Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

The Best Advice This Week I Got From My Barber

I went to my barber a few days ago. We talked about his hobby, which is playing poker, and his nephew who is a boxer, and about my job and my kids, etc., etc. I told him where my son, a high school senior, wants to go to college. It is a rather expensive private school in the city where we live. Jerry, my barber, said he knows several people that attend and work at this college, and that he. . .

Add Some Firepower to your PR

Sure, as tactics usually presented to business, non-profit and association managers, special events, brochures and news releases are fine. But they’re not the high-octane PR firepower you need to deliver growth results like new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; accelerating prospect contacts; rising membership applications; customers making repeat purchases; rebounds in show. . .

Look Like Sizzle, Be The Steak

You've heard marketing and advertising gurus quip, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak." Advertising initiatives best reach their target audience with benefits and the "wow" effect, not the value or features of their product or service. This may work well to get customers in the door. But once they're in, you better have some substance. How can you ensure you uphold the integrity of your business a. . .

Credit Education

Secured Credit Card is similar to a prepaid credit card since the funds you are using are actually yours and not the issuer of the credit card. Generally people who apply for secured credit card or prepaid credit card are people with poor credit or unemployed. Prepaid Credit Card spending limit is the amount of money you loaded to the card. There are no interest or finance charges on a prepaid . . .

Franchise Resolution In 2005

The outlook for 2005 is out; it is going to be yet another challenging year, with the recent increase in oil prices finally settling in. Economic growth rate is going to be modest and the traditional manufacturing engine of growth may be hard-pressed with the Singapore –US free trade agreement being in effect.For the normal man-in-the-street, this can be the right opportunity to take stock of . . .

Freelance Photography: How to Begin Your Career

Photography is a vast world. There are many different types of photography and many different kinds of people that enjoy it. It’s a hobby that be relatively inexpensive or one that you can invest a lot of money on. Photos are so special because they give us memories of times and places and events in our lives. We can hold onto these memories forever with a photograph. As much as people love pho. . .

How to Turn an Idea into $100,000

Do you ever wonder why some people seem to get all the lucky breaks in business while others struggle to barely get by? They seem to be in the right place at the right time. Fact is, maybe they’re not at the right place at the right time; maybe they just know how to make things “happen.” As a business advisor I often see people begin and end a business before they have given it a chance to grow. . .

Sitcom Investing

A fickle stock market encourages good-humored mockery. Recently, as I watched the premiere of a sitcom, an obvious omission breached television etiquette. Silence followed every exaggerated comedic set-up. There was no laugh track. Where were the premeditated giggles from the show's "audience?" At last, the viewer determines the funny moment. It then occurred to me, the writers of this new s. . .

Microsoft Business Solutions products selection: ERP, CRM...

Microsoft Business Solutions is Microsoft subdivision and historically it is joining several products development companies under one roof: Great Plains Software, Navision Software, Microsoft CRM (this one was developed by MBS), Solomon Software, SMS: QuickSell 2000 – which is now Microsoft Retail Management System.Let’s first look at your ERP system selection (without Retail Solution). Your o. . .

What Kind of PR Makes Sense?

For business, non-profit and association managers, is it publicity that delivers newspaper and talk show mentions backed up by colorful brochures and videos, combined with special events that attract a lot of people? Or could your business, non-profit or association PR dollar be better spent on public relations activity that creates behavior change among your key outside audiences that leads di. . .

The Top 10 Reasons Your Business Needs a Web Site

Does every business no matter how large or small need a presence on the Internet? Absolutely, and not just for the traditional reasons, but primarily because your website is an extension of your brick and motor, your home based business, or your business on wheels. Everyone in the business of making money can benefit from letting potential customers know who you are and what you’re all about. C. . .

Borrowing on a Credit Card

One of the easiest ways to borrow money of a financial institute is to use a Credit Card, available from all banks, building societies, and other financial organisations. The choices available are enormous, with a wide variety of interest charges, annual charges, loyalty schemes, and bonus points available. However there are two broad areas that you should look at:Annual Interest RateFirstly if. . .

The Importance of a Focused Business Plan

So you have seen a great opportunity and are about to get started. Where do you go from here? Before you dig in, I cannot stress enough the importance of a well laid out business plan. You might then be asking, how do I plan and set goals if I don’t have a clue what I’m going to achieve and in what timeframe? This may be true, but your business must have a foundation on which to start from. You. . .

