5 Strategies That Will Boost Your Business Productivity Today! - Part 2

Growing your own small business can be one of the most exciting journeys you could ever embark upon!

But it's important that you continuously implement new and fresh ways to generate sales and improve your profitability in order to stay ahead of the market!

Here are the next 5 Strategies to help you propel your business to new heights of success!

1. Develop your own Loyalty Program

If you have a look in my wallet, I have a Jesters Pies Card, a Subway Card and a Video Ezy card - all of which entitle me to something for nothing once I have made enough purchases!

Some people will call me cheap...I just think it makes sense! If I'm going to buy something anyway...why not go somewhere that rewards me for my loyalty?

If people have to buy your type of product or service from somewhere, why not make it more attractive for them to buy from you?

Create your own loyalty program and create regular, satisfied customers who get rewarded for giving you their business!

2. Collect email addresses from your clients (with their permission!)

The most cost effective form of marketing today is via email and if you haven't already started collecting your client's email addresses then start today. You may wonder how that could possibly help you grow your business, but let me give you an example.

I recently heard of a Hairdresser who started collecting email addresses from her clients each time they came to have their hair cut - with the promise that she would keep them informed of any specials that she might be offering.

Now, when she looks at the next week's bookings - if there are lots of spare appointments she fires out an email to all of her clients offering a special for 'Next Week Only!' - and bingo! She has a full week of appointments.

She's happy and her clients are made to feel even more special that they've picked up a reward for their loyalty!

3. Create your own monthly newsletter

Every business has something interesting to share with their clients and I'm sure yours is no exception! Once again, by using your email addresses, you can provide a very low cost service to your clients, and give you an excuse to keep in touch with them every month.

If you're an accountant, then why not provide financial tips relating to the time of year. Eg GST info, Tax Tips etc.

If you are a mechanic, what about some tips for keeping your engine running smoothly. Eg Checking the oil and water, tyre pressure etc.

Maybe you're a Lawnmowing contractor...what about suggestions for keeping your grass green and lush according to the different seasons.

Of course each month you can also offer 'specials' to your loyal clients to bring in extra profits during the quieter times. In the meantime, you're building a stronger relationship with your existing clients.

4. When was the last time you raised your prices?

Here's an instant way to increase your profits!

Are you underselling your services? Have you checked what your competitors are charging recently?

By adding some of the value added services that I've already addressed in the previous questions, you can probably also add some increases to your pricing without too much drama from your clients.

If you have an excellent product or service, don't become the discount king or queen...become the Exceptional Service Provider.

People don't mind paying for good quality service...because there is so little of it around!

If you mow a fifty lawns a week at $16 each, are people really going to mind if you increased your price to $17? Or what about even $20 - but each month you left them with a special report about how to care for some aspect of their lawn or garden for that month of the year - or maybe even threw some fertilizer on their grass! (They'll need to get you back even sooner if their grass grows better!)

You just added an additional $50 - $150 to your weekly profits - for very little extra work!

Think creatively!!

5. Develop your own Board of Directors

You probably know of other successful business operators in totally different fields from you, and their ideas could also be of benefit to your business.

Why not create your own Board of Directors. Offer to take them out to lunch as a group every two months and brainstorm for ideas on what they would do if they were running your business.

You may pick up two or three new ideas which is not a bad return on your investment of lunch!

Successful people love to share their ideas, so become a sponge and learn as much as you can!

Start applying these principles to your business today, and watch your profits grow!

5 Simple Steps To Improve Your Internet Business Productivity

In the world of online business ventures, it is very easy to get sidetracked and lose focus of your ultimate professional goals, especially if you are working from home. With the advancement of Facebook, Twitter, Skype and other social media, the opportunities for distractions and interruptions are increasing more and more every day. Here are a few tips that can aid in raising your internet business productivity.

1. Clean Off Your DESK

Keep your workspace free of clutter, and your mind will follow. Try to only handle one piece of paper or document once. Pick it up, handle the given task, then file or THROW it away. This saves time, keeps you organized, and ensures that nothing is forgotten.

2. Clear Your Mind

There is a reason that high school teachers do not allow cell phones in class. Students cannot pay attention if they are constantly texting or emailing their friends, and neither can you. Turn the Television off. Put the cell phone in the desk drawer. Turn off your Skype. And go to work.

3. Organize Your Day

Social Media is definitely a very valuable commodity, and can be of tremendous benefit to your internet business productivity. But set aside a block of time each day to utilize these services, rather than checking your Facebook every 3 minutes, or tweeting every half hour. Know your target audience, and communicate only at the most opportune times to catch them using these types of marketing techniques.

