BEIJING (AFP) — Chinese officials have found 22 companies produced baby milk tainted with a toxic chemical, state media said Tuesday, in a dramatic escalation of a scandal that has left two infants dead.
Milk powder contaminated with a chemical used to make plastics has sickened more than 1,200 infants in a health scare that erupted last week and prompted a nationwide investigation into the extent of the problem.
The contamination was originally thought contained to the Sanlu brand, with the company apologising on Monday for the scandal.
But state-run CCTV said Tuesday night that more products have been discovered with the chemical melamine, and that all, including the powder made by Sanlu, have been pulled from shelves.
"In order to ensure the safety of the milk products, the relevant government departments have pulled them from shelves, sealed them, recalled them and destroyed them," CCTV said in its report.
The State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said tests on products from all 109 baby milk companies in China showed varying traces of melamine in 69 batches from 22 companies, Xinhua news agency said.
In an indication, meanwhile, that markets outside mainland China could be affected, a Hong Kong supermarket chain on Tuesday recalled a yogurt ice bar found to contain melamine.
The Wellcome chain said the product was the Yili Natural Choice Yogurt Ice-bar. Yili is a dairy manufacturer in China's Inner Mongolia region.
The scandal is the latest to rock China's food industry, which has been tarnished by a series of health scares over dangerous products, including those to export markets, in recent years.
China's top product-quality watchdog would dispatch inspectors to all milk-product manufacturers to contain the spreading health threat, CCTV said.
The moves were meant to "uncover the causes, pursue those responsible and severely deal with them in accordance with the law," it said.
The government has said milk collectors, who gather milk from dairy farmers, deliberately added melamine to make it appear the milk had more protein.
Sanlu, however, had blamed dairy farmers.
Police have arrested four suspects, at least two of which have admitted adding melamine to milk, according to state press, in reports that warned more sick babies were expected to be reported.
The 22 companies mentioned by CCTV included Torador Dairy Industry, a China-Australia joint venture in the northern city of Tianjian. Calls to Torador on Tuesday evening went unanswered.
They also included Guangdong Yashili Group, the report said, which exports its products to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Yemen.
However, it said tests of Yashili export products showed no melamine traces. The report made no further mention of possible contamination of exports.
Melamine, which is used for making plastics and glues, is being blamed for causing kidney stones in the affected babies, a condition normally rare in infants, but which gives rise to a range of health risks.
The two infant deaths occurred in May and July, the health ministry said.
The government has criticised Sanlu for not going public sooner once babies began to fall ill in March in northwestern Gansu province.
Tests in early August began to show melamine in Sanlu's product, but the scandal only broke in Chinese media last week.
Sanlu has fired its chairwoman and its general manager, state media said.
Four local officials, linked with agriculture and quality control, were also sacked on Tuesday, Xinhua said.
Andrew Ferrier, the head of New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, which owns 43 percent of Sanlu, said Fonterra knew of the contamination in early August and pushed for an immediate recall but that Sanlu was slowed by Chinese rules.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said her government learned of the contamination problem September 5, then "blew the whistle" three days later by informing Beijing after local Chinese officials refused to act.
2008-08-31
How to Accept Credit, Debit and PayPal Payments Online
Electronic payments are the financial lingua franca of online business and you can't do business without them. They come in several primary varieties: credit card payments, PayPal and online wallet programs. According to a recent Gallup Poll, 88 percent of all online purchases are made with credit or debit cards. Fail to accept any of these payment options and you may be turning away potential business.
Step1
Be certain that your merchant credit card gateway accepts all major credit cards, including Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover.
Step2
Make sure all accounts that you establish for accepting payments integrate seamlessly with your Shopping Cart service and your accounting program. Some payment gateways, including PayPal, offer free shopping cart functionality.
Step3
Insist on a service that is transparent and fast. Fast for your customers, so that they can get quick approval for their transactions with you. Fast for you, so that you can view balances and transactions at any time and move money into your checking account without delay.
Establish Accounts to Accept Payments Online
Step1
Visit PayPal's "Choose Account Type" page and sign up for a PayPal Business Account (see Resources below). If you are located in the United States, intend to be an active seller and want to accept credit cards as well as PayPal payments, select website "Payments Standard," which charges nothing to open an account, withdraw funds, add funds or send funds. There are no monthly fees. Fees are charged as a percentage of each credit card or PayPal transaction and are generally lower than those available through bank based merchant accounts.
Step2
Review PayPal's terms for credit card processing to see if it meets your business needs. Since PayPal began providing credit and debit card merchant account processing other vendors for such services have ceased operations. PayPal will allow you to accept payment via Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover credit or debit cards, either on PayPal's site or on your own website, at rates that compare favorably with competitors.
Step3
Shop for alternatives to PayPal among other vendors such as Charge.com, Cardservice International, SecureNetShop and ProPay.
Find and buy tickets by cities
Step1
Be certain that your merchant credit card gateway accepts all major credit cards, including Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover.
Step2
Make sure all accounts that you establish for accepting payments integrate seamlessly with your Shopping Cart service and your accounting program. Some payment gateways, including PayPal, offer free shopping cart functionality.
Step3
Insist on a service that is transparent and fast. Fast for your customers, so that they can get quick approval for their transactions with you. Fast for you, so that you can view balances and transactions at any time and move money into your checking account without delay.
Establish Accounts to Accept Payments Online
Step1
Visit PayPal's "Choose Account Type" page and sign up for a PayPal Business Account (see Resources below). If you are located in the United States, intend to be an active seller and want to accept credit cards as well as PayPal payments, select website "Payments Standard," which charges nothing to open an account, withdraw funds, add funds or send funds. There are no monthly fees. Fees are charged as a percentage of each credit card or PayPal transaction and are generally lower than those available through bank based merchant accounts.
Step2
Review PayPal's terms for credit card processing to see if it meets your business needs. Since PayPal began providing credit and debit card merchant account processing other vendors for such services have ceased operations. PayPal will allow you to accept payment via Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover credit or debit cards, either on PayPal's site or on your own website, at rates that compare favorably with competitors.
Step3
Shop for alternatives to PayPal among other vendors such as Charge.com, Cardservice International, SecureNetShop and ProPay.
Find and buy tickets by cities
2008-08-24
How to 5 Simple Steps To Make Money Online
This article intends to show how easy it is to build a website and start a business online to make money. It reveals 5 easy steps which even the biggest internet marketers are using to make millions online. By the end of the article the reader can actually build a website, find a market and products, build traffic and automate his business.
Step1
Unbeknownst to many of us, to start a business online and make a secondary or primary income is easier than most people imagine. If you are serious enough you can learn to make a thousand dollars within a week to a month. All you need to start is probably less than a couple of hundred dollars! I ve known a couple in Australia who knew little about the internet but within two years were making $250,000+ per annum. There is even an apparently ordinary guy in Singapore who makes $549,000 within six months after mastering the knowledge in a few years.
Amazing as it may seem, all you need to start with is a computer which most homes have; a few softwares, most of which are free and a little knowledge which you can gather from google or any other search engines.
So what are the 5 easy steps to start an internet business so that you can start making money online. I would trace below the money making secret steps below with the advice that you can find any information you need on the internet. (Just go to www.google.com and type the keyword or phrase on google search and you will find a wikipaedia s worth of internet information or online information.)
The first step begins with you deciding on what you want to sell on the internet. You can sell information products or physical products. It would be good if you sell something that you love or excites you or that you know much about. In internet terms when you look for these kinds of products you are said to go into an affinity market; a market that has an affinity to you in terms of your expertise or natural inclination. You can do a kind of brainstorm with your friends or family members; they tend to know best what you are good at or love.
