20+ Blogging Resources & Tools To Create A Money-Making Blog September 30, 2019 bizadmin Keep in mind that this page contains affiliate links, and I may receive a commission if you purchase from them. However, I only show products or services. I recommend that I love and enjoy using it! Blogging Tools PicMonkey PicMonkey is a great editing program that I use to make simple edits to my graphics and photos. It makes it easy to use overlays, resize, and crop images, along with a ton of other features. Canva Canva is a very simple program to create beautiful social media images, infographics, and banners in just a few easy steps. I love using Canva for my Pinterest and Twitter images. Adobe Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is one of my most used image editing programs that I love. Although it can be a little more confusing to navigate and use if you’re a beginner, you need this if you want to edit your pictures professionally! Grammarly Grammarly is a browser extension that automatically proofreads your writing. This browser extension is a must-have if you are a blogger, a writer, or a student who writes tons of papers! Siteground Siteground is the web hosting service that I host my blog with. They have very affordable hosting plans starting at only $3.95 per month and excellent 24/7 customer service support. Read my full review and step-by-step tutorial on how to set up your own money-making blog in my post here. Namecheap Namecheap is the domain registrar where I purchased my domain name. So far the service has been very reliable with no downtime, so I recommend them. Restored 316 Designs If you’re looking for a beautiful feminine WordPress theme, Restored 316 Designs has you covered. They have a ton of beautiful designs to choose from that’ll give your blog a feminine feel. If that’s what you’re looking for, you need to check them out. (You will need to purchase the Genesis framework for these WordPress themes to work.) Bluchic Bluchic offers a wide array of beautiful, feminine WordPress themes to choose from. You need to check them out if you’re looking for something girly and professional. They also have beautiful social media templates and landing page templates available. Pretty Darn Cute Design Pretty Darn Cute Design sells a variety of beautiful, feminine WordPress themes for female entrepreneurs and bloggers. You have to check them out if you’re looking to spruce up your site. (Note: You will need to purchase the Genesis framework for these WordPress themes to work.) Genesis Framework By StudioPress Genesis is the framework that this site runs on. StudioPress also has a great support forum so you’ll never be stuck when you’re building your website. Yoast SEO Yoast SEO Plugin is an absolute must-have if you’re using WordPress. The plugin will guide you on how to create the best SEO-friendly post possible and best of it; it’s free! Social Pug I have tested many social sharing plugins to date, and so far, Social Pug has been one of the best social sharing plugins for WordPress that I’ve tried. It has helped boost my traffic and social shares by 200%! It’s jam-packed with a ton of features including the ability to only allow one designated Pinterest image to be pinned. They even have a cool feature that can recover any social shares you may have lost if you had switched over to HTTPS/SSL. I highly recommend it. Tailwind Tailwind is an absolute must-have tool if you want to gain massive traffic to your blog, but you don’t want to spend all day manually pinning on Pinterest. It’s the official scheduler of Pinterest (so you know it’s legit!), and it’s programmed to find the most optimal time slots for your pins to circulate out to your followers. This means that pins will be automatically pinned to Pinterest even when you’re asleep or out having fun! Just schedule all of your pins in advance and forget about them until your queue is empty again. Tailwind is a serious time saver, and I’d recommend it to all new bloggers! Right now, sign up with Tailwind, and you’ll get your first month FREE! Read more about Tailwind in my post here on how I skyrocketed my traffic from 0 to over 50,000 pageviews! Pinteresting Strategies Now if you’re just starting your blog and can’t justify spending a ton of money on Tailwind, BUT you want MASSIVE traffic to your blog, I’d highly recommend you to get the Pinteresting Strategies e-book! Carly teaches you how to go from 0 to 200,000 page views with her easy to follow manual pinning strategy that requires no pin schedulers. She also throws in a ton of bonus tips on how to improve your Pinterest account from the get-go! This is a must-read whether you’re just starting with Pinterest or you’re more experienced. Making Sense Of Affiliating Marketing If you’re looking to monetize your blog, Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing is an absolute must-have purchase. Learn how one blogger earns over $50,000 per month just from affiliate marketing! This course will teach you everything you’ll need to know to improve and increase your passive income and make money. So far, I’ve doubled my blog income after taking this course so I highly, recommend it! Dare To Conquer The Dare To Conquer (formerly known as Billionaire Blog Club) teaches you everything you need to know on how to create a successful blog. From SEO, Pinterest, affiliate marketing, email list building, to content creation, Scrivs covers every aspect of blogging that helped him grow multiple successful blogs! One of my favorite things about DTC is the supportive community that comes with it. Also, Scrivs is one of the most helpful course teachers out there. He’s always around to personally answer any questions which are pretty awesome! Enrollment is currently OPEN! How To Make Your First Affiliate Sale In 24 Hours Did you know that you can make money pinning on Pinterest? If you’re looking for guidance on how to make passive income on Pinterest, you need to read the How To Make Your First Affiliate Sale In 24 Hours e-book! Elise lays out exactly what you need to do step-by-step in a very easy to read format. I made my first sale in less than 48 hours all thanks to this book! How To Make Over $1,000/Month With Amazon Affiliates Do you have trouble converting your affiliate links into sales with Amazon? This e-book will teach you the strategies on how to make over $1,000 a month in affiliate income with Amazon Affiliates, even with a small blog. Carolina shows exactly how she made over $1,000 each month with Amazon while having less than 10,000 pageviews a month! 