4. Break Large Projects into Smaller Portions

No one wants to sit down at their desk on a Monday morning with an action item on your "to do list" that says 'Write 10,000 word eBook on Home Business Opportunities.' Yuck! But you can slice the task into chucks of 1500 words, or break it down into smaller bits of a couple chapters at a time. This method will help you to build momentum in your day, and to make you feel a sense of accomplishment almost immediately.

5. Schedule Yourself

If you have employees, you know how important it is to keep them on task. You expect them to meet deadlines, and those deadlines are usually tied to your daily schedule as well. If your employees are not timely in completing their assignments, who has to pick up the slack? You do! At the beginning of the week, set yourself some milestones. What tasks to you want to have completed by Tuesday at noon, by Wednesday at the close of business, and by Friday at lunch time? Then work hard to BEAT those deadlines, making a game of it along the way!

Yes, you may be able to enjoy the luxury of working while still in your pajamas, but don't lose sight of the fact that your internet business is a BUSINESS! Most of us have created this lifestyle so that we can make money and have a little extra personal freedom, too. By focusing on increasing your home business productivity, you may also reap the added bonus of increasing your personal productivity as well, spending a bit more time enjoying your friends and family, rather than being tied to your computer for countless hours every day. Isn't that why you got into this business in the first place?

Zeus Shying Away From The Spotlight?

No matter how hard he tries to hide himself from it, the spotlight will continue to shine on the Sporting Kansas City's winger all year long. Graham Zusi, a breakout all-star midfielder, isn't the attention-seeking type and in fact, he admits not being too comfortable with it either. With his rapid rise in fame and fortune, he has been compelled to deal with it. Who wouldn't?

It all started a year ago when he was finally given a chance to start in the lineup a couple of months going into the season. He then went on to become the year's MLS breakout player. It really is just another rags-to-riches type of story. He barely even clocked in 1,000 minutes and started in only nine games throughout his pro career after being drafted from Maryland in the second round as the 23rd overall pick of the 2009 Super Draft.

His impressive style, his pinpoint precision on corner kicks and his aggressive distant shots, have been the basis for Jurgen Klinsmann, coach of the USMNT (U.S. Men's National Soccer Team), to bring Zeus in the training camp.

Zusi, in only his second international game, scored the team's only goal for a 1-0 win against Panama last January. He continues to impress Klinsmann, earning four more call-ups and he has truly demonstrated that he can be a significant factor for the CONCACAF semifinals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

After playing in the last couple of World Cup qualifying matches, Zeus may just be the apparent heir to Landon Donovan, the team's leading career scorer. Donovan has been dealing with injuries from the MLS season. He even has not been on the USMNT since August and he has only played in eight out of 20 games under Coach Klinsmann.

Zeus' participation in the nationals didn't affect his performance within his club. In fact, it even motivated him even more by leading the MLS and the Sporting KC with 15 assists. This has earned him his spot to be among the contenders for the MVP award. And if it weren't for Chris Wondolowski, a forward for the San Jose Earthquakes, Zusi may possibly end up being the favorite for this award.

It seems as if this once timid winger has drawn strength from the spotlight. It just motivates him to work and play harder. With the field as his sanctuary, expect this "reserved" and "bashful" player to transform into a tenacious and aggressive competitor once the whistle blows.

Make Money Quick and Easy Without Google - Who to Trust - With So Many Voices Who Can Be Trusted?

Hello and welcome to my article, I just want to talk with you for a minute about making money on the internet quick and easy without Google.

When done right it can catapult the results you're getting right now. This will be a one way conversation but my hope is that you leave with value.

For years I struggled with this question. I didn't know which was up or down!

I was a bit jaded because I didn't know anyone who made money online, and the only people I seen online claiming to have made money had British accents (nothing against them obviously) so,

I was jaded; I also didn't know who to trust because every day I had tons of emails messages inside my inbox and all I wanted to know was HOW DO I MAKE MONEY ONLINE!

I did get a bit angry a couple times, until I slowed down and took a better look at my surroundings. I started deleting these emails with all the promises in the world - all saying how I can make 7,524 bucks in the next 30 days if I buy this system, etc.

We are all surrounded by this junk. Let's take a deeper look and solve this from the beginning so you won't have to experience the same pains I did.

Below are 2 sure-fire ways to stuff cash in your bank account

CPA Offers: Cost per action is one of the easiest ways to make money, the people you refer to these offers don't have to take out their credit cards, all they have to do is either fill out a form or submit an email and you get paid!, I personally know some affiliates making a killing doing this.

Sell Domains: Every day there are domains being sold on flippa dot com for thousands, how would you like to cash in on this?