Having chosen your affinity market so to speak, you now need to go and do some market research. With the information highway on your computer screen, this is very simple to do. Just go to a search engine like google and type in the words for the products you are looking for on google search and this will lead to a list of websites. Most, if not all the websites, will display the product(s) you are looking for. This exercise will reveal to you what people are looking for or selling in relation to your search. You can also go to www.ebay.com, www.amazon.com, www.msn.com etc..to continue your market research. Thus you will confirm that what you want to sell is what people want to buy.
Step2
The second step now is to find the actual product that you want to offer to the market. Like any offline business you can do one of two things:
1. Sell other people s product as a distributor (in internet terms, you choose to be affiliate of an internet merchant). Remember, you either sell an information product or a physical product. For information product, go to Clickbank.com where you will find many who offer affiliate programs for their products. As to how to go about being an affiliate, clickbank has a comprehensive Q&A section that answers everything that you need to know. As for physical products, go and look for the term dropshippers in google and you would find all the products you need. Dropshippers are merchants who are looking for affiliates or internet distributors to sell their products. Most of their websites will explain in detail how you can join them and go about as an
Step3
Now that you have found your market and the products you wish to offer to satisfy your market, the third step is to set up a shop on the internet. This is simply called a website. Your website is therefore your shop in the internet world, so to speak. To many, putting up or creating a website is like building your own motor car! It seems horrifying! And yet it is so simple that a novice friend of mine when given some instructions actually put up a website within days! Some people would even charge you $5,000 to build one for you.
Don t be fooled! It is so easy to create your own website if you are told how. In fact if you are an affiliate of information products, you don t even need to have a website to make money. You can go to www.enduringautoincome.com or www.entrepreneurwealth.com to find the information. Most affiliate program merchants would even set up a website for you for free if you sign up as their distributor. They are most eager to teach you everything you need to know to help them sell their products. By the way, the commission for selling other people s products can be as high as 75% to 90%. Not bad eh!
One simple way to set up your own website is to go to www.Nvu.com and find instructions within the software website itself or google to learn how to use it. If you know how to use Microsoft Word, you will find NVU easy.
Before you set up your website however you must give it a name and register it. This is called the Domain name and you must buy it. It can be as cheap as $1.99 and never more than $10 for a year. You can go to www.smallbusiness.Yahoo.com, www.godaddy.com, www.namecheap.com. Now that you have bought a domain name, you can start creating or get a free website.
Step4
Now that you have got a shop, namely, your website, the fourth step is to promote it in the internet. This is known in internet as creating traffic i.e. getting visitors to your site. Again you can learn more about this from any number of sources on the internet. Just go to google search and type traffic and you will get a wealth of information on traffic generation information.
There are two ways you can get traffic, generally. You pay for it or borrow it. To pay for traffic, you go search for google adwords, MSNAdCenter, Yahoo and do what is known as a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign, a sort of advertising campaign in the internet. Google adwords will teach you in a simple manner, the process to go about a google adword campaign. If you follow the instructions diligently you can almost master the process within an hour or two. You can then apply your knowledge to other PPC programs in other Search Engines like MSN or Yahoo.
To borrow traffic you would have to go to articles or forums websites where you can contribute an article or two like this one to share your knowledge and then invite readers to your site, like www.endurinautoincome.com or www.entrepreneurwealth.com.
Step5
Now that your shop is up and people are visiting to buy your products, the last step you would want to take is to automate your business so that the business can go on without you attending to it 24/7. This process is called duplication. This process involves having a management software that can communicate with your customers on a frequent basis automatically both to build a long term relationship with them and to promote new products to them. The software that does this is called an auto-responder. You need to subscribe to one though and they charge a fee ranging from $20 up on a monthly basis. The one I use is named monsterresponse.com and is the best and cheapest I have found so far. The other is www.Aweber which has the best reputation but maybe a little pricier. Again it is easy to learn how to set up an auto responder. You find the instructions either with the auto-responder company or on the internet.
What the auto-responder really does is to send automatically a series of email letters from you either offering information or products to your customers. It also allows you to collect the names and emails of your customers and store this in the system. This list of subscribers to your site becomes the vital list that will ensure of constant business for you throughout the lifetime of your website. It would take a little while to build this list and the speed at which you build it depends how creative you are in your traffic building campaigns.
There, you have it all, the 5 simple steps to having your very own internet marketing business. If you want to begin with a simple to do internet business, visit me at www.entrepreneurwealth.com or www.enduringautoincome.com. This is Louis Lim @ Limfame signing off and wishing you all the success you deserve.
Find Real Lovers
Step1
Unbeknownst to many of us, to start a business online and make a secondary or primary income is easier than most people imagine. If you are serious enough you can learn to make a thousand dollars within a week to a month. All you need to start is probably less than a couple of hundred dollars! I ve known a couple in Australia who knew little about the internet but within two years were making $250,000+ per annum. There is even an apparently ordinary guy in Singapore who makes $549,000 within six months after mastering the knowledge in a few years.
Amazing as it may seem, all you need to start with is a computer which most homes have; a few softwares, most of which are free and a little knowledge which you can gather from google or any other search engines.
So what are the 5 easy steps to start an internet business so that you can start making money online. I would trace below the money making secret steps below with the advice that you can find any information you need on the internet. (Just go to www.google.com and type the keyword or phrase on google search and you will find a wikipaedia s worth of internet information or online information.)
The first step begins with you deciding on what you want to sell on the internet. You can sell information products or physical products. It would be good if you sell something that you love or excites you or that you know much about. In internet terms when you look for these kinds of products you are said to go into an affinity market; a market that has an affinity to you in terms of your expertise or natural inclination. You can do a kind of brainstorm with your friends or family members; they tend to know best what you are good at or love.
Having chosen your affinity market so to speak, you now need to go and do some market research. With the information highway on your computer screen, this is very simple to do. Just go to a search engine like google and type in the words for the products you are looking for on google search and this will lead to a list of websites. Most, if not all the websites, will display the product(s) you are looking for. This exercise will reveal to you what people are looking for or selling in relation to your search. You can also go to www.ebay.com, www.amazon.com, www.msn.com etc..to continue your market research. Thus you will confirm that what you want to sell is what people want to buy.
Step2
The second step now is to find the actual product that you want to offer to the market. Like any offline business you can do one of two things:
1. Sell other people s product as a distributor (in internet terms, you choose to be affiliate of an internet merchant). Remember, you either sell an information product or a physical product. For information product, go to Clickbank.com where you will find many who offer affiliate programs for their products. As to how to go about being an affiliate, clickbank has a comprehensive Q&A section that answers everything that you need to know. As for physical products, go and look for the term dropshippers in google and you would find all the products you need. Dropshippers are merchants who are looking for affiliates or internet distributors to sell their products. Most of their websites will explain in detail how you can join them and go about as an
Step3
Now that you have found your market and the products you wish to offer to satisfy your market, the third step is to set up a shop on the internet. This is simply called a website. Your website is therefore your shop in the internet world, so to speak. To many, putting up or creating a website is like building your own motor car! It seems horrifying! And yet it is so simple that a novice friend of mine when given some instructions actually put up a website within days! Some people would even charge you $5,000 to build one for you.
Don t be fooled! It is so easy to create your own website if you are told how. In fact if you are an affiliate of information products, you don t even need to have a website to make money. You can go to www.enduringautoincome.com or www.entrepreneurwealth.com to find the information. Most affiliate program merchants would even set up a website for you for free if you sign up as their distributor. They are most eager to teach you everything you need to know to help them sell their products. By the way, the commission for selling other people s products can be as high as 75% to 90%. Not bad eh!
