Autor: Chatten Name

Training dogs is not a hard. You just need patience, dedication and some simple tactics and you will teach them successfully.

Here are five top tips on how to train your dogs successfully:

1. To avoid your dog getting confused and so that they can learn to recognize commands easily only one person should be responsible for training the dog initially. If too many people are trying to train the dog at the same time this can stop progress in its tracks.

2. You should use positive reinforcements. If the dog does something good, you should reward this behavior so that he will know that what he did was right. If the dog cannot understand or follow your commands, never push him. Dogs are not as intelligent as humans, they make mistakes. What you should understand is that they won’t easily understand your commands in just one teaching, it takes repetition to train a dog successfully. Do not scold your dog as he might develop fear which will hinder his learning and willingness to be trained. You can use treats in order to encourage your dogs, although don’t overdue it.

3. Teach commands one at a time. Try to teach him one command after the other. If he cannot absorb it, try to stay on that command only because adding additional commands will just confuse the dog. Start with the basics.

4. In executing commands, you should keep your voice cheerful so that the dog will happily follow your commands. Dogs will respond to a low and coaxing voice. If you shout out loud, he may become startled and unresponsive.

5. Train your dog in various places. If you keep your dogs in a certain place like your home, he will not be able to adjust with the environment new people. Take him to the park or through the neighborhood. This will help your dog associate with other dogs and people.

Training your dog can sometime be tough, but it will be worth it. In the end, you will be the one to benefit when your dog is trained. You don’t know he might even save your life one day and pay back everything you taught him.

Every job has stress, but the workplace environment can seem almost unbearable when working for an over-demanding or unfair boss. You don’t have to like your boss, but you do need to be able to co-exist and co-operate with him for you to be productive and successful at your job.

Other than a change taking place, as I discussed in the article ‘Unhappy at Work? A Change is Coming,’ there is no perfect solution for dealing with a difficult boss, but here are five suggestions that might make your situation a little less painful.

#1) Think of your boss as a parent and you as his teenage child.

This sounds silly at first, but the relationship between you and your boss is very similar to that between a parent and child. Teenagers often have problems with authority and experience disagreements with their parents. Meanwhile, parents often create rules the child believes to be unfair. If the situation gets bad enough, as soon as the child is old enough he finds a way to move out and make it on his own. Parents aren’t perfect and neither are bosses – both will make mistakes.

#2) Do the absolute best job you can.

Sometimes the child misbehaves.

J. Paul Getty once said, “The employer generally gets the employees he deserves.”

Make sure you are the type of employee you would want working for you if you were the boss. I know this goes against the notion of revenge and tucking it to an unfair boss whenever possible, but by doing the best job possible you give the unfair boss less ammunition he can use to make your life miserable. He also might think twice about upsetting one of his better employees when there are plenty of other, easier targets he can take aim at.

Don’t draw attention to yourself. Unless you are the only one your boss has it in for, there should be plenty of others to draw his wrath away from you. Let someone else wear the target on their back.

#3) Learn all that you can from an unfair boss.

We can learn something from everyone we come into contact with. While from a good boss we can learn good management techniques, it is also true that from a poor boss we can learn how not to act. Don’t just suffer, gain something from the situation that will benefit you in the future. Watch how your boss handles different situations and make a mental note of which techniques worked and which failed.

#4) Forget about yesterday.

Yesterday is history, it’s over with. Try not to let your issues from yesterday spoil today. Instead, start each day with a new, positive outlook, telling yourself that today is going to be better.

Sometimes we get into a rut, expect the worse and act accordingly – we subconsciously force a person (in this case, our boss) to act the way we expect him to act. Make sure you are not unintentionally adding fuel to the fire. Starting each day with a fresh slate is the best way to get past previous differences. Holding onto a grudge only hurts yourself.

#5) Take responsibility.

Don’t expect someone else to end your suffering.

Complaining is easy, but it accomplishes very little. Worrying about a problem won’t make it go away while losing sleep and dwelling on an issue only makes it seem worse. You will never be happy if you are focusing on worry. If you are truly in a situation that is causing you pain, you need to begin taking steps to improve the situation.

The Roman Philosopher Sallust said, “Every man is the architect of his own fortune.”

Have you actually looked for another job? Have you tried to improve your skills through in-house training, adult learning centers, books or correspondence courses? Even the smallest step in the right direction is progress. An obstinate boss won’t change his ways, but you can improve your own skills. Why not let your difficult boss be the motivation you use to better yourself?

There are lots of people who aspire to become profitable traders in today’s market environment. Many people who come to trade stocks, options, and other securities are attracted to the potential of making a lot of money but, often, aren’t aware of what it takes to be able to make money consistently, position yourself to make windfall profits, and all the while doing this while protecting your account from excessive and/or unnecessary losses.

The good news is that there is a wealth of resources to help you but the bad news is that often a beginning trader doesn’t know where to start. It is the focus of this article to give you direction on what areas to focus your efforts into in order to improve and trade successfully.

The first step is to focus on is learning the language of the industry. Learn what a stop limit order is or what a “handle” means and how they relate to your trading. If you run into a term that you don’t understand, just “google” it, then study the meaning. It is extremely hard for you to know what an article is saying or a veteran trader is talking about if you don’t know the basic terms of stock orders, option definitions, or how the futures market works if you ever hope to trade them.

The second step is to learn is how to read price action. Price action is basically the language of a stock or a given market. It tells you what the stock or market has done and is likely to do again. Know how to read trends on a chart. Is the stock in a long term bullish trend? Are oil prices in an intermediate bear market? Is there evidence of a possible trend change in oil futures from an intermediate bear market to a long term bull market? Learn how to read price action and it will make you rich.

The third step to successful trading is learning how to control your risk. Almost every successful trader that has survived long term and made money long term knows how to control his risk to the markets. I personally know a professional hedge fund manager that was short the German mark when the Berlin Wall came down but survived to make record returns on his funds that year. The same trader was long the Dow futures when the 9-11 terrorist attacks happened and went on to beat the returns on the S&P 500 that year. I was personally long a lot of oil and refinery stocks when Hurricane Rita hit Texas but I still made money as those stocks plummeted because I know how to manage my trades. Learn how to assess and control risk and you will increase your odds in becoming a master trader.

The fourth step is having an “edge” when you trade. An edge in trading is anything that gives you an advantage in trading. The more edges you can have, the better chances you have to make outstanding profits. An edge can be superior chart reading skills, successful stock selection, money management, etc. I know of a very famous and successful stock trader that use the 3 edges I just wrote to take an $11,000 stock account and made $48,000,000 in 23 months! He has been interviewed in almost all major financial publications and has set a world record in the greatest returns in the briefest time category. Study the great traders and you will get a glimpse of the edges they use to become trading legends.

The fifth step is having mental discipline and emotional balance. Most of trading is mental. You can give two traders the same exact trading system for stocks, futures, or options but, invariably, they will end up with different results. Why? There mental and emotional states may not support them in being successful with system they were given. One trader may experience nervousness and anxiety which causes him to exit his trades to early, hesitate in taking entry signals, or taking profits too early and missing the big moves. The other trader may have the discipline and control to take each trade as it comes with no other focus other than to follow the system as it should knowing that the losses he may experience are just part of the game and that he will make his greatest profits over time using this system. In my opinion, learn how to use your mental discipline and emotional control to support you in becoming a successful trader and not work against you.

These five steps that have been outlined will go a long way in helping you become more skillful and profitable. In time, you may want to come back and begin with the “basics” of this lesson to keep your focus and help you stay on the path of being the best trader that you can be.

Good trading.

It does not matter whether it is a pro or a con. The people will always have something to negotiate for. Negotiation will always come out whenever there is something to bargain for, whether you want to achieve something in your present career, when you want to deal with other people, or simply win out a good buy in a garage sale.

Whatever the purpose is, an individual will always try to negotiate into something favorable, otherwise, he will never succeed in this lifetime.

Most people say that negotiation is an art. It tends to bring out the individuals remarkable way of winning things on his side. It can be the most amazing thing you can do with your charm and your wits, thats why other people say it can just be all fun.

Of course, negotiation is not a game that people can play anytime. When you negotiate, you should mean business all the time.

When two or more people, with dissimilar wants and objectives, would like to agree on something that will render resolution to a particular subject, negotiating is the best solution. Since it involves two- way communication procedure, every negotiation is distinct from one another, and affected by each individuals mind- set, abilities, and technique.

The problem with most people is that they view negotiation as something that is horrible. Thats because it usually means disputes or tension.

In essence, negotiations do not call for unpleasant moods. Learning the right way of negotiating will absolutely lead to a successful finale. To know more about it, here are five tips for successful negotiation –

1. Time it right

The art of negotiating depends on right timing. It is imperative that you learn to manage the negotiation set up. Always remember that negotiations should never come off where they are not wanted. You should always consider the pros and cons of the possible results before deciding on the issue. Create a list of the most important variables that you have to deliberate such as bonuses, price, delivery times, credit terms, guarantees, training, discounts, or rebate.

By contemplating on these things, you will be able to organize and plan the negotiation.

2. Manage yourself

Before you enter into a negotiation, it is best that you evaluate yourself first. Can you manage your feelings? Keep in mind that when your emotions get in the way, you tend to weaken your ability to direct your negotiating actions in productive modes.

3. Know what you are getting into

Who are you dealing with? What are his traits, attitude, or beliefs? Is he the type that can give you a winwin situation?

It is very important that you know where you are getting at before you head for the battle.

4. Be attentive. Learn to listen well!

One of the reasons why negotiations become negative is that most people do not practice attentive listening. People are so busy stating their desires that they forget to hear out the other side.

Keep in mind that negotiating is an inter- personal procedure; hence, the communication will never work on a one- way traffic. It has two be two- way.

Experts say that in order to have a successful negotiation, people should learn to apply the so- called 7030 ruling. This means that people should render 70% of their time in listening and only 30% for talking. In this way, you will be able to understand the other side of the story, giving more rooms for considerations and proper analysis.

5. Be ready to walk away

Never be pressured to win over a negotiation. Keep in mind that it is not always a winwin situation for you. In fact, one of the greatest mistakes people commit thats why they fail to get what they want is that they are too determined to acquire their goals. It is like they have created a now or never scene.

Experts recommend that it is still best to always have a choice. Do not assume that when you negotiate, it should always be a point of no return. Be open for alternatives. If you think you can never have it your way, so be it. There is always a next time, and next times are always better.

So the next time you plan to negotiate on something, keep these things in mind. In one way or another, you will be able to foresee a positive result if you really know how to play your cards well. It should never be a gamble. Remember, successful negotiations should always be patterned with logical thinking.

Can you name the number one spectator sport in North America? It’s not baseball, figure skating or racing. It’s bird watching. That’s right, more people are watching birds than football and hockey combined. With so many people hoping to see a bird they’ve never seen before, it’s not surprising to see a clamoring for the latest tips and tools to get the job done. Here are my top five tips for getting the most out of your birding experience.

