It’s hard for a lot of people to finally take the plunge and start their fitness journey. There’s enough information freely available that makes it clear that it isn’t just about exercising or eating right. You need to do both in order to be successful, but eating a healthy diet and maintaining a regular exercise routine is not always very easy.

It can be especially challenging to stick to healthy habits when you’re used to certain tempting foods you shouldn’t be eating. Cheat meals, while satisfying at the moment, can often leave us feeling guilty and discouraged when it comes to weight loss goals.

According to Tatiana Debique, President and Head Coach of The Bikini Prep Coach Co, it’s possible to indulge in a cheat meal without derailing your progress. In fact, she believes that a cheat meal can actually be beneficial for your body and mind, as long as you know how to bounce back afterward.

Here are some of Debique’s tried-and-true expert strategies for bouncing back from cheat meals and achieving your best body:

No Cheat Days

Debique recommends that you plan your cheat meals ahead of time. It’s also extremely important that you make sure it’s only a meal and not an entire day of indulgence. Overindulging will likely make you feel completely off track with your routine and could even make it harder to start eating healthy again the next day. Sticking to one meal allows you to limit how many extra calories and unhealthy ingredients you consume, while also avoiding the negative effects of overindulgence.

Hydrate

After indulging in a cheat meal, Debique suggests drinking plenty of water to help flush out excess salt and sugar from your system. Drinking water can also help you feel fuller and more satisfied, which can reduce the likelihood of further overindulging.

You should always aim to drink at least eight glasses of water throughout the day. Add some electrolytes to your water to help replenish any nutrients lost during your cheat meal. It’s an easy way to mix things up while reaching that 8-glass-per-day goal.

Get Back on Track

It’s necessary to get back on track with your healthy eating habits as soon as possible after a cheat meal. This means making sure your next meal is packed with nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats.

Don’t let one slip-up turn into a pattern of unhealthy eating. Instead, remind yourself of your goals and your progress so far, and use your cheat meal as motivation to get back on track and meet those goals.

What Nutrient-Dense Foods Should I Eat?

After a cheat meal, it’s essential to focus on eating nutrient-dense foods that can help your body recover and get the nutrients it needs. Fruits and vegetables are excellent choices, as they are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Lean proteins like chicken, fish, and tofu can help rebuild your muscles and keep you feeling full, while healthy fats like avocado and nuts can help you absorb nutrients and keep your skin and hair healthy.

Move Your Body

Physical activity is a major part of any healthy lifestyle, and it’s imperative after a cheat meal. Incorporating some form of exercise into your routine can help boost your metabolism, burn calories, and make you feel better mentally and physically.

You don’t need to do anything extreme, even a 30-minute walk or a gentle yoga practice can help you feel more energized and focused.

About Tatiana Debique

Tatiana Debique, President and Head Coach of The Bikini Prep Coach Co. is dedicated to helping women achieve their fitness aspirations. She is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and a  NASM Certified Nutrition Coach. To learn more about Tatiana and to discover how you can attain your fitness goals, visit: https://bikiniprepcoach.com/

Coach Lucas Zeiler is a true champion who turned his passion for sports into a lifelong journey of triumph and inspiration, but it wasn’t always an easy ride. Starting as a below-average athlete with a physique that didn’t make heads turn, he knew he needed an edge to gain the physical and mental strength to succeed in the competitive world of sports.

Driven by his love for athletics, Coach Lucas worked relentlessly to develop mental strategies and tactics that propelled him to lead professional and amateur athletes from around the world. His passion and dedication motivated him in wanting to help other young athletes achieve their college and professional-level sports dreams too, so he founded MSM Performance Academy.

“At MSM, we’re always striving to inspire and teach our student-athletes how to develop the best skills, while instilling in them an unwavering winning mindset,” said Coach Lucas.

“We are always incorporating the newest performance strategies while also teaching the fundamentals of gaining and keeping a winning mindset and strong body.”

His dedication to improving the physical and mental health of young athletes, most of whom aspire to gain athletic scholarships or enter professional sports, is nothing short of admirable. In just two short years, their influence continues to grow, having coached over 2,000 elite athletes, ranging from 15 countries.