One simple way to set up your own website is to go to www.Nvu.com and find instructions within the software website itself or google to learn how to use it. If you know how to use Microsoft Word, you will find NVU easy.
Before you set up your website however you must give it a name and register it. This is called the Domain name and you must buy it. It can be as cheap as $1.99 and never more than $10 for a year. You can go to www.smallbusiness.Yahoo.com, www.godaddy.com, www.namecheap.com. Now that you have bought a domain name, you can start creating or get a free website.
Step4
Now that you have got a shop, namely, your website, the fourth step is to promote it in the internet. This is known in internet as creating traffic i.e. getting visitors to your site. Again you can learn more about this from any number of sources on the internet. Just go to google search and type traffic and you will get a wealth of information on traffic generation information.
There are two ways you can get traffic, generally. You pay for it or borrow it. To pay for traffic, you go search for google adwords, MSNAdCenter, Yahoo and do what is known as a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign, a sort of advertising campaign in the internet. Google adwords will teach you in a simple manner, the process to go about a google adword campaign. If you follow the instructions diligently you can almost master the process within an hour or two. You can then apply your knowledge to other PPC programs in other Search Engines like MSN or Yahoo.
To borrow traffic you would have to go to articles or forums websites where you can contribute an article or two like this one to share your knowledge and then invite readers to your site, like www.endurinautoincome.com or www.entrepreneurwealth.com.
Step5
Now that your shop is up and people are visiting to buy your products, the last step you would want to take is to automate your business so that the business can go on without you attending to it 24/7. This process is called duplication. This process involves having a management software that can communicate with your customers on a frequent basis automatically both to build a long term relationship with them and to promote new products to them. The software that does this is called an auto-responder. You need to subscribe to one though and they charge a fee ranging from $20 up on a monthly basis. The one I use is named monsterresponse.com and is the best and cheapest I have found so far. The other is www.Aweber which has the best reputation but maybe a little pricier. Again it is easy to learn how to set up an auto responder. You find the instructions either with the auto-responder company or on the internet.
What the auto-responder really does is to send automatically a series of email letters from you either offering information or products to your customers. It also allows you to collect the names and emails of your customers and store this in the system. This list of subscribers to your site becomes the vital list that will ensure of constant business for you throughout the lifetime of your website. It would take a little while to build this list and the speed at which you build it depends how creative you are in your traffic building campaigns.
There, you have it all, the 5 simple steps to having your very own internet marketing business. If you want to begin with a simple to do internet business, visit me at www.entrepreneurwealth.com or www.enduringautoincome.com. This is Louis Lim @ Limfame signing off and wishing you all the success you deserve.
Find Real Lovers
2008-08-18
How to 12 Steps to a Successful Project, Company or Life
A checklist to ensure you begin in the correct place, examine the proper context and attitudes and make the proper decisions.
More articles
Step1
DISCOVER. Discover who you really are and what you really, really want.
Step2
DREAMS. Dreams are a creative process to define your vision and mission.
Step3
DESIRE. Without the proper level of desire, you will lack the energy and motivation to succeed.
Step4
DECISION. You need to make a choice on which dream and desire to follow (now).
Step5
DESTINATION. You need to visualize your destination. Otherwise you will become lost.
Step6
DIRECTION. You need to choose a path to your destination. This will also keep you "on track" so you know if you are becoming lost.
Step7
DECLARATION. The world is made of up family, friends, peers and community. You must publicly declare your intentions so that you can get the help you deserve. You cannot do it alone.
Step8
DAILY ACTION. Practise your Craft. Every day you must take action ("do the right things" and "do things right") in order to create your success.
Step9
DISCIPLINE. Positive habits. Without discipline your actions, energy and investments are dispersed, diluted and lost.
Step10
DETERMINATION. An essential trait (attitude) of successful people. Without persistence and determination, the hundreds of things that get in your way to effectiveness and success will grind you down and sap your energy.
Step11
DELIGHT. When you get pleasure from what you do, your investment and creativity into your "delight" explodes. You are now happy.
Step12
DESTINY. You are now successful. Your identity and "brand" are now firmly linked to this successful endeavor. Success breeds success and people want to be like you.
Find and buy tickets by states
More articles
Step1
DISCOVER. Discover who you really are and what you really, really want.
Step2
DREAMS. Dreams are a creative process to define your vision and mission.
Step3
DESIRE. Without the proper level of desire, you will lack the energy and motivation to succeed.
Step4
DECISION. You need to make a choice on which dream and desire to follow (now).
Step5
DESTINATION. You need to visualize your destination. Otherwise you will become lost.
Step6
DIRECTION. You need to choose a path to your destination. This will also keep you "on track" so you know if you are becoming lost.
Step7
DECLARATION. The world is made of up family, friends, peers and community. You must publicly declare your intentions so that you can get the help you deserve. You cannot do it alone.
Step8
DAILY ACTION. Practise your Craft. Every day you must take action ("do the right things" and "do things right") in order to create your success.
Step9
DISCIPLINE. Positive habits. Without discipline your actions, energy and investments are dispersed, diluted and lost.
Step10
DETERMINATION. An essential trait (attitude) of successful people. Without persistence and determination, the hundreds of things that get in your way to effectiveness and success will grind you down and sap your energy.
Step11
DELIGHT. When you get pleasure from what you do, your investment and creativity into your "delight" explodes. You are now happy.
Step12
DESTINY. You are now successful. Your identity and "brand" are now firmly linked to this successful endeavor. Success breeds success and people want to be like you.
Find and buy tickets by states
2008-08-15
How to Set Up a Lemonade Stand
If life has handed you lemons, make lemonade. Here are a few tips if you--or a young colleague--want to go into the citrus-hawking business and hope to turn a sweet profit as a result.
More articles......
Step1
Set up your stand at the foot of your driveway if you get lots of people walking and driving by. Or go into business with a friend who lives in a better location.
Step2
Determine when the busiest times of day or weekend are--those are the times when you'll sell the most lemonade.
Step3
Set up your stand. Make a large sign that includes the price. Have plenty of disposable cups on hand. If you're going to be out there for a while, bringing along a cooler filled with ice is a smart move, too.
Step4
Buy lemons and granulated sugar and make your lemonade. In a large pitcher, combine the lemon juice, granulated sugar and cold water; stir briskly to dissolve. Add ice cubes.
Step5
Price your lemonade to cover all your costs--such as the expense of the lemons, cups, and sugar. Add in a profit margin as well.
Step6
Replenish your lemonade supply as the traffic demands.
Find and buy tickets by cities
More articles......
Step1
Set up your stand at the foot of your driveway if you get lots of people walking and driving by. Or go into business with a friend who lives in a better location.
Step2
Determine when the busiest times of day or weekend are--those are the times when you'll sell the most lemonade.
Step3
Set up your stand. Make a large sign that includes the price. Have plenty of disposable cups on hand. If you're going to be out there for a while, bringing along a cooler filled with ice is a smart move, too.
Step4
Buy lemons and granulated sugar and make your lemonade. In a large pitcher, combine the lemon juice, granulated sugar and cold water; stir briskly to dissolve. Add ice cubes.
Step5
Price your lemonade to cover all your costs--such as the expense of the lemons, cups, and sugar. Add in a profit margin as well.
Step6
Replenish your lemonade supply as the traffic demands.
