Students Of Success

Our family has been making bi-annual trips to the Colorado River for as long as I can remember. Tradition dictates that we go to the same place, a sand bar about a mile up river from Picacho on the California side. Picacho, a former mining town, is about 18 miles north of Winterhaven. Getting there requires taking the infamous Picacho Road. It’s a long, ruddy dirt road that weeds out all but the heartiest of campers. It’s a test of your vehicle as well as your nerves.

There is shorter way to get to Picacho from the west on a road called the Hyduke Mine Road. My brother John and I heard about it from a former trucker, who said he’d used it to bypass the Interstate 8 agricultural inspection station. We figured that if a trucker could do the Hyduke Mine Road, then so could we.

Our vehicle was a Chevrolet Caprice Classic; a cop car. John was driving, his future wife rode shotgun, and my girlfriend and I were sitting in the back. We assured them that this was the best way to go. The Hyduke Mine Road starts off of Ogilby Road and after about 16 miles it connects to the Picacho Road just 5 miles south of Picacho. While on Ogilby Road we saw the sign for the Hyduke written on a piece of wood and staked into the ground. We pulled onto the trailhead and assessed the situation.

To the east of us was Picacho Peak, a prominent Butte jetting out of the desert which can be seen for 100 miles on clear days. According to the map, all we had to do was keep heading towards it and pass on it’s north side. How could we get lost with such a prominent feature to navigate by?

Within the first 8 miles we encountered only a few obstacles. We crossed numerous dry washes and plowed up a few sandy embankments. These things were good for a laugh and instilled in us some confidence that this was going to be a cinch. All the while we headed for Picacho Peak. I felt a little uneasy since we hadn’t seen a soul and we were now at the midway point. 8 miles of walking in either direction would be required should there be problems with the car. On this day the temperature was about 95 degrees. We had the windows rolled up, air conditioning blasting out the cold and Van Helen tunes cranking all the while.

At this point we encountered difficulties in rapid succession. The car’s check engine light came on and drew John’s attention to the temperature gage approaching the red zone. John knew just what to do. He ordered us to roll down the windows and cranked the heater to full blast. As crazy as it seemed, shutting off the air conditioning and running the heater provided the additional cooling effort necessary for the engine to not overheat and thus leave us stranded in the desert. Grumbling passengers aside, this was a prudent move.

We came across an area where the road was washed out by a wide stream. The stream bed was now dry but the road on the other side was 24″ higher than the stream bed. “We can’t climb up that” was what we were all thinking. Out came the military shovel and a level of ingenuity that only desperation can muster. Within a half hour we’d built a ramp out of sand and rocks. John and I carefully studied the situation and decided we’d need momentum, timing, and perfect tire placement. After agreeing on the plan, John jumped in the car, gave the obligatory thumbs up, and slammed on the gas. I can still see the event so perfectly in my mind. John’s car hit the ramp and the front end made it up the bank just as planned. The rear tires rolled halfway up the ramp and the tires began to spin. The spinning tires inched up the rest of the way and finally grabbed hold, launching the car up onto the road and tearing off its muffler. After a roaring applause, pats on the back and a sigh of relief, we all jumped in the car and sped on.

Up till this point, we always had Picacho Peak in sight. This aided navigation and provided assurance to the womenfolk who’d begun to lose faith in our plan. As we headed into the foothills of the Chocolate Mountains the peak fell out of sight. Our spirits sank along with it. John and I attempted to pacify the ladies by reminding them that we carried with us camping provisions for a whole weekend. Under the worst case scenario we would simply have to camp, which is what we came out here to do anyhow. Neither of us dared point out that water, our most necessary commodity, was already running out.

We came across a deep pond with a soggy earthen dam on the south side. The road passed over the dam which was only just wide enough for the car to pass. I got out of the car to spot John as he drove over it. On his right ride was a shear drop off, on his left was this pond which slowly leaked over the dam and under his tires. It seemed that as he passed over it, the dam crumbled, the tires slipped, and ever more water began to fall over the dam. After he crossed we had the impression that we could never go back over it again. No one could, for that matter.

