Business, economic development - the unofficial Chamber of Commerce

Buying a new motor yacht is a long emotional process. We found it very difficult to choose between so many models. It’s not like buying a new laptop where you have a specification on memory, screen size, or processor. Buying a laptop, for me, came down to price really. I bought a mid priced laptop that could do all that I wanted. Now buying a motor boat was a whole different kettle of fish. It’s like buying a house. We wanted something that suited our lifestyle and suited our personality. THEN, we would have to come up with the money to match that. Buying a motor boat was not a logical process. It also required visits to several marinas on the South coast of England and three visits to Italy to meet and get to understand possible “editions to the family.”

It was never simple. We had to really examine how we spent time on our old motor boat (Fairline Targa) and, more importantly, where we used it. We also had to consider how (in an ideal world) we wanted to involve the motor boat in our lives over the coming years. For example, propositions like having grandchildren on board next year would bring in safety issues that we may not have otherwise thought of. So buying a motor cruiser suddenly became a whole lot more complicated!

When looking at the different models, we could never compare apples for apples. There were always subtle differences that either enthused us toward a particular motor yacht model or turned us away from another.

All through the four month period of our search, an old friend always gave the same advice, “follow your heart! Follow your heart, and you will find the right motor boat for you.”

The criteria that I looked to meet when buying a boat was fairly simple. I looked at the overall design and line of the motor boat. If I liked it still, I looked at the performance figures. Then, I would finally look at how many people can sleep aboard. If any one or two of these boxes got ticked, I took a closer look. My wife looked at the interior and practicality of the motor boat’s design. A more logical approach, I have to admit. To her, “it’s just a motor boat and all that matters is if we will be able to fit everyone in.” This included allowing for a rather tall uncle who constantly bangs his head.

The final person included in our decision making process, our son, was mainly concerned about safety, but also wants to address the usual problems with motor boats such as noise levels and vibration, etc.

Although I lead the buying process, it was more than likely that I would have to make compromises to meet other people’s needs, but I still believed that if I followed my heart, my family would also make similar compromises on those aspects they found important.

We all knew the budget, and we all knew that we would be using it in the Mediterranean, and we all knew that we wanted three cabins. That was all we could agree on. So we looked at all of the alternatives. Firstly, with the usual suspects: Fairline, Sunseeker, and Princess, all offering options on this style of open offshore cruiser. We also looked at European Manufacturers such as Azimut, Mangusta, Windy, Conam, Cranchi, and Apreamare. All offered imaginative uses of their space. Some were well above our budget, some were surprisingly below our budget. Each manufacturer had their own line and design signatures. In my opinion, Azimut and Mangusta were well ahead of the others but fell short, in my opinion, in other areas such as space below deck, some safety issues as well as being out of our budget.

Fairline, Sunseeker and Princess all fell into our budget and ticked most of our boxes. But with all of these, there was always something not quite satisfying my criteria of design, line and style, namely the “Phwoar” factor. The other manufacturers gave imaginative solutions but seemed to fall short on build quality and finish. Another motor boat, the Conam 48, came substantially under budget whilst offering three cabins and good performance. This had me seriously thinking about it for a whole week and almost became a serious contender. My heart then told me that I would worry about resale value. More importantly, my own elitist views on owning a boat that I could be proud of and proud to be seen on. I wanted a Mercedes Benz not Ford Mondeo.

I found myself in a funny situation. I had three good options to choose from, all of them good with good customer care packages and good reputations, but none of them had the spark that I needed to ignite my passion in them. They were all good but no “Phwoar.” They were all good brands but none of them created a statement of individuality.

Then, soon after, my skipper called me from Italy. And told me that he had found THE boat that would satisfy me and my family’s needs-style, line, within budget, build quality, safety, practicality and imaginative use of space. He gave me the website, www.gianettiyachts.co.uk, and advised me that we could have a sea trial the following week in Italy. He had visited the boat yard, had taken one of their boats out and fell in love. The boat builder was called Gianetti Yachts and had been manufacturing motor yachts for 30 years with an excellent pedigree. I was slightly dubious and asked him about the company because I had never heard of them. His answer was simple and clear: he had said they make twenty motor boats a year and did not spend millions on marketing. All of their sales come from word of mouth and repeat business. The line of the motor boat was uniquely beautiful. “Follow your heart,” he said, “you have to have a look.”

I found out that their 55 foot model had four cabins which not only fit our budget, but also handsomely suited all of our needs. I booked my £28 flight to Viareggio for the following week. Taking the time to see this very well kept secret was the best decision I had made during the whole boat buying process. I arrived in Viareggio to find that it was full of Italian designed boats and realised what the English built motor boats all lacked, the X factor. Italian design is in a separate league to British design as with most things Italian, for example cars, architecture, furniture, shoes, ice cream.

