Online Mortgage Training Is It Really Worth It

Writen by Ben Ehinger

Online mortgage training is become more and more popular. Companies don't have the time or the necessary resources to train all of their account executives and loan officers. Plus if you ever wanted to open your own mortgage brokerage it would be nice to be able to train to do it for very cheap.

Is online mortgage training really worth it though? Well, let's look at how the industry trains you if you are hired as an entry level account executive or loan officer.

The first thing they will do is sit you in a room by yourself to watch a few video tapes. Usually these are either about the company, the local laws for the industry, or about sales. If you actually make it through these without falling asleep the next portion is all book training. I can remember reading for what felt like 5 days at 8 hours a day. Let me just say I took a few naps.

Then, you will shadow someone as they do telemarketing and take phone calls. This is also boring because nobody wants to be a telemarketer and you don't learn the ins and outs to getting leads without having to make cold calls all the time.

Now, let's take a look at what online training will do for you. If you decide to train as an account executive or loan officer online you can gain a lot of necessary skills at your own pace without sleeping through boring videos. Being able to study the material at your own pace allows you to choose how long you spend on it each day.

Then, when you get hired you can tell your new boss that you are already trained and are ready to jump right in. You may still be required to do some telemarketing, but because of the online training you will be able to create your own leads and you won't have to do anymore cold calls.

All in all, I prefer the online training over the traditional boring reading material and videos. It taught me skills I desperately needed and allowed me to step up my game a little bit and make some extra money.

Get the online training you need to become an account executive or loan officer today. Get the skills that you need to be successful in the mortgage industry below: Loan officer Training

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Trends Worth Billions Changing Hindsight Into Foresight Part 2 Of A 3part Series

Writen by Luke J. Vorstermans

Trends create business opportunities for those who can spot them. An example of how a trend creates opportunities is the pizza industry. Back in the early 1960s, pizza was primarily a snack food eaten in a restaurant. But by the 70s, consumers were picking up pizza to eat at home and pizza delivery took off. As its popularity grew, competition increased. So did the marketing hype. Pizza is now available in every shape, size and convenience. Each time we ate a pizza, we unwittingly participated in growing the trend, which is just a small slice of the fast food trend.

The pizza trend didn't appear overnight nor was it the result of a savvy entrepreneur who envisioned the process. The trend built momentum as it went through stages of innovation, awareness creation and market adoption.

Would you invest in the pizza trend today? That all depends on where you believe the trend is heading – up or down.

With hindsight, we can look at this trend and identify some of the factors that led to its growth: convenience, growing families, working moms, increased disposable income, swarms of hungry teens, delivery anywhere, anytime, etc. If you knew these factors in the 1970s, the pizza business would have been a great investment. Knowing the factors that would grow the trend, you could position your business advantageously in the growth cycle.

In hindsight, can you identify other trends that would have made a great business opportunity? Of course! Hindsight is easy. The critical question is:

Can you change hindsight into foresight?

If future trends can be identified based on changing lifestyles, then developing a business strategy based on those trends makes sense. Take the aging Baby Boomers for example. They are impacting the health industry with their concern over food quality, lifestyle issues and eating choices. With a huge amount of disposable income and leisure time, social activities, travel and hobbies are of great interest. Since there are many more boomers on the way, it would be safe to assume that the market demand for health-related products and leisure time activities will also substantially increase.

Identifying lifestyle trends is relatively easy. However, knowing how to market and serve them requires more thought. Most business owners are so exhausted with making it through today that they postpone planning for tomorrow. To complicate their situation, business trends are also changing. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow, so positioning your business for the long term also requires a rethinking of today's marketing and customer service strategies.

Take traditional advertising for example. In the day when the local radio station and newspaper were the primary source of news and information, it made sense to put your advertising message where the masses were looking. But consider how fragmented those two vehicles have become. With cable and the Internet, consumers have the option of thousands of radio stations, each one targeting a specific listening audience. Add to that the growing number of other choices on our time – satellite radio and TV, MP3s, DVDs, magazines, the Internet, etc. – and I challenge you to ask: "Am I spending my hard-earned money advertising to audiences that are no longer there?"

Considering all the advertising being thrown at us, is it surprising that we suffer from a feeling of mental and emotional paralysis – like kids in a huge candy store? It becomes increasingly difficult to sort out what's best.

We're living in the New Economy but continue to use marketing strategies from the old one. We're numb to advertising – on just about everything – but we add to the clutter each time we approve another ad. We're not sure if it's effective but without an alternative, we do it anyway. We tout the importance of customer service but don't take the time to train our staff. We know the value of 'thank you' cards but our database is incomplete. The shop needs a facelift; but that's for another day. We're overwhelmed with all the things we need to do. What we really want is for everything to stand still while we catch up. Fuggetaboutit.

"Trend cycles are emerging more rapidly as a result of technology, accelerated social diffusion, instantaneous communication and more willingness to accept-or inability to escape-new ideas," states Hallmark trends expert Marita Wesely-Clough. "When everything is accessible instantaneously, the ability to assimilate, to differentiate and to choose becomes more difficult."

Part 3 – Trends Worth Billions - Consumer demand drives the speed of business

Luke Vorstermans is a business consultant specializing in Baby Boomer trends and products. His website has hundreds of articles and resources all available for free. luke@business-dynamics.com http://www.business-dynamics.com

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Preparing Your Business For A Bird Flu Pandemic

Writen by TJ Smith

How would your business operate if half your work force were out sick? Would your business continue to function if several of your top key employees died? How many employees are cross-trained in other positions?

A recent study showed the threat that most preoccupies the world's business leaders is a global influenza pandemic. This is why you need to start asking these questions now so your business can be prepared for a possible bird flu pandemic. A bird flu pandemic will not discriminate. Everyone from the janitor to the CEO would be affected. Worst-case scenario could leave millions sick and any where from 5 million to 1.5 billion people dead around the world.

The World Bank, which has estimated that a bird flu pandemic lasting a year, could cost the global economy up to $800 billion. The economic toll on the world economy will be catastrophic. There would be major economic losses due to worker absences and interruptions in supply and delivery chains. Even a ìmildî pandemic would have lasting effects on your business. Because a global flu pandemic is such a threat, current business and disaster response plans may not be adequate to deal with it. What steps should you start to take now to prepare?

As with any worst-case scenario you should be aware of the risks and have a contingency plan in place before you need it. By planning now you will help keep your business running, your employees safe and head off possible legal issues. Some of the steps you may want to consider are:

Establish a pandemic coordinator or team with responsibilities for preparedness and response planning. Provide current avian influenza information to all employees. Identify and make available information on community resources.

Identify key essential areas and current employees responsible. Cross-train other employees in those areas so they are able to fill in for sick employees. Have written documentation for those employees filling in for others.

Identify key suppliers and alternative sources for critical materials and supplies. Increase raw material inventories to keep production going for several months. Plan for ìjust in timeî inventory shortages. Products and inventory from Asian countries may not be available if Asian factories are shut down due to illness.

Play "what if?" What if Joe in accounting was out sick for a month? Or Sam in IT died? Who could fill in, how would the business run? It is estimated that between 30-60% of the workforce will be out sick.

Maintain a healthy work environment. Encourage hand washing, offer hand sanitizers, consider quality air purifiers. Limit face-to-face contact with employees and customers. Limit large group meetings, shared workstations and public events. Limit or eliminate non-essential business travel. Make use of conference calls and video conferencing.

Review employment policies to see if you can require employees to stay home if they are sick. Establish new sick time policies. Check employee agreement clauses for business closure plans, hours of work and position changes. Establish policies and procedures for sending staff home, staff leaving work on their own, unauthorized absences and returning to work. Plan to offer additional sick time pay or wage and salary advances to staff unable to work. Plan for family member illness, community quarantines, school/business and public transportation closures.

Offer telecommuting options to as many employees as possible. Offer flextime and other creative job options.

Back up essential files off site, provide access to a network of key employees.

Establish a communication plan for employees and business contacts. Include key contacts and tracking for employee status. Employees will be hungry for up to date information about their business, jobs and co-workers. Good communication with your employees is essential to avoid rumors, panic and misinformation.

To encourage employees to stock up on food and supplies for an extended home stay, purchase supplies for them in bulk to take advantage of discounts, offer the savings to employees. Or offer them a SAMís Club or Costco membership at no charge.

Taking these steps today will help your business be prepared for a possible bird flu pandemic, survive for the duration and return to business as normal faster than those who are not prepared.

