Free Stuff On The Net

Writen by Philip Nicosia

The Internet is not only a source of information—it's a mother lode of freebies. There are so many things you can find and download at absolutely no cost (and considering how easy it is to click and search, at absolutely no effort as well).Free sites are some of the most popular on the web today. Here are just a few things available:

* Free fonts. Why spend hundreds of dollars on font software, when you can get them for free? Some sites carry over a thousand fonts, all of them available at no cost. Other sites require payment for fonts, but offer free fonts which are rotated regularly so you always have something new to download at every visit.

* Free software. Called freeware, these programs can be downloaded and used requiring nothing more than a little patience and free space on your drive. These include applications you can use for work (or when you're pretending to work), or recreational software like games.

* Free recipes. You'll never buy a cookbook again when you find the recipes on the Internet: hundreds of thousands, to suit every taste, mood, budget, or dietary requirement. Many of these sites have sign-up programs so you can get recipes delivered to your inbox; others let you print the recipes in various formats, for easy pasting on to your index cards.

* Free music. No, you don't have to break any copyright laws. Many websites offer free music, which are uploaded by new artists who want to market their music, Other classics have simply entered public domain. Looking for a little Bach to start your day, or a swinging rendition of Jingle Bell Rock? Find it all on the Web.

* Free graphics. Need something to jazz up your website, a poster, a school project? Find it all on the web. Aside from the nifty fact that it's free, you can easily access what you need by typing in the key words or clicking on to the categories.

* Free cards. Forgot your mother's birthday? Log on to an online card site and download a free card (you can also find a "sorry" card in case you remembered it two weeks later!). Many are customizable, letting you choose the font, the background color, and the kind of music you want it to play when it's clicked on.

* Free e-books. The Internet's got plenty of reading material—the web pages alone would take a lifetime to read. But you can also download e-books that you can read on your computer screen or on your Palm Pilot.

* Free ringtones. Personalize your phone with your favorite music, downloaded from the numerous sites that offer ringtones. Some of them even have entire packages that include screen savers and background.

* Free coupons. Print them out and bring them to the grocery! Some of those coupons can be exchanged for free product samples, or at the very least, discounts or bonuses (such as 25% off on the next purchase).

* Free classes. Sign up for a writing course, a photography class, or Photoshop seminar—all for free. Best of all you can actually take those skills and use it to earn money or improve your own career.

Resources.eu.com is an online resource centre covering many topics including free sites.

Options Backdating Restatement Meaning Types Impact

Writen by Mukund Mohan

Had a good discussion with a few analysts (financial) and accounting on the question around differences between Restatement and Recertification of results - what are they, what is the difference etc.?

1. Restatement: It will effectively rewite a company's books. Dr. Min Wu of New York Univ of Business has a great paper on Review of earnings restatement. Here are some highlights:

a) Restatements typically occur when a company, often in consultation with its auditors or the SEC, determines that the company's financial statements contained either "errors" resulting from "mathematical mistakes, oversight, or misuse of facts at the time the financial statements were originally prepared," or "accounting irregularities.” The dissertation focuses on these types of restatements. In reality, it can be hard to distinguish between intentional misstatements and misinterpreting the accounting rules.

b) There are several reasons for restatements. The first involves companies that prematurely recognize revenues, or, even worse, recognize fictitious revenues. Misstating costs or expenses is one of the most common ways of twisting current-year profits. Common techniques involve overstating inventory, overstating other long-term assets, underestimating or overestimating reserves, and shifting expenses from one period to another.

Restatement can involve SEC-filed annual reports (10Ks), which are audited, and possibly the quarterly reports (10Qs). It can also involve only the interim quarters of the current fiscal year.

http://blog.vangal.com

Guanxi Business And Their Madness

Writen by Toan Dam

In China, the word guanxi is in the top ten vocabulary list of all successful businesses. Great Chinese businesses and business(wo)men just cannot survive and thrive without developing excellent guanxi with organizations of authority, such as the state-owned banks. But to a deeper extent, guanxi penetrates all manners of Chinese society. The school that you're going to has connections to high government officials, the club owner gets his loan from a friend that works at the Bank of Communication, parents has guanxi with a teacher (their intermediary) and asks her to ask the principle of a prestigiouis high school out for dinner, and so on and so forth. Nonetheless, since China began to open up in the late 1970s, understanding how to apply guanxi has been just as important, if not more, as getting accepted into college. You can do many kinds of business in China without a college degree, but having a college degree doesn't mean you'll be able to find employment.

Sometimes, however, even the Chinese have a tough time of handling the intricacies of guanxi. Like doing business, developing guanxi with others cannot be all honest and straight forward, In addition, there is the added pressure of developing a better guanxi with their target than the guy next to you, who is also trying to win your target over. My head is beginning to spin....let's put it this way...

Sample Case of Guanxi's Complexity

Mr. Chen owns a small manufacturing plant makng leather belts and he's looking to expand his business by borrowing money from Mr. Huang, the branch manager, of the only bank in town. But he knows that Mrs. Zhang, one of his biggest customer, is on bad terms with this branch manager, and Mr. Chen is afraid of losing business from Mrs. Zhang if she finds out about his relationship with Mr. Huang. If he doesn't handle this situation well, his guanxi with Mrs. Zhang or Mr. Huang can turn sour, or even worse, both of them will take their business elsewhere and Mr. Chen will be in deeper trouble. So what can Mr. Chen do to get his loan and still keep Mrs. Zhang happy?

A.) Hire Parties to Mediate the Situation

One party speaks on Mr. Chen's behalf to Mr. Huang. The second party also speaks on Mr. Chen's behalf, but to Mrs. Zhang.

B.) Personal Diplomacy

Mr. Chen asks Mr. Huang and Mrs. Zhang separately on why their relationship is so poorly (This allows both party to save "face" in case something goes wrong). He offeres his help in resolving the conflict to both sides and highlight the benefits that both side can accomplish with good relations.

or more drastically (and dangerously)

In the presence of Mr. Huang, a strategy can be employed where Mr. Chen offers criticizes Mrs. Zhang's behavior, while at the same time, he offers support to the branch manager and praise the branch manager for being so forgiving of others. This sort of forces Mr. Huang to live up to compliment that Mr. Chen so generously offered. As for Mr. Chen's case, careful diplomacy within the same line can be done by Mr. Chen. If, however, this backfires, one can imagine the consequences that await Mr. Chen.

C.) The Scapegoat

Mr. Chen can organize a situation where he makes a scapegoat of a fourth party, whose agenda is in conflict with both Mr. Huang and Mrs. Zhang. The old saying that "my enemy's enemy is my friend" applies here.

This example has only begun to break the ice of the intricacy of guanxi in China and the many ways any given situation can be influenced. Like Freud's iceberg, I like to picture guanxi as an iceberg. What we learn in school and through connections with our Chinese friends are only the top surface, the area that we can see and feel. As we dig deeper, the ice becomes colder and more dangerous to deal with, but then again, you might be able to find a flint and learn how to make a fire with it. Just be careful not to dig too far, as digging through the iceberg will reveal the frigid reality of the ocean, and who knows what other unknown that might bring.

Guanxi's Goodness

Sorry about that last part. I sort of get carried away sometimes. I got a huge course on guanxi at China's school of guanxi. An important point I also want to get across is that while guanxi is complicated and has a lot of guile to it, there are many goods that come out of guanxi. There are many goodness to it that needs to be addressed and I will address that in a later article. For example, having good guanxi solidifies trust between two parties, and in business, trust is a very important thing.

Conclusion

Anyways, if you want to learn more about guanxi-business and how Chinese business(wo)men run their businesses, Ocean University of China offers an excellent business program. I think we can rest assure that this ocean is a lot better than the ocean I described above. Anyways, You can study all the guanxi you want from their case studies and they also organize company tours at multinational corporations, where you can develop guanxi with the hiring managers. I apologize again. That was my final one. ....Good luck with your guanxi! Ok, I'll stop now.

Come visit my website to learn more.

Toan Dam Chinese Language Institutes LLC http://www.chinese-language-institutes.com

Ready To Do Marketing Full Time 10 Important Points To Consider

Writen by Olga Farber Becker

So, your income from your marketing efforts starts to be somewhat tangible. Or you just see that you could grow your income much more than if you keep your job - focusing on your marketing activities only.

Count me in. ;)

Here are several points for you to consider, when you're making your decision.

1. It's better to acquire at least some financial knowledge first.

I'd go to Robert Kiyosaki and his games "How to Quit the Rat Race," his "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" really seems to drive the point home.

2. Define your goals, so that you knew where you go.

I recommend to take this free mini course:

http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/goal-setting-tips.html

"7 Goal Setting Tricks" - it will put you in the right direction.

