How to Finance Home Renovations

Renovations can have a significant impact on the value of your home. Moreover, with home improvements you can also enhance the energy efficiency of your home making your home more environmentally friendly while giving you access to a range of provincial and federal rebates. Nevertheless, these enhancements can also be very expensive so you may not know how to finance your home renovations. Fortunately, there are multiple options available to you.CreditCredit cards are the most common form of financing available to homeowners. While paying for renovations with credit means that you can pay off as much or little of the principle every month, they often carry hefty interest rates. Credit cards are also convenient with respect to buying supplies for your home renovation; but many people prefer not to rely on credit to finance major expenses like renovations.LoansBank loans are straightforward and offer better interest rates than credit cards. Repayments are fixed and you can often negotiate a monthly payment that will not stress your budget too much. However, your bank will likely need some kind of collateral before you will be approved. If you have equity in your home, you should easily get approved for a loan. In fact, home equity loans often have the lowest interest rates, making them the ideal solution for financing home renovations.Personal Line of CreditA line of credit is somewhat of a cross between credit card financing and loan financing. Personal lines of credit will often have higher interest rates than loans, but lower rates than credit cards. Repayment schedules are also more flexible for lines of credit than bank loans, so this type of financing is often ideal if you’re not sure how much you can pay off each month. With a line of credit you can simply pay your minimum or even the entire balance depending on your financial situation that month.Re-MortgagingRefinancing your mortgage is another option available for home renovation financing. Your payments will be spread out over the duration of your mortgage, and interest rates tend to be more reasonable. However, your access to finances will be dependent on the assessed value of your home, and you may incur legal and appraisal fees as well. Re-financing is more appropriate for large scale renovations; whereas credit cards, bank loans, and lines of credit are more suitable for more minor renovations.Whatever financing option you choose, it is important to carefully consider your monthly budget before going forward with renovations. Especially if you plan to remortgage your home or use your home as collateral against alone, you open yourself up to the risk of losing your home if your income is diminished for any reason. Regardless, with careful planning and consideration, there are many appropriate and manageable financing options available to home owners.

Marketing Theory Without Execution: An Idea With No Follow-Through

An ongoing debate exists in the marketing industry that begs the following question: Is it more important to devise a marketing strategy or to execute actions to achieve your goal?There are good arguments all the way around this debate, but when it comes down to it, the answer is really… neither. You simply can’t be successful without either one.The problem, however, is that many companies, consultants, and marketers do a lot of “theory” and talking, without taking it beyond that. They can sit around and discuss all the latest marketing tactics and even try to put them in place, but in the end, it’s all for naught if they don’t develop a solid strategy and execution steps to make it work for their business.It’s like school-you can sit in a classroom and learn all the information and theory that is taught to you, but what good is it unless you can apply it in real life? We all know this, but as marketers, we forget that it works the same way. Understanding theory is helpful, but you need to know how to develop a strategy and execute that strategy to actually see results.From Marketing Theory to Strategy & Execution
Successful marketing is really a 3-part process that involves following sound marketing theories, creating a detailed strategy, and executing that strategy. Let’s look at each of these steps in more detail.Follow Sound Marketing Theory
Marketing theory is the science of marketing. It’s the “rules” and guidelines we follow. It’s the methods we use to form our strategies.Marketing theory can lead to strong marketing strategies, but too often, we get stuck on the former. We might feel as though we are getting things done by talking and learning about various types of marketing theory, but in essence, we are just spinning our wheels.Mike Roach, CEO of CGI, was quoted as saying, “Strategy without execution is a hallucination!” If that is true, then marketing theory without strategy and execution is psychosis. It’ll get you nowhere.Create a Detailed Marketing Strategy
