business side

Bear Stearns Billionaire Blunder
At this point, the Bear Sterns debacle has gotten extensive coverage so I won’t comment on the unfortunate demise of this once mighty company. As I read through the news stories, though, I found one piece of information often significantly under reported: Joseph C. Lewis, a British businessman, lost $1 billion on the sale of Bear [...]

At this point, the Bear Sterns debacle has gotten extensive coverage so I won’t comment on the unfortunate demise of this once mighty company. As I read through the news stories, though, I found one piece of information often significantly under reported:

Joseph C. Lewis, a British businessman, lost $1 billion on the sale of Bear Sterns!

OK, so the guy was a billionaire, and even after losing a cool billion he’s probably going to be just fine. Don’t lose any sleep over poor ol’ Joe. Still, it got me think about the very fine line and significant amount of luck that goes into becoming successful in business or otherwise for that matter.

Joe was so confident in Bear Stearns that he purchased the stock in large amounts at upwards of $150 per share just a few months ago. I’m sure Joe is a smart guy, or at least smarter than most, but this is a blunder of gigantic proportions. When Bear Sterns sold to JPMorgan, his cut was only $22 million.

photo credit: Shiny Things

What does this say for the rest of us? Certainly, Joe had probably taken big risks before and had them pay off. Perhaps he was overconfident, but who wouldn’t be as a billionaire. My gut tells me that he didn’t do anything stupid necessarily. Rather, a series of unfortunate events completely out of his control ended very negatively for him. The same probably holds true for a lot of his successes.

As I now look back at my early career, I had a few fortunate coincidences that played a major role in my future. There was the professor who just seemed to like me and consequently set me up with a job interview. There was the first candidate who declined a job offer to move with her husband leaving a position open for the second candidate: me. There was the boss who went to church with a VP at another company and introduced me resulting in a better job for me.

Let’s not lose the opportunity to reflect on Joe’s huge financial loss as an expression of the good and bad things in our lives that are out of our control and know that even very successful billionaire’s are subject to the same laws of probability. It’s the tie that binds us together.

Trailing Spouses In Expatriate Assignments Get No Respect
As a person who has lived and worked abroad on an expatriate assignment, I can attest to the fact that companies general do a very poor job of keeping an employee whole when comparing what they had when they left the US and what they have abroad.  One major area where many companies fail miserably [...]

As a person who has lived and worked abroad on an expatriate assignment, I can attest to the fact that companies general do a very poor job of keeping an employee whole when comparing what they had when they left the US and what they have abroad.  One major area where many companies fail miserably is in consideration for the trailing spouse.

The logic that businesses use to ignore the trailing spouse is that employers don’t do anything for them in normal situations (i.e., when not on assignment), and the spouse doesn’t work directly for the organization, so compensating or considering them in some way is excessive.

photo credit: Bring back Buck

I’m here to tell you from first hand experience that this is bad approach to take.  Here is what the trailing spouse gives up when leaving the US:

• Their job/career/normal life.
• Their family and friends.
• Their car (people are surprisingly attached to these).
• Their house (also very attached).
• Their freedom.  Yes, some countries are less free or work visas may not even be available.
• Their ability to communicate, if in a none English speaking country.  Ever seen Lost in Translation.  Yeah, it’s just like that.
• Many, many little things that add up quickly - preferred shampoo not available, favorite hobby non-existent, little or no American media, etc.  This gets harder as time goes on, because they compound on each other.

Don’t forget that the sole reason why the trailing spouse is giving up all of this stuff is so they can stay with their husband/wife.  The sole reason the husband/wife is there is because the company asked them to move to another country.  So, vicariously, the only reason the trailing spouse is there is to support the company.  If the spouse is willing to support the company, shouldn’t the company do something to support them?

I don’t think a whole lot is necessary, but these things are key:

• Ample choices in housing.  If you’re going to be sequestered in an apartment for the next few years, it should be something you like.
• Free language training.  Not just one measly starter class or a set limit of money (like $1,000).  You should pay to make the spouse conversant on the street if not fluent.  Remember that you might want to ask them to go local at the end of the contract.  How likely are they to do that if they can’t speak the language?
• Job hunting support.  If work visas are available, then this is a must.  Keeping the trailing spouse active and engaged is paramount to keeping your employee happy and working hard.
• Assistance finding daily amenities.  Spouses need helping getting re-established.  This means healthcare, gyms, schools, hair salons, charities, meeting friends, etc.

The key here is to keep the spouse feeling welcome and supported by the company.  If you don’t do this, then the spouse turns against the company because they feel left out or shunned.  Then, the employee must constantly try to defend the business from verbal abuse at home.  This cycle often ends poorly either for the couple (breaking up) or the company (losing an employee).

Ultimately, organizations have an ethical obligation to help keep these families happy when they are asking so much of them.  If you’re not willing to pay these extra expenses when sending employees overseas, then perhaps you shouldn’t send them.

Six Problems with Business Meetings
Today, I spent the entire day in one long meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to reach a consensus on four issues and submit a recommendation to a decision making committee comprised of executives for final approval. It did not go as planned… photo credit: mnadi Leading up to this meeting I had conducted [...]

Today, I spent the entire day in one long meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to reach a consensus on four issues and submit a recommendation to a decision making committee comprised of executives for final approval. It did not go as planned…

photo credit: mnadi

Leading up to this meeting I had conducted nearly two months of research, spoken to roughly 30 employees, and coordinated a global team of colleagues to canvass the business in their areas. To say the least, we had covered the organization as much as it was responsible to do so.

In this meeting, two of the four topics were resolved relatively easily with little debate. However, two of the topics were debated, at times heatedly, with the final outcome on both that we should conduct even more research. As you might imagine, this is not an optimal solution to move the business further, because at a certain point, you just have to make a decision.

To be clear, this is not a post to complain about my company or colleagues, because they all had excellent points and are intelligent workers. However, it did get me thinking about the most effective way to use meetings. I’ve found that if you need to solve a problem, and it requires buy in from many different individuals, the best way to do this is to talk to them individually. If you talk to someone alone, they are much more likely to be reasonable and understanding, calm and forthright, open and fair, flexible and insightful.

The problem with meetings is that they force people to take sides. In my meeting, I sometimes found myself arguing for things that I didn’t necessarily feel passionately about, but because someone was opposing me, I felt I needed to defend myself. Meetings almost force you to be standoffish with others for the following reasons:

• They’re probably sitting across from you, which feels confrontational.
• Others are watching, so you’re reputation is at stake.
• Your ego can be easily bruised, if someone makes a better point than you.
• You become emotional because of the often competitive nature.
• You probably don’t want to be in the meeting anyways and would rather be working.
• You might have gotten caught off guard by something you weren’t expecting.

Of course, meetings can’t be avoided, but we should keep these pitfalls in mind when we conduct them. Also, ask yourself whether you can responsibly gain consensus outside of a meeting. You should never be dishonest or withhold information, but you might save a lot of time by having several one-on-one discussions to set the stage before bringing people together.

Prepping a group in this way helps tear down the walls people put up in meetings because you’ve been able to explore all the issues beforehand. They feel they understand the subject completely and are prepared to talk in a reasonable, logical manner. I try not to call large meetings “cold” so to speak, but I could have followed my own advice better today.

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Top Five Things You Won’t Learn in Business School
With a bevy of excellent business schools, both grad and undergrad, available and the potentially high stakes of getting accepted to a top tier school, you’d think that you’d learn everything you need to know there. This is not the case, though. Below are my top five things you’ll never learn in business [...]

With a bevy of excellent business schools, both grad and undergrad, available and the potentially high stakes of getting accepted to a top tier school, you’d think that you’d learn everything you need to know there. This is not the case, though. Below are my top five things you’ll never learn in business school.

1. Your professors were usually wrong. After spending all those late night hours pouring over text books and enduring endless study groups, students come to think the teacher’s word is gospel. They will grade your test, so they do control your future. Don’t confuse this control for actual knowledge. B-school professors aren’t like chemists or physicists. They’re more like English Lit professors. You just have to make your opinion match theirs. Unfortunately, just like many English professors have never written a novel, many B-school professors have never worked in the business world. Don’t be surprised when you start working and find out most everything they taught you was worthless.
2. Employees care about their personal lives more than work. In B-school, all theories are based solely around how employees behave at work. Not bad, but it completely ignores that they spend the majority of their time away from work. Here are just some of the things that happen to employees that affect their work productivity: they get married, they get divorced, they get sick, a family member dies, they have children, they get into car accidents, they buy new houses and cars, they run up credit card debit, they fail to make child support payments, they get arrested for DUIs, they have affairs. If you want to be a good co-worker and boss, you’ll learn to recognize these things when they happen and show compassion and understanding. Don’t be a jerk because an employee isn’t working 110% all the time. Stuff happens outside of work - it’s called life. When you graduate from B-school, you’re trained like a marine to be a working machine, but that only lasts while your young and unmarried. Cool your jets a bit and people will like you better.
3. Companies are not run as a meritocracy. When studying in B-school, you get the impression that all companies will have a complex career path built for every position, and hard work and dedication can send a person as far as they want. You also learn that companies want to and will actually promote people based on their skills and abilities in order to create a competitive advantage. In reality, companies promote people for odd reasons and hold people back for even odder reasons. Here are some of the reasons I’ve seen people get hired or promoted: because of the color of their skin, because of their gender, because of what fraternity they belonged to, because the best person was too busy on an important project, because the company needed someone quickly and they were the best available, because the project was going to get axed and the company wanted to get rid of that employee, because that person’s family goes on vacation with the CEO, because that person sleeps with the CEO, because that person went to the same school as the CEO, because the best candidate is too good and would make the boss look bad in comparison. Life’s not fair, get used to it.
4. YOU will get laid off. In B-school, there is frequent talk of downsizing, rightsizing, and the like, but it’s always in the context of when the correct time to do these things are. As if you will be the one making that decision. The reality is that there just aren’t that many executive positions in a company, and you will probably never get to decide who does and doesn’t get fired. However, you probably will be laid off one day. Over the course of your 40 year career, there is a high chance that one of the companies you work for will go through a down time and you’ll get canned. B-schools don’t tell you how to deal with that, though.
5. Your company will screw you over at some point. In B-school, they give the impression that a company’s main goal is to keep it’s employee’s happy and productive. The truth is that they only want to keep you happy enough not to quit. Remember, this is business and the goal is to make money. Making you happy probably costs money. Here are some of the ways you might get screwed over: denied a promotion promised to you, denied a pay raise promised to you, denied a bonus promised to you, denied an office promised to you, moved from location to location so you can’t settle down, asked to do work far below your experience level, asked to do way more work than is humanly possible, get a lower performance rating than your incompetent peer, someone else given credit for work you did, asked to work overtime/holidays/weekends, asked to cancel vacation, miss child’s game/recital/birthday for work, make long, exhausting business trip for 1 hour waste of time meeting. I could go on, but I think you see my point. You will slowly become disillusioned with the beautiful, perfectly logical world your professors built for you.

There are, of course, more things that business school doesn’t teach you, but I think this is a good start. For those new graduates reading this, B-school is still a very good idea, just don’t believe everything they tell you.

Change Your Personal Life & Instantly Improve Your Business
Spending Money On Your Personal Life Can Help Your Business. New DJ Equipment Is My Latest Investment :) Running your own business is different to working for someone else, when working for yourself your business and personal life become very much connected, especially when working from home. Is it possible to change your personal life and instantly improve [...]

Running your own business is different to working for someone else, when working for yourself your business and personal life become very much connected, especially when working from home.

Is it possible to change your personal life and instantly improve your business?

Is A Holiday An Investment?
I recently went on holiday to Corfu for two weeks at a total cost of over £1,000. I wasn’t sure whether to go or not - after all that £1,000 could be invested in my business. Only when I was away did I appreciate how much I needed the holiday and how good it made me feel.

I am now more focused than ever and came up with loads of great ideas and plans whilst I was away (the blackberry saves the day again!). The money spent on the holiday feels like an investment, I am now more productive and my business will be stronger as a result of my new ideas. So I guess it really is an investment, except it is an invesment in myself as a whole rather than just the business. A ‘personal investment’.

Day-To-Day Changes Can Also Help Your Business
You can also spend money on day-to-day things that can help your business.

I’m getting Sky Plus soon, this will help me focus more on my business. I like to get up in the morning and watch certain programs (Baywatch - UKTV Gold 8-9am!) before then having breakfast, a shower, sorting myself out and getting down to work.

The problem is by that time it is normally close to 10am, and I want to start work earlier, but if I get up earlier I have less sleep which makes me less productive and I hate being tired. Sky Plus will enable me to record programs which I can’t help watching in the day, meaning I work more when I need to and can watch what I want later in the day! More time working and better focus will mean an improvement to my business.

Other Ways To Change Your Personal Life
There are lots of things like this which you can spend your money on. If you live on your own maybe a dog or cat would be good? I have some days where I struggle to really focus, and my house just feels silent and uninspiring, but if I have the TV on I do no work at all - I hate those days! In this situation a dog would be great, take it a walk to get me some fresh air and take my mind off work for a bit. One for the future maybe.

Indulging in your hobbies, as long as it doesn’t cost to much, is also a great way to keep you perky. A happy person is always more productive than an unhappy person. I love djing (only at home in spare time) and I’ve set a side a couple of hundred for a new CDJ (a turntable for cds) which I’m very excited about.

So, in response to my original question: Yes, it certainly is possible to change your personal life and instantly improve your business!

My CDJ is my next ‘personal investment’, what investment will you make to help your personal life and business?

Two Different Ways To Use Press Releases For Marketing Your Ecommerce Website Online & Offline
Get In The Newspapers! A press release is a written announcement that seeks to draw media attention to a specific event or product launch. When you are doing something big in your business sending out press releases can get you great coverage in the media sending you more visitors and potential customers to your ecommerce website. Press [...] A press release is a written announcement that seeks to draw media attention to a specific event or product launch. When you are doing something big in your business sending out press releases can get you great coverage in the media sending you more visitors and potential customers to your ecommerce website.

Press releases are great for a quick burst of highly targetted traffic, but they can also have other more long-term benefits.

Here are two different ways to use the press release marketing method:

1. To get recognised and published in the online and offline media sending you a burst of traffic - to achieve this make sure your story is newsworthy, it has to be something big your business is doing E.G launching a new product which has benefits like no other product.
         You will have to write a great press release to get good press coverage, reporters get sent lots of press releases every day so you need to write a good one from the title all the way down to the last sentence.
2. To build up quality inbounds to your website helping your long-term SEO targets - sending out press releases online to lots of websites and press release services can gain you some valuable and highly targetted inbounds at very little cost.
         Some press release services offer paid services, for your money your press release can even be published by Google News gaining you a quality inbound and thousands of potential readers. This method can be done more often than Method 1 above so your story doesn’t have to be as ground breaking. It won’t send you as many visitors as Method 1 but long-term it will help your SEO efforts which in turn will send you lots of visitors every week.

When I completed the recent Dropship Help upgrades I sent out a press release to pressbox (read the release) it only took about 10 minutes to write and submit and I now have an extra inbound to the website. If you type ‘dropshiphelp.co.uk’ into Google the pressbox page comes up as the 8th out of 366 pages. This is an example of using a press release just to get an inbound link for your website.

If you don’t know how to write press releases or where to publish them then search around the web and fill yourself with the relevant knowledge so you can get in the media and build valuable inbound links to your ecommerce website!

For further reading check out this post about Press Release Optimisation.

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Mortgages 101 and More

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Miss Bimbo: Krass?
Miss Bimbo ist ein Online-Spiel, wird im Browser gespielt und richtet sich an 9-16-j�hrige M�dchen. Wohl �hnlich wie Stardoll. Oder ist es eine virtuelle Welt? Der Anbieter selbst spricht von einem «virtual fashion game». Jedenfalls scheint das Spiel die Gem�ter zu erhitzen. So berichtete die Sonntagszeitung am 15. Juni 2008 (so lange liegt der Artikel [...]

Miss Bimbo ist ein Online-Spiel, wird im Browser gespielt und richtet sich an 9-16-j�hrige M�dchen. Wohl �hnlich wie Stardoll. Oder ist es eine virtuelle Welt? Der Anbieter selbst spricht von einem «virtual fashion game».

Jedenfalls scheint das Spiel die Gem�ter zu erhitzen. So berichtete die Sonntagszeitung am 15. Juni 2008 (so lange liegt der Artikel schon bei mir rum…, vorher berichtete die S�ddeutsche mit einem ganz �hnlichen Artikel…) von besorgten Eltern und �rzten, weil das Game falsche Sch�nheitsideale vermittle und das Essverhalten st�ren k�nne. Bilden Sie sich Ihre eigene Meinung und lesen Sie die beiden Artikel…

Jedenfalls wird auf dieser Plattform mit virtuellen G�tern kr�ftig Geld verdient, so kann man im Shop gegen echtes Geld virtuelle Kleider kaufen oder sich die Oberweite des Avarts vergr�ssern lassen… Kein Wunder, schreibt die Betreiberfirma schwarze Zahlen. (Spontangedanke: vielleicht w�re das ein Business-Modell f�r Second Life? Ab sofort k�nnen die User Ihren eigenen Avatar nicht mehr selbst gestalten, sondern m�ssen sich die visuelle Personalisierung ihres Avatars kostenpflichtig erwerben…? Alles andere wie das Bauen von H�usern etc. bleibt nat�rlich m�glich… Aufstand der User? Untergang der Community? - Oder �berleben der Plattform…?)

