Hi everyone!
I’m starting up a web design & development agency and am looking for feedback to ensure my services address the current needs and pain points you face in daily operations.
I love discussing ideas, sharing knowledge, and brainstorming solutions, so I welcome any input! Here are some questions that would really help my research, but I’d appreciate any feedback or insights you can offer:

1. What are the biggest challenges you or your company face when working with web development agencies?
2. Are there any limitations or boundaries you encounter when working with web development agencies?
3. What features or tools are essential for your web development projects?
4. Do you prefer to leave the work to the agency, actively collaborate, or use a mixed approach?
5. What web development trends or innovations are you and your clients most excited about?
6. Are there any bottlenecks in your operations that slow down deliveries or outcomes?
7. Anything else you would like to share?

Thanks in advance for your help! Looking forward to your responses and any other advice you’re willing to share.

Hi there,
I run a carpentry fabrication shop that builds lots of one off or short run products for customers.
What we've noticed is while our products are all unique pending a customer's needs or designs, they all generally use similar processes, build materials, labor times, etc.
What we're looking for is software that allows us to have some pre-defined products, or templates, but with the ability to allow us to add lots of options for customizing said product as each one will inevitably be a little different pending a client's particular needs.
For instance if we're building a table. It would be great to have a "table template" or "table product" which knows that a table generally needs 4-legs, a wood slab on top, some hardware, and a finishing method. From there we're hoping for something that will allow us to select wood types, type in table dimensions (which will then change estimated wood needs and labor quantities), and then select a variety of finishing options.
In an even more ideal world, pending these selections at the quoting phase. We would love for work orders and purchase orders to be able to be generated.
For instance if we select that we will be finishing a table in paint, it would be great to have the table added to our paint production queue and to have a purchase order for paint generated.
Does anyone know of any software that allows for something like this?
We're currently using an excel sheet, which works well enough, but we're finding that there's a lot of things that we'd like to further standardize and streamline.
Thanks so much in advance!

Hey guys,
I’m gonna jump straight to the point and then I’ll give you some background in case you’re interested in reading it out.
I’m working on developing a website builder that I intend to use for future projects. While there’s enough popularity on site hostings or page creators like Wix, Squarespace and even GoDaddy, I believe that the biggest selling point here is the fact that you could either build your site (or just a landing page if you’re trying to test an idea and you want to catch early adopters) or you could just drop us a requirement list and we could provide the first version of the page for you to proceed and do adjustments as needed (the page would still be built and delivered with our tool). All this without paying anything other than the monthly subscription.
There would be, as expected, already existing “components” and templates to start from scratch and it would include SEO & analytics metrics to review the site performance, but I came here to ask if you’d find it attractive enough to get on board just for the fact of outsourcing the site creation process.
Lastly but not less important, most of the hosting providers rely on WordPress for sites creation and that’s fine, but when you have to do plugin updates, or just a theme upgrade, things get ugly. So it’s also about saving an extra headache for a bit more of a dolladay. That being said, all the modules of my builder are made using custom code, meaning the site would perform overall better than any Wordpress site since WP adds a lot of unnecessary code in general.
Now I’m gonna go to the background and why I decided to make this tool (feel free to skip if you’re just not interested)
I’ve been a web developer for 5 years now, always working for a variety of US companies while also taking care of local clients on the side (I’m from Buenos Aires, Argentina)
It’s no surprise that while for most of them Wordpress was more than enough, at the end of the day having to go and update the sites/plugins was a pain for both parties. Not to mention that if you have a site with an already established amount of daily visitors, you’d need a “staging” site in which to perform the updates to make sure you don’t break the production one.
So making the toolset with custom code and having an underlying infrastructure that allows the site to be updated with barely no downtimes and not having to rely on a lot of 3rd party plugins is also something that adds to the pricing equation. I completely understand that for potential customers they wouldn’t really care about this, but again, im just curious on if they’d get on board with the idea or if I should just focus on using it myself and get on with it
Thanks for reading!

I plan to list grass cutting as one of my AMCAS activities, and I have a few questions about it:

1. What would you recommend putting for "Experience Title" and "Experience Name?" Right now, I have "Other" and "Lawn Care Service," but I'm not sure if this is okay. I put Other because I got paid under the table.
   
2. For the contact information, should I list myself, or should I list one of my grass cutting clients? Right now, I have one my clients. Again, not sure if this is okay. If I were to include myself as the contact person, for "Contact Title," can I literally just say "Myself?"
   

Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Hope everything is going smoothly with your primary application!

These principles have really helped me pass my exam on my first attempt:

1. Always discuss, investigate, analyze, ask before deciding on a solution
2. Never settle for delays or extra costs. However, extra costs precede delays
3. Be a servant leader! (encourage, care, nurture, listen and never create friction in the team)
4. Value is gold
5. Root cause analysis and MVP or demo are your weapons
6. Any change will go through a change request process (for predictive). There is no change request process (for agile)
7. Your team members are the experts, not you! Make every decision with them
8. The PM makes the decisions and handles the issues (no running to sponsors, management or HR). Note: The exam will mention project sponsor many times. ONLY go to the sponsor when there is a problem with the budget (example, money is running out) BUT going to the sponsor should be the last resort
9. Everyone directly or indirectly involved is a stakeholder and must be added to the register (stakeholder register) and how they impact the project
10. No matter if the project is completed or terminated, the closing phase must occur (predictive)
11. In a predictive project, your plan is your map. Constantly refer back to it
12. Predictive project keywords: change control board (CCB), change control process
13. Agile project keywords: sprint, iteration, scrum, daily standup, backlog, Kanban, product increment, product ownemanager
14. When you or your team have no clue on what’s going on, a subject matter expert (SME) is what you need. Or, you can refer to past projects in the lessons learned register
15. When transitioning from predictive to agile, introduce agile concepts slowly (pilot project, inception deck)
16. Agile projects are self organizing - meaning teams are in charge however the PM can still step in to manage and resolve conflicts
17. An agile project will always need consistent feedback from the customer
18. Never immediately reject a request or an opportunity - especially from a client

Here's a video link of me explaining the principles:
https://www.loom.com/share/3f5c82955e014ea19b4b546e4683c653?sid=fbcf615b-df01-4c88-92b2-17a86461940e
Hopefully this helps!

