Meet the Info Crowd

After months of scouring the internet, I could not put my hands on the 2 million links various search engines said were available to do my book promotions. First, let me say I perceive myself as an intermediate user of the internet, but maybe my perception was misguided as I searched and realized I couldn’t put my pointer on the links I wanted.

The promotion of my book began with submitting a press release (PR) to one of the major PR services on the internet. They tracked how many click throughs received, and I began to think, if so many eyes are looking at the PR on this site and web crawlers (whatever those are?) are picking up the PR for other sites; what would limit me from submitting as many PRs as possible? This was not the only site that provided this wonderful FREE service and the more places I had the PR, the greater my chances of being picked up by “big” media.

My imagination began to go wild, conjuring up that lone journalist who was itching to break the story on the next bestseller. You chuckle! With this PR service, I placed the needle in the haystack but I could improve my chances if many needles were placed. A technique I learned from my days of online sweeping. What is that you ask? If allowed, the more you entered a particular sweepstakes the better your chances of winning as was one man’s story where he would send out literally thousands of entries and had won valuable prizes. My odds with sweeping were not that stellar but I do have a few trinkets to show for limited efforts. Hopefully, with my quadrupled book promotion efforts I could have stellar resultsdreaming again. Tip 1: There are auto-fill internet form software available and some even designate a few empty fields for your own personal use. A lifesaver when you have to input the PR summary line more than a few times. Tip 2: Don’t input your social security number and credit card information because I have read of mistakes made because of the ease of auto-fill.

Okay, I have deviated.

So I proceed to use my internet service provider and searched for “submit press release” and was in heaven when it responded with 2 million sites to upload my PR. I would spend hours determining which sites were free; which maybe more receptive; and which needed me to tweak the PR. Then just as quickly, my dream was shattered. I couldn’t go any further than 250 links, Why can’t I see or go to the other sites? I contacted my internet service provider to complain and they “allegedly” helped me to fix the browser. That didn’t work, so I moved on to the next major internet service provider, and again was limited to how many links I could access.

This time, I levied a stiff complaint about the violation of the freedom of information act, which I think only pertains to government (real smart). Why am I not allowed to access all 2 million-search results containing “submit press release”? It is only right that we have access to all the information on the internet, and not limited by how much or what we can see. Worst of all, we aren’t able to refresh the search and to be presented with other links we have not viewed.

I assume, businesses with an internet presence would perceive themselves as having access to the world, where millions are able to view their products and or services, and as a result, their livelihoods would be bettermeeting of the minds was just not taking place. And in this world of legalese, SPAM laws limit those who are promoting on meager budgets, and the few legal options we have of putting our product in the market place via the internet; where websites are actually telling us to submit information, our browsers (or internet service providers) are denying us access.

I continued checking the top search engines and kept encountering the same problems. What was most irritating about the search, besides the same links coming up, a few sites would fill several pages of the results with multiple categories. Do these websites have a monopoly on my already limited internet search? It was infuriating, the process was tedious, and now I was livid. Convinced my internet was broken, I was on a mission to fix it. I had another great idea, it was my browser (whatever that is?) that needed fixing and found a website that offered free software to do the job. I was nervous; I could be opening up myself to a can of worms, my husband would kill me for infecting HIS system. With all the scare of viruses and spy ware, I decided to only download what I thought were reputable software and ended up back at the number one software company. Based on their computer evaluation I already had the most updated browser. I was relieved, 1) I didn’t have to download anything, and 2) the browser was working.

What was the fix?

I continued my search efforts, going down the list of internet service providers. Alas! I think it’s working, I was flipping through pages, upon pages of links, so far I am at the 900th link to submit my PR, hoping my success continues. Though the search results were still littered by a few sites, at least, I was able to bypass them to go to obscure sites to submit the news about my book. The press release may have a huge appeal to that lone journalist working at “big” media, or maybe just one buyer willing to pay a few bucks for a great book. In this day and age, with the proliferation of information, I am happy to have any appeal at all.

Caren A. Adams, freelance writer and author of “Life 101 For the Young and Young at Heart!” ISBN 1-59457-835-4, $13.99 ($7.99 e-book) at bookstores, http://www.booksurge.com and http://www.amazon.com Freely give and freely you shall receive!

http://www.booksurge.com/product.php3?bookID=GPUB00869-00001

Answer: Become a low risk investment!

Sounds simple, well it is. First, know who your investors are. If you are looking for a small business loan you are most likely going to approach a bank. A bank will look at you and your business and ask, “is this a good investment for us to loan them money”. Then they look at their criteria of determining risk and make a decision to move forward with approving your loan request or not.

So again, knowing what the bank is looking for is key. Every bank has their unique system for determining a loan approval. In most instances you need a good personal credit score, at least two years in business and a business credit profile. You lower your risk as an investment for the bank the longer you are in business, the higher your personal credit score is and the more positive information you have on your business credit report.

