Best ways to save money while redoing your home by Boman Rustom Irani

Renovating your humble abode is a very exciting task for most people. Whether it is your first bachelor pad, your first apartment as a newlywed couple, your brand new house after having children or your old home, which desperately needs a facelift; home improvement or overhaul can be exciting and daunting at the same time.

Just like while buying a home, most people go overboard, when it comes to the pre-decided budget, same is often the case for home renovation also. So how do you get your dream home and also make sure that you are not left penniless in the process. The following tips should come in handy:

1.      Having a budget in mind (possibly on the lower side with some wiggle room) is the most important and safest way to make sure you don’t go overboard while renovating your home. While it is a good idea to expect the budget to go overboard, make sure you have an upper limit in mind.

2.      How much do you want to spend on basics – flooring, ceiling, plumbing, etc. and how much do you want to spend on frills – fireplace, bathtub, LED TV, etc. Make sure to take care of the necessities first and attend to the luxuries later. You don’t want a leaking bathroom, while watching your favorite show on your home theatre system.

3.      If you are planning to hire a contractor, make sure he knows what all you are expecting from this renovation project. Also, you can get quotes from two or three contractors to compare and study and get the best possible rate.

4.      Delays are a given when redoing your home, so be prepared. But if each delay is causing you more labor cost and other costs, then make sure to clarify the same with the contractor in advance.

 Boman Rustom Irani’s tips to save money while redoing your home should really bring you one step closer to your dream home.

Steps You Should Take To Protect Your Business Ideas

Good business ideas are hard to come by and when you do happen to think of an idea that sounds like it good generate good money, it is very important to protect it. In order to do so, you need to take certain steps that will ensure that your ideas cannot be used by any other individual or company.

Has this idea been used before?

Before you rush off to begin establishing your new business, conduct some market research to understand what are the scope of your business and the potential of your concept to materialize into reality. You also need to note whether or not an idea such as yours has been used before to ensure that you are not infringing upon someone else's copyrights. Hire a lawyer who specializes in copyrights and patents to help you establish your business successfully and to fully know what steps you need to take in order to make it marketable to investors, clients and consumers.

Establish your rights over the idea

Ensuring that you hold monopoly over your own idea requires taking certain necessary legal steps. These include taking forms and filling out the paperwork you need in order to get patents, trademarks or copyrights as these will let you use your ideas in the market openly. On doing so, you will also have to set up court dates in order to make your business an official one. You can always receive help or advice from a lawyer who specializes in these matters. Once the courts hand you the official documents stating that your concept is a recognised and legitimate business idea, you can finally put your thoughts into action.

Build up your brand

Consumers distinguish between different brands through identifying means such as logos, corporate colours, brand image and other symbols that are used to help a brand stand out from the others. Use these symbols to mark all your corporate stationary such as business cards, envelopes, letterheads and legal paperwork. This step will also prove to be useful once you start using marketing techniques to generate public interest and awareness for your brand, not to mention sales as well. In order to design these symbols, you can hire a small designing company or, if you are inclined towards the field, design it yourself. Remember, your symbols will represent who you are and the way you design it will send out a messages to your consumers.

Market your brand

Now that you have an established brand, one of the key ways to protect it from dying in the market is to generate consumer awareness about the brand and the products that it offers. This can be achieved in various ways such as constructing a website for your business including the corporate history, detailed descriptions of various products and a few pages portraying your skill in the industry. You can also release press releases in established newspapers or business journals in order to gain attention in the market. If you're worried about the amount of money you'll end up spending while using the mass media as a communication medium, you can resort to staging low-budget events in public areas such as malls, which is also a good way to let the consumer come in contact with your idea directly instead of through an advertisement. Although advertising is also a good way to generate public interest and awareness but it is quite costly and should be implemented only after you have managed to generate sales and are sure of your footing in the market. This is an extremely vital step as a brand's success depends on how many people know about the brand in the first place. - By Boman Rustom Irani

Tips for saving money on Travel By Boman Rustom Irani

With the ever increasing cost of living, it may get a bit challenging to cope up with the expenses of traveling extravagantly, for an economic class person. However, that should not restrict a person from going out on vacations and occasional retreats, at all.  The most apposite solution for such a situation is planning a modest budget and saving a reasonable amount of money while travelling.

As we all know, saving while traveling may get slightly complicated. Taxes and fees, unexpected needs, impulse spending, emergencies, etc. are just unavoidable. There is no doing away with these expenditures. However there are many other ways by which you can keep the overall budget balanced.

First and foremost, do a thorough research about the city or country that you are going to. Everything starting from traveling expenses, hotels, food, entertainment to amusement spots, currency etc. In this way you will get a rough knowledge of how much you are going to be spending on your trip.