And I highly recommend John Reese's brain dump exercise. http://www.marketingsecrets.com/massiveissue.html

3. Accustom to some time management system, so that you could make the best of your time, not going in too many directions and not trying to do it all.

I'd recommend Brian Tracy's "Maximum Achievement" and Dan Kennedy's "No B.S. Time Management".

Read also this article by Brian Tracy:

http://www.mercola.com/2002/jan/23/efficiency.htm

That question "What's the most valuable use of my time, right now?" will help you a lot in getting your priorities straight.

4. Start practicing your organized work at home today - little by little, you'll get used to organizing your work the best way.

As Jim Rohn says, "Never begin the day until it's finished on paper." - Always make a plan for your next day - even a small task, but try to get it done.

5. Sometimes it's better to postpone the quit until you have enough money, courage, whatever... but sometimes we succeed more, when we just dive in.

It seems like when we have no choice, we get more determined to succeed, more focused, so we can accomplish much more.

Jim Edwards had a lot to say about it:

http://www.howtogetanythingyouwant.com/

6. Work smart, not hard.

When your plan for the day is ready, look over it and ask yourself: "How can I accomplish these tasks quicker?"

You'll start to see then - you may combine some tasks together, or you'll find some way to outsource, or you'll notice, that there is a certain time of the day, when you work more efficiently, so you'll schedule the most complicated task to that time slot, or you'll see a need in some tools that will help you.

But it all starts with this simple question. It will just open your eyes to the optimizing world. ;)

I, for example, love this tool:

http://www.mjtnet.com/index.mv?kudos2.html

It saves me an enormous amount of time and peace of mind every day.

7. When you estimate your achievements, don't compare yourself to the Ideal - it's never possible to be perfect, but try to compare to your starting point, what you've changed since then.

Bill Harris explained it very well in his article "The Gap":

http://www.centerpointe.com/news/archives/2002-03-01.txt

It will explain to you, why with all your accomplishments you still can be unhappy.

8. Use your past successes as your ally.

Take a notepad and write in it everything that you're proud of. Don't take just the obvious achievements, search for them. Then use it daily as your pat on the back.

9. Welcome the changes. It's one thing to go "out there" when you think all the world is against you, and it's completely different, when you trust Life, when you're open to its changes.

As John Kehoe said, "Operate on the premise that things are going to work out, and they usually do."

I highly recommend you to get his book "Money, success and you" - it's my favorite book right now. Read this article:

http://www.learnmindpower.com/Pages/mind-power-information.html

10. Seek the company of successful and like-minded people.

You'll pick up their energy, their courage, they'll motivate you to do your best, that will help you to move through the rough times - to your success!

I like very much this forum:

http://www.im4newbies.com/forum/

It sustains the atmosphere of success, great knowledge and encouragement.

And I also recommend to subscribe to the inspiring newsletter here:

http://psycho-cybernetics.com/

Ok, enough with the lectures! Did you learn anything useful? Don't try to implement it all at once, take it slowly, bit by bit. When you master it, you'll make your life more organized, more successful and more fulfilling.

Happy achievements! ;)

Copyright 2004 Olga Farber Becker

About The Author Olga's areas of research are internet marketing and building businesses, mind power and time optimization. She shares her knowedge at http://www.start-successful-business-online-in-48-hours.com/mblog

Lean Manufacturing Seminars

Writen by Kent Pinkerton

Lean manufacturing is a business proposal to reduce waste in manufacturing processes. The basic scheme is to reduce the costs methodically, throughout the product and production process, by means of a series of development reviews.

Many companies have now added interactive real-time online seminars also called "webinars" to their portfolio of lean training opportunities for organizations worldwide. Webinars cover key topics required for in-house teams working to implement their lean future state plans.

Lean advisors conduct sessions interactively, answering questions, giving quizzes, challenging assumptions, and leading group discussions via phone and the Internet, which is advantageous for organizations that work from the comfort and convenience of their own offices.

Participants work as groups in a room with computer access, or from their own offices. PowerPoint presentations and other materials are available to help make the seminars easier to understand. Discussions also take place over the phone. Using cutting-edge technology, learners have access to an easy, responsive, and fluid online interface that has proven to be a reliable form of training today.

There are many advantages of in-house seminars. These include receiving a customized workshop tailored to suit the needs of your organization, training 4 to 20 staffers for a reasonable fee, limiting time away from your work schedule, learning together as a team, and working on specific problems or issues unique to your establishment.

There are many advantages associated with public seminars. These include pre-workshop questionnaires which tailor the event to the participant's requirements, learning from experiences and the opportunity to network with other managers, training away from the work environment, participating in group problem-solving exercises, and the opportunity to ask questions and work on specific issues unique to your establishment.

To figure what's best for your organization, consider all training programs offered today, and reap benefits with the help of this new manufacturing trend.

Lean Manufacturing provides detailed information on Lean Manufacturing, Lean Manufacturing Training, Lean Manufacturing Seminars, Lean Manufacturing Consultants and more. Lean Manufacturing is affiliated with Laser Cutting Machines.

Business Intelligence 101

Writen by Robert Flanglin

An essential idea of business is that data is enhanced into information and then into knowledge. Business use BI to gain an advantage in the marketplace by understanding their customer's needs, customer's decision-making processes, and economic, cultural, and technological trends. Business intelligence involves analyzing not only the customer but the entire industry as a whole. Finally, business intelligence is driven by a goal set by the company. The goal can be short term or long term.

History of Business Intelligence

Business intelligence was first referred to in Sun Tzu's "Art of War." Tzu claimed that in order to win a war you had to have complete knowledge and understand of your strengths and weaknesses as well as those of your enemy. This is the core idea behind modern business intelligence. A company must know itself better than anyone else, and know its customers and competitors better than anyone else. It is ironic how much business and warfare are alike. In BI, one must sift through heaps of data (both external and internal) for management to then device strategies for marketing and where to take the business.

Key Performance Indicators

In BI, the present state of business is assessed by the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPI). Data is becoming available to businesses faster as more organizations implement KPI. In the past, data was available after one or two months, which did not help businesses adjust their strategies in a timely manner. More recently, however, banks have tried to make data available sooner and with shorter intervals, especially for businesses that have higher operational/credit risk loading (I.E. wealth management and credit cards). Some companies can get data weekly, which helps them adjust their strategies more efficiently than ever before.

Business Intelligence Tools

Business intelligence involves collecting quite a bit of information and analyzing it. Many business use tools to achieve this. A few of the data tools are data modeling, data warehouses, and data mining. Data tools help employees collect the data and analyze it efficiently. Data tools are for organizational purposes mostly. Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) is used in the analyzing process. OLAP is sometimes simply referred to as Analytics, which is based on the hypercube or "cube" and dimensional analysis.

Some businesses also use software vendors for BI tools. There are quite a few enterprises offering BI technology. If a business does not get the BI tools themselves, then software vendor will provide a business with tools, and sometimes software support and BI professionals who will help the company analyze results and collect data. Some companies providing BI software are Siebel Systems, Microsoft, Altius Consulting, Business-Soft, and SAS Institute.

Conclusion

Businesses understand that knowing the customer is the key to success. Business intelligence is the path through which a business can collect data about the customer and analyze it. Business intelligence is also about knowing the market, including competitors and market trends. A business that has the most accurate understanding of its marketplace will be more adequately prepared for the continual changes that inevitable occur in markets. Business intelligence is an important concept for any company to understand, because it will help them to gain new customers, retain old customers, and see a positive ROI.

Robert Flanglin writes about a variety of business topics and specializes in Business Intelligence. Robert Flanglin writes for the Business Intelligence Journal ( http://www.businessintelligencejournal.com ).

Eft Frauds

Writen by Kevin Stith

Electronic fund transfers is a secure and efficient system that assists electronic payments and collections. However, EFT systems and securities may contain loopholes creating possibilities for EFT frauds. Over the years, EFT frauds have resulted in losses running into the millions.

Fraud in an EFT occurs as a result of unauthorized instruction, alteration of the amount or name of the receiver, etc. A number of electronic funds transfer frauds have involved the direct interception or modification of electronic data messages transmitted from the computers of financial institutions. This revelation also confirms that offenders have most likely worked inside the concerned financial institutions and operated upon so called secured systems.

Risks of EFT frauds are enhanced if the electronic funds transfer system is dependant upon general telecommunication facilities. If the system provides authorized access to a large number of people, it automatically increases the chances of an EFT fraud. It is important to employ methods wherein unauthorized access to secure data is minimized.

A dedicated communication network is considered to be less vulnerable to illegal access. This helps control and prevents EFT fraud. EFT frauds can take place at work by insiders and outsiders. Insiders are able to evade the sending body?s secured system and modify payment information. Outsiders may include controlled crime associates who have access to a network of illegal bank accounts. Fraud from reliable insiders is the utmost threat in EFT frauds.