Upon arrival at the boat yard, I saw astounding images wherever I looked. I saw craftsmen taking pride in their product. I saw boats being built by hand with care and attention to detail. The three boats that were in production were the pride of everyone in the boat yard. Each boat had its own production manager, each with over twenty five years of boat building experience, overseeing every detail of the boat’s construction. I then was shown a finished 55 in the water and got a chance to see the high specification levels of the interiors. I was astounded by quality of the finish throughout. For instance, granite or marble worktops as standard instead of marble effect worktops. Solid wood units instead of laminates or veneers. Porcelain sinks instead of moulded plastic all done with Italian flair. We then took her for a spin. Then I realised that I had found The One.

At 30 knots, the builder then told me that the engine bay was doubly lined to prevent engine noise in the cockpit. I then realised that he didn’t need to shout this, he just spoke whilst doing 30 knots. In our Fairline at that speed, we would have definitely needed to shout.

Everything about the boat was ergonomic. From the chart plotter to the fridge, everything was where I wanted it.

I met the head of the company and realised that it was a family business. A very successful family business that was very happy with its product range, the levels of quality and its financial status. They did not aspire to be a mass producer of boats. They wanted to build as good a boat as they possibly could. I realised that these family built boats were stylish, immaculately finished and presented. They offered the highest standard of build quality with practical solutions to clients’ specific requirements. I realised that if I bought one of these boats, they would be building for me and only me all within my budget and my time scale.

Now I could have bought a Fairline, Princess or whoever but they did not give me 100% of what my heart wanted which is all of the things they I have talked about, 100% of what I saw that day to Viareggio at Gianetti Boat Yard. Take a look at their website and take the time to visit them in Italy.

I am not writing this to assert that they have the best boat in the world. I am writing this to say that they have the best boat in the world for me. So whatever criteria you have, you need to take the time to look at all of the options of motor boats. Some options you might not be too familiar with. They are out there and perhaps you can find a boat in a small boat yard that ticks more of your boxes than the usual brands. Buying a boat is a very important purchase and should not be limited to the usual options. After taking the time to find my magnificent motor yacht, I know that I have found the right boat for me. So follow your heart.

Peter Thornton owns a car hire marketing firm called Vroom Vroom Vroom and absolutely loves the boats built by Robert Gianetti, the owner of Gianetti Yachts.

Of course businesses aren’t stupid, in fact the people in the businesses aren’t stupid (I’m being kind), but they become stupid as the people in them act stupidly. How so? I’m about to explain.

Stupid businesses don’t grow right. They treat their customers badly. It’s likely that they don’t want to but they do because they have an environment of treating people badly. Employees are treated badly and they, in turn, treat the customers in like manner.

1. They don’t care about the customer

2. They’re rude or inattentive

3. They do bad work

I know there are reasons they act this way. I was in a store recently and the cashier was so worn down that she looked like a zombie. Glassy-eyed, she hardly knew I was there. She couldn’t ring a particular item up right and offered no solution to the problem. No help. It was fun to pull her out of it and find a smile, but that was for a moment and then she was back to longing for the day to end.

Last week my daughter saw an employee at a Subway drive everyone out of the building. Literally. “I’ve had it with this place!”, she said. Once she got everyone out she locked the door!

That comes from above. Managers are above. Stupid managers make stupid businesses. Stupid managers:

1. Overwork employees

2. Command in all things

3. Don’t accept feedback or suggestions

4. Frequently criticize and nit pick

5. Rarely give praise or recognition

6. Lazily expect subordinates to do their work for them

7. Yell and act in a mean manner

That creates an atmosphere for stupid employees. I have a son that works at a grocery store. His manager takes 10-15 smoke breaks a day. He comes back and finds that a yogurt container isn’t facing the right way and goes ballistic. It’s sad. Another son works in a clothing department. His manager always has it in her mind that the women’s part of the department is trashed. “Get over there and clean it up, it’s terrible!” Whether it is or not, that’s her message. It’s never right, it’s never good, and she doesn’t want to hear any different.

Above managers in the small business world are owners. Stupid small business owners make stupid small businesses. Let me put emphasis on small, I don’t mean small in size here, but small in quality and integrity.

1. They provide no real incentives to perform well

2. They are self serving without regard for employees

3. They underpay, giving only what they have to

I’ve seen a business owner pit manager against employees, lie to customers, negotiate in bad faith, and do all things for their own aggrandizement and benefit. The business started in a great, innovative way but became small because of the owner. The source for good or bad in the small business.

Stupid businesses are remarkable but not in a positive way. The famous line from Forest Gump is true, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Stupid businesses don’t grow like they could, like the owner would really like them to grow. They can be planted in a good spot, sprout and start, but they will never get the powerful fertilizer of referrals or the life giving water of returning customers to grow into what they have the potential to become.

Dave Free is president of Zeryn, makers of PromoterZ(tm) (promoterz.com), a customer care system for small business growth. Mr. Free received an MBA from BYU and has worked as an Intel executive domestically and internationally, at a Washington think tank, and entrepreneur. You can read more of Mr. Free’s commentary in his Seeds of Growth blog.