It's sort of like buying a house and renovating it enough to make a nice profit. You can do this with domains and make a nice chunk of change with a bit of work.

This is more of a long term strategy but it can reap huge profits if done right. Make sure you build 3 to 4 of these at a time and within 6 months it's possible to sell each for 5 - 10 grand profit. Possibly even more, if you want quicker cash simply setup a membership site with some "active" members and people will flock to your offer on flippa with bids between 15,000 - 3,000. You can create many of these at a time.

Hope that gets your ideas going a bit; any one of these can make you a full time income if you're interested.

Hope you found value in this, talk again sometime soon...

Lean Concepts in Agriculture and Food Industry

I was fascinated about the concept of lean manufacturing since I first read the articles on lean manufacturing. Then when I conducted few researches on lean manufacturing I understood that lean is the path for future.

But one question continuously I asked myself is the possibility of applying lean manufacturing concepts in the field of agriculture and food industry. Agriculture is traditionally based on bulk manufacturing. Harvesting is done once a season most of the times and stocked and used later. In fact some lean thinkers say that people adopted batch processing and stocking in manufacturing as a result of the practices from agricultural thinking. Before the industrialization people with the biggest stocks of food and other supplies were considered as more stable and they were able to face challenges of nature without having to starve. People with time develop the concept of having more stocks is better. When people gradually moved to industrialization, still the concept of maintaining big safety stocks hasn't changed according to these lean thinkers.

Agriculture is an industry which requires a new way of thinking. Traditional methods have lots of wastes and inefficiencies build into them. According to some researches more than 20% of agricultural products become unusable before it reach the end consumer in some countries. This offers any lean thinker a good opportunity to explore the possibilities of implementing lean concepts in this area. Even if we can reduce this waste by half we will be reducing the number of people dying due to starvation.

Just in time manufacturing may not be possible in the field of agriculture. But the distribution, handling methods etc can be improved with the techniques like JIT and kaizen. By educating people and using simple technology waste can be reduced dramatically. Effectively connecting the manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers up to the customer is very necessary to improve the effectiveness of the process.

Dear Special Valued Customer - We Are Sending This Email to 10 Million Other Customers

How many times have you got an e-mail explaining how you are a "super valuable customer" and therefore, you get a superior discount - and lo and behold - here is a coupon to take into our store to buy more stuff so we can make more quarterly profits and shareholders equity? Isn't it interesting that these e-mails start a popping up towards the end of every month. The question I have is; am I really a valued customer if the company also sent that same, exact marketing and promotional e-mail to over 10 million other customers? Okay so now you're laughing, but let's go ahead and talk about this for second shall we?

Perhaps, this is a lot like assuming that the light turns off your refrigerator when you close the door. You know the light turns off, because if you press the button that the door automatically triggers when it's closed the light inside refrigerator goes off, so you assume you close the door that the light also goes off. However, you don't know that for sure, you just understand the laws of physics, or at least the basic law of physics, and indeed assume the light turns off. You don't know for sure that your "dear special valued customer," e-mail actually went out to 10 million other people in the exact same format, but you assume it did.

However, because I have several things that I do online, and occasionally end up with different accounts at various vendors and stores from which I buy from, I often get the exact same e-mail from the exact same company, therefore I no longer assume that they are sending the same e-mail out to everyone. I know they are, because they sent the same an e-mail to me twice, and sometimes three times.

Still, the other day something very interesting happened, I noticed the e-mail was custom tailored to the business model, and the e-mails were not exactly the same. I thought to myself this is great the computers are getting better at sizing up their customer, and figuring out what they need, and sending them more of a customized e-mail. That's a good thing, and it especially makes sense because it helps reduce spam, and only gives you the appropriate information you need or might want through targeted marketing.

Indeed, as computers get better - and as unfortunately to the chagrin of the Electronic Freedom Foundation - they take all of your data from all the social networks, and only send you exactly what you might be looking for, to the best of their ability, provided that you have put information on the Internet that is true and correct.

Personally, and probably like you, I am getting tired of certain types of spam such as male performance enhancement, or a special customized bras. Indeed, I don't have the first problem, at least not yet, being a young man, and secondly being a male, I don't need a bra, so obviously, some more work needs to be done, and maybe some of these targeted e-mails for marketing will actually help reduce the unending barrage and deluge of unwanted spam. Please consider all this and think on it.

How To Take The Guesswork Out Of Buying Term Life Insurance

Protecting your family is the single most important thing any individual can plan for during his or her life. Buying life insurance can be confusing, and a frustrating process. As an insurance agent, I am well aware of the details a customer must know to make the decision easier. In this article, I will offer practical advice on how to simply purchase life insurance.