In a number of EFT frauds a third party is also involved. This person makes available a bank account to receive the stolen funds. The person is most often an innocent bystander and is never convicted. In the U.S, the secret service together with protecting the president and Vice President also identify and arrest electronic funds criminals. Incase EFT frauds involve two states, the18 U.S.C. Section 1343, wire fraud statute is referred to.

EFT provides detailed information on EFT, EFT POS, Fiserv EFT, Pulse EFT and more. EFT is affiliated with Electronic Payment Processing.

How To Get Free Audio Books

Writen by Paton Jackson

The only purpose of the following lines is to help you get free audio books – free downloadable audio books and free audio books in general. Although there are some illegal ways we can think of to get free audio books, we will mention only the legal ones:

1. Free trials: There are some online shops which offer a free trial agreement, meaning you pay nothing or you can get your money back if you are dissatisfied with the products you get. The free trial agreement could be found for audio book cd and for downloadable audio books. Getting free audio books by this method is quite easy and could be down in no time. However, there are some cons: First, we believe there might be an ethical problem knowing from the beginning that no money is going to be paid for the product and that the online audio book service will be used to get a free audio book. Secondly, not all audio books are offered for the free trial. Therefore, you might get free audio books but not the ones you looked for. The last con is that some of the free trial periods are too short to listen to the audio book. Therefore, you get free audio books but have no time to listen to them.

2. File sharing services: There are numerous file sharing services on the net (Most use p2p technologies) that allow downloading files for free. We have founded more than 100 free audio books ready to download from these sites. However, it took us a lot of time to find them and the bandwidth rate was slow.

3. Search engines: You could find lots of free audio books by just searching for the right sites. Look for the small sits by typing the exact title you want and the phrase: "free audio book". For example, if you are looking for an Harry Potter audio book just type : "Harry Potter" + "Free audio book".

4. Markets – you can find audio books to swap with other products in some flea markets and second hand shops.

To sum up, there are no free presents. Although, there are ways to get free audio books, we think it is better to pay a couple of bucks for online audio book rental services – the worthwhile method of getting nearly free audio books.

911 Corp. has executed an independent research to find the best place to get audio books from. Find out the clear results and all about free audio books and audio books free downloads only on the Free audio books information.

How The Web Works

Writen by Pallab Kakoty

How the Web Works

Because you're taking this course and reading this lesson, it's a pretty safe assumption that you can get on the Web and move around with certain adeptness. To access any given web pages, we are most likely to use its web address which is technically called a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and click on hyperlinks and graphics to move from one page to another. In general, the Web is a pretty seamless world; you often move from one Web site to another and may not know you have done so. If you want to add your Web page -- and eventually your Web site -- to this virtually seamless environment, you'll need to understand a bit about the workings behind the Web scenes.

Of Clients and Servers Simply put, the Web is a gigantic network. What that means in geek-speak is that there are, in the most general terms, two roles that a computer can play on the Web: client or server. Anything else deliverable over the Web including documents, images, sound files is stored by the server and clients access those files. Occasionally, a computer can play both roles, but more often than not, a computer is one or the other.

For example, when you type the URL http://www.yahoo.com/home.html into your Web browser, your client is sending a request to the Yahoo Web server -- ( identified as http://www.yahoo.com) for a Web page called home.html. When the Web server receives your request for home.html, it looks to see if the Web page exists, and if it does, the server sends a copy to you so that you can view it in your browser. An error message is received to let you know that the page you wanted could not be found whenever the page does not exist on the server. Web Clients and could Web Servers communicate with one another through a system of requests and responses.

The Web would not work without clients and servers. The clients could access each of the web documents stored on the servers all over the world regardless of where the client or server is actually located. This means you can request pages from servers in Sydney, Australia, and Van Horn, Texas in the exact same way and receive responses from each server in the exact same way. In the end, Web surfing is nothing more than a Web client -- a.k.a. A series of web pages are being requested from the Web servers located all around by the Web Browser.

How Protocols Help Computers Communicate

All kinds of operating systems –- PCs, Macs and Unix to name just three -- is running all across the world and both clients and servers can be any kind of computer running any kind of operating system. You could be using a computer which is running on windows to serve you with a website and likewise one may surf the web with a Macintosh client. A Unix computer running Linux may serve the next Web page you view. The beauty of it all is that you, the user, don't know the difference. A Web page is a Web page, no matter what kind of computer it lives on.

A different kind of computers does not usually play well together and you know that most of the time it takes a bit of jumping through hoops to make them communicate. So why is it that the Web -- which is made up of all kinds of computers -- works so seamlessly? It's simple, really. All of the clients and servers on the Web speak a common language called the HTTP protocol.

Common Ground

A protocol is a set of rules two computers use to communicate with one another. A protocol called HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is spoken by both the Web browser and Web servers that carefully defines how Web pages are requested and received. It doesn't really matter which operating system is running for as long as both the browser and the server speak HTTP. The HTTP protocol is the common ground that allows them to communicate.

Different computers just could not work with each other and so without protocols, the web would not work at all. Although HTTP is the protocol for requesting and sending Web, there are other protocols as well at work on the Internet besides HTTP.

Putting It All Together

The HTTP protocol is written in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) to request and send the actual web pages that clients and servers uses.

A Large amount of data can be stored on the server and the same serves if to hundreds of clients, often at the same time. A collection of web servers is actually what is used to respond to client request by web sites like Yahoo and Microsoft as they receive hundreds of thousands of hits everyday. It is not mandatory for the Web server to run the same kind of operating system which the Web clients is using whenever the Web pages are being requested. Protocols fill the communications gap between different kinds of computers and allow them to exchange Web pages simultaneously.

What This Means To You

You may be wondering why you should care about what goes on behind the scenes of the Web. In fact the web is designed in such a way that you don't need to care as a web surfer. To find a place to serve your web pages needs to be found by you as a web developer -- a Web server of some kind -- so that your users can request your pages using their Web browsers. Your Web pages can't be seen by the world unless they reside on a Web server that is hooked up to the Internet. Anyone with a Web client could access your web pages, once your pages are made available to a connected server(remember, that's a fancy name for a browser). For now, that's all you need to know about Web clients and servers. In a later lesson you'll learn more about finding a Web server home for your documents.

Make Success Your Priority

Writen by Audrey Burton

Overwhelm, distractions and the inability to say NO keep many people from achieving their potential. Too many opportunities paralyzes your ability to make the right decisions; Email prevents focus. Guilt and 'shoulds' keep us busy with activities that fill our days, but do not get us closer to success!

We are not machines, so these things will happen. The key is to prioritize what you will allow to use your time. What is most important to you?

We read stories in Oprah's magazine and see on TV all these women who start multi-million dollar businesses while raising their 4 kids and their sister's 3 kids and all while volunteering at the school. Don't be fooled! You do not have the same life nor the same opportunities.

Here is what we don't see - her mom helps take care of the kids and cooks and cleans, her husband fronted the money, she didn't get more than 3 hours of sleep a night for 6 years, or her kids are completely out of control. Her priorities are not the same as yours and mine. Avoid comparing yourself to others - it is a dangerous trap, and you never know all the facts!

What are your priorities?

For me, raising my two girls as a single/only parent to be responsible, caring, contributing adults is my top priority. A distant second, is growing my business to a place where I work less and make more, and have lots of money for my retirement. Without raising my kids the way I want, it wouldn't matter how much money I had, I would be miserable. Besides, they will grow up and I will have a shift in my priorities then.

Setting your priorities is a very personal process. The big things are fairly easy; it's the every day stuff that becomes challenging. For example, I see many people who get asked to volunteer and say yes again and again, even though they know it delays the achievement of their goals. The little voice in their heads says, "Don't do it this time!", but they find themselves saying yes.

One of the hidden reasons behind this sometimes is that she wants to have a good excuse for not achieving her goals. "I've been so busy at the school/the networking group/the chamber of commerce, that I just couldn't build my business the way I wanted!"

Setting priorities is the first step. Put them on paper, then flesh out an action plan to accomplish your goals. For example, if it is your goal to exceed $50,000 in revenues this year, you will need to detail how you plan to do this, and get to work. The money will not fall in your lap, and you're not getting any younger! Once you have put your plan on paper, put it where you can see it and review it regularly.

When a new opportunity presents itself (that will absorb your time), delay your decision for an hour or a day - whatever time you have. Really think strategically - will this get me closer to my success as I have defined it? What will the benefit be and what will it cost in time and money if I say yes?

If you aren't making money right now, that needs to be your priority over long-term gains. You do need to keep longer term goals in mind, but don't find yourself spending all your resources on future gains - future gains won't pay the electric bill! Analyze opportunities as they present themselves:

1. How will this benefit me and my family in the short term?

2. Long term?

3. What will this cost me in the short and long terms?

4. What is that little voice in my head telling me?

Sometimes, you have to do the 'right thing'. If you are in debt and not taking care of yourself and your family properly, buck up and get a job. Pay off the debt and save your money so you can try starting your business later without being desperate.

