Business Knowledge

Why We Have So Many Problem People At Work

2009-03-03T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Rick Weaver

Each day when I walked through the front door, I immediately looked to see where Yvonne was. As soon as I made eye contact I would shout out, "Good morning, Yvonne!" Then I would quickly run in the opposite direction.

Yvonne was the type of employee that co-workers would ask, "what time are you going to lunch?" just so they could request a different lunch hour. Nobody from her department wanted to be around her. Even employees from other departments would clear the way when Yvonne was in the area.

Yvonne's reputation was kept a secret from me when I first took over as the new manager of the discount store outside of Cleveland. The secret did not take long to reveal itself. With every project our department took, Yvonne would offer a countering opinion as to how it should be done or as to why whatever was suggested would end in failure. She constantly criticized others, expressed disgust, and would do what she wanted regardless of company vision or team needs.

Her bitterness and anger grew during the first few months I was at the store, eventually leading to the point she began calling our regional office to let them know how poorly the store was being managed. The Regional Human Resources Manager would listen to her at first, but by the fourth or fifth call he could take no more. One day, after talking with Yvonne, he immediately called Greg, the District Manager, with the message that he was never to hear from Yvonne again. He added that Greg could not fire her or seek retribution in any way.

The new Yvonne

When Greg arrived at my store, he had a brief fact-finding discussion with me before calling Yvonne into the office. I am not sure what happened in their discussion, but the two people that entered the office were not the same two people that emerged from the office an hour later. Greg appeared with the demeanor of one who had discovered a hidden talent. The old Yvonne never came out of the office.

Yes, you read it correctly the old Yvonne never came out of the office! Instead, a new employee had taken over Yvonne's body. This new employee would reveal herself over the next weeks and months to be the person that could be counted on to encourage others. People started asking Yvonne which lunch hour she was taking, then they would ask for the same lunch period so they could join her.

Each morning when I walked through the front door, I immediately looked to see where Yvonne was. As soon as I made eye contact I would shout out, "Good morning, Yvonne!" Then I would quickly run to her and ask how her day was going.

Lessons from Yvonne

Yvonne had transformed from the person everybody ran FROM to the person that everybody would run TO! The immediacy of the transition was amazing. How did it happen that an employee had undergone a 180o change overnight?

Greg discovered that several years prior, Yvonne had been told she could someday become the department manager if she worked hard enough and proved herself. She fulfilled her part by becoming a very hard worker, but the current manager had no plans to retire or transfer. Yvonne set her sites on new stores opening in the area, but she was never approached to manage one. Her demeanor slowly began to change. She needed a new strategy. She decided to prove herself by showing she knew better than anyone else how to do things. This led to her bitterness and rage. It was not until the "transformation" interview with Greg that she was told management requirements had changed. She was no longer eligible for a manager's position because she did not meet the new requirements.

Why do we have so many problem employees?

Problem people can only survive in a culture where manipulators, liars, oddballs, and others are permitted to exist. In virtually all these corporate cultures the problem people are not only tolerated, they are actually rewarded for their difficult behaviors. With Yvonne, we had created her problem performance by giving her a promise only to silently renege. We had created a "Dissenter", someone who dissents in every decision because they want to prove they have better ideas or protect themselves should an idea not work. Even if the idea they dissented works, they can claim it only worked because their dissention surfaced shortcomings in the idea.

In retrospect, we realized we had actually been fueling Yvonne's behavior by rewarding her for it. When there was an unpopular task that had to be done, we would bypass Yvonne because we did not want the confrontation. If she reported late or took a long break, we said nothing because we did not want the confrontation. If she decided she wanted a vacation when we were already shorthanded or busy, she got it because it was not worth fighting about. Yet when it was time for raises, she got the same raise as the people that were working smarter, harder, and faster. I have witnessed this same type of treatment of problem employees at company after company.

Why terminating problem employees does not work

Some think the most effective way to deal with a problem employee is to follow the process required to terminate them. However, this method has a high failure rate and is very costly. Here are just some of the reasons:

Root causes are not eliminated. When we take the approach of eliminating the employee we are only addressing cultural symptoms or compensating for poor leadership skills. The culture that allowed the employee to be a problem must also be examined and corrected. Failure to do so will breed more problem employees.

The expense is staggering. Turnover of any employee is very costly. The Missouri Employment Development Center estimates that at minimum wage, it costs $3,750 to replace an existing employee. When working with higher paid employees, the costs go up dramatically. Bliss and Associates estimates the actual cost of replacing a worker is 150% to 200% of their annual salary.

Morale deflates. During the period required to document the problem behavior, the difficult employee has the power to enlist sympathetic coworkers to their cause. This results in immeasurable lost productivity.

Inadequate new employee selection. Many times an organization thinks that by replacing an underperforming employee that will solve their human resources shortcomings. The company will bring in two or three candidates and use a multi-step interview process to select the best one. Unfortunately, the interviewers will overlook the candidate's inferiorities, concentrating on the deficiencies of the terminated employee. For example: let's say we terminated an employee for excessive absenteeism. When the new candidates are interviewed, screeners will subconsciously place too much emphasis on the candidate's past attendance records, missing other aspects such as integrity, work ethic, and reliability. Those character traits cannot be determined conversationally, they can only be identified using scientifically developed and validated assessments.

Five Basic Rules for "Fixing" Problem Employees

The good news is that problem employees can be "fixed". Here are five simple rules for "fixing" problem employees.

Employees will not change, but they will grasp a new vision. Although Yvonne's transformation was extremely dramatic, it is unusual. Yet it proves that true change is possible once we realize it isn't about changing an employee it is about understanding an employee. Yvonne was not "fixed" until Greg helped her capture a vision of a better working relationship.

Everybody wants to do a great job. People want to look in the mirror at night and be able to say, "I was a success today!" They want their friends and relatives to be proud of them and their success. The problem is many people have been disillusioned by life's experiences. The successful manager needs to identify the employee's motivators in order to return them to the attitude of daily success.

Everybody is loved by somebody. No matter how difficult it is to deal with problem employees, it still needs to be done. The secret lies in realizing that everybody has a lovable quality. Identify this quality, or cultivate a desire to seek it, and you will do well in helping the problem employee.

Well-defined boundaries prevent wars. Just as well-defined national borders prevent wars, well-defined workplace boundaries slow the development of problem employees. Non-negotiable boundaries need to be clearly set and fairly enforced, problem employees can be contained.

The Lone Ranger never rode alone. Tonto was the Lone Ranger's faithful companion, ready to help the other in time of need. The effective manager needs to recognize that sometimes they need to have a "Tonto" at their side. Virtually all great leaders have sought out a coach or mentor.

Lesson learned

A couple of years after I left the store, it was discovered that Yvonne had cancer. Unlike the cancer of problem behavior, this cancer could not be addressed through conversation and understanding. Her health caused her to retire and leave the wealth of friends she had made. Her retirement party was a special event as customers, co-workers in her department, and others from other departments came together to wish her well.

Memories of the "old" Yvonne had long since vanished, buried by her positive attitude, willingness to help others, and genuine concern for helping others. Yvonne, once a problem employee, had become the department's biggest asset.

In my career I have met many people like Yvonne. Each one could be "fixed". It is only a matter of wanting to "fix" them more than wanting to replace them. It requires the ability to see beyond the present behavior into the heart of a human being.

Rick Weaver is President of Max Impact, a national leadership and organization development company based in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Rick is an accomplished business executive with experience in retail, market analysis, supply chain and project management, team building, and process improvement. He has worked with hundreds of companies to improve sales, processes, and bottom-line results. MaxImpact offers leadership and organizational development services along with employee assessments and background checks. Contact Rick at 248-802-6138 or via email, rick@getmaximpact.com. MaxImpact is on the web at http://www.getmaximpact.com.

Medical Billing Gu0 Record Fields 31 Through 37

2009-03-02T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Michael Russell

In our previous installment of medical billing, focusing on electronic transmission of claims and the GU0 record, we began our journey into the fields of the GU0 record that need a road map, a degree in advanced mapping and a lot of patience just to understand. In this installment, we pick up our review of the GU0 record with field number 31.

GU0 field 31, position 117, is Reply ALN L01 N06. This is the response to the sixth question on any DMERC certification requiring a one position response. The forms supported are 01, 02, 04 and 07 for responses Y, N or D. For form 10, the valid response is either Y or N. Forms 03 and 09 are reserved for future use. The valid responses for form 06 are 1, 2 or 3. These forms also cover generic CMNs, motorized wheelchairs, manual wheelchairs and osteogenesis stimulators.

GU0 field 32, position 118, is Reply ALN L01 N07. This is the response to the seventh question on any DMERC certification requiring a one position response. The forms supported are 01, 02, 06 and 07 for responses Y, N or D. Forms 03 and 10 are reserved for future use. These forms cover all generic CMNs.

GU0 field 33, position 119, is Reply ALN L01 N08. This is the response to the eighth question on any DMERC certification requiring a one position response. The forms supported are 07 for responses Y, N or D, 06 for responses 2 and 4, 10 for responses 1, 2 or 3 and 01 and 03 are reserved for future use. These forms cover all generic CMNs.

GU0 field 34, position 120, is Reply ALN L01 N09. This is the response to the ninth question on any DMERC certification requiring a one position response. The forms supported are 10 for responses Y, N or D, with 01, 03 and 07 all reserved for future use. This field is only for form 10.02 question 14.

GU0 field 35, position 121, is Reply ALN L01 N10. This is the response to the tenth question on any DMERC certification requiring a one position response. All of the DMERC forms for this field are reserved for future use, meaning at this present time, this field is not used.

GU0 field 36, position 122, is Reply ALN L01 N11. This is the response to the eleventh question on any DMERC certification requiring a one position response. The form supported is 01 for responses Y, N or D. Forms 03 and 07 are reserved for future use. This field covers all generic CMNs.

GU0 field 37, position 123, is Reply ALN L01 N12. This is the response to the twelfth question on any DMERC certification requiring a one position response. The forms supported are 01, 03 and 07 for responses Y, N or D. This field covers all generic CMNs.

In our next installment of medical billing and the electronic transmission of claims using NSF 3.01 specifications, we'll be continuing with our review of the GU0 record, picking up with field number 38.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Medical Billing

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

2009-03-01T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jennifer Stewart

A few years back, there was a musical and then a movie called, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." It was, of course, fiction, because to succeed in business, or anything else for that matter, you do have to try.

You have to try, you have to plan and you have to work. But when you're doing it for yourself, it's more like fun than work. Ask anyone who has built a successful business and you'll hear the same response, "I do it because I love it!" The money, the prestige, the material trappings are bonuses.

All the experts agree that to succeed on the Web there are three key areas you have to address:

A PRODUCT

You need a product that people want, that people need and that exceeds their expectations.

A SITE

You need a site that tells customers what they want to hear, not what you want them to know.

TARGETED TRAFFIC

You need to attract those visitors who want your product.

Let's take a quick look to see how you can develop (or acquire) a product that meets the needs of a significant market; build a site that helps visitors decide they must have your product and then attract hordes of potential customers who are begging you to take their money!

WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT?

Surveys of online behaviour have consistently shown that the ten most popular activities on the Web are (in order):

* searching for information on the search engines
* reading news and sport
* finding work
* learning something new
* downloading software
* finding out about travel
* chatting
* investing and making money
* playing games
* shopping

These same surveys have also revealed that the most bought products are hardware and software, books and magazines, travel, music, and investment choices (i.e. advice and information).

When asked why they shopped online, customers cited the following:

* convenience
* no pressure from sales representatives
* quick
* ease of access to information
* availability of reviews of products and recommendations.

HOW DOES THIS HELP?

Armed with this knowledge, you can now look for a product that you know people want ... and what do they want more than anything else?

Information!

People want to find out how to build a website, a boat, a doll's house; they want to know how to make candles from beeswax, how to fix their lawn mower, how to buy a diamond. They're interested in knowing how to tell a fake piece of art from the real thing, what to look for when buying a used car and how far it is to the moon.

In other words, no matter what you know, you can guarantee that someone, somewhere would love to learn from you.

Information sells on the Web and there are some excellent books and programs that will help you unlock your knowledge and make it accessible to others.

WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL WEBSITE?

Look back at the five reasons why people buy online, then make sure your site offers each.

Convenience: that means your site must be easy to navigate -- most good programs have something similar to the Shared Borders feature in FrontPage to allow you to have the same nav bars on every page. Don't change the order of links, this just confuses your visitors and makes them angry.

If your visitors have arrived at your page from a link that promises them a free report on What to See in Kakadu National Park, make sure the report is there. Don't make them click on three more links to find it and don't make them search up and down your page to find the link -- use a bookmark to send them directly to the spot.

No Pressure: we all know how annoying it is to be pestered by an over-eager sales rep when we're still "just looking;" his/her counterpart on the Web is the pop-up window that demands we subscribe to a newsletter, download a trial program, visit another site etc etc.

Forms that require in-depth information about our income, address, occupation and so on also fall into this category. If you're offering a free report, newsletter subscription etc, all you need is an email address and possibly the person's name. Once you have these, you can build up a rapport over time and then request more details if absolutely necessary.

Quick: the great thing about shopping online is that you don't have to waste time travelling to the shops, finding a parking spot and standing in lines. It's a time saver.

So make sure your page loads quickly -- there are numerous articles which outline the do's and don'ts of web page design.

Ease of access to information: the Internet allows you to put up unlimited information about your product, so make sure you have enough to cater for all interest levels. Some would-be buyers just want to know how big and how much; others will want to know all the specifications; have this information available.

Put the basic details on the main page with links to the extra information (include photos, diagrams etc) whatever is appropriate for your particular product.

Include a Frequently Asked Questions page, where you can give answers to all those typical questions people ask and satisfy your customer's concerns immediately.

Reviews and recommendations: everyone feels more comfortable about buying something that's been recommended, so include a page of testimonials from real past customers (include full names, company names, location etc). You can include links to that past customer's website if you wish but don't include email addresses.

If your product has been reviewed by an independent person, include the comments because this adds a great deal of credibility to your product.

Have short extracts to each of these on your main page, with links to the full review or testimonial.

Building a site like this will help your business succeed; the third area involves attracting targeted buyers to your site once you've built it and one of the best ways to do this is through listing with the search engines.

Jennifer Stewart is a professional writer who offers copy writing, proof reading and editing services for businesses and individuals. She has undertaken a variety of assignments - writing articles for ezines and the print media; preparing award submissions for business clients; copy writing and proof reading works of non-fiction; editing web pages and ebooks, and much more. Get help with your writing here: http://www.write101.com and subscribe to FREE, weekly Writing Tips to improve your writing: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Keeping Your Balance

2009-02-28T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jane McLain

As an entrepreneur, you are the backbone of your business and the driving force behind it. If you want to achieve success - and actually get to enjoy it - you'll need to take care of yourself, both mentally and physically. Long hours, hard work, multi-tasking and having to "switch hats" constantly can take a lot out of you. Here are some suggestions for keeping your balance:

Safeguard your health. Do whatever you need to in order to stay healthy, physically and mentally. Go for a daily walk, join a gym, or take up yoga. Exercise is energizing and a great way to fight stress. Eat a healthy meal with the family instead of snacking at your desk. And whatever you do, get enough sleep. You can't do your best work while you're burning the midnight oil, anyway, so why not tackle it when you're rested?

Fend off burnout. Burnout is the result of ongoing stress from a variety of sources, and can leave you unmotivated and ineffective, not just in your role as an entrepreneur but in your personal life as well. Assess your own risk of burnout and the likely causes, given your own personality and the nature of your business. Take action right away to combat burnout if you notice the symptoms.

Fight isolation. Let's face it, working alone can get pretty lonely. To fight isolation you'll have to make an effort to stay connected to current friends and make new ones. Email and discussion groups will help you stay connected during your work hours, but connect with people offline as well. Technology is great, but there's nothing like face-to-face communication.

Be good to yourself. Do something nice for YOU each and every day. If you don't have a hobby, get one. Treat yourself to dinner and a movie or some other indulgence at the end of the week. Celebrate whenever you reach a goal or milestone.

Don't lose sight of your dream. What made you decide to start your own business in the first place? Remembering why you're in business will help you stay motivated, and keeping your long-term goals in mind will help you cope with temporary setbacks. Always keep your eyes on the prize.

Don't neglect your personal life. Running a business can be exciting, gratifying, and fulfilling in many ways, but no matter how mcuh we enjoy it, work can never meet all our needs. If you sold your business tomorrow and closed the doors, what would be left with? If the answer is "nothing", start working to change that today.

Know your limits. Don't set yourself up to fail by biting off more than you can chew to trying to go too far too fast. All of your resources - time, energy, money - are finite, so do what you can with what you have, but don't set out to achieve the impossible. And remember that no matter how hard you try, there are always factors beyond your control that will impact your success.

Take a break. Don't neglect to take time off and time out. Find time to do what you truly enjoy. Have your morning coffee at the local coffee shop. Run errands in the middle of the day. Meet a friend for lunch once a week. Give yourself vacation leave, and use the time to go somewhere.

Try a change of scenery. Get away from the computer once in awhile. Even if it's just going out to the garden to have your morning coffee, a change of scenery will do you good. Walk around the block, have lunch at the mall, or take your laptop to the park.

Leave the job at the office. One of the major frustrations of entrepreneurship is that your work is never really "done" and there's always something more you could be doing, but at some point you'll need to call it quits for the day. Make a commitment to leave the office at quitting time unless there's a bona fide emergency that just can't wait till the next day.

Jane McLain is a Web developer and SEO specialist and the webmaster of EClaunchsite.com, an online resource center for netrepreneurs with tools and information to help you plan, build, launch and grow your e-business.

4 Ways Tv Is Bad For Your Business

2009-02-27T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Carrie Lauth

Is TV hurting your business productivity?

I'd like to demonstrate that watching television can actually harm your efforts towards financial freedom.

1) TV watching encourages passivity

Watching TV requires less energy and initiative than any other activity. (Did you know that while watching television, your metabolism actually lowers to a level between resting and sleeping?)

It's obvious how this tendency towards passivity and dependence could be bad for your business. Being an entrepreneur requires creativity, initiative and a lot of hard work. The habit of watching TV works against those traits by making you lose the human struggle of doing nothing versus doing something. In a word, tv viewing encourages laziness.

2) TV makes you tired and depressed

Have you ever watched tv for two or three hours at a clip, only to get up from your couch in a fog, a haze, not really aware of why or how you had wasted the last few hours of your life? Did you feel tired or curiously wired? Depressed?

TV is stimulating to the nervous system but since you're physically and mentally inactive, it's all build up with no climax.

It takes a lot of energy to succeed in a business endeavor. If you're using TV "to relax", why not take a nap or get some exercise? They're both health-promoting activities that also relieve mental stress.

3) TV promotes a negative philosophy

Most of the content of television is negative and sarcastic. In order to succeed in business, you need a positive attitude. You need to believe that you can achieve your goals, that you have personal power.

You may be surprised to hear that a study of college freshman showed a link between a lot of tv viewing and a negative view of businesspeople.

It's not surprising that many success coaches in the network marketing and direct sales industries encourage new recruits to go on a "news fast" for the first 6 months of building their business. Certainly time can be better spent by working on the business, but it's more than that. Watching the news can give you a negative worldview. Is there ever anything positive reported on the news? Good news just doesn't sell.

During down periods, why not read inspirational books, or study marketing material in order to hone your sales skills?

I've noticed that everyone on tv is either independently wealthy or poor and struggling. The haves never go to work, just like they never eat or brush their teeth before kissing their perfect bedmates!

And the have-nots are stuck in a cycle of debt, despair, overwork and the inevitable family problems that result. Are these extremes something you want to spend a lot of time considering?

4) Television Sucks Up Valuable Time

The average American spend 4 hours a day watching television. You're probably exceptional and don't watch that much, but even still, there are many more productive things you could be doing in the time that you do watch. One way to save time is to get your news online. You can read the latest headlines and click on more information and spend only 15 minutes getting the day's news stories. Time spent watching tv is time you're not growing your business.

Why not take a moment to think about how TV may be impacting your financial future?

Carrie Lauth is the author of www.NaturalMomBusinessGuide.com, a step by step tutorial for women who want to start an online business. For more ideas on how to limit the impact of TV in your life, visit www.InsteadofTV.com

How Do You Want To Spend The Rest Of Your Life

2009-02-26T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Sue And Chuck DeFiore

Those who have the desire to work for themselves, or in effect run their own business, go through numerous stages.

There's the "Do I want to lose the security of my job" stage. So many people still think that their job is secure. Well -- newsflash -- no job is secure. You can be terminated at any time. So working for someone else only gives you a "false sense of security," no real security. The only real security you have for you and your family, if you have one, is what you do. Owning your own business is one way of creating a secure future, for yourself, and your family. This is the time to start thinking about running your own business, when you are working, not when you've been fired.

The next stage after a job is lost is "Should I look for another job or try to start my own business, and if I start my own business, what do I do". Again, it would have been better to start your business while working, so that you had time to build your business and then move out of your job into your own business. But, if you lose your job before that happens, you can try and start your own business. However, I would suggest having some kind of job, if only part-time, that you can put more hours in, if you have to.

The hardest part at this stage is the realization that no one but you cares about your job loss and your financial problems. People might say they are sorry, but life goes on. In fact, during this time, you often find out who your real friends are.

You need to take a long, critical look at yourself, decide where your strong and weak points are, what are your interests, and what type of business do you want to operate.

Some steps that might help are:

1. Get an idea - assess your skills, interests, and experience. Is something missing in your town? What products or services would make your life, and that of your friends', family's and neighbors' easier?

2. Assess your needs - How much money do you want to make? What type of work do you want to do? What type of lifestyle do you want?

3. Pick part-time or full-time. Do you have enough money to start full time? Could your business work part time, or would it require your full time presence?

4. Define your niche, the narrower the better. Write a brief mission statement that explains your niche. For example - co-operative lease purchasing for homeowners with expired listings.

5. Do market research to make sure there's a need for your service/product.

The next stage is "There's so much to learn and do." Yes, there is, if you do something you don't know about. However, why not start with something you are familiar with and interested in. If you don't, be prepared for a lot of learning and research. However, whether it is an area you are familiar with or new, education is crucial and ongoing. This is what successful business people do. "The day you stop learning, is the first day you start going out of business". You have to make a commitment. If you can't do this, then stay in that 9 to 5 rut. Harsh, I know, but true.

Think about where you want to be in a year, five years, or ten years from now. Were the choices you made the right ones? Don't be someone who says, twenty years from now, "If only I had". As Apollo said in Rocky III, "There is no tomorrow". However, this requires that you take responsibility for your situation, rather than blaming everyone and everything else, and keep hoping that "something will happen" or "things will change", they won't! You need to be the one who changes and accepts responsibility for yourself and your family. You want you and your family to be happy. Think of what is best for you and your family. With your own business, you are in control, not someone else.

To create this security and real worth, you have to do it yourself. You need to educate yourself. You have to take hold of an opportunity when it presents itself. You have to force yourself to change.

You need.. "The ability to focus on a dream...and the determination to make it real."

Real Estate is acknowledged as the World's Greatest Wealth Builder. It is a fact that more fortunes have been made through Real Estate investing then any other means. The truth is, you can do this in your spare time, part time or full time. You don't need a lot of money or good credit to accomplish your dream of a better life for you and your family. The Creative Real Estate niche of Lease Purchasing can allow you to live your Dreams. Don't short change yourself. Take charge of your life now! Make a commitment to earn additional income through real estate - The World's Greatest Wealth Builder.

The last stage is to start today - since there is no tomorrow on your path to success.

Good luck and Remember, Who Makes It Happen, You Do!

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com

Custom Injection Molding

2009-02-25T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ray Walker

What is Custom injection molding?
The first question that comes to mind on hearing the term Custom injection molding is what is Custom injection molding? Custom injection molding refers to the making of plastic parts for specific applications i.e. customizing the components as per the customer's requirements.

Injection molding of Custom Plastic Parts
Injection molding is a process in which plastic pellets are melted and injected under high pressure into a mold cavity. The molded parts are then ejected, and the process repeated. The finished products can then be used as is, or as a component of other products. To do so requires an injection molding machine and tooling (often called a mold or die). The molding machine consists of a clamping unit to open and close the mold automatically, and an injection unit to heat and inject the material into the closed mold. Injection molding utilizes very high pressures and typically the machine is hydraulic or, increasingly, electric. Tooling for production injection molding applications must be able to survive under high pressure and is made from steel or aluminum. The potential high cost of tooling often drives the economics of a plastic molding application. Injection molding is an effective way to make custom parts.

The process broken down
There are three main components in the injection molding process. The injection apparatus itself which melts and then transmits the plastic, the mold, which is custom designed, and clamping to provide controlled pressure. The mold is a specially designed tool with a base and one or more cavities that will eventually be filled with resin. The injection unit melts the plastic granules and then injects them into the mold by either a reciprocating screw or a ram injector. The reciprocating screw offers the ability to inject smaller amounts of resin in the total shots, which is better for producing smaller parts. After injection, the mold is cooled constantly until the resin reaches a temperature that allows it to solidify.

Complications with Injection Molding
Injection molding complications are few and can be easily avoided by paying close attention to the design of the mold, the process itself and caring for your equipment. Parts can be burned or scorched when the temperature is too high, which is sometimes caused by the length of the cycle time which may be too long. This causes the resin to overheat. Warping of parts happens when there is an uneven surface temperature for the molds. Surface imperfections (commonly known as bubbles) happen when the melt temperature is too high, which causes the resin to break down and produce gas. This can also be caused by moisture in the resin. Another complication is incomplete cavity filling, which occurs when there isn't enough resin released into the mold or if the injection speed is too slow, which results in the resin freezing.

Running a Custom Injection Molding Business
Custom molding business is a competitive business and to survive you should find your niche market. Most custom molders in business today have found a niche. Through experience, the molder became good at molding a particular type of part or at molding a particular kind of material, or in working in a specific segment of the marketplace. In other words, he acquired an expertise and stuck with it.

By Ray Walker
Injection Molding Information

Interview With Experts Part 2

2009-02-24T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gary Durkin

Following on the PART 1, where I outlined the basis and reasons for doing a project like this, here is a list of 12 questions which you could use when contacting the Experts. (you can change amend as you like to suit your project)

TWELVE QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEWING THE REAL EXPERTS

1. The Internet is jam-packed with Biz-Ops, Offers, Hype and Promises. MLM, Pyramid Selling, Get Rich Quick Schemes, Gifting Programs................. Each day thousands of new people go online to find ways of replacing or supplementing their income. What pointers / advice would you give to anyone who is considering this and the obvious pitfalls they can encounter?

2. One of the key ingredients to success, is Multiple Income Streams. Personally, I am a firm believer in this but often newbies AND NetVeterans alike make the assumption that by simply joining every available program, they can achieve a steady flow of multiple incomes, but in reality this hardly ever happens. Are you a supporter of the MIS method and how would you combine successfully different products, services and / or offerings into one main business? And WHY?

3. Often, figures are banded around that some 95% of people on the Net do not make money, or even lose money online. That figure is obviously difficult to prove accurately but there is still some element of truth behind it. I have helped many people to understand where the go wrong, but can you give your personal top 3 reasons why you believe such a high proportion of people fail?

4. Over the years, I have seen many people become disheartened by the lack of 'instant financial gratification', or in other words ' making big bucks overnight!' - that they assume will happen as soon as they go online. If we took the 'wake up and smell the coffee' approach - in your opinion how long should people (especially the inexperienced) expect to wait before they see some return of their investment, a steady flow of income and of course, their first million dollars?! And .....WHY?

5. I run three businesses, generating seven figures a year and personally earning six figures. But - it is hard work, very hard. The rewards are great and play-time is excellent! I constantly strive to work smarter NOT harder, by researching and learning (by successes AND failures!). There is I believe, a misconception that you can run an online business successfully, in a few hours (or less!) a week. Do you subscribe to this opinion? How much effort do you view as being optimal for developing, creating, growing and sustaining a successful Internet Business? And of course.....WHY?

6. Most, if not all the gurus, Big Dogs, and Top Marketers tend to agree, that the real money is in the backend. In other words, true profit comes from follow-up sales to existing customers or to your opt-in list subscribers. Again, I totally agree. However, one of the biggest problems facing many online businesses (especially the new starters) is actually getting customers, and building an opt-in list. This all boils down to one thing - TRAFFIC. No traffic, No Prospects, No Customers, No Sales, No Back-end. No Profit.

Can you give your top 5 traffic producing tips that would get a newbie off the ground, or even to enhance traffic to a site / business who is looking to grow?

7. Technology! There are so many products, systems and software packages available today, it is overwhelming to many. Often, people will buy every piece of software, all the systems and every product because they think they need it to succeed. However, that may not be the case. Do you think a business can be created and run successfully with just a few key elements? Which 5 'things' do you suggest that new entrepreneurs seriously need to consider to have a successful online business. (I would prefer generic recommendations rather than blatant plugs please!!)

8. Products. Every business must sell something. Either a product (physical or digital), a service, or even a concept / idea. There is a camp which recommends creating your own products, and another which suggests selling someone else's. What are your feelings on this, what advice can you give and what problems may be encountered which could be avoided with guidance?

9. Marketing. This is the Big One! I have over ten years of success in international sales, I have done (and still do) research and study marketing techniques, ideas and methods. I have bought and read thousands of dollars worth of eBooks, Books, Courses and Training Materials - by some (if not all) of the worlds most successful netpreneurs and marketing experts. I do this because it is something I love to do, I compare and contrast various concepts - then adopt and adapt to my needs. But, this takes a great deal of time and money, and not everyone can do this. So for those who do not have the time or money to do this, what are your Top Five Tips for effective and efficient marketing?

10. Affiliate / Associate Programs. Many recommend getting involved in these as a doorway to selling products, others suggest creating your own products or service then starting your own Affiliate / Associate program. Some programs pay as little as 5% commission, others pay up to 50% commission or more. Some charge a fee to join up, others are free. Are Affiliate Programs / Associate Programs a good idea? Are they worth joining or even creating your own? What tips, pointers, guidance and advice do you have on this subject?

