Students Of Success

So, you’ve decided to start your own small business. You’ve chosen the products or services you want to sell. Now, you know it’s time to dive head first into marketing.

Many people mistakenly rush into this process without thinking it all the way through. You are so excited to get your new company’s name out there and to see your web page start popping up on the search engine results pages. It definitely can be a bit intoxicating to see things you created on a medium available to the entire world. But this is where you must force yourself to be more forward thinking.

What do I mean? Well, the easiest way to get your site and your products out there is to just start getting links, links and more links. And of course, you’ll want to start running ads everywhere you can possibly afford to put them.

This is where my “Green Eggs and Ham Theory” comes into play. Now, green eggs and ham have arguably one of the highest name recognition factors in the world. However, how many people do you know that routinely make or want to purchase them?

What does this have to do with your product or service? Well, many experts agree that bulk acquisitions of links and ad placements are one of the fastest ways to get your site to show up in the rankings and searches. But what could they really cost you in the long run?

You must consider what the long term effects of these “quick fix” strategies could be and how much value to place on those effects. First, let’s say that you’ve purchased the cheapest 500 links to your site that you could find. Now, are any of the sites those links are coming from actually relevant to what you’re trying to sell? Are the audiences of those sites potential buyers for your product or service? Or on an even more basic note, are you even able to know what sites your links are going on when you purchase them? These are all important questions to ask yourself because the answers have a very real impact on the long term integrity of your site.

As far as purchasing ads, again the same principles exist. Where are your ads being placed? Do you know for sure that the sites are relevant to yours, while at the same time not your competitors?

It may be a lot more time consuming, but to be confident in your marketing strategies and the integrity of your strategy you’re best off searching for relevant places to place ads and links.

If there’s one thing “Green Eggs and Ham” can teach us, it’s that name recognition is not a surefire ticket to the top of the sales ladder. People must recognize the service or product we’re selling, and they must see it as desirable!

Dana Wallert is the owner of an online virtual assistance company. She has many years experience in sales and marketing, as well as office management. Find more about Dana and sign up to receive her free monthly newsletter at DW Office Solutions - Virtual Assistant Services

VoIP and Geographic Location

The emergency services have come to rely on certain features of the traditional telephone system to enable them to do their jobs and to safeguard against misuse of the general public’s privilege to call them night or day. The key feature is the Caller Line Indication (CLI). This is a number unique to every telephone line attached to the public network and it is possible to trace the location of the telephone that made a call from the CLI.

The CLI enables fire and ambulance services to locate where they are needed should the caller be unable to tell them; they may be too young, old or infirm to do so. The CLI enables the police and security services to locate the source of criminal use by using the telephone network. Meanwhile location can be ascertained on the mobile network through tracing the call to the base station to which the mobile phone is connected.

On the other hand, an IP telephone is recognised not by a CLI, but by its IP address which as no geographic meaning. Indeed one of the advantages of VoIP is that wherever in the world an IP phone connects to the Internet, the Internet will find it to deliver the call. Given this, the emergency services will have no idea from where the call originates.

Currently, most VoIP solutions carry calls between company locations and calls to the public telephone network are made via a gateway, such as those provided by VegaStream. In this scenario, the problem for identifying the location of a phone is similar to that faced when a company uses a traditional PBX solution, although most responsible companies have implemented an appropriate solution by mapping their IP phone addresses to a traditional list of extensions.

VoIP systems can connect to the public telephone network via Internet Telephone Service Providers (ITSP). ITSPs offer significant reduction in call charges by carrying what are the expensive elements of the phone call over the Internet.

For example, an ITSP customer’s call from London to Edinburgh is carried from London to a local switch in Edinburgh via the Internet. Just the final leg of the call is made over the traditional telephone network. As far as the CLI is concerned, the call is being made from the local switch in Edinburgh to the end-point, while the actual origin of the call is completely unknown. If the ITSP customer were simply calling the local fire brigade, the call would travel over the Internet to the ITSP who would then make the connection to the emergency service from its own public network gateway. From a CLI perspective, the call to the emergency service would appear to come from the ITSP.

