Home Gambling Laws

Social gambling is allowed in some states.

Gambling at home, whether in the form of a friendly poker game or a raffle at a backyard barbecue, can raise legal questions depending upon the nature of the gambling and the state in which the gambling occurs. Each state has its own policy for defining and enforcing home gambling laws.

Profit

Many states reserve their harshest penalties for home gambling in cases where the homeowner or game organizer makes a profit from the game. This is known as professional gambling and it is the case for games where players must pay an entry fee. For example, according to the Washington State Gambling Commission, participation in a professional gambling event constitutes a misdemeanor, while organizing such an event can be a Class B felony.

Social Games

Some states acknowledge a category of gambling called "social gambling." This refers to games where the object is not to produce profit for the organizer but to allow friends to wager small amounts of money on a game. In Alaska, where gambling is illegal, players may use the excuse of a social game as an affirmative defense in court. This only applies when there have been no house odds or a house player (such as a craps dealer) involved in the game. Arizona also recognizes social gambling as legal when there is no profit for the game organizers and all players compete with equal odds.

Premises and Establishments

Even states that allow social gambling generally forbid gaming establishments. Sometimes a gambling establishment is called a gaming premises in state law. Both terms refer to a space where gambling is the primary purpose. This means that it would be illegal to operate a home casino, but legal to engage in social games in a room that is usually a functional part of a private home.

Licensing

Each state issues licenses for gambling establishments, including stores that sell state lottery tickets, casinos and poker rooms. However, some states also require licensing for home gambling. This is the case in California, where even social games in the home are illegal without a gaming license from the state.

Tags: Each state, gambling This, games where, home gambling, professional gambling

Start Your Own Small Construction Company

Construction Area

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the construction industry employs more than 8 million people. Although the success of the industry is closely tied to the housing market --- it was hit hard when the credit crisis of 2007 all but halted new building for years --- small builders, especially those who specialize in niche jobs like energy-efficient design, will always be needed. With careful planning, starting your own company can be a profitable venture. Successful construction company owners are above all else good businesspeople, so leave no stone unturned when creating your business plan.

Instructions

1. Create a written business plan. Your business plan should detail which services your construction company will offer, how you will market your company and what tools and equipment you need to purchase. A well-written, workable business plan will highlight any gaps in your plans as well as provide you with the information you need to apply for loans or financing.

2. Consider setting up your construction company as a limited liability company (LLC) corporation or a limited liability partnership (LLP) in order to protect your personal assets. Each type of company has its pros and cons, so contact your attorney or accountant for advice. Either type of business can be formed at your Secretary of State's office for a fee.

3. Determine your financing needs. You will need to have funds available to purchase tools and materials, lease or buy vehicles and hire laborers. Many small construction company owners get started using their own credit cards or personal savings. Consider applying for a small business loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) or your local bank.

4. Obtain any necessary licenses and permits. Make sure you have an up-to-date contractor's license. Check with your city, county and state to determine their requirements for running a construction company. You might need special permits for specific construction jobs depending on the regulations of your region.

5. Get insured. Construction companies typically need bonding insurance, general liability insurance, auto insurance and worker's compensation. Contact a commercial insurance agent for advice on selecting insurance policies for your construction business.

6. Purchase or lease construction equipment and tools. The tools and machinery you need will depend on the services you plan to offer your clients. General contractors should also lease a small office space where they can meet with clients.

7. Make sure you understand cost estimation. You must have a solid understanding of cost estimation before you can effectively bid on projects. Underbidding to win jobs will only make you lose money. Bidding too high, however, will usually cost you the job. Spend some time learning determine pricing structures. Hire someone with experience in construction estimation if you don't feel you can bid competitively.

8. Hire experienced construction workers. You will need to get together a crew of carpenters, masons, roofers, electricians, plumbers and other tradesmen who turn out quality work. You will also need a foreman to manage your construction crew. You can oversee your own workforce if you plan to be on-site all the time. Otherwise, hire someone with experience leading work crews and sticking to a schedule.

9. Hire subcontractors. You will need to subcontract any work that your own employees can't do. Only hire subcontractors who are licensed and have a good reputation in your community. Remember that your clients will attribute any bad or good results to your company.

10. Advertise your construction company. Create business cards, flyers and mailers with your construction company's information and current contact numbers. Start a company website and advertise your construction services and general price ranges.

Tags: your construction, construction company, business plan, your construction company, will need, your company, company owners

Create A Site With No Web Skills

Create, customize and host a website using graphical tools.

Creating a website doesn't require in-depth knowledge of the HyperText Markup Language, or HTML, code that makes up Web pages and other Web technologies. You can use a variety of methods to create a website even if you have no previous Web-design experience, whether you're interested in setting up a simple website using a Web page-builder service, creating your own blog or designing a website with a graphical program.

Instructions

1. Create a website using a service such as Google Sites, uCoz or Handzon. Open Sites.Google.com, Ucoz.com or Handzon.com in your Web browser and sign up for a free account. Use the service to design your own website and add content from your Web browser. After creating your website, Google, Ucoz or Handzon hosts your website on their services, without uploading it to a separate Web-hosting company.

2. Start a blog using WordPress, Google's Blogger or Tumblr. Open WordPress.com, Blogger.com or Tumblr.com in your Web browser, sign up for a free account and write blog posts, set a template and customize the information shown on your blog. Blogs are particularly useful if you want to update your website frequently.

3. Design your own website using a WYSIWYG, or "what you see is what you get," graphical Web editor program such as KompoZer, Adobe Dreamweaver or CoffeeCup. Download KompoZer for free from KompoZer.com, or get a trial copy of Adobe Dreamweaver or CoffeeCup from Adobe.com/Downloads or CoffeeCup.com/HTML-Editor, respectively. After designing your website, place it on a free or commercial Web-hosting service.

Tags: your website, website using, your browser, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Dreamweaver CoffeeCup, Blogger Tumblr

Start A Presentation On Fast Food

A speech about fast food deserves a yummy attention-getter.

If you want to prepare a presentation on fast food, you couldn't have picked a better time. From the ban in Santa Clara, CA, on offering toys with children's meals, to Michelle Obama's campaign to get Americans to eat better, fast food is continually in the news. While the debate rages about the health risks of food that is high in fat and sugar content, and often low in nutritional value, fast-food chains continue to attract customers with their mix of convenience, taste and low cost. No matter which direction you go with your presentation, you are likely to receive a strong response.

Instructions

1. Determine the direction of your presentation. Although the fast food industry is loved by consumers and brings in billions of dollars every year, its high-calorie, high-fat offerings are considered to be one of the reasons for the rise in obesity. These factors play strongly into our society's love/hate relationship with fast food. If you want to capture your audience's attention, capitalize on these strong feelings.

2. Devise a strong attention-getter. If you are writing about an aspect of fast food that is positive, like a chain's newer healthy offerings or the benefits of running a franchise, consider getting your audience's attention by passing out fast food samples. If you're writing about the negative health effects of fast food, a picture is worth a thousand words. Fast foods are loaded with fat and sugar. A McFlurry, for example, contains the amount of sugar found in 18 sugar cubes. Include pictures in your presentation that illustrate this.

3. Research facts and statistics to support your point. Try to find information that will surprise your audience. Your audience might not know that portion sizes at fast food restaurants are two to five times larger than in the 1970s, or that studies have shown that eating at fast food restaurants more than just two times a week is associated with weight gain and insulin resistance. Statistics give you more authority and make your information more trustworthy. If you discover that the statistics you research change your position, alter your presentation.

Tags: fast food, your presentation, audience attention, fast food restaurants, food restaurants, food that, writing about

Play Garage You Can Make With Cardboard Boxes

There aren't many premade cardboard play garages on the market. No matter--make one yourself. It's cheaper than buying one, more eco-friendly because you're reusing boxes and much more creative. Look at cardboard playhouses for design and construction ideas. Ask your kids what features they'd like their garage to have and involve them in the project by having them decorate the finished product.

Picking Features

What type of garage do you want to build? Is it a multistory parking garage for your kids' Matchbox cars or a two-car structure like the ones attached to so many houses? Does it house a champion's racing car, or is it a standard body shop? Talk to your kids and find out what they want their garage to look like and what features they'd like it to have.

Perhaps they would like a traditional garage door they can pull open. Maybe they want to be able to crawl inside the garage to play, or maybe they're more into the idea of "driving" toy cars up and down ramps, which they can do from outside the structure. Their wants will lead to your design. Try to allow for some flexibility: kids' games will evolve over time, and your garage will need to adapt to each new game as much as it can.