Trust your inner wisdom, but at the same time, ask your 'trusted advisors'. Keep in mind that some of your advisors have their own agendas, and have a vested interest in the result.

Bottom Line: Having specific, written priorities keeps you focused on your plan, and helps you say NO when you need to!

Audrey Burton is a practical Small Business Coach. She eliminates business/marketing overwhelm and gets you excited to work on your business again! To sign up for her free, monthly email newsletter, visit her site: http://www.TigressCoaching.com.

Email Stationery

Writen by Eddie Tobey

Email Stationery is a new concept meant only for electronic mailing. The letters that are sent by email are generally written on plain canvas. To make them more effective and fun to read, stationery for emails is being used nowadays. Once installed, this Email Stationery becomes part of your virtual letter. It is used both for personal and business emails.

Using Email Stationery renders a personal touch to the message. For business emails, using stationery gives it a professional impact, especially if it contains the logo, address, signature and such details. Even business cards are being designed for electronic use to be sent via computer. Whatever Email Stationery a business is using, it should match with its printed one so as to not to confuse the recipients. When sending personal emails, there are lots of colorful designs available for different occasions. You could send a different one each time, but try to keep a signature, symbol, background or clipart constant in each email so that the recipient knows immediately it is from you.

Email Stationery design is more flexible than paper stationery. One could even have animation. When designing the Email Stationery, select the background first. It can be in any color and design. It could even be one of your favorite pictures. But carefully select the background, so it does not hamper in reading the text clearly. Around the text area, you could add some clipart and borders to give it even better visual impact. Finally, you should select the typefaces and font colors that go best with the designed email layout.

If you find it difficult to design your own Email Stationery, there are free ready-made downloads also available on the Internet. They are generally supported on Outlook, Outlook Express and Incredimail emailing software. Other email packages like Yahoo and Hotmail propagate the use of their own stationery. Most of the email stationeries can be viewed in the IE browser and not in Netscape. These Email Stationery files are stored as HTML (Hypertext Markup Language Files) within the computer. For professional-looking Email Stationery, it is advisable to seek help from a designer.

Stationery provides detailed information about stationery, personalized stationery, email stationery, printable stationery and more. Stationery is the sister site of Wholesale Envelopes.

Payday Loans Pros And Cons

Writen by John Williams

Payday Loans, often referred to as cash advance loans, are amounts lent by specialized lenders to borrowers until the next pay day. Typically, payday loans are extended for amounts that are less than $1,000. The loan is extended to the borrower against the personal check of the borrower that is placed with the lender until the next pay day. The cost of carrying payday loans is very high as the risk of default is high, since generally borrowers who find themselves in a very difficult financial situation avail of such loans.

Why are Payday loans popular?

They are popular for a number of reasons such as:

· Credit checks are not required. The personal check that you make payable to the lender acts as security.

· Approval is quick. If all the necessary documents are submitted, your loan application maybe approved in minutes.

· The paperwork involved is simple. Generally one or two documents would suffice which explains the loan process and your obligations.

· The repayment process is without hassles. The check submitted as security is encashed on the next payday by the lender. You could extend the loan to subsequent paydays for a fee. However this is very expensive.

· Easy availability. Payday loans are particularly appropriate for emergency situations provided the amount required is small and one is willing to bear the high cost of the loan.

Drawbacks of payday loans:

· Such loans are prohibitively expensive. Lender fees can range from $15 to $25 per $100 borrowed. These fees are for a period of 14 days.

· Many borrowers, within a short time, find themselves in a debt trap. With each extension of the loan, the fees in total increase such that at the end of two, three or four extensions they equal the loan amount.

· Collection of outstanding loans is harsh. Considering the fact that this business is a high risk lending game, lenders wield the stick harshly on the slightest default.

John Williams is the payday loans specialist at http://www.paydayer.com Click on over today to see the top offers on the web right now for payday loans.

The Study Of Ergonomics

Writen by Bo Pritchard

Ergonomics is not a term many people are familiar with. In fact, when the question was asked at a random message board about what ergonomics was, many people were stumped and thought it had something to do with money.

Ergonomics is actually all about how humans are capable of certain demands in regards to work. Scientists who study ergonomics are called ergonomists and they show how to relieve stress and tension in the work place, and also in every day living.

What is ergonomics and how can knowing about it benefit your life?

Why is Ergonomics important?

In our changing, fast paced society, people are under more stress than ever. To help relieve tension, stress and to correct posture for better health, ergonomists take into consideration certain important key factors.

These key factors can include how a person sits, stands or moves about in an area. This would also include the length of time for these activities. Range of motion and how humans normally move are also taken into consideration. Ergonomists try to discover what makes certain situations more stressful on the body and how they can relieve this stress.

For example, many people who work in offices spend up to eight hours a day sitting in a chair and staring at a screen, moving their hands about a keyboard or mouse. While being in a sitting position in a certain posture may be considered comfortable, humans generally slump over after a certain period of time. To prevent this, ergonomics may recommend moving about into different, posture perfect positions in order to keep you comfortable and relieve the body of stress and tension.

What are the results of Ergonomic Studies?

When you study ergonomics and design it to practical applications in every day use, you'll find it results in a more comfortable work environment. Studying ergonomics begins with an understanding of how the body works, what makes the body most comfortable and other techniques.

The studies that are put together test and retest certain products when used in daily activities. The recommended suggestions may change as studies progress. For example, it was conventional wisdom up until recently to put a computer monitor as close as 18 inches from your face. Now ergonomists suggest that a monitor should be as far away as possible as long as you are still able to read it easily. These changes can only occur with the continued study and efforts put in by ergonomists.

Learning about Ergonomics for Application in Daily Life

The study of ergonomics exists to help improve the work life of people. With applied techniques, people have found their work comes easier and they are more able to relax during and at the end of the day. The application of ergonomics improves the over all quality of life for most individuals.

It is one thing to study and earn about ergonomics, it is something else to actually put it into practice and apply the techniques. However, most techniques are simple and require very little change to your work environment. Simple ideas like how high you sit in a chair, how close your computer monitor is, and getting up to stretch every so often to break up the workday may make the difference between working in a stressful environment or working in one which is much healthier.

Written by Bo Pritchard of Ergodevices. They supply ergonomically designed keyboard trays, monitor supports, and accessories which have all been constructed with your spine, joints and limbs in mind. They help relieve the stress that repetition and long hours can put on your body. Better design, better health. Visit their site at http://www.ergodevices.com

Comfortable And Corporate Leather Office Chairs

Writen by Ken Marlborough

There are many choices when it comes to office chairs. Standard office chairs are available in a wide variety of colors and materials for a low cost. An ergonomic office chair that offers adjustable settings and proper lumbar support has become a standard fixture in both work and home offices. However, the ultimate luxury in office chairs is almost always a leather office chair.

Leather office chairs are available for purchase through a large number of dealers. They can be purchased "standard" for under a hundred dollars, or can even be custom designed for as much as a few thousand dollars. Leather office chairs are frequently found in the offices of upper management and executives. They are also common items in executive conference and meeting rooms.

Leather office chairs are chosen for their luxurious material and the comfort that they afford. They are available in a variety of colors and styles. Many leather office chairs offer special features that employ proper office ergonomics. They offer adequate lumbar support, comfortable seating, and the ability to swivel. Many offer pneumatic lift and height adjustment to ensure that they are a proper fit for a variety of individual body types.

It is important that leather office chairs look presentable and guarantee maximum comfort when used for a long time. Most leather office chairs are made from cowhide leather, with vinyl on the outside surfaces to ensure maximum durability. Five-prong swivel bases and dual-wheel, hooded castors are standard features of most leather offices chairs. These features allow the user to turn and glide across the floor while completing workplace tasks.

It is recommended to try out several different leather office chairs prior to making a selection. A chair that is ideal for one person may be not be the best selection for another. Because most leather office chairs carry a somewhat higher price tag than the standard office chair, they typically come with an extended warranty.

Office Chairs Info provides detailed information about ergonomic, leather, executive, heavy duty, used, discount, and home office chairs, as well as wheel castors and other accessories. Office Chairs Info is the sister site of Computer Desks Web.

Where To Buy Business Phones

Writen by Max Bellamy

The latest technologies in the telephone industry have given business people a wide range of options to choose from. It has become easy to purchase a business phone from online business stores, mail order, direct buying and through telemarketing. Both prepaid and post paid cellular business phones are available in the market.