VoIP and Power

The traditional telephone network is self powered. If the general power supply goes down as it often does in an emergency, the phone system will still work as the phone companies have extensive uninterruptible power supply (UPS) contingencies. VoIP systems require an external power source, and if the power fails, unless the user has implemented their own UPS solution, the phones will not work.

The Immediate Solution

To ensure emergency cover, VoIP system users, at this time, need the contingency of at least one traditional telephone line. VegaStream gateways’ feature a pass-through facility which can be programmed to automatically make and receive calls over this line in the event of power failure. The gateway can also be programmed to automatically route 999 emergency calls over this line to ensure the emergency services receive the vital CLI information.

The Long Term Solution

There are a number of national, supranational and industry wide initiatives to establish and implement standards for geographic recognition of IP telephony equipment to meet the requirements of the emergency services. The large national phone companies that are in the process of converting their traditional phone networks to VoIP are actively involved as they too have a vested interest. Furthermore, in the enterprise space, responsible systems integrators will ensure that CLI information is available both to assist the emergency services and to meet basic requirements of good citizenship and good business.

Further information on the latest VoIP products news and for specific questions on VoIP and the Emergency Services, contact us at www.vegastream.com.

Formed in 1998, VegaStream is one of the most experienced players in the industrial VoIP market. The company supplies gateway CPE to both traditional telecommunications carriers and the new generation of Internet telephony service providers. VegaStream also serves the enterprise market through a global network of distributors and resellers supported by regional offices in the UK, USA and Australia. VegaStream is a non-listed UK company. Investors include the management team, Pace Micro Technology PLC and MTI Partners.

http://www.vegastream.com

The shrink wrap machine is a tool that can transform your business. In this simple, even manual process, the product that you are selling is carefully cared for. Yet, there are many more advantages to using these machines. In fact, shrink wrap is something that any business that provides products for sale should consider investing in. It is affordable and reliable as well as a great way to drum up its own business.

First, what in the world does this machine do? A shrink wrap machine will place plastic around an object. Then, the machine will heat the plastic allowing it to get hot enough to melt together. It forms a protective covering for the object. This protective coating then acts as a barrier from outside forces. Water can not get in. Dirt can not get in. It keeps the object clean and shining until it is purchased. It is effective at its job but it also provides for easy removal in the customer’s hands.

Besides protecting your object that you plan to sell, what can shrink wrap possibly do for you? This product can be used to help increase the image of your object as well. Let’s say that you are selling CD’s that you have recorded. If you just hand out a CD in a case, you are likely to have others thinking that you burned it yourself. If you add the shrink wrap to the outside, not only does you CD case stay nice and clean and crisp, but it also keeps your customer happy and thinking that they just purchased high quality merchandise.

You can purchase these machines in a number of sizes. There are those that run several thousand of dollars for home business use. Then, there are those that are for commercial use and will cost much, much more. In either case, you will want to choose quality and affordability in whatever you choose. Consider the shrink wrap machine for your product needs.

for more information please see www.shrink-wrap-deals.co.uk

Many years ago, the prices for a tuition were a lot lower than they are now, which goes to show just how much they have climbed over the past several years. Years from now, you can expect college tuition to climb even more, making money very important. You can get money for college several different ways to help you pay rising costs.

One of the most popular ways to get money for college is scholarships. You can get a scholarship in high school, simply by paying attention and achieving good grades in your classes. Then, when you graduate, you may receive a scholarship that will pay a good chunk of your expenses. You may need to pay for books, although that isn’t too expensive. You can also apply for financial aid, which will give you a loan to pay for your college tuition and expenses.

Financial aid is great to have, especially if you don’t have a lot of money. This money for college is in the form of a loan that you will have to pay back. You can wait until after you graduate, then start paying the money back. This way, you’ll have your money for college and your education; using the skills you were taught to make more than enough money to pay back your loan. Most colleges will allow you pay over the course of several years, giving you more than enough flexibility and time to pay back what you owe.