Schwarze Zahlen k�nnen Plattformen offensichtlich mit “verh�ltnism�ssig wenig Usern” schreiben. Miss Bimbo z�hlt heute rund 850′000 registrierte User, das kann man auf missbimbo.com nachlesen, (im M�rz 08 waren es wohl noch rund 330′000), das Durchschnittsalter ist 19 und 1/5 sind M�nner…

Es scheint also eine krasse Plattform in zweierlei Hinsicht: Einerseits bez�glich dem Spielprinzip…, andererseits bez�glich der Profitabilit�t.

Internet Marketing Strategies that Won’t Hurt Your Savings Much
Your new business will benefit a lot from various Internet marketing methods. But you don’t have to spend millions of dollars just to get some decent exposure for your company. There are ways to make your business be seen and felt without doing overkill with your advertisement expenses. Make use of your online power - through [...]

Your new business will benefit a lot from various Internet marketing methods. But you don’t have to spend millions of dollars just to get some decent exposure for your company. There are ways to make your business be seen and felt without doing overkill with your advertisement expenses.

Make use of your online power - through Internet marketing. Here are simple methods that you may employ to boost the visibility of your business without shelling out more than what you can afford. However, these techniques need patience and some footwork to produce agreeable results.

Firstly, you need a website before you can make use of these low cost Internet marketing strategies. So go create one or hire a web developer. It will display your products and services. This will be used in employing the following Internet marketing techniques.

1. Affiliate Marketing
This is the process of recruiting a network of smaller websites known as affiliates to drive targeted traffic to a website. Ad copy and links will be provided by the advertisers. You will have to pay a certain percentage of the sales profit to your affiliates.

2. Links
One of your goals should be to attain a good ranking with search engines. One way to do it is through link building. This could be done through trading links to other businesses that are related with yours.

3. Newsletters
Sending out newsletters to your subscribers (those who signed up for your newsletters) will help greatly in establishing a good working relationship with your customers or prospective customers. It has to be short, sweet, consistent and written for a general audience.

4. E-mail Marketing
As one of the best cost-effective Internet marketing tools, it stays as a very important method of keeping your customers aware of your products and services. Just make sure to avoid spamming or soon enough you will have to close down you business due to complaints.

5. Articles
If you put quality content in the form of articles in your website along with your products and services, search engines will have to index your website. Getting you website indexed by popular search engines means more traffic for you.

6. Forums
Expand your Internet network is through joining forums that mainly discusses stuff regarding or related to your products and services. Actively posting responses or answers and asking relevant information will build your reputation as that forum’s member and boost your company’s visibility through your signature files. These signature files are those that go with your every post. Links to your website could be included in this signature.

About the Author:
Felix Adekola has a great free resource website, http://felixadekola.com containing different articles on Success, Time Management, Career Tips, Blogging, Internet Marketing, Computer Security etc. Visit to find all the tools and resources you need to get started fast.

Studie: eignet sich Second Life als E-Learning-Plattform?
Eignet sich Second Life als E-Learning-Plattform? Dieser Frage sind 3 Studenten aus Florida nachgegangen und haben rund 200 Lehrpersonen aus rund 15 L�ndern befragt, die mit dem Thema «SL und Unterricht» bereits Erfahrung hatten. (Nat�rlich wurde kein Schweizer befragt…). [via] Die Ergebnisse k�nnen hier als PDF heruntergeladen werden. Scheinbar kommen sowohl die Autoren als auch die [...]

Eignet sich Second Life als E-Learning-Plattform? Dieser Frage sind 3 Studenten aus Florida nachgegangen und haben rund 200 Lehrpersonen aus rund 15 L�ndern befragt, die mit dem Thema «SL und Unterricht» bereits Erfahrung hatten. (Nat�rlich wurde kein Schweizer befragt…). [via]

Die Ergebnisse k�nnen hier als PDF heruntergeladen werden.

Scheinbar kommen sowohl die Autoren als auch die Befragten zum Schluss, dass sich Second Life als p�dagogisches Instrument noch in einer sehr fr�hen Phase befindet.

Mich w�rde interessieren, wie das Dozenten aus Luzern und Lehrpersonen der fhnw einsch�tzen.

Low cost advanced website traffic tactics for everyone
Advanced website traffic tactics might sound daunting, but if you make it low cost then you have nothing but a win-win situation. Employ low cost advanced website traffic tactics and you’re in for a huge online success. What are these low cost advanced website traffic tactics anyway? Surprise yourself by finding out that some of these [...]

Advanced website traffic tactics might sound daunting, but if you make it low cost then you have nothing but a win-win situation. Employ low cost advanced website traffic tactics and you’re in for a huge online success.

What are these low cost advanced website traffic tactics anyway? Surprise yourself by finding out that some of these tactics you can practice without having to spend a cent!

1. Write an article.
You write an article, mention your site, submit it to e-zines and garner traffic from curious visitors. It’s as simple as that. Don’t just stop at one website - post your site anywhere possible! Who knows how many hits this low cost advanced website traffic tactic will bring!

2. Exchange links.
Never underestimate the power of link exchange. This is a low cost advanced website traffic tactic that people tend to overlook. How to find out where to do the link exchange? Easy: type your website’s keywords in a major search engine, visit each and every of the top results and ask for the link exchange.

3. Get involved in forums.
Look for forums highly related to your website and make your presence known. Make online friends and let them know about your website. This is an advanced website traffic tactic that advertises subtly but works effectively. Good thing about this is it doesn’t cost you anything at all!

4. Advanced website traffic needs advanced tools.
The www world is rich with tools that churn out impressive results. Software to try out are those which take care of links and keywords. Once this is taken care of, the rest of this internet marketing job will be easy!

5. Power up with meta tags.
Meta tags are what search engines are looking for so it can include your site in the top results. Putting up meta tags in your HTML code is an advanced website traffic tactic that must not be missed! Low cost you ask? Oh yeah!

6. Direct to directories.
Keep submitting your site to directories like there’s no tomorrow! Just take a look at your website and see if it’s directory-worthy. Web directories don’t waste their time on poorly-done websites.

7. Conduct a survey.
Visit a site similar to yours and announce that you have a survey they can answer. The site and yours reap results so no one’s on the losing end here!

There are sites available that specialize in low cost advanced website traffic tactics. Search for them online and let your site rise to online popularity!

About the Author:
Felix Adekola has a great free resource website, http://felixadekola.com containing different articles on Success, Time Management, Career Tips, Blogging, Internet Marketing, Computer Security etc. Visit to find all the tools and resources you need to get started fast.

How to Create an Outline For All of Your Article
We’ve done it through junior high, it expanded longer through high school, then on college it became chapters. No matter how many times a person have done it, writing articles has proven to be a task many has continuously avoided. Now at a time when writing articles could help your job or work, facing the [...]

We’ve done it through junior high, it expanded longer through high school, then on college it became chapters. No matter how many times a person have done it, writing articles has proven to be a task many has continuously avoided. Now at a time when writing articles could help your job or work, facing the job at hand can be still faced with unfriendly behavior.

While there are a great number of people who do not have the same attitude in article writing as others, there are still those who would rather walk in piping hot coals than do some article writing. What set other people apart from other towards article writing is that they are prepared and has some methods and procedures in writing articles.

One of the methods you can use to prepare yourself when tasked to write in article is creating an outline first. Creating an outline for all your articles makes you prepared. You have an idea of what to do first and make a plan for your succeeding steps. Being prepared makes the job easier and faster. Being organized will allow for disorientation to be shunned away.

An outline can act as the design or blueprint for your article. This will guide you in creating the introduction, body and conclusion of your article. Here in this point, you can write down some of the ideas and sentences that you feel will look good in your article. This could be some of the focal point that could help make your article creative, interesting and appealing to a reader.

A carefully planned and fully prepared project would guarantee and ensure a problem and worry free procedure that can virtually go without any hassles. Creating an outline for all your articles will get you ready and breeze through writing an article in no time at all. Here I will provide you with some tips and guidelines in how to create an outline for all of your articles.

Do a couple of brainstorming and jot down your brilliant ideas first. Think of some ways to attract the interest of your reader. Designate a time frame where you can write down all the ideas that you can use for your articles. By this time you should have done all your research and information searching. Review and reread your ideas and notes, gain mastery and sufficient familiarity with your topic so that writing them down later own would be easy for you.

The next step is to discover your sub topic and sub titles. As you would provide a first sentence for your article, one that would immediately grab the attention of your reader, you would need some as well for your sub topics. To be concise, you would need to get all the facts that will support and go against your point.

These are the frames or skeleton of your article, now its time to add the flesh and the meat of your article. You will need to connect all your paragraphs and sub topics. This will form the body of your Article. While the introduction will usher in the ideas of your paragraph, you will need a conclusion. The conclusion will wrap up your points and drive in what you are saying in your article.

The outline for your article would also require you to write a draft first. This may take more than one attempt but remember that it is called a draft for a reason. Your outline shall be perfected as each draft is written and this draft is meant for your eyes only so there’s no reason to feel ashamed. As you go on, you will clearly see the bigger picture and write an article that will perfectly suit what is demanded of it.

Reread and reread what you have written down. Always refer to your outline so that you wont drift away from what you had first written down. Its not hard to be caught in the moment and get lost in your writing frenzy. Your outline will help you keep in track. All those hours spent in outlining your article will not go to waste. This will serve as your guide in writing articles. Trust and rely on your outline because this will prove to be a very helpful tool in writing all of your articles.

About the Author:
Felix Adekola has a great free resource website, http://felixadekola.com containing different articles on Success, Time Management, Career Tips, Blogging, Internet Marketing, Computer Security etc. Visit to find all the tools and resources you need to get started fast.

Friday Fun - Bill Bailey Cockney Compilation Music Video
When I first started to watch this, I thought it was going to be rubbish, but it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen for quite some time: WPvideo 1.10 This one is good too, foreign sirens: WPvideo 1.10

When I first started to watch this, I thought it was going to be rubbish, but it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen for quite some time:

This one is good too, foreign sirens:

Flower Quotes

A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin. H. L. Mencken (1880 — 1956)�I hope that while so many people are out smelling the flowers, someone is taking the

Crossfit Certification - Day 1
WTF am I doing up at 3am on a Sunday morning when I should be tucked up in bed fast asleep? I’ll tell you: After being woken up by the cat puking up on the landing floor, my head is buzzing with all things Crossfit. Spending a full 9-5 day at a Crossfit Certification being [...]

WTF am I doing up at 3am on a Sunday morning when I should be tucked up in bed fast asleep? I’ll tell you:

After being woken up by the cat puking up on the landing floor, my head is buzzing with all things Crossfit. Spending a full 9-5 day at a Crossfit Certification being lectured and coached by some of the best Crossfitters in the world, has a tendency to do that to you. It was always going to be good, but there were 2 great surprises.

First was that it wasn’t Annie who came over, but Nicole Carroll who has more excitable energy than any human has a right to:

The second a great surprise was that despite what I had been told last week, Crossfit Founder, Coach Greg Glassman himself flew in at the last minute, just an hour before we started.

Now I’ve seen both Carroll and Greg on the many videos that are on the main crossfit site, but seeing them in the flesh and hearing them give the lectures first hand is a totally awesome experience, one that I won’t forget for a long while. On top of that were Andy, Jimmy and Todd (one is Navy Seal Officer, the other a US Marine Corp Captain I think, but I forget which. Nice guys to know!)

There are 70 people on the certification, from all round Europe: Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and even as far away as South Africa. Plus the trainers from almost every affiliate in the UK. The day started with the obligatory introductions and then we got straight down to a “What is Crossfit and Why do we do what we do?” given by Greg Glassman, and if anyone should know, the guy who invented it should! If you don’t know, the core elements of Crossfit are:

• Functionality
• Intensity
• Variance

2nd up was Nicole Carroll who took us through the first 3 of 9 core Crossfit exercises:

• Squat - Front Squat - Overhead Squat
• Shoulder Press - Push Press - Push Press
• Deadlift - Sumo Dead Lift High Pull - Medicine Ball Clean

Afterwards we went outside and worked through the squats with PVC pipe.

After lunch, an afternoon lecture from Greg again on “What is Fitness” included a great run down on: the history of Crossfit; how Greg started off as a “Bike riding, weight training, gymnast.”; the creation of the Thruster; and the invention of the infamous Crossfit Workout named Fran.

Another lecture on the 2nd set of 3 core exercises followed another stint outside in surprisingly glorious British sunshine with the poly pipes.

Lastly the obligatory workout was done for time, in teams of 3:

• 200m run
• 30 air squats
• 30 kettlebell swings

3 hours down the boozer in the evening topped off a great day. Although my 3 hours sleep tonight is not going to help day 2 that’s for sure.

I suspect I’ll be blogging about Crossfit even more in the future.

EDIT: See here for Manchester Crossfit Certification Day 2

19 days left until Mid Autumn Festival 2008

The date of Mid-autumn Festival also known as Chinese Moon Festival is on the 15th moon day of 8th Chinese lunar month (Chicken month). Since the new moon day is the first day of a Chinese Lunar Month. The first day of 8th lunar month in the year 2008 is 31st August 2008, the Moon Festival is on 14 September 2008.

Gardening Tips For One And All

Gardening is a low maintenance hobby, which does not require anything more than your love and attention. Gardening can be of many forms, small or big, flower garden or vegetable garden, gardens with water bodies, landscaped garden, so on and so forth.

Crossfit Certification - Day 2
At the risk of sounding like Bill and Ted, day 2 of the Crossfit Certification at Manchester was another totally awesome day. The day started off with a lecture from Todd on the 3rd set of the 9 core Crossfit movements: Deadlift, Sumo Deadlift High Pull (SDHP) and the Medicine Ball Clean, followed by [...]

At the risk of sounding like Bill and Ted, day 2 of the Crossfit Certification at Manchester was another totally awesome day. The day started off with a lecture from Todd on the 3rd set of the 9 core Crossfit movements: Deadlift, Sumo Deadlift High Pull (SDHP) and the Medicine Ball Clean, followed by practice outside.

After was an open floor Q&A session with Coach Glassman. I’ve read a few things online about Coach, but Greg is in reality a most unassuming man. This is me with Coach, he was very gracious to pose for so many pictures.

For someone who heads up an international exercise movement with an estimated 300,000 followers, he’s surprisingly modest about his achievements. I took several key points away from the session, which covered a whole host of topics:

• Glassman is not precious about the Crossfit way / WoD (Workout of the Day) He actually hopes one day someone will show that they have a better, more efficacious approach than the WoD!
• There were various conversations about other approaches and variations of Crossfit, for which Greg was completely happy to entertain the idea and watch the experimentation of people doing it. Of course his reaction was simply this: If some other approach is better, let’s see it do well at the Crossfit Games. Then I’ll take notice.
• He admitted to making mistakes with the WoD’s on occassion. E.g. 400m of 10 lunges + 15 reps of 35kg Push Presses. Sounds tough but doable? It took Greg Edmundson (a Crossfit poster boy) over an hour to finish it! Coach described it as “An Abomination!” lol (I can laugh cos I didn’t have to do it.)
• There was talk about the future of Crossfit and where it can go and Greg made the point that they have more ideas than they have staff to cope with them.
• I was also surprised to learn that Crossfit Inc has only just turned a profit for the first time this year. Bare in mind that Crossfit, it terms of what Greg Glassman has been doing, is coming up 30 years old now! That’s one hell of a gestation period.
• On a Crossfit note, Glassman really stressed the point that the heavy days, e.g. the 5 x 1 rep Dead lifts etc, are *really* important to the Crossfit methodology, and shouldn’t be considered easy or rest days. They really should be absolute max strength days.

One thing that I really came away with was simply this: Greg Classman has a great manner about him, he’s an unassuming but capable orator, who engenders trust and loyalty in those that listen to him.

After lunch was a lecture by Nicole Carroll on nutrition and recommended Crossfit diet: The Zone Diet. In case you can’t guess, I’m the not the pretty one on the left!

The Zone diet stuff was nothing new to me, I’ve been on it for 18 months after all, but it was interesting to see some of Nicole’s slight variations on the Zone prescription in terms of things like the frequency of cheat days and the minimum blocks to prescribe for small people.

There followed the main workout activity, which included 5 stations:

• Push Press practice
• Medicine Ball clean practice
• Kipping pull ups and rope climb technique
• Muscles ups
• And the main workout of the day: 30 - 20 - 10 each of Thrusters and Burpees. To coin a phrase from Crossfit Manchester coach Karl Steadman: That sucked a fat mans arse!