#1. Get to Where the Birds Are! This sounds obvious, but many birders spend the majority of their bird watching time and energy on poor locations. Some folk have the advantage of looking out of their windows into the back yard to observe nature’s best. The rest of us need to get moving. I would highly recommend visiting a National Wildlife Refuge. There are over 500 of them across the United States. To find one near you, visit http://refuges.fws.gov/

#2. Know What Species to Expect. There are approximately 900 species of birds in the United States and recognizing each of them is nearly impossible. So when you visit an area, do a little research first. You may find that perhaps only a few species actually inhabit that particular area. With a little preparation, you will be able to more readily identify bird species from each other. Keep a list of successfully viewed species – we’ll call this tip number two and a half.

#3. Get a Great Pair of Binoculars. Spending time and money to get to the right place can be totally wasted when your binoculars are inadequate. If you have an inexpensive pair of binoculars you are not getting the most out of your viewing. Today’s technologies come at a price and they provide crucial benefits in wildlife viewing. For instance, image stabilization will keep your view from shaking-very important when watching from a long distance. Other cool features include anti-fogging, low-light viewing and wide-view characteristics. Additionally, binoculars with built-in digital cameras enable you to identify birds once you get home. These benefits will definitely enhance your bird watching. A great pair of binoculars will turn a mediocre experience into a great one. You can count on it!

#4. Practice Before You Go. A key to viewing wildlife, and especially birds, is to have the ability to very quickly put your binoculars on target. Many people have difficulty finding a full moon in a pair of binoculars-but alas-learning to focus on a bird in a bush or track a bird in flight is easy for someone who has practiced prior to their outing. Try this before you go; lower your binoculars to your side and very quickly raise them to find and follow a jet airliner across the sky. After only a few attempts, you’ll get good at quickly acquiring your target. Quite often, birds are visible for only a few seconds, practice to become proficient.

#5. Take Someone with You. Life is always better when shared. Not only do you get to spend time out of doors with someone you like, but they might alert you to the “Number One Sight of the Day.” Share your birding experiences with your friends and family. Pass the birding excitement to a child.

The best part about wildlife viewing is that you the viewer, control almost every aspect of the experience. The more you are prepared, the more rewarding your time in our backcountry will be.

Use this information and you’ll Get It Right The First Time. Get Outdoors!

There is no doubt that http://MySpace.com has grown into a worldwide phenomenon and it seems that every day, there is a new story being published about the site.

In November 2006, MySpace became the #1 website in the world in terms of monthly page views, having surpassed Yahoo and this online giant shows no sign of slowing down.

With over 130 Million people currently using MySpace worldwide, it’s no wonder that this social networking colossus has had its share of negative publicity as some less than desirable characters have made it a homebase from which to launch some of their illegal activities.

Still, just like millions of people use email and online banking safely on a regular basis, MySpace can be a safe place to spend your time on if you follow a few basic guidelines.

Here are 5 tips you can follow and apply to make sure you are safe and that your information remains private while on MySpace:

1. Become intimately familiar with the information located at the privacy and Safety Tips links located at the bottom of every page on MySpace. There are also some great government information links on those pages which will provide you with general instructions on how to stay safe on the Internet.

2. Make sure that you do not reveal any information on your profile or via a message that you will regret later (this includes private information such as your email, private messenger ID, etc.)

3. Log into your profile and from the Home page of your profile, click on „Account Settings.“ From there, you will see a series of profile settings including Privacy Settings, IM Privacy Settings and several other options that you may want to adjust to increase your own degree of privacy.

4. Do not believe everything you read on MySpace. Not everyone is who they claim to be. As such, do not agree to meet anyone physically or reveal your address to anyone without being completely sure of who that person is and what their intentions are.

5. If at any point you feel uncomfortable with the way someone is approaching you – do not be afraid of blocking that person and if you feel it merits a more severe action, simply click on the link at the bottom of every page on MySpace that says „Contact MySpace“ and inform MySpace about the incident.

In conclusion, staying safe on MySpace involves following some basic guidelines and applying a good degree of common sense.

As the whole online social networking wave keeps growing and more people get on MySpace, it pays to have good safety and privacy habits – most of which can also be applied to remain safe on any other Internet site.

With warmer months just around the corner, spring cleaning isn’t far away. Whether you want to clear some of the winter clutter or just feel like a change in scenery, spring cleaning can make it happen. Now is the perfect time to clean out the garage, basement and/or attic. If there are any items that you don’t plan to use, this article will tell you how to get rid of them while making money doing it. As we all know, this can take a lot of work but a few simple tips can make your spring cleaning experience a breeze.

Tip 1:
If you are storing away your winter clothes, consider using large plastic storage containers that feature snap-on lids. These can be found in the house wares department at most stores and are very inexpensive. Storage containers are very important to keeping your clothes dust and discoloration free, which may otherwise be a problem if they are left hanging in the closet from one season to the next.

Tip 2:
When packing your clothes, roll them instead of folding. This not only eliminates creases and wrinkles, but also saves a lot of space. You will be able to pack a lot more clothes with this technique.

Tip 3:
Label your clothing containers as ‘spring,’ ‘fall’ and ‘winter.’ This will help you to easily locate your wardrobe inside the closet.

Tip 3:
If you have any clothing that you don’t plan to wear or simply have outgrown, consider donating them to a local goodwill or other nonprofit organization. Rather than tossing them out, your clothes can provide revenue for a worthy cause and help the less-fortunate to be able to afford clothing that would otherwise be unattainable.

Tip 4:
If you are looking to clear out some knick knacks or perhaps even some Holiday decorations in order to make room for new ones, consider a trip to the local flea market. Everyone is looking for a bargain and they just may be looking for something that you no longer wish to own. A setup fee is usually required which, depending on the location, can be $10.00 to 20.00 per day. Otherwise, you can always sell items at internet auction sites, including Yahoo and eBay.

Tip 5:
With all of the changes that you’re making, it may be time to switch to a lightweight vacuum. This will save from lugging around a heavier model and will glide across the floor with ease. There’s no use in completely wearing yourself out during spring cleaning, so try to make it as easy as possible.

Whether you and your spouse both work outside of the home, or one of you stays home with the children, it’s easy for one person to feel out of the financial picture. It’s important in a marriage to feel equal to your partner, on all levels of the playing field. Even if you don’t feel “stuck”, it’s important for couples to communicate openly about their financial situation, and try to better it together.

Most marriages have their financial ups and downs. It can truly be a test to your relationship with your partner in dealing with the downs in particular. Here are some tips to help you deal with these situations in the quickest and calmest way possible.

1.) Pick the Right Time. Find a non stress time to sit down and have a discussion with your partner. Me and my husband love to go on evenings out, because it gives us a chance to discuss important issues in a non stress environment. If you must stay home, make sure the kids are not present during the conversation.

2.) Come Prepared. Write down the matters you have been thinking about beforehand so that you can stay on track during your discussion.

3.) Don’t Get Emotional. Avoid personal attacks towards your spouse. Use “I” instead of “you” when speaking. Don’t be argumentative and state how you feel. Don’t point fingers, and don’t start a fight.

4.) Take Turns. Common courtesy will help you achieve your goals. Feeling equal to your partner will come with a general respect between you and your partner.

5.) Make a Plan. Discuss the situation and future plans with your spouse. Make sure you have a basic budget in place and discuss you and your partner’s vital steps in your financial future. Compile a money to-do list and check your progress often.

Remember the love you have for each other during the conversation, and listen
Also to what your partner has to say during the discussion. If it seems to be a bad time in general to talk about it, remember that there will be another opportunity to let your partner know how you feel. Let it go, and pick a better time in the future.

Winter brings out the toughest elements in our climate, with many people putting away their camera bags ‘till early spring. But, if you do put away your camera you are missing out on the raw beauty that this magical season brings.

Here are a few tips to make the trip more enjoyable.

1. Wear the right clothes: It’s very important to wrap up warm when out shooting winter images. The winter season brings the toughest elements, so if you are planning to spend a few days out and about always be well prepared.

2. Watch the weather: It’s very important to know what the weather is going to be like. You don’t want to travel for a couple of hours and then hear a weather report that tells you that: the weather is wet for the next few days. During the winter months the weather can dramatically change in a matter of hours.

It’s always advisable to let someone know where you are going and which route you’re planning to take. If you do get injured or ever caught in a storm someone may be able to help.

3. Carry only what you need: Carry only the essentials. You don’t need to upload your camera bag with every piece of equipment you own. If you are going to be out taking pictures all day you are much better off going as light as possible. Carrying a light load will also help preserve energy. You could be climbing icy rocks or crossing snow filled hills; a warm flask would serve you a lot better than a third camera.

4. Look for detail: Snow, ice and frost bring out texture and atmosphere in most subjects. The early frosty morning is an ideal time for close-up photography. The frosty morning also brings out patterns in our landscapes.

Take care where you place your camera: if you are taking pictures early in the morning try placing it at oblique angles to the sun – this will give your images strong shadows. This will also add mood to your landscape images. Once you have found the perfect spot pay extra attention to foreground interest as this will add depth to your image.

5. Expose carefully: Snow and ice are extremely difficult to expose properly. Snow usually confuses your cameras metering system or your hand held light meter. When you take a light reading from snow you will automatically get an underexposed image. The meter will record the snow as grey.

Now is the time to start bracketing your shots. If you bracket your shots add 1 – 2 stops of light to compensate for your light meter reading. Using an 18% grey card, which I described in a previous article, should also give you a perfect light reading.

There are probably millions of other websites that offer a product or service that is somewhat similar to yours. Competition is very high in internet marketing. In the first instance, it takes some advertising in order to get visitors to your website; it is therefore very essential that you increase the chance that these visitors will buy from your website.

Outlined below are some tips you can use to make sure that your website visitors do not leave your website without buying.

• Have a professional and well laid out website. You must have a friendly website that is easy to navigate. A customer-friendly and clearly laid-out website is a definite way of retaining your online customers. If your website is not easy to navigate and takes a lot of time for the prospect to find what they want; they will leave and you will lose a sale.

• Give away a lot of benefits. Everyone appreciates something for free. Offer free tips, information, ‘stuff’ or anything else related to what your website offers. It helps to make a your website a ‘one-stop-shop’ where the prospects or online customer can get more information about the topic related to your products and services – so make sure you have a lot of free information, tips and articles on your website. It is important to have some valuable benefits which your online customers would really appreciate getting after buying from you.

• Care for your customers. It is very important that you are always ready to help, answer any questions or offer some advice. Be polite to your customers. Show them that you really care about them.

• Easy, free and speedy communication. You will need to make it easy for your prospects and online customers to get in touch with you. You must have many contact alternatives on your website; namely email address, toll free fax or telephone number, subject to what you see suitable for you and your business. You must check your emails on a regular basis and respond to any queries as soon as you can.

• Make regular contact. It is important for you to proactively stay in contact with your prospects and online customers. Offer a free e-course or e-zine subscription on your website so that you keep in touch with your website’s visitors. This will help you create trust with your prospects, and soon they will be your online customers.

By simply following the 5 tips stated above, you can retail your customers and grow your business.

There are multiple approaches to personal weight loss goals. Each approach has itÕs own unique way of working with the body to lose fat.

One of the most sought after methods of weight loss is rapid fat loss. People want to lose as much weight as they can in the smallest amount of time possible. It is important to realize that this approach can be unsafe and unhealthy. Losing too much weight too quickly, or losing weight through unhealthy means, can actually harm your body and your goals. These five tips will help you to lose the weight that you want to lose as fast as possible through healthy means.