11. I would bet good money on this, but I strongly believe that you have made mistakes in business over the years.....I know I have! But of course, you have also had successes. Can you list for me the top three mistakes you have had - and how you learned from them, plus your biggest three successes in business......and how you learned from these too, and how the readers can learn from your success and failure?

12. So........where do we go from here? What is the future of the internet? How can eBusiness develop? What is YOUR vision of things to come? If YOU controlled the WWW - what would YOU do? If you had to advise people on what to expect in the future, what would you tell them?

13. BONUS Question! Your chance to add anything else you want!

That's it! Part 1 and Part 2 together, put it into action, follow up, follow though, and create you own product, with help from the experts!

Good luck.

***************************************
Copyright © 2004 Gary Durkin
All rights reserved worldwide.

Gary Durkin is the owner of http://www.247-Profit.com http://www.247-Traffic.com as well as other successful online businesses.

And the creator of the Serling Combination® package.

Gary has enjoyed more than a decade of international business success, And been doing business online for over 5 years.

You are free to distribute this article, providing it remains unchanged and with this box attached
********************************************************

Starting Your Reseller Rights Business Part 2

2009-02-23T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Edmund Loh

(Continued from Starting Your Reseller Rights Business Part 1)

In this series, I am going to assume that you have already picked a high-quality product with resell rights that you can customize for back-end profits. This simply means purchasing the product yourself first. You will then work your business plan to cover your initial investment and later profit from it.

Setting Up Your Business
========================
The moment you get your hands on the product, what do you do? Read it! Use it!

Remember I said that they are called products and not parcels? Sure, you do, if you have been reading my series up until now.

If you have not done this just yet, get yourself a website and make it your channel to your sales letter. After you are done with that, you need to set up your sales letter and auto responder. Do not forget to set up your credit card payment processor or merchant account.

Here are some good ones:

[1] http://www.2checkout.com
[2] http://www.paypal.com
[3] http://www.stormpay.com
[4] http://www.clickbank.com

Since most of this article is about starting your resell rights business, I would not cover web hosting, auto responder and credit card processor in detail here. For more information, seek other relevant articles by other established Internet Entrepreneurs in http://ezinearticles.com (look under Internet-and-Businesses Online directory).

Since most of the job of selling the e-book and convincing your prospects is going to be done by your sales letter, you play your role very similar to a referrer or affiliate. Using ingenious concepts, you refer targeted prospects to your sales letter and if it is a good sales letter, it can produce a conversion rate of 2 to 4%.

Marketing Your Product
====================
With all the technical issues taken care of, your web site up and your product available for sale, you will need to promote your web site together with the product you are selling.

Here are some effective ways you can practice for good results in your sales and back-end profits:

[1] Create an Affiliate Income Opportunity you can open an income opportunity to people who are interested in making money without having to create a product of their own through affiliate programs and directories. So long as you provide them a hefty commission of 50% to 75%, they would not mind selling on your behalf.

[2] You can establish a Joint Venture with E-zine Publishers as long as you provide them a chance to earn a percentage of your sales, say. 50 75%.

[3] You can comb the Internet for quality prospects. Membership web site owners and webmasters of your niche product are good targets. Send them a personal e-mail and get them to be interested in reviewing your product via the sales letter.

They will purchase your product for their own use or resell it and keep all the profits to themselves. What you are looking for is someone with great marketing power. As long as you have created a good back-end profit in the product, you will earn residual income more effectively by leveraging on other people's marketing power.

This method is one of my favorites as most resellers actually do not bother to do the STP method See Ten People a day.

[4] You can create a free report or E-book for viral marketing purposes and circulate it in your network. This is yet my other favorite. In the report or E-book, you provide free but useful information on a subject having to do with the product you are selling. Just be sure that it is not really a cloaked sales letter altogether. This will in turn, lead targeted prospects to your sales letter thus increasing your chances of making sales.

[5] Write articles having to do with your web site product. While you are not to write cloaked sales letters and submit them to article directories, writing and giving free information to people who are searching for it gives you credibility as you prove your worth. Again, this can result in targeted leads to your website and sales letter through your web site link in your resource box.

[6] Announce and promote your product in your mailing list. The bigger and higher quality your subscriber list is, the more sales you can make.

While there are certainly more ways you can do to promote your website and drive targeted leads into your sales letter for good conversion rate of sales (let us not forget the back-end profits your product can also create!), most of these marketing plans can be followed easily with little to no cost on your part.

Be aware that the reseller business is pretty tough competition. You already win half the battle just by having the latest hot product to start with, more advantage if the product is not saturated yet.

There you have it what you need to start your very own resell rights business!

Being a reseller myself, you are free to ask me any questions on starting your own resell rights business.

Have a great time!

About the Author:

Edmund Loh is the author of the E-Biz Wiz Blog and Starting An Internet Business Special Report. Visit E-Biz Wiz Blog for proven ideas, tips and information on starting your own Internet Business and subscribe to the 12 Day Internet Marketing Success Course. http://ebizmodelsyoucancopy.blogspot.com

Work At Home Online With Your Silent Money Making Machine

2009-02-22T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Harrold Swalve

Some people claim that it is almost impossible these days to make lots of money when you work at home. They say that there are all sorts of scams online, but no decent work at home job to actually make a bit of extra income, or even better, a full time income which will make you leave your daytime job for good.

I sincerely hope that you know better..

I do hope that you still believe in the amazing and endless opportunities the internet offers, since believe me you certainly should. There are still more and more people joining the world wide web as we speak and the only thing they will do, not only now but probably till the end of time, is searching for information.

Wouldn't you love to be one of those people on the other end of the line providing that information, working at home being your own boss, starting every day with checking your bank statements just to notice that you've made another heap of money while you where sleeping.

What's that you say, I should stop dreaming??

I am really sorry if I offended you in any way or if you feel like I am not telling you the truth, but guess what, I don't work for a boss anymore. I actually am one of the many who have accomplished what I just stated before.

Not to worry, so can you. All you need to do to achieve personal freedom and independence is...

TAKE ACTION!!

With action I mean the following, be willing to invest some of the money you have earned working for a boss. Start of with buying some of the better Ebooks or tools which will give you a good understanding on how the online world actually works and how to make money online.

Remember that I mentioned before how everybody who is using the internet is looking for information and that providing this to them can make you a rich man. I can assure you that is not an understatement, as long as you do decent research on what information you need to sell, and how to reach your public most effectively, you could even become one of those new internet millionaires.

Once you have finished your research you are ready to set up your "Silent Money Making Machine"

Invest some more money to get a decent info product to offer to your visitors (either a software program or Ebook). You don't have to create this product yourself, hire somebody to set it all up. The sales page, the affiliate system, the info product itself, the search engine optimization, you can have all of this set up for you for less than a $1000,-

Probably the best $1000 ever spend since all you have to do know is advertise your product on the right locations, these should already be known to you through the previous research you have done.

That's how easy work at home could actually be, not that you don't have to work hard for it, obviously you need to do everything possible to position yourself in the market you chose for, but with an investment of a $1000,- a product price around the $50,- and a margin of $25,- when you run a affiliate program, you only have to sell 40 copies to brake even. All the rest is pure profit.

As Andrew Carnegie stated:

"Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!"

Harrold Swalve is a published author and successful online entrepreneur. For great work at home offers go to his awarded Work at Home Resource Center. To find answers on all your work at home questions visit his Work from Home Job Forum.

Cash Flow Solutions With Factoring

2009-02-21T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mark Little

Ideal Candidates for Accounts Receivable Factoring:

Any business that provides a product or service to other creditworthy businesses and is constrained by their day-to-day cash flow situation.

Does your business need:

Cash to Cover Payroll?
Working Capital to Fuel Growth?
Help with Cash Flow Problems?
Help because of Bank Turn Downs or refusal to extend current lines?
New Equipment to Grow?

What is factoring?

In a traditional factoring arrangement, a company actually sells its receivables to another company (a "factor") at a discount. After the sale, the receivables balances are carried on the factor's balance sheet since title has passed. Because the factor then owns the receivables, it generally provides all the required credit, collection and accounting services necessary to collect the receivables, including assumption of the ultimate loss exposure from the client debtor. The important difference between factoring and asset-based lending is ownership. In factoring, the receivables are purchased and owned by the factor. In asset-based lending arrangements, accounts receivable are pledged to the lender as security for the loan, but the borrower retains ownership and complete control of the receivables and the value of the receivables remains on the borrower's financial statement.

Keeping the cash flowing is a challenge for all businesses. Does your company face cash flow challenges because of slow paying customers? Have you been forced to decline new opportunities because of cash flow issues?

As every business owner knows, sales alone do not measure the profitability of a company. For example, sales may be increasing, but a company may have to wait weeks or even months for payment. During that time, your company cannot purchase materials for more orders, meet payroll, or other basic operating expenses. The solutions may be Accounts Receivable Funding provided through Diversified Funding Services, Inc. Accounts Receivable Factoring is quickly becoming a popular choice for its flexibility and rapid injection of needed capital.

Why Accounts Receivable Factoring is a Popular Choice in Today's Business World

Accounts Receivable Funding or "factoring" has been in existence for several decades. Today, virtually any-sized business that extends credit to other businesses for goods or services can enjoy the many benefits of Accounts Receivable Funding.

Simply stated, Account Receivable Factoring is the exchange of creditworthy commercial accounts receivable for an immediate injection of working capital. When an invoice is generated, it may be purchased with an advance of anywhere between 75 to 90% of the net invoice amount. When your customer pays the invoice, you will receive the reserve portion minus a nominal servicing fee.

Why Accounts Receivable Factoring Makes Financial Sense

Accounts Receivable Factoring offers many Advantages:

Initial funding is typically available between 5-7 business days upon receipt of completed formal agreements, and then all future advances are funded within 24 hours.
Accounts Receivable Funding does not create a financial liability on your company's balance sheet and generally no other collateral (outside of the receivables) is required.
The amount of funding available to you is only limited by the creditworthiness of your customers.
Accounts Receivable Factoring will focus on the creditworthiness of your clients instead of your financial history.
Accounts Receivable Factoring allows quick access to working capital, instead of waiting 30, 60 or 90 days to receive payment from your customers, money is immediately available on demand.

Accounts Receivable Factoring Programs have been "generally" designed with the following criteria in mind.

Your company must be providing a product or service to other credit worthy businesses
Your company must be selling on terms
Your company must be billing in arrears (no pre-billing)
Your company must have minimum monthly sales of at least $10,000 or annual sales of $120,000
Your company is not required to be in business for any length of time
Your company should have the capability to generate financial reports (A/R and A/P aging reports, etc.)
Your company may have current and/or historical losses or a deficit net worth position

Ideal Candidates

Start-ups
Companies suffering financial setbacks
Service Companies
Companies with seasonal orders
Mature companies seeking cash flow support
Companies seeking credit assistance
Businesses experiencing rapid growth
Non-bankable businesses

An example of the application process:

1. Complete the application
2. Provide your most recent and detailed accounts receivable aging report
3. Provide your most recent and detailed accounts payable aging report
4. Provide an actual sample invoice
5. Provide a copy of your Articles of Incorporation/d.b.a. filing
6. Provide a copy of your customer list
7. Some factoring companies require financial statements, others do not.

Preferred Industries

Service
Temporary Staffing
Security companies
Manufacturing
Transportation
Textile/Apparel
Computer Consulting
Distribution Companies
Printers
Sub-Contractors
All other Industries
Any company that provides a business to business product or service to another credit worthy business!

Thanks for reading!

Mark Little is President of Diversified Funding Services, Inc. He can be reached at 888-603-0055. His company website can be found by Clicking Here and the Company blog Click Here Free factoring quotes are available at his company website.

Bank Loans For The Nervous Entrepeneur

2009-02-20T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lee Lister

Meeting with your bank to ask for a loan for your business is always going to be a challenge even if you have a profitable business. Here's a few ideas for you.

It's important to remember that your loan manager is probably a kind human being who has to adhere to the bank's rules on lending. The basic ones are:

That you can repay the loan.

The loan is business based and for a reasonable reason.

That your business is viable and bona fida business.

Go to the meeting armed with:

Your business details such as licenses etc.

An outline of your business and how you see it expanding in the next few years.

If you are seeking a large amount of money or have a new business then you must have a business plan.

How much money you require and when you need it.

How you will spend it and on what items.

How your business will benefit, expand or profit from the loan.

What collateral you can offer the bank don't offer this until asked.

When and how you will repay the loan.

With respect to what you should not say try not to hide anything evasion is not a good reflection on your business acumen. If you are asked a difficult question then answer it as honestly as you can but by putting a good spin on it then you should come out sounding positive.

Lee Lister, writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites including her own sites http://www.BizGuru.us With over 20 year's management and business consultancy experience with businesses large and small as well as being a serial entrepreneur, she now helps others set up, develop and market their businesses. Also visit http://www.Clikks.com for some our informational products to help you run your new business. We'll market it from http://www.FindMeLinks.com

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Business On Purpose

2009-02-19T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Brad Swift

One of the mega trends of the 90s is home based small businesses. Millions are finding new levels of independence and freedom from being their own boss. Unfortunately, many new business owners also are finding that working for themselves isn't always as rewarding or fulfilling as it could be. Here's one proven technique for bringing more fun, focus and fulfillment to your work. By the way, it also works if you're employed by someone else.

Have your values and vision shape your business. All too often, entrepreneurs are pulled into a new business venture because of the promise or opportunity of large profits. Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with making money from your business. After all, most businesses are known as "for profit enterprises." I'm only suggesting that many people find having profit be the primary force shaping their business isn't as fun or fulfilling as having their values and vision shape their enterprise.

I realize this isn't new. It's been said dozens of different ways, including, "Do what you love and the money will follow." It dates back at least to the time of Confucius who said, "Choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life." But, it's worth repeating. As the new minister replied when his congregation asked why he was repeating the same sermon over and over, "Well, as soon as you start living this first message, we'll go on to the next one." Many people are still allowing the "almighty dollar" to shape their businesses, and then wondering why they aren't happy or satisfied with their work.

The secret to creating a business or career that is both nurturing to the soul as well as to the pocket book is, as theologian Frederick Buechner said, to find where "your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." There you will find a job, a career, a business, and a life worth living.

How do you go about finding that place? Start with a little reflection. The following simple process will get you started in "Priming the Passion Pump:"

1. What do you love to do? Look at times in your life when you were most alive, excited, in love with life. What were you doing during those moments? Who were you with? Ask people who know you when they've noticed you most alive and enthusiastic.

2. What kind of people do you love to be with? Answer this both specifically (as in the specific people you love to be with) and in general (as in the types of people you enjoy). What are some of the things you could do in your life that would give you the opportunity to spend more time with these people?

3. If money, time, energy and talent were unlimited, what would you do with your life and who would you be? (Notice if it's difficult to imagine any particular one of these being unlimited. If this happens, see if you can let go of that judgment).

4. What values are most important to you? It's important to distinguish between the values that you think you should feel are important, and the ones you choose of your own free will.

This will get you started on finding the "deep gladness" inside you that will bring much more fun, focus and fulfillment to any venture you take on, business or otherwise.

Dr. Brad Swift founded Life On Purpose Institute in 1996 with the vision of creating a World On Purpose by assisting people like yourself to clarify their life purpose & live true to it. Determine how on or off purpose your life is with the fun & insightful Self Test at: http://lifeonpurpose.com/_forms/self-test.php?source=ezart Inspire yourself with a fr.ee subscription to Purposeful Pondering Ezine: http://lifeonpurpose.com/index.php?dir=_ezines&task=view-ezines

The Lesson I Learned From Toilet Paper

2009-02-18T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Kristy Pass

For a long time, I always managed to use the last of the toilet paper on the roll and according to our house rule; this little event required me to put on a new roll. For years, this irritated me. In fact, I even wondered if my family plotted the event in some sort of twisted little game, finding irksome pleasure in my irritation. One day I decided to turn the tides on them. I was going to pull out the ultimate weapon. It was the one surefire way to win this family war of wits. I would win because I was going to pray.

As I prayed for the ability to be thankful for the job, little by little my thinking changed. My joy in the task grew greater and the frequency of roll changes grew less until one day I realized I hadn't changed the toilet paper in quite some time. What was most amazing was that no one had mentioned it either. There was not one angry, grumpy, irritated roll changer in the house. And from this, I learned a valuable lesson.

As humans, we spend a lot of time being discontented. Usually it is over something small and inconsequential like changing the toilet paper roll, having to do dishes or feeling there is a lack of anything enjoyable to do. Sometimes it's a bigger issue like money. We get caught in this trap of thinking of ourselves as poor and unblessed. In reality, what is wrong is not a lack of anything except the ability to stay focused on facts.

In a recent email, I read that if you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back and a roof over your head that you are more abundant than 75% of the world's population. I also learned that if you have any money in the bank, in your wallet and some spare change lost in the couch somewhere, you are in the top 8% of the worlds most wealthy. Even more interesting is that in reading this, you are very likely in one of the top 25 happiest places on earth, a country where you have access to medical care, education, entertainment and freedom. Those are facts that, if brought into one's belief system, can change a person's thinking very quickly. And that was the bottom line for me.

When I stopped being upset at having an extra task to do each day and changed the way I thought, I changed my role and amazingly enough, the roll got changed for me.

Kristy Pass is a marketing mentor dedicated to helping marketers achieve success with a step by step approach to business.

An Introduction To Labels

2009-02-17T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Eddie Tobey

A label is a tag attached with an adhesive, used for the purpose of identifying an object or its contents. Labels can come in several forms and can be distinguished by the kind of stock (base material) that they are printed upon, or by the adhesive that they use. The most common type of label is prepared with a paper stock and is colloquially called a sticker. Labels have several uses, from name tags to the identification of products.

The stock types include litho, which is a common base stock; latex, which is litho with added latex that allows it to be more flexible and convenient to use around curved objects; foil, which has the properties of a metal foil; and thermal, which has the ability to change color (generally black) upon heating. Also, there are various plastics including vinyl, acetate, and Mylar that allow for an array of features, like higher strength, transparency, flexibility, etc.

The adhesive types are either permanent, which cannot be removed without ripping the stocks or through the use of solvents; removable, which can be removed without tearing the base stock; semi-permanent, which takes a good 48-72 hours to properly stick, and can be removed and used again if placed incorrectly; and freezer permanent, which remains permanent even in freezing conditions.

Other types of labels include piggyback labels that are prepared by combining two layers of adhesive substrate. This is generally used in Express mail envelopes. Blockout labels are opaque, and cover interiors with an adhesive. Holographic stickers are used for protection against counterfeiting, as well as authentication. They are often used for credit cards, ID cards, CD/DVDs, etc. Radioactive labels are used for chemical elements, and facilitate the tracking of chemical compounds.

Brand stickers are attached to products for identification as coming from a particular company. They are distributed as part of advertising, promotional, and political campaigns. Bumper stickers are used to promote political and religious views and ideas.

Labels provides detailed information on Labels, Address Labels, Record Labels, Bar Code Label Printers and more. Labels is affiliated with Color Label Prints.

5 Musthave Techniques For Creating Unbelievably Productive Copy

2009-02-16T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Allyn Cutts

1. Get Specific

Nothing can spell out BORING quicker than bland claims that really say nothing. "My clients make more money!" is a perfect example of poor copy that could use a little life. What happens when you change it to, "My clients increased their sales by 23.5% in the first 30 days!" Now that is kicking! It's specific and exciting.

Be sure that your claims sound believable, no matter how unbelievable they are. People are skeptical of "too good to be true" claims. It's better to tone it down, and let them be surprised when it exceeds their expectation.

2. Keep It Short and Sweet

Long paragraphs and complex sentences look too much like work to read. Yeah, readers get bored quickly and easily. Chop it up, and break it up. Don't use paragraphs of more than 7 lines or sentences longer that 18 words. Find ways to shorten it up, and you'll keep the readers attention.

How many long words are in your copy? Replace them with short common words to create a reader-friendly appeal. Let your copy speak to them in the language they are used to hearing. Well, if your readers don't like to spend a lot of time reading... it pays to choose your words carefully.

3. Keep it Active

Eliminate dull passive phrases. They do little, except bore the heck out of your readers. Dig them out and replace them highly active words that will motivate the reader to get up out of his easy chair and DO something.

The call to action is the most important part of any advertisment. Call, subscribe, join, order, buy... make them hear the call loud enough that they do something - NOW.

4. Skip the Humor

In the right place, and at the right time, humor is an effective tool. Written sales copy just isn't it. Ads are short, concise and to the point. Humor tends to get in the way and distract.

Real life stories captivate readers. They relate to them. The human interest of these stories draws the reader into the message, whereas humor distracts them for the point.

5. Us A Powerful P.S.

A P.S. can be a powerful way to emphasize your product, highlight the points of benefit, or dramatize effects of the purchase. It's the perfect way to summarize your page.

The P.S. is most powerful on Web pages. Surfers often read the headlines and skim to the P.S. where they look to get an idea of what's on the page, and if it's worth their time to read it. Put some effort into making your P.S. captivating.

Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care? Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://www.AllynCutts.com and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Factors Which Affect The Overall Value Of A Business

2009-02-15T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Aaron Muller

Businesses are something which have a tendency to change hands now and again over the entire life of the business. Whether it is a merger or an outright sale, there are certain factors which will affect the overall value of a business that is put up for sale by its current owner. The following paragraphs will highlight some of these factors and explain why the overall value of business can be altered from time to time.

Delaying the Sale

Selling one's business is an extremely important decision for a business owner to make. The sale thereof is something which can either make or break the financial stability of an individual at times. A factor which tends to affect the overall value of a business is a delay with regard to deciding whether or not to sell the business. As there are times when the market would be most profitable for a business sales transaction, this time period can pass should an individual business owner wait too long to determine whether to sell or not.

Not only outside factors, such as the general market, will affect the sale of a business. Internal factors such as a decrease in sales, creditors and unrest amongst employees within the company may all affect the time period in which a business goes up for sale. With that said, it is important that individuals sell when the time is right for selling. Unreasonable delay in a sale of a business may have adverse effects on the overall value of the business.

Private Business Owners Lack the Resources

Another factor which affects the overall value of a business with regard to the sale thereof has a lot to do with the lack of resources that many business owners experience. Unlike their corporate counterparts, smaller business owners do not have attorneys, accountants and financial advisors at their beck and call who can aid them in the sale of their business. Due to the lack of these professionals, business owners tend to take longer selling their business and finding the best buyers which will affect the overall value of the business.

Lack of Appropriate Business Sale Knowledge

Much of the information which an individual can gain from outside media sources such as television, magazines and websites deals with selling larger companies. For those individuals who are looking to sell a smaller, privately owned business, they may find difficulty gaining valuable insight into how to sell their business so that it brings in the most profitable price. Not having the requisite business knowledge can hinder the overall value of one's business, as they do not know how to sell the business in a way which brings in the best price.

Future Profitability

A buyer in a business purchase transaction wants to know that the business which they are purchasing is one that will see future profits. It is not only important for the business to be seen as doing well at that particular moment in time, but it is also vital that the business will continue to do well in the future. Therefore, future profitability is something which will drive up the value of a business. After all, who really wants to purchase a business that will go downhill soon thereafter. The answer to that question is probably no one. If a current business owner can show factors which relate to future profitability of the business, then their business may be one that is portrayed as having good value.

Position the Company for Sale

A business that is going to achieve the best price and be seen as having the best overall value is one which is properly positioned for sale. There are many aspects which can adequately position a business for sale such as showing unique qualities that the company maintains, the value of its employees and the profitability of the company as a whole. The company must be prepared in a nice, attractive package in order to have the best positive value. A company which is under great management, sees good profits on the market and is a good purchase opportunity overall will yield the best selling price. Positioning the company for sale is best left up to professionals who are in the market of handling situations such as these.

Summary

To conclude, the previously mentioned items are certain factors which can affect the overall value of a business that is being sold. In order to ensure that a current business owner receives the best value for their company it is important to take certain steps to avoid sale delays, obtain the necessary resources to help the sales process along and retain the help of knowledgeable professionals in areas where they are needed. By taking the aforementioned steps, the current owner of the business will be better able to get the best possible selling price for their business.

Aaron Muller is a partner of KRBrokers. Visit our website for Seattle business opportunities. Established in 1984 and located in Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond. KR Business Brokers has helped thousands of business buyers and sellers achieve and realize their financial independence and business ownership dreams.

Gum Removal In Hotels

2009-02-14T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by J ONeal

Gum removal in hotels is one of the more important tasks set for hotel cleaning crews. This is because the presence of chewing gum pollution in hotels greatly detracts from the comfortable atmosphere of cleanliness and welcome that most hotels strive for. And, because chewing gum is so prevalent in our society, the fact of the matter is that gum removal in hotels will remain something that is very important.

Areas that need active gum removal in hotels:

Nearly every area of most hotels will require some sort of gum removal, as chewing gum soiling is common in all areas where people go. Indeed, gum is chewed quite often in order to freshen breath and even just to give the chewer something to do. Chewing gum removal in hotels is a very necessary part of a hotel cleaning job simply because people will always be bringing the gum into the hotels. Some hotels even have chewing gum machines that dispense the gum in their own hotels, thus continuing to perpetuate the problem.

Of course many of the hotel rooms need gum removal. Not only can gum get under the tables in the rooms, but it can also get in the carpets. This means that carpet cleaning of some sort is needed to get rid of the carpet stains caused by chewing gum. Other places where gum can get is in the bathroom, where it definitely needs to be cleaned up, and also even in the bed. This can be especially annoying if the gum gets into the sheets. Rather than simply washing out in the laundry, gum actually gets onto the other items in the load and can contaminate them, making a bigger mess and possibly ruining other sheets. Gum removal in hotels also involves looking very carefully to ensure that it is found and properly removed.

Another place that warrants gum removal in hotels is the lobby. Most lobbies are beautifully decorated, and the presence of gum can mar this decoration and cause people to feel disgust. If a patron has an encounter with gum, she or he may not return. This means that the hotel could lose money, all because of the presence of chewing gum.

In order to cost effectively remove chewing gum pollution, especially gum removal in hotels, a gum remover is needed that can get rid of the gum without causing a great deal of effort. One of these gum removal systems, one that costs a fraction and is as effective as commercial cleaning machines, is a product called Gum-Out.

Gum-Out, which has been on the market for 20 years, is a major contribution to cleaning technology. The Gum-Out release agent is applied by a special plastic injector, which breaks the bond between the gum wad and the surface in to which it is stuck. A simple trip to gum removal can help you find an easy way to keep a hotel gum-free. Each bottle of Gum-Out if used as directed will remove up to 125 lumps of chewing gum.

J O'Neal guides you through the chewing gum removal process. Learn the facts before you decide which gum removal product to buy. Discover more about cost effective chewing gum removal techniques at: gum removal

Wholesalers In A Nutshell Will They Deal With You

2009-02-13T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by William King

What is a wholesaler? In a nutshell, it is a company that buys (usually directly) from a manufacturer in large quantities at a discount, then pieces out the product into smaller quantities that are then sold for a higher price. The usual chain of product goes: Manufacturer > Wholesaler > Retailer > Customer.

Services provided by wholesalers involve both manufacturers and retailers. Producers, once the product is manufactured, begin incurring storage costs as well as logistical issues involved with keeping product onsite. Wholesalers usually pay transportation costs, as well as reducing costs involved with producer storage by removing manufactured product to a warehouser's own utilities, providing financial benefits as well. These costs incurred by a warehouser can be spread among many more products than a retailer or producer, thereby reducing the per-item cost to a retailer. A warehouser also takes the burden off the producer for possible detrimental stockpiling of goods, as the warehouser often has agreements to purchase certain quantities in exchange for reduced product costs, reassuring the manufacturer that there will be a market for certain production levels and allowing manufacture at the most efficient levels possible.

There are three different general classifications of wholesalers, defined by criteria such as whether the wholesaler is independently owned or owned by a producer, whether the wholesaler takes title to the products they handle, or lastly by range of services, the most relevant of which known as Merchant Wholesale will be the primary topic in this article.

"Merchant wholesalers take title [ownership] to product they deal in, assume risk and buy and resell products to other wholesalers, to retailers, or to other business customers" (Ferrell & Pride, 2003). This is further broken down into Full-service wholesalers and Limited-service wholesalers.

Full-service wholesalers include General-merchandise, Limited-line and Specialty-line classifications. General-merchandise wholesalers carry a wide variety of products, but do not specialize within product lines.

Limited-line carry fewer products, but with more specialization in the few product types they deal in. Grocery wholesalers fall under this category.

Specialty-line wholesalers deal in very few products but with high specialization in their chosen product line(s), such as only dealing in pharmaceuticals.

Full-service wholesalers provide the widest range of services, such as quantity breakdowns, financial assistance and credit, marketing services and product availability. Full-service wholesalers usually earn a higher profit margin than other wholesalers, but operating expenses are much higher as well.

Limited service wholesalers specialize in fewer functions than Full-service wholesalers, generally allowing the producer or the customer to provide most functions. These wholesalers include Cash-and-carry companies, Trucking companies, Drop-shippers or Mail-order firms. Limited service wholesalers take title to products but usually do not provide many of the services a Full-service wholesaler does, like marketing, retailer site selection or personnel training. Due to the limited nature of their services, they have lower operating costs but are also limited to lower profit margins as well.

Wholesalers, in order to keep their operating expenses down, often deal only with companies or with clients able to meet minimum orders, whether monetary or by item count. This can make things difficult on a small business or sole proprietorship looking to reduce cost-of-goods-sold. However, there are many wholesalers or wholesaler-like companies that cater to smaller-volume customers. This is where companies like Costco or Wal-mart's Sam's Club come in--as Costco and Sam's Club are not technically wholesalers, but direct-retailers with lower operating costs, buying in smaller bulk volumes from a company that uses this business plan is often a viable compromise between the lower rates but logistical issues of a standard wholesaler, and the lower profit margins of buying from a retailer, and may make all the difference to a small company operating on a shoestring.

