Product Is You "Brand You"

Many very successful business people conduct business according to this type of model. These business professionals can be lawyers, CPA's  engineers, consultants, insurance agents or others professionals. The challenge for many of these professionals is how to stay in touch with all of their potential clients even when they are not actively engaged with them or under contract with them at that time. Also, how do they find time to look for new clients when they are actively servicing existing clients. The key is to leverage opportunities to create value with all existing clients in your domain as well as other whom  you have not engaged.

In his book Rainmaking - The Professionals Guide to Attracting New Clients, Ford Harding Clarifies that business relationships require regular and consistent contact and that employing some very simple strategies will help professionals stay in touch with existing customers and also build the opportunities to find new customers. Here are some of the tips from his book regarding how to stay in touch while creating value during these interaction. I have also added a few of my own thoughts as well.

     Request Advice on a project that you are
     working on (such as writing an article or book)
     Thank someone for referring business to you
     Congratulate or promote someone
     Request the name of a vendor
     Refer a possible job candidate
     Thank you for their payment for services
      rendered
     Offer free consultation
     Provide assistance on a professional  association
     project
     Provide information on a potential customer
     Call about a new lead or business opportunity that
     you have become aware of
     Request coaching on a prospect or lead development idea
     Forward an article that you think might be of value to the client
     Recommend a vendor who provides excellent service
     Invite to a workshop or webinar
     Forward a blog post to them
     Notify them when you or your firm posts a press release
     Notify them regarding trade events
     Invite them to sporting events or group activities
     Offer to meet this person over lunch to discuss any of
      the above
     Offer to share your contact list with that person to help
      them develop business
     Use Social Media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and
      twitter to stay connected to your network

By staying in touch with your Clients and engaging them, you will be able to build "Brand You" more consistently and effectively.   

Colourful Home Decoration With Unique Colours

Is' 70's Australia. Our family went on a trip to Melbourne for month. While we were away, members of the family decided to give my mother a surprise by re-decorating our home. Our house was a charming turn of the century cottage, with a red tin roof, turned post verandah, glorious stained glass lite window with red roses that meandered over the front door and there was a huge old lily pile tree in the front garden that had been planted when the house was built. Inside was full of wonderful memories of hearth and home. Beautiful, romantic, homely.

Now I understand that the family's heart was most definitely fixed in the right place! But what we came come to was to say the least, a surprise! The timbers of the house had been painted Mission Brown, (remember that?) and white. Inside was what can only be described as a plethora of 70's psychedelica! Crazy over the top patterns in lurid oranges and blues. They even pulled out the old claw foot tub and replaced it with a shower in blue mosaics. Suddenly the soul had gone from the house.

Do you see what I'm getting at? I actually adore 70's colours and patterns, but not in a 1900's cottage!

Remember, even the designers of contemporary homes of today will have taken inspiration from another style in one from or another. Learn what that style is and you are half way to choosing the right colours for your home! Don't follow trends! They come and go like the wind and the integrity of your home will suffer.

A word of caution: A modern home built in a traditional style is still a modern home. Don't go overboard trying to re-create the past or it will end up looking 'twee'!  

If you are lucky enough to own an older home, ( I'm very biased towards older homes !!!) you have a choice. You can either go with a traditional colour scheme, eg. Federation red green and cream, or steer away from this altogether and go with a more contemporary colour selection as long as you are sympathetic to the style and keep the original features of the house, picture all white!

As in the case of my childhood home, following the current 70's trends sucked the character out of the house, ( unless you like styles that clash like 2 raging bulls, in that case go for your life!). Rather, restoration would have been the way to go.

So take the time to learn a bit more about your home Does it have a history? Is it a new home inspired by an historical style/ It's actually a fun and enlightening Journey to make!

Colour Isn't Just on the Wall!

A comment that really annoys me, and I here it all the time is, "You can always paint over it!" It's easy to change a paint colour, yes. But, that doesn't make picking the perfect colour any easier!

People agonize what colour to put on the walls without giving any consideration to the other elements in the room, all of which are colours in their own right. Here what I mean...

Don't Ignore the Floor!

The floor is sometime referred to as the 5th wall, because whatever you put on the walls needs to relate to whats on the floor. When I worked as an in-store colour consultant for Wattyl, helping clients with choosing paint colours, I'd ask them what colour is your floor, and the answer would inevitably be "wood colour". But what sort of wood. Green walls will give a totally different fell against a jar rah floor the will against a pine floor. The colour you choose will only look good if it relates to the colours in your floor.

A good tip is to hold  your colour sample next to the floor, rather then in the middle of the wall, to see whether the colours complement each other. This applies to any type of flooring.