30 Days or Less to Virtual Assistant Success Are you looking to supplement your blogging income with a different stream of income? Gina started her virtual assistant business as a side hustle, and in just 8 months, she was earning $4,000 per month and was able to quit her 9-5 job and pursue it full time! In 30 Days Or Less to Virtual Assistant Success, Gina teaches exactly how to become a successful virtual assistant in less than 30 days. 30 Days or Less to Freelance Writing Success Want to make money as a freelance writer? If you love to write, the 30 Days Or Less to Freelance Writing Success course is right up your alley! Gina teaches you how to start your own business from scratch so you can get paid to write and make money doing what you love. Affiliate Programs For Bloggers ShareASale If you’re looking for a first-time affiliate program that’s user-friendly and easy to join, ShareASale is one of the best choices to try. They offer paid-per-lead, paid-per-click, and paid-per-sale opportunities and have over 100 affiliate choices to choose from. You’ll most likely get accepted into this program even if you’re a smaller blogger. Click here to sign up for ShareASale. Linqia Linqia is a great program to join if you’re looking for sponsored post opportunities. You need at least 2,500 social media followers to be qualified to join the program. Click here to sign up with Linqia. Izea Izea is another awesome program for sponsored post opportunities. It’s easy to join even if you’re a smaller blogger! Click here to sign up for Izea. FlexOffers FlexOffers is another affiliate program that I absolutely love and recommend using. It has over 12,000 affiliate companies that you can choose to work with, and it’s easy to join even if you’re a smaller blogger. Click here to sign up for FlexOffers. Skimlinks Skimlinks is one of the best tools that allows you easily monetize your site. All you have to do is sign up with Skimlinks, add the code they provide you to your site, and they will convert any existing links and future links you add to your site into affiliate links. This is a great option if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of joining multiple affiliate programs or if your application to a specific affiliate program was declined. Click here to sign up with Skimlinks.
Interior Design Company Singapore September 29, 2019 bizadmin Society is facing lots of problems concerning the atmosphere. For yesteryear decades, humanity appears to continually destroy and deplete our natural sources, so we are now able to begin to see the outcomes of our actions. Climatic change is a major concern today, and there have been efforts to battle this growing disaster. Within the interior designing industry, the solution obviously would be to design structures and infrastructures that are eco-friendly. However, despite the fact that there’s been lots of effort exerted to promote nature-friendly designs, it’s not typically the most popular choice one of the clients. For more information on Interior design company Singapore, visit our website today! Creating an interior design which utilizes organic materials and maximizing using natural sources like light and natural ventilation is stated to become popular later on. Its anxiety about the functionality and elegance which focuses on minimalism and contemporary styles will certainly appeal to more and more people within the next couple of years or decades. Retaining the primary objective of interior designing, which would be to create a space much more comfortable and classy, eco-friendly designs gives respect towards the atmosphere. Based on surveys, almost 80 % around the globe population wants to reside in an atmosphere that is nearer to nature. You can even find communities today which mimic an all-natural habitat with many different trees and ponds. People wish to breathe outdoors, and many of them already demand for natural light the primary goals of those communities. If you wish to design the interior of the house in a manner that you won’t want to lead towards the damage within the atmosphere, there are plenty of approaches to do this. You can begin using the paint. Choose paints which are non-toxic towards the atmosphere. You will find brands that sell paint products that doesn’t include chemicals that are can perform harm in mid-air as well as in your health, too. The only real problem with these odor free paints is they are more expensive compared to traditional ones, so those who are inside a tight budget are opposed to with them. If you work with wallpapers rather of paint, you may choose individuals who have organic and water-based materials. The paper which is used using these organic wallpapers originated from trees that are grown particularly for this purpose which means you will not obtain that guilt feeling that you simply lead towards the loss of numerous trees. For your flooring, rather of utilizing carpets which utilizes inhalants which are very toxic and turn into for a really lengthy time, you can easily use cork made floorings or gemstones, glass tiles, forest and bamboo which promotes proper ventilation around your house. You may also use recycled materials so revealed your creative side. However, should you insist on using carpets, you can test while using modular ones. Modular carpets seem like the real factor with the exception that it consists of number of tiles that are held on the ground having a non-toxic adhesive. It’s very simple to use since you can recycle it frequently if this got stained, so it’s very nature friendly. Want to know more about Best interior design Singapore? Visit our website for more information. There are plenty more ways that you are able to incorporate eco-ambiance for your interior design, all you need to do would be to open the mind for more options and prevent patronizing items that cause injury to our world.