Cardboard Creations as Inspiration

Formulate a basic garage structure by looking at cardboard playhouses. Usually, they're built from one or two large cardboard boxes. If you recently purchased a washer, dryer or dishwasher, save those boxes: they're the perfect size. Some playhouses use one box for the "body" of the house and another, cut up, for a sloped roof. If your garage isn't going to be the kind kids crawl inside, you can use smaller boxes. Turn shoeboxes on their sides and stack them for a multilevel parking structure that's open on one side.

Play castles also can give you ideas for garage features. A drawbridge on a castle can turn into a ramp for a play garage. Cut a square flap in one side of your box, making sure it opens from the top and is attached at the bottom. Attach it to the other sides of the box by punching holes in the sides and the ramp and threading rope through the holes. Once the rope is through, knot it on the other side. Now you can pull down the ramp and "drive" cars up it and into the garage. For a traditional garage door, reverse this process, cutting the flap from the bottom and keeping it attached at the top.

Decorating the Garage

Here's where your kids' creativity can really be put to use. Let them decorate the garage inside and out with paint, markers, stickers or all three. Paint one side of the garage at a time and let it dry before moving on to the other sides: if there's too much wet paint on the cardboard at once, the weight might warp your garage's shape. For a more detailed look, draw or paint bricks onto the outside of the garage.

Inside, you can add wallpaper or decorate the walls with stickers and markers. Paint the walls and ceiling, let them dry and then add details using stickers or marker. If you want to draw complicated designs on the wall, such as rows of tools or other garage-oriented paraphernalia, consider drawing them on paper first, then gluing the paper to the inside of the box: it may be easier than sitting inside the box to draw or reaching inside a smaller box.

If your garage is a gas station or includes a car wash, make a sign detailing prices for gas or a wash. Fold a piece of cardboard in half and score it down the fold with a knife. Write your prices on each side and prop up the sign by setting the cut ends on the ground like a sandwich board.

Tags: your garage, your kids, cardboard playhouses, crawl inside, features they, features they like, garage door

Ideas For Automotive Pinstriping

You can customize your vehicle by adding pinstripes.

You can give your vehicle a custom look with automotive pinstriping. Pinstripes, which are the decorative lines that are often applied to a vehicle's sides, date as far back as when people got around in horses and carriages, according to Rod and Custom Magazine. In addition to the sides, pinstripes are applied to the hoods and rears of vehicles. Pinstripes are applied on vehicles using three methods: mechanical, stencil and freehand.

Names and Initials

Nothing personalizes a vehicle more than putting your name or initials on it. As an automotive pinstriping idea, create your name or initials to go on each side of your vehicle. Place the name or initials on the driver's or passenger's side doors. The pinstriping should flow freely into the name or initial design without breaking the lines. Name and initial automotive pinstriping can be applied freehand by a skilled artist or with stencil tape.

Ropes and Chains

Rope and chain designs can be used for automotive pinstripes, creating a unique and personalized feature for your vehicle. Create the rope and chain designs at an automotive graphics shop. Once the pinstriping designs are completed, apply them to each side of the vehicle. Use colors that complement your vehicle's paint job. You can choose a white, black or brown rope design. The chain designs can be silver or gold.

Animals

Animals can be used as pinstripes. Pick animals that have long bodies, such as snakes or whales. You can also use the body parts of an animal to create automotive pinstriping, such as the tails of lizards, lions, tigers and monkeys, or the neck of a giraffe. Using animals as pinstripes may fit better on off-road vehicles, such as pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles, than passenger cars.

Natural Elements

You can draw inspiration from your environment for your pinstriping ideas. Things that occur in nature, such as lightning, fire and water, can be used as automotive pinstriping. Apply a lightning bolt down both sides of your vehicle for a sporty-looking automotive pinstripe. You can also use a flame as an automotive pinstripe. Apply a line of crashing ocean waves down both sides of your vehicle as pinstriping.

Tags: your vehicle, automotive pinstriping, chain designs, name initials, automotive pinstripe, automotive pinstriping, both sides

Market A Food Product

Market a Food Product

Getting a consumer to notice a new food product can be difficult. One way to connect with the public is through marketing. By using certain tactics, you can develop a clear business model and a flourishing business for your food product in no time.

Instructions

1. Write a business plan. This will give you with a clear idea of your goals for your food product as well as provide a way to organize and research your ideas. In general, a business plan should include: an executive summary, description of the food product, goals, objectives, an assessment of the market, financial statements and personal qualifications.

2. Set up a separate email account where people can contact you specifically about your food product. Use the product name for the email address so you can be easily identified. This email should be the only one used when dealing with business related to your food product.

3. Research trademark laws online to see what the requirements are for your area. In order to protect your product against trademark infringement, it has to be trademarked through federal, state or common law.

4. Place a small "TM" in superscript on your food product as a temporary trademark while waiting for approval. This can protect you against infringement.

5. Research the FDA's regulations when selling food products. Some products, such as pickled and meat items, may have to undergo a scheduled process by which the product is evaluated for its PH levels and temperature. This will also help you assess the type of packaging and storage that is best for your product.

6. Write a marketing plan. This plan will outline specific elements about your food product, such as the "four P's": Product, Price, Promotion and Place. In this plan you will pick a price for your product, what local channels you can use to promote it and where the product is going to be sold. The plan should also include short-term and long-term goals.

7. Conduct market research in the intended area where you will sell your food product. Assess your competition and see what you can tweak and adjust in your plan. Knowing your competition provides the best way to know what to offer your consumers and stay on top in your marketing efforts.

8. Package your food and get it ready for sale. Make sure you have enough packaging materials, business cards and sufficient storage for large orders.

9. Start with a test promotion by advertising in your local newspaper, on community websites or at local stores. Include a comment card with your email so you can get feedback about the product. Test marketing is not only a great way to assess the interest in and response to your food product--it can help you to start small if you do not have sufficient capital.

10. Go to local specialty stores and present your business plan and food samples. Make sure your product is professionally packaged and includes your contact information.

11. Continue to sell your products through stores and local resources. Once the business expands, consider setting up a website and hiring a staff.

Tags: your food, your food product, food product, your product, business plan

What Are The Differences Between Propaganda & Modern Advertisements

Know identify advertising and propaganda to make sound decisions.

Propaganda and modern advertising were both developed in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries due to the rise of mass production and historical political events. Ever since, the importance of both has continued to rise in the United States and worldwide. The ever-expanding communications industry regroups both propaganda and modern advertisements but it is important to understand that both of these notions affect the population's behaviors and attitudes differently.

Definition of Propaganda

Propaganda has acquired strong negative views in the 20th Century because of its association to manipulative and jingoistic methods and its prominent use during both World Wars. However, propaganda's original definition is neutral in nature and is simply defined at a form of communication whose main goal is to influence the attitude of a group of people towards a cause or a position that benefits oneself. Propaganda is used to promote a variety of topics such as public health recommendations, encouraging citizens to participate in a census or an election, or other public service announcements encouraging people toward behaviors that are beneficial to the society such as reporting crimes and avoiding drinking and driving.

Modern Advertising Definition

A simple definition of modern advertising is that it is a form of communication used to drive consumers' behavior. It aims to convince viewers, readers or listeners to take action toward a product, idea or service. Advertising is normally paid for by sponsors and can be viewed via myriad media including newspapers, magazines, television, radio, direct mail, posters, websites, text messages and emails. Commercial advertising most often uses "branding," the repetition of an image and a consistent message, to increase the consumption or use of their client's product or service. Non-commercial advertisers such as political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies spend funds to advertise ideas rather than products.

Similarities

Both propaganda and advertising aim to persuade the public to take action. Many of the persuasion methods used in propaganda and advertising campaigns are the same. Knowledge of advertising principles and consumer behavior is essential to an effective propaganda campaign even if no consumer product or service is being sold.

Differences

While propaganda presents attempts to influence an audience through emotions, advertising does so through information. In propaganda, a consumer would buy into an idea based on its emotional attachment, while advertising would encourage a consumer to buy a product or a service based on specific, emphasized facts. Propaganda presents facts very selectively to encourage a particular behavior and may use highly emotionally loaded messages to produce a visceral reaction, while advertising aims at creating a rational response from its consumers towards to given information about the product or service. In propaganda, an attitude change is the main aim, while advertising is put in place to promote consumer behavior. Mr. William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper tycoon, said that "legitimate publicity is the spreading of truthful information, or facts, about any cause or condition which is of interest or importance to people generally" while "propaganda is the giving out (or hiring of) opinions, arguments, or pleas to induce people generally to believe what some individual, group of individuals or organizations want them to believe, for the pecuniary or other advantage of the individual, group or organization giving out (or hiring) the propaganda."

