3 Things to Consider Before Buying Your First Home

Investing in your first home is one of the most exciting steps in life. What an accomplishment to be able to buy yourself a house to live in, and to create memories that will last a lifetime. Maybe you’re trying to start a family, and are excited at the perspectives this new home offers, or maybe you would like to invest your hard-earned money in some property. In any case, though buying your first home can be exhilarating, it can also be overwhelming when faced with many important decisions to make. We have compiled a thorough list of 10 things you should think about before buying your first home, so you’re confident you can make all the right decisions! 

Study the market thoroughly before you make any decisions

If you were around during the 2008 recession, you’ll know how much the real-estate market can bend and change through time. Very quick shifts can occur, which is why it is important that the first thing you do when thinking about buying your first home is study the market. To do so, you can:

• Look at many listings to find out the type of property available at your price point. 

• Dedicate a day or two to explore neighborhoods if you’re not familiar with them all and find out which one attracts you. Then, finetune your search to that particular neighborhood and take note of the average price. 

• If the market price for your ideal home doesn’t fit your budget, don’t hope for an amazing deal, it most likely won’t happen. Look for listings that fit your budget. 

• Don’t settle for the first option you come across, take the time to explore.  

Consider your long-term plan 

Let’s say you have found a property you love and you’ve finalized the deal. You’ve spent months, maybe even years finishing the paperwork at at last, you’re able to move into your home. You dedicate so much time and effort to making this house feel like home, and by the time you’ve finished it all, your needs have changed. Oh no, you’re going to have to do it all again to find something better suited to you… 

Our needs can evolve at an incredibly fast-pace through life, and that’s something to factor in when choosing your first home. Are you planning on having children? Will you be moving in with your partner? Will you be starting a new home-based business venture in the next few years? Try and anticipate changes as best you can and choose a home that will give you the room to grow and expand. 

Factor in the true costs of your ideas

Sometimes, especially when buying a first home with a limited budget, we tend to dream big and underestimate the work it would take to renovate a place. It is easy to imagine beautiful glossy cabinets in the place of old 70’s cupboards, and sleek, lustrous wood flooring instead of old, grimey tiles. 

Think about the full cost of renovating when planning it out - a common mistake is to forget to include the cost of labor, which can amount up to a lot of money in the end. The average cost of renovating a kitchen is $13,000–37,000, and a bathroom usually costs $6,000–15,000. Adding all that up to the price of the home might mean it’s more cost-efficient for you to purchase something slightly more expensive but with less renovations. 

A home that suits you

The bottom line is: your first home should suit your needs in the best way possible. Take the time to find whatever property that can achieve that for you, and don’t hesitate to bring as much research to the table as you can. Here at Wasy Homes, we have been helping buyers search for the first home of their dreams. Contact us for advice, we would be happy to help! 

The Importance of SEO

SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization, and it consists of all strategies, actions, and practices that can improve a website’s ranking on search engines. Though you may have profusely heard that SEO is crucial to your business, you might now know why. It is a very efficient way of driving traffic to a website and attracting more views to your business. 

It is also a valuable tool to build relationships with potential clients, and create a trustworthy and credible brand. But what exactly is SEO and what does it mean for your business? Let’s talk about what makes SEO so important, and how you can implement some of its key principles into your overall digital strategy. 

Bringing future customers to your doorstep

Let’s think about Google for a minute. As a search engine, it decides how worthy any website is of appearing amongst the first search results whenever anything is typed into the search bar. Let’s say someone was to type in the sentence “dentists in new york”. Google determines which dentists in New York should appear on the first page of results that will appear on the user’s screen. It makes these decisions in a far from arbitrary manner, though it may seem like it at a glance. To appear first, you will have to make sure you answer Google’s criteria as to whether you’re a credible answer to the search you want to target. Here are some of those parameters:

• Keywords. They are what someone trying to find you would typically type into Google. You’ll need to make sure they are abundantly included on your web pages. The more relevant keywords you use, the more Google will view you as a credible web page to include. You will be able to use these keywords to connect with the Google users that are typing them into the search bar. Research the keywords with the most search rates, and vary between long-form, short-form, and local keywords. 

• Off-page SEO (backlinking). Backlinks are links from outside domains that point back to pages on your domain, and vice versa. Google looks for websites with high-quality backlinks and makes these websites rank higher. Working on your backlinks will build authority and make your content credible. You’ll want to create highly shareable content, with plenty of engaging infographics. Look into guest blogging, and don’t forget to mention brands with a lot of influence on your content. SEO builds trust and credibility when used in the right ways. 

SEO, a crucial part of your digital strategy 

Digital marketing is a vast field that includes all and any ways of marketing a brand. What marketers are trained to do is build a brand and create a narrative around that brand. Potential customers need to feel drawn to a company thanks to an original and efficient story built around it. However, no digital marketing strategy works without good SEO. Why? Because crafting a powerful narrative and creating a brand doesn’t mean anything if no one encounters that particular brand. Building an audience around a brand also means finding ways of luring new people, and potential clients, into the company’s world. To do so, you will need to generate organic searches for your business’s website. 

Organic searches are search results that aren’t influenced by paid advertising. The higher you rank, the more visitors will be able to see you as soon as they press enter on the search bar. We have talked about how you can entice Google into ranking your website higher on the search page. These organic searches are in most cases the primary source of website traffic though, so you need to incorporate SEO practices into your overall digital strategy if you want to be able to effortlessly generate leads online. 

Persuading visitors to stay on your page

You’ll also want to create a clean, swift, and efficient user experience on your website if you want to benefit from the seeds that good SEO can sow. Pay attention to your content. Now that you’ve driven customers to your webpage, you’ll want your content to engage your audience. Create a blog, and post articles regularly, to increase visibility on your website by driving traffic to blog posts on similar topics to your business. Make sure the content you are adding to your website reflects positively on your website. Double-check for spelling mistakes, create content that flows nicely. 

You’ll also want to make sure your content appeals to Google. To do so, first identify the length of the content appropriate to your field. Google matches each keyword with its appropriate word count - getting the length completely wrong can prevent you from ranking high. 

15 seconds is the average time users spend on a website - this is called “dwell time”. Consider dwell time as the time you have to generate interest on your webpage. Make sure you: 

• Captivate visitors' attention by offering powerful, creative graphics; don’t let anyone look away! 

• Offer content visitors can engage with, something they can learn from at a glance. 

• Make information the users of your webpage could potentially be looking for, easily accessible and clear. 

• Every second counts, so work on your website’s loading time and make your page as fast as possible. You don’t want users to click away because the website is taking too long to load. 

• Make your site compatible with all devices, so people can access it from their smartphone while waiting for the bus, or from their computer at work. 

• If you’re offering a service or product, highlight your prices or rates to make the information accessible. If you’ve used the right keywords, many visitors will be visiting your page to find out more about the service you offer and will want to know how much it costs at a glance. 

SEO, agency, or DIY? 

As you can see, there are many ways to implement SEO practices to increase your online presence, which will inevitably lead to more clients and a wider audience. Maybe you’ll want to perform these tasks yourself, and learn by trial and error, or outsource to an agency, for the convenience of having professionals handle your Search Engine Optimization in the best way possible. In any case, anything you do to improve your website’s SEO will help tell your business’ story to the world!

Gardening: sowing the seeds of wellness

Picture it: the sweet feeling of a delicate breeze brushing past your face, the smell of freshly cut grass, the comforting afternoon sun... Though many of us lead lives that leave little room for outdoor activities, we all know the feeling of liberation that comes with spending time outside. Recent studies have quantified just how beneficial that time outside can be for mental and physical health. So, what are the benefits of regular gardening activities for your mental health? 

Gardening, a meditative practice

In recent years, scientists have been urging populations to implement the practice of gardening in their daily lives, faced with the positive impact gardening can have on people. In 2016, the  Health & Horticulture Charter Framework was drafted, combining hundreds of research pieces to show the immense benefits of gardening on health. 

Some argue that the act of gardening is similar to that of meditation. Tending to plants provokes the same calming effects as mindfulness practices. The added perk - gardening is an even more rewarding form of meditation. Practicing a relaxing and calm activity such as tending to a plants’ needs, watering herbs, or planting seedlings; ultimately becomes a reward, when you notice the plants are growing. That very plant that allowed you to slow down for a few moments during the day, is now thriving. Gardening will give you positive feedback and great satisfaction - when a new leaf grows, when color becomes more vibrant, or a petal appears. Thus, gardening has been proven to reduce anxiety, in similar ways as meditation can.

Physical health in the garden

Gardening doesn’t have to be a solitary, meditative practice. It can also be a collective activity, something to take part in as a family, or as a community. Studies have shown that community gardens caused an increase in a sense of community among participants. And because good relationships are good for mental health, these shared gardens were also shown to have a hugely positive effect on the well-being of all participants. The collective effort of caring for a garden creates strong bonds. 

As well as mental health, the act of gardening can create the situations of physical exercise that we so desperately need. The movements of gardening - pulling, digging, shoveling, carrying reaching - can be compared to a form of aerobics, which can burn a good number of calories and get our hearts beating. What’s great is that when we garden, we don’t notice how much exercise we are doing because of how compelling the nature of the activity is. Carrying a big bag of soil to repot a growing plant is hardly noticeable because it is exciting to see the plant you’ve been caring for, thrive. 

Regular gardeners will be able to notice a significant increase in vitamin D intake, which helps absorb calcium for bone health and strength. It also supports a healthy brain, heart, teeth, and lungs. Vitamin D is known to keep immune systems strong and help regulate insulin levels. Ultimately, spending time outdoors, letting some vitamin D seep into your body daily, has been known to reduce feelings of depression and unhappiness. Gardening is good for your mind, your body, and your soul. 

Where to start

• Make it as rewarding as possible by growing foods you love. If you enjoy salads, plant some lettuce, and watch as you are able to lovingly provide your favorite food for yourself. Vegetable gardening is a great way to work with plants, as you’ll literally be able to eat your rewards.

• Set yourself up for success. Choose the best type of soil for your plant. Ask around and do your research before you get started. 

• Start small and slow. Don’t overwhelm yourself by wanting to grow too much at a time. Maybe a little house plant is enough for you to start, or a bed of herbs on a windowsill. Nothing is too small to feel the benefits of gardening. 

Tip: Keep track of the changes and improvements you add to your garden, particularly if you’d like to sell your home in the future, they can add tremendous value to your property. 

How to Successfully Hire a Team for Your Online Business

Hiring anyone to be a part of your team is always difficult. It’s hard to know who can be a good fit for your business, to find someone with the same values and work ethics as you strive to have. However, maybe you want to develop your business in the coming months, and growing your team seems inevitable. In this day and age, there are so many different ways of hiring people, and so many different work trends to choose from. Let’s talk about hiring a team for an online business, and debunk the choices. 

The benefits of a remote team

In recent years, and especially due to the current circumstances, many people have transitioned to a remote position. A report from the remote-working platform Upwork stated that in 2021, 1 in 4 Americans would be working remotely. The report also stated that by 2025, 36.2 million Americans will be working from home. 

The reason why is that hiring employees remotely has many benefits. With a remote team, you will be able to:

• Save on the cost of office space, on average up to $2000 per year and per employee

• Expand the number of applicants available to your business by going further than your location, and prioritizing skills over locale

• See a great increase in productivity. A recent Stanford studied showed that individuals working from home were far more productive than those confined inside an office space

• Work with your team in less time and in a more effective way.

