Leads 2 Business is Mobile Friendly

Did you know Leads 2 Business has a Mobile Optimized Website?

What this means is that www.L2B.co.za has a dynamic mobile-friendly layout, accessing it from your Home screen can even become an app-like experience.

Whatever mobile device you’re using, you can pin a shortcut of L2B to your home screen for quick and easy access. The icon will appear on your home screen like any other app shortcut or widget, so you can drag it around and put it wherever you like. Creating a bookmark on your Homescreen lets you use it as a one-tap portal to access L2B content.

So what does this mean for you? It means you can access our site on all your devices.

Follow the steps below if you want to take advantage of L2B’s Mobile-Friendly website on your device.

For screenshots view our Wiki.

1. Open your Mobile Browser. This may be Chrome, Firefox or a built-in Browser.
2. Go to the website you want to save. You can either search for the website or enter its URL directly into the search bar.

3. Tap the three-dot menu . It’s at the top-right corner of Chrome.
4. Tap Add to Home screen. It’s toward the bottom of the menu. A pop-up window will appear.
Edit the shortcut title (if needed). This is the text that will appear under your shortcut’s icon on the home screen.
5. Tap Add. The shortcut is now on your home screen.
6. One-tap. And you can access L2B instantly, anytime.

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

 

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Reach out if you want to talk: L2B, social media, construction, technology, marriage, parenting, popular culture and travel. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

10 Things Successful People do before Breakfast

posted in: Did You Know 2

10 Things Successful People do before breakfast

There are 86400 seconds in a day, how you use them are critical. The habits you cement on a daily basis create and define the building blocks of who you are. So what differentiates the ordinary from the extraordinary? If you are in the realms of just being comfortable at the bottom, consumed with the day to day humdrum, what should you change it so that success becomes your habit?

Let’s take a look at the common list of things successful people do before breakfast:

1. Wake up early

The dawn always holds the potential for greatness. It is uninterrupted time to focus, it maximises the day and enforces the habit of good sleep to boost productivity, which means a consistent bedtime, something which most of us are guilty of not getting right!

2. Prioritise

Using your mornings to do big-picture thinking helps you prioritise and set a defined trajectory for the day. Equipped with the details of what needs to be achieved you are setting yourself up for a successful and productive day. The important thing is not the paper, GTD app or other software you use, it is the consistency to ensure you do it every day. As you complete tasks, check them off so you know what you have achieved and what is still outstanding.

3. Express gratitude

When I researched this topic I found this fascinating, it did not require too much digging to establish that it’s not just about being thankful or positivity, but also about not being resentful about the things that aren’t perfect. Its often easier to blame a system, poverty or circumstance as a reason for not achieving success. The reality is, it was more about your attitude, determination, and tenacity against the odds. It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you are not.

4. Connect

Most of us are exhausted at the end of a day’s activities and it is not uncommon for the time to be hastened away between TV or screen time and dinner preparations. This is why many successful people make connecting with their significant other, part of their morning routine. If sex, can make you smarter, boost your income and burn calories, then it might just be another great way to energise your day. It’s not just limited to being frisky, using the time as a couple to talk about your lives, finances, tasks, and week-long plans all serve to build connection and security. All of which promote success.
The all-important connection with others is not just limited to your spouse. Additionally, there are golden time treasures to be found at the breakfast table with your kids, ask them about their day and find out what is happening in their world – it will make you feel more positive about your parenting efforts too.

5. Network

Networking with others appears almost as an extension to connection and supports the mantra of “When you have a million dollar vision, don’t surround yourself with 1 cent minds.” As human beings, we have a tendency to emulate those around us, so finding innovative minds to spark off of can create the critical element which becomes a catalyst for success.