When applying for credit you will find some banks accept a lower personal credit score then others. The banks have a choice of three Credit Bureaus to purchase your credit report from. Each Credit Bureau will have a different formula to determine your credit score, so you actually have three different personal credit scores.

We recently had a client receive a $50,000 unsecured business line of credit after applying on their own at two banks and not receiving an approval. We were able to help this client because her personal credit score with Equifax was a 633, while at Experian she had a 685. The banks she went to bought the Equifax report and we sent her to a bank that purchased her Experian report. Having the knowledge of your credit scores from each bureau will help you decide if you can apply for a business line of credit or not.

David Gass is President of Business Credit Services, Inc. His company publishes a weekly e-newsletter on Small Business Consulting at their web site www.smallbusinessconsulting.com You can sign up for their free newsletter by visiting www.smallbusinessconsulting.com

After years of experience in the real estate industry I felt that God wanted me to write about everything in real estate. There were young people that were not being protected by anyone, including buyer’s agents. Once I did a VA appraisal on a house that was unbelievable in the amount of repairs. It was listed by one of the most dishonest agents I have ever met. We had words on numerous ocassions. When the appraisal was completed it was “subject to repairs” and it was a big list. I was at the house when the buyer showed up, then came his agent. They wanted to know if everything was alright. I told them a lot of repairs would have to be done to meet VA minimum property standards. The agent called his partner who quickly showed up with the crooked selling agent on the cell phone. Not only the listing agent but the “buyer’s agents argued with me. They wanted me to let it go so the young man could just get the house. He was about 23 years old, had just gotten out of the navy and was going to college.

A buyer’s agent is supposed to act in the best interest of their client. The seller’s agent is supposed to represent the seller but also act fairly, honestly and ethically with all parties.

I was writing up the report at the car when the young man approached me. He said the selling agent had agreed to do the repairs after closing if the purchaser would request a waiver of repairs. He kind of hunkered down a bit and said, “I don’t know what to do, no one is helping me”. I said, “trust me, don’t agree to anything, I know this agent and he won’t do anything”.

I was called out to that house approximately six times before the repairs were completed, which was typical for this agent. One time there was a very old man doing some heavy work. He kept stopping to catch his breath. I thought, boy this agent sure is a real piece of work. He cost the owner $450.00 in reinspections on top of the cost of repairs. At least the house was suitable by the time the young fellow went to closing. I hope all worked out well for him and that he learned a very valuable lesson for future dealings. I always try to do the right thing and have made some people angry in the process but the responsibility is there and I won’t cater to wrong doing just to quickly close another deal and another door on a victim.

A friend of mine sent the following email to me today. The subject was “Do you have time for God”. Please read it, parctice it and share it. Suzie

This is from Bill, A.K.A Please read this to the end, I think it will lift both your and my spirits.

Read only if you have time for God.

Let me tell you, make sure you read all the way to the bottom. I almost deleted this email but I was blessed when I got to the end.

God, when I received this e-mail, I thought…

I don’t have time for this… And, this is really inappropriate during work.

Then, I realized that this kind of thinking is… Exactly, what has caused a lot of the problems in our world today.

We try to keep God in church on Sunday morning…

Maybe, Sunday night…

And, the unlikely event of a midweek service.

We do like to have Him around during sickness…

And, of course, at funerals.

However, we don’t have time, or room, for Him during work or play…

Because.. That’s the part of our lives we think… we can, and should, handle on our own.

May God forgive me for ever thinking..

that.. there is a time or place where..

HE is not to be FIRST in my life.

We should always have time to remember all HE has done for us.

If, You aren’t ashamed to do this…

Please follow the directions.

Jesus said, “If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father.”

Not ashamed?

Pass this on ONLY IF YOU MEAN IT!!!!

Yes, I do Love God.

HE is my source of existence and Savior.

He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I will be nothing. But, with Christ, HE strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)

This is the simplest test

If You Love God… And, are not ashamed of all the marvelous things HE has done for you…

Send this to ten people and the person who sent it to you!

I don’t think I know 10 people who would admit they love Jesus. Do You love Him?

THE POEM

I knelt to pray but not for long, I had too much to do. I had to hurry and get to work for bills would soon be due. So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,

And jumped up off my knees.

My Christian duty was now done my soul could rest at ease.

All day long I had no time to spread a word of cheer. No time to speak of Christ to friends,

They’d laugh at me I’d fear.

No time, no time, too much to do, that was my constant cry, no time to give to souls in need but at last the time, the time to die.

I went before the Lord, I came, I stood with downcast eyes. For in his hands God held a book; it was the book of life.

God looked into his book and said “Your name I cannot find. I once was going to write it down…

But never found the time”

Now do you have the time to pass it on?