Be Inspired by Your Art

Look at all the art you have in your room, pick a colour and find a match. Bingo! Instant colour scheme!

Co-ordinate The upholstery.

When you have to work with what already exists, eg, a large sofa that you're not enamored with, don't add wrong to wrong by trying to overpower it with a contrasting colour. Pick colours that complement what you already have, the overall look of the room will be balanced, and the sofa won't stand out.

When To Go Dark, When To Go Light.

If the room in question is dark an boring, you'll get a much more dramatic and chic look if you go for a bold grey, like charcoal. Painting a dark room in a bright colour only adds to the gloom because it emphasises the fact. use good lighting and bright accessories to lighten the mood.

If you have a room that is light and bright you can't really go wrong using any colour, especially when the space has great architectural features.

Colour and Mood

As we talked about earlier in these articles, it's never wise to follow trends, and this includes colours.
Putting your stamp on your home means going with colours that appeal to you personally. The trick is using these colours in a way that result in a balanced combination.

Choose Carefully!

If possible, when deciding on a colour scheme, choose things like carpets, tiles and furniture First, because these come in a much more limited range then paint.

Ask yourself these questions- "What mood do I wish to create/"

"Which colours achieve that mood?"

There is so much information about the psychology of colour available on the net I won't worry about going into depth. What I would say is, give consideration to what emotions certain colours bring out in you and your family. For instance, you might want to paint your bedroom a luscious bohemian red, it makes you feel exotic and adventurous, but if red makes your partner irritable, it kind of defeats the purpose!

Once you find something you like, stick to three colours for the scheme, any more takes a seasoned eye to pull off and if done badly ends up looking cluttered.

Colours behave in three basic ways: active, passive and neutral. Light colours are airy and make a room feel larger and brighter, dark colours are sophisticated and intimate.

Don't forget the ceiling! It doesn't have to be white. 'Lowering' a ceiling using colour might sound claustrophobic but it can actually bring a real sense of intimacy to a room.
   

Biogas Plant Or Methane?

A biogas plant is actually methane, which is the main component of a biogas mixture. It is a colorless, tasteless and odorless gas, so it has properties that makes its detection problematic. At high indoor concentrations when atmospheric 02 is displace, it acts as a suffocate gas. Even though, this is extremely rare due to the fact that it is lighter than the air.

In a complete combustion reaction methane produces only water vapor and carbon dioxide, according to the following equation CH4 +2 02 - C02 +2 H20

Methane flammability limits very between 5 to 15%. So when the gas content is less than 5% it cannot be burned, as if the content exceeds 15%.

Additionally, methane ignition requires temperature above 600*C (which is called ignition temperature). During combustion, the theoretical exhaust combustion temperature (exhaust gas temperature with no losses) is 1950*C.

As methane is lighter than air it accumulates under roofs with the risk of creating an explosive mixture. Thus the methane can displace the whole or part of the air in a confined space. The risks posed by this phenomenon may vary greatly. A 10% replacement of the air in a methane gas mixture does not create asphyxiate problems but it poses a significant risk of explosion (since the air -methane mixture is within its flammability limits). On the other hand, by replacing 90% of the air of methane gas mixture it creates an intolerable breathing situation but without the possibility of explosion or ignition.

On this basis, naked heaters should not exist in a digester and the required electrical equipment should be "explosive" type. Also, any sources of ignition, such as iron or steel tools, electrical machinery, electrical switches, etc, should be avoided nearby the digesters.

Other gases

Carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are heavier than air and tend to settle and accumulates in low height. Ammonia (as methane ) is lighter than air and concentrates under roofs. Ammonia is both irritating corrosive. Hydrogen sulfide is poisonous (toxic ) and has the characteristic odor of rotten egg.

The concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the biogas is variable, depending on the substrate used and cannot be easily predicted. Exposures to sulfide concentrations above 1.000 ppm is fatal. Concentrations between 10 and 20 ppm cause eye and lung irritation. At concentrations close to 150 ppm it can be detected by the sense of smell.

Carbon monoxide (Co) can be present in the exhaust system of an incomplete biogas combustion process. Carbon monoxide is formed due to the lack of the required stoichiometric oxygen amount during the combustion. Co is tasteless, colorless, odorless, with a density slightly less than air. It is highly flammable and toxic. Carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms begin with headache, tachycardia, dizziness, nausea, and can lead to unconsciousness and death.

Advertising Media Can Influence Your Customer More Effectively

More effective and good result from TV, Radio and print advertising? ever feel like you aren't getting the bang for the buck you envisioned?