According to strategy-business.com, a strategy is “the series of choices you make on where to play and how to win to maximize long-term value. Execution is producing results in the context of those choices.”Your marketing strategy is your map. It’s like a light shining in the darkness, guiding every decision you make. Without it, you’re driving in the dark without headlights, expecting to find your destination and not crash in the process.Your strategy shines a light on the road ahead, making it clear when you could veer off a path and driving you forward in the right direction. With it, you’re able to work your way around your obstacles, follow your objectives, and illuminate the choices that will get you to your goal efficiently.According to the Small Business Association, only about 50% of small businesses succeed within the first 5 years. It’s not that businesses don’t have some sort of plan in place; the problem is that most small businesses don’t have a clue how to map out a plan that will lead them to success.They don’t have a strategy that is based on sound evidence, data, and experience. Instead, they read a lot of marketing theory and try a lot of different things.That is not the same thing as having a strategy.Without a sound strategy, companies struggle to keep up with their competition, they miss opportunities that would lead to better results, and they win fewer customers.Execute Your Marketing Strategy
Execution is what seals the deal. Without it, no strategy will be realized, which is why it’s crazy that so many companies create a business plan and then file it away in a binder on a dusty shelf.We know that we can’t get anywhere in business or life if we don’t take action, so too often we find ourselves spinning our wheels moving from idea to idea. We’re taking action, but it has no real strategy behind it.When we skip over strategy and start executing based upon abstract marketing theory, we’re shooting in the dark hoping we hit something, but we rarely hit the thing we want to hit. Unfortunately, that’s what too many companies are doing.We should use marketing theory to inform our decisions and help us plan our strategy, and when we do that, our execution will be solid.Why Companies Struggle with Marketing Strategy & Execution
There are so many reasons why it’s easy for companies to struggle with strategy and execution…Where to Start?
Right off the bat, it can be downright scary to figure out where to start when it comes to drawing up a strategy and executing it to success. Digital marketing has become more and more complicated as new technologies and opportunities keep cropping up.With so many options, how can companies choose? How do you know which marketing ideas to subscribe to and which ones to ignore? Just because one marketing theory works for one company or even thousands of companies doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for another company.How to Maneuver the Marketing Paradox of Consistency & Change?
The fact that marketing is ever changing makes it that much more difficult to execute a sound strategy. How do you know where to place your time, money, and energy? And what if you put all that effort into 1 or 2 marketing tactics and then they lose their effectiveness?How do you create something concrete that is ever changing? How do you know when to be flexible and change your marketing plan versus when to stay steadfast? After all, remaining consistent is essential when it comes to digital marketing, but so is changing with the times. It’s a paradox that can be difficult to maneuver.How to Know (Not Just Guess at) Who Your Customers Are?
Most companies don’t spend enough time discovering who exactly their customers are to be able to draft a marketing strategy that will lead them to success. It takes customer data, assessments, feedback, and a lot of investigation to really get to know your customer, but knowing how to compile all of that information can be overwhelming.Since different marketing tactics should be used for different customers, knowing this is essential, but too many companies guess at who their customer is rather than knowing them in depth.How to Bring It into the Everyday Details?
Understanding how to integrate your business plan into daily work is not as easy as it might seem. As a result, decisions are often made without the consultation of the marketing strategy, and that means they are not likely to be in alignment with the strategy.Methods need to be put in place for sharing the company’s marketing strategy with all team members and keeping them on the same page. This ensures the company’s message and interactions are carried out consistently. Expectations and follow-through need to be set up so that there is no duplication, which only leads to wasted time and money. Every decision should be made with the strategy in mind.How to Not Let Everything Else Get in the Way?
Especially for small companies, one thing or another can come up that gets the business owner off track, and unfortunately, when that happens, marketing tends to move to the back burner. Unless time is dedicated to each and every week to working a marketing strategy, forward movement in business is highly unlikely.The Solution
Look, here’s the bad news… For most small businesses, overcoming all of the obstacles that get in the way of creating and executing a sound marketing strategy is not really feasible. Without an in-house marketing team that is skilled and dedicated to marketing planning and execution, it is understandably difficult.But here’s the good news… That’s why most small businesses turn to marketing experts for assistance, and when they do, their business explodes.It is so important to partner with a company that can do more than just talking about marketing theory. Your marketing partner needs to be able to come up with a solid strategy and determine which tactics will best fit that strategy for your unique business.By moving from a marketing theory focus on a strategy/execution focus, you can move past your obstacles and charter the course to success.

