Differentiating Commercial Furniture From Home Furniture

For many Americans, furniture is furniture. It is all the same. Commercial furniture is actually in a class all by itself. Commercial grade varies, but it is always designed to be durable, easily cleanable, and have longevity. Commercial furniture is used anywhere large numbers of people will use it daily, the surface needs to be easy to clean, where there may be large weight differences among users, and when a company cannot budget for new commercial furniture every few years.

Commercial grade furniture is often inconspicuously reinforced. Springs are a stronger grade than those used in residential and other furniture, building materials have proven track records for durability, and the longevity outweighs the higher prices for this commercial grade pieces.

One frequently mentioned category is restaurant commercial furniture. This is not necessarily so for high priced restaurants, but it is often the norm for less expensive establishments as well as fast food restaurants. When people are eating on the run, they often do not take the time to gently move restaurant furniture gracefully and carefully. Restaurant commercial furniture factors in the often rough movement, multiple uses, and accommodates this through the use of more durable materials such as scratch resistance, easy glide chairs, and easy to clean table tops. The price of restaurant commercial pieces is higher than most families would be willing to pay to have it in their homes during their child raising years.

Commercial dining furniture is generally seen in mid-level dining facilities. It is durable while appearing more dining room like. One element that sets commercial dining furniture apart from other categories is it is heartiness without bulk. Employees can easily move the commercial dining furniture to clean and care for the dining area, yet the elderly and children are not apt to topple the furniture when coming to or leaving the table.

Modern commercial furniture has most of the attributes already mentioned. One differentiation is the softening of the lines. Table edges are rounded; chair backs are oval rather than square. Manufacturers for this category aim at achieving a comfortable look and feel, while maintaining the sustainability of more traditional commercial pieces.

The concept and reality of commercial grade carries over to lobby furniture that is used by many, few of whom think nothing of banging it around, spilling on it and other unspeakable treatments.

There are many commercial furniture suppliers. Buyers beware of those whose work does not match their claims. Seeing, feeling, sitting in, at or on the furniture is essential in making a well informed purchase decision.

Lao Travel Planning Tips

Planning a trip to Laos? By now you might have done your research, and know a bit about Laos. You might already get excited and dream of the place you’re heading to. But wait! You need to plan your trip a bit before you go.

A careful planning plays an essential role in determining your travel experience (good or not so-good). Here are some tips to keep in mind when planning a trip to Laos.

If you plan to go to other countries in the region before or after Laos (e.g Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam), at least determine where to go first, next and last plus the entry/exit points in Laos. It’s important to have a clear plan to avoid doubling back that can eat up your time and money.

  • Plan your itinerary carefully. It helps saving hassle, time and money if you plan your routs thoroughly.
  • Decide where and how to get your tourist visa. Tourist visas are now valid for 30 days. Here are two ways to get the Lao visa:
  • Arrange it with the Lao Embassy, either in your neighbor countries if there isn’t one in your own country or in one of Laos’s neighboring countries (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and China). Allow plenty of time if you chose this option.
  • Get it at Lao border or airport. Tourist visa is issued at most Lao ports of entry. Visa fee ranges from US$20 (China) to US$42 (Canada). Remember to take exact amount of money and 2 passport photos for that.

Please note that not everyone is eligible for Lao visa-on-arrival, you better checkto make sure you aren’t in the list of “not entitle” nationalities.

  • Get your passport ready. Make sure your passport is not expiring within the next six months. You won’t be given a visa to enter Laos if your passport has less than six months validity. It can be worse if you plan to get a Lao visa-on-arrival, and arrive at a Lao border or Airport only to find your passport is invalid.
  • If you consider taking anti-malarial drugs, take it well in advance because you might have awful reactions to anti-malarial. If you take it too close to your travel date, you may still feel awful on your vacation. It’s best to ask your doctor.
  • Sort out your traveler check or credit card(s) for use in Laos. Take some cash as well. Small notes make it easy when you need to buy things on the go like bottled water and snacks.
  • Book/buy your tickets early. Book your ticket as soon as you have a clear plan. You can save good amount of money by purchasing your ticket early. Stay with the same airline during your entire trip to receive round-trip or connecting fare discounts.
  • If you’re on medication ask your doctor for your prescribed medicine. Take enough for the period of your travel. It’s a good practice to keep them in their original packages (in case you have to declare at the airport security checkpoint). Putting them in your carry-on bag to ensure that you have your medicine whenever you need.

How to Defuse the Legal Time Bomb in Your Small Business

Unlike a typical time bomb, this one will not be ticking. There won’t be any warning signs. No specially trained dogs will sniff it out. No swat teams will swoop in and prevent its detonation, and as luck would have it, it will probably go off at the worst time.

Fortunately, you can find this time bomb quite easily before it detonates. You can begin your search by checking your filing cabinets, file boxes, desks and drawers for any documents with “agreement” written on it. If they’re still active agreements, slowly pull ‘em out.

Agreements form the foundation of many small business transactions. Transactions between customers, landlords, vendors and government agencies are frequently governed by written agreements. What’s interesting about agreements is that they govern future activities to be performed under known and unknown circumstances – an inherently risky proposition, unless you can predict the future.

So let’s think back to when you first started your small business. How many actual “knowns” did you have? Would you say a lot has changed since you first entered into agreements necessary to get your small business going? If your small business is like most small businesses, a lot of things have changed, good and bad. As a result of these changes, you may be in breach of an agreement without even knowing it. We’re going to take care of this though.

