In this article, however, we are going to focus more on the kitchen accessories you never knew you needed. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

A Proper Cutting Board

Cutting boards are more useful than you think. Most people just go with any cutting board they can find, but actually putting some thought into choosing one for the kitchen can yield great results. The cutting board you use will affect your experience in the kitchen.

For example, marble cutting boards are gorgeous and incredibly durable, but they are heavy and will dull your knives sooner. A wooden board, on the other hand, requires extra maintenance and cleaning for it to look as beautiful as when it was new.

Boards now have certain features you want too. Grooves that prevent the juice of the food items you cut from leaking to the countertop – and making a mess – are handy to have. Rubber pads on the bottom of the cutting board prevent it from slipping too.

Serving Trays

I was a bit skeptical about getting serving trays myself, that is until I decided to grab a wood serving tray made from walnut and give it a try. Trust me; it makes serving meals (and even preparing breakfast in bed or TV dinner) easier.

A high-quality serving tray can also be used to keep the kitchen organized. While it is not in use, you can use a serving tray for condiments and sauces. The next time you serve a meal that requires them, you can pick up the entire tray and not have to move them one by one.

As mentioned before, serving trays are great for serving breakfast in bed and other special occasions. They are also perfect for when you want to serve meals in the patio or enjoy relaxing tea and snacks in the back yard.

Wooden Spoon

Sticking with wood as our theme, the next must-have kitchen accessory to have is a wooden spoon. It is a fantastic investment if you enjoy cooking. A wooden spoon will not melt when used, so you don’t have to worry about leaving the spoon in the pan or bowl for too long.

It also will not damage the non-stick layer of your pans and bowls. Even better, you can use a wooden spoon to scrape or stir the dish you cook perfectly, since wooden spoons now come in different sizes and shapes. I actually have a few wooden spoons in my arsenal; do you?

There are so many other accessories you can get, and they are designed to make life in the kitchen easier and more enjoyable. A salad spinner may not seem like an accessory that you need, but it too can be incredibly useful. The three we covered in this article are must-haves that you need to grab today.

Top Good Three Reasons Why Choose Cutting Boards from Virginia Boys Kitchens

Cutting board is one of the important accessories in the kitchen that protects your expensive countertop from any damages caused by the sharp edges a kitchen knife.

Cutting boards can either be made from plastic or wood. Also, it can be in form of any size and shape. However, there is one kind of cutting board that you should really consider buying, and that’s a wooden-made cutting board – not just any wooden cutting board, but a board made from Virginia Boys Kitchens.

The Virginia Boys Kitchen is now a popular company that designs, creates, and sells quality-made kitchen wood products such as cutting boards, cheese boards, serving trays, handle boards, and more. All products are authentically designed that will fit your modern kitchen design. So, why choose a really great kitchen accessory that is made from sustainably sourced local woods from Virginia Boys Kitchens? Here are the top three reasons why:

Reason #1: Guaranteed safe to use

A wooden cutting board is a lot better than using a plastic one, not only because it can keep your knife from getting dull just too soon after the last time you tried to make it sharp, but because the former is a lot safer to use than the latter.

According to several studies, cutting boards that are made from quality wood are less likely inhabited by bacteria than plastic-made. The reason behind it is because plastic boards that are regularly used will start to chip away, making it difficult to maintain or remove any food remains, especially from meat and fish. Thus, without proper maintenance, bad bacteria will start to build-up on the board and may cause cross-contamination, leading to diarrhea, worst fatal food poisoning.

Wooden cutting boards from Virginia Boys Kitchens are made from quality wood, particularly walnut – one of the most durable and strongest trees – which do not easily falter from any cutting force; this means, since the walnut are hard enough that do not easily chip-away, as plastics do, there is less chance of the bacteria to penetrate through the wood and microscopically inhabit the board.

Plus, wooden cutting boards are easy to maintain, especially when you use coating oil.

