Have your Air Conditioner Service for Summer Comfort

We all know that we can pay our auto mechanics a little now for routine service, or pay them a lot later for a major repair. The same idea holds true for your air conditioner. If you don’t service your air conditioner regularly, you’ll find yourself uncomfortable and broke.

An air conditioner is a very tough piece of equipment. It is engineered to withstand all sorts of abuse and keep on running. This is great in most respects, but it can lead to complacency about maintenance. Like a car, air conditioners need regular tune-ups to run properly.

Without regular maintenance an air conditioner loses about 5% of it’s original efficiency for each year of operation. This means that the 12 SEER unit that you bought just a few years ago may be functioning like a 9 SEER unit today! The good news is that you can recover most of that lost efficiency through regular maintenance. Studies show that with regular tune-ups a unit will maintain up to 95% of it’s original efficiency. This means that the cost of an annual tune-up is recovered very quickly in savings on your monthly electric bill and reduced repair costs. A properly serviced air conditioner will also do a better job of dehumidifying your home.

The service check should include cleaning the condensing unit coils, checking the amp draw of the compressor, oiling the fan motors, checking that belts are well adjusted, and checking the system operating pressures and temperatures against the manufacturers specifications. One of the most important items to check is the coolant level (previously known as Freon) in the air conditioner. A system that is only 10% low on coolant will cost about 20% more to operate! It is recommended that coolant levels be checked every year.

There are some things in addition to yearly tune-ups that you can do to help ensure a high level of comfort and proper system operation. First, buy good filters and change them regularly. Next, keep bushes and other materials away from the outside unit of your air conditioner. Another good idea is to avoid closing supply air outlets in your house. In almost all cases, closing supply outlets is harmful to the operation of the overall system.

All equipment, even the most reliable, needs routine maintenance. Complicated equipment like today’s air conditioners benefit in many ways from annual service. They recover much of their lost efficiency, they are less likely to suffer a major break down, they have a longer life span, they increase your comfort, and they operate for less money.

Raspberry Laundry Capri Oasis Branch

Raspberry Laundry & Dry Clean Services Capri Oasis Dr. Sixto Antonio Avenue Maybunga, Pasig City is now open to serve you.

We are open 7 days a week from 7 in the morning til 7 in the evening.

How to Avoid Ironing Mistakes

Ironing clothes can be a tricky job. With so many fabric types, pleats, tucks, seams, etc. getting the wrinkles out can give even the best housekeeper a headache. Find out the ironing mistakes we make and how to avoid them. Some of them begin before we ever turn on our iron.

1. Letting clothes over-dry.

Clothes are very difficult to iron when they are fully dry or over dried in the dryer. Over-dried clothes can be very difficult to reshape. Try to remove clothes when they are still slightly damp. If you line dry your clothes, bring them inside to iron when they are not quite dry.

2. Overfilling the dryer.

It would seem like stuffing as many clothes as can fit into a dryer would save us time, but more than likely it will only lengthen the time you spend caring for your clothing. An average dryer should be only 1/2 full in order to allow freedom for all clothing to move. If too many articles of clothing are in the dryer, it will create wrinkles, and make your ironing much more difficult.

3. Forgetting to shake and smooth.

When clothing is removed from the dryer, it frequently sits in a basket waiting to be ironed. Take a few minutes and shake out your clothing. Reshape garments, and smooth out seams and pleats. Even if clothing still needs to be ironed, it will be a much smoother process.

4. Not using the sprayer.

Many irons today come with a built in sprayer to dampen clothes during ironing. If yours doesn't have one, purchase a new inexpensive empty spray bottle to use. Dampen the clothing when you are ready to begin ironing. Wrinkles will fall out of the clothing as you iron. If you don't use the sprayer to soften up the clothing, ironing is much more difficult and for some garments, impossible.

5. Using Tap Water.

Tap water may be okay to use in your iron, depending on what type of water you have. People with tap water risk damaging their iron. Read the instructions for your iron, and if in doubt, use distilled water in your iron.

6. Improper use of starches.

Starches are a great tool when ironing, but they must be used properly. Spray these products as you iron, but allow them to actually penetrate into the garment before ironing over them. Allowing just a few seconds for the clothing to soak up the starch, will keep your iron's soleplate from becoming built-up with product residue.