Make sure that you scroll through to the end.

Easy vs. Hard

Why is it so hard to tell the truth but yet so easy to tell a lie?

Why are we so sleepy in church but right when the sermon is over we suddenly wake up?

Why is it so hard to talk about God but yet so easy to talk about nasty stuff?

Why is it so boring to look at a Christian magazine, but yet so easy to look at a nasty one?

Why is it so easy to delete a Godly e- ma il, but yet we forward all of the nasty ones?

Why are the churches getting smaller but yet the bars and dance clubs are getting larger?

Do you give up? Think about it . Are you going to forward this, or delete it?

Just remember-God is watching you. Prayer Wheel-Let’s see the devil stop this one!

Here’s what the wheel is all about. When you receive this, say a prayer for the person that sent it to you….

That’s all you have to do…

There is nothing attached…..

This is so powerful….

Do not stop the wheel, please….

Of all the free gifts we may receive, prayer is the very best one….

There are no costs, but wonderful rewards… GOD BLESS!

May God keep you and bless you. If this doesn’t give you chills, nothing will…this message is very true. Hope you are all as blessed as I was from this story. I wonder how many people will delete this without reading it because of the title on it?

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak…”I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, “What you got there, son?” “Just some old birds,” came the reply.

“What are you gonna do with them?” I asked.

“Take ‘em home and have fun with ‘em,” he answered. “I’m gonna tease ‘em and pull out their feathers to make ‘em fight. I’m gonna have a real good time.”

“But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do?”

“Oh, I got some cats,” said the little boy. “They like birds. I’ll take ‘em to them.”

The pastor was silent for a moment. “How much do you want for those birds, son?”

“Huh?? !!! Why, you don’t want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing. They ain’t even pretty!”

“How much?” the pastor asked again.

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, “$10?”

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.

The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. “Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got ‘em all!”

“What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked.

Satan replied, “Oh, I’m gonna have fun! I’m gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I’m gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I’m really gonna have fun!”

“And what will you do when you get done with them?” Jesus asked.

“Oh, I’ll kill ‘em,” Satan glared proudly. “How much do you want for them?” Jesus asked

“Oh, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why, you’ll take them and they’ll just hate you. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don’t want those people!!”

“How much?” He asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, “All your blood, tears and your life.”

Jesus said, “DONE!”

Then He paid the price.

The pastor picked up the cage he opened the door and he walked from the pulpit.

Notes: Isn’t it funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell.

Isn’t it funny how someone can say “I believe in God” but still follow Satan (who, by the way, also “believes” in God).

Isn’t it funny how you can send a thousand jokes through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing?

Isn’t it funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them.

Isn’t it funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.

I pray, for everyone who sends this to their entire address book, they will be blessed by God in a way special for them.

And send it back to the person who sent it, to let them know indeed it was sent out to many more.

Have a good day, and may GOD bless and keep you.

Bill

Suzie is a licensed real estate broker, a certified residential appraiser and an expert author with over twenty years of experience. Other professionals in the field have contributed as well.
http://www.freewebs.com/realestatenews

Training diets come in dozens of shapes and sizes. It will just make you crazy! Trying to figure out what to eat and what not to eat. Especially when you start doing some serious training and you are HUNGRY when you get home. Well the good news is that I’ve tried pretty well all of the major diets over the years(and some not so major)and can cut out much of the guesswork for you. And no, I don’t have a degree in nutrition. I earned my credentials in the kitchen and at the dinner table. MMMMM–In the early years most of us Ironman beginners had no clue about diets. Most of us used the world famous, much loved seafood diet. You see food and you eat it.

Seriously though, after a few years it started to dawn on me how important diet was when training for an event as physically demanding as the Ironman. I think I can honestly say that I took something good out of every diet I ever tried. Well almost. There’s one certain diet that encourages you to eat about 4 eggs and half a pound of bacon for breakfast. Oh, and “would you like some lowfat milk in your coffee?” Not on this diet. PILE ON THE WHIPPING CREAM! I won’t be talking about anything on this website unless I’ve tried it. Well, I tried this diet for 4 months just to see……..After the 4 months I entered a 10km race and shortly after the gun went off(oh, about 5-6 seconds)I knew I was in trouble. I had zero energy and of the over 100– 10km races I have entered over the years this was my worst time(by far). Don’t whatever you do—NO, NO, NO…..Don’t go on a high protein, high fat, low carb diet! It may work for a segment of the population, but is certainly not meant for athletes.

From all the reading I’ve done, and all the diets I’ve tried I’m 100% certain that carbohydrates are the key to the ideal Ironman Triathlon diet. I’m not talking simple carbs here. Really try and avoid sugar…stay away from those cakes and cookies–that ice cream and chocolate. For the year or so you dedicate to accomplishing your Ironman dream, stay focused on your diet. Trust me, it will be all that much more fun to indulge when its all over.

