Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Small Business Outsourcing


Author:Naz Daud
Outsourcing with your small business can be a great way to improve efficiencies and benefit from diverse skill sets outwith the normal competence of your small business. Outsourcing with your small business can seem initially out of reach, either technically or financially, but getting into the routine of outsourcing certain aspects of your business is a great way to cut costs overall and to benefit from specialization and a higher quality of output across outsourced areas. What’s more, any technical constraints surrounding outsourcing, even abroad, are now completely put to rest with the help of the Internet, making outsourcing much more possible for the average small business owner.

As a small business owner new to outsourcing, you’d be surprised at the breadth and depth of this industry, particularly the growth experienced over the last few years. Business owners, even small business owners, can outsource almost any functionality of their business, from customer services through to software and IT through to marketing and sales and especially accounts and finance – every element of your business can feasibly be outsourced to some third party provider. The trick is calculating which outsourcing opportunities provide returns through increased efficiencies or direct on cost against those that are merely an additional cost centre and are a drain on resources.

Outsourcing as a small business is easy, thanks to the Internet. Of course, it’s not so easy to find a good deal, but thanks to the Internet making links with potential outsourcing partners is easier than it’s ever been. Freelance websites and forums are packed with outsourcing companies and freelancers with the technical expertise to handle your requirements. What’s more, because you can access international labour markets, you might also be able to realize a cost saving on labour hours. There are also outsourcing agencies which can be discovered through search engines more specific to your requirements, that can facilitate just about anything you currently do within your business.

Outsourcing as a small business is only really successful when the outsourcing company providing the services are competent and reliable. Sadly, the Internet allows any service provider access to a global market, and it may be possible to come across a provider who is anything but punctual. However, by sorting the wheat from the chaff and securing solid outsourcing agreements with reliable providers, your small business should be able to reap the various rewards outsourcing has to offer, from cost savings down to improved efficiency and access to highly skilled labour.

Outsourcing as a small business owner obviously has advantages, and provided you can source a reliable third party outsourcing company to deal with your requirements, you should be able to realized increased efficiencies. While traditional business theory might reject outsourcing, there is now no effective argument against drawing on improved skills at a lower cost, and outsourcing can bring significant advantages as a result, over doing many things in-house. For small business owners looking to slash overheads, outsourcing back end processes and some operational events can bring down overall expenses and increase margins.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Choosing the Right Cleaning Company


Author: Charles Alabi

This may sound the easiest of tasks or decisions to make. However, after several years in the Commercial Cleaning Industry, I am still amazed at the number of Customers coming to us because they have been let down by their previous cleaning service providers. One common reason sited by majority of the Clients was that they did not pay enough attention to the selection process when they were hiring previous Cleaning Company. Most Clients think, with the plethora of Cleaning Companies vying for their attention on the internet, it would be enough just to pick the one with the most appealing website. To help avoid time and money that could be wasted by not hiring the right cleaning company the first time around. I have decided to write this simple guide on what to look for when choosing a Cleaning Company. Here are the key things to look for in a Cleaning Company:

Is the Cleaning Company Insured?
The first thing you should ask for when you are choosing a Cleaning Company is their insurance policy. You want to be sure that you're protected from theft or accidental damage. If a Company is reluctant to discuss this with you then you need to look for another provider.

References from Existing Clients
My advice is that you ask for references from their previous Customers, at least 2. This is the best way to find out about the quality of job done by the Company in the past. If a company who claimed to have been going on for years can not provide suitable references then you ought to consider hiring a company who meet this criterion.

Cost (Value of Money)
While I will recommend you hire a company based on your budget or how much you are willing to spend. Some Cleaning Companies will offer to do your cleaning at prices even you will consider "too good to be true". Be weary of Contractors using misleading advertising and sales tactics to get your business. Some Companies are able to charge ridiculously low because majority of them are not insured and even pay their staff below the national minimum wage. From the onset, you can sense you are in for a bumpy ride. What Companies like these tend to do is send you unreliable Cleaners who have will little or no regard for your belongings are they are awfully underpaid, untrained, not properly vetted and low on the motivation side. Please be aware that good services take time and money so I will advise you to be prepared to pay a little bit more for quality.

Staff Recruitment
Since you will in most cases, be handling your keys and leaving your belongings around while the Cleaners are cleaning your promises you need to find out how they are recruited by the Cleaning Company. They should be willing to disclose how they recruit and the checks they have put in place to make sure they do not hire Cleaners with criminal records. Remember it is your responsibility to ensure the Cleaners are right for you. Make sure they do not send you people who are not legally allowed live, never mind, work in the country. They must have proper interview procedure in place and get identities of would-be Cleaners checked.

Customer Service
What level of customer service and support the Company has to offer? Are they only available during peak business hours? Can you contact them during an emergency? What is the response time if you have any queries? It is important to find a company that has various ways to contact them and respond to your queries as quickly as possible. Are they prepared to send Cleaners back to your house/office free of charge if they have not done a good job? A good Cleaning Services provider should have good customer service in place.

Tasks Guide
The Company should be willing to supply you a task list that you can agree to. This is to make sure all of the details of the deal are in writing - from the services provided to cost of service, tasks to be performed on a regular basis/intervals to the frequency of visits. This shows the company is organised and thorough in its approach.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of things to consider but one that will no doubt help when selecting a cleaning company. Whether you are hiring for your home or your office, the selection criteria will more or less be the same.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Reliable and cost-effective Payroll administration services for small and large businesses


Author: Hitechaccounting
Payroll means a sequence of accounting transactions like working with the salary process of employees, holding money of employees for payment of payroll taxes, insurance premiums, etc. Payroll administration job includes receipt and analysis of payroll data. They do the actual work of tallying hours and creating the paychecks for all the employees of a client.

Holding years of experience in payroll administration services, our Accounting Services provides reliable and cost effective services for any small or large businesses. Moreover our accounting service provides payroll software that enables you to transmit and receive your payroll data securely, easily and efficiently through the internet. You can view a pre-check register to verify that the payroll is perfect at every time. Our payroll solutions offer you more control, and at the same time provides flexibility in how you manage all of your payroll-related functions.

The Major Payroll administration services we provide for any business include:
• Preparation of timely and accurate notifications of tax liabilities and deposits
• Preparation of medical leave and payment details
• Processing of various payroll accruals
• Digital data processing of timesheet, commission, bonus calculation, overtime, Insurance deduction and PAYE
• Calculation of net pay
• Preparation of various department summaries of month-to-date payroll data
• Year-end return preparation
• Preparation of employee earning statements with current pay period and year-to-date wages, adjustments, and taxes
• Calculation and payment of taxes at various government levels

Key Benefits while availing our payroll services are as follows:
• The utmost advantage our clients get is the presence of professional expertise in Payroll Administration
• However complex or voluminous be the project, our specialists will complete them within deadlines without compromising on continuity, quality, and reliability of service
• We also provide highly Cost-effective services
• Our Payroll administration services are usually flexible by nature and integrate themselves into the business smoothly, hence work to the advantage of the business establishment
• In addition, you can acquire an Ability to focus on your core business
• Payroll administration outsourcing Services can really save valuable time when it comes to working out on your payroll data

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Small Business As A Sole Trader

Author:Naz Daud
Small business as a sole trader is often consider arduous and full of struggle, with problems in overcoming credibility issues to increased tax burdens and personal liability. However, run effectively, a small business as a sole trader can be both profitable and successful, and can provide worthwhile goods and services to their local and wider communities. Running a small business as a sole trader can be flexible, cost effective and administratively less burdenous than other business forms, but no less conducive to achieving success in your chosen industry. However there are some factors you need to consider day to day when running a small business as a sole trader, and in particular whether some other business form would be more appropriate in your particular circumstances.