My name is Dr. Smith, not my real name of course, but for purposes of storytelling it will have to suffice. I have been practicing medicine at an Asian country as a general practitioner. I'm relatively new and I practice at a small village, not too far from civilization, half a day's travel by car and a few hours by boat from the country's capital, but very rural nonetheless, complete with superstitious beliefs and customs. I decided to stay here when I first graduated and passed the licensure exam for two reasons: first, I have a place to stay here, my family's ancestral home (although none of my direct relatives have lived there for years), said ancestors being one of the first people to settle in the area and second, because my family had always been the physicians in this small community as far as anyone remembers. Me, my grandfather and his father before him all went to the city to study medicine and went back here to practice it, like there was a pull, a calling, to sacrifice the convenient, fast-paced city life for the quiet and serene. My mother hated the idea, as clingy as she is to me, saying things like she wanted me to always be around where she could protect me, but you can't really help it when purpose calls. To be honest, it feels good providing a wide range of services to the honest people of our small, humble town, no greater feeling than helping the less privelaged, educating them and dispelling preconceived notions and old wives tales which are aplenty in my country, especially here.
I still recall how everything began. I made a makeshift clinic at one of the rooms of my ancestral home, it used to be my grandfather's office, but it felt old, antique, and perhaps too... professional, nothing wrong with that, but I wanted my patients to feel a more homely setting. So, I rearranged a bit, removed the imposing self portrait of my great-grandfather wearing his white coat that hang on the wall and transferred it to a more private area of the house. I changed the dim, barely functioning lights into brighter, more modern ones, removed the exceedingly extravagant chandelier and equipped the room with materials and equipment that I deemed necessary for my practice. I retained the wooden floors, but outfitted the walls with charts and more colorful decorations, in anticipation for the occasional pediatric patient. It was beginning to look less like an old abandoned house where teenagers went for the spooks and more like a place of healing and betterment, a clean place offering a clean mind...or so I hope.
"Your grandfather would have a heart attack if he wasn't dead already, seeing what you've done with his old clinic" quipped Martha, our housekeeper. All I know about Martha is that my grandfather hired her as a young teen and she has been here since then, she babysat and raised my mother as her own, and even took care of me as a toddler. Considering her age, she mostly supervises the younger and more capable help rather than doing tasks herself. None of them stay at the house, but they get called upon when me or any of my relatives were expected. Most of the family consider her as one of our own at this point.
"Well i'm sure great grandpa on the other hand enjoys the change of view" I replied jokingly. "Besides, I bet the patients would appreciate not being treated in such a dark, gloomy room."
"You know how your grandfather was..." she replies, that the idea of a dark, gloomy, old man liking dark, gloomy, old places was a no brainer. "...but everything aside, it is so nice to see you again, have you been feeling better? What did your mother think of you staying here?" she said with what I felt as outmost sincerity, "I used to chase and carry you around this estate and now look at you, about to carry out your family's legacy as a physician yourself" she continued, with a hint of pride from her tone.
I smiled. I myself couldn't think of a reason why a well respected man, revered even, by this town and it's people for everything he has done would act nonchalant and depressed, always with a jaded look in his eyes and stay in an equally dim and depressing part of his house, I've always known him to be like that, but was he always?
"I am better now. It's good to see you too, I'm glad you're staying healthy, and mom sure did not like it but well...she told me to say hi on her behalf" I told Martha. She beams up and smiles on my mother's mention.
"Well...I took the liberty of digging up your grandfather's documents, records and his patient charts, I doubt many of them still live but I thought maybe you'd like to have a look, I placed them around your desk but I can relocate them if you want me to"
"No, that's perfect. That's something I actually intended to do, i'll give it a read, thank you" I replied. I know some of those patients were either old or probably dead to be honest, but seeing data as well as the cases my grandfather had to deal with might help me in the future.
"The villagers already know Dr. Smith's grandson is here, they know you're a doctor, so expect to have a patient one of these days, perhaps as soon as you give the word that your clinic is open" Martha said, as she walks out of the room smiling and slightly waving, signalling a goodbye.
"I'm not even surprised" I think to myself. Places like these, words spreads like wildfire on topics like these, the idea of someone from a known family, coming back from the city, not to mention deciding to stay indefinitely, like the whole village needed notification, like the village demands explanation.
Hours passed and as I was satisfied with my new setup for the clinic, I took a break, sitting down and looking at the mountain of paperwork and folders placed on and around my desk. I picked one, thinking to myself that I might as well have a look now, with nothing else of note to do.
Patient #010438 Name redacted 43/Female
History of present illness: Patient had 3 day history of undocumented fever, dysuria, and bilateral flank pain Did not seek consult, no medications taken
Past Medical History Unremarkable
Personal and Social History Unremarkable
OB history illegible
Physical Examination BP 110/80 HR 102 RR 20
Nonhyperemic tonsils No murmurs Clear breath sounds Nontender abdomen (+) Kidney punch test
Noted a signature of the patient claiming she was not pregnant as a form of waiver
"Jesus grandpa, couldn't your history and physical exam get any lazier?" I thought to myself. Seeing pertinent history not asked and multiple organ systems ignored on physical examination. Given, some of the writing were already faded, the quality of the paper had deteriorated greatly, and plenty of details already illegible, all in all the documents weren't that bad. It sure doesn't help though that he writes like someone in the middle of a warzone practicing heiroglyphs.
I skimmed through more of the documents and patient files, most of the cases are relatively benign, majority are outpatient visits, some are emergency cases and there are the rare ones requiring transfer to a more developed town hours from here with better services and equipment. Time passed and as I lay down the last folder in a pile, I noticed a moderately sized box, probably the size of a briefcase, placed on the floor, dusty but obviously ornate. It piqued my interest although in my mind, I was pretty sure it was nothing but more documents, I decided to give it a look.
I picked a stack up and I started to read:
Patient #00512c Name redacted 32/Female
"Weird" I thought, it was numbered differently, and definitely none of the other documents were lettered. I continued reading:
History of present illness: This is a case of a 32 year old female who came in on date redacted due to a chief complaint of multiple hematomas, abrasions, burn wounds and lacerations on her face, trunk and extremeties..."
"Trauma? An accident? Possible abuse?" I contemplated.
"...patient allegedly noticed easy bruisability 2 weeks prior to consult, followed by alleged spontaneous appearance of abrasions and lacerations 2-3 days from onset of bruising, supposedly waking the patient at night due to the sudden sharp and searing pain, initially small cuts 3-5cm widest on her extremeties and face but eventually progressing to deep cuts measuring approximately 10-50cm on her back, chest, abdomen and lower extremeties. 1 week prior to consult, patient started noticing burning sensations on her skin, causing extreme pain and leaving reddish burn marks on her body, patient also experienced lack of appetite and inability to sleep due to loud voices and..."
"Spontaneous appearance? Easy bruising could be a lot of things, but for it to occur with 'spontaneous' abrasions and lacerations? Not to mention burn marks?" I thought out loud, having doubts about the credibility of the use of the word "spontaneous". Surely it was not an accident, considering it started 2 weeks ago with noted progression. "It could be a hematologic problem with the bruising, but that wouldn't explain the sudden appearance of cuts...maybe accompanied by a dermatologic one, the patient is prone to breaks in the skin? But then again the burn marks...the voices..." I analyzed. I was leaning towards abuse, where the cuts and bruises were inflicted by someone else and the abused, whether in some form of fear or coping, decides that it was "spontaneous" rather than inflicted, but why bother lying to yourself, perhaps the one who did it to her is a partner? Or a loved one? It made sense, someone progressively becoming more aggressive with her as time went by, becoming more and more extreme, from bruises to eventually burning.
It could a combination of illnesses to be honest, one on top of another, perhaps an overly sensitive or extremely dry skin that breaks and peels until it bleeds, an allergic reaction prompting the patient to unconciously scratch till her skin became red and lichenified, voices due to lack of sleep or a mental disorder. But looking at my grandfather's physical examination of her, none of the findings solidifies the possibility of those i've mentioned. Truth be told I also partially allowed myself to tunnel vision on the prospect of an abuse, to the point I've skipped some of the chart's contents that I deemed weren't important and tried to look for information to support my claim, or perhaps to disprove it, rookie mistake, but well, I am a rookie then.
"Patient is widowed, lives alone at a secluded area near redacted, only goes out to buy some necessities from redacted but has very minimal interaction from anyone in the village"
Okay then, either she is hiding the fact someone was with her, who is abusing her like I initially thought of, or it's self harm. "I'm pretty sure grandpa considered everything that went through my mind right now. Let me check his initial impression" I thought, with a tinge of annoyance, considering I felt that the patient lied to my grandfather, and was lying to me, decades after the fact.