Tags: product service, while advertising, consumer behavior, consumer product, consumer product service, form communication

What Is Standard Ground Shipping

Standard ground shipping is a cost effective alternative to air shipping.

Shipment transportation can take place either by air, by sea or by ground. Standard ground shipping is the land based method of transporting a shipment. United Parcel Service (UPS), United States Postal Service (USPS) and FedEx are all providers of ground shipping services.

Identification

Although standard ground shipping is done primarily by land via truck or train, USPS also classifies ground shipping as packages shipped across water by boat. Ground shipping is applicable to addresses located in the U.S. for USPS and FedEx; UPS covers the 48 contiguous U.S. states, Mexico and Canada. Outside of these areas, shipping would be considered international. The primary difference between standard ground shipping and express is that express will utilize the fastest method, such as air travel, to ensure prompt delivery of your package.

Considerations

In addition to transportation by train, truck or boat, carting packages by car or bike is also considered standard ground shipping. Some cities, such as Chicago and San Francisco, have bike messengers to provide courier services to deliver documents to businesses.

Benefits

Ground shipping is often a more cost effective alternative to shipping by air. The rate and timeline of delivery depends on the origin, destination and weight of your package. Typically, packages over 70 lbs. are considered too large to ship via standard ground shipping and may require freight transportation. Some companies, such as UPS, also provide door to door service as well as three delivery attempts. FedEx provides a money back guarantee on ground shipping if the parcel does not arrive within the scheduled delivery date.

Tags: ground shipping, ground shipping, standard ground shipping, alternative shipping, cost effective, cost effective alternative

Start A Food Company

Packaged pretzel sticks

Starting a food company can be exciting and lucrative, but there are many regulations and steps that must be followed. No matter if you want to start a restaurant or produced bottled water, many of the regulations for starting a food business are the same. To ensure that your new food business is successful, take the time to make sure you cover the essential basics.

Instructions

1. Determine what type of food products you will sell. You may want to produce pre-packaged foods such as cookies and pretzels, deli items such as packaged sandwiches and wraps, hot or cold catered food, or farmed foods such as artisan cheeses and organic meats.

If your new food company will be a restaurant, bakery, or food delivery service, it will be more expensive to launch than most other types of food businesses.

2. Get your state's required licenses. No matter what type of food company you start, you will need to acquire food permits ranging from food handling certificates to inspection certificates allowing you to manufacture food at a certain location. The type and number of licenses and permits you will need depends upon the type of food company you have, how the food is produced and packaged, and where the food is served.

3. Have your food products tested to determine their nutritional value. If you sell packaged food, in all likelihood you will need to place a label on the package stating its nutritional value. These values most be as accurate as possible, and to obtain nutritional data, most food companies send samples of their products to a food testing lab. Alternatively, you can develop an in-house testing lab if you have the money to do so.

4. Have proper labels made for your food products. Most packaged food products require a label on them that gives consumers important information about allergens, ingredients, and where the food was made. Depending upon what type of food you produce, your label may need to contain certain specific information such as the net weight of the product and its country of origin.

5. Develop a marketing plan. Marketing ideas for food businesses include: providing products for special event gift bags or non-profit events, advertising promotions and coupons; sending free samples with orders; gaining media coverage of your company through public relations to increase customer awareness. Also, having a Website, whether or not you sell your food products online, is a great marketing tool that will give your company a global presence.

6. Find a licensed, dependable place to have your food products manufactured. If you have a large food company, you will likely need to contract with a full-service, large scale food production factory. If you have a smaller food company, you may only need to secure space in a commercial kitchen to produce your products. Either way, ensure that the facility you use is clean and licensed to be a food production facility.

7. Contract with distributors and stores to sell your products. For some food companies, this means having products placed in major chain grocery stores or shopping channels through sales representatives. For smaller food companies, distribution may mean having food products placed in local bakeries, specialty stores, or fairs.

Tags: food products, food company, your food, type food, your food products

Cost Effective Bathroom Remodels

Completely remodeling a bathroom typically costs thousands of dollars, but a cost effective update can be accomplished for a few hundred dollars or less. The following simple updates usually can be performed by the average homeowner in one weekend. Does this Spark an idea?

Paint

A coat of paint will create a dramatic change in a bathroom, as well as create a fresh, clean look. One gallon will cover an average size bathroom.

Wallpaper Border

Add a coordinating wallpaper border around the top or center of the bathroom. Measure the linear footage of your walls to determine how much to buy.

Shower

The simplest and cheapest way to update your shower is with a bright, new shower curtain. Also consider replacing the shower curtain with a glass shower door. The cost is substantially more, however. Expect to pay a minimum cost of several hundred dollars for a basic sliding door from a discount home improvement center.

Lighting

Replace the old lighting with modern fixtures or install new lighting above your mirror or vanity.

Faucets

New sink and shower faucets improve the look as well as the functionality of your bathroom. Shop around, as prices vary greatly depending on the manufacturer and style.

Tags: hundred dollars, shower curtain

Promote An Affiliate Product On A Site

Promote an Affiliate Product on a Site

Working with affiliate advertisers can bring revenue to your website with minimal effort on your part. If you take some time to promote a specific product or company, you will often see a greater return from the program.

Instructions

Promote Affiliate Products on Your Site

1. Promote products that directly relate to your website's content. You will have better luck earning money from an affiliate that relates to the copy on your site. Advertising a new phone probably won't earn you much money if your site is about dogs, for instance.

2. Try to promote the product by incorporating it into your website's text. This is most easily done if you have a blog. You can write a quick product review or personally recommend a product.

3. Use graphic links that work with the design of your site. If you just slap a banner ad at the top of your page, it's less likely to get click-throughs than a smaller ad that works within the design.

4. Start an opt-in email list to send emails to prospective buyers. This is a good chance to personally recommend a product with links to your site or to the affiliate.

5. Pick ads that offer a discount or freebie. Some affiliate programs let you set a special coupon price, while others offer the same discounts to all affiliates. The more exclusive your offer seems, the more likely a visitor is to click on the link.

6. Consider using outside ad programs, like Google Adwords, to promote your affiliate link. Be sure this type of marketing is allowed by the terms of the affiliate program.

7. Remember to utilize search engine optimization (SEO) tools to get your site listed with the major search engines. You must build a strong customer base. Without customers, all of your advertising will be for nothing.

Tags: your site, Promote Affiliate, your website, Affiliate Product, Affiliate Product Site, personally recommend, personally recommend product

Become A Corporate Event Planner

Corporate events are big business. From product launches to sales incentives, what may appear to be a party is actually a carefully choreographed marketing opportunity, and the Corporate Event Planner behind the scenes is every bit as important as the guests walking down the red carpet.

Instructions

Five steps to becoming a Corporate Event Planner

1. Volunteer or work at an event.

Corporate events take place every day. Volunteer to help an event planner design, set up and execute an event. Planners need reliable help for every event. If you don't have much experience, volunteer to help a planner throughout the process. In return for your hard work, you will get to see the entire process from the Planner's perspective. You will also get to meet with event suppliers, learn about A/V and decor selection, and discover what it takes to bring out the best in a caterer.

2. Take classes.

There are a host of classes, conferences and trade shows geared toward Corporate Event Planners. Some of these are offered by industry groups such as the International Special Events Society and Meeting Planners International. Both organizations offer certifications to members who attain specific skill levels. They are also a wonderful place to meet other event professionals and suppliers.

3. Build a supplier database.

There are a wealth of suppliers who specialize in corporate events. They include companies that rent sets and decor items, audio visual suppliers, entertainment booking agencies, speaker's bureaus, invitation design and print, registration services, and a host of others.

There are several industry supplier directories designed to help you find these unique companies, including BizBash, one of the largest resources for corporate event planners. These can provide you with ideas and business contacts.

4. Pull your ideas together into a great event.

Once you have an understanding of what it takes to pull an event together, find a client who needs some help. Start small and use a small group of suppliers you have already met at an industry event or training session.

5. Take photos.

Begin building your professional portfolio. Use photographs to show prospective customers what you have accomplished.

Tags: Corporate Event Planner, Event Planner, Corporate Event, Corporate Event, what takes

Prepare An Elevator Speech For A New Job

Impress a potential employer with your elevator speech.

Imagine riding in an elevator with the one person who has the power to give you your next job. What would you say to him during that brief ride that could convince him that you're the right person for the job? The "Elevator Speech" is a brief, snappy way of introducing who you are to employers. Present your key skills, what makes you unique and what you're looking for in 30 seconds or less.