Doing business as a sole trader inevitably carries connotations of a lack of professionalism and credibility, born from the impression that many such businesses are run from the ‘back bedroom’, and are consequently incapable of providing quality. Convincing business owners to deal with a sole trader is much more difficult than it might be with other business structures, and while that prejudiced may not be merited, it is nevertheless persistent. A good way around this is to use a trading name for your business to give the impression of a more professional organisation, or to brand in your own name as if you were branding a business. Both of these techniques can divert much of the ill-feeling and distrust associated with sole traders as opposed to other business structures.

Running a small business as a sole trader also has risks associated with it in particular, as compared to other business formats. As a sole trader, you are ultimately responsible for all the debts of your small business, and your personal assets will be at risk if your business is unable to repay its debts. Thus, there is an obvious risk associated with running a small business as a sole trader, and this is one of the main reasons some opt for alternative structures. However, by making calculated financial decisions and not borrowing beyond your means, the sole trade model can be a flexible, suitable alternative to many of the more formal arrangements without compromising your personal wealth. While the risks remain, making sure you’re aware of your market and your physical payment capabilities should prevent your small business from running into financial difficulties.

Running a small business as a sole trader is a great way to start off in business, and can even be a good way to run much larger operations in certain industries. Of course, it’s not without its problems, from unlimited liability through to credibility issues, which can often hold back the progress of any small business run as a sole trader. However, by ensuring you work towards overcoming these obstacles, you should find as a sole trader you are more flexible in the operation of your small business, and you can enjoy the full rewards of your efforts with the minimum in administrative hassle.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Adhesive Vinyl: Helping Interior Designers Improve on their Craft

Author:Owenskie
Interior designers must use every accessible material in order to improve on their craft. It is advisable to look at the latest trends, even with the printing technology. You must know when you can use such advancements as adhesive vinyl and the likes to achieve a different look each time you service a client.

This is an ideal situation because you can be as creative as much as you want to. You can easily adjust to what your customers want depending on the trend and the availability of the materials that you have chosen.

The competition is going stiff in every type of business. This is why it is vital that you do these things in order for you not to be left out in the evolving styles in your profession. It is okay to use everything that you have learned from school. But it will be better if you can incorporate tools like adhesive vinyl to your designs. This way, you will not only make a difference in the design of your client’s house after you’ve finished with it, you’ll definitely leave a mark. This mark will surely be noticed by all the people who will see the house that you’ve handled and may increase the chances for these people to ask about you.

But why is it important to incorporate vinyl on your design when you can simply opt for painting or the traditional wallpaper.

1. Attitude
What do people usually relate to materials like vinyl? Ask about and look around you. Business people have been using this material on their marketing gimmicks and advertising purposes. Wouldn’t it be cool to see one inside a traditional home? You can bring up the idea to the owner. They can tell you their preference and you can start from that. You will pick up a lot depending on the attitude of the homeowner.

If they want something fun and punk, you can use an imitation or an idea that was inspired by a hit advertising material. You can also include in the design texts or graphics if you will be redecorating a room of someone young and hip.

2. Difference
This material can indeed make a difference to the traditional styles that interior designers usually do on their projects. Of course, you have your own visions as to how you would want to take your design. You have your own judgment to your every project. But it wouldn’t hurt to try out new things or old ideas and incorporate it with new ones.

3. Taste
Art works need not be expensive. Just like the vinyl signs, you can get them at affordable prices when you avail the services of the right printing company. You can also get just a piece or some of every design of your choice. You can team up with a good graphic designer for this purpose. This way, you will be always reinventing in terms of its designs. Your clients will be assured that they’ll have materials that were fitted only for their homes.

You are also helping your clients by getting them adhesive vinyl to accentuate their homes. You are giving their abode the right touches plus the three abovementioned qualities.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Business to Business market covers every phase of selling procedure

Author: John Wissler
The Advantages of B2B Marketplace

Business to Business (B2B) marketplace offer spectacular opportunities to manufacturers, suppliers, exporters, importers and service provider. A B2B market handles a big amount of player companies as a community.

Do you know what exactly a B2B marketplace is?

Internet-based B2B Marketplaces lean to concentrate upon either steep or flat markets. Vertical B2B marketplaces automate the procurement procedure within an industry by bringing buyers and sellers at distinct levels of distribution jointly to transact job.

· Brand: B2B market is a huge community of buyers and sellers. For the job to job marketplace, brand can be merely defined as the lot of images, image and feelings that are evoked in the psyche of your customers and prospects at the reference of your figure (or merchandise figure. In decree to guarantee that the picture that is evoked is a routine and constructive one is the amount one challenge in job to job branding. In the consumer merchandise reality, while costly, branding is comparatively easy: Build a brand through coherent advertising that links your merchandise/service to the images and emotions that you seek the consumer to correlate with you.

B2B marketplaces are one-stop job solutions for many of the party’s needs. Real moment market allows buyers to go fast resolution, two main indicators of party productivity are Increased Revenue and Cost Saving. Products offered on a market are integrated with the eCatalog and vendor’s Web Store. B2B exchanges are online marketplaces for businesses to purchase and trade better and services from new businesses. Buyers are incapable to go definitive procurement decisions payable to impoverished substance of the merchandise resulting lost job chance for companies. To avert this all B2B marketplaces take one sort or another advanced eCatalog structure which delivers a persuasive value proposal.

There are new benefits that party can obtain from participating in a B2B market as easily.

For purchaser participants a B2B market offers as mentioned below:

Time savings – provides for faster acceptance, ordering processes and saving tracking. Access to original suppliers – B2B market involvement removes geographic fences and provides approach to original suppliers.

Increased sales – with approach to a wider marketplace, suppliers have the potentiality to increase revenue.

Reduced sales and backing costs – By automating sales and client backing processes companies can cut over chief costs around 25-30% well.
Reduced elevated costs – Thanks to sleek supply string elevated costs can be reduced upward to 30 percentages.

B2B exchanges: The landscape is littered with hundreds of B2B exchanges that have failed, demonstrating that success is far from automated. But many are yet operating. They have learned how to go reward of the opportunities and avert the drawbacks of this energetic original merchandising line. The sales string integrated into a Business to Business market covers every phase of selling procedure including quote, dialogue, billing and consignment tracking.

