Sunday, May 3, 2009

How To Avoid Network Marketing Failure

By Steve Anderson

The failure rate in network marketing is a real shame. So many people come to the industry with dreams and aspirations of freedom only to give up just a few months into the deal.

These people will have spent a chuck of cash to get into the business opportunity and most likely have also spent money on products that are destined to sit in the garage collecting dust...don't let this happen to you.

Why Do People Give Up On Their Network Marketing Business?

This is a really easy question to answer -- because they are not making any money. The other reason is that they are probably losing money as welll!

Contrary to popular belief, the network marketing industry is not a get rich quick scheme...it takes a certain amount of time to start making any real money. You hear of stories where someone sponsored a superstar and gets rich, but in reality this hardly ever happens.

Actually, hoping to sponsor an MLM heavy hitter will damage your long term chances of success in MLM. Rather than having a lottery mindset, building your busy slow and steady over a longer time frame will bring better results.

The #1 Reason People Fail In MLM

The number 1 reason people fail in MLM is because of a limited budget; they just don't have to capital to market their business aggressively enough. Depending on the network marketing company, the person may be paying quite a bit for auto-ship. It's not uncommon for people to have little or nothing left after meeting this requirement.

This situation eats away at peoples confidence to make the business work. With the cost of running a mlm business mounting and no signs of success showing, most people decide to get out before they lose too much.

The period of time from starting a business to the point of it becoming profitable is sometimes referred to as the dip. Starting a business is easy but sticking through until you come out the other side of the dip and see profits takes patients, determination and focus. The average CEO takes about 25 years to work up to that position...sometimes it pays to stick at one thing for a length of time.

Making It Through The MLM Dip

If people are failing in network marketing due to a lack of marketing budget, what can they do about it? Many network marketers that are building their business on the internet are getting through this dip by making a profit while they attract targeted leads to their business. The easiest way to do this is to sell an inexpensive information product related to your home business or your product.

This has 2 major benefits;

1. Selling inexpensive information products gives you much needed cash flow into your business.

2. These people have invested in education and so they are much more qualified than any other lead that you can buy or approach.

Creating Your Offer

You don't have to write an encyclopedia on your topic; a simple, well written 30 to 40 page report will do the job just nicely. If you have already written some articles you can just bundle them together so that they make sense and use that as your report.

If writing is not your thing then you can always outsource the task. There are some excellent outsourcing companies on the internet and you will find that for a reasonable price you can get a good quality report written.

If all of that seems like a bit too much trouble you can always promote someone else's report as an affiliate. Obviously you will only have half the profit margin but many people are operating this way and it can be a good way to get started with information marketing. Usually when you sell an information product like this the purchasers information is passed on to you and they become your exclusive lead.

Having Your Cake And Eating It Too

As mentioned in earlier, lack of cash flow is one of the major reasons for failure in network marketing. The other major reason for the high failure rate in MLM is lack of qualified leads. This simple method of attraction prospects through good content and offering them an inexpensive report solves both of these problems.

Most of the top network marketers are building their businesses this way.

It's sad to think that as high as 97% of network marketers never get through the dip and realize their dream of financial freedom. It doesn't have to be that way. If you would like to know more about getting through the MLM dip and how to avoid MLM failure, I got just the story for you... - 15790

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Fortune Cookies Made Great Wedding Favors

By Rufus Sprague

More and more brides are using fortune cookies as a way of telling their guests about their future plans and to thank them for their friendship. While you would expect a fortune cookie after a Chinese meal, dont be surprised if they show up as a wedding favor at the next wedding you attend.

Creating a nice twist to the traditional after meal treat, brides are customizing the messages in the fortune cookies. Many will replace the Lucky Number with their wedding date. For example one fortune might read, Lucky Numbers: 05.10.10.

While you can buy fortune cookies in bulk, take out the original fortune and slip one in of your own there are actually numerous fortune cookie companies who specialize in these cookies and offer them at a very reasonable price. Known as Personalized Fortune Cookies, or Custom Fortune Cookies, these companies allow the brides to be their own Confucius.

Each message can usually fit around 20 words and many companies offer double sided messages. Twice the amount of space is allowed, by using text on both the front and the back of the message.

Some popular custom messages that brides are using are: Thank you for sharing this special day with us! or In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities.

Many brides are also adding their name and grooms name along with the wedding date to the end of each message. For example one common message would read, Thank you for sharing this special day with us! Ross and Wanda " October 23, 2010".

While the traditional fortune cookies are very popular with soon to be brides, some of these brides are making the fortune cookies ever sweeter. Many custom fortune cookie companies have the option of having the fortune cookies dipped in premium chocolate. Just " of the cookie is dipped. If you are planning a wedding or bridal shower you might want to consider custom fortune cookies. - 15790

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How to shop for merchant account services

By Cheryl L. True

If you are a business owner, you probably already know the importance of accepting credit cards as a form of payment and may be trying to compare merchant account services. Consumers expect to be able to make purchases with a credit card.

Taking credit cards as a form of payment is beneficial to merchants since studies suggest that the average ticket will increase by up to 27 percent if a credit card is used. Even though starting the service may seem like a hassle, it will add both convenience and security to your day-to-day operations.

When you begin to shop and compare merchant account services have as much information as possible about your business readily available. If you already know what kind of account you will need and give the impression that you know exactly what you want or need you will be less likely to be sold on something that you didn't intend to buy.

There are several different types of merchant accounts and you should figure out what category your business falls into before making any calls to merchant service providers. There is the basic retail accounts that are defines as a regular brick and mortar store that will swipe the majority of the credit cards on a terminal. This type of account poses the least risk of fraud so the rates should be relatively low.

The next type of merchant account is a MOTO account, or mail order/telephone order. This type of business takes the majority of the credit card transactions either over the phone or through the mail, such as with catalog orders. This type of transaction holds a higher possibility of fraud and will carry a higher rate than a swiped transaction.

There are also internet merchant accounts and ecommerce accounts. This type of merchant account will be necessary if the business sells products on a Web site with a shopping cart interface. Obviously this type of transaction poses a significant risk of fraud so higher rates are to be expected.

With any type of high-risk merchant account, the processor will want to protect their best interests when agreeing to process these transactions on their platform. Many processors will require a reserve of funds that will be used to covering chargeback claims that cannot be covered by the merchant.

Most merchant service will be able to provide a merchant account that fits your needs. If you have a storefront and representatives in the field, they should be able to easily accommodate your needs. In this case, a terminal that is placed in the store coupled with mobile terminals for the field reps would be the perfect solution.

Online accounting made easy with secure data transfer, instant access anywhere and customizable reports - all free. Go to quickbook web connector. - 15790

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Saturday, May 2, 2009

Tips with Rolling Laptop Bags From Shopping Experts

By Paul J. Easton

What should you demand for with rolling laptop bags? As a matter of fact, there are some conditions that you should keep in mind aside from the bag's price tag. After all, if a bag does not fit your wants, you will not certainly use it regardless of the price.

At any rate, high quality products constantly come at a premium today. With the recession, we want to have the best value from our money. And instead of just settling with the lesser quality with lower price, we need to check the bags we buy always because we might have a bargain as well.

Nothing is more unpleasant than having the wheels of your bag break off while at an important meeting. So here are some tips on selecting a great rolling laptop bag.

With wheels, ensure that these are reinforced by durable plastic or metal material so you can expect them to last for years to come. A rolling laptop bag must have a sturdy extendable handle too for more convenience.

In today's market, most well-constructed bags have aluminum handles because of two-fold advantage with this material. Aluminum is very light as a material. Secondly, aluminum is an adaptable yet sturdy material. It can withstand much abuse without wearing. Moreover, it is perfect for storage functions because the handle is collapsible.

The bag must have a compartment that protects and divides the laptop. In addition, the laptop computer compartment should have adequate padding for protection. Some features to look for as well include storage for common computer supplies.

For more information, here is a recommended site to get tidbits of details on how to shop with a few bucks with Cheap Laptop Bags.

