Author Archives: schatzi

Finding the Right Tenant Mix for Your Shopping Center

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In shopping centre management and leasing today, it is essential that you find the right tenant mix to encourage customer sales and tenant activity.

Every tenant that you place in a property should be carefully considered for product or service offering, together with their relationship to other tenants nearby. That is where the tenancy mix process becomes really important.

So the message here is quite clear, the right tenancy mix can improve the property in a number of ways. Consider these issues:

  • Successful tenancies underpin the market rental for the property. They will also create a factor of attraction to other tenants considering occupancy.
  • A lower vacancy factor over time will improve the relationships between the tenants and the landlord. Most tenants like to be part of a successful shopping centre.
  • A tenancy mix that has been matched to the local shopper demographic can be easily marketed to the community to encourage future sales and customer visits.

So the choice of a tenant to fill a vacancy is quite important. At the beginning of every financial year, the property manager together with the landlord should make some observations about the market, and formulate some choices about tenant selection and placement for the coming 12 months. This then simplifies the tenant replacement process when it needs to occur.

These rules or guidelines can be set as part of a tenant retention plan and the tenant mix strategy. They are two separate and essential initiatives requiring consideration by the landlord. When these strategies are developed, they can be merged into the business plan for the property and therefore considered as part of the bigger leasing picture.

In establishing a tenancy mix strategy, consider the following questions and issues:

  1. Some of the tenants in the property will do little towards property profile and market rental. Over time those tenants should be replaced with better quality tenants. It is a fact that a successful shopping centre will usually feature high quality tenants and a wide variety of products.
  2. Understand the relationships that your anchor tenants have towards your specialty tenants. In an ideal world, both tenancy types should be moving towards a productive shopping centre relationship and an increase in sales. Make the connections between your anchor tenants and your specialty tenants; market the property accordingly.
  3. Remember the impact of seasonal holidays and festivities. Market your property comprehensively to the shopping seasons and festivities. It will be likely that you will need a funded marketing campaign for that; a marketing Levy can be installed and negotiated into the tenants leases as part of the leasing process.
  4. Review the surrounding properties for ideas when it comes to tenancy placement and selection. Some of those properties will have strengths and weaknesses that are of value to your leasing decisions.
  5. Undertake a marketing survey of shoppers within the property. That should occur two or three times a year so that you can understand the shifts and changes to the shopping patterns. Most shoppers today are looking for convenience, value, and comfort. It can also be said that the presentation of the shopping centre will have a lot to do with the attraction of shoppers to the property in an ongoing way. The entire retail equation needs to be well managed.
  6. Connect with the local retail franchise groups, to see if any can be encouraged to consider occupancy in your property. They will have standard terms and conditions that relate to their business model. Those terms and conditions will also have an impact on the design of the lease for occupancy.

Given all of the above factors, look at the subject property to understand exactly how people enter it and move through it. You will see areas of high traffic that will give you advantages when it comes to tenant placement and marketing. Generally the entrance ways to a property and the zones of high foot traffic will be suitable for smaller tenancies and therefore higher rentals per unit of area.

First Steps From Sedentary Lifestyle To Exercise

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The first few steps from a sedentary lifestyle to exercise are the hardest. For many people activities such as walking to the chip shop can be seen as daunting and difficult. So to change that attitude from lounging round the house watching TV mixed with a bad diet of fast foot and to an improved diet made up of good meals and healthy snacks along with actually going out and exercising may seem unlikely.

The good thing is you are have gone out of your way to view this content so clearly something has changed if you did fall under the sedentary bracket! So first of all Well done! So why the change? I will touch upon a model known as the Behaviour change model, this is made up of 5 distinct phases in most cases:

  1. Pre-contemplation
  2. Contemplation
  3. Preparation
  4. Action
  5. Maintenance

I will discuss the first few stages as we are only in month 1 and you don’t want to be swamped with information! For many of you say a few months ago you were in the pre-contemplation phase, you were inactive and there was no intention to change. In order to move from the pre contemplation phase into the contemplation phase something must happen / have happened. The change in attitude could have come from putting on weight, struggling to get into your clothes, noticing you have trouble breathing after a simple activity. Or it could have come from an external factor such as someone making a comment about your weight. Little things like this lead to a change in psychology, and moves you into the pre contemplation phase where there is an intention and ambition to start exercising. In the early phases the cons will outweigh the pros, this is where you have to be mentally strong to overcome this and exercise, if achieved you can move from the pre contemplation phase.

So the preparation phase now, this can last around 6 months from the pre contemplation phase. Many people experiment in this phase, try and find the right activity for you, it is very important that there is some level of enjoyment in your exercise. Maybe joining a gym or buying a new pair of trainers all of these are positive steps in becoming active.

In order to succeed and make a successful change in your behaviour, motivation is essential, as you move through the phases motivation increases. Negative influences become easier to overcome, enjoyment levels increase and you will notice a change mentally and physically. So you are on the right track.. if you are struggling things will get easier and the benefits are great.

For some of you depending on how the preparation phase went you could well be into the action phase. The action phase means you are regularly active and have been for a few months, motivation to exercise is great and there are many noticeable improvements, you can start to forget your previous sedentary lifestyle and look forward to a much more positive future. Confidence is key, believe in yourself and you can continue making great changes.