If anything, I went overboard on the carbohydrate scale. It was a major part of my diet. It isn’t for everyone. Just make sure that on a percentage basis that your carbohydrates are always higher then your protein and fat intake. Try and keep your protein and fat at about the same percentages. Some of the best carbohydrate sources are pasta, brown rice, whole wheat bread, pretty well all vegetables and a controlled amount of fruit because they have lots of sugar. I found I was making one major mistake though. I always used white pasta and ate tons of potatoes because I knew they were one of the purest forms of carbohydrate. Much to my surprise a few years ago my doctor said my bad cholesterol was too high. After talking about my diet we narrowed it down to too much high-glycemic carbohydrates. The white pasta I ate every day and all the potatoes. So now I ALWAYS use whole wheat pasta and I cut out potatoes and substitute with sweet potatoes. Problem solved. At a later date I will try and find a complete diet for you that works wel

For protein you have several preferable choices. Egg whites are awesome. Give the yolks to your neighbor who is on that OTHER diet. Or have scambled eggs with 3 egg whites and one entire egg. Limit yourself to 3 0r 4 whole eggs per week. From the Dairy aisle your best bets are lowfat cottage cheese, plain yogurt(no, no, not those fruity ones)and skim milk. From the meat aisle(if you eat meat)chicken and turkey white meat(yes, and take that skin off-that’s where most of the fat is stored), and a small amount of lean beef maybe once, but not more than twice a week. Fish of course is just a great choice. There is nothing wrong with canned tuna or salmon. Don’t foget about legumes, and also soya products are a staple now of many Iroman Triathletes.

The fat part of your diet will often be found in the protein you eat. There will be fat in the cottage cheese and the chicken or turkey or beef you might eat. There will be fat in the 3 or 4 whole eggs you eat every week if you choose to. There will be a small amount of fat in the skim milk. Fish will also provide some fat, and I know its expensive, but salmon is awesome for protein and fat(Omega oil). The oil I prefer and have used for years is vigin olive oil. A second less expensive option is canola oil. Try having vinegar and olive oil tossed in your salad and top it with cottage cheese.

Some notes:condiments(ketchup, mustard, mayonaise, salad dressings etc)should be used sparingly. Cheddar cheese is fine, but try and stick to 6-8 ounces per week. Your best cheeses are hard cheeses. Number one choice is parmesean(grated)for your pasta. Don’t use jam..too much sugar..I just really, really like peanut butter and it is o.k. in controlled amounts if you buy the real thing that has a half inch of oil on the top and is a pain to mix(but hey! that means its the right one). DON’T use the peanut butter that has icing sugar mixed in it and no oil on the top. They add the icing sugar so they can make it smooth for you and you don’t have to mix it at home.

As far as your beverage choices, use skim milk as I mentioned above. Don’t be afraid of aspartame. It is a far better choice than sugar and allows you to use sweetners in your coffee etc. So that means you can drink diet pop on occasion(with aspartame)Another really good choice is crystal lite(they use aspartame) if you prefer a sweeter option to water(like I do). And whoever said drink 6 0r 8 glasses of water a day, has got to be kidding. I would have to GAG down that much water every day. I’ve discovered that what you eat really goes a long way to determining how thirsty you are and how much water you drink. I believe if you eat an extraordinary amount of carbohydrates like I do, you require less water. Don’t forget, fresh vegetables for instance are up around 75-80% water. And I have a huge salad every day. Beer or wine is o.k. in extreme moderation. Maybe three drinks a week and drink light beer. Getting drunk is not an option when you are on an Ironman Triathlon training Diet. It causes dehydration and will pretty well ruin your next few days training.

A FEW IMPORTANT NOTES: Don’t get me wrong. When you are out on long rides and runs 2 hours duration and more, be very sure you have lots of water or some type of fluid replacement. Don’t go nuts on drinking water while training however. More and more information is coming out about athletes taking too much water and flushing out too many nutrients and causing physical problems as a result.

Also: As far as the amount you eat. WELL!! You are training for an Ironman Triathlon here! When I mention diet, I’m not talking the amounts you eat. I’m talking about the food you choose to eat. Trust me. One day if you go for a training swim followed closely by a 50 or 60 mile bike ride, you are going to be hungry. Don’t worry yourself about HOW MUCH you eat. When you are really training, your body will tell you how much you need to eat. I like to call it my “appestat.”

I have “never” measured, or worried about the amount I eat when I’m in training. I am 145 pounds and eat tons!! I know everyone has a different metabolism, but just the same, you will know darn well when you have had a hard training day. Eat accordingly.

In many sports, not just triathlon, athletes will train religiously for months and not realize their full potential because of an improper diet.