Look for a company that has at least an AA-rating or above. Independent agencies such as Moody’s and Standard & Poors rate insurance companies on financial strength., there’s little or no difference in two companies with the same exact financial rating. You should feel comfortable with any company that has an AA or higher rating.

When it comes to pricing, don’t be fooled into thinking that insurance agents determine prices and that you can negotiate. Insurance companies set prices and they depend on age, gender, health, smoking status, family history, activities such as scuba diving, auto racing, foreign travel, etc. Insurance agents are not allowed to offer customers any pricing discounts or incentives. Insurance companies offer different versions of the same product. Often you will see what appears to be the same product, but at a lower price. Normally, the reason for this is that the lower priced policy offers a weaker guarantee where the policy is not guaranteed for the full period. For example, a 10 year policy that is only guaranteed for the first 5 years.

When choosing a policy there are important details to consider such as selecting the guarantee period, determining whether or not the policy is convertible and if re-entry is available. The guarantee period determines how long the premium remains at a level rate. Once the guarantee period is over, the premium will increase. It is important to determine how long you will need the coverage and choose accordingly. Guarantee periods range from 1 to 30 years.

Most, not all, insurance companies will offer the ability to convert your term policy into a permanent policy during a given period of time. During this period, if you choose to convert your policy, you are not required to prove medical insurability. You will only be required to pay the new premium at your older age. The period of time you have to convert may be the guarantee period or less. It is important to check the policy description or ask your agent to make sure.

Re-entry refers to the point at which you want to extend or purchase a new policy with the same company. It is important to know if you will be required to take a new medical exam or simply pay the new premium. All companies have different rules and you should understand them before you make your choice. Another important consideration is choosing your beneficiary. It is normally an easy decision when it comes to your spouse or partner, but not if there are minor children in your family. Minor children named as a primary or secondary beneficiary must have a guardian/custodian appointed to handle and distributions of funds according to state laws.

Choosing a life insurance policy does not have to be a difficult process. It also does not have to be done alone. Today, you have the choice of working with a local agent or shopping online. Internet websites such as CompleteLifeQuote.com [http://www.clquote.com] allow you to search hundreds of products and offer you the final decision as to which one to apply for. The companies work with you to process your application and send your policy once approved. Customers can expect to save money this way simply because they are able to choose for themselves instead of having an agent push his/her company’s products. I hope this article has shown you that making this important decision does not have to be a difficult process. Best of luck!

Mark F. Simmons

CFO, Complete Life Quote, Inc.

Advantages and Disadvantages of HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted for the regulation of health insurance in a way that such cover is not affected or lost if a person changes or loses the job. The Act has certain distinct advantages and has also thrown up certain disadvantages, 3 of each are highlighted below.

• Advantages

1. Privacy: Privacy is important to everyone and HIPAA has made extensive provisions to allow you to control your personal medical history and any such related and sensitive data. The provisions give you the right to access and correct such information and even clearly state how or to whom such data should be disclosed. Such measures have dramatically improved the protection and curtailed unnecessary sharing of personal information.

2. Pre-existing Norms: The Act prevents any discrimination based on genetic conditions or certain stated health factors. Also while taking into consideration the pre-existing conditions the company is allowed to include health issues and treatments only in the previous six months and no further. Also if such conditions do exist coverage can be delayed by 12-18 months only.

3. Portability and Simplification: HIPAA provides you with better support to change healthcare coverage. It even limits or removes the exclusion period based on a prior policy that you may have had. The aim is to simplify the entire process by giving you greater flexibility and stating definite rules while expanding the coverage base in your favor.

• Disadvantages

1. Increased Costs and Labor: In keeping up with the stringent provisions of HIPAA the businesses that manage your healthcare have to bear increased expenditure on computers and software for adhering with all the privacy requirements. The paperwork also increases significantly to comply with the Act due to provisions of portability etc. Furthermore the businesses have to keep readjusting their policies according to amendments in the Act and may also have to hire people and provide adequate training to work within the purview of HIPAA.

2. Misinterpretations and Restrictions: The elaborate privacy rules of HIPAA can often come in the way during emergency situations as such private information can be dispensed only to certain entities and that too for a short period. Furthermore any misinterpretation of the provisions may impede or slow down the passing of information. For example, healthcare companies might find it difficult to get information about a person from hospitals. Fear of the law can also affect research work carried out by doctors.

3. Electronic Format: HIPAA urges widespread use of electronic formats to store, process and share information. Such systems must huge spending and considerable maintenance costs then. Also since such medium is susceptible to attacks, the security measures have to be constantly updated to keep the data safe against unauthorized access, corruption and stealing.

