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#even when I get commission moneys (not common) it amounts to being able to afford extra stuff to munch on for a week
bibiana112 · 7 months
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Hhhhhhhh I wanna be hired so bad
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flailing-feathers · 2 years
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One of the most obnoxious, nagging things my autistic brain has to deal with sometimes is gauging how candid to be about certain things publicly. My usual inclination is that if there’s no logical reason not to be, then I’ll just say something. If it’s a topic I don’t care to talk about or that it would do nothing of benefit for me to participate in discourse, I won’t, but if it’s something that materially affects me and is in fact something that is common and worth my input, I will. However, an issue arises when it’s something that materially affects me and is commonplace but it is equally if not more so commonplace for people not to be completely transparent even if they’re in the same boat. Since barely anyone sees this side blog I wanted to just dump these thoughts here, because they’re about a particular topic that I still can’t wrap my head around exactly why one “shouldn’t” be candid about, but I’m still self aware enough not to write this on, say, Twitter. It’s about money and how ridiculously hard it is to turn a skillset into income.
I got a BFA in animation in 2012, and though I had a good-paying job for a couple years after that, I lost it and wound up stuck in underemployment limbo to just get by while my art kind of stagnated. Then because of the pandemic, and the way it was handled by both the government and my employer (which also neither provided health insurance nor paid enough for me to afford it), I finally quit in April of 2021, several months before I would have even been eligible for a vaccine, because I wasn’t going to remain at risk any longer than I had to be. I was very lucky to have been able to save up a decent amount to give myself time to restart my career I never should have had to stop in the first place.
I have spent my life since then living on those savings and trying to dust off old skills and learn new ones so I can do the only job I can do remotely - art. I have had a Ko-fi since April 2020, but even when I started pushing it last year, I’ve made all of 20 bucks with it. I also opened commissions in August 2021 but have had a grand total of six since I’ve been open. Every single person who commissioned me has been wonderful and even tipped, but I am effectively paying a couple of small bills every couple of months. I started streaming art in October 2021, though more for community building and publicity for my work than for direct income. I made Twitch Affiliate this past Easter so that will at least help a little, too, to get a tiny bit back for spending the time I’d already spend doing art for free. I’ve had several shops open for years that also at least trickle a buck or two my way here and there.
I’ve also of course been hunting for proper remote art jobs for basically all of 2022 since I’ve fleshed out my portfolio better last year and continue to do so. I’ve long lost count of how many positions I’ve applied for, or how many times I’ve ranted to my bf about the sheer volume of listings that have absurd requirements like 3 or even 5 years experience in a specific position for what gets labeled as an entry level job or needing to have shipped at least one AAA game or that no one who writes job listings knows what an “illustrator” is. Being in that awkward zone where you’re more experienced than a fresh grad (and too far removed temporally to qualify for positions only available to them) but not enough for mid-senior positions is abysmal. The pandemic making it impossible to do in-person event networking that is usually the easiest path to a job is equally frustrating. I don’t really have an end for this rant, and I guess it’s something that in itself hasn’t ended so I suppose it’s fitting.
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rorynorth · 3 years
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Supervillains weren't supposed to pay for coffee.
In fact, Julian Godfrey had come into this very cafe last week—in full costume—to demand a free latte on his way home from holding some CEO hostage. He'd already forgotten the man's name, but the ransom money was going to fund some lavish apartment upgrades.
But today, Julian wasn't here for a drink. He was here to sit in the corner of the cafe and send emails and read and, of course, finalize his plan to take an entire city block hostage. Rather than his villainous costume, he wore the clothes he wore to his day job at the library: black pants, a dark purple button-up, and a black blazer.
He did still want his coffee, though.
Julian ran through tonight's plan as he stood in line. He'd been preparing for this for months, and it had taken a lot of training to be sure he'd be able to pull it off. This would be the biggest demonstration of his power yet.
Most importantly, he'd be doing this alone. He had to. If he succeeded, the city would see him as a real threat. He was already feared, but maybe they'd finally regard him with the same awe as they did Blazar.
Julian planned to relinquish his control of the apartment block in exchange for a considerable sum of cash—not particularly original, but money wasn't his real goal anyway. He was going to lure in the city's biggest hero and completely destroy him. Or at least, kick his ass hard enough to keep him out of commission for a few months.
One of the cashiers waved Julian over. "Next, please!"
"Macchiato. Sixteen ounce," he told her.
"Great, that'll be five ninety-five."
Julian opened his wallet and pulled out a single five dollar bill. Damn, he'd thought he had more cash. "Hold on, let me find my card—"
"You're a dollar short?" came a voice from his right.
Julian glanced up. The girl who'd spoken pulled a dollar from her own wallet and held it out to him. He briefly considered turning it down. He had plenty of money to burn, after all.
But why say no to convenience?
"Thank you," Julian said, quickly looking the girl over as he accepted the dollar. She was nearly a foot shorter than him, probably around five foot three. Her skin was light brown, her eyes were a few shades darker, she wore a white flannel over an oversized teal New Atlas University tee, and—
"Your hair's blue," he noted, lifting an eyebrow. Her curly hair, pulled back into a ponytail, was dark brown for a few inches at the roots. The rest of it was a faded turquoise.
She laughed. "Yeah, I get that a lot. And it's no trouble, really."
While Julian waited for the cashier to finish up his transaction, he watched the girl walk away out of the corner of his eye.
"Here's your change, your drink will be ready in a minute." The cashier dropped a nickel into his hand. "Next!"
Julian stood at the edge of the cafe, debating approaching the girl. It was surprising that someone would offer a stranger a dollar without being threatened, wasn't it? Yes, sure, some people were just nice, but he'd already been reaching for his credit card.
The girl grabbed her drink and left before Julian could make up his mind. An employee called his name a moment later. He grabbed his coffee and found a seat in a corner of the cafe.
You don't take a free drink from a restaurant because you can't afford it, Blazar had told him once. If you're after money, you rob a bank. You take the drink to remind people you could be anywhere, at any time. You take the drink to remind people that they're never really safe.
Julian sipped his coffee. The block of apartments he'd be attacking in a few hours was a short walk from here. He'd pass it on his way to the Complex. The area was familiar. A few times a week, for the past month, he'd spent hours generating stone beneath the streets. Still, it would be nice to take one last look at the layout. He had a lot of asphalt to break through.
He closed his free hand into a fist and formed a single stone. When he opened his hand, the small rock rested on his palm.
That was all he'd been able to do as a child. It took a lot of energy to form matter, after all. But even before he'd fully developed his geogenesis powers, he was at least able to manipulate his creations. Thank god for that. Blazar probably wouldn't have kept him around if all he could do was make pebbles.
Julian pulled out his phone. He responded to a few scheduling emails from other library employees. Checked the time. Skimmed the news. Checked the time again.
It was nearly five-thirty when he finished his coffee. As he rose to his feet, he ran a hand through his dark hair. He was really looking forward to tonight. He hadn't been this excited about a fight in a long time. During the walk to the Complex, he assessed the sidewalk beneath him, searching for the largest cracks, the weak spots he could pull the earth up through.
Storm Warning would have no choice but to show up, really. This was going to be the biggest threat the city had ever seen. Except, perhaps, for a few of Blazar's stunts. It was hard to compete with some of the fires he'd started.
Another five minutes of walking brought Julian to the alley hiding the Complex's entrance. The elevator he took could only be accessed with a key, and the only floor it went to was the top.
A text from Blazar came in halfway up the building. When are you returning to the COVE?
About to walk in, Julian replied. He'd never dare say it to Blazar's face, but he hated calling it the COVE. Not the word itself, but the overly complicated acronym Blazar had come up with. Complex of Villainous Entities. Why make it more complicated than it had to be?
The name didn't matter much, anyway. There were only four of them left now.
