Posts Tagged ‘knowledge’
Seminars: Why Are They Popular, and What Advantages/Disadvantages Are There to Attending One?
Seminars dealing with “special topics” have actually been around for decades, and are an older form of marketing and information exchanges, that have seen quite a resurgence of interest in the past ten years.
Seminars are simply a group of people coming together for the discussion and learning of specific techniques and topics. Usually there are several keynote speakers within each seminar, and these speakers are usually experts in their own fields, or topics. Several topic reviews are scheduled each day throughout the seminar, and attendees can usually make their choice of topics from among these scheduled events.
Many individuals attend seminars each year, some attending several times a year. The topics of seminars can be as varied as the groups attending them, but in particular, there has been a rise of Internet Marketing Seminars over the past five years, due to the increased interest in this field.
What then are the advantages and disadvantages of seminars if you choose to attend or if you’re thinking of attending?
Advantages:
1. A wealth of knowledge usually, presented by many speakers at one time in one place. A lot of “learning” at one clip, with most material compressed into two or three days’ worth of time.
2. A sense of camaraderie, where individuals can meet others with the same interests/problems/concerns that they may have in their chosen field.
3. A sense of renewed hope and inspiration (this is especially true for Internet marketing seminars), as sometimes business concerns are lessened by sharing experiences with others. Being with others that “understand” individual’s problems or concerns, is usually a great morale booster!
4. A great way for those that don’t like to read, or attend classes, to improve their knowledge of a specific subject.
5. A nice vacation, in usually, a good hotel. Most seminars take place in quality hotels, as this is part of the incentive to attracting attendees.
Disadvantages:
1. Cost, of course, as all attendees must absorb their own costs. The seminars themselves sometimes also have an entry fee that can be quite high. All travel costs, food costs, hotel costs, and other miscellaneous costs must be absorbed by the attendees.
2. The chance that the speakers may be sharing incorrect knowledge, or not at all knowledgeable themselves (it pays to make your own assessments of presented topics, not just blindly “follow the pack”). Tips, tricks, and strategies need to be weighed as to “worth” and “accuracy” before using these. Careful thought rules here.
3. The time spent away from your actual business, or life, to attend. Time is always a concern when scheduling activities and some individuals simply can’t spare the time away from their lives for activities such as this.
4. The chance that the topics may not actively help your business or your concerns, and that the seminar will be a waste of time, where nothing you learn is of any use to you.
5. The chance that attendees will expect too much from a seminar and thus be disappointed. Realism must rule here. These are not “instant answers” to anything.
Overall, seminars, if chosen carefully, can be a good experience. They are not miracle cures to business problems or other problems, however, and this must be kept in mind when deciding to attend a seminar. These are, after all, optional events, and success or failure in business or life will probably not hinge on attendance at seminars!
Many different methods of learning business strategies and life strategies exist for those that don’t have the time flexibility or money flexibility to attend. Just visit your local library or local community college, and you’ll find a wealth of knowledge on all subjects. Read a book concerning your issues, or take a class, and you’ll find these can be great alternatives to seminars.
After all, education exists in many forms, not just at seminars!
Vishal P. Rao is the owner of: http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/ An online community of people who work at home.
Five Debt Negotiation Facts
These five debt negotiation facts along with a few debt reduction planning tools gives you the ability to control your own debt. For many people today credit card debt is a mounting problem and very few know how to successfully negotiate debt settlements.
If you want to learn how to successfully negotiate with your creditors, follow the five debt negotiation facts below which offers you some solutions to your debt problems. This not only gives you a way to gain control of your credit card debts but all of your finances.
Debt, in the form of credit cards or loans, mounts up daily with interest charges, additional finance fees, and service charges. Lumping these charges and fees on top of the previously borrowed amount can make the price tag on a loan or credit card multiply a lot higher than a person originally figured on. This is what makes debt become too high to properly manage.
When the price of debt becomes too high to realistically pay each month, debt negotiation offers an opportunity to put a time out on the debt process. That allows you to reassess and renegotiate the terms with a creditor that are not currently feasible to comply with.
Knowing how to negotiate debt settlements can be a tricky process and can take a lot of time and effort to successfully complete. But a few simple facts can make the process much less stressful and can produce better odds of success than going into the negotiations blind.
The first debt negotiation fact to keep in mind is that you are the keeper of all of your own information. You must be responsible for accurately knowing the amount of debt you owe, to whom,at what rates and with what fees.