Find and buy tickets by cities
2008-08-12
Love ... and those two other little words
Just love me, he begs. There are tears in his eyes when he says this in heartfelt plead. Love me the way you used to love me ...
My heart breaks. I can literally feel it tearing. I think back to that beautiful day in June so, so many years ago. The Rothko panels, the solitude of the chapel. Just us, our parents and a handful of close friends. Perfect, just the way I imagined. I think about my simple white cotton sateen dress. Little rosettes on the bodice. Not being suspicious, I let him help me pick it out. I still feel tenderness for this man. But at some point, I started dropping his hand soon after he reached for mine. I stopped sharing with him. My voice took on "that" tone -- that blase, disinterested note because that's the way I felt toward him for the most part. He'd become an annoyance. I could not ... damn it, friends, I could not be kind. I could not treat him right.
It's long after the affair. After discovery, he handled it inappropriately every step of the way. The counselor told him to sever ties immediately and send a "no contact" letter to his mistress. She advised us to change our home and cell phone numbers. Any mutual friends they had in common were to be avoided. Of course this was appropriate, I wouldn't have expected anything else. He agreed to "end it," but still wanted to be her "friend." I thought of them sitting in the little vegetarian cafe that used to be "our place," where he complained to her copiously and bitterly about our marriage. The mere suggestion was so offensive I wanted to draw blood. His, to be exact. So I threw him out of his own home. As soon as he had done what the counselor told him to do, then he could come home. He did. Or he said he did. Actually, he learned how to hide it better. I had to throw him out ... a second time.
Now she was finally gone, and he was here to make amends. I knew it was me who he loved. He always let me know that. Now it was too late. I felt something for him, I couldn't help it. Till death do us part. I take those words seriously. I take each relationship seriously. I never go into one thinking, "One day all this will end." I've always made it Windex clear that if I get serious, it's for the long haul. But then something inevitably happens to turn the tide. I can hang onto love but not those two other little words, which are just as important, if not even more important: Trust and respect.
In one of C.C.'s blogs on serial monogamy and first love, I forget which one, I asked if she believed that love can exist without trust and respect. She suggested that I hammer that one out myself. So I pondered the demise of past relationships. I pinpointed the feelings that I had as I was walking out the door. There was no more trust or respect. Sometimes both. Okay, usually both. Usually, the loss of one had led to the other. Because once you stop trusting your person, it's for a good reason. You see a pattern of rash decisions on your person's behalf -- decisions that make you take a step back and think, "Whoa! Ya know, that's not just a one-timer; my person might be really ... stoopid?" And thus commences the decline from respect into disgust and finally into apathy.
Can you totally trust someone you love? I pose that you can't. Surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. But that's okay, because none of us are completely trustworthy. Your person is going to show you in small ways that there are certain areas in which they cannot be trusted. The man I'm telling you about picked me up late, chronically. While I was standing on the street corner after work waiting for his happy ass to show up, he was still finishing up the last of his precious Formula One race. I came to expect that 5:30 p.m. actually meant 5:45, or maybe even 6:00. I couldn't trust him to *ever* be on time. No big deal, though -- it wasn't fatal.
I also knew I couldn't trust him with any grocery list. If I wrote down "Rotel tomatoes" and "Velveeta cheese," he'd come home with fresh tomatoes, jalepenos and a block of cheddar. And he'd have an adorable, hopeful look on his face because he'd thought it would please me more that he took the time to look for fresher, higher quality ingredients. I never once got mad; this "creative ingredient substitution" was one of his more endearing qualities. Of course, what I was making was plain ol' microwave queso, you all know that, right? So while he was upstairs puttering, I'd sneak next door to the market and buy my Rotel and Velveeta. He was none the wiser.
But then there's capital-T-Trust and capital R-Respect. While the revelation of a single act can blow trust out of the water -- getting caught cheating is a classic example -- often, the loss of respect is surreptitious and comes about in minute increments until finally you find yourself bereft of it entirely. The person you put up on a pedestal has taken a tumble from grace, and it's captured in slow-motion for you to see. A string of really bad judgment calls. Getting caught in a crisis and handling it in a piss-poor way that shows lack of diligence and care -- and a lack of general self-respect, too.
It never fails to amaze me how low people set the bar when they lack self-respect. Forget the subtle red flags, his mistress was festooned with them. A woman -- girl, really -- ten years younger, barely employed, living in a shitty apartment complex, they indulged in drugs together, woo-hoo! I heard everything from coke to crystal meth to hallucinogens, courtesy of the grapevine. This was a thirty-three year old man, not a child. Even after he lost me, lost his job, and alienated his friends, he still couldn't separate himself from her. I always knew when they'd had contact; his language was immature, filled with jargon that might have been appropriate had he been a teenager. He was petulant, pissy, and irresponsible. Even the way he dressed and carried himself was in the manner of a surly adolescent. The affair brought out his worst. God, it was painful, too, especially when I recalled that regal, well-heeled man who stood next to me in a chapel. No respect for him. None at all. He was acting like a total jackass.
So back to the question. Can love exist without trust and respect? Maybe a form of love -- a diluted love. "I love him but ... " (DOT-DOT-DOT)" That "but" says it all, doesn't it? Something is missing from your person. You might love 90 percent of them, or maybe even 50 percent. You might love that they can still make you laugh or engage you in a lively conversation about politics, art and culture. You might still be able to summon up some physical attraction for them. You might, as I did, love the part of them that still loves you and wants to be with you. This is the hardest part to reconcile; see, I know that I'm a good catch. If someone has chosen me as a life mate, that tells me that they're looking toward the future. But absent trust and respect, I don't believe one can have a future of 100 percent love. There's always that black, cancerous piece that you wish you could just cut away. You can't do this. Because that cancerous piece is a part of them that's still getting a blood flow.
The natural side-effect of disrespect and lack of trust is distancing -- that is, if you have any self-esteem. But the more you back off, the more frustrated they become. "Trust me! Respect me!" he insisted. But it's not that simple. Unlike love, which can be executed by an active decision, trust and love are intuitive emotions that cannot be summoned at will. When someone tells you that they've lost trust for you, or that they disrespect you and then they spell out specific reasons why, there *are* magic words: "I understand completely. If I were you, I'd feel the same way. Tell me what I need to do to regain your trust and respect." (Yes, I've had to suck it up, too.)
Wow. It's so simple. Trust and respect, regained first by humility and then by sheer force of will! I've regained respect for people who've dashed all hope in my eyes. I've come to trust the last person I thought I would *ever* trust because I saw him work his ass off to turn over a new leaf. That person was the man I described above. Folks, it's wasn't easy for him, and it wasn't quick. He worked on himself so painstakingly, you'd think he was the one who painted the Sistine Chapel. Sadly, by the time this change was complete, my heart had moved on to another. That's the risk you take when you don't act post-haste.
The man I once loved is whole again. He called it quits with his mistress and almost immediately turned back into the man I once fell in love with. I'm only human. Sometimes I still wonder if the affair was worth it to him, why he just didn't do the things he needed to do when he needed to do then, before everything was lost. But now he has someone who loves him very much, last I heard. This is wonderful news, because I don't want him to live bereft of companionship. Everyone deserves a second chance. I just wish I could have been the one to give it.
**********************************************
Has someone you loved ever regained your trust and respect? How did they do it? Did they follow your conditions? Can you love someone you don't trust and respect?