Lift Weights

One of the best tips for rapid weight loss comes straight out of the gym. While it is important to get your cardio workout in, it is also important to lift weights. Muscle needs to burn calories, and fat, to rebuild and strengthen. The more muscle you build, the more fat that you will burn.

Add Cardio Into Your Day

If you want to lose weight quickly, you need to start adding extra cardio into your daily routine. You need to add extra movement to help you to burn more calories throughout the day. If you work in a building, take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you are walking around the building, take the long way around to your destination. These extra steps will add up over time, and will help you to lose more weight.

Cut Sugars and Fatty Foods

If you want to lose weight fast, you must cut bad foods from your diet. They simply bring your progress down, adding extra calories to your daily diet. If you are trying to lose weight quickly, you need to cut out all fast foods, and all forms of pop. These add calories to your diet, and will make it impossible for you to lose weight quickly.

Eat Breakfast

You need to eat breakfast if you want to lose weight as fast as possible. Eating breakfast will help to get your metabolism started earlier in the day. This will help you to burn more calories over the course of a day, helping you to lose weight.

Drink Water

When you feel hungry, drink water. Sometimes, the body is thirsty, and will give you a signal by making you feel hungry. You may eat because you feel hungry when in reality, all you needed was some water.

These simple tips are not going to cause you to lose 20 pounds of weight in one week. These rapid fat loss tips will give you the tools that you need ot lose weight as fast as you can in a healthy and lasting way. By changing some of your most basic daily habits, you can lose weight faster than those who rely on crash dieting and fad dieting.

If you are trying to furnish your outside eating area there are several things that you can consider. When buying furniture for a outdoor area there are some major differences from furnishing the inside eating areas, which makes it a very unique challenge for some cafe owners to locate the best pieces of furniture. Follow these pieces of advice and your outside dining area will look fabulous, and you will quickly create a professional look and feel.

Tip 1. Firstly you have to determine how big the outside area will be. You have to measure both the width and length. You need these figures for several reasons, including determining how many tables and chairs that will be the perfect fit your outdoor area. If you want to use only chairs to go with the tables, then you will need only tables and chairs. If you need to have a bar as well, you will need to plan for a place for your bar stools, tables and possibly poseur high tables.

Tip 2. As soon as you are thinking about your furniture for outside an ideal option is outdoor contract aluminium seating. This type of seating is specifically made for outdoors and they are very hard wearing, plus they are made for contract use so you can be sure they will last years and years. You don’t want to buy cheap, unsafe chairs that will fall apart continuously. Cheap chairs are prone to rust and will normally need continuous repairs, which will overtime make them very costly. It is very important to Select a company to deal with that has great customer service as well as great high quality products. Some of the best contract patio furniture that is ideal for outside use comes from Milan in Italy, so it is a great idea to ask the company exactly where the chairs comes from. When deciding upon outside furniture a bad company can cost you lots of extra cash in wasted, broken pieces of furniture that are of far inferior quality.

Tip 3. As aluminium tables and chairs does not tend to be very easy to move around, you can consider purchasing some swiveling chairs and bar stools in order to make it quicker for the diners to get in and out. It can also be much more comfortable because chairs and stools can simply rotate easily, compared to needing to be lifted up and moved around. This is just a small thing that your customers will notice and always appreciate. It is important to consider that the experience is something that your customers will remember as they are deciding where to eat. The last thing you want is to be avoided simply because of difficulties with the furnishings – that’s never a good sign; you should make the furnishings as quick to move around as possible to help the customers.

Tip 4. You may want to think about matching your indoor furniture with the outdoor furniture by choosing aluminium furniture with wooden highlights. If you decide to choosing the same color and style of wood it would create a very natural flow through one area of the restaurant to the other. Some restaurant operators will consider this and opt to follow this method because it can greatly improve the total look of the entire establishment. While this might raise the cost, the benefits in the appearance of the furnishings can be easily worth the increased money|extra money.

Tip 5. You should look for pieces of furniture that are very comfortable. There seems to be a common belief that metal furniture is completely uncomfortable and this is often not the case. Good pieces of furniture that have been well constructed design and are of good quality can be often as comfortable as other pieces of furniture. There is no reason why aluminium furniture should not be comfy. If you have not found seating that are as comfy as you would like, keep looking as you will find some perfect seating|exactly what you need within the budget. It simply takes is a bit of searching. Remember, this comes back to customers that are comfortable in the environment are much more likely to stay , spend more money per time they visit, and more often than not visit much more often. All of this means much more money will be generated from a purchase that was going to be made regardless, so why not gain the biggest result possible from the purchase?

When spring is on its way and the ground is soft, it is the perfect time for planting roses. Roses have been a very popular bloom over the years, not only do they look good, but they smell wonderful too.

However, planting roses cannot be done just anywhere or in just any climate. They need special care and treatment. Here are some tips that you need to consider in order to successfully grow roses:

1. Roses require about 4 to 6 hours of sunlight everyday. It would be best to plant your roses in a clear area where there are not too many trees or other types of plants. The reason behind this is that the rose may lack sunlight exposure and the roots are also likely to become intertwined with the rose and throttle its growth. If you wish to replace an old rose bush, you should remove about 1 ½ cubic feet of the old soil and replace it with new soil so that the newly planted rose will have fresh soil to start with.

2. When thinking about the position of your roses you must consider the type of rose you are planting. Place ramblers and climbers along trellises, fences and next to pergolas or arches. This is important to consider because they need space to grow freely and these positions are perfect for bigger blooming roses.

3. Roses will look good in island beds which can be mixed with perennials. Smaller roses make great edging plants, which are perfect for combining in front of taller species. Dig a hole large enough for the size of the root ball, but remember to loosen the soil in the bottom of the hole. You can also add bone meal which acts as a slow acting resource of phosphorus. This will help establish a healthy root growth for your roses.

4. You should be careful when considering the planting depth as this depends on your climate. If you live in a cooler climate, plant roses deeper, but if you wish to plant in a pot, you must dig about 1 inch deeper than the usual potted level.

5. Make sure that you place roses in the hole carefully. The hole should be refilled with soil so that the roots are covered completely. Before you make the final covering, water the rose. Then mound the soil about 8 inches high around the base of the plant. The earth will keep the stems from drying out until the plant is completely rooted. As the leaves open, you can remove the excess soil that surrounds the plant.

These some important tips you need to consider when planting roses. It will be worth the effort, as your roses will bloom beautifully.

The entire wedding planning process can be tiring and frustrating. There are multiple small details that can easily take the fun out of this process. Most of the frustrations that come from planning a wedding can be avoided by a few simple steps. These five tips will help you to find those steps and avoid possible headaches that may show themselves during the planning process.

Pick your Theme

One of the most important things that you can do when planning your wedding is to pick your theme. Your theme needs to be considered when making decisions on all decorations. You need to have this theme chosen before you begin any planning.

Push for RSVPs

RSVPs are an important part of any wedding and wedding reception. The numbers will help you to make your final plans, and may help you with some specific rental numbers. You need to push for RSVPs from your guests. Be sure to include an RSVP line on any invitations.

Set Your Budget Early

A wedding can be an expensive affair. Unfortunately, most do not have an unlimited budget. If you are trying to plan a wedding, you need to set your budget. This budget should be set as early as possible. Talk to others who have planned a wedding. They will be able to give you an estimate as to how much you should plan on spending for your own wedding.

Stick to That Budget

It is important for you to actually stick to the budget that you have set. It is easy to go over budget as you get caught up in all of the different rentals and decorations needed for the wedding. Stay strong to ensure that you do not spend more money than you have.

Include the Groom

Many brides will take control of the wedding planning process, while their grooms ignore the process altogether. It is important for the groom to be a part of the overall wedding planning process. Your groom will have multiple opinions on the various aspects of your wedding. By getting them involved, you can be sure that they will feel a greater connection to the overall wedding and reception.

It is important to realize that each aspect of your wedding must be planned. You need to plan out everything from the invitations to the napkin colors to the reservations and rental charges. These steps will help you to streamline the entire process, giving you the tools you need to be better prepared for this planning process.

When you have a set budget, when you pick a theme, and when you include your groom, your decisions will be easier to make. This wedding planning process should be enjoyable. Utilize these tips to help remove the frustrations that may come from planning a wedding.

The wedding reception is an important part of any wedding. The reception is often the easiest way for many to celebrate their marriage with their close family and friends. Unfortunately, wedding receptions can be expensive. Those who are not prepared to pay for a large reception may feel as though they cannot have a reception.

Fortunately, you can have a wedding reception without the high cost. You can easily plan a cheap wedding reception. This type of reception does not have to look cheap, and will be sure to keep to your low budget. These five tips will help you to have the cheap reception that you want.

Have Solid Invitation Numbers Available

If you are planning for a cheap reception, you need to be sure that you avoid waste. You want to be sure that you are planning for the exact amount of people that will be at your reception. You need to have a solid number of invitations. At most, plan for the number of invitations that you have sent out. If possible, require RSVPs to be sure that you know the exact number of people who plan on attending.

Set a Budget

If you are planning a cheap reception, you need to make sure that you have a solid budget. Plan on the amount of money that you can afford to spend on your wedding reception. Force yourself to stick to that budget. If you want a realistic budget, talk to others who have planned receptions. This will give you a general idea of the cost of a wedding reception that you will be able to base your budget off of.

Plan Inexpensive Centerpieces and Wedding Favors

If you want to have a wedding reception, you must have centerpieces at your tables, and wedding favors for your guests. These objects cost money, however, and are counter intuitive to the cheap reception thought process.

You simply need to find centerpieces and wedding favors that are inexpensive. Be sure to avoid any pieces that look cheap. While you want to save money, you do not want your reception to look cheap.

Constantly Compare Prices

Be sure to comparison shop for all of the objects that you need to rent or purchase. Comparing prices will help you to find exactly what you want for your reception, but at the lowest cost possible.

Utilize a Professional

No one should attempt to plan a wedding on their own. If you want a cheap wedding reception, talk to a professional. A professional wedding planner may have the resources that you need to find wedding rentals and decorations for cheap.

You do not need to have a cheap looking reception to have a cheap wedding reception. With carefully selected items and serious planning, you can have the wedding reception that will help your family and friends celebrate your wedding at a price you can afford.

The dream of owning a vacation home in some sun-drenched overseas location is one the majority of us share, and because real estate proves itself time and again as a solid long term investment commodity, many more people are committing to purchasing real estate abroad as an investment that they and their family can also enjoy and benefit from.

When buying a vacation home abroad there are a number of key considerations to bear in mind to avoid some of the traps and pitfalls sometimes associated with buying long distance and in an unfamiliar country. With these 5 tips for overseas vacation home buying success you can quickly cut a swathe through the research process and move towards securing the dream swiftly and securely.

Tip One – Learn the Rules and Regulations

Different countries have different rules relating to the right or otherwise of foreign citizens to own the freehold title to immovable property. Some widely publicised destinations don’t allow foreigners to directly own the land on which their property sits (Bulgaria) or more than one property (Cyprus) for example, and some countries are less economically or politically stable than your own which can mean that real estate related rules and regulations may change in the future. Make sure you’re comfortable with the workings of the country you’re considering buying a vacation home in, and if in doubt seek professional advice about that country and the ambitions you hold for owning a holiday home in it.