Later we came to a fork in the road and decided to take the left since it seemed to be more traveled. We continued on for a half mile as the road turned to thick sand. John gave it gas enough to continue on. Soon we came upon a cul-de-sac, a dead end with the thickest sand we’d seen yet. I imagined this is where we’d be forced to camp that night. Here I think is where John’s 4 wheeling instincts first manifested themselves. John slammed on the gas and whirled the car around this dead end in the widest allowable arc he could. The tires slowed and began to slip but the car continued to move forward. The car’s speed gradually increased and soon we were back at the fork. This time we made the right decision.

Stopping for a rest I took stock of our situation. I realized this was a road for 4×4 vehicles. Not cop cars. In 2 hours we’d made it about 12 miles. We lost sight of our point of reference. Each of us was sweating, dirty, and embittered. We’d long since stripped down the least layer of clothing that decency allows. The secret of the water supply was now public knowledge. The car was running poorly because the muffler was torn off. This hurt our ears because we had the windows rolled down. We couldn’t roll them up since we were in the desert with the heater running. Of course, we did this because the car was overheating, and so on. By this time, John and I felt we were way beyond the point of no return. The ladies on the other hand saw every bump and turn as a sign that we should turn back. Our stubborn refusal to turn back led to hurtful accusations and a “them vs. us” mentality which lingered well beyond the completion of the Hyduke Mine Road.

Late in the afternoon we crested a hill and took in the sight of the Picacho Peak on our right. It was close so we knew we didn’t have far to go. Proceeding down the hill we entered into White Wash. We continued on in this wash at about 30 miles per hour daring not to slow down or even turn sharply for fear of digging in and getting stuck. After some scary points where we slowed to a crawl we were within sight of the Picacho Road. We saw that the road was flanked by sand berms used to keep drainage from flowing into the road. John didn’t even consider slowing down. He hit the 2′ sand berm at full speed, smashing his way over it and onto the Picacho Road.

Our misadventure was over. We found our way to Picacho and jumped into the Colorado River to cool off.

Steven Unwin

When you are building links to increase your link popularity, who do you link to? The question of where to link to increase ranking can be confusing. Logical thinking is needed to achieve link popularity in a natural way.

Google PageRank

First and foremost, PageRank is part of the algorithm of Google’s ranking in the search engine results. Other search engines use link popularity in their algorithm to evaluate your website as well. But PageRank is only one of the 100 plus criteria Google uses to evaluate your web pages. Use the idea of PageRank as a “tool” to help make decisions, there’s no need to live and die by the results. Link popularity itself is merely one way to improve your ranking.

Should You Link To Them?

Think about it. You see a quality website, you see good content. The site is a “Mom and Pop” website with little ranking. So what if the Google Toolbar says PageRank 2/10? That 2/10 may one day be 8/10. More importantly, you are linking to it because it is good to link to for your visitors - end of story.

Reciprocal Linking Fears

There is a general fear of reciprocal linking to websites who inadvertently link to a “bad neighborhood” with penalties or PageRank zero, passing on problems to you. Use your common sense. Is this a website you would want to visit or your visitors would want to visit? If the answer is no or you can’t tell what the subject of the site is, make a note of it and keep looking. A website full of links with little content doesn’t “make sense” because what benefit is it to you or your visitors? Of course you are going to link to your partners in business or maybe the small website that is doing a bang up job of selling widgets and providing widget information.

Linking Just To Link

If you are going to link, what purpose does it serve? The idea of acquiring link popularity by linking back and forth to other sites to boost your popularity artificially is a popular method. But is it of value to your website? Ask yourself:

* Would you link to this site if link popularity in the search engines didn’t matter?

* Would your visitor care about this link or find it helpful?

* Does the website have good content?

* Is this an opportunity for you to publicize your website by being listed there?

* Will this link cause you to spend a great deal of time worrying about it?

* Is the link “just a link” or do you want a link from any site whose visitors care about what you have to say

Places To Seek Out Links That Make Sense

It makes sense to list your website in the search engines and directories. In fact, one-way linking, such as listing your site in directories, is a good way to improve your link popularity naturally. Well, you say to yourself, of course I’ve done that. Besides the major directories, what else is out there? You’d be surprised at the amount of good secondary and specialty directories that drive traffic. Some even specialize in a topic - maybe your topic. If you have a product to sell, look at who your competitor is linking to. Search for directories and business sites on your topic. Look for websites that talk about the widgets you sell and see if they accept submissions to their directory listings in the category for widgets. Do they accept original articles, product reviews, press releases or white papers about widgets? If so, submit your topical articles and watch your link popularity rise naturally. Always include your author bio, website link, reprint and copyright information for your company. With your good content on other websites as well as archived on your own website, there you have it, links pointing back to your website.