About the Author

William King is the director of Wholesale-Pages UK: http://www.wholesalepages.co.uk and Wholesale-Canada:http://www.wholesale-canada.com. He has 18 years of experience in the trading industry and has been helping retailers, entrepreneurs and startups with their product sourcing and supply chain requirements.

Web Design Contract

2009-02-12T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott

I wrote an article on the Importance of a Client Contract. Now, I would like to offer to you the fruits of my labor, compiled from many sources.

These contracts have worked for me in the past - and I have several variations of each to fit a clients needs. I would also recommend that you take the time and money to have your lawyer review these contracts thoroughly.

About the Author
Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott owns and operates OneWay Advertising and Design. OneWay is a full-service Christian Advertising agency providing marketing, advertising and graphic design services for on and off the Internet. Email: info@onewayadv.com

Iso 9000 Faqs

2009-02-11T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Peter Emerson

ISO 9000 is a set of standards internationally accepted by businesses and consumers. It allows organizations to establish and monitor quality management systems. ISO 9000 standards are considered to be generic standards since they can apply to any business, product or service irrespective of the industry. They have been developed and are maintained by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

1. What is the ISO 9000 family?

The ISO 9000 family consists of three quality assurance and quality management standards, namely, ISO 9000: 2000, ISO 9001:2000, and ISO 9004:2000. The ISO 9000:2000 and ISO 9004:2000 present guidelines for performance improvement, while the ISO 9001:2000 presents requirements. These standards are implemented by individual businesses, corporations, and government organizations.

2. What are the benefits of ISO 9000?

Major benefits include increased marketability, reduced operational expenses, better management control, improved internal communication, reduction of product-liability risks, and improved customer service.

3. What are the main phases involved in obtaining ISO 9000 certification?

There are two major phases - documentation and certification. Documentation process is done in-house or by the help of an ISO 9000 consultant. Most businesses seek the services of an experienced consultant to create the quality system. An agency accredited in this regard does the certification. The certification process includes documentation review and compliance audit. Documentation review is done with or without visits to the organization. Compliance audit is generally conducted on the site.

4. Is a consultant must for implementing ISO 9000?

The manuals of standards and certification are written in such a way that most of us can hardly understand what they are saying. Only an experienced consultant can help you understand and effectively administer new and existing quality systems.

5. How much does it cost to become ISO 9000 certified?

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question. The cost depends on a lot of factors such as complexity of operations, number of locations of plants, willingness of owners, and type of standards to be implemented.

6. How long does it take to attain ISO 9000 certification?

Depending upon the commitment of the owner and/or managers, the time taken could be 3 months to a whole year. ISO certification is granted initially for a period of three years.

ISO 9000 provides detailed information on ISO 9000, ISO 9000 Standards, ISO 9000 Software, ISO 9000 Consulting and more. ISO 9000 is affiliated with Home Inspections.

Translation Companies Assessing The Situation

2009-02-10T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Fred Zacharias

Before you decide on hiring out someone for a translation project. Try to look from within your own pool of resources from your department or organization to see if there is anything that you can leverage. If you work for a large organization then chances are you have some untapped talent ready to be put into place for your translation project (and others too even).

If anything, these individuals can serve as ad hoc editors and reviewers of the final work of a translated project so that you have someone internally that you can trust to provide their insights.

Something you can do as a quick check is use a high end software package to put the final result in to be translated. This way you can at least see if the messages are intact, while not necessarily having to know what each word in the target language means. If you want a quick and dirty way to evaluate a translated work feel free to use a free translation service on the internet as a buffer check.

The internet makes it easy to also find live translation help, for a cost usually. Sometimes you can evaluate a service free of charge to see if the results turn up to anything like what you are looking for. If you want to full service after evaluating the trial, you can then select a package that makes sense to you at that time.

Viable english to hebrew translation guides and articles can be requested from my web page.

http://www.translationserviceguide.com

Internet Marketing Secrets Revealed

2009-02-09T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Eric Louviere

Internet Marketing Secrets

Most successful Internet Marketers know That the most important key ingredient to Making money online is having a tremendous Sales copy.

The words and graphics displayed on the front Page of the website entice the viewer to buy.

It is an art. It is swift marketing. The product itself could be low in true value or even garbage. Nonetheless, the sales copy promises the world And people buy it hook, line and sinker.

Marketers create a stellar sales copy for various Informational products, such as wedding dresses, Barbeque recipes, back pain, pets and so on.

The information is gathered for these products With a little research. Often times, marketers Hire a 'ghost writer' to write the Ebook for them.

They gather information from various sources, including Books from the local library or book store. Marketers Gather information from competing sites as well.

Its all put together and sold online. The sales copy Is the most focused portion of the business. Marketers Give their product away to other marketers for Testimonials that further increase the power of the sales Copy.

The sales copy promises the world in a swift double talk Strategic manner. It focuses on providing visuals, promises, Answers to problems, and teasing. It also pulls what we call A take away. If you do not get this product, you will be making A huge mistake in other words.

If you are looking into making some money online, the single most important strategy to learn and master is "Sales Copy"

Here are some basics to get you started in writing a stellar sales copy:

1. Capture them right off the bat in your header. Post big font in size 18 and be bold. Fortune comes to those who are bold! Perhaps be controversial.

2. You need to use testimonials spread out through out your sales page. Granted, this is taught all over Internet Marketing World. However, I use them only on occasion.

3. Confirm to your visitor that they are at the right place. Confirm that they have made a very good decision to view your site. Sell them on being a few steps away from what they really, really need.

4. Create a differential point. What is it that you have that nobody else has? What is your special ingredient? What secret do you possess? What twist did you figure out? What is your unique selling proposition? Why are you different and better?

5. Tease them. Talk about how great it will be when they have your product. Paint pictures in their minds of everything that will take place after they have purchased your product.

6. Write as you speak. Don't write like a robot or without any flair. You want to capture them and have them speaking back to you in a way as they read your page.

7. Offer "the rest of the story" or tools or bonuses or mini-courses. In-order to receive this, they must join your auto-responder.

8. Ask them questions. What if you or Would you Get them involved.

9. Express that your product is easy. Never sell that it is hard, takes a long time, requires many painful hours

10. Offer 100% guarantees. Take the risk out of buying your product. Persuade that it is a no brainer.

11. Take away the product. Express that it is painful not having it. By not buying this product, they will continue to be lost or have the wrong information. Create a little pain if they do not buy.

12. Summarize your product and offering while closing them.

13. Continue to close them. Get them saying yes. Use words like; isn't it, wouldn't it, shouldn't it. In fact close them all the way through your sales page.

14. Express to them that the only other options are not even close to your product. There is nowhere else on the planet to find these answers.

15. Create urgency. The price is only good for 24 hours. The price is going up. Get it now!

16. Close them and close them and close them again.

17. Capture them on the auto-responder so that you can continue to close them via emails.

All in all, sales copy will make or break your conversions and success online. I hope this has been useful. I offer continued secrets through my guru secret society newsletter.

Eric Louviere offers specific techniques to making money online. This article can be shared for free as long as the resource box and link remain with no change to the article. http://www.gurusecretsociety.com

A Guide To Candy Vending Machines

2009-02-08T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Max Bellamy

Candy vending machines are one of the most popular types of automatic merchandisers. Some examples of candy include Skittles, Snickers, and M&Ms.

You can buy all kinds of candy vending machines, small and large. You can get machines that offer six different options, or you can get gigantic kiosks with hundreds of options. The big ones often take the form of vending machine kiosks. They can look like sail boats, cable cars, or other novelty shapes and forms. Beaver Vending sells Black Dog Woodwork designs, such as Wazoo Toys and Candy Cable Car kiosks.

Most candy machines, however, take the form of small machines offering 32 to 40 different selections. You can double up the selections for more popular items, devoting two or more slots for one product, if you want.

Almost all candy vending machines are of the see-through or glass-front variety. That way, consumers can see exactly what size candy they are getting. This is not the case for most soda machines, because most people already know that a standard can is twelve ounces.

North American Vending is one company that specializes in candy machines (as well as gumball machines). If you want to choose from a wide variety of candy and gumball machines, check out NAV first.

If you are interested in buying a candy vending machine, make sure you have a set of possible locations in mind. Be sure to set the candy vending machine at an eye level that is appropriate to the location. If it is in or near a toy store for children, for example, set the machine at eye level of an average child. If the candy machine is in a train station, go for a more adult level. Never set the eye level higher than five or six feet, since children will always be your main customers.

Vending Machines Info provides detailed information about the vending machines business, focusing on candy, soda, snack, coffee, gumball, and dvd vending machines, as well as vending machines for sale. Vending Machines Info is affiliated with Business Plans by Growthink.

Market Research And Focus Groups

2009-02-07T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Jonathon Hardcastle

Market research plays two roles in the communication processes of any business system. First, it is part of the marketing intelligence feedback process. It provides decision makers with data on the effectiveness of the current employed techniques and provides insights for necessary changes. Second, market research is the primary tool for exploring new opportunities in the media marketplace. Segmenting, questioning and evaluating the targeted markets are the steps to acquire the necessary knowledge regarding the publics' preferences, tendencies and interests in relation, for example, to contemporary political news.

According to scholars, research can be viewed as playing three functional roles; descriptive, diagnostic, and predictive. Its descriptive function includes gathering and presenting statements of fact. The diagnostic function serves as the explanatory step in the process. Finally, the predictive function uses the researcher's descriptive and diagnostic research outcomes to predict the results of the proposed strategy under study.

As an applied research tool, the focus group research technique has to test a hypothesis on high-involvement decision making, or public information processing, understand the tendencies of the public and of course evaluate the tested hypothesis. Thus, before organizing and conducting a focus group, the first step for the moderator is to define the subject of research, formulate an understandable hypothesis, prepare the setting, and recruit the focus group participants. After these steps are completed, the moderator is ready to lead an in-depth discussion on the particular topic or concept. The goal of the focus group is to understand what people have to say and why. The emphasis is on getting participants talking at length and in detail about the subject at hand.

Unfortunately, some of the very strengths of such a focus group can also become disadvantages. For example, the immediacy and apparent understandability of focus group findings can mislead instead of inform. The small size of the participating group can also be misleading and not represent adequately the real public opinion on the issue, directing the moderator to accept simple findings as overall truths. As the focus group research is data-driven, with findings and conclusions being drawn directly from the information provided, the whole method can be characterized as inductive in its approach, minimizing the originality of the findings to a mere description of the public opinion based on the available facts. Finally, the premises where the focus group is conducted, the demographics of the participants, the moderator's thinking on the issue, the lack of adequate facts, or the behavior of some of the participants in the group discussion, can cause the focus group research results to be false and the whole process to be time consuming and cost-ineffective.

Concluding, a focus group by definition is an informal research procedure that develops qualitative information instead of hard data. More specifically, it can identify the range of attitudes/opinions of its participants. Such an insight can help the moderator formulate hypotheses and questions for a later quantitative survey.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Business, Alternative Health, and Gardening

Does Your Website Make The Grade

2009-02-06T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mal Keenan

If you aren't making money after sending any quantity of visitors at all to your website then you may be making simple mistakes that ARE costing you money and affiliate signups. I remember my own first marketing website it was like a night on the strip in Las Vegas, banners flashing all over the place hoping to attract prospective buyers and affiliates. Needless to say it didn't do too good and I moved on.

Today I own many different websites and domain names and they all try to follow simple rules that will ensure my visitors don't click off before the site content reaches their toolbar.

Here is a quick overview of how to structure a successful marketing site:

1)Clearly define what your website is about. Patience is a virtue but unfortunately it is not an attribute prevalent in 99% of online surfers and if they don't know the purpose of your site almost immediately, they will move on.

2)Focus on one or two services or products. A website going in too many different directions will leave your visitor feeling confused and more likely to click on to something less cluttered.

3) Include a follow up form AND let your prospect know exactly what is is for. Most people visiting online business websites are doing so for the first time and they are very untrustworthy, rightly so given the amount of scams that have been perpetrated online, so it is important that you tell them why you want their contact info.

Explain what they are going to get for providing their details and in what form it is going to come (ie You will receive an email course over 30 days etc. etc. etc.).

4) Provide your full contact info on your site preferably with your own photograph prominently displayed. Again this is down to trust, people need to know that there is a REAL person behind this website and the more you can convince them with your own details the more trusting they will be. More trust equals more sales.

5) If you are going to make statements about your business then it is much better to back them up with testimonials. With the testimonial, like with your own contact info, provide as many personal details as possible and for maximum effect provide a photo aswel. Look at the website above again to see how it's done.

6) Explain the compensation plan clearly. If you are running an affiliate program or are promoting one then you need to state how people will get paid in an easy to understand format. The main reason people are at your site is because they are looking for a way to create further income, you need to state in clear terms how and when this is going to happen.

There are people out there who will succeed at whatever venture they happen to come across but for us mere mortals it depends so much on the quality and layout of a company backed up with sound support and a duplicatable system that our financial success depends upon it.

If you don't want to fail then ensure that you do choose a program that follows the steps above when supplying you with a site to promote. Either that or build your own.

Mal Keenan is editor and publisher of Home Business Tips Newsletter: Legitimate Work at Home Jobs For a company that DOES provide support, easy to follow training and a duplicatable system join my team below: Free Work at Home Jobs

Consumer Democracy

2009-02-05T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Daniel Harrison

A reader suggested recently that some of my articles should be submitted to Digg, an online website where readers submit and vote for newsworthy and interesting pieces. The advice was flattering, and indeed it seems that some of what is said here is by all accounts of interest to a broad spectrum of readers, but more interesting still is the process by which Digg aims to achieve objectives of newsworthiness.

The website operates on the democratic principle that readers can pick and choose what submitted articles they want to read and whether they want to "digg" them, with the obvious result that those articles with the most number of "digs" receive front-page coverage and therefore exposure. For articles that readers deem uninteresting, instead of just not voting, readers have the option to choose "This is lame" if there are enough of these "lame-votes", the article is removed by supposedly light-handed moderators.

So far this all sounds like fairly intuitive democratic reasoning, and by all accounts there should be little complaint with the method, but there have been some considerable voices of opposition to the site's worthiness. The most recent attack was by one fairly high-profile writer named Charlie Demerjian, who published an article called "Digg.com is worthless as a democratic concept" in which he recounted an experience of having written a fair piece about gaming online to discover that it was overwhelmingly popular. Deciding to submit it to Digg.com, Demerjian unsurprisingly saw its popularity rocket and received more e-mails and comments, some in agreement and some in disagreement with what he had to say, but all fair.

When the young writer conducted a search on dig.com for his article several days later then he was surprised to find that it had been deleted. Querying the moderators of the website, he was told that the piece had also received ten "lame votes" and hence had been removed as this was the required number. Logically, he pointed out that despite an article receiving over one-thousand potential votes, it could be removed if only ten dissenters chirped in.

Consumer Democracy

Demerjian's rant is somewhat reminiscent of attacks launched at Prime Time shows such as "American Idol" and "The X Factor". The Spanish version, Operaccion Triumfo, recently received accusations by two investigative journalists that the final rounds were rigged in a currently banned expose.

On the occasions that there certainly was no unauthorised "editing" involved from producers however, viewers have complained at the lack of quality of the winners' albums, and this has reflected in the mostly poor record sales once they hit the stores. In large part this is why it costs so much to make a phone call to vote for the candidates because if revenues from shows where consumer democracy prevails were to be left up to end product sales most of these shows would display a net loss.

Demerjian summarises; "Luckily for humanity, the editing process has been left to professionals, or in our case, monkeys on crack. Regardless, they are professional monkeys on crack, and they show a good deal more common sense than the unwashed masses", and here he hits the point.

Although we like to think that we know exactly what we want, and that we are capable of choosing our preferred product, as inexperienced consumers we are in fact notoriously inefficient, which is why as a society we have traditionally always been happy to have "professionals" do the selection process for us.

If there is no natural editing process, an artificial one often has to be implemented in order to make the venture commercially viable. The reason Digg.com has the ridiculous rule of 10 vs. 1000 is that, were this not the case, consumers would leave popular articles on the front page for ridiculous amounts of time to the degree where they abandoned the site because it became "more of the same".

It all comes down to habit. The difference between consumers and professionals is that, whereas consumers are notoriously habitual in their behaviour, professional editors and producers are anything but in their eternal commitment to the "latest new thing", they perform the natural recycling process which would seem exhausting to us in practice but which makes us content to return to shows and stores.

As the current trend of "reality" aligns itself with democratic knowledge-sharing technological capabilities such as the internet, such artificial ways of replacing a natural editing process will have to become necessary, because, as the evidence shows, consumer democracies are fundamentally dysfunctional.

Product cycles are best left up to the chosen few, even if, as Demerjian points out, they do happen to come with a crack habit.

http://danielmarkharrison.blogs.com

How To Get More Friends On Myspace

2009-02-04T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Maryann Morrison

Myspace is probably the largest social network on the internet with over 107 million account sign ups to date. It is estimated that myspace now has over 15 million unique users. With its popularity rising and its members increasing, it is getting easier and easier to meet new people through myspace. Myspace also makes it much easier to stay in touch with friends that you would normally not keep in touch with because of distance and time barriers.

I am sure you know by now that there are plenty of myspace tools that can automatically add friends for you. They can also automatically post comments, message, post bulletins and much more.

You may even already have a myspace tool yourself. I believe that the myspace tool that i use is by far the best and I will tell you why.

As far as I know the tool I use is the only myspace tool that allows unlimited myspace accounts. What I mean by this is that they have a one time fee and then you may use it with as many myspace accounts as you please. Every other myspace tool makes you pay per myspace account. So if I wanted to use any other tool other than the tool I use for 3 accounts - I would have to pay for the myspace tool 3 times.

So you may be saying to yourself why would I want any more than one account? Because there is a trick you can use to bypass myspace's 500 friend request a day limit. To bypass this you would create other myspace accounts other than your main one. With these acounts you can send messages with a friend request link in it, but if they click that add friend link - it adds them to your main account friends list! That is why the myspace tool I use is so special. You can add as many friends a day as you want! You can learn more about this trick at the homepage(bottom of the page). They show a video that shows you exactly how to do it and they give you the code to do it.

One more thing about the myspace tool I use allowing unlimited myspace accounts that is powerful is that you can make a lot of money on myspace with it.

Whatever your reason is for building your friends list (to build a big list, to make friends, to meet new people or to make money) I wish you the best in your journey to success.

The author is an avid internet user. She is also an experienced internet marketer and has a big chunk of her success on myspace. To read a free article on making money on myspace go to http://www.melovemoney.com/myspace.html. This is a very informative article on making money on myspace and it also includes the myspace tool that I use.

Going Public Via Initial Or Direct Public Offering Role Of The Securities And Exchange Commission

2009-02-03T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joel Arberman

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the most well-known and feared governing body in the financial world. Its very name can be intimidating to a small company hoping to go public, but it doesn't have to be.

The SEC was established by Congress to regulate securities markets with the intent of protecting investors. For this reason, it requires registration for the issuance of almost any kind of securities, including mail or internet-based issues.

In an initial public offering, the process of filing necessary paperwork with the SEC can be time-consuming and complicated. First, a registration for must be filed and declared effective. Despite the fact that the registration becomes public knowledge immediately, the company may not attempt to sell shares until the registration is declared effective. Registration documents include a prospectus to be given to all investors, as well as a section that is made available on the SEC website but which does not have to be provided to investors. A company's underwriter will prepare and file these documents with the help of accountants and lawyers.

For a company that has gone public through an IPO, SEC requirements don't end with the issuance of shares. Continued disclosures must be made concerning a variety of topics, including details of operations, key employees and shareholders, major stock transactions, and general health of the company. Because these disclosures are so numerous and frequent, there is a substantial cost involved that should not be overlooked when making the decision to go public.

Despite the expense of SEC compliance, the cost of issuing stock would be higher without the SEC. Because of SEC regulations, a large pool of information is available to potential investors. Further, many otherwise unethical businesses are given good motivation to avoid misrepresentation on company financial documents. This makes investing safer for everyone, and allows investors to trade with less prejudice at higher prices.

For smaller businesses, the process of issuing shares is less complicated. Shortened forms and procedures allow businesses seeking smaller amounts of capital to publicly sell shares without the use of an underwriter. These rules also allow slightly reduced reporting requirements, as compared to companies going public through an initial public offering. The overall effect is a public issuance that costs significantly less than the traditional process for going public.

More recent SEC rules also allow for the public trading of direct public offerings issued by those small companies. With the appropriate filings in place, small companies can apply to have their shares traded on over-the-counter bulletin board exchanges, giving added liquidity to their offerings. In this manner, the SEC has helped to encourage small business and innovation by democratizing the availability of capital.

Despite the often negative opinions about the SEC and its requirements, it is an organization that acts in the best interest of investors and for the overall good of the market. Proper attention and diligence can ensure that an offering goes smoothly in spite of the inconvenience of necessary filings.

Joel Arberman is the Managing Member of Public Financial Services, LLC. We help private companies through the process of becoming publicly traded via an initial public offering (ipo) or direct public offering. Learn more at Public Financial Services

Why Is Market Research Important

2009-02-02T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Martin Day

Market research is an essential part of any business that wants to offer products or services that are focussed and well targeted.

Business decisions that are based on good intelligence and good market research can minimise risk and pay dividends and by making market research part and parcel of the business process and conducting market research throughout the lifecycle of a product or service market research will bring the following benefits:-

Market research will help you better communicate - Your current customers experiences are a valuable information source, not only will they allow you to gauge how well you currently meet their expectations they can also tell you where you are getting things right and more importantly where you are getting things wrong.

By asking the customer you not only show them that you care but you also take the guess work out of customer services.

Market research helps you identify opportunities If you are planning to operate a new service and want to know the preconceived attitudes people have then market research can help, not only in evaluating the potential for a new idea, but also by identify the areas where a marketing message needs to honed.

Market research will minimise risk - Market research can help shape a new product or service, identifying what is needed and ensure that the development of a product is highly focused towards demand.

Market research creates benchmarks and helps you measure your progress - Unless you measure you may not be able to gauge how well your business is performing. Early research may highlight glaring holes in your service or short falls in your product, regular market research will show if improvements are being made and, if positive, will help motivate a team.

Martin Day is a Director of Survey Galaxy Ltd a web site that allows anyone to create, design and publish online surveys. For more information please visit http://www.surveygalaxy.com

Plr Vs Free Reprint Articles Which Is Best

2009-02-01T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Nicole Dean

Content is always in high demand. Right now the focus seems to be on Private Label Rights (or PLR) articles. PLR articles are pre-written and sold in packages to online businesses looking for content. The big selling points of PLR articles are that you may edit the articles and that there is no author bio required (so they don't have any outbound links).

Compare PLR articles to free reprint articles. Free reprint articles from places like ezinearticles.com or freeaffiliatearticles.com are written by people who have something they'd like to share. (Or, they are sometimes written by people just publishing junk, in the hopes that they'll get some incoming links. But, good article directories will delete those, so we'll focus on the good ones here.)

So, which is better? Honestly, each has its place. Sometimes you'll find an excellent free reprint article that you'll want to share with your readers and you won't mind a bit having an outbound link, especially if there is an affiliate program associated with it. The free reprint article added value to your readers, and you didn't have to write the article. That's what free reprint articles are all about.

Other times you'll already have an idea in mind for a topic and you'll just want a boost getting that section of your website done. If you run across a high quality PLR package on that niche, you're set to go.

So, how do you know which PLR service or membership to choose? Here are some guidelines to follow:

1. Some PLR sites offer a monthly membership where you receive a grab-bag of articles on any topic. If you already know what you need, this may be a waste of money. Other PLR sites will list topics and you can buy the articles in a shopping cart. That ensures you receive the articles you need when you need them.

2. Are the articles written by professional writers with experience? Or are they outsourced to the cheapest overseas help they can find no matter the quality? If the articles are going to be a reflection of your business, you'll want to ensure that the articles are well-written.

3. Who's running this thing? Is the PLR site run by someone who knows about content or someone who thinks they can ride the content wave and make a quick buck? Make sure you're hitching your wagon to someone who knows what they're doing.

Those are just a few tips to keep you from wasting money on a PLR site that you can't use. Continue to use free reprint articles, but look into PLR articles as well. They can both benefit your website and your business.

Nicole Dean is the co-owner of http://www.EasyPLR.com where you'll find high-quality PLR articles sold in very limited quantities. Nicole also created http://www.FreeAffiliateArticles.com where you'll find free reprint articles that can make you money.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Weighs In On Business Coaching

2009-01-31T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

I've been struggling to devise a distinction between management consulting and business coaching.

Some of the apparent differences that come to mind are these:

(1) Consultants tend to fly great distances on planes, while coaches are often locals who take the bus, hitchhike, or walk.

(2) Consultants have MBA's or a Ph.D. while coaches might have squeaked their way through high school.

(3) Coaches come cheap. Consultants cost bigger bucks.

(4) Consultants dress better and are generally better looking.

(5) Consultants are fifty times more likely to have season tickets to the chamber orchestra.

Well, as you can imagine, these differences aren't very impressive.

But I happened upon a quote, quite a famous one from Ralph Waldo Emerson, that great American philosopher and man of letters, that seems to separate the wheat from the proverbial chaff.

Do you recall that Emerson said it is man's fondest wish to find someone who will make us do what we can?

That's a coach, plain and simple.

Coaches get us to take action on what we already know we should be doing. We don't need the skills, because we have them. We're up to the task.

What we need is motivation, discipline, and accountability, and coaches provide these things.

Consultants, on the other hand, generally get us to do what we DON'T know to how to do. In fact, they tell us WHAT to do, and HOW to do it.

Consultants are experts, whereas coaches could be your neighbor, Bill, a good listener, but not a wunderkind. He's just a great guy who cares about you, and someone who keeps you honest.

I'm going to test Emerson's definition with the Consulting class that I teach at UCLA and see what they think.

Why, not? Who can go wrong in quoting Waldo?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to: http://www.customersatisfaction.com

Business Simulations An Excellent Employee Training Tool

2009-01-30T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gabriel J. Adams

If you have ever run your own business you know how much of a hassle it can be to try to keep employees updated on new technology. Training can be very time consuming and expensive for both the company and the employee. This is where business simulations come into play. Using this technology you can find fun, unique, and cost effective ways to train your work force.

Business simulations can be offered in software, games, charts, and other easy to use systems. The most preferred way is with games because this keeps students entertained while they learn. This means they will pay more attention to the lesson and will actually enjoy it.

One very interesting business simulation environment is a lot like role playing. The student will be given a scenario and must figure out how to complete a certain task effectively. Depending on how the student tries to complete the task or how they answer the questions will decide how the environment plays out. This means that if they choose the wrong answer they can have something fail that can effect the simulation. This gives an interactive approach to learning and is more life like because your actions will have consequences.

There are also numerical charts that are used. These help teach employees to keep track of numbers and figure out expenses. It helps give them accounting skills and responsibility.

The best part of business simulations is how easy it is for the teacher to keep track of the students. With software and charts they can follow the students work and keep track of their progress throughout the program. This provides the employers with a hands on approach to what the students are doing.

All of these benefits are helping to switch over companies to use Business Simulation programs. It costs very little for them to try and can help them immensely with the training of their employees. This also helps employees have a good time while still getting the training they need.

Visit www.bluelinesimulations.com for the best in Business Simulations.

Associations Must Either Partner Or Perish

2009-01-29T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by E.R. Rigsbee

The reason for any professional or trade association to exist is for the purpose of synergistic and mutual improvement of the persons and organizations involved is a particular industry or profession. I believe an association to be a gathering of people with similar interests and goals. This gathering must be a multi-faceted partnering alliance between members (including associate or supplier members), officers and paid staff.

In every association with which I currently hold membership or have held membership, I've have experienced a class structure. While I believe this class structure is generally unintentional, it is none-the-less destructive and at cross-purposes to the associations' stated mission. The officers usually make policy and the rules for all to follow. The staff works hard to serve the officers, more so than the membership. This is because they believe, or have the perception, that they hold their jobs at the pleasure of the board of directors. While operational staff generally works under, and is hired by, an executive director or executive vice president, the staff people see their jobs as being at risk when they inform board members on things the board members do not want to hear.

Elected officers try to do their best to run the association so it will best serve the membership, but they must also run their own business. Some of the challenges that frequently occur are:

Individuals seeing the world through his or her own filter or paradigm. This can cause people to only see what they want or to only see the world through their situation. If one selects to participate as an association leader, this is a luxury one cannot afford.

The ability officers have to pork barrel can drive a wedge through any industry, especially between the buyers and sellers in the industry. The association must create value for all dues paying members, regardless of their status.

Elitism, planned or inadvertently occurring. This is the most insidious of value dismantlers. While it is human nature for offers that select to donate an unusually huge number of hours to socialize with one another at meetings and events, there still is a responsibility for officers to individually reach out to the general membership. Additionally, those same people that donate the hours sometimes feel entitled. Entitled to what you may ask? The list is limitless; from questionable association resource spending to policy making that only serves the selected few.

Participation burnout of officers is common. People that care about the success of their association and industry as a whole, can acquire the Savior Complex, thinking that the entire industry will stop if they don't do it all. Then they get bitter about the time they feel obligated to donate.

Personal ownership disassembling synergistic results. When certain "entitled" people believe they own the association more than others, based on their personal standards of participation and history with the association, they can unknowingly push others away.

Over the past decade I have been helping organizations to see the world through the window of others. The system I offer is that of Total Organizational Partnering System (TOPS). Many associations in which I have come in contact have or could benefit from TOPS. The decision to adopt the multi-faceted partnering model is not always easy. It is unfortunate that many associations are encumbered with persons flexing their personal and sometimes hidden agendas.

Is it possible in association life to have cooperation? Absolutely, I see it frequently. Working with others for a mutually beneficial solution is what should be at the foundation of any association. Partnering is the redeemer necessary to successfully carry an association to new heights of success in serving its industry.