Maybe it's time to rethink you media mix. The concept or an advertising media mix is straightforward: since no one magazine, newspaper, website, or broadcast outlet is likely to zero in on your target customer, choosing a variety of media based upon their ability to reach your desired demographic is more effective.
At leading advertising agencies, building the right media mix has become a near science where days untold time is spent honing, polishing and refining media selections to create a mix with sufficient reach and frequency to deliver. Gaining a thorough understanding of their client's product and universe of customers, analyzing ratings data and circulations statement, and weighing certain intangible benefits each media candidate brings to the table, are but a few of the steps necessary to build the right media mix.

While the process has proven itself to be highly effective over the years, change in technology that give consumers mix. Armed with remotes and digital video recorders, TV viewers easily circumvent commercials. Newspaper and magazine readers are now just a click away from the same content on the Web sans the full- or fractional -page ad adjacent to the article they used to pore over on the printed page. In effect, the technology is short circuiting the rather simple media equation that implicitly promised advertisers the attentions of customers as they consumed the content their medium had to offer.

Consider the impact of digital video recorders and remotes on the effectivenesss of television advertising. A Nov, 13, 2012 AP article in USA Today reports that an estimated 45 percent of all households in the United States are equipped with digital video recorders (DVRS). If that weren't enough to give pause to TV advertisers, another article from the New York Times reports that estimates hold "that 50 percent to 70 percent of viewers playing back shows zip through the commercials."

The story isn't any better in the print world. "The State of  the News Media 2012" from state of the media. org puts it bluntly: "News websites saw the greatest growth, while print audiences stood out for their continued decline, which nearly matched the previous year's 5% drop."

We might ask at this point if Americans lost their stomach for news digestion, or have they simply changed their diet? A Pew Research report states that the later is the case. For example, the transition to a full-on digital diet is changing consumption patterns dramatically. More than three-quarters of US adults own a computer. Additionally, about 44% now use smart phones and tablet adoption among adults is hovering around 18%. According to PEJ research, nearly one quarter of the US population gets its news on multiple digital devices. In other words, our digital diet has become a full-course meal.

However, there is a bright spot on the horizon if you have something to advertise, especially for those who are willing to rethink what makes up the media mix. An emerging technology that brings together dynamic display and media control at the point of purchase may be just the ingredient advertisers need to reinvigorate their media mix.

This dynamic medium is referred to most often as digital signage by the industry; however, it goes by different names. In the retail environment, it's called In-Store Digital Media (ISDM). At hotels and resorts, it's known as digital reader boards. In public venues, like a sports arena, it's often called "TV" if the screen is small and "Jumbo tron" if it's large. But regardless of what you call is, advertising to people when they're away from home, _often at the point of sale or somewhere close to the product- is where you may find the most bang for you advertising buck.

"Digital signage is the next evolutions of multi platform advertising, " according to Rank Dickson, Chief Research officer with Multi Media Intelligence. "The integration of IP-based network management allows entire screen deployments to be centrally controlled, allowing for dynamic and simultaneous control of text, video and graphics."

And it's not about advertising. Digital signage advertising adds value by providing additional information that interests consumers; it can enhance retail ambiance, provide interactive experiences that engage shoppers and provide a better experience.

Regular Work Hours And Overtime, Tax Season

For lot of people, this means work outside of a normal 40-hour work week, but for household workers, this might be different. A household worker might refer to a maid, nanny butler, caretaker, chef, gardener , or anyone who works individually for a homeowner. For these workers, overtime might be determined differently, since a 40-hour work week might not apply to them. However, its basic definition still holds true, so any work that is outside of a person's regular work schedule will have to be compensated by overtime pay.

When it comes time for tax season and filling taxes with the IRS, employers and employee will have to take overtime pay into consideration when filling. If , for whatever reason, overtime pay is overlooked or forgotten during filling, then the IRS may become aware of the mistake and filing an action against you or your employee. This is a common mistake, but many people can actually avoid it with a little help during the busy tax season.

Basics of Including Overtime 

It's understandable that busy homeowner and others may not have all of the time in the world to devote to tax filing, which is way getting help with household worker or nanny taxes is always a good idea. Tax help from an expert, one who is familiar with the IRS stipulations regarding household workers and overtime compensation, can help guard against troublesome tax errors. Some of the basic elements of overtime compensation that have to be considered when filing taxes involve:

                 exemptions and non-exemptions for different employees
                 defining "overtime" and establishing pay rate for this time worked
                 differences between live- in employees and other employees and other employees
                 salary v. hourly employee tax rates and overtime pay
                 understanding consequences of a wage dispute

These basics, a long with many other more detailed employee-specific tax laws, are sometimes confusing, but if you do not understand them, it/s important that you get help because the last thing you want is an error in filling your taxes.              