1 Trauma, to consider physical abuse versus self harm;

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere" I said to myself, with a bit of pride having the same thought process as a physician with decades more experience than I do.

2 To consider mental disorder, probably psychotic - premature dementia

I chuckled. Premature dementia, didn't think i'd see that term, I thought everyone including those from his time would have used schizophrenia already, then again medicine and medical knowledge isn't as easily passed around as it is now. Psychiatry as a science would be relatively new during his time compared to other disciplines so the fact he considered it based on the patient hearing "voices"? Bravo gramps.
"Well...", I thought to myself, "...plenty of things to consider and rule out, let me check what else is there." A bit of cockiness on picking my grandfather's brain out and feeling good about my train of thought, a practice consult and so far, I'm on my way to a perfect score...

3. To consider possession probably secondary to malevolent spirit

.................
I gave the document a stern look, unmoving, unblinking, emotionless. Time has stopped, and I haven't noticed. My brain trying to digest the information, the same way my stomach would probably digest a block of steel...it's just not possible. I read one of my grandfather's diagnosis again:

3 To consider possession probably secondary to malevolent spirit

I never been one for faith. Evidence is everything. Science is everything. You can replicate it, you can prove it. Most importantly...It. Makes. Sense. I look at beliefs not based on evidence and feel nothing but skepticism if not disdain. Why won't people listen to expert opinion? Why won't people believe in facts? Why explain the unknown in such convoluted ways, requiring submission of oneself when the only thing the truth requires is but comprehension. I looked at that diagnosis feeling disappointment.
Then I felt anger. "Grandpa, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" I thought to myself. Here is a woman, full of bruises, cuts and burns all over her body, claiming that she has been suffering for weeks, barely eats or sleeps, was having auditory hallucinations, in dire need of medical, if not emotional and psychological support and one of the things that comes across your mind is possession.
I tried to calm my mind, these are records of the past anyway, I thought. Maybe it was a resignation born out of incompetence. Maybe grandpa wasn't as good of a doctor as I thought he was, that the shortcomings of his knowledge and limited technology of his time prompted him to adopt a more...liberal viewpoint to medicine. Maybe he was just superstitious himself. Maybe the people of this place had leaked some of their local beliefs into his psyche. Maybe isolation changed the man. Or maybe...just maybe...there's something to it.
I've never been one for faith. That goes for my faith in science as well. To just say that something is stupid because it doesn't align with standard, accepted scientific belief is just as detrimental as its counterpart.
I decided to investigate further when I heard the entrance to the room open with force. One of the maids leaning onto the wall by the entrance, still grasping the doorknob and evidently out of breath.
"Sir...ma'am Martha...calling...for you...says...it's...it's...an emergency..." She says in between breaths.
I quickly stood up, feeling sorry for the woman, she just ran, obviously gasping for air as she arrived at the clinic and now has to lead me back to wherever she came from with the same urgency. At first I was worried something might have happened with Martha, what the maid said didn't really give much clarity, but upon arriving at the main hall I noticed Martha, standing beside a middle aged man and woman, carrying a child, no more than 10 years old. I notice the clear panic and worry on both of their eyes as the man held the boy, who was uncontrollably shaking.
"I know you're not taking any patients yet and I was considering the time, but nobody knows what to do so I..." Martha explains, quite concerned while I ordered the parents to put the child flat on the ground, with me assessing the situation. The first thing I noticed was that the child was burning hot, "possibly febrile seizure? No, too old" I thought. I asked both the parents important details while I ordered the other maid to time the duration of the child's seizure. All the while thinking of possible diseases that may present as such, "Seizure disorder? Epilepsy? Meningitis? Encephalitis?" Eventually the shaking stopped, much to the parents' relief, and I ordered them to carry the boy as we made our way back to the clinic.
"Was this the first time it ever happened?" I inquired, as I put the child on one of the beds in the clinic, securing the corners with additional pillows, noticing the sunken face and apparent exhaustion from the boy, possibly due to the ongoing fever and the recent seizure episode. Once secured, I face the parents and continued my inquiries, I eventually explained everything, elaborating on what I believe happened, I explained that for now, lowering the fever and investigating the source were what we could address, the battery of tests I plan to do (disappointingly, most of them cannot be done here, and I would have to accompany them to a hospital on another town as soon as first light breaks), and the medications and management I plan to give. Everything proceeded as planned and I asked both parents to relax and take a breather, offering them a seat and asking the help to give them water.
Things eventually settled, little Johnny's fever subsided and color came back to him. Nowhere near clear, he can worsen anytime, but that was the best that we could do at that time. The parents were still worried, understandably so, but to an extent reassured, we have a plan after all. Martha, as well as Diane (the help from earlier), now at a calmer state. We discussed the plan, how we would travel, who would accompany us and what we would bring. Eventually, our conversations became relaxed, started to shift to other things, trivial matters, such as were they lived in the village, the date and time of my arrival, recent gossip, where Martha was more than happy to share.
"I was worried the evil spirits might have gotten my baby..." Said the mother nonchalantly, as we talked about the occurrence on a lighter note. "...that's how they got Mrs. Johnson's middle child. That poor boy was never the same after."
I smiled. Not wanting to immediately correct them and sound like an uptight individual. It's part of our culture afterall, old belief systems and a way for people to cope with loss or difficulty, who was I to deny them that. I won't approach these people the hardheaded way, but I will slowly show them the realities and truths of the things they may not understand, well, at least with regards to their health.
"Well, little Johnny is safe here, we'll do what we can" pointing to their son.