HIPAA was brought into existence for the benefit of consumers and as you can see for yourself its provisions and safeguards have been extremely helpful. Various changes to the Act have brought in certain negativity too, but the pros still outweigh the cons and constant efforts are being made to bring in changes to make the Act more and more useful and stable.

What Are Acrylic Paints - 10 Things You Must Know Before You Start

Acrylic paints are one of the most popular medias in our days. They are very convenient, easy and cheap therefore are a perfect medium for beginners. Today, also professional artists use this media due to the various ways to use them.

Acrylic Paint Features

Acrylic paints are water based therefore they dry quickly and can be dried with a hairdryer if needed. In case you don't want the paint to dry so fast you can dilute them with water, or with any other acrylic medium to slow the drying process for longer blending abilities. You can clean acrylic paint brushes, hands, and other equipment with water and soap. Make sure your brushes stay moist while you are painting or they will dry with the paint on them and you won't be able to use them again. Acrylic paints are Époque that means they can look thick like oil paints. When you dilute them with water the paintings can look like watercolors depending on the amount of water diluted. The colors are permanent, not transparent, so you can paint in layers and the previous color won't see through. The paints are flexible and will not develop cracks like oil paints. Acrylics can be painted on a variety of surfaces that's why many artists and craftsmen use these paints. Canvas is the most popular surface for acrylic paintings but you can apply them on to wood, fabric, ceramic, plastic, cardboard paper, metal, leather, dolls, stones, panels, models for trains, cars and houses. In some cases the surface needs to be sealed with an appropriate sealer for acrylic paints You can create different textures with acrylic paints by adding gel, molding paste, sand, rice and more. Acrylic paints are permanent and don't come off from fabric so be aware of what you are wearing. I recommend you wear painting clothing or a good apron and cover your sleeves too. If you get a stain on your clothes remove it immediately before it dries with water and soap. Paintbrushes, rollers, painting knives are all good to use when you are painting with acrylics. Some artists use different artistic ways to get different textures - like painting with their own fingers. Once the painting is dry and finished it tends to attract dust and dirt therefore you should apply a thin layer of varnish. Varnishes come in three different finishes - satin, matte and gloss. I must mention that many artists don't use varnish on their paintings because it can damage the paint or yellow the painting overtime. So make sure you choose a good brand and you know what you are doing.

These are the 10 basic things you must know before you start, there is a lot more to learn about. Take your time and enjoy discovering this medium, its fun and relaxing.

Protect Your PC from Viruses, Worms & Trojans

Each of the items in the checklist below is part of a broad and easy to implement security policy.

Install all windows critical updates for your operating system from the Microsoft Update site - it's free! All that's required to keep your Microsoft operating system up to date is an Internet connection. Install and configure a firewall - either a hardware or software based firewall is a must! If you are using a router, it probably has firewall capabilities included. Software firewalls are available at minimal cost; one of the best is free! Install and configure antivirus software - the cost is minimal, there are even free versions available - the protection is priceless! Update the definition files daily - scan your drive weekly - it can all be automated with most programs. Create a backup - even the best plan can be circumvented - be prepared for the worst with a complete backup of your hard drive! If you already have a CD burner and software installed in your machine, you probably have the tools to create a complete system backup - for only the cost of a few CD-R's!

Obviously, the costs to properly protect yourself from the worst threats to your security are almost nil. If you need help with any step above, simply use a Google search to find help - it's freely available.

Follow these four simple steps and you will have implemented comprehensive and complete protection for your PC. If you are unable to initiate your own plan, hire an expert to do the job. You won't be sorry!

© 2004 ODEC

Broadband is State-of-the-Art Internet Access: How Can a Broadband Cable Benefit You?

We are now well ensconced in a time when the Web is riddled with graphics, animations, sounds, and videos, bringing about a necessity for superior internet access such as that which broadband can provide. The fact is that anything less than the speed supplied by a broadband cable has become inadequate for today's Web users.

Of course, if you use the internet only once every so often, you wouldn't be as heavily dependent upon high-speed internet access as is provided by broadband, however, if you're a regular user, it's virtually a necessity.

But wait a minute...even though you use the internet, it doesn't mean you know exactly what this high focus form of internet access actually is. So lets start there. In essence, broadband is a very fast form of internet connection. Broadband Will provide you with a noticeably faster internet speed than a dial-up connection.

Broadband used to be a challenge only because of it's limited availability, however, today there are many ways that you can have a much faster connection. The delivery methods of broadband have been expanded to the following types of broadband cable:

- Copper telephone wires

- Cable TV wires

- Radio microwaves from local base stations

- Satellite microwaves from geo-stationary satellites

Now lets look at why this faster style of internet access is actually better. The benefits of broadband actually include much more than faster downloads. Broadband is the connection that is always "on". As soon as you start up your computer, it's already connected to the internet. For anyone who has waited for a modem to dial up and connect, the advantage of this is quite apparent. Furthermore, broadband allows you to download movies, music, and web pages that were virtually inaccessible in practical terms when using dial-up.