Accounting And Auditing In Thailand

Tremendous economy growth rate in Thailand from 1982 to 1996. During the period of 1065 to 1996, the economy of Thailand grew by an average of 12.2.% annually. But, it had also seen the crisis that has changed its processes of industrial growths. In current years, Thailand has been emerging as a great industrial hub which would cater lots of opportunities to people an industrialists. And to enhance the process, it needs quality accounting processes to record its growth. Currently, Accounting and auditing standard in Thailand are developed by ICAAT which stands for institute of certified accountants and auditors of Thailand. The accounting and auditing guidelines for preparing financial statements or government taxes follow ICAAT standards. However, the accounting in Thailand is different from other countries, but the process that are utilized are similar to GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) of united States of America.

Till now, ICAAT has issued over sixteen accounting standards which govern accounting policies, EPS (earning per shares), Income statements, government taxes and various accounting changes which have been evolved in current years. Accounting in Thailand is governed by  the board of supervision for auditing practice. The board controls the accounting and auditing standards of Thailand and makes changes once it sees some types of improvements in existing auditing and accounting polices.

Therefore, let us have a quick look at accounting processes of Thailand:

1.  Corporate and the personal income tax in Thailand comes under the direct tax.

Unlike other countries, accounting in Thailand is a little bit different from other countries. In Thailand, both CIT (corporate income tax) and PIT (personal income tax) are parts of direct taxes. The corporate income taxes are levied on any company or partnership firms which are formed under the Company Act of Thailand. The rule are same for the companies even if they are from foreign countries. However, there are a few differences of accounting in Thailand for the companies which do have their origins in other countries e.g. the foreign companies need to fill up quarterly profit and loss statement, and they need to submit it to the governing bodies of Thailand.

2.  All the companies which operate in Thailand need to prepare records of transactions. These transactions can be any type e.g credit transactions or debit transactions. Also, all the companies need to prepare a list of transactions which are done to buy things from other countries. These rules are also applicable to any type of business entity that operates from Thailand e.g. limited companies, partnership firms, registered offices, regional offices and even for proprietary firms.

3.  All the records need to be checked by accountants.

All the transactions and business obligations are needed to be clearly monitored by professional accountants to rectify any type of error. Also, all the records should be submitted within four months after the end of a financial year.

4.  Accounting in Thailand for a company which is just incorporated.

Thailand companies very successful and management excellent department.
 

Investment In Long-term Treasury Bills

Now Remember the saying that those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it. Fortunately, some of you who read this article will recognize that your investment in long-term treasury bills can become your personal blind spot, even your personal million dollar blind spot for wealthier readers.

Consider the parable of the frog which falls in the pot of water, whose water is slowed raised until it boils and the frog become part of soup.

Just like the frog gradually boiled as the water slowly and consistently got hotter, longer-term supposedly safe treasury bills with minimal interest rates can generate huge personal losses, when rates turn up again. Historically periods of sustained low-interest rate on bonds like we now are experiencing, are followed by period of rising interest rates with dramatic increases in interest rates.

Check out the logic of my statement by performing a Google search with the phrase-bond losses 1994. The results will show headlines like: the great bond massacre, 1994 bond market crash, bond market disasters.

Basically, financial blood ran in the streets for bond holders who had to sell bonds in 1994.

Most people do not appreciate that a rise in interest rates means a drop in the value of long-term bonds which are yielding prior lower interest rates. The longer the remaining maturity of bonds, at a time when interest rates rise, the higher the loss can be on the bond.

Rather than be unpleasantly surprised from hindsight, do some more research to understand better how experts warned you and rather than not see or ignore this Treasury bill blind spot.

The professionals recognize the 800 pound gorilla issue of bond interest rates versus maturity. They employ strategies which keep their investments in shorter-term maturities and ongoing monitoring of longer-term maturity bonds to see when to get out of the market.
 
In essence, they are exploiting their understanding of this million dollar blind spot which you may not see or choose not to see. Appreciate why the professionals do that and apply that insight appropriately for your personal situation.

The analogy of this situation is that most people in America are actually on a fiscal slope and do not notice the decline until it is too late. It is not the cliff we have to worry about because that is sudden death . It is the slope and the hemorrhaging of personal equity that creates real urgency to examine our blind spots.

Whether this analogy seems most appropriate to you in your personal life or your business, recognize the risk exists, determine how the risk occurring would impact you, and then monitor it appropriately.

