Archive for April, 2008
April 30, 2008 at 8:03 pm · Filed under Sports Resources
Although hitting from a bunker is straightforward once you learn the basics of stance and posture, the thought of hitting into a greenside sand trap unsettles many golfers. Improving your technique reduces the fear of bunker play and builds self-confidence in your shot-making capabilities.
Assuming the texture of the sand is similar, and the ball is not plugged, the technique for hitting out of a greenside bunker remains the same for shots up to 30 yards (27m). The key to making this shot, as I’ve explained in my golf tips, is hitting the sand about 1 to 2 inches behind the ball, throwing the sand forward with the ball. For longer shots the only thing that changes is the swing’s length. Rhythm and tempo remain the same.
Below are 5 points I cover in my golf lessons on bunker technique. They’re the focus of my golf instruction once I’ve reviewed how a wedge works and the fundamentals of stance and posture.
1. Move Arms Away in Unison
Having taken a slightly open stance, resist the temptation to get too steep early in the takeaway. Keep the wrists passive as you sweep the club away. Try to synchronize the arm swing and body turn. In other words, make the first part of the takeaway a one-piece movement. Also, make sure the clubhead follows the path away from the ball parallel to the line of your toes.
2. Rotate and Open
Rotate your left arm and wrists as the swing continues, as if you were looking at a wristwatch. It’s a visual I often use in my golf instruction to help players remember to make the move. It opens the clubface and helps maximize the bounce effect on the sand wedge at impact. Also, start hinging your wrists as the clubhead passes your right thigh. Keep your head still, turn the left shoulder in under the chin, and turn your back to the target.
3. Turn to the Top
As your body turns, you should feel as if your clubhead is pointing toward the sky and your wrists are cocked. Keep your head and body centered over the over the ball. Swing the club down on a slightly flatter plane, with good rhythm and tempo, as always. This is a key move any time you swing a club.
4. Make the Right Contact
Hitting the right impact point is critical when playing from the sand. In golf lessons I tell students to visualize the ball sitting on top of a tee instead of the sand, then focus on clipping the tee beneath the ball, which just happens to get in the swing’s way. Executed properly, this move will throw the ball out of the bunker with just the right amount of sand.
5. Create a Controlled Explosion
As the club comes down in the downswing, you should feel your hands drag left, pulling them across the ball through impact. Make sure that your right hand doesn’t cross over the left and that you clear your left hip as the club comes through. If the stance and clubhead are open sufficiently, the ball will fly straight, with a high trajectory.
Of course, the technique for longer bunker shots differs slightly. The key with longer shots is in the follow-through. Use a full finish for long bunker shots, and a short finish for shorter bunker shots.
Below are two exercises that I use in golf lessons to help students improve their bunker technique:
• This exercise establishes how the sand wedge should really work. Stand in a practice bunker without a ball. Adopt your normal bunker stance and take several swings down into the sand. The object is to get the feel of the clubhead dragging through the sand, not digging into it. After a dozen shots, try hitting a ball. Pick out a spot where you want the ball to land and then go for it. Repeat the exercise until you’re comfortable with the feel of the wedge splashing through the sand.
• Focusing on a spot where the clubhead hits can divert attention from where it emerges, resulting in a fluffed shot. The “Two Lines” exercise helps eliminate the tendency to lose focus. Stand in a bunker and take your normal bunker stance. Draw two lines in the sand about 6 to 7 inches apart. The lines represent the length of the sand you should carve from under the ball. Line up several balls between the two lines then hit them. The clubhead should enter the sand where the first line is and emerge where the second line is.
Practicing these two exercises while keeping the 5 points in mind will help build better bunker technique. As you become more and more comfortable with hitting out of a bunker, you will increase your self-confidence. And that, as I often tell my students, leads to better play and lower golf handicaps.
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.
April 30, 2008 at 5:09 am · Filed under Misc Stuff
Given the deteriorating state of the planet many would likely surmise that human beings are the worst thing that ever happened to the earth. Some might even go so far as to think that the extinction of our species would be a good thing, in fact the solution to the planet’s problems.
I would like to propose another solution which some of you may have entertained but dismissed due to its impractical nature. That solution entails the complete and permanent transformation of our mind/bodies into an immortal state.