Lift Songs of Praise to the Lord September 28, 2019 bizadmin Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:17 LIFT SONGS OF PRAISE TO THE LORD God wants us to walk as wise men and women, and not as fools (see Ephesians 5:15). Now, He will not tell us to walk in wisdom without showing us how. That is why His Word goes on to say, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” So what is the will of God? The next two verses tell us how to identify it: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord ” (Ephesians 5:18–19). As you allow yourself to be filled with the Spirit by lifting songs of praise to the Lord, singing or speaking (God knows some of us can’t sing!) psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and making melody in your heart to the Lord, God promises that you will know what His will is for your situation. You will then have the wisdom to decide wisely what to do next. I have found this to be true in my own life. Whenever I face a difficult situation, the more I think about it, the more confused I get. The more I try my best to come up with a smart solution, the further the answer seems to get from me. But when I turn away from my problem and turn to God, singing in the Spirit and praising Him, I get a clearer perspective of the problem when I come back to it later. I also find an inner prompting to make certain decisions which in the end, turn out to be better than anything I could have come up with on my own. So my friend, lift up songs of praise to the Lord, whether times are good or bad. For when you fill your mouth with praises to God, He will lead you and guide you in all the affairs of your life. Even if you are stuck with a problem, He will show you the way to go or make a way out for you. Either way, you will get the wisdom and help that you need! -Joseph Prince
5 Websites With FREE Traffic To Make Money With An Online Business September 27, 2019 bizadmin Usually, on this channel, I suggest a somewhat random list of high potential products to dropship in the past I’ve recommended that you start selling cycling glasses pet car seat covers and even pool floatie cup holders the thing is I also suggest that new drop shippers start with niche stores in other words you should build your store around one category of products and if you put all of my past product recommendations in one store that would not be a niche store a store that carries cycling glasses and pool floaties together it would look really confusing and it would probably turn customers off that’s why in this video I’m gonna do something a little different I’m going to introduce you to a high potential niche and I’m gonna supply some numbers to back up my claim then I’ll recommend five winning products to sell in that niche and make sure you watch this video until the end because even if this niche isn’t your thing I’m going to share my sneaky simple method for finding great products in any niche by the end of this video you’re going to have a blueprint for an entire dropshipping store that way you can start making sales instead of catching another product recommendation video on YouTube Okay let’s switch gears because the niche I want to talk about today is the car accessories niche before we get started let me address a doubt that I know is going through your head right now it’s 2019 and the world is moving towards a greener future one with fewer cars on the road and therefore fewer car accessories on the road – that’s what I thought as well but one of the most important rules about being a successful entrepreneur is to never make assumptions you’ve got to follow the data and not your gut so let’s look at some data that backs up my claim that the car accessories niche is a high potential niche I’m going to talk about us data here since u.s. is such a huge e-commerce market for dropshippers The average American now spends over 50 minutes a day driving which has been increasing over the last few years the amount of drivers has increased as well because over the last five years four million new drivers were added to the road that means that there are now more than 225 million drivers on the road in the United States more Americans on the road all spending more time in their cars means more driving related frustrations and that my dropshipping friend is the good news because frustrations need solutions and solutions mean sales each of the five products that I’m about to talk about solves of frustration related to spending way too much time in the car if you make that pain point obvious to your customers you’re gonna hear cuts ching in no time okay let’s start our engines and jump into products number one the first product that would be a perfect fit for your car accessories store help someone feel like their car perfectly fits them it’s a car seat cushion I know I know you’re looking at this car seat cushion and you’re thinking wow this is the product that overload thinks will get my customer excited take a seat and give me a chance to explain remember the average American spends almost an hour in their car every single day that’s a lot of time to be sitting in a seat the most effective way to sell your product is to sell it as a solution to a problem however is discomfort alone really a problem yeah. Maybe but perhaps not enough of a problem to get your customer running towards checkout so for a hint on how to better position this product let’s take a look at Google Trends searches for car seat cushions have increased over the past five years interestingly you notice spikes around popular travel holidays in the U.S. like Memorial Day weekend fourth of July and winter holidays but if I scroll down I see the key to marketing this product back pain if you’ve ever experienced back pain yourself you know it is so painful and immobilizing it’s like this dull ache that never goes away and that pinched nerve at the base of your spine and the ramping that goes all the way up to your neck it’s horrible so position this product as one that alleviates and prevents back pain and in that way this. For more information, see the video with a pen and paper and to jot down point for further learning.