Today, many associations are faced with the fallout of consolidations within their industry; both regular members and associate or allied supplier members. In some situations, in order to survive and serve their membership, even associations have found it necessary to merge. There will always be the members that support their association, regardless of the value they believe they receive. And, there will always be the people in an industry that do not believe it is worth their time or money to belong to their industry association.

What every association (staff, boards and members) must explore is the middle mass. These are the industry players that will only belong to, and participate in, their industry association if they believe they can get more out than they put in. This is possible through collaborative synergies developed through TOPS. Association leaders must partner with this critical mass in order to have the number and financial support to do the work necessary to keep their industry alive, healthy and growing.

Never allow the situation to develop in which members or potential members say, "I want to be part of the system. I want a piece of the pie, but I don't believe it's possible." Be cautious not to treat less participative members as second-class citizens. I know there is some truth to this because I, myself, have felt like a second-class association member in times past. Was I really a second-class member or was it just in my mind? Since my perception is my only reality, what do you think? Does it matter what others think? No, because my perception is my reality, and it is for your members too.

Members, retained and new alike, are the lifeblood of any association. If you are an officer and keep that in mind daily, your association will not only survive but it will prosper. Listed below, are ten of my partnering principles that I believe association officers, staff and members need to adopt.

Ten Partnering Principles

1. Partnering means learning the needs, wants and desires of others.

2. Partnering builds confidence and trust.

3. Do not take too long to act, as there are others that may beat you to creating valuable partnerships.

4. Partnering strengthens your image and defines your culture.

5. You must deposit into the Relationship Bank before you may take a withdrawal.

6. Word-of-mouth is the best advertising available, and you must earn it.

7. People have short positive but long negative memories.

8. Partnering allows for immediate feedback. Ask, "How are we doing?"

9. Partnering creates an environment of possibilities.

10. Partnering is a subtle and successful form of marketing.

To access helpful additional information from Ed Rigsbee at no charge, please visit www.rigsbee.com/downloadaccess.htm. Also, association executives may visit www.rigsbee.com/association.htm for association specific information.

Ed Rigsbee, CSP is the author of PartnerShift, Developing Strategic Alliances and The Art of Partnering. Rigsbee has over 1,000 published articles to his credit and is a regular keynote presenter at corporate and trade association conferences across North America. He can be reached at 800-839-1520. For a treasure trove of information and ideas, visit his Partnering University Web Site at http://www.rigsbee.com

What Do You Need To Know About Business Greats

2009-01-28T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Mansi Aggarwal

Great men are born once in a while. Men are great not because they are born with some attribute of greatness but their deeds make them great and remarkable individuals in history. Such people thus are not born overnight it takes one's whole lifetime to achieve that success and fame that one only dreamt of. The article throws light on some of the great men who brought revolution in the business world. Their achievements not just brought tremendous credit to their name but are largely beneficial to the multitude.

The Tobacco Industrialist Washington Duke (1820-1905)- the personal life of this farmer from North Carolina was a sad story for both his wife and son died of the same disease. Adding to the disaster, his cotton crop too failed at the same time. Btu Duke did not let this stop himself from proceeding in life. His life was full of struggle he even became a prisoner of war during the Civil War. Finally the big break that changed his entire life came when he manufactured the popular product 'tobacco'. The Union Army that was staying in the North Carolina had a great liking for tobacco. Duke's manufactured tobacco which came to be known as 'Pro Bono Publico' was a brilliant sensation that won the heart of all the tobacco lovers very soon. Later Duke also manufactures cigarettes under the name of his company W. Duke, Sons and Company which too was a big hit.

The inventor of the reaper Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884) has his own place in the B-world. McCormick was the son of a blacksmith who had influenced and helped the people of Shenandoah Valley with his exuberant skill in making agricultural devices. The father made the reaping machine that the son modified extremely and took it to places. The McCormick's designed inventor was a huge success at his birth place and even when he went abroad. McCormick went to Chicago in 1847 where he opened a factory named the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. The factory scaled new heights despite massive competition. McCormick's device that he had invented and built drastically shrunk the labor and time required to produce grain. Where in 1830 it used to take 20 hours to harvest an acre of wheat, it took just one hour to do so in 1895all thanks to the great mind behind it- McCormick.

The industrialist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) needs no introduction in the business market. He was a man who had strived hard against poverty during his childhood. He worked as a bobbin boy and as a telegrapher and also as a superintendent for the Pennsylvania Railroad. His petite savings that hye invested in oil, iron and steel during the Civil War fetched him a turning point in his life. in 1880 Carnegie had brought a lot of companies under the Carnegie Steel Company. By 1990 this company produced a fourth of all the steel in United States. Known to be one of the richest men of the world then, Carnegie believed that rich men act as trustees to their wealth and they must administer it in the favor of the public.

Thomas Edison (1847-1931) perhaps is unknown to none and has his own coveted place in the history. Edison was the man who had about 1100 inventions in his name that have unbeatable use in the world today and then. The man who spent few hours in school, worked as a railroad newsboy was the first to start of a publication typeset and printed on a moving train. The other inventions added to his list are an electronic vote recorder in 1868, quadruplex telegraph in 1874, phonograph, light bulb and a Dictaphone to name a few. But many of these were mere improvements on what a team or so had manufactured and at times he helped others in creating devices. For instance the Dictaphone, working motion picture system that synchronized pictures with sound and the stock ticker were prepared by others under the help and guidance of Edison. He also formed a company that later became General Electric.

Apart from these the glorious men like George Eastman, Henry Ford, Madam C.J Walker, Joseph Pulitzer and many others have made significant contributions that has greatly helped mankind every now and then

Mansi aggarwal writes about business greats .Learn more at http://www.businessgreats.com .

Groupware Proves To Be A Versatile Employee

2009-01-27T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joe Miller

Groupware

Groupware is a software or hardware that manages documents on which organizations and groups collaborate. Groupware, of some form or another, has become a much sought after technology among businesses. Each groupware package includes tools which are meant to meet the needs of a business. Don't be alarmed that when your business begins its search for a groupware package that 5,590,000 indexed pages will greet you on Google, 3,820,000 on Yahoo, and 950,316 on MSN. The fact is the market knows that your business needs a groupware package.

In today's Information Age, business collaboration is only harnessed by the speed and efficiency of its technology. Businesses, large and small, maintain some sort of groupware technology in order to manage document sharing quickly and efficiently. Since groupware is meant to manage documents on which organizations and groups collaborate, the groupware package you choose must be able to work the way your business does.

Thomas Edison once said, "There ain't no rules around here. We're just trying to accomplish something." Whether we like it or not, this is the case in much, if not most, of business collaboration. In other words, the ideal collaboration process would be organized into a regular process, and records of drafts would be stored in files in a way that you would always know where they are. But, the real collaboration process generally involves an ad hoc process of emails whirling back and forth in a cyclone of copies and drafts, saved across multiple email accounts and hard drives. When deadlines draw near and it's time to merge the changes, it is almost impossible to organize drafts and records in order to have an accurate point of reference.

A Versatile Employee

When deadlines come due, the versatile survive. Businesses need a document manager that can handle the ad hoc jumble that accompanies document collaboration and groupware. Digital Thread technology has stepped up to the challenge and proven itself to be one of your most versatile employees.

Since documents are saved across multiple emails and hard drives by multiple users, businesses need groupware that tracks documents across multiple emails and hard drives and works with multiple users. Groupware with Digital Thread technology is able to do that. Digital Thread also creates digital signatures each time an email is opened with a new draft attached, telling you where it is saved and when the last set of changes were made. When it comes to bringing everything together in the end, Digital Thread creates a version history flow chart and displays merging options.

There is a way to sift through the millions of groupware packages available, and to find technology that works for your business. Because businesses need to manage the ad hoc nature of document collaboration, they need to search for a content management tool, or groupware that is built specifically for ad hoc document management.

Joe Miller is an author of informational articles and Online Advertisements on business software. View Informational Articles on Groupware.

Make Your Conference Attendance More Productive

2009-01-26T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Neen James

Throughout our careers we are all required to attend conferences, industry meetings, retreats, strategic off-site meetings. These events are all called different names but the idea is the same you need to be away from your home or office for a period of time. To ensure this is a productive activity for you I have created a list of tips you can use before, during and after the conference event.

Before the Conference

Phone Ahead a concierge is the greatest source of information for any new city or hotel. When you contact the hotel where you are staying ask several questions including:

Is there a health club or gym? Is there an additional fee for use of this facility?

Is there Internet access in your room and is this an additional charge?

Is there a hotel shuttle?

Does the hotel provide a pick up service from the airport?

Are there shops close by i.e. grocery store, coffee shop and pharmacy?

Is there a pool or spa facility available?

Is there a business centre with computers, printers and copiers?

These questions help you prepare to pack the required clothing and determine if you will travel with your laptop.

Book your transportation if the hotel provides a complimentary shuttle service this is a great money and time saver. You will need to book this in advance. You may also like to enquire about using a limousine service (that are often not much more expensive than a local taxi). Alternatively you can arrive at the airport and take your chances with a taxi or multi-stop shuttle service.

Choose your Sessions if you are able to see an agenda ahead of time, make a note of the break out sessions you would like to attend at the conference. Determine what your businesses needs are and where you want to invest your time. This will avoid wasting time when you arrive.

Make appointments before you arrive if you know of others who are travelling in for the conference, make time to meet with them for drinks, meals or before the conference. Leverage all opportunities while you are at the event.

Arrange 'Out of Office' facilities determine how you will handle your communication while you are away. You may nominate your Virtual Assistant handle everything for you, you may leave an 'out of office' auto responder on email and an extended out of office on your voicemail message. Make arrangements to educate those around you that you are not available during this time.

Change your Voicemail leave a message on your office number and cell phone that you are not available during that time but give callers an option to be called after hours. Include the day and date you will be returning to your office. You may also leave an alternative name and number for them to call.

Pack stationery pack a few blank envelopes to store the new business cards you will receive, take a large supply of your own business cards and also pack 'thank you' notes that you can use at the event.

Pack Walking Shoes no matter how long or short the event is, you can always make time to leave your hotel or conference room to get some fresh air. You may also like to consider packing a bathing suit if there are pool facilities.

Don't over pack we have a tendency to pack more clothes than required. Ensure you have a combination of professional and casual clothing and footwear. Review the agenda to make note of any special or formal dress events during the conference.

Schedule 1 full day of follow up activities before you leave for conference, make an appointment in your schedule for a whole day to action any requests you may have received at conference, follow up business cards, write correspondence and investigate any products or services you were interested in.

During the Conference

Stay healthy drink plenty of water, make good food choices from the buffets and menus, avoid excessive sugar and alcohol, take vitamins, use the health club and get plenty of sleep. It is not unusual at these events to eat foods we don't normally consume, get less sleep than we are used to and participate in activities that are not part of our usual routine. Keep an eye on your health to really maximise your energy while you are there.

Get out of the hotel make time to walk outside of the hotel, visit a local restaurant or café, check out the tourist activities ensure you are able to experience an environment outside of your hotel.

Avoid checking phone messages during the day avoid the distraction of checking your cell phone in the breaks. This not only removes you from the event but also can interrupt your thinking while you are there. Check them in the afternoon and return the calls (if necessary) at the end of each day.

Paper is heavy be aware of the amount of paper you are collecting and folders you accumulate while at conference. I recently had to pay excess baggage fees as my suitcase was 10 pounds overweight and it was all paper!

Sit in the front row don't be shy. Sit up front. You are more likely to concentrate and get less distracted if you are in the front of the room.

Be fully present in all conversations, during the sessions and during meal breaks, make sure you engage with your presenter, colleagues and new friends. Give them your full attention while you are with them.

Avoid checking your email during the day if you can't possibly imagine not checking your email each day, do it at night before the events activities re-commence. It can be distracting and unproductive.

Write on the back of business cards when you meet someone who gives you their card, ask them if you can make notes on the back of their card. Write notes that will jog your memory for follow up after the event (especially if it is a large conference). Sometimes it can be hard to remember all the details when we have left the hotel.

Take your business cards everywhere whether you are in session, at a social gathering or at the local tourist attraction, while you are on conference always have your business cards with you you never know whom you might meet.

Be memorable when there are large groups of people gathered it could be hard to stand out in a crowd. Make sure conference attendees remember you as someone who was a great listener, fun to be with and fully present at all times.

Volunteer one of the best ways to meet people at conference is to volunteer. You can be a greeter, help place handouts on the chairs, clean up or support a presenter. The organizers will appreciate your help and you will make great contacts this way.

Target those you want to meet don't be shy. Introduce yourself to anyone you want to meet at the event. If this feels uncomfortable to you, ask someone else to introduce you to the people you want to meet.

Be prepared to purchase products and services at the event if there is a trade exhibition, make the time to review the trade stands, take advantage of discount offers and special promotions for conference attendees.

After the Conference

Make a 'To Do' List you may do this on the plane or when you get home. Make a list of everything you need to do to follow up and leverage your time at conference.

Write 'Thank You' notes on the plane if you have an opportunity to begin your follow up on the flight home it can be a great use of your time.

Do what you say you will do if you made a commitment to someone at the conference make sure you follow through. This is an important aspect of any conference attendance.

Stay in touch  if you made valuable contacts during the event, make time in your schedule to stay in touch with these people. You can do this by teleconference, sending them copies of your ezine or company newsletter or simply by phoning to say Hi or in my case G'Day!

Attending these conferences is a huge investment in time, attention and energy. Make your next event more productive by applying these tips.

Neen is a Global Productivity Expert: by looking at how they spend their time and energy and where they focus their attention Neen helps people to rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing things. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. Subscribe to Neen's free monthly ezine at http://neenjames.com

Contract Cleaners A Guide For Businesses Part 4

2008-12-15T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by David Andrew Smith

In this the fourth and final part of articles about how to obtain the best service from your contract cleaner I look at the remaining three questions. These three can to some degree all be grouped and considered together.

Are your staff fully trained in appropriate Health and Safety practices? Can this be verified?
Can your staff speak and understand English?
Will your staff be able to understand written instructions?

In part 1 of this series I referred to the survey of the top 150 UK wide cleaning firms and I shall do so again. From this survey it transpired that over 60% of the people employed as cleaners by these firms were of non-UK origin and of these 68% could not speak or understand English to a satisfactory level. The remaining 38% of cleaners were British born but unfortunately a massive 72% of these were considered illiterate.

What these figures indicate is that a sizeable percentage of the cleaning workforce cannot read or write English and a large proportion cannot speak it either. Consequently when firms claim they give health and safety training and all their cleaners are up to date with the COSSH regulations you must take this with a very large pinch of salt. If you have ever read the COSSH regulations or a safety data sheet for a cleaning chemical then you will appreciate that to actually understand them you have to have acquired quite a high level of education.

On a far simpler level it may be that on occasions you wish to communicate with the cleaners about some point or another. So you leave a little note. The following day you question as to why your note was ignored!

Very little more needs to be explained about this. The figures and the possible consequences leading from them should speak for themselves

If you follow these simple guidelines when next putting your cleaning out to tender then you should gain a firm who will provide you with excellent cleaning at a fair price but probably not the cheapest. You pay your money and make your choice.

David Andrew Smith has been working for many years in the cleaning industry and is the owner of http://www.wesparkle.co.uk, general cleaners and specialists in the care and maintenance of natural stone such as marble, granite, and limestone.

The Softer Benefits Of Corporate Giving

2008-12-14T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by R.L. Fielding

Have a favorite charity or non-profit community cause to which you contribute time and resources? Chances are your company will be interested in supporting it, too.

According to the Giving USA 2004 study released by the Giving USA Foundation in the summer of 2004, American individuals, estates, foundations, and corporations gave an estimated $240.72 billion to charitable causes in 2003. In the US, during the five years spanning 1998-2002, corporations contributed $55 billion, (5%) of the total $1135 billion. Corporations also gave through foundations, which contributed an addition $121 billion (11%) of the five year total.

People tend to be aware that there are financial benefits to corporations for donating to charities and that corporations want to be good, forward-acting citizens. What peopleand many organizationsdon't realize yet is that there are still other motivators and benefits for corporate giving. The fact is, increasing numbers corporations are extending the benefits of their corporate giving activities by leveraging them as team building programs and employee support initiatives that increase even further the benefits these activities bring to the company itself.

For example, according to Marjorie Polycarpe in a December 2003 article Re-Examining Workplace Giving Programs (http://www.onphilanthropy.com/bestpract/bp2003-12-31.html), she quotes the manager of the employee giving campaign at American Express, Angela Woods, who discussed how her company involved employees early on in their planning process for corporate giving activities to help guide their choices for charities. Getting employee input helped American Express identify the causes and charities that were most important to their employees.

This approach helps organizations communicate to their employees that they respect and support their employees' donations of personal time and resources. It also helps companies demonstrate that support, by forming foundations, by contributing cash, in-kind gifts, and/or matching programs, and by encouraging other employees to get involved in particular causes and facilitating their involvement.

When companies form foundations, they establish organizations focused on giving to a particular cause or which is authorized to contribute to approved organizations.

Companies can also contribute cash gifts directly to charitable organizations.

When companies donate non-cash resources, these are called in-kind gifts. In-kind gifts can be products that the company produces, moved out of its inventory, or they can be can be other items that the charity can use, such as furniture, computers, food, etc. When companies contribute the services for which they normally charge clients, for example, marketing or legal services, these in-kind gifts are called pro bono donations.

To help support charities that their employees contribute to or to encourage employees to contribute to charities already supported by the organization, companies can enable donations to come directly from the employee's payroll check. Frequently when such systems are in place, they are part of a company matching program which has the company match, or exceed by some percentage, cash donations made by the employee. So, for example, if an employee contributes $50 per pay period to an authorized charity, the company would contribute $100 per pay period in a 2:1 program. The company would be contributing in a similar manner for all of the other employees in the program.

Companies are finding that this sort of support, in addition to public recognition and praise of employees who donate their time and personal resources to various causes, helps them communicate to employees that they are valued as individuals. It also provides a forum through which the company can show appreciation to the employee for the benefits it receives through the positive association with the employee.

According to Kurt Rechner, President and Chief Operating Officer of Tejas Securities Group, Inc., "Tejas Securities contributes regularly to charities as a way to give back to our community and to show support for our employees and the companies with which we do business. For example, we've made contributions to the Children's Medical Center Foundation of Austin, the Austin Film Society, and Meals on Wheels, each of which provides wonderful benefits to the people in and around our home-base of Austin, Texas. In addition, we recently learned about the great work being done by Big Brothers of Massachusetts, and we made contributions to that organization as well. I think it's important for companies to openly communicate with their employees and business partners about their corporate giving activities. By sharing information, the employees feel valued, the organization learns about good organizations that need its supportand it creates a win: win all the way around."

Companies frequently find themselves contributing around themes. Some, for example, find their employees tend to want to support health-related causes, such as Breast Cancer Research or Alzheimer's research or other causes that may have affected families and friends. Other organizations find their employees gravitate towards education-related initiatives, such as the TJ Ford Foundation and Reading Is Fundamental. And many organizations find themselves contributing to organizations that help support children, especially organizations that provide esteem-building like Big Brothers/Big Sisters and those helping children with special needs, such as Special Olympics and Make a Wish Foundation.

With good causes being a good rallying point for boosting morale, many organizations use their corporate giving programs as team building tools to help unite their workers around a common charitable cause. They find that uniting workers for an outside cause helps reinforce their ability to work together for the companies' good as well.

So if you're an employee who is active in a charity, consider extending the value of your contributions by getting your employer involved. And if you're an employer who wants to expand the benefits of your contributions program, explore ways to involve your employees, too. The non-profits you support will thank you.

For additional resources on corporate giving and other types of philanthropy visit:

www.onphilanthropy.com
www.aafrc.org
www.minnesotagiving.org

Veronica Fielding

Question Should I Offer International Shipping On Ebay And Amazon

2008-12-13T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Steve Weber

QUESTION: I've been selling on eBay and Amazon for about a year. I don't offer international shipping, but I'm considering it. What are the pros and cons?

ANSWER: On the plus side, offering international shipping will get you some additional sales and more volume -- perhaps another 7 percent, depending on your stock. Hard-to-find items attract overseas buyers, so it's smart to offer "international shipping" for your higher-priced items.

But there are so many drawbacks to international shipping, I've eliminated it on all but my most expensive listings in the past year.

Overseas shipping sucks up a lot of your time. You must complete customs forms and deal with the inevitable confused overseas buyers. These customers require lots more hand-holding -- e-mailing back and forth, repeatedly clarifying the shipping terms, etc. Sometimes overseas buyers don't use English well, so communicating is a challenge.

On the other hand, international customers buy a good percentage of higher-end, scarce titles that they're unable to find locally. So on those high-margin sales, I'm willing to put up with the occasional hassle.

If you're still building your feedback record and need the cashflow, international shipping is a good option. I never worry about insuring overseas shipments worth less than $75. But if you're sending a super-expensive item, insurance is worth the peace of mind. However, Postal insurance isn't available for Global Priority packages. You'll need to ship the book via regular airmail to insure it, so that will be considerably more expensive.

Also, there are a few countries where the Postal Service doesn't send Global Priority mail, including Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia and some others. So you'll need to send those via regular airmail, but fortunately Canada and Western Europe will account for most of your international sales.

See a real-time list of the most highly sought after used and collectible books.

Read more free articles on selling used books profitably online: http://www.weberbooks.com/selling/selling.htm

Steve Weber is author of "The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site" (ISBN 0977240606). Got a question for Steve? Send to: steve_weber@yahoo.com

Nursing Resumes

2008-12-12T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dennis Driscoll

What to Include in Nursing Resumes

Nursing resumes are slightly different from every other resume that you would send out. Being that nursing is a specialized profession, you need to remember a few things when putting together your first resume. Nursing resumes can be difficult to write because they will not include the same information as a standard resume trying to secure an office position. Read through the tips below before you start sending out your resume to potential employers.

First off, remember that nursing resumes will not include all past work experience. When applying for an office job, you usually show all of your past work experience, no matter how irrelevant it may sound. But remember that nursing is a specialized profession. You want to make sure that you put down your experience relative to nursing and downplay the rest of your work experience. This is not to say that you cannot include other work experience on nursing resumes, just be sure to not let those jobs overshadow your nursing experience.

Remember to include all nursing related experience on your resume. Anything that pertains to nursing, or caring for people should be highlighted on your resume so that it stands head and shoulders above the rest. This can include any volunteer work that you may have completed, or any nursing work that you did while in college. Nursing resumes often include information about the rotations that you did while completing your degree. This shows that you have experience in the field and are capable of working full time.

Nursing resumes should always include your educational achievements as well. Be proud of what you accomplished. If you were elected into the National Honors Society for nursing majors be sure to include this information. If you had a high GPA, include that also.

Nursing resumes may be difficult to write, but if you follow the tips above you will be able to put together an intriguing package for hiring managers. Sample nursing resumes can also be found on numerous online sites.

Nursing Resources

Self Improvement Resources

Imformation For Parents

Yes You Can Make A Good Living On The Internet With The Right Information

2008-12-11T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gregg Hall

There are many opportunities to make money via the Internet, but it is very important to know which ones are legitimate, and which ones are illegal. When you decide to learn how to make money online, be prepared for some long hours investigating and studying the many opportunities to find the right, legitimate fit for you.

Internet opportunities range from selling on Ebay, offering health products, website editing, etc. The point is, you need to find something that interests you and that you can do well. Perhaps you already own your own business, and you wish to generate more income by reaching more customers online. You can reach millions of people on the Internet through the proper use of a website.

Some Internet money making opportunities sound simply ridiculous and too good to be true. I'm sure you have come across some of these in your email, and I can assure you that ninety-nine percent of those offers are bogus. In order to find good sources of information about making money online, you really need put some effort into your research.

Start off by finding out what people want and need. Perhaps you won't have to actually sell a product, but if you find something popular, take advantage of it! Or you may have a different way to make money by providing a service, or by providing information.

Check out search engines like adwords.com or overture.com to look for keywords indicating what most people are looking for. Once you find something and have decided what you want to sell, the next step is to create a domain name. Domain names need to be catchy and easy to remember; keep in mind though, that most of the really simplistic domain names have already been taken, so be creative. Registering your new domain name is fairly inexpensive, usually only about ten dollars a year.

The next steps are fairly straight forward. You have your money making idea, you've got your domain name, so now you simply need to create your website, find a hosting service for it, and make your product available for viewing on the internet. If you have never created a website before, get some assistance from a friend or from a professional.

There are many self help books that show how it's done, and you will be surprised at how simple and inexpensive it can be. When creating your website, make sure it is easy to navigate and that it doesn't take too long to load! Most people make the mistake of creating flashy websites that take forever to show up on the screen. Remember, potential viewers of your website are only willing to wait for a few seconds for your site to appear. After that, they move on.

Once you have your website created and viewable, the challenge is to get it viewed by as many people as possible. There are many ways to do this, and most internet entrepreneurs use professional website marketing services. However you decide to do it, use your best judgment, have fun, and good luck!

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as Making Money on the Internet at http://www.internetprofitsplus.com

Do It And Do It Online

2008-12-10T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Stephen Kaye

I believe that learning to use The Internet is a vital option in today's world.

Not only do I believe that its use should be taught in all schools, but also that it should be taught in-house in every company in every country in the world. I believe that it is a vital tool for the elderly, the housebound, the frail, the sick, and the disabled. It is quite probably, in my opinion, the key 'life' tool' which should be taught and made available to every living soul today. That's how important I feel it is.

There is practically no information which cannot be accessed via The Internet. There is practically no question which cannot be posed, resolved, answered or explained by using The Internet. There are so many variables, so many permutations of every aspect of life which are available for all on The Internet.

Business can be started in the minimum of time on The Internet. Businesses can be wildly successful on The Internet. (Of course, businesses can also fail but that's life). Friends can be made, relationships developed, old friends located and family sought out.

The Internet can be used for fun, for games, for business, for all types of communication, for shopping, for selling, or just for looking. It is there for one and all for every purpose under the sun and moon. And it's there for you to use, as you will.

No-one should miss out on today's Internet opportunities. In the words of Microsoft: 'Where DO you want to go today?' Because with The Internet, you can go anywhere, learn anything, and achieve great wonders.

Stephen Kaye is an Author and Businessman living in Devon, UK. He is the owner of http://www.kaymexdirect.co.uk Kaymexdirect market a range of Information products in different formats. Many of these cover the subject of Internet Marketing

Egov Strategies To Reduce Government Costs

2008-12-09T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

Turning basic jobs of government over to web based solutions when possible and where applicable is a good strategy to reduce costs. By implementing a hiring freeze in many areas of government and using attrition methodology to cut down the incredible payroll costs of the government, we can begin to slow the ever increasing "Blob" or "Bureaucratic Goo" clogging the nation, wasting tax payers dollars and costing our citizenry in promised benefits for their participation in the system, for which they receive so little.

E-Gov has gotten a bad rap from the media, GAO and pundits of the old slow wasteful bureaucracy of which many seem to have a vested interest in, probably since they created it. If you look at the current trend with let's say Wal*Marts online strategy you see a trend, this year it is up some 115% over last year. Wal*Mart of course being the only business in the world, which has more employees than the Federal Government and because of it's size shows that things take time. Wal*Mart is number two second only to Amazon.com in online sales as of this date. They will pass Amazon.com in approximately 13.3 months. So how did they do it? They did it thru strong adherence to their strategic plan and good promotion. E-Gov needs a PR Consultant Big time.

http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/28113-1.html

We must reduce the time it takes to get things done, filed and the wasteful time to the citizen and business for approvals, permits and receiving of vital and important information. The Internet is completely set up for this. It is made for efficiency. Government on the other hand is inherently inefficient, this is not good or bad, but it is a reality. By increasing the ability of citizens and businesses to interact with our government the entire system gains efficiency and when this can be duplicated in all agencies and departments, the economies to scale and the productivity, which will be achieved and the compounding effect will be a whirlwind and breath of fresh air.

With the digital divide now being all but completely conquered under the Leadership of the Bush Administration we have a unique opportunity to take the E-Gov plan to the step. Such a system saves time and helps the citizen know what they are paying for and it's purpose. It saves trees and paper and its all good. I propose hiring Peggy Noonan to put together a team to:

A.) PR the ever living crap out of E-Gov in all Media

B.) Put together a bombardment plan to keep this topic hot.

C.) Promote this new ability in the schools and Colleges

D.) Review all the government websites, survey users, recommendations.

E.) Start today.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Researching On The World Wide Web 7 Resources For The Wellrounded Researcher

2008-12-08T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Trish Anderson

Surfing the web is great! Loads of fun and all sorts of information only a key or quick hotlink away. The downfall is that it is way too easy to be distracted or lost. If you've found yourself wandering around websites that sound like they might have the information you're after, but inevitably don't or your search keywords bring in thousands of hits, then you need a few tips in how to shorten your path to knowledge.

1. Define your search parameters

Firstly, know what it is you're after and be aware of a variety of specific keywords that will lead you to the right websites, and a few thousand less hits. Variety is wonderful, but after hours of reading through the wrong websites your eyes and head will be feeling the pain. The more specific you are the more specific your search will be, which leads me to

2. Search engines

Most people around the world have heard of Google. The name has, in a very short time, become synonymous with searching for just about anything. The theory is that you can "google" anything and you'll find what you need, and I agree that the Google search engine is far and away one of the best available. Google provide easy to use sections on website searching, image searches, groups, news and more. Click on the "More" link and you'll be lead to a page with more specific search engines.

Other good search engines that I regularly use include Teoma, About, and Dogpile. I usually find what I want on at least one of these. Dogpile is a metasearch engine meaning that it will give you results found in the top search engines. I still like to do individual searches across a variety of search engines as the results are more rounded and less is likely to be missed. However, it depends on the difficulty or the obscurity of the topic I'm researching.

There are hundreds of search engines. Google them and you'll find a list long enough to keep you happy for hours.

