Make Money Easy For You

Nature and Scope of Business Coaching

Any established business can utilize business coaching as a resource to achieve a higher level of performance, learning, and satisfaction. After understanding the goals and work processes of a business, professional business coaches can organize a business coaching schedule and means of contact (e.g., in person, by phone, or via e-mail) that best serves the client. The nature of relationship between the coach and the client is a partnership, wherein the two come together to choose the focus, format, and desired outcomes of their work. Coaching does not aim at providing psychological relief or treat cognitive or emotional challenges. It aims to help the clients improve their learning and performance, and enhance their quality of life. Business coaching primarily focuses on the present and future with the only exception being that sometimes information from the client’s past is used for clarifying where the client is today. Although the coach is encouraged to offer advice, opinions, and suggestions, the final decision of accepting or declining what is offered rests with the client who has the ultimate responsibility for action.

Coaches may or may not have specific knowledge of a given subject area or industry. Those who do have knowledge in other areas can use it to illuminate the coaching process but do not use this particular knowledge to identify, direct, or design solutions for the client. The relationship between the coach and the client is not based on the client’s position or performance but is characterized by a growing and mutual appreciation and respect for each other as individuals. Information provided to the coach is used to promote the client’s awareness and choice of action and not for evaluating performance or producing reports for outsiders. Coaching can be used to address a wide variety of subjects ranging from personal to professional as determined by the coach and the client. It empowers the client with a greater capacity to produce results and have a greater confidence in their ability to do so.

The business coaching process starts with the assessment of the business’ current potential and challenges, defining the scope of the relationship, identifying priorities for action, and establishing specific desired outcomes. Apart from creating awareness about business processes, business coaching also provides a yardstick for creating coaching goals and actionable strategies, and offers a method for evaluating progress. In follow-up coaching sessions the coach supplies supplementary resources in the form of relevant articles, checklists, assessments, or models to support management policies and actions. The duration of business coaching depends on business needs and preferences.

Business coaching derives its concepts, models, and principles from varied sources such as behavioral sciences, management literature, spiritual traditions or other fields of the arts and humanities. These are then used for fostering shifts in perspective, promoting fresh insights, and providing an effective framework for managing opportunities and challenges. Coaching can also be based on an appreciative approach that focuses on what is right with the current business, what is working, what is wanted, and what is needed to get there. Through this approach, a coach can develop constructive communication skills and methods that the individual or team can utilize for enhancing personal communication. This approach is simple and offers a huge potential to harness creative thinking and goal-oriented action.

About the Author

Are You Ready To Exceed Your Potential? Contact http://www.businesscoach.com to find out how. You can have an expert Business Coach totally dedicated to your success. info@businesscoach.com. 1.866.354.7766

Read more: Nature and Scope of Business Coaching

Oil and Gas Prices, Are You Ready to Pay More?

In the late seventies and early eighties automobile ownership in China was virtually non-existent. China’s roadways, once synonymous with packs of bicycles, are experiencing an explosion of car traffic driven by the nation’s ever growing consumer class. Last year, automobile sales in China exceeded 5 million units. China is now the world’s fastest growing auto market. However, even with this recent surge of automobile ownership in China the market remains virtually untapped. At present, its estimated that significantly less than two percent of China’s population, 1.3 billion people, owns an automobile but with cheaper models and a growing used car market, auto ownership in China is steadily increasing.

The oil production decline rate, sometimes referred to as Hubbert’s production curve or peak oil, at several major global oil fields has been considerably steeper than expected. For example, the U.K. has now become a net importer of crude oil and its production is dropping fast. Presently, crude oil production in the U.K. is below 2 million barrels per day and has appeared to reach its absolute peak of 2.9 million barrels in 2000.

Shortages of unleaded gas could potentially occur this summer because the U.S. ethanol industry can’t keep up with the demand for fuel-grade alcohol to mix with gasoline. Imports of ethanol could possibly meet demand but are currently subject to a 54-cents-per-gallon tariff.

The current standoff between the United States and Iran, OPEC’s no.2 oil producer, over Tehran’s nuclear energy ambitions also applies upward pressure on the crude oil market. Although Iran has claimed in the past they will not use oil as an economic weapon that could change at any moment. Iran recently has officially gone nuclear with the first successful enrichment of Uranium. So the whole Iran situation is tense at best.

AccuaWeather has forecasted the 2006 hurricane season, which starts June 1 and runs through December 1, to be more active than normal. Considering the current fragile status of refining capabilities within the U.S. any potential damage to those facilities from hurricanes this summer could have a dramatic effect on prices.

Due to political instability and rising violence in Nigeria, oil companies

have suspended the production of over 600,000 barrels per day of crude oil.

Don’t expect any quick resolutions to these long-term problems in Nigeria. At present, over 20 percent of Nigerian production remains at a stand still following attacks by militants.