Give God’s Word Priority And See Good Success September 25, 2019 bizadmin This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then, you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Joshua 1:8 GIVE GOD’S WORD PRIORITY AND SEE GOOD SUCCESS In life, there is a good success and bad success. Bad success is the kind of success which robs you of time with your family, friends, and church, and destroys your health and relationships. With good success, on the other hand, you see prosperity in every area of your life. God wants you to enjoy good success and the key to this lies in what God told Joshua when he took over the reins following the death of his leader Moses—“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Spending time in God’s Word daily will give you godly wisdom, which will make your way prosperous and give you good success. Look at how Joshua’s life turned out in the end. When Joshua died, “they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash” (Joshua 24:30). Joshua had a whole mountain for his inheritance! This means that he was prosperous and successful! It was also said that Israel served the Lord, not idols or other gods, all the days of Joshua’s life (see Joshua 24:31). This means that while Joshua was around, people were impacted for God’s glory. And at the end of his life, a fulfilled Joshua had this to say, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Having your family loving God and serving Him with you is the most important success and greatest prosperity that you can ever have. Beloved, when God’s Word takes priority in your daily life, not only will your finances be blessed, your ministry and family life will also be blessed!
Paypal, TransferWise, Stride September 24, 2019 bizadmin From the news this morning, Paypal has made Germany its headquarters while TransferWise is London-based and Stride is in Silicon Valley. There are over 244 million PayPal users globally, making it one of the most popular ways to send and spend money online. Whether you’re paying back a friend after splitting a restaurant bill, or sending money home to family based abroad, PayPal has a solution. However, it’s good to look at the fees PayPal charge before you decide if this is the best way to make your payment. In some cases – for international payments, or transfers in a currency other than pounds, for example – PayPal might not be the cheapest option out there. More on that in a moment. If you’re using PayPal, you might choose to hold a balance within your account for ease, which you can then use to pay for goods and services, or send to your friends and family. This article covers how you can do that, and what the costs of payments might be. However, this information is based on holding a personal PayPal account, so if you’re a business user, you’ll need to double check the small print – and especially the fees – before you proceed. Are you making international money transfers? TransferWise could save you up to 8x versus your bank Before you get started, a word. Banks and money transfer providers often give you a bad exchange rate to make extra profits. TransferWise is different. Its smart new technology skips hefty international transfer fees by connecting local bank accounts all around the world. Which means you can save up to 8x by using TransferWise rather than your bank when you send your money abroad. Check out how to make your first transfer with TransferWise. And give it a try. Oh, and while you’re at it, check out TransferWise’s free borderless multi-currency account. Where you can manage and send dozens of currencies all from the same account. Now, back to what you came here to read. Why would you add money to PayPal? You can pay and be paid from your PayPal account, and just like your main bank account, you can hold money in your PayPal account until you need it. You might have a positive balance if you’ve sold something online, and taken payment via PayPal, or if you’re a freelancer working with clients who pay using PayPal, for example. When it comes to making payments or shopping, you can either use the balance you hold already, or link your PayPal account to your regular bank account, credit or debit card. If you use a linked bank account or card, the payment comes directly from that card or bank account whenever you send money using PayPal. Alternatively, if you want to pay for things using your PayPal balance, you might want to top it up from time to time for convenience. PayPal payments You might use PayPal to collect money from friends, if you’re arranging a holiday together, to buy things on eBay, or to make a charity donation, for example. You can send money to someone easily, using their name, email address or mobile number. To access the payment, the recipient will need to have a PayPal account, or will be prompted to set one up to get their money¹. Making a payment is easy. Log into your PayPal account, and find the ‘Send Money’ button. Click on this, and you’ll be asked to give the recipient’s details, and the amount you want to send – PayPal remembers previous payments you’ve made, so it’s even easier if you’re making a transfer to someone you’ve already sent money to before. However, although PayPal payments are easy, they’re not necessarily cheap, so you’ll need