Search Engine Optimization by Digitalawol.com and Ebay Sniper. - 15790

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How To Place Stop Losses?

By Hass67

The intra day forex market is full of noise that it becomes difficult for new traders to understand where to put the stop loss. There is so much noise in the forex markets in the short run that prices tend to jump 10-20 pips for no apparent reason.

The noise in the intraday market keeps on frustrating new day traders. They constantly find their stop losses being tripped even when the rates are going in the anticipated direction.

Many new forex traders develop the habit of using a static 10-20 pip stop loss. This is an arbitrary decision. Many also try using a trailing stop loss. However, if placed too close; your stop hits too early. And if placed too far; you will have to forgo potential profits if the price retraces later on.

Many professional forex traders do use stop loss but mostly place it on their computers hiding them from their brokers. Best way to place a stop loss is using a dynamic level.

Because if brokers find many stop losses at a particular price level they can easily trip them using a momentary blip in their price feeds. You cant do anything. It was a momentary spike during to a sudden large transaction in the market. This is known as Stop Hunting.

Do you know this many professional forex traders only use a stop loss in their mind. They plan entry/exit for each position. Keep on monitoring it changing, the stop loss in their mind as the rate fluctuates. When they reach the desired outcome, they close the position. With experience, you will also learn to do the same.

Moving Averages, Bollinger Bands, SARs etc can be easily used as dynamic stop losses by you. It is a good way to manage your risk while letting the currency markets to do what it wants.

With more experience, you will learn that placing fixed stop losses actually harms more. Rather than helping, using a fixed stop loss can hurt you more emotionally, psychologically and profit wise.

Never ever trade, just before a major economic news release. Dont place your stop loss close to or at round numbers and at times of thin liquidity in the markets.

You should understand that your broker can and will use stop hunting to take out your positions using noise in the market as an excuse. Forex trading and casinos have many things in common. You should learn how to beat the markets and the brokers only then you will become a successful forex trader. - 15790

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Social Media Sites: Hidden Benefits for Online Marketers

By C.Chadwick

Social networking and online social bookmarking are more popular now than ever. But its hard to know which social media platform is right for you if you havent tried all of them. Thats where social media reviews come in.

When reading the reviews, however, you may find vastly different judgments about their content. Many folks fight for their choice of online social networking sites vehemently. That may be due, however, to being unaware of all the available options, so they invested all their time without further investigation. Some people defend their choice without even knowing the differences Online social networks , like LibraryThing have book reviews and other features created just for people who love to read.

Many social media users arent aware of the variations between social networks because the features and uses overlap. As an example, HubPages can be used for either business networking or to just have fun. And there are literally tens of thousands of Ning sites, such as bookmarket.ning , which specialize in narrow niches. These sites are really where the rubber hits the road when it comes to social networking because theyre created by users and focus on distinct interests. And speaking of niches, book readers now have plenty of places to hang out online. social networking is online social bookmarking, which has become a standard for people who work and play on the Web. Sites that feature social bookmarking, such as del.icio.us, allow logged-in users to save their online bookmarks for free. This platform type is also great for people who conduct searches, because keyword tagging is allowed Keyword tagging also makes social bookmarking sites of great interest to online marketers, who use them to garner backlinks for their blog posts and Web sites. A single social bookmarking link isnt that valuable but when there are many of them, search traffic often increases. Also, like with Digg, if a blog post is entered on one of these sites, high Google rankings can result if it is submitted correctly and has the right keywords associated with it.

Another powerful form of social networking is social bookmarking, which has become very popular. Sites that feature social bookmarking, such as Mister Wong, allow logged-in users to save their online bookmarks for free. These sites are also powerful for people who are searching for information, because searches are greatly enhanced by keyword tagging. The ability to use keyword tagging also is of value to Web marketers, because they know they will lead to backlinks for their sites. A single social bookmark link doesnt carry a lot of weight but when you add them all together, they become influential in search engine rankings. And with sites such as Propeller, if a URL is posted on one of these bookmarking sites that has good pagerank, it can often rank high in Google if the person who submitted it understands how to research keyword tags and has entered the listing properly.

Confusing the issue even more are sites like Mixx, which are set up for both social networking and social bookmarking. These sites are used for bookmarking but they also have legions of people who frequent them for marketing or socializing. Business and personal contacts galore are just waiting to be discovered on these sites and blog posts featured on these online social networking sites have the potential to rank well in Google and other search engines. These tremendous benefits are just some of the reasons that people who make their livings online love social media sites. - 15790

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Small business payroll accounting options

By Cheryl L. True

Payroll accounting is often a source of great stress for small business owners. There are several options available to small businesses when it comes to computing payroll, but one option far outshines the rest.

Hiring an accountant - starting a small business is all about finding ways to save money and not overburden your budget. Because of this, hiring an accountant is often not a feasible option for small business owners. Although it is an effective way to handle payroll accounting, the price of hiring an accountant often outweighs the efficacy. Small businesses usually cannot afford to hire an individual accountant, and even less often can they hire an entire accounting department.

Getting payroll accounting software - these days there are software programs that perform just about every function possible. People used to fear the day that robots would completely eliminate the need for human workers. Perhaps now they should shift this same fear to software.

Luckily for us that day will never come. Software programs can do amazing things, but they are still limited and usually still require a human to operate them. They are also limited in the fact that they are sometimes difficult to use. This can be especially true with payroll accounting software that often requires some accounting knowledge to correctly operate it.

Outsourcing your payroll to an Internet based payroll service is often the best option for small business owners. This allows owners to devote more time to developing their growing business rather than worrying about their payroll. You can simply send your payroll information over the Internet (or by phone/fax) and the rest is taken care of for you.

Once your information has been sent your payroll is calculated for you, including all deductions and tax withholdings. All pay vouchers, checks and reports are then sent to your business and are also available for online viewing. If errors have been made the company you have outsourced to usually pays the fees and answer any questions regarding your payroll that may be posed by taxing agencies.

Don't fret over accounting woes for your small business. Solve your problems today with our free online accounting service. Use quickbook 2008. - 15790

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Skiing Vacation: Is It Possible To Get a Cheap One?

By Bobbie McKee

It is a fact that skiing vacations can cost quite a lot of money. This is especially true if you plan on going abroad just to experience a fantastic ski holiday on the Alps. Hauling your ski gears can be a hassle, and renting it will just incur extra expenses. You also have to include hotel or lodge accommodations, travel, food and beverages, lift fees, and other things you need to spend on. If you add it up, you will see that it can eventually be a huge expense that will make you reconsider your plans to go on this kind of vacation.

Even if you plan on spending this kind of vacation locally, it can still prove to be quite costly. You will eventually think that this kind of hobby is not really for everyone as it can be quite expensive. However, you will see that there is a possibility that you will be able to get a cheap skiing vacation.

However, you have to remember that cheap ski vacation packages aren't easy to find. You need to shop around a bit in order for you to get the most affordable ski holiday packages that ski resorts offer. In most cases, you will find websites of ski resorts as well as hotels and lodges that will be able to offer huge discounts or package deals. These package deals will often have accommodations, dining, lift tickets, and ski gear rentals included.

The great thing about this is that you will need to pay for everything. This means that once you get there, you will no longer have to worry about anything as everything will be paid for in the package you choose.

In most cases, lodges and ski resorts will offer this kind of discount during the off seasons. If you are willing to go on a ski holiday before the peak ski season starts or after it ends, then you will find some great deals by just visiting the websites of ski resorts. Here, you will be able to see a lot of discounted rates or package deals. If you need to travel to get to your destination or to the ski resort, you may want to try out some of the discount travel companies, such as Expedia or Orbitz.

You can also try calling your local travel agent as they will be more than happy to find a skiing vacation package for you in your budget. And, travel agents will have contacts and information on deals that you will never find anywhere else. Try shopping around by asking different travel agents about your plans on going on a ski holiday. This way, they will be able to offer you what you want in your holiday as well as fit it in your budget.