3. Newspaper Articles, Press Releases and Journals

Newspaper articles can lead to people, institutions, and sources of information while providing the reader with background and current information on a topic. A general search in online newspapers from a relevant locality is always worthwhile. If your topic isn't connected to a particular locality then hit the major news sources from a variety of countries. You can find these sources via search engines, but some of the main ones are Reuters, NY Times and CNN. In Australia, try Fairfax and ABC, in Britain try the BBC. Each news source, in each country, will provide a differing slant on the news they cover. The Refdesk site provides quick links to most of the major news sources as well as many other handy links. Test it out for yourself!

There are more newspapers on the web than there are search engines and each provide their own internal article and image search. Become familiar with them. Find out which sites charge to read their articles [usually a nominal amount] and which are free. Subscribe to some or subscribe for notification of articles on particular topics. Some search engines will also email you notification when articles on your particular topic appear on the web. Keep that information wheel rolling!

As with the article notification services, there are also ways to have press releases emailed to you. How easy is that? Check your email box every morning to read the newsfeeds sent to you according to your profile, and for free. Once again, go back to your trusty search engine and type in "press releases" and you're sure to find enough to suit your needs. I use PRWeb and Emedia newswire, and have picked up quite a few ideas and background info on research topics.

4. General Interest Websites

These websites are mixed in with all the "expert" websites and should never be disregarded. A lot of web authors put many hours of their own research time into providing the best information they can on their pet topics. They will also provide lists of links back to their sources and to other websites, both general and expert. Look for websites that cite their sources, avoid wild claims, and aren't necessarily trying to sell you something. Before quoting or basing your work on any information, always find reliable support material.

5. Ezines, Discussion Forums and Mailing Lists

I'm pretty sure there's an ezine, forum or mailing list out there for every topic under the sun. Do a specific search on your topic, and include the communication form you are interested in. For a well-rounded search, look at a variety of forms - many are connected - and you'll have almost instant contact with others interested in the same area as you. If nothing comes up then broaden your search to include the subject your topic resides in. The people in these groups want to help each other. They want to pass on information, help you to find what you're looking for and talk, talk, talk. Always take note of any etiquette rules posted and jump right in with an introduction. The more friendly and forthcoming you are the more help or contact you should receive.

Remember, that everything written in these communications is subject to copyright and often presumed privacy. Ask permission before you use anyone else's work and never abuse the rules of the group or you'll find yourself out in the cold.

6. Museums

Some museum websites are definitely more user-friendly than others, but generally the level of interactivity is rising. You can search archives, find links and resources, contact them with questions, preview exhibitions, and read the latest news on discoveries, events and what's coming soon. Museums may be topic specific, such as an Aviation Museum or much broader in their scope, such as the British Museum or the Australian Museum. Look for large and small museums alike and be prepared to ask questions on their exhibitions. Curators want to talk about the pieces they have on display and the history behind the artefacts. They are experts in their field and a valuable source of information in their own right.

7. Universities and Libraries

To find academic papers, go to the universities. University websites regularly publish their studies and provide contacts for finding out more. If you know your topic well then you should be able to find the department of study relating to your needs or simply do a search on your topic using their internal search engine. Not sure which university to visit? Many academic papers are published on the web through external publishing companies. These papers link back to the universities. You might like to start with Questia.com or Google Scholar [in the "more" section].

Libraries will get you book titles, authors, date of publication, and a brief summary of contents. If you actually go to the library to borrow some books, you'll also have access to the information and just as importantly the bibliography. Books can be "ordered" online and, through library networks, sent to your closest library. In most cases, you'll still have to go pick the book up, but you can't sit at your computer all the time anyway.

Warnings

Treat everything you read on the web as tertiary information, hearsay that requires support from other sources before it can be considered as accurate, reliable information. One source is never enough, always find more and be prepared to end up with conflicting reports.

Bookmark all the worthwhile sites you visit and back-up your list to a disk in case of computer failure. Keep your list of favourite websites in easy-to-find order and delete any urls that become obsolete. Housekeeping is a good habit that will save you time later on.

Copy urls into a wordprocessing document for later use in bibliographies and resource list, and index them accordingly.

Back up everything you do on the computer to an external disk. You don't want to be almost finished a project to have your computer pack it in and all your hard work lost.

One final point to remember, the World Wide Web is not the "be all" of world knowledge. Telephone calls, trips to libraries and archive centres are still a necessary part of any good researcher's arsenal. It's just that now, we have access to more libraries and centre's of information and email to smooth our trail and ease our weary feet.

Trish Anderson is the creator of Beginnings, Middles and Ends, an e-write service currently at home at http://beginningsmiddlesends.blogspot.com Drop in for a quick visit and chat, to read articles and other posts or to avail yourself of her reasonably priced freelance writing services, research and tutoring. Trish also critiques and writes fiction and non-fiction, and specialises in location research; her contribution to travel writing. You can contact her at wordcatcher@hotmail.com

An Overview Of Raincoat Production

2008-12-07T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Gaurav Doshi

Charles Macintosh was the man behind origination of raincoats. In 1836, he came up with the method of mixing rubber with fabric which was used for making raincoats. The raincoats were thus named after him and were called Mackintoshes in U.K.

The raincoat made during early 20th century were heavy in weight, but by 1940 the lightweight fabrics were been used to manufacture raincoats. Vinyl fabric was used, as this fabric was waterproof in nature and lightweight also. Continuous experiments were done in order to make raincoats of such fabric that could be machine washed, completely waterproof, low maintenance and light in weight. After 1970's there was a boom in rainwear industry as raincoats with varied designs, colors, patterns and fabrics were being made.

Materials used

Today's raincoat comes in various artificial and natural fabric blends. Especially microfibres and plastic coated fibres are used more. The raincoats which are made up of closely knitted fabrics are the best as they are more waterproof.

Raincoats have distinguishable quality of not allowing water to pass through them i.e. nil absorption of water thus keeping the weaver dry during rainy season. However now-a-days raincoat that could be worn all year round is also available in the market. Such raincoats consist of lining that could be removed whenever required. There are two types of fabrics used for raincoats- repellent type and absorbent type. Many styles of raincoats are available in the market like ponchos, waxed jackets, mackintoshes, trench-coats and anoraks. Trench-coats are unisex style of raincoats, cotton and polyester materials are used to manufacture them.

Apart from vinyl, cotton and polyester other types of fabrics used for making raincoats are nylon, wool, wool gabardine and microfibres. They could be used in a blended form also. The chemicals used for waterproofing purposes are paraffin emulsions, salts of zirconium and aluminium (for cheap cotton and woolen fabrics), methyl siloxanes( for synthetic fabrics), resin (for cotton, wool and nylon), wax (for linen and cotton), etc.

We could find a large variety in raincoats available in markets. They are found in various colors, cuts, lengths, fabrics and styles for people of every age and sexes. The designing done with the aid of computers in modern days, offers variety of designs in rainwear. For gents raincoats in the form of shirt and trousers are also available and for women raincoats in the form of skirt and jacket are found in the market. It is just an example of the many innovations in this industry, the latest is of disposable raincoats.

Manufacturing Process

The raincoats are machine-made garments. Generally, they are manufactured by using computerized manufacturing system. Here machines are controlled and governed by the computers. The first and foremost procedure in making raincoat is waterproofing of the fabric. In first step the fabrics to be used goes in between through many rollers, then are dipped into a big container filled with chemicals that would make the fabric waterproof. When the fabrics have soaked the chemicals properly they are removed from the container and further are passed through heating procedure, which makes the absorption even. Thereafter again fabrics are passed via many rollers. They are then cooled down which makes the waterproofing chemicals to permanently stick to the fabric. This yarn of treated fabrics is again rolled into bolts and is passed on to manufacturers.

The raw materials for making the raincoats are cut down into appropriate patterns of different sizes to be made with the cutter that is either electrical or computer operated. Thereafter the lining is placed inside the desired stitched part like collars, caps, pockets, etc, and then passed through fusing machine, which uses heat to put the lining properly into the fabric. Later, different parts of the raincoats are sewn together by the industrial sewing machines. The button holes (if needed) are made on the raincoats and buttons are sewed, this process is done through automatic machines. Quality inspection of the final product is handled by quality control inspector to ensure raincoats without any defects. Finally after inspection tags are attached by the worker on the raincoats and are packed in poly-bags using automatic bagger machines.

Conclusion

Thus raincoats are something which protects ourselves from many other climatic conditions other than rain. Many types of raincoats are made for different weather conditions using different fabrics and chemicals. They can be used for protection against snow falling, windcheater, for sailors and also against cold temperature.

Visit us at http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/. for more articles on Textile, Fashion, Apparel, Technology, Retail and General. If you wish to download/republish the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source". Also, you have to make it hyperlinked to our site.

Putting You Into Your Business Website

2008-12-06T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Nic Sim

Many businesses don't know how to communicate online. You can see the boring stuff they spew on their websites. Every business speaks of the same thing - how they provide the best customer service, how they produce top quality products, and it goes on and on. It doesn't communicate a thing and worst of all, they don't even stand out from the competition!

When your business website represents YOU, it doesn't hurt to show a bit of personality. One way to inject more personality into your business website is to reveal yourself. When your prospects and customers view your website, you want them to know you. When they like and trust you, it is likelier they will do business with you.

Why? Because we're people and we want to do business with people we like and trust. Not some face-less entities without a name!

If you're planning to re-write or re-do the content for your website, here are some questions to help you communicate your personality.

What is your business about?
Tell us what your business does for us. Why should we buy what you're selling or offering? What unique product or service are you offering? Why is it unique?

Where is your business located?
It is the World Wide Web and businesses can be located anywhere. Provide your business location such as town/city, state and country. Do not abbreviate and assume everyone knows what it stands for. For business credibility reasons, use a proper address instead of a P.O. Box address. We used a P.O.Box back in the early days but learnt the hard way that it was clearly disadvantageous. P.O.Boxes look suspicious, like you have something to hide, even when you're a legitimate business. Plus courier services don't deliver to P.O. Boxes!

Who are your customers?
This gives the web user an idea of what industry or business your customers are from. If you are lucky, you would have a couple of famous customers to write about and this helps you establish your credibility and trustworthiness.

How long have you been in business?
If you have just started your business, tell it like it is. If you have been around long enough, tell us too.

What is your business philosophy?
Here you can add your own 'voice' or personality. Why did you start the business? If you have a story, tell your story. People adore stories!

Who are the founders or the people behind the company?
Many websites hide their founders too well. Whatever for? If you are a genuine business, you should be proud to be associated with your business. So go ahead, describe your CEO or founders. Tell us what they did before, their range of experiences, their qualifications and perhaps, a little history about how the business was founded.

When you have answered the above questions, you are ready to write your website content.

Finally, when you write, keep your writing jargon-free. If in doubt, use the simpler word. The key is to make your content understandable for all levels of website visitors and allow YOU to shine through!

Nic Sim is the owner and founder of http://www.RedboxStudio.com a web design firm dedicated to helping solo professionals and small businesses go online affordably and successfully. To view his design portfolio, visit http://www.redboxstudio.com/portfolio.php

Designing Custom Binders

2008-12-05T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Francis

Binders are an office staple. Custom binders offer an alternative to the bland styles of basic binders. They also offer a way to add an extra kick to any marketing plan. A custom binder gives a sense of pride and professionalism to any plain binder and add a kick to a presentation. The advanatges of binders are only amplified by cutsomizing them.

Binders can be bought in bulk them customized to fit any situation. That way binders are bought cheap and the customizing is only done to the binders that need it. One set of binders can serve many purposes when used in this manner, from office needs to a special client presentation. No wasted money and a variety in choices of customization.

Custom binders are just one detail that can really shine in a clients eyes. Custom binders show time was spent preparing the information and that thoguht was given to the overall presetnation. They also show the client that they were considered important and deserved a special presentation style. Custom folders make the first impression on a client a good one.

Customizing a binder is not all about adding logos or designs either. Customizing a binder can include all aspects from the cover to the riungs. The covers can be thin polyethylene or more complex vinyl. Vinyl covers offer much flexibility. They are made from cardboard that is covered in a strong, durable vinyl. Pockets and business card slots can be added to vinyl binders. Polyethylebe binders are less expensive and can still have logos or words printed on them. Custom binders can be a variety of sizes with different ring styles, as well. The size of the binder and rings largely depend upon what is to be put in the binder. The styles of rings also are dictated by the use of the binder. For a binder that needs to be easily accessible and allow for a person to flip through the pages easy, the typical "O" ring would work best. On the other hand binders that are to hold important documents would be best suited with square rings as they do not curve the paper inside.

Custom binders are a great way for a buisness to make a good impression. They put forth a sense of class and reflect well upon the business. The many ways to customize a binder allow for them to be suited exactly to the needs of the business.

http://bindersinfo.com
Everything you need to know about Binders, from Turned Edge Binders to Ring Binders.

Creating A Custom 404 Error Page

2008-12-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

Writen by Bruce Hearder

Every web surfer has encountered the dreaded 404 page not found error message. The generic error page is horrible to look at and it does not encourage web visitors to explore more of your site.

Imagine being able to setup a custom error message page that looked good, told the visitor what had gone wrong and then suggested some alternative links to other locations on your site, such as the home page, sitemap or even a search page.

If the visitor wanted to, they could then visit other parts of your site.

It is very easy to setup a custom 404 error page (The 404 error is the error number returned when a page or directory is not found on your site).

The easiest way to redirect visitors that encounter a 404 is to either send them to your sites home page or to your sitemap page

We do this by placing a one line of code in your websites .htaccess file

ErrorDocument 404 /sitemap.html

This would redirect all 404 error messages to the sitemap page.

The path to the page you want to display, must already exist on your web server, otherwise the web server will tie itself up in a never ending loop. The full path to the error page must be specified and it must be relative to the root path of that account (remember, placing a / at the front of a file name or directory specifies that it's relative to the root directory).

To make a custom error page, simply create a page using your favorite webpage editor such as MS FrontPage or DreamWeaver. The page can contain anything you wish, such as images, links etc. Save the file as something easy to remember (such as 404errors.html)

I would then suggest you make a directory directly off your /public_html/ folder and call it "error" and place your error files in here.

This would now mean that your .htaccess command line would now look like: ErrorDocument 404 /error/404errors.html

Now whenever a 404 error was generated on your site, your custom error page will be displayed, and keep your web visitors happy.

In the upcoming article, I will expand on this idea, and show you how to you can receive an email notification that a 404 error has occurred on your site. It will tell you what caused the error, and the offending page. Allowing you to try and fix all broken links leading to your site.

Bruce Hearder owns and run http://www.WebsiteSecrets101.com. A site with tips and tricks to getting the most out of your existing website. Signup for the WebSiteSecrets101 newsletter, and learn the tricks webmasters use on their sites.

Decembers Marketing Magic For New Year Success

2008-12-03T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Diana Ennen

Can you believe it's almost Christmas? The holidays are here and then the start of a new year will be upon us. Now is a perfect time to reflect on your business and see if it is all that it can be. Is it running at full speed and do you have all the clients that you need?

If not, it's time to get those engines moving and start into action before the New Year begins. I know, it's the holidays and there's a lot's going on. But also it's the perfect opportunity to connect with your clients and get a head start on potential work for next year. You will find that communication is so much easier when you can utilize holiday greetings, holiday goodies, and holiday presents! Holiday gifts and candy will ease the way to a "Hi, how have you been? Send me more business!" Or for those new potential clients, "Hi, how are youYou need ME!!"

First, reconnect with ALL your clients and let them know how you appreciate them and perhaps how you can help them with other needs they may not even know you offer. Send a personalized holiday card or greeting. For local clients stop by their office and drop off presents, popcorn tins for the staff and/or their favorite coffee for their afternoon pick-me-up. For potential new clients, drop off a Holiday cup full of wrapped candy with your business card or perhaps get your business name printed on the candy bar such as those found at http://www.FUNtasticLettersandWraps.com

Oh yes and for any of those Virtual Assistants out there, don't forget to stop by any small post offices or UPS shops and offer to put your business cards there. Many of these places will add your business card holders directly to the counter. Think how much traffic is going through these places shipping out those presents and what great exposure that can be!! And the best news is that they usually do allow business cards with a business card holder. Just think about it, people waiting impatiently in line, pick up your card and BINGONew Client!

Other tips include:

* Read and research new things. So many great promotions are going on now with the holidays and New Year coming. Look to them and see what's out there and how you can apply it to your business. Take advantage of the teleclasses and seminars that are offered by the pros. Yes, they are going to try and sell you something, but by golly the information you receive will be worth it and you don't have to buy!

* Join Associations: Join the association that you've heard about by so many but haven't made the commitment yet. Start the New Year with a firm commitment to attend at least one engagement a month or more. See what a difference it can make in your business by talking with pros in your industry or networking with businesses, who might utilize your services or products.

* Get moving online. Go to the message boards and chats and network. Meet people and introduce you and your business. Offer tips and suggestions and actively be a part of the forum. I've been in business since 1985 so this year I will be celebrating 20 years in business. I owe a lot of my success to being active on the boards and letting people get to know me and trust me.

* Your Website. Now it can all go to waste if they these potential clients get to your website and see a unprofessional, poorly built, error-ridden, mess of a site. Take a look at your website and see if it is the best that it can be. I constantly update mine at www.virtualwordpublishing.com to try and provide tips and suggestions for those starting a virtual assisting or word processing business. I know the importance of changing it frequently, so people will come back to see what's new.

Look to the overall appearance, the professionalism of your wording, the explanations explaining the benefits you provide, etc. In fact, everything in your site needs to convince a client to work with you. Now ask yourself, does it do that? Is this something I can be proud of? Too often we throw together a website, just to have it done. Remember this can often be a client's first impression of you. Is it selling you well?

So this year as others are shopping and preparing for the holidays, you can instead be preparing your business for the New Year. What a gift that would be for YOUto start your business off with a bang and lots of new clients you secured in your December efforts.

December is a great time to reflect back on the year and plan for the next. Why not plan to make next year, your best one ever! Good Luck and Happy Marketing! -- Diana

Diana Ennen, author, publicist, book marketer and mentor. She has written numerous books on operating a home-based business including Virtual Assistant: the Series and is president of Virtual Word Publishing http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and http://www.Publicity-VA.com

Battle Of Yahoo Msn And Google Over Video Content

2008-12-02T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Razib Ahmed

Until five years ago, most people even in the most developed countries could not imagine of downloading a movie by Internet because of the slow speed of their net. This has changed a lot in the last 5 years as broadband internet is becoming more and more common to various parts of the world. Broadband high speed internet is not only available now but also it is very cheap in many countries. So, the users are hungry for new contents and noting can be more attractive than videos. To catch this market Google, Yahoo and MSN have introduced video facilities for the users. Many kinds of videos are available. Not all the videos are free to download but still the collection of free download is huge.

http://video.google.com/ is the website of Google Video. It has hundreds of video files and to enjoy the video files a user needs a Google Video Player which can be downloaded from the website at free of charge. If a user does not have high speed internet connection then it will take a long time to download a small video file. One of the best advantages of Google Video is that any user can upload his/her own file and then sell it or give it for free. This option has made Google Video very attractive to everyone. Now everyone whose hobby is doing video can become a seller in this market. Google is the number one search engine and searching video with Google is really fun. In Google Video player there is an option for searching video which is really very powerful. Quality of video in Google Video is moderate mainly because this way Google can reach to maximum number of users. If they give only high quality video then the size of file will become too big and many users will not be able to enjoy this facility. One of the best features of Google Video is the diversity of the videos available for downloading. For example, there is one video file of 1896- more than 110 years old. This file is indeed one of the earliest moving images in the world. Another nice feature of Google Video player is that first it downloads the video totally and then shows it. This way, the users don't feel annoyed as they can enjoy uninterrupted video.

This is half of the article. For the rest of the article visit my blog http://asianbiz.blogspot.com/.

Merchant Credit Card Accounts

2008-12-01T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Kent Pinkerton

A business needs a merchant credit card account to accept credit card payments from customers. These companies accept credit card payments through a combination of software and hardware and are usually referred to as credit card merchant accounts. There are two types of merchant credit card accounts. One is the physical credit card merchant account and the other is the web credit card merchant account. By and large higher rates are paid by businesses with web credit card merchant accounts.

As a business owner, it would be prudent on your part to open up a merchant credit card account since so many people tend to pay by credit cards. There have been many studies that show the direct correlation between credit cards and sales volume. It is argued that your sales can increase up to a staggering 40 per cent if you start to accept credit cards.

Therefore, merchant credit cards accounts are simply the best financial step for a business owner. Customers are known to spend more, at time as much as 2 1/2 times more, when they can shop with easy and convenience of credit cards added with the security network. This can also lead to an increase in impulse buying.

A small business owner can best utilize this system of accepting payment. He can increase the efficiency by processing more orders in less time without hiring any additional staff and reap the benefits of increased sales. For online orders, an owner basically opens the email sent by the customer, finds the order and payment processed, and only has to fill in the details for the order and ship the merchandise.

Online credit card merchant accounts do have particular necessities because the business owner can't see the credit card and credit card companies use particular risk factors to evaluate the purchase payment information. On the other hand, during a point-of-sale transaction, processing is completed within seconds.

High Risk Merchant Accounts provides detailed information about high risk merchant accounts, high risk offshore merchant accounts and more. High Risk Merchant Accounts is affiliated with Background Checks.

How To Get Winning Edge In Competition

2008-11-30T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Anandrahi JS

It is a time of economic explosion and stiff competition. Many a business house and vendor get trampled under ruthless competitive wars every month. Then every step to revive them back to business proves futile. Getting a winning edge over your competitors is no more an easy task. Even big business emperors never feel satisfied in their pursuit of economic lust and try every weapon in their arsenal to eliminate competition and monopolise the market.

THINK BIG - GAIN CONFIDENCE

If you want to remain a small fish in the business pond then you can leave everything to fate till you are able to live. But if you want to face sharks and whales of the sea you have to, first, change your thinking. Think big, think progress and plan to swim in a large area. By thinking big for a fairly long time your mental faculties will grow and that will help you develop combating skills and confidence.

One of the most famous psychologists of the world Prof. William James wrote: 'Action seems to follow feeling, but in reality action and feeling go together, and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling.'

If you think big, start acting confidently, and repeat the process. You will be able to change. Gradually it will give you more energy and confidence to face the competition.

COMBAT WITH THE BEST

If you want to gain ability and prominence you must plan to compete with the best in the field. It is a difficult task and you may be lacking in resources. But the big confidence implanted in your mind will help you to get winning edges. History is filled with the examples when small modernised and disciplined armies defeated very large armies. Moreover, you will soon be free from the daily headaches of small competitors emerging all around you. And the big ones don't have enough time to plan to crush down the rising stars like you. They are too busy to fight with the big ones. By using new ideas you may win your battles easily.

VICTORY BY EXCELLENCE

What is the secret behind the success of Intel, IBM, HP, Sony, Philips, Samsung, Nokia, Toyata, Tata and scores of other big companies? All of them have drive for excellence. They know well what a customer wants. A customer of modern world is ready to pay a higher price if he gets quality product. Joy and satisfaction of a customer follow only if a product is of good quality. Every satisfied customer proves a stepping stone to the success of a company. Therefore a wise businessman definitely strives for excellence. It is the biggest success mantra in today's cut-throat competitive world.

HAVE YOU AN IDEA?

A brilliant idea made Coca-Cola the king of the cold drinks in America as well as in many other countries. Then a few energetic persons decided to launch a new cola drink that could challenge the mighty Coca-Cola. That was Pepsi. The task was herculean but the team was enthusiastic and determined. It had ideas. The David (Pepsi) had an excellent mixture to compete with the Goliath (Coca-Cola). They decided to think more and more brilliant ideas to use in marketing and advertisement. The path was laid with thorns of obstacles. But the team continued thinking new ideas and ultimately broke the ice. And everybody can see today the magnificent success of Pepsi. If you are unable to think ideas it can be extremely difficult for you to find a winning edge in competition. A lot of ideas are needed everywhere in manufacturing, marketing, advertising, managing etc. If you find yourself unable to think ideas employ persons who can.

ADVERTISE IMMENSELY

Without adequate advertisement even a financially sound business slowly and surely heads towards elimination. There is so much innovation. New and better products continue flooding the market to confuse the customers. Blazing advertisements of a few compel a customer to forget the remaining. Power of an advertisement is amazing in today's business world. In fact advertisement is the spark plug of a business. Now it is impossible to succeed without it. Your business motor does not run. Business field has become tough and highly competitive. Only a good advertiser succeeds. Advertisers not only supply products according to the demand but they also have power to mould the taste of the public. So advertise immensely and loudly.

(Prominent international Writer, Editor and Teacher) He has trained thousands of persons to get great jobs, improve personality and achieve goals in business. CEO: News of India Network Director: LSE-India (for Communication Skills and Personality Development) Editor: Winners' Delhi News.

Hot-selling Books written by Anandrahi : 1. Fire of Success in Your Mind, 2. Think Your Way to Wealth and Power , 3. Speak English and Influence People, 4. How to Become Rich Like Bill Gates, 5. Internet Business - Your Guide to Super Success The Writers Online - Submit Articles Earn Money

Technologically Boosting The Medical Transcription Company

2008-11-29T22:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joe Miller

Medical Transcription Company

Virtually every medical service provider dictates SOAP notes into recorders for transcription and sends them off to a medical transcription company to transcribe and return a refined copy of necessary medical information.

In fact, without the medical transcription company the medical service provider would be too overburdened with transcription to pay the attention it needs to its clients. However, the medical transcription company has had to undergo technological changes in order to keep up with demand and with competition. Fast-paced medical service requires fast-paced medical transcription. So, which medical transcription company will survive? The answer is the one that takes advantage of time-saving technology.

Medical Transcription

This answer is not at all uncommon now-a-days, but it is especially challenging in the field of medical transcription. Medical transcription is just as it sounds: transcribing on paper the notes that were audio recorded. It doesn't seem at first that much more technology is needed than a word processor and a cassette tape player.

The crux of the matter is controlling quantity. Effective records of SOAP notes, especially in the quantities supplied by medical offices, require the technological ability to not only record medical transcription but also to track it and store it.

Medical Transcription Job

The medical transcription job would be daunting at best without the help of technology. Let me review a general version of a medical transcription job check list:

1. Receive tapes from medical service provider.

2. Transcribe 1st draft of SOAP notes.

3. Save transcription.

4. Continue process with entire batch.

5. Review medical transcription for errors.

6. Make changes on 1st draft of medical transcriptions.

7. Send medical transcriptions back to medical service provider.

8. Bill medical service provider.

This process most often overlaps itself due to the management of multiple batches from multiple service providers. Organizational skill is high up on the requirements list for a medical transcription specialist.

Medical Transcription Program

Due to the massive amounts of medical transcription jobs and batches continually being sent back and forth between medical service providers and the medical transcription company, the market has awakened to meet medical transcription needs. Looking for a medical transcription program is so easy, it's hard. Just type "medical transcription program" into Google, Yahoo, or MSN and witness first hand the millions of indexed pages you might have to sift through.

In your search for a versatile medical transcription program suitable to medical service providers' needs, there are a few things to keep in mind. A medical transcription program has the ability to work in house, without IT infrastructure overhead.

There are additional medical transcription program specs to keep an eye out for. For example, a medical transcription program which combines the secure storage of medical databases and medical transcription provides the security and accessibility a medical service provider needs.

The right medical transcription program also provides organization for tracking the editorial stages of the SOAP notes and securing them, as well as sending them back to the right medical service provider.

The medical service provider runs a race of efficiency and professionalism in order to stay in business. The right medical transcription program provides a technological boost to propel medical service providers ahead of the rest of the pack.

Joe Miller is an author of informational articles and online advertisements on business, technology, and health. Information on Medical Transcription Company is available at AdvancedMD.com.

Is Your Business Safe

2008-11-28T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Sue And Chuck DeFiore

Well, is it! Do you back up your files on a regular basis? Do you have a back up plan in place? What's important to your business and what isn't? What happens if you get hurt, who will run your business? Do you have customers come to your business? What if they get hurt, are you covered? What about all the equipment you have, is it covered?

These are all questions a home based business owner, (in fact, any business owner) should have answers to and plans in place for.

You must have a system in place to back up your files. Since most of us use computers today, be sure you back up at least once a week. If you really want to be efficient and make it easy on yourself, get a Maxtor hard drive with the one button back up feature. For less than $200, you can not afford to be without one if you have a lot of files. If you don't have that many files then a Zip drive will suffice. We have an I-Omega that cost us only $70.

Ok, you say what should I back up? Anything that is important to you. Your customer database, templates you use on a consistent basis. If you are like us and sell e-manuals, and books, you need to have them backed up. We have all of our products backed up on disk, CD, and a mirror copy of our hard drive. We back up once a week. We use the Maxtor drive with one button back up. However, if I am working on a project, I back it up every time I make a change. In fact, whenever I am working during the day I use a working disk that I save to in addition to saving on my hard disk. When I save a document I am working on, I then go to save as and save it on my disk drive. This avoids not having an up to date document if my computer crashes. So your backup would consist of files you use a lot, customer database, your products, and anything else that is imperative to keeping your business up and running.

Now what do you do with these back ups. Well, if you are smart you have a Safe that is fireproof, and you put your disk and hard disk back ups in the Safe. When you do your weekly back ups you pull them out and just overwrite them. If you haven't made any changes on your product disks then you don't have to do them. You want to be sure your Safe is fireproof for at least 2 hours. We have a Sentry Safe. While not an inexpensive business expense, it is a very important one. Depending on how much you need to put in a Safe cost will vary. In addition to having back ups in your Safe, you should also have a set of back ups that are located off site. For example, a safety deposit box is a great place for back up copies, important papers etc.

As a business owner you also need to have disability insurance. So if you get hurt you are covered until you are up and running again. There are number of companies that deal specifically in disability insurance. I would suggest however you check them out carefully, and ask to speak to long time customers for references. You want to be sure they pay when you need them to without having to go through hoops, or canceling your coverage afterwards.