to watch out for the fees charged. If you’re sending money to friends or family in the UK, in pounds, and the payment is funded using your PayPal balance, linked bank account, debit card or a prepaid card, then there’s no fee to worry about². However, if you want to pay for the transfer using a credit card, you’ll have to pay a charge² – more on that later. The fees can get even higher if you have a UK based PayPal account, and you make an international payment in a currency other than pounds. Sending money in a different currency to someone with a UK PayPal account will mean you have to pay a conversion fee, and there’s a charge for funding your payment using a credit, debit or prepaid card, too. Sending money in a different currency, to someone with an overseas PayPal account is even more expensive, as there’s a cross border fee, as well as a conversion fee, and potential other charges depending on how the transfer is funded³. The fees add up quickly, and can be really confusing, so it might be a bit of a struggle to understand what your international payment is really costing you. We will look at these costs in detail later, but one which often catches people out is the currency conversion fee. This is applied whenever PayPal change your payment currency – so if you’re sending money from your UK PayPal balance, to a friend in France, using euros, for example. The conversion fee is added on top of the real mid-market exchange rate – and will increase the cost of your transfer by 3.5-4% compared to a provider which uses the real exchange rate to process your payment³. If you’re sending money to someone based abroad, you could get a much better deal with TransferWise. The costs of your payment are set out upfront, and every transfer is made using the real, mid-market exchange rate. This matters because the mid-market rate is the one banks use to trade currency between themselves – and the best rate available at any point in time. Making a payment with this exchange rate, instead of one with a markup like the PayPal rate⁴, can save you a lot on your personal payments – and even more if you’re a business sending money overseas. For business payments, research has shown that TransferWise can be quite a bit cheaper than PayPal. PayPal balance You can choose to hold a balance in your PayPal account, either by keeping funds in the account after someone has paid you using PayPal, or by topping it up yourself³. You can top up your PayPal balance using your linked bank account or debit card – explained below – and then hold your funds in a range of different currencies. It’s worth understanding, though, that switching your PayPal balance between currencies can be costly. Whenever you switch your balance between currencies with PayPal, you’ll pay a currency conversion fee of 2.5%⁵. That’s lower than the fee we mentioned above, which is added to make a payment internationally, but still means that PayPal will take the real exchange rate, and add a markup of 2.5% before they convert your money. Not all providers do this. If you want to be able to exchange your balance for a different currency, and pay just a small upfront fee with no markup, you might consider getting a borderless account from TransferWise, instead. You can keep your money in any of over 40 different currencies, make payments in all available currencies and receive payments in British pounds, euros and US and Australian dollars (with more to come in the future) like a local, and check your balance across all currencies at a glance in the app or online. You can also receive a linked debit card, which is particularly handy if you go abroad often and want to be able to spend money without paying high (conversion) fees. All currency exchange is done using the real mid-market exchange rate and will only cost you a small fee which you always see upfront, so you can be sure that you’re getting a fair deal. How can you add money to PayPal? If you’d rather hold a PayPal balance to cover your purchases, you can add funds using a bank transfer or debit card payment. Bank transfer To top up your PayPal account using a bank transfer, you’ll need to log into your account, and find the ‘Wallet’ button on screen⁶. If you’re using a laptop or computer, this is likely to be in the middle of the main task bar on the login screen. On a smartphone, you’ll need to click ‘Menu’ and select it from the drop down menu. The Wallet screen will show you the payment sources you have already linked to your account, and you can click on the linked bank account you want to use to top up the account. One of the options you’ll see is ‘Transfer Money’. Click this and you’ll be offered the choice of taking money from your PayPal balance to your bank account, or using the bank account to top up your PayPal account. Select ‘Money In’, and you’ll get instructions on how to make a bank transfer to your PayPal account. You’ll find that you need to log into your online banking, and arrange a transfer to PayPal there. You’ll get an email from PayPal once the payment has been processed, and the money is available in your PayPal account. This may only take a few moments, but can take up to 3 days depending on your bank’s processes. Debit or credit card You can not add money to your PayPal balance using a