The elevator door opened, revealing the open living area. At the opposite end of the space were the doors to the balcony, and a hallway leading to the living quarters. To the left was the kitchen, and to the right were the couches and massive monitor that Damselfly was currently using to watch reality TV.
"Hey, Julian." Damselfly looked up from where she was draped across the couch. Her vibrant blue insect-like wings fluttered as she twisted herself around to watch him enter, glittering in the light from the kitchen. "How are your books?"
She didn't really care. The others took any opportunity they had to make a jab at Julian's job. "Library's doing great," he told her. "Is Blazar in?"
"Nope."
"What about Lord Saturn?"
"Haven't seen her, either." Damselfly's head tipped to the side. Her short, dark waves of jet black hair shifted. "What are you up to?"
"I'm getting into a fight tonight," Julian told her.
"Ooh, Storm Warning?"
"Hopefully." Storm Warning was easily the strongest hero in the city. And the most charismatic. And he was the most fun to fight.
The other heroes who popped up enough to be a household name hardly did anything beyond fighting common criminals in alleys. The minor villains they used to fight had been driven out of the city years ago, or killed. Julian ran into the smaller heroes from time to time, as did Damselfly and Lord Saturn. But Storm Warning was the only one who ever dared to fight Blazar.
"Well, if you're looking for the mask that only covers the top half of your face, it's in the sink," Damselfly said.
"Why is it in the sink?" Julian asked. He frowned. "And how did you know I was looking for that one?"
Damselfly shrugged. "You use the full mask for missions. Half mask is for big public shows. Like fighting Storm Warning." She lifted an eyebrow. "And we were out of dishes and I needed something to put my nachos on."
Julian sighed as he picked his mask out of the sink. "Did the other two say anything about when they'd be back?"
"Nope." Damselfly folded her arms over the top of the couch and rested her chin on them. "Why, you looking for backup tonight?"
"I don't need backup."
"All right, well, I'm here if you change your mind." Damselfly thought for a moment. Her wings twitched. "On second thought, there's a new episode of Haunted Weddings tonight, so I probably won't come out."
Julian rinsed off his mask and wiped it dry with a towel. "Glad I can count on you." He'd been the youngest villain at the Complex, until Damselfly showed up. While Blazar had succeeded at hammering responsibility into Julian, Damselfly hadn't been so keen on establishing herself. She preferred to tag along on whatever plans the others came up with.
"I don't get why this girl is having her wedding at her university," Damselfly said, her attention back on the TV. She tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth and continued speaking as she chewed. "I mean, I get there was a murder, but those buildings are hideous."
Julian considered asking what exactly the point of the show was, but he didn't have time to listen to another one of Damselfly's spiels.
"You gonna go to college, Julian?" she asked.
He'd considered it, but Blazar had turned him off the idea. You don't need it. You're powerful. You can take whatever you want. He'd tried to dissuade Julian from getting a job, too, but he and Saturn had day jobs. And Julian wanted something to occupy his time, even if he didn't need the money.
"I don't know," Julian finally answered. "I'm already twenty-four."
"That's young!"
Bold words, coming from a sixteen-year-old. "I guess," Julian replied. His mind jumped to the New Atlas University shirt that girl at the cafe had been wearing. He'd spent a fair amount of time looking at their website. Was she a student? Or did she just know someone at the school?
Julian shook off the thought. The sun was setting. It was time to get ready.
The pants and shirt of his super suit were a deep purple. And, like any decent suit, the material was sturdy enough to protect him from minor blows. Then there were the white gloves, white boots, and the collared gold cape that fastened at the neck. Julian liked it, despite Blazar's occasional jab—Still haven't gotten rid of the cape yet?—but he wasn't stupid. The fastener was easy to undo, so he could pull it off before any fight really got going.
The final piece was the metal mask, also gold in color, with slits for his green eyes to peer through. It was the most iconic part, too, the thing people thought of when they heard his name. There were five points at the top, the one in the middle being the tallest, that gave it the appearance of a crown.
Like Damselfly had mentioned, he had two: one that covered his entire face, and the one he'd be wearing tonight that left the bottom of his face exposed. It made conversation easier. And threatening people. A small device embedded in the bottom edge of the mask—designed by Lord Saturn—altered the sound waves of his voice as he spoke, deepening it just enough that only people who knew him well would be able to recognize it.
Julian left his room and returned to the living room.
"I'll watch you on the news!" Damselfly called as he headed for the door. "Well, when my show's on commercial, anyway."
Julian paused. "Don't we have every streaming service?"
"I don't think you know how TV works." Damselfly waved her tablet. "Besides, if I don't watch it live, I can't follow what's happening on social media."
"Blazar might want to use the monitor to watch me."
"I don't think he's coming by tonight."
"We'll see." Julian could worry about Blazar later. It was time to focus.
Right now, he was Citadel.
~
This is the first chapter of Villain Complex, which is available to read in full on my wattpad auroraanorth. It's also linked in my pinned post!
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anctilbrayen · 3 years
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nythroughthelens · 5 years
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I didn't know I was blind in one of my eyes until I was 24 years old My first eye exam was courtesy of the New York City public school system. I was 9 years old. 
That year a dentist and eye doctor visited the school to give exams to children whose parents couldn't afford such vital health services. Falling squarely into that less than fortunate category, I was able to get my eyes examined for the first  time.
The exam was rushed. I remember the eye doctor's crisp white coat and his gruff tone. I was asked to read a chart on a wall with my right eye. 
I replied quietly that I couldn't read the letters.  
The doctor appeared only slightly bothered, “Not even the top letter?”
I heard myself apologize automatically, “No, sorry sir.”
“Are you sure ?”, he asked sounding slightly perturbed.
I started to question reality, “yes?”
And that was the end of the exam.
I was diagnosed with a lazy eye and prescribed glasses with one comically thick pane of glass on the right side. 
I wore glasses like that for years. I also had chronic headaches. At a subsequent visit with another eye doctor in my early teens, headache concerns and failure to read letters on the eye chart with my right eye were interpreted as a need for a stronger prescription. 
When I was 18 years old, I moved out on my own and I stopped wearing glasses. I broke the one pair of glasses that I had and since I didn't have money for eye exams I concluded that it didn't matter anyway. My internal reasoning was that if I had a lazy eye, it wanted to be lazy. Why bother it further? Let it be lazy if it wants. 
My headaches stopped.
Years passed.
When I was 24 years old, I finally got health insurance from one of my jobs. Feeling residual guilt over not wearing glasses for years, I booked an appointment with an ophthalmologist. The exam involved a lot of questions, lights, and intricate machinery. 
At the end of the exam the doctor said: “I am about to ask you a strange question. What ear do you use when you use the phone?”
I answered without hesitation: “Oh! My left ear. That's my good ear.”
She then asked what no other eye doctor had ever asked me.
She asked me what I saw out of my right eye.
I felt seen for the first time.
I had never articulated a response to the question that she asked and I replied: “ I see scattered light only the light looks like it's being seen through broken glass like light through a crushed kaleidoscope.”
Hearing myself say those words out loud was revelatory. 
The doctor told me that she suspected I had cortical blindness with blindsight (more on this below) and scheduled an MRI.
After a pretty intense brain MRI, I was diagnosed with cortical blindness in my right eye. 
Here are a list of random facts that apply to my subjective experience with cortical blindness and blindsight:
1. I have had it since birth. 
It could be genetic or it could have been due to my mother's health when she was younger. My mother experienced extreme trauma and malnutrition as a child when she was in concentration camps for four years (this is way too long to go into here, maybe one day I will write about that story). It's been shown that malnutrition and trauma can lead to future issues with reproduction. 
However, no one knows for sure what caused my cortical blindness and it will always be a mystery. I am ok with that. 