Money Earning Online Business

Millions of peoples run online business full-time job in a bid to extra income. However, the vast majority of online businesses fail to achieve the expectations of their owners. Beside, there are an almost countless plethora of dormant business websites, where the owner started full of enthusiasm but gave up after up awhile.

One of the issues withe running a business is personality. There are some people who are cut out to run their own online business - and other who simply will find it more difficult.

Research  on self -employment or running a home-based business has been fairly consistent over the years. Ultimately the studies find that there is no single personality type associated with self -employed business success. There are lots of different types of people who seem to make a go of running their own business.

However, there are few characteristic which do seem to be quite important.

1.  Curiosity

 People who are curious tend to stick at self-employment for much longer than those who are not always poking their nose into things.....!  The problem for the curious individual and the online world is that curiosity can take you off track; you'll get side-tracked into fascinating blogs and social networking discussion. So curiosity can help you run your online business for longer than people who are not so curious, but it can be a negative influence on the success of your work because it helps you lose focus.

2.  Independence

The individual who has a strong sense of independence is the kind of person who sticks at self -employment for longer. In fact, an independence streak makes it much more difficult for people to be employed. They dislike being told what to do, they don't want to follow a set pattern or rules and they want to be in control. None of that makes it food for them to have a boss... ! But independence online can also be a problem;  Instead of doing things the way that works, independent people frequently want to do things "their" way, which means a lot of "re-inventing the wheel" happens, wasting time of the self -employed person.

3.  Tenaciousness

The self -employed person who succeeds tends to have tenacious streak. They don't let go or give up easily. This is essential for someone running their own business because it means they keep "at it " until they succeed. But once again this can also be a problem for the online business owner who ends up being so tenacious trying to get some piece of online software to achieve something they spend fruitless (and wasted) hours in their attempts.

These are the three key characteristics which research shows will help you succeed in self -employment.  

Small Business and Advantage

Small business have a big advantage in the marketplace. I am sure this myth permeates most of our society, but it simply isn't true anymore. Small companies no longer have the advantage and being small and agile just isn't enough considering  all the bureaucracy, rules and regulations, and other things going on. The corporations hold the key to congress, and a lobby pay-t-play system to get their way when it comes down to tax codes, regulations, and even monopolistic benefits granted by that same government.

It's very hard for a small entrepreneur businessperson to compete, and even when they are working with a larger business, things aren't all that great. Large companies never seem to pay their bills on time, and at the end of the day there isn't much money left over for the proprietor of the small biz. It seems to me that Washington DC has all but forgotten the small time entrepreneur even though it seems we are the ones that employ 75% of the population. Being small has its advantages don't get me wrong, life is much smaller when you're running a smaller company than when you get to be a larger one.

Indeed, I inherently know this because when I started my first small business, it was rather fun, and nice to be  i charge. Unfortunately, as the company grew into a franchise organization things got more complicated, more spread out, and all those rules and regulations continually made it hard to grow. Yes, we were still small enough to remain agile, but overburdened by all the rules and regulations. When I hear politicians talk about this,  and tell me all the wonderful benefits of small business, I just laugh.

Indeed, I'd lime to see some of those congressmen come out here the real world and compete in the free market as a small time entrepreneur business Unfortunately, until they do, and until hell freezes over, they probably won't understand what all their laws which they keep passing for their lobbyist corporate friends are doing out here the small entrepreneurial business of the world.

No, I'm not saying that running a large corporation is any easier, but it sure is nice to have friends in high places running block for you every time you need to get something done, or get around one of the rules. Things just don't work that way for the little guy.

Open Sales Market And Consumers

Sometime you just need a little encouragement to get in the door to make that call. Here's what I tell salespeople no matter what field they are in - whether real estate, mortgage banking and pharmaceuticals : There are two things on the other side of a call or a visit -
Opportunity and relationship

OR
No opportunity

You want to know. No, you need to know what's n the other side of that door or call.

When I started doing sales, I was fearful of being rejected. I was scared about what people were thinking about me. Then I realized...this job wasn't about me. It was about the person I was talking to at each and every opportunity. When I because curious about them, my whole sales process changed.

Making a phone call, paying a visit, or cold-calling is all about pushing the door open and seeing what happens. The door is simply a barrier between you and the person with whom you want to connect. Sales are about being willing to push that door open no mater what is not the other side.

Sometime you are going to to run into people who are mean, upset, angry, sad, or disenchanted. They are going to try to make you feel the same way. Don't let them. Sometimes you're going to run into people who are nice, happy, and friendly.
Sometimes you are going to make a sale but most of the time you aren't.