Now I must qualify what I mean here because many of you may already have preconceived notions about what immortality means.
Firstly, here I am referring to the immortality of the mind/body and not just the spirit, as some of you are accustomed to thinking. After all in its proper definition “immortality” is about the mind/body and not about the spirit.
If this is confusing you please remember that the root word “mortal” refers to the fact that the mind/body has a limited existence. Hence the term “immortal” refers to the everlasting existence of the “mind/body”!
So hopefully, now that this is clear I wish to address the next impediment to this concept.
As soon as the idea of an immortal mind/body is invoked the first thought that occurs is: “Well how is the earth supposed to sustain an increasing population if none of us is dying?”
My response to this is as follows:
Assume we begin with the “fact” that we are immortal what does that really mean?
Well first of all it means that our minds/bodies are self sufficient and don’t require any sustenance the way we do now.
After all, if we base our immortal state on “the need” for sustenance then the availability of such sustenance would place a limit on our immortality and we then by definition would not be immortal beings, would we?
Additionally, since we now procreate to create a legacy and/or maintain our species there would no longer be a need to do so. In such a case the population would stabilize and maintain its stability.
Recall for a moment that many of the problems we currently experience and are assaulting the earth with today are bred from economic issues i.e. the laws of supply and demand, limited resources, too many people, not enough space.
With stable healthy minds/bodies that have no need for sustenance and with a stable global population there would be no need for competition, violence, wars, death, destruction etc. In other words there would be global peace as well as abundance.
Now you might say that there will always be individuals who will be inclined towards domination of some kind. Well I might ask then what it is that would motivate such behavior if they already have everything that they desire?
You see, the need for power emerges out of a deep fear of death and scarcity. When this is gone the main driving force for domination will also disappear.
Now I know that all of this may sound like science fiction to you. I also know that you think that I may have lost my mind in even entertaining this discussion. I ask however that you do ponder how such a reality might “feel” to you.
The reason I use the word “feel” is because for some individuals this scenario may find a place of resonance within them. If this is you then I simply ask that you become aware of where you personally feel that resonance inside.
So what state/form would our minds/bodies actually take in such a case? What’s more what laws of science would need to change for this state to be able to manifest itself?
Well notice how this feels:
We would need to reclaim our rightful state as Divine Immortal Energy Beings. That is we would need to become “Beings of Energy”.
Now by this I do not mean simply “spiritual beings” which entails that we die first. How can you be immortal if you’re dead? Doesn’t that contradict the very definition of immortality I outlined earlier? Absolutely!
So how is this new state supposed to manifest itself?
Well, it has been my experience working with a new modality called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) (MRP) that by releasing from the mind/body i.e. energy field, all of the conditioned life history that make up what we call our personalities that the mind/body undergoes interesting and unexplained changes that appear to suggest that such a quantum shift in our form is possible.
If you would like to learn more about MRP kindly visit the web link below where you’ll find a free downloadable MRP audio waiting for you.
Dr. Nick Arrizza is trained in Chemical Engineering, Business Management & Leadership, Medicine and Psychiatry. He is an Energy Psychiatrist, Healer, Key Note Speaker,Editor of a New Ezine Called “Spirituality And Science” (which is requesting high quality article submissions) Author of “Esteem for the Self: A Manual for Personal Transformation” (available in ebook format on his web site), Stress Management Coach, Peak Performance Coach & Energy Medicine Researcher, Specializes in Life and Executive Performance Coaching, is the Developer of a powerful new tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that helps build physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being by helping to permanently release negative beliefs, emotions, perceptions and memories. He holds live workshops, international telephone coaching sessions and international teleconference workshops on Physical. Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Well Being.
Business URL #1: http://www.telecoaching4u.com
Personal URL: http://www.telecoaching4u.com/Spirituality_And_Science.htm
April 30, 2008 at 4:55 am · Filed under Advice
How do you increase business profits? Answer the following questions carefully, and you’ll have a good start.
1. Can you increase the average sale? A restaurant with 25% profit margins might make 50% on additional sales to existing customers (less labor to bag one large order than two smaller ones). Asking “What would you like to drink with that?” works, and it’s just a start.