2. I see the world with my left eye. 
I use my left eye when I use a camera. It's what I look out of when I make art, look at people, work, and do 99% of the things I do.
I don't think about my right eye at all usually. Some situations that have forced me to think consciously about my right eye: -When I was in pre-med, microbiology lab was a big issue for me due to the binocular microscopes.
-Escalators used to make me extremely anxious since my depth of field is limited.
- 3D films give me headaches and make me nauseous because my brain tries to process the visual output with both eyes.
-I absolutely love road trips but cannot drive because of my cortical blindness.
3. I have Type 1 blindsight. 
Blindsight is a peculiar thing to attempt to explain.In fact, I have never even tried to write about it before so bear with me if this doesn't make a lot of sense.
Here is the explanation of blindsight on Wikipedia : “Blindsight is the ability of people who are cortically blind due to lesions in their striate cortex, also known as primary visual cortex or V1, to respond to visual stimuli that they do not consciously see. 
The majority of studies on blindsight are conducted on patients who have the conscious blindness on only one side of their visual field. Following the destruction of the striate cortex, patients are asked to detect, localize, and discriminate amongst visual stimuli that are presented to their blind side, often in a forced-response or guessing situation, even though they do not consciously recognize the visual stimulus. 
Research shows that blind patients achieve a higher accuracy than would be expected from chance alone.Type 1 blindsight is the term given to this ability to guess—at levels significantly above chance—aspects of a visual stimulus (such as location or type of movement) without any conscious awareness of any stimuli. 
Blindsight challenges the common belief that perceptions must enter consciousness to affect our behavior; showing that our behavior can be guided by sensory information of which we have no conscious awareness '' 
I seem to be able to sense people by their movements even without seeing them. I can sense when routine patterns are off by even a tiny amount. This feeling is amplified on my right side. I used to say I felt like I had a version of spidey-sense. When I was officially diagnosed with blindsight, my spidey-sense made totally sense.
If I am close with or around people for a while, I don't even need to look at them with my eyes to see them because I know with pretty good accuracy what is happening around me even if (or especially if) it is happening in my right eye field of 'vision'. 
If I am really into / crushing on someone and around them for any length of time my blindsight is even more intense when it comes to sensing their presence and movements. Blindsight can't be switched on or off. The intensity seems to differ depending on circumstance, surroundings, and even connection to people. It isn't ideal all the time since it just makes me feel hyper-aware of people and myself which then makes me retreat super awkwardly since I also have social anxiety. Fun :/
3. I call my right eye vision: colored glass world. 
I don't always see or visit colored glass world. In fact, most of the time, there is no conscious awareness of colored glass world. 
This is the closest image I could find to show what it kind of looks like (however, I can see shapes and light):
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Unlike blindsight, I can absolutely go into colored glass world at will or I slip into colored glass world when these circumstances occur:
-When I am really tired or when I daydream I tend to slip into right eye vision because it feels soothing to escape into colored glass world.
-When I am super happy. 
-When I play piano I get into a flow state and colored glass world meshes well with this state. I have played classical piano since I was 3 years old and used to specifically memorize long pieces of music just to play the music while in colored glass world.
4. That ear question the ophthalmologist asked me wasn't totally out of left field.
It's not so odd to have a dominant side when it comes to sight and hearing when cortical blindness occurs in one eye. I can hear out of my right ear but it's just slightly different in a way that I can't quite explain. my left ear. I am hyper-sensitive to sound.
I also tilt my head to the right when speaking with people as if I am presenting my good eye and ear. Once people know this about me, they can't unsee it. 
5.The irony of the fact that I ended up in careers that rely entirely on my vision is not lost on me.
I am currently a photo director and producer at Vox Media for Curbed. I am also a photographer who does commissioned art for games, film, books, and other media and have had two photography books published.
My second book, NY in the Snow, was the culmination of seven years of going out into every major snowstorm in New York City to translate into art all the feelings of isolation, nostalgia, and loneliness I felt while surrounded by the vast snow-filled cityscapes.
I never wrote about my vision in the book. In fact, it only occurred to me when the book released in stores and I was actively promoting it, that my snow photography was the closest way I ever came to showing everyone else how my right eye vision meshes with my left eye vision.
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I spent hours waiting for the right combination of people and cars to enter the stormy backdrops.
Did I ever slip into colored glass world while shooting and editing the images during that time period? 
All the time. 
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6. I finally got glasses this weekend.
After I was diagnosed with cortical blindness, I was told that all the years of headaches were due to constantly putting a thick prescription in front of my right eye. It was forcing my brain to try to adjust to the prescription. and just led to misery.
However, years later, my left eye definitely has deteriorated a tiny bit.
Having insurance again meant a visit to a new eye doctor and glasses with a prescription only in the left lens to eliminate any headache issues.
Here are my new glasses yesterday (this image was taken for Instagram stories which flips images, this is clearly flipped). 
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It's nice to have glasses with no prescription in my right eye.
My right eye is just fine as is.
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harukaemberfall · 4 years
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Had to take a bit of a break from finishing this set of armor to work on my first commission. (Should be rendering that next month) Anyways, I've made another suit of armor that I'd like to think that Ash Legion soldiers on the battlefield would wear. I know I've already made a suit of armor for the Ash Legion, but it was quite outlandish, and I'm thinking about replacing it with this one...
I keep trying to make sets of armor that arent complete and fully featured, or basically a light or medium set of armor like you'd see in GW2, but it keeps turning in to full plate armor. Its not that there is anything wrong with that, I just dont know why I keep trying since light or medium armor doesnt even make any practical sense if it's not "complete and fully featured," if the point of it is to protect the wearer from attacks. Skilled people do wear a lack of armor on purpose in combat to decrease the amount of energy they use, and give them that extra bit of snappiness that can help them win fights, but why call a lack of armor "light armor" or "medium armor" at that point. Its basically just clothes. A gamberson/aketon can look just like a shirt, but that's still purpose built, practical armor. Mail is also comparable in weight to Plate armor, but it still looks something akin to clothing, and people still treat it like it's light or medium armor. One of the reasons people used these so called "Light Armors" in lieu of Plate when metal was available, was not for the reason that they were lighter. (because they werent THAT much lighter) Mail, Gamberson, and anything similar had very consistent protection around the body where it was worn by default of it being made like a piece of clothing, but a good suit of plate armor shouldn't have any vulnerable areas like are observable on many suits of "Heavy Armor" in game. It's understandable from a game design standpoint, in that it is very difficult to animate with proper pauldrons that protect the armpits, and have those same animations be transferrable to other skills on people with "Light Armor." Its just that these "light and medium armors" should be associated with the people who could obtain it, and not the class of its weight, because the weight really doesnt matter nearly as much as the protection you get from the armor, since "Heavy Armor" isnt thay heavy in reality to begin with. (A good set weighing only twice as much as regulation american football protective gear.) It's just more expensive, and makes you hotter and tired quicker, which isnt a problem for the people who are trained to wear it in the first place.
In the case of the warmongering charr, the build of their body, and the prevalence of their metalworking industry, I dont see them sparing any expense when it comes to armor, not only since working metal is such a common and refined subject for them, or that money clearly doesnt have much bearing on who or what they choose to fight, but also because they are trained from childhood in combat, and to be able to handle the kind of rigors that come with wearing "Heavy Armor." So in my opinion, a Legion charr on the battlefield wouldnt be caught dead without a "complete and fully featured" set of Plate armor.
There is the exception of specialized fighters, like the covert Ash Legion soldiers, who's job does not find them on the battlefield, and another less obvious exception is the charr that do fight, but were not trained in a fahrar, such as a charr that may have grown up outside the citadel, or one that practices magic instead of combat. For these, it might be too difficult to wear plate armor and still remain effective in a scuffle, let alone afford plate armor in the first place, so the so called "Light Armors" would be their best option, despite the armors not actually being that light.