Don’t let this happen to you.

My name is Ray and I’m a veteran of 14 Ironman triathlons who spent years learning how to diet properly for ironman training and racing. My goal is to improve your chances of a successful first ironman.

The name of my website is “Ironstruck”. My web address is……http://www.triathlon-ironman-myfirstironman-ironstruck.com

If you have any questions or comments, I’d like to hear from you and will respond to everyone as soon as posssible. My contact page can be found at http://www.triathlon-ironman-myfirstironman-ironstruck.com/contact-me.html

Banished are the periods where the only retailer folk would be able to acquire sport venue tickets would be the box office of the actual premises of the unbelievable show that one were going to admire. There are now hundreds of different ways for people to get comedy tickets without even having to move out of the bliss of your own house. Buy concert tickets, theatre tickets and sports tickets from Time Out Tickets.

Ballet tickets for well known artists such as Janet Jackson are becoming harder & harder to buy hold of. There are the large online outlets like Timeout for which one can find eye-opening pop concert tickets for everything. Timeout is the most trendy practice to see tickets. The ticket retailer just acts as an agent selling the festival tickets which the client makes further available to them. One of the first ticketing retailers to produce big sport game tickets on the www, Timeout now provide quite a hefty % of its festival tickets on the internet, a little via mobile phone & a percentage by its abounding ticket outlets.

Ticket resale is the way of reissuing big sport game tickets for entry to events. All that is also more normally known as ticket touting. 2 might often normally see ticket touts based around the venue on the day of the show or big sport game starts. Be very careful when acquiring from a ticket tout as sometimes the ticket reselling touts will be selling fake theatre tickets that can’t get you into the venue.

There is a redesigned service offering that is known as SMS tickets. All this is a low cost ticket service that delivers sports tickets via text msg (SMS) and print at home e-tickets. Simply get on your mobile screen your SMS ticket or print at home electronic ticket to the event venue it can often then be scanned and you’re in. You are saving dosh by not being charged postage and packaging fees, plus the sports booking costs are regularly kept inexpensive. There are a myriad of benefits to text ticket tickets; folk get your music ticket sent to people right away, there’s no hanging around for the postman or ticket courier. One can get new musical tickets sent free if you misplace them and you yourself can get in speedily, there is no waiting around for somebody to manually check the concert ticket.

When you buy a home, you need to be aware of the various things that can limit your control over the property. This is as true for finished lots and single family homes as it is for townhouses, condos, and apartments. It’s a good idea to understand these limitations before you buy, so that you can decide whether you’re willing to live with them or not. After you buy, it’s too late; you’re stuck.

Zoning

In most jurisdictions, zoning limits how a piece of property can be used. There are many variations of residential zoning. In some, no business activity is permitted. Some allow business activity but no signs. In some, no commercial vehicles can be parked regularly.

Some residential zones permit only a single dwelling per quarter acre, per acre or per ten acres. Most limit the owner’s ability to subdivide land. Some allow only single family dwellings while others allow high rise apartments. Still others allow apartments, but limit the height of apartment buildings. Many do not allow mobile homes.

Some jurisdictions have “overlay districts” in addition to zoning. These are common in areas with many older buildings and a community desire to preserve them. Additions to homes of this type are obviously restricted, but restrictions regarding the location, style, height, and even whether they’re allowed at all or not, also applies to fences, sheds, walks, gates, and similar ancillary structures.

Fredericksburg, Virginia has a forty block “historic district.” Residents of this area must follow normal zoning rules. However, they must also submit an application to the Architectural Review Board for any changes to the visible exterior of their homes. This can be a surprise for some new homeowners in the area.

You can find detailed information about zoning, overlay districts and the like fairly easily. Simply visit the courthouse for the county in which the property is located or ask your real estate professionals for assistance.

Raynor James is with www.fsboamerica.org - providing homes for sale by owner, “FSBO”, properties. Are you thinking, “Should I sell my home?” Visit www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your home sale for free for one month.

Tammy, a skilled and gifted horticulturist, called me to discuss what she needed to know to start her own florist and landscaping business. She had been in the horticulture industry for 10 years and was incredibly skilled at working with flowers and plants - one of the best. She also had great design skills, as well as good customer service skills. But she had little business management experience and less self-employment experience.

Discovering why small businesses fail was a smart research project for her, as it helped her uncover her own weaknesses and begin to build up some strengths before she invested in becoming self-employed. It’s no secret that a large majority of small businesses fail in the first five years. The question is: Why do they fail and what can I do to prevent problems in my own business?

As we talked, we reviewed some of the common reasons why small businesses fail. Here are 14 top reasons, which might help you to determine why your business isn’t growing and thriving. Some of them are related to learnable business skills; others relate to personal attitudes, habits, or self-sabotaging belief, which are not so easy to change, except through coaching or other self-development work.