You need to remember that even though you will pay a lot less than regularly, it doesn't necessarily mean that it will sacrifice fantastic accommodations. Maybe the view from your room will not be as good as the suite or that the bathroom doesn't have any whirlpool tub, but what can you expect with a cheaper accommodation? You will have a nice and comfortable bed to sleep on and the service provided will not be any different. You will still be treated as a guest and the staff in the ski resort will ensure that you are as comfortable as possible.

Another way to get discounts on ski vacations is by traveling on group. You will see that ski resorts and hotels often offer big discounts to people traveling in groups. So, try inviting your friends and tell them about your plan on sharing on the expenses.

With the discounts that most ski resorts offer for people traveling in groups, they will surely jump at the chance to go with you on your skiing vacation. - 15790

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Friday, May 1, 2009

Things to Avoid When Purchasing a Paintball Gun

By Bobbie McKee

Beginners can work well with cheap or inexpensive paintball guns but as they progress and become more familiar with the sport, they will soon be unsatisfied with their paintball guns. There is nothing wrong in deciding to get a new paintball gun but if you want to make a good purchase, here are some things that you need to bear in mind.

Making a rush purchase - never make this mistake. Before you shop for your own paintball gun, you must first get the feel of the game. Try to play the game with your friends or family and use different types of guns. You rent the guns first so that you will be able to compare the different types of guns in terms of performance, action, and the pressure system used.

You can also ask some pointers in buying a gun from the veterans or professionals of the sport. You must know what kind of player you are and the games that you like to play. You must familiarize yourself with the game and your special game techniques. After doing so, you can already identify what type of gun you need.

Not conducting a bit of research - if you want to make a good purchase, you must conduct your own basic research. If you have friends who also play paintball, ask them if you can borrow their paintball guns. Test the different types of guns so that you can assess its performance. You can conduct an online research and look into product reviews (on paintball guns), content websites, paintball forums, and other information resources. Gathering enough knowledge about the sport and the various equipments will help you choose the best paintball gun in the market.

Looking at the gun's physical features - when purchasing a paintball gun, you must not merely look at the physical appearance of the gun. Even if a certain gun looks great, it should not be your sole basis for making the purchase. T would be best to purchase guns with a matt or black shade so that you will not be easily caught in the field. Some guns have metallic colors which are quite attractive but during the game, it will tend to give away your position.

Purchasing expensive and difficult to maintain paintball guns - some guns require frequent maintenance. Try to avoid buying this kind of gun and instead you must go for guns with no fuss and frills. You can't tweak with your tools while you're playing right? You'd be better off with a much cheaper gun which requires less maintenance.

Never shop for a paintball gun without adequate knowledge - sellers are always looking for clueless individuals who want to purchase the best paintball gun. If you have no idea of what to purchase, you can be easily persuaded into buying a gun that you will not like in the end. When you shop for the gun, you must know what to consider and you must be armed with adequate knowledge.

Those are the things that you need to avoid when making a paintball gun purchase. Don't make the same mistakes that other buyers made in the past. You must be knowledgeable and you must know exactly what you want with a paintball gun. Shop around and do a bit of research. This is the way to get a good buy. - 15790

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The automotive industry report: China and countries of different stages of car consumption comparison

By Zou cheaponsale

Car sales in March arrived at 1.11 million, the first motor vehicle sales in March after years of annual expansion rate of 14 out of 100 level. Car sales for the second quarter, we waited confident that the market economic procedure since the commencing of the year to enhance continuity in the second quarter. Of China's prevailing stage of automobile use with some other greatest car-producing nations would augment to the show up average and long-term sales expansion in the skills to judge.

Medium and long time span, resolved to tempo the expansion of automobile use and sustainability is the degree of monetary development and to uphold the size stage of the paying for power of the degree of monetary development, and to uphold the size stage of the client wishes.

Observation of the bond between sales and GDP in arising auto market is the monetary value of use is higher than that qualified auto saturated mature automotive markets, this is the will of the arising markets in the client point in time of the mirrored stronger. We saw the motor vehicles in the bond between amount and GDP, China's total monetary end wares entities corresponding to the stage of motor vehicles weighed against with other nations in the small position. At the matching time as a effect of China's GDP expansion rate should be notably speedier than those nations, so retain the size of monetary expansion will be moved ahead by tough expansion in other countries.

From motor vehicle sales accounted for the fraction of holdings of scenery, for instance the United States and Germany, Japan and South Korea's auto market this mature unwavering fraction of about 7%, considering sales for the new major allotment of the replacement of tenure, and arising market nations broadly chatting have higher in the United States and Japan and other deduced nations, which consider the size of arising market nations to uphold small stage of sales characteristics of the fast-growing stage.

Because China is now the goal is still in the high 22 per hundred, Japan and South Korea if the quotation to the stepwise down turn of about 7 per hundred to a steady grade of this know-how, would have to proceed through a long time span of time to entire, and this method is furthermore a vehicle sales in the course of a time span of fast growth. - 15790

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Movie Music Reviews

By Adria Astrakhan

The following paragraphs contain some nice movie reviews. You can find a lot of information on movie downloads sites if you do a good search. A good movie download search would use phrases such as "Unlimited Movie Downloads", "Music Movie Download", and "Download Internet Videos".

Borderline: Bronson, minus Jill Ireland this time, is a border patrol officer looking for a murderer. Cast includes Charles Bronson, Bruno Kirby, Bert Remsen, Michael Lerner, Kenneth McMillan, Ed Harris, and Wilford Brimley. (105 minutes, 1980)

Fracture: Hopkins plays a cold, determining gentleman who shoots his spouse once he finds she's been in bed with an L.A.P.D. lieutenant. However there is no definative proof, which makes the case a perfect one for partner D.A. Gosling, who's just getting ready to move on to a cushy job at a high-end law firm. Cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Rosamund Pike, Billy Burke, Fiona Shaw, Bob Gunton, Embeth Davidtz, Cliff Curtis, Xander Berkeley, Josh Starnberg, and Joe Spano. (112 minutes, 2007)

The Mark: Whitman is phenomenal in his depiction of spiritually busted sex offender who has served his time and now desires to make new start. Cast includes Stuart Whitman, Maria Schell, Rod Steiger, Brenda De Hanzie, Maurice Denham, Donald Wolfit, Paul Rogers, and Donald Houston. (127 minutes, 1961)

The Forgiven Sinner: Belmondo gives restrained, eccentric acting job as clergyman trying to set gloomy lady onto the road of righteousness. Cast includes Lee Van Cleef, Warren Oates, Forrest Tucker, Kerwin Mathews, and Mariette Hartley. Cast includes Jean-Paul Belmondo, Emmanuele Riva, Patricia Gozzi, and Irene Tunc. (101 minutes, 1961)

Pavilion of Women: A slowly developing myth set in 1938 China in reference to freedom vs. feudalism. A loyal woman falls for an American minister when her child longs for his dad's new concubine. Shot on location in China. Cast includes Luo Yan, Willem Dafoe, Shek Sau, John Cho, Yi Ding, Koh Chieng Mun, and Anita Loo. (119 minutes, 2001)

Lust for Life: This is a bright adaptation of Irving Rock's biography of painter Van Gogh, vividly depicting his anguished life. Quinn captured a well-warranted 'Oscar for his performance as painter-Guy Gauguin, in this attractive color production. Cast includes Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, James Donald, Pamela Brown, Everett Sloane, Niall MacGinnis, Noel Purcell, Henry Daniell, Jill Bennett, Lionel Jeffries, and Eric Pohlmann. (122 minutes, 1956)

Stand and Deliver: Olmos gives a powerful performance in this momentous drama as a hard, requesting professor who empowers his East L.A. barrio scholars to pass an Advanced Placement Calculus Quiz. That's only the beginning of this tale that is based on a true story. Cast includes Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips, Andy Garcia, Can Gotay, and Ingrid Oliu. (105 minutes, 1987)

Red Sorghum: Evocative, beautifully filmed amalgamation drama, black comedy, kid story, fable which journals a most untraditional union between a set of rural lovers throughout the 1920s. The years pass, a new years shows up, and with it materialize Japanese invaders. Cast includes Gong Li, Jiang Wen, Liu Ji, Teng Rijun, and Qian Ming. (91 minutes, 1987)

Scandalous: Featherbrained sham in regards to investigative Television journalist who runs afoul of a team of con artists as he tries to extricate himself from a homicide charge. Cast includes Robert Hays, John Giegud, Pamela Stephenson, and Jim Dale. (94 minutes, 1984)

Did you find something good to see? As we said before, search with "Hindi Movie Rentals", or "New Movie Rental" to find good information on downloading. An additional search with "Burn DVDs" might bring good results. - 15790

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How to find a lean and mean marketing partner in 6 steps.