If you’re already in college, you can get the money for college by working a part time job. Those of you, who have decided to wait a bit before going to college, can work a full time job to get the money you need. This way, you can pay for your education one semester at a time. Even though college tuitions are high, they don’t really have to be. With scholarships and financial aid, you can get the college training you’ve always wanted - without having to worry about money for college.

Any or all of this article about money can be used if Oklahoma Lottery is included.

Ok…so you already have a crack staff of writers on-hand to handle your company website’s writing assignments. So why should you consider hiring a freelance copywriter?

Well, as you know, today’s corporate belt-tightening often means too much work for too few people. This is especially true in the communications area, where cutbacks have strained the resources of our workforce across the board. The result? Stress, overwork and low morale.

And of course, this strain is more intense when those unusual or special projects come up. The disruption in the day-to-day activities of your staff can have two results. Either this project gets low priority or the day-to-day work suffers.

What’s the alternatives? Well, you can solicit the services of an established Ad agency or PR firm. And in some instances this can be the wise choice, especially when you need the kind of flashy productions intended to impress and entertain the client…the kind designed to win glitzy awards.

The problem? These fancy productions often come with a significant price tag. Face it, these firms have a lot of employees to feed and the cost of this high overhead is passed on to you. And that often means a budget under stress.

In addition, these firms tend to be busy with the best writers often assigned to the large, high profile clients. You may get a team of junior writers, but you’ll still pay the high cost.

The solution? Studies indicate that hiring a freelance writer can actually average 5% (or more) less expensive than work done internally. While at first glance the higher freelance per hour rate appears more cost, when you add the true cost of internal labor, not only salary, but benefit and overhead costs. And because you use him only when needed, there is no ‘downtime’ cost.

And with low overhead, the costs for freelancers are generally significantly lower than the established ad agency and PR firms.

What are some other advantages, besides cost, to having a freelance writer in the bullpen?

Control…Office politics, personal sensitivities and organizational bureaucracies often effect control of a project deadlines and content. The freelance writer is your strategic sourcing partner for any project, working with you.

Objectivity…Essential to creating powerful persuasive copy. Freelancers can give an impartial view and new perspective to your project.

Writing experience…Intimate knowledge of a product or service is not necessary to write about it. Good copywriters are experienced researchers and adept at asking the right questions to get up to speed quickly. What is more important is the fresh perspective that comes from their diverse experience in meeting a variety of communication challenges.

Better results… Many writers can write well…but few can produce the powerful and persuasive copy that optimizes lead generation or sales. The best copywriters are masters at pulling in qualified customers dramatically increasing profits.

Fees…Copy fees are almost always a very small portion of the total project cost, but its effect on money generating results can be enormous.

Don’t wait until crunch time to start seeking relief. Have a freelancer in your bullpen to come to your aid…when you need him.

Copyright Alan Richardson

Alan Richardson is a well-known internet consultant and publisher with www.optimalwebservices.com - a Web resource firm in North Easton, Massachusetts, offering free advice and information for web-based small businesses and entrpreneurs.

To read other articles by Alan, click www.optimalwebservices.com/articles

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A typical and/or ideal Kobra (Kokanastha Brahmin: the one from Maharashtra, India) is :

White, ruthless, arrogant, egoistic, sharp, intelligent, precise, neat, tidy, stubborn, deep, simple, tolerant (often except with mankind), humorous, ironic, hardworking, determined, passionate, handsome, crazy, An artist, racist, introvert, commanding, optimist, bloody-minded, unromantic, learned, studious, boring, hot & short-tempered, cynic, feminine, practical, sadistic, depressed, pure, straight, focussed, possessive, competitive, competent, solitary, individualist, jealous, mean, honest, fare, prejudiced, trustworthy, narrowminded, brave, typical, critical, moody, impulsive, weird, A good speaker, A bad listener, unhealthy, serious, quick, tricky, A freedom-fighter, selective, dominating, patient (again often except with mankind), perfectionist, disciplined, conservative, obsessed, eccentric, and, last but not least, (metaphorically) Poisonous.

About the Author

A Kobra