Second, keep accurate records, from this moment, of what you pay and what you borrow. This will enable you to see your own spending and paying habits are to help you discuss them with the people you are in debt to.
Third, be aware that the companies you are in debt to want your money, but they may or may not work with you. Your debt makes them more money in fees, but there will come a point when they are ready to end the arrangement as well.
Fourth, if you really want to learn how to negotiate debt settlements, you have to be prepared to ask for exactly what you want. Keep asking and keep looking for a solution that will benefit both you and your creditors.
Fifth, be willing to follow through with the debt reduction planning tools you and your creditors have negotiated. Put yourself on the line by asking questions, then represent yourself with integrity by following through on the terms of your negotiations.
Debt negotiation works, and offers solutions to achieve financial freedom without bankruptcy and the fact that you were able to handle your own debt. Battling debt can be a scary time in anyone’s life, but knowing these debt negotiation facts offers you a light at the end of the tunnel.
Copyright © 2005 Credit Repair Facts.com All Rights Reserved.
This article is supplied by http://www.credit-repair-facts.com where you will find credit information, debt elimination programs and informative facts that give you the knowledge to correct your own credit and credit report. For more credit related articles like these go to: http://www.credit-repair-facts.com/articles_1.html
Do You See Clearly?
“I don’t see how I can just make up my mind to be happy and successful; and suddenly, magically, I will be. That seems to me to be a denial of my reality. My life is a mess. I am not happy. My life is not a success.” she wrote.
She was replying to my email response to her first inquiry. She had written to ask how I could write (in a previous article in this eZine) that if you wanted to be happy, you just had to choose to be happy. I had replied, in my first email, that how we felt about ourselves and our life was entirely within our control; and once we had decided to change how we felt, thought and believed, the circumstances and conditions of our lives would change to meet our new expectations.
This conundrum is surely the ‘catch-22′ of self-improvement. You must both accept the reality of where you are at and, at the same time, deny its ultimate veracity in order to create a new, bigger and better, reality.
Now, I am not saying you should go into denial about the facts of your life. That’s a huge mistake. Many people attempt to live with their shortcomings, failures and addictions by being in denial and it does not work. Nothing gets any better that way. Often it gets even worse.
Many people also attempt to change their life by muttering some affirmation like “I am happy, healthy, wealthy and wise,” in a blind attempt to convince themselves that they are not unhappy, unhealthy, impoverished and foolish. This does not work too well either.
I am not suggesting that affirmations are not useful. They can be a very powerful tool and, used properly, they can be a big help in changing your predominant thought patterns, your core beliefs and your basic emotional outlook on life.
However, it is necessary, if we wish to improve our lot in life, to first face and accept that we have certain core beliefs, predominant thought patterns and basic emotions attitudes. Then, we also must accept that it is these very beliefs, thoughts and emotions that have created the reality that we now have in our lives.
Then, we must decide to adopt new, improved, intentional ways of believing, thinking and feeling in order to create the new reality we have idealized and desired for ourselves. This is not denial. It is the acceptance of our co-creative abilities; and, the acceptance our freedom to choose what and how to think, believe and feel. It is the taking on of the responsibility for one’s life, as it is, and as it could be.
It is the facing and accepting of the truth that we cannot blame the conditions and circumstances of our present life for how we feel, how and what we think, what we believe. It is the facing and accepting of the truth that how we have been feeling, how and what we have been thinking, what we have been believing has actually contributed to the conditions and circumstances of our lives.
What we have is a result of what we have done. What we have done is a result of how we have been. How we have been is a result of how we have felt, thought and believed about ourselves and about life as a whole.
If you want to change or improve what you have in life (the conditions, circumstances–the effects), you must address the cause. You have the power to consciously and intentionally choose your feelings, your thoughts and your beliefs. These are the cause of your happiness and success because they control how you act or react, what you do or don’t do and it is what you enact, moment-by-moment, that produces the results you get to have day-to-day.
Yes, it is tough work. However, it is not as tough as living an unhappy and unsuccessful life. Why continue to do so just because you are habituated to doing so?
So, it is not about denying the reality of how life has been until now; it is about seeing and accepting that there is a greater reality in how you choose life will be from now on. Focus your vision on the ideal. Affirm its reality. Feel its reality. Believe in its reality. Act accordingly. Don’t be surprised when it turns out to be just the way you imagined it to be.
© Leslie Fieger. All rights reserved worldwide.