6. Self-care

Exercise, hydration, and meditation are common threads in the lives of the great. A-Type personalities demand from others as much as they do from themselves, as a result, they find it challenging to disconnect from their mental to-do lists and calm their minds. Exercise and meditation are just two examples of the tools that driven personalities use to help clear their minds, create calm and enhance focus. The benefits of exercise are not exclusive to the physical benefit of a stronger healthier being, it counteracts the effects of high-fat diets, helps to reduce stress and promotes deep sleep! Certainly, a plus if you are getting up early to prioritise your day! Increased hydration boosts your concentration levels, and gives your metabolism a lift.

7. Emotional intelligence

Emotionally Intelligent people are constantly looking for ways in which to add value and contribute to their immediate environment. This skill feeds progressive thinking and stimulates active solutions to unique challenges. Interestingly this quality helps them to inspire others to be successful too.

8. Read

Whether expanding your own knowledge base or aligning yourself with the events of the world from a newspaper. This empowering habit augments your own intelligence and of course, quickens your mind with the task of how it can change the world in all the headlines!

9. Personal Passion Project

Fervor and joy add a certain zing to your day and when you are truly passionate about anything it automatically translates into more enthusiasm and energy. So what are the essentials of identifying this kind of project? A passion Project will be bigger than you – it will extend beyond your own interests, agenda or need for recognition it will push you beyond the call of duty and will be driven by self-motivation in the face of adversity. The secret to this is that it carries passion into their profession. In the words of TD Jakes, “It is your passion that empowers you to be able to do the thing you were created to do!”

10. Make their bed

It amused me immensely that this was something that most successful people do! It may seem mundane and not something that can necessarily cause you to get more work done,  but interestingly this “keystone habit” can spark a chain reaction that helps the formation of other good habits.

I hope that some of these inspire you to greatness. When I read through this list, it is energising, but it does have me wondering what time successful wake up in order to get a task list as long as this done – every single day!

Wishing you every success! Out of curiousity let me know in the comments below how many of these you check the boxes on or is there anything else you believe contributes to success?

 

To view more articles, please visit the Leads 2 Business Blog.
If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit Leads 2 Business.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit the Leads 2 Business Wiki.

About Taryn Duckham

I am a lover of awesome design, customer centricity and the art of influence. Being able to effect this through analysis, written or visual content and front-end design is part of my work, my great love of creatively solving problems that reach across as many parts of Leads 2 Business as I can.

Common Causes of Construction Delays

posted in: Did You Know 0

Common Causes of Construction Delays

Did You Know?

Common causes of Construction delays
What is construction delay?
In construction projects, as well in other projects where a schedule is being used to plan work, delays happen all the time. It is what is being delayed that determines if a project, or some other deadline such as a milestone, will be completed late.

Construction delays can be very costly and can reduce your company’s turnover, in a worst case scenario your firm could be ruined by liquidated damages. Liquidated damages is a sum of money (agreed-to and written into a contract) specified as the total amount of compensation an aggrieved party should get, if the other party breaches certain part(s) of the contract in this case if a work delay cost your client money. It also gives your company a bad image showing you are disorganized and unprofessional, and the client could even give your company a bad reference and word of mouth travels very fast ruining your company’s name which you definitely do not want.

Your company can try to avoid some type of construction delays by recognizing their most common causes and working to mitigate those factors before they take effect.
Planning is crucial so you better have a good project manager, you’ll also need to depend on analytics and close oversight to determine when things are falling behind and make the right decisions to keep your project on track.

Here are the 5 most common causes of construction delays
Poor Weather
Oh yes mother nature, the weather is something we can predict but it’s not so predictable if you get what I mean. Yes we have a weather forecast to assist with the planning of our projects but it can change at any time.
Unfortunately you won’t be able to use the weather as an excuse if you are busy with indoor renovations and running behind on schedule.
For outdoor projects, however, poor weather like rain or snow can leave you way behind schedule, threatening your already-slim profit margins with each passing day.
Any one want to take a dip?….. In a mud hole that is! If you’re busy with an excavation project and there’s some rain a freshly dug hole can turn into a mud pit ready to swallow an excavator or any other machine you drive into it. Hungry much?
And no high rise construction or roof is going to get done with high winds. Good luck to you if mother nature is very angry, because there’s no end to the delays that can result from flooding, or worse, a Tornado or Hurricane.


