Business

What to Pack for Kids on the Plane

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You are preparing for a flight with your kids, and you are not sure what to include in their backpack. Don’t worry.

Admittedly, traveling with your kids is an amazing yet stressful experience. Kids tend to be hyper and can be a nuisance, especially in long flights.

All you need to do is to include not only essentials but also things that occupy them. You should their interests and hobbies. Moreover, adding something interesting in their backpack will serve them right.

The following are some essential things you should consider adding especially on your girl’s backpack.

 

  • Clothes

 

Ensure you pack extra clothes for your kids. They can spill drinks on their clothes and you may need to change those dirty clothes. Young kids below two years need to change clothes regularly.

The best thing to do is to ensure you are equipped with enough clothes.

 

  • Travel blanket

 

Kids love to sleep. If you are on the plane for more than three hours, add a blanket in their packing list. They are prone to fall asleep during the flight. Covering them is essential to keep them warm.

 

  • Medications

 

This is a critical thing you should never forget. If your kids are under any medication, remember to add to their backpack. You don’t want your kids’ health to deteriorate when on flight or ruining your summer holiday.

 

  • Wipes and tissues

 

Hygiene is essential for every kid. And that’s why wipes will be useful in wiping seats and tables. While preparing your kids backpack ensure this is an item they will not miss.

 

  • Snacks and empty water bottle

 

Consider packing snacks for your kids. Dry meals are the best while traveling. Empty water bottles are necessary to fetch water in the airport before boarding the plane. And you know water is vital to keep your kids hydrated.

 

  • Electronics

 

Add electronics in your kids’ backpack to keep them entertained. If your kids get bored, they will make noise and cause drama in the plane. Pack for them laptops, iPods, game systems and tablets.

They can watch their favorite plays and engage in different games during and after the flight. It’s an excellent way to keep your kids involved and allows them to have a great trip and holiday.

 

  • Crayons and a drawing pad

 

If your kids love drawing, then make sure you pack drawing books and pencils for them. These will keep your kids occupied during the flight. You can also add a travel journal. They can record all the activities they’ve done and the places they have traveled.

 

  • Teddy bears

 

If your kids love teddy bears, you can add to their backpack. One teddy bear is enough-pack their favorite.

Bottom Line

Deciding what to add and what not to add can be hectic especially in a kids backpack. The above list will make the selection process more manageable and will ensure you don’t add unnecessary items.

You should only pack what’s necessary for the flight. Besides, add items to entertain and engage your kids. You want your kids to have an enjoyable trip.

Happy flight with your kids.

 

6 Important things to know about Tech Angels

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Angels are private individuals who have access to enough wealth to put into startups and are willing to do so. Tech angels are a particularly rare breed. They may have sold a tech business or may simply be excited by the sector and willing to take a small gamble. However, there are a lot of myths about tech angels and it is important to understand the real situation or it can be extremely hard to secure funding by this route.

They know what they like – Tech angels are usually bright people who have achieved a high degree of success in their lives. They understand business and often know what they want to invest in. More specifically they know what they don’t want to invest in. It cannot be assumed that they will invest in the sector in which they made their money. They often know it too well and would prefer to look at new sectors. Angel investors will tend to look at broad areas such as B2B, consumer or fashion. It’s important to listen to what interests them and not sell too hard.

They want to spread their risk – Angel investors are simply people with a lot of money to invest. However, it is important to understand that they will only invest a very small percentage of their wealth into tech startups. It is a risky investment for them and will normally only represent 10%-20% of their overall portfolio, as a hedge against the obvious failures there will be, or a disaster proofing if you like. They will spread this portion of their investments over as many as 20 startups over the period in which they invest. Do the sums and be realistic about how much to ask for from each angel.

They invest in packs – Although you may occasionally come across lone wolves, angels generally invest in packs. This is because they want to spread their risk as much as possible and investing in groups means they can make a lot more smaller investments. A startup may be looking for £200K. Given that the average investment may typically be approximately £25K, the total round would involve 8-10 angels working together. Don’t expect to find too many angels investing upwards of £100K on a single startup.

They respect each others opinions – Tech angels may want to take the lead or follow an angel that they respect. The lead angel will often be a ‘smart’ investor who either understands the sector or simply has a track record of investing in tech. This is a useful dynamic to understand. Find a respected lead angel and they will recommend your startup to their friends.

They are not just in it for the money – Tech investors are rarely investing just for a return on their investment. They get a buzz from keeping their hand in and helping the entrepreneur to make a success of the venture. They can bring a huge amount of experience and contacts. They are usually looking for founders who are open-minded to advice. They will only work with people that they can get on with. Listen to what your angel is saying and avoid being defensive at all times.

They are not easy to spot – People with money to invest, do not shout about it. On the other hand there are plenty of people with no money who find it useful to pretend to be investors. Real angels are spread over multiple networks or simply stay hidden.

In summary, it is important to understand that founders will not normally find individual angels to fund anything other than very early stage businesses. It’s a bit of a numbers game. You may have to find as many as 20 angels to invest in a single funding round. These angels may belong to several networks or may work alone. It is useful to get a commitment from one or two smart investors and get their help in introducing others. Be realistic about the individual investment size and build the total commitment in small chunks. If necessary take part of the total round and continue fundraising until the total is reached.

 

Everything You Should Know about Shipping Items Overseas: Requirements, How to Pack, and More

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When you are planning to ship items overseas, whether you have an e-commerce business or you have to do it for an entirely different reason, there are some rules which you need to follow. Shipping items overseas is different from shipping locally or just within the UK, after all, as your packages may need to go through various modes of transportation, different time zones, and different customs and border control processes. Here, then, is everything you should know about shipping items overseas: requirements, how to pack, and more.