Leslie is the author of The DELFIN Knowledge System Trilogy: The Initiation, The Journey and The Quest plus many more success publications. He also the co-author of The End of the World with Hugh Jeffries and Alexandra’s DragonFire with his daughter Ashley. Subscribe to his free and ad-free eZine at http://www.ProsperityParadigm.com or http://www.LeslieFieger.com.
Reprinting and republishing of this article is granted only with the above credit included. Permission to reprint or republish does not waive any copyright.
Is Time Really Easier to Sell than Products? Generate Extra Revenue by Packaging Up What You Know
Over the years I’ve worked with very many coaches and consultants who make their money by selling blocks of time.
This is great but anyone who’s done it – also knows that when they stop working (and selling time) the money soon dries up too. This predicament is not only potentially dangerous, especially for smaller firms, but can leave you feeling trapped by your own success. There’s often never any rest without that guilty, sinking, feeling that while you’re not working you’re not earning.
So, on top of selling time, I encourage people to turn their knowledge into an information product so they can earn additional money even while they’re sleeping or having a well-earned rest, enjoying a hobby or reading a book.
Strangely though, many of these people who are so good at selling time come completely unstuck when it comes to doing the same with products. In fact, one high-earning coach I spoke to recently said, “I think you will find that selling products takes a lot more time and effort than selling services.”
Well does he have a point?
If you’re interested in turning what you know into a book, e-book, e-course or audio programme to add kudos to your main business and to bring in a bit more money each month then today’s article will come in handy.
Selling products doesn’t necessarily take a lot more time and effort than selling services – though the rules are very different…
If you have an appropriate plan (and a good target) it’s very likely they’ll be just as difficult/easy as each other – though making a lot of money quickly from products is very often harder than people think.
Making lots of money out of products does take a bit longer and it’s unlikely that a handful of CDs and books will make you into an overnight millionaire as many of these “turn your knowledge into a million quid” internet marketing “gurus” would have you believe.
An Example… We sell information products for £15 each on average (though we’ve successfully sold some for £100+) whereas I can sell time for £650-£1000 a day (excluding speaking engagements where this rate can be hourly). Therefore the ‘quantity-quality’ ratio is very different between the two. You need much bigger numbers to make products pay off.
With products of a comparatively low price you have to play a big numbers game (where the quality of the relationship is basically transactional). So it’s the high quantity of people you need to reach that can make selling products seem harder.
Now with high value services, you may only need to sell a handful of days (where the quality of the relationship is way beyond a mere transaction) a month, to earn a decent income – which makes selling time seem easier.
Now, if you didn’t already know, I stopped selling time (and taking on new clients) early in 2004 to focus on producing and selling information products instead.
So, why did I choose to stop selling time to focus 100% on products if I can make plenty of money selling time?
Because you can only effectively maintain a set number of high-quality (high-time-demand) clients without having to take on more people. This sets a limit (based on hours you’re willing to work) on your own personal earning potential. Transactional clients (people who buy a product) don’t need the same time/resource (ie personal attention, accountability – beyond a product guarantee or high skill level) which vastly increases your overall earning potential from products. You can even earn money while you’re playing ping-pong, flying a kite, or anything else you like to do with your spare time.
But the key distinction here is “earning potential”. Intellectually, selling products seems a nice and easy way to earn income – but realising the “potential” is flippin’ difficult as I’ve found out.
After focusing on products for a few years now we’re finally earning as much selling products as we were when we were just selling time – but now there are only 2 full time people to share the money with rather than 11!
So anyone thinking that giving up your consulting or coaching business and just doing products is an easy way to get rich – it isn’t – but when you’ve got the revenue coming in from almost passive sources then the ceiling on your overall earning potential can increase beyond the number of hours you are willing to exchange for cash.
And for me, time (and the freedom to spend it however you wish) is far more important than overall income.
If you’re keen to write the next business bestseller – here are a few resources that might come in handy…
* Get Yourself Published – Suzan St Maur
* Release The Book Within – Jo Parfitt
* Lean Marketing Press – Our 50-50 Publishing Deal
‘Dangerous’ Debbie Jenkins
debs@debbiejenkins.com
(c) Copyright 2005 www.BookShaker.com
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How to Make Money from Internet Auctions
If your business is not using eBay and other Internet auctions, you could be missing out. Here are just a few ways of generating additional income, profits and cashflow from online auctions.