But the benefits of broadband aren't just felt by individual users. Businesses, governments, schools, and communities can all experience the superiority that broadband cables can provide.

Here are some examples of benefits for each of those types of organizations:

- Businesses will notice an increase in productivity when large data files transfer quickly and directly among local and head offices, no matter the distance between the locations. Moreover, with the popularity of net-meetings and videoconferencing, a face-to-face meeting becomes entirely possible without the travel costs.

- Schools can now offer equal opportunities to their students no matter their location or funding. A student in a remote community is now able to use a broadband connection to receive violin lessons from the same revered instructor as a student in a large city. Moreover, rural students can take virtual field trips and see the same fascinating and educational museums as city kids.

- Local governments are now enjoying broadband benefits that let them provide one-stop shopping for town business transactions, as well as licensing, permits, billing, and utility payments.

- Communities have been quick to jump on the broadband band wagon to promote their local historical and other various tourist attractions. No other marketing resource reaches as far and as effectively as the internet.

There are so many fantastic benefits to a high-speed, broadband internet connection, that it is becoming as "basic" a need as a computer in today's society.

Electrical Contractors and Outsourcing

Reliability, hiring and termination costs are persistent problems in the electrical contracting industry. Thorough screening, testing and interviewing techniques can help prevent reliability issues. The question is, do you have time to do all of these things and maintain focus on the job site?

First review a list of functions your company must do to hire, maintain and retain an employee. Place a cost on each item using the time value of the person who must handle each separate item. For example and simplification, your office manager earns $15.00/hour and spends a half-hour a day dealing with employee issues. The time value is $7.50 to perform that function. Do this for each item listed below and come up with a daily total amount. Divide the total by 8 and determine if you are performing the functions cheaper than the staffing company can. Most electrical contractors can not because they are set up operationally, not administratively.

If you need a guideline to compare costs, most staffing companies charge a very small amount on top of each hour billed; use 5-7% as a general rule. Keep in mind this includes all labor burden costs including state/federal payroll taxes, worker’s com, liability insurance, payroll processing, etc (see list for the rest).

Outsourcing your human resources function eliminates the need for:

Placing job ads, handling phone calls from ads, processing job applications,checking references,performing criminal background checks, scheduling and paying for drug testing (if required), scheduling and conducting interviews, controlling Worker’s compensation insurance costs, maintaining liability insurance on employees, paying for office staff human resources training, employee handbook development, safety program development, administration and injury reporting, payroll administration, mailing checks and setting up direct deposit accounts, payroll tax accounting – weekly payroll and annual mailing of W-2’s, time tracking of field employees (electricians), offering and administering health and savings plans, worker’s compensation claims processing, processing unemployment claims, handling court ordered garnishments, paying attorney’s fees if a suit is filed against your company, addressing and processing NLRB issues, dealing with and paying for other post-employment obligations (wrongful termination suits, HIPPA notifications, etc)…and all of the other time consuming costs not mentioned above that chew into your bottom line!

What many electrical contractors do not take into consideration is the amount of time away from production and the amount of time their office staff devotes to recruiting, hiring and maintaining each employee on the payroll. This is a variable cost outsourcing labor solves.

Going back to the numbers, variable costs are costs that can be varied flexibly as conditions change; like the number of electricians you need to carry on your payroll at any given time. The point made here is that labor is a much more flexible resource than capital investment. Outsourcing labor provides you and your staff with freedom away from time consuming human resource functions. The time you save is better spent marketing, dealing with customers, suppliers, and focusing on the work at your project site.

Spend time to add up the time and cost of the listed functions involved in hiring and retaining electricians. Ask a staffing company to provide you with a cost breakdown of their hourly charge for each electrician’s skill level. Keep in mind staffing companies cover all the costs you would and charge a nominal account administration fee (the fee is normally much less than what companies spend on the list of HR functions). Compare the costs. Remember to consider the intangible benefits of reduced liability, time savings and increased freedom to focus on your customer.

Most contractors will agree that for any given electrical contracting project, outsourcing is cost effective. One key point that must be emphasized is outsourcing labor is not a “one size fits all” solution to controlling variable costs. Businesses that are comfortable where they are do not make good candidates. On the other hand, a business that wants to grow while maintaining tight control over variable costs makes an excellent fit.