Only, their son wasn't where he was supposed to be. I look at the parents, I look at both Martha and Diane, everyone who looked at where I pointed were just as shocked as I was, a split second of silence before panic ensued. Suddenly, everyone stood up on high alert and was looking everywhere. Under covers, under the bed, corners of the room, the desk, behind curtains, hell, I saw Diane look at one of the damn drawers, as if a 10 year old would fit there.
Suddenly I heard loud vomiting, retching, followed by sounds of splashing. I follow where the sounds came from and see a large pool of black, tarry liquid at a corner of my room. I slowly trace where it was coming from and there he was...little Johnny...standing...upside down...on the ceiling.
I hear everyone in the room scream, I was probably screaming too, I couldn't remember. I do remember little Johnny screaming with us though, extremely high pitched and mockingly, with bloodshot eyes, upside down, while black liquid poured from his mouth, covering his face and dripping from his hair. How was that even possible, screaming while liters of unknown fluid dripped from his mouth? I don't know.
Then he laughed, although I was pretty sure that wasn't his voice. It was deep and guttural, it cannot be the boy's voice, it cannot be any boy's voice.
Time seemed to move in slow motion, I was noticing every detail, every expression from everyone's face, I can feel the seconds hand on my wall clock move, the slow dripping of the viscous dark liquid from little Johnny, I can feel every drop of sweat on my body. I could not cope with what i'm experiencing, was it a trick of the mind, an organized prank, have I gone mad...again? So I did the only thing I know how to do...
I tried to diagnose.
"Maybe it was dengue shock all along!" I thought to myself. "Vomiting blood, paleness, fever, an episode of seizure and definitely change in sensorium" I reasoned to myself. I was coping, and I was coping hard. I was ready to drown on my self absorbtion when a booming voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"YOU DUMB FUCK, WILL ANY ILLNESS EXPLAIN WHY YOUR FUCKING PATIENT IS HANGING UPSIDE DOWN ON THE FUCKING CEILING?" Said little Johnny, or at least whoever was speaking on his behalf, because from where I'm standing, I can clearly see that the boy was not mouthing any of the words he said.
"YOU'RE A FUCKING FAILURE, DOCTORS LIKE YOU SHOULD KILL THEMSELVES! HAHAHAHA" he laughed, I never knew laughs could sound like that, as if the words were nails, and his voice box a chalkboard.
"OH WAIT, YOU FAILED AT THAT TOO DOC! FUCKING PATHETIC!"
Of all the things that were happening...a young boy hanging upside down, a mother crying on the floor hysterically, a father staring at his son, eyes wide open and mouth agape, Martha and Diane, both crying while sharing a rosary, in the act of what I assume to be prayer...the thing that snapped me out of my trance was the words that came from little Johnny. Knowledge nobody but the closest to me should know. A secret I planned to leave behind when I left the city, a wound I intended to forget as I started anew.
Visions of my memories came flashing back...medical school...overwhelming duty...familial expectations...failure...depression...my attempt...a bottle of medications...my mother...crying...on my bedside...
"LEAVE MY SON ALONE!" Johnny's father screamed. Starling everyone in the room.
Nothing matters, the past is in the past, I am better now, and that boy needs help, more than anything.
"YOUR SON? WHY DON'T WE ASK THAT CRYING WHORE IF JOHNNY REALLY IS YOUR SON" The voice says, laughing.
At that point the mother stops crying, looks up towards johnny, then towards his husband, in a state of shock. Like what the voice said is crazier than whatever was happening at the moment.
"THE ONLY REASON THAT WHORE STUCK WITH YOU WAS BECAUSE JOHNNY'S REAAAAAAAL FATHER WOULD NOT TAKE HER!" The entity says, continuing the hysteric laughter.
We were being played. It was toying with us. And from the look on the mother's face...it seems like little Johnny did not even need to lie to do it.
Then, to everyone's horror..."It" started to run.
It ran across the ceiling in a rabid frenzy, erratic and forceful, running and jumping, hopping sideways then going on all fours, still attached to the ceiling, splashing bile and blood all over the room, all the while making a "hihihi" sound...childish and terrifying. It ran and ran, repeating the same erratic change in movements, repeating the same eerie giggle until it reached the window, stopping and standing straight, it stared outside for what felt like forever...then all of a sudden...johnny just fell, like whatever was attaching him to the ceiling just gave, headfirst into the floor, giving a very audible cracking sound.
I heard a gasp from johnny's mother. I can at least detect some miniscule chest expansion, but that cracking sound cannot be anything good. As if thinking the same thing, Martha, who was the nearest to where Johnny fell, while still clinging tightly to Diane's rosary, approached the boy.
"Johnny?" She said softly, all the while approaching an inch at a time.
As she was almost at arms length of the boy's body, she gives the mother a knowing look, confirming that he was breathing. Martha suddenly produces a piece of cloth from one of the pockets of her uniform, possibly to pack the bleeding from the head. She intended to put the cloth on top of the boy's head, but looked towards my direction, urging me forward, perhaps for me to place it properly. I walk towards the boy, takes the cloth from Martha and as I fold the cloth to circle Johnny's cranium with Martha's help, the boy immediately sat up, looks at Martha and smiles ear to ear...literally ear to ear.
"GET YOUR WRINKLY HANDS OFF ME YOU DUSTY OLD FUCK!" He barks at her, Martha screams in fear and I was taken aback.
That was all the time Johnny needed to stand and jump towards the window, breaking it and running towards the mountainside. I hear his father scream his name, quickly breaking more glass so he could fit, and immediately giving chase. The mother was still on the floor, wailing towards the direction of her child and husband. Martha, in shock, still holding the cloth she intended to wrap johnny with.
It took me a while to notice Diane shaking me vigorously. "Doctor!" She screams. "Doctor Smith! What should we do!?" She voices out, with obvious desperation.
I ignored her.
I feel scared, but taking all into consideration, I predominantly feel tired. Defeated. Insulted.
I have nothing more to give in the face of whatever that thing that took Johnny was.
I slowly walk towards my desk, I open my drawer, I take a piece of paper and I pull out my pen.
Patient #00001a Name redacted 10/M
I write, giving no thoughts to the people on the same room as me, those left behind by little Johnny and his father. "Did he catch up to him? Was the boy alright now?...is his father alright?" I wonder. I'll find out soon enough, I figured, rumors spread like wildfire around here anyways.
I continued to write with resignment, absorbed in my own little world, consumed by the horror I witnessed, the breaking of my spirit, of my beliefs, the questioning of my knowledge. I want to escape it, deny it, but that's not what should be done to the truth. So I surrendered.