Made-from-India is an innovative and comprehensive online business-to-business (B2B) portal, which provides a professional platform for the Indian exporters, producers, suppliers and others who are involved into import-export trade. Since inception in 2007, Made-from-India emerged as an international plateau for thousands of consultants, importers-exporters, agencies and firms to transact business globally without any intermediaries

Friday, October 23, 2009

Small Business Finance UK: Fall Through Your Demands


Author: Bonnie Castle
Finance facilitates your money crunch. It works as a life blood in the vein of any business venture. Your venture falls behind if you are unable to fall back on the business demands through. To patch up the need of your enterprise, small business finance UK has everything to make it for you. The money provision helps you overcome financial difficulties at a time of your great need.

Usually, small business finance UK comes in secured and unsecured forms. So, you can take out the fund as per your feasibility. Secured loans are security-backed provisions while unsecured provisions are non-security-backed. For the reason, tenant and non-homeowners can cover the cost of their business expenses easily with the money options. Owing to absence of collateral pledging, property evaluation cuts the cost of the loan approval.

Importantly, the rate of interest charged upon finance is relied on your financial capacity. There are some factors which determine the fund decision. They are mode of the finance selection, duration and the need of the fund, repayment period, credit scores, and your current circumstances. Keep the aspect in account, amount of money is released. No doubt that you can secure a whopping amount when you take out a secured mode of finance. Added with cheaper rates what you do not get at unsecured form of money provision where collateral is not required.

To facilitate your financial fuss, you can get small business finance UK anywhere in the money market. There are numerous lenders out there in the money market for the cause. They can be accessed though online too. Accessing the finance online has made the borrowing task further simpler. Just a simple online application is made. The lender reviews the loan application. All it saves a good amount of your time and energy and makes loan approval fast.

So, stop worrying of falling back on the business demands, small business finance UK is here to fall through your business expenses.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009



Blog Writing Sparks for Your Virtual Assistant Business

Author: Allison Nazarian
Even though your virtual assistant business is online, don't ignore offline sources for blog writing sparks. Observations and lessons learned from everyday experiences provide valuable business reflections you can share on your virtual assistant blog.

Take a Course
Taking a course in an area that moves your business forward is a great source of ideas and information for blog posts. Fields such as marketing, online public relations, communication, technology and people skills also complement the services you offer in your virtual assistant business.

Read Other Blogs
Read other blogs in your niche to be informed on developments, new technologies, trends, perspectives. Also read the comment threads on posts of interest. Often a topic kicked off by a blogger continues as a hot conversation in the comment thread.

Sometimes, the comment thread yields more valuable information than the original post. Comments also give you lots of blog writing sparks because you can see quickly what people want to discuss or learn about.

Building Relationships
One of the best sources for finding information for blog posts is your own blog. The essence of business blogging is about building relationships. If you build a community around your blog, you are in a great position to take these relationships a step further.

Email a regular commenter and send them a link to a new site or article you think they may find useful. Don't just contact them to ask for something. Build genuine connections. They may do the same for you. Sharing ideas and perspectives often acts as an ideas starter for writing blog posts.

Peers
Some of your blog commentators may be other VAs. If there is a synergy between you, email contact may progress to other forms of communication such as Skype (a free internet phone provider). Who knows? Maybe you could even meet in person.

Your virtual assistant business blog can be a launching pad to informal and formal partnerships, and a wealth of new ideas for blog writing sparks.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Learn How To Make Money Online With Any Internet Business

Author: Crystal Ayers
It's very simple to have success and make money when you know what to do. Working for your self is still work no mater if you do it full time or part time. So many people think that when they sign up for a online or internet Business that their signing up to sit at home or go and play and get some kind of awesome charity and a bunch of money is going to just appear with out them doing any thing! Some scampers will even tell you that. The truth is that it dose take work. And the more you know and do the more money you can make. Any one that has made them selves rich had a passion for it. All those luxuries they enjoy they earned, yes earned. The difference from them and you is that they found the how and did it. I'll show you how and the doing is up to you. Remember, you do get to have and enjoy all that you earn because your doing all this work for YOU! Not your boss or some company. You get to have and spend all the profit from all the work you do. It's also important to know that the hardest part is getting your business started, getting your income established. As it grows bigger and bigger the less work you need to do if you do it right. The more time you will have to enjoy the profits from all your work.

How do you pick a online or internet business? How do you advertise and get customer. Exactly what you need to know to have a successful online or internet business. Here is a good start and will get you making some money right away, but you will need to learn more to really make a lot of money or get rich.

1. First you need to have or get a product or service. I know that sounds really simple but it's important. No gifting scams, no stuffing envelopes or chain letters or any of those scams. You need to have a product or service that is of value. Something that is in demand and has an established market, a market that people know about, relate to and need.

2. You need to get a good profit. I proffer about $20 or more each sale profit or about 20% or higher. You may find a great company that has great products but only gives you around 5, 8 or 10% profits, yikes that's nothing! Your in this to make money not do charity work for them! Make sure that it's a good company that you like and really supports you in making big money.

A word about affiliate. These can be very, very good. Make sure that you still use the what I said above and be careful because not all affiliate are trust able! I mean that some will not pay you. I have racked up a lot of profit before and then had the website not pay me!

3. You need to get good targeted traffic to your web site or affiliate site. Search engine are a good way but you will also need to put articles in E-Zines and get some back links. These will increase your popularity and give you better search engine placement. I use Google AdWords and I Snare (E-zine) the most. It takes time and effort to get really good traffic to your site. You can perfect your technique with E-books and studying what works best for your site.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Social Business: Enterprise Without Profit


Author: Naz Daud
Non-profit’ and ‘business’ might seem initially to be contradictions, or mutually exclusive terms that can’t be seen in the same sentence. However, this is certainly not the case. In recent years, a new type of enterprise has grown – the social business, a non-profit organization designed to help others or to benefit the community. The idea has proven successful in a number of different industries, and those that practice it receive press coverage and substantial PR benefits as an upshot, as well as helping to make a real difference as far as those that benefit from their work is concerned. But is it really different from any other type of business, and are the rewards of non-profit, social business as clear-cut as they are with other types of operation?

Non-profit businesses generally conjure images of charities, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. A non-profit business is, by definition a business that doesn’t aim to make a profit. Thus the business can still be profitable and use those profits to some wider social or community good. Generally, non-profit businesses trade just like any other, and use profits realized from that trade to improve the lives of others through working on particular projects or providing grants or scholarships. This has an obvious PR benefit, and can help lead to greater cost-efficiencies in the marketing side of the business. What’s more, customers are far easier to convert when they are aware of more charitable or social aims underpinning a particular business entity. Thus simply by taking excess profits, after reserves of course, and diverting them towards projects for the greater good, non-profit business owners can benefit from helping others and growing their business.