TJ Smith writes about avian flu and the coming pandemic.To stay up to date on avian influenza, bird flu and the h5n1 virus visit The Bird Flu Index http://www.birdfluindex.com. Find links to bird flu websites, blogs, forums, official medical and government sites and full information about how the bird flu could turn into a global influenza pandemic. Search through the article archive for the latest bird flu articles. For the latest bird flu news and the coming pandemic visit The Pandemic Zone http://pandemiczone.blogspot.com.

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21 Facts About The Internet You Should Know

Writen by Titus Hoskins

You probably use it every day but how well do you know your Internet?

Ever wonder how all this foolishness got started in the first place and why? How big it really is? How many present users there are? The average time spent on a website? Here are 21 facts you might or might not want to know about the Internet.

1. Who coined the phrase 'World Wide Web'?

Tim Berners-Lee in 1990.

2. How did the Internet Start and Why?

It all started with the time-sharing of IBM computers in the early 60's at universities such as Dartmouth and Berkeley in the States. People would share the same computer for their computing tasks. The Internet also got help from Sputnik! After this Russian Satellite was launched in 1957; President Eisenhower formed ARPA to advance computer networking and communication.

3. Who was J.C.R. Licklider?

Licklider is often referred to as the father of the Internet because his ideas of interactive computing and a "Galactic Network" were the seeds for the Internet. His ideas would be developed thru DARPA,(Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in 1962. Later he would help form ARPANET and the Internet was on it's way.

4. What was ARPANET?

ARPANET stands for 'Advanced Research Projects Agency Network' Came about in the arena of Sputnik and the cold war. The military needed a method of communicating and sharing all the information on computers for research and development. It would also be a handy communication system if all traditional ways were wiped out in a nuclear attack!

5. What was the First long distance Connection?

In 1965 using a low speed dial-up telephone line, MIT researcher Lawrence G. Roberts working with Thomas Merrill, connected the TX-2 computer in Massachusetts to the Q-32 in California. The phone lines weren't quite up to the task!

6. Who was Leonard Kleinrock?

Kleinrock came up with the theory of packet switching, the basic form of Internet connections. With a group of UCLA graduate students on Oct. 29, 1969, Kleinrock connected with the Stanford Research Institute but as they typed in the G in LOGIN -- the system crashed!

7.What is an Ethernet?

It's a protocol for by many local networks, (LAN Local-area Networks) the origins of which came from Bob Metcalfe's Harvard's dissertation on "Packet Networks".

8. When was the first mouse introduced?

The first computer mouse was introduced in 1968 by Douglas Engelbart at the Fall Joint Computer Expo in San Francisco.

9. Did Al Gore really invent the Internet? No, but give credit where credit is due. He did the most of any elected official to actively promote the Internet. However, he wasn't even in Congress when ARPANET was formed in 1969 or even when the term 'Internet' came into use in 1974. Gore was first elected in 1976.

10. Who coined the phrase 'Information Super Highway'?

Al Gore in 1981!

11. Which decade really saw the explosion of the net?

The 90's! The Internet exploded in or around 1993.

12. How fast is the Internet growing?

Very fast! It took 38 years for radio to reach 50 million users, 13 years for TV, and only 5 years for the Internet. Source: CyberAtlas.com

13. Number of Internet Users and Breakdown.

The Internet is roughly 35% English, 65% Non-English with the Chinese at 14%. Yet only 13% of world's population, 812 million are Internet users as of Dec. '04. North America has the highest concentration with 70% of the people using the Internet.

14. Country with the highest percentage of net users?

Sweden at 75%.

15. How big is the Internet's surfing world?

Google's index now stands at 8 billion pages.

16. What was the Net's first index called?

Archie, other than library catalogs, this was the first index created in 1989 by Peter Deutsch at McGill in Montreal. Although it spouted such others as Veronica and Judhead, Archie was short for Archiver and had nothing to do with the comic strip.

17. Who coined the phrase 'The Web might be better than sex'?

Bob Metcalfe in 1995.

18. What does HTTP stand for?

HyperText Transfer Protocol -- it's the protocol for moving files across the net; it requires two client programs. The HTTP client and the server.

19. What is an ISP?

Internet Service Provider -- This is the service or company you use to access the Internet.

20. What is HTML?

Hypertext Markup Language -- it's the coded format language for transmitting and creating hypertext web pages.

21. What are your average surfing habits according to Nielsen NetRatings?

Each month you usually visit 59 domains, view 1,050 pages allocating 45 seconds for each page and spend about 25 hours doing all this net activity! Each surfing session lasts 51 minutes.

One last thought - Henry Edward Hardy in his Master's Thesis (1993) on The History of the Net stated "The Net is Immortal". Ever wonder what this baby will be like in a 100 years? a 1000 years? Just something to think about as you keep your eye on that cursor.

Copyright © 2005 Titus Hoskins

---- For here for a Brief History of The Notebook Computer The author is a Website Owner and Internet User. Copyright © 2005 Titus Hoskins of bizwaremagic.com. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached. Visit http://www.bizwaremagic.com for more simple solutions to your online marketing tasks. ----

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Glass Computer Desks And The New Style Of Modern Offices

Writen by Ken Marlborough

Glass computer desks are sleek, well-designed, professional-looking computer desks for modern offices. Apart from looking great, they are just as functional as wood or metal computer desks. They accommodate all the benefits of regular computer desks like flexibility, versatility, and style, and they are ideal for office as well as home use.

Glass computer desks can be made to fit any room and budget. Glass desks are usually made with durable materials comprising of environment-friendly blue tempered glass and are supported by strong, power-coated, heavy-duty steel frames. In many models, the monitor table can be adjusted to any angle and height for optimal comfort. In addition, some glass computer desks are equipped with a built-in anti-glare tinted glass for reduced eye strain. Many models will have metal inserts pre-drilled for easy assembly and disassembly. Most are also accompanied by a manual that contains comprehensive instructions for assembling or disassembling the unit.

The most striking feature of glass computer desks is their beautiful design and look. They are just as convenient as regular computer desks. They are also provided with adjustable, modular attachments for convenience and flexibility. Besides, they can be shaped like corner computer desks to optimize floor space or to make use of unused corners.

Glass computer tables can accommodate computer peripherals as well as additional accessories like the CD ROMs, printers, scanners, and modems. They are also being designed as per requirements for attaining ideal height, width, and storage space. In addition, ergonomics is not compromised when shelves are modeled for easy access all accessories.

Computer Desks Info provides detailed information on corner, glass, roll top, home, child, oak and cheap computer desks, computer desk hardware, and more. Computer Desks Info is the sister site of Office Chairs Web.

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Online Temptation Blocker

Writen by Jim Edwards

One of the best things about doing business online involves the fact that with a computer and Internet connection you can do just about anything you want.

One of the worst things about doing business online involves the fact that with a computer and Internet connection you can do just about anything you want.

In a business context, computers and Internet access represent the ultimate double-edged sword that requires discipline and self-control when it comes to the endless possibilities of how to spend your time.

Now, for all of us who fall into the category of needing a tad more will-power to stay on task, help arrives in the form of a free software app for PC called "Temptation Blocker."

Originally developed to help the software's author avoid playing "Half Life 2" (a great game, by the way) while under pressure to meet a critical deadline for his work, "Temptation Blocker" operates with a very simple purpose.

He knew that if he could just let the sane part of himself set limits, he would head off the game playing in moments of weakness later on during the day.

Now, for the rest of us who need a little help avoiding temptation throughout the day, we can use this same program in a variety of ways.

The software comes free of charge for PC users (sorry, no MAC version at this time) by logging on to http://thenetreporter.com/temptation-blocker.html

Download the software and follow the simple installation steps and then restart your computer.

Once the software installs, you start it up and see a list of the programs in your computer's Start Menu.

You can check off the ones you want to block, tell it how long to block them, and then get to work.

If you ever give in to temptation and try to start the blocked programs, a dialogue box pops up telling you how much longer until the programs are available again.

If the program you wish to block doesn't show up in the list, you can browse for it and add it to the program list.

If it lists programs you know you'll never want to block, you can right mouse click them and remove them individually from the list.

You can then create profiles to block specific programs based on the job you need to get done.

* The Email Addict *

I admit it: I'm addicted to email.

I've developed a compulsion to click the "Send/Receive" button on my Mail Washer software at least every 5-10 minutes throughout the day.

Not only does it distract me to run down at least a half- dozen rabbit-holes daily, but it also adds greatly to my overall stress level.

By blocking access to my email program, I'm actually weaning myself out of the habit of constantly checking email every few minutes and reclaiming valuable time.

* Get Work Done! *

No matter what deadline you face, by blocking those programs which tempt you to sidetrack and waste time, you'll actually get more time to enjoy them!

Instead of fragmenting your time into inefficient bits, you can concentrate on one task at a time, get it completed, and then do whatever you want with the extra free time - and do it with a guilt-free conscience.