Instructions

1. Prepare for your elevator speech by taking stock. Think about what you consider your most impressive accomplishments, what makes you most proud and what you think makes you stand out in a crowd of your peers.

2. Think about your current job title or the key skills you have and consider how you would to describe what you do to someone else.

3. Consider what you want to do and why you want the job. Examine reasons unique to you and what you've done in the past that leads you to this point.

4. Pull out two or three impressive achievements that relate directly to the job opening and name those achievements in your speech. Your speech needs to express how you can contribute to the job just as much as what you hope to gain from it.

5. Put it together in no more than three short sentences. The speech should encompass who you are, what you can do and what makes you far and away the best person for the job.

Tags: what makes, Elevator Speech, Think about, unique what, your elevator, your elevator speech

Gifts & Gratuities Policy For Employees

Gifts and gratuities policies ensure ethical practices between clients, vendors and employees.

Gifts and gratuities policies for employees are often reviewed and enforced by upper management to prevent any conflicts of interests between clients, potential clients and employees. Accepting or soliciting gifts from vendors can be viewed as a form of bribery and go against standard business ethics beliefs in the business world. Upon being hired, employees are informed of gift and gratuity policies, to ensure a clear understanding of conduct business with clients.

Soliciting Gifts

Soliciting gifts, either by asking directly or making suggestions to clients or potential vendors, is prohibited and considered unprofessional. An employee should never request that a client give them a gift for his birthday, seasonal holidays or because they've landed a deal or provided the client with a solution.

Accepting Gifts

Clients often want to send thanks to people at a company who help with business dealings. They send everything from movie tickets to gift baskets to employees to show their appreciation. In many instances, clients are not aware of the gifts and gratuities policies in place at companies. Because of this, it's up to employees to send back gifts that conflict with company gift policies or share the gift, like a basket of fruit or candy, with the entire office. Cash, paid vacations, liquor, electronics and other items of high value or deemed inappropriate by management should be sent back to the gift-giver with a thank-you note attached that explains company policy.

Reporting Gifts

In an effort to ensure that employees are behaving ethically, some companies require that employees report all gifts to the human resources office when they are received. Human resources will either determine that the gift can be kept, sent back or give other direction as to how the employee should handle what was received.

Business Meetings

Business dinner, lunch and breakfast meetings are often arranged and paid for by clients or vendors seeking inroads into a company. These meetings are acceptable by most companies, as long as business is discussed during, immediately before or after the meal is served.

Attending Events

Attending client-sponsored events like holiday parties or open houses as a reward for services provided goes against many business' gifts and gratuities policies. Similarly, visiting adult entertainment venues with clients is not common practice in businesses and is usually prohibited, regardless if the client or the employee is paying.

Tags: gratuities policies, between clients, clients potential, clients vendors, employee should, Gifts gratuities

Advertising Sales Job Description

Advertising sales representatives often work on commission.

An advertising sales representative generates income for a company by getting companies or clients to market their products and services. Advertising sales representatives typically work for publications such as magazines, newspapers or websites and television and radio stations. Some work for ad agencies, which attempt to solicit advertising for a number of mediums, including outdoor advertisers.

Basics

Advertising sales representatives are considered a crucial part of their industry, as all forms of media rely on ads to survive. Those in the magazine and newspaper industries offer certain prices for "space" in their publication. Some ad spaces are full-page, others are half, some are a quarter-page. Most publications also have "classified" ads, which are merely lines of text with no design. Meanwhile, sales reps in the broadcast industry sell "time," in which potential clients broadcast their products. Most commercials on TV and radio run anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute. Then there are online ad sales reps, who sell "banner ads" that are placed on a website. Ad sales reps typically receive a base salary, along with a commission, or a percentage of what they sell.

Skills

An advertising sales representative must be a master communicator, both verbally and with the written word. She needs to be professional, courteous and understand her company's demographic, as well as explain how advertising with her company will benefit a potential client. She also needs to be organized in order to manage her accounts. Many ad sales reps handle either national or local accounts, so they also must know their territory well.

Background

Many companies favor candidates with a bachelor's degree when hiring an advertising sales representative. Others merely expect their employees to have a high school diploma or the equivalent. Education isn't always as important as a strong work ethic, a willingness to learn and a proven ability to sell. Occasionally, an advertising sales rep will have spent time working in another department, such as marketing or public relations.

Prospects

Jobs for advertising sales representatives were expected to increase about 7 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That is about as fast as average for all occupations. Nearly 167,000 workers were employed as ad sales reps in May 2008, the BLS reported.

Earnings

Advertising sales representatives earned anywhere from $22,000 to nearly $62,000 per year in March 2010, according to PayScale.com. Much of those figures were based on the sales rep's experience, sales success and industry in which he was employed. Meanwhile, the BLS reported that the median salary for advertising sales representatives was $43,480 in May 2008.

Tags: sales representatives, sales reps, advertising sales representative, Advertising sales representatives, sales representative

What Is Google Shadow

Google Shadow teaches business owners run Internet ads on Google.

Google Shadow is a Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing system. This product provides instruction on use Google AdWords to advertise on the Internet. It includes an e-book for laying out the PPC advertising system created by PPC marketer Tim Houston. Buyers also get Google Shadow software to help automate the process of creating PPC campaigns. Armed with these tools, both product owners and affiliates selling other people's products can improve their ad performance and profit potential with PPC advertising.

Google AdWords

Google runs the AdWords PPC advertising service. Advertisers create campaigns with keywords and place advertising bids for those keywords. If you use this or any other Pay Per Click advertising system, you pay the amount of your bid each time a visitor clicks on your ad. Google Shadow is a system for learning select keywords and make bids for AdWords ad campaigns.

Keywords

To be successful in PPC advertising, you must learn select keywords. This is one of the core areas included in Google Shadow. For example, if you are selling tents, the keyword "tent" would be your main keyword. Depending on your particular products, phrases like "pup tents" and "folding tents" could also provide traffic to your website if you bid on such keywords.

Campaigns

Google Shadow teaches you create entire Google AdWords advertising campaigns. A campaign is a combination of keywords and bids. If you choose the correct keywords and bid amounts, you can make money with AdWords. If you bid too much or select irrelevant keywords, you may lose money with PPC advertising.

E-book Module

Module One contains an e-book with Tim's system. He shows you how he developed his Shadow PPC marketing system and the different pieces of the puzzle that make it all work. According to Google Shadow, you also learn work the system with very little cash and time. The e-book also shows you identify both winning and losing campaigns.

Software Module

The second module is the PPC software. You use this "Google Shadow Software Tool" to help you select keywords and design Pay Per Click marketing campaigns. The software automates the process discussed in the first module. In essence, it does some of the work for you instead of having you manually select all of the keywords.

Price

As of October 2011, the price for the Google Shadow system is $77 per month. You may cancel at any time to stop the payments. Google Shadow uses ClickBank to process its orders. ClickBank accepts credit and debit cards or payment by PayPal. A limited number of countries may pay by electronic check.

Considerations

All businesses incur a certain amount of risk. While Google Shadow does purport to show people make money through PPC advertising and AdWords, there is always a risk of loss when buying advertising. For example, if your website has downtime when you are running ads, you may be spending ad money on visitors that never see your offers. Advertise a little at a time to prevent potentially serious downtime problems or related issues.

Tags: Google Shadow, select keywords, Google AdWords, advertising system, AdWords advertising, Click marketing, Google Shadow system

The Average Salary Of A Communications Manager

Communication managers may work under a variety of job titles.

Communication managers work in a variety of companies under a wide array of job titles and the manager's annual salary may vary based on the company's definition of the position. In addition to an annual salary, communication managers also typically earn bonuses and non-financial incentives that increased the overall compensation package, and higher education can further increase a communication manager's earnings.

Salary

The median 2008 annual nationwide salary for communication managers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, was $105,960. This figure represented all communication managers, though, and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics noted that recent college graduates and those new to the position typically earned around $43,225 in 2009. The employment and compensation website Payscale listed a somewhat different salary range in a 2011 article; according to Payscale, the typical annual salary for a communication manager falls between $45,974 and $73,307. Payscale also noted that communication managers typically earned annual bonuses of up to $7,251 and profit sharing incentives that averaged up to $5,161.

Types

Because communication managers often work under a very broad definition of the term, "Communication," employees in this role may perform a wide variety of jobs. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics listed some more specific names for communication manager jobs as advertising managers, marketing managers, promotions managers, public relations managers and even sales managers. Other names for the position, according to the bureau, may include media director, creative director and even account executive. The bureau went on to elaborate that some very small firms may require senior executives, like the chief executive officer or the chief operations officer, to absorb the responsibilities of the communication manager role.