Find Real Lovers
My heart breaks. I can literally feel it tearing. I think back to that beautiful day in June so, so many years ago. The Rothko panels, the solitude of the chapel. Just us, our parents and a handful of close friends. Perfect, just the way I imagined. I think about my simple white cotton sateen dress. Little rosettes on the bodice. Not being suspicious, I let him help me pick it out. I still feel tenderness for this man. But at some point, I started dropping his hand soon after he reached for mine. I stopped sharing with him. My voice took on "that" tone -- that blase, disinterested note because that's the way I felt toward him for the most part. He'd become an annoyance. I could not ... damn it, friends, I could not be kind. I could not treat him right.
It's long after the affair. After discovery, he handled it inappropriately every step of the way. The counselor told him to sever ties immediately and send a "no contact" letter to his mistress. She advised us to change our home and cell phone numbers. Any mutual friends they had in common were to be avoided. Of course this was appropriate, I wouldn't have expected anything else. He agreed to "end it," but still wanted to be her "friend." I thought of them sitting in the little vegetarian cafe that used to be "our place," where he complained to her copiously and bitterly about our marriage. The mere suggestion was so offensive I wanted to draw blood. His, to be exact. So I threw him out of his own home. As soon as he had done what the counselor told him to do, then he could come home. He did. Or he said he did. Actually, he learned how to hide it better. I had to throw him out ... a second time.
Now she was finally gone, and he was here to make amends. I knew it was me who he loved. He always let me know that. Now it was too late. I felt something for him, I couldn't help it. Till death do us part. I take those words seriously. I take each relationship seriously. I never go into one thinking, "One day all this will end." I've always made it Windex clear that if I get serious, it's for the long haul. But then something inevitably happens to turn the tide. I can hang onto love but not those two other little words, which are just as important, if not even more important: Trust and respect.
In one of C.C.'s blogs on serial monogamy and first love, I forget which one, I asked if she believed that love can exist without trust and respect. She suggested that I hammer that one out myself. So I pondered the demise of past relationships. I pinpointed the feelings that I had as I was walking out the door. There was no more trust or respect. Sometimes both. Okay, usually both. Usually, the loss of one had led to the other. Because once you stop trusting your person, it's for a good reason. You see a pattern of rash decisions on your person's behalf -- decisions that make you take a step back and think, "Whoa! Ya know, that's not just a one-timer; my person might be really ... stoopid?" And thus commences the decline from respect into disgust and finally into apathy.
Can you totally trust someone you love? I pose that you can't. Surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. But that's okay, because none of us are completely trustworthy. Your person is going to show you in small ways that there are certain areas in which they cannot be trusted. The man I'm telling you about picked me up late, chronically. While I was standing on the street corner after work waiting for his happy ass to show up, he was still finishing up the last of his precious Formula One race. I came to expect that 5:30 p.m. actually meant 5:45, or maybe even 6:00. I couldn't trust him to *ever* be on time. No big deal, though -- it wasn't fatal.
I also knew I couldn't trust him with any grocery list. If I wrote down "Rotel tomatoes" and "Velveeta cheese," he'd come home with fresh tomatoes, jalepenos and a block of cheddar. And he'd have an adorable, hopeful look on his face because he'd thought it would please me more that he took the time to look for fresher, higher quality ingredients. I never once got mad; this "creative ingredient substitution" was one of his more endearing qualities. Of course, what I was making was plain ol' microwave queso, you all know that, right? So while he was upstairs puttering, I'd sneak next door to the market and buy my Rotel and Velveeta. He was none the wiser.
But then there's capital-T-Trust and capital R-Respect. While the revelation of a single act can blow trust out of the water -- getting caught cheating is a classic example -- often, the loss of respect is surreptitious and comes about in minute increments until finally you find yourself bereft of it entirely. The person you put up on a pedestal has taken a tumble from grace, and it's captured in slow-motion for you to see. A string of really bad judgment calls. Getting caught in a crisis and handling it in a piss-poor way that shows lack of diligence and care -- and a lack of general self-respect, too.
It never fails to amaze me how low people set the bar when they lack self-respect. Forget the subtle red flags, his mistress was festooned with them. A woman -- girl, really -- ten years younger, barely employed, living in a shitty apartment complex, they indulged in drugs together, woo-hoo! I heard everything from coke to crystal meth to hallucinogens, courtesy of the grapevine. This was a thirty-three year old man, not a child. Even after he lost me, lost his job, and alienated his friends, he still couldn't separate himself from her. I always knew when they'd had contact; his language was immature, filled with jargon that might have been appropriate had he been a teenager. He was petulant, pissy, and irresponsible. Even the way he dressed and carried himself was in the manner of a surly adolescent. The affair brought out his worst. God, it was painful, too, especially when I recalled that regal, well-heeled man who stood next to me in a chapel. No respect for him. None at all. He was acting like a total jackass.
So back to the question. Can love exist without trust and respect? Maybe a form of love -- a diluted love. "I love him but ... " (DOT-DOT-DOT)" That "but" says it all, doesn't it? Something is missing from your person. You might love 90 percent of them, or maybe even 50 percent. You might love that they can still make you laugh or engage you in a lively conversation about politics, art and culture. You might still be able to summon up some physical attraction for them. You might, as I did, love the part of them that still loves you and wants to be with you. This is the hardest part to reconcile; see, I know that I'm a good catch. If someone has chosen me as a life mate, that tells me that they're looking toward the future. But absent trust and respect, I don't believe one can have a future of 100 percent love. There's always that black, cancerous piece that you wish you could just cut away. You can't do this. Because that cancerous piece is a part of them that's still getting a blood flow.
The natural side-effect of disrespect and lack of trust is distancing -- that is, if you have any self-esteem. But the more you back off, the more frustrated they become. "Trust me! Respect me!" he insisted. But it's not that simple. Unlike love, which can be executed by an active decision, trust and love are intuitive emotions that cannot be summoned at will. When someone tells you that they've lost trust for you, or that they disrespect you and then they spell out specific reasons why, there *are* magic words: "I understand completely. If I were you, I'd feel the same way. Tell me what I need to do to regain your trust and respect." (Yes, I've had to suck it up, too.)
Wow. It's so simple. Trust and respect, regained first by humility and then by sheer force of will! I've regained respect for people who've dashed all hope in my eyes. I've come to trust the last person I thought I would *ever* trust because I saw him work his ass off to turn over a new leaf. That person was the man I described above. Folks, it's wasn't easy for him, and it wasn't quick. He worked on himself so painstakingly, you'd think he was the one who painted the Sistine Chapel. Sadly, by the time this change was complete, my heart had moved on to another. That's the risk you take when you don't act post-haste.
The man I once loved is whole again. He called it quits with his mistress and almost immediately turned back into the man I once fell in love with. I'm only human. Sometimes I still wonder if the affair was worth it to him, why he just didn't do the things he needed to do when he needed to do then, before everything was lost. But now he has someone who loves him very much, last I heard. This is wonderful news, because I don't want him to live bereft of companionship. Everyone deserves a second chance. I just wish I could have been the one to give it.
**********************************************
Has someone you loved ever regained your trust and respect? How did they do it? Did they follow your conditions? Can you love someone you don't trust and respect?
Find Real Lovers
2008-08-11
How to Start a Cleaning Business
So, you want to start a cleaning business of your own. Some of you may already be providing house cleaning services and want to take your small scale business to the next level. Cleaning residential or commercial premises is a good career option with opportunity to grow and it requires a comparatively small initial investment with a potentially high recurrance of customers.
Step1
Determine what type of cleaning service you wish to provide. It could be residential house cleaning, window cleaning, carpet cleaning, commercial buildings, or even a laundering facility.
Step2
Explore the business opportunities that can be offered in the sector of your choice. Understand the market trends, local competitors, current rates, profit margins and assess your investment options.