1 To consider possession probably secondary to malevolent spirit

END

Ok so we all know Meredith has been put through the wringer lol, but I think there are other characters who have suffered nearly as much or as much as her
I’d say Arizona, Amelia, Callie and Jo had it pretty rough as well.
Arizona’s brother died, then she was in a shooting, then a car accident, then her best friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer, then the plane crash (third disaster in a row), then her leg (she was the ONLY one permanently disabled from the plane crash), then Mark (and around this time Nick probably died too), then a divorce, then the custody battle… yikes!
Amelia was kinda shunned by her family, turned to drugs (again), fiancé died next to her, baby born with no brain, brother died, relapsed… AGAIN, family didn’t come to her wedding, divorce, got left by all the people she cared about, etc…
Callie was cheated on by George, divorced, then Erica left her, her family didn’t accept her, her ex husband died, then she was in a shooting, then her gf left her, then she was in a car accident and got a tbi and almost lost her baby and her life, mom didn’t come to her wedding, plane crash, lost her best friend/baby daddy, shunned by her wife, cheated on AGAIN, divorced AGAIN, lost custody
And Jo’s childhood was just a mess, like foster care and abandoned and stuff, crazy abusive husband, we all know what happened when she met up with her mom and stuff, husband left her through a LETTER, etc
Anyways, yeah. i think they’re all very strong but pretty unlucky characters

Hello Reddit,
I am seeking an advice for my wife.
Our Story:
We've moved in USA in 2021 and my wife at that time had very successful interior design business in Europe which she has build all by herself. We had big hopes that she will have clients in USA but as it happens sometimes hopes did not come true.
For a context, we've moved in USA because of me (I work in Tech) and our first city was Los Angeles. We stayed there for 2 years and later moved to New York and currently reside here. Decision to move from LA to NY was influenced by lack of clients and our impression that demand for services will be higher there.
The Problem with interior design in USA
I've tried to help my wife with her business and have developed some perspective on interior design market in USA. Seeking for opinions, do you think what I say below is correct or it's just my misjudgment:

1. Interior Design services are not popular for an average home buyer. Reasons might be:
   1. Housing prices. In 2021 house prices were already over the roof and it became a major problem to buy a home. Less buys, means less needs to renovate, decorate and change something.
   2. Renovation budget is ridiculously high. Let's say you have a 1,000+ sq. ft house, which is 20+ years old and you want to upgrade your kitchen and bathroom. Nothing luxurious, just want stylish and functional spaces with new appliances and fresh look. In our experience just for these 2 spaces budget is from 50-60k for materials and labor and it almost does not depend on location.
   3. A lot of restrictions along the way. What we've learned is that not only market is regulated (e.g. you need a local architect to participate in the project) but also a lot of condos and communities have restrictions on what you can do with your apartments and houses, e.g. HOA rules.
   4. Monopolization of the market. Separate topic which is also driving renovation budget higher. Sometimes happens that HOA administration approves only few contractors to do the work and such approach eliminates competition and does not allow prices to go lower.
2. Most wanted version of Interior Design services is Decoration. Popular, as it's most affordable option.
3. Clients who can afford renovation, prefer full service. E.g. I am buying a house in Malibu and want to renovate it, my approach would be to go to a large Interior Design company and get full service: design + all the renovation work + all materials + all furniture and etc. Of course as a client I will be making my choices along the way but I do not want to hustle and spend time in shops buying materials\appliances\furniture by myself, I just want someone else to make it for me.
4. Marketing. How would you look for interior designer? My spouse is targeting her audience though Instagram and website. Both are made and managed by herself. She is posting interior design ideas and doing educational reels explaining how to combine colors in the interior, how to arrange living spaces and everything that might be useful. Will be happy to get any advice on improvements:
   1. Instagram https://www.instagram.com/darya.oninteriors
   2. Website https://on-interiors.com

Thanks a lot in advance!

I went from a jobless art school dropout to banking $9.8 million (profit) in just four years.
Recently, I sat back to reflect on what advice I'd give myself if I could go back in time to chat with 21 year old me, when I was starting my first company.
Disclaimer: yes, the points below are high level. This isn't meant to be a recipe book where I say, I did exactly X, to produce Y. The reason for this is the specifics are different for every business, and my goal with this exercise is to give my younger self directional guidance, not a recipe book to recreate the exact same businesses.
I'm happy to unpack any of these in more detail, feel free to ask.
Lastly, the trolls usually come out when I mention profit numbers openly because they've been burnt too many times by fake "gurus" or ppl trying to sell them courses with bogus numbers. I've got nothing to sell anyone (my agencies sell to VC backed tech companies who don't hang out on here), so really just sharing this for the reasons I mentioned above (lessons for my younger self) since I know there are a ton of first time entrepreneurs on here who could benefit.
Alright, enough with the disclaimers, let's do this:

1. Time Commit Goals: First up, decide how many hours you're ready to grind each week. I capped mine at 25 hours to avoid burnout. It's amazing how much you can get done if you proactively block your calendar.
   
2. Financial Goals: Define how much you want to earn. My initial target was $40k/month within the first year (ended up blowing past that target).
   
3. Timeline: Set a clear timeline for your financial goals. As mentioned above, I aimed to hit $40k/month within the first year.
   