1. Mistaking a business for a hobby: Just because you love something doesn’t mean you should convert it into a business. Too often businesses fail because the owner feels their passion is shared by others. Research your business idea and make sure it’s viable.

2. Poor planning: Yes, you must have a business plan. It can be a simple three-page plan or a huge 40-page plan. The point is that you’ve looked at all the aspects of your business and are prepared to handle problems when they arise. Your business plan helps you to focus on your goals and your vision, as well as setting out plans to accomplishing them. And don’t get mellow - revisit and revise your business plan annually.

3. Entrepreneurial excitement: Entrepreneurs often get excited about new ideas, but are unable to determine if they’re “true opportunities” and/or put them into practice. Test every new idea against your business plan and mission statement before deciding whether to undertake it or not, and ask yourself, Do I have the time and skill to implement this?

4. Putting all your eggs in one basket: Too often, small business owners will have just one product, one service or one big client. They cling tight to this one thing because it brings in good revenue. But what if the one thing disappears? Variety and diversification will cushion you against the ebb and flow of business tides.

5. Poor record keeping and financial controls: Yes, you have to keep financial and business records, you have to review your revenue and expense report each month, and you have to file taxes and other business-related filings. If you don’t know how to do these, or don’t want to, get help from someone who does.

6. Lack of experience in running a business or in the industry you’re entering: There are so many hats you have to wear, from marketing and selling in order to run a business effectively. On top of that, you have to understand your industry, the skills required to offer your products and services, and the trends in the industry. If you don’t know about these basic skills, educate yourself. Talk to others who are successfully running their own businesses, talk to industry leaders, get a book, find a website, get a coach, do your homework. And keep increasing your business and industry skills by attending classes or reading new books every year.

7. Poor money management: You need to be able to live for one to two years without income when getting started; often businesses are very slow to get off the ground. Also, you have to create and use a realistic business budget, and not constantly drain the business income on personal spending.

8. Wrong location: If your business runs out of commercial space, you need to make sure that you are convenient to your customers, and near to your suppliers and your employees.

9. Competition: Customers will go where they can find the best products and services. It’s important for you to know who your competition is, what they have to offer, and what makes your own products or services better.

10. Procrastination and poor time management: Putting off tasks that you don’t enjoy will sink your business faster than anything else. You can’t afford to waste time on unimportant tasks while critical tasks pile up. All tasks need to be done; if you don’t like to do them (or don’t want to spend your time doing them), hire someone to do them for you. If your time management and prioritizing skills are rusty, hire a small business coach or take a class to help you.

11. Ineffective marketing: Learn the basics of marketing and make sure that you track the success or failure of each marketing technique you use, then dump those that aren’t working.

12. Ineffective sales techniques: Once you have a potential client, you have to know how to lead them down the sales path. If you don’t understand the basics of selling, get some education on it immediately. If a selling technique doesn’t work, try another one.

13. Poor customer service: Once you have a customer, you have to keep them. There are two key points here - make sure you pay attention to what the customer wants (and how these wants can change over time), and make sure you provide quick return of phone calls and emails, proper billing, win-win problem solving and an overall pleasant demeanor.

14. Entrepreneurial burnout: owning your own business requires a huge investment of time, money, energy and emotion. It’s easy to work long days and forget to take time off. But in the end, this only causes burnout where your motivation and creativity will suffer, and a pessimistic attitude prevails. You’ll find yourself unable to balance your business and personal life, and both will suffer. Schedule self-care time into your work week and be religious about taking time off from your business.

Dunn and Bradstreet recently did a study and determined that “90% of small businesses that fail do so because of a lack of skills and knowledge on the part of the owner.” However, D&B also did a study that showed that over 90% of small businesses were still in business after five years IF they had the help of a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) or other expert assistance. You can find a list of the SBDC in your area here:

http://www.passionforbusiness.com/web-resources.htm

As Tammy and I concluded our coaching session, she made a list of the areas where she needed to grow, and created a task plan to get the help she needed. Today she has a thriving business and is happily self-employed. You can do it, too. It just takes a little planning and a close look at both the reasons for your success and where you might need to get a little help.

About The Author

Karyn Greenstreet is a Self Employment expert and small business coach. She shares tips, techniques and strategies with self-employed people to boost clarity and focus, create sustainable motivation, and increase sales and profits. Visit her website at www.PassionForBusiness.com

Dreaming of having set up your own small business one day in future? What’s keeping you from reaching your dream? We do note that there are some large companies do place a control system on their distribution partner, such as requirements before get to become their distributor or reseller.

However, there should not be the sole reason in giving up your dream of setting up retail business one day. Do you know that many of the now well established retailers had actually built their business by starting out small and step by step grow it to become what it is now? Like you too, many of them do not have the kind of financial muscle when they just started out.