1. Convert Excess Assets to Cash
Sell personal or business items that you no longer use. For example, are there slow moving inventory items in your store? A major camera store chain sells their slow movers, quite successfully, through eBay.
2. Buy and Sell Anything
Sometimes people put things out in the garbage because they don`t need them anymore and don`t know anyone who could use them. You can successfully sell some of these items by Internet auction.
As well, if you pick up bargains from garage sales, flea markets, importers, wholesalers, closeout dealers or other sources, these items can also be sold through online auctions.
3. Drop Shipping
There are suppliers who will ship one item at a time for you. You don`t have to stock any inventory. You simply pay your dropship supplier out of the money you receive from your auction sale. They will ship the product directly to your customer.
For further information about drop shipping, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/dropship.html
4. Self-Publishing
Do you have expertise in a specialized area of interest to people? Then, you could publish your own information product.
A very popular format for self-publishing information products is the electronic book (or e-book). E-book compilers, some of which are free, are readily available on the Internet. When people buy your e-book, they can download it from your website or receive it by e-mail.
You could sell such self-published information products on eBay and other Internet auction sites. Incidentally, online auctions are an inexpensive method of testing the market for your information (or other) products.
For further information about self-publishing, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/selfpub.html
5. Reprint and Resale Rights
You may not want to produce your own information products presently. Or, perhaps, you may already have an information product, but would like to supplement your income with additional, related product offerings. This is where reprint and resale rights come in.
You can buy the rights to reprint or resell excellent information products created by other people. Some of these rights are inexpensive.
In addition to selling these products from your own website, you can use Internet auctions to create extra sales. Another advantage of online auctions is that they can create additional traffic for your website.
For further information about reprint and resale rights, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/instantpub.html
6. Sell Your Services
Do you design logos or websites? Do you sell consulting or other services? These, also, can be successfully sold through eBay and other auction sites.
7. Run an eBay Consignment Shop
There are still people who don`t have a computer or who don`t use eBay. You could sell on a consignment basis for them, taking a commission on the successful sale. You would need to charge for advertising expenses incurred, such as eBay listing and selling fees.
8. Promote Affiliate Programs through Auctions
Some affiliate programs have brandable e-books that contain your affiliate link. When people order from the e-book that they bought from your online auction, you get credit for the sale. As well, some of those purchasers may sign up as affiliates, earning you additional commissions.
Some of these e-books have valuable information that is worth the nominal value you would sell it for on eBay. In other cases, such an e-book is readily available for free. In this latter case, you might consider selling another related product and offer the e-book as a free bonus.
For further information about affiliate programs, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/affiliate.html
9. Supply Fellow Online Auctioneers
During the gold rush days, it is said that those who sold picks and shovels were more likely to make money than those panning for gold. Similarly, since there is such a big market for online auctions, you can make money supplying eBayers with information and auction tools to help them start and grow their own online auction business.
10. Internet Auction Consulting
As you gain experience and expertise in online auctions, you might consider charging for your knowledge.
Consulting services, seminars, information products and other ways of packaging your knowledge can earn you additional income streams.
For more information about consulting, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/consulting.html
These are just a few of the ways you can profit from Internet auctions.
For more information about Internet auctions, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/auctions.html
RESOURCE BOX:
J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., http://www.popeconsultinginc.com/ has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.
For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/
Set SMART Goals to Achieve More
Are you having trouble achieving your goals, or getting through a period of no success? Then take the time to learn how to set SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Tangible.
Specific
Setting specific goals is the key to all sorts of success. Most folks know the story about the 1954 Harvard class where they measured those who made goals and those who did not. Each time they grouped the goal-oriented graduates into smaller and smaller groups: those who made goals every now and then, on a yearly basis, and on a monthly, weekly or daily basis, each subset of individuals ended up making more money, having free time and far more happiness than the others.
And guess what? The no-goal folks were left out in the cold and achieved almost nothing in comparison to those who set goals.
Measurable
The more measurable something is, the easier it is to see if we’ve achieved, or not achieved, the desired outcome. If you’re vague in your goals, and don’t have a way to measure it, how will you know you’ve achieved it? You won’t, it’s that simple. So make sure your goal can be measured, and you’re done with step 2.
Attainable
When you set goals that are the most important to you, you will find a way to make them happen. That’s a fact! You begin to find things that fit in with your goals, you develop a positive attitude, you work to develop new skills and abilities, and you somehow find the financial capacity to achieve them. You think of all the opportunities that you’ve left unanswered and you uncover new opportunities to help you achieve your goal.