If you are on a tight budget, travel during off-seasons. Scheduling and timing your travel may save quite some money, plus you don’t have to face the hordes of people everywhere.

Secondly, consider tours and travels packages. An all-inclusive deal that comprises of the air or train fair, accommodation, food, entertainment etc. are often cheaper than booking everything individually.

If you are traveling by flight, make sure that you pack your luggage lightly and weigh your luggage while packing. Usually 30-40 kilograms is the limit for free baggage allowance for economic class, make sure you don’t exceed it.

Book your room in advance to avoid any last minute issues. There is no need to plan your stay at a luxurious inn as most of your time will be expended on sight-seeing. Try negotiating with the clerk about the rates of the room or ask him for some sort of perks and advantages like a discount or a free upgrade. Also, make sure you book a hotel which has morning breakfast included in the cost so that you don’t have to go out every morning searching for a restaurant. This saves time and money both.

If you are staying for a long period at one place, you may rent an apartment on a short term basis as it may cost you lesser than hotel rooms. Whenever you are traveling, it is always recommended to carry copiously amount of food, snacks and drinks with you. In this way, you wouldn’t have to spend too much on local bistros, plus you get your regular stable meal in case the native food does not match with your taste buds.

At the destination, try to use the local public transport such as trains, buses etc. instead of renting a car. In this way you can experience the place just like any other native resident! Also get a map of all the local routes and directions just in case you get strayed!

Control your desires and urges to shop, especially the ladies! Try to find markets or bazaars where you get decent deals on local items such as apparels, handicrafts, toys, merchandises etc. Avoid shopping at malls and expensive shopping centers as it will only increase your expenditure and the overall budget.

Whilst traveling, you may need to be in touch with people back home. Instead of spending a fortune on roaming charges, buy an international SIM card. This will reduce your mobile bill by at least 50 per cent.

By taking these petty steps and precautions, you can save a decent amount of money. Follow the above mentioned advice and you will notice less of a trench on your bank account! – Contributed by Mr. Boman Rustom Irani

Ten ideas to increase your property value By Boman Rustom Irani

Most people tend to obsess over the price of their homes and the last few years have not really been easy on anyone owning a residential property. The prices of property have fallen since the recession of 2008 followed by the subsequent economic uncertainty. However, in the current times, most people are apprehensive of taking a step into real estate investment. This also explains the reason why most people now choose to simply improve their homes. However, there is a wide array of choices in home improvements and some of them are worth considering.

Flooring

Most people do not realize the impact that flooring has on the appearance of the house and how a proper change of flooring can improve the value of your home. There are different types of flooring available and you can choose one that suits your needs as well as those of your home.

Windows

Windows help in making your homes energy-efficient by ensuring that the heat does not escape easily. Choosing an aesthetic design and a strategic location not only improves the beauty and value of the property but also provides other benefits like flow of light and maintaining temperature.

Refurbishing the Master Bedroom

The master bedroom is unanimously taken as one of the centerpieces of the house. Therefore, there is no surprise that anyone showing interest in your property will want to have a look at the master bedroom particularly. This makes it almost essential to revitalize the room with correct lighting and overall ambience.

New Shower

Studies have pointed out that showers with lower amounts of water pressure are quite underwhelming. Although it does not imply that you must install a new shower altogether, the least you can do is to purchase and install a pump to improve the pressure.

Loft Conversions

Other surveys have shown that converting lofts is one of the best known techniques of boosting the price of your property. The survey states that most real estate agents were of the opinion that increasing the living space does bring up the value of the property.

Increasing energy efficiency

Recently it has been all over the news that increasing cost of electricity consumption has been troubling people all over the world. Taking this into consideration, it makes complete sense to try and ensure that your house is relatively energy efficient. There are many websites freely giving out environmentally-friendly measures of doing so.

Adding a Skylight

Skylights are a common addition to lofts and are also highly popular. At fairly economical rates skylights can add just the right amount of light to your gloomy lofts.

Kitchen Appliances

Although this does not seem like a priority when you want to sell off your house, you might want to consider upgrading your kitchen appliances. Standing in a high-tech kitchen adds to the visual appeal making it even more attractive to your potential buyers.

Fireplace

Having an original fireplace in your house attracts buyers like a magnet, but it requires you to make the most of it. Although a fireplace in itself adds to the value of the property, an ill-maintained one gives the impression that the house is not well-looked after. Keep it clean and tidy and you could make it the focal point of your home.

Lighting

Lightings have a major effect on the overall appearance and the ambience of a house. So last, but not the least, you must consider putting in new lighting to make the most of your home. Dimmable lighting particularly have a transformative impact on the entire atmosphere – By Boman Rustom Irani.