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Property Management Charges Described
Whenever you employ a property management company for everyone because the liaison between your and yourself tenants, you need to make sure you are getting the perfect property management services your money can buy. The help a house management company provides can vary from ala carte for an all-in-one inclusive package.
Together with which comes a range of charges for every. There's no absolute fee structure we are able to supply you. But we are able to coach you on what common charges to anticipate and just what are all generally for. Within the finish it will likely be your decision to check company fee structures and select the right one which fits affordable. Below are the most typical charges and just what service they offer.
Commission
It is really an ongoing fee every month billed towards the owner to pay the home manager for that required overseeing the treating of their home. This fee can differ from less than 3% to in excess of 15% from the monthly gross rent. Instead of a portion some managers may charge a set monthly amount which again can differ from $50 to in excess of $200 monthly. All property management companies generally charge this fee.
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Lease-Up Or Setup Fee
This fee is billed towards the owner to pay the home manager for his or her initial time invested and sources utilized in establishing an proprietors account showing property and/or any other activities leading to tenant placement. I suppose you could think about it as being a "finders fee" for putting a tenant inside your Algarve holiday let’s.
When a tenant continues to be placed and first rent earnings is available in, the home manager will subtract this fee in the rent proceeds. Some property managers happen to be recognized to require this fee upfront just before tenant procurement. Usually this fee is non-refundable when the property owner has began the entire process of tenant procurement or any legwork continues to be initiated using the property. This fee can differ from none up to the very first several weeks rent, in most cases is really a one-time fee per tenant.
Lease Renewal Fee
This fee is billed towards the owner whenever a property owner renews a present tenants lease so they cover the expense of initiating documents or communication involved with applying the brand new lease document. A house manager might also justify this fee when they execute a year finish inspection of property. This fee can differ from none to $200 or greater, and could be billed whenever a lease renewal is implemented.
Advertising Costs
Based upon the home management company's contract, either they'll spend the money for advertising costs or even the owner or they might split the expense. When the manager would like to pay for this cost, probably they'll charge the lease-up or setup fee as outline above. When the management company covers this cost make certain to discover what kind advertising or marketing of your dwelling is incorporated. Whether it's placing your listing by themselves site along with other online for free classified sites you might not get your monies worth.
Maintenance Mark-Up Charges
This is among individuals costs you might never really of been aware of or been with them disclosed for you. A "Mark-up" is really a charge over and past the final bill on maintenance and/or mending completed to your home initiated from your property management company when utilizing their vendors or perhaps in-house maintenance staff.
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megacreativeagency · 4 years
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How to Find a New Business Agency
It is important to keep a good stream of customers and clients. It is very easy to get complacent when you have enough clients - but if one of those clients disappeared would your business feel the effect? Or worse would it crumble?? Working with a New Business Agency can help you win clients and grow your business. There is no denying that new business / lead generation can be time consuming, hard work and expensive but overall it can be worthwhile and cost effective.
Many Creative and Marketing Agencies in Toronto work with New Business Agencies; it is an effective way to get your work in front of companies you want to work with. I wrote this article after to speaking to the Directors of Creative Agencies and other Business Development Managers. This article is for small Creative and Marketing Agencies new to new business and looking to work with a New Business Agency for the first time.
I think it fair to say in the world of new business you do get what you pay for. You can get a telesales person to call thousands of companies and pay a minimal fee, or you can choose an agency that approaches new business intelligently. The second will be costly but can you afford not to?
New Business Agencies specialize in finding you clients in order to grow your business. Although agencies work in different ways, the long and short of it is that they will phone companies on your behalf with the view of setting up a meeting between you and the potential client. Sounds simple enough, but the new business process is more than simply cold calling.
Before you jump in at the deep end there are a few factors to bear in mind when choosing a New Business Agency. They are all different and will all have diverse ideas about the way new business should be conducted. Here are a few questions to ask your new business agency before you work with them?
Question 1 -Results or Numbers?
If a New Business Agency promises to target 500 companies a week and guarantees you five meetings, be aware. This can be a potential time waster for some agencies. If a New Business Manager is pressured to get you in front of x amount of clients, they will. Whether the meeting is worthwhile or not, is not their problem they just have to reach their targets.
If the person handling your new business account is a really good salesperson with a hard sales technique they may be able to force a potential client to have a meeting with you whether they have work, or you are suitable. These are good salespeople, but they may not be producing qualified leads.
For example, if you are a design agency that specializes in content managed websites for small businesses, you do not want to end up at a meeting to rebrand Kellogs. Yes, this would be a fantastic opportunity, but in competition with top branding agencies do you stand a chance? If you only work for big brands similarly you may not want to show up to a meeting to discuss a £300 website.
A good New Business Manager should be keen and results-driven but also able to evaluate a qualified lead. By giving too many targets you are ultimately pushing them into a corner to produce meetings. You do not want to attend any old meeting. A perfect meeting is a potential client who is looking for an agency for a particular project or looking to change its roster of agencies. A good meeting is also a simple credential meeting with one of your wish list companies, who you plan to impress with solid ideas.
Rather than an agency driven by numbers, consider an agency driven by results. Unfortunately, but realistically, new business is not always about getting work now. It is about creating a pipeline and raising your profile. If your Account Handler has a good conversation with a Decision Maker about a suitable project which will be commissioned later that year, this is better than a credentials meeting. You can then keep in regular contact with the decision maker until that project comes up. By the time you have the meeting you will be talking about a particular project rather than running through a portfolio.
Look at the pipeline as much as the amount of meetings.
Question 2 - How Targeted is their New Business Approach? Are you trying to reach as many companies as possible to offer your services to? For some businesses, this may work but I doubt if this works for many. A New Business Agency which suggests a highly targeted approach will more than likely receive better results. For example, a design agency looking to build up a client list does not want to target 'any' business with "we do design" it really is not going to stand out, and it simply becomes a game of chance.
A web design agency that mainly works with restaurants producing content managed websites could contact other restaurants with a similar offer. However, you don't need to limit yourself to restaurants, always look to expand your market but do it with careful consideration. If you work with restaurants you could then aim at hotels, pubs, bars, and clubs. Of course, you can always expand your market but showing a potential client experience in your field is going to be beneficial. (My next article will go further into this subject).
Look at the size of the business - if you have only ever worked with SMEs build this up gently don't suddenly aim for Coke. Look at the location of businesses, do you have the time and money to travel from London to Glasgow for a meeting or do you need to stay local. A good New Business Agency will create a database tailored to your business capabilities. In order to tailor a database it is advisable to initially work with your New Business Agency, they should be able to give advice to you. But you need to know which direction you are heading with your business, and where you sit, and would like to sit in the market place.
Although this may sound as if I am stating the obvious, a few of the new business managers I spoke to told me stories of how their clients took little interest in the strategy and simply left to them to get meetings with no direction. These clients then refused to leave London to attend meetings and refused any project under £5000 (although they had never completed a project for this much money).
Question 3 - How do they find the Decision Maker? When your New Business Agency is going to send your information to the company, how are they going to find the right person? There is plenty of information available on the internet these days on Marketing Directors of companies. Although it would be wonderful to gain a meeting with someone so high up in the company how likely is this?
The Marketing Director of Nike is not generally going to interview agencies for a microsite. In most cases it would be a waste of time and money trying to reach them on the phone to set up a meeting. Aim lower. Nike is a huge corporation and it will take patience and careful research to find the person in charge of commissioning microsites and it won't be the Marketing Director.
Especially in recent years more and more new roles are appearing in companies, new media managers, advertising managers, mobile managers, interactive managers, account directors, creative directors - who are you looking to work with? Aim for less companies as research can be time consuming, but ensure your representative is talking to the right person. Letters simply addressed to the Marketing Director are hard to follow up with a phone call. Find out how and who your New Business Manager will be trying to contact.