Step3
Decide whether you want your cleaning business to be part time or full time. You will likely need to put in extra effort if this is to be your primary source of income.
Step4
Understand that you can start a small residential service with minimal investment. It does not demand that you buy large pieces of equipment and you can actually start the operation from home with a few basic cleaning supplies. Other ventures will require larger amounts of capital.
Step5
Determine what legal formalities that you will need to comply with before starting the business. You may require documents such as a business license or insurance from the government local authority.
Step6
Advertise your name and the service. You can place ads in local newspapers, circulate pamphlets in the neighborhood, hand out business cards, ask your friends and family to spread the word or put up notices at public places wherever it is allowed.
Step7
Make sure that you offer the best cleaning services. Get in touch with your customers to understand their likes and dislikes. You should make it a point to get their feedback regarding your work and also address their complaints.
http://www.freewebtown.com/howtodothing/business/6.htm#1
Step1
Determine what type of cleaning service you wish to provide. It could be residential house cleaning, window cleaning, carpet cleaning, commercial buildings, or even a laundering facility.
Step2
Explore the business opportunities that can be offered in the sector of your choice. Understand the market trends, local competitors, current rates, profit margins and assess your investment options.
Step3
Decide whether you want your cleaning business to be part time or full time. You will likely need to put in extra effort if this is to be your primary source of income.
Step4
Understand that you can start a small residential service with minimal investment. It does not demand that you buy large pieces of equipment and you can actually start the operation from home with a few basic cleaning supplies. Other ventures will require larger amounts of capital.
Step5
Determine what legal formalities that you will need to comply with before starting the business. You may require documents such as a business license or insurance from the government local authority.
Step6
Advertise your name and the service. You can place ads in local newspapers, circulate pamphlets in the neighborhood, hand out business cards, ask your friends and family to spread the word or put up notices at public places wherever it is allowed.
Step7
Make sure that you offer the best cleaning services. Get in touch with your customers to understand their likes and dislikes. You should make it a point to get their feedback regarding your work and also address their complaints.
http://www.freewebtown.com/howtodothing/business/6.htm#1
2008-08-08
How to Set Up a Virtual Office
In a global environment, workplaces have practically no boundaries with employees located all over the world. With the ever increasing prices of real estate, the virtual office has become an attractive phenomenon to many business people. Companies can be located at a particular place but the employees conduct their day-to-day office affairs from different locations such as a hotel, caf or home.
Step1
Decide on a business address for your virtual office. It could be a mailbox number or you could use a CMRA (Commercial Mail Receiving Agency) mailbox service for getting a corporate-sounding address.
Step2
Look at your connectivity options. There are several to choose from whether its emails, cell phones, online forums, instant messengers, VoIP and more.
Step3
Make your chosen location for the virtual office ready for setup. Furnish the place and create a working atmosphere the way you would like. Make sure there is enough room for the installation of necessary electronics such as computers, fax machines and the telephone lines.
Step4
Install necessary software on your computers depending on your needs. Some programs are specifically designed for Web conferencing, presentations, meeting scheduling and so on. It is also a good idea to choose a reliable anti-virus program to protect your PC from online assault.
Step5
Contact a telephone service provider and get a modern phone system with an interactive voice response (IVR) facility to help manage calls without you having to be onsite. Their built-in technology comes at a reasonable price and they charge only for the actual usage.
Step6
Set up an intranet facility meant to be accessed only by the employers of the company to pass along information, vital communication, files and documents or go into the Virtual Private Network (VPN) so that the transferred material is fully confidential. Keep track of who is accessing the database of your organization by keeping logs of entry, exit and access information.
Step7
Schedule your official meetings with co-workers, clients or others over a cup of coffee at a location that is good for everyone. If all your contacts are unable to physically be there, you can arrange connectivity by using Web cams, cell phones and instant messengers.
Step8
Make sure your employees submit timesheets regularly to record the number of their working hours. Systematically look over these timesheets based on the estimated hours required for specific tasks to keep non-productive time spent in check.
http://www.freewebtown.com/howtodothing/business/5.htm#2
Step1
Decide on a business address for your virtual office. It could be a mailbox number or you could use a CMRA (Commercial Mail Receiving Agency) mailbox service for getting a corporate-sounding address.
Step2
Look at your connectivity options. There are several to choose from whether its emails, cell phones, online forums, instant messengers, VoIP and more.
Step3
Make your chosen location for the virtual office ready for setup. Furnish the place and create a working atmosphere the way you would like. Make sure there is enough room for the installation of necessary electronics such as computers, fax machines and the telephone lines.
Step4
Install necessary software on your computers depending on your needs. Some programs are specifically designed for Web conferencing, presentations, meeting scheduling and so on. It is also a good idea to choose a reliable anti-virus program to protect your PC from online assault.
Step5
Contact a telephone service provider and get a modern phone system with an interactive voice response (IVR) facility to help manage calls without you having to be onsite. Their built-in technology comes at a reasonable price and they charge only for the actual usage.
Step6
Set up an intranet facility meant to be accessed only by the employers of the company to pass along information, vital communication, files and documents or go into the Virtual Private Network (VPN) so that the transferred material is fully confidential. Keep track of who is accessing the database of your organization by keeping logs of entry, exit and access information.
Step7
Schedule your official meetings with co-workers, clients or others over a cup of coffee at a location that is good for everyone. If all your contacts are unable to physically be there, you can arrange connectivity by using Web cams, cell phones and instant messengers.
Step8
Make sure your employees submit timesheets regularly to record the number of their working hours. Systematically look over these timesheets based on the estimated hours required for specific tasks to keep non-productive time spent in check.
http://www.freewebtown.com/howtodothing/business/5.htm#2
2008-08-06
How to Get a 900 Number
A 900 number refers to a pay per call telephone service where the caller pays for information that is received during the phone call. Recently, 900 numbers have become popular as more businesses are considering offering a variety of services to customers such as post-sales service, troubleshooting, insurance quotes and many more.
Step1
Understand how the basic functioning of 900 numbers works. Your business will be assigned a telephone number starting with area code 900. When anyone calls that number, they will be given a brief introduction of the nature of the call and how they will be billed. This is so they may choose to hang up before they accrue any charges.
Step2
Determine how you would like to bill your callers. This can be achieved by charging a per minute rate or as a flat rate per call. A per minute rate is usually preferred by most business enterprises.
Step3
Go online and search for service providers offering 900 numbers. Some of the popular service bureaus are Advanced Telecom Services, Best900.com and 900profits.com.
Step4
Shop around and compare rates between different packages offered by different service bureaus.
Step5
Provide all the necessary information to the bureau such as taped recordings that you would like your callers to hear. Also pay start-up charges and other ongoing fees to the bureau.
Step6
Subscribe for a package with the service bureau that best suits your business needs. This can be done online or by calling a sales agent for the service bureau. Try negotiating with the sales agent because you might get a better deal.
http://www.freewebtown.com/howtodothing/business/5.htm#1
Step1
Understand how the basic functioning of 900 numbers works. Your business will be assigned a telephone number starting with area code 900. When anyone calls that number, they will be given a brief introduction of the nature of the call and how they will be billed. This is so they may choose to hang up before they accrue any charges.
Step2
Determine how you would like to bill your callers. This can be achieved by charging a per minute rate or as a flat rate per call. A per minute rate is usually preferred by most business enterprises.
Step3
Go online and search for service providers offering 900 numbers. Some of the popular service bureaus are Advanced Telecom Services, Best900.com and 900profits.com.
Step4
Shop around and compare rates between different packages offered by different service bureaus.