Furthermore, profits are only for shareholders, and in businesses that don’t intend to float there’s no reason to make a profit every year. After salaries have been paid to the directors, there’s no real reason to have anything left over, and any money that does remain should be paid away to directors, to company reserves, or alternatively in the event of a non-profit business, to some social good. Thus the personal finances of the business owner can be exactly the same as they would be otherwise, with the exception of diverting profits towards charitable or social projects, providing a greater sense of purpose as well as generating more beneficial public relations and improving the perception of your business amongst customers and the community at large.

Clearly, social non-profit business is on the ascendancy. Business owners that elect to donate their profits to particular community or charitable projects still earn enough money to live comfortable lives, and they still reap the personal benefits of business ownership. In fact, it can be argued that those indulging in social entrepreneurship can actually grow more substantial businesses more quickly, because of the PR and media machine that’s quick to publicise the work they do. In a nutshell, it is possible to approach business from a completely different angle and work with community and social projects in order to make a real difference without sacrificing the financial benefits running a business can bring.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Short Run Printing: Helping Small Businesses Succeed


Author: Owenskie
The Ideal Set Up

When you are just starting, you want to be sure with your decisions. As much as possible, you always want to be on the safe side of things. It is okay to take risks but this is not that phase for you yet. You still need to establish your footing in the industry before you can dare commit the bigger risks.

Taking each step at a time is the ideal set up. You don’t want to skip on things. You would want to be part of everything. This is also true with advertising. You may have an idea that it is a jungle out there. You are only thinking of an idea but many people have already used that on their ads.

So as a starter, you have to be prepared for such situation. You have to be always ready to come up with newer concepts than the ones that your direct competitors have already used. Or you have to create rehashed versions of the old ideas and make them your own.

Do not get intimidated by the concept of advertising. There’s short run printing that can help you realize your goal. Marketing need not be too expensive. And you don’t have to purchase so many pieces of the same material just so you can reach out as many people as you can. You just have to start small and achieve bigger goals in the process.

1. This technology uses the digital method. Unlike offset wherein you have to abide to a minimum requirement set by the printing company per material, short run can accommodate your need based on exactly how many you need.

2. With the quality, there is not much difference. The advancement of the printing industry also brought the level of the quality of all printers, even the digital ones, close to the trusted methods like offset printing.

3. You don’t have to spend much. You will be paying your materials by piece and not by bulk. This way, you can experiment with such tools so that you will know what materials will work on your target market and what tools will fail to impress them.

4. You will gauge the effectiveness of your marketing tools easily. This way, you will be able to create better ads in the future to suit the preferences of your clients.

5. You’ll save the environment from adding more waste materials. You will only be printing the materials according to how many you need. You will not be stuck with so many postcards or business cards that will get out of date as days go by.

Every big business started small. Your small venture will soon get big and successful. Do all the necessary things to be able to reach that status. Know your capacity. Know when it is time to go offset when it comes to your marketing materials and when it is high time to opt for short run printing.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Negotiating Small Business Office Space


Author:Naz Doud
Small business office space is often an essential requirements for the business requiring growth or full time staff. Moving from working at home, or even going straight into small business office space requires preparation and planning, as well as a good deal of negotiation to make sure the deal makes sense for you and your small business. Amongst some of the factors you really should consider are the length of lease offered, and the amount of space you’ll require to house your operation, as well as consideration of the bigger picture – do you actually need office space at all? From there, you will be required to negotiate the terms to ensure you get the best deal possible for your small business.

The first relevant factor to consider when negotiating small business office space is exactly how much space you’ll need. Many small business office space providers price according to the number of people you’re looking to accommodate, leaving only speculation as to the total area. A more cost effective way of going about it is to ask for a certain space that will be suitable to accommodate all of your staff. Even if things are slightly cramped to begin with, at least you can save money on your rent which could be better spent in other areas of your small business. The best way to judge is to ask to inspect the office space before you begin negotiations to determine whether or not it will be suitable to your needs, and regardless of the billed number of desks within the room, you should ensure you are happy with the overall size and are able to meet all your small business requirements.

Another key term to watch out for when negotiating small business office space is the length of the lease proposed. Generally, office space comes with some minimum tie in period, although this is completely variable depending on the nature of the landlord. There are some that are completely flexible, although more often that not there is a requirement to sign up for around 6 months or a year, or perhaps even longer. As a small business owner, you don’t want to be tied down to small business office space any longer than you have to, particularly considering if your business goes under you could still be liable for the remaining lease amount. Check what minimum terms they ask for before beginning the negotiating process.

Negotiating small business office space isn’t really an art form, but there are some fundamentals you should try to get to grips with if you’re really eager to find the perfect office space for your small business. Don’t play your cards to early, and don’t be afraid to ask for a discount or some reduction in the terms offered. You’d be surprised just how flexible some companies can be when faced with losing a potential customer, and your small business is important to them, so you might like to chance your luck. Whatever happens, stick to your guns, and make sure you do what’s right for you and your small business.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Postcards--A Quick Way to More Sales


Author: Rachna Chopra
A few years back, people predicted the internet and e-mailing would rule the marketing world. They forgot to factor spam and e-mail filters into the mix.

After a dip in direct mailing volume, postcard marketing is once again increasing in numbers.

This article invites you to see how postcard marketing can improve your bottom line. I will give you five reasons why this proven low-tech tool can make a difference in your business results. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of post card marketing!

1. Postcards work.

Why does postcard marketing work? It is direct response advertising. You can create a postcard by making an offer. You send it out. You will know immediately whether it is working if people come in and present the postcard to you.

A postcard has all the ingredients of good marketing. It’s concise and easy to read. It allows you to create incentives. It invites people to take action now.

In addition to these qualities, it is delivered every day. It’s reliable. The post office is a branch of the US government. It’s not going away anytime soon.

2. Postcards are fast

It can take years to establish your business brand or image. A newspaper ad may take as many as 6-10 views before it sticks in the reader’s mind. Postcard marketing is the simplest form of direct mailing.

When you create a post card promotion, put a deadline on your offer. Send it out and see the response. If it doesn’t work, try a different offering. You get an almost immediate response, especially if you ask the customer to use the postcard when they call or visit your business.

3. Postcards are low cost

Obviously, the cost of a 1st class postcard stamp -- 23 cents -- is cheaper than a first class stamped envelope. But it is low cost for other reasons.

You have no envelopes to stuff.

You can do postcards yourself. You can buy postcard stock at your local office supply store. Most computers have software programs for creating the postcard format. You can do this yourself without a great deal of time and effort. Follow the basics ingredients of a good ad and you’re set to go. You have no expense with a printing company.
4. Postcards are versatile and flexible

Your yellow page ad can be a great ad. But you have one time a year to make changes. If you make a mistake, you pay for it the whole year. Postcards are much more flexible. If one doesn’t work, you can do another.

You can use postcards for many purposes. To get a boost in sales, you can use postcards to make special offers to your customers. You can use postcards to keep in contact with your current customers so competitors don’t steal them away. You can use postcards as a lead generator for new prospects. You can use postcards in conjunction with other forms of marketing in a follow up process.