Think Like A Search Visitor

You’ve heard about good navigation, website usability and other ways to keep your site visitors interested in your site. Who are the search engines catering to? Webmasters? Search Engine Marketers? Google is a prime example - they want to create the best experience for their search engine users. It all ties in together - good content, good navigation, good usability, validated code, and relevant search engine results - because it makes sense. If Google as the leader in search engines is concerned about the visitor, don’t you think the other search engines follow suit?

Hard Work Instead Of Worrying

Focus your time on good content which uses your important keyword phrases. Optimize your web pages using those keywords. Develop your website so once your visitors arrive, they will want to stay. The world wide web uses linking to connect us all. By using hard work to create a quality website and common sense when linking you can stop worrying and start succeeding.

Daria Goetsch is the founder and Search Engine Marketing Consultant for Search Innovation Marketing, a Search Engine Optimization company serving small businesses. She has specialized in Search Engine Promotion since 1998, including three years as the Search Engine Specialist for O’Reilly Media, Inc., a technical book publishing company.

Copyright © 2002-2005 Search Innovation Marketing.

http://www.searchinnovation.com All Rights Reserved.

Permission to reprint this article is granted if the article is reproduced in its entirety, without modification, including the bio information. Please include a hyperlink to http://www.searchinnovation.com when using this article in newsletters or online.

Have you ever thought about kids at age 4 or so, ask
questions all day long about everything and anything.
But then, years pass and where did the questions go?

Why after the youth do the questions go? Is it because
of knowledge or is it because of lack of interest? What
do you think?

What questions do you ask yourself about your life and
about your purpose and about your goals whether they
be about business or personal aspects?

Do your questions look something like this?

Who am I? Where am I going? Why do I exist? What
what I put on Earth for? Is there more to my life then
just getting up and going to bed and going to work and
going to?

What about my finances? Was I put here to be rich and
if so, where is the money? Do I play the lottery expecting
to win or working hard at work or at taking control of my
own destiny with working on your own business. Or, what
about this… Since I have all the money in the world, why
am I not happy and content?

What about social and fun? Do you have fun and laugh and
do you quesion what fun would be in your life? Have you
settled into a routine that is just that of mere existence and
your friends are laughing and having fun?

Are you a half full or half empty person that looks at the positive
or negative side of life? Who do you like to hang around… Positive
or Negative friends?

What about your physical nature? Are you healthy and fit? Or
if not, what do you want to be or look like different then you are
now? Are you eating right, sleeping well, exercising every day?

What about your emotions? Yeh, they all have questions too..
Do you have intimate relationships? Do you share and care with
others? Do you have friends that care and help you when you are
in need? Do you reach out and help others?

See, the subject was about questions. The purpose is to leave
enough space and pondering for what the questions might have
you ask and more of yourself.

Here is another question that I often ask especially when I go to
the grocery store and at the check out.. “how can they write any
thing new about weight loss, beauty for skin, hair stuff”? There is
an amazing thing, notice when you go to the check outs that there
is something in almost every magazine about how to loose pounds
or inches.

And, the last area of question would be what that of your spiritual
questions and growth areas? Do you spend time getting in touch
of the real purpose of your existence? Have you defined your real
purpose on being here?

So, what would be the answer to any or all of the above questions?
Would they not have to be different for each one of us. Why? Well,
we are all unique individuals right down to our fingerprints, personalities
experiences, and life as it is.

Do we all share a commonality? It is my belief that the answer is yes.

What would that be, well my opinion is that we are all seeking
truth fulfillment and our higher purpose for existence and servitude.

About the Author
Judy LaMont, R.N. MA.Sec Ed. is an Internet Consultant
who shows Entrepreneurs how start their online home-based
businesses in very easy simple steps. She resides in Orlando, Fl.
and is well known for her Internet knowledge and dedication to
helping people. Judy can be reached at support@bizwizzle.com;
http://www.bizwizzle.com; or at 407-832-1996.