The benefits of an in-person team

If you too have been working remotely during the pandemic, you’ll know that working from home isn’t always easy. It can lead to having many distractions during a workday: a screaming baby, a noisy pet, a busy family, meal making, cleaning duties… You might be worried all this could intervene with the efficiency you are expecting from your future employees. 

As well as being a source of frustration for an employer, being a part of a remote team can be very isolating for employees. Because happy employees make for efficient ones, you’ll probably have to reinvest the money you saved with a remote team into:

• Strong, branded, in-house communication tools

• In-person work retreats that allow your employees to bond with colleagues and create a sense of community

• Paying for co-working spaces for each of your employees in case their home isn’t an adequate workplace for them. 

If you add all of these extra costs up, you might find it would simply be easier to recruit a team to work inside an office. An in-person team can also be a real asset to your business, for different reasons. You will be able to monitor performance and communicate in real-time with your employees if you’re in the same physical space as them. You will also be able to build a real relationship of trust and respect, which in turn will be returned back to you in the form of loyalty and commitment to the growth of your business. 

Who should you hire first?

You should hire your first employee when you no longer have enough hours in a day to get everything done. There is a huge amount of growth potential sitting in your businesses’ hands. It is hard to have the confidence to hire your first employee as a small business owner, especially if it’s an online one. However, there’s a point where you simply have to delegate if you wish to continue growing your business. 

The first employee you should hire is a generalist, someone who can get a whole array of tasks done. That is usually what online business owners need first when they are looking to recruit their first team member. Design a staffing plan to help you decide who your first employee should be compared to the grand scheme of things. Plan out how you want your team to grow - do you need a personal assistant to start with? Someone in charge of sales? A social media person? How can you combine as many of your needs as you can into one employee that will help you with your most important and time-consuming tasks? 

Tip: Try hiring a freelancer to do the job before you get a full-time employee on board. That way, you’ll be able to see the immediate results without taking any significant financial risks.

How to hire the right person for your team

Now that you’ve determined whether or not you prefer a remote or in-person team, you should prepare your recruitment process for success. The most important thing to consider when trying to hiring the right person for your team is to communicate the key points of what you are expecting from your future employee. Be clear about the do’s and dont’s, and express what skills and qualities are important to you: patience? Organization? Team-spirit? Creativity? Here are a few extra tips to remember when considering how to hire the perfect person for your team’s needs:

• Clearly outline your company’s values before you find out if your candidates are aligned

• Detail the job description as much as you can

• Structure the interview as best as you can

• Look beyond CV’s

• Don’t forget about asking for references

• Publish your offer on different platforms

Hiring a team as an online business: an exciting step

Hiring a team as an online business owner is completely different than hiring one for a brick-and-mortar business. You won’t need anyone to greet customers or take care of an office. However, you’ll need to invest more time, financial resources, and workforce into curating your social media and online presence. This should reflect in how you choose to recruit your first employee for your online business. Remember, this is an exciting step: you are designing your brand and crafting your values as a business into a story, then having the opportunity to tell that story to someone who wants to be a part of your team. How great to be able to enlist someone’s help in helping you grow the business you have worked so hard to create! 

How to Fix Telegram Not Working for Mobile & Desktop App

The Telegram app boasts over 500 million active users. Through its built-in ‘Secret Chat’, allows users to communicate without leaving a single trace on the server. Telegram recently introduced its desktop version that allows users to benefit from its clever features from a computer.  

You’re probably here because you have been encountering problems with your Telegram mobile or desktop app. Maybe the Telegram server is experiencing problems, or your computer, Wi-Fi, or phone is the root of the malfunction... In this article, we will be going over some common issues with the Telegram app, and talking about the step-by-step solutions you can try. 

Why your Telegram Might not be Working  

Internet connexion

The first thing you’ll want to do if you notice your Telegram desktop or mobile app isn’t working correctly is to check your Internet connexion. Many problems encountered when using apps are due to fragile Wi-Fi or 3G/4G/5G. If you’re on your phone, consider connecting your device to a nearby Wi-Fi network, and if you’re on your computer, restart your router. Contact your Internet provider if that doesn’t work. Once you’ve resolved the Internet issue, you may notice your Telegram app is working just fine. 

Telegram Server 

Though Telegram has proven to be pretty efficient at keeping its server up and running, server mishaps can happen, which leaves its 500 million users unable to communicate via the app. In this case, there’s not much you can do, except wait for the server to be fixed by Telegram. However, you can check whether the server is down or not at https://downdetector.com/, a website which you can type any website, app, or software into and it will tell you whether or not the provider is experiencing issues at the moment. 

Device Problems

Like all apps, when your Telegram isn’t working, it may be because of a momentary system glitch. Fixing this problem requires different steps according to whether you’re dealing with the phone or desktop app. They can be because of your browser cache data, from a firewall blocker, or because of a proxy/VPN server. 

How to Fix Telegram Not Working?

What to Try First

Check your Internet Connexion

Whenever any app seems to be having trouble operating normally, the first thing to do is to check your internet connexion. 

• If you’re using Telegram on your phone, open another app and see if it is working normally. The best apps to use when checking internet connexion are ones like Messenger and Gmail, which tell you on the home screen if you’re lacking connexion. 

• If you’re on your desktop, open a tab on your browser and press random keys to initiate a search - if results come up, your Internet is working fine. If not, try connecting your device to another network. Sometimes, on mobiles, users think they were connected to a Wi-Fi network when they were actually running on poor 3G/4G. 

Check your VPN Connexion if needed

Telegram has gained so much popularity recently because of its high-security features. This means that some countries have banned the app, fearing that users would be able to communicate around illegal activities. If you are not able to access Telegram from your device, it may be because your location doesn’t allow access. In this case, you’re going to need to install a VPN to your device, if you haven’t already. 

Step 1: Download the VPN app or browser extension of your choice. Some good options include ExpressVPN, NordVPN, IPVanish, PureVPN, CyberGhost, ProtonVPN, Surfshark, Norton Secure VPN…. 

Step 2: Open the VPN and connect to a server - you will have a new IP address.

Step 3: Reinstall the Telegram mobile or browser app. 

Step 4: Login. You should now be able to use the app. 

If you already had a VPN working in the background when using Telegram, change your VPN’s location and try again. 

How to Fix Telegram Mobile App Not Working

Let’s talk about some steps you can take if your Telegram mobile app isn’t working. 

Step 1: Go into your device’s Settings. Sometimes, devices can accidentally disable apps’ data usage. This may be the case. Check the Telegram app has its allocated data in the data usage category of your phone’s settings. If not, reallocate data usage. 

Step 2: Change up your Internet connection. It’s easy to be alarmed whenever a problem occurs on any app, before checking Internet connection. Try switching up your connection for Wi-Fi if you’re using 3G/4G/5G, and vice-versa. Tip: Check you haven’t activated airplane mode by accident. 

Step 3: Reboot your phone to fix any temporary system glitches that may have occurred. Switch your phone off and on again, then try accessing the Telegram app. This simple step fixes network bugs. 

Step 4: If you do not have the latest Telegram app, you may need to update it, because it could have become obsolete. Telegram frequently updates its app, so the issues you are having may be because of an old version. Update the app to the latest version available.  

Step 5: If you have the latest version of the Telegram app, you might need to reinstall it. Consider deleting it from your device, then reinstalling it and logging in with your usual credentials. No need to worry about your message and call history: you won’t lose any data if you reinstall the app. 

Step 6: If you’re using Telegram on an Android device, you may need to clear the cache to resume usage. To do so, long-press on the Telegram icon in your device settings and open App info. Click Storage & cache and clear the cache. Reopen the Telegram app and assess whether the issues you had noticed are gone. 

Step 7: Some users have reported their device’s battery saver mode interfering with their Telegram app. Try disabling the mode by going into your device’s settings and clicking “turn off Low Power Mode”. 

How to Fix Telegram Web Not Working

Here are some steps you can take if Telegram isn’t working on your browser. 

Step 1: Your browser may be the root of the issue. Try restarting your browser. Open Telegram again and see if it works. 

Step 2: If your browser isn’t working with Telegram, try using another browser. On Mac, try Chrome instead of Safari, and on PC, try Chrome instead of Firefox. 

Step 3: If you have a firewall on your software, that may be the problem. Go to the firewall’s settings and check the Telegram URL is authorized. You may not have been able to access Telegram from your browser because it has been added to your firewall’s block list. 

Step 4: Clear your browsers’ cache to clear redundant data from your browser - this may be what is preventing Telegram from working correctly. Once you have cleared your browsers’ cache, reboot it along with the Telegram web app. 

How to Fix Telegram Desktop Not Working

If your Telegram desktop app isn’t working, it might be a good idea for you to try the above steps. After trying those three steps, if your Telegram desktop app still isn’t working, try restarting your computer. 

Hopefully, all these steps should have led to you being able to use Telegram again. It may have become indispensable for you to communicate with friends and family, carry out projects and chat with a group of people. If you weren’t able to resolve your particular issue with Telegram through these steps, you can always reach out to Telegram Support, who have been known to answer questions very quickly! 

Metaverse: the Future of Internet

“Metaverse” - a word that seems to be Silicon Valley’s favorite thing at the moment. The term originated in the novel “Snow Crash,” written by Neal Stephenson in 1992. A metaverse can be defined as virtual collective space, a sum of virtually enhanced physical reality and virtual space. The word combines the prefix “meta”, which means universe, and a suffix derived from “universe”. Thus, could the perspective of a Metaverse, promised by all the big names in Tech, such as Mark Zuckerberg, offer a paradigm that goes beyond the universe? 

What exactly is the Metaverse and how does it work?

The metaverse isn’t exactly a new concept. Popular online games such as Fortnite, or Minecraft, have been creating user-built virtual worlds for years. These virtual worlds echo the general idea of a metaverse: a collection of worlds connecting in space. The boom of video-conferencing tools throughout the pandemic also foreshadowed the shift to come, whereby physical realities aren’t restricted or bound by physical laws. Just as it is possible to communicate daily with loved ones and colleagues through Zoom, in a realistic manner with voice and image, in the years to come we may be able to merge the virtual reality and the physical one to create the Metaverse.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, and founder of Facebook, which now boasts 2.85 billion monthly active users, wants people to be able to shift between virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and 2D, thanks to realistic avatars. With a snap of a finger or a flick of a virtual screen, you should be able to tap into the metaverse to accomplish just about any task relevant to your daily life. 

Interoperability and merging platforms

What makes the metaverse different from what we call the Internet at this point, is said to be its capacity to merge platforms and offer powerful interoperability. For example, if users want to communicate via Messenger but also make an announcement via Twitter or Reddit, they will be able to do it all simultaneously. The metaverse offers a space in which the physical reality of being at a set place in a set timeframe will be able to be combined with the virtual reality of combining any feature available online. As Christina Wootton, VP of brand partnerships at Roblox said, “the brands that are progressive in this area are the ones that understand the fact that self-expression is such an important component of why people spend so much time online. They can be who they want to be.” Communication and self-expression seem to be key elements in the drafting of the metaverse, which might be why Zuckerberg is so involved in it… 

The metaverse - not quite there yet 

“It’s probably fair to say that what we have today is not quite the Metaverse yet,” said Moritz Baier-Lentz, member of the Metaverse venture capital fund BITKRAFT Ventures. It seems as though we won’t be witnessing the advent of the metaverse in the weeks to come. The hardware used nowadays would need to be developed much further to be able to support a digital world experienced by billions of simultaneous users in real-time. 