Are YOU a "Lazy Achiever"? "The Lazy Man's Guide to Online Business" How to Work Less, get Paid More and have tons more Fun! Proven tips, tricks, techniques and strategies of Superstar "Lazy Achievers"! Click=> http://www.GetMoreDoneFaster.com

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Material Packaging

Writen by Ross Bainbridge

Packaging materials are used to keep products identified, protected and undamaged during delivery. There are different types of packaging, depending upon the types of products being packaged. The most important and popular one is encapsulated air plastic sheeting, which is commonly known as bubble wrap and uses encased air bubbles in the midst of plastic sheeting to protect goods from shock during transportation. This is an ideal packaging material for lightweight goods and can be shaped to wrap around any size of product. If the product is heavy then these products may deflate the sheeting, making it ineffective.

Corrugated cardboard is another important packaging material. It cushions the goods and provides a protective shield, due to the rigidness of the board. It is better used for heavy items. Unfastened fill peanuts are made of durable polystyrene. However, this is not a full-proof method for flat objects that move during transportation. Foam sheeting made of polyethylene is lightweight and provides padding for lightweight products. Inflated packaging uses air pressure to secure the goods. Craft paper, when stacked, makes excellent package material. Apart from these there are alternative packaging materials also which hang the product within the package, but these are expensive.

Packaging materials use huge quantities of the world's natural resources and currently account for around five percent of waste materials. About sixty percent of all packaging is for food products; most of them are not to protect and preserve the goods but to enhance the appearance and increase sales of the product. The best packaging materials from an ecological standpoint are cardboard and wooden boxes.

Packaging provides detailed information on Packaging, Custom Packaging, Material Packaging, Dvd Packaging and more. Packaging is affiliated with Wholesale Beads.

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Email Marketing Tips

Writen by Anna-Marie Stewart

If you don`t know it yet, you will probably learn over time, that email marketing is probably THE most effective way of marketing online. That is, IF you do it the right way.

Here`s a couple of hints and tips that have worked for me:

I have a habit of signing up for safelists that offer free pro memberships to the first so-so many members. I find that smaller safelists are most responsive. Once they reach around 1000 members or so, the actual opening and reading of mails seems to die off.

Think about what would make YOU open an email. What would grab YOUR attention? Try to make the subject both interesting and captivating, with just a touch of urgency.

Make sure your subject line isn`t misleading. That`s such a huge turn-off to most marketers. They open a mail with a great subject line, and find that it bears absolutely NO relevance to the mail itself. Not only will they most likely delete the mail right away, but they`ll probably remember who sent it, and never open mails from that person again.

Remember, if you`re going to use safelists for your email marketing, get a seperate email address for all the mail you`ll get from other members.

I probably have about 10 so-called "junkmail" accounts, where I get all my safelist mails. I go through my mails every day, and yes, I do delete a lot of them right away.

Sometimes though, something catches my eye, and I take a closer look. If the subject line`s are interesting, I open them ALL. I find it`s a GREAT way of keeping on top of what`s happening in the world of internet marketing.

Now, if safelists are just NOT your cup of tea, you need to work out how to create a warm market, for your own personal use.

The best way of doing this, is by building your very own contact list. Whether you want to publish an ezine, or just create a mailing list is up to you, but make sure you do it properly. I personally find my contacts through chat. I go to as many chatrooms as I can find, and make sure my profile is up-to-date and lets people know that I`m an online marketer.

That way, if people are interested in learning more about me, they`ve at least got a starting point, and from there, it`s pretty easy to get them to allow you to add them to your mailing list.

Don`t harvest email addresses, it`ll only end up in tears. Don`t buy mailing lists, no matter how cheap you can get them. Most of the lists that are for sale are made up of harvested email addresses. Harvested emails are by no means "opt-in" and you can be pretty sure you`ll end up getting a spam complaint. It`s a surefire way of losing your isp, webhost or even both. Pure SPAM is the biggest no-no out there.

No matter which way you decide to go, it`s going to be hard, mostly because of all the spam filters that are now in place. ISP`s are really cracking down on spammers. So much so, that even legitimate emails are getting filtered out.

I`ve gathered together a few sites that I find very helpful when I`m writing my ezine, and sending mails to safelists etc. It`s quite amazing to see what actually sets spam filters off. Take some time to go through it all. Bookmark the sites. If you`ve ever wondered if your mail is getting through, you can easily check, just by looking for the trigger words.

Here are a few sites/articles that show you some of the words that are considered to be spam triggers:
www.iprofitsystems.com
www.wilsonweb.com
www.internetbasedmoms.com
office.microsoft.com/Assistance/9798/newfilters.aspx

This one I absolutely love. It`s real fast, gives you a quick review of your mail onsite, and sends you an email with more information. I use it every time I send out a "marketing" email of any kind.It`s most definitely one of the best "spam" checkers I`ve found.
www.lyris.com/contentchecker/

Email marketing can be a lot of hard work, especially as, according to the averages, people need to see your offer AT LEAST 7 times before they "bite". Be consistent, get your mails out there, but also be responsible. The last thing on earth anybody wants, is to be accused of spam. Spam accusations can hurt both you AND the website/product/program you`re promoting.

Don`t be afraid to add a little "personal" touch to your emails, just don`t go totally overboard by telling people the ins and outs of your life...hehehe

Above all, enjoy what you do.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-Resource Box-=-=-=--=-=-=-=- Avoid scams, shams and spam with Not Just Another Ezine! Full of free downloads, ebooks and information to maximize your time online. Subscribe free! http://annamarketing.com admin@annamarketing.com subject=subscribe -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This article is available for reprint in your opt-in ezine, web site or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes to the article and the RESOURCE BOX MUST be included. (c) 2002 - 2004 AnnaMarketing.com. All Rights Reserved

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Make An Informed Decision Buying A Forklift

Writen by George Anderson

An accurate and meaningful parallel can be drawn between forklift prices and automobile prices. The variations in forklift pricing depend on several factors, such as manufacturing brand, technology, and overall reliability. Top class forklifts are expensive but they also ensure a longer operating life and overall increased durability and efficiency. The variations in prices, just like with cars, also depend on geographical positioning, dealerships, local regulations and the state of the machine.

In order to compare prices you would have to see at least three different retailers. Let's take the industry standard forklift – the 5,000 lb one. New electric forklifts in this category may be sold for an average of $20,000, with a maximum of $25,000. A few extra thousand dollars will be spent on a charger and batteries. The other options are internal combustion forklift models, which are also priced close to their electric peers. While prices for internal combustion types start at around $15,000, you can also end up paying double depending on model type and accessories that accompany it. Prices go up with the heavier and more powerful models. You will pay anywhere from $30,000 to $45,000 for a 10,000 lb combustion forklift and over $100,000 for the high end - over 35,000 lb forklifts.

If you don't want to spend that much on a new forklift or you simply cannot afford one, you can go for a used model that will sell for about half the price of a new one. 5,000 pound used forklifts that cost $25,000 new can be bought used for $11,000 to $12,000. However, when determining your investment costs, also try to figure out another important element: your hourly operating costs. If the forklift is used daily for a few hours, you might notice a high hourly operating cost due to breakdowns and maintenance time. When calculating the operating costs, include the following elements: fuel cost, additional supplies like filters and oil, maintenance time, and downtime.

Since the initial investment in a forklift is so high, many investors prefer to lease the vehicle. With most dealers you will find some sort of financing option, either straight from the manufacturer or through local banks and financial institutions. You may also try a long-term rental – usually for a period over a year, in which you will have to pay a monthly payment. This last option has more benefits for short-term projects or for contractors, since the lower monthly fee and the included maintenance can produce some nice profit. You can also get different service plans to accompany your purchase. Full maintenance plans will take care of any problem you might encounter with the forklift, a very useful option if you are getting a used machine from a dealer.

George Anderson understands the importance of forklifts in industry. See his website at http://www.getforklifts.com

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Soap Box And Rants From Lance From Days Gone By Part I

Writen by Lance Winslow

Okay so I do a lot of research; have traveled afar and obviously I have something to say. Ah; "Rants from Lance" indeed. Yes in fact it is over do but it is time; It is Soap Box time; I Read an interesting article today about the fact that 80% of all penalties for employment withholding costs were fined to small businesses with under ten employees. Probably because when the large companies were small they were fined and learned along the way, as they got bigger to outsource employment tasks or hire attorneys to slow down the investigating agencies. I say this fact has made a market niche for employment agencies and taken another fee from the laborers.