OK you prepared your home to sell. You mowed the lawn. You put out new pine needles and you even replaced those three dead bushes. You disassembled the trampoline in the back yard that you couldn’t live without three summers ago. You moved out the clutter (all into the garage and the attic) to make your home seem bigger. You painted over that purple accent wall with a neutral color. You even took down your velvet painting of “Dogs Playing Poker.” You lived in your house as if it were a museum for three months. Real Estate agents have been in and out of your house more often than my family at a buffet bar.

Well, you got an offer and accepted it. The buyer’s real estate agent tells you they want you to swim in a tank with live sharks…..I mean let their home inspector come and inspect your house. You feel the anxiety coming on…What to do…..no don’t take those pills they talk about on TV. Read the tips in this article.

My purpose in this article is to let you know some common things that home inspectors look for during an inspection and some things you can do to prepare for the colonoscopy……..I mean the home inspection. Here are my tips:

1. The home inspector is going to find something. No mater how much you prepare your house, he will find something. Don’t take it personally.

2. Clean your gutters.

3. Trim any trees or branches touching the roof.

4. Caulk the joints on your trim around windows and doors.

5. Make sure all your downspouts have diverters under them.

6. Clean your oven…make sure all your burners work.

7. Make sure your disposal and dishwasher are working properly.

8. Tighten your kitchen cabinets if they are loose.

9. Tighten tour toilets if they are loose.

10. Make sure your heat and air conditioning are working properly.

11. Caulk around your tub and shower if needed.

12. Change your filters for your HVAC system.

13. Make sure all your windows and doors open and close properly. Make adjustments as needed.

14. Remember all the stuff you dumped in the attic and garage to make your house more roomy? Please clean these. The inspector will need to get in there.

15. Make sure your garage door goes up and down properly. Make sure the auto reverse works properly.

16. Replace any light bulbs that are burned out.

17. For goodness sakes whatever you do, don’t put that velvet painting of “Dogs Playing Poker” back on the wall.

Get off the ledge!!! Don’t jump!!! You will be fine. You will survive the home inspection process. Remember that the home inspector is still going to find some things no matter how much you prepare. It’s not personal. If you have any questions or concerns about the home inspection process…or you want to buy a used trampoline…cheap. Cantact me - Preston Sandlin www.homeinspectioncarolina.com.

Preston Sandlin is a home inspector in Charlotte NC. He has been a licensed home inspector for eleven years. He is a member of the North Carolina Home Inspector’s Association, The Better Business Bureau, and the Charlotte Rgional Realtors Association. Preston has performed thousands of home inspections over the past eleven years.

Visit ==>www.homeinspectioncarolina.com

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business. Marketing builds
awareness. Awareness lets potential customers find out about
your product or service. Just as with a bricks and mortar
business, marketing is essential in order to let people know
your business offer exists.

Although the World Wide Web can be thought of as a media channel
where prospects will see your copy day after day, the truth is
that unless you attract those prospects to your website first
then your efforts are in vain.

The term ‘World Wide Web’ should really have a fourth word,
‘Wilderness’, because that’s where any website begins and stays
if no efforts are made to attract visitors.

Any business that builds a store, for example, must make efforts
to attract custom in order to succeed. The very same principle
applies online and just as in the offline world, the amount of
benefits reaped is proportional to the amount of effort put in.

In order to maintain any kind of competitive advantage,
sustained efforts must be made with a long term plan in mind.

Compared to traditional offline methods of marketing, one of the
distinct advantages of marketing online is the speed at which
new marketing strategies can be put to test. For example, a pay
per click campaign could be launched and the results analysed
all in a single day. Such campaigns can promote the smallest
businesses amongst the largest industry relevant websites viewed
by thousands of qualified prospects.

One of the greatest Internet marketing fallacies is those
services offering automated submission to hundreds of search
engines as an effective means of search engine promotion. When
80% of all search engine usage is carried out using the three
largest search engines (Google, Yahoo! and MSN), the only others
worth being included in are those that are highly relevant
and/or localised. This means that automated submission services
such as these can offer limited benefit and then only to those
websites that don’t already appear in a search engine’s listings.