How To Protect Your Investment Capital?

What do you expect when you buy a stock? We expect the stock price to go up so that we can sell at higher price than we originally bought them and take the profits. But many times things turn out not as we planned. What happens if the stock price does not go up but instead go down? It goes down 5%, 10%, 15%...50%.... If you don't cut you losses, you will lose your hard-earned money. You may fac. . .

The Difference Between “Need” and “Want”

Let’s face it: Most people spend way too much money on things they don’t really need. The more money we make, the more we tend to spend. This endless cycle of materialism has led many people to confuse the word “need” with the word “want.” As in, “we need a big-screen TV for our new home theater.” Or, “I need a new pair of shoes to go with my new outfit.”If you want to achieve your vocational p. . .

How To Prevent Fraudulent Credit Card Transactions

What Are Possible Signs of Fraudulent Transactions see at Web Hosting Companies? Customer wants to pre-pay for a year Domain Name Registration for 5 years or more Orders using free email address providers like Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. Usage of multiple cards to complete order. International address. AVS can not validate those international addresses. Multiple purchases in a short time period. . . .

What You Need To Know About Credit Cards

What is a credit card? A credit card is a card that allows you to borrow money to pay for things. There will be a limit to how much you can spend called your credit limit. At the end of each month you can either pay off the whole of the amount you owe or make a minimum repayment. Other kinds of cards include: A cheque guarantee card, issued by your bank, that you can use to ensure that yo. . .

Negotiating to Buy a New Car the Easy Way

Do you hate the thought of buying a new car because of the struggle you have to go through negotiating with the dealership? Relax. Negotiating to buy a new car is easy. Sure their sales people receive negotiation training, but you have the upper hand. Why? Because you can easily find out everything that they want to keep hidden. Information is the key to winning any negotiation. If you use the . . .

Portfolio Insurance

For the past few weeks the market has had a very nice advance breaking out of an eight month sideways pattern. Then the brick wall. Several days of slamming down taking back some of the nice profits that have been accumulating. Now what? We know which way is up, but we don’t know how high is up? Don’t think you are confused. So am I and I am considered a professional trader. The market is givin. . .

Ordering printing can be intimidating

Educating yourself before ordering your office printing can save you serious dollars."I went to see a printer today to get my company's stationery printed. They ask too many questions, I can't answer!"How many times have you felt this way? It's kind off like going to the auto garage for a tune up and being told you need a new 02 sensor, your sincro mesh gear has a tooth missing and so on. You k. . .

Understanding Document Management

The term "document management" and "paperless office" is the subject of countless articles and books. Everyone wants to achieve this lofty goal but not everyone understands what the terms really mean. Before you can embark on the journey of achieving total document management, it's important that you have a good basic knowledge of the terms and concepts that go with it. Once you start inv. . .

Trading the T4

There is an old expression you may have heard - to 'gild the lilly'. Basically, this means that if something is working fine, don't attempt to 'fix it', or 'improve it'. Chances are you will end up doing more harm than good. Nowhere is this more true than in the cut and thrust arena of stock trading. And nowhere in the world of the financial markets is this more clear than in the release of the. . .

Credit and The Internet

The internet stands as the largest open marketplace in the world today, almost every possible product or service is being sold on the internet. With such an availability of potential monetary transactions, the preferred method of payment is the credit card. This method allows instant transfer of funds from the consumer to the merchant in a secure environment, and payment can be verified immedi. . .

Plan Your Success In Seven Ways

Many businesses lose money yearly because they don’t think creatively about the future. They run their businesses doing what they think they should: dealing with customers, dealing with problems, ordering for their business, and paying their expenses. They act like their business is a job. They are surviving and that’s it. They are not looking at the big picture. They need to use their busines. . .

Ten Top Tax-saving Ideas at Year-end

Popular techniques for individuals and business ownersNow is a good time to figure out how to cut your 2004 tax bill. Although everyone's situation is different, the National Association for Black Accountants www.nabainc.org (NABA) offers ten popular year-end strategies for individuals and small-business owners:1. Charitable donations: As a general rule, the full amount of a cash donation is de. . .

The "Wall of Defensiveness": 7 Ways to Tear It Down

Have you ever gotten frustrated when you realize that your prospects keep stereotyping you as a "salesperson"? And because of that, they don't give you the trust and openness that you deserve, and that are essential if you're going to help them solve their problems?That's what's been happening to Michael, who calls companies to set appointments with decisionmakers. "I have a great product that . . .