We can never predict when an employee will decide to leave a company but, we can control what it will cost to replace that person using effective outsourcing strategies. Keeping the right mix of permanent and temporary employees is the key to controlling the priciest variable costs in our industry – labor. Outsourcing electricians allows you to control variable costs that are discussed in the next few paragraphs.

As you are aware, variable costs are the costs directly linked to the tempo of operations in electrical contracting. They are called variable because they vary with the size and workload of the business. This means that the more projects bid and won; the more labor, material, etc. costs will rise. The more labor costs rise, the more employee-related administration costs go up.

This, of course, is in contrast with fixed or overhead costs. These costs are those that are incurred regardless of whether or not your company works one or ten projects. These costs do not vary as the pace and size of your operations change unless a dramatic change is made. Variable costs are project specific, whereas, fixed costs are associated with the entire company. Office leases/mortgages have to be paid no matter what is produced or in what numbers. Hence rent or a mortgage is a fixed cost.

Consider a situation where you determine your electrical contracting service yields a 25% contribution margin. Your figure can then be used to determine whether variable costs for your project(s) can be reduced. You can choose to bump up the price of materials and/or reduce your labor costs.

Material pricing adjustments is the easy part. Labor costs are not. To attract and retain quality electricians, you must pay more than the competition, offer benefits and training.

Remember your bottom line or net profit is determined by how you decide to spend each penny of your contribution margin on fixed costs. We know you can control your fixed costs by deciding on how much to spend on vehicles, equipment, tools, phone service and all the rest of your business needs

But, what is the true cost to attract, hire, manage and retain a qualified electrician for a three month project and what is the cost to hire a permanent/full-time employee? You probably know the answer, the cost is the same. It is the replacement cost of the employee that will eat into your bottom line after you conduct all of your human resource or human capital management functions in-house. And what price do you place on the expenditure to bring someone new into your company? And what does it really cost to replace that person? The answer is simply the cost of time – your time, your staff’s time and all time removed from project related activities.

Learn more about outsourcing electricians [http://www.strategy-construction.com] at Strategy Construction's Web Site.

Modern Furniture: A Staging Must!

When it comes to selling your property, there is no doubt about it, you need to appeal to the masses. This means that your 15 year old living room set won't cut it. There are, however some simple solutions that can help you modernize the look of your home, without necessarily breaking the bank. For instance, if you were planning on updating your furniture once you've moved into your new house, it may be wise to do so right away and move the furniture once your house is sold. Certain items such as chairs and sofas can be re-upholstered to give them a fresh new look. You can also invest in inexpensive accessories that will attract the buyer's attention to a more modern decor while preventing your old comfy couch from becoming an eyesore.

As a first step, you will need to determine which furnishing items you will be keeping once you are in the new house and which ones you will be replacing. It is crucial that this step be taken immediately as it will go a long way in helping you sell your home. It is wise and even recommended that the furniture you are planning on replacing after you move, be replaced immediately. It's time to go shopping! Yes it may be a hassle to buy it all now and then move it once the house is sold but remember that if buyers are not making offers because the house doesn't appeal to then, you may never be buying all this furniture, whereas buyers will be more likely to make an offer on a house they see themselves living in. Although they will not be buying your furniture, it is the overall look of the house that has to speak to the buyer. You need to guide their imagination and show them how nice it can be.

Although you are planning to move, you may not be planning on purchasing new furniture. After all, why throw away such good comfortable furniture that has already been broken into. There is also a simple solution for that. Slip covers for sofas, love seats and armchairs are a fantastic and inexpensive way to breathe new life into your dated living room set. For the bedrooms, whenever possible remove any headboards with a dated took and use fresh modern linen to dress your beds. Set the dining table with modern plates and a bright centerpiece to attract attention away from the older table. Re-upholster chairs for a fresh modern look. If your rooms are over flowing with furniture, it will be important to get some of it out of the house and arrange to store it until your house is sold.

Last but not least, you can use decorative items and accessories to attract the buyer's attention and tone down the dated look. Bright, bold and contrasting colors tend to attract the eye. The buyer will be focused on the colorful item and will probably be less likely to notice the dated decor. The most important accessories you can modernize are your window coverings. They are a dead giveaway and no matter how expensive and chic they are, if they are from another time, it will be a turnoff to the modern buyer. Other examples of using accessories to deter attention can be a contrasting colored throw placed on an older couch, which will catch the buyer's eye. The same is true for an old dresser. You can easily invest in a colorful, modern vase to offset the age of the dresser. Adding art to your walls will also have the same effect. The idea is to tone down the older furniture by enhancing it with modern accessories.