Once we come up with computing capabilities strong enough to be the metaverse’s infrastructure, we will also have to provide a solution to the humongous energy consumption the metaverse could cost. The huge energetical price to it would provide great problems for power grids and, inevitably, for the environment. Lastly, cultural changes could be essential to welcome the development of the metaverse. If we take VR and AR as examples of milder advancements, only less than 20% of Americans have been or still are VR headset users. This leaves great room for potential users to adopt technological advancements, in time, thus it is clear that people are not ready for invisible screens to be popping up in their local cafe or supermarket. However, Baier-Lentz also predicted VR and AR headsets could surpass gaming consoles in 2025...

Metaverse, the new 3D Internet

All in all, the metaverse is a new iteration of the Internet; one which provides real-time physical consequences to virtual actions. It will also offer a customizable version of reality, in an altogether social and collective way: Tim Sweeney, chief executive of Epic Games (creator of Fortnite) said “The metaverse is not an App Store with a catalog of titles. In the metaverse, you and your friends and your appearance and cosmetics can go from place to place and have different experiences while remaining connected to each other socially.” 

Staying connected, wherever you go. Wasn’t that the idea behind the Internet? Well, the thinkers of the metaverse promise to reinvent the concept of the Internet. It seems to be the new frontier for online interaction - now that we can do just about anything in a virtual world online, the pioneers of the metaverse want us to be able to transfer those activities into our physical realities. 

The importance of 3D

Avatars could become a huge part of the applications of the metaverse, using them for shopping purposes for example. Let’s say you find the perfect outfit online, and you want to buy it but you’re not sure it would look good on you. What you would be able to do in the metaverse is try it on, thanks to your hyperrealistic personal avatar, and see if it suits you. 

The metaverse is more than just using a digital avatar to try on clothes, though. It could also mean virtual real estate. It seems as though virtual metaverse is already happening: in March 2021, a piece of real-estate on the Somnium Space platform, which is a VR game space, was purchased for $500,000. In April 2021, a plot of land on Decentraland, another virtual platform, was sold for $572,000. Thus, the metaverse may already be unfolding, as users are purchasing virtual real-estate daily, providing the foundations of a metaverse economy.

What is certain, is that the metaverse will require any user to have a personalized avatar to navigate through the stages of its virtual, beyond universe. Ready PlayerMe is a cross-game avatar platform specialized in creating avatars for the metaverse. Here at PixCap too, we can also help you find your avatar and curate your metaverse persona in a way that suits your use of the metaverse. Using AI image capture, you can create your high-quality, fully customizable 3D avatar and use it for gaming, hanging out in virtual spaces, trying on outfits, and even purchasing land in the metaverse! 

White Label App Development: 3 Best Practices To Follow

As of 2021, it is said that the average smartphone user spends 3 hours and 10 minutes per day on their device. 2 hours and 51 minutes of that time is spent on apps, which are thought to represent 90% of mobile phone usage overall - 175 Billion apps are downloaded yearly. Amongst those apps, an increasingly popular category is arising: the white label app. White label apps are created by specialized companies, then sold to businesses that can rebrand the apps as their own. The existence of such apps has allowed businesses of any scale to be able to own and publish an app, communicate with their clients, offer new functionalities, and more. Thus, the white label app market is a hugely fast-growing market. You may be wondering, in the face of its success, if a white label app is a good way to go for your business or your client’s - let’s explore the market together and find out the best practices to follow when developing a white label app. 

White Label App VS Custom App

Creating a custom app for your business

As a business, you may be faced with the question of building your own app, for marketing purposes, to drive sales, or for any other reason. It is tempting to create a customized app: many business owners see potential in the alluring perspectives that a well-functioning, utterly personalized app has to offer. However, creating a custom app does not come without risks. 

You may come across challenges others have encountered before, and found solutions to, without having the knowledge to resolve and fix errors as you go along. In other words, you might end up wasting time and not being able to propel your newly created app to its full potential. App development doesn’t stop once the app hits the market - do you want to be left with the responsibility of troubleshooting every new problem your app encounters after it is published? You could end up spending far more money on developing already existing tools and solutions to fit your needs. 

Purchasing a one-stop-shop White Label app

On the other hand, you could opt for the white label app when supplying your business with an app. When purchasing a white-label app from a company, you are acquiring a one-stop-shop service, allowing you to benefit from an array of services that you would have had to source separately. This could mean saving a huge amount of time, which seems to be essential in a world where there aren’t enough minutes in a day. 

Though the custom app and white-label app are two different things, they are not opposed. Nowadays, White Label apps can be remarkably tailored to businesses’ needs and expectations, with the added benefit of not having to worry about development and maintenance. White label apps: 3 best practices to follow 

Look for a white label supplier that suits your business

Benefiting from a successful white label finished product, though it is generally a swift process, requires a series of important decisions. Whether you’re looking for the right company for your business or your clients’, you’ll want to find the white label supplier that will provide the best product for your needs. Identify your needs, desires, and expectations - precisely why you wish to use an app, then research which companies are specialized in the sort of solutions you need. The company you choose to partner with should have values that align with yours - don’t hesitate to look into its past projects, and to find out whether it has delivered similar apps to your ideal one. White label apps aren’t just adding your branding to an existing app; you should look for a carefully planned out, strategic process. Choose a supplier with a proven track record and solid positive reviews, to ensure a good experience overall. 

Aim for a company that offers quality, long-term support

One of the advantages of a white label app is not having to worry about maintenance and the many future complications that running an app entails. You want to be able to enter a partnership with a company you trust to offer you support whenever something goes wrong, or when your needs regarding the app fluctuate, which they inevitably will. Look for a supplier with adequate resources to continually grow your app, and thus, your business in the long run. 

Seek proof of performance and thorough analytics

Let’s picture it: you have invested time, money, and resources in an app that you have purchased from a white label supplier. It is all going great, but now you want to know how well your app is doing to find out whether your investment is reaping rewards for your business. Try and find a supplier that offers detailed analytics and provides proof of performance so that you can continually assess how well your app is performing. 

The pros of a white label app

Whether you’re a digital agency looking to expand your offerings, a business owner needing to offer additional services, or communicate better with your clients, a white label app could very well be the way to go. Let’s find out why:

• Reduced costs

Those who have produced custom-made apps in the past will know that the costs involved always exceed expectations. Prices for a simple app range from $40,000 to $60,000 on average. White label apps, on the other hand, average at around $6000 (and upwards) for a complete and personalized all-in-one solution. 

• Faster process

When purchasing a white-label app, you are letting professionals whose sole purpose is to provide apps do the work for you. You don’t have to risk decreasing the quality of the initial service you provide to your customers for the benefit of investing time and resources into creating a custom app. It is therefore a much faster process, as many of these apps are ready to go - you’ll just have to think about the branding, and your app can go live. 

• Low maintenance and ongoing support

Developing an app is one thing, ensuring it undergoes consistent maintenance and provides a flawless experience for users is another. Purchasing a white label service means benefiting from ongoing support on all matters regarding your app. Plus, most companies offer thorough analytics that will help you measure the effectiveness of your app in achieving specific goals. 

• Brand identity

Based on a generic product curated to fit your needs, you’ll be able to fully customize your app whilst enjoying the perks of using a product that has been tried and tested. You’ll be able to add on terminological, regional, and language-based customization, without any hassle, which can help in establishing your brand worldwide. 

Why use a white label app? 

We have talked about the benefits of a white label app as opposed to those of a custom app. We have also discovered the best practices to follow when choosing a white label supplier to partner with. It is clear that a white-label app is a hugely cost-effective option, whereby all the many skills needed to get a personalized app on the market and available for customers to use seamlessly are outsourced to another party. You will end up with a better quality of service you are delivering to your client, which is probably why any business wants to acquire an app in the first place… 

Though a white label app is a truly efficient way to acquire an app, there are other solutions available. Here at Low Code, we provide businesses with simple, cost-effective approaches to apps. We can help you figure out what your needs and expectations are regarding the app you want to create. You can download our 12-Step Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Launch Checklist for free to find out more about curating the app your business needs. 

5 Things To Know Before You Start Developing a Mobile App

The rate at which the mobile app world is developing is mind-blowing. Anyone would have a hard time keeping up, especially business owners who are already busy with day-to-day operations. You may be thinking of developing your company’s mobile app, to further communicate with clients, offer easy solutions, extend your services or build your brand. Mobile apps have been known to be an amazing tool for businesses to grow and develop their service or product. However, knowing how to navigate the development of said app can be a real challenge. Let’s talk about the five most important things to know before you can start developing a mobile app for your business. 

1. Define your target audience

Now that you’ve thoroughly researched the many options and concepts available to you, the next step is to carefully define your target audience. Your objective as a business developing an app is to curate something that caters as well as it can to the needs of your audience. Though you might think so, creating an app that works for anyone and everyone is impossible. That’s why you’ll want to finetune your app so that it works seamlessly for a particular group of users, which will be your target audience. You’re going to want to think like your audience to assess what they want and how you can solve the problems they encounter. These questions could help you:

• What problems should your app aim to solve?

• Who should your app help?

• Who would want to download and use your app?

• In what ways could someone use your app? 

• How old do you want your audience to be? 

• Which gender are you targeting?

• Is your app going to be dependent on a particular location?

• Which business goals will this app help you achieve? 

• How will this app help you communicate with your ideal client? 

• How can this app help you build your brand? 

• What does your audience need? 

It might help to define a few main user archetypes, just as you could imagine your ideal client would be. Then, whenever you decide on the development of your app, you’ll be able to come back to these questions and always make sure you’re sticking to something that your target audience will truly want and need. Be honest, take the time to succeed in this step - your future self will thank you. In a nutshell: you can’t fulfill goals if you haven’t defined said goals beforehand; you can’t offer a solution if there’s no problem to solve. 

1. Research is key

Before even starting the first step on the way to developing your app, you’re going to need to have a clear idea of the concept you want to create, and research it thoroughly. Browse your App store or Google Play store, and find similar ideas to yours. Download the apps and spend some time perusing through their features and options. You’ll most likely find things you hadn’t thought of before, or realize some of these ideas don’t truly suit your vision. Time spent researching the concept you want to implement is vital - always know what’s out there before you start investing resources into creating your app. 

1. Choose your platform

Sometimes, when businesses have a limited budget in regards to developing a mobile app, they will have to choose between producing an app for Android or iOS. This may be your case. This decision is not to be taken lightly, what platform your customer base uses shouldn't just be an assumption. You don’t want to end up with an app you’ve spent time and money developing, which none of your clients can use. Globally, Android users are a far larger group than iOS users. However, in the US for example, iOS and Android users split the market 50/50. In the same way as this number may vary across the globe, it can change according to what industry and field your business fits under; research this before you make any decisions. 

Once you’ve chosen between iOS, Android, or both, you’re going to have to decide which types of devices you’re building your app for. Your client base and target audience may be using devices you aren’t suspecting. This has huge implications for the smooth user experience of your app. Both Android and iOS have smartphone and pad devices, all of which don’t have the same requirements when it comes to screen width for example. For example, devices that have larger screens could allow you to endure fewer limitations than you would for iPhones. Once you’ve determined this information, you’ll be able to start defining the dynamics of your mobile app. 

1. Choose your system: native, hybrid, and web app

Developing an app is a technical process that calls for some basic knowledge and understanding to make important decisions. Don’t worry though, this knowledge is becoming increasingly accessible to business owners: in 2021, 32 percent SMBs own a mobile app, and 42 percent report that they plan to launch one at some point in the future. Among the crucial decisions businesses developing an app have to make, you will find whether or not you should make your app native, hybrid, or web. This decision will carry a lot of weight in the future, regarding maintenance and the way each type of app is developed. It will also impact the user experience of your app, so choose carefully. 