The effectiveness of these types of automated and unspecific
services quickly becomes diluted when they are made readily
available to all.

For an effective Internet marketing that delivers significant
and measurable results, there is no substitute for a
well-structured, customised approach making the best possible
use of the technologies available.

Building a successful Internet business starts with building a
website and continues with effective marketing.

1. Tis the Season

Recognize that everyone is frazzled during the holidays- you and your customers. Give everyone, including you, the benefit of the doubt when it comes to ‘bad behaviors’ like being abrupt or rude. Breathe deep and smile. It can work wonders.

2. Let ‘em Rant, Let ‘em Rant, Let ‘em Rant

Listen briefly to what your customer has to say, even if he is simply venting about things outside of your control. Your client will appreciate the caring and you just might learn about another customer problem you can solve. Comments like the ones below can help the customer feel acknowledged and smooth the way to resolution.

That must be difficult for you.

I can see how upset you are.

This must be very important

Let’s see what we both can do to fix this

3. Making a List and Checkin’ it Twice

Ask your customer what is her most important or urgent concern. Then ask some more questions to find options to resolve it. Questions like the ones below get you to the heart of the matter:

What happened?

What would you like to see done?

Why is that important to you?

How can you help fix this?

4. O’ Make It Right

Take the information you’ve gained through your comments and questions and make things right. Go over and above in your efforts and your customer won’t forget it or you. What if you can’t fix it? Be honest about it. Sincerely offer what you can provide and explain why more can’t be done.

5. We Wish You a Happy Ending

Follow up with your customer to see that he’s satisfied. In the hectic world we live in, people crave a personal touch like a handwritten note or a short email. Such a small gesture can have a lot of impact on customer loyalty.

These tips can help you have a happy holiday too!

About The Author

copyright 2004 Dina Beach Lynch is a Workplace Mediator and Conflict Coach who supports professional practice groups. Learn how to solve tough issues at Conflict 101 teleclass Jan. 10, 2005. Visit workwelltogether.com to register.

Dina@workwelltogether.com

As Americans everywhere are shaping up for the spring, hitting the gym and donning lighter clothes, they want to feel confident at the beach or pool without the unnecessary stress of worrying about embarrassing shaving bumps, razor burn, or worse - stray hairs which become very visible in bright sunlight.

Traditional hair removal techniques such as shaving, waxing and tweezing only provide temporary relief and may actually stimulate hair growth and cause skin infection. Electrolysis, while effective, often requires years of ongoing treatments and is particularly painful. Laser hair removal offers four main advantages: 1) comfort, 2) speed, 3) accuracy, and 4) long-term effectiveness.

Laser hair removal is soaring in popularity - last year in the US there were almost 2 million procedures performed. Today it ranks as the fastest growing non-surgical cosmetic enhancement procedure and is second only to Botox in numbers of treatments. Ideal Image (www.idealimage.com) the nation’s leader in the laser hair removal industry has performed over 100,000 laser hair removal treatments. The most common procedure seen for women in the US is facial hair while men are seeking a remedy to their hairy backs.

So with salons and spas racing to add laser hair removal to their menu of services, how can you be sure you’re selecting a clinic that not only offers effective removal of the hair, but also employs the highest safety measures? Below are tips to finding the right laser hair removal place for you.

• First, ask questions:

  Who supervises the laser operators and how are they trained? Can you take a tour of the facility and meet the staff? Is the website informative? How many procedures have they performed? Will they perform a test spot on your skin for the area you would like to have treated? Will they provide you with a list of their customers who you can speak to first hand to ask questions about their experience at that facility?

• Find out how many lasers they have.

  Many places offering laser hair removal have a one-size-fits-all mentality and use the same laser on all patients. A reputable clinic should have multiple lasers so they can customize and tailor treatments to individual hair and skin types. Also, they should require you to complete a detailed medical history form to be sure there are no contra-indications to your laser treatment.