Putting together a website? Wondering if everyone will get a good look at the entire presentation when they arrive? One way to ensure they do is in your initial page setup.

When the typewriter ruled, and the 8-1/2×11 sheet of paper was king, layout was much easier. You always knew how much space you had to work with, what to set your margins to, and what size the type would end up when you pressed the keys.

Then along came the word processor and its various flexible components. Layout changed. Tiny things we’d all done forever, such as double spacing after the end of every sentence, are no longer necessary. Word processing allowed for (and still does) a vast array of page tweaking and layout design - from font size and color to table arrangements and graphics. But this article isn’t about word processing.

We didn’t stop there… some bright group of individuals developed the internet and the webpage with its HTML coding was born. And with that birth, our whole outlook on how to design, how to use that “piece of paper” flew out the window.

No longer is it a sheet of paper but someone’s monitor screen size and resolution that we must keep in mind during our design and layout phase. With screens from 13 inches and up, we’ve got to be prepared for all visitors. And with a wide range of audience ages, font size becomes critical. Choose sizes too large and your website looks amateurish, choose sizes too small and your viewer most likely will run for the hills versus re-adjusting their browser (which they could do, but most likely won’t).

So what is the ideal page layout? How is it accomplished?

The simplest way after setting your page background color is to create an overall webpage table. Picture this first table as your 8-1/2×11 sheet of paper. Inside that piece of paper you’ll create even more tables, opening and closing them as you go along, but ultimately ending the entire page - just before the total webpage closing tags with your overall webpage table closing tags.

A typical layout that lends itself well to just about any presentation of material might look like this (see my ezine webpage at http://www.thewizworld.com to get a visual idea only - and while you are there resize your viewing window to see how it automatically adjusts for you):

=============================================

(Note: replace * for < or > when coding your page)

*body background=”#4682B4″*
*center*
*table width=”80%” border=”1″ bgcolor=”#FFFFFF” cellspacing=”1″
cellpadding=”8″*
*tr*
*td valign=”top” align=”center” width=”10%” bgcolor=”#FFFFFFF”*

First column of information

*/TD*
*TD WIDTH=”90%” VALIGN=top*

Second column of information

*/td*
*/tr*
*/table*
*/center*

================================================

The absolutely most important attribute for this entire page is the coding of the page WIDTH.

Many webpages are created using a fixed table size. Setting your WIDTH using percentages though allows your page to automatically resize itself for each individual visitor.

You can also place a fixed value inside the quote marks, but here’s the rub. Even widths of 700-750 will be too wide for most browser windows. This will force your reader to scroll from left to right. You will lose them since most people will only put up with that for so long before they give up and leave.

A good suggestion would be to work within a page layout of 650 or less if you truly must choose a fixed width.

My second website, http://www.mywizardads.com, uses a fixed table width of 600. The tables within the overall table adhere to the 600 width also, with their individuals columns set with adjustable percentages.

Granted, with the fixed table size a person will only be able to downsize their browser screen to a given point before some of the information is unviewable, but the 600 setting works for most visitors and surfers.

=============================================

(Note: replace * for < or > when coding your page)

*table width=”600″ border=”0″ bgcolor=”#000080″ cellspacing=”2″ cellpadding=”10″*
*tr*
*td valign=”top” align=”center” width=”95%” bgcolor=”000080″*

Top portion of information

*/td*
*/tr*
*/table*

==============================================

Never, of course, take what belongs to another, but do surf, right click and view source, and study different websites. Teach yourself by hands on manipulation of the numbers within your own HTML editor or notepad file what works and what won’t.

And do consider using a main overall table in which to nestle additional individual tables. Use percentages or combinations of one overall fixed width and individual percentage settings inside your main- and sub-tables.

You’ve worked hard! Ensure your website is viewed as you envisioned it.

© Theresa Cahill - All Rights Reserved. Feel free to distribute this article. Please keep it intact and with the resource box included below.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Theresa Cahill, a two decade veteran of marketing, is the owner of http://www.mywizardads.com and invites you to take a look at the services of MWA and download fr.ee helpful information and more at http://www.mywizardads.com/sitemap.html

Has it ever occurred to you that you may be the only positive influence on someone else’s life? Have you ever stopped to think that you may be the only example of excellence and integrity to a classmate, neighbor or friend? As strange as it may seem, people are always watching you, even if you are not aware of it. And the more you do what’s right, the more your peers will look to you as a positive role model. They may never tell you. They may never admit it to themselves. They may even make fun of you for being the type of person who tries to do what is right, but that doesn’t mean that they do not respect you or look up to you.

When you have a vision of something greater for your life and work towards that vision you will become a positive role model for others whether you want to or not. When you value, believe in and respect yourself, people will notice that there’s something different about you. And chances are you will not fit in with everyone else. That’s a good thing, because it means that you are unique and you were given the special task of being a beacon of light for others.