You can do almost anything when you plan out the steps necessary to reach the goal, and set the time frame that holds you accountable to that goal. Things that never before were possible now are not only possible but are in fact probably, because you’ve learned and grown to match these tough goals. Listing your goals helps you feel better about yourself, as you learn to see yourself worthy enough to achieve these goals, that you deserve these goals, and you reach these goals!
Realistic
Do you want to aim for something you’ll never reach, or for something that is within your power? Remember, you have to be willing and able to do something, so make sure you’re realistic in your goal setting. You definitely want to stretch and not set something you could do without effort, but if you know that there is absolutely no way you can physically run a 4 minute mile because you have arthritis, then don’t make that your goal. Now keep in mind that with the Internet, e-mail, and the globalization of the marketplace that you can achieve more than you ever thought possible, there still may be things that just aren’t possible. Don’t set these as goals, set these as dreams, and point towards those. But set the attainable goals so you can get satisfaction from achieving more and more of your goals.
Tangible
A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of your five senses. That means if you can can taste it, touch it, smell it, see it or hear it. When your goal is tangible, or when you tie an tangible goal to a intangible goal, you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus see it as more attainable to you.
So be SMART about your goal setting, read a book or 2 about goal settings, have others help you be more accountable to yourself for achieving these goals, and you will do more and be more than you ever dreamed possible!
Phil Gerbyshak leads a team as manager of an IT Help Desk in Milwaukee, WI, and finds that sharing his knowledge is a crucial component for in his success as a leader and as a person. Phil’s personal philosophy is paraphrased from Tim Sanders’ fantastic book Love is the Killer App: “Share your knowledge, your network, and your love. The rest will follow.”
Feel free to contact Phil at http://makeitgreat.org or call 414.640.7445 anytime. To check out his frequently updated blog, check out http://makeitgreat.blogspot.com
How to Create an RSS Feed
An RSS news feed can be used to communicate with your target audience. It is an ideal means of notifying people of new content on your website without the need for them to keep on visiting your site. You can send newsletters to your readership without having to use email and risk being accused of spamming. You will be comfortable in the knowledge that people who request your feed are actually interested in it because they have actively subscribed to it. This article will explain just how to create your own RSS news feed.
There are a couple of ways to create an RSS file, you can use an editor designed for the purpose or you can create a file using a simple text editor. The latter will require you to learn some XML whilst the former will do the hard part for you. First off I will describe an RSS file, there are several versions and I will be showing you version 2.0, the latest RSS version.
An RSS file looks just like an HTML file except it has different tags and the files end in .rss or .xml rather than .html. The file is made up of header information and item information, the item information contains the actual news items.
The first section of the file contains the header information. This states that the file is XML and which version, the encoding used and the version of RSS that you are using. This part of the file is mandatory. Next up is the channel tag, this encloses the whole of the rest of the file. This is followed by a title, description and link which explain the what the feed is about and what website it is associated with. The final part of the header is the optional image information. If you use this the software that is used to parse or read your file can display a small picture such as a logo.
Please note that in these examples I have used square brackets instead of angled brackets.
[?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?]
[rss version="2.0"]
[channel]
[title]The Widget news feed[/title]
[description]The latest news on widgets[/description]
[link]http://www.widget.com/[/link]
[image]
[title]Widget News[/title]
[url>http://www.widget.com/widget.gif[/url]
[link>http://www.widget.com/[/link]
[/image]
The body of the file is made up of the news items. Each news item is enclosed in the item tag and comprises of a title, a description and a published date. The date needs to be in the format shown in the example below.
[title]Which is the best Widget to?[/title]
[description]In this article we discuss the release of several new widgets, but which is the best widget.[/description]
[pubDate]Sun, 20 Mar 2005 14:38:50 GMT[/pubDate]
[link]http://www.widget.com/the-best-widgets.html[/link]
[/item]
You can have as many items in the feed as you like but many webmasters just show the 10 most recent items to keep the bandwidth usage down and also so not to overwhelm the end user with too many items.
Finally the file is ended with the closing channel tag and a closing RSS tag.
[/channel]
[/rss]
I have covered the basic tags to create an RSS file, there are other tags that can be used and these are explained in the http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss (RSS 2.0) specification.
Once you have created your file you will need to verify it is ok, to do this upload the file to your server and then go to this validator to validate the file. Your file is now ready. Now anyone can subscribe to your feed just by pointing their RSS reader to your RSS file.
