Category Archives: News

Colony Associates Shares Smart Ways to Get Your Construction Company Out of Debt

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According to U.S.A. Today, on average, small business owners in this country are $195,000 in debt. Not all business debt is bad because businesses need loans in order to get supplies, sign leases and hire employees. Debt helps get many startups off the ground. The problem occurs when debt piles up and inhibits cash flow.

Colony Associates, a company that has solutions for small business owners and consumers who are heavily in debt provides the following advice for construction company owners who are trying to pay off debt.

Scrutinize Your Budget

Sadly, according to Small Business Trends, 61 percent of all small businesses do not have a documented budget to follow. Writing down your budget and carefully scrutinizing expenses will help you decide where you can trim costs, saving some money. If debt is harming your cash flow, you will need to utilize the money saved to bring down your debt.

Entrepreneur Magazine suggested potential ways of freeing up cash include leasing a smaller office space and selling newer equipment and buying used. Employees that can work remotely will likely prefer to do so, reducing the need for office space.

Provide Incentives for Prompt Payment

In a slowing economy, businesses can get their clients to pay more promptly when they offer incentives to do so, like a small discount.

Boost Sales

Another means of getting more cash on hand to pay down the debt is to more effectively utilize social media for advertising, which cuts other advertising expenses. Many companies today are reaping the benefits of timely and helpful responses to all social media posts about your company as well as by utilizing influencers to help better interact with your customer base.

Decide Upon a Debt Payment Schedule

Nerdwallet suggests that small business owners evaluate which debts to prioritize. For example, debts with higher interest rates need to be paid off first. Servicing those interest payments is very expensive.

Lower Debt Interest Rates

Many business owners have business credit cards. They are a convenience and helped many businesses stay afloat when credit dried up during the last recession. The problem is that the interest rates on business credit cards have risen in the past decade. Currently, many business credit cards carry interest rates from 15 to 20 percent. At such high rates, it inhibits business cash flow, and it becomes incredibly difficult to ever pay off the debt.

Popular means of reducing interest rates on debt include:

Zero-Interest, Balance Transfer Credit Cards: If your business credit is good, you can apply for a zero-interest, balance transfer credit card. They defer any interest payments on the balance for 12 to 18 months. They are a good option if you can pay off the balance in the interest-free period. You do need to be aware of the fact that they will revert to current interest rates after that period of time.

Signature Loan: Companies like Colony Associates provide signature loans for small businesses that provide one monthly debt payment at a lower interest rate. The longer term for the loan improves the cash flow of your business while also providing a debt payoff date.

If your construction firm is struggling under heavy debt, call Colony Associates. We provide solutions that improve business cash flow, while lowering interest rates

How Will Architectural 3D Animation Affect Architectural Representations?

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Growth in technology has also led to the growth of people’s preferences across the world. That’s why 3D architectural animations are continually gaining traction as a tool of architectural representation and a perfect way to render buildings and structures. This technology was developed to give a clear picture of how the final product of an architectural plan would look. It gives a preview of how the surroundings should look upon completion of the structure and allows those involved in the development process to have easier time implementing the various parts that make up the entire project.

Innovative architectural presentation techniques

3D modeling has continued to take shape in the construction industry and this growth has been motivated by the upsurge of new technologies that support the development of efficient design tools that engineers can apply to create better renders of their plans. Different software including Render 3D Quick is the reason one can create 3D animations easily.

Realistic representations

Before 3D architectural animation technology was developed, architectures had to go through the difficult path of rendering their designs on cardboards. This has since been replaced with 3D animations that are more realistic and better when working with a large team. Animations offer a detailed walk-through into the entire project that even those who don’t have technical understanding of architecture can grasp. Instead of presenting complicated floor plans that many people will not even understand, you can show them the completed version of the digital house, and this also makes advertising the project easy and powerful.

The beauty of animation

One of the most beautiful qualities about 3D architectural animation is that the software gives near-perfect representations. Using the software is also easy and saves time unlike when professionals had to gather resources and time to present their designs through card boards. It is also cost effective because no additional materials are needed once you pay for the software. Although the cost of buying the software initially could be high, there will be no worry about miscellaneous expenses later. All updates made to the software are given free of charge to those who get the enterprise version.

