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5 Tips for Creating an Optimal Retail Space

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5 Tips for Creating an Optimal Retail Space

The design and outlook of your retail space influence your customer’s experience and shopping behavior. Creating the optimal space requires a combination of interior design and architectural skill. You do not need a degree in the two fields to improve your customer’s experience and boost sales. You can implement the same design tips that large retailers use and get the same results in sales. The top design tips for retail spaces are outlined below. 1. Choose an Attractive Design The design of your store should be attractive and outstanding right from the entrance to the checkout counter. Pick the right colors and lighting that will make your store stand out. Buyers should be attracted to your store from several blocks across the road. … [Read more...]

5 Tips for Planning a Successful Road Trip

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5 Tips for Planning a Successful Road Trip

Do you love to take control of your own destiny? Do you hate having to let other people tell you what you are doing and where you are going? If so, you should consider arranging a road trip. This is a great way to explore new places, on your own terms. It is also an extremely cost-effective way of going on vacation. In order to ensure that your road trip goes smoothly, you will need to plan ahead. Below are five tips for planning a successful road trip. Get a great playlist In order to get through your long journey, you will need a fantastic playlist. Try to find songs for all of your different moods. You should also try to choose tunes that match the places that you are visiting. If you are travelling in a group, you could suggest that … [Read more...]

How to Realistically Find an Optimal Work-Life Balance

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How to Realistically Find an Optimal Work-Life Balance

Finding the appropriate work-life balance is a challenge that every individual struggles with at some point in their life. As Juliet Schor reports in her book “The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure,” hours worked and stress about those jobs are on the incline, while family time, sleep, and leisure time are gradually becoming more like amenities, rather than necessities for all classes of employed Americans. According to research, finding a suitable work-life balance is even harder if you’re a member of a younger generation. “Nearly one-third of millennials say managing their work, family, and personal responsibilities has become more difficult in the past five years,” writes Time contributor Donna Rosato. “And nearly … [Read more...]

Building Self Esteem at Any Age

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Building Self Esteem at Any Age

C.S. Lewis once wrote: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” Many of us often seem to get humility confused with bad self-esteem as a way to justify our dwelling place within self discouragement. But it’s not good or healthy for us to stay there. We’re more or less taught this by society unfortunately, and learning bad self-esteem at a young age is pretty common. Since so many of us are programed to think lowly ourselves, how can we turn that around, no matter where we are in age or life experience? We all have different challenges that work against our own self respect and self image, but they can be manageable and do not have to break us down. Trust, Trust, Trust Did you know that including a … [Read more...]

Drive Safely on Winter Roads, and Be Thankful for Help If You’re Injured

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Drive Safely on Winter Roads, and Be Thankful for Help If You’re Injured

The throes of winter are upon us. And even though we live in the beautiful state of Colorado, where regular appearances of the sun and some milder weather patterns spare us some of the worst prolonged weather patterns, we still have our share of days with less-than-ideal road conditions. That's when during my commute to and from Denver, or random errands, I stay vigilant for cars with Texas, California, and Florida license plates. Why? Odds are that the driver is less experienced in handling a vehicle on the snow or ice. Even so, despite your best skill at winter driving and awareness of those around you, sometimes an accident is unavoidable. A couple of years ago during a heavy snowfall on the Interstate, we got bumped into the concrete … [Read more...]

January 25: Week in Review

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January 25: Week in Review

Go Broncos, 2014 AFC Champs, Super Bowl Bound!!! From the Independence Institute Colorado and Washington, DC: A Tale of Two School Principal Evaluation Systems (Ed Is Watching) Dougco Collision on Testing and Accountability Could Rattle Reform Debate (Ed Is Watching) “All Aboard” with Blended Learning and My Future “Learning Engineer” Career (Ed Is Watching) Finished One Good(reads) Book This Week The Soul of Battle: From Ancient Times to the Present Day by Victor Davis Hanson: a compelling argument constructed around in-depth portraits of three generals -- the ancient Theban Epaminondas, William Tecumseh Sherman, and George Patton -- three democratic liberators who studied, inspired, and led to underappreciated military … [Read more...]

February 1: Week in Review

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February 1: Week in Review

I appeared on morning drive-time radio Thursday. Listen to me on AM 630 KHOW's Mandy Connell Show discuss the teachers union's new lawsuit to ensure job placement for ineffective teachers. From the Independence Institute School Choice Week Kicks Off; Good Luck Trying to Contain My Excitement (Ed Is Watching) Lawsuit to Protect Tenure Over Students Makes CEA Not Only Wrong But Lonely (Ed Is Watching) Charter Schools Continue to Grow; We Need More #SchoolChoice Now (Ed Is Watching) Honored One of the All-Time Great Composers This Week In honor of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 256th birthday (January 27), here's a recent performance of his memorable Symphony No. 40, Movement 1 (Molto allegro). Top Facebook Links of the … [Read more...]

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A New Way to Contact Elected Officials; A Solution for Grassroots Apathy?

Efforts to organize constituent groups to contact and lobby their elected officials have grown more sophisticated in recent years. Many of us like the ease of the online petition that automatically directs messages to our representatives based on our input location data -- though I frequently prefer to tailor the pre-fab messages with my own words. I can't be the only one who has subjected myself to an onslaught of email messages urging me to call my Congressman or state senator over the latest hideously outrageous or earth-saving piece of legislation. A result of the sheer volume of these messages, combined with limited resources and competing priorities, my eyes long since have glazed over most of them. Have I become too cynical? … [Read more...]

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Jeffco School Board’s Paula Noonan Drives Into Unwelcome Spotlight… Again

Three of the five Board seats for Colorado's largest school district are up for grabs in 2013. One of them is just inviting a challenge. Jeffco school board director Paula Noonan made local headlines for displaying a serious bout of bad judgment:Jeffco school board member Paula Noonan was arrested during a traffic stop Jan. 8 when Denver police officers became aware of an outstanding warrant from a 2011 traffic ticket. Noonan's arrest was not the first occasion during the term of the school board's First Vice President in which she has drawn media scrutiny for irresponsible behavior. Local TV news covered her controversial 2010 Dakota Ridge High School commencement speech, with one parent describing it as "a rambling, self-absorbed … [Read more...]

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Time to Respond to Denver Post’s Anti-DougCo Voucher Letter Writers

Update, Noon: Here is the one-page summary of official recommendations made to the Douglas County Board of Education by the School Choice Task Force's "Option Certificates" subcommittee. So unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past couple weeks, you may have heard Douglas County -- one of Colorado's largest school districts -- is considering the adoption of a local voucher-style private school choice program. Independence Institute blogger "Eddie" has covered the story well here and here. With all the coverage in the Denver Post, it's not surprising that plenty of readers wanted to weigh in with letters published in Sunday's Perspective section. I was disappointed to see most of the letters rely on misinformed premises … [Read more...]