Tip Two – Good Investment/Bad Investment

If you’re buying a vacation home with a hope that it will go up in value and be not only a family retreat but a great asset, know that real estate, just like any investment commodity, can go down in value as well as up. Furthermore not all countries have a real estate economy the same as the one in your own country – a little research would be wise into the historic nature of the property market in your country of choice as well as predictions for its future. While such data is not a direct indication of how well your investment will perform it will arm you with more data to hopefully make your decisions easier.

Tip Three – Title Deeds and Legalities

Legal systems and the title deed registration process differ from country to country therefore know your legal rights and try and find out about the essential searches, surveys and title deed checks that need to be conducted before you should commit to buying your overseas vacation home. Never enter into any form of contractual agreement without the direct assistance of an independent lawyer and never accept someone’s word that a vacation home has its permissions and title deeds valid and up to date. Insist on seeing and checking all important facts and data before signing on the dotted line.

Tip Four – Accessibility and Desirability

If you’re thinking about making an income from your vacation home or even hoping to holiday in it yourself regularly, one of the most important factors to bear in mind is the accessibility or otherwise of your vacation home. If your real estate is difficult to reach, with many miles to traverse and complicated and expensive plane journeys to plan, then it will just become a less desirable commodity over time. While a vacation involves getting away from it all and escaping every day life, a vacation destination and home should be easy and affordable to reach.

Tip Five – Enlisting Assistance

Consider enlisting the help of a reputable real estate agent, an independent lawyer and if you want to make money from your vacation home, a property management service. Such professionals can save you time, effort and money and they can make the whole process of buying and owning a vacation home that much simpler. Make sure you take references, examine credentials and see qualifications before employing anyone to assist you however, and if at all possible seek recommendations because anyone who does a good job will always get good press!

As a business owner or manager, the decision to opt for offshore software development can be difficult. As anyone who has experience knows, there are advantages and disadvantages to outsourcing software development. How then, do you balance the risks and rewards and come out on top? Here are five tips to ensure that you receive an excellent return on investment:

1. Complex project management experience. When selecting an offshore software development company, ensure that they have extensive experience in complex project management. The company’s internal team should run like a well-oiled machine, and they should have longstanding relationships with their own subcontractors.

2. Specialized knowledge and expertise. The most agile software development companies have an extensive network of specialists. These specialists may not be on the company payroll (which is why the company can offer you significant cost savings), but they can be depended upon to complete the necessary tasks on time and within the budget.

3. Knowledge of your industry. In theory, offshore software development companies should be able to perform custom software development for any type of business. There will be less of a learning curve, though, and greater chances for success, if the company has knowledge of your industry or a related industry. For this reason, ask for referrals and determine if the projects the company has managed are similar to or in alignment with the goals of your project.

4. Delineate areas of responsibility. Chances are, you’re considering hiring an offshore software development company because you don’t have the in-house expertise to get the job done and know that it is more cost-effective to outsource the project. Nonetheless, you will need to actively participate in a needs assessment and at various benchmarks throughout the life of the project. By creating a clear delineation of areas of responsibility, you will have a clear understanding of the number of staff hours you need to devote to the project, and plan accordingly.

5. High standards. Both you and the offshore software development company you choose should adhere to high standards. Aside from the talent of the technical experts involved, successful custom software development depends upon rigorous testing. The most dependable companies use the highest industry standards in testing each aspect of the products they create so that you receive a product that is ready to implement.

Essentially, the most successful offshore software development companies are competent and flexible, and see their role as an information technology partner who solves your software problems, supports your team, and manages your projects from beginning to end. When you choose such a company, you can rest assured that you will receive an excellent return on investment.

Everyday, thousands of new surfers open their browsers for the first time, it is confusing in the beginning, but if you have some good advices in the early beginning, you can surf easier and faster with a friendly browser…

Tip 1: Surf in security.
The first action that you will do if you are new to the net is to open your browser to surf. If you have a PC, like most of the Internet population. You will have Internet explorer installed in your computer, but it is not the best browser available on the net, and it is in fact limited. You may think that it is hard to surf on Internet.
When you will discover Mozilla Firefox, you will be even more happy to surf on Internet, for sure.
One of the first reason you should use Firefox is the integrated Firewall, which protect you against spyware and other adawares.

Tip 2: No need to tape http://www.—.com all the time.
The second reason to choose Firefox is that you save time; for instance, when you went on ebay.com yesterday, you wrote: http://www.ebay.com with Firefox, you just tape “e” in the address bar of your browser, then http://www.ebay.com will appear in the drop down menu, it’s like magic, and it’s fun too.

Tip 3: See all your pages in only one window.
I really love this one; you can surf in tab. That is really powerful.
For instance, with Internet Explorer, whenever you click on a link, you have 2 choice: open the page in the same window, or open it in a new window. Firefox enable you to open several pages in one window.
Let’s explain: you are now looking yahoo.com, and you want to see the news, you just right click on the link, select open in a new tab, and you have now two pages in only one window. To switch between your pages, you just need to click on anyone of the page you want to look in, all that in the same window. You can open fifteen windows in one time if you want.
Better, you can bookmark(in Internet explorer, bookmark is favorites) a tab, and open it later. It is a very intelligent way of surfing. It is very efficient when you are doing some researches on a subject, on google for example.

Tip 4: All your downloads at the same place.
The fourth reason to choose Firefox is that when you download a file on your computer, sometimes, you want to open it, but you face a problem: Where did you save that file? With Firefox, just click on tools, and then you select download, and a pop up window appear. You just scroll to find your program. It will save you time and a lot of headaches.
However, it is recommended, for the first time, to save your download on your desktop, then after save your file in the folder you choose. You can download firefox for Free. You just type firefox in google.com and you’re done.

Tip 5: Don’t forget a good anti virus,
While you surf on Internet, some hijackers will attempt to damage your computer, by introducing a virus in it. If you don’t take your precaution, you may loose all that is stored in your hard disk. You can download AVG, which is excellent at download.com.

There is a lot to learn when you start on Internet, but take your time. And everything will go smoothly.

Multiplayer life games can easily be the perfect games for non-gamers to play. These life games do not require you to reach higher levels to experience better gameplay. They often fail to feature any violence, and no other real ‚gaming‘ aspects. You are simply living life through a multiplayer online ‚game‘ that mimics the real world.

With that being said, there are tips for those who want to play these life games. These tips will help you to get the most out of your multiplayer game.

Interact with All:

If you want to have the most enjoyable experience possible, you should interact with as many people as possible. By simply being friendly and saying hi, you may find people who could help you to enjoy the game. If you want to interact with as many people as possible, just say hello. If the person is responsive, you can start to hold a full conversation that may lead to a deeper connection.

Connect with Some:

Try to connect with people that you can easily talk to online. These people will become your online friends, and may be able to help you in the game. They may also be friends who can give you advice with issues that you face in real life.

Help Others Out when Possible:

As in any real life community, you should help others who need help. Some ma be looking for help with the game. Others are simply looking for people to talk to. Try to be there for people, as it can help to build relationships. Eventually, you will have someone who can be there for you when you need help.

Play Regularly:

If you want to be successful at the game and foster these relationships, you need to play regularly. If you disappear for a week at a time, you will lose any relationships that you make.

Watch your Budget:

There are multiplayer games that are free, but feature fees down the road for those who want to play upgraded versions of the game. If need be, plan a monthly budget for your online gaming. Be sure to stick to this budget as tightly as possible. While it may be fun to play around in a virtual life, you need to make sure that you have enough money for actual life.

In all reality, the tips for multiplayer life games mimic many tips for real life in general. You should always aim to interact with as many people as possible in the real world, and should make connections with some of those people.

At some point, you must realize that the multiplayer game is not real life, however, and plan accordingly. While you should play regularly, you still need to interact outside of the game. You also need to make sure that you are not spending too much on the game. If you can manage to follow these various tips, you will fully enjoy your multiplayer gaming experience.

Swimming is a wonderful exercise that can benefit anyone. If you’re not fortunate enough to have your own pool, you can use your local public swimming pool, or even swim in the sea if you’re reasonably close to the coast. Whatever way you do it, try to get wet often; it’s good for you and lots of fun too!

1. Keep moderation in mind when you go in the pool. Begin with short period of 10 to 20 minutes. You can increase this when you gain in stamina. And don’t try all the hardest strokes at first. Build up to it gently.

2. Use a quality filter for your pool. Trying to save here will only result in constant maintenance costs. It will also mean swimming in a pool that is always dirty.

3. Repair any tear in your swimming pool liner as soon as possible. If the tear is three inches or less it should repair easily. If it is larger you may have to replace the entire liner.

4. Don’t allow children (or adults) to run near the pool. Running and diving into a pool is asking for trouble. Accidents can easily happen on slippery surfaces, so play safe always.

5. If you find that all your pool toys, chemicals and cleaners are becoming unmanageable, find someplace to store them. A shed or pool house near the pool is ideal. However, be careful not to store chemicals that may react with each other close together. Also make sure the room is well ventilated.

Hand mitts, paddles, swim fins, and kickboards are all ways to make your swimming more fun and challenging to provide better exercise. These days you can even swim to music by using a specially designed radio that fits into a waterproof bag. So don’t just lounge around the pool all day. Use it as it is intended to be used – swim and enjoy life!

You are busy at both work and at home. Some days it may seem impossible to find time for YOU. You may wonder how other busy Mom Entrepreneurs make time for themselves, but you don’t have time to stop and ask. Here are four quick tips:

If it’s too late and you are already stressed…

1. Take a break.
Have you ever been overwhelmed and feel you can’t stop for fear you will fall further behind? When you’re in a high-stress situation, your thinking is often cluttered making you less productive. Michele Dortch, The Integrated Mother, suggests that you take a break when you become stressed. Whether you choose a 15-minute nature walk or a full day doing activities you love, stopping can actually provide amazing clarity and help you complete your tasks on time. This may seem counterproductive, but it really works!

To prevent going on overload, try the following tips on a regular basis…

2. Take time out to socialize each week.
Alice Seba of Mom Masterminds advises taking time out is invaluable to the Mom Entrepreneur. Alice makes a point to have a few opportunities to socialize each week—with girlfriends, her partner, or to just have some time alone. It revives her and makes her more focused when she comes back to being a mom or a businessperson. Alice says, “All work and no play not only makes you a dull mama, but it makes you a stressed out and ineffective one, too!”

3. Take a few “Mommy Minutes” as often as possible.
Ponn Sabra, author of Empowering Women to Power Network, puts herself on “time out” and takes “Mommy Minutes” as often as possible. Ponn sits in a self-made sauna in the bathroom with the hot shower running or enjoys a favorite goodie (she sometimes hides special ice cream sandwiches in back corner of her freezer where no one, even her husband, can find them.)

Ponn also insists that “adults need naps, too!” Whether for ten minutes or forty-five, it is important just to take a nap. The revitalization you receive from a catnap is very powerful. If you are unable to nap in the middle of a chaotic day, it is important to take yourself out of the situation to regain focus. You will have more energy if you meditate and clear your head.