Using Photos As Graphics In Marketing Your Business

More and more businesses are seeing the value of photography in marketing their business. Websites, html emails, business cards, banners. Scanners and other digital equipment is HOT! What do you need to know about the subject of photography to take advantage of photos in your business? Many memorable moments would be lost and long forgotten without photography. The most important thing to photo. . .

Art to Part in Plastics: Molding Dreams into Reality

An introduction to Injection Molding.Every plastic product you see needs to be shaped, and the most common method is Injection Molding. Most people using their computer to read this give no thought to how all those plastic parts were formed. Or how complex and expensive it is even to produce a ballpoint pen. Just about every part made of plastic these days is formed using some kind of an inject. . .

Differences Between Credit Cards and Store Cards

IntroductionIn this article, a presentation is made of the differences between major credit cards (http://www.chooseacreditcard.co.uk) and credit cards offered by specific stores to their customers. The purpose of this article is to provide a general overview of major credit cards and store cards to aid consumers in making decisions regarding which lines of credit lines would be the best for th. . .

Strategic vs Tactical Marketing - Understand and Profit

Most people mistakenly assume that when you talk about marketing, you're automatically talking about "Tactical" marketing - placing ads, generating leads, sending out mailers, attending trades shows, creating brochures, implementing a follow-up system, and so forth. They fail to realize that the "Strategic" side of the coin - what you say, how you say it, and who you say it to - is almost alway. . .

Lease Purchasing Is The Perfect Home-Based Business

Some call it the 30 second commute. We call it wonderful. What are we all talking about? Working from home, of course. There's nothing more satisfying than operating a successful business from your own home office. Believe us, we know. We tried enough home-based businesses to write a book about it. Come to think of it, we did.Seriously, imagine getting up in the morning and knowing your commute. . .

“Penny Wise and Pound Foolish”

This saying came to mind when reading my Icop newsletter. JL was discussing things that Chuck and I talk about all the time. A couple of weeks ago while listening to Jim Edwards’ audio newsletter he ranted about the “psycho freebie seekers” (love that name). Jim rants almost as well as Dennis Miller.Anyway these two newsletters and what they had to say have been rolling around in my head for a. . .

Partnering For Progress and Growth

Many home-based entrepreneurs are gaining new ground with partnering arrangements. Although it takes many shapes, the core of the partnering concept is two or more businesses teaming up to achieve together what they can’t do alone. Partnering with other businesses can help you offer a broader product or service package to a particular market segment, provide the resources to handle a single maj. . .

Rebuilding Better Credit

Today, good credit is the one constant necessity needed to succeed in any endeavor, from starting a new business venture to purchasing a home. Without having established prior good credit and maintaining this status, re-establishing decent credit can be a very difficult task. The need for credit and a good credit history is further enhanced by the internet, considering that a large majority of . . .

Leave Your “Buts” Behind for Great Customer Service

How many times have you heard something similar to this in a customer service situation? Customer: “Why don’t you just do it this way, and it will take care of the situation.” Customer Service Person: “I understand what you are saying, but we can to do it this way.” Then the situation magically goes downhill from there and it is difficult to win back the customer. What Happened? The customer se. . .

Show Your Customers You Care

I recently went to a major computer/electronics store to buy an expensive software package. I felt good that I was able to find the software at a substantial discount. But by the time I was through paying for my purchase I never wanted to come back to the store again. What happened? What is happening in many organizations in these economics times? They invest more money to bring in the best pro. . .

Five Leadership Secrets for Challenging Times

We consistently face new and ever growing challenges in the workplace such as reorganizing, downsizing, and “left out sizing.” We are faced with the question, “How do we lead in this storm of change?” It may seem difficult at times and the decisions we make define our short-term and long- term outcomes. I will share with you five leadership techniques guaranteed to keep you on track during thes. . .

Delegate to Accelerate Success!

Recently on the television reality show, The Apprentice, Donald Trump would give the ultimate winner the dream job of working for him, running one of his divisions and earning $250,000 per year. On the final episode, the choice came down to two candidates, Bill Rancic and Kwame Jackson, for the “ultimate” job. Both were very qualified. Bill Rancic was the owner of a successful Internet cigar bu. . .