On a nice slow morning or afternoon, grab a hot cup of coffee, tea or booze (if it has been one of those weeks) and take a few hours to flip through those agreements you pulled out to determine if you might be in breach of any of them. Boring? You bet, but it’s one of those necessary boring things, like filing a tax return or waiting in a doctor’s office. So with your agreements in hand, you may use this non-exhaustive list of clauses that might need to be reviewed:

  • Restrictions on permitted use of leased equipment
  • Restrictions on who is permitted to use leased equipment
  • Restrictions on use of leased property
  • Insurance, license and certificate requirements
  • Restrictions on items stored on leased property
  • Written consent requirements
  • Restrictions on leasehold improvements
  • Restrictions on modifications of equipment
  • Lessee obligations
  • Lessor obligations

Now, if you find something, I don’t expect you to wake that sleeping giant (I probably wouldn’t), BUT you may be able to start putting a plan together to help soften the blow in case the other party starts looking for a reason to terminate the agreement for a more lucrative opportunity. You can start planning a defense, perhaps a worthwhile explanation for your breach, or looking for substitutions, such as new suppliers, a new location or whatever it may be. Once you collect information for Plan B, just keep it on file in case you have to move quickly. You may even want to keep a cash reserve on hand in case the issue might result in litigation. Who knows, but you’ll be following the Boy Scout motto (i.e. Be Prepared), and your small business will thank you.

I appreciate your reading this post, but we both know you’re probably not going to rush to your files at this minute and start going through all your legal documents (unless you know you’re in breach and this post has reminded you of the possible financial time bomb that’s seriously near going off), but I highly recommend you pull out your lease agreement, if you have one, and this can be for equipment or real property, and just flip through some of the pages to see if you’re a beneficiary to a very favorable lease agreement on account of a change relating to the property you’re leasing. (I say favorable lease agreement because that would most likely mean it’s unfavorable to the other party.)

For example, if you entered into a lease for retail space in an underdeveloped community when property values were still low, but because of several revitalization initiatives in the same community, the value of your leasehold has quadrupled over the past few years, you should be especially weary of your landlord looking to replace your leasehold with a higher paying tenant. Handshakes and smiles are great, but at the end of the day, it’s business, and if there’s a lot of demand for your space, and you’ve opened the door with an inadvertent breach, you will want to be ready for a breach of contract claim by your landlord.

All isn’t bad with agreements, however, so don’t fret yet! Agreements can also swing the other way. You may find that the counterparty is in breach of something, or because of a certain event, such as a substantial change in prices, breach by other party or change in control of the other party’s company, you may have an out of a contract that’s not particularly in your favor. So in just reviewing your agreements, you may be able to get out of the unfavorable arrangement and stop a leak of money you weren’t even aware you had.

PLUS, by reviewing your agreements, you may even find you have more wiggle room to do things related to your agreement that you thought were restricted or limited. Perhaps on second look, you have 11 parking spaces instead of 10, or that your landlord is obligated to reimburse you for some of your capital improvements. Instead of a time bomb, a jackpot might be sitting around your office too!

So to just summarize the above, periodically review your agreements. You don’t have to read the all of the boring documents. Most will have headings that make finding relevant clauses really easy. Agreements should be reviewed frequently to ensure your small business is not breaching any existing contracts and to determine which clauses may no longer be applicable, and they’re primed for negotiations with the other party for their removal. Without a thorough and periodic review of its existing contractual obligations, you may be (i) subjecting your small business to additional and unnecessary expenses, (ii) limiting your small business without reason or (iii) unknowingly positioning your small business for a breach of contract claim by the counterparty. So don’t let that time bomb sneak up on you, be proactive and defuse it ahead of time.

Tips For Finding The Best Online Education Opportunities

Online education is the new way to obtain a degree with convenience. There are a number of wonderful online programs which allow individuals to obtain their education at times which are most convenient to their currently daily schedules. Whether attending full time or holding down a day job and taking classes whenever possible, this online educational avenue is a great thing to pursue. There are a few tips to keep in mind in order to find the best education opportunity possible for those who wish to obtain degrees via the World Wide Web.

Search a Multitude of Options

First and foremost, it is extremely important to look around a bit at different options and not select the first online university which you come across. As with any type of educational institution, some online education providers are better than others. Therefore, shop around a bit with regard to educational possibilities and only select one from the bunch after thoroughly reviewing your options.

Consider The Cost Of The Online Program

It is also important to consider how much the entire online program will cost you. This relates to not only the online class portion but books and any other costs as well. Some online program providers will offer loans for those who need to find a way to pay for their education. Other providers may not offer loans but will accept money obtained via outside lenders. In addition, there may be a way to pay for the online degree in installment payments which will make the overall education much more affordable.

Determine How Many Credits Will Need to Be Obtained to Acquire a Degree

You should also determine how many credits you will need to acquire in order to get your degree in the desired educational subject. Some online schools will offer degrees for fewer credits than others. By choosing a school where less credits are required, you may find that you receive the same type of education for less money. Therefore look into the credit requirements of each online educational provider prior to selecting a specific one.

Look Into How Classroom Sessions Are Administered

One who is searching for an online school should also find out how the virtual classes are administered. Some may find that classes where the students can do the coursework at their leisure may be more suitable to their schedule than ones which require the student to log on at certain times throughout the week to attend classroom sessions. This is an important factor to consider so that you can be certain to get all of your coursework done in a timely and efficient manner.

Inquire About the Reputability of the Online Program

Last but certainly not least, you should inquire about the reputability of a certain program prior to signing up for a specific one as this will often determine whether the program is worth your money or not. As with any educational institution, certain online educational programs will be better than others. Therefore, try doing some research online when it comes to figuring out how good a certain education program is and ask friends and family members with regard to online education recommendations.