5. Postcards get attention

The biggest challenge you have with marketing today is getting people’s attention. With over 3000 advertising impressions hitting each of us every day, you need something that gets people’s attention.

Unlike a letter, there is no envelope to open. No time consuming effort. You pick up a postcard and turn it over. You can read it in a matter of seconds.

That’s exactly what other people do. Unlike many letters that immediately end up in the circular file, postcards get read. People are curious and they know it will only take a few seconds to read the postcard. Study your own behavior next time you get a postcard in the mail. Ask yourself, would you like customers and prospects to give the same attention to your postcards?

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Small business advertising tips


Author: Vit Jirack
Many small businesses don’t pay attention to effective business marketing. Sixty percent of start up businesses neglect marketing costs in their business plan. And those who already estabilished their business depend on one marketing method over the years.

How do you want to attract new customers and make sales if no one can see you?

Internet is the most powerful and effective marketing tool has ever been. Many of business portals, international marketplaces, business directories and search engines offer perfectly designed system enables million of customers to create business network in industry their trade in. This will gain you new contacts, and knowledge of the market. Also allows you to find outsourcing solution or open possibility to promote your products or services in order to export them. In the past we used to claim that internet trading is an unsecured medium. Today`s web offers much higher trading security than ever before.
Create your own business network. Start effective and price affordable marketing today!

One of popular advertising methods provides DoTradeEasy.com. It is a new generation business directory and search engine of local and international business. You can join for free, create company profile and post enquiry about your needs or promote your product and services worldwide. And there is much more.

Today`s marketing is about trying new methods. Do not stay behind, start now!






E-Bay is a popular choice for selling information products


Author: Rachna Chopra
On EBay, a vibrant and active online marketplace, products worth million dollars are sold and interested sellers can take advantage of it by carving out a niche and earning good profit. If you want to sell something that can be offered in any niche, then information products are the best. It is a very good category if you make an effort, to usher in a lot of profit.

Picking your niche on eBay:

There is a category list available on eBay’s front page. The sellers can browse this list in order to select the best category in which to offer their information products. Sellers must know what their infoproducts contain because this is one important factor that can add a lot of value to the visitors in a particular niche. This will help them increase the appeal of their products and gain attention from the visitors.

All or one

The information products that you sell can either be made available to the buyers in one or many formats. For example, a seller can sell eBooks on eBay or even offer related or similar products in the form of audiotapes, print books, home-study programs or DVD recordings.

Creation of sales copy:

There is a little difference in the regular browsers who visit a site and the audiences on eBay. The copy that sells the information product needs to be customized in order to make it appealing for the visitors. Sellers can make use of images and graphics for enhancing their offers. The offers made should be hard-to-resist in terms of bonuses as well as pricing for the buyers.

Store or auction on eBay:

Sellers can either sell their products through an auction or have their own virtual store. If the information products they sell are available in various formats or multiple bundles consisting of several components, they can sell it on eBay stores.

EBay’s featured listing:

If the seller pays a premium-listing price, he or she can make the auction look more attractive. They will be listed prominently on the result page and place small graphics or icons besides the listing for auction, use text link formatting and small tweaks to attract more attention.

There are many sellers on eBay who miss out on follow-ups, an important component. When a buyer wants to purchase a product, it means that he or she is telegraphing interest. This also indicates that such buyers are potential customers who would be buying more from you, so make sure that you follow up with them and do not lose them.

A few tips to get you started selling on eBay


Author: Saurabh Talwar
EBay started out as a small auction site named Auction Web. Long before the words "how to sell on eBay" were first uttered, eBay's founder Pierre Omidyar was learning his computer programming craft by skipping out of gym class, spending time on his science teacher's computer.

Omidyar's desire to let people find out how to sell on eBay came years later as he and other young computer fanatics were looking for something useful for the internet to do. Omidyar hatched a clever business plan based on some auctions he had learned about and over a long weekend scratched out the first computer code that grew into eBay. People have been trying to learn how to sell on eBay ever since.

How to sell on is probably one of the most asked questions about the site. Ask any user how to sell on eBay and you will get diverse answers. Amateur sellers know how to sell a single item. Pros know how to sell on eBay in quantity and Power Sellers know how to sell like no others.

To learn how to sell on eBay can be an enjoyable and profitable venture. Whether you decide to sell single items you find around the house or take the big plunge and open an online store, to learn how to sell on eBay can be quite an experience.

EBay is a convenient outlet for sellers and buyers around the globe, There have been numerous books devoted to how to sell on eBay and consumers pick them off online book store shelves in volumes. Learning how to sell on can clear out your attic and put a few bucks in your pocket. Regardless of your status, anybody can learn how to sell on eBay and have a good time doing it.

Below are a few tips to get you started selling on eBay successfully:

1) Provide a photograph/picture of the product. A picture is worth a thousand words. I know this term is over stated, but people still like to see things before they buy them. So make sure any products you list on are accompanied by good quality digital photographs.

2) Before you list a particular product, spend time researching other similar products, plus study the bidding process.

3) You must do your home work and learn all you can about shipping. Shipping is controlled by the seller, but some methods of shipping are better than others when selling on eBay. You must determine the best method of shipping your product in terms of expense and reliability. Do include shipping cost in your shipping information for potential buyers.

4) A powerful-descriptive listing is a must. Write the product listing with search engine friendly phrasing paying great attention to details. This is your opportunity to shine and entice people to bid on your product.

5) As an seller the more payment options you offer prospective bidders, the more your product will attract bidders, and the more successful your selling on eBay will be. So don't neglect to offer a full array of payment options, including credit cards.

6) This is by far the MOST IMPORTANT aspect for selling successfully on eBay. So please pay close attention. Positive Feedback equal Credibility. If you have a consistent record of positive feedback prospective buyers will both bid often on your products and be willing to pay higher prices. So you may want to wait on placing higher priced products until you have established a successful track record as a credible seller.

Selling on eBay is just like running any other internet business. You must follow certain rules that are in place to protect both the seller and the buyer. Do this, plus provide outstanding customer service and the combination will translate into increased eBay sales.

7 Steps to Exceptional Virtual Team Communication


Author: Rixhabh Bathla
But pulling together a top-notch virtual team doesn't come without challenges. There is the question of finding quality technology that everyone can work with, concerns about the accountability levels felt by each team member, and the difficulty of creating foundation expectations across the board. But the biggest challenge is the lack of connectedness between team members. Without creating the connections, a virtual team can't do what it needs to; function as a cohesive unit.

Most importantly, a virtual team won't bring true collaborative genius to your organization unless unshakable trust is established. So the question remains: How do you build trust in an environment where shaking hands, watching each others' expressions or body language cues and knowing one another's' backgrounds, methods and idiosyncrasies just isn't possible?

It's all in the team-building.