View From the Bench

Coach Lucas was often overlooked by coaches and teachers. He was told that he didn’t have what it took to make it in college or professional sports. But he wasn’t one to give up easily.

Determined, he pushed through and earned a full-ride college scholarship, proving his doubters wrong. He went on to play semi-professionally before embarking on his coaching career, where he realized that the mental development of youth athletes was lacking in many.

Fueled by his passion for mentoring and empowering young athletes, Coach Lucas set out to create a curriculum that would not only help them develop their physical skills but also cultivate their mental strength. His philosophy emphasizes the power of Vision, Self-Awareness, Self-Belief, Professional Habits & Routines, Leadership Mastery, & Flow State. These are the pillars upon which MSM Performance Academy was founded, and it is paying off, for both the company and the athletes.

Creating a Vision

Many athletes dream of playing Professionally or Collegiately. However, many of these athletes do not know how to take this dream and put it into action. Creating a Vision is the first step to success for any athlete. Without this step, the dream remains a dream.

When athletes create a Vision, they’re beginning to nurture the dream inside them. With the Vision, the dream starts to take life and grows into every decision, thought, action, behavior, and emotion that exists in the athlete’s life.

When athletes align with their Vision, momentum starts to grow, motivation starts to enhance, and obstacles that once seemed impossible become opportunities.

“The Vision is the north star – without it, athletes are lost.”

Practice Self-Awareness

Coach Lucas teaches his athletes to practice self-awareness which allows them to understand their flaws – as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Most people, especially athletes, are afraid to look at their flaws. At MSM, the athletes become friends with their flaws. They have a system for the athletes to self-identify their biggest personal obstacles and implement strategies to take these obstacles head-on.

“When an athlete learns how to do this effectively, not only do they get big results quickly, but they become empowered to take on any obstacles that would normally hold most people back,” says Coach Lucas.

Athletes need to be cognizant of their current situation. They need to be effectively prioritizing what they need to work on, all of the time. Without Self-Awareness, no prioritizing is taking place, and the athlete’s development becomes inefficient.

Through MSM’s unique Self-Reflection Tool, athletes will often learn that what’s holding them back may have nothing to do with their sport and everything to do with what’s going on outside of their sport, in their everyday life.

Self-Belief Is Key

When teaching Self-Belief to his athletes, Coach Lucas starts with the story of the two boys.

One boy is born into a 3rd world country, he lives in a village where most of his relatives have never achieved anything, and struggle simply to survive. Another boy is born in a first-world country, his older brothers and sisters have graduated college, played college sports, and his father had a successful career playing professional sports.

Do you think those two boys have different belief systems? Do you think those two boys have a different definition of the word “success”?

We don’t even realize it, but our belief systems are often created by things outside of us, our families, our environments, and our experiences.

Once his athletes realize that Self-Belief is a Tool and you can choose to believe in literally anything you want to believe in order to help you achieve what it is you want to achieve, now you’re seeing “self-belief” – the way it’s meant to be seen.

With this perspective, Coach Lucas’s athletes may begin to break down their own limiting beliefs and build their own belief systems that will serve their thoughts, their emotions, their actions, and behaviors for the better.

“Building a psyche with the right belief systems is a key component to anyone’s success”.

Professional Habits & Routines

Now that we have our Vision – where we’re going, our Self-Awareness – where we are currently, and the right Self-Belief, the belief systems that will allow us to get to point A to point B, the athletes now need to put these principles into action. This is where Professional Habits & Routines come in.

You see 80% of our lives revolve around some habit or routine. What most athletes don’t realize is that what happens in competition directly relates to the habits & routines outside of competition.

Habits and routines are key components of success in sports and life in general. Without a structured routine, it can be difficult to make consistent progress toward your goals. Coach Lucas emphasizes the importance of developing healthy habits and routines that support an athlete’s physical and mental performance. This includes regular exercise, healthy eating, the practice of emotional control, and quality sleep. Athletes who prioritize these habits are better equipped to handle the physical and mental demands of sports, leading to improved performance on and off the field.