4. Go “off duty” regularly.
In Linda Goodman Pillsbury’s Survival Tips for Working Moms, she recommends choosing a regular time when you are “off duty.” For example, you might say that after 8:30 every night, the kids cannot bother you with “Where are my blue jeans?” “I need cookies for a school party tomorrow,” etc. (Of course, you are there for emergencies.) Children will soon learn to ask for what they need before you go off duty or wait until the morning. This works on very young children up to teenagers–but you should make exceptions for talking to the kids when they come in from a date!

Does any of the following sound familiar?

You desperately want to lose weight, but you’ve tried so many different diets and failed over the years that you’ve grown discouraged.

Let’s face it, most diets aren’t easy to maintain — they’re designed to get weight off … not for your personal convenience. And once you go off the diet, the weight comes right back, along with a bit more. Thus, you end up worse off than before.

No matter what diet you try – from the cabbage soup diet to the Master Cleanser to low-fat diets such as the Atkins Diet – one of two things usually happens:

• You lose some weight – along with your sanity as life becomes an unbearable drudge of boring food and not enough of it.

• You don’t lose weight because you just cannot stick to that diet.

In either case, you feel bad … discouraged … maybe even like a failure. But, take heart, losing weight is possible. In fact, here are five simple yet sound tips that when followed could easily enable you to lose five pounds, or more, a week!

Tip #1 – Cut the Carbs! Cutting down on your carbohydrate intake, particularly white carbs (that is, carbs from white bread, potatoes, etc.) and instead eating more high quality lean proteins (such as chicken and fish) is a great way to drop a few pounds quickly. But don’t cut carbs completely! You should still eat fibrous carbs, such as berries, spinach and apples.

Tip #2 – Stop Eating Processed Foods! Instead eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Often, people who are used to eating a lot of junk food will discover they can actually a higher quantity of delicious fruits, vegetables and whole grains without gaining any weight.

Tip #3 – Cut Down on Your Sugar Intake! In particular, watch how many sodas or juice drinks you consume. The sugar in these beverages can add up quickly and these drinks aren’t filling. You should also watch out for „fat-free“ products. Sugar is often used to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed. You will also want to be careful about how much sugar you add to coffee and tea.

Tip #4 – Drink More Water! Water naturally helps to suppress your appetite and drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day will help you lose weight and burn fat. On the other hand, if you don’t drink enough water every day, your body may store water and fat that you don’t need. To determine how much water you should drink: multiply your bodyweight by .66 to get the required number of ounces per day.

Tip #5 – Exercise More Often! The healthiest way to lose weight is to exercise. Someone who increases the amount they exercise, but maintains the same diet and calorie intake, will almost certainly lose weight. Plus, excessive sweating from cardio activity, such as running, walking and using aerobic gym equipment, will help you de-bloat and lose inches and pounds quickly.

But a word of caution, if you haven’t exercised in a while be sure to check with your physician first and also be sure to start any exercise program slowly.

With winter coming there will be lots of cold days that simply make people want to stay inside and keep warm. However, all those days spent indoors is generally accompanied by the winter blues. Fortunately, there are a lot of things one can do to liven things up and keep themselves active in the winter even if it is a bit chilly outside. The following five tips will help you have an active winter and finally beat the winter blues.

Tip #1 Yoga or Pilates
Taking a yoga or pilates class at your local gym will help you get out and about, meet new people, and even tone up your muscles! This is great way to stay active and in shape over the winter so when summer bathing suit season arrives you will be prepared.

Tip #2 Take a Bike Ride
A bike ride is fun any time of the year and can be especially enjoyable during the winter because the cool air is refreshing. Just remember to bundle up before heading out on your winter bike ride so you do not get too cold or risk overexposure to the cold weather.

Tip #3 Go for a Walk
Going for a walk is always a great way to get yourself in motion. It doesn’t matter if it is a slow leisurely walk or a brisk one you will get benefits from walking and being active. Also, walking during the winter will help you burn some of those calories you might be eating more of.

Tip #4 Weekly Meeting with Friends
Scheduling a weekly meeting with friends whether at a coffee shop or alternating friends’ homes is really a great way to stay active in winter and have a lot of fun as well. You will find yourself looking forward to each meeting with your friends.

Tip #5 Plant a Winter Garden
If you like to be active in the garden in the spring and summer then there is no reason why you should stop just because the temperature drops. A great idea to keeping active in winter is to plant a winter garden. There are plenty of things to plant no matter what your region, just do a little research on a winter garden for your region and you can have a really active winter.

Investing in penny stocks provides traders with the opportunity to dramatically increase their profits, however, it also provides an equal opportunity to lose your trading capital quickly. These 5 tips will help you lower the risk of one of the riskiest investment vehicles.

1. Penny Stocks are a penny for a reason.
While we all dream about investing in the next Microsoft or the next Home Depot, the truth is, the odds of you finding that once in a decade success story are slim. These companies are either starting out and purchased a shell company because it was cheaper than an IPO, or they simply do not have a business plan compelling enough to justify investment banker’s money for an IPO. This doesn’t make them a bad investment, but it should make you be realistic about the kind of company that you are investing in.

2. Trading Volumes
Look for a consistent high volume of shares being traded. Looking at the average volume can be misleading. If ABC trades 1 million shares today, and doesn’t trade for the rest of the week, the daily average will appear to be 200 000 shares. In order to get in and out at an acceptable rate of return, you need consistent volume. Also look at the number of trades per day. Is it 1 insider selling or buying? Liquidity should be the first thing to look at. If there is no volume, you will end up holding „dead money“, where the only way of selling shares is to dump at the bid, which will put more selling pressure, resulting in an even lower sell price.

3. Does the company know how to make a profit?
While its not unusual to see a start up company run at a loss, its important to look at why they are losing money. Is it manageable? Will they have to seek further financing (resulting in dilution of your shares) or will they have to seek a joint partnership that favors the other company?

If your company knows how to make a profit, the company can use that money to grow their business, which increases shareholder value. You have to do some research to find these companies, but when you do, you lower the risk of a loss of your capital, and increase the odds of a much higher return.

4. Have an entry and exit plan – and stick to it.
Penny stocks are volitile. They will quickly move up, and move down just as quickly. Remember, if you buy a stock at $0.10 and sell it at $0.12, that represents a 20% return on your investment. A 2 cent decline leaves you with a 20% loss. Many stocks trade in this range on a daily basis. If your investment capital is $10 000, a 20% loss is a $2000 loss. Do this 5 times and you’re out of money. Keep your stops close. If you get stopped out, move on to the next opportunity. The market is telling you something, and whether you want to admit it or not, its usually best to listen.

If your plan was to sell at $0.12 and it jumps to $0.13, either take the 30% gain, or better still, place your stop at $0.12. Lock in your profits while not capping the upside potential.

5. How did you find out about the stock?
Most people find out about penny stocks through a mailing list. There are many excellent penny stock newsletters, however, there are just as many who are pumping and dumping. They, along with insiders, will load up on shares, then begin to pump the company to unsuspecting newsletter subscribers. These subscribers buy while insiders are selling. Guess who wins here.

Not all newsletters are bad. Having worked in the industry for the last 8 years, I have seen my share of unscrupulous companies and promoters. Some are paid in shares, sometimes in restricted shares (an agreement whereby the shares cannot be sold for a predetermined period of time), others in cash.

How to spot the good companies from the bad? Simply subscribe, and track the investments. Was there a legitimate opportunity to make money? Do they have a track record of providing subscribers with great opportunities? You’ll start to notice quickly if you have subscribed to a good newsletter or not.

One other tip I would offer to you is not to invest more than 20% of your overall portfolio in penny stocks. You are investing to make money and preserve capital to fight another battle. If you put too much of your capital at risk, you increase the odds of losing your capital. If that 20% grows, you’ll have more than enough money to make a healthy rate of return. Penny stocks are risky to begin with, why put your money more at risk?

Internet marketing is a buzzword that encompasses all aspects of promoting products and services online. While there are plenty of different ways to do it, they all boil down to a few simple things. Knowing these things will help you to see better results. With that in mind here are five internet marketing tips to help you make the most of your efforts.

1. People are people. Sure, internet marketing is, in large part, a numbers game. However, numbers and data do not spend money; people do. This means you have to connect with people on a human level. You also need to treat them with respect at all times and remember they are, indeed, people. They will respond in kind and be more likely to take advantage of whatever you’re offering.

2. Numbers do matter. Okay, time to get off the proverbial soapbox. People are people, but numbers are important. Hey, if you could just make money by being nice, the world would be filled with a lot more millionaires. Track your numbers. Which numbers? That’s really up to you, but there is an old business adage that says „if it can be measured, it can be improved“. That’s the power of numbers.

3. Have a plan. You may have heard that you need to draw up some sort of multi-page, in depth, complete business plan; complete with table of contents, index and footnotes. While you may need such a plan if you are looking for outside investors, you don’t really need that kind of plan for most internet marketing businesses. Just having a plan–any plan–will help to keep you on the right path, and eventually arrive at your desired target.

4. Test and track. These three little words hold a vast amount of profit potential in internet marketing. One way to do this is known as split testing. To do this, you put up two versions of the same thing, but with a small change between the two. Then you set it up in a way so you can tell which one gets the better results. Then repeat the process, with the better of the two always becoming the new benchmark for the next split test. Testing and tracking takes a bit of time, but as time goes on you will see a steady improvement.

5. Enjoy yourself. This internet marketing tip is just as important as the others. All too often, we get hung up on things that don’t really matter in the bigger scheme of things. When that happens we tend to get frustrated and stressed out. There will be times when things don’t seem all that easy. When that happens, remind yourself that you are doing something amazing…you are an internet marketer!

Following these few simple internet marketing tips will help your business do better. Of course, just reading them once won’t do any good. It’s up to you to actually follow through and make them happen, you’ll be glad you did.

Almost all webmasters or website owners are looking for ways to get better results from their websites. They wish to improve their site’s standing and get better rankings in search engines. This quest for improved results, known as search engine positioning, can be satisfied by following a few basic procedures.

Before you even begin, you have to realize that you are competing against hundreds, and in some categories, thousands of websites offering similar products and services. In the case of affiliate marketing, many of the competing websites may even be identical! If you want to get the edge over these competitors and improve your search engine positioning you have to fine-tune your website and actively work to make it better.

1. Make Sure that your design is search engine friendly:

Your design may look good to your eyes, but it may also be the cause of you present difficulties and poor search engine positioning. How is that possible? Look at your web page using a text editor or the html view of popular editors such as Dreamweaver and Frontpage. On what line does your first line of copy begin? If your actual copy is pushed far down the page, it is more difficult for search engines to pick up the crucial information that would have helped you to improve your web page ranking.

If you have this difficulty, first take out all unnecessary spaces in the html code. If there are long strings of java script, put these in external files. Similarly, put style information in external Cascading Style Sheet files. Simplifying your table structure may also help. If this starts getting too complicated for you, then consult with a professional search engine positioning specialist or your web designer.

2. Make sure your keywords are strategically placed in your copy:

It is not possible to improve web page ranking if the readable copy on your web page does not contain the words you wish to be found by. Many people erroneously think that just putting your important keywords in meta tags is enough. This is not true, some search engines hardly use the meta tags and look more to the copy on the page. Make sure that your important copy is in the first paragraph of text, in headlines (using headers such as H1, H2, H3) and in the active or clickable portions of link text on your page.