credit card. However, if you link your credit card to your PayPal account, you’ll be able to use that card to pay for goods and services using your PayPal account. If you want to use your debit card to top up your PayPal account, you’ll need to make sure the card is linked to your account. You can then click on ‘Wallet’, as we explained above, and follow the steps on screen to use your card to top up the account. What are the PayPal fees for adding money? Service PayPal UK fees Topping up your PayPal balance from your linked bank account or debit card Free Changing your PayPal balance from one currency to another⁵ Currency conversion fee of 2.5% Sending money to friends and family in the UK, in pounds² Free if the payment is funded with PayPal balance, a linked bank account, debit card, or prepaid card 3.4% +20p if the payment is funded using a credit card Sending money to friends and family in the UK, in any currency other than pounds⁵ Currency conversion fee of 3.5-4% applies to all transactions An extra fee of 3.4% + fixed fee is added on top of this, if you’re funding the payment with a credit, debit or prepaid card Sending money to friends and family outside the UK, in any currency other than pounds⁵ Currency conversion fee of 3.5-4% + cross-border fee of £1.99-£3.99 applies to all transactions There’s an additional cost of 3.4% + fixed fee if you’re funding the payment with a credit, debit or prepaid card PayPal is immensely popular, and has a huge user base in the UK. For domestic payments, made in pounds, the PayPal system offers quick and easy payments, for no fee, unless you need to pay using a credit card. However, the fees can ramp up quickly if you’re paying someone based overseas, or in a different currency. If this is the case, it’s well worth checking out the alternative options out there, as using a specialist in international payments can be much better value than relying on PayPal. An alternative option could be TransferWise. With TransferWise you can make international payments as well as open a multi-currency borderless account where you can hold money in 40+ currencies. Your money will always be converted with the real, mid-market exchange rate without any additional currency conversion fees, and you only pay a small fee for each transaction. You’ll see the fees clearly stated upfront so you’ll know exactly what you’re paying.
He Gives His Angels Charge Over You September 23, 2019 bizadmin For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:11–12 HE GIVES HIS ANGELS CHARGE OVER YOU You are about to step onto the road when something pulls you back just in time to avoid being hit by a speeding car. You are shocked. When you come to your senses, you ask yourself, “Could it be that an angel just saved me from a fatal accident?” I believe that angels walk with us. The verse tells us that God has given His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. This means that they go ahead of you to protect you from the snares of the enemy. But we may not know it when we encounter an angel (see Hebrews 13:2). This was probably the case with a couple in our church who were holidaying at a beach resort on Penang Island when a tsunami struck at about 12.30 pm on 26 December 2004. It was slightly past 11 am when the wife suddenly had a craving for food from the mainland. The couple decided to check out earlier so that they could reach the mainland in time for lunch. While loading their luggage into their car at the hotel driveway, a man impatiently motioned to them to hurry up and get moving. Annoyed by his impatience, they quickly loaded their stuff and drove off. The minute they reached the mainland, they heard that a tsunami had struck Penang Island at the same beach where they were just a while ago. While thanking God for their narrow escape, it suddenly dawned on them that the impatient man could have been an angel charged by God to hurry them off! God tells us that we have an innumerable company of angels (see Hebrews 12:22). And He has given them charge over us to protect us from accidents and other dangers. So don’t live fearfully and limit your life. Believe that God loves you and that His angels walk with you and watch over you! -Joseph Prince
Planting Change: How This CBD Beauty Brand Hopes to Lift Rural America September 22, 2019 bizadmin When Michael Bumgarner decided to start a CBD beauty company, he knew there’d be stigmas to fight. There were also big challenges ahead—including frustrating roadblocks from marketing and payment channels. But in the process, he built a soaring brand that is paving the way forward for struggling communities in rural America. Michael Bumgarner has always been an entrepreneur setting his sights on his next big move. Back in 2012, he started looking for inspiration in his backyard. Michael grew up in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, on his family farm. “What I’ve seen over the past decade is the decimation of rural communities, starting with the family farmer,” Michael says. The downward economic spiral he’s seen over the past several years in his community and others like it—a spiral that has led to unemployment and addiction crises—motivated him to act. “I wanted to figure out a way to help to solve those problems.” After plenty of