Education

Though the Bureau of Labor and Statistics notes that most communication managers hold at least a bachelor's degree, managers with post-graduate degrees may command a higher salary than those with a four-year degree. Payscale noted that communication managers who hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications typically earn between $47,000 and $68,929, and those who hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in English often earn between $44,000 and $71,986 as of January 2011. Those with a Master of Business Administration, or MBA, degree typically earn between $44,800 and $71,000.

Other Factors

In addition to education, a number of other factors can affect a communication manager's annual earnings. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics notes companies tend to promote existing employees to the communication manager role, so the employee's previous salary and years of experience can play a role in determining the communication manager salary. The bureau also explains that some organizations offer certification for communication managers, and managers who hold one of these certifications may command a higher salary than those who do not.

Considerations

As Payscale notes, a considerable portion of a communications manager's salary often comes in the form of incentives and bonuses. Many communication managers also receive non-financial rewards, like health care insurance subsidies and flexible working arrangements, that can increase the value of the manager's work. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics also notes that many companies consider communication managers highly eligible for promotion to executive positions, so a higher salary may follow advancement from the communication manager role.

Tags: communication manager, Bureau Labor, Bureau Labor Statistics, communication managers, Labor Statistics, annual salary, communication manager role

Definition Of Merchandising Jobs

Merchandising jobs often mean keeping the store stocked with appealing displays.

The retail industry offers a range of jobs aside from sales. To run any store that sells merchandise, an important role is the merchandiser. Merchandisers typically work in the back of a store and are in charge of updating and maintaining the store's stock.

Other Job Title Names

A merchandising job can be listed as different titles. These titles include, but are not limited to retail merchandiser, field merchandiser, service merchandiser, or chain merchandiser. While each position may require a different type of merchandising work, each title more or less does the same line of work, which is making the store look appealing and ensuring that it is complete with the stock.

Maintaining Stock

A merchandiser is responsible for taking note on which items are low or out of stock and ordering more of that item if possible. This duty is separate from an inventory job, where you count the actual stock and compare it to the listed stock. However, some companies may blend those duties with the job of a merchandiser.

Displays

A merchandiser is responsible for putting items out on the sale floor, whether it's by coming up with appealing displays or following a planogram according to standards put out by a company. If it's at a store such as a grocery store, there are specific protocols to follow. Some smaller retail stores such as a specialty store may allow you to have a little more creativity, allowing you to put together displays that look appealing and work for the demographic of their location.

Physical Requirements

Usually merchandising jobs differ on the physical requirements as some positions depend on the type of store. A general rule of thumb is that you must be able to lift at least 50 pounds. You also must be able to bend, stretch or reach with your arms and legs.

Tags: appealing displays, look appealing, merchandiser responsible, must able, with appealing

Where To Find Webkinz Trading Cards

Webkinz Trading Cards are based off the Webkinz franchise, which is an online community dealing with Webkinz stuffed animals. The trading card game offers players an opportunity to play a tournament-style challenge against other people. The cards types are Base, Action or Challenge. One of the draws to Webkinz trading cards is the rare foil cards, which are rare and sought after by players. Another popular aspect are the feature codes inside each pack of trading cards to redeem prizes through Webkinz online game.

Official Retailers

Look for official Webkinz retailers in the United States and Canada. You can use the store locator feature on the Webkinz website for a nearby retailer. Call ahead before traveling to the store, as they could be sold out of cards.

Online Merchants

You can buy cards from online merchants such as Amazon. The advantage of buying through online merchants is the ability to purchase the Webkinz trading cards in booster boxes, which contain 36 booster packs in each box. Additionally, you can purchase earlier series of the trading cards, such as Series 1 & 2 cards.

Auction Sites

Auction sites, such as eBay, are other avenues for finding Webkinz cards. These sellers often sell specific cards individually than in a bundle. This can be helpful if you're looking for hard-to-find cards. If you are hunting for specific cards, finding them through auction sites is the ideal choice, as the official stores or online merchants won't open the box or booster packs.

Message Boards

Message boards from Webkinz fan sites are another source for finding trading cards. Typically, users advertise card sales through posts, indicating the series type, price and details of buy it. Be cautious when making a purchase. Unlike auction sites, you deal with the private seller directly without the insurance of a middle person to protect from scams.

Craigslist

You can post a free want ad under the collectibles section of Craigslist. Be aware that posting on Craigslist can lead to spam mails from people abusing their contacting privileges. If you are contacted by a private seller, there is no protection from fraudulent deals. Therefore, get as much information as possible about completing a proper transaction before committing to a sale.

Tags: online merchants, auction sites, booster packs, private seller, specific cards, trading cards

Input A Ticket Code On Ticketmaster

Having a presale code may get you closer to the stage.

Purchasing event tickets through Ticketmaster is a fast and safe way to get to see your favorite artist. The sooner you purchase tickets, the better seats you are likely to get. Many artists and venues offer presale tickets to members of their mailing list or fan club. This allows fans to get great seats before the tickets go on sale to the general population.

Instructions

1. Determine what your ticket code is for. Some codes are only valid for specific concert locations and dates. If it's a show you want to attend, note the day and time that the presale starts.

2. Go to Ticketmaster's website the day of the sale. Most presale codes are only available for online purchasing. It is best to get to the website at least 15 minutes before the presale starts so you are ready to get the tickets the minute they go on sale.

3. Type in the name of the artist in the search bar. Select the location that you have the code for. It may say that tickets aren't available yet. Make sure that you have the ticket code ready. It may be best to copy it so you can paste it directly into the box when the time comes.

4. Refresh your page when the time comes that the tickets are supposed to go on sale. Your computer time may not be in sync with Ticketmaster's clock, so you may need to refresh for a few minutes before they show availability.

5. Select the amount of tickets you'd like and choose a price range. Paste your ticket code into the section that asks for a "presale password." Click "Find Tickets" and then you'll be asked to enter a security check code, where you retype the text in a box. If tickets show up that match your criteria, select them and purchase.

Tags: ticket code, your ticket code, codes only, minutes before, presale starts, that have

Amazon Ad Code To A Wordpress Blog

Would you like to link to Amazon products on your blog and earn a little cash from affiliate sales income? There's not much HTML knowledge involved in getting the code on your blog. I'll show you how it's done using a Wordpress blog.

Instructions

1. Establish an Amazon affiliate membership (see Resources below). Set up your information with your name, email, choices on how you want to receive payments, your username and any other information that is needed by Amazon.

2. Once this step is complete and everything is ready to go with Amazon you are ready to create a link to a product. Go to the Affiliate Program page. Sign in to your account.

3. I'll show you a specific product link, but the steps for a link, a banner or a widget are basically the same. On the Affiliate main page, click the tab called "Links & Banners" on the tabbed menu at the top.

4. On the new page for Product Links select "Add Product Links Now."

5. You can narrow down your search for the exact product you want to sell using the drop-down menu to select a category within Amazon's product line. You can enter an exact title or give an ASIN/ISBN if you know it. Press Go.

6. If you get more than one result in your search, find the proper one. Click the button that says "Get Link" for the one you picked.

7. In the window that opens, select your link type. If you choose "Text and Image" (Enhanced Display) you don't have to copy the image and upload it. Amazon will serve the image. If you choose "Image Only" you will need to copy the image and upload it. If you choose "Text Only" you get a text link with no photo.

8. You can customize the link to fit your blog's color scheme, then you are ready to grab the HTML for the product link. It's immediately under what you see in the image in Step 7. Copy that HTML.

9. I recommend you leave the Amazon page open. If you need the HTML again, it will be findable. In a new browser tab sign in to your Wordpress blog. Create a new post title in the usual way. Type some text in the blog post to talk about the product you are planning to link.

10. At the top of the Wordpress blog post entry field, click the tab that says HTML.

Find the spot where you want to insert to link to the product. Paste the HTML from Amazon there.

11. At the top of the Wordpress blog post entry field, click the tab that says "Visual." Check visually to make sure things turned out the way you want. Select "Save Draft" and then Preview the post so you can click on the link to make sure it really goes to the Amazon page you want, then close the Preview.

12. If you have finished writing the text you want to have appear with the link, you are ready to click "Publish."

Tags: blog post, that says, your blog, Amazon page, blog post entry, choose Text, click that

Regulations Regarding Interest Rate Advertising

Learn how the Truth in Lending Act pertains to advertising interest rates.