For instance many of our franchisees have hired employees through temporary or employment agencies because of the time involved in accounting and penalties from an anti-small business group of regulators and a huge employment government agency in many states. Which attack businesses to justify their own existence. Interestingly enough these government agencies burn up half of all monies collected in administration. Those unemployment agencies need to charge more fines to stay in business, now they have more output and accusations amongst laid off workers fly and these agencies investigate even though most claims are false and lies from disgruntled, low out put employees who want something for nothing.

For instance I can call up the unemployment board of nearly any state and without any proof can make up a charge and they will go investigate it. Similar to the FTC which I know first hand does, having attacked my company based on false complaints and declarations coming from competitors. They are criminals at the FTC, well, at least the case-worker in our deal. The FTC has industry coordinators for various sectors within their once great Kennedy organization, suffer from low self-esteem, save the world, conspiracy theorist attitudes, abusive power energies and rottenness.

(CYA; but of course those case workers and prosecuting attorneys who reviewed our case are at the height and pinnacle of ethical echelon and should receive a Nobel Prize for their work in Industry and helping consumers throughout the world and making it a better and cleaner Planet for all future generations of mankind. Working diligently to make sure that the waterways of commerce which transverse the strongest nation in the world are kept pure and fair, yah sure?) I love those CYAs don't you? Well get use to them.

Now, Let us look at the California department of Automotive Services, who claims they will investigate any auto repair case even if you are not sure there was a crime. Why? To justify the numbers of cases worked on, for the amount of overly increasing budgets every year. They have a whole fleet of several thousand cars, which we have on occasion washed. http://www.carwashguys.com . I do not mean to under mind the need for referees in the free enterprise system or endorse Smoot and his book "The Business end of Government" which everyone should read. But by attacking small business we have inadvertently put a layer of profit taking from workers salaries that is a tax on business and additional monies coming out of bonuses that real life workers may have earned to send their kids to college, donate to charity, increase standard of living and quality of life issues, help pay off mortgages and allow them to work to earn their American dream.

The same liberal attitude, which has permeated the regulatory process in America is destroying it by leveling the playing field and supporting the weakest and most inefficient of all organizations. Government. You know I am right, look for yourself. Everyday I get corporate propaganda from employment services wanting a piece of our franchisees total allocation for labor in turn for helping them with the maze of regulations of employment taxes, hiring, OSHA, workmen's compensation claim attorneys and rules bordering on rape type penalties to small business and background checks now required for working in specialty ones like airports, DOT yards, post offices and other locations.

Am I making more out of what is really killing America? Absolutely not, no way, I am right on the money. I or any small business person for that matter will tell you, it is the reality. I have also been receiving the DOT and OSHA regulations and case laws for some time now to put into binders taking up 15% of my personal business library. The actual OSHA standards are now 56 stories high if you stacked them on top of one another. One attorney who handles government contracts told me in San Antonio yesterday that perhaps we should throw them off the top. Referring to regulators of that agency. He said the worst agency of record was clearly the EPA. We have finally beaten them and are in 100% compliance until they start changing laws again to save the unborn gay pregnant whales from nuclear fallout, terrorism, and botulism. Not that, those are not all great causes but very few have anything to do with the price of rice in China or small business or in my case car washing for that matter.

I see a direct from Dell approach to the problem. Simplify the process of payroll contributions by having one system in all 50 states, all of which runs on Microsoft Word 2002, use that as a settlement form any upcoming mean complaints filed by Steve Case, a case worker in himself hyping numbers and projections and worse than Enron, Global Crossing, UAL, AMR, Nortel, etc. If it were simplified and on Microsoft Office and that was part of Intuits quick books then anyone could figure out the payroll contributions and the remaining monies paid to the employment agencies would be redistributed to small business for expansion or given to the vary workers themselves as a productivity bonus. Anyone from Tom Peters to Friedrich Winslow Taylor would agree that this is the best stimulus package for small business.

I recently looked at the SBA loans for small business due to terrorism and found that only about 55 million dollars in loans nationwide; Pathetic really, absolutely pathetic. Although the ramp up time and Congressional delays and bureaucracy made these funds unavailable in real time, hundreds of thousands of small businesses are no longer with us. Why? Why, damn it; answer me. You pathetic losers; whose team are you on. Arguing about BS putting into the minutes; hours of discussion that any entrepreneur worth his salt could have done in seconds. Letting America disintegrate is a terrorist act.

End Part I "Soap Box Time; Rants from Lance"

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

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What Cleaning Contractors Need To Know About Mold In Carpet

Writen by Steve Hanson

One area of growing concern to building owners is indoor air quality. Feeding poor indoor air quality can be one of over 1,000 types of mold found in the United States and over 100,000 types found worldwide. Mold and mildew can grow rampant indoors and lead to various health problems such as allergic reactions, asthma, sneezing, eye and skin irritation, and other respiratory complaints. Carpets that are not cleaned and dried properly can be a haven for mold spores, which thrive on excessive moisture.

There is no practical way to keep mold spores from entering your buildings. Spores enter through open doorways, windows, and ventilation systems. People also track mold spores through buildings, as they can attach themselves to clothing and shoes.

Molds need three things to grow: moisture, nutrients and a suitable material such as carpet, paper, ceiling tiles, drywall or a host of other materials. When molds are disturbed they are released into the air and inhaled by the people in the room. Some individuals are not affected by mold, but others can be highly sensitive.

If asked to clean a carpet that has mold problems you need to first assess the situation. Are there underlying factors that are causing excessive moisture? Water problems, such as broken pipes, leaking roofs, over-watered plants or flooding, and improper carpet cleaning can lead to mold in carpets.

Assess the situation to make sure that it is something your company can handle before agreeing to rid the carpet of mold. First make sure the source of the water problem, such as broken pipes or a leaking roof, is fixed. Then make sure the problem has not escalated to a point where the carpet should just be replaced.

If you decide you can handle the job, clean the carpet with a product such as a biocide that is designed to stop microbial growth. Following are some steps to follow when removing mold and mildew from carpet:

1. Apply a low alkaline all-purpose spotter and wipe it off.

2. Rinse with a mild acidic carpet rinse and neutralizer.

3. Thoroughly dry the carpet.

4. Apply a mildew stat carpet sanitizer. Make sure you follow all label directions and recommendations. Let the solution air-dry.

Although the EPA recommends a bleach solution to kill mold in some situations, many of the mold and mildew removers that contain bleach will harm carpet fibers, so you should not use it. While cleaning, employees should wear gloves and respirators to avoid breathing in the mold spores.

After cleaning, use fans to dry the carpet. Once you handle the mold problem and the carpet is dry, use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to remove any remaining mold spores. Vacuums with HEPA filers won't stir up the remaining mold spores into the air. If the area is one that will continue to have excessive water, you can recommend the building owner replace the carpet with tile or laminate flooring so you can easily mop up the water as needed.

Copyright 2006 The Janitorial Store

Steve Hanson is co-founder of TheJanitorialStore.com, an online community for owners of cleaning companies. Sign up for Trash Talk:Tip of the Week at http://www.TheJanitorialStore.com. Read success stories at http://www.cleaning-success.com

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Show Appreciation With A Corporate Gift Basket

Writen by Christopher Luck

Over the years, the gift basket has become an increasingly popular gift. A gift basket looks nice, is practical, and can be customized to the individual. At the same time, corporate gifts have also become increasingly popular. They are a way to show appreciation to clients while also solidifying the business relationship. With those two trends, it is only natural that the corporate gift basket has become very popular gift and business tool.

When deciding on any corporate gift, it is important the you know what you wish to achieve with that gift. You should probably take into account how much the client means to your company, what you will likely get from giving the gift, and how much it will cost you. When you purchase or put together a corporate gift basket, then, you will want to make sure it is appropriate for the client to which you are giving it. You will want the corporate gift basket to please your client, but also to be cost effective and reasonable for you as a company.

In business, you know that personal relationships are important. So, then, it would stand to reason that gifts should not be cold, mass mailed, generic items. They should be personalized and custom made for the client. A corporate gift basket should be the same way, and it s good choice because of the way a basket lends itself to customization. Even if it as simple as having an engraving on one of the items in the corporate gift basket , it is personalized and may go a long way in terms of appreciation.

One difficult decision when it comes to corporate gift baskets is what to put in them. You should know each customer to which you are sending a basket, so start planning ahead of time. If you look online, there are many corporate gift basket suppliers that can help you. Most of these suppliers understand the need for personalization of the baskets and will be able to help you out. It may be best to go with a corporate gift basket for each customer that is roughly the same, but with one personalized item for each. If you do decide to go that route, and then make sure your personalized item is placed strategically at the top of the basket in a prominent spot. That will ensure that the customer sees it right away and notes that you thought of him or her as an individual person.