2. What’s the least expensive way to get a customer? Before you spend another thousand dollars advertising to get new customers, could you get as much business by spending a few hours contacting previous or existing customers?
3. What low risk ideas can you try? I once sent a letter to several visiting basketball teams, inviting them to visit our restaurant, and giving the coach a free meal as an incentive. The cost? Two dollars. The pay off was two busloads of customers. At that rate, you could increase your business profits even if nine out of ten ideas fail.
4. Have you tested prices? I knew a store that sold a product for a $1.05, that cost them $1.00. At a price of $1.20, it is doubtful that they’d lose half their sales, but if they did, they’d still make twice the profit. Some things even sell better at a higher price. Test.
5. Can you measure your advertising results? How do you know that you’re not spending more for a customer than they’re worth? Coupons, customer surveys and other methods of measurement are a must.
6. How do you know your customers are satisfied? The worst restaurant meal we ever ate went down without a comment, but we never returned to that restaurant. Maybe the owner should be talking to the customers.
7. Can you enhance the percieved value of your product? Years ago, I sold walking sticks for $10 at flea markets, and $20 at craft shows. Sometimes location alone can enhance the percieved value of a product. What else can you do?
8. What are similar businesses doing? See what your successful competitors are doing. Can you do the same?
9. What other products can you sell? There’s a reason stores have candy and magazines near the checkout. Extra sales are a great way to increase business profits.
10. Can you use your customers as salesmen? Word of mouth is a start, but what other ways can you get your customers to bring their friends to you?
These were culled from a longer list. I call it “stolen business ideas,” because I can’t credit the original authors. I took them where I found them over the years, with grattitude, but without notes.
Steve Gillman has been studying every aspect of money for thirty years. You can find more interesting and useful information on his website; http://www.EverythingAboutMoney.info
April 29, 2008 at 4:16 pm · Filed under Living With Medicine
Contrary to common belief, your weight is not really the
indicator of a weight problem - the actual percentage of body
fat is the true indicator. You need to know what percent of you
is actually FAT. How are you going to monitor your weight loss
if you do not know what percent of your body is fat, before you
begin your program?
Let me give you an example on measuring body fat, this is
important in understanding weight loss, or should I say FAT
LOSS. This is actually what we are trying to lose, right? FAT!
Lets say someone weighs 200 pounds and when we measure their
body fat we find out there body fat is 40%
This means that 40% of the members body is made of fat (80 lbs).
The other 120 lbs is muscle, bones, organs, water, etc.
(everything but fat).
Now any true weight loss program should include some form of
strength training customized to their personal abilities
(Another reason you need someone who truly understands the whole
body and how it works). Because if you can gain some of that
muscle mass that we lose with age, our bodies will burn more
calories and therefore burn more FAT!
Now it’s a few weeks into the program and this person steps on
the scale and they now weigh 198 lbs. They are a little
disappointed because they thought they were doing better. Their
clothes fit better, they have more energy, and they are feeling
better.
But they are still depressed because they only lost a lousy 2
pounds! Right? Are we sure???
We now check their body fat and it is now 36% not 40%. Let’s do
a little math.
200 lbs at 40% body fat means that 40% of them is fat, which
equals 80 lbs of FAT, and 120 lbs are muscles and everything
else (called the lean body mass).
198 lbs at 36% body fat means that 36% of them is fat which
equals 71 lbs of FAT, and 125 lbs of lean body mass.
This person actually lost 9 pounds of FAT (the stuff we are
trying to lose) and gained 5 pounds of lean body mass (mostly
muscle mass, which is a good thing because this will allow their
body to burn more calories!)
You need to measure and focus on PERCENT OF BODY FAT, AND NOT
WEIGHT!
But don’t worry, when your body fat goes down, as your body fat
decreases so will the numbers on the scale!
April 29, 2008 at 10:52 am · Filed under Kids Stuff
Make way in the shower ladies. The baby shower that is - because the male invasion into this previously all-female affair has begun.
And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. This is the modern baby shower in action.
The advent of more males attending baby showers has tended to turn the baby shower gathering into less of a game playing event and more of a social gathering where couples get to share in the excitement of the coming baby while enjoying each others company.