7. Ironing heavyweight fabrics first.

If you have a large pile of ironing to do, try to iron your lightest silk, synthetic, and delicate fabrics first. These need to be ironed on low temperatures. Once the iron heats up, and you've ironed your lightweights, you can move on to the wools, cottons, linens, etc.

8 Things Successful People Do

The most successful people in business work differently. See what they do--and why it works.

1. They don't create back-up plans.

Back-up plans can help you sleep easier at night. Back-up plans can also create an easy way out when times get tough.

You'll work a lot harder and a lot longer if your primary plan simply has to work because there is no other option. Total commitment--without a safety net--will spur you to work harder than you ever imagined possible.

If somehow the worst does happen (and the "worst" is never as bad as you think) trust that you will find a way to rebound. As long as you keep working hard and keep learning from your mistakes, you always will.

2. They do the work...

You can be good with a little effort. You can be really good with a little more effort.

But you can't be great--at anything--unless you put in an incredible amount of focused effort.

Scratch the surface of any person with rare skills and you'll find a person who has put thousands of hours of effort into developing those skills.

There are no shortcuts. There are no overnight successes. Everyone has heard about the 10,000 hours principle but no one follows it... except successful people.

So start doing the work now. Time is wasting.

3.  ...and they work a lot more.

Every extremely successful entrepreneur works more hours than the average person--a lot more. They have long lists of things they want to get done. So they have to put in lots of time.

Better yet, they want to put in lots of time.

If you don't embrace a workload others would consider crazy then your goal doesn't mean that much to you--or it's not particularly difficult to achieve. Either way you won't be remarkably successful.

4. They avoid the crowds.

Conventional wisdom yields conventional results. Joining the crowd--no matter how trendy the crowd or "hot" the opportunity--is a recipe for mediocrity.

Successful people habitually do what other people won't do. They go where others won't go because there's a lot less competition and a much greater chance for success.

5. They start at the end...

Average success is often based on setting average goals.

Decide what you really want: to be the best, the fastest, the cheapest, the biggest, whatever. Aim for the ultimate. Decide where you want to end up. That is your goal.

Then you can work backwards and lay out every step along the way.

Never start small where goals are concerned. You'll make better decisions--and find it much easier to work a lot harder--when your ultimate goal is ultimate success.

6. ... and they don't stop there.

Achieving a goal--no matter how huge--isn't the finish line for highly successful people. Achieving one huge goal just creates a launching pad for achieving another huge goal.

Maybe you want to create a 100 million business; once you do you can leverage your contacts and influence to create a charitable foundation for a cause you believe in. Then your business and humanitarian success can create a platform for speaking, writing, and thought leadership. Then...

The process of becoming successful in one field will give you the skills and network to be successful in many other fields.

Successful people don't try to win just one race. They expect and plan to win a number of subsequent races.

7. They sell.

I once asked a number of business owners and CEOs to name the one skill they felt contributed the most to their success. Each said the ability to sell.

Keep in mind selling isn't manipulating, pressuring, or cajoling. Selling is explaining the logic and benefits of a decision or position. Selling is convincing other people to work with you. Selling is overcoming objections and roadblocks.

Selling is the foundation of business and personal success: knowing how to negotiate, to deal with "no," to maintain confidence and self-esteem in the face of rejection, to communicate effectively with a wide range of people, to build long-term relationships...

When you truly believe in your idea, or your company, or yourself then you don't need to have a huge ego or a huge personality. You don't need to "sell."

You just need to communicate.

8. They are never too proud.

To admit they made a mistake. To say they are sorry. To have big dreams. To admit they owe their success to others. To poke fun at themselves. To ask for help.

To fail. And to try again.

Feng Shui for home and office

Very few people think about the location they choose will affect their business. Sure, when opening a restaurant or a spa business, you choose a busy neighborhood, an easy access. Even so, it might not work if you don’t check the Feng Shui ! Even franchised stores of Starbucks, Mc Donalds, Mini Stop etc, located in busy areas, sometimes fail ! How is it possible with such big names and franchises, and when everyone is working in the same direction? The answer: THE FENG SHUI OF THE PLACE!

I am not a fan of feng shui and i don't actually practice it. Until one day we decided to put an end to our business  because despite the tremendous amount of efforts we put into our business, We are not meeting our expectations, after that i had time to think where did we go wrong or what seems to be the problem.