Whether you are a lender or a consumer, you need to know the rules that lenders must abide by when advertising interest rates. A federal law, the Truth in Lending Act, sets the guidelines for lenders when advertising the mortgage or other lending products in the newspaper, brochures or any of the lender's marketing materials.

Disclosure of Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

The APR is the annual percentage rate. Under Regulation Z (Reg Z) of the Truth in Lending Act, lenders must disclose the APR when quoting interest rates verbally or in writing. The annual percentage rate is the annual cost of borrowing the money, which includes any costs and fees the borrower pays up-front (such as closing costs on a mortgage) and the interest payments.

Changes in Terms

The advertisements must also contain disclosures that spell out any changes in the interest rate that may occur. For example, if it is a fixed interest rate mortgage or loan, then the advertisement must state this. The same statement is required if the interest rate is variable. The act also requires that the advertisement state that the interest rates are subject to change before the borrower submits an application and/or locks in the interest rate.

Promotional or Introductory Rates

The Truth in Lending Act requires advertisements to note if the rate is lower than normal, such as a promotional rate. If it is a promotional rate, then a disclosure in the advertisement must include the time period for which the promotional rate applies. In addition, the advertisement must include what the interest rate calculation is after the promotional rate period expires.

Tags: interest rate, interest rates, promotional rate, Truth Lending, advertisement must

What Is A Yr Surcharge

The YR or YQ charge that appears as a line item on your airline ticket is a fuel surcharge. According to "Trends and Issues in Global Tourism 2009," airlines claim that the rising price of jet forces them to add a fuel surcharge to the ticket price. Each airline has a different surcharge assessed to tickets based on the origin and destination of your ticket and the class of service. Individual airlines impose and set the fuel surcharge price, the fuel surcharge is not a government controlled tax.

Jet Fuel Prices

In 2006, many airlines started to impose a fuel surcharge on international flights. In 2008, as fuel costs peaked at $147 per barrel many airlines started to apply the fuel surcharge to all published fares. Even though oil costs started to decline after the 2008 peak, many airlines continued to impose and even increase fuel surcharges. According to "Trends and Issues in Global Tourism," airlines claim that they continue to require fuel surcharges to offset potential fluctuations in jet fuel prices.

Refunds

The fuel surcharge airlines add the price of the ticket is usually non-refundable. To qualify for a refund of the fee, airlines require that the associated ticket purchased was a refundable ticket. In other words, if your ticket was non-refundable the fuel surcharge also becomes non-refundable. All airlines have specific refund policies, so check with your airline for information about the refundability of your ticket and fuel surcharge.

Discounts

When an airline imposes a fuel surcharge, the charge does not change when the airline offers discounted tickets. Fuel surcharges are, therefore, a type of fixed income for the airlines. When airlines discount tickets, the airlines will typically offer discounts on the price of the ticket before fees, surcharges and taxes. The fuel surcharge also typically applies to frequent flier mile redemption. This means you will still have to pay the fuel surcharge when redeeming a free ticket.

Rates

The airlines do not disclose how they calculate the fuel surcharge. Further, although all airlines pay similar prices for jet fuel, the fuel surcharge various considerably from airline to airline. Therefore, when shopping for airline tickets, you should compare the total ticket costs including all taxes, fees and surcharges.

Tags: fuel surcharge, many airlines, your ticket, According Trends, According Trends Issues

Crm Effect On Brand Image

CRM, or customer relationship management, covers a broad array of services that brands provide for their customers. These services include everything from providing technical support to monitoring social media. The basic philosophy is to facilitate the purchase process for the customer and make it as convenient as possible for him. For many businesses, repeat customers account for the most revenue. This benefits both the customer and the business, which can look forward to future revenue.

Retail

Retail stores offer coupons, discounts and sales to repeat customers. Most supermarkets in the U.S. provide customers with a plastic card that unlocks discounts. This has the double benefit of letting the store track its sales more effectively.

Banking

The world of finance has very good CRM because the services provided by a bank are its core draw in the marketplace.

Online

Websites often provide services such as live chat with a customer service representative, support forums or free shipping. These are very helpful because, for example, a product might have the same price in multiple stores, but free shipping makes it cheaper in one store.

Social Media

Monitoring social media helps brands maintain their image as well. For example, Jet Blue quickly responds to tweets from passengers, allowing them to address complaints immediately.

Community Service

Community service, or corporate social responsibility, is another form of CRM. Companies give back to communities in the form of scholarships, health services and other donations of money and time. This does not directly lead to increased sales, but strengthens a brand's relationship with a community.

Tags: free shipping, repeat customers, social media

Elements Of A Promotional Marketing Campaign

Almost every marketing campaign can benefit from using one or more of the major promotional tools: advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and public relations. Qualifying the elements that are most effective depends on factors like the nature of the product, the consumer's level of involvement, the marketer's communications goal and available resources.

Advertising

Advertising is designed to be transmitted via mass media like television, radio, magazines and websites. It is clearly identified with the paying sponsor, who controls precisely what it says and how it looks. While expensive, most ads are cost-efficient because they reach large numbers of consumers at once. Any type of product or service can be advertised, but this promotional tool is generally most effective when the marketer's goals are to build a brand's image over time and persuade people to choose it over competitors' brands.

Sales Promotion

Sales promotion offers an incentive to prospective customers to change their behavior. For example, discount coupons may convince shoppers to try a new brand of cereal. A buy-one-get-one-free offer could persuade them to buy extra boxes. Because of this emphasis on price cuts or other short-term inducements, sales promotion works best with price-sensitive products. In different forms, it can also be targeted to trade buyers, like wholesalers and retailers, to convince them to give shelf space to new or low-profile brands.

Personal Selling

One-on-one interaction with potential buyers is costly to marketers, but it is a critical promotional element for certain items that are expensive and complex, like real estate, computers or cars. It is also effective with consumers who are highly involved, or engaged, with the product. Examples of high-involvement purchases could include a wedding gown or college education. Personal selling is especially common in business-to-business marketing, when decision makers expect not only a quality product but also considerable expertise from representatives of the seller.

Public Relations

Public relations uses tools like press releases, annual reports, special events, newsletters and legislative lobbying to get the attention of journalists and other opinion leaders. It aims to reach a broader array of target audiences than other types of promotion, including stockholders, employees, vendors and the community at large. Public relations is especially suited to boosting a company's image, responding to bad press, or facilitating an ongoing online discussion, but a serious drawback is that marketers cannot control its outcome.

Tags: most effective, Public relations, sales promotion

Corporate Gift Bag Ideas

Presentation counts just as much as what is in the bag.

To successfully woo potential customers, partners or sponsors with a corporate gift bag, you need a great bag filled with great gifts. Try to choose things that are practical or creative. If your bag contains something useful, like a bottle of water, a deck of playing cards, a pen or a snack bar, people are more likely to use it and remember your company. Otherwise, try to add something that grabs their attention but is associated with the company.

The Bag

Since a nondescript embroidered tote is the standard corporate gift bag, you should try to steer away from nondescript, boring and forgettable. Choose bright colors, fabrics with an interesting texture or a distinctive font. As the piece de resistance, add a unique luggage tag with your corporate logo. If you can, have three types of tote available: one masculine styled tote, one feminine styled tote and one neutral tote. Allow attendees to choose what kind of tote they want. People like choice, and this way they will be more likely to continue using the tote for a long time to come and not just throw it away as soon as they get home. Instead of a tote, you could also choose a classy gift bag. People like receiving presents and the more you make it look like a special present, the better. Make sure you use quality ribbon and materials.

Local Items

If your event or conference is being held in another city, then make it a part of your gift bag. Tuck in a bag of locally grown coffee, a small statue of a local monument, a favor box containing a piece of fruit common to the area or a tourist guidebook.

Practical Items

Practical items, like mint tins filled with mints, insulated travel mugs, aluminum water bottles, business card holders and luggage tags, can take on a life of their own, as hopefully the recipient will use them again and again. Otherwise sensible gifts like food, drink and ink pens are appreciated in a corporate gift bag.

Creative Items

Grabbing people's attention through gift items is good, but tying them to your company's goals, products or current corporate theme is even better. For example, an energy company that puts a plant seedling in each of their company's corporate gift bags, a Moscow-based company that adds a set of Russian dolls and a financial services firm that gifts gold colored lucky cats.

