While no single formula applies to all furniture businesses equally, some rules do apply, such as offering value and outstanding customer service. To offer value, you have to know and understand the community in which you set up your store. You have to understand the needs, desires, and aspirations of those who live in the area. That understanding should guide and inform your merchandising, advertising, and pricing. To offer value, you also need to understand the product you are selling....

Phone System Basics The phone company owns and maintains the telephone lines (wires) that bring phone service to your house. The lines usually connect to the house at a gray plastic box mounted to an outside wall. This box is called the NID (Network Interface Device). Inside the box, the connections may split into two parts, the utility (phone company) side, and the customer side. Although you can access the customer side of the box, the phone company side has a special screw that’s designed to be difficult to remove; it’s best to leave this side alone....

You don’t need to use rooting hormone for cuttings. But when it is used correctly on plants that are commonly a challenge to propagate, it causes a plant cutting to develop roots quicker (it takes two to eight weeks to work) and they will be more robust than cuttings that don’t have the hormone advantage. Most gardeners use rooting hormone primarily on ornamental plants and to propagate succulents. You can purchase rooting hormone at local garden centers or order it online from a garden supply company....

Placement Use outdoor torches to light the patios, walkways, and decks where you’ll be entertaining. Evenly space them out, leaving about 6 to 8 feet in between each one. This allows people to move around them without the danger of catching themselves on fire. Position torches at least 6-feet away from your house or any other structure. And avoid placing them under trees or overhangs, where they could easily burn leaves, branches, wood siding, or soffit materials....

We talked to the founder of the popular Instagram page @ikeagreenhousecabinet about why it was started, and to plant parents who DIYed IKEA cabinets into warm homes for their humidity-loving plants. @ikeagreenhousecabinet features nothing but IKEA cabinets that were converted into greenhouses for tropical plants. Robin Schouten curates DIYed cabinets from all over the world. A plant collector herself, Schouten founded the page after falling in love with a few examples when searching for her own plant storage/display solutions....