• Next find out who performs the laser hair removal:

  State regulations vary across the US. It’s as important to know when to use the laser, as it is when NOT to use it. A handful of states limit the practice to physicians. Consequently not much laser hair removal is done in those states. While some laser procedures should be done only by a physician, laser hair removal is not one of them. It is a simple procedure of exceedingly low risk. Even when the procedure is performed in a doctor’s office, you will rarely find a doctor actually doing the procedure. On the other hand, some states have virtually no minimal requirement for practitioners of laser hair removal.

  Medical professionals such as nurses, advanced nurse practitioners and certified physician assistants, under physician supervision and using physician-written protocols, best do the procedure. Practitioners should be trained by the laser manufacturer. In addition to manufacturer training, Ideal Image provides a comprehensive two-week training program for all treatment providers.

Know the risks:

Generally the highest risk associated with laser hair removal is mild sunburn. However, the laser center should provide you with an ‘Informed Consent’ form, detailing everything you need to know about your procedure, and they should take time to answer all your questions.

The senior reviewer for the FDA’s office of device evaluation, Richard Felton, indicated that in the last decade, the agency had record of only 60 consumer complaints; most of those were complaints that the procedure didn’t work.

Are you even a candidate?

Most people who complain laser hair removal doesn’t work weren’t appropriate candidates to begin with. Choose a clinic that offers a free consultation to determine if the procedure is right for your hair and skin type. Laser hair removal is most effective on light skin with dark hair but, with the appropriate laser, can also be done on dark skin as well. Since the laser beam is attracted to melanin, the pigment in brown and black hair, it’s not usually effective on blond, gray or red hair.

Robert J. Ailes, M.D.
Director of Research & Development and Corporate Medical Director
Ideal Image Development Corporation
Tampa, Florida

Laser Hair Removal - Ideal Image is making shaving and waxing seem obsolete with their safe, comfortable and cost-effective laser hair removal procedures.

http://www.idealimage.com

Affordable: Once someone discovers imitation diamonds, it is inconceivable why they would not want everlasting elegance, saving thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars in the process, banking the difference. It is a fact that jewelry lovers are not acting out of charity when they buy diamond jewelryendeavoring to make jewelers, mined diamond dealers, and the diamond cartel richer than they already are.

No way to tell the difference with the naked eye: Scientists have synthesized and created diamond alternatives that are so ostensibly close to a mined diamonds that even certified gemologists require scientific testing equipment to tell the difference. Breakthrough advances have made the latest faux diamonds closely mimic the properties of mined diamonds. They cut glass, they refract light into perfect hearts-and-arrows, and they have superlative fire and brilliance. In fact, in almost all measurable variations, they match or are superior to mined diamonds.

No pricing gymnastics: A common practice in retailing mined diamond jewelry is to use phantom prices and then show impressive discounts in an effort to lure buyers. This practice is called phantom pricing. With lab-created diamonds this deception is not possible because the prices are low to begin with, leaving no room to use phantom pricing.

No reason to constantly police your synthetic diamond jewelry: Do you forever want worry that you will lose expensive jewelry pieces, damage them, or have them stolen? Do you want to feel compelled to buy a home safe? When you travel, do you want to be burdened with frequently thinking about the security of your jewelry? With imitation diamonds all these concerns disappear.

No need to buy insurance: In a short time, what you’d pay in extra premiums to insure just a few pieces of mined diamond jewelry, you could fill your jewelry box with synthetic diamonds. But that is not the worst of it. Insurance is an ongoing never-ending expense.

No secret mined diamond dirty tricks and scams: All mined diamonds have flaws, birthmarks, and vary in quality. These realities are a breeding ground for a buffet mined diamond fraud that victimizes and robs consumers. From grade bumping to laser drilling to fracture filling, the mined diamond industry is awash in unscrupulous business practices. Lab-created diamonds are uniform, flawless, and priced low so frauds simply do not exist.

No supporting the diamond cartel: It all starts at the top with the De Beers diamond cartel, which would run afoul of federal anti-trust laws if headquartered in the united states. Diamonds are in fact cheap to produce and would be lower in price if it weren’t for the global cartel. Its aim is to maintain a strong monopoly position, an objective which it has successfully achieved for decades. In controlling the mined diamond market, De Beers has exploited a relatively simple idea: put a stranglehold on production, hold inventory, and limit distribution, thereby keeping prices stratospheric, and making diamond alternative engagement rings a popular choice. What makes De Beers so special is its execution. Over the past 60 years the cartel has done for mined diamonds something that eluded the oil producers of OPEC and even the cocaine barons of the Medellin cartel. De Beers has the muscle and the nerve to impose its own order on the market and has built a dominate juggernaut syndicate.