Later Todd talked again about general Crossfit methodology, the ways to combine the 3 main types of workout: Weightlifting, Gymnastics and Mono-structured (running, rowing etc). It included topics on the 3:1 work to rest day ratio vs the 5:2. Also an example of how to scale a WoD for different ability levels of Crossfit client.

Ultimately that was it. There were photo sessions and plenty of time for questions of all kinds to all people and I don’t believe anyone went away with anything they wanted to ask unanswered. All together, the weekend was great, and that’s all I can say about it. If you get the chance, you should go on a Crossfit cert. This is the Crossfit Manchester crew with all the Crossfit Coaches: Greg, Nicole, Todd, Jimmy and Andy:

My Gladiators Try Out (and Friday fun videos)
I had my Gladiators try out today. It cost me a packet, due to the fact that I had to take an unpaid day off and had to pay for a London - Manchester train ticket. However, this is the sort of thing that makes life worth living. Money comes and goes but memories [...]

I had my Gladiators try out today. It cost me a packet, due to the fact that I had to take an unpaid day off and had to pay for a London - Manchester train ticket. However, this is the sort of thing that makes life worth living. Money comes and goes but memories from once in a life time events like this last forever. So without further ado, here’s what happened:

The day started at 9:30pm at the The Armitage Sports Centre in Manchester. A good job I allowed plenty of time because GPS takes you to a place where there’s not parking and no easy way to get to the right place! There were about 90 people there and we were split into sections of 30 for the Gladiator tryouts and then further down to smaller groups of 4 each. We were told that they had seen 200 people at Glasgow and that only 30 had got through to the video interview. With further trials at Birmingham and London, I reckon they called for audition about 10% of the 5000-6000 people that applied. I was number 5109 and the numbers ranged from 1000 to 6000 that I saw.

Just to be clear (as a few people have been confused) this is a tryout to appear as a *contender * on Gladiators, not as an actual Gladiator! I may be fit and lean these days, but I’m certainly not a muscle bound hulk. Having said that, with a backsquat of nearly twice my bodyweight, Crossfit has seen fit to make me strong enough to be able to pick up and carry off any of the gladiators, male or female (I should be so lucky, lol!).

I had been tipped off by my mates at Crossfit Manchester who had been to the Series 1 Gladiator auditions, about what the exercises were for them. Further this had been confirmed by someone who went to the Glasgow gladiator trials a few days ago. Actually they had changed a bit from what I was told, but here is a list of what we had to do. They wouldn’t tell me how the points system worked but I was informed by a Series 1 contender that it works like this, I can’t verify it unfortunately:

• 1 point for taking part
• 5 points for doing modestly well
• 10 points for excelling

Obviously with my constantly varied, if not randomised functional fitness regime that is Crossfit, I was quite looking forward to them all and anticipating doing better than most. Anyway, here are the tests (you start at a random station) and how I did on each one:

Test 1 - Mini assault course: jump and forward roll over a hurdle, hop scotch across some lines, round a cone, bounce a ball 5 times and replace it back on its stand, 2 footed jumps over 6 low hurdles, a duck under a bar and sprint to the end. I was trying too hard and approached the hurdles faster than I should and end up stacking it completely and wiping out the hurdles. 2 bruised knees, a bruised hip, friction burns on both knees and an elbow: and not a good start for my trouble. I think the time was fast, but I don’t know how much I got marked down for stoofing the hurdles.

Test 2 - Medicine ball throw: on your knees and throw a 5kg medicine ball (3kg for the ladies) from your chest as far away from you as possible without coming off your knees. You’re not allowed to turn round and throw it over your head behind you, which certainly would have been easier. I was the only guy from my group of 3 guys and a girl to get the ball across the second and furthest line. I also picked up a bruised palm whilst landing on it.

Test 3 - As many Burpees as you can manage in 60 seconds. These were lazy burpees in that they went like this: from a standing position, drop to a squat with your hands touching the floor, jump your legs out behind you to a push up position, jump your feet back to a squat, stand and jump in the air. (I say lazy burpees as I’m used to doing an actual push up at the bottom and clapping overhead at the top). I set a pace and maintained it throughout the minute but I confess to not counting how many I did, I’d estimate 30-35.

Certainly I maintained better form than my 2 group mates and did at least as many as them if not more. The leg burn really kicked in during the last 10 seconds so I think I paced it about right.

Test 4 - 2 footed standing Long Jump. Simply stand with feet together and leap as far as you can. Again I was the only one from my group to make it past the 2nd line.

Test 5 - The Crocodile Crawl was probably the most feared test. It goes like this: you get into a push up (plank) position, they tape up your ankles and you have to pull yourself along with your arms over roughly a 40m course for time. You have to keep your knees off the floor and get one warning only. Apart from being physically hard work (one of the guys in my group couldn’t finish it) you have to take your shoes off and dragging your feet behind you, toes pointed away, has left a cluster of nice friction burns on the roof of my right foot.

Test 6 - Shuttle Sprints: 4 x 30m for time. Simply run back and forth over a 30m track, touching the ground at each end, as fast as you can. I have no idea how I did, but I’m a good sprinter and it felt like a fast time. The guy in my group who I thought was quick said I was faster than him, but he can’t have known for sure either.

Test 7 - Pull ups (chin ups if you prefer) for time. As many as you can do in 60 seconds with palms facing away from you and straight arm down to chin over the bar. The pull up station was a standalone piece of gym equipment with a back rest. This was bad news for me as we were doing it facing into the frame and the “back” rest was right in front, about 10 inches away from my belly. This made kipping pull ups impossible. As a result, I managed a modest 9 dead hang pull ups in 60 seconds. For the women, who couldn’t do a single pull up, simply hanging from the bar for the full 60 seconds scored some points.

Compared to my small group of peers I feel I acquitted myself well. I’d be surprised if I didn’t have the most points out of them and I was certainly less out of breath and less sweaty than any of them. If there were “winners” for each exercise, I reckon I won 4, came 2nd in 2 (pull ups and crocodile walk) and probably last in the assault course. Trying to be objective, if the points system above is accurate, I reckon I got about 46 points out of a potential total of 70. What I didn’t have was a comparison overall and there were some very big guys in the other groups.

So it came down to a simple matter of points mean prizes. The prize in this instance being a Gladiators video audition. Of the 30 in my section 3 lads and 3 girls were chosen and I’m sorry to say I was not one of them. 2 of the 3 guys chosen could have been Gladiators themselves judging by the size of them and simply on appearance they certainly deserved to go through. No one from my group was selected.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable morning , despite my failure to progress and my bumps and grazes. I discovered a few hours later that I’ve sprained (or is that strained?) my wrist and also my ankle, I’m a right wreck this week. However I’d certainly do it again given a chance and that is indeed a viable option. One of the guys who did get through from my section, had already got beyond this to the 2nd stage fitness tests for the series 1 trials, only to be disqualified for failing the drugs test (he claimed a trip to Amsterdam the month before was the reason!). The point is that it seems subsequent series trials are a clean slate.

Series 3 anyone?

And now for a topic pair of Friday fun videos, the first was Fash’s “oops” moment and the second of the gladiators doing the eliminator from the last series. Is it just me or was that eliminator better?

7 Tips to Send Flowers on a Budget

There are occasions when you want to send a huge bouquet of the most exotic blooms but do not have a budget. Never despair the World Wide Web has solutions to everything. All you need is the conviction that you can still send a beautiful bunch of flowers.Send flowers to China includ follow cities:

Beijing 2008 Olympic flowers

About 60 million flowering plants will be used to cover parts of the city for the August Olympics.

...

World Class Coaching Weight Lifting DVDs
I recently bought 2 weightlifting DVDs from World Class Coaching. They had been recommended by one of the Crossfit Journals I got in the full back catalog I received as part of the Crossfit Certification I went on a few weeks ago. The 2 videos are: The Fastest Lift in the World aka the [...]

I recently bought 2 weightlifting DVDs from World Class Coaching. They had been recommended by one of the Crossfit Journals I got in the full back catalog I received as part of the Crossfit Certification I went on a few weeks ago. The 2 videos are:

• The Fastest Lift in the World aka the Snatch
• The Most Powerful Lift in the World aka the Clean

Note that the site actually says it’s the Clean and Jerk but there is no Jerk component to the 2nd DVD wihich is a bit of a shame, however I have to say that the videos are excellent. I’ve never seen such attention to detail and the lifts broken down so thoroughly and comprehensively with loads of teaching aids, coaching points and learning progressions.

The videos show world champion lifters going through the motions, slowed down footage, comparisons of unloaded, loaded and competition weight lifts all shown at the same time. Details of where the bar should move and the curve it takes are shown, as are instructions on where the bar should touch, how your body should move and how the feet should jump etc. If you have never been shown these Olympic lifts, these 2 videos will give you all the information you need to know to learn it.

There is 1 gotcha though, the continuous drone of the comentator does get a little monotonous and it’s been edited to remove most the pauses in the comentory. This means that it can be a bit full on at times and I had to stop and rewind in many places to understand what was really being said, as a small lapse of concentration means you can miss an important progression. Oh and “the science bit” at the end is laughable in it’s user unfriendliness!

Still they are highly recommended weightlifting DVD’s

Photo Album: Inauguración Nueva Oficina! La 1a con Piscina!

Inauguración Nueva Oficina! La 1a con Piscina!

Windows Live Messenger Beta
Microsoft has release the beta version of Windows Live Messenger. I presume this application should be quite familiar to you. This is the renowned MSN Messenger. There are quite a number of new things from this release of Windows Live Messenger. Click on the screenshot on the right to see more details. System Requirement Operating system: Windows XP with [...]

Microsoft has release the beta version of Windows Live Messenger. I presume this application should be quite familiar to you. This is the renowned MSN Messenger.

There are quite a number of new things from this release of Windows Live Messenger. Click on the screenshot on the right to see more details.

System Requirement

• Operating system: Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (32-bit edition only), or Windows Vista (32-bit or 64-bit editions)
• Processor for Windows XP: 800 MHz or higher
• Processor for Windows Vista: 1 GHz or higher
• Memory for Windows XP: 128 MB of RAM (256 MB or more recommended)
• Memory for Windows Vista: 512 MB
• Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later
• Internet connection: Internet functionality requires dial-up or broadband Internet access (provided separately). Local or long-distance charges may apply.
• Resolution: Minimum 1024 x 768
• For Movie Maker only: Movie Maker does not support Windows XP, and requires ATI Radeon 9500 (or higher) or nVidia GeForce FX 5900 (or higher).

Download Application
Windows Live Messenger Beta

The Story of the Chinese Valentine's Day

The Love Story Chinese Valentine's Day is on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. A love story for this day is about the 7th daughter of Emperor of Heaven and an orphaned cowh

Flower Quotes

A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin. H. L. Mencken (1880 — 1956)�I hope that while so many people are out smelling the flowers, someone is taking the

7 Tips to Send Flowers on a Budget

There are occasions when you want to send a huge bouquet of the most exotic blooms but do not have a budget. Never despair the World Wide Web has solutions to everything. All you need is the conviction that you can still send a beautiful bunch of flowers.Send flowers to China includ follow cities:

19 days left until Mid Autumn Festival 2008

The date of Mid-autumn Festival also known as Chinese Moon Festival is on the 15th moon day of 8th Chinese lunar month (Chicken month). Since the new moon day is the first day of a Chinese Lunar Month. The first day of 8th lunar month in the year 2008 is 31st August 2008, the Moon Festival is on 14 September 2008.

Why To Send a Gift

Why To�Send a Gift? It enhances love and� affection. It promotes friendship� and brotherhood. It abridges differences It creates soft corners and removes

�

Beijing 2008 Olympic flowers

About 60 million flowering plants will be used to cover parts of the city for the August Olympics.

...

The word "Flower" in different languages

The word "Flower" in different languages: �Nederlands (Dutch)bloem, het beste, poeder, schuim van vergisting, bloemrijk taalgebruik, bloei, bloem-, bloemen-, bloeien, doen bloeien,

Gardening Tips For One And All

Gardening is a low maintenance hobby, which does not require anything more than your love and attention. Gardening can be of many forms, small or big, flower garden or vegetable garden, gardens with water bodies, landscaped garden, so on and so forth.

Flowers, Best gift for everyone
It has been a very old tradition to express feelings via flowers. People love to gift various flowers on different occasions suiting to the relation as well as the age of recipient. Flowers are a gift of beauty. Although they are beautiful, flowers have many different meanings. Sending flowers with special meanings can be appropriate for almost any occasion - birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, funerals, new baby etc. Whatever the event, you want flowers that have a deeper meaning.

Never to young to be a teacher!
Opportunity : Cell phone classes for elderly users of the corporate world Sara has spotted in an earlier post the opportunity of coaching middle-aged and elderly people in the complicated internet world. Via Springwise I found out about Bellendoejezo, a Dutch company who took this idea one step forward. Bellendoejezo employs students aged 12–16 to conduct cell-phone [...]

Opportunity : Cell phone classes for elderly users of the corporate world

Sara has spotted in an earlier post the opportunity of coaching middle-aged and elderly people in the complicated internet world.

Via Springwise I found out about Bellendoejezo, a Dutch company who took this idea one step forward. Bellendoejezo employs students aged 12–16 to conduct cell-phone workshops that cover topics such as using predictive text, creating contact groups, voice mail management, enabling Bluetooth and exploring mobile internet. They target the corporate market and have worked with law firms, banks and an energy company.

If they don’t do it already, Romanian businesses will soon start investing in smartphones for their employees - including middle-aged and elderly persons - with the goal of increasing productivity. However only a small percent of the productivity gains will be available if the most interesting features of the cell phones will never be used. This is why businesses may consider providing their employees with the necessary skills as to maximize the benefits that can be obtained from the new technologies.

On the other hand, teenagers and students seem to be some kind of experts in this domain. This might be a great opportunity for young people with an entrepreneurial bent to launch a relatively easy to manage project. Or it could be transformed into a non-profit initiative - like Bellendoejezo - which would aim at improving the young coaches social skills and self-esteem and at introducing the to the corporate world.

What do you think? Are you already taking advantage of all your cell phones features in order to get thing done faster and easier? Or would you find some coaching on this topic helpful?

Sexist Recruiting and Hiring - Enter Sebastian the Romance Novel Hero
Morning, Quick!� Watch this clip below! And tell me….what product do you think Sebastian is marketing? � � � � � � � � � � Well?� Now, I’m certain that if you’re a guy, you’re thinking to yourself right now, Jeepers Barb, what a flagarantly sexist approach to getting people to buy vitamins! and if you’re a woman, you might be thinking: Hubba hubba! (NOTE!� I [...]

Morning,

Quick!� Watch this clip below! And tell me….what product do you think Sebastian is marketing?

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

Well?�

Now, I’m certain that if you’re a guy, you’re thinking to yourself right now,

Jeepers Barb, what a flagarantly sexist approach to getting people to buy vitamins!

and if you’re a woman, you might be thinking:

Hubba hubba!

(NOTE!� I was asked in email to be more specific with the romance novel hero’s skills below.� An avid Macgyver fan, here’s the update)..

Me, well, my tastes run towards the hairy-chested, deltoid-enhanced, clean-shaven Jedi Martial Arts and Swiss Army Knife master who can drop into a full front split (I’m almost there myself!) while simultaneously fending off 17 Dark Ninjas at the same time via blinding Krav-maga and Kenjitsu techniques (of course, while NOT breaking a sweat) and then read to me sweet romantic poetry while feeding me white-chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and caramel-flavored coffee and giving me a back massage with a peacock feather.� Ah, gotta love those college memories!��

But I digress.� :)�� )

Anywhos!

Where was I?� Ah yes!� Sebastian!

The fact is, even in today’s, ahem, advanced society, sexism and sex still sells.� It really does!�

And whining about that fact ain’t gonna eradicate it.

So. Whatcha gonna do about it?� Here’s my take.

I used to believe that sheer brains and ability would always level the playing field.� But I’ve realized (especially in this Web 2.0/social networking/video-enhanced world in which we live) that people, being, well, PEOPLE, will almost always react FIRST and FOREMOST to surface qualities such as looks, dressing style, ability to nest 6 Unix sub-processes within one single command line statement and the like.

Don’t believe me?� Check out these ads and articles - what do you notice first?

• ‘Gossip Girl’ and Others Branding Sex in Ads
• Sex Sells Ads
• Sex Sells Best

‘Course, people being people, they will NOT admit to being swayed by this.

So how should YOUR job candidates dress to impress?

Here’s some resources I’ve found for you!

• Appearance at the Interview
• Dress for an interview - Do’s and Don’ts
• Dress for Failure
• How do you dress on an interview. sexy , casual, fancy

I’ve seen interviews on YouTube in which the women flaunted their assets (and view-ratings skyrocketed), and videos where the guy’s rippling muscles battled for supremecy against their verbal insights (and the muscles definitely won) and my reaction:

I cannot change society - I can only CHOOSE how I personally react.