The items you put in a corporate gift basket for the holidays are limited only by your imagination and budget. Engraveable gifts are a great idea for personalized gifts and can range from cigar cutters to golf flasks. If you have ideas for non-engraveable items you can always add a wooden plate to something like a humidor or a pen case. The more imaginative and original the corporate gift basket you send out, the more effective and appreciated it is likely to be.

Business relationships are important, so you want to reinforce them as often as possible. The holidays afford you a perfect opportunity to show your customers your appreciation for them, while strengthening that relationship in the process. A great way to do that is with a customized, original corporate gift basket. Be imaginative and consult with companies who specialize in such holiday business gifts to ensure that you show appreciation and help your business in one gift.

If you would like more updated information on my giftbasket resources, or read more articles like the one you just read, please feel free to visit my amazing giftbaskets blog

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Company Hijacking

Writen by Phil Smith

Every company registered at companies house in the UK is now facing a new threat to their business in the form of 'Company Hi-Jacking'. This is when a company's identity is stolen by fraudsters. These criminals simply submit a forged form to Companies House, changing a company's registered address to a new location.

Using the selected company's name and the new address, they are then able to carry out fraudulent activities, obtaining credit to purchase goods and services. This form of fraud is estimated to cost £50 million a year to industry.

As company hi-jacking is on the increase, the Metropolitan Police Service and companies house are urgently advising companies to take simple preventative measures to minimise their company's identity from being hi-jacked, including:

1. IMMEDIATELY check your company's registered details are correct and that they have not been fraudulently changed - Search for FREE now at creditgate.com.

2. IMMEDIATELY subscribe to an online monitoring service that will alert you by email if any changes are made to your company's details at companies house in the future - Subscribe for this FREE service now at www.creditgate.com.

3. IMMEDIATELY start using a Credit Reference Agency to satisfy yourself that each new customer is legitimate, as well as credit worthy - http://www.creditgate.com provide a full range of Credit Reports and Companies House documents, which are available instantly online.

For more information or assistance visit us at: http://www.creditgate.com Email us at: support@creditgate.com

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5 Powerful Tips For Getting The Help You Need Online

Writen by Tony Mase

In his book "How to Get What You Want", Wallace D. Wattles, best known for his classic masterpiece "The Science of Getting Rich", talks about the importance of "making constructive use of the people and things in your environment" in getting what you want.

One way you make constructive use of the people and things in your environment is to get the help you need, when you need it.

If you spend any amount of time on the Internet, you'll occasionally need someone's help...

It might be help with an online purchase, technical support for a product, or some other kind of help.

Regardless of the kind of help you need...

The manner in which you ask for that help will determine the quality and the quantity of the help you receive now and in the future.

You see...

There are two ways you can ask for help online...

One is "constructive"...

The other is "destructive".

When you ask for help in a constructive manner, you'll get the help you need, when you need it, and you'll "build" a relationship that'll keep the door open for future help.

On the other hand...

When you ask for help in a destructive manner, although you might get the help you need this time, you'll "destroy" any chance of a relationship and close the door to future help.

Based on the thousands of questions and support requests I've received and answered online, here are five powerful tips that'll help you get the help you need, when you need it, and get it in a way that'll leave the door wide open for future help:

Tip #1 - Don't lead with your chin.

Leading with your chin is a great way to get knocked on your...

Well...

You fill in the blank. :-)

The single most important thing you need to remember when you're asking for help online, whether you're asking by email or by filling out an online form, regardless of how angry or frustrated you might be, is that there's a real "live" person on the other end...

A person who has "feelings" just like you do!

Including phrases in your first request for help like...

"Are you going to help me right now, right this minute, or are you going to give me my money back?"...

Or...

"I'm starting to think this is a scam!"...

Or...

"If I don't hear back from you in one hour, I'm going to call my lawyer!"...

Might make you feel good, but they'll virtually guarantee whatever help you do get right now will be minimal, at best, and your chances of getting anything other than minimal help from that person again in the future will be somewhere between slim and none.

Tip #2 - Be polite.

For some strange reason, one I've yet to figure out, many people seem to think the rules of simple, common courtesy don't apply online...

Don't you be one of them!

A request for help written in a polite tone, using "please" and "thank you", will, more often than not, get you a prompt and courteous reply.

Tip #3 - DON'T SHOUT!!!

Whether you know it or not, typing your request for help in all capital letters is the online equivalent of shouting in the face of the person who receives it...

And...

The liberal use of multiple exclamation marks makes your shouting even louder and more emphatic!

Question for you...

Do you like it when someone shouts in your face?

Guess what?

Neither does anyone else! :-)

Tip #4 - Keep your request short and to the point.

Most people doing business online don't have the time to read long, drawn out messages trying to figure out what you need, nor do they have the time to keep writing you back over and over again trying to clarify what you need.

When you ask for help online, *always* include your name, contact information, order information, specific dates, specific details, and a clear, concise description of the help or information you need.

Avoid including any information that doesn't directly contribute to helping the person you're asking for help to give you the exact help you need.

Tip #5 - Say thank you.

After you've received the help you've asked for, a simple "thank you!" or "thanks, I appreciate your help!" will go a long way towards insuring the door will be wide open the next time you need that person's help again.

Once again...

The single most important thing you need to remember when you're asking for help online is that there's a real "live" person on the other end.

Treat that person as you'd like to be treated and you'll find as I have that, more often than not, you'll get all the help you need, when you need it, and that person's door will always be open to you should you need their help again.

Copyright 2006 Tony Mase

Tony Mase is a serious student of the works of Wallace D. Wattles and the publisher of the "A Powerful Life: The Lost Writings of Wallace D. Wattles" ebook by Wallace D. Wattles... http://www.wallacedwattles.com

medical health hospital

Get Back To What You Love And Increase Your Bottom Line With These Time Savers

Writen by Clate Mask

It's the same old story. You don't spend as much time together as you used to. You're trying to get that "loving feeling" back, but, as usual, you've got too much on your plate. There are leads to follow, faxes to send and business trips to plan. It doesn't leave room for much else.

Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way. You can fall in love all over again – with your business. And doing that means that you'll be able to spend more time at what you're really good at – which means you'll also be making more money! And isn't that the whole point? But in order to do that, you're going to need to free up some time.

Here are a few tricks:

· Put systems in place to save you time. Even looking for passwords or addresses can eat up valuable hours. A system can be as simple as getting into the habit of always sending new customers a thank you note. To be certain the system will work, make sure you get in the habit of inputting new customers in your marketing database so your customer relationship (CRM) software program can remind you when to follow up next. You can also have your CRM program remind you to send incentives or thank yous for referrals.

· Don't try to do it all. You went into business because you had a dream. So why are you still your own secretary? Thanks to cyberspace, a virtual assistant can help you clear your plate. Working from remote locations, virtual assistants provide small businesses and entrepreneurs secretarial support and office management. Unlike on-site employees, they take up no space, will work on a retainer and can do as little or as much as much as you need, from project planning to event and meeting coordination.

· Let software work harder so you don't have to. You know that in order to keep the customers coming, you have be rock-solid in following those leads. So once you get those phone numbers organized, a good CRM program will remind you when you need to follow-up with customers. An even better one will send your emails and faxes according to prompts, leaving you more time to do what you love. When shopping for a CRM program, stick to companies that offer web-based software. According to the author of The CRM Handbook, Jill Dyche, web-based CRM software is more flexible, accessible and secure than PC-bound software, saving you not only time, but headaches and needless worry.

Getting back to basics and making a few changes allows you to spend more time increasing your bottom line and as a bonus, you might just get back that "loving feeling"!

Clate Mask is president of Infusion Software which produces ManagePro CRM -- a Web-based customer relationship software package that helps entrepreneurs and small business owners double or triple their sales by automating and improving their marketing, sales and client management. For more information or to take a test drive, please visit http://ManageProCRM.com/go/see

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The Important Function Of Shredders

Writen by Peter Emerson

Information and identity theft are two growing concerns in the world today. Paper shredders and file shredders can prevent the terrible losses that can occur when valuable information pertaining to a person or a business is stolen. Shredders destroy sensitive documents that contain private information that could cause trouble if obtained by the wrong people. Some of the sensitive information often found on paper items includes birth dates, social security numbers, bank account numbers, and business plans or other finance-related items.

Identity theft can have dire consequences. If a thief obtains someone's social security number and birth date, he or she can then find out all kinds of financial information about the person and can use the person's bank account. If this happens, the thief can spend all of the victim's money, and the victim may or may not have a way of recovering the money. Identity thieves can ruin their victim's credit by using the stolen credit cards to run up huge debts.

Corporate espionage is another serious problem involving information theft. More often than one might believe, employees steal secret business documents and sell them to competing companies. If thieves steal a business' financial information, like credit card numbers and bank account numbers, they can spend all of the company's money and possibly never get caught. It is vital to protect personal and professional information from would-be thieves by destroying documents and computer files that contain the information.