research, Michael set his sights on industrial hemp. “After learning about the plant, I fell in love with CBD…and, my wife, Kelly, who works in dermatology, inspired me to consider a skincare line.” Michael Bumgarner believes the success of industrial hemp will help turn the tide for struggling farmers in rural America. Shopify Studios A green beauty brand was the direction that Michael wanted to go, but in such a competitive industry, he felt that launching a solely CBD-based product wouldn’t be enough for the company to stand out. So Michael started looking for a “synergistic ingredient” to complement it. His cousin, who worked in a burn unit in Nashville, told him that the hospital was using Manuka honey to treat patients’ wounds. It was a “lightbulb moment” for Bumgarner, and Cannuka was born. We launched our website and it was starting to take off—and then no one would take my money. The brand is a natural skin care line that combines CBD and Manuka honey to create products like skin balms, eye creams, and face creams. It’s now seeing explosive growth—a 600% revenue increase in the past year—and can be found in 1,700 retail locations across the United States. From its office in downtown Columbus (which is now home base for four full-time employees, with five others based in New York and Los Angeles), Cannuka is working toward becoming a global CBD beauty brand. Cannuka’s skincare products incorporate hemp-derived CBD and Manuka honey. Cannuka It wasn’t an easy road to get to where Cannuka is now. “I had an amazing [direct-to-consumer] strategy that I pitched to my investors. We launched our website and it was starting to take off—and then no one would take my money,” Michael says. One after the other, every major advertising platform shut him down. These challenges put a huge damper on Michael’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) dreams. So like most entrepreneurs had done before him, he had to pivot. A little over two months post-launch, Michael went back to his board with a more traditional launch strategy: working with national retailers. Fortunately, the quality of the product spoke for itself, and before long, you could find Cannuka everywhere from Neiman Marcus to Free People. Ulta Beauty was a supportive early partner, placing a 15,000-unit order that would make a massive impact on the brand’s reach. Then, in December 2018, things started to shift for the US hemp industry. The passage of the Farm Bill, which removed industrial hemp’s classification as a “controlled substance,” meant it was no longer federally illegal. That, along with the growing mainstream acceptance of hemp and CBD in the American beauty industry, means Michael can finally pursue his DTC vision again. Shopify supporting CBD merchants will be a huge step in the right direction. “We’re just starting to implement our DTC strategy,” Michael says. Cannuka’s ecommerce website returned in July 2019, and the team was able to quickly scale up. And they’re doing that with Shopify’s full support. With the launch of CBD on the platform, merchants like Cannuka can leverage key ecommerce tools, including built-in SEO settings and blog templates, and access reliable CBD-accepting payment providers, shippers, and partners. Despite these new resources, DTC remains challenging, Michael explains, as there are still issues around advertising restrictions and punishing credit card fees that make his experience much more difficult than the average consumer packaged goods brand. But he thinks the stigma that exists around CBD products won’t be that way for much longer. Cannuka’s products can be found in hundreds of retail locations across the United States. Cannuka “Shopify supporting CBD merchants will be a huge step in the right direction,” he says. “With Shopify and other large companies leading the way, saying ‘We’re for this, this is happening,’ I see things changing even more quickly in the near future.” That future, for Cannuka, will go beyond topical skin care products. As he plans ahead, Michael is considering a transdermal wellness line (think sleep routine), and eventually ingestible wellness products—FDA permitting. It will also mean going global, as Michael’s team prepares to make inroads to other legalized countries. His goal is for Cannuka products to be sold in major outlets around the world. Cannuka’s strategy is predicated on the easing of restrictions around CBD products, but also a greater reach, understanding, and trust among consumers for the brand, and for hemp itself. Everything rises if we can make a big impact in rural America. “The conversation around [the hemp plant] is the only one I see that’s not divisive,” Michael explains. “We can get people on all sides of the aisle coming to the same conclusion—a conservative farmer from Ohio can see the economic impact on his family, while a liberal environmentalist can support the product because it helps deliver nutrients back into the soil.” With wildly different groups coming together to get behind the hemp movement, Michael sees a bright future—for his company and for communities like Mechanicsburg, Ohio. “We want to create opportunities to get people back to work and to do work they’re proud of,” he says. “Everything rises if we can make a big impact in rural America.”