Here is what I do know... If you don't push the door open or make that call or go on that visit, you will never make a sale. Part of sales is tenacity - the ability to just go out and get the sale. The other element has to be curiosity. You have to be curious and interested in the people you interact with throughout the course of your day.

The key is to focus your mind and look at every barrier as an opportunity. There is something interesting on the other side of the door. Go push it open. Go that make call. Go make that visit. Keep doing it. The more you do it, the better you will get. The more you do it, the more opportunity you will have to develop relationship with people. The more you do it,

A CV Distribution or Resume Distribution Service?

One that is very worthwhile as your professional CV will open more doors than you may think are there to be opened. However you are now faced with the decision as to how to get your CV into the hands of the key people in your industry sector.

It's always worth targeting the key decision makers through sending them CVs but unless you do this properly, many will be rejected and binned, particularly in the teeth of a recession. For a start, the popular job portals like Monster and job site are worthwhile pursuing.

Using this approach alone is far too generalizes- your CV may hit the mark and it may not- if it does, happy days but what if it does not. If you're a bit short of time or if you want arrow like precision the perhaps you should consider using a CV distribution service like CV Trumpet.

CV Trumpet is a British business.

One of the benefits or running your won business like we do is that we can be completely impartial in recommending businesses. CV Trumpet offers a very highly targeted approach and no little science to the process of getting your CV into the right hands. I'll explain why you should use them in the nest couple of paragraphs.
A couple of reasons to use CV Trumpet.

Firstly, they refuse to charge recruiters to join their service. This means that the recruiter database has grown significantly, not least because of the quality of service that CV Trumpet provides. Another reason that their service is excellent is their ability to get recruiters access to based on salary level, job level, job function, industry and sector and  also by location.

CV Trumpet meet the needs of the higher level or executive recruiter by sending them very specific people who meet the needs of the recruiter.
  
CV Trumpet therefore both attracts and more importantly retains the very best recruiters what this means for you is that is that the distribution service starts from the point of view that you are the one that is important.

CV Trumpet only make money if enough candidates use their CV distribution service and more importantly are happy with it.
CV trumpet wouldn't stay in business if they weren't satisfying their customers, namely job seekers, and not recruiters.

Should you go down this route- and  I suggest very strongly that you do, I am certain that you will be rewarded by a service that does what it says on the tin.     

Beauty Salon Marketing Popular Secrets

Open your own beauty salon you are going to need to create a steady flood of new customers. Here are 4 key proven salon marketing strategies the that if you implement could help a double your client list in as little as 90 days!
Implementing these steps will put you well on your way!

 

 Step No.1.  Determine what makes you professionally unique.


If you are just another stylist it will be impossible for you to stand out in the crowed! Standing out in crowd helps you ideal future clients find you, it helps you charge more than the "average" stylist or salon. Your uniqueness could come from your level of experience with a certain type of hair, or style or type of clients (brides, birthdays, proms etc.) The best way to determine your professional uniqueness is to answer this question honestly, "Why would your ideal prospect chose to do business with you above any all other option, including doing nothing?" A quick FYI : the answer to what makes you unique is not your level of customer service. Providing good customer service is expected by your ideal prospects, and the fact that every stylist and every salon claims that they provide great service mans that good service cannot be unique to you!

 Step N0. 2. Determine your ideal prospect?


 Your ideal prospects are the ones that combine the highest return on your investment, return on your time, and return on your enjoyment. One of the biggest mistakes that stylists and salon owners make that kills their business, is to try and be all things to all people. The fastest way to get rich in the beauty business is to pick a niche and own it!

Step No.3. Find strategic partners and do joint promotions. 

A strategic partner is someone who is already doing business with your ideal prospects. For example if your ideal future prospects are brides, a good strategic partner might be wedding planners. if you think that your ideal future prospects are busy moms, a good strategic partner might be a divorce attorneys. Once you identify who might be a good strategic partner you then need to offer them so type of value in exchange for access to their customers. Value can be commissions on the sales they help generate for you, or free services. The options are only limited by your creativity.

Step No.4. Create an "Active Referral System" 

Another big mistake that stylists and salons make is that they just wait for referrals to just happen. Handing out a bunch of your business cards to your clients and hope that they share them with their friends is not an Active Referral System. An example of an ARS would be sending out an email coupon to your current and past clients and offering them a discount if they get at least three of their friends to bring in the email when they book an appointment.

Works, Agreement and Law

The Pareto principle, the 80/20 rules, Juran's Law, the vital few and the trivial many, call it what you will. This principle stood the test of time for a very good reason. It works and it can be applied to many things in our lives.

This principle has had such an impact on my thinking that when I decided to set up my own company it even influenced the name!