Question 4 - Who else is the agency working with?
It is great to work with an agency that has skills in selling what you are offering, even better to get a New Business Manager with these exact skills. But if your New Business Manager is working with three Mobile Marketing Agencies is your account being kept separate? What is your agencies ethics of sharing potential clients?
Your new business account should be, if at all possible, separate to any other companies. You do not want to paying for someone else's new business. It can be all too easy for a New Business Manager to find details of a company looking to rebrand all their marketing collateral... and keep two design agencies happy.
Question 5 - Who is your Account Handler?
Always ask to meet the person handling your account. It is your business, and they are representing you, be sure you like the way they come across. Your New Business Manager should not really read from a script and should be confident and knowledgeable enough to hold an in-depth conversation. If you are a New Media Agency does your New Business Manager know their augmented reality from their RFID barcodes, and how far can they carry on with this conversation?
In order to find common ground with a potential client, it is good to know about their business before having a conversation with them. This means your New Business Manager has to be knowledgeable about the sectors they are targeting.
New Business Mangers should be versatile. They should be good researchers, communicators and able to pick up information quickly. Providing a New Business Manager has had experience in marketing or creative agencies they will understand the processes and jargon and can generally adapt to other industries that have specialist interests. Someone on the other hand, who has no background in design, marketing or creative industries, in general, will probably find it harder to learn everything from scratch and find out about niche markets.
If your New Business Manager has built a relationship with a Decision Maker it could be an idea to take them along to the meeting as a part of your company. Does your New Business Agency allow this? In an ideal world, your Account Handler should feel they are a part of your team.
It is important for you to go to meetings prepared and know what is expected of you at the meeting. It is down to you to give your New Business Manager all the information they need. You know your market and it never does any harm to keep them updated with your knowledge of industry events. When you launch a new project let your New Business Manager know, keep them involved.
Question 6 - How do you prepare to work with a New Business Agency?
Be prepared to be involved. Most New Business Managers spoken to for this article said, "The closer they have worked with clients the more likely they are to achieve results." Do not expect a New Business Agency to start work and come back to you a week later with lots of new work - it rarely happens like that. If your New Business Agency is starting conversations with the right people make sure you have the supporting materials. Many potential clients will ask for an email with links to your projects, PDFs, showreels or brochures - it is down to you to provide these. When attending the meetings, that you have essentially paid a lot of money to get, make sure you are prepared for the presentation. Your New Business Agency can only take you so far. Remember that if you run your business you should really be the best person to undertake your new business as you know your business inside out, your capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. If you cannot get yourself a £500,000 contract don't expect a new business agency to. Be realistic!
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itsclydebitches · 5 years
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You mentioned piracy in a recent post and I'm curious. How do you feel about pirating things you simply don't have access to? For a very long time the anime Evangelion was not available anywhere new. Your options as a American were to either buy expensive used DVD's or pirate it. Even Crunchyroll didn't have it. Eventually a Japanese (no subtitles) blu0ray release was made, but it was costly. Finally Netflix got the rights to host it. Before that though could you fault anyone for pirating it?
Overall I’m solidly pro-pirating media because every interaction with a text comes down to the same question: Can I buy it or not? If you can buy it then you give money to the artists who rightfully deserve it and that’s fantastic. However, if you can’t buy it and abstain from engaging with the media at all you’re potentially losing more than just your own enjoyment. What does that mean? It means that: 
Maybe I wasn’t able to pay to see the first film, but pirating the first got me interested in the series so now, two years later, I’m paying to see the second when I have more funds. 
Maybe I wasn’t able to pay for the monthly streaming service hosting this TV show, but now that I’ve pirated it I’m buying related merch. 
Maybe I wasn’t able to buy this book, but I downloaded it, told all my friends about it, wrote a positive review, and potentially set the stage for other copies to be sold. 
You are, in short, functioning like a fandom: you created a thing, I love the thing, I’m going to ‘pay’ you for that thing in ways other than cash and credit. 
Pirating isn’t quite the same thing as walking into a store and snatching a book off the shelf. In that scenario you’re harming the author’s potential (or expected) revenue as well as the very real costs that the store put into buying that book in the first place. When you pirate you’re only cutting into those potential profits--profits that still wouldn’t exist if you’d said, “Well I can’t pay for it so I won’t watch/read it at all.” Now, I want to emphasize that none of the above examples are a justifiable replacement for funds. There’s a reason artists on tumblr rightfully say, “No. You’re paying me for my commission. ‘Exposure’ isn’t a valid form of payment.” What I am saying is that there’s a massive difference among a) not being able to pay for a show created by a major corporation so you gain nothing and give nothing back, b) pirating that major show and giving back in the ways that you can, and c) trying to “pirate” art off of a 21yo college student who’s just looking to buy groceries. Yes, every artist deserves to be paid for their work regardless of whether they’ve sold two copies or two million, but---while a lovely and worthwhile sentiment--that doesn’t acknowledge that a lot of people just can’t. That money isn’t going to end up in the artist’s pocket regardless. 
Ignoring for a moment the fact that a good chunk of us are Millennials/Gen Z and can’t pay for shit anyway, other reasons you might be inclined to pirate include: 
You literally do not have access to this. At all. I’m a grad student out in Ohio. There is no way I can pay/take the time to go to NYC and see Hamilton play. I can, however, download a recording of the show and then buy the soundtrack. 
Similarly, costs are not always just the cost of the media itself. My closest movie theater is a small, non-profit place that doesn’t always play the latest blockbusters. The closest AMC where I could see those blockbusters? That’s an Uber drive away. I can’t afford that on top of a $10+ ticket. 
As we’re seeing now, most people can’t afford to pay a monthly fee for multiple different streaming services. The content isn’t all in one place? We’re only going to pay for a portion of the content then. Just buy cable? Distributors need to acknowledge that we’re moving away from that format too. Most people don’t want media laden with commercials anymore, or media that requires equally expensive, specialized tech to play it on. “Specialized” here meaning it only exists for entertainment. I need my laptop to do my job. Being able to watch stuff on it is a bonus, but I’d need to pay for a laptop whether it could play films and TV or not. Actual televisions though? They only exist as a form of recreation. They’re a pure luxury. 
A common rebuttal here is, “Just buy the DVD.” Except, as said, I don’t own a TV. And Mac took out their DVD player in order to produce another expense by forcing people to buy it separately. Which I haven’t done yet. So not only are DVDs functionally useless to me at the moment, but it’s the same issue as above: the overall price is far more than the cost of the media alone. 
Sometimes---as you point out, anon---the material is simply not available in your country. It might never be available. Maybe it will be, but that’s years from now...and telling someone to wait years to see the thing all their friends are currently invested in is not the most compelling argument. 
Also yes, sometimes media stops being produced and the price skyrockets. I’ve had books I desperately wanted but they were well over $100 used for an otherwise cheap paperback. (Funds that, notably, also wouldn’t be going to that original author, editor, cover designer, etc.) 
People have always had a complex and murky definition of what amount of profit is “enough” for an author. And we need to acknowledge that. Because if we all collectively believed that every individual really had to pay for their own access than we would never lend books to friends. We wouldn’t sell used. Or allow music on Youtube. Or have libraries. No one would ever share their Netflix login. We would be far more concerned with eliminating ALL forms of “free” access if we were truly that concerned with a 1:1 transaction. Whether people want to admit it or not, there’s a middle ground between “making sure an author is fairly compensated for their work” and “making sure that people have access to the media at all.” 
It all comes down to how you’re defining that fair compensation and yes, I do think it makes a difference who the author is and what sort of compensation you’re offering. I buy all my books because pirating those tends to do more damage than pirating TV. Complicating that, I have a Netflix account and watch One Day At a Time there because they need ratings a whole lot more than Breaking Bad does. However, I pirate John Oliver because I can’t afford an HBO account on top of a Netflix account. 