4. Role Definition: Decide early if you’re going to be hands-on or oversee the big picture. It makes a huge difference. There's a great book called Traction that talks about the difference between a Visionary and an Implementer. I found it necessary to be both in the early days, but have since transitioned out of "Implementer" mode.
   
5. Brand Legitimacy: Build the most legit brand you can — within a week. Overthinking it is your enemy. Too many people wax poetic about their brand, website, etc. Yes, it's super important an it can make you look more legit than you actually are in the early days, HOWEVER - many people spend too much time on this step, months even, and then never launch, or when they do, they have a false expectation that simply by launching their biz will do well. This couldn't be further from the truth. Building your brand and site is the fun part. Once you launch the real work starts ;)
   
6. Start Selling Immediately: Hit up your network, face regular rejections, and learn from each "no."
   
7. Your First Customers: These folks will help shape your business more than anyone else. Listen closely and adapt. The product idea you launch with - most likely is not the product that's right for the market. But you won't know what needs to change until you launch and start landing early customers.
   
8. Price Sensitivity Testing: Start low, then increase as demand builds. I go into a ton of detail about exactly how I do price sensitivity testing in this video.
   
9. Scaling Decisions: I used to think scaling was the only option. Go big or go home. If you're not growing like crazy you're a loser. But I was wrong. And dumb. That's a silly idea. There are many paths to success. Some want to go big, fast. Others want to go smoothly, slowly. Scaling isn't mandatory. I've done both and prefer somewhere in the middle of fast and slow.
   
10. Master Hiring: Good hiring isn't luck; it’s a skill and crucial for growth. My companies are both services businesses (a marketing agency and a design agency) and so the quality of our hires is the quality of our product offering. This also means getting good at firing. It's just part of the job.
    
11. Setting the Pace: Lead by example (duh). I’m all in when I work, ensuring I’m focused and driving progress. The team will draft off your pace, and the folks who can't keep up will make it clear they're not a good fit.
    
12. Team Management: I use the EOS (entrepreneur operating system) methodology to manage my teams—it’s a game-changer for accountability and clarity. It's free to learn, and easy to implement.
    
13. Proactive Marketing: Share every win. If you don’t champion your successes, no one else will.
    
14. Empower Customers: Turn clients into advocates. Strong relationships lead to referrals, which are (literal) gold.
    
15. Streamline Offerings: Keep your services tight and focused. Simplicity scales.
    

.... ok this post is getting too long. I was going to share 20 but this is turning into a novel. I shared all 20, along with a bunch of specific details in this video, feel free to check it out if the first 15 resonated with you. https://youtu.be/Gwqjljmr_pU
Curious - for those who have done a few startups before, do these resonate with you?
And for those who haven't yet - did you already have all of these on your radar? Anything you're interested in trying yourself?

PC
Reddit Account: aleswylde
Discord Tag: nyctalus
Name and House: Alesander Wylde
Age: 21
Cultural Group: Stormlander
Appearance: (Alesander)[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/795794062673313802/1237190479834251304/shellshock3d_A_portrait_of_a_25_year_old_male_character_with_em_ef9d7e59-3c76-43d7-a121-96c9c35c5c93.png?ex=664be26c&is=664a90ec&hm=992926bc73c333be91c7ff7814d4447f7b2ee139bc5c8f35e8ee8f8ce6b7fb60&] bears resemblance to the rest of his family and truly among them he may be the plainest of face. Of no great beauty or stature, the man blends easily within the Rain House.
Trait: Mastermind
Skill(s): Schemer (e), Investigator (e), Devious
Talent(s): Fishing, Hawking, Dancing
Negative Trait(s): N/A
*Starting Title(s): * Scion of House Wylde
Starting Location: Opening Event
Timeline:
4 AC: Alesander is born to Ormund Wylde, brother of Lord Jon, and his wife Elenei Caron.
6 AC: Shyra is born to Ormund and Elenei.
13 AC: Ormund is sent to the Stepstones. Alesander is brought with and he uses the time making friends among other nobles, assisting his father as a squire.
15 AC: Ormund and Elenei are killed in the Kingswood Catastrophe. Alesander is nearly slain but a Dornish squire named Edric Sand saves him from the attacking bandit.
20 AC: Attempts on Lord Jon’s life prompt Alesander to become more protective of his younger sister and cousins. He develops a greater interest in what goes on in the Stormlands, particularly its more criminal element.
21 AC: Alesander takes a diplomatic trip to Sunspear in hopes of a trade agreement. During his time there he managed to track down the squire Edric. After offering hefty bribes, Edric is released from his service and swears his spear to Alesander.
22 AC: Wanting more connections around the realm, Alesander spends a year opening a brothel in King’s Landing. Over the next three years he would take more than a few clients to bed, leveraging the intimacy into a sizable network of informants.
24 AC: Edric’s network grows and over the moons he manages to quell unrest where he can, preventing more than a few assassins from breaching the walls of Rain House again.
25 AC: Alesander journeys with his family to the Princes’ Hunt.
Family Tree: https://www.familyecho.com/?p=NU9L6&c=uzrvn1exrzmzfas7&f=518040057787944479
AC
Name and House: Edric Sand
Age: 23
Cultural Group: Dorish
Appearance: A graceful beauty, Edric is as charismatic as he is skilled at the spear. Always standing just slightly taller than someone else, he tries not to flaunt what muscle he's grown over the years.
*Trait: * Hale
Skill(s): Polearms, Shields, Brute
Talent(s): Fishing, Fletching, Knitting
Negative Trait(s): n/a
Starting Title(s): Knight of the Rain House
Starting Location: Opening Event
Timeline:
2 AC: Edric is born a bastard in Dorne.
10 AC: Edric begins to squire for a knight, learning how to tend to armor and carry a spear.
13 AC: Edric journeys to the Stepstones and serves as a squire to the Dornish forces.
15 AC: In the Kingswood, Edric manages to save a few nobles from slaughter, where he meets Alesander Wylde.
16 AC: Edric is made a knight for his skills and his bravery in the Kingswood.
21 AC: Edric is approached by Alesander Wylde and offered patronage, a deal which Edric accepts with the blessing of his Lord.
22 AC: Over the years Edric serves as Alesander’s bodyguard for the man’s more morally ambiguous dealings.
25 AC: Edric travels with Alesander to the Princes’ Hunt.
NPCs:
Shyra Wylde - Warrior
Borys - Questioner
Corwin - Cutthroat

The short and abbreviated version is that before my divorce was even finalized, my ex wife moved to North Carolina with another man. We agreed I’d get 80% custody of the kids, I’d have them over the school year and she’d get them for the summer, and that she’d pay $350 a month in child support (I know that’s a very low number, she wanted me to pay her for the house and after some arguing back and forth I decided to quit while I was ahead) starting March 1st. To date she has yet to make a single child support payment, she has a court date for contempt next month, and I got a letter from the local Department of Human Services that they’re now garnishing her wages. I also asked her if she had a plan to take the kids over the summer and she does not. Apparently she doesn’t get PTO and can’t afford daycare, never minding the fact that the way everything worked out she has no bills apart from the child support.
I am to the point where I don’t believe she even cares about the kids and I want to file for full custody, but I’ve read that is very hard to make happen in the state of Colorado. Do I have a case for it?