And then I can blog about it.� Like I’m doing right now.� :)��

How ’bout you?� Does a hot woman or man affect how you perceive what knowledge is shared?� Or are you zen-ized enough you can discount the outer packaging and swing to the forefront of your competitors?�

It is to think.� And pass me Sebastian while you’re at it.�

Enjoy,

Barbara Ling

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Smoothies Paradise
Opportunity: Healthy Fast Food Restaurant We’ve been talking about food quite a lot… Anca , Sara, Alex approached in several posts the healthy food restaurants topic. And so I am. This time, it is about a fresh and healthy fast food - Juice Zone - that we have just discovered close to our office (close to Piata Victoriei). A [...]

Opportunity: Healthy Fast Food Restaurant

We’ve been talking about food quite a lot… Anca , Sara, Alex approached in several posts the healthy food restaurants topic. And so I am.

This time, it is about a fresh and healthy fast food - Juice Zone - that we have just discovered close to our office (close to Piata Victoriei). A wide variety of freshly made smoothies, fruit & vegetables squeezes and energy drinks, and a nice assortment of salads, wraps and panninis made our day today. Although the shop is mostly dedicated to take away orders, there are a few seats available if you wish to enjoy your lunch at the Juice Zone. Moreover, they have a nice offering for vegetarians, too.

I hope they’ll introduce home delivery, also.

Enjoy!

 

Fast-Food Revolution
Opportunity: Healthy fast-food chain In these past few weeks it has been quite difficult to be a vegetarian, so I was really happy to read about a couple of meatless fast-food chains that are developing around the globe. They aim at revolutionizing the fast food world with natural, wholesome vegetarian foods that have the look, feel, [...]

Opportunity: Healthy fast-food chain

In these past few weeks it has been quite difficult to be a vegetarian, so I was really happy to read about a couple of meatless fast-food chains that are developing around the globe. They aim at revolutionizing the fast food world with natural, wholesome vegetarian foods that have the look, feel, texture and taste of meats without the negative effects on health and the environment.

Vegan V.G. Burgers goes even beyond healthy ingredients. Their packaging comes from vegetable sources and is compostable. The restaurant also runs on wind power and continually strives to achieve the goal of zero waste.

With an estimate of about US$2 billion spent on fast food at the end of 2005 and an annual average sales growth of 26% the Romanian fast-food market is impressive. My colleagues Sara and Alex already blogged about the lack of “green” restaurants. A healthy fast-food chain would be more than welcome by serious and sometime vegetarians alike. As more fast-food fans begin to grasp the environmental impact of eating meat and choose a (semi) vegetarian diet opportunities will no doubt expand for those entrepreneurs who skillfully combine the two aspects.

I would certainly love to replace from time to time the usual “falafel”. What about you? If you’re not a vegetarian, would the “green” ethics convince you to consider such a fast-food as an option?

From the Archives - Decision Management in BPO

One of the potential problems with Business Process Outsourcing is that it tends to ossify processes - attempts to guarantee performance contractually at a detailed level can force a BPO to stick to the old process while some BPOs run a very standard, and very fixed, process to deliver cost efficiencies. Even when BPOs use more software and less people it can be hard for their customers to manage changes resulting in overly static processes.

Business Process Management software, used to automate a process internally, can fail the 80/20 rule - the technology can reduce costs by eliminating the 80% of tasks that took 20% of the effort. Complex tasks, requiring expensive people or lots of time, are often the hardest to automate using BPM. Lastly BPM approaches sometimes assume that any change is a process change, making change more expensive than necessary.

• If I automate a process, how do I control it?
• If I outsource a process, how do I customize it?
• When do I really need manual intervention and when can I get Straight Through Processing?
• If I run a process for many customers, internal or external, how can I make it efficient for all and yet custom for all?
• If I automate a process, how do I automate the decisions within it?
• How can I standardize a process for�repeatability and avoid one size fits no-one?
• How will you show compliance?

A�decent software infrastructure, and one based on SOA, is going to be critical for Business Process Outsourcers (BPOs) in the future. Business rules need to be part of this infrastructure so that the decisions in a process can be controlled by those hiring the outsourcer. The addition of decision automation to your business process automation/outsourcing efforts gives you:

• Ability to automate both data-driven and human-controlled work process tasks.
• Business rules reduce the number of required BPM tasks.
• Reduced costs/time in management of business systems by letting business owners control business components, freeing IT for higher-value activities.
• Improved competitive marketplace response through faster reaction to changing business conditions.
• Increased profitability through use of detailed customer segmentation and consistent policy enforcement.
• Ability to drive exception-handling processes directly from the rules that detect the exception.

But

• The rules must be exposed in a way that allows the customer of the BPO provider to manage the rules.
  The critical capability is that the customer can continue to control the rules, even while the BPO runs the process
• The rules must be layered
  While some of the rules will be provided by the BPO as part of its expertise and thus standard across multiple customers, those being edited by a customer must be different for each customer. To build a scalable platform this means one service taking a decision but taking a decision in a customer-specific way. Some rules engines support this approach, others do not. If you have to build a rules-based decision service for each customer, it is not going to work.
• Many decisions involve both business rules and analytics - knowledge/expertise embodied in the rules and data analysis embodied in the analytics.
  Only focusing on the value of analytics in terms of process analytics is not enough. The BPO will need to allow customers to build models from data and inject these analytics into the decisions also. Smart BPOs may realize that anonymized aggregated data gives them the power to build analytic models also and use these to differentiate the service they offer, especially to customers that do not have enough data of their own.

In the future companies will want the flexibility to automate and outsource processes differently over time and that control of the decision points in the processes, using decision automation technology like business rules, will give companies unique competitive advantages.

Prompted originally by "Creating an SOA-Enabled BPO Platform" by William Martorelli of Forrester

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Principles of Management ..no class 2/12/08
bad weather…I hoped you checked with the school

class room changed to F111
Orignally for F005..but changed on the first day of class Also…the case study for next class is on page 72.

Principles of Management midterm grades posted
Tamara at the top ..congrats

Principles of Mgmt Presentation Schedule
November 27…Sean  and George (but I need one more)

Welcome back…spring 2008 underway
for Bus Math m/w 4pm complete appendix B problems for chapter 1 for mondays class.

From direct to search: a shift in advertising dollars
Last night, Mike and I were sitting in the office discussing traffic to our website for our two upcoming auctions.  They both are doing well.  However, in the conversation, I noted to him that for the past 30 days, search engines have sent 51.75% of our traffic, 16.71% has come from referring sites, and the [...]

Last night, Mike and I were sitting in the office discussing traffic to our website for our two upcoming auctions.  They both are doing well.  However, in the conversation, I noted to him that for the past 30 days, search engines have sent 51.75% of our traffic, 16.71% has come from referring sites, and the remaining 23.40% has come from direct visitors to our site.

That peaked my interest, and this morning I decided I’d take a look at the numbers for 2008 year-to-date.  The results surprised me a bit:  33.61% direct traffic, 25.64% referring sites, and 40.75% search engines (google makes up 35.08% of the total or 86% of all search engine traffic).  The results got me to thinking.

In a typical advertising campaign, we expend 90% of our ad dollars to generate the 33.61% direct traffic, and 10% to generate the referring sites traffic, and 0% to generate the search engine traffic.  Yet the results seem to show a completely different result than what one might expect.  Note, realize I’m generalizing this over the year to date numbers.  In a typical year we are running about 20 active marketing campaigns (about two weeks in length each, with some overlap), and the other weeks we are running passive marketing campaigns.

I’m wondering if we kicked the advertising spend around a bit, say 80%, 10%, and 10%, if we’d see increased traffic to our website?  I’m guessing we’d see increased traffic.  I’m wondering if that traffic would convert to a respectable ROI.

Increasingly, as general newsprint becomes less influential, and web becomes more influential, and specifically web searches, it is going to be important for small companies to make the transition.  Now, it shouldn’t be an overnight, immediate shift.  However, a slow steady trend to 10% advertising directed at the search engine traffic that generates 40.75% of our traffic would be beneficial to our company and companies of similar size.

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Bridging the ethernet
I am often called upon by my customers to provide auction day, live online bidding.  While, I work with a host of auction companies, I always use the same technology implementation.  Live online bidding is best when used with a high speed internet connection.  I often use an air card to accomplish this, despite the [...]

I am often called upon by my customers to provide auction day, live online bidding.  While, I work with a host of auction companies, I always use the same technology implementation.  Live online bidding is best when used with a high speed internet connection.  I often use an air card to accomplish this, despite the limitations of an air card (latency being the primary limitation).  However, I often use a piece of technology intended for industrial applications.

The technology happens to be an expensive set of industrial ethernet radios (replacement cost close to $2,000.00).  The radios broadcast an ethernet signal from one location to another.  My current set has a range of 60 miles (clear line of sight).  My experience is primarily in non-line of sight applications, and I’ve successfully used the radios at distances approaching a mile.

What the radios allow me to do is be completely mobile with the live online bidding.  I’m able to be live in the sound truck or auction ring with high speed internet.  Gone are the days of sitting in a back room with a two-way radio trying to hear the auctioneer selling, and relaying bids.  Live online bidding with ethernet radios has become a seamless integration into the “normal” operations of live auction companies.

While the cost of the radios is a bit high, the benefits to a company that is regularly conducting live online auctions are high.  The online bidders are no longer limited to lag times associated with multiple operators, and technology links.  There is better communication between the auctioneer and the online operator, and as a result, increased online sales.

Auctions are not convenient
On the heals of declining revenues, eBay is beginning to refocus from online auctions to a “buy-it-now” platform.  From the article, I gleaned some interesting tidbits that apply to our traditional auction business. But as the business of buying and selling over the Internet has matured, the thrill and novelty of auctions have given way to [...]

On the heals of declining revenues, eBay is beginning to refocus from online auctions to a “buy-it-now” platform.  From the article, I gleaned some interesting tidbits that apply to our traditional auction business.

But as the business of buying and selling over the Internet has matured, the thrill and novelty of auctions have given way to the convenience of one-click purchases. Hershenson will hold his last eBay auction June 3. “The auctions are nothing like what they once were,” he says. “They won’t ever come back.”

…

At the current pace, this may be the first year that eBay generates more revenue from fixed-price sales than from auctions, analysts say. “The bloom is well off the rose with regard to the online-auction thing,” says Tim Boyd, an analyst with American Technology Research. “Auctions are losing a ton of share, and fixed price has been gaining pretty steadily.”

…

What happened to auctions? Not only do shoppers want convenience, they’re also looking for value. And the proliferation of pricing information online has made it easier for consumers to bargain-hunt and lessened the need to risk overbidding in an auction.

As a traditional auctioneer, some of the above information is concerning to me.  However, most of the commentary doesn’t surprise me.  In fact, it confirms what I’ve believed for a few years.  The auction industry is completely different from what it was several years ago, and it needs to continue to evolve if it is to remain the first choice to for individuals to sell their assets.

“The bloom is well off the rose with regard to the online-auction thing.”  Scary.  The traditional auction industry has only begun to grasp the “online-auction thing.”  This year marks the first year where there are as many (or more) online only auctions in the local papers as there are live auctions.  The scary thing is that the bloom is off the rose for most industries, yet the bloom has only begun in the auction industry.  

“What happened to auctions?  Not only do shoppers want convenience, they’re also looking for value.”  This has always been true.  Nothing has changed here, except for a how much convenience “shoppers” want.  It used to be that an auction was a day long activity.  Buyers showed up early, and spent the day at the auction looking for value.  Now buyers show up minutes before their item of desire (if they know when it will sell), and leave shortly after the item sells.  In our experience, the majority of buyers leave an auction by 1pm - regardless of the start time.  We’re now experimenting with earlier start times (8:30 in some cases) to leverage this pattern.

I’m not completely convinced it’s the convenience factor that “happened to auctions.”  Rather, I am convinced it’s the busy factor of life.  Buyers overwhelmingly indicate they enjoy auctions.  However, they have so many other commitments (irons in the fire, if you will) that they cannot spend an entire day waiting for an item to sell.  Perhaps, this points to auctions being an inconvenient way to find value.  I’m not convinced.  If you can’t spend the day, all companies will allow a buyer to leave a bid on an item, and most will allow a buyer to bid via phone on an item.  In some instances, auctions include online bidding (pre-bidding), and live online bidding.  All are convenient ways to participate in an auction without the time commitment.

We’re continually looking for ways to adapt our business and increase the convenience factor while maintaining value for both our buyers and sellers.  Earlier start times are just one step.  Other steps we’re considering are the inclusion of online bidding (pre-bidding) on major items, and online only auctions (eBay style - despite the bloom being off the rose).  All three steps are an effort to make auctions more convenient to buyers, while maintaining prices for sellers.  I’ve got another idea that I’ll explore another time concerning “buy-it-now” options for live auctions.

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German fertiliser group KS joins blue-chip DAX (Shut Business) index (AFP)
AFP - German fertiliser group K+S will join the DAX 30 index of blue-chip stocks, reflecting its growing business as prices for commodities and foods rise globally. (...)

AFP - German fertiliser group K+S will join the DAX 30 index of blue-chip stocks, reflecting its growing business as prices for commodities and foods rise globally.

Or, discuss to your current merchant and work out a reduced rate. If you have not trained this family member for the top position, then hire an interim Ceo to get the enterprise through its current problems and help coach your successor. Furthermore, foresee a leasing company to want a large down payment. Finding ways to preserve your company cash will be a key to your restructuring. Since this is the case, it's always best to consider all possible avenues before filing business bankruptcy, even Chapter eleven.

The point of these suits isn't to go to court-of-law, but to force the lender to settle with you. Taking advantage of tax loopholes. * For Enterpreneurs and Partnerships: The costs, hassles and surrendering of your property could cause you to close your company. Altogether, these steps will probably cut headcount somewhere between 20 and 70%. They do this to focus on a profitable core business that produces cash. Finally, when you have a big organization you may need to hold a series of meetings at different locations to speak to everyone. First, let me describe each budget type before we talk the steps for developing your financial plans. In this way, you can identify the source of your enterprise troubles and move down the path towards company recovery. However, since this is a relative, you must give a more detailed reason for the layoff than in a normal separation meeting. On the other hand, when you've the better position or the bargaining power is a tie, have the meeting at your site. In this way, you will be able to identify the source of your enterprise complications and move down the path towards company recovery.

Open Solutions to Participate in Disaster Recovery Event - Forbes (Business Eviction)
* Strengthen selling and advertising dollars against Line A. (...)

* Strengthen selling and advertising dollars against Line A. If a business will be able to overcome poor planning and a lack of money, the proprietor is better-off continuing to run the business until it turns a profit. Third, a new property holder are going to look into your history and may refuse to take you on as a tenant fearing that you may default on your rent. Then, you can use cheaper bank money such as a revolving line of advance or an installment credit to finance your working capital needs. There are ways, however, of renegotiating with land lord to prevent an eviction which would not only be pricey but would moreover confuse your clientele. * Review turnaround blueprint and action plan results and progress. In a typical rebuild, you don't have to worry about this law because you almost never terminate and immediately rehire. Only your creditor and negotiator are going to know that you have debt troubles. Corporations advertising company liability relief bargain reduced interest rates and payments to your creditors.

Of most concern, a controller managed the financials, but not well. In this way, you can identify the source of your company complications and move down the path towards enterprise recovery. If you answered yesto any of these questions, you are a candidate for debt reformulation. Effective right away, eliminate out business cars including your own. Sometimes the representative will be able to approve the increase while you are on the phone. As you have a newsworthy success, such as a launch of a new product or picking up a new customer, you should call your local company reporter and let him understand. If your budget allows it, you may think about engaging a public relations firm to aid you prepare.
Open Solutions Inc.(R), a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial services providers across the United States, Canada and other international markets, announced it has been invited to participate in a disaster recovery Continue

Bankruptcy LLC - Data Recovery Business Plan - Bplans.com
Medium and large businesses file Chapter xi thus they can live on to run their corporations, now and then marketing parts of the business to create a financial recovery of some sort. (...)

Medium and large businesses file Chapter xi thus they can live on to run their corporations, now and then marketing parts of the business to create a financial recovery of some sort. If the firm is public, its stock continues trading, and your accountants must survive petitioning reports with SEC. For instance in the receivership test, fair available resource value is hard to measure accurately. Sole proprietors must be aware of their bottom line, reading into their sales margins, overhead expenditures, and sell share. If you have personally guaranteed some or all the debt, then a dump buyback is not going to work for you. Numerous firms pick this alternative over Chapter vii because it gives them a chance to redeem themselves to their backers and people you owe.

Probably, you have already used this approach effectively during the turnabout-planning phase (Lesson 5). As I mentioned earlier, the Resolution Department at the charge card company are going to bargain with you if they won't get anything by suing you. Anyhow, leaders of many troubled businesses argue that you can in addition value the enterprise based on its available resources. If you are not present, the other directors and officers could blame you for the company's difficulties. If you've a $20,000 debt with a credit card company, their cost to protect a legal forum case is going to be twice that. By following the suggestions and the sample agenda in this lesson, your meeting with your financier are going to be another stepping-stone in your firm's recovery. The second thing to think about is does your attorney-at-law have all the answers you need for your near-bankrupt business. The procedure of filing corporation bankruptcy can be difficult and painstaking, which is why we offer our services to those in the Mesquite community. Also, you will have affinity charge card corporations offering you new credit lines. The point of these suits is not to go to court-of-law, but to force the creditor to settle with you.
Sample business plan from Bplans.com: Electronic Detectives, Inc. helps lawyers identify, acquire, restore, and analyze electronic data in litigation. Continue

The US trustee forms (Business Liquidators) a creditors' committee. Additionally,
The US trustee forms a creditors' committee. Additionally, you'll see others start working hard like him or her to get a day off as well. (...)