Usually online purchasing and telemarketing involve more risks than mail order and direct buying. Privacy is the major problem of online purchasing. Buyers are required to give payment information including their bank accounts and credit card numbers. Before an online purchase, a buyer has to check the security measures ensured by online business sites. A product list with detailed information is available in online business phone purchasing. They include the type of business phone, brand name, model, price and key features. The buyer is allowed to take a suitable phone from the product list. Any damage or malfunctioning should be informed as early as possible. Customer satisfaction guarantee is available for most online business phone purchases.

You can also buy business phones through mail orders. The term mail order involves marketing terms such as direct, direct mail, internet, catalog, data base, direct response, television, information and niche. Business phone sellers usually take low shipping charges. The maximum is $11.98 plus regular delivery charges per address for a business phone mail order. Within the U.S, the average shipping time for business phones is only a couple of days.

For an onsite quality check, a direct purchase is the most suitable way. Direct purchase offers a variety of choices. An online demonstration is also possible in a direct buy. Telemarketing is an accepted mode of purchase these days. It provides a description of the features, the various uses and prices. Most doubts regarding the phone can be settled in the course of the conversation.

Most business phone sellers offer high discounts on business phones for those who order in bulk numbers. In the competitive telephone industry, sellers give event oriented discounts. Seasonal special services are also available.

Business Phones provides detailed information on Business IP Phones, Business Phone Etiquette, Business Phone Numbers, Business Phone Services and more. Business Phones is affiliated with Affordable Business Phone Systems.

Take Back Control Of Your Marketing

Writen by Audrey Burton

Copyright (c) 2006 Audrey Burton

I have heard "I hate marketing" or some version of that statement many times, and I understand. I like marketing, and still sometimes I hate marketing.

One of the biggest problems is that there are so many options that it's sometimes impossible to know if you're doing the right things at the right times. I really do understand.

If you have thousands of dollars in your marketing budget, you can pay consultants to help you with creating a plan, purchasing print advertising, executing a search engine optimization (SEO) program, creating an effective pay per click internet advertising campaign and/or creating a viral marketing movie. Oh yea, you will also need a highly effective and gorgeous website.

One way I suggest for business owners to become educated on the business side of their businesses is to take free teleclasses. This is a great, easy way to become educated on marketing. Keep in mind that most of the teleclass leaders are doing the class at no charge so they may promote their program or product, or both. Don't buy anything yet - do more research. The product will still be there next week.

Here are most of the 'best' ways in which teleclass leaders and other experts have told me I 'must' promote my business:

- Blog - Become an affiliate - Write and submit articles to banks - Join leads groups - Speak - Create a subscription website - Give teleclasses - Create products to sell - Do PR - Network - Teach - Form exclusive strategic alliances

Since I do not have a very large marketing budget, I also need to maintain my website, optimize it, write effective copy, write my marketing plan, and, of course, follow up with everyone I have met or spoken to, among other things.

If I did all the things the experts tell me to do, I'd be working 30 hours per day and spending no time with clients. It's impossible!

Unfortunately, marketing often requires some trial and error to learn what works best with your industry, your personality, your location and your target market. The first and most important component of effective marketing is narrowing down your target market. It's extremely difficult to make an emotional connection with anyone using a watered-down marketing message - which is just what will happen if you try to appeal to too broad an audience in your marketing.

See if you can network with someone else in your same industry and compare notes - what works and what doesn't. With most businesses, that can be done by locating someone in a different geographic area. If that doesn't work, try finding someone who services a completely different target market than yours. For example, I am a small business coach and have 'buddy coached' with a couple of life coaches. We are marketing ourselves in very similar ways, but looking for completely different clients.

When deciding which ways to market your product, keep your limitations in mind: time and money. Also, there may be a learning curve to incorporate into your plan. Personal choices should also be considered - because I'm a single mom, I don't work nights and weekends. That affected my choice of target market!

You will make sense of it all; don't put too much pressure on yourself. Stick with it and take care of yourself. Enjoy the journey!

Audrey Burton, Small Business Coach, is "The Tigress". Get her FREE Special Report, "Closing the Sale is Not Complicated!" and her FREE monthly email newsletter at http://www.TigressCoaching.com .

The Power Of Belief

Writen by Michael Knowles

There is no surer guarantee of personal or business success than the power of belief. But belief is not something that happens to you. It is a conscious choice you make and, when combined with knowledge of what you do best, it gives you unshakeable confidence and profound focus.

One of the key character traits of entrepreneurs is the power of belief grown from self-knowledge and the ability to understand the world of the problems they seek to solve. Entrepreneurs are no less risk-averse than anybody else. The difference is they choose their responses to the uncertainty of launching a new venture.

We all suffer crises of self-doubt. What the power of belief does for you is enable you to see that self-doubt is the state of being in unreality. The power of belief gives you the perspective you need to observe and accept the undependable future and so avoid getting lost when self-doubt rears its ugly head.

Cultivating the Power of Belief

The power of belief is not a blind choice. It's a choice informed through careful self-examination and assessment of what you do best. Granted, we are infused with beliefs of many kinds during our formative years. Yet as fully realized adults we have the opportunity to decide what we believe and in so doing be fed by the power of conscious choosing.

All factors being equal, successful human beings define for themselves what being successful means. They have the power to believe in their ability to handle whatever comes.

Ask yourself today what success means for you. Write about it. How does what you believe about success affect how you live, what you do, who you choose to work with?

What You Believe and What You Do Best

A recent study by the SBA Office of Advocacy reports that successful entrepreneurs have the ability to assess the problem opportunity in the marketplace and understand how that translates to potential demand. But what's significant about their legendary risk-seeking behavior is that it is driven by their unwavering belief in what they are trying to accomplish. It is the power of belief that, for them, minimizes the risk in any endeavor.

Thomas Alva Edison was a tireless investigator. He had a broad background in applied science and he persevered even in the face of apparent setbacks. He had a strong, conscious belief in himself that enabled him to weather what others would consider to be career-ending failures. The point of his life was to follow a course until he found success. Not until he hit a stumbling block. Not until failure stopped him. He followed every idea through until it evolved into a solution that worked for real-world problems.

You can never be sure of results. The only sure thing is your power to choose. Making conscious choices means believing you can exert the effort required to succeed in a given venture. It is imperative for your success that you trust the creative process and be open to the possibility in every apparent misstep or supposed failure.

Taking the power of belief and aiming it through the knowledge of what you do best focuses you naturally on those problems you are best equipped to solve.

Take the steps today to get clear about what you believe and what you do best. Then use the power of belief combined with what you do best to focus yourself on the success you deserve.

***

Michael Knowles, co-author of The Entrepreneur's Concept Assessment Toolbook (available at http://www.booklocker.com/books/1988.html or Amazon.com) helps businesses take what they do best and focus it on success. A Principal in One Straight Line LLC, Michael has over 25 years of experience helping companies create communication strategies help them engage customers, employees, investors, outsourcing partners, and the community. Michael can be reached at mknowles@onestraightline.com. Sign up for their newsletter by sending email to subscribe@onestraightline.com.

Mobile Oil Change Vans And Packages Available

Writen by Lance Winslow

There are many people who wish to get into the mobile oil change business and there are many packages available on the Internet for this. Having been in the mobile auto services business for some 27-years it has always been of interest to me how to best put together the perfect rig or van set up in order to be the most efficient possible.

This way you can best service the customer and of course make money too. After all if you are running a small business no matter how small one of your primary goals should be to make money right? Now then, recently I was asked by a gentleman to tell him how much it costs for a complete mobile oil change van and package.

Well, we do not sell Mobile Oil Change Vans or products and I cannot imagine what gave him this idea or what led him to such false assumptions and erroneous thought process. We do not sell products or Offer anything to the public? Yet having been in the auto mobile service business he assumed we also sold stuff for others to start their businesses? Well, let me tell you the market is too good to share.

Nevertheless I do have some thoughts on this pre-packaged Mobile Oil Change Business Opportunity Sector, since I know a thing or two about the industry. But first before giving out any advice I must know about his Market Area, types of customers, number of proposed cars per day, I may be able to send him to a web link of someone who does sell these things. Or perhaps assist him in finding the units needed so you can build one yourself.

As far as who sells the best products or has the best offer, often this more depends on your requirements and specs rather than who has the best so-called "Package" because packages are put together by others who make assumptions on your needs and thus these packages are compromises. That is to say they are built by people who put pieces together to make up the package and find their own vendors and therefore, they often fall short in the end-user's needs. Does this make sense to you? Well then consider this in 2006.

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

Invoice Factoring Discounting

Writen by Kent Pinkerton

Invoice discounting is similar to invoice factoring, the difference being that the sales ledger management and the factoring company does not take up the collection responsibility. Invoice Discounting is good for businesses that are established with sufficient staff and infrastructure to keep accounts. The option is there to disclose or not disclose the service to the customer. Invoice discounting therefore allows more confidentiality than invoice factoring.