For those who do not meet the control requirements or financial resources to be “Authorized” retailer for the major brand, we still have other options to start with. Let us examine these options here:-

1. Where to source for products to sell?

For those who surf internet frequently, I believe some would be wondering where on earth those online entrepreneurs actually source for their products for selling. Some of these products that they sell are actually only available direct thru authorized reseller or more established wholesaler whom are bound by manufacturer’s control system. Not that hard to figure out, these online entrepreneurs are most likely obtained their products via 3 channels:

• They meet the requirements and become authorized seller.

• They sell used items.

• They sourced and buy the items for resell through other business’s closure.

2. Becoming Authorized Reseller.

Like you too, majority of these online entrepreneur does not have the kind of financial muscle to become an authorized reseller of the well known brands. So what? They don’t stop there. Look around and consider other options.

Take a look at smaller brands instead. Consider some other smaller brands that may not be of that popular. Hey, even though they are not that popular, it also means that their requirements could be much lower for reseller!

And we got to understand that not every single consumer wants to have the most popular, or most expensive or top range brand for their every single need. Like myself and you too, we do not just buy top brands all the time right? This makes the consumer market to be very huge.

This is indeed a great option for new comer who always wanted to set up their own retail store. By becoming authorized reseller or distributor for smaller brand or even new brand, you have the advantage compare to others by being able to provide brand new items, and latest merchandise.

As your new setup continues to grow, you would be able to establish your new business as respected retailer too! Your growing reputation will be supporting factor and make you eligible to apply and become authorized reseller or distributor for major brands.

3. Selling Used Merchandises.

Taking a clue from those power sellers at ebay, selling those used products or merchandise is also a viable business channel. By utilizing ebay market place, many power sellers have been able to build successful businesses just by selling used electronics items, toys, gifts, collectibles, musical instruments and much more!

To my own surprise too, some of them actually source their products from ebay itself! After which, they clean up the products, re-package it, or even re-brand it to boost up its value for more profit margin.

4. Business Liquidations or Close downs.

For some, they would spend the time and effort to source their products or merchandises for sale thru buying from other business liquidations. In fact, business liquidation is a very viable source, with most of the time the items being sold are of much lower price compare to its actual market value.

By getting a good business liquidation source, you would be able to purchase lots of discontinued items or overstocked merchandise with lower market price. This will help greatly in boosting your business profit margin when you are able to resell them.

5. Be Creative for Your Business Survival.

When you finally decided to venture into business, you ought to be willing to open up your view and consider several profit options. Your business should not be solely depends on one single income channel.

In order for business to survive especially at the early stage, be willing to consider for multiple products types for sale. This is critical if you are deciding on a very competitive market, not only you need to compete for the authorized reseller or distributor status; you will also need to compete with existing established sellers in the market.

One of the much talked about is the Niche Market. You zoom into your own niche market with lesser competition and build your business from there. And to be the “king” of your niche market, you ought to provide benefits to consumers and make your business stand out among the rest.

Nevertheless, in business environment especially new small set up, you do not necessarily be the originator. It is in fact extremely hard to be original unless you have the much stronger financial back up. What you need is to be creative. Build upon an existing idea and provide it with a different approach that makes your business stand out.

Same principle has been applied by millions of small business; they spotted on a niche market, and re-package or re-brand their own products to make them stand out among the rest. Not to worry even if the different is just a slight change. A small change or approach will give you the kind of business advantage and build your market share. When the business becomes more stable, you could then bring it forward for larger market and start to compete for more.

6. Put in your Time and Effort

Setting and building up a business requires a great attention in term of time and effort. You will need to perform research not only for products and prices; it is also required of you to research the targeted market environment. There are lots of works ahead for you. But when you do it right along the journey, the return and rewards are worth much more than the effort put in.

Always remember that nothing is impossible, start to put on your thinking hats, find a good and viable business idea. Draw out your business plan carefully, it will worth the effort. Until then, we shall discuss more on business start up and plans.

Cheers for your new business success.

Get Your Business listed in Business Listing Center for business leads. Network sites consist Web Resources Search and BizNet Directory are also business platforms.

When watching reality Television Shows, specifically “Survivor” it seems rather obvious that when one is walking thru the jungle or over difficult terrain, it might be easy to get lost. They therefore need GPS devices and some type of better lighting. Survivor Reality Television Show Contestants need body mounted lighting and holsters for their personal tech survival gear. One man suggested that;

“With people walking/running, we need a way to keep the light itself to stay direct. We do not want the light from the device to bounce with every twist and turn.”

Yes, this is a big concern. The human eyes on the body stay focused all the time. So the vision stays the same and the rest of the body moves. Evolution has provided humans with this incredible design. But if we are to mount a GPS unit and a lighting system on the person we need to consider that there is less bounce and less jarring at the hip and also at the center of the chest.