Being a role model isn’t always easy. There will be times when you will find yourself at odds with your friends. You’ll even worry about fitting in. But don’t worry. You’re not supposed to fit in, because being a role model means that you stand out for others to see.

As a teen you’ll often hear about the importance of having role models and there’s no questions that this is important. But what’s also important is, being a positive role model. Who says that you can’t be the positive role model?

There is something special about knowing that you are trying to set a good example and that you care enough to be the very best. Whether or not you are popular has nothing to do with being a role model. A role model is someone who chooses to put forth their best effort everyday and when they make a mistake they pick themselves up and try again. If this sounds like you, then I say that you are a positive role model. Keep up the good work.

This article is excerpted from Cassandra Mack’s book, “Young, Gifted and Doing It: 52 Power Moves for Teens.”

It is vitally important that church leaders develop a consistent, systematic approach to writing letters to church members and adherents. To keep any relationship alive takes a willingness to communicate your message, then be available for response to that message. Writing a Church Letter goes a long way in expressing to others that they indeed are important to you, as well as the ministry of the church. It also conveys the all-important message that you care, and are thinking about their personal situation.

Below are some thoughts around the two words “Church Letters” that you may find helpful as you modify these Church Letters, or start from “scratch”.

CHURCH

C - Be Clear

When your letter is read, you don’t want it to be similar to some bad commercials on television that may have looked and sounded good, but upon completion of viewing (or reading), the person looks back and wonders “what that was all about”. If you are writing a letter to thank a person for visiting your church, be sure to do exactly that… then go on to tell them about the ministries that are available to them.

H - Be Hopeful

One of the reasons for writing the letter is to encourage them and to provide inspiration and hope for tomorrow. They will appreciate your positive approach to the situation, and you can certainly do this without being “fake”. Doesn’t the Word of God provide hope for each and every situation? Philip. 4:13 - “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” People need to be reminded of the fact that God is in control regardless of our ability to understand ALL His ways.

U - Be Understanding

We often fail to put ourselves into the “shoes of another” and thereby do not understand the situation they are going through. The most difficult time is when we have not gone through the situation in our own lives. We will find this to be the case very often in our ministry to others, however it is in those situations we must ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to provide the right level of understanding and compassion to properly minister to them.

R - Be Responsive

If you close your letter encouraging the person to get in touch with you if they are in need of anything, be sure to provide them with a way to get in touch *and* then be available. While this may be difficult for leaders of larger congregations, you will find that most people will be sensitive to your unique situation. You may also provide other avenues of ministry that will help them. After all, even WE don’t have all the answers, but God has placed many gifts in the church that are available to be used. Provide phone numbers, (yes, even cell phone numbers), and e-mail addresses so that people can get in touch with you or someone designated for that particular ministry.

C - Be Consistent

People have an amazing ability to catch on to “favoritism”, and will certainly notice if certain people receive letters or encouraging e-mails and others do not. As Church leaders, it is our calling to reflect the attitude of Christ in dealing with people, and that includes going out our way to minister to the one who may be “down and out”, as well as the one who seemingly has it “all” together.

H - Be Helpful

Perhaps you know of community agencies or church ministries that are available to the person or family you are writing to. If you have a “Young Marrieds” small group and you are writing to a young couple about a particular issue, then you may want to provide the contact information for the leader of that small group. Again, be sensitive to what their needs are and begin to think of ways you can provide help to them.

LETTERS

L - Be “Letter-Ready”

Have a good supply of letters available to send at a moments notice. Most letters can be used again with some modification, and while we would like to think we can sit down at every situation and write a “brand new” letter because we believe it will be more personal, the fact is, most church leaders don’t do this. There is the “ideal” (crafting a new letter from scratch every time), then there is “reality” (modifying letters we have already used). As an example, one Sunday we were having a service of recognition for graduates and realized in our rush to prepare other things had forgotten to prepare letters of congratulations. Not to panic. We went to our supply of saved letters, modified one of them, and printed out 6 letters, personalized and ready for delivery during the service all within the time span of about 10 minutes. This was being “Letter-Ready”.

E - Be Evangelistic

In communicating to people, always be looking for ways to provide the message of the Gospel of Christ in a relevant and meaningful way. Jesus often told stories to illustrate a truth, so do not hesitate to tell a story to illustrate the greatness of God’s love available to them. Perhaps you will want to include a tract that deals specifically with the situation they are involved in at the moment. Allow the Holy Spirit to direct you to open doors, then be sure and step through when those doors swing wide.

T - Be Tactful

While it is important to know the need, it is even more important to respond to the need in a way the person will feel you are being truthful and sympathetic with concern for their feelings. Even in the case of discipline (when a face to face meeting may be more appropriate), the person will sense that you are loving them. Love and a desire to restore and provide hope should be at the basis of all we do, and when it is tactfulness will be developed as a result of that love. Proverbs 25:11 “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”

T - Be Timely

This is similar to a previous point on being “Letter-Ready”. Being timely is knowing when to send a letter or e-mail and then sending it off with a prayer for God’s anointing and blessing to be upon the reader as they open it. If you say you are going to send the person a note, or follow up with a phone call, or show up at a certain time, then be a keeper of your word. James 5:12 - “Above all, my brothers, do not swear–not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.”