Invoice discounting, like invoice factoring assures the working capital necessary in times of need, and acts as an ideal debt management solution for a business. In fact, for flourishing businesses invoice discounting is a smart option for ensuring a continuous cash flow needed as capital. Invoice discounting extends a cash advance up to 90 % of the value of outstanding invoices, usually within 24 hours. Invoice discounting affords asset based lending as well. Invoice discounting and factoring carry charges such as administration or service charge for services offered and interest charge for the cash advanced.

Another advantage of invoice factoring discounting is the credit insurance policy assured- this gives protection against bad debts. There is the option to choose recourse or non-recourse facility. Both with invoice factoring and discounting, funds are available proportionate to the sales. The only assurance that the factoring discounting company needs is regarding the soundness and reliability of a business.

Invoice factoring discounting facility can be availed online also, which nullifies the numerous phone calls or fax and mail requirements. Invoice factoring discounting services might demand a notification period, in case one wants to terminate the business. For invoice discounting the fees charged are lesser than invoice factoring because here only finance is offered, because the business takes care of the sales ledger details and other official work.

Invoice Factoring provides detailed information on Invoice Factoring, Invoice Factoring Companies, Invoice Factoring Discounting, Invoice Factoring Rates and more. Invoice Factoring is affiliated with Loan Factoring.

Google And The Bush Administration

Writen by Lance Winslow

Google ought not to use the Bush Administrations name in vain. Their rights to their data are duly considered by the court and they need to concentrate on their business model now. If Google feels that their rights to proprietary information maybe jeopardized they may seek court protection from the request, as they have.

But they are a public company now and shareholder's equity and quarterly profits are indeed the consideration of the day. Google does a great job helping the people to information from billions of web pages and they make money doing it, good for them, good for all of us. But this is one fight that is not worth going overboard with in the media, rather they have made their point and should work to bettering their business model and finding new avenues to enhance revenues.

For those of us to study business history and the case studies for the world's largest and best run companies we know we can spot trends fairly quickly in issues like this. It is unfortunate that such a great company like Google would indeed enter into the fray of politics at a time when they basically have the world by the balls and can write their own ticket in the annals of America's greatest companies.

Google is headquartered in the Bay area and in the Bay area it is predominantly of liberal based politics and so perhaps removed from the rest of the world a microcosm of Democratic politics they do not realize that the other half of the country, which is also half of the market base is in fact republican or conservative. As they attack the Bush administration and enter into the political arena they are turning their backs on those customers, even if those customers agree with their stance on information being given to the government.

All this over politics which is unfortunate because Google's stock price and their future potential to change the world for the common good is also at stake. The Internet is the greatest communication device ever created in the history of mankind and Google is more than just a big part of it. I would hope that the controversy between the Bush administration and Google would disappear for the benefits of shareholders, customers and the future of mankind, as well as before progression of the species. It is okay to stand on principle as Google has and privacy is a huge concern of the population, but the attacks on individuals in government or the President's Administration are not good. Let's put politics aside in work towards the common good. Thank you very much and please consider this in 2006.

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

How To Start Your Own Mailing List Business

Writen by DeAnna Spencer

Printed as news & information only

Selling mailing lists can prove to be a profitable sideline to any mail order business. Many dealers rely on "direct mail" to promote their goods or services. They are always interested in good, fresh prospects. The most popular classifications of names are "Opportunity Seekers", "Cash Customers" and "Mail Order Dealers". Mail order dealers are the easiest names to obtain. To get them,, all you have to do is copy the names & addresses of advertisers from current mail order trade publications. For a good selection of mail order magazines and newspapers, and answer ads for "Big Mails".

"Opportunity Seekers" are those that are looking for ways to earn extra income. "Cash Customers" are simply those that have made purchases.

Never copy somebody else's lists. This could involve you in "copyright infringement", a federal offense. Also, you could be duplicating old, stale lists. To be successful, your names & addresses must be fresh and accurate. This will keep your customers coming back again and again. To start, you need a computer or someone to type the names for you. Look in your Yellow Pages under "Secretarial Services". Or, contact mail order dealers who sell names. Many of them will do your typing at reasonable rates. Another suggestion is to contact the typing teacher of your local high school or business college. Students love to earn spending money-and it's good practice for them, too.

The best way to have the names typed is across the page. Use white paper and a fresh black or red typewriter ribbon-never blue. Each 8 1/2" x 11" page will easily hold 50 names. Each page should also be carefully coded in either upper corner as to the page number, classification and date typed. Use any code you wish, but one of the easiest is like this: "3CC10169". This means page 3, cash customers, typed October 16, 1999.

The date is extremely important. People change addresses rapidly in this country. Names more than 6 months old may be outdated. After this period of time, it is best to throw these names away. Or, you can make a "follow-up" mailing to each name on your lists. Send these letters first class with your return address plainly visible. Those that are "nixies" (undeliverable for one reason or another), should be deleted. Instead of typing the complete corrected list over again, you can have replacement names typed on a separate piece of paper. Then carefully cut out and paste a replacement name over each name that is no longer usable.

After the names are neatly typed,, take them to your printer. It will cost you about 3 cents to 4 cents to have each sheet printed, if you order 100 copies at a time. This means that every 100 copies of each page will cost you between $3 and $4, but can be worth $100.00 to $300.00 -depending upon what you decide to charge per 100 names. The best way to establish the "going price" is to check the ads of other mailing list dealers in mail order trade publications. Never charge the most, or the least. The middle of the road is always best.

To promote your new mailing list service, run ads like this: FREE 50 fresh names of Opportunity Seekers! Free for long self-addressed stamped envelope! (Your name & address)". Ads like this will save you postage and envelope costs.

When orders come in from your free list, also include a price list of other names you have for sale. Somewhere on your price list, say something like "GUARANTEED DELIVERABLE! We supply 10 free names for every one that is returned!" This will cinch the sale, keep your customers happy and coming back for more!

And for every customer that answers your ads and/or buys names from you, you have another name to add to your
mailing lists!

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer

DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.

Effective Communications In Our Digital World

Writen by Andrea Cannavina

According to a Pitney Bowes study, the average corporate executive receives upwards of 375 calls, voicemails, e-mails, faxes and letters each day. With such a deluge of information, is it any surprise that survey after survey indicates the time available to capture anyone's attention is only a few seconds?

Let's face it, who has time to listen to a five minute rambling voicemail full of umms and ahhs or scroll through a six page e-mail? Along with annoying the recipient, long winded messages that are not deleted are usually flagged for review at a later time, slowing the process and in some instances removing the productivity of digital communications altogether.

So how do you effectively use the digital communication tools of today? Here's a few tips I've learned during my five years of working virtually:

• Slow Down. Just because you can shoot off an e-mail within seconds of having a thought or leave a voicemail immediately following a question entering consciousness, does not necessarily mean you should! All messages should be short and to the point and respectful of the recipient's time. By taking a few moments to mull over your message, you may stumble across a resolution or additional points which need to be addressed may come to light.

• Be Professional At All Times. Yes, that joke your buddy sent you last night was a hoot, but you should never forward such communications to business contacts. To protect against spam, you also should not disclose your recipient's e-mail addresses when sending to a group. Using the "bcc" (blind carbon copy) field for multiple addresses and placing your own e-mail address in the "To" field shows you are respectful of your contacts' privacy. It also provides you with a "proof" copy of what you sent to check formatting or other issues which can affect the message by transmission through the Internet.

• Carefully Use "Forward to All" and "Reply to All" Functions. I have witnessed embarrassing moments of others (and recall my own painful "oops" in this regard) when messages intended only for the original sender, are, in fact, sent to everyone who may have been cc'd or even bcc'd on the original message or post. Best not to use either button at all. If you wish to respond to a message, hit "Forward" and fill in the addressee(s) as any other e-mail.

• Consider Your Voicemail Message Before Dialing. In today's world, 9 times out of 10 a caller is transferred to voicemail, so why not prepare something intelligent to say in advance? This is never a waste of time since taking a few minutes to think about what you want to convey in a voicemail, can also be used as an outline for what you need to cover in the call, should you actually get through to your intended party.

• Do A Full Read Of Each E-mail – With each e-mail, always read through your message from start to finish before hitting "Send". This last reading is crucial in catching any missing information or attachments and allows you to get a full understanding of the "tone" of your message. On important communications, I suggest a break between drafting and this final read. Sometimes a trip away from your PC to get a drink or use the facilities will make you "fresh" for the final review and help you catch those typos or grammatical errors even spell checkers miss!

• Formatting Counts. Formatting does count and every e-mail message should contain proper formatting, punctuation and grammar. Think back to those grade school days of essay writing and give each message a greeting/opening, middle, closing and signature too. Remember, every message should contain enough information for the recipient to understand what you need or what they need to do in response to your communication. As a courtesy, it should also include copies of any documents or previous communications referenced, if not overly large.