Beyond the basics of physical health, Coach Lucas also stresses the importance of mental habits and routines. Self-talk, visualization, and other mental practices can have a profound impact on an athlete’s performance. By developing positive habits and routines, athletes can build their confidence and focus, leading to a stronger mindset and better overall performance. Coach Lucas believes that with the right habits and routines, athletes can overcome any challenge and achieve their highest potential.

With the right habits and routines, athletes can build a foundation of physical and mental resilience that will serve them well both on and off the field, and athletes who prioritize these habits are better equipped to handle the physical and mental demands of sports, leading to improved performance on and off the field. As Coach Lucas says, “What you do off the field is reflective of what you do on the field, both mentally and physically.”

Leadership Mastery

Leadership mastery is an important aspect of achieving success in any field. At MSM Performance Academy, Coach Lucas helps his student-athletes develop the qualities of a leader through practice, guidance, and motivation. He emphasizes the importance of having a positive attitude, clear communication, and the ability to inspire others. The academy’s leadership programs are designed to teach young athletes the skills they need to lead themselves and their teams to victory. By instilling the qualities of a great leader, Coach Lucas aims to create a new generation of young athletes who are ready to take on the world and make a positive impact on their teams, communities, and beyond.

You see, college coaches & pro scouts aren’t just looking for athletes that can run fast and jump high. At the highest level, college & pro coaches are looking for athletes with strong character, who can handle adversity, and who dare to take on any obstacles that may come their way. This level of mental strength & fortitude comes from quality leaders, and that’s the type of player that will excel to the highest levels.

Flow State

Flow State is the state of consciousness in which one is immersed in a particular action with an emphasis on joy, energy, concentration, and fearlessness. The top athletes call this “Being in the Zone”. It’s when an athlete is putting in 100% effort, effortlessly. It’s when they’re aware of everything, without thinking at all. It’s when their focus is 110%, yet the game is coming to them. Time slows down, an athlete’s anticipation is at its highest, and every decision is precise & appropriate.

“This is the pinnacle of an athlete’s mental performance. This is what we’re optimizing before. This is the most valuable element that I can teach an athlete” – says Coach Lucas.

To achieve this state, athletes must find a balance between challenge and skill, and learn to manage their emotions and thoughts to stay present at the moment. When you reach a flow state, your performance can improve drastically, and you can tap into your true potential as an athlete. It takes practice, but with consistent effort, you can learn to achieve a flow state and perform at your best.

Mental Health Education

The mental health of his athletes is a top priority for Coach Lucas, and his incredible journey is a testament to the power of perseverance, passion, and dedication. Using his insights, athletes of all levels can begin to take steps toward improving their mental and physical health.

Through his work at MSM Performance Academy, Coach Lucas is transforming the lives of young athletes, helping them to reach their full potential both on and off the playing surface. He knows, firsthand, the challenges that young athletes face, and he has dedicated his life to ensuring that they receive the guidance and support they need to overcome these challenges and achieve their dreams.

From the young athlete who is struggling to maintain a positive mindset, to the college athlete who is finding it difficult to manage their time and prioritize health, Coach Lucas has the knowledge and experience to help them succeed. With his expert guidance, athletes from all over the world are learning to realize their full potential, push past limits, and achieve their goals.

The Jordan Year Challenge

Coach Lucas’ impact is set to reach new heights with the academy’s new Jordan Year Challenge, an initiative that will make the services of MSM Performance Academy accessible to the masses through The MSM Foundation.

The MSM Foundation plans to bring together the leading experts in sports and mental health for a virtual summit. These experts will share their expertise with players, parents, and coaches alike. The program includes a structured curriculum that provides them with tools and strategies Coach Lucas has used to impact the lives of over 2,000 elite athletes over the past few years.

The Jordan Year Challenge will be available for all families for just $23, and the results will be truly life-changing. The goal was to create a mass movement that will battle the suicide rate among athletes and change the landscape of youth sports.