Paper shredders work by cutting sheets of paper into many very small pieces, making it difficult for thieves or corporate spies to reassemble the documents and gain private information. Some shredders cut the paper vertically into ribbons, while others cut the paper in a cross cutting motion, making it much harder to reassemble the page. These paper shredders have a number of features and many can provide maximum security.

File shredders permanently erase files from a computer. Most people think that emptying the computer's recycling bin erases any files or programs that were in it, but the truth is that these files can be easily accessed using basic retrieval software. File shredding software ensures that sensitive files containing private information can't be accessed.

Not all types of shredders are used to protect business or personal information. Chip shredders are heavy-duty tools used to break wood, leaves, and other materials down. Once the materials are shredded, they can be used to make mulch or compost.

Shredders are valuable tools in a number of situations. Paper and file shredders provide protection against information theft and chip shredders are valuable landscaping tools.

Shredders Info provides detailed information about paper, file, and chip shredders, and more. Shredders Info is affiliated with Business Plans by Growthink.

medical health hospital

Massive Internet Success The Real Key Even Gurus Dont Know

Writen by Rick Miller

Do you know the secret that allowed 100% of the top Internet Marketers to become successful?

Amazingly though, even if you read all their books, attend their seminars, or even ask them in person, you'll probably never discover the one true secret of their success.

Why?

Because they probably don't even know themselves ...

They're too caught up in marketing techniques. They may be totally unaware of why almost everything they're involved in becomes a success.

Would you like to know their secret?

Listen closely:

All truly successful people live in alignment with their passions ... they're fulfilling their purpose in life. They're living their own dreams.

The famous theologian William Barclay once said, "There are two great days in a person's life--the day we are born and the day we discover why."

Most people, regardless of religion or lack of religion, instinctively feel that there's a higher purpose to life ... and that if they could determine their mission in life, they'd be much more happy and satisfied.

Once you start to follow your passions and mission in life, the Universe (God or Nature, depending on what you believe) seems to start helping you achieve your goals, often by presenting startling opportunities for you ...

In a recent interview with Janet Attwood, she revealed a remarkable tool that'll help you quickly determine your purpose in life--The Passion Test.

(Note: To access Janet Attwood's complete audio interview for fre^e, see end of article)

The simple test, a series of probing questions that you ask yourself, will quickly help you identify your top passions, what's really important in your life.

According to Attwood, "The number-one reason people don't get what they want is--is they don't know what they want."

Once you discover your passions and align your life with them, success comes quickly and automatically.

What's more startling, she found that every single highly successful person who's taken the test (Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield, T. Harv Eker, Dan Poynter, to name a few) already are accomplishing their top passions.

Undoubtedly knowing your passions speeds up the path to success.

Most importantly, she also revealed ways to help you realign your life to help you follow those passions.

The one key ingredient in reaching any goal or accomplishment is that you must totally love and enjoy whatever you are wanting to appear in your life.

It has to be your dream, not someone else's.

Do you really want a million dollars or would you rather have someone to love and be loved back?

Do you want that mansion or would you rather travel and not be tied down to any geographical location?

Only you can decide ...

After taking the Passion Test, I was profoundly changed in the way I view my life.

For me, I discovered that my number one passion is gaining dynamic health, my number two passion is improving myself, and three is mastering the guitar.

I realize now that I've put those desires on the back burner while I worked totally on survival goals (you know, making money and dealing with life's obstacles).

With that in mind, it's clear to me that I've missed out on a lot of joys that accomplishments in those areas would have brought me.

So I have a lot of work ahead of me to bring my life back into alignment with my most important passions ...

Maybe it's time I do something with the domain name that I've owned for several years (and done nothing with) that's focused on health and self-improvement.

What about you? You owe it to yourself to discover your passions. It'll help you in all areas of your life and in your Internet business.

Rick Miller is a Certified Master of Web Copywriting and co-founder of List Crusade. For fre^e access to the entire interview with Janet Attwood, along with 51 other audio lessons from top Internet Marketing and Self Help Gurus--go to: http://www.scientificinternetmarketing.com/attwood2 © 2004 Rick Miller. All rights reserved. Feel fre^e to reprint or forward this in its entirety to anyone you wish.

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Size Does Matter When It Comes To Shipping

Writen by Paul Buisson

How much does it cost you to ship the empty space in your boxes? Do you know the difference between dimensional weight and oversize fees that FedEx, UPS and DHL charge their customers? At what point is it less expensive to use a freight carrier instead of FedEx, UPS or DHL? Most importantly, do you know how to save money on your shipping expense by making good packaging decisions? The answers to these questions and more make up the body of this article.

Oversize charges only apply to ground shipments and dimensional weight adjustments only apply to air shipments. Let's say you are shipping a 20 pound, 30 x 30 x 30 inch box from New Orleans to Los Angeles via UPS ground. Your cost would be $114.75. If the same box weighed 90 pounds your cost would still be $114.75. If you shipped two 10 pound boxes each 15 x 15 x 15 inches via UPS ground your cost would be $46.34. Shipping the two smaller boxes instead of one large box would save you $68.41.

Use this formula to calculate ground oversize charges:

Length + 2 x Width + 2 x Height = Oversize Charge

83 inches or less = no oversize charge
84 – 107 inches = Oversize 1, a minimum charge of 30 pounds
108 – 129 inches = Oversize 2, a minimum charge of 70 pounds
130 – 165 inches = Oversize 3. a minimum charge of 90 pounds plus a penalty
166 or more inches can not be shipped via ground service.

Let's look at a 30 x 30 x 30 inch box, 20 pounds being shipped via FedEx, 10:30 AM next day delivery from New Orleans to Los Angeles. Your cost would be $516.35. Shipping two 10 pounds boxes of 15 x 15 x 15 inches via FedEx next day 10:30 AM would cost you $81.84. Your savings for using the two smaller boxes would be $434.51.

The formula for calculating dimensional weight or domestic air shipments is:
Length x Width x Height divided by 194 = DIM weight

The formula for calculating dimensional weight for international air shipments is:
Length x Width x Height divided by 166 = DIM weight

Lots of money can be saved by using smaller boxes instead of larger boxes for lighter weight shipments. Another way to save on air shipments that weigh over fifty pounds is to use air cargo service. For domestic air cargo shipments of 50 – 1000 pounds per pallet/box ,with low dimensional weight, can be up to 60% less than a trucking quote. Transit time is usually three days. Savings can be greater if the freight is picked-up on a Friday. If the class is over 250 the savings are better still. For international shipments air cargo can be less than FedEx, UPS and DHL if the weight is over 40 pounds. The destination country will determine at what weight/dimensions there is a cost savings. Verify that all customs fees, fuel and documentation cost are included in the quote. Compare your freight quotes against FedEx, UPS and DHL. If you are willing to have a pick-up on a Friday then put that information on your quote request. Indicate that you want an LTL and a deferred air quote.

There are ways to cut the cost of oversize three ground shipments almost in half while saving 20% - 45% on air charges. Other fees like the $7.00 - $16.00 weekly pick-up can also be eliminated if you know where to get your shipping services.

Paul Buisson has been helping small businesses save on their shipping expense for over three years. He specializes in helping start-up businesses and businesses that don't know anything about shipping. He can be contacted at 985-727-2992.

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Breaking The Ethical Barriers

Writen by Rose Albatt

As innocent as a Child

When search engines thronged the web initially, it appeared to be a boon. An instant solution to your query, an all answered wonder box. But then like the innocent child who grew up to be a villain, search engine operations found an easy way round to shape their duties. The magic box no longer remains the innocent guide on your voyage to find out the solutions. There were more that they could afford to do. And why not when that meant hella lot of money? So that's how Google started and has progressed to be an all inclusive, brilliant player unmatched even for the most tech savvy netizens.

So what could a fraud probably mean? A step ahead in the world of riches? That's not insensible, but the way you trot could prove to be much offensive for the rest. The accusations against Google are plenty: That it makes money when a click fraud occurs, that it helps correct very little of these frauds, that a manipulated content could spoil the search of a genuine seeker yet none tries to correct and so on. When that appeared as the outline of the trouble, it was found that what happens inside the huge corporate is more enigmatic than the visible facts outside. It seems that sections of the population, working for Google are tamed and famed in small peer groups with just their boss to be reported to and having little care for the outside world.

Resurrection into a beast

From then on what the close observers of this search engine saw was a move from the vain attempts to making a few bucks to broader and better attempts at the same. Here is where the trouble starts. Is Google biased in any way? The conservatives say that they feel that Google operations are biased to the Left. Some say that it could indeed be possible that Goggle has become the carrier of information to the concerned government authorities. A serious hypocrisy indeed!