You’ll have to build allowances for natural disasters into your contracts to ensure that you don’t end up paying liquidated damages because of a storm. Rescheduling activities like concrete pours in accordance with the weather schedule is also a good idea, and you should always keep water pumps at a job site so you can dispose of any water that accumulates and gets in the way.

Budget and Resource Shortages
No more funds available…..eeeeek
Running out of money is a very bad scenario for a construction firm that’s in the middle of a project, especially when the client has already paid and you’re digging into your own pockets to get the job done.

It is important that construction project managers have access to costing software that will not under cost projects and put a company in the red. One must be well informed about updates on the firm’s financial health in order to ensure that projects don’t eat up the budget.
Banks can also be flexible with providing loans, especially if you’re an established firm with collateral to offer. This last resort works well if you need your hands on some cash to purchase the last materials for a project, pay workers, and avoid a costly delay.

Overbooked Crews
Check your diary ! Over booking projects and firms taking on more than they can chew can end up with projects falling behind as their exhausted employees drive around from job to job each day trying to get everything done.
It’s great to be ambitious about your goals, but everyone has limits, and you may find that hiring more crews lightens the load for everyone, avoids delays, and keeps morale higher throughout your firm.

Unreliable Subcontractors
Time is money.
Workers that waste time on the job are a plague not only in the construction business but any industry.
One may not always be to blame as they may lack the tools, training or experience that’s needed to get the job done efficiently, but on the other, they may spend too much time chatting, on a coffee break or even better a chocolate break and lose focus on the importance of timeliness on the job.

It’s important to invest in full-time employees making sure they know the processes and what’s expected of them, and hold them accountable for producing results on a daily basis. If you set high standards and don’t allow excuses, you’ll see how quickly production increases. You will surely reap what you sow.
Having the right equipment is very important as well, this being said the maintenance of these plant and machinery is imperative.

Unexpected Changes
Unexpected changes are always going to be a part of the construction business. Sometimes a requirement for the project emerges that was different from what was expected, and sometimes the customer asks for something extra and it isn’t possible to say no.

Managing expectations is the crucial skill when it comes to building unexpected changes into your schedule. Let the client know about the change, why it’s needed, and what kind of delay it will cause. If the client requested the change, let them know that a deadline extension will be required in order to make it happen, or suggest a bonus for incorporating the change into the existing work schedule.

 

Sources:
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Esub
Wikipedia

To view more articles, please visit the Leads 2 Business Blog.
If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit Leads 2 Business.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit the Leads 2 Business Wiki.

About Sharika Raman

I have worked for Leads 2 Business from January 2015. I started in the Leads 2 Quotes Department for Directory, in January 2020 I was promoted to the Deputy Head of Department for Leads 2 Quotes and in July 2021 I was promoted to the Accounts Department as a Debtors Administrator. I enjoy time with my family creating memories, I like to socialize but also enjoy time to myself so I try to keep a balance by indulging in some quiet time when I can. I see myself as a realist, amazing wife and awesome mom…I am sure my family would agree.

Did You Know #DYK: How To Extinguish Different Kinds of Fire?

posted in: Did You Know 2

How To Extinguish Different Kinds of Fire?

Did you know that in order for a fire to exist there must be four elements present? The four elements are namely oxygen to sustain combustion heat to raise the material to the correct temperature, fuel to support combustion and a chemical reaction – (Oxygen + Heat + Fuel) = Chemical reaction. This very simple formula will determine the extinguishing agent you need to be using in order to put out your fire.

How many people just run for water when there is a fire?

Unfortunately, it is not that simple!

Let me simplify the concept of fire and how we can extinguish these fires:

 

Types of fire:

Class A – Ordinary combustion, these are flammable materials and these fuels the source e.g. Wood, cloth, paper and even your basic day to day trash.

Class B – This fire source uses flammable liquids e.g. petroleum, different kind of tars, oils and even paint.