Tags: corporate gift, company that, filled with, more likely, People like

The Best Ways To Advertise Online

The Internet has its own peculiarities concerning marketing. Print advertising has established rules, fixed formats. Limitations of space and target audiences are broadly defined. Expenses must be carefully weighed in order to judge the best use for tight advertising budgets. However, online advertising sets its standard a little closer to the frontier. Products and services are themselves rapidly transforming as a result of the Internet, and as a result, the ways of pitching them are too. Adaptability and creativity are the new watch words in an economy increasingly interested in niche and media savvy audiences.

Blogs

Transparency is one of the great advantages of advertising online. This is essentially when an ad is not overly intrusive. Blogs are often full of advertising in the form of unobtrusive links. This is particularly appealing to prospective customers who are younger and tend to find traditional advertisements distasteful. Through a blog link advertisement, readers still feel like they are getting worthwhile information from the blog source without unfair bias. This, of course, is not entirely true. Often, blogs are only written to attract readers to the website and click on strategically placed links. Many companies hire professional bloggers who understand keyword selection and Internet traffic patterns. This can be an inexpensive way to draw attention to your business because the bloggers are paid on a per-click basis, which means no money has to be floated up front from an advertising budget. What you pay is directly related to results and, best of all, it is after the client has already visited your site.

Google AdWords

Because so much research is now conducted through search engines, placing advertising strategically alongside search results can really boost sales. Google AdWords is a popular and easy to use system that allows you to buy placement on a Google search page based on a string of key words. When someone conducts a search through Google with words you have selected as relevant to your business, a small ad will appear to the right of the normal hits under the heading "Sponsored Links". This ad will provide a direct link to your company website. This service is based on a per-click fee and varies in amount depending on how competitive the key word might be.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the writing of content on your personal website so that key words are repeated several times in the exact same order. This is a way of making your website more relevant to a search engine, and therefore moves your site up in the listings. The closer to the top, the more visibility you will get from prospective clients. The trick is to include these keywords without sounding artificial, as well as to retain substantive content. Many content services exist which employ experienced SEO writers who can provide strong, journalistic content while still meeting your advertising needs.

Tags: Google AdWords, your business, your site

Get Customer Feedback On A New Product

Get Customer Feedback on a New Product

Getting customer feedback on products is essential to the success of any business, and is particularly important when launching a new product. The only way to predict how a product will do in the market is to ask the people who will buy it. When launching a new product, customer feedback is important both before and after the launch. There are a variety of ways you can find out what your customers think.

Instructions

1. Use focus groups to get customer reactions to new products before they hit the market. Focus groups consist of a handful of targeted consumers expressing their opinions. Focus group participants can sign confidentiality agreements to prevent them from leaking product information, if necessary.

2. Talk to customers directly. If you launch a new product in a brick-and-mortar store, take the time to ask customers what they think of the product. Face-to-face feedback is often the best option, because you can press customers for further explanation of their opinions and get a dialog going.

3. Question employees who work with customers about customer reactions to the new product. These employees are a valuable source of feedback, because they get to deal directly with the customer.

4. Send surveys by mail or email following the purchase of the new product. This is easiest done with products bought online, because you have access to a customer's personal information. Surveys get higher response rates when they are accompanied by an incentive, such as a coupon or the opportunity to win something if the survey is completed.

5. Track the sales of your new product carefully. Your sales can tell you whether or not the product hit on the mark.

6. Supply comment cards to customers. The easier a comment card is to use, the more likely it is to be completed. Brief comment cards that use numerical ratings for different criteria are a popular choice.

7. Hire a company to conduct telephone surveys on the new product to past customers.

Tags: comment cards, Customer Feedback, Customer Feedback Product, customer reactions, Feedback Product, launching product, their opinions

Organize A Charity Fundraiser

There are many great nonprofit charities and humanitarian organizations doing important work and raising awareness and funds to help those in need--victims of famine, war, homelessness, hunger and disease. Organizing a fundraiser can be fun and is not very difficult to do. This article will offer some tips and ideas on ways to organize a charity fundraiser and help you to give something back to society.

Instructions

1. Find a charity or nonprofit organization that you would like to support, or start one yourself. Do some research into the creditbility and legitimacy of the charities and organizations. You can start by using the Internet and local libraries to find this information.

2. If you find a charity that is well-established and recognized in the community they will most likely have a website or local office that you can contact to find out who is in charge of fundraising and promotional advertising. You should get an authorization form from the selected charity or nonprofit before you proceed to organizing the fundraiser event. It would be even better if you can get the charity to collaborate and support your event.

3. Once you have the green light to proceed with the event you should decide on the theme and how and who should be involved in making the event successful. Try to get sponsors and donors to participate in the event by asking them to donate prizes and gifts for a raffle or silent auction. In return, you can inform them that the donations are tax deductible (if it's a nonprofit organization) as well as free advertising and promotion for their business or company.

4. If you are well-connected in the entertainment community you might consider putting together a show or performance with well-known performing artists and have the celebrities walk the red carpet.

5. Organize for the press and media to be present to give the event plenty of advertising and promotion. Try to get local radio and TV stations to advertise the event. Publicize the event in the local community papers and magazines, schools, colleges, houses of worship and clubs.

6. Set up a social website page for the fundraiser on popular Internet sites like MySpace and YouTube to increase visibility and promotion for the event.

7. It is relatively cheap nowadays to design and print flyers and posters to distribute prior to the event.

Tags: advertising promotion, charity nonprofit, nonprofit organization

Corporate Leadership Communication Processes

Communication is an essential part of business, and leadership stands to benefit when communication processes are effectively used. Companies are comprised of different people working together toward a common goal, and communication is needed to convey information, ideas and rules. Corporate communication happens in a variety of forms, but the basic purpose is always to ensure understanding.

Written Communication

Written communication is used when it is important to document and retain important pieces of information within an organization. Policies, procedures and work instructions are examples of documentation used by corporate leadership to define work functions and establish the processes in a manner that employees can understand. Another form of written communication used by corporate leaders is email. Communication via email is useful when one party is requesting information that needs to be researched or tracked down.

Policies

Corporate policies are one form of communication that comes from corporate leadership. Policies are used by management to communicate the expectations and requirements for employees. They also define what employees can expect from management. Leadership from a company's human resources department will often provide a handbook containing policies to all employees. This communication is a valuable tool for employees to know their rights and responsibilities within the organization. When policies are updated, it is important for corporate leadership to communicate the changes.

Meetings

Meetings are a way for corporate leaders to verbally communicate with other managers or employees in a more flexible process than that offered by written communication, like policies. Business meetings are conducted by various managers to establish plans of action and provide updates across department lines. Employee meetings are held by management for the benefit of all employees. These meetings can be used to communicate the current status of the company or changes in rules and regulations.

Dialogue

Corporate leaders have much to convey to employees, but an effective manager knows the value of listening when team members have issues or suggestions. Open dialogue between management and employees is necessary to give executives new perspective into areas of the company in which they aren't particularly familiar. A manager at a high level within an organization has an understanding of how processes should happen, but might be unfamiliar with the way things actually work in operations.

Tags: corporate leadership, within organization, communication used, used corporate, written communication

Marketing Project Manager Job Description

Marketing project managers must be organized and creative.

A marketing project manager handles promotions of a company and its brand. Marketing project managers incorporate strategies to help sell products and services, using everything from graphics to catchy phrases to special deals to get the general public interested. Nearly every company, particularly successful ones, has someone in charge of marketing.

Basics

Marketing project managers promote their companies on a multitude of platforms. They oversee the design of websites, email newsletters, brochures, signs and anything else that gets the word out about the company. They work in unison with advertising and sales managers, as well as upper management and the public relations department. Sometimes, marketing project managers write press releases and arrange for the interviews of key company personnel with journalists. Most of the time, they oversee the graphics department to help create a positive image (and accompanying artwork) for the company.

Skills

Marketing project managers should be highly energetic and innovative. They need to work tirelessly to not only promote a company, but also to present it in a positive light. They must be confident, organized, adaptable and possess strong leadership skills. Marketing project managers also need to be excellent communicators and very aware of what is "trendy," often building their strategies around it. And in today's workforce, marketing project coordinators must possess at least basic computer skills, and likely even need to be accomplished in that area.

Background

A marketing project manager must have a bachelor's degree. Some are required to carry master's degrees as well. They have important jobs that require years of training, as many are among the highest earners in the country. Courses for aspiring marketing project managers typically include communications, public relations, advertising, media and computer studies. On top of that, marketing project managers normally spend time working in the lower levels of the field, or perhaps in the advertising, sales or graphics departments.

Prospects

Marketing project managers are likely to see their opportunities increase for quite some time. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for marketing managers will grow by 12 percent from 2008 through 2018. That is about as fast as the national average for all professions.