By Kathy Fawcett

In this 'do more with less' economy, is there a way that your modest start-up company can tap into the marketing expertise that the national brands are paying for? In a word, yes. This is the perfect time to discover a Lean and Mean Marketing partner willing to supercharge your entrepreneurial spirit. Here's how to choose the most effective marketing partner for growth in this lean and mean economy:

Look into the track records of the agency principals. Were they performing at a Director's level at a big ad agency? If so, for how long? It makes a difference - too long, and they may be disconnected with the trends of customized marketing solutions. On the other hand, if they left their agency before the ink had dried on their new business cards, they may not have enough marketing insight.

Look beyond clever headlines. These are the price of entry in the advertising world, and if their portfolio does not include solid SEO copywriting services, customized marketing solutions and a proven track record in measured results, keep looking.

Avoid victims. If a new agency still has a bitter pill that's only half swallowed from a bad break, they may not be ready to move on and focus on your business. Who has time to wallow? You need clear and focused marketing insight, surrounded by positive energy.

Seek out leadership skills. Chances are, you may find a big agency-trained marketing director or top level creative director who is poised to establish their own business. Take it from me - you need to take full advantage of this opportunity! If you are fortunate enough to get experienced customized marketing solutions for your start-up from the person formerly in charge of a big national brand, it's your lucky day.

Beware the SEO Guru, and examine their claims carefully. Instead, seek out effective SEO copywriting services by taking an optimization tour of the websites optimized by this person or company. Like the jackalope, true SEO Guru's are difficult to identify, because tracking the results of qualified SEO copywriting services is new, and a little imprecise. After all, web lift and traffic increases at your site may not happen for months, you need to choose wisely.

Work with people who are excited about your product or service. Good ad guys and marketing professionals are incurable people/product matchmakers, and usually quite likeable and responsive. If you find someone who's fitting you in between the 'real clients', move on. An engaged marketing professional will bring incredible value and marketing insight, beyond your greatest expectations.

This is the day of the new entrepreneur. The best marketing professionals keep their eyes open for intriguing products and services that break away from corporate limits. And companies that discover a lean and mean marketing partner are in a great position for phenomenal growth - even in a challenging economy like the one we're experiencing now. - 15790

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Strawberry Festival at Louisiana

By Sive Iver

On April of 1972 the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival Board held their first Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival. This festival took the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival Board one year to prepare. Ponchatoula Jaycees and the Ponchatoula Chamber of Commerce were the first sponsors to this festival. Out of these two groups three members were selected to be part of the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival Board.

There were only 11 booths at the first Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival and the location of the festival was at the first block of North 6th Street. It was estimated that there were 15,000 visitors who attended the first festival. A baseball game between Southeastern Louisiana University and Wisconsin State was the kick off of the two day festival. There was a parade that went through Ponchatoula in the afternoon. This parade composed of 65 units coming from different parts of the state.

For about thirty years the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival has created the image of being the only fund raising festival. Their organization aimed to have a festival where the vendors allowed are non-profit and charitable organizations. Coming second from the Mardi Gas festival, it is considered as the second largest festival in the state.

On April 3 to April 5, 2009 there will be a Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival. On April 3 the festival will start from 4:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M, on April 4 it will open from 9:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. then for the last day, April 5, 2009 the festival will open at 7:00 A.M. and the festival will officially close by 6:00 P.M. No pets, ice chests, glass bottles, cans, tents, large umbrellas are allowed in the festival area.

For the past 27 years the festival had an Annual Strawberry Strut so you can expect the same activity will be available for this year. There will be rides like the Expo Wheel, Clown Town, Dragon Wagon and many more that kids and adults will enjoy. There will be a live performance from local and national performers. - 15790

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Mind Mapping Software: Beneficial for Personal Productivity

By Bobbie McKee

True, through mind mapping, personal productivity can be more systematized be it the foundation of the entire structure. Software stripped out of the mind mapping concept can primarily be beneficial to improve one's effectiveness. Here are some of the reasons why you should include strategies of mind mapping into the flow of you working environment.

Reason 1 - Rethink your thoughts

Recall - that is what mapping can contribute to you greatly. Whenever you move a certain topic inside your map, you change the flow of its context then you restructure its definite meaning. Why powerful? Because it will give you the ability to ponder about the thoughts that you have imposed within the map. This will be helpful in giving you a level of higher abstract and mind resolution by rearranging certain ideas within your mind which can now makes total sense to your rationalization.

Reason 2 - Flexibility

It all comes down to how you do something and be able to freely manipulate the knowledge, details and ideas without the thought of being guilty of changing some of the specifics. The encapsulated ideas and facts inside the boxes tend to hold different varying ideas which can be rearranged by will.

Reason 3 - Be more organized

Concept maps are very much effective and efficient in processes of new or recent projects, creating agendas for meetings, do appropriate lists and other time-saving processes. Your maps are also expected to contain web pages, e-mails, notes and files which mean that you'll be more efficient with time because of the organization of the information and documents. Several tools for mapping enable you to capture thoughts and ideas that rotate around your head without the scare of losing it.

Reason 4 - Become more productive

Software meant for mapping is said to have the capability to increase chances of productivity by 20% in it average. This is equivalent to a week's savings. You could've accomplished a lot of things and at the same time saving what's left of your day.

Reason 5 - Marked decisions

Concept mapping gives the individual a visual way to record descriptions in details of opportunities that you can face, explore the advantages and disadvantages of a decision, brainstorm particular problems and solutions at that, envision future problems that may clearly arise, and reach a more equilibrated decision. Mapping is very helpful especially when you are faced with a vague and ambiguous event or situation in your decision-making career especially when you can't make any accurate decisions regarding business matters.

Reason 6 - Problem solving creativeness

One can have the power to become a problem solver with style and creativity. The software can help you make connections with your brain through association of seemingly unrelated pieces of information. While your mind can no longer hold intense decisions with vagueness, mapping can develop it to become more developed and triggers the organ to kick start regulating ideas and thoughts.

Reason 7 - Gap seeker

More important than building information, it is also a must that a person sees gaps in between interrelationships. Mind mapping will help your brain be stimulated in order to point out, visually, the missing pieces in associations and ideas. It will help you to easily see the existing malformations and what details have gone totally wrong. - 15790

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Today's Mortgage Refinance for 2009

By Amanda Jackson

When looking at Mortgage Refinance there are quite a few details to which you will want to pay attention. It is very important to realize there are variations from one state to the next when it comes to interest rates, Loan to Value, supply vs. demand and these items will fluctuate without warning.

Mortgage Refinance probably makes very little sense if you plan on moving or foresee paying off your loan within the next few years. Monthly bills won't be around long enough to see the savings that would cover the costs. Refinancing makes sense if you are paying high interest rates, but as we have seen recently, that is usually not the case these days.

Deutsche Bank analyst Nishu Sood wrote in a report to clients on Tuesday, "There are too many factors working against lower rates, including the smaller stimulus this time in terms of payment reduction, falling home prices and tighter mortgage standards." We are aware of the changing conditions in the U.S. Finance Market. This means uncertainty for people considering a Mortgage Refinance.

Change in restrictions has caused what could be a temporary decrease in lending. In January of 2009, Wall Street Analysts suggested the market for 2009 may show deeper losses, as last year's ripple effect works its way through the U.S. We will also see to what degree the growing unemployment rate will affect both original loans and Mortgage Refinance in 2009.