Let's look at 4 areas where 80/20 can help you:

1)  Productivity

We all have lots to do, lots of everyday commitments and jobs to complete. Some of it is necessary some of it definitely is not. How about spending more time on those things that rally matter? The things that get you closer to your goals and improve your life.

80/20 thinking and regular 80/20 analysis helps us here by forcing us to focus on the big rocks that make the most impact. Clearing the unnecessary to make room for the necessary.

Review what you do on a daily and weekly basis. Is it helping or hindering you? Does it need to be done? If not, could it be dropped? Zero in on your most productive tasks and focus on them relentlessly. Focus is often followed by success.

2)  Customers/Clients

20% of your customers will provide 80% of your income/profit/challenge/enjoyment.

Not all of us make a direct income from clients but we all have customers/people we provide a service to. 80/20 thinking can help us identify and target the most valued customers, the ones that give us the most back from dealings with them.

This helps clarify your thinking, approach and strategy. Think about ways you can focus more on your best customers, the ones that provide the most income, least headache and most interesting and challenging work.

Identify and target the customers that matter and you may be able to forget the rest!

3)  Tasks

This ties in with no 1 on this list but is worthy of its own place as well,

It's quite possible that 80% of what you spend your time doing in a traditional work setting doesn't matter much!

Email flying backwards and forwards, drafting documents no one will read, gossiping by the water cooler, shifting responsibility for decision making (sloping shoulder syndrome). Just another average day for some. Is this really a great use of your time?

Use80/20 thinking to ensure your attention is focused on the tasks that matter and arrange your time and day accordingly (this may mean getting to your desk early and front ending the important for example).

Ask yourself continuously, are you spending your time focused on work that matters and will make an impact or on busywork?
There is a distinct difference.

4)  Meetings

Most are a waste of time at best (perhaps even more than 80% of them!). Avoid them if and where you can and ensure the ones you do attend are worth your attendance and you have a clear idea of what the objective of the meeting actually is. Too many people that really should know better spend most of their careers in meetings that don't matter and achieve little at best.
Don't be one of them. Ensure the meetings that you attend and run yourself sparkle and achieve their objective.

These are just four very quick ways 80/20 thinking and application can start to make a positive impact in your business lives. However, 80/20 thinking can be applied to anything in life and once you start to use it and clear way for those things that really matter to you there's no turning back.

Care and Career Nursing Jobs

 Nurses  Role
Although work settings and priorities may differ, all nurses are trained are trained to perform the following duties:

• Treat patients and alleviate their suffering 
• Educate patients and families about care and wellness
• Provide emotional support to patients' family members
• Record patients' medical histories and monitor symptoms
• Help perform diagnostic tests tests and medical procedures 
• Operate medical machinery 
• Administer treatments and medication 

To be a successful nurse you need to be non-judgmental and a good communicator with the ability to listen, empathise and provide support. If you want to work in an environment that's interesting, rewarding and challenging, a career in nursing has plenty to offer you.

Qualifications & Training

Nursing offers a diverse, challenging and rewarding career that is ideal for those who'd like to make a difference to people's lives. The NHS and education sector encourages applications from people with a wide range of academic and vocational qualifications.

To become a nurse you must firstly obtain a degree or diploma in pre-registration nursing. This leads to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council  (NMC), enabling you to practice. There are four key branches that form your pre-registration programme; Adult Nursing, Learning Disability Nursing, Mental Health Nursing and Children Nursing. You will need to decide which of the four branches of nursing you wish to train for.

Nursing training takes place at a the Nursing and Midwifery Council approved educational institution, with at least half of the programme based in clinical practice with direct contact with patients and families. This can include the home, community, hospitals, independent and voluntary organizations.

Once you've successfully completed your pre-registration programme and registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, you can start applying for nursing jobs.

With healthcare constantly developing, technology improving, and the needs of the patients changing, your training does not end there. After you have a qualified, it is necessary to keep yourself up date with healthcare issues and practice. This is required by The Nursing and Midwifery Council, as well as your employer.

Searching a job

With 660,000 nurses currently registered on the Nursing Midwifery Council, nurses form the largest group of staff in the NHS and are a crucial part of the healthcare team. When seeking a high pressured, competitive job such as nursing, it's best not to wait until you've passed your last exam to start planning for your first job. Throughout your training build a pool of influential contacts and stay in touch with them. It's not just what you know when it comes to finding a job, who you know can really helps too.

Question To Ask Your Interviewer In An Interview

"What incentive would I have to work for your company?"
Wow. What a bold interview question; I agree! honestly believe that only someone who is practically guaranteed to get the job should ask a question  like that or unless you won the lottery the night before.