The US trustee forms a creditors' committee. Additionally, you'll see others start working hard like him or her to get a day off as well. From the type of bankruptcy filing, the law court will choose who they are going to pay and when. The objective of reorganizing debt is to pay back the people you owe what they are due and get the enterprise back into the marketplace.

Let me give you some advice from my own experience in keeping a strong marriage through numerous rebuild and company startups. Saving Your Business from Bankruptcy. The insolvency judge issues the automatic stay as part of the filing. The members of this committee are commonly those lenders who have the largest secured debts. So, if the internal revenue service or a secured lender desires to seize availiable means, an assignment doesn't stop them from doing so. Also, when you can't hold the sale at your enterprise site for some reason, numerous skilled workers will understand where to have the sale or might hold it at their own location. If you mail the memo, you must mail it certified, return receipt requested. If your business begins to be ruined, you must let go of your dream. * Do they agree to remove any preceding negative references about your account from your credit reports? By knowing the laws, the ways to approach petitioning Chapter xi, a small business owner can succeed in fixing a troubled business. If you locate unpaid judgments, get your attorney involved or use a judgment recovery service (much like a debt collector) to get the money you won in court-of-law.

Turnaround Management - Understanding the Beginning of Business Continuity Plans and Disaster
ii) The judge's bench, creditors and people you owe take all available financial information on the enterprise and analyze it. (...)

ii) The judge's bench, creditors and people you owe take all available financial information on the enterprise and analyze it. If you are insolvent (that is your liabilities exceed your financial resources) before the settlement, you don't have to pay taxes on the settlement income. The turn around plan serves as a road map for you and your team to turn around your enterprise.

Chapter eleven procedures reorganize some debts and erase others with the authority of the Irving court systems. Consequently, we must center our business on a cash and profit developing core function. Accordingly, if you are planning on filing business bankruptcy early in the year, you must either speed up the completion of your tax return or file before the New Year begins. If you petition for Chapter 11 s corporation bankruptcy, company still goes on. The judge appoints an outside trustee to wind down your company. Show how every jobholder can contribute to the corporation's success. However, if you do not fill the CSO role internally, be aware that increasing your sales and revenue is going to expense you. Chapter 11 bankruptcy: The Cold Hard Facts. * Think about writing different versions of the turnaround plan for different audiences such as workers, money-lenders, creditors. Only approve spending that is necessary to keep the corporation running. Here you put in safeguards to stop a downturn from happening again, receive new financing and sell your enterprise when you select. For instance, when you consider cutting an important cost or sacking a colleague, you may wonder whether you are making the right decision.
Understanding the Beginning of Business Continuity Plans and Disaster Recovery Plans Cindy King Level: Platinum Cindy King is a Cross-Cultural eMarketer & International Sales More

More anxiety on Wall St.: Stocks (Corporate Bankruptcy) dive, oil soars - Times of India
However, it's still an option. Show how every employee will be able to contribute to the business's success. Once you have decided to close the enterprise down, you must make sure the i.r.s. (...)

However, it's still an option. Show how every employee will be able to contribute to the business's success. Once you have decided to close the enterprise down, you must make sure the i.r.s. is happy. They should understand that their opinions are critical to fixing the firm. The assignee files a final report with the legal forum, which dissolves your business. For example, the rank and file employees may know many complications with your day-to-day operations. It works something like this (with variations depending on the company liquidators company you're working with). If you're looking into a corporation liquidation sale, the whole program might overwhelmed and confuse you. All members of the Llc may have to consent to the insolvency Limited liability company filing. A monetary buyer may create a tumultuous work environment for the employees remaining at the enterprise. For most turnarounds, you will desire to pick the flat structure.

As part of their service, they are going to prepare the offering memorandum for you. If you need to, you can always go back and bargain an even better deal later. Debt negotiation offers numerous benefits. This is because the legal defender fees and other payments they should pay after completing the bankruptcy forces them to cash out their enterprise. Otherwise, just closing the doors to the enterprise and paying of the debts may be a better way of dealing with a declining business.
NEW YORK: Elation in the financial markets over the $700 billion bank bailout plan evaporated Monday and was replaced by all-too-familiar anxiety, pummeling stocks and sending oil prices to their biggest one-day gain. Worries that the rescue package Continue

5 Ways (Bankruptcy For Business) to Keep the Sale
After lots of hard work you finally closed the deal. But before you go spending your commission check, you've got to make sure you keep the sale. (...)

After lots of hard work you finally closed the deal. But before you go spending your commission check, you've got to make sure you keep the sale. Here are five things you can do to make sure the deal stays sealed.

Sales slide in August while price pressures abate (AP)

AP - The largest drop in wholesale prices in nearly two years in August failed to spur consumers to spend more at the shopping malls, raising new worries about a possible recession as the temporary boost from tax rebate checks becomes a distant memory.

Obviously, you don't have the cash right now. Although they may call themselves rebuild consultants, most have never worked in a turnabout environment previously. Numerous troubled companies face economic hardships because they simply do not know how to plan a working budget, or an innocent mistake on your part may have caused your financial difficulties. * Are going to your husband or wife need to go back to work? Suitably closing a company means that you have paid all of your debts, paid all of your taxes, satisfied all of your patrons and cleared your inventories. Contact your tax Accountant for details on how to get this refund. The earning capacity of the small company after complete reorganization and its ability pay the lenders.

* Direct all sales and marketing efforts to Widget Line A including a $1.00 price strengthen (Achieve our sales forecast). Then dismiss them on the official separate date. Competing in a saturated sell doesn't mean you must run your advertising like a negative political ad campaign. Filing for Fort Worth chapter 11 bankruptcy will not create you popular with your enterprise investors. Lastly think about other alternatives when trying to rebuild you financially strapped company. If you surprise your lender with a default, especially a late payment, he will lose confidence in you and your department. After they're in place, the owner should continuously review the company and produce minor adjustments to the business's direction if essential. Steps to sidestep insolvency proceedings under Chapter 11. Since it is complicated to file for Chapter 11, bankruptcy attorneys familiar with these laws should be retained.

Fix Company - Obama ponders own recovery plan, rips McCain - Raw Story
Finally, just as losing clients demoralizes the department, gaining new ones will improve esprit de corps. See Lesson 5 for a thorough bull session of your choices. (...)

Finally, just as losing clients demoralizes the department, gaining new ones will improve esprit de corps. See Lesson 5 for a thorough bull session of your choices. Limited liability company bankruptcy allows you to live on running your business while providing you protection from your lenders. As with any other large investment, Janelle should've shopped around for a legal counsellor. The United States is all about small firms - they are the backbone of our country. (If you're in a hurry to locate more ways to save your enterprise from receivership please see this alternative to Irving S corporation bankruptcy.) Therefore, you need to learn more about the loopholes and government assistance programs that are available for small company sole proprietors. For instance, there are two types of Chapter xi bankruptcy and it's easy to get confused between the two. This document will help keep safe you if someone decides to sue you for unlawful lay off. Co-CEOs are common in family corporations because equality is important to family businesses.

Consequently, your workers may not feel like ownersany longer. Approach 38 - Advance expenses on orders. Furthermore, the cash forecast shows how these balances strengthen and decrease monthly. Besides, you'll see others start working hard like him or her to get a day off as well. They are going to welcome your questions because, too frequently, enterprise leaders ignore their professional guidance. If it's a family member, for example, then supplier loan is a practical choice.
US Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama pondered his own economic rescue plan Saturday, saying his White House rival John McCain was flailing at a time of financial crisis and a government rescue for Wall Street must shield regular Americans Continue

What is an asset-based lending hedge fund?
Asset-based lending is a strategy employed by some hedge funds that has been gaining popularity in recent years. Asset-based lending is where a company (the hedge fund) loans another company a set amount of money, and that loan is backed by collateral (an asset). Let’s say a builder is in the process of constructing a ... Continue Reading

Asset-based lending is a strategy employed by some hedge funds that has been gaining popularity in recent years. Asset-based lending is where a company (the hedge fund) loans another company a set amount of money, and that loan is backed by collateral (an asset).

Let’s say a builder is in the process of constructing a tower and funds run dry. The builder will receive a loan from the hedge fund and put the tower up as collateral. If they fail to repay the loan, the hedge fund gets ownership of the tower. Usually, asset-backed loans have a very high percentage rate, and are generally considered to be a last resort for some companies. However, if they cannot secure a loan from a bank, an asset-backed loan may be their only option in order to complete the project.

While hedge funds that employ the asset-backed lending strategy are thought to be independent of market conditions, the current economic conditions are the ideal setting for these types of funds. With the subprime mortgage meltdown and the $285 billion in losses suffered by the banks, loans are much harder to secure. If the company must choose between an abnormally high interest rate offered by a hedge fund or to leave their project unfinished, they are going to choose the higher interest rate.

So how does an investor make money off an asset-based lending hedge fund? Quite simply, the investor shares profits from the high percentage rates. As long as the companies do not default on their loans, the hedge fund will make a sizable amount of capital from those percentage rates. If the companies do default on their loans, the hedge fund manager then moves to reorganize the project. This may include finding new project managers, completing the project, or finding a buyer.

Hedge Fund Due Diligence
New hedge funds are launched daily, which is constantly increasing the importance of determining which hedge funds are appropriate for you or your firm to invest in becomes increasingly important. Every person or company is going to have different investment horizons, risk tolerances, strategy preferences, etc. so it is usually more valuable to know the ... Continue Reading

New hedge funds are launched daily, which is constantly increasing the importance of determining which hedge funds are appropriate for you or your firm to invest in becomes increasingly important. Every person or company is going to have different investment horizons, risk tolerances, strategy preferences, etc. so it is usually more valuable to know the basics of how to evaluate a hedge fund then it is to hear someone say which hedge funds are “the best.” I think giving hedge fund recommendations even to the degree of suggesting exactly how to evaluate a hedge fund is too close to finance advice to put online but the SEC website does provide this advice in conducting a minimum level of hedge fund due diligence before investing:

1. Read a fund’s prospectus or offering memorandum and related materials
2. Understand how a fund’s assets are valued
3. Ask questions about fees
4. Understand any limitations on your right to redeem your shares
5. Research the backgrounds of hedge fund managers
6. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Richard Wilson is a hedge fund consultant, founder of the Hedge Fund Group (HFG) and runs the Hedge Fund Consultants Blog.

Largest Hedge Funds
While hedge funds are estimated to manage almost $3 trillion in assets, the top hedge funds are responsible for a large chunk of that number. In fact, the largest hedge funds manage about $1.6 trillion, more than half of total assets under management. Despite hedge funds losing a combined $24 billion in 2007, total assets ... Continue Reading

While hedge funds are estimated to manage almost $3 trillion in assets, the top hedge funds are responsible for a large chunk of that number. In fact, the largest hedge funds manage about $1.6 trillion, more than half of total assets under management. Despite hedge funds losing a combined $24 billion in 2007, total assets grew over 30% from the previous year. Here is the current list of the largest hedge funds.

Taking the cake for the largest hedge fund manager is JPMorgan Chase , through both JP Morgan Chase Asset Management and Highbridge Capital Management. Despite posting losses of $8.5 billion through various funds last year, the company still overseas $44.7 billion in assets. JPMorgan Chase invests in everything from real estate to statistical arbitrage products while employing a diverse range of hedge fund mangers with differing styles and investment philosophies.

2 & 3. Bridgewater Associates and Farallon Capital Management

Tied for the number two position, these firms each manage $36 billion in assets. The Connecticut based Bridgewater prides itself on emerging markets, commodities, currency, global fixed income, bonds and equity investments.

The San Francisco based Farallon is the choice for many institutions and ultra-wealthy individuals. This hedge fund is very event driven and looks for opportunities to invest in, while shorting on others, in an attempt to hedge their risk. Farallon moved up three spots on the list since last year, mainly from capitalizing on the housing market situation.

4. Renaissance Technologies

Despite suffering losses from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, New York based Renaissance Technologies still managed to make the #4 spot, with $34 billion under management. The firm’s famed Medallion fund, which averages around 35% annual returns, charges investors a hefty 5% management fee and 44% performance fee. Renaissance employs a global macro strategy, and tends to hire experts with a scientific and mathematical background, rather than a financial one.

5. Och-Ziff Capital Management

After going public last year, Och-Ziff rose to the number 5 spot, managing $33.2 billion. The New York based hedge fund’s strategies include private equity, real estate, and equity restructuring, investing over half of their portfolio in foreign markets. The firm has been experiencing some recent trouble in 2008, with all four of their funds reporting losses in the first quarter. Executives attribute this to the $3.3 billion in expenses they incurred during the IPO and reorganization last November.

6. D.E. Shaw

Dropping a few spots on the list is DE Shaw, who manages $32.3 billion. The New York based hedge fund likes to buyout distressed companies, while financing and developing new companies. They also dabble in commodities, emerging markets, currencies, real estate, and venture capital. Like Renaissance Technologies, D.E. Shaw prides themselves on using math whizzes and computers to locate opportunities in the market. It is widely known that only 1 in every 500 applicants at D.E. Shaw makes the cut.

7. Goldman Sachs

Falling from the number two position is the New York based Goldman Sachs, who manages $29.2 billion, about $3 billion less than they managed last year. They generally invest in currency, real estate, private equity, and venture capital while using a multi-strategy approach. Goldman’s long-short Global Equity Opportunities fund and the Global Alpha fund both plummeted about 30 percent of their value last year as a result of the subprime fallout.

8. Paulson & Co

A new addition to the list, John Paulson and his company, Paulson & Co. now manage $29 billion after correctly betting that subprime loan holders would default on their mortgages. Paulson went down in history as having the biggest day ever on Wall Street, about $3 billion. The New York based hedge fund invests in public equity markets across the globe, and employs merger arbitrage, long/short, and event-driven strategies while using fundamental analysis to make its investments.

What are some Emerging Investment Strategies for Hedge Funds?
Risk arbitrage hedge fund strategies usually involve purchasing stocks of companies that are likely takeover targets, while assuming short positions in the would-be acquiring companies. Risk arbitrage hedge fund managers can employ an event-driven investment strategy or merger arbitrage investment strategy, seeking situations such as hostile takeovers, mergers and leveraged buyouts. Such funds typically experience ... Continue Reading

Risk arbitrage hedge fund strategies usually involve purchasing stocks of companies that are likely takeover targets, while assuming short positions in the would-be acquiring companies. Risk arbitrage hedge fund managers can employ an event-driven investment strategy or merger arbitrage investment strategy, seeking situations such as hostile takeovers, mergers and leveraged buyouts. Such funds typically experience moderate amounts of volatility. Technically arbitrage is riskless but this is not realistic, the amount of risk taken on within each arbitrage situation is decided by the portfolio management team and traders.

130/30

130/30 hedge funds are one of the fast growing strategies within the hedge fund industry. 130/30 hedge funds are like normal 100% long managers except they are allowed to short 30% of the value of the portfolio and then use those shorting proceeds to go an additional 30% long in the portfolio. The end results is a overall portfolio position of 130% long and 30% short.

Green Investing

Green and socially responsible investing has been growing steady and many predict the total market for green and socially responsible mandates just on the institutional level will be 3-4x where it is at right now. Many green hedge funds have been seeing strong returns and it is an area that is not yet over-crowded or dominated by large players. New York used to be the sole center for green hedge fund management but Europe, specifcally London is now gaining ground in this area of the industry.

Green hedge funds can range in strategies from screen for equities that only invest in “green businesses” to carbon trading, renewable energy credit trading, ethanol trading and emissions trading. Similar to many other hedge fund strategies green hedge funds are playing risk arbitrage and variations of long-term value and short term momentum growth plays to earn returns for their investors.

Litigation Funding

This is where a hedge fund dedicates a portfolio or section of a portfolio towards funding litigation that the manager believe highly favors the party they are supporting. With third party litigation funding, the investors cover a portion or all of the costs of litigation in exchange for a share of awards by the court. Funds employing this strategy retain legal experts and refer to niche experts on each case before weighing in on the change of possible victory.

Multi-Strategy Hedge Funds

Multi strategy hedge funds use several strategies within the same pool of assets. They might seek returns from running money focused on shorting equities, investing in global real estate projects, and seeking momentum focused event driven strategies. The diversification benefits help to smooth returns, reduce volatility and decrease asset-class and single-strategy risks. These funds may allocate funds to a certain strategy in response to market trends allowing them to more easily capitalize on favorable market conditions. Due to the unpredictable nature of this type of fund, the volatility varies. A downside to this form of investing is that they will rarely be the highest performing fund over a short time period. This is because the diversification dilutes the returns of any highly profitable strategy. The long term consistency, however, generally outweighs this risk.