"There are too many factors working against lower rates, including the smaller stimulus this time in terms of payment reduction, falling home prices and tighter mortgage standards." Deutsche Bank analyst Nishu Sood wrote in a report to clients on Tuesday. The outlook for the other leg of the real estate market: commercial properties, not looking any better. We will also see to what degree the growing unemployment rate will affect both original loans and Mortgage Refinance in 2009.

The $3.4 Trillion commercial market began to show its struggle in the fourth quarter of 2008 begging the question, "To what degree will this play a role in the Mortgage Refinance outlook for 2009?" According to the newest data from Deutsche Bank, delinquencies on commercial mortgages, that are packaged and sold as Bonds, nearly doubled during the past three months to about 1.2%. This represents nearly a third of the commercial real-estate debt market.

Discussion about investing money you would spend on a Mortgage Refinance rather than actually Refinancing is becoming a popular topic as stocks have gone down. There is an alternative being suggested; comparing the cost of refinancing that would go into the life of a 30 year loan compared to putting the same amount into a 30 year investment. An investment that shows a 9% growth rate on $2,000 could grow to an approximate $26,500 in 30 years. This is simply another option in which to take a look.

Today's finance rates are subject to change at any time and without warning. Take a look at all options before making a decision. Looking at a Mortgage Refinance can turn out to be a great idea, just try not to rush out and make a rash decision simply to beat the possibility of interest rates rising unexpectedly. But don't sit around and wait until it is too late if it truly turns out to be in your best interest to Refinance. - 15790

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The Best Loan You Have Never Even Heard Of

By Garrison Galbraithe

If you need a loan, consider a signature loan. Signature loans are not well known, but they can be a great option for many people in need of short-term finance assistance. As the name implies, these loans are not secured by anything, except your signature.

You can obtain a signature loan fort a variety of prices. You can secure a loan for as little as $100 or $500, ore even a larger loan for perhaps $5,000 or $10,000. If you have a strong enough credit history, you might even be able to obtain a signature loan for $25,000 or more.

Signature loans do not have any collateral attached to them. If you are unable to make your payments, the loan will be in default, but the lenders will not come after your personal assets.

Signature loans are available to everyone, regardless of their credit history. People who have a strong credit history will be able to obtain much better lending terms than someone who has a poor credit history. However, those people who have a poor credit history might still be able to obtain a signature loan. However, the interest rate and other terms that they would get on their signature loan might not be as favorable.

So where can you find one of these signature loans? The best place to look is on the Internet. There are numerous lenders who are available to you on the Internet. If you search for signature loans, you will find many different lenders who may be able to help you obtain such a loan. Some of these websites can point you towards lenders, while some other sites are direct lenders. Either way, you can shop around and find the loan thats right for you. In fact, you can apply online and receive an immediate answer as to whether or not you are accepted for such a loan. If you are accepted, you will bet the money very quickly, typically on the very next business day.

Naturally, the better your credit score is, the better terms that you will be able to obtain on your signature loan. Even if you have a bad credit score, you can probably still obtain a signature loan. The catch will be that your interest rate will be higher than someone who has a good credit history. If you are in dire need of the money, you may need to pay a high interest rate just so that you can get the money that you so desperately need.

Signature loans can be used for most any reason whatsoever. People tend to use these loans to pay off other debts or to buy themselves special gifts, like vacations or home theater equipment. Other people use these loans to satisfy short-term needs, like rent or utilities.

Signature loans are a great loan option that many people have never heard of. Search the internet to find lenders and find the loan thats right for you. - 15790

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China-made portable handsets overseas endeavour to revive the trade overseas

By Zou himfr

"Shannon wall wall flower," which has been made in recent years gave the impression cell phones. At home was "foreign brand" under serious pressure, made a lot of mobile phones including cottage machine exports in overseas markets have been relatively active. But by the financial crisis, China-made mobile phones in the past six months repeatedly frustrated in the export business. However, recently held in Shenzhen in 2009 and the spring of mobile cross-border procurement of customized global summit on China-made mobile phones in general showed strong tone, trying to revive the momentum of overseas exports.

Warmer in the seek from the new aerodrome

Began in October 2008, the worldwide monetary critical purpose produced by the in the household portable handset trade overseas plunged sharply. In actual, the monetary critical purpose changed not only deduced nations, is in addition included in the deducing countries. The in the household portable handset is the greatest overseas trade overseas markets in Asia, Africa, Latin America and other deducing countries. Customs statistics present that 1-February a total in the household trade overseas of portable handsets and elements thereof 6.47 billion U.S. dollars, than the matching interval in 2008 diminished by 17.2 percentage points. By the consequence of trade overseas boundaries, in the household portable handset goods produced plunged substantially. According to the Ministry of knowledge development and the current written knowledge, 1-2 goods produced in China's portable handset 79,672,000 yuan, down 11.2%.

However, from the starting of February, "warmer" to display the primary situation. Customs facts and numbers furthermore displayed that whereas the January to February this year, year-on-year down turn in trade items, but in February of household trade items of wireless telephones and its constituents is about 3.598 billion U.S. dollars, comprising 25.3 per hundred development in January. The summit on wireless telephones in Shenzhen, China-made wireless telephones overseas markets is still the promise value. Changhong's wireless telephone enterprise communications business that rainbow homeland, the Chinese wireless telephone when the pointed fall in trade items, the National Rainbow Communications has been the development of overseas enterprise as a strategic aim, and gaze ahead to in 2009 to twice its overseas sales.

International market study firm Gartner approximated in 2009 the general international handset market will shrink almost 10%, this is the first time ever; but at the identical time, as of the end of 2008, the world's 4.1 billion wireless telephone users, wireless telephone penetration rate come to 61.1% , of which about 2 / 3 of wireless telephone users in evolving countries. At present, ZTE, Huawei has been more thriving in the layout of the appearing markets overseas, and Cool, Konka, for example the layout of household emblems are furthermore hardworking in appearing markets overseas, by commanding the cost of overseas goods to enhance market competitiveness.

Looking for a innovation from the made-to-order

The summit on mobile phones in Shenzhen, active Yemen Mobile, India, RELIANCE, India, TATA, Bell Telecommunications Philippines, etc. 30 countries and regions, mainly in telecommunications operators in overseas buyers, purchasing intentions of millions of mobile phone products covered by double mobile phone network to be dual, dual-card double question, CDMA mobile phones, CMMB mobile phones. Custom made mobile phones have also become a breakthrough in mobile phone to overseas.

Cool, boss vice leader revealed that CoolPAD take the pattern of merchandise customization and operators to the Vietnamese market as the innovation issue, the fast expansion into India, Nigeria and other countries. Cool with India's biggest CDMA operator RELIANCE together financed the establishment of junction projects, the Indian market as a dual-standby dual-card leader. CDMA market in India, the share of ZTE wireless telephones has gone after the Samsung, LG.

In view of the characteristics of emerging markets, consumer habits and consumption levels, features customized to become another China-made mobile phone practices. Huawei's customized specifically for the Indonesian market in hot pursuit of the C2802 are listed less than a month, sales exceeded 300,000; for the Middle East market, the National Rainbow Communications menu in the function of a single "Islamic" features. Customize these features for the ZTE, Cool, Huawei and other domestic brands in overseas markets to win a lot of intention to purchase orders. - 15790

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Christ Chapel Academy Vendor Fair at Virginia

By Sive Iver

On April 18, 2009 there will be a 2nd Annual Christ Chapel Academy Vendor Fair. The location of the fair will be at the Christ Chapel, 13909 Smoketown Road, Woodbridge, VA 22192. The Christ Chapel Academy Vendor fair will be an indoor and juried event that will feature fine crafts and arts.

The craft show will officially open by 9:00 A.M. and close by 3:00 P.M. The promoters will allow the vendors to set up their booths on the same day from 7:30 to 8:45 A.M. Admission fee is free for the public. There will also be door prize tickets available at the entrance door.