The main difference between these three types of systems is that native and hybrid apps are installed in an app store, whereas web apps are mobile-optimized web pages that look like apps. Hybrid and web apps render HTML web pages, but hybrid apps use app-embedded browsers to do so. The advantages and disadvantages of each app type are as follows:

• Device features. Web apps can take advantage of some features, but native apps have access to the full extent of device-specific features such as GPS, camera, gestures, and notifications.

• Offline functioning. If you want to offer an app that works without being connected to the Internet, you should choose a native app. 

• Discoverability. Web apps are best for discoverability because they appear in search engine results. Users won’t have to go into the app store or play store and search for your app, then download it, then look for specific information. They’ll be able to directly access the information via their preferred search engine. This also means that users outside of your target audience will be able to stumble upon your content with proper SEO practices. 

• Speed. Native apps are always better at speed - this is important because responsiveness positively impacts usability. 

• Installation. Native or hybrid apps can be difficult for users to acquire. They will have to be completely motivated and eager to go to the trouble of searching for the app, putting in their app store or google play credentials, and downloading it. A web app though is far more accessible for users to “install”. They’ll simply have to bookmark the web app on their browser so they can come back to it time and time again. 

• Maintenance. Maintaining a native app is much more complicated for developers, though maintaining a web app or hybrid app is just as simple as maintaining a webpage and can be done as much as needed. 

• Platform independence. Web apps and hybrid apps are much better at achieving platform independence. 

• Content restrictions, approval process, and fees. Native and hybrid apps will need to pass approval processes and many content restrictions put in place by app stores. Web apps won’t have to go through all of that. 

• Development cost. It is cheaper to develop hybrid and web apps. 

• User interface. Native apps are always better at providing a swift, sleek user experience. 

1. Monetizing your app - how is your mobile app going to generate revenue

When you thought about your target audience and what you wanted the purpose of your app to be, you may or may not have defined how you want to generate revenue from your app. This app could simply be a tool for you to communicate with your client base, or to grow your brand, but it could also be a way for you to make money. There are different ways for an app to be monetized, thus create revenue for your business. This could be useful for you, especially if you invested quite some time and financial resources into the development of your app. You can monetize your app through: 

• Freemium apps, which are free to download but can content locked features and content. These can only be accessed through a purchase if needed. Many game apps are freemium.

• Paid (premium) apps, which are paid purchases in the app or play store. If you choose this option, you’ll need a great marketing strategy to justify the cost of the app to your client base.

• In-app purchases, which offer digital or physical products for sale inside your app, just as an e-commerce website would. 

• Subscriptions, which bring a recurring stream of revenue, similarly to freemium apps.

• In-app ads, which provide zero cost barriers for the user and offer your app up for advertising space to provide revenue. Be careful not to sacrifice user experience with this model. 

• Sponsorships, which are generally only possible once your app has a big user base. 

All in all, developing a mobile app for your business allows you to offer many new features to your clients. You will also be able to grow your client base, all whilst defining and growing your brand. You might even be able to generate more revenue thanks to app monetization and create a useful channel for marketing and communication with your clients. Developing an app can be a complicated process though, and you’ll need to invest time, financial resources, and many decisions into your app. Here at Low Code, we can help you make some of those complex decisions with our expertise in developing apps. Download our free guide to launching a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to help get your new app running in no time! 

Protecting yourself from online scams in 2021

Here is an article about online scams, phishing and ransomware that I wrote for an IT firm.

The digital landscape is hard to keep track of. With every new development comes its counterpart, new ransomware or malware technique that could seriously harm your business. It is important to know the dangers of online scams and how to protect ourselves from them.

Online scams are getting increasingly popular

Over the course of 2020, Ransomware occurrences grew by 875%. Not only are they happening more often, but they are taking place on bigger scales every time. No type of scam has no impact: whether it be massive ransomware attacks that could reach international proportions, or simple identity fraud, phishing, or farming, any kind of scam could have a repercussion on your business.

Online scams are more dangerous than you might think

Though ransomware is not new, the money in play has grown from thousands to millions of dollars. Even the biggest companies such as Apple, or Acer, and even government institutions such as the Colonial Pipeline have been victims of ransomware. The consequences of these attacks are getting worse: there is great potential for scam events to disrupt the every day habitual operations that we all rely on so much. Power companies could have to stop running, and hospitals may not be able to dispatch ambulances and treat urgent patients. On a smaller scale even, no data is safe from being stolen by malware and online scammers and constantly coming up with different ways of extorting money or information from people. Here are a few:

• ‘You just won a prize’ identity theft
• Fake charities
• Dating and romance scams
• ‘Verify your identity’ personal information theft • Fake buying or selling transactions

• Fake investments
• ‘Guaranteed’ ways to make fast money
• Threats and extortion
• For more: https://carmichaelconsulting.net/online-scams/

How you can protect yourself from online scams

Here at Carmichael Consulting, though we can help you recover from scams, we’d rather help you prevent any damage to be done to your business. Our best advice for you to avoid falling victims to scams would be:

•Stay skeptical of too good to be true promises. Delete, hang up, and block if you feel as though the deal seems a bit too perfect.

•Scammers want to pressure you into making a fast, ill-informed decision, so always take the time to think. A legitimate business/vendor will always let you reflect upon making a purchase. Maybe ask someone else for their opinion.
• Always be aware of who you are dealing with. If someone who you have never heard of contacts you out of the blue, that’s often a sign that you’re dealing with a scammer. Don’t be afraid to thoroughly research vendors/businesses - read reviews, anything you can find to check their reputation and their legitimacy.
• Protect your data and important information at all times. Never give out any information to a source you don’t completely trust. Legitimate firms will never ask you for sensitive information upon initially contacting you - change your passwords regularly, and make sure no two are the same across different platforms.

Going with the less expensive vendor isn’t always the best option

As a business, it’s natural to want to consider the most cost-effective options. However, choosing the cheapest vendor isn’t always a good idea. Many scams use attractive prices to lure customers into purchasing. Vendor fraud is extremely common - always perform due diligence when setting up a new vendor by checking tax ID and telephone numbers, PO boxes/mailing addresses... Purchasing goods or services will put your business at risk if you don’t take precautions. In any case, whether it’s sharing the risks and dangers with you, or helping your business recover from malware, ransomware or vendor fraud, here at Carmichael Consulting we can assist you in protection against online scams.

How To Avoid A Rental Scam In NYC

Here is an article I wrote about rental scams in NYC for a travel website.

In New York City, if it seems too good to be true, that’s because it is. NYC is the home of an abundance of culture, diversity, beautiful sights, and different neighborhoods. However, with rents being sky-high come many opportunities for rental scammers to strike. We’ve got your back though - here are our tips on how to avoid a rental scam in NYC.

Avoid listings that don’t have exact addresses

You’ll sometimes find listings that don’t include exact street addresses. Whilst this can sometimes be an honest mistake from a legitimate broker, it is often a red flag. Scammers collect pictures from existing rentals to create fictional listings as bait for the perfect scam. As a rule of thumb, avoid listings that don’t have exact addresses. If you don’t have a choice, do some digging and check it’s a real place by searching for the apartment on websites like StreetEasy. Check the listings match: same number of bedrooms, photos, amenities, and price. Quick tip: use a reverse Google image search on the listing pictures to see whether it shows up at a higher price elsewhere.

Steer clear of cash deals

A landlord should never ask you for cash upfront to secure a rental or ask you for application fees, or costs related to checking your credit score. When you have good reason to believe you should be paying something, payments should never be made directly in the agent or broker’s name.

Most landlords want to take a good look at your
application before they conclude the rental process,
so be wary of landlords that seem overly eager. Plus, look up your agent or broker on NYC’s eAccess system to check they’re legit - the system lets you access a database of any licensed person/entity in NYC. You should also check they’re a member of the REBNY (the Real Estate Board of New York).

Beware of bad etiquette

Landlords, brokers, or agents will want to look professional and adhere to a certain etiquette when it comes to any contact with potential renters. Be careful of bizarre turns of phrase, excessive typos and errors, and messages that seem a little too eager to be genuine. Scammers, sitting at computers sometimes at the other side of the planet, will try to obtain your personal details or get money from you - they will claim they are unable to show the apartment in person. Perhaps they will say they need money transfers to guarantee a rental. Definitely a red flag - never transfer any money abroad.

Be careful of anything that looks too good

Beautiful photos of magnificent rentals for low prices are definitely, almost systematically scams. Always be aware of the market prices in the particular neighborhood you’re looking at. Spend time browsing and use online tools to find out the rents like Rent Hop. Scammers may also use the ‘bait and switch’ method where they advertise a too good to be true listing then tell you it’s no longer available and show you a much lower quality rental. Check how long the listing has been on the market - if it’s been there for too long, other people have refused the rental, probably for good reasons. Same thing for a listing that’s been on and off the market time and time again, it usually shows something is wrong with it. Amazing deals are often riddled with illegal features like listings that don’t have enough windows or with bedrooms in basements. Always be aware of your rights to protect your safety, and never settle for less than required!

How does having a home office in the garden help your productivity?

Here I wrote an article for a real estate firms website about garden offices, becoming increasingly popular in the UK.

For the past year, many of us have been required to set up offices inside our homes, amidst the chaos of our families and daily occupations. It has been difficult to find appropriate spaces that weren’t the dining table, the unmade bed or the kitchen top. Some have found themselves staring at computer screens whilst drowning in seas of children’s toys and infant screams, dog barks and afternoon chats. Working from home means the inevitable fate of being disturbed by the familial helter-skelter of the home, the habitual pitter-patter of loved ones around.

However, a growing number of families in the UK have been indulging in garden offices, an increasingly popular solution - Direct Line’s home insurance branch released research stating that since lockdown, roughly 1 million homeowners had acquired a shed or similar structure to use as a workspace. A further 1.1 million were found planning to do so in the next year. The market offers a great range of various structures ranging from traditional garden sheds to complex and modern pods. Plus, a garden office does not require planning permission in the UK.

Garden offices present a huge push in productivity for their users. A serene outdoor setting is a breath of fresh air for folks accustomed to the indoor disorder - looking out on greenery and soaking in the calm of the outdoors. A separate space to have a break from the madness of the home can be a blessing: having an office in the garden is an efficient way to compartmentalise work and personal life, providing a decent work-life balance. A separate workspace means more privacy, hence more concentration.

A garden office is greatly customisable and can provide an adaptable and flexible environment to grow and evolve in. Whether your work or family is constantly evolving, a garden office can present a functional place whose sole purpose is to cater to your needs for a healthy workspace.

Working from home suggests dictating an atmosphere of quiet and calm upon your family. For some, it isn’t even a possibility, let alone pleasant situation to have to enforce. Having a place to work on your own terms can lift a whole lot of stress off your shoulders, which opens one up to productive and constructive times of work.

Sustainable living in the South of France

Here I wrote a research article for a lifestyle/travel magazine about sustainability in the South of France.