And most important is an insurance policy. The best home business policy we have found is by Hartford Insurance. They have a policy specifically for home based businesses. They cover everything. Obviously cost will depend on the limits you set. This is the best policy we have found out there. For those of you who are AARP members you can call 1-888-466-9675 to inquire about this program. By the way, if you are 50 and over becoming a AARP member is a must.

If you want to keep your business and yourself safe be sure to implement the procedures outlined. Believe us, you will be glad you did.

Copyright 2003 DeFiore Enterprises

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com

Reciprocal Link Scams

2008-11-27T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Kevin Kantola

Reciprocal link scams are on the rise. It is no secret that most search engines count the quantity and quality of incoming links to a website when deciding how to rank it. In fact some give weight to the ratio of incoming links versus outbound links. This has lead some webmasters to use some unscrupulous tactics in order to inflate their search engine rankings at the expense of their link partners.

FFA Links Pages

Free for all (FFA) links pages are worthless and potentially harmful for your incoming link to be on. If a potential partner has a page with no Page Rank and over 30 outbound links be careful about placing your link there. True FFA pages may have hundreds of outbound links on a page all going to a wide variety of irrelevant websites.

This will either be worthless in helping your website in the rankings race or it may harm your rankings as some search engines will penalize your website for having a link on an FFA page. If your link is on a partner site that has over 30 outbound links, this may not be a true FFA page, but most likely this page will be disregarded by the search engines. This will not be a good trade either. Your goal is to have quality links pointing to your website. Why give out a quality link from your website if you don't receive one in return.

Disconnected Links Pages

Disconnected links pages come in three types. The first type is a standalone page that does not link to any other page on the website. Sometimes a Webmaster will isolate the links page by not linking it to any page whatsoever. In the second type, the Webmaster can bury the page by linking it 4 or more levels down from the homepage (robots usually do not crawl this deep) and thus this link page will never be indexed and your link will not count as an inbound link.

The third type of disconnected page is a links page with a URL that is different from the domain name of the site you want to link to. This link page may be created by a service on the web or software, but if you link to a partner's URL with a particular domain name, make sure this same domain name is linking back to you. The Webmaster will use this tactic in order to receive lots of incoming links on his site and appear to the search engines not to have a bunch of outbound links from his site (your link is actually on another site, remember).

Dynamic Link Pages

While not necessarily a scam, this technique can leave you on the short end of the reciprocal linking stick. It is no secret that most search engine robots have difficulty in indexing dynamic pages (the ones with the "?" in the URL) and simply by-pass these pages. Some webmasters have taken to creating their reciprocal links pages dynamically instead of statically. The downside is that most of the time these links will never show up in the search engines. The webmasters get a reciprocal link from your website which most likely is static and has some Page Rank and in return, they put your link on their page which has no Page Rank and will never show up in the search engines. This doesn't sound like an even trade does it?

One way to check this out is while you are in the process of checking out some potential link partner sites (and if you have the Google toolbar) check out the Page Rank on your potential partners' link pages. If the page rank is zero this does not necessary mean they are dynamic but it warrants further investigation. If you go back and then forward in your browser you can usually see if the page is dynamic. Also, many times the page will have an .asp at the end or .php and probably a "?" in the URL as mentioned before.

If you like this potential link partner's website you can always ask to trade links on a static page and / or some page with a Page Rank of more than zero.

What can I do to insure a fair link trade?

You can insure a fair link trade by first checking out your potential partner's links page where your link will appear. Look to see that it is static and has some Page Rank. Verify that the URL of the links page comes from the same domain as the rest of the website. Also make sure there are not over 30 outbound links on this page. Also, start on the homepage and trace the route to the links page. If it is more than 2 levels down from the homepage, then don't trade (unless there is some Page Rank of course). Make sure you can trace the path to the links page to verify it is not a standalone page.

Copyright © 2004 SEO Resource

Professional SEO Solutions

Kevin Kantola is the CEO of SEO Resource, a California search engine optimization company, and has published many articles over the past 20 years.

Restaurants Startup And Systems Success

2008-11-26T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Daryl Des Marais

If you have a restaurant business or are planning on starting a restaurant business then there are several things you will need to do. Find the right products and supplies to start your organization. hiring the right staff, having a menu that is attractive to local consumers, and above all having the right location with the right atmosphere. Some good principles to follow when doing this is develop a business start-up strategy covering the above areas.
In starting a restaurant you may want to consider restaurants that are for sale, but be wary of the cost of leasing and the condition of the current business infrastructure and services to the building. You want to be able to start a restaurant with a minimum number of headaches when it comes to bills in the first few months. What is most important is generating the volume of customers you need and having a suitable systems and staffing operation to carry through on your potential successes.
Having worked under a successful chef in a French Bistro in the past, who ended up selling his business in a matter of years, over 20 years ago and helping some other owners become successful in expanding their customer base I can give you a few pointers.
1. Location of the Restaurant- This is key to the future of your business, the location must be suitable to traffic, if it is not then you better have a ... good reason for people to get to your location that no one else has. Traffic by foot and by cars as well as other means is important. Determining the traffic numbers in both these areas as others is very important for future business reasons.
2. Finding the Right Supplies for your Restaurant- There are so many suppliers in the restaurant industry and there are also numerous brokers, repairmen and resellers. You must tread carefully and do your homework, determine the benefits of the purchase and the costs. It could be as simple as drawing a line down the paper and including positive and negatives or doing a more involved cost benefit analysis. Also having an accountant review the opportunity would be beneficial in saving you problems down the road.
An example of a restaurant management supplier is: http://www.sodexho.com/food-management-services/restaurant-supply-wholesale.htm
3. Menu- One of the most important things may be the menu, especially in a larger city where there is more competition. You must adhere strictly to a defined menu that accentuates you and word of mouth about the best food you have in your chosen specialty. Size of the menu is also important in consideration of your costs and the types of foods you want to serve and or mix using basic ingredients. The opportunity to have prepared food is also available in assisting you with labour costs in preparing food.
An example for cost effective menu making online is: http://www.themenumaker.com/
4. Staffing- Staffing can be challenging, and in this industry, like other industries that can be entry-level at times it may be hard to find workers with dedication, principle and good ethics. Developing a good job description including duties and expectations and having a training day and or someone to assist them in job shadowing is beneficial. There are numerous other opportunities that you can use in developing HR Strategy. A good business example of HR Strategy in business would be IBM. In the restaurant industry you might look to good examples such as McDonald's, Starbucks or A&W. You might not have the leverage they have to offer some of the services of strategies but there are opportunities to offer similar environments. This however, takes a lot of time and work and having a hr consultant or business consultant would be beneficial. Having team uniforms may be one way to identify with your customers and may also benefit your staff's hygiene. A good example is: http://www.bestbuyuniforms.com/
5. Layout, Design and Attraction- This can make or break some businesses in the restaurant industry depending on their competition and consumer demand. Some areas expect a certain level of quality in service or food or variety in food selection. Other areas demand a layout that is unique and appealing or beneficial for movement. There are many options and completing a little research, getting feedback from other developers and restaurants.
A good book to read on restaurant design is: http://www.successfulrestaurantdesign.com/
6. Business Systems- There are numerous business systems available in the restaurant industry such as Squirrel, Microsoft etc. For more information on some of the current advanced portable systems see: http://www.actionsystems.com/
Daryl Des Marais is a Business Development Consultant that has helped several entrepreneurs in service businesses expand and develop their businesses revenues and/or locations. He is a private partner in http://www.businessgrowth.ca

Swindlers List

2008-11-25T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Mitchell Allen

MMF Madness
The initials alone should scare you. It evokes memories of cult comic books such as Tales from the Crypt, where the hapless heroine, hog-tied and gagged, strains against the bindings, uttering, "Mmmf!"
Perhaps it brings to mind a more pedestrian epithet. Whatever the case, Make Money Fast schemes abound. The gullibility of humans is actually a commodity. Scammers, spammers and scum-sucking bottom feeders trade shares of naïveté on the open markets of HYIP and AFF(419). I tried to warn people but, I realize that the best way to learn that fire is hot is to fry your fingers. So here are some "hot tips" for you:

What Happened to 12DailyPro, Anyway? "I told you so" doesn't do justice to the topic of this classic Ponzi scheme. Stick this in your Google pipe and smoke it: "12dailypro investigation"
DEAR SIR/MADAM URGENT! Dear friend, Firstly, I'm soliciting your utmost confidentiality in this email.
I need your help to move a large sum from the National Bank of Incredulity.
Here's your burn cream: www.mmfhoh.org (MMF Hall of Humiliation) has a great collection of scams. Another site, http://419eater.com (419 Eater), has some of the most hilarious accounts of average people fighting back against the so-called Nigerian Scam. The site is named 419 after the section of the Nigerian penal code that deals with Advance Fee Fraud cases.
Multi-Level Marketing Madness
There is a particularly nasty crust of filth in the bellybutton of the web. I've scraped out a bit of this malodorous goop and placed it under the microscope. Here is what I found:

Business Opportunity "Reviews" I will not dignify the following sites with an active link.

Whoever put up www.mlmscamzone.com and mlmscampolice.com claims to have bought into so many MLM opportunities that he or she can now pass judgment and declare the "best opportunity". The problem is that these two sites are exactly the same, except for the affiliate link, which appears to be auto-rotated.
www.chasefreedom.com buys a lot of pay per click ads for diet-related businesses. Each page talks about the targeted company.
At the end of each "review" is an affiliate link to the "Highest Reviewed" diet. I don't know what yardstick was used, because the only place I could find a rating was on the page that "reviews" the so-called best diet!
While the program being touted may be decent, a website masquerading as an unbiased source of information is just crusty. The right way to do this is to provide content, interspersed with affiliate links and full disclosure.

Real Life Daubers I spoofed an MLM in Awesome Business Opportunity. It was based on my experience with a company that created and sold "collectibles". I argued with two associates who were trying their best to recruit me. I couldn't grasp the compensation plan.
Remember the good old days? You bought inventory wholesale, sold it retail, paid your bills from the revenue and counted your profits? Well, here's a twist: you buy stuff at retail, then trick your friends into buying the same stuff. If you trick enough people, the company will reward you with some kind of digital bonus card. There's lots of vague references to money, but never mind that; your job is to keep buying stuff to remain eligible to trick more people.
The product is never something that is easy to sell (that is one of the "tests" for a business opportunity: can the product be purchased at Wal-Mart?) In this company, you were encouraged to buy hundreds of dollars of nouveau art from unknown artists. By limiting the production runs, the company hoped to create "demand" for the art. The stock market analogy was carried to an extreme: twice a year, the company held conventions during which the associates could buy, sell and traded their paintings.
The company's fatal flaw was that it was headquartered in the state of Texas. Texas law entitles consumers to return MLM products for up to a year. Somewhere along the line, something must have happened to the associates' expectations.
Dissatisfied customers made a run on the company's coffers, demanding refunds for all the art they couldn't sell. The company crashed and burned into Chapter 7 history.
No burn cream for you, here. Tread lightly in the MLM world.
More than Traffic Madness
Saving the worst for last, morethantraffic.com is the ultimate scam. Create a professional looking website. Imply that you have had wild success in the xxx industry and have decided to share your technology with the rest of the world. Then, disguise the fact that you're really just repackaging a common service and selling it at a usurious mark-up.
It helps if you really have had this success, because the sharp people are going to try to verify it.
With bona fides in hand, you just have to convince prospects that you won't take any of their profits until they reach $100,000 in sales from the targeted traffic you're going to send to them. Bolster this with a fake survey of their website and tell them that 12,788 people are ready to buy their product right now, fool!
Once you reel them in, hit them with this minor detail: "Um, you'll need to host your redirect page on our server. Because, uh, that's where we get to screw you out of your money. We have to charge a high web hosting fee because, frankly, there is no way you're ever going to make $100,000 dollars!" Your burn cream: over 1,900 posts on www.scam.com.
Short answer: it's a scam and earns lowest honors on Swindler's List.
Mitchell Allen is an advocate for cross-networking: synergistically linking multiple social networks in order to increase membership exposure.
He writes for fun and profit at WritingUp.com

Digital Printing Company

2008-11-24T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Eric Morris

Printing digitally is a technology that permits linking printing presses to computers that proves beneficial in a number of ways: faster turnaround times, lowered production and setup costs and the ability to personalize documents easily. This moderately new technology is prominent in the printing industry because it's a modestly more efficient way of printing. Printing has now caught up with the digital age utilizing digital means to help businesses produce their printing needs that are faster and inexpensive than ever before.
When referring to digital printing, one should be aware that there are a couple of different ways to describe digital printing like short-run printing, on-demand printing, etc., and each term is used interchangeably. The process of digital printing involves gathering information, i.e. image, text, or both through an analog like scanning a document or through a digital means like using a digital camera or word processor document. Conversion of information gathered is essential. The file format needs to be converted to a useable file, such as TIFF, or EPS. Printing can be started almost immediately after the design and layout is set.
There are many methods used for printing. Digitally inkjet printing is the most important printer technology for home, home offices and many small businesses. Inkjet printers are reasonably priced and produce good color output but are slow. Thermal wax printers churn out colorful printouts, but require very smooth coated paper or transparencies for best output. Thermal wax printing technology works in a good way for businesses that need to produce large quantities of transparencies for colorful business presentations.
Dye-sublimation printing method is favored by some graphic designers for high-end proofing and by some businesses that want to produce the best possible color materials in-house. Electrostatic printing is a process for printing or copying in which electrostatic forces are used to form the image in powder or ink directly on the surface to be printed; the process basically uses toner instead of ink to add color spotlessly to produce media, decorative or package printing. Spray jet printing process is similar to the inkjet process, however the ink is applied to the substrate using spray nozzles.
Digital printing is very cost effective, and setup costs are significantly lower than most plate printing methods. This makes digital printing much more affordable. Digital images can be produced in practically any size. Digital imaging allows quick turnarounds and the ability to change images easily. Most conventional printing methods involve proofs and tedious setups and thus digital printing is a much more simplified process.
Printing Company provides detailed information on Printing Company, Digital Printing Company, Check Printing Company, Personal Check Printing Company and more. Printing Company is affiliated with Digital Printing Services.

How To Utilize My Space

2008-11-23T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Ryan Colby

Once a person has set up their internet business and has had some success with it, they then need to start looking at ways to utilize their online space, which will help their business grow.
The most important thing to do when growing your online business is to utilize your space effectively. There are a number of ways to do that. First, think of your online business as a room you are trying to expand. You can either expand it by getting a bigger room, or adding on to the one you already have. Whether one chooses to expand their space by adding on or exchanging it for a larger room, the key to growth is finding out which choice will yield you the results you are looking for.
This article will try to help you figure out which choice suits you best.
How to utilize your space effectively?
Google AdSense is a fast and easy way for online businesses to earn and generate passive income. Google AdSense targets ads specifically design for online business owner's customers. However, although a lot of online business owners know this, they don't know that they can carry alternative ads also or instead of google.
If this is something that might interest you see if it would be applicable to utilizing your space effectively.
Location
Think about opening another location for your business As mentioned in the introduction, one can either add on to their business or locate to a bigger space.
If your business is of high quality and you are thinking of expanding your customer base this is a viable option.
Remember non-online businesses move to different locations all the time, especially when they might need to attract more customers.
Franchise
Another way to utilize your space is by turning your business into a franchise. By doing that your business will grow, plus it is another way to generate passive income without necessarily doing more work?
License your product
Another way to utilize your space is by licensing a product you own, assuring continued growth, and generating passive income. If you have a product that is in demand then license it and every time another business uses your product you will get money.
Hook up with another business
If you want to utilize your space effectively hook up with another business. This is usually referred to as a merger. Every business has their strengths and weaknesses. If you can merge or at least offer a partnership with another business that is strong where you are weak and vice versus then your business can grow in a number of ways.
Website
Utilize your space by make sure your website is attractive, easy to read for visitors and offer high quality products. If necessary, hire a web designer but nothing turns off visitors then a website that look and feels cheap.
SEO
Utilize your space by making sure that your website is geared for SEO (search engine optimization). High traffic results in bigger profit. When trying to make you business grows through SEO make sure that you do it honestly. The way to do that is by making sure your site is link up with high quality sites.
A person can also hire a consultant who can help improve their business SEO, but make sure the consultant is honorable and know what is the "legal" way to do it.
Conclusion
Think about how to utilize your space effectively, so that your online business can grow. Whether growth comes by adding on to your business or finding a bigger space the choice is yours. The key to take your time before choosing which approach will be the most effective for you.
Ryan Colby is a professional internet marketer specializing in creating wealth building systems online. To learn how to generate passive cashflow from the comfort of your own home, please visit http://www.passive-cashflow.com

Asian Business Strategy And Approaches Today Compared To The West Lessons From The Classic Text On

2008-11-22T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Dr. Jason Armstrong

Sun Tzu's "Art of War" is considered to provide the most profound lessons for leadership, and victory in East or the West. Today its principles are applied to business all over the world. This classic body of work came from life and death scenarios, which evolved from empire, trade and political struggles. Obviously today's corporate world does not induce anywhere near as strong a mechanism for change, or success, as the consequences of failure in business are far less than warfare. Nonetheless, the trickle down lessons from the "Art of War" are definitely applicable to any organized effort, project or business. Although Chinese in origin, the "Art of War" and lessons from Zen were adopted by Japanese groups such as the Samurai and Corporate Japan for clarity of mind, decision making and strategy.
Past and Present: Modern Asia is now very different from its past. The question is: how much do today's managers in an environment like Japan apply these principles? In short, the answer is that some components of the "Art of War" are easily spotted broadly across Japanese business culture and other attributes of the text are rare. Looking at specific companies, or managers, one will sometimes see avid followers of the principles of the "Art of War", and sometimes very little application at all. The roots of almost any good strategic plan can be found in the text the "Art of War" so it's implementation is also present in Western business (even if it not derived by someone who directly studied the text).
Alliances: Using alliances is a key strategic component of the "Art of War". This translates to partnering in the business world. Business partnering models and strategies based on the "Art of War" are outlined in detail in a downloadable video series by Applied Zen (www.AppliedZen.com). This article will not go into the details of such strategies but rather relate to their presence in Japanese business today and make comparisons to Western business. The importance of partnering and relationships is apparent to anyone who has done business in Japan. While these may not always portrait the efficiency of Sun Tzu's "Art of War" strategies, partnering in Japan has permeated almost every aspect of Japanese business to an extreme. Over the years it has evolved to a degree of "middle men" involvement not seen in the West. The benefits, and hindrances, of such a system are often discussed by those doing business in Japan. Strategic partnering if carried out correctly should optimize sales, marketing, reduce operational requirements and create synergies that a company who approaches end point sales cannot. From Sun Tzu's teachings such partnering strategies should also be put into product development (both the item itself and the marketing of it) as a process not an after thought once the product is finished. Again, broadly speaking, Japan is rich with examples of this type of implementation.
Leadership and Decisions: The "Art of War" offers many lessons on leadership and people management. After all, if you can create a situation where people are willing to follow you into battle and die, there must be valuable motivation and leadership practices in place. Nowadays in Japan, one can see good examples of team co-operation and communication, and yet also some very bad examples. For example, Japan is a group-oriented society and usually makes decisions on that basis. Therefore, typically more staff are consulted and informed about decisions and ideas while they are in the making. However, this draws out the decision process. In comparison, Western companies often have decisions made only by upper management and then the ruling is put into the company as policy. In this Western approach, it is common for staff to learn about the policy only after it is announced. (the net result is often a long time before staff "buy-in" and policy becomes practice). The interesting thing about these two different approaches is that the time spent from contemplating a new idea to company implementation is very similar in both cultures, despite the generally faster decision making that occurs in the West. When one considers staff compliance and conflict avoidance, the Japanese way is better in that more staff are involved in the communication before policy is induced.
Communication: On the other side of staff communication, the Japanese environment does not encourage pro-activity like Western organizations. In fact, to suggest radical alternatives is often considered "rocking the boat" and is not a good career move inside Japanese businesses. In comparison the "Art of War" clearly identifies the need for taking calculated risks to gain intelligence as well as potentially gain ground. In the 1990's Stephen Covey's name became famous through the publication of the "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". As many know the "7 habits" are not a group of new concepts but age old approaches to success. They are simply represented in a way that can be clearly applied to modern day personal and corporate development. The same precepts are taught in a number of ancient development and achievement, arts such as: Zen (which is not a religion, but a path for self discovery and growth), the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu, and the Tao de Ching (the "book of change"). Covey's first "habit" is pro-activity. This is based on recognizing, just as Sun Tzu did, that not taking some calculated short-term risks due to fear of action, is the sure way to long-term failure. In contrast Japanese business behavior is generally very risk adverse. On the flip side, Sun Tsu's "Art of War" stresses the importance of defense and conservative advancement. It is the balancing of risk and conservative defense that must be strategically planned to ensure victory.
Synergize: The "Art of War" by Sun Tzu, is often superficially viewed as an aggressive approach to victory. However, it is essentially a master text on "Conflict Management" and "Win-Win" scenarios. Again the modern day programs such as Covey's "7 habits" possess such precepts ("Win-Win", habit 4 of Stephen Covey and "Synergize", habit 6). Japanese models of partnering and distribution encompass these ideas.
S.W.O.T: Zen, the "Art of War", and the book of change (Tao de Ching) are all about self-analysis and understanding. They allow one to understand yourself and your organization's: strengths and weaknesses, and therefore how to synergize with others to achieve positive outcomes. These things have a direct correlation to Western company S.W.O.T review (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). A better understanding of how one can approach self and competitior analysis from an "Art of War" business perspective can be found at www.AppliedZen.com. Generally, in comparing the authors dealings with Japanese workers and companies, to many Western organizations, it seems that Japan places more attention on understanding one's own, and competitor's, position before acting. Again this relates to setting out a strategic path before embarking on a journey rather than exploring options as you go. Again reflecting on Japanese actions with regard to modern Western corporate trainers, Stephen Covey has said, "begin with the end in mind"(Habit 2 of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People).
Training: Continuing to train employee skills and undergo development both in-house and outside a company is essential. As the ancient samurai saying says: "Continually sharpen the sword or it will go blunt!" Generally the Japanese are quite good about providing thorough in-house training for tasks and sales. However, compared to many Western companies, outside training to create new ideas is rare. On the flip side, many Western companies (particularly smaller ones) are often a bit light with regards to in-house development.
Embracing Change: All the above methods (old and new) are about changing base behavior, beliefs and approaches. These are core values, and are far more important than putting band-aids on problems, or approaching things with simply a behavior change. In regard to the ancient philosophies, they of course must be interpreted, and applied, using case studies in a context that matches the modern corporate world. Japan today is a very different place than preached by its ancient philosophical ideals. Japanese businesses and employees are generally not as good as the West at embracing, or coping with change one of the few things in life which is inevitable. All people and cultures struggle with change and it is openness to it is the subject of the classic Chinese text "Tao de Ching".
Etiquette: Many people at first glance take the strategic approaches of the "Art of War" to be aggressive. As outlined above Sun Tzu's work is quite the opposite - avoiding conflict and aggression is in fact the thesis. Etiquette and humanity is absolutely built into all issues, and one obvious connection is the value of partners, networking and not creating enemies. In Japan, the depth of etiquette is very extreme which again provides a similar link to the "Art of War" which has evolved over time.
This article only touches the surface of a few of Sun Tzu's strategies and lessons. It also eludes to some Japanese behavior in a generalized fashion (in any culture there are always exceptions). The study of Japanese corporate behavior relative to such Asian arts such as Zen and the "Art of War" is a fascinating area of study with lessons that can be applied to doing better business in the Asian environment, or in the West.
About the author:
Jason Armstrong, Ph.D., has worked at CEO levels in Japan, the USA, & Australia. He has also consulted for large multi-national companies in Japan and has specialized in the "Art of War" for more than 20 years. His merging of Asian strategy and the business world was further developed by living with a Japanese budo master. In the last 6 years he has consulted with Japanese companies such as Mitsubishi Pharmaceutical and been General Manager of a US company in Tokyo. Today he runs http://www.AppliedZen.com , which conducts workshops in the USA Australia and Japan.

S Corporation Advantages

2008-11-21T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Eric Morris

The primary advantages S corporations have over regular corporations are tax-related. Owners of S corporations are not subjected to the double taxation all C corporations face. Profits can be passed through the owners' individual income tax, while the corporation itself is not taxed.
The main advantages corporations have over sole propriety businesses are their limited personal liability. S corporations can have this same protection but not subject themselves to corporate taxation.
Being able to easily raise funds is also another advantage corporations have over sole proprietorships. However, since a corporation is considered its own entity, the profits of a corporation are taxed, and the shareholders are taxed again for the same income. In an S corporation, shareholders directly file the income as individual income, while the corporation itself is not taxed.
Another advantage S corporations have is they can declare interest paid for S corporation stocks as an investment interest expense. S corporations are subject to similar rules as those with a sole proprietorship or partnership type of business. Since money obtained from S corporations are not considered wages, they are not subject to self-employment tax.
When starting a business, it may be undesirable to offer fringe benefits to employees, because it may not be affordable. S corporations are given favorable treatment over non-corporations due to their ability to deduct expenses such as this from their taxes. While sole proprietorships can only deduct 30% of benefits, such as medical insurance, S corporations are allowed to deduct 100% of the cost.
When looking into what type of entity your business should be, you should balance the legal protection, as well as the tax saving you will receive. There is no perfect form, but some will offer you more advantages over the other. Contacting a tax lawyer is the best way to figure out what is best for your situation.
S Corporations provides detailed information on S Corporations, S Corporations versus C Corporations, S Corporation Forms, S Corporation Advantages and more. S Corporations is affiliated with Limited Liability Corporation Definition.

Iso 9000 Training

2008-11-20T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Peter Emerson

ISO 9000 training is the process of training individuals for the purpose of attaining ISO certification. ISO 9000 is a set of standards implemented by organizations for quality management systems that control the fabrication of a product or service. Perhaps today?s most popular generic international standard, it guarantees first-rate quality at all stages of design, development, manufacturing and delivery.
ISO 9000 training enables an individual to understand various quality standards as well as how they are basically planned. That is, it provides a clears idea about the interrelationship of ISO 9000, ISO 9001 and ISO 9004. The training program is also good for understanding ISO requirements and various ISO clauses. Most ISO 9000 training courses also include introduction to the ISO 9000 quality management system (QMS), process documentation, implementing an efficient QMS, and process auditing.
Process documentation workshops help you learn how to document your management system. This includes detailed methods for developing, documenting and implementing your business and quality processes. These programs also help you gain practical experience.
Before receiving ISO 9000 certification, businesses conduct an audit of documents and methods. An auditor training course help you train your own auditors to conduct process audits. These courses explain how to carry out a process audit and how to audit documented and undocumented processes.
Stat-A-Matrix in New Jersey, Management Systems International in California, and ISO 9000 Network in Massachusetts are some of the leading companies offering ISO 9000 training and consulting. They provide on-site seminars and help organizations achieve ISO 9000 registration. Their training covers the most up-to-date information, process mapping, and project management. Their classes are developed and delivered by ISO 9000 experts.
ISO 9000 provides detailed information on ISO 9000, ISO 9000 Standards, ISO 9000 Software, ISO 9000 Consulting and more. ISO 9000 is affiliated with Home Inspections.