Don’t get me wrong, AirPlay is a phenomenal technology. But it’s not the best solution for everything.
With AirPlay, the phone is the brains of the system. The network stream comes to your phone before it’s broadcast out to various speakers.
When using the App, the speakers are the brains of the system. Each of your speakers is literally a small computer running a Spotify / Apple Music / Amazon / Youtube / Tidal / SiriusXM / Sonos P2P client directly on the speaker.
Why is the on-speaker “brain” better? * it’s the only way to have tracks from multiple streaming services and LAN media in the same playlist.

• it means you can use your phone while music is playing—without worrying about broadcasting embarrassing sounds to the house.
  
• speaking of houses, it means you can leave the house with your phone and the music keeps playing.
  
• it means that in a party situation, multiple people can manage the soundtrack
  
• the new lossless support isn’t supported over AirPlay
  
• AirPlay only supports stereo pairs, not full surround
  
• it’s the only way to tune your speakers for the best sound
  

I’m sure there’s more. Point is that all the folks saying they never use the app are missing out on a lot of extra functionality they might not even know about.
EDIT: forgot another very important item. The original speakers that ran S1 do not support airplay Sure, I've got a mix of S1/S2 speakers, but 3/4 of my system can't even run Airplay. I'm not alone.

Trying to make a 1.20 Forge server for some friends and I. This isn't my first time setting one up so I have no idea why this is happening. The error I get in the command prompt:
2024-05-19 19:42:33,106 main WARN Advanced terminal features are not available in this environment
[19:42:33] [main/INFO] [cp.mo.mo.LauncheMODLAUNCHER]: ModLauncher running: args [--launchTarget, forgeserver, --fml.forgeVersion, 46.0.14, --fml.mcVersion, 1.20, --fml.forgeGroup, net.minecraftforge, --fml.mcpVersion, 20230608.053357]
[19:42:33] [main/INFO] [cp.mo.mo.LauncheMODLAUNCHER]: ModLauncher 10.0.8+10.0.8+main.0ef7e830 starting: java version 22.0.1 by Oracle Corporation; OS Windows 10 arch amd64 version 10.0
[19:42:33] [main/INFO] [mixin/]: SpongePowered MIXIN Subsystem Version=0.8.5 Source=union:/C:/Users/Lexi/Desktop/Forge%201.20/libraries/org/spongepowered/mixin/0.8.5/mixin-0.8.5.jar%2365!/ Service=ModLauncher Env=SERVER
[19:42:33] [main/WARN] [ne.mi.fm.lo.mo.ModFileParseLOADING]: Mod file C:\Users\Lexi\Desktop\Forge 1.20\libraries\net\minecraftforge\fmlcore\1.20-46.0.14\fmlcore-1.20-46.0.14.jar is missing mods.toml file
[19:42:33] [main/WARN] [ne.mi.fm.lo.mo.ModFileParseLOADING]: Mod file C:\Users\Lexi\Desktop\Forge 1.20\libraries\net\minecraftforge\javafmllanguage\1.20-46.0.14\javafmllanguage-1.20-46.0.14.jar is missing mods.toml file
[19:42:33] [main/WARN] [ne.mi.fm.lo.mo.ModFileParseLOADING]: Mod file C:\Users\Lexi\Desktop\Forge 1.20\libraries\net\minecraftforge\lowcodelanguage\1.20-46.0.14\lowcodelanguage-1.20-46.0.14.jar is missing mods.toml file
[19:42:33] [main/WARN] [ne.mi.fm.lo.mo.ModFileParseLOADING]: Mod file C:\Users\Lexi\Desktop\Forge 1.20\libraries\net\minecraftforge\mclanguage\1.20-46.0.14\mclanguage-1.20-46.0.14.jar is missing mods.toml file
[19:42:33] [main/INFO] [ne.mi.fm.lo.mo.JarInJarDependencyLocato]: No dependencies to load found. Skipping!
[19:42:34] [main/INFO] [cp.mo.mo.LaunchServiceHandleMODLAUNCHER]: Launching target 'forgeserver' with arguments []
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.launch(LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.java:32)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:53)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandler.launch(LaunchServiceHandler.java:71)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.run(Launcher.java:106)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.Launcher.main(Launcher.java:77)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:26)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.BootstrapLaunchConsumer.accept(BootstrapLaunchConsumer.java:23)
at cpw.mods.bootstraplauncher@1.1.2/cpw.mods.bootstraplauncher.BootstrapLauncher.main(BootstrapLauncher.java:141)
Caused by: java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DirectMethodHandleAccessor.invoke(DirectMethodHandleAccessor.java:118)
at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:580)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/fmlloader@1.20-46.0.14/net.minecraftforge.fml.loading.targets.CommonServerLaunchHandler.lambda$launchService$0(CommonServerLaunchHandler.java:30)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.launch(LaunchServiceHandlerDecorator.java:30)
... 7 more
Caused by: java.lang.BootstrapMethodError: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Unsupported class file major version 66
at TRANSFORMEminecraft@1.20/net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.pieces.StructurePieceType.(StructurePieceType.java:79)
at TRANSFORMEminecraft@1.20/net.minecraft.core.registries.BuiltInRegistries.m_257693_(BuiltInRegistries.java:345)
at TRANSFORMEminecraft@1.20/net.minecraft.core.registries.BuiltInRegistries.m_258029_(BuiltInRegistries.java:448)
at TRANSFORMEminecraft@1.20/net.minecraft.core.registries.BuiltInRegistries.m_258037_(BuiltInRegistries.java:462)
at java.base/java.util.LinkedHashMap.forEach(LinkedHashMap.java:986)
at TRANSFORMEminecraft@1.20/net.minecraft.core.registries.BuiltInRegistries.m_257453_(BuiltInRegistries.java:461)
at TRANSFORMEminecraft@1.20/net.minecraft.core.registries.BuiltInRegistries.m_257498_(BuiltInRegistries.java:455)
at TRANSFORMEminecraft@1.20/net.minecraft.server.Bootstrap.m_135870_(Bootstrap.java:55)
at TRANSFORMEminecraft@1.20/net.minecraft.server.Main.main(Main.java:121)
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DirectMethodHandleAccessor.invoke(DirectMethodHandleAccessor.java:103)
... 10 more
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Unsupported class file major version 66
at org.objectweb.asm@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.ClassReader.(ClassReader.java:199)
at org.objectweb.asm@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.ClassReader.(ClassReader.java:180)
at org.objectweb.asm@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.ClassReader.(ClassReader.java:166)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.ClassTransformer.transform(ClassTransformer.java:75)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.TransformingClassLoader.maybeTransformClassBytes(TransformingClassLoader.java:50)
at cpw.mods.securejarhandlecpw.mods.cl.ModuleClassLoader.getMaybeTransformedClassBytes(ModuleClassLoader.java:250)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.TransformingClassLoader.buildTransformedClassNodeFor(TransformingClassLoader.java:58)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.TransformerClassWriter.computeHierarchyFromFile(TransformerClassWriter.java:149)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.TransformerClassWriter.computeHierarchy(TransformerClassWriter.java:112)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.TransformerClassWriter.getSupers(TransformerClassWriter.java:83)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.TransformerClassWriter.getCommonSuperClass(TransformerClassWriter.java:63)
at org.objectweb.asm@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.SymbolTable.addMergedType(SymbolTable.java:1202)
at org.objectweb.asm@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.Frame.merge(Frame.java:1300)
at org.objectweb.asm@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.Frame.merge(Frame.java:1198)
at org.objectweb.asm@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.MethodWriter.computeAllFrames(MethodWriter.java:1611)
at org.objectweb.asm@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.MethodWriter.visitMaxs(MethodWriter.java:1547)
at org.objectweb.asm.tree@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.tree.MethodNode.accept(MethodNode.java:767)
at org.objectweb.asm.tree@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.tree.MethodNode.accept(MethodNode.java:647)
at org.objectweb.asm.tree@9.5/org.objectweb.asm.tree.ClassNode.accept(ClassNode.java:468)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.ClassTransformer.transform(ClassTransformer.java:133)
at MC-BOOTSTRAP/cpw.mods.modlauncher@10.0.8/cpw.mods.modlauncher.TransformingClassLoader.maybeTransformClassBytes(TransformingClassLoader.java:50)
at cpw.mods.securejarhandlecpw.mods.cl.ModuleClassLoader.readerToClass(ModuleClassLoader.java:113)
at cpw.mods.securejarhandlecpw.mods.cl.ModuleClassLoader.lambda$findClass$15(ModuleClassLoader.java:219)
at cpw.mods.securejarhandlecpw.mods.cl.ModuleClassLoader.loadFromModule(ModuleClassLoader.java:229)
at cpw.mods.securejarhandlecpw.mods.cl.ModuleClassLoader.findClass(ModuleClassLoader.java:219)
at cpw.mods.securejarhandlecpw.mods.cl.ModuleClassLoader.loadClass(ModuleClassLoader.java:135)
at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:525)
... 20 more

