The Tax Cheapo

Now there are many different criteria to consider when choosing a Web Design Company. One of which is, what kind of website is it you need?

Depending on whether you want to sell products, just advertise a bricks and mortar business or something radically different, will govern the skill set required of your chosen Web Design Company.

Most Web Design Companies will be able to design a simple site advertising a business but may not be very good at constructing sites that use an eCommerce Solution to sell products online. When looking at the portfolio of each Web Design Company, pay attention to the type of sites they are making. If they have never built a site with an eCommerce Solution, don’t pay them to learn how to!

The portfolio is a good place to start with all Web Design Companies. While looking at each site on their portfolio, make sure they are of a good quality and contain a link saying they were designed by the Web Design Company. It’s amazing how often I see Web Design Companies trying to pass other designer’s work of as their own. Also check all the way through the portfolio, a common tactic of Web Design Companies is to place their best work first and hiding their not so good work at the bottom of the pile. Looking all the way through will give you a better idea of their consistency.

Designing websites today isn’t quite as simple as it should be. People Surfing the web use a number of different web browsers e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Firefox etc. try looking at every site you view in these browsers to make sure they all display correctly.

Phone up a Web Design Company and have a good discussion to see if you get on. You don’t want to be working with someone you find hard to get along with.

Ask the Web Design Company if they have any referrals and speak to them as well, asking what their experience was like.

Check the legalities of the web design service, who will own the site after it is completed, who will own the copyright? All of these things will have further implications, especially if you want to start using another Web Design Company due to problems.

And of course we come to price. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Don’t go thinking choosing a Web Design Company is anything different. A good analogy is buying a car worth twice the amount your paying because it has a hole in the fuel tank. You might be saving money now but other time its going to cost you a lot more until you get it fixed!

James Anderson is a search engine optimisation consultant who works for Podium Solutions Manchester Web Design Company.

Copyright © 2004 Priya
Shah

The question of the day is “Should you start a Blog?”

People all over the planet are blogging. Companies, CEOs, lawyers, journalists,
stewardesses. Even dogs and babies.

Why? Because they can. It’s that simple.

Blogging requires little or no learning curve. If you can type, speak into
a phone, bark, chew, record a holiday movie, you can blog.

Blogs have taken publishing out of the domain of those who know HTML and designing,
to make this powerful tool available to the rest of us.

That holiday in the Far East, your grandma’s birthday, you company’s latest
product offering, your new recipe for rum cake, your daughter’s first step,
your pet’s antics, what you thought of the Garfield movie – you can blog all
this and more.

A blog is an online journal or diary. Which makes it ideal for voicing your
opinion, recording your pregnancy blahs or announcing your company’s latest
acquisition.

People are using them to communicate with family, for education, for business,
and almost anything else you can think of.

But one thing not all blogs get is a readership.

Unless your blog is only for your family or your business colleagues, you’re
probably writing with the hope that someone will read about what you think.

So many blogs are started with little or no purpose. If you want to blog and
survive, first start by answering your why.

If you’re writing only for the search engine spiders, then be prepared for
no one but them to read your keyword-rich spam.

Blogs demand a readership. And for that you have to write about something worth
reading.

Here are some tips to follow if you want human beings to read your blogs.

1. Stay on topic

Opinions are fine, but unless you’re the CEO of Microsoft, very few people
will want to know what you ate for breakfast. If you started your blog to air
your raves and rants about the latest movie you saw, better mention movies in
at least every post you write.

2. Write in a conversational tone

Forget what your English professor taught you. Write the way you speak, or
you’ll end up sounding uptight and unnatural. And no one reads tightass copy…
even from the CEO of Microsoft.

3. Be opinionated

Your blog is not a company brochure or a press release, but a way for people
a.k.a. your target audience, to get to know the real you. The worst sin you
can commmit is to bore your readers. Most people respond better to an honest
airing of views than pleasant platitudes. And if you get a few rude or nasty
comments in response to your posts, just accept the fact that you can’t please
everyone

4. Be funny

Infuse your posts with your natural wit for a better response from your target
audience. And if not everyone appreciates your particular brand of humor, read
the last sentence in the point above.

5. Stay informed

If you’re writing about your profession, you’d better know what you are talking
about. Word spreads at the speed of thought in the blogospere and if you’re
trying to become an authority on something you know very little of, prepare
yourself for the brickbats.

6. Stay current

Write about the latest developments in your field. No one wants to read stuff
that has been around for a long time, or that hundreds of other bloggers have
chronicled.

7. Update frequently, but don’t burnout

Most blogs die because of blogger burnout – bloggers trying to update too frequently.
Stick to a publishing schedule that is humanly possible for you. If you’ve just
updated your blog and find a story you want to share, save it for later.

