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Online commerce is the way of the future, expand your market place, increase sales, work less, increase your revenue, etc. Really?, but at what cost and what do you need to know to get started?

Many businesses are weighing the costs of moving into the online space now that barriers to entry are lower than ever, but to determine the specific solution that meets your business needs is not as easy as comparing prices.

In order to differentiate the common strategies that you may apply to sell your “widget” online, let’s take a look at three main ecommerce solutions on the market, and then ask some key questions that will better facilitate your decision.

1.) Amazon.com/E-Bay/MSN Shopping as an eCommerce Solution
With this means of e-commerce there is really no true e-commerce or shopping cart development that goes on. To bring your widget online you would simply create an account on one of the various web sites that are out there and begin selling products.

Pros

• Easy to implement
• May have products on the web within an hour
• Very low cost, great for out-of-home business

Cons

• Minimal flexibility
• Usually transaction based, or require a percentage of sales
• No automated integration into any back end systems
• No options for product configuration

2.) Templated eCommerce Solutions
Templated ecommerce platforms are generally “packaged” sites that are very quickly setup and launched. To summarize the process:

1. A business will purchase, or lease via a monthly contract the e-commerce solution.
2. Customize their web site by selecting from several templates modifying it with a color scheme
3. Add content to their new web site by way of a technology called content management.

Content Management allows non-coders, the ability to update and modify the content of a web site. These solutions meet the typical needs of a business, but tend to fall short when customization is necessary.

Pros

• Easy to implement with little required development.
• Getting a site up and running is not as fast as a pre-built solution, but much more rapid than a custom developed solution
• Is comparatively inexpensive.
• Provides branding not available in pre-built solution
• Great for small businesses entering the online space for the 1st time.

Cons

• Minimal flexibility
• Cost may, or may not include graphic development of the site
• Integration with business processes is lacking
• No options for product configuration
• Sometimes transaction based, or require a percentage of sales
• Difficult to optimize for search engines

3.) Custom Developed Solutions
Custom developed solutions are exactly what their name implies. The user interface of the web site, product catalog and check out process are all custom-developed to meet specific needs. The look and feel of the web site is typically original, utilizing graphics that are targeted to a specific market or customer.

The key reasons for looking at a custom developed e-commerce solution are to support a business process that your company may have which cannot be completed with a templated design. (i.e. integrating back office systems such as accounting, ERP, or fulfillment applications), or to support some level of service during the check out process like a custom product configuration.

Pros

• The site is developed to your specific business requirements
• Custom features or applications may be added to the site at any point in the future, providing growth
• Integration capabilities are limited only by the ability of your developer
• Site may be optimized for Search Engines, (SEO)
• All forms of shipping, handling and fulfillment are options to integrate
• Virtually unlimited number of products and categories may be supported
• Your site will have a unique look and feel tailored to your business
• Great for established ecommerce providers, and large businesses looking to go online

Cons

• Typically more expensive
• Longer development times
• Require more active involvement from you.

Questions that will help you target the right ecommerce solution for your business:

1. Will my business survive if the web site is unsuccessful?
2. Do I have back office applications that need to be integrated into the web site? For instance, accounting systems, inventory management or ERP systems, Point of Sales Systems, etc.
3. Do I need custom shipping integration?
4. How important is search engine optimization?
5. How will I administer the e-commerce application? For instance, how easy is it to add, edit, or delete products and how do I view the business that the web site is doing?
6. How will I differentiate my site from my competitors?
7. Does my business currently have the expertise to manage the e-commerce solution, do I need to hire someone, or will I totally outsource the management of the web site?
8. If I chose to manage the e-commerce solution by myself, where and how will I host the application?
9. What is the ongoing maintenance going to cost?
10. How reliable is my developer/web host?
11. Does my business sell to consumers, other businesses, both?
12. Does the look and feel of my web site meet my customer’s needs? A quick example of this is if you are selling to consumers you typically need a more attractive and easy to use site, if to businesses a utilitarian interface may be more critical, as they typically want to complete their order as quickly as possible.

This is the first in a series of articles designed to help you understand what is involved in bringing your business on line. The purpose of these articles is to take the complexity of the e-commerce marketplace and break it down into easy to understand articles.

Questions or comments on this article may be sent to Mike at mpowell@objectwareinc.com.

There was a time when getting credit support without having anything substantial to pledge was virtually impossible. Back then lending was not a competitive business. And, when one had to enter the loan market, the first thing that used to bother him was the security factor. Basically, property ownership was all that mattered.