Richard Wilson is a hedge fund consultant, founder of the Hedge Fund Group (HFG) and runs the Hedge Fund Consultants Blog.

Dubai Hedge Fund and Private Equity Activity Trend
While Dubai is a tourism hotbed and most well known for its modern architecture, indoor ski slopes and record numbers of tourists it is fast positioning itself as the financial center for northern Africa and the middle east as a whole. There are over 400 investment firms now based in or that have plans to ... Continue Reading

While Dubai is a tourism hotbed and most well known for its modern architecture, indoor ski slopes and record numbers of tourists it is fast positioning itself as the financial center for northern Africa and the middle east as a whole. There are over 400 investment firms now based in or that have plans to build offices in the Dubai Financial Center. The ease of investment regulations and low taxes have attracted hundreds of professionals to the area.

It was recently announced that Dubai International Capital (DIC) invested a 9.9% stake in an American hedge fund Och-Ziff earlier this month. Other US investment firms that have sold pieces of their firms to investment groups in Dubai include The Carlyle Group and Apollo Management. Each has resulted in minority ownership of less than 15%, but I believe we just starting to see the beginning of a trend here. More up and coming financial centers such as China, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates will be playing catch-up to other financial centers by making large investments in US and UK based investment firms.

Richard Wilson is a hedge fund consultant, founder of the Hedge Fund Group (HFG) and runs the Hedge Fund Consultants Blog.

The Amaranth Disaster
Amaranth is a name synonymous with disaster. Branded as the biggest hedge fund collapse in history, Amaranth lost $6 billion of investor’s money in one week alone. So what was the culprit behind the fund’s demise? Surprisingly, it all boiled down to one bad bet. The funds we have seen collapsing lately due ... Continue Reading

Amaranth is a name synonymous with disaster. Branded as the biggest hedge fund collapse in history, Amaranth lost $6 billion of investor’s money in one week alone.

So what was the culprit behind the fund’s demise? Surprisingly, it all boiled down to one bad bet. The funds we have seen collapsing lately due to the subprime mortgage crisis and the credit crunch have all had a sort of “storm” of factors that have contributed to their demise. But with Amaranth, that wasn’t really the case, making the monumental loss even harder to believe.

By 2005, Amaranth had placed most of its capital into energy trades, mainly the natural gas market. The firms head trader, Brian Hunter, was garnering enormous profits for the hedge fund by placing huge bets on natural gas prices. Hoping to continue his streak of good luck, Hunter used 8:1 leverage to place more bets on the prices of gas using both long and short techniques. When prices went in the complete opposite direction of what Hunter had predicted, losses were catastrophic. With prices on natural gas being so volatile and depending on a number of different social, political, and economic events, making such heavy bets using massive amounts of leverage is not usually a smart move.

Amaranth suddenly had to inform investors that their $9 billion portfolio had experienced losses exceeding 65%. The fund suspended redemptions in the fall of 2006, then hired a liquidator only days later.

To make matters worse, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged Amaranth along with Brian Hunter with Attempted Manipulation of the Price of Natural Gas Futures, including making false statements to the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). These charges were in addition to the market manipulation charges brought on by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Apparently wanting to partake in the lawsuit frenzy, Amaranth filed a suit against JPMorgan Chase in late 2007, alleging that they had used their position as Amaranth’s clearing broker to prevent the hedge fund from transferring the remaining risk in its natural-gas derivatives portfolio to Goldman Sachs and Citadel Investment Group LLC. Amaranth is seeking $1 billion in damages.

The fund alleges that JPMorgan refused to execute a vital trade on Sept. 18, 2006, that would have transferred the fund’s natural-gas derivatives positions to Goldman Sachs in exchange for a concession payment of $1.85 billion from the fund. Amaranth accuses JPMorgan of wanting to take control of the portfolio themselves in hopes of gaining substantial profits.

“As a result, Goldman Sachs walked away from the trade,” the claim stated. “The effects on the fund were devastating.”

JPMorgan responded with their theory. “Amaranth’s lawsuit is an effort to rewrite history, and to blame JPMorgan for losses that were the result of Amaranth’s disastrous trading,” said Kristin Lemkau, a JPMorgan spokeswoman, in a statement. “JPMorgan’s conduct was entirely appropriate, and consistent with its rights and obligations as Amaranth’s future commissions merchant. The firm intends to defend this baseless lawsuit with the utmost vigor.”

The role of a business coach

In today's modern world, the owners of small to medium sized businesses find it hard enough to keep pace with all the changes and innovations going on, let alone to find the time to devote to sales, marketing, systems, planning and team management, and then to run their businesses as well!

As the world of business moves faster and becomes more competitive, having a Business Coach is no longer a luxury; it has become a necessity. Business coaches are trained not only to show you how to increase your business revenues and profits but also how to develop your business so that you as the owner can work less and relax more.

The role of the Business Coach is to coach business owners to improve their business through guidance, support and encouragement. They help the owners of small and medium sized businesses with their sales, marketing, management, team building and so much more. Just like a sporting coach, your Business Coach will make you focus on the game.

The Subprime Mortgage Crisis - What Happened
In 2007, it was impossible to turn on the news without hearing about one of two things. Britney Spears, or the subprime mortgage crisis. While both debacles got an equal share of press and public scrutiny, the subprime mortgage crisis is still reeking havoc on the economy, and so far, have cost ... Continue Reading

In 2007, it was impossible to turn on the news without hearing about one of two things. Britney Spears, or the subprime mortgage crisis. While both debacles got an equal share of press and public scrutiny, the subprime mortgage crisis is still reeking havoc on the economy, and so far, have cost banks upwards of $285 billion. It was the culprit of many failed hedge funds and other investments, it fueled the collapse of Bear Stearns and other large institutions, and its aftershock is still being felt in all corners of the world. So what was this “crisis” that everybody was moaning about? How did it begin? Let’s take a look back.

In 2005, the housing market was booming. I can remember living in Miami, looking at one-bedroom condos, and not being able to get near them for less than $350,000. Demand was sky-high, and people who had purchased their homes for $150,000 a few years back, were suddenly making a killing on flipping them. Developers saw this demand and got greedy. Overnight it seemed, the skyline of Miami was flooded with cranes, and residential condos were being built on nearly every corner. Thousands of new units were springing up, leaving the obvious question: Are there enough buyers? The shortened answer was: No. This wasn’t confined to southern Florida, either. The entire country was experiencing the same dilemma on some scale.

Desperate to rent out these units, banks started lending to anyone and everyone that wanted to buy a home, even people with ugly or no credit. These “subprime” candidates were often misled, with banks offering them attractive interest rates up front, and failing to convey that these low interest rates would increase after an initial period.

According to an article published on subprimelosses.com, the amount of mortgages that reset to higher interest rates are as follows:

Month	Approximate Amount of Mortgages Resetting to Higher Rates
January 2007	$27 trillion
February 2007	$23 trillion
March 2007	$26 trillion
April 2007	$38 trillion
May 2007	$38 trillion
June 2007	$38 trillion
July 2007	$44 trillion
August 2007	$44 trillion
September 2007	$48 trillion
October 2007	$50 trillion
November 2007	$46 trillion
December 2007	$41 trillion
January 2008	$44 trillion
February 2008	$32 trillion
March 2008	$37 trillion
April 2008	$46 trillion
May 2008	$40 trillion
June 2008	$32 trillion
July 2008	$35 trillion
August 2008	$37 trillion
September 2008	$30 trillion
October 2008	$18 trillion
November 2008	$14 trillion
December 2008	$12 trillion

Inevitably, these individuals started defaulting on their mortgages due to higher interest rates, and the fact that they probably couldn’t afford them in the first place.

However, subprime mortgage-backed securities and Collaterized Debt Obligations were already in wide circulation and were present in many investment vehicles, including hedge funds. Some feel that ratings agencies like Moody’s presented these securities with little risk, while they were in fact, extremely risky.

To make matters even worse, the supply of open units far outweighed the demand. People who couldn’t pay their mortgages were unable to sell their homes, or took huge losses due to declining home values. The result was an overwhelming number of foreclosures. Many buyers purchased homes thinking they would flip them and make a quick buck. Most of these buyers already had another mortgage to pay, resulting in more foreclosures.

The biggest problem of the subprime crisis was the domino effect it had through the world’s economy. Because so many investment vehicles were dependent on these mortgage-backed securities, assets started to plummet when all of these foreclosures starting happening. While agencies have started to adjust their ratings, and banks are much more careful about who they lend to, we will probably still feel the wrath from the subprime crisis for months to come.

The Process of Creating a Hedge Fund
You’ve done your research. You’ve studied the market relentlessly. You feel you have a strategy devised that will make your investors and yourself a lot of money. In today’s high-tech industry, starting a hedge fund is easier than ever. Most of the consulting work can now be done via the internet or the telephone. It’s ... Continue Reading

You’ve done your research. You’ve studied the market relentlessly. You feel you have a strategy devised that will make your investors and yourself a lot of money. In today’s high-tech industry, starting a hedge fund is easier than ever. Most of the consulting work can now be done via the internet or the telephone. It’s basically a matter of finding the right people to set up your fund properly. So, now that you’re ready to go, keep in mind these essential components to launching your hedge fund.

1) Find the Right Attorney

With all of the special licensing requirements associated with hedge funds, it’s important to find an attorney that specializes in the industry. The first thing you will do with your lawyer is devise the master plan. The location of the fund, investment adviser registrations, and any areas that need further planning will be addressed. Once the plan is charted, the attorney will construct several documents. The first is the Offering memorandum, also referred to as the Private Placement Memorandum. This 60-70 page document is essentially the heart of your hedge fund. The offering memorandum lists all of the fees associated with the fund, outlines the fund’s strategy, lists the services providers, and is the basic operating manual for your hedge fund. These documents must be written in a clear, concise manner, and all terminology must be defined so that the auditor can refer back to the Offering Memorandum to better gauge the overall success or failure of the fund. The second set of forms that your attorney will produce is the Subscription Documents, usually about 20-30 pages. Since there are many requirements for an individual to invest in a hedge fund, the investor must sign these documents asserting that he/she meets the prerequisites. For a list of these prerequisites, click here.

Many times, state regulations vary so the attorney will file a U-2 form in the states of the investors. These state regulations are referred to as Blue Sky Laws. The U-2 form is a commitment to comply with the state laws concerning the registration and sale of securities. States sometime charge a fee, however most states don’t require you file a U-2 if there are 6 or fewer investors in the fund from that state. All in all, legal fees will usually run you anywhere from $15,000-$25,000+ a year.

2) Construction of the Business

General Partnership

Also called the Investment management firm, this entity is set up to form and advise the hedge fund. The general partners will control the investment strategy. The partners conducting business have unlimited liability, so their personal assets are at stake if the company goes under. However, being a part of the General Partnership also has it’s rewards. These partners get to collect all the fees and bonuses associated with the hedge fund. Usually an incentive fee of 2% is collected, along with a performance fee which ranges anywhere from 20-40%. If certain managers do well, many times they will be invited to become a general partner.

Limited Partnership

These are the people who actually invest in the fund and they take stake in the fund as a business. Usually, a limited partnership is set up so that the investors are only liable for the amount of money they have in the fund. Limited partners may include individual investors, pension funds or endowments, brokerage firms or investment companies, or other corporations formed to manage investments in hedge funds.

3) Hire the Service Providers

The Prime Broker

Since the broker is the person who executes the actual buying and selling of the securities, it’s important you find someone who is highly accessible. Having a prime broker with a stellar reputation also increases the attractiveness of your fund. Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, and Morgan Stanley are among some of the big players in the Prime Brokerage industry. In addition to dealing with the day-to-day operations of the fund, brokerages also may try to find qualified investors for the fund. They also may run a risk-analysis of the fund, or provide consulting services since they do have a vested interested in the success of the hedge fund.

Independent Auditor

Typically speaking, an audit should be done on an annual basis in order to review the fund and its strategies. Sometimes, these audits are done on a quarterly basis so the investors can better gauge the progress of the fund, and see how well the fund manager is handling their assets. The costs of auditors usually varies depending on the amount of assets they are handling.

The Administrator

The administrator is responsible for the day-to-day administrative duties. This may include fund accounting, linking investors to a specific fund, and maintaining the books and records. The SEC imposes strict requirements for record-keeping, and a good administrator will be quite familiar with them. These records include typical business accounting records as well as most forms of written communication such as emails, any advice given or received, the disbursement of funds, or the execution of the buying and selling of the securities. Hedge managers can either hire an in-house administrator, or they may outsource in order to cut costs. For more about administrators, click here. Usually administrators will cost you anywhere from $500-$3000 a month.

Website Design Firm

Since the SEC has strict limitations regarding the advertising and marketing of your hedge fund, you have to be a bit creative when it comes to putting your funds out there. Attracting the right audience is key. Most investors are inherently cautious about handing over millions to any fund, let alone a new one. That’s why the utmost professionalism and attractiveness must be purveyed in a way that makes people want to learn more about your investment strategies. Most of the time, a website design firm will even assist you in providing documentation, data analysis and statistics, to make the management aspect of your website one less thing to worry about.

Starting an Offshore Fund
By Hannah M. Terhune, Esquire 2008©, hterhune@capitalmanagementservicesgroup.com Capital Management Services Group Many countries are competing against each other to provide the best playing field from a legal standpoint for private investment (hedge) funds. For a new, low budget offshore fund, Anguilla or the British Virgin Islands and not the Cayman Islands may well be the best choice. ... Continue Reading

By Hannah M. Terhune, Esquire 2008©, hterhune@capitalmanagementservicesgroup.com
Capital Management Services Group

Many countries are competing against each other to provide the best playing field from a legal standpoint for private investment (hedge) funds. For a new, low budget offshore fund, Anguilla or the British Virgin Islands and not the Cayman Islands may well be the best choice. While many countries have increased services to meet the rising need for offshore funds and companies, the lawyers, fund administrators, and accountants in the better-known countries have also increased their fees significantly in the past few years. There is increased use of offshore companies and offshore banking services to protect against identity theft and the loss of wealth due to the global decline of the U.S. dollar. Many are surprised to learn how easy it is to operate offshore.

Experienced investors are not as worried about where the fund is located as you may think. Funds tend to be formed in countries that are relatively interested in helping them set up (meaning that they have good laws and a good reputation as a country to associate with) and operate without a lot of initial and residual expense. Always remember that the domicile of the fund need not be the same as that of its administrator and custodian. In our experience with fund organizers, it is their inexperience with international business formations and bank regulatory matters that causes the most problems in terms of starting and launching the fund in a timely fashion.

For all the rave about the Cayman Islands, it is important to keep in mind that it was a blacklisted country until 2001, about the time when it hired a lobbyist and a public relations firm in the United States to delete the American perception that it was a hotbed of money laundering. In recent years, Cayman representatives have “visited” the SEC, the Senate Banking Committee and the Vice President to promote the image that it is a law-abiding, well-run version of “Delaware.”
However, it is home some very recent and high profile fund disasters and the 700 or so Enron secret companies. In short, it hosts as much financial crime as the next country.

Best Location for an Offshore Fund. The short answer is no one place is best. You can form an offshore fund in any location that make sense and is affordable. There are many areas of the world that are considered prime offshore centers. The most widely used (and most expensive) locations are Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Luxembourg, the Mauritius, Singapore, and Dublin. These locations provide a welcoming climate for funds in terms of the ample (and pricey) supply of sophisticated lawyers, bankers, and consultants offering legal and accounting advice. To appease the United States and the OECD, many of these jurisdictions have enacted “heavy handed” regulatory schemes which renders the costs of establishing and maintaining a fund in these countries prohibitive to all but the very wealthy.

Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands maintain a minimal regulatory scheme and the costs of establishing and maintaining a hedge fund in these countries are low. These countries (and other offshore financial centers) are no different from Delaware in terms of what they offer a business.

Why Setup Offshore? Many investment fund managers want to know when the time is right to set up a fund. It is best to ask and answer a series of questions: Where are your investors located and what matters to them? If you have a suitable investor base then the time is right to set up offshore. Consider setting up an offshore fund if you manage money for clients outside of your home country. It is that simple. Why would an invest or that does not live in your home country want to pay taxes there (or have to worry about paying taxes there)?

For U.S. based fund managers, also consider setting up an offshore fund if your U.S. investors are tax-exempt person (for example, retirement accounts, pension funds, etc.). Under U.S. law, Tax-Exempt Persons (TEP) investing in a fund that borrows money to trade or generate investment income become taxable on such investment (or trading income) as Unrelated Business Taxable Income (UBTI), despite the TEP’s otherwise tax-exempt status. The exposure to UBTI can be managed in many cases by investing in certain types of offshore funds.

Offshore Planning Trends in 2008. As a result of a “tweak” to its laws in November 2006, the Cayman Islands quietly become a much less attractive place to form a small offshore fund (meaning less than $10 million of seed capital). Anguilla (a country near the Cayman Islands) assumed that honor. However, in July 2007, the Cayman Islands again changed its law. Despite the law change published in the Cayman Islands on August 6, 2007 as the Mutual Fund Law (2007 Revision), Anguilla (and the British Virgin Islands)remain one of the best places to start a private offshore fund.