Reason #2: It is gentle on your knife

While the cutting boards from Virginia Boys Kitchens are hard and durable, they are gentle on your knife. Hardwoods such as maple, walnut, and more, has the ability to self-heal; this means that no matter how many times you cut or slice the board, it won’t get rough – where roughness on the cutting board’s surface is one of the common reasons why knife becomes dull easily.

Reason #3: It is classically stylish

The Virginia Boys Kitchens assures that when they had designed the cutting board, it will fit whatever kitchen design you currently have. The design and color are simple, yet elegantly favorable to your taste.

So, if you are currently in search for the best, durable, stylish, and quality-made cutting board, you should consider buying wooden-made one; more likely, a cutting board made from the Virginia Boys Kitchens.

What Is Stress Management?

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Various factors can lead to stress. Moreover, there are different types of stress that affect people at varying degrees or levels. If not handled or managed properly, stress can severely affect a person’s health and life, as will be discussed later on. Fortunately, there is such a thing as stress management. You may be wondering, though, “What is stress management?” Many people will ask the same question for the reason that they want to know how they can deal with their stress and tension. Before discussing the topic, let’s first explain how stress affects our lives.

Stress can destroy the psychological stability of a person. It doesn’t matter if you are a child, student, housewife, employee, or a professional. Stress can affect people from all walks of life. It is essentially a condition which makes us problematic. Stress can be due to diverse reasons like job loss, financial crisis, emotional and personal reasons.

Moreover, it has negative implications on the efficiency of a person. People are occupied with some ideas and getting out from it is not easy. In fact, stress can cause different health problems like hypertension, lack of sleep, and diabetes. Sometimes, people don’t know that they are already in a life threatening stress condition.

Back to the question, what is stress management? Well, this is an approach that is proposed to lessen stress and/or help the person to deal with these instances for the reason of enhancing everyday life function.

Stress can be handled in numerous ways. Understanding the main factors that cause stress to a person will help them determine ways in eradicating it. Given the most common idea of stress takes into consideration something we all discern, and then the meaning of stress management must be obvious – except that it is not.

Some of that ways you can deal with stress reduction will include exercise, playing a sport, yoga or listening to music. These are, by no means, exhausting activities. There are no wrong or right ways to decrease stress. Nevertheless, the aforementioned activities keep people busy, and when people are busy, they have little time to think about their worries or things that cause them stress; thus, the said activities help in the reduction of stress.

Stress can be managed if a number of efforts are made in well turned-out manner. One can even endeavor to try living a much healthier way of life by incorporating herbal supplements to his lifestyle. For instance, one may consider taking supplements composed of adaptogenic herbs. Stress means you have high levels of cortisol, which is known as the stress hormone, in your body. Said adaptogenic supplements can help reduce cortisol levels so that you can fight off unpleasant stress responses.

People going through so much stress usually adapt the fight-or-flight approach, and while that is any person’s most natural response, things can go differently if a person’s cortisol levels are too high. If that is the case, a person may panic once things start taking a bad turn, losing his ability to think clearly even though there is no cause for alarm just yet. However, if cortisol levels are stable, a person will be better equipped to deal with stress.

The bottom line is if one wants to acquire the most excellent result, he must follow a life discipline. In fact, the best ways to keep away from stress at work as well as in personal life is to have an optimistic attitude.

Online Security for Travelers in Egypt and UAE

When traveling abroad it’s always important to take special care and caution and not do something silly or reckless. This holds true for your online activity as well. Knowing what is the best place to go online for safe accommodations or online reservations is important in a country that has one of the highest online fraud rates in the world.

cyber security middleeasteHow to Stay Safe When Working Online in Egypt

Egypt has attracted more and more people who work online and want to keep their identity and activities secure. This is important in a country where the government and other online companies want to follow our activities and spy on our information.

It’s important to keep your identity safe online especially if you’re looking at websites that are banned or even if you’re looking at porn or online videos. There are some websites that we need to avoid if you’re working in Turkey as well.