That is the basics covered. I will be covering other areas in future articles as there is far too much information to fit into a single article.
Allan is the webmaster at http://www.newsniche.com an RSS resource for webmasters. Learn how to use RSS to attract and retain visitors to your site.
Needs Versus Wants For Entrepreneurs
How often do the words “I need” come out of your mouth, as it relates to your business? When you run your own company, it’s easy to think that the only way to succeed is to be moving forward with your expenses — the newest technology, a broader circle of professionals providing you services, involvement in more and more costly marketing efforts, etc. And it’s particularly difficult to resist the urge when you know you can generally take a tax DEDUCTION for any business expenses. But did you ever stop to think how many of those requests are actually needs, and how many are simply wants?
WHAT IS A NEED?
Let’s start by defining “need.” In the strictest sense of the word, a “need” is something that you have to have to get by in this world — a NECESSITY. In your personal life, you need food, shelter, clothing, medical care — the basics. You will probably experience physical suffering of some sort if you don’t have your needs met. In your business, you also have some basic needs — business cards, basic office equipment and supplies, a scheduling and follow up system, involvement in some networking activities, and generally some professional development or continuing education for your field. You can’t run your company successfully without them. Depending on your area of specialization and experience, some assistance with accounting, legal, or other professional issues might also be considered a “need.”
A want, on the other hand, is something that you desire — something you would like to have. But by no means will you suffer in any way (except perhaps mental anguish!) if you don’t get the thing you want. “Wants” quite often fall into the category of LUXURIES — nice to have, but the world won’t end without them. Having a computer that could keep Mir running or an Amazon.com quality website certainly fall into this category. But other items could be considered wants, depending on the type of business your run, your customer base, and the level of product or service you provide.
MAKING THE DISTINCTION
The hard part comes when you live in a prosperous capitalistic society, like ours. The “western” standard of living is so high that even many of our poor tend to live above the level of basic needs. In 1998, 97% of “poor” Americans (as defined by the Census Bureau) owned a television — something that could definitely be considered a luxury. In many third-world countries, less than 30% of the population even has access to electricity — which most westerners would consider an absolute necessity. My intention is not to make anyone feel guilty — it’s simply to point out that the distinction between want and need is often RELATIVE. It depends on the area in which you live, the company you keep, the lifestyle you choose, and the expectations of the society around you.
It is also important to have some PERSPECTIVE about your place in the world marketplace. If you are running a small business, the goal is not to become a multi-millionaire in the first year — sinking every penny you can get your hands on in your company, without an eye to the future (look at all of the dot-bombs in the early 90’s). You have to start out slowly — growing responsibly and spacing out your business investments as your revenues increase. At one point in your company’s lifetime, having a staff person to handle administrative duties may definitely be a luxury — but farther down the road, it might well become a necessity for you to handle the influx of new customers. On the flip side, you might make some changes in your business structure that allow you to let go of staff, reduce your need for expensive technology, or decrease some other expense. This is why it is so important to constantly RE-EVALUATE your needs and expenditures — to make sure they are still in alignment with each other.
THE POWER OF ADVERTISING
We are influenced, every day, by the popular culture around us. Television, magazines, movies, and advertising have all done a splendid job of PROGRAMMING us to think that we need a lot of excess consumable goods. Pretend that you are watching TV or flipping through your favorite business magazine and see an ad for something fabulous — the latest PalmXXII, Turbo, complete with satellite com link, scanner, global positioning system, and built in web server. Suddenly, your heart speeds up, and you get a tingly feeling in your gut. It’s perfect — how had you ever lived without it before? You rush right to the store — what?! You don’t have any left in stock?! Your heart sinks and you feel a rush of disappointment. You spend the rest of the day moping because you couldn’t find it anywhere.
Now, this might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s not far off the mark for some people. How often have you learned of a new product and were certain that you absolutely had to HAVE it? What if you had never seen the ad? Would your life be any worse off? It’s as if the knowledge that something exists causes the need for it.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
And, of course, we have peer pressure! But with the advent of the “global society,” the Joneses are not just the people next door anymore. They include business tycoons and techo-gurus and imaginary people on TV that don’t even really exist. But we hold these folks up as the STANDARD against which we should measure our own lives. Just because Bill Gates has an office that will run itself entirely through voice recognition, we think that our manual way of doing things is dated. And since that 24 year-old dot-com wiz profiled in Fast Company reads 23 business journals a week, we think we need to start subscribing too.