3. Use a site map and text link navigation on your pages:

If you want to improve your search engine positioning for all the pages of your website then you have to be sure that these pages actually get indexed or included in the search engines. You can help this process along by making a site map, a web page that has text links to all the sub pages of your site. Another good practice is to include a text link navigation system on your web pages, even if you already have a graphics based navigation bar elsewhere on these same pages. Remember, search engines follow text links more easily. A robot that lands on your main page or site map page will follow the text links and then visit and index your lower level pages.

4. Increase the quantity and quality of inbound links:

In fiercely competitive categories it will be difficult to improve web page ranking without obtaining a good number of links to your page from other websites. If you have very good and valuable copy, other sites may link to you because you are a valuable resource. However, if you want to speed this process along you will have to actively request links from other websites, either by trading links or by getting your content (with a link back to your site) placed on other websites.
When it comes to links you should keep in mind one important principle: it is not the quantity of links that is important, but the quality. One good link from an authority site such as CNN or Wikipedia is worth more than dozens of links from other sites. To get these quality links, there is no short cut. You will have to earn it by having a site that provides a lot of useful information.

5. Keep up with Search Engine Developments:

The challenge of improving your web page ranking and search engine positioning is dynamic. Search engines are not static. Most of the big search engines of yesterday have disappeared or are only minor players today. You should keep up with changes in the world of search engines by taking part in online forums or subscribing to newsletters which deal with topics such as search engine optimization, web ranking, and general webmaster related issues.

For years I have been getting great information from the Led Digest, a subscription list which is sent out several times a week. You can see samples online at www.led-digest.com

If you do not have the expertise or the time to tackle these matters by yourself then you should take advantage of skilled professionals who can help you to improve your site’s performance in search engines. Whether you rely on professionals or are able to do it yourself, these five tips can provide a good point of reference for starting the work.

Here are 5 tips to help improve your credit score.

1. Get copies of your credit report —then make sure the information is correct.

Go to the Annual Credit Report web site. This is the only authorized online source for a free credit report. Under federal law, you can get a free report from each of the three national credit reporting companies every 12 months
.
You can also call 877-322-8228 or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) web site and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

2. Pay your bills on time.

One of the most important things you can do to improve your credit score is pay your bills by the due date. You can set up automatic payments from your bank account to help you pay on time, but be sure you have enough money in your account to avoid overdraft fees.

3. Understand how your credit score is determined.

Your credit score is usually based on the answers to these questions:

Do you pay your bills on time? The answer to this question is very important. If you have paid bills late, have had an account referred to a collection agency, or have ever declared bankruptcy, this history will show up in your credit report.

What is your outstanding debt? Many scoring models compare the amount of debt you have and your credit limits. If the amount you owe is close to your credit limit, it is likely to have a negative effect on your score.

How long is your credit history? A short credit history may have a negative effect on your score, but a short history can be offset by other factors, such as timely payments and low balances.

Have you applied for new credit recently? If you have applied for too many new accounts recently that may negatively affect your score. However, if you request a copy of your own credit report, or creditors are monitoring your account or looking at credit reports to make prescreened credit offers, these inquiries about your credit history are not counted as applications for credit.

How many and what types of credit accounts do you have? Many credit-scoring models consider the number and type of credit accounts you have. A mix of installment loans and credit cards may improve your score. However, too many finance company accounts or credit cards might hurt your score.

To learn more, see the Federal Trade Commission’s publication on credit scoring at their web site.

4. Learn the legal steps you must take to improve your credit report.

The Federal Trade Commission’s “Building a Better Credit Report” has information on correcting errors in your report, tips on dealing with debt and avoiding scams—and more.

5. Beware of credit-repair scams.

Sometimes doing it yourself is the best way to repair your credit. The Federal Trade Commission’s “Credit Repair: Self-Help May Be Best” explains how you can improve your creditworthiness and lists legitimate resources for low-cost or no-cost help.

Online multiplayer games feature both new users and experienced players. At one point, each of these community members started as an inexperienced player. Each of these players have taken different paths that led them to the experience that they have today.

If you are new at an online game, there are a few things that you can do to gain experience. The more that you can do as you start the game, the more experienced you will be over new, inexperienced players. This will help you to mature quickly in the game, making your experience more enjoyable and successful.

Read and Play On Site Tutorials

There are going to be tutorials on the actual online game website that teach you how to actually play the game. Some websites will only have readable tutorials that walk you through the basics of the game. Other websites will feature playable tutorials that allow you to see how to play the game in the game itself.

Read Offsite Tutorials

Offsite tutorials can actually be more beneficial to you than an on-site tutorial. Offsite tutorials will have different tips and tricks that members of the gaming community have found. You simply cannot find these different tips and tricks with usual tutorials.

Talk to People In the Game

If you are looking to improve at the online game that you are playing, try to talk to people who are playing the game about the game itself. Ask them about the different things that they do to be successful in the game. While some people will ignore your requests, others will be willing to give you some pointed. Try to get information from as many different people as possible. This will give you a wide range of information that can help you to better your game play as quickly as possible.

Avoid Cheat Codes

If you want to get better in any online game, you need to avoid cheat codes at all cost. While cheating may advance you in the game, it will not teach you anything about the actual game play itself. You simply gain an advantage that will make it hard for you to learn about the game. If you want to get better at the game, you need to play without cheating.

Practice

If you are working on improving at a game, you need to put in the hours necessary to get better. Practice and time will help you improve at any online game.

If you want to be as successful as possible, you should follow all of these different tips. Each tip has something different and unique to offer to your game play. By using all of the tips, you will be as well rounded as possible as you start to grow in the online multiplayer games that you play.

If you’re considering using debt settlement to help you pay off your credit cards, here are 5 tips to help you decide on a company to help you.

Keep in mind that hiring a debt settlement company is no different than hiring any business to perform a service for you – so make sure you find the one that fits your needs the best. Not all debt settlement companies are the same. Like with any industry, there are good ones, and there are the rest.

Unfortunately, when it comes to settling credit card debts, you often hear more stories about people who complain than those who receive good service (and there are many).

How do you determine which settlement company will offer you the best service?

1) Shop around
When hiring a settlement company, you should contact at least 2-3 different businesses and compare the services and terms they offer. Not only will you find the best company to represent you, but you will learn a lot about how debt settlement works, and how it can help you.

2) Check with the BBB
While not everyone with a complaint contacts the Better Business Bureau (so a clean record may be misleading) if there are several unresolved complaints, that is a “red flag” to find out why there are unhappy customers. If the complaints have been resolved, that is a good sign that the debt settlement company offers good customer service. You can search for company records online at www.BBB.org.

3) Check references
While debt settlement is a confidential process, and therefore you may not find many companies willing to give out names of happy customers, it is worth asking. Talking to a former customer will tell you more about a company than any brochure or website.

4) Get all the details in writing first
This is an absolute MUST – you should never agree to anything, sign any paperwork, or send in any money until you get all the terms and conditions in writing. A written contract will help you understand what service you should receive, how much it will cost you, and protect you if an issue comes up.

5) Ask lots of questions
If you have any questions (and the more settlement companies you talk to, the more questions you will have) make sure to ask them – and get the answers you want. If a company is not willing to take the time to answer your questions now, how will they respond to you once you become a client and your money is at stake?

Bottom line, it is your responsibility to “do your homework” and research the best company to help you settle your debts.

If you take the time and effort to find the company that will fit your needs the best – just like you would when hiring any professional – you will greatly reduce the chances of a major problem occurring.

Settling your credit card debt is a big decision for anyone to make, so don’t make the decision lightly!

Got the first date fidgets? Don’t worry, it’s natural. First dates tend to make all of us a bit jittery. We worry about things like “bad breath” and “body odor” and whether or not our dress makes our butt look fat.

We wonder whether or not we should laugh at his jokes (“Oh, no, how do I not giggle if he says something funny?”, “Does my laugh sound totally corny?”, “Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut…”) and we tend to expect the guys we’re heading out with to know these things already, to know we’re feeling more than a little self-conscious, especially since it is our “first date.”

Oddly enough, we also know confidence feels synonymous with power, and the more confident we are, the less we need to worry about all those little things that tend to make us nervous about first dates.

So, to help you into a state of confidence about yourself and out of those horrid “first date fidgets,” I’ve put together five short, worry-busting confidence boosters you can try before your next first night out.

Tip #1: Add a bit of boost to your regular hygiene regimen by putting some sweet scents in your bath. Indulge in a good long soak early enough on the night of your date to give the fragrance time to soak into your skin. Your body will carry the scent throughout the date.

Tip #2: Instead of worrying about your clothes, pick an outfit you feel comfortable in, one that makes you feel good about yourself, and whether or not your butt looks fat will be the last thing on your mind.

Tip #3: Be you. Don’t try to hamper or hinder your normal state. Just be yourself. If the guy you’re with doesn’t appreciate your originality, then he’s probably not the guy for you anyway. You want a man who will love you for who you are, not who you pretend to be when you’re with him, right? So always be who you are.

Tip #4: Talk before the date. If you have certain expectations about your upcoming date, you need to make sure the person you’re going to be with knows what those expectations are. For example, if you feel uncomfortable around crowds and prefer to dine in a more private setting, he needs to know this before he makes reservations.

Tip #5: Enjoy yourself. First dates aren’t wedding ceremonies, so you aren’t being locked into a commitment for the rest of your life based on this one night out. Remember that, and just allow yourself to have a good time. You might enjoy yourself so much you’re tempted to repeat the experience!

By now, almost everybody has seen the late night and early morning acne infomercials with Jessica Simpson and Sean „Diddy“ Combs. I guess they figure, if a celebrity trusts something, then so should you. The promises made for the product sound surreal, and yet for many people it may be just the cure they’re looking for. Even so, it may not be for everybody.

One of my daughters who had acquired a bad case of acne in recent years, tried the infomercial solution, and it didn’t work on her at all. Being a young teenager, she was beset by acne breakouts and needed a solution fast. But unable to find a quick solution, we ended up going to the local dermatologist for acne information and answers. The doctor gave her a prescription for a cream and an oral medication. After following his instructions for a couple weeks, her acne had virtually departed. This was the right solution for her, but it may not be for you – because we’re all different.

Here are some general tips that I’ve discovered over the years:

If you have oily skin – it’s best to take a medicated acne product or one in gel form.

If you have dry skin – you’ll probably do better with the acne cream form and medicated products with benzoyl peroxide or salycic acid.

If you have both oily AND dry skin (combined type) – you will probably need a combination of oily skin gels and dry skin acne creams to apply to different parts of your fact according to the skin condition there.

If you have sensitive skin – you will more than likely need less intense concentrations of either dry, oily, or combined-type treatments.

If you have skin pain because of acne – you should get personal attention from a dermatologist.

So many people struggle with skin afflictions on a regular basis. With the advances in science, you’d think that the acne problem would have been solved long ago and that acne would be a pale memory. Unfortunately the age-old confidence destroyer is still around and going strong.

Today, reaching middle age, I find myself in a new situation when it comes to unsightly blemishes. Now I find that my skin tends to be a bit oily and I have acne breakouts after moisturizing my face. One of the few things I look forward to as I get older is the absence of acne.