E - Be Energetic

If you are conveying an important message, whether in spoken or written form, it is important to be as energetic about it as possible without being “fake”. How does this happen? Asking God to communicate the importance of the opportunity to you, then sharing in a way that will make the person feel like you are not just “doing your job”. Eccles. 9:10a - “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” If what you are doing with your hand is typing or writing, or even make a great point in a sermon, be energetic in your approach.

R - Be Right

People do not want to be viewed as “people”, they want to be seen and known as “individuals” and certainly do not want to feel like a number when they are part of a church body. This is a great challenge for every leader, and that is to communicate on a personal level with those in your congregation. A most unpleasant scenario would be to write a letter to “John” when the man’s name is actually “Steve”, or most likely you have received letters such as: Dear (First Name). While most churches now utilize Mail Merge operations today and most people know it, there is still something about receiving a letter like this that makes it highly offensive especially within the church body.

S - Be Scriptural

In writing Church Letters it is always of great benefit to share a particular passage of scripture that may be applicable to their situation at the time. In a very difficult circumstance, you can share that “God works all things together for good…”, or “weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning”. Simply be aware of the situation, and mindful of any scriptures that will provide hope or healing, and encouragement.

The above may be used in print or on the web as long as the information below is provided with the article:

Copyright - 2006

12 Tips for Church Letter Writing by:
Norman Lawrence of http://www.churchletters.net
Over 200 Letters for Church Leaders
Downloadable Ebook & Online Membership

Managing, supervising, being a team leader is the hardest
job in the world and I’ll tell you why.
Imagine what it’s like to drive a car. You turn the key to
start the engine, select drive or the gear you want and
press the gas pedal. The car then moves off and if you want
to turn you rotate the steering wheel to the right or left
and to stop, you press the brake pedal. All this was quite
difficult when you first learned to drive but its easy now.

If I asked you to drive my car, you might take a short while
to get used to it, but you’d immediately be able to drive
down to the supermarket and get me some food.

However, if I was to tell you that my car was different from
any other you’d driven then I’m sure you’d have a problem -
“You don’t start it with a key there’s a little switch
somewhere. When you engage forward gear it might go backward
and if you turn the wheel left it might go right but
sometimes it goes left. And the gas peddle is what stops it
and the brake pedal makes it go faster but not every day.
You’ll get used to it in time; I’ve lived with it for
years”.

Managing people is pretty much like this, every model is
different and you need different skills to “drive” each one.
Just because pressing the gas pedal on one model makes it go
forward, doesn’t mean to say that the next one will be the
same; it might, but it might not.

The problem arises because we “learn” on certain models and
then find to our annoyance that the others are different.
“Why can’t they all be the same” we scream in frustration.”

Human beings are the most complex and complicated pieces of
“equipment” you’ll ever have to deal with. Many of them have
similarities but every one of them in this world is
different and they all work in a slightly different way.
Your job as a manager is to get these complex humans working
as efficiently as possible, there’s no one around to show
you what to do and there’s no instruction manual.

What also complicates the relationship between the manager
and the team is this -
Human beings are totally driven by their emotions.

When managers face a problem with one of their team they try
to solve it logically and then they wonder why it all goes
wrong.

Imagine that one of your team announces - “I’m leaving this
job, I’ve found another job doing the same thing and it pays
more money.” You realise that you don’t want to lose this
team member so you approach your boss and agree an increase
in salary. However, when you offer the increase in salary
the team member turns you down.

So you think logically -
“What’s wrong with this person, why are they leaving?”
They might be telling you that they’re leaving for more
money however that now doesn’t seem to be the reason. It
might just be that they’re leaving because they feel you
just don’t care about them.

I’ve seen this happen so often with the good guys in a team.
Because they’re one of the high achievers who don’t give the
manager any problem they get left alone too much. What
happens then is - they feel that the manager doesn’t care
about them so they leave.

Managing people is a hugely difficult job, a degree in
psychology would help but if you haven’t got that then click the link below.

Discover how you can generate more business by motivating
your team!
Alan Fairweather is the author of “How to get More Sales
by Motivating Your Team” This book is packed with practical
things you can do to get the best out of your people.
Visit http://www.howtogetmoresales.com

Personal contact with customers is a crucial element in the success of any new business - and it’s one of the most common casualties of growth. As a company grows, the president tends to fade away into his or her office. That can lead to loss of leverage right at the point when a company is starting to take off and needs it most.

The danger is that the company can become just another faceless entity that the customer deals with every day. This danger increases in this era of reliance on computers to handle communications with customers. Think about instituting a policy of sending a personal thank-you note to each customer. It’s not that difficult to do if you stick with it. Just sit down one evening per week and work through your list of customer contacts from the previous week.