No “slave” or child labor used: Diamond mining operations are rife with horrific conditions and have a long history of dehumanizing humiliating practices. Debt slavery and child labor is common in diamond cutting operations in India, where much of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished.

No conflict stones: It is no secret that from the beginning of the modern mined diamond industry in the 1800s through today that mined diamonds are used to support regional wars, help fund murder on a grand scale, and contribute to genocide. Imitation diamonds are created in a lab by technicians at a reasonably low cost and, therefore, cannot possibly be used as a currency for human misery.

Prestige: While there is no prestige in overpaying, there is tremendous prestige in enhancing your existing wardrobe with beautiful man made diamonds on a budget. You can accessorize and glamorize till your heart’s content, with a smile on your face, showing you are a person of stature at any occasion or event.

Robert Joseph is an expert jeweler and founding partner of Diamond Nexus Labs, a renowned online jewelry store that specializes in pristine affordable diamond simulants set in Solid 14K Gold.

Copyright © 2002-2005 Diamond Nexus Labs.
http://diamondnexuslabs.com/ All Rights Reserved.

Permission to reprint this article is granted if the article is reproduced in its entirety, without editing, including the bio information. Please include a hyperlink to http://diamondnexuslabs.com/ when using this article in newsletters or online.

To receive a FREE comparison chart on how Diamond Nexus Labs lab-created diamonds stack up against mined diamonds and register for a FREE no-obligation $50 Gift Certificate giveaway send E-mail to: freechart@diamondnexuslabs.com and just type Free Chart followed by your first name in the subject line.

If you’re thinking of jumping on the bandwagon and going into business with your own ecommerce website, you’d do well to look at a few examples before you start. Finding out what a good ecommerce website looks like will help you know what to include - and what to avoid - when you start to set up one of your own. Here are some of the things you’ll find on the perfect ecommerce web site:

A good ecommerce web site sells something that people want to buy.

This is probably the most important fact of all. It’s all very well to decide that you want to set up an ecommerce web site (after all, a lot of people are doing it, and doing it very successfully, too), but first of all, make sure you know what you’re going to sell - and whether or not it’s something people will want to buy. That means doing market research, and market research can be time consuming and boring, but you’ll never create a successful ecommerce website without it.

The most successful online stores sell products that are high in demand and which fulfill a need.

Before you even think about starting an ecommerce website of your own, you’ll need to work out which group of consumers you’ll be targeting, and just what kind of thing they want to buy.

A good ecommerce website has a simple yet eye-catching design.

Never underestimate the importance of finding a great design for your ecommerce web site - but don’t over-estimate it either. While your ecommerce web site design is one of the things your customers will remember you for, if you get things right, they’ll be far more interested in what you’re selling than in how you’re selling it. Make sure your ecommerce web site is easy to use and navigate, and that your products are displayed to their best advantage.

A good ecommerce website makes it easy for customers to pay.

Have you ever found something you want to buy on an ecommerce website, and got to check out only to find that you need to make a phone call to the company in question to complete your transaction or, worse, print out an order form and send it through the mail? Frustrating, isn’t it? Your customers will think so too. Install an easy to use, straightforward payments mechanism which allows your customers to pay safely and securely using their credit or debit cards - they’ll thank you for it by coming back for more!

The perfect ecommerce website is easy to find.

Last but not least, make sure your ecommerce web site shows up on search engine listings. If it doesn’t, no one will ever find it, and you may as well not have started it at all. Search engine optimisation (the art of getting your web site listed on search engines) can be tricky and time consuming, so if you’re not sure how to do it, find someone who can - it’ll be worth every penny you spend on it!

Amber McNaught is co-owner of Hot Igloo Productions Ltd, a website design and online marketing firm offering high quality designs at affordable prices. Visit their website at http://www.hotigloo.co.uk

The RIGHT books can be great sellers at the RIGHT time of year. Note the word RIGHT because certain times of year are notoriously unkind to the mainstream info products seller.