Step5
Provide all the necessary information to the bureau such as taped recordings that you would like your callers to hear. Also pay start-up charges and other ongoing fees to the bureau.
Step6
Subscribe for a package with the service bureau that best suits your business needs. This can be done online or by calling a sales agent for the service bureau. Try negotiating with the sales agent because you might get a better deal.
http://www.freewebtown.com/howtodothing/business/5.htm#1
2008-08-02
How to Get Business Credit
A successful business thrives on regular capital outflow as well as inflow. Not all capital is invested by the owner; sometimes it may be borrowed in the form of loans or shares. The size and level of business credit, as well as expanse of the business are interrelated. Using credit helps smart and intuitive individuals who have little or no money of their own to invest start their own business venture. How to get business credit is explained below.
Step1
Ensure that before you approach the bank for a loan, you have a bank account in good standing there. This will act as an unwritten assurance that can increase your chances of getting a loan.
Step2
Make sure that you have assets to pledge for your credit, such as a house, a car or a business property or structure. They are reassuring to the loan officer of your ability to repay the bank.
Step3
Insist on building a good credit score and personal credibility right from the beginning by paying taxes and maintaining all legal documents. A credit score of 600 and above can help ensure your ability to access credit from larger banks.
Step4
Confirm whether sources from where you have previously borrowed have reported your credit history to the chief credit reporting bureaus in the state.
Step5
Keep all business documents complete and comprehensible including licenses, permits, enlisting of the telephone, business name, domain name, investment details and spent capital. This is also an indication of the credibility of the business and the proprietor.
Step6
Invest a significant amount in the business before applying for a loan, if possible. The lender will infer that you are surely going to work hard to make it work and hence it is safe to make the loan.
Step7
Determine the profitability of your business using information easily accessible from the industry you choose. Most banks and lending institutions choose to offer loans for business establishments that are certainly going to earn back the investment. This rule also applies when the realization of profit doesn't generally take a long time.
Step8
Begin with approaching the small banks, which are usually easier to work with. This is because the bigger banks require a more extensive credit history, collaterals, hard cash and personal credibility for any loan they offer.
Step1
Ensure that before you approach the bank for a loan, you have a bank account in good standing there. This will act as an unwritten assurance that can increase your chances of getting a loan.
Step2
Make sure that you have assets to pledge for your credit, such as a house, a car or a business property or structure. They are reassuring to the loan officer of your ability to repay the bank.
Step3
Insist on building a good credit score and personal credibility right from the beginning by paying taxes and maintaining all legal documents. A credit score of 600 and above can help ensure your ability to access credit from larger banks.
Step4
Confirm whether sources from where you have previously borrowed have reported your credit history to the chief credit reporting bureaus in the state.
Step5
Keep all business documents complete and comprehensible including licenses, permits, enlisting of the telephone, business name, domain name, investment details and spent capital. This is also an indication of the credibility of the business and the proprietor.
Step6
Invest a significant amount in the business before applying for a loan, if possible. The lender will infer that you are surely going to work hard to make it work and hence it is safe to make the loan.
Step7
Determine the profitability of your business using information easily accessible from the industry you choose. Most banks and lending institutions choose to offer loans for business establishments that are certainly going to earn back the investment. This rule also applies when the realization of profit doesn't generally take a long time.
Step8
Begin with approaching the small banks, which are usually easier to work with. This is because the bigger banks require a more extensive credit history, collaterals, hard cash and personal credibility for any loan they offer.
2008-07-31
How to Sell a Product Idea
It s a mistaken belief that a great product idea necessarily translates into a great product. Be it a minor modification to an existing product or an entirely new product idea, it has to be sold well for it to succeed. Here are a few basic steps to help you sell a product idea.
Step1
Check your idea for originality. Market research and patent searches are handy tools for this type of research.
Step2
Determine the profitability of the idea. You may have a great idea but it should also translate into a profitable business for the prospective buyer.
Step3
Protect your idea by patenting it or at least filing for a patent. It not only makes the idea attractive to prospective buyers, but also safeguards it from being copied.
Step4
Make a working prototype of your product idea to give the prospective buyer a complete feel for the product.
Step5
Find the right people to whom you can sell your idea.
Step6
Present your product idea well.
Step7
Don t limit yourself to only one prospective buyer. Approaching more than one buyer enables you to get the best price for your idea.
Finding the Right Prospective Buyers
Step1
Know your product s market and approach buyers in that sector.
Step2
Find prospective buyers through trade shows, industry associations, databases and advertisements.
Step3
Build a website and have a page dedicated to your product idea. Do not reveal too much detail. The website should be easy to navigate and approachable. Make sure you include your contact information.
Step4
Contact invention promotion firms to help find the right prospective buyer.
Step5
Investigate prospective buyers to determine their financial credibility and product development capabilities.
Presenting Your Idea to a Prospective Buyer
Step1
Treat the presentation like a business plan. Take your buyers through every stage of developing the idea into a product.
Step2
Make a working prototype complete with a sample package design. Most buyers prefer having a complete feel for a product before investing in it.
Step3
Use accurate market research reports, manufacturing cost estimations, distribution avenues and sales projections to enhance your product idea's credibility.
Step4
Study your potential buyer well. Understand their history, products and revenue models and explain how your product can fit in.
Step5
Show the profit potential of your product. No matter how good your product, most companies will be interested only if they see a profit-making product.
Step1
Check your idea for originality. Market research and patent searches are handy tools for this type of research.
Step2
Determine the profitability of the idea. You may have a great idea but it should also translate into a profitable business for the prospective buyer.
Step3
Protect your idea by patenting it or at least filing for a patent. It not only makes the idea attractive to prospective buyers, but also safeguards it from being copied.
Step4
Make a working prototype of your product idea to give the prospective buyer a complete feel for the product.
Step5
Find the right people to whom you can sell your idea.
Step6
Present your product idea well.
Step7
Don t limit yourself to only one prospective buyer. Approaching more than one buyer enables you to get the best price for your idea.
Finding the Right Prospective Buyers
Step1
Know your product s market and approach buyers in that sector.
Step2
Find prospective buyers through trade shows, industry associations, databases and advertisements.
Step3
Build a website and have a page dedicated to your product idea. Do not reveal too much detail. The website should be easy to navigate and approachable. Make sure you include your contact information.
Step4
Contact invention promotion firms to help find the right prospective buyer.
Step5
Investigate prospective buyers to determine their financial credibility and product development capabilities.
Presenting Your Idea to a Prospective Buyer
Step1
Treat the presentation like a business plan. Take your buyers through every stage of developing the idea into a product.
Step2
Make a working prototype complete with a sample package design. Most buyers prefer having a complete feel for a product before investing in it.
Step3
Use accurate market research reports, manufacturing cost estimations, distribution avenues and sales projections to enhance your product idea's credibility.
Step4
Study your potential buyer well. Understand their history, products and revenue models and explain how your product can fit in.
Step5
Show the profit potential of your product. No matter how good your product, most companies will be interested only if they see a profit-making product.
2008-07-30
How to Market Your Business on a Tight Budget
Marketing is vital to a business s growth. Unless consumers know about a product, they will never buy it. Often this fact is overlooked, as a lot of people wrongly assume that marketing involves huge financial expense. Not all marketing techniques require astronomical spending.
Step1
Define your target audience. You wouldn t want to waste your marketing efforts selling to the wrong person. Be as specific as possible.
Step2
There is no substitute for good research. Find out about other players in your sector through databases and classifieds sections of local newspapers.