But, the realisation of the fact that pledging collateral is neither possible for all (tenants, students and people living with their parents) nor it is always feasible for those who can (homeowners and property owners) – lead to the introduction of a loan alternative that does not involve collateral –unsecured loans – a sub-type of personal loans.

In nutshell, the unique ‘no collateral’ feature of unsecured loans makes it suitable for all UK residents who are over 18 years of age and are incapable or unwilling to pledge collateral. However, the approval of the loan application is subject to the lender’s credit policy and the loan seeker’s past and current credit standing as good or average or bad, and future payback capacity.

Other advantages of availing unsecured loans are no time-consuming property evaluation procedure, less paperwork, quick loan approval and no repossession threat (in case the borrower fails to payback). As they are not the safest deals for the creditors, cons are bound to be there – limited credit range (typically between £500 and 25,000), high interest rates (typically between 7.9% and 41%), fixed rate plan and payback option, and pre-set loan terms and conditions.

The importance of collateral is still unbeatable in the loan bazaar. But, creditors are making equal effort to target non-property owners. Market report shows that the demand for unsecured loans has increased in the last couple of years, which can be attributed to:

Those of you who are looking to get the best options with your credit card, should first look into the terms associated with that card. There are a lot of different features that you can get with credit cards these days, including low APR, rewards, no annual fees, and several other perks designed to keep you using your credit card.

There are several credit cards that you can choose from as well, giving you a slew of different options. There are credit cards with instant approval, credit cards with low interest rates, cash back credit cards, reward credit cards, and even prepaid credit cards. If you have good credit, you won’t have a problem getting any type of credit card you desire.

Most people think of the best options with credit cards being the rewards. Reward credit cards are great to have, as they give you extra incentives for the money you spend. Whether it’s cash back or points to redeem towards hundreds of items, cash back cards make it worth your time and interest to use your credit card. These cards are becoming very popular, as they offer you features that other types of credit cards generally don’t offer.

Another great option for credit cards is low APR rates. Your APR, or annual percentage rate, is the amount of money that you pay at the end of the year for your credit card. If you can get a credit card with low APR and low fees, you should hang on to that card. Credit card companies and banks are always competing for your business, and you can normally find credit cards these days with some truly impressive features.

To get the best possible options for your credit card, you should always shop around and compare what each company or bank has to offer. Most options found on credit cards will vary from company to company and bank to bank. If you have access to the Internet, you should use it to find yourself the best possible credit card. There are literally hundreds of credit card offers found on the Internet, many of which offer you some truly great options with their credit cards.

Before deciding on your credit card, you need to determine which options are the best for you. This way, you’ll know exactly what to look for. The better credit cards will include several different options, such as low APR, low fees, and certain rewards as well. These types of credit cards are easily the best investment, as they give you a lot of bang for your buck. If you play your cards right and look for the right credit card - you’ll get the options you desire with a credit card that you’ll be proud to use.

You can find the best choice of credit cards and pre-paid cards at www.CreditCards.us (http://www.creditcards.us)

When dealing with real estate leads and converting leads to clients, there are three important questions to ask yourself:

1. How are you getting real estate leads?

2. How are you following up with your real estate leads?

3. Are you using a system for effective follow up?

How to Get Real Estate Leads

For questions 2 and 3 to even be an issue, you first have to figure out a way to GET real estate leads. You can’t follow up with something you don’t have! There are several traditional ways for real estate agents to collect real estate leads in their pipeline. One way is the direct marketing approach – basically you send out a whole lot of newsletters, fliers, and postcards with your contact information to homes in the neighborhood you’re farming for real estate leads. If you start getting calls and emails, you’ve started building your own pipeline.

A second way of getting real estate leads is to network and ask past clients for referrals. As a real estate agent, you should always be talking to be people in the outside world, letting them know what you do, handing off business cards. Whether you’re at a sports event, a dinner party or you’re child’s school play, there are plenty of opportunities to build real estate leads. Never be afraid to call on old clients for referrals either – if you did your job right,t hey should be more than happy to send friends and family your way.

A third way to get real estate leads is through internet marketing. In this case, I mean building your own website with contact pages as well as subscribing to some kind of online lead generation service. By doing both, you can both harness your own real estate leads and also get plenty of leads from an outside source.