This got me thinking however, are you asking the right interview questions to you interviewer?

When I was in corporate recruiting, I had at least 4-5 interviews every day and at each interview, I heard the same interview questions.

                Can you describe the day-to-day activities of this job?
                How do you get promoted here?
                What is the vacation policy?
                What are the hours or What is overtime like?

Are you screaming, "WHAT?! " right now? I did; every single time I heard those interview question. It was like nails on a chalkboard for me. Why? Because they tell you nothing about the job or company and they tell me all you care about is money.

Here are the answer to the above interview questions, in case you were wondering.

                Yes. You will work hard every day.
                Work Hard.
                If you work hard, you can take some time off.
                You will be working hard, and working a lot.

No, those were not the real answers I gave, but that was what I was saying in my head the whole time.

Now great.....you used up all your time to ask interview questions and what did you learn?  Nothing! Worthless questions and now the interviewer thinks mush less of you than they did 5 minutes ago.

While I am not advocating for asking the original interview question, I am however advocating you to ask thought -provoking questions where you will actually learn something new OR questions where you make the interviewer sell you on taking the job.

Every person I encounter believes that an interview is one-sided. The company/interviewer has the job and you need it, but that's just simply not true. The company needs you to do the job and the interviewer wants to stop interviewing candidates. In most cases, you have the upper-hand in interviews. Use that to you advantage, don't be afraid.

Here are some thought -provoking interview questions you can ask an interviewer.

                 Do you have any hesitations about my background?
                 How much guidance is made available to individuals in developing career goals?
                 How will the success of the person in this position be measured?
                 What commonalities do you find in your top performers?
                 What do expect me accomplish in my first 30/30/90 days?
                 Describe your company's culture.

Now, of curs, there are hundreds of more interview questions you can ask and they are all dependent on your unique interview. The point is..... don't ask questions during an interview just for the sake of asking questions. Ask interview questions that will be thought -provoking and that you will actually learn something from.

While the first few moments of any interview are its most crucial, the last few are arguably more important. This is the last thing the interview will remember about you.

Will their opinion come from your great questions or bad questions you asked? You have the power to control your interview destiny!   

Business Protect Its Customers

(PCI For Short) payment card industry, regulates the payment card data security process. PCI, first introduced in 2006, provides merchants with guidelines on how to prevent, detect and react to security breaches. PCI compliance is designed to provide merchants customers with the comfort that their data is protected. Last year a survey revealed that PCI compliant businesses are less likely to experience data breaches. However, it also showed that 85% of businesses experienced a data breach in 2011.

While the industry ha run high-profile campaigns to educate businesses as to the requirements, some, particularly SMES, still find PCI compliance difficult to understand. Many of the letters of explanation sent by card services providers are full of incomprehensible jargon and make compliance seem complicated, when in fact, it is very straightforward.

Why PCI Compliance?

Quite simply, merchant need to understand that every time they take a card payment, personal data is captured and processed. This could be subject to fraud if not held securely which can be costly for both the business and its customers. What's more, PCI applies to every merchant that takes card payments, whether that is a freelance hairdresser or a company selling its wares online.

How to become compliant

Many merchants avoid PCI compliance due to the perceived time and expense it entails. In reality, becoming compliant can be very easy. Merchants need to demonstrate their compliance by being certified by an independent Quality Security Assessor (QSA), and this certification should be renewed annually. Online businesses may also be asked to undergo a vulnerability scan. This requires them to log into a website which will assess whether there are any holes in their security that need to resolving. The length of taken to achieve compliance will vary according to the number of security threats revealed by the scan.

How much will it cost ?  

Charges are difficult to predict. They depend on factors including business type, the number of annually processed transactions and existing IT infrastructure. on- Line and telephone order merchants can generally expect to pay more than face to face retailers.

How do I prepare my business?

Traders can also ease the process of compliance by ensuring basic security is in place when handling card transaction. They should, for example, sue regularly updated anti-virus software, train their staff on security issue and properly secure any media that holds personal data.

what if I don't comply?  

If businesses avoid PCI, the cost, in terms of time and money, could be detrimental. Merchants beaching data security face significant fines, extensive legal fees and long-term damage to the reputation of their business. And, while PCI DSS is not a legal requirement, non=compliant businesses can have the right to handle card transactions withdrawn. 

Small businesses shouldn't feel alone in PCI compliance. Seeking out a card services provider that will help with the administration is a valuable first step. The best will provide support, taking merchant through the set up precess, and will work had to minimise costs. It is important remember that PCI is no longer a choice. Large businesses might recover from the effects of a security breach, but for SMES and start-ups, the consequences can be crippling.