• Ask and Ye Shall Receive. Receive permission before sending any large attachments (movies, pictures and sound files are notoriously large). Sending large attachments may cause some inboxes to reach their size limit. If this happens, the recipient must log in and download or delete your message in order to receive any further e-mails from any source – almost guaranteeing they will not think kindly of you from that point forward.

• Be Considerate. Make sure to say "grab a pen" or to repeat your return telephone number twice when leaving a voicemail. Of course, speak up, speak at a reasonable rate and articulate. You can even stand up or smile right before speaking, which has an enormous effect on the tone of your voice and message. Also, when using a cell phone, walk away from your PC or any other equipment which may cause interference with the signal and therefore gaps in your message.

• Be Polite. In e-mails, do not use all CAPITALS as it is considered shouting.

• Be Clear. Do not use acronyms or cryptic shorthand in your messages. Not only will the recipient not understand your message, in many times they will feel "stupid" for not being able to figure it out!

• Keep The Subject Line Intact. When replying to messages, especially to groups and list servs, do not change the subject line. Many e-mail applications allow a sort by subject, giving subscribers the ability to follow a particular discussion "thread" provided the subject line is not altered.

No matter what your life circumstances, it is hard to escape the need to use some form digital communication. I hope these pointers are helpful to you. Comments and feedback always appreciated: andrea@legaltypist.com.

Andrea Cannavina, Master Virtual Assistant and President/CEO of LegalTypist, Inc., helps sole practitioners, law firms and companies which service the legal industry upgrade their dictation processes to digital in order to get more done with less (less employees, less equipment and less stress). To learn more visit: www.legaltypist.com While there, subscribe to The Legal Connection, a quarterly newsletter, full of how to's, reviews and insights to working virtually.

Maximize Your Content

Writen by Rahman Rezky

Great Adsense make money tips have to be based on the high quality content that you carry on your Adsense web site or blog site. Content is everything. It is the king of your Adsense revenue.

You need to notice some tricky rules in building your content for your sites, although you are a good writer. These are some tips to be noticed:

1. Don't have a site built purely from your own content.

It will take too long to grow lots of pages. Although unique, quality content is the bees knees if you ignore other sources of content you are, to quote the cheese-gurus.

2. Don't build a site purely from other people's content.

You'll have little that's unique on your site. If you do what everybody else does, you'll get what everybody else gets.

You stil need to do things to make your content unique. Edit it, then you'll accelerated your earnings by building unique contents.

3. Don't have a site built purely of 'synthesized' content.

By using fancy article-crawling-machines and other 'automatic content machines' will backfire on you eventually.

Then, these are some tips to attract visitors:

1. Build a fascinating content
2. Post incomplete versions of your google adsense content elsewhere.

Google's ad-screening team combines language filters, input from site owners, and a team of linguists to filter out ads that could be inappropriate for your content.

But you may also block some ads and choose your own default ads.

Take a look at Adsense tips and tricks to boost your Adsense at Great Adsense

Facility Management Companies

Writen by Damian Sofsian

The main principle behind the existence of facilities management is that businesses rely on a whole network of essential support services. From receptionists to the security staff, the business relies on a whole network of essential support services. Since facility management is multi-disciplinary, the jobs vary from project managers to cleaners. And since most of the services are not core to the business, many companies outsource such jobs. There are many companies which provide expert facilities. These mainly include building maintenance, cleaning facilities, catering, administration and security.

There are many advantages of outsourcing such tasks. It not only simplifies the process but also minimizes the time and money spent on it. Since time and money are very important resources, one can use them in an existing business or invest in new ventures.

The experience of the facilities management companies is also beneficial to the client company. As these facility management companies have expertise in their field, they do work better than their clients. They have experience and learning which they use more effectively and efficiently.

Most of the facilities management companies offer services tailored to the client's requirements. Since each organization has different needs, requirements, and demands, the services they seek are different. It is necessary for the facilities management companies to work closely with the customers to understand their business needs. It is necessary for them to view the problem through the client's eyes. With the flexibility from customized services, facility management can cater to each and every organization as per their requirements.

Facilities Management provides detailed information on Facilities Management, Facility Management Software, Facility Management Jobs, Facility Management Companies and more. Facilities Management is affiliated with CMMS Systems.

Google Your Dealership

Writen by Todd Swickard

After you get done reading this article, go to the computer and pull up Google.com. I want to you try a little experiment. Try typing in your dealership name in the search area. Do you come up? Are you even ranked first, second, third? Now try typing in a few different combinations – the makes you sell plus your town or used makes and your town (Chevrolet St. Louis, Used VW Pittsburgh). Coming up now?

From my research about 90% of you won't appear. That isn't necessarily your fault or your website provider's. It is something that you need to fix. Back in the "old days" (last year) it really didn't matter how you appeared in the search engines. In this day and age the Internet Search Engines are the New Yellow Page Ads. If you didn't have a yellow page ad in the past chances were that you wouldn't get the first call. Search engines are the exact same way. You have to be there for them to call your website.

Google has become the leader in the online race. You may have heard of this little company whose stock has doubled in less than a month. I get questions all the time about why is Google stock is so much. It is because advertisers, advertising companies, and consumers can connect and connect easily without all the junk that is on other sites. People are looking for easy ways on the Internet to find the information they need. Google connects you to your customer.

Some will say that they don't use Google. You might use MSN or Yahoo or twenty other different engines out there. It doesn't matter which one you use. You have to be there on all of them in some shape or form. You can pay a company to do it or you can research it yourself and make it happen.

Most people don't know how valuable having a good ranking on the search engines is for their business. The ones that do know it - don't want you to find out. When you look at all the other media that is out there and you break it down, it becomes real simple to see why the manufacturers are dumping money into online advertising. It is cheaper in relative terms and provides in many cases and return on investment.

The rules have changed for everyone. Many makes out there will now allow you to Co-op this advertising expense. It has come from the Internet being the evil step child of advertising to one of the shining stars for dealerships. If you don't know already, find out if your brand allows co-op and be the hero of the dealership by finding a way to bring more qualified traffic and leads to your website.

As recent as last year, they said that Internet advertising was dead. It nearly was. The difference is that it evolved. It changed from epileptic banners all over to the place with deceptive offers to letting the customer search for some thing and then giving them a choice whether or not to find out more information. With the evolution of choice and the sites that directly market to the customer needs, it has made Internet advertising the home run that ad agencies and advertisers have tried to find since the direct mail piece was printed. I have preached in many articles that taking a serious look at Internet advertising should be something each dealership should do. Some have listened and many have not. Find the best solution for your dealership in your hands. Those who start on this journey are in a better position tomorrow. The Internet constantly evolves. Imagine back in the 70's if you bought a Honda dealership. Yes, there was an upside from gas crunches and the trend toward more fuel efficiency. You didn't sell them like they were going out of style. Imagine what that dealership would be worth today in a nice growing metro area.

The point of the story: investing in the Internet today is like buying a Honda dealership in the 70's. Except this time you have the foresight to see what is coming up over the next few years. Building your online presence is a return that you will reap for years to come no matter how small or how large the investment. So find a way to start making it work for you today. Search engine advertising and marketing will be done in your area. Lock it up with your operation now before your competition does.

Todd Swickard, Chief Executive Officer Todd Swickard founded Auto Supplier Marketing, LLC in February 2002. Drawing on his vast experience from Compaq, AutoTrader.com, and Dealer.com, he was able to compile a multi-media company that targets niche markets across the country. In less then 6 months a site was launched and over 200 dealers from across the country had been formed into a network. All this with very little venture capital invested. A veteran of the dot com industry, Todd has seen it all. It has been his personal goal to create a marketing company that drives results with ROI and accountability. His methodology keeps campaigns within budget producing infinite results and return on investment. Todd's true measure of success is in the success of our clients.

Making Money Online How Easy Is It What They Want You To Believe

Writen by Mike Considine

There is estimated to be over 3 million Google searches per month on subjects involving making money online. These people have been told that the Internet is a place where they can make money without working to hard and without spending much money.

Let's take a look at what you'll find on Google if you do a search for making money online. First you'll see that there are 260 million results… 260 million websites ready and willing to show you how to make money online.

Happy days! With that many sites this is going to be easy to find one that you would like to work. Let's just take a look at the first page and see what we have. After all if they are able to get on the first page on Google they must all be money makers right?

I'm not going to mention sites by name because I'm going to be in enough trouble just telling the truth about this industry and all the crap being sold.

The first site I'm looking at is very proud of the money making information they are about to share with you so proud that the first thing you see under the header graphic of the site is a big Google AdSense ad. That tells me they really don't care if you click away before you even read what they have to say.