On the other hand, don’t post just because you think you have to stick to a
schedule. Going a few days or even weeks without posting is fine if you really
have nothing worth sharing.

So are you still wondering if you should blog?

If you think you can meet the requirements above, and know your why, then like
the shoe people say – just do it.

Resistance is futile.

Priya Shah is an ezine publisher by day and doubles as a Blog Maniac by night. Blog Brandz is the legitimate offspring of her affair with the blogosphere.

The inconvenience involved in going to a offline gaming house gives us sufficient reason to avoid going there unless you can’t avoid it. Traffic congestion, the inconvenience, and dozen things to bear in mind aren’t worth the exertion for that opportunity to place your bets at offline gaming house, even so in case you’re the sort of gal who simply yearns for bets then choosing games of luck using the web will likely be the more obvious solution. You do not need to leave your house to experiment with online texas holdem or related games for the simple reason that everything can be done from your home office if you possess a functional computer plus, obviously, an Internet connection. Though allowing for this, before setting out, there are a good many recommendations that you’ll definitely want to take into consideration concerning online texas holdem or related games, in particular if you’re lacking experience.

The foremost thing that you as a discriminating internet punter definitely will chase out is an online texas holdem or related games Web page of the kind that can guarantee top odds. Check out that the online texas holdem or related games Web page is supervised by a reputable, secure certified public accountants firm in order to size up their games payout percentage consistently. You positively must make sure that the online gaming Web page has a bona fide license, for example by tracking down the government license onsite. Should it prove impossible to find any government license on a given online gaming Web page, do not attempt to lay your bets at that place. Don’t wait! Join in on the web’s best gambling games here.

Another major piece of advice would be to risk a game first in limited amounts in lieu of splurge so much that it hurts off the bat. First thing, check the health of this online gaming operation before provoking some serious adversity- in particular financial ones! Arguably the most most critical word of wisdom concerning virtual gambling. It is bound to be to never forget that any kind of gambling should be primarily about entertainment and not about big winnings. Casino betting is certainly no chore, but a leisure pursuit that can help you become exultant and life as a whole gratifying. Simply having adhered to the suggestions sketched out above, you can now surrender to the attraction of online gaming…

Imagine waking up one morning to find that you are using your unique talents in a fully satisfying way, that you feel wonderful in your body, and that your life feels rich and complete.

Now ask yourself, how much time and money have you spent trying to live up to the cultural ideal of female beauty? Every year Americans spend over $40 billion on dieting. People put massive life energy into studying the latest diet, planning menus, agonizing over food choices, depriving themselves, and doing forms of exercise they don’t even enjoy. There is so much more to life than the endless quest to make the body look like the cultural beauty ideal.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Before the dieting craze began, people defined themselves much more by who they were and what they did in the world. They spent their life energies enriching the world around them instead of spending their time trying to look beautiful. They focused on their family, their community, and their unique talents.

Today women are subtly taught to define themselves strictly by how they look. And the look we’re taught to desire isn’t even obtainable. Only 5% of women are underweight, yet 87% of the actresses we see on television are. And models? Not only are their photos heavily airbrushed to remove any “flaws”, they generally stand 5′9″ and weigh 110 pounds. The average American woman, at 5′4″ and 140 pounds just isn’t ever going to look like that plasticized model no matter how hard she tries.

Some of the time and money we spend trying to look like those actresses and models could be much better spent living a great life. There is a sadness in the desperate quest for beauty. It’s unsettling to see celebrities starving themselves into emaciated bodies. How much more graceful it is to accept the wonderful bodies we were born with and put our life energies and money into making a meaningful contribution to the world around us.

We each have much more to give than just trying to achieve a cultural beauty standard. You are beautiful right now, exactly as you are.

Take your life back from the media machine. You are more than the “look” you present to the world. Inside each one of us live hopes, dreams, talents, and the potential for a joyful, rich life. Life goes by fast. Make it a wonderful experience instead of a quest for unattainable beauty and thinness.

©2005 Nancy Hill has helped thousands break free from the nightmare of dieting with her ebook, “Undieting – 11 Simple Steps to Reclaim Your Body and Your Life.” Sign up now to get the free Undieting Newsletter and discover how intuitive eating makes it easy to live at your ideal weight without ever dieting again.

For those of you who are working in a customer service industry, the quality of that customer service itself is the most important aspect of the job. People respond positively to good customer service. IF you are a business owner then you know how the saying goes, it’s easier to keep a customer, as it is to get a new customer. In order to keep your customers and build up some form of clientele that feels loyal to your company. Therefore you must put in the time and effort to keep your customers and your level of customer service up to where it should be.

