Is bottled water really safer than tap.

It is a common misconception for many people that bottled water is safer than tap plastic bottles get recycled and no harm is done the environment in the bottling process. Unfortunately that could not be further from the truth. Water companies rake in billions of pounds a year by convincing people that bottled water is cleaner, safer and healthier. Images of springs and lakes on the packaging convey a message of pure unpolluted water, but actually bottled water is more polluted than tap water. A lot of the water companies that claim their water is drawn from volcanic rocks in France, and other exotic locations are in fact lying, their water is just filtered tap water and isn’t any cleaner or healthier.
English tap water is amongst the safest in the world

As much as 40% of the bottled tap water sold in the UK is just filtered tap water anyway so it a rip off paying for it.

By drinking tap water you avoid the pharmaceuticals, disinfectant and other chemicals studies have found in bottled water

88% of water bottles in the UK are not recycled which equates to about 30 million a day.

It can take 7 times the amount of water in a bottle to make the bottle itself.

Tap water is highly regulated. It is regularly checked for traces of E. coli and fecal coliform bacteria. The FDA doesn’t hold the same rules for bottled water.

Tap water must be tested for coliform bacteria 100 or more times a month. Bottled water companies are only required to test once a week.

Tap water must be tested by government-certified labs. The same requirements for bottled water companies don’t exist.

Used water bottles tend to end up in landfills and account for 1.5 million tons of plastic waste a year, so they’re not the most eco-conscious. Filling a reusable bottle with tap water is the better way to go as far as the environment is concerned.
Do not get caught up on the belief that bottled water is healthier and safer because it is simply not, it is not as regulated as tap water and you can even be sure about what is really in it. Invest in a quality filter and filter your tap water at home. Or you can boil you water to steralize it and then put it in a container to cool it in the fridge.

Special offer at HB Canoes and Kayaks

20% Discount on Canoes & Kayaks before Christmas
How often have you bought a product before Christmas, paying premium for the product only to find it in sales on boxing day after you have paid premium price for the product. HB Canoes do not believe in discounting that way, that is why they have taken 20% of all products on their website.

If you are looking for canoe or kayaking equipment, from the smallest piece of equipment to a large fishing canoe, you can get up to 20% discount from today the 6th of December 2011. To take advantage of this offer you just need to visit HB Canoes and Kayaks, buy any item you need from their website, at at the checkout, apply this promo code: XMAS20 . Full details and terms and conditions of the offer is available at HB canoing website. You can go straight to sales page by clicking here.

If you have no plans to buy canoeing or kayaking equipment in December, you still need to vist HB Canoes and Kayaks. They are probably the only specialist canoes and kayaks supplier with a huge artificial lake on their premises where you can actually test a piece of canoing or kayaking equipment before you buy it. This saves you a lot of hassles before you get to the river only to find out the equipment is not right.

Visit HB Canoe and Kayaks by clicking on this canoeing equipment link.

Starting a business while still working full time

For many people, quitting a salaried job to start a business is a treat they can’t afford, the pressure of paying bills, mortgages and having to support families means it is a risk that just cannot be taken. A lot of people are forced to continue working their reliable jobs, while working to build their business, this is stressful and tiring.

Working two jobs is not easy but here is some advice on how to do It.:

Create a clear schedule: Make a timeline for your business, a realistic timeframe for starting up your business, breaking down the process into achievable goals, this way you’ll be able to track your progress.

Make the most important tasks and the tasks that will take the longest a priority. For example securing insurance, completing necessary registration and applying for start-up funding. If these important tasks are left to the end, you run the risk of last minute delays.

Use your holidays: If you want to get your business up-and-running quickly, you’ll need to use all the time available – and annual leave is valuable time, and if you are using your holidays for work rather that pleasure you could actually be saving money rather than spending it. Initially your family might not be too keen on you using your holiday for work, but when the business takes off they’ll appreciate it a lot more.

Get into a routine: Structure is crucial to working effectively at home. This is doubly important if you’ve already worked a full day; so you need to plan out a regime for your start-up, identifying the exact time you’ll be starting work each evening, and the time you’ll be logging off for the night. DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT procrastinate because you are your own boss and answer to yourself, you have to be tough on yourself. The more disciplined you are the better.

Choose a good location: When you’re juggling two jobs, every minute counts – you have to make the very best of all the time you have available. So it’s essential that you find a location that works for you, and allows you to achieve maximum productivity without distraction.

Working in the house might be too much of a distraction for you, but a lot of good coffee shops have Wi-Fi, you could consider using your loft or attic as a makeshift office.
Behave with respect: Your current employer could be a potential customer, supplier or even investor one day, so try not to burn your bridges. You might hate your salaried job, but it’s still important to be professional – what goes around comes around, and if you treat your boss badly, they’ll remember it.

Promoting your products

New businesses and business that are still growing are basically growth brands and promotion is a necessary investment to achieve long term growth and profits. All the promotional methods you use will really hinge on experimenting, although it is vital to remember that experimenting is only temporary, once you have tried different methods you will know which ones work the best, loyalty from your customers and repurchases will strongly depend on how your customers view the product or service, so it is important that the way your products are presented in your promotion is perfect.
If your business is an entirely new or re-launched product, it is important to manage your finance before committing enormous budgets to promotional activity. For example, however innovative your product is, the first into the market tends to get the biggest market share. Do not expect too much, particularly in the short-term.

Another important factor is the environment in which you wish to promote. When putting together a promotional strategy, aims can only be well-known in the background of the market. Foremost here are customer changing aspects.
Who do you want to promote to? What do they want? Why do they buy competitors’ products or services? Similarly, where do you want to pitch your product or service? What about your competitors? Other considerations may include any supply limitations, distribution issues, and the possibility of micro marketing: perhaps it is worth testing the activity on a regional basis.
Broadly speaking there are four promotional techniques that attract target customers to participate:
Price
Free Gifts
Prizes
Emotional Benefits
Each of these devices entices the consumer in a slightly different manner and can be implemented in a number of ways.
Price Promotions
Price promotions are an excellent way of getting loyalty as well as increasing volume of purchase and getting consumers of competitor brands to change to yours.
Customers can enter a prize draw, every customer that means a purchase of a specific amount is automatically entered into a draw to win a worthwhile prize.
Promotions using emotional benefits or image are harder to define. Key emotional techniques include sponsoring an event such as the Olympics, linking up with a charity and character licensing activity. The promoter will benefit from the transfer of the qualities associated with the chosen partner and may well gain additional media coverage. This sort of activity is best suited to image building and brand awareness, which is why it will often run alongside another of the techniques described above – such as including a competition prize linked with the promotional partner.