Global Plastic Market Recycling – A Change to Improve Global Environmental Outcomes

Due to the continuous increase in global warming caused by the human induced emissions, it is evident that burning of oils and fossil fuels is escalating the change in climate, causing a major threat to the environment, and living beings. Plastic contributes to a large extent in diffusing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere thereby, altering the ozone layer, which is resulting in excessive heat, loss of cloud forests, melting of glaciers and upsurge in sea levels. So, what measures can be taken to reduce plastic pollution?For many years, the global temperature of the planet was intact until new technologies stepped in, resulting in an enormous change in the environment. It is a high time that the recycling of plastic on large scale should be taken into consideration. As plastic is non-biodegradable, it provides a lot of opportunities for business as it can be both cost effective and environment friendly. Global plastic recycling market is expected to witness a healthy growth at a CAGR of 5.04% during the forecast years due to uprise in the demand for recycled plastic. Recovering plastic from scrap and waste and then converting it into useful products has been a major driver for many commercial industries as it is both environmentally and economically effective. Recycled plastic can be transformed into a wide range of products like carrier bags, watering cans, wheel arch liners, car bumpers, damp proof membranes, construction materials, reusable crates, bins, composite pit, food trays, water bottles and different clothing fabrics providing a large scope for plastic industries to make a good fortune. The global plastic recycling market is driven by increasing inclination towards recycled plastics over virgin plastics because of the pollution caused by the plastics when disposed in oceans or other water bodies. In addition to this, energy saved during the production of recycled plastics is positively impacting the growth of the market. Furthermore, ongoing research activities in order to find an effective method of recycling plastic waste all around the world is expected to bolster the growth of market over the next few years. In terms of end-use industry, the plastic recycling industry is categorized into packaging, building & construction, textile, automotive, electrical & electronics and others. Out of which, the packaging industry held the largest market share among all the end-use industries in the global market for plastic recycling. Asia Pacific and North America have emerged to be the largest generators and recyclers of plastic waste. Dominance of Asia Pacific region can be attributed to the chemical and mechanical industry. The Initiative of limiting the use of plastic through financial disincentives has shown results and brought drastic changes in consumer behaviour. China, Japan and India, accounted for over one-fourth of total plastic waste recycled worldwide in previous years.Some highly used different types of plastics are: 1. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)PET is a colorless, lightweight and strong plastic. It is a widely used plastic and is easily available in the market in the form of bottles, polyester clothes, medicines and jars. According to the Food and Drug Administration, PET is safe and can be easily recycled. Asia Pacific region holds the maximum share in production of PET worldwide which is anticipated to surge the market globally in upcoming years.2. High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)Out of all the Polyethylenes, HDPE is classified as the most versatile plastic available with numerous applications. Being strong in nature, qualifies HDPE to be compatible for building materials, large containers and piping. Rise in the demand of recycled plastic in construction sector is a major drive boosting the plastic recycling market in China.3. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC or Vinyl)PVC comes under the third most multifaceted plastics due to its hard and inflexible nature. It is widely used in medical, construction and electrical industries and its property of being resistant to germs makes it highly useful for the medical industry. Demand of PVC in the pipelines industry is also driving the plastic recycling market worldwide.4. Polypropylene (PP)PP is one of the heavy-duty and long-lasting plastics. It can resist high temperature, which makes it ideal for many applications, specifically in food and beverage industries. It is a strong plastic and is less flexible and thus, retains its shape after some time. DVDs, hot food containers, storage boxes are made up of Polypropylene (PP). The plastic recycling market in Spain is expected to grow at an impressive rate on account of growing awareness among the population pertaining to plastic waste disposal.5. Polystyrene (PS) PS, also known as Styrofoam, is an eco-friendly plastic which is transparent and brittle in nature. Usually, PS is used for a short term and can be