Baby shower invitations for the men means the baby shower menu might lean more toward some poolside barbecue action and less indoor finger foods and baby games. Not many men will be vying to see how fast they can dress and undress a baby doll. Though, on the other hand, that could make for an interesting competition with the women.
Likewise, the more men that are invited the less feminine the baby shower theme. Maybe less of a Winnie the Pooh baby shower theme and more of a Pittsburg Steelers theme. You could even get a Terry Bradshaw bobble head doll. Okay, on second thought you don’t want to scare the tot when it arrives. So, maybe there is a baby shower middle ground there somewhere…
If men are invited you might want to mix up the baby shower games as well. Maybe alternate baby shower bingo with a round of Texas Holdem.
The Baby Shower Guest List
The baby shower guest list is usually put together by either a close friend or relative of the soon to be mom or by the mother herself. They’ll be the ones
deciding if any men get invitations to the baby shower.
If the expectant mother is not doing the baby shower guest list she should be consulted prior to choosing the final list and sending out the baby
shower invitations.
The only time you don’t want to consult the mother to be when planning the baby shower is when the baby shower is a surprise. In that event make sure the person closest to the mom to be is notified and asked about the baby shower guest list. This person might also have some unique input regarding any decorating ideas, favors, gifts and other baby shower items that might be needed.
More than One Baby Shower?
Yes, sometimes there is more than one baby shower especially if the people that the mother works with want to throw a baby shower for her. And, yes the men can get invited to that one as well.
So be forewarned, the diaper cakes, baby shower gift baskets and party favors might have to make room for the footballs and nachos. Good luck and enjoy the shower.
Visit BabyTipsPlus.com to pick up your free copy of Planning a Baby Shower, the ultimate guide to baby shower games, themes, gift ideas, invitations,
decorations and favors. Go now for baby shower ideas.
April 29, 2008 at 9:58 am · Filed under Sales Center
One of the key things that we teach salespeople is that your job in sales is to understand what it is that people do, and then to help them do it better. For only by understanding what people do; how they do it, why they do it that way, when they do it, and who they do it with, can you be in a position to really help them and show them what will make sense to them. Notice that the emphasis here is on the prospect: what makes sense to THEM. It’s not about what makes sense to you, or what you would like to sell them. Notice also that we’re not talking about asking prospects about their “needs,” “problems,” or “pain.”
As D.E.I. Management Group President and author, Steve Schiffman says in his book “The 250 Sales Questions to Close the Deal:”
What if I ask the person to describe pressing business problems that he or she will face in the future? What if I build my proposal around those business issues? I might get a decent picture of what is going on in that person’s world, but I will not get the whole picture. Even if you discover everything about the person’s pains, needs, and problems, you will have only learned about certain parts of their situation - the parts that are currently causing pain and problems. You won’t be getting the whole picture. What about the rest of your contact’s situation - the things that don’t fit in the categories of pain, needs, or problems? What’s going on there? If I only ask about “needs,” I don’t know - and if you’ve only been asking the types of questions mentioned above, neither do you.
Let’s explore this a bit more deeply. People will only make a decision to do something if it makes sense to them. I think that’s something we can all agree on. So how do we know what will make sense to someone we meet for the first time, or whom we don’t know all that well? That comes through asking questions and in taking a genuine interest in the people we meet with.
Many of us in sales were taught, at one time or another, that we need to be good listeners, and that we need to show we care by asking questions. Yet how many of us really do a good job at that? We are excited about our products and services - we want to jump right in and show our prospect that we have the fix for whatever ails them. We need to learn to fight that urge to “throw-up” on the prospect with our solution to their problem - for if we do this too soon in the process we’re really just guessing at what makes the most sense to them.
An understanding of basic human motivation will help you ask better questions to arrive at the ultimate plan that will make sense to your prospect. As human beings, we are all drive by two primary motivating factors; the desire to avoid pain, or the desire to gain something. Or, to put it another way - we either want to fix something that isn’t working, or we want to create a better future.