Ten Customer Service Secrets to Win Back Customers

Recently I was facilitating an Outstanding Customer Service program and broke for lunch. Knowing that the restaurants in the area had much to desire as far as service I gave the students an extra fifteen minutes for lunch. Sure enough a group of four students came rushing into the classroom with their lunches in hand. They sincerely apologized and quickly explained that they receive poor servic. . .

Check Yourself for Outstanding Customer Service

Recently, a business associate, Mike, mentioned that he was doing a show at a local university and stopped by the faculty dining hall to get lunch. He said that, while waiting on line, the service was poor. The line moved slowly, the counterperson was disinterested in what she was doing…and it showed. It was not a pleasant customer experience. It was Mike’s turn to order and the counterperson c. . .

Financial Wizards Prepare! 4 Lil' Tiny Duckies!...

A) If you are going to transform yourself into a financial wizard, with money, security, and assets, then you need to begin this transformation by clearing out the cobwebs, and making way for a new tomorrow.B) We are all perfectly capable of becoming “Financial Wizards.” None of us are without the ability to amass vast quantities of prosperity and wealth, in an easy, painless fashion. Benjamin . . .

5 Simple Steps: Earn an EASY ROTH-IRA Million!!!

So, you wanna earn a million dollars, super-duper easy? How would you like the federal government to give you a big, huge tax break? Wouldn’t it feel deliciously good to earn a Million Dollars of income, completely tax free? How would you like to earn a million dollars of income passively, quietly, without lifting a finger? Well, put your seatbelts on, folks, because in a brief nutshell, I’m go. . .

6 REALLY COOL THINGS: The King of your Castle!!!

If you want to be a millionaire, if you want to be smart with your money, if you want to get ahead in life, build security, establish equity, and retire in confidence, then you must, simply MUST become the King of your Castle!You need to buy your first home if you haven't taken this important step yet. If you have bought your first home already, then read on. I know you already are nodding you. . .

Five Secrets to Gaining Credibility with Your Team

Towers Perrin, the corporate benefits consulting firm, surveyed over 1000 American workers and found the following: Only 51 percent of all workers trust their organizations to tell the truth in employee communications Only 48 percent of all workers with more than five years of tenure believe their companies are honest in their employee communications Only 44 percent of all workers over age 50 t. . .

Emotional Trading

The single most expensive stock market trades are those made with emotions, but, of course, you are not an emotional trader are you? Before you bought that stock, mutual fund or Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) you did your research to be sure that what you were buying would return a good profit over the long haul. You bought it and over time you look at it less and less. Ask yourself: when you plunk. . .

Understanding Bridging Finance

Bridging finance, also referred to as "bridge loans" and "bridging loans", have nothing at all to do with re-constructing the London Bridge. Bridging finance is typically a short-term loan that a business uses to supply cash for a real estate transaction until permanent financing can be arranged. The word "bridge" conveys the fact that the loan is designed to get you over a temporary obstacle. . . .

Are You Ready To Be Your Own Boss?

You have this burning desire you want to be on your own. The temptation is so great that you want to quit your job. Enough is enough. You're sick of working for other people for a ridiculous pay.To be your own boss means controlling your own destiny, having your own time and no bosses to report to. Basically, you can do whatever you want.But before you really jump into a new territory of being . . .

How Could Choosing to Not Do It All Enhance Your Impact?

How often have you heard yourself say, ”I’ve got so many balls in the air I don’t know how I can possibly keep track of them all”. We may be managing to keep the balls in motion, but how good is our juggling performance really? Are our movements controlled and rhythmic? Or are we merely gritting our teeth and hoping to catch the next ball before it falls on the ground? Recently I was speaking. . .

Fixed Income Investment

With interest rates at 40 year lows it seems difficult to find fixed income investments with high yields. Money Market funds are paying investors about 1.4% and Commercial Paper is only yielding 2.3%. For those willing to commit their capital for longer periods of time, a 5 Year Corporate Bond yields about 5%. How does an investor find a good, high yielding, fixed income investment without t. . .

Benefits Of Creating Corporate Ebooks

For organisations to stay competitive, they must be willing to share knowledge with the public because the digital revolution has enabled information to move beyond geographical boundaries. The new rule of corporate survival is not just the ownership of knowledge; it also means that the conscious effort to modify and “self-destroy” it. With this in mind, business decision-makers must seriously . . .