My advice? Go with all three. A good mix of direct mailings, networking, and internet marketing should have your pipeline a mile long with real estate leads. Keep in mind though that you will have to spend a little money to get all those leads!

Following up with Real Estate Leads

Without follow up, your real estate leads will be leads forever, never clients. Following up simply means to increase the effectiveness or success of something with further action. Following up with real estate leads can involve phone calls, emails, direct mailings, dropping by the property, etc. Basically, use any means necessary (within reason) to make contact with your real estate leads to determine what you can do for them. It may take 2 weeks of follow up to convert a lead, it may take 2 months, it may even take 3 years, but as long as you are consistent and persistent with follow up tactics, you can convert your real estate leads into clients.

One thing to keep in mind with follow up is that you should always have a reason to be contacting your real estate leads. Don’t give them to much information in one mailing, or else you use up your reason for contacting them at a later date. Instead, send them pieces of useful information regularly over extended periods of time. It doesn’t even necessarily have to be directly relating to home buying or selling – you can send them information about their community they may not know, the schools, job opportunities in an area you know they were thinking about moving to, the standings for the little league championship their son was in, etc. The information you’re sending your real estate leads should be a individualized for each lead.

For those who have tried and enjoyed Quickbooks Basic but find they need more advanced features to keep track of and to grow their business, there is Quickbooks Premier, which is designed to organize more complex transactions and records, and to individualize features to fit different types of businesses. Like Basic Quickbooks, you can pay and keep track of payments, write checks, keep track of customers, sales, inventory, write checks and take credit card information on Quickbooks Premier. There are, however, added features to Quickbooks Premier that do not exist in other Quickbooks programs.

Quickbooks Premier is designed for those who have more complex inventory needs and a more detailed program which will store and track inventory fluctuations in certain categories. Many of the special features of Quickbooks Premier are organized by industry. For instance, there is special software for retailers, contractors, non-for-profit organizations, professional services, teachers and many more industries. The software will enable you to create business plans which can be shared with your employees and without the time and hard work required to make business plans without special software. Quickbooks Premier will also enable the business owner to make sales and expense forecasts, set billing rates according to the employee, customer or client. The latter feature is very useful if one has customers who work at different rates or customers who pay different amounts. There are few types of business software which can keep track of various rates on one page.

For instance, contractors who use Quickbooks Premier software, whether they are builders, remodelers or electrical experts, have special features which will help manage job costs and to track changes in orders. The software also enables contractors to manage their expenses and successfully estimate the costs of particular jobs. You can manage those who have different billing rates, especially if you run a large company with many different kinds of employees who charge different rates per hour and work at different jobs. If you have preferred customers who pay different rates, Quickbooks Premier can manage and organize their information as well.

Like other programs, Quickbooks Premier is not difficult to master and can be learned in a morning or afternoon using tutorial programs and calling a help line if you have specific questions. Premier accommodates several users, and your employees can also learn the software and work using the same program at the same time. It is a good software program for those who have businesses which require special considerations such as differing wages or rates of commission between employees or various price ranges. Also, those who work in the industries covered by Quickbooks Premier software can find an easier way of organizing payment, expenses and inventory for their businesses.

With sample files for your industry Quickbooks Premier is as close as you can get to personalized business software that is designed to fit the growing needs of your company. It can be almost like a business consultant in software form, with the various industries covered in the software programs. At last you can feel that your software fits the needs of your business, and you no longer need to be satisfied with ordinary business software that needs to be stretched and fixed to deal with varying commission rates, for instance, or sliding scale payments.

The kitchen as we all know is becoming the most used room in most homes. It is not only used for cooking and eating; it is also used for social gatherings. Because of this, kitchen planning regarding such aspects as ergonomics and optimized work flows (distance, time) need to be taken into consideration when coming up with any kitchen design.

The ergonomic kitchen is a kitchen design that should be planned to suit you. What is important to the practical use of your new kitchen are specific heights, depths, widths & clearances that need to be observed. The right kitchen design should be one that creates a working environment that takes into account the exact movements of the person using the kitchen. This can include giving careful consideration to working heights for preparation, cooking and cleaning.

So what just what is an ergonomic kitchen design? Kitchens have made a comeback from being a small cluttered room at the back of the house to playing a very important part in the most social or activities of the house.