In most areas of customer service there will be some time on the phone. If your job requires you to place and receive phone calls, you must ensure that you are always polite and customers. This is a great time to strengthen the relationship between the owner and the customer. Customer’s respond better to a business owner who is approachable and interested in their lives then someone who seems bothered and rushed. However, there are those that can become annoyed when the customer service representative becomes too personal. For those people who are in the customer service area, they should attempt to find a happy medium between being too friendly and not friendly at all.

At times in the customer service industry you will come into contact with less than satisfied customers. These people may become angry and they may yell. Sometimes it is hard to contain yourself and you might want to argue back. However, when you are working as a customer service representative then you must be able to control yourself. You should never interrupt an irate customer. If they are getting angry with you then you should just let them vent. Let them have their say and once they are done you can begin explaining what you can do to help solve the problem. The key to customer service is to always be obliging and polite.

James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest.
Read more at http://www.customer-service-central.info

Which of the following “explanations” have you heard (or used!) in the past few weeks?

* I need to reward myself for being so good.

* The boss hates me.

* It’s been too hot (too cold, too rainy) to exercise

* Of course I have problems. I’m a middle child.

* It was the alcohol talking.

It’s pretty obvious that the above “explanations” are basically excuses for avoiding responsibility. Your “inner brat” uses such excuses to justify overeating, underachievement and saying hurtful things.

Next look at the following. They almost seem like plausible explanations:

* Sorry I’m late again. There was a lot of traffic.

* I haven’t had a chance to call her back. It’s been crazy around here.

* I never went to college because my parents didn’t encourage me.

* I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.

* I can’t seem to get things done because of my ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

But these, too, are still excuses, not explanations. If you examine the above statements more closely, you will find that they are not entirely explanatory, and are easily challenged. For example:

* Being chronically late is not caused by traffic; it’s caused by not leaving enough time for travel.

* If a phone call is important enough, a person will almost always find the time.

* Lack of parental encouragement may have some influence on one’s life, but eventually we all have choices to make about investing our time and energy.

* Most of the time people avoid confrontation not to protect someone else’s feelings, but to protect their own.

* People with ADHD need to work harder to stay focused but this does not mean they cannot complete their tasks.

A true explanation shows a cause-and-effect relationship: Situation X caused Consequence Y. Excuses masquerade as explanations, but are really distortions of the truth. Excuses include following elements:

1. They usually blame other people or external circumstances — e.g., “I hit him because he made me mad,” or “You’re too sensitive,” or “It was just my bad luck.”

2. When they blame oneself, they usually invoke a personal trait or limitation — e.g., “I’m not good at keeping track of bills,” or “You KNOW I never remember details,” or “I have no self-discipline.”

3. They minimize the impact of insults, breaches of trust, and harm to others — e.g., “Everybody does it.” or “Why are you so upset? It’s no big deal”

4. They attempt to absolve the excuse-maker of personal responsibility.

5. They seem to make more sense after the fact, than they would have beforehand — e.g., you might rationalize, “I deserved that pound of Godiva chocolates because I worked hard all day.” But would it really make sense to say, “If I work hard today the best reward for my efforts is a pound of Godivas?”

It’s very tempting to make excuses. In fact it is one of your inner brat’s favorite strategies. Excuses serve to protect you from facing your own shortcomings. They also try to keep other people from noticing your limitations. Excuses are a way of saying, “I’m really a good person, but . . .”

At the same time, however, excuses are only a temporary, quick fix. You may feel better for the moment, but in the long run you are dissatisfied with yourself.

No one has ever felt uplifted by making an excuse. Facing the truth is sometimes difficult, but it gives you the opportunity to take charge, to make positive decisions and to gradually eliminate the need for excuses.

Here are some tips:

1. Face the fact that you screwed up. For minor transgressions, it’s not the end of the world. For major problems, your excuse isn’t going to reverse the situation anyway. Things are what they are, and you can only move forward from there.

2. Apologize. Acknowledge that it was your own fault. Keep it simple; e.g., “I’m sorry I’m late. I didn’t allow enough time for traffic problems.” Notice how this example starts with the word “I” in the explanation.

3. Offer to make amends; e.g., “I won’t let it happen again,” or “Is there some way I can make this up to you?”

4. Learn from the experience. Make a decision about how you will handle this or similar situations in the future.

5. Write down your decision and treat it as a promise to yourself. This is especially useful for excuses you make to yourself, such as when you rationalize procrastination or abandoning your exercise program.

Copyright Pauline Wallin, Ph.D. 2005. All rights reserved

Pauline Wallin, Ph.D. is a psychologist in Camp Hill, PA, and author of “Taming Your Inner Brat: A Guide for Transforming Self-defeating Behavior” (Wildcat Canyon Press, 2004) She is also a life coach.

Visit http://www.innerbrat.com for more information, and subscribe to her free, monthly Inner Brat Newsletter.