Are you tired of not getting any dates? The club and bar scene has dried up and isn’t the best place to meet women. People have the tendency to lie and drink too much in clubs. Make no mistake about it, right now online dating is where the dating world is. Meeting dates online have a lot of benefits.

• It’s easy practice, even if you are shy

• Instead of being judged by your looks, you will judged by your profile and personality

• If you meet someone who is annoying, you can just log off

• You can check up to 200 profiles in a half hour, all possibilities

• It’s a lot easier to get to know people when you can’t see them

Don’t worry, the online dating scene isn’t just for losers and middle aged men anymore. In fact, recent reports have shown that the major dating sites are approximately 60-70% women. Click here

So is it possible to meet an attractive mate online? Absolutely but you have to follow the right steps or you will just end up wasting your money on web. Here are some tips to land yourself a date tonight.

1. Pick the right website – To pay for a site or not? There are a lot of great free websites out there like Plenty Of Fish and Just Say Hi. The fact of the matter is, most pay websites will usually yield better results though.

2. Write an effective personal ad – No matter how you look, how old you are, or how much hair you have, THE most important part of online dating is your personal ad. If you can make a profile that is attractive you will have no problems meeting new people in no time. An effective profile will multiply the response you get. Keep it light and funny. Don’t be negative or mention how desperate you are.

3. Give compliments sparingly – One thing that will turn people off quicker than anything else is if they feel that you are not being honest with them. If you give too many compliments, too quickly people will think that you have an ulterior motive. Don’t make that mistake!

4. Don’t rush to meet up – The great part about meeting people online is that you have the opportunity to get to know them before you meet them. The reality is that this is a dangerous world and while it isn’t likely that you will meeting a psycho, it is always a possibility. Take your time and get to know you new love interest before you met them, it will also make you look less desperate.

5. Don’t Send too many messages – If you send too many messages too soon you will come off as needy. No one wants someone who is too needy. When chatting online, you have the opportunity to take your time and think out your messages.

Fountain pens make great gifts. They’re personal, stylish and fun, not to mention very useful in everyday life.

There are so many fine pens to choose from, and you can guarantee personalization by having them engraved. However, because there are a lot of options, choosing the „right“ pen for that special person on your gift list can be intimidating. Here are some tips for making it easy and enjoyable instead.

Tip #1: Focus on the other person’s preferences, not your own.
If you like the same things, you’ve got it made. But that’s usually not the case. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and you’re off to a good start.

Tip #2: What type of writing instrument?
There are four choices: Fountain Pen, Ball Point Pen, Rollerball Pen and Mechanical Pencil. What type is used as an everyday writing instrument? How about for special occasions like signing documents or writing personal correspondence? What is his or her profession? Answering these questions will help you determine the type.

Tip #3: Evaluate a handwriting sample of the person.
This is especially helpful if you’re going to pick out a fountain pen. And it’s easier than it may sound. For instance, a fine nib is your best bet for smaller writing or writing that has slimmer lines. On the other hand, a medium to broad sized nib works well for writing that’s larger and darker. If the sample wasn’t written with a fountain pen, it will either confirm or change the decision you made as a result of Tip #2.

Tip #4: Decide how much you want to spend.
This can help you narrow the field and not get too distracted. But give yourself a reasonable range so you’ll still have plenty of choices. Sometimes a slightly more expensive writing instrument will make a big difference in quality, performance and appearance.

Tip #5: What’s the person’s style?
Is he or she traditional, a trendsetter or somewhere in between? Get your clues from personal or business attire, accessories such as watches, jewelry and eyewear, even what the person drives. These answers will help you pick a pen brand, finish, color and more, until you’ve made your final selection.

A debt management plan is the best way for you to attack your current debt. This plan will help you to stay on a path that will lead you to freedom from your debt. It can be difficult to stay on this path, and to see it through to the success of a debt-free financial situation. These five tips will help you to follow your management plan.

Set Attainable Goals

It can be easy to set lofty goals. People will set goals that aim to reduce debt in an incredibly short period of time. These goals are simply too unrealistic to reach. If you have a plan in place, set realistic goals. These attainable goals will help to keep you on track. Goals that are unreachable will only make you disappointed and disheartened.

Check In Often

You need to check in with your goals as often as possible. By checking in, you can know if you are on track to meet your goal for that specific time period. You may be well ahead, or far behind, of your goal. Checking in can help you to readjust your plan as time goes on.

Talk to a Financial Counselor

If you are putting a plan into place, talk to a financial counselor. The counselor will be able to help you with your plan. They will give you tips as to the best goals for that plan. The financial counselor should be able to direct you to the right path for managing your debt quickly and efficiently.

Use Your Support System

Friends and family members can help you to stay on your management plan. Tell them about your financial plans. Ask them to help you stay on track. They can offer encouragement when you meet your goals. They can also offer warnings when they notice that your financial habits are not in line with your plan. A support system can help you to stay focused and motivated as you reduce your debt.

Curb Your Spending

If you are working to follow a plan for debt management, you must make a conscious effort to spend less. When you spend less, you can put the money toward your debt. Spending too much will simply hinder your overall goal.

You want to make sure that you are doing what you can to see success with your debt. Your debt management plan is the tool to this success. By setting attainable goals and checking on your progress, you are constantly analyzing that plan. This will help to ensure that it is the right plan for your debt. This simple tip can help to keep you on track. Follow all of these tips to ensure that your plan works for your debt situation.

1) Is it an essential component to your sales mission or just an ingredient in the recipe?

List 10 actions, routines or tasks that are part of your sales day and considered essential components of your sales process.

Now, ask yourself. How many of these are essential components to my sales mission are just ingredients in the recipe?

Think about a professional golfer’s essential competencies from tee-off to last putt. Is the ball and club a core competency, or is it the golf swing and putting stroke? What about a basketball player with the essential competency of passing, dribbling, and shooting?

2) Can it be measured routinely and accurately?

A Core Competency is a definable entity that is related to performance and results.

Ask yourself. Can I measure this with a napkin, pencil, and calculator? Can I put it on one piece of paper and be able to evaluate the status of my business? Do this first. You can always transfer it later to the million-dollar sales automation system.

Can you apply a universal performance benchmark that is realistic and assures revenue goals individually and collectively?

3) You know you have achieved this when you can tell a sales recruit during the interview process the (3) simple numbers that will assure them success.

Have you identified the ‘Key Performance Indicators’ in your sales process?

A good KPI example in the sales process might be how many times you advance the first sales appointment to the next phase, whether that’s a demonstration, a site visit, a survey or a proposal. Another KPI is how many times you gain a new customer once the first gateway is passed. And when you do gain a new customer, what’s the average revenue you achieve? That’s certainly an important KPI. Because if your average revenue per sale is 40% less than the average peer KPI, you might want to find out why and take focused action to improve it, as you’re leaving money on the table.

And what about the length of a sales cycle in days? Is that conditional or do you have a degree of control over it? If you have a team member that has an average sales cycle 30% shorter than the peer group, uncover and assimilate those best practices out to the rest of the sales team. Less time, more results. That makes ‘Sales Cycle’ a valuable KPI.

Once you have your KPI averages you will be able to communicate to a sales recruit exactly how much sales activity (new appointments per week) is required on their part to successfully ramp to Quota is a pre-determined amount of time. That’s right, a ‘Pre-determined amount of time in days’. And that will shorten the time to Quota and reduce the Hard-dollar cost of Turnover from low appointment activity.

But don’t assume they can do it on their own. Provide them with a training ‘System’ to help them achieve the activity routinely and effectively.

4) Can it be determined operationally that you’re performing similar business activities better than your competitors?

Strategy is the ‚what‘ and tactics are the ‚how.‘ If you are superior in operational effectiveness, you will tactically perform better than your peers and competitors. This works a lot like the outcome of a football game. The winning team almost always outperforms their opponent in fundamentals like „Blocking and Tackling.“

5) Can you apply „Timely Training“ and „Powerful Routines“ around each core competency?

We know what training is, but do we understand why training fails? Timely Training is having appropriate structures for learning and application, defining useful short-term objectives, measuring results, and working closely with qualified trainers for follow-up and support. Most importantly, there must be organizational commitment. Focus on one core competency at a time until a pre-determined benchmark result is realized. Don’t move on or over until you do. Powerful Routines are linked to selling scenarios and allow you to dust off all the bases and then cover all of them to have the highest ratio of success aligned with each situation.

If you are looking for a home in Virginia, you want to make sure that you get the best home possible for you and your family. As time goes on, more and more families realize that they can find the home of their dreams through the different foreclosed homes in the area.

Foreclosed homes can easily be some of the best homes in the nicest neighborhoods. When looking for a foreclosed home, you want to know that you are getting the best, and that the home will last for your family. These 5 tips will help you to find the best VA foreclosure homes as you search for your familyÕs next home.

Get a History

If you want to find the best foreclosed home possible, you need to know the history behind that homes that you are interested in. Take the time to get information on the home, past tenants, past home issues, and past home inspections. This will give you a clearer picture of what the home has gone through, and the state that it may be in.

Check Out the Surroundings

You need to make sure that you check out the surroundings of the house before you decide to look into the home further. Talk to realtors to see if there are any building issues or natural issues in the area. Talk to your local police to understand the neighborhood. You need to know about the neighborhood itself as you work to know more about the home.

Check Out the Home

You are also going to want to check out the state of the home for yourself. Take a look to see if you feel that you can handle any remodel projects that are necessary, or if you see flaws in the home. Checking out a home in-person is the only way to get a feel for the home itself.

Have a Contractor Estimate Costs

If you are planning on remodeling in a foreclosed home, you should hire a contractor to give you an estimate on the cost of the work. Have them come into the home and estimate the cost of the work. This will give you a better idea as to the final cost of your home (after purchase and remodel).

Hire an Inspector

If you have found a home that you are interested in, you must hire an inspector before you make your final purchase. The home inspector will be able to show you what is wrong with the property. While this step should be taken for anyone purchasing any type of home, it is especially important for those who are buying a foreclosed home.

If you want to find the best VA foreclosure homes, you simply need to work to get as much information as possible. This wealth of information will help you to make the right decision about your final purchase. Use these five tips to find the best places to get that information. If you can manage to find this information, you will be able to find the perfect home for your family.

For the savvy investor, there is a great deal of money to be made in the real estate market. If you are planning to invest in real estate, one thing you will want to do is to work on finding exceptional real estate deals that will make you a great deal of money in the long run. Believe it or not, finding phenomenal real estate deals is actually easier than you think. However, it does take a great deal of work and commitment on your part. There are many things that you can do to find great real estate deals and some of them include taking the time to look, knocking on doors, mailing out postcards, using mailing lists, and purchasing newspaper ads.

1. Start Looking – One great way that you can start finding extraordinary real estate deals is to be persistent in looking for them. If you are not finding great deals on real estate, you are not working hard enough. While being a real estate investor allows you to work your own hours and provides a great deal of flexibility, you still will have to put in a great deal of work to be successful. Since you basically work for yourself, your success is going to be up to you and the amount of work that you put into your job. If you persistently look for great real estate deals, you will be sure to find them.