The effort aims to honor the lives of athletes like Katie Meyer, Arlana Miller, Morgan Rodgers, Tyler Hillinski, Sarah Shulze, Jayden Hill, Robert Martin, and Lauren Bernett, all of who have taken their lives as young prestigious college athletes. Additionally, the proceeds of the challenge will be donated to the individual foundations built in their names.

MSM Performance Academy, and the newly founded Jordan Year Challenge, is successfully doing all that Coach Lucas set out to accomplish—fix the broken mindset in the world of sports.

Whether you are a young athlete just starting, or a seasoned professional looking to take your game to the next level, Coach Lucas and the team at both MSM Performance Academy and The MSM Foundation, are here to help you achieve your dreams. With their winning mindset and proven strategies, you can be confident that you have everything you need to succeed, both on and off the field. So what are you waiting for? Take the first step towards achieving your dreams today, and join the MSM family.

About MSM Academy

MSM Performance Academy, founded by Lucas Zeiler, and led by CEO Kal Maadi helps families guide their children to reach College and Professional levels in the best way possible; teaching them the fundamentals to maintain sound minds and bodies, while performing optimally, both physically and mentally. The goal for MSM is to offer mental and physical performance training and empower youth sports athletes, student-athletes, and professional athletes to become leaders of themselves. Through The MSM Foundation, the academy teaches players how to reach optimal levels of mental and physical performance. For more information, please visit www.themsmfoundation.org.

As exciting as property investing is, it’s certainly never a sure thing. Projects go over budget, markets slow down, and renters can be nightmares to work with. For those reasons, many accredited investors are moving their capital into self-storage investments.

For investment manager and influencer Travis Baucom, Founder of Balcomie Capital, the move to self-storage investment was a logical progression.

“People focus too much on buying houses as an investment,” said Baucom. “Focusing on self-storage has presented more returns on the dollar and commercial real estate has proven way more profitable for our investors.”

Balcomie Capital’s Founder boasts a notable investment track record. As the former CEO of Texas’s largest privately-owned distressed house-buying firm, Texas Trust Home Buyers, where he led the company in buying over $50 million in homes successfully for years. He has since stepped down and is now focusing all of his efforts on buying self-storage investments.

Baucom has spent the last several years helping new and seasoned investors enter and navigate lucrative investments across the self-storage space. He has become one of the industry’s most recognized figures and thought leaders in this segment of investing.

Deeming self-storage investing as a smart move for those looking to diversify their real estate portfolio, Baucom believes the space to be promising in increasing returns on investments.

Below are the most valuable pieces of advice he has for those hoping to transition from property investments to self-storage — and each tip comes from his own hard-earned experience.

Learn About the Market

Learning about the self-storage market — or any market you hope to invest in — is key to finding success. “The first thing to do is a deep dive into the market’s history to learn how it has performed in the past,” said Baucom. “When you learn how self-storage investments retain resilience in the face of changing market conditions, you’ll begin to understand why this investment space is so hot right now.”

If solo research isn’t your thing, you can also learn about the market by taking a course or investing with someone who knows the market well and learn from them.

Explore the Risk Involved

Since becoming a viable investment opportunity 15 years ago, self-storage has proven to be a low-risk investment that has outperformed other commercial real estate investments. Baucom pointed out that this was particularly true when the country suffered through the great recession in 2008. Self-storage investments remained one of the few bright spots in investors’ portfolios and provided a reliable, passive income that outperformed other stock and property investments.

“The high profitability of self-storage units has made them a popular choice among investors seeking tax-advantaged investments that can generate long-term revenue,” said Baucom.

Have Your Finances in Order

One aspect of embarking on your self-storage investing journey is that it requires more available capital than buying residential properties. By definition, self-storage facilities are larger than houses, so they are much more expensive,  But they also reap much higher profits than houses due to how commercial properties are sold..

If you aren’t sitting on millions of dollars to purchase, build, or renovate a self-storage facility, it’s not the end of the road for this dream. Baucom suggests partnering with skilled operators like his firm.