THE HIGH COST OF NEEDS
So why is any of this a problem? Let me ask you a confidential question — how much DEBT is your business carrying? Do you have several thousand (or tens of thousands!) dollars of past credit card purchases that you are still trying to pay off? Are you paying every spare penny you earn through your company each month to pay for your “corporate” lifestyle? How does your financial future look? Are you able to save for a rainy day — to put aside a reserve in case the economy tanks?
When your spending PRIORITIES are out of whack, you tend to experience stress, guilt, and anxiety — it can even affect your health. And just think about how many personal relationships are strained (even broken) over money issues. This can be a particularly sensitive issue for entrepreneurs, as the line between business and personal finances is often so blurred. Is that really how you want to live your life?
BALANCING NEEDS AND WANTS
Certainly, no one is suggesting that you give away everything you own and become a monk! But it is important that you strike a balance between those things that you have to have and the things that you would like to have. And it’s important that you be able to PRIORITIZE your business spending. The goal is to focus on those things that will really improve your efficiency, effectiveness, and bottom line — rather than just look flashy.
SO WHAT DO I DO NEXT?
Start by making a LIST of all your wants and needs. Try to be brutally honest about which category they fall into. Then, take a look at the items in your want list. First, ask yourself how much each purchase will IMPROVE your quality of life as a business person — how it will boost your company’s bottom line or build a base for future growth. Rate them with an “A” for a large improvement down to a “C” for a negligible improvement (and if it will actively detract from your entrepreneurial quality of life, cross it off the list!) At this point, don’t even worry about the “B’s” and “C’s” — if we get you to a point where you can have all of your “A” wants, then you can think about the rest.
Now, take a look at your “A’s” — try to decide if there is some way you can BALANCE between your high-priority wants and your needs. What are you willing to give up? Where are you able to compromise? Perhaps you can forego the expensive computer and make do with the one you have to afford hiring a PR agent to help increase your exposure. Or buy your office furniture used to leave enough room in your budget for that additional certification program you’ve been wanting to take. If you make these decisions based on how the purchase will improve your life and your business — based on your own personal priorities (instead of someone else’s!)– you shouldn’t go wrong.
Ramona Creel is a Professional Organizer and the founder of OnlineOrganizing.com — a web-based one-stop shop offering everything that you need to get organized at home or at work. At OnlineOrganizing.com, you may get a referral to an organizer near you, shop for the latest organizing products, get tons of free tips, and even learn how to become a professional organizer or build your existing organizing business. And if you would like to read more articles about organizing your life or building your business, get a free subscription to the “Get Organized” and “Organized For A Living” newsletters. Please visit http://www.OnlineOrganizing.com or contact Ramona directly at ramona@onlineorganizing.com for more information.
Lake Trout and Their Unique Qualities
Lake trout are a type of fish that are completely different then any other fish. Those that like to go lake trout fishing, know that they are difficult to catch. Unless you know just how to do so, well, your chances are small of actually getting one. Lake trout fish are the ones everyone wants though as their size can be enormous! Lake trout fishing is a great type of fishing, but you will need the knowledge of these fish before you begin to fish them.
There are many unique qualities to lake trout. One of the most important is their size. The record weight for lake trout is over 102 pounds! Imagine bringing that in! The average weight depends on what the fish eats. Those lake trout that can benefit from being in a lake with ciscoes, smelt or sculpins will grow to large sizes. These lake trout are called Siscowets or fat trout. Those that don’t have this variety of small fish to eat, will eat plankton, insects, and crustaceans. Obviously, this fish is not going to weigh nearly as much.
Another unique characteristic of the lake trout is where they live. Like other trout, they enjoy well oxygenated, cold, and clear water. But to find the quality of this type of water that they need, the lake trout like to live deep. Different times of the year will bring them to different levels in the water. During the cold, winter months, you can find lake trout in 20 feet or less of water. But, in the summer months, they like to be in 50-100 feet deep water. In fact, the Siscowets go much farther down to 500 feet! It is because of this depth that lake trout enjoy that keep lake trout fishing a difficult type.
While lake trout are found in much of western and northern United States and Canada, because they live so far down that you will need to do some bottom fishing using rigs to bring that fish up. And, the battle will be a long, hard fought one at that! Do enjoy your lake trout fishing.
Ken Austin
All About Trout and Trout Fishing