Knowing how to build a productive, integrated, low-turnover team is key to its success. Follow these seven steps and your team will be on the way to connectedness and profitability:

1. ATTRACT THE RIGHT TEAM MEMBERS: Strong team builders realize that they are not only looking for a potential team member who has specialized skills and talents, but that they also need to assess the "fit" of the prospective team member with the team as a whole. Skills and quality level of work are important, but the real key to building an exceptional virtual team is to find team members who fit the culture of the team. Many people will have the right skills – few will have the perfect "fit".

2. VALUE AN INNOVATIVE MINDSET: When you encourage a pioneering approach within your team, you gain value beyond expectation. Teams that are a composite of experts with diverse experience and perspectives have the innate capability to feed off of each others' innovative ideas and naturally refine and improve concepts into amazing solutions. When a team member's ideas are valued, the willingness to believe in that team naturally rises accordingly.

3. PROVIDE MEANINGFUL WORK: Isolated team members have a need to experience work that challenges them and brings meaning to the tasks they are working on independently of outside influence. When each contributing member of the team is engaged in work that motivates and interests them, they perform better, have a clearer picture of the benefits and invest themselves more completely in that work. It's win-win.

4. OFFER VARIETY: It's just boring to work on the same thing or with the same person, day in and day out. It can be excruciating when you're working in an isolated environment. That's why making sure your team members have diverse partnerships, changing assignments and varying schedules is a solid way to keep your virtual team interested in their work and excited about upcoming possibilities.

5. ALLOW INDEPENDENCE: Every member of the team needs to know that their ideas and opinions will be respected. When you allow individuals to be accountable for coming up with new concepts and innovative solutions that will benefit the team and the company, you're basically giving them a sense of control. As an invested decision-maker, each team member is more likely to feel like a valued contributor who is accountable to the team and to the company.

6. CREATE FOCUS AND ALIGNED VISION: It's essential that all team members are committed to the same goals and vision – and that they have complimentary methods of achieving them. Often virtual team members have their own distinctive goals and aren't plugged in to the values and needs of the organization building the team. Since this can bring differing agendas into the mix, it's imperative that the goals and vision of the work – including the end result – are clearly stated from the outset and that the team is aligned to them.

7. BE TRUSTWORTHY: If you want to gain the trust of your virtual team, earn it. These team members are likely SMEs with exceptional levels of creativity, innovation and knowledge. Being able to trust that they are working in an environment where a strong work ethic is expected of all team members (including leaders) is imperative. When a participative mindset trickles down from the top and all ideas are respected and valued, trust soars and productivity increases dramatically.

The bottom line is that when you build a virtual team, you need to be sure that each member will be able to see the value placed on them, the value of each other member, and the value of the team as a whole.

A virtual team is more than the sum of its members – it's a culture with a life of its own. When a company and its leaders view their virtual teams in this manner, it reinforces to each member the value being placed on them, and raises their accountability, productivity and satisfaction levels immeasurably. With this approach to virtual team-building, the sky's the limit.

When Is It Time To Get A Payroll Service Company For Your Small Business


Author:Anduew Stratton
They can step in and take care of your financial matters for you.

Payroll service companies are ideal for businesses that are big enough to need the professional help, but too small to have their own accounts department. Businesses that fit in this range outsource their needs to a concern like this. This might be the right option for you, as well.

How Much Can You Spend?

How do you know if a payroll service is for you? The first step is to look at your budget. Ask yourself: How much can I spend on this help? This depends on several factors, one of which is how much work there is to be done. If you find yourself staying late and pushing yourself to work overtime to get it all done, paying for an assistance can make your organization much more efficient.

There are different help packages as well. Maybe you just need your accounts taken care of, and you're not interested in spending a lot of money on it. In this case, you can hire a concern that will simply handle accounts, and maybe do some extra work around tax time. If you have more complicated work that needs to be done, it is well worth fitting a payroll service into your company's budget.

What Work Do You Need Done?

Different options come at different prices, so you should figure out exactly what you need done. Sit down with a pen and paper and brainstorm. Ask yourself what services would really ease your workload, and which services you don't need done. Getting a package that includes unneeded extra can also cost more.

When shopping for companies, take a look at all the packages that they offer. Which one most exactly meets your needs? Some companies will customize their services to fit your individual business's needs.

Shop Around For The Right Company

Typing "payroll service company" into a search engine will bring up so many results your head will spin. Your task is to find the right concern for your business, and it isn't easy to do. Take some time and look at different sites. See what they have to offer, and go with the one that best suits you. It should also feel right. Make sure they are a name you can trust.

The next step is to contact them. Ask them all the questions you need answered and see how they respond. You want a company that is easy to reach, friendly and trustworthy.

How Do You Know It's Safe?

These companies are made up of professionals, and they guarantee the safety of their business. They use the latest security software to make sure your business finances are protected.

If you're not sure, you can always check their work once in a while. It never hurts to do this, and many clients like to have a look at what they're doing. A good enterprise won't be bothered by this at all since they pride themselves and quality and customer satisfaction.

If your business's finances are hard to handle by yourself, hire a payroll service company to take a load off for you. It's well worth the money to leave the number crunching to the experts.

Some Jobs That Let You Work from Home


Author:Alisha Nayak
More than ever, workers are attracted to the 30-second commute, thanks to social and economic trends. Technologies necessary for setting up a home office are widely available, relatively inexpensive and getting easier for people to use. In addition, more workers are seeking flexible schedules to care for children and aging parents.

Computer software engineer:

The BLS projects computer software engineer to be one of the fastest-growing occupations between now and 2016. Duties include design, development, testing and evaluation of computer software, and continual training is suggested for the quickly evolving industry.

Corporate event planner:

Employed by a private company rather than a hotel or convention facility, a corporate event planner coordinates staff activities including group meetings, client presentations, special events, conventions and travel. The BLS projects this occupation will add 10,000 new jobs by 2016.

Copy editor:

Copy editors mostly review and edit a writer's copy for accuracy, content, grammar and style. This is a competitive field; however, the growth of online publications and services is spurring the demand for writers and editors, especially those with Web experience.

Data entry clerk:

Like administrative assistants, job prospects should be best for those with expertise in computer software applications. By typing text, entering data into a computer, and performing other clerical duties, these workers ensure companies keep up with information and technology.

Insurance underwriter:

Insurance underwriters serve as the main link between the insurance carrier and the insurance agent. Underwriters analyze insurance applications, calculate the risk of loss from policyholders, decide whether to issue the policy and establish appropriate premium rates.

Paralegal:

While lawyers assume ultimate responsibility for legal work, they delegate much of their work to paralegals. Paralegals not only assist in preparation for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings, they also perform a number of other vital functions including draft contracts, mortgages, separation agreements, trust instruments and may assist in preparing tax returns and planning estates. With employers reducing costs by replacing duties once tended to by lawyers with paralegals, growth of this profession is expected.

If you want to make the case to a potential employer or your boss to let you work from home, keep a few things in mind. If possible, provide concrete examples of how this arrangement was successful in the past or how it will succeed. Suggest that you ease into it -- spending a few days to a few weeks in the office at the outset, meeting people and getting to know procedures. Then, during the first three to six months on the new job, make frequent visits.