Savvy companies will track customer contacts in their contact-management databases, but you can get away with keeping a simple Excel spreadsheet of all thank-you cards sent. Trust me, your customers will not forget it!

To really kick the personal touch into gear, spend one day per month doing nothing but making “courtesy” calls to your existing customers. Don’t have any plans to do real business - just call to say hello. Your clients will be pleased and astounded that you took the time just to check in. To ready your mind to play the role of friend rather than business associate, make the calls from home that day.

Really any little thing that you can do to make your customers feel that you remember them and care about them is priceless. I have a particular customer that mentioned to me one day that she was a tremendous Ray Charles fan. Months later when Ray passed away, I sent her a little note of condolence. I don’t think she will ever forget that gesture. She later told me that I was the only one who mentioned anything to her that day. She had been feeling like nobody knew or cared until she received my note.

What opportunities to make personal contact with clients are you missing each day? Sure, it’s easy to use convenient excuses like “I just don’t have the time,” or “I’ll get to it next week.” Just remember how much more difficult and time-consuming it is to find a new client rather than to keep a current one.

In the end, taking time to keep in contact with your customers will pay a lifetime of dividends both personally and professionally.

Tony Valle is owner of Promethius Consulting, LLC, a unique web-design and marketing firm. To learn more visit http://www.promethius.com

Do you find that things would just be so much easier if your spouse would do things your way? Most of the time, this just isn’t the case.

So you married your complete opposite, your relationship is stressful and the two of you can’t even agree on what to have for dinner. Does this mean that for the rest of your life, you are subject to the painful battle of fighting over “your way vs. his/her way” unless one of you gives in?

No! There is no need to argue over “who does what which way”. And most importantly, neither of you need to change who you are.

You’re about to learn the single most important marriage saving tip that can drastically lower your stress with your spouse. If you understand what you and your spouse value in life, you can cut your relationship stress in half! (Like I did with MY wife!)

It’s true. I developed this marriage saving tip after using it to transform my OWN marriage. My 32 year marriage is PROOF that this marriage saving tip can work for YOUR marriage!

Okay, let’s get started…

The first thing you need to do is talk with your spouse about the things you passionately believe in…or feel strongly against.

You can start by discussing the little things in life that bug you (and no, I’m NOT talking about your spouse!)

Let me give you an example…

My wife absolutely HATES gum chewing. Now I’m not talking about people who silently chew their gum with their mouths closed, I’m talking about people who, when they pop a piece of gum in their mouth, EVERYONE knows it.

They pop their gum, smack and chew with their mouths wide open. Yes, I know it sounds trivial, but it absolutely drives her NUTS.

Now, if I didn’t know WHY this little pet peeve of hers drives her ‘up the wall’, I would simply think she’s crazy. I might even start becoming annoyed and aggravated whenever she starts to verbally attack the nearest “irritating gum chewer”.

Now here’s the part of this marriage saving tip that most people are not aware of…

EVERY one of your pet peeves, habits or BELIEFS are created by a memory or event from the past.

Take my wife for example. The reason she despises people who pop and crack their gum is because HER MOTHER would do it without any regard for her feelings…throughout her ENTIRE childhood. My wife hated it THEN and she still hates gum chewing TODAY. It simply brings back too many painful memories.

To her, a gum chewer might as well be scratching nails on a chalkboard or screeching a fork against a plate.

The main idea you should walk away with from this marriage saving tip is that you need to discuss with your spouse WHY you do things a certain way, WHY you hate certain things and WHY you love other things.

NOTE: Be sure to talk about the ‘problem areas’ in your marriage. That IS the point of this discussion after all. Give your spouse your perspective on ‘hot topics’ in your marriage which could be anything from punctuality, family values, religion, eating habits or even personal privacy.

Ask your spouse questions and have them do the same. Ask questions like…

1. “Honey, when you were young, did your mother or father have a problem being on time?”

2. “What happened in your childhood that makes you hate clutter and messes so much?”

WARNING: Don’t make this sound like an accusation! If you do, your positive discussion will be over!

When you ask your spouse these questions, s/he will probably struggle for words or not come up with an immediate explanation for WHY he or she does these things.

And that’s okay. Try to jog his/her memory by recalling your own memories about this subject…

For example:
“The reason I __ (fill in the blank) __ is because my parents __ (fill in the blank) ____ when I was a child.”

Remember: You and your spouse were shown how to live by your parents or guardians. They shaped most of what you value and believe in today. The point of this discussion is to understand WHY the two of you disagree on any given topic. This will help the two of you accept each other because you’ll no longer feel threatened by your very different values in life.

So there you have it. Use this marriage saving tip to get to the source of your problems instead of focusing on the ‘little issues’ (like gum chewing). If you don’t know which values are causing conflict in your marriage, you’ll never be able to truly resolve your disagreements.

When I finally understood WHY my wife’s values were so different from my own, the stress in my marriage was DRASTICALLY reduced. I know you’ll find the same to be true when you put this marriage saving tip to use in your own marriage.