Build Peer Relationships

Building relationships with other investors in the self-storage space can be a great way to learn about new opportunities and find potential partners for future projects. Not only will developing a strong group of like-minded peers be important to learning, growing and long-term success, they can also become like colleagues and act as people that you celebrate wins with and strategize fresh ideas and plans with.

Using these tips, you’ll be sure to get started on the right foot in your self-storage investment journey.

About Travis Baucom

Travis Baucom, Founder of Balcomie Capital, is a seasoned asset investor with over 10 years of real estate investing experience, with a consistent return that has yearly outperformed the market over the past decade. Balcomie Capital is a boutique firm for high-net-worth and high-income professionals. Its mission is to deliver fully-managed, private investments that allow investors to pursue what matters most to them, offering unprecedented access to income-producing private investments to help build a legacy and future for the next generation.To invest with Balcomie Capital, please visit: https://balcomiecapital.com

Solar sales is a field that relies on leads to find the customers that need their planet- and wallet-friendly solutions. Though door-to-door sales are a tried and true technique in the solar field, warm leads for families that are truly interested in solar installations are absolutely priceless. That’s where Solar Exclusive comes in.

The 8-figure marketing company is second-to-none when it comes to providing exclusive leads, pre-set appointments, and more to the country’s most respected solar companies.

The company has worked with more than 2,500 happy clients in 286 markets to provide more than two million residential and commercial solar leads.

Of course, lots of companies claim to provide exclusive leads and don’t, instead providing well-used lists of people that already have solar products installed or simply aren’t interested at all and hang up or slam the door in your face.

Solar Exclusive Founder Rich Feola feels your pain. The successful founder has worked in the solar industry for years. Indeed, he started as a door-to-door salesman specializing in home upgrades nearly 15 years ago. In fact, many of his account representatives were previous solar salespeople as well. So, he knows firsthand how great it feels when you are actually approaching warm and exclusive leads.

The marketing company has been profiled in Digital Journal and Yahoo Finance, as well as appearing on NBC and FOX. If that’s not legit enough, they generate $4 million in revenue every month and have a large crew of employees creating leads every day.

“People always ask me, ‘If you’ve worked with 2,000+ solar companies in the last five years, how do I know I will really get exclusive leads, and you’re not sharing them with other companies? How do I know you are really going to take care of me?” said Feola.

How Exclusive Are They?

Through proprietary technology and automation, Solar Exclusive’s track record proves they regularly double solar companies’ income using YouTube strategies to set up exclusive appointments for their client companies with interested homeowners in their region.

They do this by keeping every region and campaign totally separate, utilizing proprietary technology to ensure exclusivity is maintained.

“Everything we do is in an exclusive nature. It’s very common for many solar lead companies to resell leads — the leads get repeated, and they get called by multiple solar companies, making companies have to drive their prices way lower because there are too many people competing, but not us,” said Feola.

Over the several years they have been in business, Solar Exclusive has compiled a staggering amount of industry and consumer data that can be mined to create results for their clients.

Dedicated Call Center

Solar Exclusive has also upped the ante for clients registering for a trial with the company: free use of their dedicated call center. The use of the facility lets partner companies make even more exclusive appointments from the warm leads provided by Feola and the team.

“The fact that we offer our call center for free is a huge perk that can help our clients save time, so they only meet with the most-qualified and ready-to-buy homeowners. With our process, we’re often connecting solar companies with homeowners who are already looking to buy solar, which makes the sales process easier,” shared the Founder.

Letting clients use the Solar Exclusive call center makes the process of collaboration and successful conversion that much easier. Pairing with the country’s largest indie solar marketing company has been paramount to making even more sales for the firm’s other clients currently utilizing the service.

As Solar Exclusive develops further, incorporating approaching B2B industries such as manufacturing, storage, logistics, commercial real estate and more, having access to their data is more helpful than ever before.

In fact, it’s Feola’s goal to make Solar Exclusive a one-stop shop for solar lead campaigns in any market and with any target demographic around the country.

For anyone working in the field of solar installations, it’s simple to see why Solar Exclusive is leading the pack on exclusive solar leads nationwide.