Step3
Create a value proposition for your business. How does your business score over your competitors?
Step4
Create a marketing plan and follow it. Consult expert marketing consultants to help you with it. Many of them come cheaper than you think and can help you allocate your budget more effectively.
Step5
Get creative and use unconventional but effective channels of marketing. Let your keyword be networking. Attend local business association meetings. Volunteer to speak at business conventions. Create a news angle for local radio stations or TV channels, which is not only useful for customers but also revolves around your business interest.
Step6
Retain your existing customers. Initiate loyalty programs. It will cost you much less to keep a regular stream of customers than win new ones.
Step1
Define your target audience. You wouldn t want to waste your marketing efforts selling to the wrong person. Be as specific as possible.
Step2
There is no substitute for good research. Find out about other players in your sector through databases and classifieds sections of local newspapers.
Step3
Create a value proposition for your business. How does your business score over your competitors?
Step4
Create a marketing plan and follow it. Consult expert marketing consultants to help you with it. Many of them come cheaper than you think and can help you allocate your budget more effectively.
Step5
Get creative and use unconventional but effective channels of marketing. Let your keyword be networking. Attend local business association meetings. Volunteer to speak at business conventions. Create a news angle for local radio stations or TV channels, which is not only useful for customers but also revolves around your business interest.
Step6
Retain your existing customers. Initiate loyalty programs. It will cost you much less to keep a regular stream of customers than win new ones.
How to Sell Your Product on TV
Want to give your credit card a breather and, instead, sell something on the Home Shopping Network or QVC? It can be a long shot, but one that can pay off if you have the right product.
Step1
Think about the benefits your product offers. Can it be demonstrated on television? Does it solve a problem? Is it topical or timely in some way? Watch QVC and Home Shopping Network (HSN) to see what features they tout for products they represent.
Step2
Go to HSN.com and click on Vendor Information for an application. For QVC, go to QVC.com and click on the Frequently Asked Questions section, then on Vendor Information.
Step3
Complete the application and then mail it along with a catalog, brochure, picture and/or a sample of your product.
Step4
Wait. It may be weeks or months before you hear back from the companies about their interest level in your product. And if you do, they may need more information. For its second round of evaluation, QVC asks for a sample. HSN says to give its staff at least 45 days to evaluate your product. If the merchandising specialists from HSN want you, they'll contact you to set up an appointment to meet with a representative.
Step5
Look for an opportunity to attend a local qualifying meeting with QVC officials. The company frequently sends representatives to major cities to investigate local products, which gives you the opportunity to dazzle them with your product and personality.
Step6
Be prepared to pay to get your product on the air. This will vary based on feedback from HSN staff, although QVC does not require such payments.
Step7
Gather estimates from vendors on how quickly you can ramp up production. With large volume orders the rule at HSN and QVC, you'll need to demonstrate you can meet supply needs.
Step1
Think about the benefits your product offers. Can it be demonstrated on television? Does it solve a problem? Is it topical or timely in some way? Watch QVC and Home Shopping Network (HSN) to see what features they tout for products they represent.
Step2
Go to HSN.com and click on Vendor Information for an application. For QVC, go to QVC.com and click on the Frequently Asked Questions section, then on Vendor Information.
Step3
Complete the application and then mail it along with a catalog, brochure, picture and/or a sample of your product.
Step4
Wait. It may be weeks or months before you hear back from the companies about their interest level in your product. And if you do, they may need more information. For its second round of evaluation, QVC asks for a sample. HSN says to give its staff at least 45 days to evaluate your product. If the merchandising specialists from HSN want you, they'll contact you to set up an appointment to meet with a representative.
Step5
Look for an opportunity to attend a local qualifying meeting with QVC officials. The company frequently sends representatives to major cities to investigate local products, which gives you the opportunity to dazzle them with your product and personality.
Step6
Be prepared to pay to get your product on the air. This will vary based on feedback from HSN staff, although QVC does not require such payments.
Step7
Gather estimates from vendors on how quickly you can ramp up production. With large volume orders the rule at HSN and QVC, you'll need to demonstrate you can meet supply needs.
How to Hire a Headhunter
Running a business can monopolize more time than you have to recruit new talent--particularly if you're running solo. Hire a headhunter to fill key positions and bring in qualified personnel.
Step1
Investigate the cost. Headhunters may charge you as much as 40 percent of your new employee's first-year salary, although 20 to 30 percent is more the norm.
Step2
Understand how search firms charge. A contingency search firm only charges a fee if it finds a suitable hire. A retained search firm charges a fee based on a percentage of the new hire's salary, but does a lot more legwork to narrow the list of qualified candidates. Many top-notch headhunters will not work on contingencies, and many will want a fee if you fill the position with them or without them.
Step3
Find a headhunter with extensive experience in your particular industry or functional area to get the type of candidate you're looking to hire.
Step4
Verify their success rates. Some headhunters strike out on as much as 25 percent of their searches, depending on the industry they specialize in or the type of position they try to fill.
Step5
Ask questions about the process they use for identifying potential candidates, whether any personality or skill-based assessments are performed, and if references are routinely verified.
Step6
Check the firm's references. Asking past clients about the firm's performance is an excellent way to gauge how they'll approach your hiring needs--reputation is gold in the headhunting business, so do your homework.
Step7
Ask who'll be doing the actual search: a principal of the headhunting firm or a lower-level staff member. Find out how long a typical recruitment search takes.
Step8
Ask if there are companies they can't approach. Many headhunters won't recruit from their own clients, which limits the pool of candidates they bring to you. Similarly, provide a list of companies you do want them to approach. Chances are you know your competition better than the headhunters do; spend the time to educate him or her.
Step9
Be very detailed in your description of job requirements. A recipe for failure is to tell a headhunter, "We need a really smart person to head up sales." A more successful description is, "We need a candidate who has served in a VP capacity with a Fortune 500 company, handling international distribution of enterprise software to value-added resellers in Europe."
Step1
Investigate the cost. Headhunters may charge you as much as 40 percent of your new employee's first-year salary, although 20 to 30 percent is more the norm.
Step2
Understand how search firms charge. A contingency search firm only charges a fee if it finds a suitable hire. A retained search firm charges a fee based on a percentage of the new hire's salary, but does a lot more legwork to narrow the list of qualified candidates. Many top-notch headhunters will not work on contingencies, and many will want a fee if you fill the position with them or without them.
Step3
Find a headhunter with extensive experience in your particular industry or functional area to get the type of candidate you're looking to hire.
Step4
Verify their success rates. Some headhunters strike out on as much as 25 percent of their searches, depending on the industry they specialize in or the type of position they try to fill.
Step5
Ask questions about the process they use for identifying potential candidates, whether any personality or skill-based assessments are performed, and if references are routinely verified.
Step6
Check the firm's references. Asking past clients about the firm's performance is an excellent way to gauge how they'll approach your hiring needs--reputation is gold in the headhunting business, so do your homework.
Step7
Ask who'll be doing the actual search: a principal of the headhunting firm or a lower-level staff member. Find out how long a typical recruitment search takes.
Step8
Ask if there are companies they can't approach. Many headhunters won't recruit from their own clients, which limits the pool of candidates they bring to you. Similarly, provide a list of companies you do want them to approach. Chances are you know your competition better than the headhunters do; spend the time to educate him or her.
Step9
Be very detailed in your description of job requirements. A recipe for failure is to tell a headhunter, "We need a really smart person to head up sales." A more successful description is, "We need a candidate who has served in a VP capacity with a Fortune 500 company, handling international distribution of enterprise software to value-added resellers in Europe."
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