If you don’t know how to recognize the WARNING SIGNS that lead to divorce, before you know it, your marriage could be over. Get your FREE Special Report “The Secret Path to Divorce” right now at: www.stopyourdivorcein4weeks.com/secret.html

Winter brings its own set of problems to home sellers. Home buyers don’t feel as motivated to go home shopping in cold, wet weather. Plus, the early nightfall makes buyers want to wait until the weekend to view houses. When the weekend rolls around, home shoppers get sidetracked with holiday activities.

Besides the typical winter slow down in sales, today’s market also makes selling your home more difficult. Market concerns include:

1. Rising interest rates

2. More houses on the market

3. Longer time frame–days on the market

If you’re selling your home or investment property during this shifting real estate market, you can tempt buyers to get out of their warm cars and take a look at your home with home staging methods. Here are a few home staging strategies to help you sell your home during the holidays:

Home Staging the Exterior

Door wreaths welcome all to your home and set the stage for celebrating. Make a simple wreath to hang on your front door with holiday colors that blend in with and dress up your home’s exterior colors. Use tree branches from your garden; attach a few gourds or pomegranates, nuts, and ribbons.

Group vines and mums or poinsettias for display impact near the front entrance. Adjust the vines to add height and movement. Add colored ribbons and fall leaves or evergreen branches.

Holiday Décor and Your Target Buyers

Do your neighbors decorate their home exteriors with Christmas decorations? If your neighborhood supports Christmas themes, then your prospective buyers will appreciate your Christmas décor.

However, if your neighborhood doesn’t decorate for Christmas, then your buyers may feel more comfortable without Christmas decorations. Play down Christmas if you live in an area that promotes “politically correct” holiday and seasons greetings instead of “Christmas Cheer.”

If you feel that you want to celebrate Christmas your way, go for it. Just understand that your home sale may take a little longer.

Home Staging with Christmas Decorations

Use less of your ornament collection this year. Don’t over-crowd your rooms. You want your buyers to see your home’s features. Rooms filled to the brim with decorations stop the buyer’s eyes from visualizing their own furnishings in your home. Plus, crowded spaces feel smaller.

Examine your room colors and compare to your Christmas decorations. Do the reds clash? You may want to store ornaments with colors that don’t add to the setting.

Home Staging for the Senses During the Holidays

Appeal to your buyer’s senses to make them feel at home.

1. Sight: Use amber-colored lights that give a rich warm golden glow to your rooms. Switch out your regular white light bulbs in a few table lamps with amber bulbs to make your home feel toasty-warm and inviting.

2. Sound: Play gentle well-known music without words. This makes buyers feel like singing along and picks up their step. Music helps buyers feel joyful in your home.

3. Smell: Use natural essential oils in a diffuser. Many people suffer from allergic reactions to artificial sprays. Simmer cider with orange slices, cinnamon and cloves.

4. Touch: Add silky and velvet fabrics to table tops that tempt the buyer to feel the softness. The brain interprets the sense of touch just by seeing softness. Also, use thick, fluffy hand towels in the bathroom and kitchen to soften the cold, hard surfaces of room typically filled with tile, granite, and porcelain.

5. Taste: Yes! The sense of smell contributes to the sense of taste. Make sure you’re cooking something heavenly. Treat your prospective buyers like a guest. Invite them to share a warm drink and a sweet snack.

The more time your buyers spend in your home, the more they have invested in it. Houses do sell all year long. If you’re selling your home during the frantic holiday season, taking a few extra home staging steps can make a big difference in your sale.

Happy Holidays!

© Jeanette Fisher (Use with live links only.)

Free holiday decorating teleseminar, “Interior Design Secrets to Glorious Holiday Decorating.”
Design Psychology makes your houses simply irresistible so you make more money. Interior Design Ideas for Selling Houses

Introduction

Young people today enjoy more leisure options than ever before. In previous generations, many kids had limited access, both financial and physical, to commercial leisure options, not to mention a greater number of responsibilities around the home. Free time used to consist of largely ad-hoc (improvised) leisure options wherein kids were not only the participants, but also the constructors, exercising both their bodies and minds in the process. In our modern age of high technology, commercialization and mass production, these traditional patterns have undergone a dramatic shift towards leisure that is largely passive and sedentary in mode, and commercially consumed by youngsters who have access to a good deal more free time and money than their forebears. None of this is new of course. In fact, you’ve probably heard it all before.

By now, parents should be well aware of the alarmingly sedentary lifestyles many modern children live. The long term health effects of such patterns is also widely recognized amongst parents, especially the direct links with childhood obesity, cardiovascular disease and a plethora of other preventable conditions. It is also common knowledge that regular physical activity is crucial for healthy bones, cardiovascular strength, weight control, mental health and lowered risk factors across the board. So, while children are more sedentary than at any time in our history, parents are also more informed and educated on the subject than ever before. The question has to be asked: why are so many parents struggling to get their kids of the couch?