What you need

  • Packaging materials

For shipping items overseas, you need the appropriate packing and shipping box or envelope. Depending on your item’s size, shape, and material, you can either go for a box or envelope, as long as it is of the right size. The size should be big enough to accommodate your item but not too big that the object can tumble around inside. It shouldn’t be too small, or the box or envelope may become ripped or torn. You also need fillers such as bubble wrap, packing chips, foam, or packing paper, which you should use to fill the space around the product, so it is better protected.

 

  • Information for customs

If you are not sending your package through international couriers such as DHL or FedEx, which requires an invoice on an envelope placed outside the package, you should write down the box or envelope’s contents on a label which you can stick onto the surface of the container. Make sure the label is attached securely to the container so that it cannot be tampered with or removed during transport.

  • Other materials

To avoid damage or tears, you should also make use of masking tape (make sure it is extra-durable) so that you can secure the edges and corners of the boxes or envelopes. Keep in mind that your package may undergo a lot of stress and impact while being transported, so it’s best to prioritise its protection. You can also make use of labels and label makers to make the address easy to read and use a good pen to fill in essential details. If you are an e-commerce company, you can add various stamps or stickers to customise your package for your customer and make it look unique and attractive.

Packing delicate or heavy items

If you are sending delicate or fragile items, it’s best to pack each item individually in bubble wrap. Fill in space with other packing materials such as paper, packing chips, or bubble wrap, and make use of stretch wrap to keep several items together as well.

For heavy items, fill the space in the box or container up to the top; this will restrict the movement of the object inside. Use sticky tape to prevent scrapes. If you have an extra large or bulky package, you can use a foam-lined box, which is often ideal for glassware or electronics. Invest in durable boxes such as sturdy and re-usable boxes from www.ukplc.co.uk and heavy-duty packaging materials so your items will arrive at their final destination wholly intact and without any damage.

 

Image attributed to Pixabay.com

 

2 Alternatives to Amazing Selling Machine

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Selling on amazon these days is hot and trending. Among the popular programs is Amazing Selling Machine that has good reviews, you can see a review here, but it is very expensive as compared to other alternatives that I am going to mention below. Its price scares off many people who end up looking for cheaper alternatives, these are:

Complete amazon marketing system

This is quite unique; it comes in form of a physical book which attracts some people a lot. With such, you can sit in any position on your bed, couch or outside in the backyard and get information about business. I love reading books so to me it is an educative hobby. The problem with this form is that you it can be hard to find the specific information you want without skimming through the pages since there is nothing like searching as you would do with digital information.

Jim Cockrum’s Proven Amazon Course

if you are thinking of buying products from oversea countries like China and then selling them on Amazon under your personal brand then Cockrum’s course is meant for you. It is the popular alternative to Amazon Selling machine. The member’s area of PAC has a lot of information in its content. It has video tutorials and information on finding inventory, steps of beginning and private labeling just to mention a few.

The goodness with Pac is that:

  • It has a section meant for international FBA
  • It can be used by both the people who are in the US and those that aren’t.
  • It has a growing business community on Facebook, which is good for successful entrepreneurs to help the budding entrepreneurs grow with sharing their secrets, their success stories and lessons learnt too. So with this you can get information on how to become a successful entrepreneur.

The only problem with PAC I can say is that it has too much information to consume that you can get confused at some point but it is a good one.

Warehouse Storage System for Your Business

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As your business started to grow bigger, you will need to expand your business operation to meet more demand from customers. It means you will need bigger business facilities and that’s including bigger warehouse. For all business enterprises, especially retail businesses, warehousing is crucial part of logistic management. Good warehousing management ensures enough stockpile of products available to meet the demand for the sales. It will improve the product value as well as service value to the customers.

Proper warehousing will be needed to meet your business growth and it isn’t only about bigger warehousing space. The warehouse must be able to accommodate your business warehousing operation. The space is big enough and suitable for the particular characteristics and specs of your product. It is also important that the products can be stored optimally and allows efficient product moving. This is when choosing the ideal warehouse storage system becomes very important.

Storage system for warehouse is also known as warehouse management system. It is used to manage all items safe and easy to manage while also optimizing space utilization. The system itself can be a simple one to a very complex one with so many components with advanced technology. However, the main component of warehouse management system is the storage racks or shelves.

Storage racks of shelves mainly made from metal frames designed to accommodate products storage. In commercial and industrial warehouse, the type of storage used is mainly pallet racking. Pallet racks can be arranged to accommodate different types of products and able to withstand heavy weighted materials. It is also good option to utilize space. While the next popular option is mezzanine. It is more cost effective and also able to utilize space. However, this system is only suitable for small scale warehouse with relative light weighted materials to store.

There are several factors to consider when choosing warehouse storage system. Those are factors are:

Storage density. It refers to size, weight, and quantity of the products to store.

Product flows. Whether it is first in first out (FIFO) or las in first out (LIFO) flow, this will determine the right system to choose.

Forklift access. Be sure the system provides enough space for forklift traffics and maneuvers.

Local regulations. Be sure that the system compliant with local standards and regulations. This including seismic zone, environmental code, FDA standards, etc.

Industrial standards. The system to choose must be certified or compliant with industrial standards for commercial use.

It is highly recommended to gather manufacturers’ perspective to help you find the right system. Consult with one or more manufacturers or suppliers and let the give recommendation about what kind of solution they can provide to meet your actual needs. Manufacturers have years of expertise and experiences and it becomes a huge asset to help you find the right solution for your warehouse storage system. It allows you to compare their offers and determine which one will bring the best value for your investment. You can be confident you have the right solution to help your business to thrive.