Visitors and vendors will also have a free parking space. The visitors will park at the church parking area and the vendors will be at the far end of the parking area. RV parking will not be allowed. The restroom will be at the gym.

The vendors will be provided with electricity by the promoters but there will be an additional fee of $5.00. The handling out of the electricity will be first come first serve basis. Tables and chairs will also be provided but with a $10.00 fee. Vendors who are interested to join there will be a jury fee of $25.00.

The promoters will not need vendors who will display Juice Plus, Xango, Stampin' Up, Mary Kay, Creative Memories, Pampered Chef, Southern Living at Home, Tupperware, United First Financial. What they are looking for are vendors that have a unique and handmade crafts and arts. The vendors space fee is $25.00 per booth.

The promoters will advertise the event by putting ads in the local and nation newspaper, church bulletin and online websites. Flyers will be distributed around the community and banners will be put up along the roads coming in and out of the city. - 15790

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Luxury Romantic Vacation Options

By Bobbie McKee

Planning to surprise your special someone with a luxury romantic vacation? There are lots of romantic places in world, just waiting for you to explore. There's Florida, Hawaii, Tahiti, Paris, Caribbean and many other destinations.

Once you've already picked the place to spend your vacation in, you now need to plan the activities or settings for your luxurious holiday. It's good news that these days, nothing can hold you back from attaining your dream getaway. All you have to do is get online, and you can now handpick the most romantic settings this world has to offer.

Luxury Hotels

Of course, nothing will make your vacation deluxe than the comforts and lavishness that a first-class luxury hotel can give. A supremely comfortable place to stay while you are in a vacation will make that moment unforgettable. So after booking a flight, take time to look for a wonderful place that will give you superb accommodation.

If you've decided to spend your vacation in Florida and enjoy watching the sunrise and sunset with your loved one, you also have nothing to worry about where to stay. Among the best luxury hotels in Florida are:

Ginn Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando Little Palm Island Resort and Spa in Little Torch Key Mandarin Hotel in Miami Ponte Vedra Inn and Club in Ponte Vedra Beach The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club in Aventura

Should you decide to stay in the City of Lights to visit the world's famous architecture, among the best places to stay there are:

La Villa Maillot Victoria Palace Hotel Saint-James and Albany Hotel Claridge Bellman Dolce Chantilly

For couples who have chosen Hawaii as their luxury romantic vacation destination, the great hotels that can give them oh-so-comfortable place to rest are:

The Fairmont Orchid in Honolulu The Kahala Hotel and Resort Royal Hawaiian Halekulani Four Seasons Resort Hualalai Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows

Furthermore, if you're so excited on invading the Caribbean Islands an enjoy its exotic setting, then the hotels and resorts will prove to you that the Caribbean is truly the ultimate vacation paradise. The best hotels are:

Copamarina Beach Resort in Guanica, Puerto Rico Carl Gustaff in Gustavia, St Barts Cuisinart Resort and Spa in Anguilla, The West Indies Grace Bay Club in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Half Moon in Montego Bay, Jamaica Mount Nevis Hotel and Beach Club in Charlestown, St Kitts and Nevis

Luxury Cruises

What better way to get romantic than going on luxury romantic vacation cruises? Surely, you and your spouse will both be thrilled by the thoughts of travelling to some of the world's premier travel destinations on luxury cruise ships. And if you want to know what to expect on these kind of luxury travel, here are some of them;

Seven Seas Mariner - considered to be the most spacious cruise ship

Seven Seas Voyager - considered as the top cruise ship in the world, you can enjoy an all-balcony and all-suite travel aboard this. Enjoy fantastic dining experiences with Le Cordon Blue on top of the list.

Silver Cloud - expect 6-star luxury when aboard this ship as well as other Silver Sea cruise ships

There are still lots of luxury cruise ships out there where you and your spouse can experience a luxurious romantic getaway to the fullest. Party all night and experience the finest restaurant service as well as first class concierge services aboard any of these cruise ships and you will surely get that romantic feeling all over. - 15790

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Car Valeting - Detailing Shops or Mobile Services

By Bobbie McKee

You can't possibly clean your car thoroughly unless you're an expert in car cleaning. If you take your car to a car valeting and detailing shop, their service crew will use different kinds of tools and cleaners to restore your car's beautiful look. Still, if you prefer to do the task on your own, you can easily purchase the tools and cleaners in chain stores and auto stores.

In the car detailing shop, the process of cleaning the car thoroughly takes a lot of time. It is a lengthy process because all the car's details are given attention. You don't have to worry what cleansers to use because everything will be handled by experienced professionals in auto detailing. But before you take your car to a certain car valeting and detailing shop, you should know where to get the best deals.

Since the gasoline prices have continuously gone up, very small budget is left to car maintenance. Nonetheless, you should still take your car to a good car valeting shop. If you can handle the task of cleaning the interior of your car, then you can simply have the shop do the exterior detailing. Car detailing can cost around $150 to $200, and that will depend on where you reside.

If you want to cut down on your car detailing cost, choose mobile car valeting and detailing because they usually charge $10 to $15. So you see, it's a lot cheaper that what auto shops charge. Here's the best part of the deal - you don't have to take the car to any shop because car detailing can be done in your garage or your yard. You don't have to wait so long in the waiting room because the service will be given to your car in a more personalized manner. You can even save gas because you don't have to travel just to have your car detailed.

Mobile auto detailers are quite popular these days because of the very low service fee they charge. Perhaps you can find several mobile detailers in your area. If you can get referrals from your friends and officemates, the better; don't just compare the service fees but also try to check the quality of their service. That's how you can find the best deals.

There are times when you can't find mobile detailers in your area. You need to settle with the car detailing shops in your locality. Again, you need to ask referrals from your trusted friends so that you can find a shop which offers good quality services. After all, you're going to pay a reasonable amount of money for their services so you should settle with only the best technicians or service crews in your area.

If the shops offer packaged deals, you can also take advantage of that. But you need to check if the shops offer clay bars, polishing, and waxing. These are the 3 techniques to completely clean the exterior of your car. If these techniques are offered in packaged deals, you can choose that package.

Price is usually the secondary consideration when you're talking about car valeting and detailing. Quality service is what you should look out for whether it's a mobile detailer or a detailing shop. The choice is yours because you're the one setting the budget for your car maintenance. - 15790

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Mission Control: Putting Our Purpose Above Our Goals

By Marshall Goldsmith

At the surface level, 'purpose' and 'goal' seem to be very similar. In fact, my thesaurus tells me they're synonyms. It might appear that we can use them interchangeably. But in parsing the definitions of these words, we discover they're as different as night and day.

Goals are the specific objectives we strive to achieve, usually within well-defined parameters of space, time and resources. On the other hand, purpose is abstract. It's the 'why' behind any thought or deed. Purpose is not about achieving an objective it is more of a way of life. Purpose is enduring, whereas goals can be created, adjusted and discarded as needed.

Going beyond mere semantics, you can see the variation between purpose and goals in what you do at work. Goals can be the targets you set regarding the recruitment, retention, development and progression of your organization's workforce.

In contrast, purpose should be what the goals serve. You establish those targets to achieve a greater overarching aim, one that benefits the business and its shareholders.

For instance, you wouldn't bring in 1,000 employees just for the purpose of making your workforce larger, would you? Of course not. (At least I hope not.)

On the other hand, you might set a goal of bringing in these employees to prepare your organization to support its purpose and to ensure the success of an exciting new growth opportunity.

We often get lost and confuse our goals with our purpose, both with our companies and our families. I will never forget teaching a leadership development session in a Fortune 500 company that not only involved executives - it involved the spouses or partners of the executives. As part of the session, executives received feedback from their partners.

Many executives learned that their partners felt ignored or put in 'second place' compared with work. When the executives were asked, 'Why are you working so hard?' they invariably said, 'Because I want my family to have a great life.' Their partners almost always replied, 'We have more money than we will ever spend. We would just like to see you more!'