About Rich Feola and Solar Exclusive

Rich Feola is the Founder of Solar Exclusive, an 8-figure marketing company that generates unique, qualified leads and appointments for solar companies across the nation. Solar Exclusive has been featured in Digital Journal, Yahoo Finance, NBC and FOX among other publications. Want to skyrocket the success of your solar business with top-notch leads? Visit this link to book a strategy call: https://solarexclusive.com/

We can all use help and advice on our life’s path from time to time. And getting the right advice versus the wrong advice can mean the difference between success and failure. No one knows that better than Truth Coach Randy G. Howell Jr., who has devoted his life to helping others realize their dreams and find success — no matter how they define that.

Luckily, there are trained and passionate pros like Howell whom we can turn to when we are at a crossroads. He focuses on helping clients see their own personal truths, and making decisions and creating their lives around those truths.

He admits that it’s not easy, but it is well worth it. In his online coaching sessions, he helps clients knock down the walls that keep them from achieving their goals and watches them bloom and succeed with his hard-earned knowledge about personal truth.

“I have had my fair share of problems and trauma that, over time, built up and created barriers within my subconscious that stopped me from reaching my ambitions,” he said. “But because of these experiences and my healing, growth, and development, I was able to create a method that brings about unwavering life-changing results.”

He added that he suffered from anxiety and depression when his marriage broke down and even suffered suicidal ideation until he learned to help himself.

The S.I.M.S Approach

Based on what he’s learned over the years, the Founder of Truth Coach Randy leads clients to the next stages of their journeys. He can help with both professional and personal paths using the same tools, simply applied differently. He has dubbed his exclusive and signature method ‘the S.I.M.S Approach,’ which stands for Story, Implementation, Manifestation Process, and Show and Tell.

The S.I.M.S Approach is unique because it can be applied to nearly every person in almost every situation. It makes people see who they are more clearly and realize how their past continues to affect their present. By going through the process with Howell, clients better learn their impact on those around them and how to stop the cycle of passing their trauma on to others.

Howell knows that the work he encourages is far from easy, but he wanted to share his top three reasons why a life coach can help you reach your dreams in the coming year.

Explore Your Own Needs

Life is busy, and we often place our needs on the back burner to take care of children, work responsibilities, or caring for your extended family. But, to be the best you can be, you need to make sure that you’re taken care of as well.

Working with Howell means taking the time to address your own wants and needs. Doing this will leave you more refreshed and able to enjoy every day, enjoying success with your loved ones and a strong career.

For Howell, he realized that he had hidden the truth about his childhood from his wife out of shame and knew that, in order to break through the distance between them, he’d have to be honest. This meant putting his own needs first, no matter how painful dredging up those memories of pain, insecurity, and invalidation might be for him and his wife.

“In the end, being honest brought me to an equilibrium I didn’t realize was possible. Sharing the truth and analyzing it gave me perspective and brought my wife and me closer,” he shared.

Take Responsibility For Your Journey

“Many people believe that fate throws things at you, and they use that as an excuse to ‘go with the flow,” said Howell.

But, what’s more likely, is that it’s laziness and bad habits that are keeping you from your goals. Howell helps his clients to see that, break patterns, and make a plan for action.

“For me, the best thing about Truth Coaching is seeing our clients embrace their past, take responsibility for their journey, and be able to provide them with the tools they need to fully sort out their issues and be ready to take on the world,” said Howell. “The SIMS Approach is not the only path to truth, but it is uniquely effective and comes with proven results and many satisfied customers.”

Get Excited For What’s Next

Truth coaching is similar to filling a toolbox with the items you need to create a great future. It involved goal setting, planning, identifying issues, and transforming yourself. Many of Howell’s past clients claim that working with the Truth Coach opened doors to self-empowerment that they never knew existed.

“As long as each circumstance is treated with the same openness and honesty by the client and the Truth Coach, then there is no limit to how far we can take them,” said the inspiring coach.

About Randy G. Howell Jr.