In the end, you do not have to buy or rent new furniture to stage your house. You simply need to give buyers what they are looking for and if that is a modern look and feel, there are ways of doing it without spending thousands on furniture you don't necessarily like. If you are going to be changing your furniture, by all means, buy it and stage your house with it. It will go a long way. If this purchase is not part of your plan or your budget, you can use re-upholstering as an effective alternative to bring your old items into the twenty first century. alternately, you can also use modern decorative accessories to give your buyers the impression of a modernized look. The options are plenty and the more modern the look, the more likely you are to sell quickly.

Top Ranked Websites Utilize Recommended Natural Techniques for Ranking

SEO is a main focus in website design nowadays. With the millions and millions of websites on the Internet, it is more important than ever to make sure that you have a top ranked website that is easily found on Google. One of the best ways to do this is by utilizing organic search engine optimization. The techniques are recommended by Google and the other important search indexes. They are are considered valid and OK. These are different and directly opposite from bad SEO techniques.

One of the biggest mistakes that many people make when trying to increase their site's SEO is something called keyword and URL stuffing. This involves a few things. First, they will input a substantial amount of keywords into the meta tags in the header of their pages. This might have worked in the past but Google easily detects this now. You should only place keywords in the meta description and title and you should do so in a way that makes sense. Otherwise, this could hurt your chances of ranking for things that your site could potentially eventually see some natural search engine ranking for.

Some designers will also spread these keywords throughout the content of the page in a manner which is far too excessive. Placing two or three keywords in each sentence not only makes for a terrible reading experience for the user, but it also is easily detected by the search engines and will lower your ranking.

Finally, URL stuffing is another bad way to significantly lose ranking on the indexes. Similar to keyword stuffing, linking to other pages on your site is okay to do, but only if you do so in the correct manner. The correct way to link employ URL links in your site content is to link around to things on the site that users may want more information on, in the content. Excessive URL linking of keywords to pages that are not about the topic are not recommended. Try to keep these URL links to a minimum as Google does not like this either.

Top ranked websites across the Internet use organic search engine optimization. It is an efficient and easy way to increase your ranking. It is not wise to use bad SEO techniques to trick Google by using techniques that are not recommended by them. Their algorithms are quite advanced and can recognize when a web development company or search engine optimization company is trying to trick their robots.

5 Quick Ways to Turn Cold Calls Into Warm Sales

Does the thought of making cold calls send chills up your spine? If you're not making cold calls, you could be missing out on reaching a huge customer base that doesn't even know about your company or the products that you're selling. If you aren't willing to call people and follow up on leads, your sales numbers could suffer. Here are some strategies for changing the way you think about cold calls and the way you speak to your potential customers over the phone so you can start looking forward to this proven sales technique.

1. Think of it as a Business Deal Cold calls are just that - business deals. It's a way of doing business with other people who do business. Unfortunately, many sales agents view cold calls as a bother to their potential clients rather than simply doing business. This is especially true if you are following up on leads that you were given. If it makes you feel better when doing cold calls, do them during business hours instead of at the time when your potential clients are sitting down for dinner. That way you won't feel like you're "bothering" people with your call.

2. Be Quick and Succinct You may have a tendency to tell your potential clients all about your product over the phone. But this isn't an appealing technique for the person you're calling. Instead, sum up the product that you are offering in a couple short and succinct sentences. If it helps, write down a few notes before you start making your cold calls. Be prepared for objections when you are presenting the benefits of your product and don't be discouraged when a potential client questions you because that means they are at least listening. When you are prepared for this, though, you have a better chance of turning that person into a customer instead of a prospective buyer.

3. Smile

Even though you are on the phone, a potential client can detect your attitude in your voice and the way you speak. If you are discouraged or feeling less confident than you should, the person on the other end of the line will know it. Make an effort to smile even when you are talking on the phone. This will make you feel better and you'll project a positive attitude that the other person can detect. Also, don't get discouraged. Even if you've been rejected by 10 straight potential leads, keep going. Do some jumping jacks or take a walk around your building to clear your head and increase your energy so you can focus better on your next string of 10 calls.

4. Be Realistic

Even if you're the best sales agent in the universe, you're not going to make a sale to everybody. There will be times when people simply aren't receptive to the products that you're offering. It's important to be realistic when making your cold calls. Have small goals of making only a few sales a day. If you have unattainable goals, you're only going to discourage and frustrate yourself which is going to keep your sales figures down anyways.

5. Get the Name

When working from a Cold Call list, it is better when you have or can purchase the contact name of the business owner. Asking for the business owner by first name when making a cold call often gets you past the secretary or "gatekeeper" because they assume you know the owner personally.

Keeping these five techniques in mind when making your cold calls is a great way to have a more positive perspective and improve your phone communication skills.