7 Valuable Tips for Choosing Advertising Media


Author: Heena
Your advertising media are the communication vehicles you use to convey your marketing messages. That's why, in addition to selecting ones that reach your targeted audience, you'll want to make sure they provide you with the best possible results for the least amount of time and money.
In this article, I'll go over the most commonly used direct response advertising vehicles/types for small to medium-sized businesses, such as:

Newspaper

• Direct Mail

• Magazine and Classified Ads

• TV and Radio

• Internet Ads

• Outdoor Media – Billboards, Transit Signs

• Press Releases and PR

• Yellow Pages

and more...

Obviously, the trick is to match your message to your market using a suitable vehicle. For instance, it makes no sense to advertise your retirement community using a fast-paced, loud, radio spot on a hip-hop station... no matter what the salesperson says! So before you buy, make sure you've correctly identified your target prospects; created messages that motivate them and selected the appropriate advertising.

Here are some general tips for choosing your advertising medium.

1. Unless your target audience is broad, it's best to choose 2-3 primary advertising vehicles... ones that you can afford to dominate. Never, ever rely solely on one form of communicating with the public – this is simply too risky. Rather, choose media that complement each other and ensure that your prospects hear about you in multiple forms.

2. Choose methods according to cost, targeting and response... Any campaign can be broken down into costs per thousand, and if you're using direct response advertising (which you should) benchmark your success using costs per sale. Your expenses include cost of design (also known as creative), production (producing or printing your ad), and placement (radio, advertisement, list purchase and postage).

As a general rule, the more targeted the medium, the higher the cost. In return, however, you should expect a higher response rate, so the cost per response can be lower than cheaper methods.

Choose advertising and publicity methods that are suitable for your target audience. Companies that sell advertising can provide you with a lot of helpful information about their audience. Also, it's a good idea to look at other types of businesses that continually use various media. Then make sure they're targeting the same audience as you. Bottom line: avoid guesswork, by testing before committing to major purchases.

3. Make sure you know your total marketing budget less what's already spent or "promised". This assumes that you've already developed this and that it's based on:

Industry norms

• Needed profit margins

• Available cash

• Opportunity costs

• Company's risk tolerance

• Average Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) - the value of a customer over their time with business with a company. Simply put:

CLV = Revenues Received – Cost to Get and Keep

4. Find out what your competitors are spending on media in the same markets. For example, if you decide to run a radio ad in the Chicago market twice a day, on two stations for two weeks and a competitor is running a similar ad in the same market but running it 15 times a day, on 15 stations for 15 weeks you'd be foolish to waste your money by trying to compete... no one is going to notice your spot. This is another reason it's so important to use reputable advertising agency to buy this type of advertising (goes for TV as well).

5. Even though your budget will significantly dictate your medium selection, you must also be aware and sensitive to your own sales cycles. For instance, if you're the owner of an air-conditioning equipment company you understand that consumers don't purchase a unit every year. Therefore, your communication has to be consistent and ongoing so you're "top of mind" when they're ready to buy. Also, you should develop another communication, particularly in the heat of summer, for folks who have a "burning" (no pun intended) desire to buy now.

Moreover, if you're a jeweler you may want to beef up on your advertising right before Mother's Day, Christmas and Valentine's Day and do little, or nothing, in August.

6. Track and measure your results... Advertising is an intricate science. Therefore, the best way to be sure that something is, or is not, working is to measure it using predetermined indicators. Gauge the effectiveness of your advertising from the beginning by keeping detailed records on what you did; when; to whom; for how much; and what happened.

Admittedly, the results of certain advertising are difficult to gauge. However, if you don't measure and record your results you may be wasting money and missing the opportunity to make your decisions much easier the next time around. Key indicators to be assessed are cost per thousand, cost per response and percentage response.

Remember also that advertising forms a part of your business plan which is aimed at being profitable. If your advertising does not produce an incremental gross profit (more than costs directly associated with the medium) you need to know why.

7. Understand and adhere to laws... Before choosing your advertising methods, make sure that you are aware of all local, county, state, and federal laws about data protection, consumer rights, customer privacy and opt-out regulations. This is especially important if you are involved in maintaining and using mailing lists (e-mail and otherwise), personal customer data, telemarketing, direct mail, fax-marketing and e-mailing.

Hope these tips will serve you well. Happy Marketing!

Front Entrance Doors: Perfect Home Decorator


Author:Nick Taylor
Perfect home decoration is always attracting someone, who is nearer of pretty home. There are many items which is useful for home decoration but front doors play important role about your home if it welcomes people with their gorgeous look.

Front entrance doors are available with having features to create distinctive look in residential and commercial market.

Stylish Look and Structural Design

There is a wide variety of natural colors available in front doors are also matches the color of your home. Structural front doors design convert impression among the real world.

Advantages

People always think about home improvement become one time investment so about front doors they selected remains durable for many years. Currently increasing the crime rate so consider regarding safety features, front doors are available with multi-point locking system which gives safety to your family.

Get as Low Prices

In today’s competitive market you can get more suitable prices for front doors within your budget. Online option gives you better way for purchasing front entrance doors.

With front doors the interior and exterior of your home become more attractive.

Front entrance doors not only create impression of your home as structural home but with their features make your home architectural in changing real world’s fashion.

The decision up to you which doors select with their features are suitable or not to your home’s beauty. There are many online sources available to give you more information about front entrance doors.

VoIP Me ASAP! A Great New Phone System For Small Businesses


Author:Andrew Stratton
VoIP means "Voice over Internet Protocol." This term refers to a variety of different systems that involve speaking over IP lines instead of traditional phone lines. Want a faster, more reliable and cheaper connection for your business? Then this is the way.

It Saves Your Company Precious Dough

This is the key advantage of this over land-lines. We've all dealt with telephone companies before, and even if you get onto a discounted business plan, you still end up paying loads for your phone calls. The reason is that they charge a flat fee... then, they charge per-minute fees... THEN, they charge long distance fees... See the pattern? That's how they make their money.

Systems that run over the Internet almost always charge one simple flat monthly fee. There may be charges for special extras, but you can expect to pay the same each month. There are no per-minute charges.

Even better, there are no long distance charges. These days, businesses are just as likely to be chatting with people in China or Brazil as folks across town. Can you imagine what you'd be paying if you had to call overseas, or even across the country, with a land line?

It's also nice to have all your communication needs taken care of in one payment. By using this system, you simply use the Internet for all your communication needs. This consolidates your charges into one simple payment.

Those Special Features Are Standard

These systems offer lots of features that are tough or costly with ordinary phone systems. Teleconferencing, voice mail, call forwarding... these are built into the system at no extra charge.

In addition, there are special features beyond your wildest imaginings. You can have your voice mail messages sent to your email, or vice versa. You can connect the system to your cell phone for when you are away from the office. A fax machine can be synchronized with the system as well.