A revelation in this case is Google's operation in China where a Google.cn search for any hot topic in politics would land you with a pro Chinese government result. There wouldn't be information on Tiananmen where the citizens are justified. Such a 'Government Censored' version of the search engine is justified by Google which says that "this indeed has been done as a trade off for greater information to the Chinese". So if that's the way to increase the freedom of information, it seems fine but what if the possibility is considered that Google has turned itself into a spy of the Chinese government? Sounds trouble isn't it? That's for Google to face and that's when a search engine could turn real nasty.

I stumbled across the site http://www.organicspam.com and found something for the webmasters to rely upon; fighting against the supreme monopoly of the search engines.

This article may be freely distributed without modification and provided that the copyright notice and author information remains intact. The opinion expressed in this article is the subjective viewpoint of the author. OrganicSpam.com seeks to portray diverse views and opinions but does not endorse all the views of the authors whose material it publishes.

How do I know these things? Because Google has been open about what they are looking for. These are not theories based on observations; these are things that Google has discussed openly through employees, at conferences, through the tools they offer us. Unfortunately many webmasters simply do not want to listen.

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Remind Your Customers

Writen by Rojo Sunsen

If you don't remind your customers that you are still in business they may forget. Repeat customers are the lifeblood of any business. Below are three effective strategies you can use to remind your customers that you are still in business and get them to buy over and over again.

1. Ask your customers to subscribe to your free publication. It could be a print newsletter, e-zine, newspaper, journal etc. You could send out the publication weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, etc. The articles in the publication should be informative and helpful to your readers. You can increase repeat purchases by including advertisements of new products and services that you offer.

2. Ask customers to sign-up to an e-mail update that tells them when you have made changes to your web site. Whenever you update your web site send them an e-mail to remind them to visit again. If you're using this strategy it's important to update your web site often. Add new content that would be of interest to your customers. You could also add free stuff to your web site like software, online utilities, ebooks etc.

3. Follow-up with your customers. You could follow-up by e-mail, direct mail or by telephone. It's always important to get their permission to follow-up ahead of time. You could contact them and ask them if they were happy with their purchase. Send them online or offline greeting cards on holidays and birthdays. You could also follow-up with a free gift letting them know you appreciate their business. You can get repeat business from them if you include another product offer or back end product with each follow-up.

In conclusion, any of the three strategies above will increase the number of repeat purchases from your current customers. You can increase their effectiveness by combining all of them into your marketing campaign.

About the author: Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.

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Limitations On S Corporations

Writen by Jo Ann Joy

It may be a good decision for small business owners to choose to be treated as an S corporation for Federal tax purposes. This allows income to flow through the corporation without being taxed until it is claimed as income by the shareholders. This avoids double taxation of corporate income. This may be the right decision for your new company, but you should discuss this thoroughly with your accountant before you decide. The following are the limitations on S corporations that you should consider:

1. No more than 100 shareholders.

2. Only one class of stock.

3. Limits on deductibility of debt.

4. If S-Corp has a home office, the tax deduction is only a 2% miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule C, because it is treated for tax purposes as an employee business expense. In a partnership or LLC, a home office is a 100% deductible on Schedule E.

5. The S-Corp cannot reduce wages to avoid employment taxes, because it would directly conflict with its responsibility for its employee's retirement benefits. Retirement plan contributions are based on a percentage of wages, not total S-Corp income.

6. All distributions by an S Corp must be made pro rata based upon stock ownership. An LLC can make disproportionate to members distributions as set forth in the operating agreement.

7. An S-Corp is required to file an extra tax return and more payroll forms, and this costs the company more money. Conversely, the LLC can file its deductions on the Schedule C and designate itself as a "disregarded entity."(Note: a "disregarded entity" is an IRS term for a company that is not an S or a C corporation.

8. If an S-Corp has high value assets and it goes out of business, the S-Corp's assets are sold at FMV to the shareholders, thereby causing shareholders to incur large capital gains. When an LLC closes, the assets are distributed to its members at basis, usually the cost of the assets.

Jo Ann Joy, CEO www.IndigoBusinessSolutions.net Phone (602) 663-7007 The future of your business starts here. For more information about these and other important business topics and for legal consultation, please visit our website at http://IndigoBusinessSolutions.net Copyright 2006. Indigo Business Solutions is a registered trade name. Jo Ann Joy is the CEO and owner of Indigo Business Solutions. She has a law degree and an MBA, and an undergraduate degree in Economics. Her background includes commercial and real estate law, accounting, financial planning, mortgages, marketing, product development, budgeting, sales and banking. She ran a successful business for 10 years, and she has written and given presentations on various business subjects.

medical health hospital

Whats The Best Background Check Company

Writen by Stanley Alpin

A good background check company will facilitate the hiring process for an organization by providing them with accurate and up-to-date details of their candidates. The company should have the resources to retrieve in short time information such as credit records, social security numbers, driving record, criminal records, and educational background.

Background research companies must operate in sync with softwares such as Applicant Tracking Systems and Human Resources Management Systems that their client companies might use. This will help both parties to exchange information quickly and smoothly. Organizations value background research companies that help them in their hiring decisions and aid in minimizing instances of hire-and-fire that result in an additional burden on the company.

Good background check companies will have reliable resources of information such as individual researchers who may be their employees or individual contractors. These individuals gather information on people as per the directions given to them. The companies may also buy the information from resellers who collect data such as employment records. Courthouses are a good source of criminal records. Also, there are several data aggregators who provide access to credit bureaus as well as federal and state information resources. The veracity of the information offered by trustworthy background research companies can always be checked and these companies update their databases continuously.

A good background research company will be in a position to offer its clients quick turnaround time. This is because the longer it takes for information to be made available, greater is the cost involved in the operation and the chances of error. The background research company obtains its information from various sources and the process of obtaining data can be time consuming, especially if traditional means of communication such as letters or faxes. Even if the information is emailed, there are bound to be requests for clarifications from the research company, the back and forth communication will invariably lead to a loss of time. Companies that have an integrated information flow which is standardized and is also implemented by their business partners will provide information fast and will be preferred for a repeat job by client companies.

A good background research company understands the importance of entering into a contractual agreement with its clients with regard to the nature of information to be collected, the contact points in their company, and the time-frame for submitting the information. The background research company must be insured against errors and omissions and should be well-versed with federal and state requirements regarding the procedures to be followed for obtaining information. A good background research company will never violate the rights of a prospect as doing so can compromise the position of its clients.

Stanley Alpin recommends Background Check Guide for more information on the best background check company.

Buying Jewelry For Your Business Part 1 Buying Gold Jewelry

Writen by Sam Serio

Whether you presently own a retail or web based business and are looking for an additional profit center or you are thinking of starting a business, jewelry is a "no-brainer" choice for a proven product category. The buying public, (particularly women) never tires of jewelry as the choices in color, materials, finishes and styles are endless and innovations are continual. Every generation reinvents jewelry for itself in much the same way that it reinvents music and fashion. Styles change but the basic facts remain the same. If you are a seasoned professional, please consider the following a refresher course. To the new comer, use this information as a foundation for your ongoing jewelry education.

The Facts About Gold Jewelry

The word gold, used by itself, means all gold or 24 karat (24K) gold. Because 24K gold is soft, it's usually mixed with other metals to increase its hardness and durability. If a piece of jewelry is not 24 karat gold, the karat quality should accompany any claim that the item is gold.

The karat quality marking tells you what proportion of gold is mixed with the other metals. Fourteen karat (14K) jewelry contains 14 parts of gold, mixed in throughout with 10 parts of base metal. The higher the karat rating, the higher the proportion of gold in the piece of jewelry.

Most jewelry is marked with its karat quality, although marking is not required by law. Near the karat quality mark, you should see the name of the U.S. registered trademark of the company that will stand behind the mark. The trademark may be in the form of a name, symbol or initials. If you don't see a trademark accompanying a quality mark on a piece of jewelry, look for another piece.

Solid gold refers to an item made of any karat gold, if the inside of the item is not hollow. The proportion of gold in the piece of jewelry still is determined by the karat mark.

Jewelry can be plated with gold in a variety of ways. Gold plate refers to items that are either mechanically plated, electroplated, or plated by any other means with gold to a base metal. Eventually, gold plating wears away, but how soon will depend on how often the item is worn and how thick the plating is.

Gold-filled, gold overlay and rolled gold plate are terms used to describe jewelry that has a layer of at least 10 karat gold mechanically bonded to a base metal. If the jewelry is marked with one of these terms, the term or abbreviation should follow the karat quality of the gold used (for example, 14K Gold Overlay or 12K RGP). If the layer of karat gold is less than 1/20th of the total weight of the item, any marking must state the actual percentage of karat gold, such as 1/40 14K Gold Overlay.