Class C – Energized electrical equipment/components e.g. Computers, servers, motors, transformers and our daily appliances.

Class D – Combustible metals e.g. magnesium, titanium, sodium, lithium and potassium – these are mainly present in a laboratory environment.

Class K – Cooking oils and greases – We all cook meals with either vegetable or animal fats and these are the components that can start this fire.

Now that we know about and understand the different classes of fire, let’s discuss our different options for extinguishing these fires.

 

The different types of fire extinguishers:

  1. Water – The water extinguisher has a cooling effect on the burning agent causing the fire to burn more slowly.
  1. Powder – Dry powder extinguishers smother the fire and form a barrier between the fuel and the oxygen that is allowing the fire to ignite.
  1. Foam – Foam extinguishers have a cooling effect on the burning agent, creating a barrier between the flame and the fuel that is causing the reaction.
  1. Carbon dioxide – CO2 Extinguishers suffocates the fire allowing it to kill off the oxygen that is reacting with our fuel source.
  1. Wet Chemical – Wet Chemical extinguishers work by creating a layer of foam that prevents the oxygen from fuelling the fire. It creates a cooling effect and kills the fire.

 

The last thing we will be discussing to solve all your fiery situations are which fire extinguisher types to use for the different classes of fire:

Type Class A Class B Class C Class D Class K
  Combustible Materials Flammable Liquids Electrical Equipment Combustible Metals Cooking Oil & Gas
Water x x x x
Foam x x x
Dry Powder x
CO2 x x x
Wet Chemical x x x

 

Sources

http://surreyfire.co.uk/types-of-fire-extinguisher/

http://www.strikefirstusa.com/2016/05/five-classes-of-fires-fire-extinguishers-stop-them/

http://www.femalifesafety.org/types-of-fires.html

 

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

About Roxanne Mustard

My Name is Roxanne Mustard and I started working at Leads 2 Business in September 2016. My role in the Leads 2 Business team is as a Regional Content researcher in the Projects Department.

Did you Know #DYK: L2B is Mobile friendly

L2B is Mobile friendly

 

What is mobile friendly?

Have you ever had the experience when you pop onto a website on your mobile (cell phone) or tablet and have to constantly keep scrolling left to right and up and down just to get around? You keep adjusting the fields making them bigger and smaller to type your data in? It can be a real pain. I know, #firstworldproblems right? But it can be truly frustrating for a Client or prospective Client. One that may just end up having them decide it is all too much like hard work and leave your website in search of something simpler. So what is mobile friendly? In layman’s terms, it means that you can view the website on various devices, i.e. cellphone, tablet, laptop, note…. So how do you get the website to do that? This is referred to as Responsive Web Design.

 

Responsive Design

According to Wikipedia responsive web design can be defined as an approach to web design aimed at allowing desktop web pages to be viewed in response to the size of the screen or web browser one is viewing with.

Just what I said 🙂

But to make it easier for those that are a little more visual…

 

 

So what does this mean for you?

 

Basically, L2B’s development team got together and went through our website page by page, feature by feature and designed our new website to be responsive. What this in essence means is that we made sure that you have access to all your favourite bits as well as the other favourite bits that you couldn’t access on the previous app. We want to make sure that wherever you are (provided your cell network providers are giving you Internet access) and whatever you need to do on our website, you have access to it. That is exactly what our team have done. Now, it doesn’t matter if you have a cellphone or a laptop or a tablet or a Note …. you have us in the palm of your hand helping you keep up with the Industry.

Just in case you want to test it out… why don’t you try our handy help video library and see what you think. You can access it by clicking here – Help Library

Otherwise, call us on 0860 836 337 or mail us on Support@L2B.co.za .

Until then, see you next time 🙂

If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit our website.
To view notes with screenshots on how to use our website, please visit our Wiki site.
To view more articles, please visit our blog.

 

About Carmen Barends

Social media adventurer for Leads 2 Business, exploring new frontiers and taking new ground. “Not all those who wander are lost.” JRR Tolkien