Consultant and author Mahan Khalsa in his book “Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play” says it well:
People who are trying to “move away from pain” will interpret issues as pain and may give us a list a problems, frustrations, and dissatisfaction. They may even use physical or emotional pain phrases like: “It’s killing us…,” “We’re bleeding…,” “It’s a pain in the neck…,” It’s a real headache…,” It’s a nightmare…,” “It’s like pulling teeth….”
People who are “moving toward gain” will interpret issues as results (i.e., objectives, goals, and outcomes). They may use phrases like” “What we’d like to see…,” “What we think is possible…,” “Our vision is…,” “What we’re excited about is…,” “Our end in mind is…,” “We’d like to create…,” etc. Their language will give us some hints about where they would like to start. We’ll just need to be aware of the language.
Our job in asking questions then, is to listen to what our prospect says and determine which mode they are operating in - listen to their language, and then ask more questions to find out more about their unique situation. In doing this, you will want to ask questions that relate to the past, the present, and the future. Asking about the past will help you determine what problems they may be dealing with that they want to fix. Asking about the present will focus in their present situation and the current “status quo”. Future based questions will give you a sense of what goals and outcomes they hope to accomplish. All of these areas are important to gain a full sense of what will makes sense to the person and of what will lead them to buy.
Every conversation is unique. You need to focus on what your contact is telling you and then follow-up with a logical question to dig deeper. Each question you ask should follow from the question and answer before it. For example, suppose you are speaking with someone and she tells you that her company plans to open 5 new locations in the next year. What will your next question be? Here are some possibilities:
• That’s great. I’m just curious, why five?
• That’s great. I’m just curious, where will they be? How did you decide on those locations?
• That’s great. What are your first year projections for those locations?
• That’s great. What kinds of challenges do you typically face when you open new locations?
You could probably come up with several other questions you could use here, but the point is that the question is squarely focused on them - and may not even have anything directly to do with your offering. Remember, your goal is to understand as much as you can about them. Through question like this you are developing a real conversation. A conversation in which your contact’s comfort and trust level will increase, and one in which you will gain real insight into what they “do” - what they hope to accomplish as well as the problems they need to solve.
Only once you’ve gained a better sense of their past, present, and future - along with problems (pain) and goals (gain) are you in a position to make a real recommendation or proposal.
Moving quickly through this step can jeopardize your opportunities to build a real relationship and to add real value to the selling situation. Take the time to truly understand what your prospect does, and you will see your sales increase!
Copyright 2005 Lexien Management Consultants, Inc
Mark Dembo; President, Lexien Management Consultants ( http://www.lexien.com ).
Lexien Management Consultants is a consulting and training company providing growth-oriented companies with strategies, tools, and skills to improve their top and bottom-lines. Each month, Lexien publishes the Sales Success Newsletter. You can contact Mark at 914-682-2069, or at mdembo@lexien.com.
April 28, 2008 at 3:21 pm · Filed under Living With Medicine
Wrap sandwiches are one of the new trends in health food, and they have become popular with all sorts of people, whether on a diet or not. Low-carb wraps are now the newest craze on the health food market, and they are just one more of the new food items that diversify the range of choices for carb-counting dieters.
Leading the pack is fast-food chain Subway. For years, Subway has marketed itself as a health-oriented fast food restaurant, and its new low-carb wraps continue that trend. Now, Subway markets itself as the low-carb fast food restaurant, meeting your dietary needs. In December 2003, Subway reached a licensing agreement with Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., allowing Subway to offer Atkins-friendly wraps in stores nationwide.
Special wheat and soy grains are used to make the new low-carb wraps, which are high in fiber and protein. Additionally, the new wraps contain approximately two-thirds less carbohydrates than Subway’s regular 6-inch sub sandwiches, and they will cost customers about 50 cents more.
Subway is not the only place to find these low-carb wraps; many restaurants carry such items, and grocery stores stock the ingredients necessary to make your own. Behind this new food craze is the larger movement toward low-carb diets, a trend that has Americans everywhere counting their carbohydrates and finding new ways to enjoy alternative, low-carb breads, pastas, fruits and the like.
There are currently two low-carb wraps at Subway right now, and the number of carbs varies from source to source. The first is the chicken bacon ranch, with approximately eight grams of net carbs. There is also the turkey and bacon melt. This has a bit more net carbohydrates. There are about 10 net carbs in the turkey bacon melt, but it’s still low enough to easily fit into your low-carb diet.