Gold electroplate describes jewelry that has a layer (at least .175 microns thick) of a minimum of 10 karat gold deposited on a base metal by an electrolytic process. The terms gold flashed or gold washed describe products that have an extremely thin electroplating of gold (less than .175 microns thick). This will wear away more quickly than gold plate, gold-filled or gold electroplate.

Sam Serio is an Internet Marketer, musician and a writer on the subject of jewelry and gemstones. For more information on jewelry and gemstones, we cordially invite you to visit http://www.morninglightjewelry.com to pick up your FREE copy of "How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off." This concise, informative special report reveals almost everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry and gemstones, but were afraid to ask. Get your FREE report at http://www.morninglightjewelry.com

5 Great Reasons For Starting Your Own Online Business

Writen by Jay Stuart

Convenience

Perhaps one of the primary reasons for choosing to start an online business is the convenience, which underlies this concept. It is not very often that an office will let you come to work in a pair of shorts and t-shirt or show up around 11 a.m. Having an online business and working from home is so convenient as you live where you work and this comes in handy a great deal of the time. Furthermore, if a client wishes to contact you after normal business hours, no problem as you will be in your "office area" for most of the day and night.

Wonderful for Stay At Home Moms (or Stay at Home Dads)

Many individuals these days choose to stay at home with their children; however, many still want to work and make some extra money while being there for their kids. For this reason, starting an online business may be the perfect opportunity for an individual in this situation to be there for the children yet still earn a living.

No Rush Hour Traffic to Contend With

If anyone out there has experienced serious rush hour traffic, then starting an online business might be right up their alley. With an online business, if pursued at home, there is no rush hour traffic to contend with and the individual can use the time that might have been spent sitting on the highway to do something more useful.

Prosperous

As technology advances at a rapid speed, those individuals who start online businesses are in the right field. Online businesses these days tend to be very prosperous and getting involved in this type of business is a way to make some good money.

Little Overhead

If one starts an online business, they will also be met with very little overhead for the most part. As opposed to a business owner that works out of an outside office or store, the online business owner usually works from home and has a home office set up. Since many of the transactions are completed online, there is little need for vast amounts of paper, documents, etc. One usually needs a computer, high-speed Internet connection, printer, fax machine and some other necessities. Online business owners usually do not spend too much on overhead, which is another great reason to consider starting an online business.

Online businesses are the wave of the future and if one is computer-savvy and appreciates the aforementioned positive aspects of running an online business, this might just be something to check into.

About the author: Jay Stuart is the brains behind http://www.OnlineBusinessStartups.com and has been earning a living as an online business and marketing consultant for the past 5 1/2 years. He can be contacted at jayg123@gmail.com.

Risk Assessment In The Workplace Part 3

Writen by David Barnard

Step 4. Record your findings.

If you have less than 5 employees then you do not need to write anything down. Although you will find it useful to keep a written record of what you have done.

If you have five or more employees, then you must put in writing the significant findings of your risk assessment. This means writing down the significant hazards and your conclusions.

Examples might be something like:

Electrical installations: insulation and earthing checked and found OK.

or

Fumes from welding: local exhaust ventilation provided and regularly checked.

You must also tell your employees about your findings.

Suitable and sufficient, not perfect.

Risk assessment must be suitable and sufficient. You need to be able to show that:

a proper check was made,
you asked who might be affected (at risk),
you dealt with all the obvious significant hazards, taking into account the number of people who could be involved,
the precautions are reasonable, and the remaining risk is low.

Keep your written record for reference in the future. It will help you if a Health and Safety Inspector decides to pay you a visit and asks what precautions you have already taken. Or if you become involved in any legal action for civil liability.

It can also act as a reminder for you to keep an eye on any particular hazards and precautions.

You should also make sure that any new employees read the documentation so that they are aware of what is being done.

To make things easier, you could refer to other documents, such as manuals, the arrangements in your health and safety policy statement, company rules and regulations, working instructions, health and safety procedures, and your arrangements for general fire safety.

You may already list these procedures elsewhere. You do not need to repeat all of them, but it is up to you how you wish to present the documents. You could keep them seperately or combine them all into one document.

Step 5. Review your assessment and revise it if necessary.

Sooner or later you are going to bring in new machinery, substances or procedures which may lead to new hazards. If there is any significant change, add this new hazard to your assessment. You do not need to amend your assessment for every trivial change, or for each new job.

But if any change, or new job, brings in significant new hazards, then you should consider them in their own right and do whatever is necessary to keep the risks down.

And finally, it is a good working practice to review your assessment from time to time, to ensure that the precautions are still working effectively.

David Barnard is a personal injury accident investigator. If you would like further information on work related injury, please go to http://www.accident-claimz.co.uk

Promotional Business Gifts

Writen by Kent Pinkerton

The act of making yourself known in a competitive business environment demonstrates the importance of brand recall and brand value. The process of culturing and propagating businesses through selling and buying has now changed to visibility and "top of the mind recall." The changing face of business means companies appease employees, clients and others with promotional business gifts. It is true with businesses working across genres, be it the service industry, manufacturing or a mere NGO. These business gifts have become part and parcel of the process.

Corporate promotional gifts can range from personalized pens, calendars, mugs, caps and fridge magnets to sophisticated company branded software programs that can be placed on the desktop or taskbar of a computer. Promotional business gifts can also serve as an effective promotional tool for a company, as imprinting a company's logo, motto and sales message can play a significant role in the success of the business.

In a very competitive world, companies work hard in getting their brand name in the spotlight. Promotional tools or corporate business gifts can be used to capture the goodwill of the customer with free samples or some simple company gift. Personalized 'tokens of goodwill' are the best way to amass pubic interest.

While choosing a business promotional gift, organizations should keep in mind their customer's needs and should choose gifts that he can use every day. Simple products like mugs, pens or caps are some of the gift items chosen by companies to promote themselves.

The computer desktop has become the perfect spot to place a company's logo, sales message and contact information. The eCalendars are great examples of promotional techniques, which aid the business houses to get maximum brand recall. Promoting the business through the Internet can be cost-effective as well. Keeping in view the section of society toward which the promotional gift is aimed, companies can plan and strategize effectively in getting the maximum out of their gifts.

Business Gifts provides detailed information on Business Gifts, Promotional Business Gifts, Corporate Business Gifts, Business Gift Baskets and more. Business Gifts is affiliated with Personalized Wedding Gifts.

Does Aim Live Up To The Hype

Writen by Katerina Mitrou

If you have done any research on AIM in the past you already know that it is growing quite rapidly. Last year it grew by 500 new companies; an increase compared to the 355 new companies that joined in 2003. Along with the growing number of companies flocking to AIM are eager investors, who are willing to take advantage of investment opportunities in smaller and newer companies rather than put their money into the big ones.

In particular, companies are eager to list on AIM for several reasons. In the first place, new companies see it as an opportunity to grow without all the restrictions and hindrances put in place by the main markets and many international exchanges. For example, if a company cannot provide the required trading record to float on the main market, the only alternative might be AIM. The Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance rules in the U.S. are also a concern for many American companies that want to go public.

Softer regulations and lower costs make AIM an attractive market, especially for smaller companies that have no other way of raising the funds necessary to sustain continued growth. AIM makes it easier for these companies to take that next step. Overseas firms find AIM easier to break into than other markets as well.

Of course, if you list on AIM, many investors will be attracted to investing in your company because of the potential to rein in huge profits if your stock grows at a rapid rate. Private investors can get in at the beginning and benefit from the growth that may follow. Larger companies don't have the tendency to grow in leaps and bounds as their younger counterparts do.

But is this market too risky for some investors, and as such, not quite as enticing for companies as it might seem at first glance? This really depends on what your company's needs are and what you're looking to gain from the market. Although the UK is actively seeking to attract more companies from the U.S., there are worries among American companies that AIM might not be worth the risk.

In addition, more and more foreign companies (that follow different reporting and corporate governance standards) and lower-quality UK-based firms are joining AIM, and some analysts worry that overall, the shares are overpriced. And rumors are flying that IHT relief on AIM shares might be scrapped in the near future, which would cause investors to start a massive sell-off.

Of course, only time will tell whether or not the potential problems surrounding AIM are temporary or deep-seated. There are both risks and benefits to listing on AIM, so in the end, the decision your company makes rests on factors specific to your particular situation.

This article was sponsored by http://www.firstamericanstock.com and written by Katerina Mitrou. First American Stock Transfer, Inc. is registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission as a Registrar and Transfer Agent. Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must include a link back to http://www.firstamericanstock.com