Is Paypal Safe in Egypt?

Paypal is safe to use in Egypt although if you’re using a lot of big transcations you’ll want to be careful. Your account is going to be under a lot more suspicion if you’re using an Egyptian IP. My suggestion is to use a VPN if you’re in Egypt.

How About UAE?

The UAE is a whole different issue. Knowing how to protect your identity online is very important. Especially considering how many hackers come from this country. There are actually programs made by the government to steal consumer information.

These info leaks have been sold online and monetized by UAE hackers who have sold your data and information online.

How to Do Online Payments in the UAE? fraud rates in UAE

Credit cards are safe to use online as long as the website you’re using is SSL compatible and you can see that it has SSL clearly printed on the top part of the website. Paypal is not something you can use effective in the UAE as there are restrictions on that part of the world.

If you’re worried about theft in the UAE, I would again suggest using a VPN company that can ensure your privacy and also protect you.

Another Great Option – Refillable Payment Cards

Cards like PEX allow you to add money to a “throwaway” card.  You can use this card to add money onto it from another account. For example you could do Paypal to your PEX card and then use your PEX card anywhere online without fear of fraud.

The PEX or any expense card for that matter isn’t tied to your overall bank account rather it’s just the funds that are on that card.

Regardless of where you travel in the Middle East you’ll need to excersise caution both in the country and also when you return to the US or Canada as you’re now identified as someone who has traveled to an unstable region.

 

Right Host For Your Website: What Should I Look For?

As entrepreneurs trying to bring in more sales in your business or as bloggers and social influencers who wish to bring in more viewers and followers online or even as an online reviewer of sports games such as boxing , choosing the right web host is a crucial step for you to attain the aforementioned goals.

The important role of a web host is already a given; however, we should not arbitrarily pick out which web host company we will sign up for. We must first ask questions such as “Is Digital Pacific a good host?”. In other words, there must be certain factors which our decisions should be anchored upon.

That said, these are some of the important considerations in choosing the right web host.

Considerations

  • Different Plans

You must consider the different hosting plans offered by hosting companies. Usually, the cheapest type of hosting is what is known as shared hosting. Usually, individual plans pertain to this type of hosting wherein resources are shared. Although it is the cheapest, it may also be quite ineffective. That said, you must look for a hosting company which also has good deals and offers on other types of hosting plans that may be more effective.

  • Payments and Fees

It’s best to canvass and research on the usual payments and fees for the services rendered by web hosting companies. Stick with a company which is within the bounds of reasonable pricing. However, you may also choose hosting companies that are not that cheap provided that quality service is guaranteed.

  • Customer Support

Choose a company which has fast and reliable technical or customer support. Avoid companies which take too long to respond in important queries and concerns. This is so that in cases of emergencies, you’ll never really be left in dead air for long periods of time.

how web host affects website

  • Bandwidth Allocation

In web hosting, the allotted bandwidth matters as well. Try to stick with a host which offers a reasonable bandwidth allocation. You may even find hosting companies offering unlimited bandwidth for awesome deals although you might want to keep in mind that unlimited is never truly unlimited.

  • Speed and Reliability

Common sense dictates that if potential customers constantly cannot gain access to your website, they will definitely become uninterested for no one really wants to deal with a website that’s always down. Hence, you must choose a company with great speed and reliability in terms of up-time. One way to do this is by by reading reviews and obtaining feedback on that certain web host.

  • Security

Another important factor to consider is the guarantee of security. Unfortunately, there have been cases of hackers breaking into web hosting servers. With this in mind, you must ensure that the company you sign up for can guarantee safety of your passwords and other information.

Decision

In some situations wherein feedback and comments from previous customers of that web host company is unavailable, you’ll have to find out yourself whether or not the company you chose is truly the one for you. At the end of the day, the main goal is to put your website up and running, available and accessible to customers; this should be the anchor of the decision you will make in choosing the right host.