The run up to Christmas, for instance, typically brings little demand for business opportunities books which often fare better just after Christmas when credit card and other bills land on the doormat and tempt the individual to look again at ways to regenerate his fortunes.

Summer, too, with holidays on the horizon, creates a feelgood factor that outweighs worries about boring old things like bills, work and money. When the cold months return though, it’s a different matter, there’s little to do now but work out ways to make money for next year’s travels …… and then there’s Christmas closing in …..!

Generally speaking, January to June and September to November, are kindest to anyone selling business opportunity and other moneymaking titles, including marketing, investing in stocks and shares, building a property portfolio, making money at auction.

So what happens in between, how does the specialist seller of business opportunities and moneymaking books survive the leaner times? The answer is he either makes enough during the good times to cover the bad, or he finds something additional to sell with all-year-round or seasonal appeal. Let’s look at seasonal appeal today.

SEASONS, ANNIVERSARIES, SPECIAL EVENTS - A MARKETERS’ DREAM COME TRUE!

Seasons, anniversaries, special events - some of universal interest, like birthdays and family celebrations, others with a high market following, like Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day, Crufts Dog Show, 100 years since someone famous died or something important happened, and so on, and so on. And so on!

The benefits of focusing on seasons, anniversaries, special events, are many and include:

* High Niche Market Potential. At Christmas, almost everyone thinks Christmas, and much the same goes for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween. The result is niche markets that last just a few weeks, sometimes just days, but they’re potentially most profitable of all.

* History Repeats Itself. Seasons and anniversaries come and go, and what you learn one year will benefit coming years’ endeavors. You’ll learn which ads to repeat and which to bin, which media to focus on and whose advertising sales reps. to cold shoulder, while all the time building a list of enquirers and buyers for future promotions.

* Great Research Potential. Every season, anniversary and special event comes with ready made ideas for you to copy next time round. Be careful, however, and learn to distinguish between legal and illegal copying of other people’s ideas, products and intellectual copyrights. When you know the distinction, buy as many advertising publications as possible for your target audience, visit web sites, save marketing emails, compile a huge swipe file of print and online marketing ideas and initiatives. Especially product ideas.

* Sense of Urgency To Buy. Most seasons, anniversaries, special events, are of limited duration and people know if they don’t buy soon, the ads. will quickly disappear. There’s a sense of urgency attached which forces people to buy NOW, unlike non-time-sensitive promotions which might be put to one side to study later, and promptly forgotten!

* All-consuming Passion. Virtually every season, anniversary, special event has a huge audience of followers, and usually buyers, too, of theme-related products and services. At such times of year, the occasion fills MOST people’s minds, MOST of the time!

* Nostalgia. The most popular seasons, anniversaries, special events, have been spoken about, filmed, written about over many years, sometimes centuries, so a mass of research material exists which can itself form the basis of your product. More than this, history itself interests today’s readers, so you could create a product based purely on the background to a particular season, anniversaryor special event. Take virtually any publication and you’ll find the Christmas edition of issue one to forever includes articles, ideas, snippets of useful information, jokes, puzzles, pictures, and more, which can be lifted untouched (out of copyright items or with permission only), or adapted (by rewriting, paraphrasing, not plagiarising) for your info products.

* Niches Within Niches. Many very profitable market niches exist within already seller-friendly niches. Cat lovers for example, and Elvis fans, are highly responsive buyers within other profitable markets, such as Christmas where books, calendars and diaries come bearing pictures and facts about most popular subjects, including cats and the King.

* Free Publicity. Opportunities for low-cost, no-cost marketing are great, as for example where a book about James Dean was launched on the anniversary of his death and sparked countless television and media mentions through carefully timed news releases about the book.

* Media Self-Promotion. It’s a well-known fact that few writers specialise in seasons, anniversaries and special events, so editors are frequently short of features around those special times and will welcome articles, fillers, photos, cartoons and other printable matter in exchange for a write up about your products.

Avril Harper is a business writer and triple eBay PowerSeller and webmaster of http://www.resell-rights.net. She has produced several free guides to making money from resell rights titles - which you can download with other freely distributable reports and eBooks at http://www.toppco.com.