Which brings us to, “Then you shouldn’t watch John Oliver at all. That’s a privilege, not a right, and if you can’t pay for it then you don’t get it.” But here’s the thing: media is important. We do need it. We need stories, almost as much as we need food, water, and shelter. It’s easy to say, “You can’t pay for the Popular New Thing so you don’t get to engage with it” and a lot harder to convince people that they should accept that situation when they’ve found access to it another way. 
You know all that research proving that when given a basic income most people still choose to work? Same principles apply. When people have access to money they will spend it on entertainment. Always. I buy books. I go out to the movies. I buy music on iTunes. I go see plays when I can. But the “when I can” portion is a complex and, for many people, rather rare scenario. I guarantee you, it’s not a dystopian future of, “If we accept piracy then no one will ever buy anything ever!” because most people want to pay artists. They want to support films like Captain Marvel. They want to buy a hardcopy book to put on their shelf. They want another copy of that film to gift to a friend. But there are times when they simply can’t do that... so what are we left with? The issue is much less a moral one than a practical one. It comes down to that original question: Can I pay for it? Most people don’t go, “I can pay for it but am choosing not to because I’m a horrible, greedy person.” They go, “I can’t pay for it so you’re not getting my money regardless. The only question now is whether I’ll lose the enjoyment of your art and you’ll lose anything that I might have given back---even if what I have to offer doesn’t mean as much to you as money.” 
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fratboykate · 5 years
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One thing that bothers me about CFAU is how they could afford their apartment in NYC - it's like a 4/5 bedroom??? That has to be over $5M..even if Clarke has money from her dad, that's still a lot.
It really isn’t farfetched and I’ll break down how and why they are able to afford it. I had done the numbers years ago just for my own knowledge but it seems like I deleted the note that had them. I’ve been looking since last night and haven’t been able to find it so I guess we’ll have to do them again.
So we can do a little refresher these are some details and excerpts of what I stated when I initially went into detail for the apartment back in May 2017:
Basics:
The apartment is a 6 bedroom (4 kids, master, the one they turned into Lexa’s office) + the normal common areas and the little room/storage space in the back that they turned into Clarke’s small home studio. 
The economics of it:
“Clarke’s family has never been Rich, but they’ve always been well off. On top of that, Clarke was the person named in Jake’s life insurance policy and his sole heir. All of that was in a trust until she was 21. Lexa was already around by that time and if there is someone who is stingy and good with money it’s Lexa Woods. Lexa, being the perennially responsible one, insisted Clarke was careful with that cash. They got a professional to manage that money and do some investments for them. They live in New York after all and no city has a surplus of finance guys like NYC. They never touched any of the money and on top of that saved for like five years before they decided to become homeowners. Between all the money/assets Clarke inherited, plus Jake’s life insurance, plus their savings, plus the fact that Clarke makes GOOD money working at the gallery not only selling her own stuff but being Dante’s main art dealer, they were in a pretty comfortable place when it came down to actually buying an apartment. Knowing that Clarke also sells a considerable amount of pieces through commissions for the private clients she has, Lexa sort of gave in when Clarke insisted they splurge and get a really fucking nice place. They were buying. It was their forever home, so why not go all out? That was Clarke’s sell”
Jake’s life insurance/inheritance:
Jake had a 1,000,000 life insurance. Clarke was the sole beneficiary of his policy and all of Jake’s other assets. His will stated that if he were to die before Clarke turned 21 then the policy payoff money would go into that trust and she wouldn’t have any access to it until that date. Jake died in 2007 when Clarke was 15/16 meaning the money was in an account accruing interests for 5 or 6 years. Being very very conservative with interest rates and what not this is what the breakdown looks like:
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By the time Clarke could touch the money, the life insurance alone would’ve been up to AT LEAST 1.1 million. That’s not counting any of this other assets.  Let’s say his 401k, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, small real estate he owned back in his hometown, a fishing boat, etc were worth around 200k that at the time of his death. Following the settlement of his estate and the the sale of tangible assets this would’ve also been put into the trust Clarke didn’t have access to. Again, being pretty conservative with these numbers we’re already up to 1.3 million.
As stated Clarke didn’t touch that money when she turned 21. She had already been dating Lexa for 2-3 years at that point and Lexa convinced her not to. So they went to a wealth management/financial advisor and they turned it into an investment portfolio. This would’ve been in 2013. They didn’t buy the apartment until 2018. Let’s say in 5 years he turned that 1.3 million into 1.5 million, which again…I’m low-balling here. 
Jake’s building:
In Chapter 23 we establish that Jake was an architect, and a pretty well known one. This is what canon states:
“Jake Griffin was an architect. One of the finest in the city. As such, he had been tasked to design a new skyscraper for an international financial firm smack in the middle of downtown. It would be a glossy new addition to the Financial District. They told him "no expenses spared" and he designed the building with that in mind. It was undeniably the biggest project of his career thus far and something told Jake that building was his magnum opus. Jake was taking it as seriously as he should. That meant being up before Clarke and Abby and heading to the construction site earlier than everyone in order to make sure each thing was in place for the city inspectors.“
Now, lower tiered architects usually have either an hourly salary which in a city like NYC would go up to 100-120k a year. Some also get bonuses depending on what projects they land and what it brings in to the firm.
If the project is HUGE (according to the internet + someone I asked) the architect gets a percentage of the budget and that percentage would be based on how involved they were. Let’s see how this article breaks down what I believe would be somewhat appropriate for a project of this magnitude:
“For larger projects, there’s a good chance your architect fee will be calculated as a percentage of the construction costs. This fee structure doesn’t come without its challenges: “Figuring out what the construction pricing will be is extremely difficult, because it varies a lot,” explains Sebastian Donovan, partner at Architect Construction Services (ACS), a construction firm based in New York.”
…and this one:
“As for the percentage charged by the architect? “It’s a sliding scale affected by how big the firm is and the size of the project,” says Donovan. It could range anywhere from 8 to 20 percent, so be sure to ask your architect what percentage they typically charge for various projects before you start any work.
If a firm charges less, they may only offer basic services or drawings to obtain a building permit. If they charge on the upper end, expect the full package deal, with full services and drawings to take you through the construction process.“
Jake was obviously and “upper end” and offering a full service until completion which is why he was at the building the morning he died. Let’s say the “no expenses spared” high rise in a city like NY costs 200 million to build back in 2007. Based on the information gathered, the average charged by the architect is 8-20% of building costs. I’ll be crazy say he only got 0.5% because he’s cool but still wasn’t cool enough for the 8-20%…but he definitely would’ve been after this building. But anyway…he gets 0.5% which is a million bucks and he gets 50% up front and 50% on completion. Because he was great and he died in such a shitty when they were about 75% of the way there the owners of the building decided to honor the agreement and pays the family the remaining 50%. I’m pretty sure that technically would’ve counted as an asset for Jake that would’ve gone to Clarke and the trust.
We’re adding 500,000 to the 1.5 million we had already established. We’re at a solid 2 million.
Additional Funds:
Lexa got a full ride to both undergrad and law school so tuition and most school expenses were covered meaning she had zero debt leaving college. Lexa started working before she left high school and with the exception of the book Clarke so casually burned, she didn’t spend money on anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. That meant she had a pretty comfy savings account.
Abby and Jake had started a college fund for Clarke which covered a significant chunk of her college costs. Abby makes pretty decent money as Chief Surgeon at one of New York’s biggest hospitals and covered the rest without a problem. Clarke also left school with zero debt. 