The South of France, in its very essence, is a place that encourages a sustainable way of life. To live here is to benefit from the array of beautiful prospects the region offers: the Cévennes Mountains with its great big peaks which look down onto shallower valleys and softer hills. The Mediterranean Sea offers a thick strip of magnificent coastlines and rocky edges at the southmost points of the country. Many rivers, lakes and canals flow through the land, encouraging an incredibly rich biodiversity, which is carefully maintained by dozens of centers for the protection of the environment. Inland, ancient volcanic activity has formed large bands of bright orange volcanic rock shaped into cliffs, surrounding the Lac du Salagou. Anyone who has set foot there can tell you it feels like you are stepping right onto Mars. In the natural reserve of the Camargue, you can observe thousands of species of birds, fish and flora, in a wild, swampy wetland that has been the place of salt harvesting for centuries. The South of France is also famous for its laid-back attitude: it’s always time for a drink, as flocks of people populate bars, cafés and restaurants at all hours. The South of France sticks out by it’s brazen Mediterranean tint, with its 2800 hours of sunshine a year1. On the whole, the Mediterranean lifestyle seems to be a historically sustainable way of living, with the foods2 it introduces and the way it produces them. However, what is the region really doing to encourage a sustainable way of life?

A greener government in the works

The south of France, delimited by the Occitanie region3 at the southest point and the PACA4 region towards the East, is the scene of many incentives to offer a more sustainable way of life to its’ inhabitants. Despite a global pandemic, the last local elections were a token of the region’s desire to evolve in a greener environment. Rémi Gaillard, a French animal rights activist and leader of a new independent party who was a candidate last June, came forward with many considerations to make Montpellier a place more considerate of ecological priorities. In Marseille, to the political scene’s surprise, Michèle Rubirola recently became the first female mayor of the city, leading a new ecological party called the Printemps Marseillais5.

Throughout France, a real turning point has been observed: roughly 36 cities6 elected a mayor from the main green party, and dozens of others chose representatives from other independent ecological parties. In many cities, measures have been put in place to facilitate sustainable alternatives to transport, like the mass creation of new bike lanes and free public transport. In Montpellier, the government has offered 50€ to those willing to repair their bikes.

From ground to plate, from trash to home, communities and sustainable initiatives

Government initiatives aside, the South of France is home to strong communities working towards sustainability. Many independently run farms and agricultural hubs, called ‘pôle d’excellence agro-écologique et sociale’7 (‘center for agro-ecological and social excellence’) are implanted and continually showing efforts to produce in ways more caring of the environment. The culture of farmers markets in larger cities and towns is on the rise, and growers now have the opportunity to sell their produce to metropolitan areas, where it is lacking. There is a real demand for gentle, caring agriculture, as opposed to the mass production this last decade has got us used to. Some places, like the Mas Mirabeau8, are also focused on the social potential that farming holds. The Mas Mirabeau employs individuals in situations of social rehabilitation, who have the opportunity to learn new skills in a caring environment. It also works in close cooperation with the Architecture school of Montpellier, serving as the stage of many experiments and learning experiences for the students who help provide structures for intelligent farming. Recently, a small group of students were building dry toilets looking out onto the beautiful hills surrounding the fields, to avoid the farmers having to walk 15 minutes several times a day. When asked about the relevance of the Mas Mirabeau as a sustainable example for the future, Zakaria Vial, one of the architecture students who worked on the site, answered that ‘sustainability must come through education before everything’. These students are able to bring to the table their youth and determination, to benefit from a real learning experience: how to offer real solutions for people to ease their transition into a more sustainable way of working and in this case, producing?

It is becoming clearer and clearer that working with the land, on a more accessible level for all, is one of the positive steps all can take for a better future. What a rewarding practice it is to evolve with the seasons, consuming what the earth is eager to give, instead of feeding the mouths of huge corporations whose aim it is to make profit. On the 27th of November 2019, 1,000 farmers organised a protest in Paris, laying out straw on the pavements lining the Champs Élysées9, driving up in their tractors. Fed up of the government prioritising mass agriculture over smaller family structures, the farmers demand better circuits for their produce, and most importantly, a voice for the future generation of land workers. This shows that France as a whole is on the brink of a shift in the way it provides food for its citizens and also demonstrates the alternative ways through which it is possible to consume resources in a way respectful of local biodiversities.

However, the disease of overconsumption isn’t only plaguing the way we eat. The approach in which Western society exhausts material resources is devastating, devouring all in the wrath of planned obsolescence. The term was thought up by Bernard London10, as an effort to end the Great Depression by pushing consumers to stimulate the economy in replacing things often. Still today, objects are designed to reach obsoletion sooner than necessary, in a capitalist model of production. Thus, facing the waste generated by every industry, many initiatives are coming forth to counter the landfills and pollution provoked by these manufactories. In the South of France, there is an important culture of ‘recycleries’, eco-centres aiming to recycle used goods and to sell them at extremely low prices to promote the reuse of objects. Second-hand furniture or clothing pieces are a commodity, many thrift stores popping up in cities, appealing to the younger population who has developed a taste for the old and a rejection of the new.

The Mediterranean way of life, a sustainable one

The simple pleasure of strolling through a farmers market, sporadically lending your attention to merchants loud voices, looking around at the rows of colourful produce... Eating seasonally, gracing your body with the foods of each time of the year, nourishing yourself with carefully grown and curated fruits and vegetables, locally produced provisions. Sharing a generous homemade meal with friends and family, around big wooden tables, outside during the summer or around a timid fire in colder times. Elizabeth David, in A Book of Mediterranean Food11, defines the Mediterranean region as "those blessed lands of sun and sea and olive trees”. The Mediterranean diet, oriented mainly around four components (olive, wheat, grape and vegetable) uses food grown nearby, undergoing none to little transformation occurring before the cooking process. These foods are systematically locally sourced and produced. In comparison, in the US, foods have on average travelled 1,500 miles to get to their place of retail. The soft, kind Mediterranean climate enables and encourages agricultural growth and provides a great variety of fruits and vegetables (peppers, lemons, olives, tomatoes, courgettes, grapes, oranges, peaches, almonds, figs, apricots...). The Mediterranean diet is a simple one, combining straightforward quality ingredients together which create clean, hearty meals to share and enjoy without moderation.

Switching to a Mediterranean diet can reduce one’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 72%12, and can drastically reduce waste as well as water consumption. Reducing processed food consumption and carrying out the nourishment of one’s body within the framework of what the land can offer within reason. In this way, the Mediterranean diet has been proven to be fundamentally sustainable and an effective modality of positive change.

How to undo ESD-USB

Here I wrote an article about a common problem occurring with hard drives for a tech website.

Mistakes happen. When dealing with computers especially, they can happen a lot. We have all been faced with situations, staring down at our screens, that we have no idea how to resolve. Many Windows and even Mac users find external hard drives extremely useful to extend their device’s storage capacity. Typical hard drives usually have USB 2.0 interfaces that support data transfer rates of up to 480 Mbps. They run on NTFS file systems, which stands for "New Technology File System,” introduced by Microsoft.

Many users have mistakenly changed the file system within their hard drive when wanting to create Windows media creation tools. With a few clicks of your mouse, you may have accidentally just made your NTFS hard drive into an ESD-USB format. ESD stands for Electronic Software Delivery - it is a type of format for storage devices typically used to install Windows on a machine. That’s the format you’ll want to use if you’re installing Windows on a computer. However, if you accidentally convert a drive into ESD, it will format your entire drive and allocate a 32GB partition, which isn’t what you’re looking for if you want to use the drive as an external data storage solution.

You may be faced with the issue of seeing your external or internal hard drive displaying 32GB or 31GB if you are in Windows Explorer. You may also be unable to locate allocated partitions on an ESD-USB hard drive or external hard drive, or you may even be panicking right now, thinking you have lost everything on your drive. Don’t worry; we have provided a guide to undoing ESD-USB.

In this article, we will be going through a few easy steps to take to recover the situation. We will also be discussing the preventive measures you can take to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Method 1: Check Errors and Fix

Step 1: Connect an external hard drive to your device.

Step 2: See if it shows up in the Windows Disk Management window. If it doesn’t, click the action tab and select “Rescan disks.”

Step 3: Open the Command prompt as an Admin and enter the command: chkdsk X: /f while replacing the “X” character with the letter corresponding to your external hard drive (you’ll find this letter under the Windows Disk Management window).

Step 4: Press enter. This will allow your computer to go into the drive, check the errors, and fix them automatically.

Once you have followed these steps, take the time to check again if you can see your external hard drive’s full capacity, not just 32GB. If you can’t, that means we should be trying something else. So let’s talk about the next method.

Method 2: Create a New Volume

You’ve tried method number one, and it failed. You will need to create a new partition while still conserving the Windows restoration partition. A partition is a part of a storage device, like a hard disk drive or solid-state drive. It is considered as a separate volume by Windows, which makes it function like a separate device.

Make sure you have recovered your data before you attempt to create a new partition because this could lead to partial or total data loss.

Step 1: The first thing you need to do is to open the Windows Disk Management window.

Step 2: Then, right-click the unallocated disk space and click “New simple volume option.”

Step 3: Subsequently, you are going to choose the “Next” button and type the amount of MB you are going to use from unallocated disk space to create the new partition. We recommend entering the maximum disk space possible. Once that’s done, click “Next.”

Step 4: Now, you can choose any of the drive letters for the partition and click “Next.”

Step 5: You can now type in a volume cable.

Step 6: Enable the “perform a quick format” option.

These steps should have led you to go back to the original format of your hard drive. You will be able to use your hard drive as a storage space once again.

Method 3: Format an External Hard Drive

For this method of undoing ESD-USB, it is important that you recover your drive’s data first because it will erase the data stored when returning to the original format (NTFS).

Step 1: Open File Explorer on your Windows device.
Step 2: Locate the external hard drive.
Step 3: Right-click on the desired hard drive it and select the Format tab. Step 4: Set the file system to NTFS and the allocation unit size to 2048 bytes. Step 5: Select the "quick format" option.
Step 6: Click ‘Start,’ and watch as your hard drive reverts to an NTFS format!

How to Prevent Future ESD-USB Mistakes

Knowing how mistakes happen is a big part of making sure they don’t happen again. Hopefully, you now know the difference between ESD and USB, and you know what an NTFS format is. Understanding problems are the first step in resolving them! However, there are also concrete solutions to prevent future ESD-USB mistakes. Keep your device and data safe by encrypting or locking your hard drive with a password, which will prevent any false clicks.

This guide to locking a hard drive works for Windows 10, 8, and 7 users. Others can acquire reliable and easy-to-use programs that give the option to lock and encrypt hard drives. Hence, no one besides yourself will access your data without a password, which could be useful in many situations. This is how to enable BitLocker on a Windows 10, 8, and 7:

Step 1: Open your Windows computer’s Control Panel and select "BitLocker Drive Encryption.”

Step 2: Locate and expand the drive or external hard drive you wish to lock, and select the "Turn on BitLocker" option.

Step 3: Set a password to lock the selected hard drive or external hard drive. Step 4: Click “next” to proceed.

Step 5: Select a way you want to save your password to your Microsoft account, to a USB drive, to a file or print the recovery key and click "Next" to confirm.

Step 6: Choose which part(s) of your drive you would like to encrypt and click "Next" to continue.

Step 7: Choose which encryption mode to use and click "Next" to continue. Step 8: Click "Start encrypting" and wait for the process to finish.

The Past, Present, and Future of Healthcare

Here I wrote an article about the impact of technology on healthcare, for an IT firms website.

Technology is the backbone of modernity. Throughout the 20th Century, the quest for modernity has shaped every event. Though it was used to support war and destruction, it ultimately led us to provide better healthcare today. But, just how much has technology influenced our notion of healthcare? How will technological advances continue to shift the way we care for people?