potentially dangerous for humans as it can release neurotoxins which can hamper the nervous system. PS is cost effective and is made safe for the market use and is used for making cutleries, food containers, building insulations, etc. Canada is expected to witness a rise in the PS industry in the upcoming years.What is the current market potential of the global plastic recycling? The plastic recycling market is highly fragmented with more than 25000 players operating globally in the market. Asia Pacific market is estimated to grow at a strong rate during the forecast period as the region has become a manufacturing hub for chemical & petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, food processing, medical and electronics equipment. Dominance of Asia-Pacific in global plastic recycling market can be attributed to growing awareness of recovery of main polymers through mechanical and chemical recycling.What is causing a Major drive in the global plastic recycling market? The global plastic recycling market is driven by increasing inclination towards recycled plastic over virgin plastic because of water pollution caused by the plastics when disposed in oceans or other water bodies. Ongoing research activities in order to find an effective method of recycling plastic waste all around the world is expected to bolster the growth of market over the next few years. Governments are increasingly mandating that plastic bottles must be made from at least 25% recycled plastic by 2025 and 30% by 2030. The consistently growing demand for recycled plastic products on account of expanding packaging industry across the globe is spurring demand for plastic recycling. Increasing number of construction and infrastructure projects across the globe is also boosting the demand for polymers in a wide range of applications such as an window glass, etc.Which region holds the highest share in the global plastic recycling market?APAC region holds the maximum share of the global plastic recycling market. In 2019, China plastics industry accounted for 26% share in global production of plastics. For many years, China received the bulk of scrap plastic from various countries such as United States, Germany, Japan, Australia, etc., processing much of it into a higher quality material that could be used by manufacturers. In 2018, China imposed ban on imports of plastic waste and closed its doors to almost all foreign plastic waste, as well as many other recyclables, to protect the local environment and air quality and to further boost its domestic plastic recycling market.What is the current market landscape for the global plastic recycling? The key players are considering the rise in demand for plastic recycling by various industries to be the major driving factor for the market in the forecast period. The major companies are focusing on innovation and research & development (R&D) to create durable and better products and attain a competitive edge over the other big players.What are the challenges faced by the global plastic recycling market?Due to onset of COVID-19, disruptions in business cycles are bound to impact the demand across all core industries, globally. Severity of pandemic is compounded by the fact that many industries are operating at reduced capacity, consequently lowering the number of employees as well. The reduced number of workers will create a challenge for industrial plastic product manufacturers to fulfill the demand from end user industries. The ban on import of plastic waste for treatment and reprocessing in China has caused a huge crisis among major exporting countries. Moreover, with declining and shrinking plastic waste exporting market, the governments of various nations in Europe and Asia are focusing on recycling plastic and producing re-usable plastic products.Some of the major companies in the global plastic recycling market include Covanta Energy Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd., SUEZ NWS limited, The shakti Plastic Industries, Eco Wise Waste Management Pvt Ltd, Cleanaway Melbourne, Sapporo Plastic Recycle KK, DH Recycling Ltd, Veolia Indonesia, IAV Global, Poly Pipe Recyclers, Polystar Machinery Co Ltd.Conclusion: Global Plastic Recycling Market is expected to witness a healthy growth during the forecast years due to rise in the demand for recycled plastic for various applications and manufacturing of recycled products such as carrier bags, watering cans, damp proof membranes, construction materials, reusable crates, bins, composite pit, food trays, water bottles. The disruption in overall import and export of plastic waste due to COVID-19 across several countries is expected to lead to decline in the total recycled plastic waste in 2020. Over the past few years, it has been observed that more and more companies are taking a pledge towards the reduction of plastic waste and shifting to 100% recyclable packaging. This wave of enthusiasm and awareness is augmenting demand for plastic recycling, globally, and encouraging the companies to establish plastic recycling facilities.