2. Knock on Doors – If you want to find some of the best real estate deals out there, you may want to try knocking on doors. Before you go out knocking on doors, be sure that you have done your homework at the courthouse to find the places to go where homeowners may be having a financial problem. After you come up with a list of local people having financial difficulty, you can go out and start knocking on their doors and can offer your help. If you choose this method to help you find great deals, remember to be sensitive to their feelings and try to avoid mentioning or even alluding to the possibility of foreclosure. Be personable and friendly with the people and let you know that you care about them and want to do what you can to help. Taking time with people in financial trouble can help them and help you get a great real estate deal as well.

3. Use Postcards – Another great way that will help you find exceptional real estate deals is by sending out postcards. While sending out postcards to those who are in the process of foreclosing on their home is a good thing, remember that more than likely they have already been receiving a great number of postcards from other investors already, and yours may be overlooked. There are more effective ways to use postcards to your benefit. Be sure to send out postcards to various people who could be in financial trouble, such as those facing bankruptcy, going through divorce, or even to landlords just out of eviction court. If you are creative and take extra initiative when you are sending out your postcards, you are more likely to get outstanding results.

4. Mailing Lists – Many times realtors will send out flyers or postcards to various places in a certain area, and you can use mailing lists just as realtors do to help you find phenomenal real estate deals. You can actually purchase lists that come by zip code, and then decide where you would like to purchase property and start sending information to these addresses. While this may seem like a hit and miss way to find a great deal, it is a great way to open up your options and find a great deal from out of the blue.

5. Newspaper Ads – One way that many investors overlook to get great real estate deals is by using newspaper ads. Many investors neglect using this method because they feel that it is too expensive for them to use. In neglecting this method, many investors narrow their potential and miss out on great deals that they could have had if they would have taken out an ad. While it can cost a bit of money to advertise in a local newspaper, this is a great place to get the word out about what you are doing. If you only get one deal each year from using newspaper ads, you will get back more than the money that you paid for the ad for that year. Be sure that you do not limit your options by neglecting this great way to find excellent real estate deals.

Investing in real estate is an exceptional job that allows you to help people out while making money yourself. This job relies solely on you and how dedicated you are to making it work. Your income in real estate investing will be totally up to you and will depend on how hard you are willing to work. The options and the potential to make money in this business is limitless, so it all depends on you. If you are willing to use extraordinary ways to find great deals, you will find phenomenal deals that will have you making a great living. Remember, it all depends on you!

Ok, you have scoured the internet for a business opportunity that is going to make you that dream income. You know it’s out there; you just need to find it. But which ones are good and which ones are bad? How do you know? What are the signs to success with a home business?

No matter where you go on the World Wide Web, everyone seems to say “I have found what is going to make you successful”. But without some extensive research and a little insight on how the whole web thing works you just might find yourself loosing a lot of money and time. I mean do these people actually think we are going to put trust in something or someone that promises me to be making 10,000 dollars the first month in business?

That’s a little far fetched if you ask me. No doubt, in some really rare instances it has happened but could it really happen to you? In my years of trial and error, I have found that it does not happen over night and you do have to put in effort to get paid for it. So that seems to help you weed out a few thousand opportunities. So, what next?

For one it would be good to ask “how long has the company been in business?” I know there are companies out there that haven’t been around long and you would just have to take a gamble that they are all they say they are, but there are some other ways to “test” them. One thing to look for: Do they provide a phone number for you to contact them? This may sound simple, but just do a little research for yourself and see how many actually provide you with a number! And yes some will give a number but you can never talk to a real person. It does make a huge difference.

Next, what about the product? How big is the market for it? Is it consumable? Is it a product you can believe in and truly “love” to share with others? These are some great questions show the “signs to success”. First of all let’s say you find a product that everyone is buying and it is consumable (which means it can be used up and orders will need to be repeated) ok you seem to have found it, but you decide that I don’t really like it myself but since there is such a huge market for it and it’s consumable I think I can do this. Do you really think you can sell something you don’t truly love? I have tried it already and it made me hate the opportunity I was in just like having a job I hated! Who wants that? So finding something you feel good about promoting is a very good “sign” to look for.

Ok now you have found your perfect company with a perfect product. Now what? Another good thing to check for is the cost to become a member of that opportunity. I know the old saying: “you get what you pay for” and while that does ring true in so many cases, it’s not always the case in this business. For instance, I paid $3,500 to join a business and they didn’t even provide a product! I had to find one for myself! You would think it would have been a great opportunity since it cost so much but not in that case! I found one that was free to join and the company disappeared after I first looked into it. So it can really be a matter of investigating the company further.

What about a compensation plan? Well we all know the “pyramid” schemes and how they only make the top spot rich. So how do you know the difference? For one Multi Level marketing, at first glance appears to be a pyramid, but after you understand how it works, you will see that it works to better anyone who puts in the hard work, not just the lead guy! And yes I did say “hard work”. It won’t just happen for you; you have to make it work. Although you can find opportunities that will work with just a good product, I recommend you finding one that provides a great comp plan.

For instance I joined a company that had a comp plan that only allowed you to enroll 6 people in top spots and after that you had to put people under other people. That was bad because you were practically giving your hard work away! There are companies that allow unlimited top spots and pay down 8 levels! So you make the most out of what you give in!

Finally a good “sign to success” is a good support and mentoring team. Not one that just claims to have one but who actually put it in motion! How many jobs have you had that just put you out there and said “do it” without any training? Of course it’s in the best interest of the owner to train you to do your job. It works the same in internet home business opportunities. You want to find someone who has been successful and is willing to teach you how to do it too! Some things to look for are: Do they provide team meetings via telephone? Do they have training calls available every week? Can you contact them with questions? Do they have annual conferences?

Although these are just some great guidelines, not all companies will have every one in place and still be a great opportunity. So just get out there and do some research for your self you will find pretty quickly that they all pretty much fall into the same categories. Just keep in mind: “if they promise big things in a short time”, it is probably too good to be true!

Before you take out a second mortgage, use these rules to figure out the realistic costs of setting up a business.

Have a Solid Plan — Then Change It

Most business start-up stories say that you have to have a business plan. And you do. But that’s not the beginning and end of figuring out your start-up costs.

Jeff Shuman, who directs entrepreneurial studies at Bentley College, says, „The conventional wisdom is that an entrepreneur sees an opportunity, comes up with a business plan to capitalise on it, determines the capital that needs to be raised, raises the capital and then applies it to building the business described in the business plan.“

There’s one major problem with that model, says Shuman. It all hinges on getting the business right the first time, and that doesn’t often happen. „In reality, it’s likely that some of your initial assumptions are pretty good and others aren’t going to be worth the paper they’re written on,“ he says.

Shuman and others say that figuring out your start-up costs means regularly reviewing your assumptions and changing your initial model. Writing a plan is good because it forces you to write down everything you are going to need to start your business.

But that initial plan is likely to change repeatedly as you learn new things and incorporate them into the plan.

Be Willing to Pull Back

It’s tempting to add up everything you need for the full-fledged business you imagine, and decide it’s what you need to start out.

But pulling back and looking for a smaller model can give you a way to get started while also saving money. Shuman uses the example of someone who calculates the total cost of starting a retail business in a local shopping centre.

„You could start that way and write a business plan based on that amount,“ he says. „But maybe you’d be better off renting a stand and testing what the demand is for your products at that location.“

This consumer testing reduces your initial start-up costs. The result is that the initial cycle of your business is dedicated not so much to generating profits as to generating information. „With this, you can fund your business on a cycle-by-cycle basis,“ Shuman says. „When you go for the second cycle and for expanding your business, the numbers are now based not on focus groups or surveys but on real-world experience.“

Calculate Prices and Time Correctly

Calculating your initial cash flow is part of figuring out your start-up costs. It’s an area where businesses are sometimes less optimistic than they should be. „Small business owners may under-price their product or service, thinking they have to come in at the lowest price point to compete,“ says Barbara Bird, who chairs the business management program at an American university. „They don’t necessarily need to do that.“

Correctly Estimate Your Start-up Time

Yes, when beginning a business, time can be money. Let’s say you’re going to have fixed costs such as a monthly lease. If you have to make improvements to a space before you can actually open for business, those fixed costs are going to be additional start-up costs until you can actually open for business. I’ve watched many entrepreneurs draw up a timeline for their ventures and get tripped up on the safety and inspection requirements imposed by local agencies.

For that reason, I think one of the first places a prospective new business owner should go is to the local government planning or license department. Construction permits and inspections can push a prospective opening date back by months. If you fail to take into account the cost of this time, you could be short of working capital right at the start.

Be Realistic About the Cost of Money

Many owners finance their ventures by running up big balances on their personal credit cards. Others tap the equity in their homes.

But self-financing isn’t a practical option for larger ventures. Tom Emerson, who directs the centre at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, says start-ups should figure in the cost of capital when determining initial expenses and cash flow. „The cost is usually based on what the interest would be, were that cash invested in something with similar risk on the market“ Emerson says. „It’s usually a figure that is a few percentage points or more above the prime rate.“

There’s no denying that it has become more and more difficult to fly without running into snags or problems with the airport or the airlines. Enduring the line at the security check point in some airports is enough to put some passengers in a bad mood. However, despite all of the inconveniences that come with flying, it is a necessity. There are several things that can be done to make flying easier and more hassle free, and all that is involved is a little bit of common sense and planning.

1. Get to the Airport Early
Arriving at the airport early is a no-brainer, especially when the airlines tell passengers to arrive at least two hours prior to a flight’s departure time. However, there are many people who refuse to heed this request, and arrive at the airport just several minutes before a flight is scheduled to leave. If there is a line at the check-in counter or at security, this can create a very stressful situation. Not only may the flight be missed, but a new flight must be booked, and the passengers will probably have to travel stand-by on a later flight with no guarantee of a seat until the very last minute.

2. Take a Morning Flight.
Leaving on an early flight does not necessarily mean a 4 a.m. flight must be chosen. However, flights that leave first thing in the morning are less likely to be running late, and they are less likely to be affected by weather problems across the country and/or other planes that may be delayed at other airports. Also, if for some reason the first flight of the day is canceled or delayed, there will probably be several other flights throughout the day that, if necessary, can be taken instead.

3. Try Not to Fly During „Rush Hour“
Airports, like highways, have rush hours. Typically, rush hour in the morning is from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., and in the afternoon from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. These are the hours when airports are the most crowded with people waiting for flights. Crowds mean longer lines at the security check points, more people in the restrooms, more people waiting in restaurant lines, and more people taking up seats in the waiting areas. Flying at a NON-rush hour time of day can alleviate the need to stand in lines and sit with crowds.

4. Try to Take Non-Stop Flights
Obviously, when a non-stop flight is taken, there is less risk of being delayed. Taking off and landing both take quite a bit of time, so avoiding having to do this twice is recommended. There will always be destinations when a non-stop flight is not available, but there are plenty of cities where non-stop flights are just as common as those that stop. It may even be worth a few extra dollars to book a non-stop flight to avoid an unneeded hassle and the possibility of being delayed.

5. Book Connections with Enough Time
If a non-stop flight is not available to a desired destination, make sure to schedule enough time in between flights. When airlines book flights, they often have a layover requirement of 30 or 45 minutes between connections. However, this is often not enough time if the original flight arrives late. In order to avoid this stress, try to schedule connecting flights with at least an hour to spare between the arrival time of the first flight and the departure time of the connecting flight.