The beginnings of medical technology

There are two types of medical technologies: objects and procedures. Objects showcase technological advances in a more tangible way, whereas procedures are guides that usually standardize the use of medical objects to improve their performance. Nevertheless, the 20th Century witnessed the birth of:

• ●  The electrocardiograph machine

• ●  The artificial pacemaker

• ●  The kidney dialysis machine

• ●  The artificial hip replacement

• ●  The open-heart bypass surgery

• ●  The CAT or CT scan

• ●  The MRI scanner

• ●  The laser surgery on a human cornea

●  The development of the Human Genome Project...

As you can see, some of these advances are machines, such as the MRI scanner, whereas others are procedures, like the Human Genome Project or the open-heart surgery. This makes for a complex definition of technological advances in the past.

However, it is clear that some technological inventions completely revolutionized medicine. In 1895 German physicist Wilhelm C. Roentgen discovered electromagnetic radiation that could move through the body and leave an imprint of bones and organs on a photographic plate. This discovery created a revolution: the electrocardiograph, CAT scan, and MRI, followed by the development of artificial and transplanted organs and joints, were all developed due to Roentgen’s work. These advancements, followed by the discovery of antibiotics, enabled a life span increase of nearly 30 years on average.

Medical technology today

We have come a long way from the first artificial hip replacement. Today, every procedure and system is supported by technology. Many points are left to develop, though - startups, academics, and scientists worldwide are researching new ways of incorporating tech into medicine to increase the degree of care. Let’s take a look at some of these current fields:

● Personalized treatment through wearable devices

Wearable devices enable health monitoring outside of the hospital or clinic and help predict sometimes dangerous or even fatal health events. Watches, wristbands, abdominal patches, clips, rings, shoe inserts, earbuds, vests... A myriad of wearable sensors could soon be available on the market to control and keep track of symptoms, vitals, and other factors such as blood pressure or sugar.

● Electronic records

Electronic Health Records (EHRs, have nearly eradicated the archaic paper filing system to keep patient records. These paper records made collaboration difficult when it came to treating patients across different facilities. Nowadays, though not every country has the same access to innovative technological systems, it is common to store patient data online through national virtual databases.

● Telehealth

Telehealth can be described as the meeting of technology and healthcare. It uses digital information and communication technologies to manage your health care and access services remotely. Telehealth could become an absolute revolution through virtual appointments and patient portals, remote monitoring, healthcare professional communications, health records, and health apps, proving once again that technology has immense potential for health.

Technological perspectives of medicine

In the near future, technology could become the best medicine. Thanks to aids such as Health technology assessment (HTA), a ‘scientific field designed to establish tools for the acquisition, use, or exchange of medical technologies’1, tech could become readily available for any medical procedure across the world. Whether it be access to general practitioner's appointments from remote areas, to monitoring health parameters to prevent sickness, to using complex technological processes in surgical procedures, technology will continue to improve health. Of course, here at *** IT Services, we truly believe in technology. In fact, we have been providing high-quality IT services to our clients for the past 25 years; it is safe to say we’ve had the opportunity to notice how much of a strong imprint tech has left on the world!

1 https://health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12961-019-0469-3

How You Can Pay 0% Commissions When Selling Your Home

Here I wrote an article about real estate commissions to a client that provides property services.

Selling a home, though it is an exciting idea, is no easy feat. From packing up, getting it valued, and on the market, to finalizing the sale and moving out, there’s normally a lot to organize. You want to sell your home for what it’s worth and ensure that in the end, it’s your money to keep.

However, it’s difficult to do so on your own. It’s common practice to seek a realtor’s help when faced with selling property, but for many reasons, it isn’t always the best option. Real estate commissions take a huge bite out of your prized sale check - let’s take a look at how to avoid paying commissions when selling your home.

How much is a commission?

If you’re a first-time seller it’s important to know to avoid high-street estate agents and realtors. High-street estate agents charge around 1% commission fees and Realtor commission rates usually amount up to 6% — that’s a large sum of your home’s sale price.

Why do realtors charge commission?

One of the biggest expenses when selling your home would be paying for a Realtor to help you. Choosing the wrong one could cost you thousands of dollars and waste your time.

Traditionally, realtors are not paid a salary and earn solely from the commission. This commission is split between one or various parties and only received on the home’s closing date. On this date, you’ll be finalizing all your other expenses too.

What are you paying your realtor for? Their tasks might include:

• ●  Comparing your home with others on the market

• ●  Listing and marketing your home

• ●  Arranging and coordinating viewings

• ●  Negotiating offers

• ●  Assisting you through the process

• ●  Answering your queries

  When selling through a Realtor your commission fee will also cover, at least, the costs of the agent representing your buyer. This means the commission fee is split between the two but it’s not always 50-50 and depends on the region you live in. It could range from 48.6-51.4% to 51.4-48.6%.

Imagine you’re selling your home for $500,000 and the Realtor commission fee is 5%. You’ll end up spending $25,000 on real estate commission. If you sell your home without a Realtor and with zero commission, that extra $25,000 could be yours.

A 1% flat fee might seem more appealing but that’s still a large part of earnings that could be yours. Using the example above, you would lose $5,000 on fees.

Avoid the commission and the hassle

Here at ***, we’ve been helping homeowners to sell their homes every step of the way, sparing them the hassle - and most importantly, the commission of a realtor. We can directly purchase your home from you so you don’t have to waste your time on listing it on websites, paying a photographer to take pictures, measuring and taking photos of each room and the furniture, designing floor plans, and writing about the property...

We aim to alleviate the stress and financial strain of selling a home for you. Selling to *** means fast, hassle-free transactions. We pride ourselves on working directly with our clients and assisting them before selling or buying a home. The best part: we charge zero commission, so whatever you make from the sale of your home, is fully yours.

Lemonade Case Study

This is a case study I wrote for a client that supplies courses in the field of insurance. Here, I researched the Lemonade insurance firm and performed a comprehensive analysis of what makes them stand out as well as a study of their role in the fintech space.

There has been little to no movement towards technology in the insurance world. In fact, insurance firms have been the slowest at embracing digital transformation amongst all industries. This has given ample room for the fintech space to scurry with creative ideas around insurance. Insurtechs are quickly gaining the upper hand and seizing market share, forcing traditional insurance firms to opt for new approaches or risk the dooming fate of becoming obsolete. One of the by-products of the rare technological transformations of insurance is Lemonade, created in April 2015 by Daniel Schreiber (former president of Powermat) and Shai Wininger (co-founder of Fiverr). “Lemonade Insurance Company is an American property and casualty insurance company headquartered in New York City offering renters and home insurance policies for homes, apartments, co-ops, and condos in many US states in addition to content and liability policies in Germany, The Netherlands, and France.”1 This sparkling new firm took a headfirst dive into a tech approach to insurance, a characteristic that seems to be engraved into its business model, contrasting with other common insurance practices. So, what is it that makes Lemonade so remarkable?

What is Lemonade?

Lemonade is specialised in renter and homeowner insurance. It caters to anything from personal property damage, property theft, loss of use, reconstruction costs and legal liability. “Lemonade is a tech company doing insurance, not an insurer doing an app”, states Shai Wininger, one of Lemonade’s founders. One can easily imagine the appeal this has the potential of having towards the new generation of consumers looking for tech-forward solutions to traditional services. Lemonade is a self-proclaimed “purpose-built, technology-first, vertically-integrated and legacy-free insurance carrier”.

Clients register and sign up through a mobile app, and file any claims through a chatbot, without a single piece of paperwork to deal with. The app is powered by AI and processes claims in as little time as 3 seconds. This is obviously very attractive for seekers of insurance. Their Millenial approach is obvious when looking at the app: color palette, wording, chatbot-based - it seems as though everything is design to capitvate a Gen Z audience.Infact, over70%ofLemonade’scustomersundertheageof35and90%buying insurance for the first time. “Let’s target the next wave of first-time insurance buyers...millennials and Gen Z and their current Renter’s and soon to be Homeowner’s policies.” However, Lemonade doesn’t seem as though it is excluding the traditional insurance seeker, by offering an informative FAQ and how-to.

Lemonade renters insurance consists of coverage for:

•  Damage or theft of personal belongings. The base policy pays a maximum of $2,500 per item and $10,000 total.

•  Temporary living expenses should your home become unlivable, up to $2,500.

•  Liability if you’re held responsible for someone else’s injury or property damage, up

  to $100,000.

• You can add more coverage to any of these for an extra monthly charge.

Optional coverage types include:

• Extra Coverage, which pays out if jewelry, fine art, cameras, bicycles, or musical instruments are lost, damaged, or stolen, with no application of your insurance deductible.

• Water backup for damage caused by water coming out of your drain or sewer.

• Landlord property damage, in case water or your pet cause damage to the property.

Lemonade’s tech-first approach

Technology is at the heart of Lemonade - everything is at the touch of a screen. Naturally, therefore, being a customer of Lemonade means dealing with:

• -  Chatbots and AI, for a streamlined, automated process

• -  No paper, for faster procedures

• -  Adjustable deductible rate and premiums

• -  API

• -  Good social initiative, with its Transparency and Honesty policy

  2 https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/lemonade-insurance-review/

Three different chatbots replace long-winded interactions with tired employees:

AI Maya — A virtual assistant that collects customer information and provides quotes AI Jim — A bot that handles claims
CX.AI — A bot that answers customer questions

Lemonade’s success is a great example of the potential for AI to disturb traditional industries generally. AI could also have huge implications for the insurance market. Lemonade only has 2% of Prudential’s revenues, but its existence may entice other firms to use AI. The fear of competition may motivate companies to add a more technological approach to their business. Other companies have been using software as a means of drastically improving their services, such as Tractable who used computer vision to assess damage for car insurance claims, floods, fires, and hurricanes; and Omni:us who combines computer vision with NLP to rapidly process all kinds of insurance documents. Shift Technology and Sprout AI have been using AI to find fraudulent claims and automate processes. Indeed, insurance is changing. Mobile phone insurance is growing at 12.5% per year and is predicted to reach $32bn by 2025. Hence, the need for a more technological approach to insurance is increasingly apparent.

Never actually meeting or humanly interacting with your customers is a risk, especially in insurance, where fraud is common. Lemonade uses predictive behavioral analytics to assess digital body language at every step of interaction with the application process with the Chatbots. Behavioral intelligence generates a digital history, giving Lemonade huge amounts of data on their “digital customers” that they wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise. As a result, they offer a thoroughly swift and enjoyable service without sacrificing risk control in the process, thanks to valuable AI tools.

Debunking the image of traditional insurance

“Forget everything you know about insurance” is the slogan you are greeted with when visiting the website. Rigid rows of grey cubicles as far as the eyes can meet; piles of lifeless paperwork on desks; infuriated customers on hold for hours... They aim to take insurance from a “necessary evil and change it into a social good,” offering “insurance that doesn’t suck.”

The traditional view of insurance is definitely not a positive one. The customer experience of insurance is weak, as customer satisfaction surveys show. Outdated infrastructure, badly designed digital touchpoints, and impenetrable legalese may be to blame. The claims process is slow and inconvenient to reduce the risk of fraud. Lemonade has tried to disparage this idea of inefficient insurance by making it fun. In fact, some reviews claim Lemonade “tore up the insurance rulebook”3

“Insurance is one of the most disliked sectors. A key cause is the profound conflict of interest at the very core of the insurance business model. As an insurer, every dollar that I pay you is a dollar less to my bottom line. Insurers basically make more money by denying claims.