Just recently i happened to read an article regarding feng shui for home and business and how it affects us.I found out that the place we are leasing is not a good location in feng shui because it is located near the parking area and has a slope shaped, now i began to think it makes sense. So i began considering feng shui. 

As i mentioned before we started our laundry business just inside our house and business was good that we need to open up another branches in Pasig area. Maybe it is because we live in a number 8 house. 

Our address was 917 and when added together
 9+1=10 
10+7= 17 
1+7=8

 Eight is considered to be lucky, it means prosperity.

Feng Shui Numbers and their Meaning

In feng shui, numbers play a very important role in the lives of an individual. In fact feng shui has its roots deep in numerology. The Chinese can be considered to be very superstitious in this respect, and often house numbers, telephone numbers, car number plates, etc are chosen accordingly.

In Chinese (or Cantonese to be precise), the numbers are decided to be lucky or unlucky according to the way they are pronounced. Eight is considered as an auspicious number since the sound is similar to that of prosperous in Cantonese.

This is the reason why many people prefer to have their bank accounts, phone numbers, etc ending with the number 8. In fact, a house with the number 8 is supposed to be auspicious.

On the other hand, the number 4 is supposed to bring bad luck. This is because as according to the Cantonese, the sound of the number is similar to that of “death”.

Thus, the number is often said to bring about extreme misfortune and bad luck. Most followers of feng shui avoid anything with the number 4 in it.

All numbers are reduced to single digit numbers with the addition of the digits. In case of really long numbers the total of the addition have to be reduced till we have only a single digit. We can also combine the digits together. According to feng shui the numbers have the following meanings.

1 refers to unity. It also means independence.
2 means easy and it promotes relationships.
3 refers to liveliness or creation.
4 refers to death. However, sometimes it also refers to stability of a foundation,
5 refers to nothing or no. It also means change.
6 refers to profitability and also means beauty and aesthetics.
7 refers to certainty or surety and is supposed to be a mystical number used while preparing a site for burial or “Yin Feng Shui”. The Chinese believe that if “Yin Feng Shui” is practiced properly, its influence will be seen after 7 generations.

8 refers to prosperity, wealth and abundance.
9 refers to enough or longevity, completion and manifestation.

The numbers starting with 1, 2, 3, 6 and 8 are considered lucky or auspicious. You can simply combine the numbers along with their meanings to find out which ones are lucky and which are not.

13 is also considered unlucky as 1+3= 4, which is the most unlucky number in feng shui on account of its pronunciation. In fact, in the same way the numbers 24 and 104 are also considered to be unlucky.

Other numbers that are considered to be lucky are 8, 17, 28, 38, 48, 54, 68, 80, 84, 88, 99, 168 & 108. This is due to the fact that the lucky number 8 is included in each of them in some way or the other. 

Raspberry Laundry Maybunga Pasig Branch

Raspberry Laundry is currently constructing another shop in Capri Oasis Maybunga Pasig City. 
Raspberry Laundry will  cater seminar for aspiring Entrepreneurs who wants to put up their own laundry shop.The Shop will also have its retail and wholesale of different biodegradable laundry chemicals and personal care products. Watch out for our opening this April 2013.

Construction Business

As the Philippine property boom gathers pace, many foreign investors like Donald Trumph, Japanese and Korean investors are investing in construction business in the Philippines.

There are plenty of constructions everywhere like the high rise condominiums, townhouses and commercial establishments around the Philippines.

It is the right time to engage into construction business, fueled by steady economic growth, the buying power of millions of Filipinos working abroad and low interest rates.

I have been into hardware retail business for almost seven years and it is truly a good business to start with.The company started mainly to supply construction materials for residential, apartments and detached family homes. I was clueless into business when i get into construction business but being hands on i learned a lot of things the hardest way. Yes, comes from the name hardware it is indeed hard. I gained knowledge the hardest way yet it is priceless.  

If you envision one day having a large, profitable construction business, starting a small construction business could be the way to go. Starting your own small business will take a little work and money, but it might save you in the long run if you are deciding what you want your business to be and how far you want to take it. 

Managing a construction company requires a diverse skill set and fearless attitude dealing with challenges. You must be able to understand the various business logistics of a company, the specific technical aspects of the construction company, and also the financial outlook of a contract-based business. Managing a construction company requires the ability to wear multiple hats; you are a human resource manager, a purchaser, salesman and an accountant.