After reading the site I can understand why! They are trying to sell you on making money by taking surveys or reading email. Oh boy they want to teach you to open a day care in your home or maybe you would rather build a web page and sell something. That's it just build it, no information on how to get people to the site just build it and they will come… Yea RIGHT!

Let's move on to the 2nd site it must have better information. Nope just a site with a long article about Internet e-commerce with a bunch of Google ads. No secrets to help us make money here.

The next site is a blog about online marketing where you might pick up some tips but no blue print to starting and running a business.

Okay now here is one that might be interesting, it's about making money without spending a dime. Let's see what they list.

Help friends find better jobs.

My comment: You have enough friends looking for jobs to make the kind of money you're looking to make?

Connect suppliers with buyers.

My comment: How do you find buyers without spending money to drive traffic to a web site? Provide business contact information.

My Comment: Again we are talking about getting enough traffic to get the leads to sell the businesses.

Become a semi-pro reporter

My comment: Where is the money in this even if it does interest you?

Write your own blog

My Comment: Another one of those idiot ideas that says build it and they will come. You know how many blogs don't get read and never make a dime?

Advertise other people's products

My Comment: Last time I checked it cost money to advertise.

Let's move on to the next one… YEA HOOO the bonanza, "Over 6500 money making recourses" Site doesn't even deserve a comment. Build for Google AdSense with a list of old crap on it.

Now here's one that wants to teach you how to make money with Google AdWords and Clickbank. Now that might be of interest so let's see what it's all about. Nice website with a tempting killer sales pitch. They have the secrets to how to make money with AdWord selling Clickbank products.

Okay I know better but for the research of this article I'll flop down the $49.97 to see what the secret is…. 25 minutes later. You're not going to believe this! This guy has enough guts to charge $49.97 to walk you through how to sign up for a free Clickbank and Google AdWords account. He explains how important it is to pick the right product to sell and then kindly gives you a list that includes mostly his back end products.

He does have two or three paragraphs on looking for low cost keywords but doesn't mention the fact that those low cost keywords are also low volume. My experience with Adwords is that Google will turn off cheap keywords. It's a catch-22, if it's cheap; it means it's got low search counts per month. In turn, if it's low, you'll generate a low impression count for those keywords. Once the algorithm on Google realizes it has low impression counts, it de-activates your keyword and forces you to bid ALOT higher to stay active.

Of coarse he doesn't mention anything about that. Also the examples of the costs of keywords is very dates, there is no way you could get those words at the prices he list in his book. I totally wasted of $49.00!

I can't take anymore crap so you can go to Google and search on making money online and see for yourself, but out of the 11 results on the first page I would give none of them a chance in hell of making you money.

With 3 million searches from people looking for ways to start online money making businesses it's obvious there will be a ton of people ready to sell them something. Our little test just proved even the sites with the top spots on Google came up with nothing but junk. Hhmmm this must not be as easy as they said it would be but don't worry there are options.

My name is Mike Considine owner of Home Base Service Company. I promised you I would give you some options… How would you like to stay in the game but not spend a bunch of money or take any time away from your family? What would you think about joining a Co-op that hires the staff and uses the Pros to build a portfolio of web business and shares the profits with you? What would you think about paying a small monthly fee for only 24 months and owning a share of the profits for the lifetime of the portfolio's holdings? This new concept is called Affiliate Co-op Marketing and you can get more information from here ==>Affiliate Co-op Marketing

Primary Customs Procedures In Russia

Writen by Segey Talpa

1. Release for Domestic Consumption
Release of goods for domestic consumption constitutes a customs procedure under which the goods imported to the customs territory of the Russian Federation shall remain on that territory with any obligations to be exported from said territory.
Status of Goods Subject to the Customs Procedure of Release for Domestic Consumption:
1. For customs purposes, imported merchandise will acquire the status of goods released for free circulation in the customs territory of the Russian Federation upon disbursement of all the requisite customs duties and taxes and observance of the restrictions and prohibitions pursuant to the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities.
2. In case of non-observance of said terms and conditions, imported merchandise shall be liable for conditional release pursuant to Russian Customs Code.

2. Export
Export constitutes a customs procedure under which the goods in free circulation in the customs territory of the Russian Federation are exported from this territory without any obligations to import them back.
Terms and Conditions of Subjecting Goods to a Customs Procedure:
1. Export of goods is effected upon disbursement of all the requisite export customs duties, observance of the economic restrictions and prohibitions stipulated by the requirements of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities, and fulfilment of any other terms and conditions set forth by Russian Customs Code, other federal statutes and legal norms of the Russian Federation.
2. The goods exported in compliance with the customs export procedure shall be exempted from domestic taxes; the domestic taxes levied thereto shall be redeemed or reimbursed pursuant to the Russian legislation on taxes and duties.

3. International Customs Transit
International customs transit constitutes a customs procedure under which foreign goods transit the customs territory of the Russian Federation in customs custody between the point of their entry to and departure from the customs territory of the Russian Federation (if said transit constitutes a leg of their itinerary which begins and ends outside the boundaries of the customs territory of the Russian Federation) exempt from any customs taxes and duties or application of any economic restrictions and prohibitions of economic nature stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities.
Terms and Conditions of Subjecting Goods to the Customs Procedure:
1. Subject to the customs procedure of international customs transit may be any foreign merchandise except the goods whose transit is prohibited pursuant to federal laws, other statutes, and legal norms of the Russian Federation and the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party.
2. Federal laws, other statutes, and legal norms of the Russian Federation and the international treaties of the Russian Federation may establish additional terms and conditions stipulating placement of merchandise under the customs procedure of international customs transit.
Application to International Customs Transit of Rules and Requirements Applicable to Domestic Customs Transit in accordance with Russian Customs Code:
1. Under conditions of international customs transit, issuance of permissions for international customs transit, as well as the rules stipulating the time limits for effecting international customs transit, identification of merchandise, measures ensuring fulfilment of the statutes of the customs legislation of the Russian Federation shall be exercised by customs authorities pursuant to the provisions contained in Russian Customs Code regulating domestic customs transit and applicable to the international customs transit procedure.
2. The rights, obligations, and responsibility of the carrier or forwarder under the conditions of international customs transit shall be regulated by the provisions of Russian Customs Code.
Transhipment of International Transit Merchandise and Other Operations with Transit Merchandise:
1. Transhipment of international transit merchandise from a means of transport by which said merchandise was imported to the customs territory of the Russian Federation to a means of transport that will carry said merchandise from this territory shall be effected upon permission in that regard issued by the customs office in whose region this transhipment occurs. If transhipment of transit goods from one means of transport to another may be effected without damaging any customs seals and stamps affixed to the merchandise, it may be effected with a preliminary notification of the customs office concerned.
2. Temporary placement of transit merchandise in warehouses (storage, breaking up, or accumulation of lots, and other operations) in the customs territory of the Russian Federation is permissible provided all terms and conditions stipulated by Russian Customs Code are observed.
3. Any operations with merchandise under the international customs transit procedure, which are not stipulated by Items 1 and 2 herein, may only be conducted in the event of a real threat of destruction, loss, irretrievable loss, or major damage pending to merchandise and/or a means of transport.
Completion of the Customs Procedure:
1. The customs transit procedure is completed at the instance of exportation of transit merchandise from the customs territory of the Russian Federation.
The carrier shall be obliged to present transit merchandise for inspection, submit a customs declaration and other documents pertaining to merchandise international customs transit to the customs authorities at the point of destination. The customs office concerned shall be obliged to perform all the operations required for the completion of the international customs transit procedure and issue permission for the departure of goods and means of transport from the customs territory of the Russian Federation on the day of presentation of transit merchandise and submission of requisite documents. In case of exportation of transit merchandise by separate lots, the international customs transit procedure shall be regarded as completed upon the departure of the last lot thereof from the customs territory of the Russian Federation.
2. The international customs transit procedure may also be completed at the instance of placement of merchandise under other customs procedures provided all requirements stipulated by Russian Customs Code are observed.
Peculiarities of Application of the Customs Transit Procedure:
1. In those instances when the point of entry of merchandise and means of transport to the customs territory of the Russian Federation coincides with the point of its departures from said territory the international customs transit procedure may be simplified. The carrier and the forwarder will only need to present the documents and the information which are required at the instance of arrival of merchandise and means of transport, whereas permission for transit is issued on the day of presentation of merchandise and submission of documents and information to the customs authorities.
2. In case transit merchandise is transhipped in the place specified in Item 1 herein, i.e., from a means of transport which was used for delivery of merchandise to the means of transport used merchandise departure, transhipment operations may only be permitted by the customs authorities. The customs authorities may issue such permission to the carrier or forwarder provided the latter have submitted all the documents and information pursuant to Russian Customs Code.
3. The customs authorities may deny permission for cargo-handling operations with transit merchandise only in case such operations may lead to loss of merchandise or change of its consumer properties.

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