For the women Survivor Contestants; the light could rest between their breasts on a clip using a fiber optic tiny wire. For men it might be better to use Velcro for the front of the shirt although I generally run without a shirt on? So there is that? And for that naked guy, just Velcro it to his crotch or chest hair and let him deal with that later. Ouch!

That is not difficult really, as there are many personal tech devices and types of survival gear, which are mounted in such a way for this very same reasons. The light should be mounted on a floater. This is a great idea especially for those who jog with it.

Actually one engineer made a very good point and that is if you are tromping through the forest the light will bounce so much that you will not be able to see at night and you will probably get injured sometime through out the night. The GPS unit is not a critical and perhaps could be warn around the neck.

One might also ask what do miners use? And if you are looking at the ground directly in front of you, then you will be trying to look thru the light rather than where the beam might be pointed and a poor Survivor Contestant could easily step on a snake and be out of the contest. This is one reason that Survivor Reality Television Show Contestants need more Personal Tech Devices and why they must be properly mounted. Think on this in 2006.

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

Message boards, discussion forums and newsgroups can all produce very profitable results for you and your business. Most of us already participate in one or more of these and the more you participate the bigger the benefits to you and your website will be.

So let’s find out how to make this a profitable venture for you.

Posting on forums, newsgroups and boards is the start of a relationship between you and others who read these venues. Many message boards and forums also allow you to use a picture of yourself. This adds to making the whole experience much more personal between you and other readers. It allows for many friendships to be formed. I am constantly told by readers of my newsletter that they have often meet people they deal with online and many friendships have been developed.

With these venues you have the potential to reach thousands of people, all who can help you and your business and may form some lasting friendships in the process..

This is one of the most productive efforts that you can involve yourself in online. Time is money and a lot of you are also working full time jobs while trying to build an online business. Set aside time on a daily basis to participate in at least one of these ventures.

- Join boards where your expertise can help relevant traffic and leads for your site.

- Join areas where you have an opportunity to help others and others who may be able to help you.

- Join areas where people are involved with the same interests that you have in websites you have developed.

I have an online newsletter (http://www.emailpromotions.net) that is aimed at people working on the internet. I offer free software that I have found online as well as marketing tips, traffic tips and computer tips. I also have a website that focuses on Resort Spas Worldwide (http://www.spasoftheworld.com). I participate in a great number of forums and newsgroups and it is a tremendous help in building my online businesses

1. Look for message boards that get a lot of traffic. The more traffic on the board the better your chances of getting more traffic to your site and making good connections with others. If the forums contain spam, avoid them like the plague. They are a waste of your time.

2. Let people know who you are. Use your real name and if possible post a picture of your self. Don’t be afraid to also use the logo from your site if you have one. You need people to trust you in order to build an online experience with them. You will be surprised at how well known you will become by using this simple method. Not only will people get to know and trust you but they will refer others to you. Word of mouth/email is a very powerful tool for you to use.

3. Success in getting your post read is your first priority. Subject lines MUST catch a persons eye in order for them to open it. Stick to topics that are hot or create your own hot topic. That way your message is right at the top. People like to look at hot topics and busy threads.

5) When posting or responding to a topic, use keywords that people using the search engines would use to find that topic. Put those right in the subject line since the search engines do index many popular discussion boards.

4. Keep in mind that message boards are also websites and search engines pick up keywords. Make sure you use a lot of good keywords in the body of your message and also in the subject line if possible.

5. As well as keywords, offer a link to someone that is free that people can use. An ebook, a free software program etc. The link alone will bring people back to the topic time and time again, bringing more and more traffic.

6. Signature files…you should already be using a signature file with your emails but make sure to use them every time you post. Make sure it explains your site and your product. This will also count as sites that link to your website and thereby increase you popularity and rankings. Make sure you do it tastefully or you will see your message tossed very quickly.

7. Make sure you are contributing something of value when you participate in these communities. Once you start to become a valuable contributor others will be more trusting of you and will feel safe making purchases from your site.

8. Forum etiquette. Make sure you follow the rules to a “T” or you will develop a reputation for being combative. So many people attack others and if you must respond to someone attacking you, take it to private messages. Attacking others or attacking in defense will drive business away from your site faster than you can blink an eye. Before you post any message, read it carefully and make sure it does not sound combative. Always read your posts before hitting the submit button.

9. Posting on a regular basis will give you more traffic than you dreamed of. Set aside hour a day to monitor boards and to post on some. It should pay off very nicely in the end.

Jean Sutherland has successfully run her own ezine for over 5 years and has a subscriber base of 35,000. Her ezine revolves around people doing business online and beside offering free software, it also provides traffic & marketing tips, informative business articles, free ebooks and computer tips for those trying to work online. http://www.emailpromotions.net