Randy G. Howell Jr. is a life coach, mentor and public speaker. He is the founder of the House of Howell and creator of the signature ‘S.I.M.S. Approach’, which helps individuals in their personal and professional lives, via exclusive online coaching and mentoring sessions. He is the author of the recently released book, Truth of the Matter. For more information about Coach Randy and his online coaching sessions, please visit www.truthcoachrandy.com

When Joe Ochal founded The Chimney Scientists he was already backed with experience, as well as chimney industry and hearth certifications. The end result is what ‘The City of Brotherly Love’ gets today, a company which incorporates science and chemistry, while utilizing technology, to maintain, install, and clean fireplaces and chimneys for customers.

The Chimney Scientists is a full-service chimney and fireplace company, one which provides inspections, repairs and cleanings. Located in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and serving most of the greater Philadelphia area, the company also sells, installs and maintains high-quality and environmentally-friendly fireplace enhancements, like gas inserts and wood stoves.

The company remains dedicated to the industry, its employees and in utilizing cutting-edge methods, generating detailed reports and making economically thoughtful decisions for its customers. Additionally, it offers the best warranties available.

The Chimney Scientists stand on a series of values and morals, backed by a group of hardworking and passionate individuals, all of whom provide Philadelphia with superior customer service. Additionally, Ochal and Co. also educate customers along the entire process so as not to leave any confusion.

“We have aspirations of eventually stretching from the East Coast to the West, but Philadelphia is our home and we are proud to be here,” said Ochal. “We will continue to lead in sustainability and environmentally-friendly chimney and fireplace efforts and see where it takes us.”

The Science, Cameras, and Drones

Ochal and Co. utilize special technology and tools, including cameras and drones to inspect chimneys. The methods help the team figure out what needs to be repaired as well as make any suggestions as to how to make customer fireplaces and chimneys safer and more efficient.

The scientific methods and friendly service, as well as a comprehensive evaluation and consultation, that The Chimney Scientists provide makes for a sound peace of mind for customers. Additionally, their eco-friendly practices make families feel safe and secure.

Specializations and Setting the Industry Standard

The Chimney Scientists pride themselves on seeing all of their high-performing projects through, always being on time, and treating customer homes with care and respect, but they also specialize in ceramic restoration services too!

In fact, the company performs ceramic restoration for joint repair. The goal is to help the customer realize a truly safe home with affordable pricing.

What Makes Ceramic Restoration Important

These systems are specifically designed to correct misaligned liners, mortar joints and fractures. These deformities in chimneys can be quite dangerous and create openings that may allow carbon monoxide and heat to trickle out. All the while, they also can result in the build-up of flammable creosote, which are flammable, and could potentially damage a home.

How Ceramic Restoration Works

The company uses a certified, ceramic restoration and mortar joint repair system. The team utilizes a vibration unit, which evokes maximum penetration of mortar joints and fractures that may be too tight. This helps in providing a new and consistent coat distribution. Chimneys without vibration units will see ceramics unable to penetrate the openings and that could spell long-term issues for the homeowner.

“People need ceramic restorations inside their chimneys because it corrects it if there is a hole inside where the fire can escape, into the chimney cavity and eventually the drywall area of the home,” said Ochal. “We use a combination of Thermocrete, Heatshield and FireGuard, which is why we always inspect the flue lining.”

Why Choose Ceramic Restoration

The ceramic restoration system can actually be installed in any size, which accommodates homeowners. It not only costs less than relining the chimney, but also ensures that the structure will continue to perform well while not affecting the appliance, whatsoever. Whatsmore, the entire process typically takes less than 24 hours to complete, alleviating customers of the hassle.

“It makes for a really good option as it’s more affordable and less invasive,” he said. “It ultimately holds up well and carries a great warranty too. We offer a larger arsenal of products than any other company in Philadelphia.”

Passion, Service and Safety

The Chimney Scientists work closely in partnership with industry leaders, but have taken the reins when it comes to improving the industry among wood burning and moisture testing too. Ochal’s mission is to help the industry reduce particulate matter and emissions to help benefit human and animal health, but also make Earth cleaner, not to mention bring costs of cleanings and repairs significantly down for homeowners.