Clarke started working with Dante years before they bought the apartment and by the time they did, Clarke was making very good money as the main dealer of the gallery. It was a pretty high end gallery to begin with and as Dante moved further and further away from daily operations of the gallery her put Clarke in charge of the biggest clients they handled. Clarke had base salary plus commission and have you met Clarke Griffin? She can sell things. On top of all that her own art was selling VERY well.
After Lexa proposed they obviously started thinking making solid plans about the future so buying a home was always in their sights. They didn’t have to live in their shitty two bedroom as long as they did but it was a way to keep costs down and put more money towards the down payment. They saved most of what Clarke made in sales of her art + all her commission. Unless some emergency happened they made it a point to live off of Clarke’s base salary and Lexa’s salary at the DA’s office (which wasn’t much). Because they started saving when they got engaged (2014), by the time they started looking at real estate with the clear intent to buy (2018) they probably had an overall total of around 2,100,000 to 2,150,000 thousand to spend.
NYC Real Estate:
With that in mind let’s look at real estate prices now in 2018 which is exactly when they would’ve purchased their apartment. In the timeline, they moved in when Anya was about 11 months old. Anya was born March 2017 so they would’ve been moving in around April 2018.
As of last night this is the lower end of what a 5 bedroom apartment would cost in Manhattan:
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You could go as low as 2 million and change, but because Clarke is Clarke that’s not what they went with. You could go as high as you want because it is NYC but most of the 4.5 million look pretty close to what I see in mind for their place. The living room of the 3.6 million is feels almost custom made for what I would want as their living room. Realtor.com only let me search for places with up to 5 bedrooms so that’s what all of these are. They had a 6 bedroom tho, right? So let’s say a 6 bedroom does go up to 5 million. Most mortgage companies would throw property at you if you came in with 20%. They’re coming to the table with close to half of the cost of the apartment AND good, certifiable income. They had zero issues getting their mortgage approved.
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...and that is the breakdown of how their apartment came to be.
I don’t blindly throw darts at things when I’m world building lol. If they had that apartment then trust me when I say that it’s because I knew they could afford it…and by “they” I mostly mean Clarke.
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impactrglobal · 2 years
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Advantages & Disadvantages of Leasing & Owning Commercial
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Commercial leasing can be a great way to get started in your business without having to commit to a large purchase or loan. However, there are some key things you should understand before entering into a commercial lease agreement. In this blog post, we'll discuss the pros and cons of leasing vs owning commercial property. We'll also go over some key lease terms you should be aware of. Let's get started!
The Pros of Leasing Commercial Property
Purchasing commercial space can be expensive, especially if you're just starting out. It's good to know that there are companies like me that will help by providing you with affordable leasing options. I'm not saying renting is cheaper than purchasing because it isn't; however, it does give you an opportunity to build up your business before taking the next step (which would be owning). Leasing also lets you take advantage of today's modern technology without having to make long-term commitments. Some great examples are fiber optic connections or brand new phone systems that allow for remote access.
Benefits of Owning Commercial Space
Owning commercial space has its benefits as well, which include being able to design your building to fit your business. Another benefit is being able to personalize common areas without a fee that may apply in a commercial leasing agreement. Owning also allows you to have the freedom of creating long-term plans for your business without having to seek approval from a landlord.
Some Key Commercial Leasing Terms
Now it's important to understand some key commercial leasing terms when entering into an agreement:
The length of the lease term, which can be anywhere from 5 years, 10 years or even 15+ years depending on the space and how much you're willing to spend. Longer lease terms usually mean lower monthly rates but they do come with more risk because they require you to sign a contract for a longer period of time.
Amount of rent that you'll be responsible for each month, which will include your base rent plus taxes and other additional charges.
Deposit at the signing of the lease, which is usually one to two months' worth of rent. This deposit is applied towards your monthly rate so it's important to seek commercial leasing advice before entering into an agreement.
Common area maintenance fees, which are costs that cover common areas like elevators, restrooms, lobbies and hallways where multiple tenants might need access to. These costs can vary depending on how much space you're leasing (i.e., less space = higher cost).
Key money, which is a fee that you'll pay upon signing the lease. This money is used to compensate the landlord for any brokerage fees and/or commission costs he may have collected in order to find you a space.
Out-of-pocket expenses such as insurance and utilities. Make sure to ask about what these costs will be before signing on the dotted line because they can add up quickly!
Whether you decide to lease or purchase, make sure to do your research and seek commercial leasing advice from companies like me, Commercial Spaces. I help small businesses get started with affordable leasing options that will allow them to increase their business without having to break the bank. If you're interested in learning more or finding out how we can help you, feel free to call us.
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axelgill · 2 years
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Anna Zachoroff Artist
Anna is a Swedish artist who started to paint at 19 years old. Attending an “art pre school” in Scandanavia, to which she described as being similar to what we view as an art foundation course (this was useful information as many people in first year at my univeristy will have done a foundation year prior, so helpful to be given context like this). Straight away we were all very relaxed listening to Zachoroff speak about her art career, she was yet again very different in comparison to everyone else we’d heard from so far, due to how overwhelmingly positive and lighthearted she came across- it was a breath of fresh air to not get caught up in such deep debates about art mentality and purpose, refreshingly positive and calmingly entertaining. It’s pbvious to me the amount of thought LJMU put into which artists would speak to us, perhaps even the order, they differ from each other so much in order to allow us first years to have as wide of an understanding of art career possibilities and different styles as possible. Zachoroff expressed how monumental the purchasing of her first oil paints were, due to their expense, but it was a motivating and joyous moment- I’m sure everyone else listening felt a sense of common ground, as all an artist ever wants to do as soon as they get new materials is to test them out and play with them to add to their abilities. Even though Zachoroff wanted to actually leave Sweden and progress with an education in art, she was offered so many shows/exhibitions and commissions that she ended up staying and was able to get by with that due to getting passed into a further art school at Sweden. to which people were bittersweet that particular school was accepting such young people, from this we got a sense of how far Zachoroff progressed with good enough materials and the talent she held. By 21, she found her main art calling, a focus on water and organisms such as animals and plants. A piece of hers I absolutely fell in love with when she showed it within her slideshow, was called “That Feeling When You Put Fresh Bedsheets On”. It really gave the impression that Zachoroff had already came to the conclusion on what her artistic purpose was, and it was to make people feel joyful and positive emotions, so far removed from the mind wrenching distress of most other artists we’d heard from. Many pieces from her are also in relation to charities involved with the planet and animals, she has helped raise money this way (incredibly inspirational and admirable of her, we don’t hear about artists doing this enough). Her work comes across playful with its simplistic, expressionist, coloured style that tends to stray from using plain white as a base as it can be too harsh. “The scariest thing is a blank white canvas”, she stated. It’s “horrifying”, she expressed her fear and was vulnerable with us, despite appearing so happy and showing her some of her success, she wanted to be real with us (overwhelmingly thoughtful of her) and express she still experiences terror within art. Due to the nature of her artwork being quite simplistic and usually not covering the entire blank canvas itself, she can’t afford to make mistakes, as nothing will be covered over and every single brush stroke will be on display. Despite the vulnerability, she stayed true to her optimistic and inspirational self by telling us that this has only drived her to progress faster and be even more willing to invest in those slightly more expensive, better quality materials. All in all, her work is playful with simplistic depth to bring about feelings of serotonin, and was exactly what the first year course needed after such intense previous discussions from the other artists. 
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lord-jack-slick · 3 years
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weekly options trading strategies pdf Ohio best site for options trading Ohio
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weekly options trading strategies pdf Ohio Use put options to hedge your stock holdingsPerhaps the best use of put options of all time is to buy them as a hedge against your stocks. If you have stocks which you are holding for long term investment purpose, consider buying LEAPS put options expiring six months to a year out as protection against catastrophic drops. 10. Avoid Out Of The Money Options if you intend to trade with all your moneyThe reasons why most beginners lose all their money in options trading in one go is because they buy out of the money options with all their money. This means that they will lose all their money even if the stock moved in their favor but not enough to bring the options in the money! Now, bearing in mind that you should only be using money you can afford to lose, buying only in the money options with those money give you even higher protection and lesser chance of losing everything. 6 Common Options Trading Newbie MistakesAre you about to put one toe into the world of options trading? Have you started on options trading and made some initial losses? This article is written just for you.