The well thought out and designed kitchen should be one that is designed around the needs of those who live in the home and the way they use the kitchen. The design should fit to your exact movements. This includes customized working heights for preparation, cooking and clean-up. The ergonomic kitchen should also take into careful though just what your present and future physical abilities so that your kitchen will always be able to live up to the demands of your lifestyle. The kitchen plan should also make sure that cooking supplies and appliances are within easy reach, as well as provide adequate room to be able to walk between kitchen cabinets. The ergonomic kitchen design should insure that the kitchen is easier to work in and create less stress on the body.
Also any necessary safety concerns in the kitchen should also be addressed especially when it involves children and pets. The design should result in a kitchen that is not so much within their reach. Cabinets with magnetic locks and a breakfast bar in the kitchen where children can be with their moms while she is cooking are ideas to consider.
An ergonomic kitchen design should result in creating a kitchen that is both comfortable and convenient for you to use. The kitchen design should provide good economy of movement, convenience of location and be able to go from storage to dining in a smooth fashion. It is important that it do this well because being able to entertainment guests near and even in the kitchen has become part of the more demanding lifestyles we have today.
Hiring an ergonomic kitchen design specialist can help you when it comes to producing kitchen designs or layouts that can make good use of effective space utilization - especially in kitchens where the space may be limited. The kitchen design specialist should be able to provide necessary guidance when it comes to selecting flooring, carpeting, tiles, fittings, paint, plumbing, electrical, appliance choices, and more.

Relationship is a key to affiliate marketing success. There can be 100 affiliates promoting the same products, but the customer will only buy from one affiliates. What make this affiliate so different from the rest?

Let’s say there are 2 people who are recommending the same product to you. The first person is your best friend and he tells you that he really has benefited from the product. The other person is a salesman you have never met before and he is promoting the same product to you. Now the question that I have for you is which person are you going to buy from?

The answer is you will definitely buy from your best friend because you trust him. The main key thing here is the relationship that you had with your best friend. It is because of the trust that you had in your friend that causes you to buy from him. Affiliate marketing is the same thing too.

When you have built a relationship with your customer already and you have earned their trust, the customer will be more willing to listen to what you have to offer. As they trust on your judgments, they will buy the products from you again and again. If you have a reasonable good size of customer database and you are able to build a good relationship with them, you will have a long term business.

So it is important for you as a affiliate to only promote products that is of certain quality and it will really helps your customer. It will take time and effort to build a relationship with your customer. But the relationship can be broken immediately if you are suggesting to them a very crappy products. You will lose the trust from your customer and they will not buy from you again.

So in order to have a successful and long term affiliate marketing business, you will have to build a good relationship with your customer. The skill of learning how to build a good relationship with your customer is really worth your time and effort to master it.

What is brainpower? My dictionary simply says this: “Intellectual capacity.” That’s the entire entry. This two word definition leaves a lot of things unanswered. For example, does “intellectual capacity,” and therefore brainpower simply mean IQ, or “intelligence quotient”?

I have another definition of brainpower that I prefer. It is “The effective use of ones brain.” Power, after all, is defined as, “The ability or capacity to perform or act effectively,” and “Strength or force exerted or capable of being exerted.” Power is not the mere possession of things that have potential, but the ability to use them. Military power, for example, does not arise solely from owning weapons, but from having men who are trained to use them.

In a similar way, intelligence alone is not brainpower, if there is no ability to use it effectively. Perhaps you have known an intelligent person who can talk endlessly about almost any topic, but has trouble actually doing anything in life. You might say that such a person has much potential brainpower, but a less intelligent man who can implement one good idea has more actual brainpower.

We are sometimes in awe of intelligence, but we forget that like all tools, it has no value in and of itself. Does a million dollars have any real power if it is simply buried in the ground? Is a man richer because he has better business potential? Is an artist great because he could learn to be better than the best? Unrealized potential is simply that - unrealized.

Defining Brainpower

I would say that Einstein, who also had a high IQ, had a lot of brainpower, because he produced many things with his intelligence. Henry Ford, who was not known for his high IQ, also had a lot of brainpower, because he very effectively used what intelligence he had. Then there are the millions of intellectuals who truly have potential and maybe even high IQ scores, but never seem to find a way to make that mean something in the world or in their own lives. By my definition they have no real brainpower.

If you agree with this definition of brainpower, and you want to increase yours, you have to do a couple things. First, it certainly helps to have more knowledge, and learn certain techniques (like problem solving techniques). But in addition to that, you have to connect that raw intelligence and technique to real life.