For many, the simple answer is that they know what they should be doing, but have few clues as to how they should go about it. Indeed, amid the torrent of compelling medical and social statistics, practical considerations for combating youth inactivity often take a backseat. The good news is, keeping your kids from becoming a statistic is not as difficult as you might think.

Know Your Enemy

As in war, getting to know your enemy is crucial for formulating effective strategies to combat it. In this case, inactivity is your enemy, so go ahead and devour as much material as you can on the subject. Youth inactivity is currently one of the most widely researched and publicized fields of study. The popular press, the internet and your local library are all crammed-full of material relating to sedentary lifestyles, childhood obesity and much more. When you truly understand the problem, you will have a much better chance of doing something about it.

Get to Know Your Child

Most parents like to think they know their children, but do you really? What excites your child? What sports do they like? What games do they play with their friends? Who are their role models in the media? Do they prefer the beach, the mountain or the forest? Do they like riding a bike or are horses more interesting? Do they enjoy swimming or would they rather go for a run?

Often, getting to know a young person reveals avenues that can be explored. For example, if your child likes Basketball, rather than letting them sit in front of the television watching the game, why not ask them if they would like to set up a hoop, or join a team? Even if they don’t take up such offers, you are showing an interest in their life, keeping the door open for other efforts at getting them up and active.

Do it Together

One of the best ways to get kids involved in physical activity is to do it with them. Don’t just sit there and supervise your kids, or let them run free, get out there with them and play. Parental involvement is both supportive and comforting, and especially effective in helping children overcome potential barriers to their activity such as shyness and anxiety. Don’t forget that family outings such as picnics, camping and shopping provide many excellent opportunities to be physically active.

Give Children a Sense of Ownership

It is not enough to simply encourage children to be active or provide them with opportunities for physical activity. To be most effective, your approach should ensure that the child is not just a participant, but actually has some form of involvement in constructing the experience. When a child has a sense of ownership or membership, they are much more likely to stick with it, and often derive more enjoyment and satisfaction.
All of a sudden, they are not simply a participant, but also a contributor.

To return to the Basketball example, don’t just set up a basketball hoop and let the kids go for it. A better approach would be to get them involved in the process by letting them pick the style of the backboard, getting them to paint it in colors they like, allowing them to have a say in where it gets put, letting them help in mounting it, allowing them to mark the driveway with chalk so it looks like a court - the ideas are endless. All of these things, while relatively minor, can actually enhance children’s motivation levels a great deal and also hold their interest in the activity for longer periods of time.

Set an Example

Parents are often reminded that they must set an example for their children. Certainly, as parents, you are the most influential role-model for your kids, and conscious or not, your behaviors and attitudes will have an effect upon theirs. This is equally true in regards to physical activity, keenly evidenced in the fact that a large number of obese parents end up raising obese children. The implication is, if you are truly committed to keeping your kids active, you too must make a commitment to activity. If you don’t practice what you preach kids will be presented with a contradictory message that may confuse them.

Try, Try and Try again

Don’t give up just because your first attempt at getting the kids active has failed. It doesn’t mean your child can’t become more active, but rather, that you need to be trying a different approach. However, persistence doesn’t mean that you should be badgering children until they comply. Such practices are likely only to encourage resistance and invite more failure.

Often, finding the right mix of activities to get your child sufficiently active, and keep them that way, is largely a matter of trial and error. Allow them to taste a variety of different experiences, and expect a certain degree of opposition and disappointment along the way. Always encourage, but never push.

Sport is not Necessarily the Answer

When trying to get their children to be more active, many well-meaning parents will opt for sports right out of the gate. Often, they will aim to get their kids involved in the same sports they are involved in, or were involved in during their own youth. It as this point that it must be remembered that children are not extensions of their parents, but unique individuals, each with a different mixture of interests, opinions and motivations. That said, many children enjoy following in their parents sporting footprints, which is typically the result of socialization processes rather than their own free will.

A parent should never fall into the trap of assuming that getting children into organized sport is the best way to get results. If a child is not interested in sports, or a particular sport, and is not initiated in a progressive and supportive manner, outcomes are likely to be negative and could potentially build or reinforce a predisposition against physical activity. Sports can be a certainly be a great option for getting kids more active, but they are not for everyone.

Conclusion

Sedentary lifestyles are endangering not only the health, but the very lives of our kids.
As a parent it falls upon you to take some responsibility for your children’s lifestyle habits. Fortunately, there is a vast resource of information out there for concerned adults, but it all means nothing if you will not take the time, and make the effort, to be proactive in promoting and facilitating physical activity. Remember, you cannot simply talk the talk, but must also walk the walk. You are the very best chance your children have of developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Arron Stewart Is 26 years old, lives in Hamilton, New Zealand, and attends the University of Waikato as a graduate student in Sport & Leisure with an additional focus on Sociology and Human Resource Management. A website has been established featuring more information and selected articles of his work: http://www.geocities.com/arron_stew_79