Again, restaurants aren’t your only source for low-carb wraps. Many grocery stores carry the ingredients necessary to create your own, and you can find recipes for the making the tortillas themselves in cookbooks and on the Internet.
April 28, 2008 at 12:56 pm · Filed under House Of Websters
If you’ve been
studying online marketing for awhile you’re familiar with the
term ‘AIDA’ since it’s the standard formula for creating a sales
or signup page.
But just in case
you’re not here’s what it stands for:
-
Grab the reader’s Attention.
-
Get the reader’s Interest.
-
Create a Desire for your
product or service.
-
Call for Action. (Tell your
reader what to do.)
So you write a catchy
headline and try to use 1 or more of the latest ‘buzz’ words.
Then you write
something you hope will get the reader’s interest and describe
the ‘benefits’ of your offer.
And of course you’ve
put a signup form or a payment link on your site.
But …
Nothing’s happening.
No sales - No signups.
Well the first thing
you have to check is to make sure you’ve got some traffic to
your site.
Ok, you’ve got some
decent traffic so what’s the problem?
There are lots of
possibilities and I am going to list 4 of the biggies.
-
Your page loads so
slow people don’t stick around to read it.
True, a lot of people have fast connections but they’ve also
gotten used to fast loading web pages so your landing page needs
to come up quickly. Because my homepage takes too long to load,
I’ve created several fast loading pages to promote my site and
newsletter and you should consider doing the same.
If you don’t want to create smaller landing pages you can also
divide your page into sections by using tables. Have the top
portion of your page in 1 table so it will come up quickly and
give the reader something to read while the rest of your page
loads.
- Your site is hard to
read.
When you’re picking the colors and fonts for your site make sure
you pick ones that are ‘easy on the eyes’ and show up well on
the monitor.
You should also write short paragraphs with empty space between
them.
And one of most effective things you can do is create bullet or
numbered lists. Be sure to put some space between the bullet
items and if the list is really long you should alternate either
the color or bold style of the list items. (Changing fonts or
font size is not recommended.)
-
Your page requires
special software to be seen or heard.
Now maybe you’ve got all the extra downloadable software to make
all your banners, ad boxes, audio and video work but a lot of
people don’t. In fact, I’m one of them.
Almost every day I come across sites that tell me I need to
download something to see or hear a page properly. While I know
how to download these things, a lot of people don’t.
So if you’ve got something on your page that requires special
software make sure the software is easily attainable, free and
most visitors already have it.
Don’t rely on the part of your page that requires extra software
to do most of your selling because a lot of visitors will never
see or hear it.
-
Your page is full of
extra clutter.
In your attempt to build a list you’ve created a signup form.
Then you wanted to add content so you did. Next you need to sell
something so you’ve put up a few ads. You need traffic so you’ve
added several banner exchange banners to your page. And lastly,
you’ve added a popup.
With all these things going for you, your visitors will surely
find something to click on. Right?
Wrong. You’ve given them too many things to click on. Now when
they see your sight it looks like a flashing sign that says “I’m
new at this and trying anything that will get your attention.”
Remember the other marketing acronym - KISS. (Keep It Simple, Smarty!)
Ok, I changed the last word but you get the point.
Don’t clutter your page with so many things your visitor is
overwhelmed with choices. Focus on 1 thing.
Sure, your homepage may be a content page with a signup form and
some ads. But what’s it’s focus?
If it’s the content then that’s what fills most of the page and
the other things are smaller and unobtrusive.
If it’s primarily a signup page then the content is promoting
your mailings and the signup box is bigger and included in or at
the end of the content. Any ads on the page are smaller and
unobtrusive.
Now I don’t use banner exchanges but know the banners have to be
shown for you to get credit. Rather than have several on you
home page, use 1 at the bottom and maybe 1 at the top of your
main page. To get exposure for your other banner exchange
programs, try splitting your main page or creating some other
page that most visitors will visit and then you can place 1 or 2
more on that page as well. (You could create a text link that
promotes free traffic and points to your page full of banner
exchange banners along with some words saying that by joining
these programs they can get more traffic for their site.)