Understanding Accounting Vocabulary

2008-11-19T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by John Nowly

The following article is an excerpt from the free online course "Using Finance & Accounting in Your Small Business".
When you learn something new like accounting concepts and terms, it helps to create links between what you know and what you are trying to learn. In some ways, it is like learning a second language and decoding the new word is part of the learning process. For example, trying to translate the Spanish word necesario you might brainstorm with necessary - and you would be right. How about blanco? Blanco is like blank which is like white. So, blanco is Spanish for the color white.
Try to make some logical connections about the accounting vocabulary. Take the word - accounting - and think about it. Really, the accounting system is a basic counting of what goes on in your business.
Let's move on to transactions. Transactions are the business activities, or actions, that build day by day and become your expenses and income. Try to think about the term - transactions. Actions are business activities, and trans means across or thru. These are the basic building blocks of an accounting system. Transactions are to accounting like what raw materials are to a factory, or gasoline is to your engine - the transactions are real and how your accounting system handles them impacts your business.
You must keep a record of your transactions to know how much money your business earned and how much money your business spent. Sounds obvious, right? Ask your bookkeeper or accountant how obvious some transactions are. It can get tricky quickly if you are not clear about what happened in the transaction and how you want it recorded.
For example, if you were a carpenter you might pay cash for a bucket of nails to assemble hand made wooden deck chairs. The nail purchase is a transaction and will have to be counted as a business expense. In your workshop, you then assemble the chair using a pneumatic nail gun, sand paper, stain and varnish. The next day you deliver the chair to a customer in a neighboring town. You hand the customer a sales slip and they then write you a check. That, too, is a transaction. It is easy to see the transactions when money is spent or received. Did you, however, see the other transactions?
The stain and varnish, nail gun use and chair parts were also part of the transaction. What about the gasoline and truck used to deliver the chair? Did you have any left over nails or did you use them all? Maybe there is a little life left in the sand paper but it is not new anymore, is it? If we do not account for those costs we are missing a piece of the picture-an important piece-that could affect how much money you have at the end of the year.
In all your business activities, try to think in terms of transactions because once you can identify what transactions occur in your business, you will be able to organize them into a meaningful manner. Right now, take a minute to list what transactions occur in your business each day, week and year. Always thinking in terms of transactions might seem miserly, but it is important to be cost-conscious and honest with yourself about all your transactions. Your success in business depends upon it.
Some transactions are initiated by customers and suppliers. Other transactions can take place inside your business or back office. The bookkeeping department creates transactions when they adjust your books for year-end considerations like machinery depreciation or inventory shrinkage.
What is depreciation? Let's say you bought a brand new car, a 2006 Professor Now Coupe, and you spend $27,500 on this new car. Next year the car has some dings on the doors, wear on the tires, stains on the seats and 20,000 miles on the engine. You know your car is not worth $27,500 anymore. This means your car has lost value or depreciated.
When it comes to business owned equipment, you can deduct this lost value as a business expense. Sure, you did not spend cash on the lost value but with depreciation, this is a transaction your bookkeeper or accountant will force through at the end of the year. On your taxes, it helps you by increasing your expenses like all other cash transactions. Of course, the other side of depreciation means your equipment is not worth as much anymore.
In order for you to get a really clear picture of how your business is operating, you need to be diligent and thoughtful about what your real expenses are. Depreciation is a real expense even though it is not a cash transaction.
Learning to see transactions for what they are takes practice and contemplation. Transactions affect so many areas of your business that you must analyze the daily details so you can piece together the big picture.
ProfessorNow.com offers free educational courses in an easy to follow format ranging from academic to non-academic subjects. To view a free online course covering the subject of this article, please visit http://www.professornow.com/coursedescription/ufasmallbusiness/index.html

Corporate Buyouts Of Mines Play Part In Safety Issues

2008-11-18T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Diane M. Grassi

West Virginia was the second largest producer of coal in the United States in 2005, producing 160 million tons or 13% of total production, while Wyoming was number one, producing 380 million tons, approximately 35% of the nation's total coal production. However, the coal produced by West Virginia is more in demand than that which is produced in western states as it is considered a cleaner burning coal.
With demand for alternative energy sources in the U.S. at an all time high, the price of coal doubled over the past two years, as natural gas and oil prices have sky rocketed with supplies diminishing, especially in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico in August of 2005. The Gulf produces nearly 40% of the nation's natural gas and refines nearly 30% of the nation's oil and is still hampered by the storm's devastation. In 2006, coal is expected to provide over 50% of the energy necessary for U.S. electric utilities and speculators expect the future of the coal industry to extend its growth over the next decade, returning to its rate of production prior to the 1970's.
The tragedies of the 2005 hurricane season along the Gulf Coast as well as the subsequent flooding of New Orleans, LA served to expose flawed emergency services systems on all levels of government in addition to failed levee maintenance. Victims who endured Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita as well as several other storms in Louisiana, Mississippi, parts of Texas as well as Florida, have been promised that government and its respective agencies would be examined and mistakes made would be corrected. Yet it remains to be seen if proper funding oversight will be followed through or if indeed lessons will be learned.
Similarly, the mining explosion of Sago Mine in Tallmansville, WVA, in which 12 miners lost their lives on January 2, 2006, with one surviving miner who still remains in a coma as of a week later, will be steeped in paperwork and months of several independent investigations, including federal and state hearings. While it would appear that running a mining operation is fairly straight forward, the fact that the work in this underground mine is done 25 stories below the surface of the earth, makes it ripe for facts to be less than forthcoming. But maybe the legacy of the tragedy of Sago will unveil the real cost of the purchase of mining operations in the 21st century, by investors with little or no interest in the history of mining or its real inherent risks.
The evolution of mining technology as well as the work of the United Mine Workers Association (UMWA) has led the way for miners' safety rights vastly improving the lives of miners throughout the U.S. The UMWA was largely responsible for the advent of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, known as the Coal Act, which established health and safety standards for miners both in underground and above-ground mines. The Bureau of Mines was given the power to levy fines and criminal penalties on mines in violation of the law. In addition, free chest x-rays were available for underground miners as well as a compensation fund.
The Coal Act was amended in 1977 in what is now known as the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, or the Mine Act, which is the prevailing legislation today. The Mine Act helped strengthened the Coal Act with better enforcement of its statutes and combined federal safety and health regulations for all mines, coal and non-coal, under the same piece of legislation. In addition, a new agency within the Department of Labor, known as the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) was established with a director appointed by the president of the U.S.
The UMWA was founded in Columbus, OH in 1890 with the merger of the Knights of Labor Trade Assembly No. 135 and the National Progressive Union of Miners and Mine Laborers. Its initial constitution "barred discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin." It was a leader in fighting racism and ethnic discrimination before the turn of the 20th century. Also included in their early fights, the UMWA fought for the 8-hour day in 1898, followed by collective bargaining rights in 1933, health and retirement benefits in 1946 and the eventual health and safety protections resulting in federal legislation in 1969.
And perhaps most important to the UMWA's accomplishments was its plowing the way for the National Industrial Recovery Act, which granted workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively with their employers. And after the success of organizing the nation's coal miners, the UMWA extended its work to the steel and auto industries in order to help those workers organize.
While fatalities in the mines have fallen significantly over the past century and working conditions improved, by the 1980's many of the smaller mines went out of business, with more nuclear power plants coming online and the with the oil crisis of the 1970's supposedly over. Coal became less of a necessity. Many mines which remained opened decided to hire only non-union personnel. With fewer jobs available in rural communities, workers became willing to forego union benefits and guaranteed pension plans. They sacrificed the transparency with management regarding safety concerns which the union provided them and without fear of retribution.
Today, according to Cecil E. Roberts, President of the UMWA, only 32-35% of all mines are union shops. With the majority of today's miners comprised of an aging workforce in their late 40's and 50's facing retirement, cash bonuses and higher salaries are luring the next generation, now in their 20's. In the past 20 years as mines shut down and union-busting was rampant, workers were headed to other cities for more lucrative manufacturing jobs. But with steel mills on the decline, textile mills losing out to overseas manufacturing and impending layoffs of automakers, the coalmines are becoming the last bastion for those living in communities where the average salary is $25,000. Non-union miners can look forward to earning twice that amount.
However, the recent history of the Sago Mine as well as others its size is not unlike that which has become of other major industries in the 21st century, with individual companies and its workers left victim to bankruptcy or corporate takeover. The Sago Mine, which had 145 employees prior to January 2nd, was operated by Anker West Virginia Mining Co. until November 2005. The International Coal Group Inc. (ICG), purchased it in April 2005, and completed its purchase in November 2005 at which point it took over Sago's operation.
Famed New York investment financier and billionaire, Wilbur Ross, formed ICG in May 2004, now listed on the NY Stock Exchange, buying up coalmines belonging to Horizon Natural Resources. One of those holdings was the Sago Mine. Ross' purchase of Sago followed his fray into the steel industry, founding the International Steel Group Inc. and buying Bethlehem Steel Corp., Acme Steel Co. and Weirton Steel Co., all in bankruptcy at the time. However, the deals depended on the United Steelworkers Union agreeing to contract concessions and billions of dollars in unfunded pension benefits which were ultimately dumped on the federal pension benefits program by Ross and now paid by the U.S. taxpayers.
Unlike the steel business, however, coal mining is dependent upon safety measures necessary to execute every 24-hours, requiring constant follow-up. It can mean the difference between life and death. The learning curve has changed with investors who did not originate from the mining industry and running mining operations, some of which have been closed for years, and housing a host of unsafe conditions much less present in a maintained mine. In addition, many unskilled miners are coming into the workforce in non-union environments and lax federal government oversight, in which many citations and fines in very small amounts are doled out, rarely if ever shutting down a mine for unsafe working conditions.
Much has been publicized about the number of citations Sago Mine received in 2005. MSHA levied 208 citations, orders and/or safeguards. Half of the citations were for "significant violations" which generally commanded fines between $60.00 and $440.00. The fines totaled approximately $25,000. However, in the 11-week review ending December 22, 2005 and three times in a period of five days, MSHA cited the mine for 46 alleged violations with 18 deemed "unwarrantable failures" and with three still pending. According to Ben Hatfield, President of ICG, all violations were corrected; however, the MSHA has yet to publicly release any documents nor will comment on the three pending violations.
Serious violations which Sago was cited for included failing to enforce an adequate ventilation plan, key to preventing the buildup of methane gases which occur naturally underground, failing to conduct safety inspections before each 8-hour shift, 11 roof collapses over the course of the past year and dangerous buildup of flammable coal dust.
While the ICG has skirted answering questions thus far, Ben Hatfield did lay blame on the inherited problems from the Anker group. But also important to the upcoming investigations will be if there were continued failure of safety inspections and prior to entering the mine over the New Year's weekend, at which time the mine was shut for two days. Closed mines can be deadly especially during winter, when methane accumulates faster due to cold temperatures and changes in barometric pressure.
In addition, Sago did not keep a rescue team on site, like a good many operations due. And speculation of the delay in getting a team together was further hampered by federal and state workers who would normally be available, were not since January 2nd was an observed Monday holiday following New Year's Day. Since Sago chose to open knowing that it was a state and federal holiday it may have put its crews at unnecessary risk, as it took 11 hours for a rescue team to be assembled. That will also be examined by the several investigations already having been announced.
The MSHA will conduct its own investigation, and West Virginia Governor, Joe Manchin, III, has hired former Director of MSHA under President Clinton, J. Javitt McAteer, to be special advisor to the investigation for the state of West Virginia. The White House will lodge another investigation with requests by Senators and the House Representatives calling for hearings on Sago as well as on mine safety.
Similar to the discovered cuts in the funding of levee maintenance after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, funding for MSHA for 2006 was cut $5 million from 2005. The agency also has seen a decrease of 170 staffers since 2001. Also, 17 proposed standards to further protect miners' safety and health were denied by MSHA. The entire budget for MSHA for 2006 is $280 million. It is expected that its appropriations will be reviewed.
Senator Robert Byrd (D-WVA) has announced that the first Congressional hearing on the Sago Mine will be held on January 19, 2005, which will include federal and state mine safety officials, labor and business representatives as well as academic experts in mine safety testifying. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) as well as Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WVA) have also called for a series of Senate hearings on the broader issues impacting mine safety. Representative George Miller (D-CA) and ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee has requested all documents relevant to the Sago mine disaster from Labor Secretary, Elaine Chao. Rep. Miller expects to hold hearings after the Senate hearings. No reports for any of the investigations, however, are expected before July 2006.
The Government Accountability Office in 2003 found that over the past decade, inspectors had often failed to ensure that violations were corrected by deadlines. In addition, there has been criticism that political appointees running MSHA are primarily former mining executives from the private sector, and there exists a fundamental conflict of interest in issuing citations and such diminutive fines. Further, the Congress has not held one hearing in either the Senate or House on mining safety issues since 2001.
On September 23, 2001, 13 coal miners died at the Jim Walter Resources (JWR) Blue Creek No. 5 mine in Brookwood, Alabama. In June 2003, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration fined Walter Industries more than $400,000 for eight safety violations that "directly contributed" to the 2001 accident. The company subsequently appealed the fine. In November of 2005, an administrative law judge on behalf of MSHA threw out six of the eight safety violations and slashed the fines to $3,000. Let us hope that history does not repeat itself and that we learn from this crisis. Here is but one more opportunity to do right by our miners. They deserve at least that much.
Diane M. Grassi is a freelance columnist, reporting and writing commentary on current events of the day providing honest and often politically incorrect assessments. From U.S. public policy to Major League Baseball, she is an eclectic thinker, and demanding of her readers to reflect on their own thinking patterns from an alternative perspective. Whether you agree with her or not, Diane M. Grassi will have you coming back to note her opinions, and if at best she wakes you up, then her goal will have been accomplished. Ms. Grassi is featured with the online publications: New Media Journal.us; American Chronicle; Mich News.com; the Federal Observer; Opinions Editorials; the Conservative Voice; the Las Vegas Penny Press; the Sierra Times as well as many others. She also writes regular columns on Major League Baseball where she is a featured online columnist with The Diamond Angle Baseball Ezine and Sports-Central.org. Ms. Grassi may contacted at: dgrassi@cox.net

Variable Data Printing

2008-11-17T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Daniel Ambort

Variable data printing is also called "one to one marketing" or "personalization".
Variable data printing is where either text, images or both change from impression to impression off the press. So the first one will say Dear Buzz and the very next impression could say Dear Jane. The picture on mine could be of a car and Jane's picture could be of a truck.
There are actually several levels of variable data printing. The first simple level is where the salutation or name changes on each copy. Fairly simple but doesn't increase your level of return greatly from a mass direct mail. The second level of variable data printing is versioning where you might have different levels of variability for different markets. This can involve text and picture changes based upon what segment it is going to. Then you have full variability printing where the text and pictures can change totally from copy to copy.
All three of these are done by having a base design programmed to show what will change and then a database that will actually drive the changes of the fields that will change. It is very important to get a knowledgeable printer involved early in the design process to help in producing a successful product.
The returns for variable data printing vary from double the normal return on the first level to 10-15 times the return on fully variable. It depends on the data and the relevancy but it is a very effective tool to increase your ROI on your mailings.
The Odee Company.com.PrintPromotionguide.com.

Reduce Inventory Shrinkage By Eliminating Quotmessed Up Paperworkquot

2008-11-16T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Jim Hawkins

Inventory Shrinkage is the difference between your inventory on hand and what it should be according to sales records and purchase orders. This difference can be substantial between 2% to 5% annually, according to retail industry studies. A good Point of Sale (POS) solution can help cut this figure in half, by addressing two of the major contributors internal theft and "messed up paperwork".
Earlier articles dealt with internal theft issues, and offered suggestions on how to use both positive and negative reinforcements (the "carrot and the stick" approach) to change the underlying reasons why staff would take "five fingered discounts". This article will deal with how a good integrated POS system (like Windward System Five, but there are certainly others that do as well, so do your homework) can help reduce Inventory Shrinkage through the elimination of "messed up paperwork".
But instead of just focusing on the tracking of inventory, I'd like to also talk about how a POS system can optimize your inventory get the biggest retail bang for your inventory buck!
A fully integrated POS system (we like to call them intelligent point of sale software solutions) can help you reduce inventory shrinkage and optimize value:
Reconcile Billings to Purchase Orders quickly and accurately, so you're not overpaying, or in some cases even paying twice!
Use barcodes to eliminate confusion. Stock that is properly barcoded and labeled can't be "accidentally" sold as something else. Make sure your POS system can generate and print unique barcodes, or allow you to use manufacturers barcodes, if you wish
Use data collectors to scan inventory and keep counts accurate. New wireless models make frequent "mini-inventory counts" a breeze
Make sure your POS can print Receiving Reports that can be matched to packing slips. Making it easy for your Receiver to note short shipments or other discrepancies will ensure the accuracy of new inventory
Keep track of your back orders and special orders. Your POS should be able to always keep you up-to-date on the status of backorders and special orders by supplier and by individual inventory item
Also keep track of RMA's. Make sure you're getting proper credit from your suppliers it can quickly add up to be a substantial amount
Handle superseding parts properly. Inventory can be incorrectly written off as obsolete unless your POS can easily prompt you with correct information and alternatives
Optimize your inventory value by keeping track of aged inventory and allowing for FIFO (first in, first out) when selling stock
Use alternate supplier tracking to ensure you get the best price for your orders
Take advantage of "Pay Early" discounts by having your POS prompt you with "pay by" dates and amounts to be saved
Buy what you need, not what you think you need. Let you POS prompt you on what to order based on past sales history, established "high-lows", and seasonal adjustments, not on "gut-instinct" (but make sure you can enter "gut-instinct" purchases if you want)
Negotiate better discounts from suppliers by also tracking sales volumes from your end, and not just trusting their records
Obviously, being able to put 2% of your annual inventory costs back in your pocket allows you to maximize your business investment and better grow your company. It can even pay for your Point of Sale software system, allowing for even greater savings from improved efficiencies and increase customer satisfaction.
Jim Hawkins works at Windward Software, developers of Point of Sale software, and is passionate about promoting "best practices" in business. For more information about how Windward Software can help your business improve its processes, visit http://wws5.com

Do You Qualify For Factoring

2008-11-15T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Mark Little

This article has been created to give you straight forward content hoping to provide information into some of the things that factors are looking for when qualifying a prospect before entering into a financial relationship with them.
Lets face it, your time is very valuable and you do not need to waste it filling out applications or talking on the phone when you may be able to identify issues in this article that would prohibit you from being able to enter into a factoring relationship.
Some of this information will be basic and you may already be familiar with it, however some may not. Just read through the article and I am sure you will find some helpful information.
Lets take a look at what factoring is:
Factoring is a form of financing where a business sells its creditworthy commercial accounts receivable to a financier known as a factor.
This is a good starting point; you need to be invoicing creditworthy businesses for your product or service. Your product must be delivered and your services rendered (no pre-bills). If they are not creditworthy and you are already having collection problems, a factoring company will not be interested in purchasing those receivables. You may need a collections service.
How much do you invoice each month:
If you are invoicing under $10,000 a month this will limit the number of factoring companies that will enter into a relationship with you. If you are speaking with a factor, let them know up front what your monthly volume is and find out if they are willing to work with companies of your size. This could save you from filling out an application and wasting your time with that particular factor.
How many customers do you invoice:
Factoring companies prefer to fund companies with more than one customer; this helps them lower their risk. If you have just one customer, the factoring will have a concentration issue, meaning if something happens to your customer they do not have any other receivables from other customers to recoup their money. Let the factoring company know this up front as well. Some factors will not work with you if you only have one customer. (If your one customer is large and stable this will help).
Do you have any financing currently in place:
If you have an existing loan or line of credit you need to find out up front if the bank has a UCC-1 against your receivables. The factoring company must have 1st position on your receivables to be able to enter into a financing relationship with your company.
I would suggest if you have a current loan or line of credit to double check and make sure of this.
I have had many businesses tell me that the bank did not have their receivables as collateral and then proceed through the application process and return the contract.
The factoring company would begin due diligence and the lien search would return a current UCC-1 on the receivables. Many times the customer does not realize the bank placed a blanket lien on their company covering all assets, including the accounts receivable.
If this is the case, you still may qualify for factoring. If your loan or line of credit is small enough, the factor may be able to pay off your loan or line of credit out of your 1st advance and the bank has no choice but to subordinate (release) the receivables. If not, they may have enough collateral that they will allow the factoring company to have 1st position on the receivables and allow you to get the needed capital for your company.
So if you have current financing, check on this issue. You may find out the bank will step up to the plate and allow you access to more funds when they realize you are about to leave.
This has happened many times.
Also be aware that our factoring companies can help negotiate a subordination, so discuss this with us if you need more clarification on this topic.
Your aging report:
Your aging report is very important to a factoring company; this is the pulse on your cash flow. An accurate detailed accounts receivable aging report should be aged from invoice date and not due date. Some companies accounting software is set up to age the receivables from due date, this will reflect an inaccurate report to the factoring company.
If you have an unhealthy aging report you will have a hard time qualifying for factoring. Plus the fees you pay to a factor increase as the days outstanding increase.
Make sure you have a cash flow issue and not a collections issue.
Remember, creditworthy customers are the key.
Outstanding taxes, liens, judgments, litigations, felony convictions or bankruptcy
If you have any of these issues, it does not mean you can't qualify for factoring, you just need to be forthcoming at the beginning and find out if the issues are too complex for the factoring company to work through. This may save you some time.
Are you incorporated:
Some factors will not work with Sole Proprietors, others will, we have some that do. Find out at the beginning of the conversation.
Financial Statements:
Some factors will require financial statements and others will not.
Providing financial is usually where you will find the most aggressive rates available.
If you do not want to deal with providing financial statements, ask up front if they are required. We have programs available that requires no financial statements.
Personal Credit:
Even though your customers are the primary focus, your personal credit is taken into consideration. If your personal credit has taken some severe hits recently, discuss this up front with the factor to find out how much it will be taken into consideration.
This covers some of the basic, I hope it helps!
Thanks for reading.
Mark Little is President of Diversified Funding Services, Inc. He can be reached at 888-603-0055. His company website can be found by Clicking Here and the Company blog Click Here.

Online Bookstores Expand Choices

2008-11-14T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Chris Robertson

There are few experiences in life that match curling up with a good book and losing yourself in the lives of the characters, the exotic settings, and the twists and turns of a compelling plot. Reading continues to be one of the great joys in my life, and I so appreciate the effort that authors put into crafting their work.

As I've gotten older, though, I've found that I am more apt to read fiction, and to stick to a set of authors that I know and love, or to a single genre of books. Personally, my great escape isn't in literature, but in what I term "junk food for the mind" - reasonably well-written murder mystery novels. I enjoy taking the journey with the author down one dead end lead after another, reading with bated breath as the protagonist extracts himself or herself from harm's way, and finally understanding how all of the puzzle pieces fall together and point the finger at the book's true culprit.

Although I absolutely adore this genre, I also know that I'm limiting myself in my reading choices. That's why my New Year's Resolution this year was to expand my universe and read books that I wouldn't have even glanced at twelve months ago. Because I've never been fond of browsing the aisles of a bookstore, I've turned to online bookstores to find new areas of reading to explore. I'm particularly drawn to online bookstores that are the equivalent of independent brick and mortar bookstores - those that have a depth of selection within many different genres, but that don't purport to stock every book ever published. I've found that the mega online bookstores are difficult to browse; keyword searches bring up unrelated titles and I have to dig through all of the wannabes in order to find the gems I'm looking for.

So far, my quest to expand my reading horizon has led me to read non-fiction books like biographies (one on Rosa Parks was a favorite) and autobiographies (Madame Secretary, by Madeline Albright is a winner), as well as African American titles like Black Trials, which traces a path of civic identity through the prism of the legal system. I've even read a graphic novel. It wasn't to my taste, but I can at least say I've given the genre a try. I've also found a new delight in children's books. Some of the classics are as good as I remembered, and there are new authors proving that children's books can, indeed, be considered literature.

I'm enjoying fulfilling my New Year's resolution, and look forward to browsing my favorite online bookstore for more ways to expand my literary horizons.
Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Visit this Books and Magazines Website and Majon's Books and Magazines directory.

Create A Perfect Product Using Your Ideas

2008-11-13T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Abe Cherian

Ideas are the only assets which have no fixed values. It is equally well known that ideas are the beginning of all achievements. Ideas are the foundation of all fortunes, the starting point of all inventions.
This is where it all begins. This stage, as the first, is the one on which the rest build. If you decide on the wrong idea now, then all time and money spent on the project will be a bad investment. You are destined to fail before you are far enough involved to realize it.
Given its importance, it would be foolish to just take the first business idea that comes to you. There is no reason to rush unless you are sure that you are racing a competitor to market. Otherwise, planning carefully will bring you much better results than rushing.
Take your time, brainstorm, think, consider, observe, and ponder. The real trick to coming up with great ideas is to be involved in many diverse activities, a passion for trying new things, and to have a wide range of interests and hobbies.
For example, suppose you were to develop an interest in golf. You might seek out a friend who can teach you how to play or you might seek out a coach to give you lessons. But what if you have no friends who play golf and have no money to get a coach?
If you are using your product creation mindset you would recognize that there is a need for an information product for learning to play golf. Maybe you could create an informative video by enlisting the help of a coach who would probably do it for free to get some publicity. Or suppose they do have such a video already and you order it.
So, what if you know how to play to golf but don't have a partner? Maybe a video on how to learn golf by yourself would be helpful. Or maybe you learned to play golf and you now want the edge on my competitors. You want to be better. If you are using the product creation mindset you would create a product with little known, advanced tips and strategies for golf.
You could do this by interviewing successful golf stars and asking for their secrets or you could observe master golf players in action and record what they do to dominate. Create a product based on a need you encounter in your area of interest.
Awareness of your needs is the key to idea generation. Now the challenge is in being able to recognize your need when it occurs. You have many, many unfulfilled needs that you have become accustomed to and ignore unconsciously. These needs and inconveniences are untapped gold mines so it is important that you become sensitive to them.
Suppose you are enjoying your interest, whatever it is. let's say it's fishing. While enjoying that activity be mindful of any inconveniences or setbacks you experience. Maybe you cannot remember how to tie a certain kind of knot. How many people do you think that has happened to? Chances are that if you run into a problem millions of people have run into it before you and millions of people will run into it after you.
Could you create a product to solve the problem for the millions of people that will encounter that very problem in the future? Sure you could! With the perfect mindset, creating your product will happen easier than you think.
Abe Cherian's online automation system has helped thousands of marketers online build, manage and grow their business. Learn how it can benefit you too. http://www.imediatools.com

Is A Fitness Franchise The Best Business Opportunity For You

2008-11-12T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Tracie Johanson

If recent media coverage were any indication, it would appear that virtually nobody in the United States has had any success at losing weight. Crash diets, weight loss pills and get-thin-quick gimmicks are more prevalent than ever, yet two-thirds of our population is still overweight. Even more startling is the fact that approximately one-third of the people in our country are clinically obese.
Yet more and more Americans are finding that weight loss success is not only within their grasp, but also actually easier to achieve than they thought possible.
Due to the rapid growth of women-only circuit-training gyms, women in particular are finding that weight loss is an achievable goal. Workouts just for women have become a common sight from sea to shining sea, with the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association reporting that as of July 2005 there were 26,046 health clubs in the United States (a 10.8 percent increase from just six months previous). Women-only circuit training clubs account for more than one out of every three fitness centers in the nation.
Sales at fitness clubs have also been on the rise. In January 2003, the latest figures available, the industry collectively took in $14.1 billion in revenue, a jump from $13.1 billion a year earlier.
Why has the women-only circuit-training exercise model worked so well? The short answer is that it works. Circuit training is a proven exercise system that, for many women, has proven to be more effective than dieting or nutrition programs alone.
The routine at these ladies express gyms is quick and simple, allowing each woman to progress at her own pace. The ladies exercise in a circle, each at a station. They spend 30 or 45 seconds at each station, either working a hydraulic resistance machine or doing aerobics. The entire routine takes 30 minutes.
Pick Up The Pace is one such gym for women that has carefully tracked the success of its members for years. Deanna S., a member of Pick Up The Pace in Libby, MT, lost 14.75 inches in just one month. Kim M. reduced her body-fat by 4.2 percent in just one month at Pick Up The Pace, while at the same time losing 10.75 pounds of fat.
With results like these, it's easy to see why this fitness center concept has skyrocketed in popularity with today's average woman. For perhaps the first time in their lives, women are finding that it's possible to slim down and tone up in only 30 minutes each day.
What many women see as just a great way to achieve some quick weight loss, others see as a business opportunity. Despite the incredible growth of these hydraulic gyms, there seems to be no shortage of customers. As reported by CNN on 1-14-05 "Americans were expected to spend more than $40 billion in 2004 on weight control pills, gym memberships, diet plans and related foods, estimates Marketdata Enterprises, which studies the weight loss industry." Furthermore, statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that 80 percent of overweight individuals and almost 87 percent of obese individuals are trying to lose or maintain their weight.
As reported by www.mygoals.com, 80 percent of Americans made a New Year's resolution in 2005. A whopping 26 percent of those resolutions were to improve overall health and fitness, making this the top category for self-improvement. This year was no anomaly, either, according to Amy O'Connor, deputy editor of Prevention magazine: "Fifty-nine million people every year resolve to lose weight."
With so many potential customers, many women seek to start their own circuit-training business only to find themselves discouraged by the typical franchise opportunity. They're finding that a hydraulic gym franchise such as Curves for Women can be expensive, restrictive, and sometimes difficult to purchase.
According to the International Franchise Association, one of the women-only workout franchises recently announced that they are raising their franchise fee from $9,995 to $12,500. Another franchise package costs anywhere from $85,000 to $225,000, including a $36,000 franchise fee and startup cost. Monthly franchise royalty payments, which can range from $395 to $590 per month, place an additional burden on the franchisee. Assuming that the franchise agreement permits the buyer to use the franchise name for 10 years, the gym owner will be paying approximately $60,000 in royalty payments over the franchise term. These figures can scare off many would-be health club owners.
Many women who do opt to open a circuit-training franchise find that the franchise agreement does not grant them the liberty to add amenities as they wish. Many franchise operations restrict their fitness centers by not allowing them to add tanning, nutrition counseling, supplements, vitamins, massage therapy, body wraps or other extras for which ladies are clamoring.
Relying on good old American made ingenuity, many women entrepreneurs are choosing to either open a completely independent workout center or opt for a license package. While going independent carries the inherent risk of having to reinvent the wheel, it still may be the best option for some women. The other option is to capture most of the benefits of a franchise while at the same time avoiding the financial burdens of that system. This is done with a license package, such as the one offered by Pick Up The Pace 30-Minute Workout For Women (visit www.letspickupthepace.com for more information).
For many women, getting fit, slender and in shape themselves has not only been good for their health but has also prompted them to enter the fitness market as a gym owner. With obesity rates still climbing, this is a trend that may continue for years to come.
* Copyright 2005 Pick Up The Pace. Permission is not required for the distribution of Pick Up The Pace articles as long as they are used in their entirety, are properly credited to Pick Up The Pace, and are accompanied by our website link: www.letspickupthepace.com.
* The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information in this article or on www.letspickupthepace.com should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.
Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women, focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com for more information.