Anguilla.  Anguilla enacted its current Mutual Funds Act in 2004. As a country, it offers a low cost and efficient regulatory environment for private investment funds. The laws of Anguilla allow for three (3) types of investment funds, two (2) of which are important to fund managers starting a small offshore fund (in our experience). Those types of funds are the Private Fund and the Professional Fund. The laws of the Cayman Islands allow for four (4) types of investment funds, two (2) of which are important to fund managers starting a small offshore fund (in our experience). Those types of funds are the Category 4(3) Fund and the Category 4(4) Fund.

Comparison of Mutual Fund Law in the Cayman Islands with that of Anguilla. Below is a modest comparison of the legal landscape of Anguilla with that of the Cayman Islands.

Anguilla Private Fund versus Cayman Islands Category 4(4) Fund Minimum Investment/Subscription.  In Anguilla, there is no minimum subscription amount for investing into a Private Fund. The same is true of a Category 4(4) Fund in the Cayman Islands.  However, in Anguilla, a Private Fund can have 99 investors while in the Cayman Islands, a Category 4(4) Fund is limited to 15 investors (all of whom can vote to remove you as operator of the fund).

Audit Requirements. Neither country requires an audit nor the preparation of a prospectus; although most fund operators do so as a matter of practice.

Number of Investors in Fund. In Anguilla, a Private Fund can have up to ninety-nine (99) investors. In the Cayman Islands, a Category 4(4) Fund) is limited to fifteen (15) investors. In Anguilla, investors have no vote in the matters of a Private Fund. You can remain in control of the fund. In the Cayman Islands, you could lose control of a Category 4(4) Fund as investors have voting power sufficient to remove you as the fund’s operator.

Anguilla Professional Fund versus Cayman Island Category 4(3) Fund Minimum Investment/Subscription. In Anguilla, a Professional Fund requires a minimum investment of USD $100,000 (or its equivalent in any other currency). The $100,000 limit does not apply to an investment made by the fund’s manager, administrator, or promoter. In the Cayman Islands, a Category 4(3) Fund requires a minimum investment of USD $80,000 and this requirement applies to the fund’s manager, administrator, or promoter. Prior to August 2007, a Category 4(3) Fund also required a minimum investment of USD $100,000.

Audit Requirements. A Professional Fund in Anguilla is not required to submit audited financial statements annually to the government. A Category 4(3) Fund in the Cayman Island is required to file the fund’s current prospectus with the government, pay a substantial annual registration fee and file a financial schedule. A Professional Fund in Anguilla is not required to issue a prospectus, albeit, most usually do as a matter of practice.

Number of Investors in Fund. Neither the Professional Fund nor the Category 4(3) Fund has any size restriction (but only a minimum subscription amount as stated above). In Anguilla, a Professional Fund is open to “professional” investors, generously defined in Anguilla as a person whose ordinary business involves dealing in investments or who has signed a declaration that he, whether individually or jointly with his spouse, has net worth in excess of USD $1,000,000 or its equivalent.

In Anguilla, a fund may be in the form of an Anguilla domestic company, international business company, limited liability company, limited partnership, partnership, unit trust or protected cell company, protected cell accounts, segregated portfolio company, or segregated portfolio accounts. The corporate entities are extremely useful because they allow for the issuance of series or classes of shares with different rights thus allowing for the creation of umbrella funds and master/feeder structures. The use of an Anguilla domestic company also allows for the use of companies limited by guarantee and shares, as well as private companies.

Always remember that the domicile of the fund need not be the same as that of its administrator and custodian. A fund’s service providers can hail from the other side of the world. Moreover, the service providers’ location usually is the more important issue.

Why Setup a Fund? Market conditions have never been better for setting up a fund. Investors prefer to have money managed on a personal basis. Investors are trending away from Wall Street and heading toward “Main Street” when looking for help with their portfolios. It is no small secret that customized funds have taken up residence on Main Street and are attracting investors in droves. Traders that only dreamed of making a living by managing money for others are
turning those dreams into reality for themselves.

SPECIAL EVENTS: Happy For No Reason
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BOOKS: Money and The Law of Attraction

Week of Feb 4
Bus math starts chapter 3(decimals) on wednesday Mgmt finish chapter 1 and  begin chapter 2. Case study due!!!!!

Class for 11/6/07..read and discuss chapter 13
no case studies due for Chapter 13.   

Principles of Management midterm grades posted
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Principles of Management ..no class 2/12/08
bad weather…I hoped you checked with the school

class room changed to F111
Orignally for F005..but changed on the first day of class Also…the case study for next class is on page 72.

12eur - vand teren 7500mp (Berceni)
Particular vand 7500 mp p. 49 / 5 in Berceni cu cadastru si intabulare, d - 25, fara fire de inalta tensiune sau conducte subterane, zona de interes. Tel: 031-1057.448; 0723.991.155 Sursa: www.avizier.ro Citeste continuarea pe anunturi.noutatea.info sursa anunturi.noutatea.info

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The best of rivals
The Irish Sun: PAT FENLON and Alan Mathews worked together on Tuesday to guide the Republic of Ireland Under 23s to victory over Northern Ireland. But, straight after the game, they shook hands on a job well done and started plotting the others demise. The pair lock horns as rivals on Sunday when Fenlon’s Bohemians [...]

Fenlon accuses Jeffrey of gamesmanship
Eleven-a-side.com: Republic of Ireland under-23 manager Pat Fenlon accused Northern Ireland counterpart David Jeffrey of gamesmanship during the sock-shock stand-off in Lurgan on Tuesday night. The International Challenge Trophy clash at Mourneview Park was delayed for almost half an hour after a dispute over the colours of socks to be worn by either side. And Fenlon, who [...]

Agony and ecstasy for Foley
From The Irish Sun: DOMINIC FOLEY suffered agony and ecstasy in the Belgian Cup final yesterday. The Gent skipper fired Gent into a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute but Anderlecht ran out 3-2 winners in front of 50,000 fans at the King Baudouin Stadium. The ex-Ireland international gave the underdogs a shock lead but Czech midfielder [...]

Oman enjoying life back at Bohs
The Irish Sun: WHEN Ken Oman walked back into Dalymount Park after two years away, it was with an enhanced reputation. Three days before the end of the 2005 season, the then Bohsemians boss Gareth Farrelly dropped a bombshell when he informed Oman he would not be renewing his contract. The pair never saw eye-to-eye. Farrelly had [...]

Keely backing Nutsy
The Irish Sun (Dermot Keely column): AS a lot of people will know, I would not have an awful lot of time for Pat Scully. It goes back to when he was a player at Shelbourne and we had a falling-out over my handling of an incident involving some of his team-mates. They had behaved in a [...]

Foley… what a… Gent
The Irish Sun: STEPHEN MCPHAIL will not be the only Irishman captaining a team in a major decider this weekend. Leading Cardiff City out in front of 90,000 fans for the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium this afternoon is certainly impressive. Dominic Foley will do the same for KAA Gent in the Belgian Cup tomorrow. Given [...]

Anti Spam Solution
Perimetec is an IT Solutions Company located in Toronto, Ontario with offices in Montreal, Quebec. The company focuses on security products such as anti-spam filters and web security services. They allow organizations to concentrate on their core businesses as they take charge in providing these companies with top-quality products and services combined with expert advice [...]

Perimetec is an IT Solutions Company located in Toronto, Ontario with offices in Montreal, Quebec. The company focuses on security products such as anti-spam filters and web security services. They allow organizations to concentrate on their core businesses as they take charge in providing these companies with top-quality products and services combined with expert advice and personalized client care.

Perimetec partners with Barracuda Network, which is the worldwide leader in email and internet security and is also the trusted brand by large multinational companies like Coca-Cola, FedEx, IBM and NASA, as they offer a complete line of Barracuda Network’s web security and productivity products.

A popular web security service that Perimetec provides is the powerful yet hassle-free Email Spam Protection. This hosted email protection service uses twelve layers of defenses that provide the most comprehensive Email Spam Blocker available against viruses, spyware attacks, spam, phishing and spoofing.

Another quality product that Perimetec offers is the Barracuda Spam Firewall. This is the solution to safeguard your email server. It is designed to protect your email server against spoofing, viruses, phising, spam and spyware attacks. Other products include Barracuda Web Filter, Barracuda IM Firewall, Barracuda Load Balancer, Barracuda Message Archiver and Barracuda Web Application Controllers.

Looking for Cheap Hotels in Madrid
My mom is going to Madrid this September. It will be her first time to go to a foreign country. She had always dreamed of going there and fortunately, her opportunity to visit this beautiful place has come. She never actually had any plans to travel abroad this year but the opportunity just presented itself. Her [...]

My mom is going to Madrid this September. It will be her first time to go to a foreign country. She had always dreamed of going there and fortunately, her opportunity to visit this beautiful place has come. She never actually had any plans to travel abroad this year but the opportunity just presented itself.

Her friends from Church were the ones who came up with the idea to go to Madrid because the Archbishop in the parish got an invitation for his niece’s baptism from his sister who lives in Madrid and the latter said that it will be okay to bring friends during his visit. It was only timely that she got her Visa last July that was why when she was invited to travel to Madrid, she did not think twice. My dad wanted to come too but he had other important things to attend to.

Since the whole group will not stay at the house of the Archbishop’s sister, my mom and some of her friends will be staying on one of the cheap hotels in Madrid. It was good that the Archbishop’s sister knows of some good Madrid hotels that are affordable but offers quality hotel services and which is also near their place.

My mom is really looking forward to this Madrid trip. I know that she will have a great time during her stay there because she will be with a good company of friends. I guess I have to do more web design and seo work so I can give mom some cash for her trip.

Link Building Tactics through Article Submission
The home page PR of article sites used for article submission link building should be no less than 4. The actual article page where the link to your site will be placed should be indexable by Google and Yahoo (e.g. no disallow rule in robots.txt of the article site and/or the page meta robots tag). The links [...]

1. The home page PR of article sites used for article submission link building should be no less than 4.
2. The actual article page where the link to your site will be placed should be indexable by Google and Yahoo (e.g. no disallow rule in robots.txt of the article site and/or the page meta robots tag).
3. The links to your sites should not have the nofollow attribute. The links should not be redirect links either. Just plain direct links suit your purpose.
4. Ideally, the links should have a proper anchor text (preferred) but where it is not possible the links can be in the form of the site URL. Where anchor texts are allowed, the links to your sites should have a relevant, varied anchor text in full accordance to the Keywords file and be linking to varied pages (in accordance with the Keywords file).
5. The links (both in-text and resource box/author bio) should be made in the format prescribed by each particular article site’s rules and be fully functional.
6. Avoid using the same account on each given article site for submitting articles linking to your different sites. The rule is 1 site – 1 account (this also helps make the most of the author bio/resource box).
7. Avoid submitting an article with links to the same site to the same article directory more than once, maximum twice within an extended period of time. Also check if there were any previous submissions to the article site in question for your site in question. The rule is 1 article site – 1 article submission for each your site.
8. Avoid submitting the same article to multiple article sites without any changes to avoid duplicate content issues.
9. Avoid using content taken off elsewhere – all articles should be original. The quality of writing should be high.
10. For newly discovered article sites, avoid submitting articles for more than 2 of our sites into them until the results of such submissions are proven through the presence of these article sites in the backlinks.
11. Avoid heavily spammed article sites (e.g. if you see a lot of links to pills, porn or casino sites stay away from such article sites).
12. Preference should be given to sites accepting articles on individual basis, ideally covering niche topics related to our sites rather than traditional article directories. However, bear in mind that these sites: 1) should be contacted on an individual basis and do not have regular article submission forms; 2) want exclusive articles that will only be published on these sites.

Check his Link Building Guide and Make Money Online sites.

Full-service IT solutions for SMEs
Let’s face it. All Small and Midsize companies today use computers and the Internet. Just because you use computers for your business, it doesn’t mean you have to hire an in house IT person or team to manage the technical part of your business. Sometimes you only need an outsourcing company to set all the [...]

Let’s face it. All Small and Midsize companies today use computers and the Internet. Just because you use computers for your business, it doesn’t mean you have to hire an in house IT person or team to manage the technical part of your business. Sometimes you only need an outsourcing company to set all the IT solutions you need to keep your business on going and ahead of the competition.

With so many IT outsourcing companies in the US East Coast alone, you need to find a reliable outsourcing company with years of service and top notch certified professional working for you. If your business needs a website, network integration or upgrade your business with the latest technologies, you can check out iCorps Technologies.

Their main services include Network Integration (Security, Data Back-up Services), Business Application Development, Web Based Solutions (Website Design, Hosting and Maintenance), On Site Support / Training and Corporate Relocation for small and midsize companies in and around New York City and Boston.

If you are living in Boston or around New York and you are looking for NY IT Services, IT Consulting Solutions and Outsourcing Network Management Solutions, you can call their toll free number at 888 642 6484 or email sales@icorps.com.

Looking for a Product Review
I have a web design client from Melbourne, Australia and I worked for her for almost two years now. During those times, I have upgraded and replaced my computer several times to keep up with the work load. I was even thinking of buying a Mac Book because I heard that it lasts for many [...]

I have a web design client from Melbourne, Australia and I worked for her for almost two years now. During those times, I have upgraded and replaced my computer several times to keep up with the work load. I was even thinking of buying a Mac Book because I heard that it lasts for many years because of its advanced hardware specs. I was also having second thoughts because I haven’t really used a Mac before and I think it would take me several weeks to get the hang of it and I cannot afford to delay my web design projects while learning how to operate a Mac efficiently.

As much as I want to switch to Mac, I have no choice but to stick with a Windows-powered computer. Will I buy a brand new desktop or a nice 17-inch laptop this time? While I was doing some research on the latest PCs in the market, I came across a good website that provides good product reviews which includes computer product reviews. It can really help me decide which type of pc would suit my hardware requirements. The good thing about this is that I could ask my client to buy me a brand new computer as payment for my next project.

I was glad to find this website because I now have an idea on what my next dream computer would be.

Debt Consolidation Tips.
Tips related to Consolidate your debt with an non-profit organization. Nonprofit debt consolidation usually is much better and affordable for-profit debt consolidation companies because they charge lower fees.

DSAG erhöht die Schlagkraft
Die Deutschsprachige SAP-Anwendergruppe (DSAG) e.V. befindet sich mit der SAP in kontroversen Diskussion um den vom ERP-Hersteller verpflichtend eingeführten Enterprise Support (ES). Um mit einer fachlichen Segmentierung die Organisation zu straffen und die Schlagkraft der DSAG zu erhöhen,… …strukturiert sich...

Die Deutschsprachige SAP-Anwendergruppe (DSAG) e.V. befindet sich mit der SAP in kontroversen Diskussion um den vom ERP-Hersteller verpflichtend eingeführten Enterprise Support (ES). Um mit einer fachlichen Segmentierung die Organisation zu straffen und die Schlagkraft der DSAG zu erhöhen,…

…strukturiert sich die DSAG um:

Große Zustimmung der Mitgliedschaft

Die Mitglieder haben den Angaben zufolge gestern auf dem Jahreskongress in Leipzig mit großer Mehrheit für eine konzeptionelle Neuausrichtung der Anwendergruppe gestimmt. Diese sieht vor, die DSAG-Gremien künftig inhaltlich in die fünf Ressorts Technologie, Mittelstand, Operations/Service und Support, Prozesse/Anwendungen (SAP Business Suite) und Branchen zu gliedern. An deren Spitze vertritt jeweils ein Vorstand die Interessen der Anwender bei seinem SAP-Pendant. „Die Größe und die Stellung der DSAG im SAP-Umfeld haben diesen Schritt erforderlich gemacht. Auch gegenüber der SAP werden wir durch die Ressortbildung die Kommunikation auf allen Ebenen weiterentwickeln und damit die Einflussnahme auf Strategien und Produkte stärken“, erklärt der DSAG-Vorstandsvorsitzende Prof. Dr. Karl Liebstückel.

Mechanical Engineering Design, Mechanical 3D Models Design Software
Mechanical engineering design offers mechanical design solution, 3d modelling design, mechanical engineering products and 3d animation that deliver cost effective modeling services in india

Mechanical 3D Modelling, Mechanical Design, Free 3D Models, 3D Animation
Mechanical 3D Modelling offers various types of free 3D models, mechanical design software, 3D animation and products design services outsource to india

Surface Area, Safety Surfacing, Finish Surface for Mechanical 3D Modelling Software
Safety Surfacing tool provides surface finish, surface area, surfaces of blades of compressor rotors, 3d modelling surface for car, ships, airplane

Mould, Injection Moulding, Extrusion Die, Forging Die
Dies and Mould offers injection moulding, extrusion die, forging die at mechanical 3d modelling and designing services in india

Oracle und HP offerieren Datawarehouse-Appliance
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison hat auf der Kundenveranstaltung OpenWorld des Softwarekonzern die HP Oracle Database Machine vorgestellt. Dabei handele es sich um ein System, das für Data Warehouses entwickelt wurde, die besonders hohe Leistungsfähigkeit bieten müssen. Die HP Oracle Database...