3 https://www.london.edu/think/how-lemonade-tore-up-the-insurance-rulebook

Conflicts of interest doesn’t get more entrenched than that. Lemonade is built as a new kind of insurance carrier. Our starting point is that you cannot be in conflict with your customers. You cannot make money by denying them. We needed a broader mission: how can we earmark that money to the good of the community? In this way when you think about embellishing your claim, you are not hurting some unanimous insurer who you don’t trust, but you're hurting friends, your community, things you care about. This modifies behaviour profoundly. We call this partnering on purpose. This is not about altruism, but about enlightened self-interest. It is about realigning incentives and creating a new point of equilibrium where every player acts better.”

Though it has not been explicitly stated, one quick look at their marketing evidently shows who their target audience is: Millenials. They are trying to make signing up for insurance as easier as ordering food off of an app. Subscribers can choose a charity to donate unclaimed premiums to as part of the Giveback Program.

Lemonade makes it easier for anyone to browse their website, producing something drastically different to the austere webpages insurances usually have. In fact, their website is definitely more mobile-friendly than desktop-friendly, which further proves their target audience.

Their use of white space draws attention to the hot pink call-to-action on their homepage: “check our prices”. Users are seamlessly drawn to a quick, easy and efficient process of signing up. Future clients don’t have to look for long in order to get a quote, and then there’s easy immediate access to the chatbot, Maya, who can get the process started in no time.

Not only does the pink color stand out against the monochromatic background, but the Call to Action appeals to any users’ curiosity, still remaining a low-level commitment. It’s important for clients to know the cost of a service before they are able to make a decision, however much the company appeals to them. Enabling this information to be known at the first step of a process is a great idea. Lemonade comes across as trustworthy, even at a glance. Their strategic choice of color is driving visitors to click on the button, which most likely will lead to conversion, thanks to a streamlined process that takes minutes to sign a potential customer up to the service.

The language used is friendly and approachable, and the navigation is stripped to its most important elements: there are only five navigation items. Cutting down on distractions helps Lemonade implement a more simple conversion funnel. It also helps users who could be confused when faced with too many choices - Lemonade isn’t risking users being overwhelmed by too much information.

“Making insurance instantaneous and delightful takes more than breakthrough technology, it takes a new way of doing business. One that’s less conflicted. Insurance that is a social good rather than just necessary evil. And that takes new business models, new actuarial models, and new corporate structures”.

Key concepts

1. Instant Everything

One of the pillars of the Lemonade brand is Instant Everything. They boast an incredible 90 seconds wait time to subscribe, and 3 minutes to get paid. Yes, Lemonade can file claims in under 3 minutes.

2. Straightforward Cost

Regarding prices, the cost of their services is refreshingly straightforward, without any complicated add-ons or asterisks. It is so easy to know what you’re going to be paying as a subscriber and for what.

1. Powerful Graphs that Create Trust

2. Social Media

Lemonade, being a company implicitly aimed at Millenials, has used Social Media as a huge part of their marketing. Simple and to-the-point messages are luring the new generation of consumers in: “Protect your home in 90 seconds. No brokers, no paperwork, done.” On Instagram, the ads are eye-catching but also simple, which makes for an effective ad campaign. The minimal number of words gets across and doesn’t overwhelm their audience.

5. Creative Ideas

Their balloon dipped in paint shows an innovative approach to insurance marketing. Instead of repeating overused terms related to insurance to present the company, Lemonade chose to show a balloon being dipped in bright pink paint with the hashtag #OddlySatisfying. This creative approach led them to create a buzz around the dull idea of insurance.

6. Community

Lemonade’s sense of community is one of its selling points. Their Community section is overflowing with profiles of young, bubbly, and diverse customers, telling their stories in a Q&A. Some of the questions are:

How was your experience signing up for Lemonade? What happened with your claim?
Did you experience any pain points along the way? What charity did you choose for your Giveback?

They seem to be the product of live interviews - the questions fluctuate according to the answers, which shows authenticity and inspires trusts. The questions are meant to show how Lemonade works and what its key values are. The Community section is a helpful tool for Lemonade to build their brand and show they have gained the trust of real people, with real stories.

This shows that building a community around your service can become a self-perpetuating and effective form of branding, as long as it is marketed in the right way. Especially when offering a service that is not very personal, due to its use of AI and chatbots. It’s nice to be able to put a face on Lemonade’s clients and to realize they are “normal” people - just like ourselves.

Lemonade and SEO

Being a fintech company, of course Lemonade was going to do an impeccable job of SEO. Yet another way in which they can be differentiated from their competitors. They have used Google and SEO rankings search as a real tool in generating leads, thanks to:

● Google Ads

Lemonade have focused on ad copy that appeals to their target audience - it’s always important to remember that ad copy show sell benefits and not features.

“Make Your Mom & Landlord Proud”
“Killer Prices!”
“Protecting Your Stuff Has Never Been Easier”

● Organic Search

Visible organic rankings are very difficult to achieve for a new brand. Older companies have a natural advantage, even if they’re not fully optimizing the use of SEO because long-term

credibility and trust come into play in organic searches. New firms will therefore find it difficult.

However, Lemonade has achieved a second page ranking (position number thirteen) in a short amount of time for the keywords “renters insurance”, which has 201,000 searches per month according to Google Keyword Planner.

They are also doing very well on emerging organic trends with keywords such as “P2P insurance”, culminating at a tiny but powerful 90 searches monthly - they are on the first page for this search. Their strategy is not only to follow trends but also to create them, anticipate future high-volume terms like “P2P insurance” for example.

A testament to transparency

Naming a brand-new company something that sounds as innocent as Lemonade is definitely a risk. Co-founder Daniel Schreiber admitted to the chance taken in a January 2018 blog post. It is now safe to say the uncertainty has paid off: in 2017, Lemonade made $10 million in sales and was insuring over 100,000 homes. In their blog, they boast of going from 0 to 100 million in 3 years, as well as one million global customers after only four years in operation. The blog post was a part of the so-called ‘transparency project’, #transparency.

One of Lemonade’s core values, and consequently, biggest selling points, is its oath to transparency.

Which other insurance brand would have the guts to proclaim this? They have even published examples of negative feedback across their blog and website. When a company admits its faults and weaknesses, they instantly come across as trustworthy because of how they are including potential clients in their inner workings. We feel a sense of community and feel drawn to this honest, human brand.

“People are generally honest. We all have a trust self-image that we might push from time to time. It’s like speeding; that doesn’t make us feel like a bad person when we do it. The same goes for insurance. People don’t feel aligned to the insurer, but they do feel the relationship is adversarial. This gives people a sense of entitlement and leads to embellishment and even fraud.”

More about the ‘social good’ agenda

Lemonade is a “certified B Corporation” which means it meets “the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.” Their ‘social good’ agenda is at the heart of not only their brand but their marketing scheme.

When you sign up for Lemonade, you choose a non-profit from their list to donate your unused premiums to. This forms a community of peers that systematically support charities from their premiums. This is a huge selling point, especially for Millenials seeking insurance.

Lemonade has also taken a stand on ‘gun worship’: “We’re under no illusion that our industry, let alone our company, can solve gun violence. But being unable to change much doesn’t give us a license to change nothing.” Since October 2017, Lemonade limits how much they’ll pay for damage or theft of firearms to $2,500. They also exclude assault rifles altogether.

Solving the conflict of interest problem, one client at a time

When clients sign up to Lemonade, and pay their premiums, the company takes a flat fee of 25% out of the premiums to cover its operating expenses. The remaining 75% is used to pay claims submitted by users. For perspective, traditional insurance companies charge 35% as premium fees.

A conflict of interests between insurance companies and their clients has existed from the beginning of the history of insurance because of the fact that rejected claims circulate into their profits. “What if we start a new insurance company that doesn’t have that conflict of interest? Customers will switch to a product they can trust.” Lemonade knew this kind of conflict was damaging the customer-company relationship, so they took a stand in offering a solution. Thus, the company will never benefit from rejecting claims because the money will

be spent in any case - to reimburse or to donate. There is no reason for Lemonade to reject claims as long as they comply with the company reimbursement criteria.

Lemonade’s world takeover? Not yet...

As a business, learning from others’ mistakes and successes is essential to growth. For insurance companies, the strategy to adopt could be behavioral data. Though Lemonade has used tech as a selling point to their audience, all is not lost for other firms. Insurance carriers just need to use similar behavioral analytics strategies, just like Instagram used Snapchat’s stories and made a huge success out of them. Founder Daniel Schreiber predicts: “What we’re seeing here is something that is going to be very traumatic for the whole insurance space,’’ he says. “Data is overtaking expertise.” Lemonade’s loss ratio went from 166% to 86% between 2017 and 2019. In the first quarter of 2020, it was just over 70%.

Schreiber claims: “We’re getting smarter. Lemonade started at a data disadvantage, building up a data set from scratch and collecting information at every customer interaction. We knew it was only a matter of time before we were at a data advantage. If we’re not there yet, we sure are close. Interacting with our customers directly and digitally means we know them really well, even if we’ve never met them face-to-face. That knowledge is translated to a ‘risk score’ that accurately predicts future loss ratios, and can be used across the organization, from marketing to acquisition to policy management and claims. It has not yet impacted our pricing sophistication, but that day will come – just like credit history did and auto telematics may soon.”

Lemonade’s loss ratio target, customer-centric attitude, innovative business model, and technology-first approach attract the attention of traditional firms. Lemonade though, has less than 0.1% of the Home and Renters insurance market. State Farm has 19% and Allstate has 10%. This puts things into perspective. In addition, their AI models and infrastructure are far from perfect, as many claims are still being processed manually. Their desire for geographical expansion may be halted by the difficulty bots may have in processing complex claims like natural disasters. Will Lemonade’s loss ratio manage to maintain its rhythm of improvement as factors evolve?

What to take away from Lemonade

In a nutshell, Lemonade is:

• ●  Upfront and transparent pricing

• ●  No phone calls, just chatbots

• ●  No paper, all app-based

• ●  Greatly reduced prices

• ●  Instant gratification

●  Artificial intelligence

Lemonade got its digital-first approach to understanding customers completely right. However, missing out on the huge part of communication that is non-verbal could be a handicap for companies. Static forms and applications can restrict from collecting key information about customers as individuals - they are making decisions about underwriting, pricing risk, and claims without essential information.

Though firms should take away such systems from Lemonade, it’s important to note that it could take months, even years to achieve such a complex and wide technological operation.

Where the company truly excels, is on its price. In many studies, it is several points ahead of its competitors. Over half (52%) of renters select a brand based on price. However, 71% of Lemonade’s customers proclaim that they chose the brand because of the price of its services. Also, 55% of Lemonade customers are only buying renters insurance because it is required by their landlord — 45% higher than the industry average. The fact that their customers are younger built their market share but is also a disadvantage. Lemonade is able to provide a quick and efficient experience of purchase through its mobile app at a low price point. Hence they are crafting a perfect product to supply a demand built on a necessary, but not entirely desired, transaction. It seems as though consumers aren’t going with Lemonade for the company’s ability to provide amazing insurance, but more to find a solution to an obligation.

Though Lemonade boasts an insanely quick delay in filing claims and signing up, it is becoming increasingly clear that their completely digital process is at a disadvantage in relation to traditional firms. The most common complaint from customers, much higher than competing brands, is that it is too hard to ‘get ahold’ of Lemonade. Lemonade is below the industry average when it comes to customer satisfaction with brand interactions. It is difficult to find contact numbers on the app, and even when one is able to find a means of contact, calls have long wait times and result in many unanswered questions.