Key Facts About Gold

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Gold is a transition metal and has been used as a currency for centuries. The word gold is derived from the Ango-Saxon language which means yellow. In Latin Language, gold is referred to as Aurum that means shining dawn. Because of its strength, hardness, resistance, colour, shine and interesting properties, gold is used for many purposes. One of the interesting key facts about this metal is that less than fifty percent of gold in the world is under the earth crust.

The chemical formation of gold makes it is a very hard inert metal. It is highly malleable as one ounce of this metal can be stretched into a sixty metre long wire. This metal in its pure form is very soft to use and it is usually mixed with other metals to make an alloy. This alloy, which becomes strong enough to be forged in any shape or size, is then used as a jewellery manufacturing material. This metal alloys are made to be long lasting and durable so that they can be used for lifetimes.

Te high quality alloys of this metal are made by mixing it with pure metals like silver and copper. Pure form of Gold-bullion is very dense and hard to use. In pure form, the specific gravity of gold is 19.3. This specific gravity of gold must be decreased to around 15 to make it usable. The purest form of gold bars are only found in Scotland. The purest form of gold available is about 22.8 carats.

As per the chemical properties of this metal, it is a transition element. It is placed in the centre of inert transition elements on the periodic table. This metal, being very stable and un-reactive, is not soluble at ordinary solvents. The only solution for dissolving the gold-bars was discovered by a Muslim scientist Jabbir Bin Hayyan in 800 A.D. This gold-bullion dissolving solution is known as Aqua Regia. It is a mixture of concentrated Nitric and Hydrochloric acid. To detect the presence of Gold in any mixture or alloy, Nitric acid is used. Many Jewellery makers use it in acid tests for gold-refining and for checking its purity.

Due to its shine, beauty and resistance to chemical attacks and chemical reactions, gold is widely used as a precious metal for making jewellery as well as investment. The Ancient civilizations of Egypt initiated the use of gold in jewellery. Except Antarctica, all the continents of the world have gold-mines. They utilise this gold for commercial purposes

Compared to its high resistance to chemical reactions, gold has relatively less resistance for heat. Gold-bullion has a melting point of 1063 Centigrade and can be melted and hammered into different shapes. For wedding rings and other wedding jewellery items, gold is the ultimate choice of everyone.

This metal has a huge number of idealistic qualities, that have made it the most popular and the most commonly used metal. One of its most favourable qualities includes its resistance towards rusting.

Another key fact about this metal is that the first gold currency, the gold coins, was used by Lydia, Turkey. South Africa is the largest producer of gold in the world. However, the largest mine in the world is located in the United States.

Fight Hair Loss With Nature’s Help

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Losing a lot of hair or balding is an experience that has a great impact in your life. You may feel that life is changing for the worse. Unfortunately, you don’t suffer alone. Your family will feel the impact too.

Suffering from hair loss may leave you feeling negative. It can affect your emotions. When you are emotionally disturbed, it spills over to your family. After all, what you do, what you say and how you act is directly linked to how you feel inside.

To be able to end your suffering and your family’s as well, here are some tips on fighting hair loss with the help of nature.

  • After your shampoo and conditioner routine, rinse your hair through with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and sage tea. This will improve the health of your scalp.
  • Make an infusion of catmint or chamomile. Using that to rinse your hair can reduce an itchy scalp. Scratching your head often will lead to weak roots and subsequently, hair loss.
  • Aloe vera is such a beneficial plant. It can help in skin care and it can also help with your hair loss problem. If you have the plant, just cut the leaf in half and use the clear gel on your head. Leave it on for 1/2 – 1 hour then rinse it off. Another option would be to combine aloe vera gel with wheat germ oil and coconut milk. Use it like a shampoo to prevent hair loss. You’ll also find your hair revitalized.
  • You can also consider using licorice extract to stop your hair from dropping. However, pregnant women are advised not to use this remedy.
  • You can encourage hair growth with tinctures of birch, horsetail, stinging nettle and rosemary. Massage onto your scalp. You also improve blood circulation that way.
  • Your kitchen can be a good place to find a remedy. Mix some honey to an egg yolk and apply to your hair and scalp. Leave on for a minimum of 1/2 hour before rinsing it off. The only downside to this remedy may be the smell of eggs. Otherwise it is quite an effective solution.
  • You can fight hair loss with the right diet. Eating a healthy diet can promote hair growth. Load up on vitamin C as it promotes collagen production. Collagen is an integral part of your hair. You can get vitamin C either from eating natural foods or taking supplements. Citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons are especially rich in vitamin C. You should also have sufficient vitamin D as it helps your hair to grow. Don’t forget vitamin E. You can take it as a supplement or massage it into your scalp. Not only will it help in regrowth of hair but also help in hair loss prevention. Last of all, vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B5 to help nourish your hair follicles.
  • If you haven’t heard, coconut oil can stimulate hair growth. If you use warm coconut oil to massage your scalp every week, you will have lovely, shiny hair.

If you are troubled about your hair loss, there are many natural options for you to try. You can fight hair loss naturally without worrying about side effects.