Earnings

Marketing project managers earned a median salary of $108,580 per year in May 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those in the computer systems design industry earned $127,870 per year, while those in the insurance carrier industry made $103,210 per year.

Tags: project managers, Marketing project managers, Marketing project, advertising sales, Bureau Labor, Bureau Labor Statistics, Labor Statistics

Visual Basic For Access Tutorial

Visual Basic is used to help create more advanced Microsoft Access databases. Visual Basic code can be added to objects to perform certain tasks during an event. Visual Basic is also referred to as VBA or Visual Basic for Applications since it's used as a programming tool within Microsoft Access. With Access's help feature, even beginners can begin using and learning Visual Basic for their databases.

Forms and Reports

Add Visual Basic code to forms and reports. Forms and reports contain objects. Right-click any object or any blank portion of a form or report and choose "Properties." Click the "Event" tab to access all potential events for a particular object. Events vary based on the object. Click the ellipsis next to any event text box and choose "Code Editor" to open the Visual Basic editor for that object.

The basic start and end code are placed for you automatically. Enter your desired Visual Basic code between the start and end. Only code between those two points will be recognized and used for your object. Save your changes by clicking the "Save" button on the toolbar. Exit the Visual Basic Editor and continue editing your form or report.

Visual Basic Editor

Open the Visual Basic Editor by going to "Tools," selecting "Macro" and choosing "Visual Basic Editor." On the left of the screen is the project window. Double-click any form or report to open the Visual Basic code window. Through this window, no preliminary code is provided. You must create all functions and methods for objects from scratch. If you want to create a note for your code, precede it with an apostrophe. Notes are used to explain portions of code for future reference and debugging.

Debug and Run

Debug your code before you run it. Debugging shows you any possible errors. Go to the "Debug" menu while in the Visual Basic editor. Choose "Debug" to check for errors. Error messages will appear at the bottom of the screen along with the line number. Note that the error isn't always on the particular line. The line is just where the error resulted. Check all code in the section where the error was found. Breakpoints can be used to run only certain lines of code to narrow down an error.

Run your Visual Basic code by going to the "Run" menu. You can run certain sections or sub-sections and macros. Code can also be run by saving code as a macro and running the macro or by running the event on an object that the code applies to.

Help

Use Microsoft Access Visual Basic help to learn the syntax and purpose of each portion of code. Access also provides you with suggestions as you type to assist you. Go to "Help" while in the Visual Basic Editor. Choose "Microsoft Access Visual Basic Help." Select "Microsoft Access Visual Basic Reference" to view details on various portions of Visual Basic programming.

Tags: Visual Basic, Basic code, Microsoft Access, Visual Basic code, Basic Editor, Access Visual, Access Visual Basic

Type Spanish Accents On A Keyboard

Learn type Spanish accents on a keyboard.

To type correctly in Spanish, you need to know type Spanish accents on a keyboard. Omission of accent marks in Spanish is tantamount to a severe spelling or grammar mistake in English. If native Spanish speakers read what you write, they will surely notice any accent marks you neglect to include. If you run a Windows operating system, you will either have to reconfigure your keyboard for easy access to Spanish accents or learn multiple-entry keystrokes for each; Macintosh users need only remember a few keyboard shortcuts

Instructions

Reconfiguring a Windows keyboard for Spanish accents

1. Access the Control Panel by clicking the "Start" button in the lower left corner and then selecting "Control Panel." XP users should click on "Regional and Language Options" while Windows 7 and Vista users should click on "Clock, Language, Region."

2. Windows XP users, click the "Languages" tab and the "Details" button, then click the "Add" button. In the new window, select "United States - International," click on "OK" and then "Apply."

Windows 7 and Vista users, click on "Change Keyboards." In the new window, click the "Change Keyboards" button, add the "United States - International" keyboard and click "OK." Then select "United States International" from the "Default Input Languages" drop-down menu.

3. Use a punctuation mark followed by the desired letter to create Spanish accents. For example, when you want to type "á," type an apostrophe and then the letter "a." For "é," type an apostrophe and then the letter "e." The formula (apostrophe + letter) is the same for all vowels. For "ñ," type "~" and then the letter "n." For "ü," type a quotation mark and the letter "u."

Typing Spanish accents on a Mac keyboard

4. To type an accented vowel in Spanish, key the following: "Option," the letter "e" and the desired vowel. For example, to create "ó," type "Option" and the letter "e" simultaneously, then the letter "o." The rest of the vowels use the same formula.

5. To type "ñ," press "Option" and "n" simultaneously, then press the "n" key again.

6. To create the "ü" character, hit "Option" and the letter "u" simultaneously, then press "u" again.

Tags: Spanish accents, then letter, accents keyboard, Option letter, simultaneously then, Spanish accents keyboard, States International

Start A Lucrative Bookkeeping Business

You definitely have what it takes to start a bookkeeping business.

You have a reputation for being thorough, dependable and accurate. You enjoy working with numbers and have considerable financial experience. You definitely have what it takes to start a bookkeeping business. And the time is right. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the demand for bookkeepers is expected to increase significantly through 2018. Also, more companies are outsourcing their bookkeeping departments to independent firms.

Instructions

1. Complete the necessary paperwork. You will need a state business license for tax purposes. Register for your tax identification number at state, local and federal levels. Call the local planning department to find out about the zoning rules at your business location. If you require any assistance, contact the nearest office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) or visit the agency online.

2. Set up your office. If you are home-based, designate a separate room as your client/work area. You will need a desk, computer and file cabinet. Invest in a dedicated business telephone line with a digital answering machine. Subscribe to the telephone company's voice-mail service as a backup. None of your clients will ever get a busy signal; the voice mail automatically kicks in whenever you are on the telephone.

3. Invest in continuing education. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, certified bookkeepers (CBs) will have the best job prospects. Join the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) and receive the monthly "General Ledger" newsletter with up-to-date information on bookkeeping, payroll, software and taxes. You also have access to free accounting, payroll help and discounts on professional liability insurance.

4. Market your business. Use a variety of methods to promote your bookkeeping service, including phone directories, business cards and the Internet. For example, place an advertisement in the local phone directory. Many directories offer deals to first-time advertisers. Buy the biggest advertisement you can realistically afford. Hire a graphic artist and website designer to create a professional-looking website, business cards and brochures. Invest in magnetic business cards; people like to post these on their refrigerators.

5. Build up your client base. Visit at least one new strip mall or industrial-business park per week and drop off your business cards and brochures at each business. Respond to any classified ads for a part-time bookkeeper. Attend breakfast meetings, workshops, fund raisers and other networking events in your community. Always carry your business cards and be prepared to offer your services.

6. Add a few personal touches. If you have good communication skills, create and send out a quarterly newsletter containing money-saving and tax tips. If you have an interest in the arts, conduct workshops and seminars for local arts associations. You could specialize in bookkeeping for writers, artists, photographers and other creative entrepreneurs. Offer to teach an evening course at a local high school or college.

Tags: business cards, your business, According Department, According Department Labor, bookkeeping business

Become A Brand Identity Designer

Become a Brand Identity Designer

A brand-identity designer works with corporate clients to maintain the uniformity of internal and external documents. The daily life of a brand-identity designer includes work in digital media, newspapers, television and street marketing. You can help small companies grow when you become a brand-identity designer.

Instructions

1. Combine studies in marketing and communications design to get a bachelor's degree that is useful. A familiarity with visual elements and theories on finding new markets can help you become a brand-identity designer who can work on a wide range of projects.

2. Improve your chances of landing a job as a brand-identity designer with an advanced degree in communications design. A Master's degree will give you a wider network of connections and a deeper grounding in principles of brand identity.

3. Set yourself apart from competing designers by finding an internship with a firm that specializes in new media. These firms are small in scale and offer opportunities to work closely with clients on tools to build brand identity.

4. Design a resume that can act as an example of your work as a brand-identity designer. You should use your name as the brand, and produce a print resume along with accompanying materials that show your ability to envision a brand-identity campaign.

5. Partner with a website developer to create an online space for your portfolio and qualifications. You should ask for a website that shows off entire branding campaigns as well as additional design work. You can use it as a virtual business card.

6. Build up experience in the advertising industry with a non-design position at a local firm. A few months spent as an account executive can help you appreciate the complaints and demands of high-profile clients.

7. Seek certification in several types of design software to increase the strength of your resume. A resume filled with courses and certifications in design programs will show employers that you are capable of working on a wide range of projects.

Tags: brand-identity designer, Become Brand, Become Brand Identity, become brand-identity, become brand-identity designer