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When the stock goes up by $10, you make $10 worth of profit and if the stock goes down by $10, you sustain $10 worth of loss. There is no convexity. When you buy options, they will go up in value as long as the stock keep going in the correct direction (up for call options and down for put options) but if the stock goes the other direction, you will only lose as much as you used in buying the options, nothing more! For instance, if you bought one contract of call options for a stock for $150 and the stock went up by $10, you call options would be worth $1000 but if the stock went down by $10, you would only lose that $150 that you used. That's convexity. As long as you use only money you can afford to lose or the maximum amount you are willing to lose on any single trade towards buying options, you will always have the advantage of convexity on your side. Versatility is found in the vast array of options strategies that can be put together. weekly options trading strategies pdf Ohio In fact, there are unlimited ways to trade options due to the unlimited number of options strategies and approaches that can be adopted. This article outlines 10 options trading tips that conservative traders can follow for maximum safety in options trading. 1. Use only money you can afford to loseThis is the most common advise given in options trading and one which most people choose to ignore to their own detriment. Using only money you can afford to lose means that if you hope to lose no more than $200 in a single trade, then you should use no more than $200 in buying options at any one time. The good thing about options is that the leverage it offers allows you to make a significant profit even with very small capital outlays and even if you get it wrong, all you can lose is $200, nothing more. if you follow the next tip. 2. Use only debit strategiesA lot of options beginners start out options trading using complex credit strategies. There are 2 drawbacks to this approach. Firstly, the complexity of some credit spreads caused beginners who are not used to placing options orders in the first place to enter the wrong orders or leg in the wrong way, resulting in instant losses. Secondly, credit spreads require significant margin which may not allow beginners practicing with a small account to use them in the first place. Using debit strategies allow you to control your losses as well. What you invest is all you can lose, period. You won't lose more than you expect unlike some unlimited loss credit strategies. 3. Always virtual trade new options strategiesThis tip translates to never using real money for options strategies which you have never used before. Always practice new options strategies on the virtual trading platform offered by your broker. If your broker does not even have features like this, its time to consider changing brokers, which brings us to the next tip. 4. Choose the right brokerI would say the right broker should fulfill all of the following criteria; 1, discount commission. 2, offers free real time quotes. 3, offers virtual trading practice platform. 4, offer advanced orders such as contingent orders and trailing stop loss. 5, offers both stock and options trading. Definitely no call in brokers! In options trading, you want to be in control of your own trade and be able to execute them at the click of a mouse without the frustration and delay of calling a broker who may not even understand what you want executed in the first place. 5. Always buy options or positions with at least 3 months to expirationUnless you are a sniper sharp stock picker or using credit strategies which you want expire quickly, always buy options or position with at least 3 months to expiration. There is nothing more frustrating to see your positions expire before the stock starts to move.
trading options for a living Ohio
Mistake 5: Trading with borrowed money (or money you cannot afford to lose)There is a saying "you can't afford to win if you can't afford to lose".
schwab options trading Ohio Use put options to hedge your stock holdingsPerhaps the best use of put options of all time is to buy them as a hedge against your stocks. If you have stocks which you are holding for long term investment purpose, consider buying LEAPS put options expiring six months to a year out as protection against catastrophic drops. 10. Avoid Out Of The Money Options if you intend to trade with all your moneyThe reasons why most beginners lose all their money in options trading in one go is because they buy out of the money options with all their money. This means that they will lose all their money even if the stock moved in their favor but not enough to bring the options in the money! Now, bearing in mind that you should only be using money you can afford to lose, buying only in the money options with those money give you even higher protection and lesser chance of losing everything. 6 Common Options Trading Newbie MistakesAre you about to put one toe into the world of options trading? Have you started on options trading and made some initial losses? This article is written just for you. After 6 years of professionally mentoring beginners in options trading, I noticed that there are a few mistakes that keep showing up, causing initial losses. Good thing is that I always make sure my students start out options trading using virtual trading or paper trading in order to harmlessly get through these initial mistakes and to learn from them. These mistakes have been responsible for most of the initial losses that I see options trading newbies make and having an understanding of them would certainly help you avoid these mistakes and avoid the initial frustration of losing money. Mistake 1: Choosing the wrong (usually out of the money) optionsMany options trading newbies prefer to buy "cheap" out of the money options the reason being why buy expensive when cheaper options would also profit if the stock moved up (for call options). Well, that one decision alone has resulted in much of the initial losses when a stock moved up insignificantly and the position remains in a loss. Out of the money options are only good if you expect the stock to move strongly in that direction. If you expect to profit from relatively small movements, at the money or in the money options should be what you should buy. Buying out of the money options is also the reason why many options trading beginners lose all their money in one go. This happens when the options they bought never got in the money all the way up to expiration. Mistake 2: Making complex positions as your first few tries at options tradingMany options trading newbies start out making complex positioning strategies such as iron condor spread or butterfly spreads as their first few options trades and then totally screw up as they did not know how to maintain the position and some don't even know how to set up the positions properly. If you are new to options trading, stick to making a few simple call or put options trades using a small amount of money (or money you can afford to lose) in order to have a feel of how it works first before moving on to more complex strategies. Complex strategies are only good when your trading experience is as comprehensive as they are. Mistake 3: Buying options that do not conform to your expected trading horizonMost options trading beginners have no idea what an expected trading horizon is in the first place and commonly find the options they buy expiring before the underlying stock made the move they expected it to. If you expect a stock to be a mid to long term performer, make sure you buy options that are half a year to a year out. If you don't know how a stock is going to behave, make sure you give yourself plenty of time by buying options with no lesser than 3 months to expiration.
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best stock options trading alerts service Ohio If you are new to options trading, stick to making a few simple call or put options trades using a small amount of money (or money you can afford to lose) in order to have a feel of how it works first before moving on to more complex strategies.
alerts for limit price in trading options Ohio After 6 years of professionally mentoring beginners in options trading, I noticed that there are a few mistakes that keep showing up, causing initial losses. Good thing is that I always make sure my students start out options trading using virtual trading or paper trading in order to harmlessly get through these initial mistakes and to learn from them. These mistakes have been responsible for most of the initial losses that I see options trading newbies make and having an understanding of them would certainly help you avoid these mistakes and avoid the initial frustration of losing money. Mistake 1: Choosing the wrong (usually out of the money) optionsMany options trading newbies prefer to buy "cheap" out of the money options the reason being why buy expensive when cheaper options would also profit if the stock moved up (for call options). Well, that one decision alone has resulted in much of the initial losses when a stock moved up insignificantly and the position remains in a loss. Out of the money options are only good if you expect the stock to move strongly in that direction.
2. 2, offers free real time quotes. 3, offers virtual trading practice platform. 4, offer advanced orders such as contingent orders and trailing stop loss. 5, offers both stock and options trading. Definitely no call in brokers! In options trading, you want to be in control of your own trade and be able to execute them at the click of a mouse without the frustration and delay of calling a broker who may not even understand what you want executed in the first place. 5. Always buy options or positions with at least 3 months to expirationUnless you are a sniper sharp stock picker or using credit strategies which you want expire quickly, always buy options or position with at least 3 months to expiration. There is nothing more frustrating to see your positions expire before the stock starts to move. 6. Take advantage of low commissions to close out on expiration dayMost options brokers offer an exceptionally deep discount for closing out options positions on the expiration day of those options.
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5, offers both stock and options trading.
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