Many executives had clearly let their goal (make a lot of money) become more important than their purpose (create a great life for themselves and their families).

I bring this up because the distinction between a goal and a purpose sometimes can be lost on talent management professionals - we can get so absorbed in our own limited objectives, thinking that these are our raison d'etre.

A good friend of mine left consulting to become the executive vice president of HR for a huge corporation. He reviewed a study of the company's employee benefits and found some benefits were costing the company millions of dollars and delivering very little that the employees actually valued.

When he suggested cutting the benefits to save the company money, he was told he was 'confused' by his HR staff members. They noted that cutting these benefits would mean a smaller budget for the HR department and less power for them. They had become so interested in 'building their empires,' they had forgotten about making a return on investment for their stockholders.

The idea that the purpose of the organization should come before the goals of any one part of the business seems to be simple enough. Yet why do many of the leaders in talent management (and to be fair, in other areas of business, as well) so often fail to get it?

The answer is rather simple: When a goal is designated, it tends to become a fixation for highly motivated people. Add to that the pressures that come with tight deadlines, struggles for finite resources and organizational turf battles, and it's not hard to see how our own goals can absorb any of us.

The solution to this problem is equally simple, although it isn't necessarily easy. It requires honest, perhaps even painful, introspection and reflection. Conduct a thorough analysis of your goals. Ask yourself, 'What goals are consuming my time and energy?' and 'What goals are consuming the company's resources?' Rank your goals in terms of cost. Then look at the true purpose of your organization. Rank your goals in terms of 'contribution to the purpose.'

If we are honest in our assessments, most of us will find some clear discrepancies between 'cost of goal achievement' and 'contribution to our purpose.'

When this happens, we can step back, take a breath and realign our goals, successfully completing our 'to do' list with our purpose - successfully doing what really matters. - 15790

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Your Personal Guide to Applying for a Loan

By Calvin Wapasa

Anyone thinking about applying for a loan needs to carry out a little research first, getting to know a few of the basics will make all the difference. There are some simple but basic rules to follow and provided this is carried out you will not apply for the wrong loan. When searching for a loan, it always pays to do your research, make sure you obtain a good number of possible companies so you can get the very best loan possible.

Using online sites that compare all the lenders and their products has saved a great deal of time, where it may have taken many hours to find the details you needed previously, it now takes a matter of minutes. Before you rush of and get a number of quotes so you can apply for a loan, you should be aware that each time you do, a credit check is carried out, too many lenders looking at your credit report can affect its rating, so make general enquiries until you are sure the lender is right for you. While a low APR or annual percentage rate will keep the interest on the payments lower, this is not the only condition to look for, while low APR rates are good check to see what the repayment terms will be and if there are any additional charges.

Should anything untoward happen during the period of the loan, it is reassuring to know that payments will be maintained, remember this doesn't have to be done through the lender. Before you decide on a particular loan insurance protection plan, check how much is covered by your employment contract first. When you applying for a loan there is generally no requirement for it to be secured, if have good enough credit to borrow without collateral, then do so.

Secured loans are usually arranged at a lower interest rate but in order to achieve this, something of value that you own, normally your home, will be used as guarantee against defaulting. Before signing any agreements, check and double-check all of the terms and small print, this is where all the potentially dangerous clauses are hidden that have financial penalties. Many lenders will charge a premium if you want to arrange an early settlement on your loan and there will probably be other charges that apply if you miss, or even make a late repayment.

Try and take a loan out over the shortest period you can afford because taking loans out over 10 years or more can be risky, you cannot be sure what your financial situation will be at a later time. This obviously isn't as important if the loan is for improvements you might intend to carry out on your property, a loan for a car for instance or a wedding will not warrant the additional repayments especially as it just means you are paying far more in interest.

When you apply for a loan make sure you know you can afford to make the repayment, the reason for the loan is also important because you could cause problems with your credit score if there are problems paying, later on. - 15790

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Solar energy in households

By Bobbie McKee

The sun is a great source of energy. It would be great to use solar energy in your homes especially nowadays when the prices of oil and gas continue to increase. Because of the high fuel and gas prices, more and more people are experimenting on the use of solar energy in their households in their attempts to minimize the costs of basic utilities.

The sun's energy can be harnessed in different ways depending on how you would utilize the end product. There are so called solar collectors which are placed on the roof tops or used in buildings. The main purpose of these solar collectors is to provide heating and even ventilation for the houses and buildings. These collectors harness the sun's energy by magnifying the sunlight several times and transferring that heat to air or water. That heated air or water is stored and will provide the building or home heating and hot water whenever needed.

The only problem here is that not all places have equal amounts of sunlight. As you go farther from the equator, the strength of the sun is reduced. But still, this is a much better solution than relying on electric grids which do not reach remote areas. It is just a mater of storing the heat generated from the solar collector properly. For example, some buildings in Sweden utilized an underground storage facility where solar energy is stored resulting to savings from heating the building and their water.

In areas where gas and fuel are out of reach of the pockets of poor communities, residents have to rely on solar cooking for their meals. They use this bowl shaped discs equipped with mirrors or reflectors which directs all the sunlight on the middle where a pot is placed. The same technology is being used in India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. This serves are a good alternative from conventional fuels like coal, firewood, and gas. They can use these solar stoves during a sunny day and use traditional fuels when the weather is not that good.

This reliance by communities on solar cooking should encourage more studies on how to make photovoltaic cells cheaper for an ordinary household. At this time, the use of solar cells is not economically friendly for a single household. However, the approach here is to install a series of solar panels which would be shared by the whole community. This could be a good idea depending on your usage, but for basic lighting purposes these could work in small poor communities.

In some areas, community cooperatives have found ways to bring electricity to households out of reach of power grids. In the Philippines for example, a local cooperative provided households loans to enable them to install a basic solar power module which can produce enough electricity for three light bulbs. This ay be laughable in our standards but to these people who have been living all their lives with the flickering light of the candles, three electric light bulbs make a great deal of a difference.

The story is the same in other countries. In Israel, the high costs of photovoltaic cells have clamped down the growth of solar energy in the country. It if fortunate, therefore, that the Israeli government is now providing incentives for households that would use solar energy.

However, according to industry analysts, the costs of solar cells production will go down as the demand increase. Also, most are hopeful that recent discoveries and advancement in technologies will find a way to bring down costs of using solar energy.

Ordinary households using solar energy is an ideal scenario that we should all strive to achieve. - 15790

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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Getting the Same Edge As the Pros - Credit Card Affiliate Program Marketing

By Francisco Rodriguez

Credit card affiliate program marketing is a very important subset of the field of affiliate sales. Far too often you find people frustrated by their low performing affiliate sales and wondering why they are not making anywhere near as much money as everyone else who swears by the profit potential of selling affiliate merchandise and memberships.

More often than not the problem these folks are having has to do with their marketing rather than the affiliate programs that they are involved with. You see if you don't market your merchant no one will have the opportunity to buy from you. If no one is buying from you, of course you in turn are not making any money. So the real question people should be asking themselves, how can I make money? if they find that they are not making the amount of money they think they should be making with affiliate programs is what should I be doing differently to market my stuff better?

There are no programs that will convert you into a millionaire overnight especially when you are starting from scratch. Programs that claim that you only have to sit back and watch money come in are usually fraud. They are just electronic books with information on how to make money.

This thing is, the information that they contain can easily be searched and understood by common sense alone. However, it is true that there is money on the internet. You just have to work for it. Jump start it in order for you to succeed.

If you want to learn the secret of affiliate marketing you just need to get out there on the Internet and start reading about it. It helps if you have a program to experiment with, but if you don't that's ok too.

I also recommend that when you are learning the ropes online that you find someone who will take you under your wing and help you as much as possible to avoid those costly mistakes. Follow one mentor and duplicate what they do and your success is assured. - 15790

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Can You Get a Debt Consolidation Loan With Bad Credit?