Because you can access all of your VoIP system's features from a laptop or cell phone, it enables you to leave the office and still stay in touch with what is going on. For those of us who are always on the go, this is a great advantage.

Get Rolling With VoIP

All you need is a computer with the memory to run a Voice over Protocol System, and a high speed internet connection. VoIP is becoming the new standard for business communication, so don't miss out!

All you need to know about Heat Pump


Author:Aiden Thomas
What is Heat Pump?

Heat pumps operate rather like a refrigerator in reverse - using the air surrounding it in order to gather heat for transfer.

Heat is gathered from air drawn through the unit, and transferred to the refrigerant carried in pipes through the Heat Pump and then the temperature is increased by compressing the refrigerant. The heat is then transferred to the pool water contained in adjacent piping.

Advantages:

The major advantage of electric heat pumps is that they are extremely energy efficient.

In simple terms, the heat pump consumes very little energy by way of electricity to operate, compared to the amount of energy it produces in the form of heat. For example, if a heat pump consumes 2 kW of electricity it will produce 6 to 10 kW of heat energy. This efficiency ratio is referred to as a C.O.P. (co-efficient of performance).

Sizing:

Heat Pumps can be obtained in a number of sizes ranging from 2 kW to 200 kW output. The one to suit your application will depend on careful consideration of the following factors:

• Location - local climatic conditions largely influence selection
• Temperature - your choice, however as a guide:-

1. Exercise and/or fun pool at - 24 to 28°C
2. Therapeutic exercise at - 28 to 35°C
3. Spa pool at - 34 to 38°C

• Size of Pool - determine the pool volume by multiplying the surface area in sq. meters by the average depth (including wading areas and spa). Select the appropriate unit for the volume of the pool.
• Shading & exposure to wind - these can affect the heat losses and gains of heated water
• Pool position - indoor or outdoor
• Swimming season - do you want to swim all year round or just extend the season?

Installation:

Heat Pumps can be installed indoors or outdoors. However, before deciding on the heaters position, consideration should be given to air flow and ventilation. The Heat Pump uses a fan to draw in air across a coil and then expels it. If positioned indoors, allow for this ventilation.

For outdoor installation the heater can be positioned at ground level (50mm plinth preferred), mounted on a wall or even sat on a roof.

Units can be included as part of the pump/filter network or plumbed as a separate heating circuit.

Average size domestic installations generally require a single phase electrical connection. Larger pools may require three phase power.

Thinhs to look for:

All heat pumps should have some form of flow control device to prevent the unit operating without adequate water flow.

Heat Pumps are all thermostatically controlled. However these controllers may range from analogue dial type units to micro-processed digital devices. To the operator, all these types produce the same result, and that is to control the pool temperature to your desired setting. An advantage of the digital type is that the settings are displayed more clearly.

Naturally not all heat pumps are the same. Some may have features that others do not. Some manufacturers provide additional controls including time clock and/or pump interlock to ensure the most economical operation of the heat pump/pool pump.

Whatever your choice, make sure you deal with a SPASA member when the time comes to choose your swimming pool heat pump.

Warning:

When heat pumps are used on salt chlorinated pools, care should be taken to ensure the production of chlorine is adjusted to suit either the spa or pool, as excessive salt and/or chlorine levels can damage internal components. This is particularly important when operating for extended periods during heat-up.

How to start an internet business


Author:Jayne Kopp
How to start an internet business is the first query that runs through the mind of a ‘newbie’… at least that has been my experience.

Most of us know many folks earn an absolute fortune online, but really don’t know ‘how’ it’s done and often don’t give it a lot of thought until that one fine day when ‘we’ decide to make a change to our own financial situation and start to explore.

You will discover by scouring the internet, there is an abundance choice and if you spend the time to investigate you will also come across many business ideas which is particularly helpful if you don’t have an idea in mind.

Once you discover a business idea that is right for you, the next step is learning how to market effectively.

My primary message in this write up is to get across my belief that anybody can learn how to start an internet business and market effectively if they are willing to put in a little time and effort and remain consistent and maintain the right mindset.

Internet marketing is definitely a science, but it’s not “rocket” science. Once you learn a few techniques, you will find that these techniques are transferable to anything you may wish to market online in the future.

A couple of years ago, I stumbled around the web wondering how to start an internet business, trying to find a solution to assist me to stay at home and raise my children. At that time my skills were limited to sending and receiving emails, and if I was lucky, I could send an attachment.

What I discovered through research and picking the brains of top earners is that there are only a few necessary techniques in learning online marketing and how to start an internet business, but, in the beginning, if you don’t know what you “don’t know”, it all seems so confusing.

I’m pleased to now be in a position to lend a helping hand in the way of coaching and support to folks who feel overwhelmed, discouraged and ‘alone’… because the truth of the matter is that once pointed in the right direction and shown the skill-sets that are necessary to promote yourself and your business, providing you apply the techniques with the right attitude and consistency, there is no reason why you too cannot help others in the future to start an internet business just the same as I do now.

Starting a Home Bussiness with Revealing the Large Profit of Working from Home


Author:Alisha Nayak
Money: On average the earnings of home run bussiness in America is about $60,000/year. The amount of money that can be earned in home run bussiness can be staggering. There is great potential in home-run bussinesses to achieve high incomes and profits. The income minus the costs equals the profits, which goes directly to the home bussiness owner. This simple math shows that it's all about big profits provided the bussiness provides a saleable product or service.

Personal Satisfaction: This may be the most profound benefit to most home bussinesses. It is a position of great feeling to own a home bussiness. It is a feeling of achievement, and of service rendered. It is more satisfying according to the level of good the bussiness is doing for people. The more the home bussiness is helping people, the more general good it is doing.

This is directly related to how good it makes the owner feel. It is good to give!
No Daily Commute: Another important factor in the lifestyle of a home bussiness person is the convenience of simply being at home. This point can be emphasized to a low degree, or a very high degree of significance. It depends on the person's normal daily traveling time from home to the workplace. On average it could be 30 minutes commute to work every day and an equal
time on returning home. Home bussinesses benefit because they save on the travel expenses as well as the time it takes. Home bussiness owners are able to simply wake at their convenient start time and set the hours themselves.

The Boss: Home bussinesses have the benefit of having internal control. The home bussiness owner is the boss. As the boss, all the decisions are made, the hours of work are chosen, the rewards are given, the punishments are devised, the bussiness is managed, and there is total control. Calling the shots as it were is a dream for most people out there and there is a real feeling of power.

Life Security: In today's climate of economic uncertainty, the most secure of jobs are home based jobs. This is so because, when times get tough, home bussinesses can work harder and survive. However, some company paying jobs cannot be relied upon to remain secure no matter how hard the person works. There is more security in a home bussiness, and the power is with the home bussiness person. She/he can make it or break it. It's in their control. To summarize, these 5 big benefits are the rewards that may be reaped from a successful home based bussiness. In fact, the process of building the home bussiness can be as much fun as the mentioned benefits. It is as much about the journey and the person you become, as the tangible benefits and results of working from home.