Accuracy

To many architectures, the development of 3D architectural animation is a great leap that helps them to get rid of common mistakes in the design process. Initially, a professional needed to cross-check papers and sometimes tear them up to do the work again, but this is a past case since with 3D animation there are useful features that place everything in its right place automatically. Eliminating room for errors speeds up the design process and allows the production of perfectly accurate designs and illustrations.

Networking

Additional feature that come with most 3D architectural animation software is the ability to connect with other architectures through a networked platform that comes with the software. This allows sharing of ideas and assistance in case of a problem is easily accessible. You can ask questions and many professionals who use the software will come to your rescue through the network.

Marty Stallone

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Marty Stallone is a professional land development expert, who is knowledgeable in risk management, finance, corporate functions, and cash-flow analysis. He focuses on the success of Metropolitan Development Group (MDG).

He is the executive vice president of development and make the decisions, to deliver the outcome for clients and encourage a degree of growth. His leadership has proven effective in MDG’s land development projects- industrial, commercial, and residential projects in the Pennsylvania region. Before he began land development, he helped structured capital finances for government, corporations and non-profit businesses. This is how he learned the analytical knowledge of finance and business development.

Marty Stallone operates out of the Eastern Pennsylvania offices. He is a graduate of Cornell University and he is also a National Merit Scholar.

Land development consist of changing the landscape from a natural state to an agricultural, commercial, corporate, or housing structure. Sometimes the development

includes, landscaping or road construction. The land must offer the best optics for a marketplace. We identify enhancements and improve projects. The landowner can share with the planning, if they are aware of the development’s potential. Land values are very sensitive- to demand and supply, the cost, planning, and contributions. The system, can result in the difference in the sale of the land.

As a child, what were your dreams?

When I was a little boy, I loved math, but as a teen, I began to like finance and economics. They are both compelling areas to study.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by teachers and relatives, who offer guidance in the field of economics and finance. You can learn a lot from others, who have worked, studied, or have knowledge about economics and finance.

What was your most exciting accomplishment?

The development of Metropolitan Development Group, and the positive services that they provide to satisfy our clients. Our main goal is make sure each client is stratified from start to finish with land development.

What will you be doing 5 years from now?

We plan to continue development aspirations, and begin new services- which will ultimately benefit our clients and retain them. There are always land development projects, in this field.

What’s your take on the Social Media?

I think that the social media is an amazing tool to utilize communication, and engage with discussions, although internet use- is not used by me often. With today’s technology, there are many ways, that you can communicate effectively.

Arturo Alvarez Demalde Begins Construction On New Home

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Arturo Alvarez Demalde has selected the plot where his new home will be planted. Construction began on Friday on is expected to take 4-6 months including all landscaping, drainage, permits, fire inspection, etc. There are plenty of hoops to jump through!

Why did you choose Ralph Slaske of Slaske Builders to build this new home?

I met with Ralph Slaske and then met with a few other builders in the area. Without a doubt Slaske was better than the rest. He was more knowledgeable and was able to answer all of my questions in a way that I understood and made sense to me. One of the other builders literally told me he didn’t have time to answer any questions. I spent a total of 10 minutes with him and half of that was waiting for him to get off the phone. When I was with Ralph, I really felt that nothing else was going on, anything I asked was his top priority.

What was of paramount concern when choosing a builder?

Obviously price is a big part. When you’re building a custom home, it’s easy to get caught up in price per square foot. Just taking that metric, you can build a very big, but cheap house. I wanted a blend of affordable and upgrades. I told Slaske what was important to me and he understood. His proposal spelled out each aspect I cared about. One thing that is important to me are finishing touches. I wanted to pick out my baseboards, window and door trim as well as the sheen on the cabinets. After saying that I realized that I might be a little picky! At the end of the day, it’s my money and I want to get what I want and Slaske enabled me to do that.

What can Ralph Slaske and Slaske Builders do to improve?

One of the most difficult parts of this process was finding the right piece of property. I want neighbors, but not too close. I wanted an acre or two, but didn’t want a house 25 feet away from my property line. That meant I had to find a lot with existing homes. I talked to Ralph after I had located a few lots I liked and he actually toured them with me and helped me pick out the one that was best for my needs as well as best for construction. My favorite lot sat a little lower in elevation that the homes around it and could have been underwater if we built on my chosen spot! Ralph gave me options to backfill the whole area or pick a new lot. His understanding and experience was invaluable during this process!

Thank you Arturo Alvarez Demalde for taking the time to give us your thoughts!

For more information on Ralph Slaske take a look at this recent interview.