Neopets The Power Of Children And Their Imagination

2008-11-11T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Jesse Somer

If you haven't heard of Neopets than I have to seriously wonder what planet you come from, you definitely don't hail from Neopia. www.neopets.com is one of the most popular sites on the whole Internet, and what does this mean to you and me? It's a kid's site. Our next generation is finding a home in virtual reality, and they love it. Neopets has over 70 million members from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo, and has had a total of over 300 billion website page views. According to Wired magazine's Dec. 2005 edition, Neopets is the second most 'sticky' website on the whole of our planet's World Wide Web. Average users are on the site around 6 hours a monthwith so many members the mind boggles as to how much time our future generations are spending time with their virtual pets. What is a virtual pet anyway? Why does every kid on the Earth want one? What do you do with them once they're in your custody?
Things have changed since I was a youngster and that wasn't too long ago let me tell you. I played video games, rode BMX bicycles, and even 'toilet papered' the occasional house or two-usually the girls we liked (this last activity wasn't as socially productive as the former). Virtual reality hadn't hit the main stage like it has today; computers themselves in my mind were for finding out stuff at school. No one knew what the Internet was when I was ten years old back in 1985. Now all the kids are playing games and participating in other activities online in order to gain more points which enhance their pet's skills and talents. Sounds weird, doesn't it? It's not weird to the little humans of the future.
Neopia is a strange world, and I've only just begun to scratch the surface. As far as I can tell, you can create a virtual shop to sell items, or go to other's shops and make purchases using your points (gained through all the pet's experiences). For example, I went to a marketplace, clicked my mouse on the music section and was told that I could buy a 'Chomby and the Fungus Balls' T-shirt for only 1,588 neopoints, and that there were currently 7 of the product in stock. I guess it's cool to buy your pet neat thingsI don't know if I understand it but I think it's a huge phenomenonthere's even a stock market called the Neodaq index! Talk about getting the children prepared for the future. One has to wonder how all this will affect society when our kids finally do grow up. That's another point of contention. Where there's action, there's usually an adult trying to make a buck out of it, and this site is definitely no exception.
Neopets have coined its money-making model as 'immersive advertising'. The content of the experience is no longer separate from commercialism. You've heard of product placement, well this is another whole step forward, or backward from that older model. I went inside the game section of the website (after choosing a species of pet: A Jubjub, then naming it, choosing its color, and rolling to get its characteristics.) and then had a look at the 160 possible games for me to enjoy. I decided to play the McDonalds Secret Image Game. There's nothing secret about what the suit-and-tie guys are trying to pull off here. All my favorite Happy Meal characters were being portrayed in pictures that slowly gained more and more focus. If you could tell that the Hamburglar was dancing, you scored points. In the Wired article author David Kushner quotes James McNeal a professor in marketing who said, "It is not until around 8 years old that they (children) can mentally defend against a persuasive sales message if they wish to.'
The balance of the Universe is always in play and this is another case where both positive and negative possibilities stem from a new creation in human culture. Kids love Neopets. My Jubjub named Dogstarmaster looks pretty cool. I don't know how I am going to get defensive armor for him, nor why I need it, but I guess that's all part of the Neopet journey. Let your kids enjoy, learn and make friends with the other animals. Just be careful, they might end up becoming stock brokersand watch out they don't eat too many cheeseburgers. There's no use having a virtual pet that is super healthy and strong, while the child owner is sick and obese.
This article has an accompanying animation that can be viewed at http://www.m6.net/articles/images/neopet.swf
By Jesse S. Somer http://www.m6.net Jesse S. Somer and Dogstarmaster plan to take over Krawk Island. Once we've achieved domination we will hold a huge concert starring the legendary Chomby and the Fungus Balls. Jesse S. Somer is a creative writer working at M6.Net: 'The web-hosting company for humans.' M6.Net is working hard to help humanity experience the power and freedom to develop their own part of the Internet, to share their information and connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Have You Ever Had That Strange Inner Feeling Your Inner Voice Talking To You

2008-11-10T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Bill Parks

Have you ever had that strange inner feeling you were supposed to be doing something, but just didn't know what it was?
That's what happened to me last Sunday. All day I felt like something was nagging me. But... couldn't discover what it was. Have you ever had that kind of feeling?
I did some work on my ezine, checked email several times, worked on a software problem and defragged my PC. And... still had the feeling I needed to do something else... Something important!
This went on all day until about 7 pm Sunday night. Then I had the strong urge to check my email again. There was an email from Jim Edwards that caught my eye. He's a great writer and I'm always ready to read what he has to say.
Jim mentioned in his email, he was thinking about writing an ebook about the lives, problems, successes, and setbacks that ebook writers and sellers had encountered.
Jim said, "He wanted to get his readers opinion on whether that was a good idea for him." Many writers suggest if you're looking for a subject for an ebook, report, product or ecourse, ask your subscribers what they think... They'll tell you!
He said, "He had a short story about his setbacks and successes, and gave a download link. I automatically down-loaded his story. I don't believe I could have kept from down-loading it if I had wanted too. The inner promptings were that strong.
Over many years I've learned to follow my inner promptings. It usually leads to something useful and important.
I read Jim's short story and found it to be absorbing. I like to read stories about successes of different marketers. I liked Jim's story and I sent him my email saying, "Go with it Jim."
And now... "Here's the rest of the story", as Paul Harvey says.
Jim had many setbacks. Near the end of his story he mentioned everything changed. He managed to go to a seminar where the speaker talked about selling information products on the internet.
He said, "He copied as much as he could of what was said." When he got home he immediately started changing his website that very night and finished about 2 am.
When he woke up the next morning he discovered he had sold more of his ebooks in a few short hours as he had previously been selling in a month. Because, he did excactly what he had been taught at the seminar. Jim gave the speaker the credit for changing his life. Then he said for the curious if they wanted to know who that 'Guru' was to click on his link.
I was curious! I clicked, without hesitation... because, the inner urgings were still leading me on. When I got to the website, I was shocked! This was the website of the ebook seller where I had bought my first ebook, four years ago. I read the ebook, or should say skimmed it, and not being too knowledgable about the internet or ebooks printed it and put it on the shelf.
Now I reached for it again! Something told me this was what I had been needing to do all day. So I decided to do some reading. Five hours later I was still reading, because, nearly every paragraph this guy wrote was valuable up to date information that I needed.
How did this happen?
Well, I don't believe in coincidence, so I have to believe it was the right time, and I needed to read that ebook. What a wealth of information! I've marked or highlighted nearly every paragraph.
What a writer!... What value!... Strange, the first ebook I bought and now 4 years later it was one of my most valuable. You can be sure, I'll be going over it many times, to absorb all the great ideas and suggestions he has for marketing, writing and most everything else needed by anyone having a business on the intenret.
You can bet one thing, I'll be listening more to my inner urgings and do my best to follow them. These inner feelings lead to some good stuff.
By the way, if you're like me, curious... you're wondering who is this guy who wrote such a great ebook that it's still selling like hot-cakes today. And... It's still up to date.
Here's the link... Go ahead satisfy your curiosity. Maybe it's what you've been looking for too. http://www.InfoAgePro.com/amzform
Bill Parks... Computer Consultant, specializing in Filemaker Pro database design. Publisher of "Information Age Products Ezine" and "Bill's Business Boosters Ezine." http://www.InfoAgePro.com

Call Center Benefits

2008-11-09T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Michael Russell

Are you a business owner looking to make use of call centers and the services they provide? The use of call centers can increase your productivity. What does this mean for the small business person? It means an increase in your bottom line - truly a benefit derived from the use of call centers and the services they provide.
Call centers offer business services that typically include telemessaging, order collection, customer service options, customer care, outbound calls that follow leads, and more. Plus, the services supplied by call centers are offered in multi-lingual options - representatives that speak Spanish, French, Chinese and English will be handling your clientele and increasing your business.
Telemessaging is a process in which a hired agent collects all of your incoming messages for you and your business. Once your messages have been collected by professional agents, they will be directly sent to you in the medium that you pre-select. Whether you desire the warm transfer approach, or you want your messages sent to a special voice mail, representatives are happy to take and direct your business calls for you. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can easily receive a pager notification - whatever is easier for you in terms of communication.
Do you want live representatives to handle all of your website chat users? You can hire a message center to handle all of the incoming web clients you receive at your website. Answering email questions and controlling live chat is no problem whatsoever when you hire a professional message service to handle the job for you.
With the services offered to you by professional message centers you can earn more money for your business. Qualified representatives will be more than happy to follow leads to new clients, search out new clientele for you with an outbound service, and they can even process any and all credit card orders that you may receive. Want to give your customers the impression that you are a caring business professional? Hire a message service to handle any and all customer service issues with the greatest of care. Or, if you prefer, you can create a customer hotline where qualified representatives will address any and every question your customers may have.
The benefits associated with developing your own call handling center are truly phenomenal once you consider them. Not only will you generate new clients, but you can keep existing clients satisfied. Furthermore, with your call handling associates hard at work taking care of the important and finer details of your business you can spend your time on more important issues like monitoring that bottom line. Watch your profits increase by leaps and bounds because you have a professional staff of friendly individuals working hard for you and your company!
Clearly, you have more to lose by not creating a call handling solution for your company than if you try a call handling service out for size. The nominal fees associated with such services are nothing compared to the benefits you will derive from the services afforded to you. Go ahead - test the waters and create a call handling solution for your company - you'll be pleased with your decision to do so.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Call Centers
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The 6 Human Needs Knowing These Can Turn Your Prospect Into Rabid Customer

2008-11-08T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Alvin Toh

No matter who you are or what you do, there's a common force that's driving that shapes your emotions and behavior. It determines how you live, the quality of life and ultimately your destiny.
This universal force is the human need. Irrespective of where you are in the world, what culture you are from, what color, status, background, we are universally driven by our human needs. We can break it down to 6 areas of human needs. They are unconscious needs that automatically drive us.
Of these 6 needs, you can view them into two broad categories. One group is the primal need and the other spiritual need.
There are 4 human needs in the Primal needs group. These are the needs you would seek to fulfill as a base and drives every one of us.
First need is the need of Certainty. Everyone wants stability about their basic necessities like food, shelter and other material resources. When people cannot control their physical circumstances, they seek certainty through a state of mind such as religious faith or positive affirmations.
Second need is the need for Variety. People have a need to change their state to exercise their body and emotions. They seek variety through different ways like change of environment, physical activity, mood change, change of people they interact with, entertainment and others. The need for variety sometimes runs into conflict with the need for certainty.
The 3rd need is the need for Significance. Everyone needs to feel special and important in some way. People seek significance through recognition from others or from themselves. Some people meet this need in a paradoxical way. Some people when they feel insignificant or helpless will go out to get others to recognize how significant their problems are and how helpless they are. This ironically raises their significance, just by getting people to acknowledge the enormity of their problem and their helplessness.
The 4th need is the need for Love and Connection. We all need to feel connected with someone or something be it a person, an ideal, a sense of identity. Connection may take the form of love or just engagement. One can still be connected by means of an aggressive interaction.
That was the 4 Primal needs. The next 2 are classified more in Spiritual needs.
The 5th need is the need for growth. Everything in the universe is either growing or dying. Many are not satisfied spiritually unless our capacities are expanding.
The 6th need is the need for Contribution. Just as we survive through the contribution of others (our parents for example), we seek to be spiritually fulfilled through contribution.
The fulfillment of the spiritual needs gives rise to more sustainable joy versus momentary pleasure associated with just fulfilling the primal needs.
There are many ways that people find to meet these needs whether they are positive, negative or neutral ways. We unconsciously act to fulfill our needs and some actions may fulfill a subset of these needs or all of them. When we have a behavior that fulfills at least 3 of these needs, these actions are considered strongly addictive or sometimes known as habits as they fulfill more than half of your needs. Again, these actions can sometimes be positive, negative or neutral to ourselves.
So how do we use this knowledge in marketing?
In evaluating what you are providing, look at if you are fulfilling any of these human needs and especially if you are able to meet at least 2 to 3 of the 6 at a high level. That's when you have a compelling story or offer that fulfills a person's strongest desire.
Look at how they market a high end car like a BMW. You are sold on just how great the engineering of the car and how its handling gives you unsurpassed confidence (CERTAINTY) in any condition on the road. Its safety features protect you (CERTAINTY) like none other. Its various controls, gadgets and funky designs allows you to change your experience (VARIETY) whilst you are driving. The name of a BMW says something about you being an owner and driver who is discerning (SIGNIFICANCE) and accords you with some stature. You will be part of a BMW Club (CONNECTION) where you get to meet other owners and go on driving trips or specially, exclusive invited events (SIGNIFICANCE).
Another message that is put forward "By buying a BMW, you are actually doing yourself and your family a great favor by providing them the best technology and safety for their transport" (Contribution and Certainty). If you want to upgrade your skills as a driver, you can be provided a special free pass to BMW Driving School (Growth). They have showroom with high class touches like a private cafe and lounge (Significance) where staff greet you by name and cater to you one on one.
I am just taking this an example of how I see the marketing of a marquee car hits on the different human needs and I took some liberties in some of the offers to illustrate the point. I live in Singapore where these cars are selling like hotcakes and yet we are one of the most expensive markets for cars in the world due to the taxes. So knowing the keys to market to the human needs can set you apart in providing value to a customer even in the most competitive market niche and create a rabid, loyal following, just like drivers of BMW.
Note: I do not represent the view of the manufacturer or have anything to do with BMW.
Copyright 2006 Alvin Toh
Learn about how successful internet marketers are exploiting the science of human psychology in marketing by visiting www.scientificwealthonline.com/art-6needs

Virtual Flowers And Ecards

2008-11-07T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by J. E. Williams

Free Technology that Brings People Together
Virtual flowers and e-cards are like electronic greeting cards sent over the Internet. They first became popular in the mid-nineties, when a handful of innovative sites began offering them as a convenient way to keep in touch with friends and loved ones. Since then, they've become a part of our culture, with many millions of virtual bouquets, ecards, and animated greetings sent worldwide for almost every occasion and sentiment. There are literally hundreds of Web sites that offer them -- in many cases for free. After more than a decade, the popularity of virtual gifts is still growing. Why? Like e-mail itself, e-cards are one of the ways the Internet brings people closer together.
In today's fast-paced, high-tech society, it's increasingly difficult to keep in touch with people in a personal way. Virtual gifts and e-cards make it easier. Whether humorous, romantic, satirical, or sweet, an e-greeting makes a quick message more thoughtful, creative, and personal. In short, virtual flowers and e-cards are fun! They're easy, too. Simply visit your favorite e-card site, pick a picture of some beautiful flowers, a card, or other virtual gift, add your own message, and send. Most virtual sites allow you to specify a delivery date, or send your greeting immediately. The recipient receives instructions by email on how to view your private greeting online with the click of a mouse. And, they can respond to you with their own virtual card in return.
Virtual flowers and e-cards are particularly popular for birthdays, anniversaries, new babies, congratulations, and thanks. Of course, electronic card sending explodes at Valentine's and Mother's Day, too. Other uses may be less obvious -- like asking someone out on a date, sending digital invitations for a party, or saving money on postage with electronic Christmas cards. Most virtual sites make it easy to send the same e-greeting to multiple people or even vary each one slightly. With a little imagination, the options are almost limitless.
The most common types of e-cards include a static image, animated gif, Flash file, or JavaScript-based animation. Some include music, allow you to record your voice, or have other customizable features. They're all compatible with most current computer and e-mail systems, as long as the recipient has a regular email address (e.g., johndoe@aol.com) and Web access. So, while virtual gifts may not work when sent to some private email networks (such as private dating networks) or recipients who do not have Web access, they're great for almost anyone with normal email.
You'll find virtual flowers and ecards at most Web portals, such as AOL and MSN, as well as more specialized sites, such as BlueMountain.com, Hallmark.com, iFlowers.com, and AmericanGreetings.com. Many virtual bouquets, egreetings, and digital postcards are still free, but some are not. Stick with those that are free, at least when starting out. After all, why pay when you don't have to? Look to trusted sites, like those listed above, too. Quality sites keep information confidential and will not add your email address to mailing lists. Their reputations and web site traffic depend on it. A few other sites may be less scrupulous in protecting you from potential Spam. So, avoid any that do not clearly specify confidentiality.
If you've never sent a virtual greeting, you'll be surprised at just how easy it is. To test the waters, simply send an ecard to yourself. It only takes a few moments, and you'll see how the whole process works for both the sender and recipient. Once you do, you'll be hooked, because virtual flowers and e-cards aren't just a passing fad. They're definitely here to stay, and a great way to bring a smile to almost anyone's face.
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By John E. Williams with special thanks to iFlowers Virtual Florist, the fun, free, easy way to send virtual flowers and e-cards to anyone on the Internet or order fresh flowers online.
This article may be republished in its entirety as long as the byline and link above are included.

Motivational Posters Are They All Bad

2008-11-06T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Niall Roche

Is there really a place for motivational posters in your home office? The thought of putting these posters in your home workspace may sound cheesy to say the least. Even worse it could even remind you of those dreaded, awful days when you were tied to a desk and forced to enjoy the company "decoration" of mission statements, useless slogans and their idea of motivational posters (more like propaganda eh?).
All these things were meant to make you more productive each day, to enhance your company "loyalty" and to increase staff morale. What effect did they really have? Yes they drove you a little bit more mad each day and actually made you resent where you worked - the exact opposite effect they were meant to have! It makes you wonder if management teams really think this stuff through right?
This is why you never really wanted to see a motivational poster again - ever. There's a difference though when you're doing it for your home office. YOU get to pick the poster. YOU choose a poster that means something to YOU. Gone are the days of you having to tolerate some pointless, hopeless and heartless company slogan that makes you physically ill when you think about it.
This time the poster choice is up to you. You can pick a poster that truly speaks to you and has real meaning. This is the essence of any motivational material - it has to actually mean something to you or otherwise it's just a waste of time. Human resource and communications managers in most companies could learn a lot by just understanding that simple fact.
It doesn't even need to be a "motivational" type poster. It could be a poster of a favourite movie that reminds you of something you want to achieve in life - financially or otherwise. Motivation in your home office doesn't need to be as black and white as it was in the corporate world.
What motivates you at home is going to be totally different to what motivated (if motivation is the word) in work. At work you are most frequently motivated by fear - fear of layoffs, fear of not getting the promotion, fear of some petty office politics affecting your career. Too much fear!
Your home office can and should be devoid of this fear. Your personal motivation at home could be self-fulfillment, a better standard of living or more money for your entire family. These are all positive and are all driven by your desire to succeed. Any poster you decide to put up in your office can and should reflect this.
If posters don't suit you then how about a motivational startup page for your web browser or desktop? These are a great way to constantly remind yourself of goals that you've set for yourself and really help to keep you motivated and focused.
So why not add a poster to your office today? Just make it something that speaks to you at the deepest level. It should make you smile as much as it keeps you motivated and focused on your work and goals.
This article was provided courtesy of HomeOfficeBuddy.com. If you're looking for more information on home office design then drop by for a visit.

Social Networking Websites Popularity May Be Short Lived

2008-11-05T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Andre Bias

A lot of people are jumping on the Myspace bandwagon by creating their own social networking websites to appeal to different niches within different demographics. Myspace is a place for everyone, now web programmers and developers are narrowing their focus because they know a niche can make them rich.
Due to this increase in social networking websites a lot of people are calling this another internet boom. People are creating social networking websites for a few hundred dollars and getting big offers from venture capitalists to sell their websites for millions of dollars. The main reason venture capitalists want to purchase these companies is because they know the advertising revenue from these companies can be very high. The under thirty market is a difficult market to reach but social networking websites put a lot of people all in one place, making it easier for advertisers.
Even though people are making social networking websites, and others are willing to buy them, the bad publicity that they get for being unsafe, as well as a future saturation of the market, from too many people starting social networking websites, is going to leave some people that try to jump in on this new internet bubble in the cold.
Andre Bias is the owner of http://www.kidfriendlyentertainment.com, and online source for top notch DVD's for children 10 years old and younger. He is also the owner of the websites http://www.pokergreed.com, and http://www.myjobislame.com.

How Do I Build A Winning Business Plan Part 2

2008-11-04T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Neil Best

Competitor Analysis - Keep it Real
Failure to identify competitors in your business plan is a warning sign to potential investors that either:- you've not done enough research; you haven't acknowledged the competition you face; or that actually the market is not large enough to support any competition. You're not going to find anyone to invest in your business if the latter is true.
It is much better if you acknowledge realistic strengths and weaknesses of your closest competitors, and how you will address those with your business model. It also acts as evidence to the potential investor - as mentioned above - that the market is large enough to support a number of businesses. A perceived margin of safety that there's business there for the taking.
Competitive Analysis - Prove your barriers to entry
In the part in your business plan which addresses competition, you must cover the area known as competitive barriers.
Some businesses naturally have barriers that prevent upstart competitors from getting a look in.
Take the oil industry for example. The nature of the business is such that development costs are prohibitive and the licenses for exploring viable sites are already in the ownership of the oil majors. This acts as a significant barrier for anyone fancying to start up business in the oil industry.
This does not mean that new companies do not start, rather they are few and far between because the resources and expertise required to compete are high.
In your business plan you must identify exactly what the barriers to entry into your business are and knowing these how you will prevent any actual or potential competitors from taking a large part of your customers away from you.
Some examples of competition barriers include no availability of prime sites (take supermarkets for example), legal restrictions, import duties, expensive plant and machinery, exclusive distribution licenses etc.
It is also important to consider the situation very seriously if you identify few or no barriers to entry. This may jeopardize the future growth or even viability of your business. How could you make it more difficult for competitors to take your customers. What kinds of things could you do. Could you sign them up to longer term contracts for example? Can you protest legitimately at every planning application of new competitors etc.
Competitive Analysis - Demonstrate your advantage
It is convenient whilst analysing the competition, to turn the spotlight of analysis on yourself, and demonstrate how your competitive edge is truly razor sharp, to the point of being unfair.
The typical kinds of assets that show strong competitive advantage include patented technologies and processes, proven management record of success, exclusive contracts with suppliers and customers that make it difficult if not impossible for competitors to compete on the same terms.
For more great business plans, including sample plans from a wide range of businesses visit http://www.smallbusinessfinancetips.com now

Bpm And Web Services

2008-11-03T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Peter Peterka

Today's IT executives want the best software available. With business process management that means finding solutions that provide key benefits. In addition to facilitating system integration, these solutions must minimize costs, protect software investments, and increase corporate flexibilityall while generating a quick return on investment (ROI).
Previously, IT executives had an option. They could either create their own processing solutions or buy them as packaged applications. Both approaches were costly. These solutions also had a major downside. Once encoded, they were difficult to change. This encoding prevented businesses from quickly meeting its customers' needs. More importantly, it hindered adaptability to a dynamic increasingly demanding marketplace.
Combining BPM and Web services changes that. This union provides businesses with a powerful set of benefits. It increases efficiency and flexibility, reduces costs, and protects software investments by integrating and recombining with a company's existing systems. In addition, the union provides real-time visibility into processing systems as well as a way to monitor and evaluate key performance indicators the prerequisites needed to implement a continuous improvement program.
A Tactical Implementation of SOA
The foundation for BPM and Web services is a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Web services is a tactical implementation of SOA, which bridges the gap between businesses and IT through a set of business-aligned services using a unique set of design principles, patterns, and techniques.
SOA involves the dynamic discovery, organization, and description of services, which enables companies to select, bind, and invoke a service over the Internet. SOA differs from service-based architectures, like RosettaNet or OBI (Open Buying on the Internet), which focus on formats and protocols. A service-based architecture is part of an SOA.
Key SOA Components
The major components of an SOA are a service directory, a service provider, and a service requestor. The service directory contains information about all the available services. A service provider publishes a service by adding the appropriate entries to the directory, which a service requestor uses to find the appropriate service.
When a service requestor finds a match, it binds to the provider using information maintained by the directory. The binding information contains the protocol specifications that requestors must use as well as the structure of the request messages and the resulting responses. The two companies then form a "business partnership."
When the service requestor no longer needs the provider's services, it dissolves the partnership. It then forms new requirements and puts them into a query called a locator, which is run against the service directory. The locator returns a list of possible providers, from which the service requestor chooses a new business partner, and the whole process starts again.
When the business partners bind, they create a "virtual" application. The partners temporarily combine their services to meet an immediate need and capture a business process. Once captured, the business process is automated using workflow management technology. The applications are then integrated and work is routed to the appropriate departments.
Considerations in Deploying an SOA
Businesses who want to deploy an SOA face three considerations. First, current object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) methods don't address the primary elements of an SOA: services, flows, and components for realizing services. Companies must develop or acquire the techniques and processes required to identity, specify, and realize the individual services. The also need the enterprise-wide components to ensure the quality of services.
Second, a shift in corporate mindset must occur. Companies must shift their thinking from strictly a production-oriented goal to the key SOA objective: enhanced customer service. Whether its Web services or another implementation, SOA is designed to provide customers with services that meet their unique requirements. That's a major leap for some companies but making the transition is a must obtain SOA's benefits.
Third, applications created for one business or product line can now be used in a supply chain and be exposed to business partners who might compose, combine, and include them into new applications, creating what some analysts are calling the service ecosystem or a service value-net. Executive must accept this possibility.
Companies need to address these considerations before deploying an SOA. Unless they do, they won't reap the benefits of an SOA. Nor will they have the adaptability need to compete successfully in the days ahead.
The Role of BPM Technology
BPM technology provides the tools and infrastructure to define, simulate, and analyze this business process model. It does so in such a way that the process is manageable from a business perspective using business solution management tools. A dashboard, for example, provides information about execution status and progress in various levels of detail.
Business analysts then compare readouts to key performance indicators to evaluate the processes performance. If a process is not meeting its objectives, executives change the process. It's here where methodologies, like Six Sigma, are implemented as part of a continuous improvement program. The goal, of course, is to provide customers with the highest quality services.
Conclusion
Combining BPM technology and Web services represents more than just an advanced approach to automating business processes. It takes it to a whole new level. With support from SOA, the combination provides benefits cost-conscious enterprises want from their IT solutionsincreased flexibility, ease of integration, protection of existing investments, and a quick ROI.
Peter Peterka is President of Lean Six Sigma us. For additional information on Six Sigma Green Belt or other Six Sigma Consulting contact Peter Peterka.

Got Some Extra Time Take A Paid Survey

2008-11-02T22:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Nicholas Sy

The popularity of paid online surveys have increased a lot recently. Many marketing companies have found that online surveys are a very effective tool for gathering market research information, plus it is a great way for people to earn a little extra cash. Online surveys have become very popular among people such as; students, people working from home, freelancers, housewives and even people with serious careers. Anybody with a little extra time on their hands could easily go online and get paid to take an online survey.
How do I get started taking paid online surveys?
Getting started in the online survey world starts by signing up with a few marketing research companies. Performing a web search will give you plenty of web sites that are offering paid online surveys. Some of these sites may require you to pay a membership fee, but there are many that do not require a payment when you register. You should definitely register with the free ones first and take as many surveys through them as you can. It is a common practice to only pay for a membership if the site has been recommended to you by somebody you trust as survey scam sites do exist.
How much work should I expect to do?
Because of the nature of the business, the time and amount in which you receive your surveys can be a bit unpredictable. Sometimes you might see them on a regular basis, then there might be times when you don't get any surveys for a whole week, and then there is always the times when you are sent more surveys than you could complete on time. This is unpredictability is because the companies that order the surveys are trying to collect data from a very specific target audience, as a result the number of surveys you receive depends on where you fit into the target audience and the customers of the paid survey service you registered with.
Because there is no guarantee as to the amount of surveys you will receive and the amount that each survey will pay, it is a good idea to have memberships with more than one online survey service. You of course should only sign up for as many surveys as you can complete in the time frame you are given. Most companies do not give any penalties for not completing surveys you signed up for, however each company has its own policies on the matter and it is important that you fully understand them when you sign up for their services.
So how much is in it for me?
Of course you are probably asking yourself right now just how much will you make for taking online surveys? Unfortunately there is no definitive answer to this question. Some surveys will pay you only several dollars for a short survey, while others can bring you more than $100. What you will make depends on the type of the survey, how much of your time it will take, the importance of your opinion to the company, and other such variables. On average though you would be safe to expect at least $150-$200 each month.
The best thing about paid online surveys is that there really is no limit on what you can do. You can sign up with as many different services as you would like. Of course it might not be possible to use this as a main source of income, being paid to take surveys may turn it a profitable way to spend your spare time and provide you with some extra cash.
If you found this article helpfull you can read more articles, tips, and information about getting paid to take online surveys on my website: http://www.takepayingsurvey.com/

Choosing An Alarm System For Your Business

2008-11-01T22:00:00.001-07:00
Writen by Jeremy Maddock

If you want to protect your business from burglary, vandalism, and other types of crime, installing a monitored commercial alarm system is one of the most reliable ways to do so.
Much more sophisticated and effective than ordinary burglar alarms, a monitored system will not only sound auditory alarms, but also send alert local police authorities to attend the scene of the break-in. When used in combination with a CCTV surveillance system, monitored alarms can be a near-foolproof method of deterring crime and identifying criminals.
When choosing an alarm system for your office or retail premises, it's a good idea to compare offers three or four different providers, taking into consideration price, features, response time, and technical support. If possible, you should try and find a provider that offers free installation or, at the very least, installation assistance.
Before making a final decision, or signing a service contract, it's also a good idea to ask your provider of choice for a few references from satisfied customers. Get these people on the phone for a quick conversation about their experience with the alarm vendor, including functionality and customer support. Also be sure to ask them if there were any unexpected surprises after signing up.
About the Author: Jeremy Maddock is a successful web-based freelance writer, who covers office security and other business issues.

Extranets Better Than Email For Group Collaboration

2008-10-31T22:00:00.001-07:00
Writen by Laura Schweiker

Companies increasingly prefer using an extranet over email to communicate with their team members, clients, and suppliers for document sharing because it ideally suits the groups engaged in collaboration; whereas, email is best-suited for one-to-one communication only. Generally email programs are ineffective to prioritize messages and attachments. In an email, everything arrives in the same place and in the same order in which it was sent. Whereas, with an extranet, all project related documents are automatically captured in a folder dedicated to the particular project.
For instance, if a company intends to send a power point presentation to a specific group engaged in a particular task through email, it has to break the presentations into small parts with each section attached to a separate email. The sections do not arrive at the same time, which could create confusions for everyone involved. However, with an extranet all these presentations can be sent at the same time, all intact, automatically filled into a single project folder with all the other related materials.
Moreover, extranets generate automatic email alerts, informing the recipients that the presentations are available; they also provide a comment function that allows each user to share their point-of-view.
Extranets can handle large files
Additionally, an extranet can handle any size of document for document sharing purposes. With e-mail, however, there is a risk of large attachments not passing through the company firewall. An extranet assures that important documents get to the right place, ready for instant response, and puts related documents and messages together. Thus, the budget, schedule, strategic plan, power point presentation, notes, and comments - all appear on the same page. There is no sorting required through a long list of unrelated emails.
Although an email is electronic and instantaneous, it is not a project management tool and does not offer many collaboration functions, whereas an extranet supports the concepts of an organization, workflow, and security. Therefore, extranets can effectively organize a company's marketing, external and internal communications.
A secure environment
In addition, many extranets are secured with 128-bit SSL encryption. Email, on the other hand, can be accessed by anyone and does not protect the confidentiality of a company's information.
Laura Schweiker writes extensively on the use of technology by businesspeople and is an evangelist for extranet and intranet software.