There are other
things that can cause your response rate to be less than
acceptable so you should be testing different headlines,
wording, formatting, etc. while you’re making sure you’re not
committing 1 of the above biggies.
Creating a page that performs well doesn’t mean you have to use
a lot of images, make it unique with unusual fonts and colors,
use all the latest technical gadgets or promote everything
you’ve joined.
If your landing pages are simple; fast loading, easy to read,
readable by everyone and focused on 1 thing, you’re on the right
path to getting a good response rate.
To Your Success,
Susan
Susan Carroll owner of http://www.friendswhocare.us has formed a global community of online business people through her weekly newsletter.
Although designed to help those just getting started, her community of friends
include both newbies and experienced internet marketers.
Her Circle of Friends free membership area contains many free resources and
tools for online marketers. You can get a free membership at:
http://www.friendswhocare.us/join.htm.
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.
April 27, 2008 at 12:59 pm · Filed under Business
An individual diving into business ownership is a risk. An individual has to deal with all of the decision making regarding hiring and finances. Furthermore, individual business owners also have to attempt to overcome their weaknesses and present them as strengths.
Due to the difficult decision making needed and the incredible amount of skill involved in owning your own business a lot of people like to involve themselves in partnerships but just like any other relationship, business partnerships have negatives and positives.
1. One positive of a partnership is an increased amount of contacts.
2. Another positive is that one persons strengths can make up for another ones weaknesses.
3. An additional positive is that having financing coming from multiple sources is a great asset to any business.
4. Partnerships also allows for more ideas to develop. Two heads are better than one when it comes to creating ideas and problem solving.
Below are some negatives involved with business partnerships.
1. The profits have to be split. With a partner you are automatically giving up a percentage of income to someone else.
2. Another negative can be disagreements. Disagreements about different aspects of how a business should be run can lead to turmoil between partners.
If you are considering starting a business with a partner, review this article to make sure it is the right thing to do.
Andre Bias is the owner of http://www.kidfriendlyentertainment.com, and online source for top notch DVD’s for children 10 years old and younger. He is also the owner of the websites http://www.pokergreed.com and http://www.mustseeauctions.com.
April 27, 2008 at 12:40 pm · Filed under House Of Websters
Are you a sport fanatic? Do you like working on cars? What about cooking?
Unless you were born yesterday or are a complete moron you have
a phletora of knowledge inside your head. This is exactly what the Search Engines want!
The Internet is still largely a text based medium. And all of the search engines know this. Your keywords should be based on this.
Build a website with lots of good original content….this is what almost all “Internet Marketing Guru’s” will tell you. It’s also called Niche Marketing.
Now get yourself a domain name and a good webhosting company. A good domain will cost you as little $2.00 bucks. And webhosting as low as $5.00 bucks a month. When looking for a domain name be sure to use the .com extension and not the .net or the .org extensions. The .com is what most people will remember. What would you rather have? repairyourcar.com or repairyourcar.org? Most folks will remember repairyourcar.com.
If you already have a website concentrate on good content….. Because it is still King!
You should learn html, ftp, php, css, graphics, how to ebooks and a phletora (there’s that word again) of other programming tools to help you succeed with your website. There are also thousands of websites to help you, just do a search on your favorite search engine for html help, ftp programs, ebooks, and niche marketing.
You must also read everything, read until your eyes bleed, consume all that is positive, if you have any doubts cast them aside. Read the forums, blogs, websites, articles and anything that you consider helpful.
Make it easy for the search engines to crawl your site. No tricks, or disappearing acts. Try to keep your webpages on the same level as your index.html page. Stay away from yoursite.com/info/moreinfo/good-info.html. The search engines love straight one level websites.
Get good quality links from other website similar to yours. Do NOT trade links about cars if your website is about gardening.
Stay away from get rich quick programs, stick with what you know and you will succeed. Believe me I know this first hand.
How long will it take? 2-3 weeks….I doubt it. 2-4 months maybe…. 1 year or so….absolutley!
Paul Guzman is the author of the above article.
You can email him at mgr@guzmansgreenhouse.com
Or visit his website http://www.guzmansgreenhouse.com
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