Original Video from Jimmy Burgess here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNDkSZxEAxE
Here's my take on this video:

1. If you need Lasic Eye Surgery or to Upgrade your glasses prescription. Are you all of the sudden going to go out and research eye anatomy and surgery tactics or would you simply find a good optician? Consumers want convenience and smart consumers are willing to pay for it.
   
2. This is powerful. We talk about this a lot in our New Construction Marketing Trainings as it pertains to followup. Knowing the area you are selling new homes in (or resales) is critical. Get familiar with the area, as leads come in make sure you share your knowledge via email and conversations when following up.
   
3. This ties in with #3 whereas being the local expert...you have the hookup!
   
4. Unfortunately many agent's aren't very good at marketing. But this is where Iconic Agents shine (even with listings and our open house blueprint we give away). Understanding the market and how to market homes to obtain buyers is critical. Many Iconic agents have a database of buyers for specific communities and areas they can immediately access and use to promote their listings.
   

Read the summary of the 7 reasons here and comment with your thoughts.

1. Experience: Professional agents bring valuable experience to the table, making the process easier and more efficient for buyers and sellers.
2. Convenience: People prefer to pay for professional help to avoid the stress and complexity of handling real estate transactions on their own.
3. Local Insights: Agents provide crucial local market knowledge that is often overlooked in national news, helping clients make informed decisions based on local trends and conditions.
4. Network and Resources: Agents have access to a network of professionals (stagers, inspectors, marketers, lenders, etc.) that streamline the buying and selling process.
5. Pricing Expertise: Agents understand how to price homes accurately, using comparative market analyses to ensure homes are sold quickly and at the best price.
6. Negotiation Skills: Skilled negotiators can secure better deals for their clients, making their services valuable and often cost-effective in the long run.
7. Marketing Expertise: Effective marketing strategies, including AI tools and various campaigns, ensure maximum exposure for listings, attracting more potential buyers.
8. Legal Navigation: Agents help clients navigate the complex legal aspects of real estate transactions, reducing the risk of legal issues and increasing client confidence.
9. Stress Reduction: By managing all aspects of the transaction, agents alleviate stress for their clients, providing peace of mind and a smoother overall experience.
10. Building Relationships: Agents who demonstrate their value build lasting relationships with clients, leading to repeat business and referrals.

Hi community,
I'm seeking advice on what should be included in a contract with a person who is going to rent me a room in an apartment she is renting in a building.
To give you some context, she posted an ad on Facebook that she was renting her second room. I saw the place, and it seems legit.
She is not asking for a deposit or any fees. She told me she will tell the landlord that we are sisters if she has any issues.
To ensure that I will rent the room, she asks for half of the money upfront and the other half when I move in. She also mentioned that she would make a contract and asked what I would like to include in it.
So far, I am thinking of asking her to include in the contract:

1. The payment date and what services are included.
2. The termination terms of our contract.
3. What will happen if she has issues with the landlord upon finding out someone else is living with her.
4. The use of shared spaces, right to keys.
5. The place where the contract is made.
6. Her name and general information.

Do you have any insights on what else to include, and do you know if just having a written contract is enough in case I run into problems?
Thanks!