Consumers are attracted and satisfied with the app, but support is not one of Lemonade’s strengths. The basic requirements of a relationship of transaction are met, but it is missing out on developing strong relationships with its customers. As their needs will grow and evolve, sometimes becoming more complex as renters become homeowners, for example, direct contact through agents or customer service representatives will become necessary in order to guide clients through new processes. Therefore, Lemonade’s low price-point might have to be coupled with more interactions with clients to continue to evolve.

Republic Wireless Review

Here I wrote a comprehensive review of Republic Wireless for a client that provides thorough product and service reviews.

Republic Wireless Review highlight

• Republic Wireless offers a customizable plan for as low as $15 per month.

• $15 per month for unlimited talk and text and an additional $5 per GB of data per

  month.

• Option to place calls over Wi-Fi when you’re connected to a network.

Republic Wireless has been providing customers with easy, affordable, and straightforward phone plans since 2011. It partners with two networks, T-Mobile and Sprint, which allows for a wide coverage surface - if in doubt, check the right coverage based on your location on the Republic Wireless interface.

Packages and Pricing

Straightforward and simple

Republic Wireless likes to keep things incredibly simple. There is only one option available: the My Choice plan. The huge advantage this offers is straightforwardness, in an industry that often overwhelms potential clients with gushing flows of sometimes unnecessary information. You won’t have to waste time trying to figure out what the best option is for you.

The My Choice plan includes unlimited talk and text - the part you can customize is the amount of data you wish to have access to per month. For an extra 1GB of data per month, $5 is added. Therefore, 3GB of data will cost you $30, without taxes. Remember to add on taxes, because Republic’s advertised prices don’t include them.

Cost-effective service

Republic Wireless is one of the most cost-effective options around for very light data users who rely mostly on Wi-Fi. The pricing becomes less competitive once you hit 5GB per month though, as it amounts up to $40 plus taxes and fees.

Flexible options

Republic Wireless allows you to start with 1GB per month and add data whenever you need it, directly from the app, for $5 per GB. You can make any changes towards your plan any day on the app - here is a guide to changing your plan from the Republic Wireless website. This makes for a completely flexible and adaptable option, especially for those with changing needs that don’t feel like they’re able to commit to a plan with limited options for a long period. If you’re not happy with the service, any Republic Wireless plan comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Republic Wireless Mobile Equipment

Which phones are available?

Unfortunately for the Apple addicts, Republic Wireless doesn’t carry iPhones. However, they have an option for everyone, at many different price points. Here is the full list:

• The Moto G Play (2021) at $149.00

• The Moto G Power (2021) at $249.00

• The Moto G Stylus (2021) at $299.00

• The Samsung Galaxy A02s at $129.00

• The Samsung Galaxy A12 at $179.00

• The Samsung Galaxy A32 5G at $279.00

• The Samsung Galaxy A42 5G at $399.00

• The Samsung Galaxy S21 at $799.00

• The Motorola One 5G Ace at $349.00

• The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE at $699.00

  What’s the best Republic Wireless phone?

  Republic Wireless carries quite a few solid options when it comes to phones. Some of the best Android phones are available - some aren’t the most powerful but can be perfect for particular needs. Let’s look at some of the best options available.

  Samsung Galaxy S21

  The Samsung Galaxy S21 is the most powerful option here. Key features for the phone include a 6.2-inch AMOLED display, at least 128GB storage, and an all-day 4,000mAh battery. You’ve also got a great camera setup, 8GB RAM, a huge processor, and an improved in-display fingerprint reader. Opt for this phone if you spend a lot of time on social media and want a fast, sleek experience.

  Motorola Moto G Stylus

  If you’re looking for a phone with a digital stylus but still want a budget-friendly approach to one, the Motorola Moto G Stylus is exactly what you need. Powered by Android 10, it offers up a 6.4-inch screen, a lot of storage (128GB), and a strong battery. The headphone jack, USB Type-C charging port, and dual speakers make it another great affordable option from Republic Wireless.

  Tip: If a family member or friend needs a phone, you can purchase one from the Republic Wireless shop - all of their phones come unclocked. This means it’s possible for you to take these phones to a different provider if you’d like, as long as the phone meets the new provider’s BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) requirements.

Bringing your own phone

Though there is an extensive choice of phones on the Republic Wireless website to choose from, you can also bring your own phone to the service if you don’t wish to acquire a new one. Here is how to use your own phone with a Republic Wireless plan:

1. Check compatibility with the Republic Wireless app. Install it on Google Play (not available on Apple Store because Republic Wireless doesn’t carry nor cater to Iphones) and open it to go through the compatibility test to see if the phone you own works with the service. If you don’t want to install the app, there’s also an option to use a phone checker instead.

2. Once you know if your phone is compatible, order a SIM kit.

3. Insert your new SIM card by choosing the appropriate SIM card from the 3-in-1 kit.

4. Get your phone activated and choose your plan to get your phone making calls and

   sending texts in no time.

The list of phones currently supported by the My Choice Republic Wireless plan currently includes:

• ●  Alcatel A30 (A576RW)

• ●  Alcatel A30 (5046G)

• ●  Google Pixel (G-2PW4100)

• ●  Google Pixel XL (G-2PW2100)

• ●  Google Pixel 2 (G011A)

• ●  Google Pixel 2 XL (G011C)

• ●  Google Pixel 3 (G013A)

• ●  Google Pixel 3 XL (G013C)

• ●  Google Pixel 3a (G020G)

• ●  Google Pixel 3a XL (G020C)

• ●  Google Pixel 4 (G020I)

• ●  Google Pixel 4 XL (G020J)

• ●  Google Pixel 4a (G025J)

• ●  Google Pixel 4a 5G (G025E)

• ●  Google Pixel 5 (GD1YQ)

• ●  Huawei Ascend 5W (H1623)

• ●  LG K30 (LMX410ULMG) (2018 version)

• ●  LG Stylo 5 (LM-Q720QMCCABK)

• ●  moto e (XT2052-1)1

• ●  Moto E4 (XT1768)1

• ●  Moto E4 Plus (XT1775)1

• ●  Moto E5 Play (XT1921-2)1

• ●  Moto E6 (XT2005-5)1

• ●  Moto Edge (XT2063-2)

• ●  moto g fast (XT2045-3)1

• ●  moto g power (XT2041-4)1

• ●  moto g stylus (XT2043-4)1

• ●  Moto G4 (XT1625)1

• ●  Moto G4 PLAY (XT1607)1

• ●  Moto G4 PLUS (XT1644)1

• ●  Moto G5 Plus (XT1687)1

• ●  Moto G5S Plus (XT1806)1

• ●  Moto G6 (XT1925-6)1

• ●  Moto G6 Play (XT1922-9)1

• ●  Moto G7 (XT1962-1)1

• ●  Moto G7 Play (XT1952-4)1

• ●  Moto G7 Power (XT1955-5)1

• ●  Moto X Pure Edition (XT1575)1

• ●  Moto X4 (XT1900-1)1

• ●  Moto Z (XT1650-03)1

• ●  Moto Z Play (XT1635-02)1

• ●  Moto Z2 Play (XT1710-01)1

• ●  Moto Z3 Play (XT1929-4)1

• ●  Moto Z4 (XT1980-3)1

• ●  Nexus 5X by LG (LGH790)

• ●  Nexus 6 by Motorola (XT1103)

• ●  Nexus 6P by Huawei (H1511)

• ●  OnePlus 6T (A6013)

• ●  OnePlus 7T (HD1905)

• ●  OnePlus 8 (IN2015)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy A6 (SM-A600U)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy A10e (SM-A102U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy A11 (SM-A115U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy A20 (SM-A205U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy A21 (SM-A215U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy A50 (SM-A505U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy A51 (SM-A515U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy A52 (SM-A526U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy J3 (SM-J320A)2 (2016 version)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy J3 (SM-J327U) (2017 version)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy J3 (SM-J337U) (2018 version)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy J7 (SM-J727U) (2017 version)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy J7 (SM-J737U) (2018 version)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (SM-N950U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (SM-N960U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy Note 10 (SM-N970U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ (SM-N975U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy Note 20 (SM-N981U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (SM-N986U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S6 (SM-G920T)2

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S7 (SM-G930U)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (SM-G935U)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S8 (SM-G950U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S8+ (SM-G955U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S9 (SM-G960U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S9+ (SM-G965U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S10 (SM-G973U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S10e (SM-G970U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S10+ (SM-G975U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S20 (SM-G981U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S20+ (SM-G986U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (SM-G988U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S21+ (SM-G996U1)

• ●  Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (SM-G998U1)

  Coverage

  Republic Wireless is powered by the nationwide network T-Mobile, allowing access to the same coverage for a fraction of the price. You'll have access to the same nationwide 4G LTE coverage as the T-Mobile network. At first, Republic Wireless used Sprint's network until 2016 - this is a strong advantage because, in quite a few places, T-Mobile’s coverage is far superior to Sprint’s. Remember to check your coverage needs on the Republic Wireless coverage map before subscribing.

  Features and Benefits

  Annual plan

  In addition to the prepaid plan on a monthly basis, Republic Wireless also offers an annual plan that can allow for even a significant amount of savings. You can get two months for free whenever you sign up for an annual plan. Subscribing to the annual plan will therefore amount up to 16.67% less than paying monthly - an even further reduced cost.

  However, you should only go for this annual plan if you have a clear idea of what you’ll be needing throughout the year in terms of data. While you’ll always be able to add data to your plan, through the app, you won’t be able to downgrade the plan you initially subscribed to, so think carefully before choosing the amount of data you think you’ll need. You also don’t get credited for unused data, so it is best to act cautiously in assessing your own data needs.

  Innovative Wi-Fi calling

  The Republic Wireless team was able to develop a tailored software (called firmware) to integrate Wi-Fi calling into regular cell phone networks. When your phone is connected to a Wi-Fi internet connection, your Republic Wireless phone will automatically send texts and make calls via the internet. This means you’ll be charged significantly less, because of how cheap Wi-Fi calling is.

  By using Wi-Fi instead of a cell network, you’ll save massive amounts, especially if you’re in places that supply free wifi, like airports, cafes, restaurants, workplaces... Perfect for the modern metropolitan! You won’t need to use data for all online activities when you’re connected to Wi-Fi. As soon as you get out of range, your phone will automatically switch to a network (T-Mobile) so you can continue using your phone. Only then will you be using your data allowance.

If the Wi-Fi calling option isn’t working smoothly for you at any time, though it usually tends to work effectively, you can turn on a setting that will allow you to manually switch a call from Wi-Fi to cell service and vice-versa. This is called handover and clients rarely have to use it, because of Republic Wireless’s ability to pick a stable network for all your phone calls. It is, however, a good option to have if ever needed. Not only is innovative and cost-effective technology available to subscribers, but these features aren’t restrictive in case of dysfunction.

Our Recommendation – Republic Wireless

If you’re looking for a phone plan to cater to a tight budget, or the main use of your phone is calling friends and family and not spending hours online, Republic Wireless is the perfect option for you. If you’re going for the monthly plan, you won’t have to sign a contract, which can be a handy solution if you need a quick fix for a phone plan.

Republic Wireless’s service is amongst the cheapest on the market, without compromising on a straightforward, swift, and easy process that will ease you into using your phone. Their innovative Wi-Fi calling helps you save even further by automatically pausing data roaming for calls and internet use. Plus, you’ll be able to benefit from the huge T-Mobile network without spending any extra money on costly plans. No wonder hundreds of leading brands’ customers are switching to Republic Wireless.