By Amy Nutt

These days it seems like everyone is having financial problems of one sort or another. With times being so tough for everyone economically, its understandable that some people fall back on credit or loans in order to make ends meet. Unexpected events and the resulting expenses can also cause people to take on more debt than they normally would. Unfortunately, the more debt you pile on, the faster it grows. Many high-interest credit cards have minimum monthly payment structures that are practically designed to ensure you will never pay the debt off. Unfortunately, the more credit you use, the greater the impact on your monthly expenses (as the monthly minimum payment grows along with the debt).

One great way to reduce your monthly expenses (and thus reduce the amount of income you need to generate in order to make ends meet) is to reduce or eliminate high interest credit. If youre thinking, 'easier said than done,' you are probably right. But there are ways to accomplish this goal. Even if you think you are buried in debt and there is no way out, youd be surprise at the options available at your disposal. Though there is no method that will eliminate your debt without your actually having to pay it, you can save time and money (and get motivated to become debt-free) through debt consolidation.

There are a few different approaches to debt consolidation. Some of these are credit counseling and debt consolidation loans. Here well focus on debt consolidation loans and whether people with bad credit are eligible to receive them.

Debt Consolidation Loans Debt consolidation loans are a type of consumer loan that is available to help debtors develop a road map to debt freedom. The process starts by applying for the loan. The application will require information about your monthly income and expenses, as well as details about all the consumer debt owed. The lending financial institution evaluates all this information and determines how much the debtor can afford to pay on each loan per month. Upon approval, a new loan is issued for an amount that is sufficient to pay all of the debtors outstanding debt. The debtor uses the newly borrowed funds to make final, lump sum payments on all his outstanding debts. Generally the debt consolidation loan is lent at a much lower interest rate than what was being charged on the existing debt. In many cases, the bank will negotiate to lower the total debt by lowering interest or removing late fees.

Bad Credit Debt Consolidation Services A debt consolidation loan is like any other loan. You repay the loan at an interest rate and the lending institution takes on a level of risk that you will default on the loan. Debt consolidation loans are designed for people that are already having trouble with their credit. While the lender is taking on a considerable amount of risk by lending to you, they are managing that risk by partnering with you in repairing your credit in the interest of providing a better financial future for YOU. Because they generally have working relationships with the very creditors you are indebted to, they have a better chance of enforcing payment. Debt consolidation loans may be available for borrowers who have bad credit if they have some sort of collateral. If the borrower has any home equity or other property of value, they may put it up in order to secure the loan. This is probably the easiest way for people with bad credit to get approved for debt consolidation loans. The best way to find out if your credit is too bad to get you qualified for a debt consolidation loan is to apply for one. - 15790

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The Advantages of an Online Bachelors Degree

By Bobbie McKee

When one desires to progress in his/her career, yet doesn't have the option to get a degree from a college due to commitment problems, there really is no need to fear. All that is needed is to know where to look. The Internet has opened a lot of doors for people who want to get a bachelors degree without having to take time in going to a school for it. Nowadays, a certified online bachelors degree is accessible to those who desire it through online classes so that you may take units and accomplish your graduation requirements.

Once you have made up your mind in enrolling for an online college degree program, you must keep in touch via email, forums, video conferences, VoIP, and so on. With this apparent convenience, online bachelors degree programs have garnered much popularity with travelers and career people through the recent years. This gives way to an increasing degree of acceptance throughout the world for certified online bachelors degree programs.

Definitely, the biggest advantage you get from taking up an online degree program is the ability to adjust your schedule provided by your online college of choice. Since the premise for these programs is to provide college education for those on the go, there are options for you to adjust as long as you complete your requirements as soon as you can.

There really isn't much of a requirement to adhere to a specific schedule as long as you notify them of the times when you are available for instruction. If you are diligent enough, you can graduate much quicker than in the conventional way, which is as soon as a year and a half or so. This is not without hard work on your part though.

There is nothing to fear about its authenticity. As long as you are a certified bachelors degree holder, you are acknowledged wherever you go, despite having earned it either on the Internet or in a school. You can be assured of your online degree's legitimacy since the world does recognize such an achievement. As long as you have worked hard for it in an online college with a good reputation.

This online program can help you keep your job while studying and even ascend in rank due to your acquired classifications upon graduation. As there are no certain time constraints, you should do well with taking your time in finishing your requirements during your time away from work. No need to either travel long distances or relocate because you can do it with a computer and an Internet connection.

There really isn't many differences between an online degree and a conventional one other than the former's convenience and the latter's need for regular physical attendance. The online program does not really need organized attendance since it is up to your prerogative. What really matters when you have finally gotten into the program is balance between your work, your family, and your education. Online colleges understand this, and they make sure that you can manage and maintain focus at all times.

There is nothing to lose and everything to gain with an online program. As long as you keep working hard to attain it, then there shouldn't be any reason to believe that you're doing anything wrong. Online bachelors degree programs are certified worldwide and is definitely accredited and legitimate as long as the degree is acquired from a reputable online college through sheer hard work. - 15790

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How To Get The Best Health Insurance

By Irving Donaldson

There are things that you can buy off the shelf so to speak and then there are the bigger ticket items that you need to be more careful about. When you start out looking to but the best kind of health insurance you need to be careful. By all accounts, theres a bunch to learn about the differences between policies like student health insurance and critical care insurance , so youll need to have a bit of a background before you wade in and pick a policy.

And one of the first things that will help you along is getting the right team put together. And that team will be made up of people that are working for you to see to it that you get the very best in health insurance. And if you listen to the professionals, there are some criteria that you need to look for.

* Expertise. One of the best ways to look for expertise is to see what the firm that youre thinking about is capable of . Do they specialize in just one kind of affordable health insurance or are there several kinds that they can master? Youll want to go with a firm that can do several different things at once.

* Customer Care. you know that a company is serious when they put all that they have into a great customer care package. It stands to reason that the company with the best health care package will be able to back up all their claims with the best customer care as well. It doesnt matter whether it in the day or the night, you need to be able to rely on the best of these people to see you through any difficulties that you might be having.

* Flexibility. The best of these health insurance places will be able to shift gears to suit your needs as well. That means that theyll have a plan that will suit all you needs and theyll be in touch with all the best carriers so that a deal can be brokered for the kind of health insurance that you might need.

There are a few things that youll need to consider when youre looking at health insurance industry. Remember that there are a general set of criteria that youll be able to see have the best chance of getting you the kind of health insurance that you require. - 15790

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Search Engine Optimization To Get Your Online Business Recognition

By Troy Simon

Search engine optimization is a marketing technique which increases the popularity of a website on search engines. The ranking of your website is placed higher on the list of a number of famous search engine results pages.

It is not just the volume of traffic that is potentially increased, but also the quality. With SEO you are assured that the people who are visiting your site have intended to so. They have not just accidently landed on your WebPages.

SEO targets traffic from different types of searches and considers what it is that people are searching for. When SEO is applied to a website, the content of the site has to be edited to increase the relevance of keywords and remove certain barriers.

Keywords are a major aspect of search engine optimization. An increase in the relevance of such keywords, the website stands a better chance of being visited. Because keywords are so important, they need to be carefully chosen.

Keywords should never be guessed. Do not assume what people are searching for. Keyword research is vital and there are many free tools offered online to assist you find relevant keywords. You should also look at the competition for these keywords. Which other similar websites are also using the same keywords. Once you have thoroughly examined all keywords, you are now ready to select the best ones for your site.

As soon as you have done this research you are now able to choose the keyword that is suited to your sight. Due to the fact that SEO is such an important technique on a site, some people might take the SEO shortcuts. Even though it makes SEO faster it is not the right way to go about.

In order to effectively use SEO on a site use the appointed relevant keywords in the title tag as this ultimately improves your site ranking. Buy an already established website from website owners who cannot maintain their sites anymore or even rent one. You will gain an immediate advantage.

For ranking of your site to be improved, use key phrases in the title tag as well. You could also invest in an already optimised site form an owner who cannot maintain it any longer or you could hire a site. It will be instantaneously beneficial. Before you rush to into SEO, do some checks on this tool and take note of what experts say about this system. - 15790

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