In other words, it doesn’t increase your brainpower to have a new problem solving technique if you never solve a problem with it. It doesn’t mean much to know all about physics or biology or politics if you spend your life washing dishes for a living and doing nothing with your knowledge. Interestingly, many very intelligent people are often unhappy. Perhaps it is a lack of brainpower that limits their ability to make that intelligence serve them.

Definition of brainpower: The EFFECTIVE use of one’s brain.

When potential aquarists start looking into the possibility of starting their own salt water aquarium there is one thing which is often quite daunting - equipment.

There is a lot more equipment which is required in a salt water aquarium, especially a salt water reef aquarium.

Equipment requirements can be but not limited to :

* Heaters
* Water movement devices
* Lighting
* Protein skimmers
* Calcium reactors
* Filtration devices
* Auto top up devices
* Auto feeders
* Nitrate reducers
* Phosphate reducers
* Stirrers
* Reverse osmosis units
* Computer controllers
* And more…….

With all the information you need to know to start a successful salt water aquarium then only thing you realistically need to know about equipment is what they are for, what is a definitive requirement and what is not.

Of course all equipment is made by various manufacturers and this post cannot go into the detail as to which is the better manufacturer to use and why.

For the potential salt water aquarist who is not really that interested in technology and let’s face it not everyone is (except me!) and just wants a salt water aquarium in their home there is another way.

There are salt water aquarium packages which you can purchase. These salt water aquarium packages come in various shapes and sizes and combine everything you need in one handy take home package. The only thing which you will need with one of these packages is the water, salt, filtration and livestock itself. There are some salt water aquarium packages which even come with a reverse osmosis unit, some salt and man made filtration or natural filtration.

With these salt water aquarium packages you really do have everything you need. You simply purchase one, take it home (or have it delivered) set it up, add the salt water, go through the nitrogen cycle and then slowly stock it - easy eh!

The majority of these salt water aquarium packages keep the majority of the equipment either underneath the aquarium in the sump or in a specially designed rear panel which hides all the required equipment from view. The only trouble with the latter is that they do tend to remove a bit of the width of the tank - normally 3-4 inches. Personally if I was going to purchase a package like this I would opt for the sump one, but it really is up to personal choice.

Of course you do not need to go for a predetermined package deal you can approach your local fish shop and ask them to design you a salt water aquarium package. You will be surprised how many shops will accommodate this.

In closing if you are not interested in technology and purely want a salt water aquarium to look after and enjoy but do not want the hassle of purchasing all the required equipment separately then these salt water aquarium packages are certainly worth further investigation.

Did you ever notice that as a child one of the best hiding places in your home was always the closet? And if you were lucky enough to have access to an armoire or wardrobe, the possibility of not being found during the game were even higher. Still a favorite game among parents and children alike, hide and seek wouldn’t be any fun if it weren’t for the hiding places that your home and furniture offered.

Growing up I remember that my aunt had a large, caramel colored, wooden armoire out in the living room – a perfect hiding haven from my cousins who always tried to “seek” me. Even though she kept her television, VCR and CD player on the middle and top shelves, along with her CDs and video tapes in the drawers above and below them, I always managed to find room to squeeze myself in – right between the record player and vinyl LPs. Of course, I was a really small child and could easily fit into this tight nook. No one ever thought to come and find me in the armoire probably because it was usually locked until I came along.

Like any normal child, I learned to rely on my inquisitive nature (though some would say nosy) and searched for different spots to hide in. Sure enough, my aunt’s home provided another hiding nook that my older cousins wouldn’t be able to fit into – a storage bench. Located upstairs against the wall of the hallway, my aunt would store towels and other linens in the bench. Lucky for me, my cousins and I were playing Round Two of hide and seek on laundry day and I got to use the bench as the key to my winning the game. After awhile my aunt was about to put away some linens and towels when she found me during the game; let’s just say that she wasn’t too happy to find her niece in her storage bench.

Now that I’m a bit older, the one piece of furniture I wish I had access to then was a wardrobe. After reading the Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I thought to myself how fun it would’ve been if I could step foot into a magical wardrobe, walk past the coats and into another realm. Without a doubt, that would’ve been the perfect hiding spot! So consider this readers and parents alike, when looking at furniture for your home, do think about how it will benefit each member of your family. Consider the amount of storage space it offers, how much space it will take up in your home, the longevity of the piece, and the likelihood of your child being found if he or she were to decide to play a classic game of hide and seek with you!