Remaining dedicated to the industry and its customers, The Chimney Scientists only allow for 3-4 inspections on a daily basis, so that they have the optimal time to spend with their customers and answer any questions they have, ensuring every detail regarding safe combustion is covered.

“Our company is customer-oriented and we are ardently working to help reduce emissions and enable our clients to eventually become more climate friendly,” said Ochal.

About Joe Ochal and The Chimney Scientists

Joe Ochal is the Founder of The Chimney Scientists, serving the Philadelphia area. The Chimney Scientists is a full-service chimney and fireplace company that provides chimney and fireplace repairs, inspections, and cleanings, as well as historical restorations. To find out more about chimney repairs, please visit https://chimneyscientists.com/

Throughout much of the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida’s housing market was booming. The Property Advocates points out that home prices throughout the state increased 58% from the pandemic’s start in March 2020 through September of this year, according to data from TD Economics.

That being said, the state’s housing market began its downturn at the start of 2022, with TD Economics reporting year-to-date sales dropping 25% and price growth dropping as well.

Still, Florida’s housing bubble hadn’t burst yet. That is until Hurricane Ian made landfall toward the end of September.

Did the massively damaging storm officially put an end to Florida’s housing boom? Many signs are saying that it did.

Record Number of Insurance Claims

Hurricane Ian is projected to be the most expensive storm to affect Florida in terms of the amount of insurance damage that will be paid out. Already, $207 million has been dispersed to claims. Now, many experts believe the insurance industry in the state may be on the brink of collapse.

It wasn’t an issue that started with Hurricane Ian, but rather started 30 years ago when Hurricane Andrew hit in August 1992. Following the storm, some insurance companies in the state went bankrupt, and others pulled out of Florida altogether because they deemed it to be too risky.

What started 30 years ago is now having a real trickle-down effect on Florida’s housing market, as Hurricane Ian dealt the industry another massive blow.

Insurance’s Tie to the Housing Market

Florida law does not require homeowners to carry insurance on their property. However, homeowners who carry a mortgage on their home are usually required by their lender to purchase insurance. Even those people who have paid off their homes in full typically carry insurance on their property in Florida since it’s likely their biggest asset and because the state sustains damage from storms relatively often.

The insurance industry, as a result, has a direct tie-in with the housing market in Florida. If more insurance companies go bankrupt or pull out of the state following Hurricane Ian, premiums could significantly increase as options decrease.

With so much risk in the state, Florida insurance companies are often forced to get reinsurance, which is insurance for insurance companies. This practice occurs throughout the country but is common in Florida as a way to keep claims more affordable.

If these reinsurance companies pull out of Florida, though, things could get even worse. There’s evidence that these companies are considering pulling out of Florida, as they’ve recently reduced their coverage by about half to Florida insurers.

If this happens, Florida homeowners could be forced to rely more on public insurance, which could be expensive and provide significantly less coverage than they’re used to.

What Happens Next?

The Property Advocates explains that as there are signs that the insurance industry is collapsing in Florida, the state’s housing boom is starting to burst.

With insurers and reinsurers pulling out of Florida, taxes in the state will likely rise. In addition, this could result in it becoming harder for people to get adequate homeowners insurance that would cover them in the event of damage.

Ultimately, this could lead to fewer people being interested in owning a home and current homeowners selling in favor of renting — or leaving the state altogether. This could lead to fewer new homes being built, dealing losses to the construction industry. As all of this happens, property taxes increase, and tourism drops.

It’s why the insurance industry is vital in the continued health of the Florida real estate market and why Hurricane Ian likely dealt a massive blow to the state’s housing bubble.

About The Property Advocates

The Property Advocates, P.A. is a full-service Florida insurance law firm specializing in property insurance claims. With offices in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa, The Property Advocates team consists of nearly 25 experienced attorneys with decades of combined experience who are compassionate, knowledgeable, and not afraid to go to trial for their clients. They have a successful track record of resolving complicated property insurance claims and getting their clients the fair compensation they deserve.