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison hat auf der Kundenveranstaltung OpenWorld des Softwarekonzern die HP Oracle Database Machine vorgestellt. Dabei handele es sich um ein System, das für Data Warehouses entwickelt wurde, die besonders hohe Leistungsfähigkeit bieten müssen. Die HP Oracle Database Machine besteht den Angabe zufolge…

…aus einem Grid von Oracle Datenbank-Servern und einem Grid der neuen Oracle Exadata Storage Server, die in einem Rack untergebracht sind und direkt bei Oracle bestellt werden können.

Ab sofort verfügbar

Die HP Oracle Database Machine und HP Oracle Exadata Storage Server sind ab sofort verfügbar. Die kompletten Konfigurationen sind über Oracle zu bestellen. Oracle ist verantwortlich für den Vertrieb und Support der Systeme, HP verantwortet die Lieferung der Hardware und den Hardware-Service.

Oracle-Wettberber wie SAP und Microsoft bieten ebenfalls Appliances für ihre Business-Intelligence-Lösungen an. 

Assembly Lines, Automobile Assembly Line Production Pics
Assembly Lines is a manufacturing process of automobile assembly line pics and assembly line production. Our 3d models shows view of assembly line which we created.

Principles of Mgmt Final Exam Dec 11, 2007


Class for 11/6/07..read and discuss chapter 13
no case studies due for Chapter 13.   

NO CLASS OCTOBER 30th
just found out.. NO EVENING CLASSES TOO.  Thanks for checking in.  Have a great week off…maybe see ya at pre registration. 

Principles of Mgmt Presentation Schedule
November 27…Sean  and George (but I need one more)

Week of Feb 4
Bus math starts chapter 3(decimals) on wednesday Mgmt finish chapter 1 and  begin chapter 2. Case study due!!!!!

Principles of Management midterm grades posted
Tamara at the top ..congrats

Principles of Management ..no class 2/12/08
bad weather…I hoped you checked with the school

Syllibus
Principles of Management Syllibus

Forgive To Live
And I am kind to others, tenderhearted, forgiving others,  just as God also in Christ forgave me.  Ephesians 4:32  (myBible: Stading on the Promises, page 84) An incident happened to me several years ago in which I was “rightly offended” by an individual’s actions towards me. This same behavior had occurred time and again and I [...]

Prayer in School
Now, my disclaimer prior to unleashing this poem on you: It’s loud and extreme, but makes the point. It’s not to offend (maybe some holy stirring would be good). As we near the start of another school year, whether student or parent, we need to lift our peers and children up in prayer. Prayer to strengthen [...]

Mash-ups auf Kommando
Ubiquity aus den Mozilla Labs. Cool. ShareThis

Ubiquity aus den Mozilla Labs. Cool.

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“Gezielte” Werbung
Emily Steel schreibt beim “Wall Street Journal” (nur für Abonnenten): Revenue Science, one of the leading players in the business of targeted advertising, gathers information about consumers and then sells it to marketers. According to the company’s “file” on me, I’m a “hip homemaker” who probably trades stocks and buys expensive clothes and boats. Actually, I’m 24, [...]

Emily Steel schreibt beim “Wall Street Journal” (nur für Abonnenten):

Revenue Science, one of the leading players in the business of targeted advertising, gathers information about consumers and then sells it to marketers. According to the company’s “file” on me, I’m a “hip homemaker” who probably trades stocks and buys expensive clothes and boats.

Actually, I’m 24, single and I live in a cramped New York City apartment where my television sits on top of my refrigerator. I sometimes dog-sit for extra spending money and have never bought or sold a single stock. As for luxury boats, the closest I’ve come to one most recently was during a run past a yacht club in St. Petersburg, Fla., three years ago when I was an intern at a newspaper there.

Die ganze Werbebranche lügt sich so was von einen in die Tasche, gee…

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Steve Ballmer schreit mal wieder
Klar, würde ich auch tun, wenn ich ein PC wäre… ShareThis

Klar, würde ich auch tun, wenn ich ein PC wäre…

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Deutsche Sprache, schwere Sprache
l10n ist doch immer wieder für einen Lacher gut ShareThis

l10n ist doch immer wieder für einen Lacher gut

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Klappe: Bill und Jerry, die Zweite
Schon besser. ShareThis

Schon besser.

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Aluminum Floor Sport Boat CN-A Series - Inflatable Boats
[CDATA[Aluminum Floor Sport Boat.]]

Inflatable Water Ski Sliders - Water Sports Towables
[CDATA[Inflatable Water Ski Sliders - Water Sports Towables]]

Inflatable Water Trampolines - Inflatable Water Games
[CDATA[Inflatable Water Trampolines]]

Inflatable Water Polo Sets - Pool Shot Water Games
[CDATA[Inflatable Water Polo Sets]]

Inflatable Dinghies, Dinghy - Inflatable Boats
[CDATA[Dinghies are very easy to transport because in most cases they are inflatable. This makes them easy to take for a day trip to the lake for a family looking for summer fun.]]

Inflatable Boat Materials - Inflatable Boats Manufacturer
[CDATA[]]

The New Bike Loan Program from Unitus
A good bike can be many things - transportation, recreation, total elation.  And also a big chunk of change. But if you live in the Portland area, getting a Sweetpea just got a little easier with the new Bike Loan program from Unitus Community Credit Union. Much like getting a loan for a car, you can [...]

A good bike can be many things - transportation, recreation, total elation.  And also a big chunk of change. But if you live in the Portland area, getting a Sweetpea just got a little easier with the new Bike Loan program from Unitus Community Credit Union.

Much like getting a loan for a car, you can now get a loan for up to $2500 towards a custom Sweetpea Bicycle. The details are here, but instead of a couple big payments, you get to spread it out over the course of a year. Our hope is that by participating in this program, it will be easier for you to get your dream bike.  (To see a little press about the Bike Loan Program, click here.)

New structure within Bux.to & BuxBB (Bux.to News Update)

AdWords Ads Now Free! Check this out

New tools for my wireless toolbox
Last week, I worked a live online auction.  The auction was held in a large 150,000 square foot u-shaped building.  There were a few locations within the building where my aircard had a heck of a time maintaining good reception.  As a solution to the problem, I upgraded my aircard to the new Compass 597.  [...]

Last week, I worked a live online auction.  The auction was held in a large 150,000 square foot u-shaped building.  There were a few locations within the building where my aircard had a heck of a time maintaining good reception.  As a solution to the problem, I upgraded my aircard to the new Compass 597.  I was instantly impressed, as my speeds soared to new heights never before reached on my other aircard.  I used the aircard on Saturday at an auction, and had very good success, and excellent response times.

At the end of last week, I was informed that an auction I’ll be doing next week was going to provide me with some challenges.  The challenge was/is there is no cellular coverage in the building.  Although, immediately out the front door, there is tremendous coverage.  At least, that’s what the coverage map seems to indicate.  My solution to this problem was a bit more creative.

I picked up a high gain booster antenna, and a Cradlepoint CTR500 EVDO Travel Router.  This allows me to do several things.  The first is to plug the antenna into my existing aircard, and increase the reception by one to two bars.  This will be important for those less than good signal moments.  The second is that the router allows me to plug the aircard directly into it.  This allows me to setup the router and aircard in an area where I have the best signal.  I then can either broadcast the signal wirelessly with the router, or use my Ethernet radios to transmit the wireless signal a long distance (60 miles direct line of sight, or through up to 10 walls).

With the upcoming auction where there is no connection inside.  I’m going to setup my travel router, aircard and antenna near an outside door.  In theory, I’ll have a good strong signal from that location.  I’m then planning on hooking the router to my Ethernet radio, and point to point broadcasting the Ethernet signal to my laptop which will be hooked to my other Ethernet radio.  It may sound like a cumbersome arrangement, but I’m hopeful this arrangement will allow me to increase the effectiveness of my wireless setup in those locations where signals are hard to come by.

bux.to 100 Referrals and 5$ cashback Bonus available again!

From direct to search: a shift in advertising dollars
Last night, Mike and I were sitting in the office discussing traffic to our website for our two upcoming auctions.  They both are doing well.  However, in the conversation, I noted to him that for the past 30 days, search engines have sent 51.75% of our traffic, 16.71% has come from referring sites, and the [...]

Last night, Mike and I were sitting in the office discussing traffic to our website for our two upcoming auctions.  They both are doing well.  However, in the conversation, I noted to him that for the past 30 days, search engines have sent 51.75% of our traffic, 16.71% has come from referring sites, and the remaining 23.40% has come from direct visitors to our site.

That peaked my interest, and this morning I decided I’d take a look at the numbers for 2008 year-to-date.  The results surprised me a bit:  33.61% direct traffic, 25.64% referring sites, and 40.75% search engines (google makes up 35.08% of the total or 86% of all search engine traffic).  The results got me to thinking.

In a typical advertising campaign, we expend 90% of our ad dollars to generate the 33.61% direct traffic, and 10% to generate the referring sites traffic, and 0% to generate the search engine traffic.  Yet the results seem to show a completely different result than what one might expect.  Note, realize I’m generalizing this over the year to date numbers.  In a typical year we are running about 20 active marketing campaigns (about two weeks in length each, with some overlap), and the other weeks we are running passive marketing campaigns.

I’m wondering if we kicked the advertising spend around a bit, say 80%, 10%, and 10%, if we’d see increased traffic to our website?  I’m guessing we’d see increased traffic.  I’m wondering if that traffic would convert to a respectable ROI.

Increasingly, as general newsprint becomes less influential, and web becomes more influential, and specifically web searches, it is going to be important for small companies to make the transition.  Now, it shouldn’t be an overnight, immediate shift.  However, a slow steady trend to 10% advertising directed at the search engine traffic that generates 40.75% of our traffic would be beneficial to our company and companies of similar size.

Changes in applying for Bux card in the new script

Bux.to Script News Update - Beta again Live

Liliane Bettencourt
  Liliane Bettencourt

 

Liliane Bettencourt (more…)

Karl Hans Albrecht
Karl Hans Albrecht was born in Germany on 20 February 1920. He and his brother Theo were brought up in humble background by their mother in Essen, Germany. Theo worked as an apprentice in the mother’s store and Karl joined the German Army in World War II.

Karl Hans Albrecht was born in Germany on 20 February 1920. He and his brother Theo were brought up in humble background by their mother in Essen, Germany. Theo worked as an apprentice in the mother’s store and Karl joined the German Army in World War II.

(more…)

Bradford Marine
Bradford Marine Group tends to all aspects of your yachting needs including: Two Full service shipyards servicing vessels up to 235ft, yacht sales, yacht charters, ISM, ISPS, Naval Architecture and Marine Towing.

Finding Your Labrador Puppy
Labrador's make for excellent pets. That is why more and more people prefer buying a Labrador puppy to any other breed of dog. They are a multitalented bunch, well recognized for their versatility as well as adaptability. Unlike other breed of dogs, a Labrador puppy is not very whinny, not destructive, evenly tempered, playful but not aggressive, and they are very secure to the point of absolute confidence.

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by Brooke Sunderland

Labrador’s make for excellent pets. That is why more and more people prefer buying a Labrador puppy to any other breed of dog. They are a multitalented bunch, well recognized for their versatility as well as adaptability. Unlike other breed of dogs, a Labrador puppy is not very whinny, not destructive, evenly tempered, playful but not aggressive, and they are very secure to the point of absolute confidence.

A pure bred Labrador puppy is talented and versatile. The best way to find a pure bred and healthy Labrador puppy is to go to a professional Labrador breeder. Even if you’re not looking for a show dog, or a field dog, a good place to go is to a reputable Labrador breeder. Good quality Labradors do not come cheap, but steep prices does not indicate value either so you have to be responsible in gathering the right amount of information in order to be an informed buyer.

You have to find Labrador puppy breeders that have the facilities and expertise to properly raise a pure bred dog. They may be a bit pricey than your neighborhood pet shop, but they can save you from heartaches and mounting veterinary care bills.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let us now tackle the harder part. How do you find a Labrador puppy that’s for sale? Easy you may answer. There are a lot of pet store out there that sell Labrador puppies. Wrong again! Yes there are a lot of pet shops that sell a Labrador puppy, but the question is where do they get these puppies?

The first cardinal rule is that, buying a Labrador puppy from a pet store is a bad idea. The second one is that you should never buy a puppy because you feel sorry for it. The third one is the biggest offense. You must never ever purchase a Labrador puppy because it’s cute. If you do not follow all these guidelines you will be acquiring loads of headaches and a wallet drainer.

The best thing you can do to thwart these money hungry people is to become an informed buyer. If you really decide on owning a Labrador puppy, you must be diligent when it comes to research, not only will you be able to buy a good quality Labrador puppy, you may also save tons on medical bills and puppy care.

Do not be a victim, and do not victimize these animals by standing aside and even helping finance these atrocious mass commercial Labrador puppy breeders. Buy your dog from a responsible Labrador puppy breeder and you will never go wrong. A responsible Labrador puppy breeder is someone who has the best interest of the dog at heart. A good breeder will not just sell you their puppies. They will assess whether you are capable of taking care and raising a Labrador puppy. Often times, some will even ask for a picture of your home, to see whether it is a favorable environment for Labrador puppies.

Labrador breeders of good standing will should be with you every step of the way and should your status, or standing change the breeder will also aide in finding a new home for the Labrador puppy. If you have any problem with your puppies, the breeder that is trustworthy will wholeheartedly accept the puppy back and give you a refund, or replace your puppy with a healthy one.

About the Author:

About the author: Brooke Sunderland is a passionate lover of the Labrador and owns a popular website that can teach you how to have a happy, healthy and well behaved Labrador. Among other topics at this website, you can also learn all about Labrador Puppy purchase plus a whole lot more.

Managing The Aggressive Bulldog
Regardless of your type of Bulldog many Bulldog problems can be solved with training. However, as with many unique breeds such as the Bulldog, there are several hurdles the owner must overcome in order to train the dog. Stubbornness is the biggest Bulldog problem that you will endure. A lot of patience is required to train your Bulldog. The Bulldog is a low maintenance pet. He is short haired, stocky and short and has short little ears. His sole purpose in life is to become a loveable companion. His grooming is very easy, but his training from day one will be a dire test of patience.

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by Bobby Callahan

Regardless of your type of Bulldog many Bulldog problems can be solved with training. However, as with many unique breeds such as the Bulldog, there are several hurdles the owner must overcome in order to train the dog. Stubbornness is the biggest Bulldog problem that you will endure. A lot of patience is required to train your Bulldog. The Bulldog is a low maintenance pet. He is short haired, stocky and short and has short little ears. His sole purpose in life is to become a loveable companion. His grooming is very easy, but his training from day one will be a dire test of patience.

Bulldog problems stem from their stubbornness. They are fairly lazy dogs and their one mission in life is to become your loveable companion. There is nothing wrong with that except that this one focus will breed an innate disdain to being trained. As an owner, you must demonstrate control and perseverance in order to train your Bulldog. Patience, consistency and supervision are the key to training your dog.

Training for Bulldogs should begin when the dog is a very young puppy with the goal of establishing you as the master of his or her kingdom. Potty training is the first Bulldog problem you will have to overcome and a consistent feeding schedule, play schedule and a good crate is the answer to this Bulldog problem. Once your Bulldog puppy is potty trained, then it is time to immediately begin his obedience training.

This training is considered the biggest of the Bulldog problems to overcome simply because the Bulldog is very stubborn. But training your Bulldog will provide you with a way to avoid problems with your Bulldog in the long run. Through acknowledging your dominance, even a strong independent dog like a Bulldog can be controlled. Consistency, supervision and patience are the key to training your Bulldog. Providing a regular training routine daily will help your dog realize what is expected of him.

The Bulldog is one of the most common pets in the world. His scrunchy fat face and little ears on a short stocky body are indeed unattractive, but very, very cute. Despite their stubbornness they are very lovable and friendly animals. There are, indeed, many pet owners who would only own this particular type of dog.

The history of the Bulldog is most intriguing. Historically butchers to bait bulls used them. Hence the name, Bulldogs. To tease bulls one must have a stubborn streak and to this day these dogs are extremely stubborn. Bulldog problems are few and far between and basically only have to do with their stubbornness. It takes a lot of love and tenderness to train a Bulldog.

When choosing a new Bulldog puppy be sure to speak to the owners of the litter and ask them about the traits of the parents. Your Bulldog should have no other discernable problem then a stubborn streak. The people selling you the puppy can provide this information.

Bulldogs want to please their owners and they make perfect pets. They are one of the most common breeds around the world because of their loving nature.

About the Author:

About the author: Bobby Callahan is a passionate lover of the Bulldog and has a popular website where you’ll discover how to have a happy, healthy and well behaved Bulldog. Among other topics at this website, you will find out more about Bulldog Training Behavior Problems plus a whole lot more.