Crude oil demand is rising at a very fast pace. At present, it’s increasing around 1.75 million barrels per day. Even with Saudi Arabia’s vast crude oil resources the market will be unable to cope without some drastic measures. Furthermore, the water content is rising in the old supergiant oil fields of Saudi Arabia. Referred to as the water cut, there are rumors now circulating that water content is over 50 percent. When it reaches 80 it’s for the most part game over. Of course the water cut is considered a State secret in Saudi Arabia for obvious reasons.

Many of the world’s major oil fields are very old and potentially are nearing or have already surpassed their peak in production. There are about 120 oilfields in the world that produce half of the world’s crude oil supplies. The top 14 fields, which make up 20 percent of global supply, are over 50 years old. In Saudi Arabia, which contains a quarter of the entire global oil supply, there are only five major fields producing 90 percent of their supply.

All of these points really lead to the potential “perfect storm” in regards to oil pricing. Petroleum is utilized in many of the products we purchase on a daily basis. There are some people that agree with our predictions and believe that we should just turn to alternate sources of fuel. This is a good idea but it is truly logistically impossible to just stop using oil. So how does this affect the ordinary person? The only way one could potentially deal with such potential calamities, as any of these many scenarios will pose, is proper preparation. I am afraid just driving a hybrid will not cut it.

About the Author

Need more information on oil and other commodity based investments? You can visit our website at http://www.aarontrade.com or our commodities trading weblog at http://www.aarontrade.com/commodityfuturestrading. Paul Skarp is head commodity futures trader at Aaron Trading.

Read more: Oil and Gas Prices, Are You Ready to Pay More?

Online Forex Trading – The Basics

Forex trading is derived from a combination of two words, foreign and exchange. More simply put it is the trading of foreign currencies and is often referred to as the FX market. If you are searching for excitement and profits this could be the market to trade.

Forex trading has become extremely popular the world over and has people from all different countries and backgrounds trading like only the professional traders could do just a short time ago. Until recently Forex trading was performed mostly by major banks and large institutional traders. The technological advancements that have occurred of late have transformed Forex into the playground of average traders like you and me.

It’s easy to find an online FX trading system, platform or software that can make it easy and fun to trade the market. Simply browse the web and you will be inundated with many exciting offers and promotions. There are many firms that sell or even give away free training software, charts or other useful tools for your future in Forex trading.

Foreign currency trading is done in pairs or combinations. For example, trading the Dollar versus Yen, the Euro vs. the Dollar or the British Pound against the dollar. The most popular currencies that are used for trading and investment purposes are the United States Dollar (USD), Japanese Yen, British Pound, Euro and Swiss Franc. The make up the major portion of all currency trading.

When you come across these currencies in the market you will see them written as a pair: USD/JPY (U S Dollar and Japanese Yen), EUR/USD (Euro and U S Dollar), USD/CHF (U S Dollar and Swiss Franc) and GBP/USD (British Pound and U S Dollar).

The vast majority of all day trades of foreign currency involve these five major currencies. Your goal as a trader is to pick out which currency will appreciate against another. If you can find or develop a system that will allow you to choose the correct direction a currency will be taking it is possible to make good profits in the FX market.

Most trades on the FX market are done by Forex brokers and dealers at major banking institutions across the globe. And since it is a world wide market that makes it a 24 hour a day market. The brokers or dealers work in different shifts so that major institutional traders can perform their trades 24 hours a day around the clock.

However, don’t be alarmed. You do not have to be awake all day and all night to trade the market. It is a simple matter of placing stop orders with brokers to buy or sell at pre-determined price levels even while you are sleeping. If your pre-specified price points are met the order will go through as planned. If your price points are not met the orders will not be placed or carried out. This is the key to stopping potentially big losses. You’d hate to be asleep when the market turned against you without a way to get out. Having specified price levels can save you a lot of stress in the market place. With stop orders you don’t have to constantly follow your currencies every second of the day. You can place your orders and then go about your normal daily routine.

The FX is unlike stock exchanges in that stock exchanges can be very volatile. The FX market is ordinarily a great deal smoother and doesn’t gyrate up and down as quickly or rapidly. The market is actually very easy to trade and is very liquid, meaning you can get your money in or out at any time. Placing an order can be done in a matter of seconds. If you have the temperament for this type of activity it can be a very worthwhile endeavor.

About the Author

If you would like to learn more about forex trading please visit My Forex Trading, an online source for information concerning forex training systems and software. Our address is http://www.my-forex-trading.net.

Read more: Online Forex Trading – The Basics

Opening a Franchise Business

One of the greatest decisions and largest risks of a person or organizations life is starting a business. The next big decision? Whether or not to go franchise. A franchise business is one which is basically a duplicate of a previous business. The business owner rents the franchise logo and way of running the business. Examples of franchise businesses include McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, etc. But what are the pros and cons of starting a franchise business, and what does the law say about the subject.

The pros of opening a franchise business are numerous. First of all, there is a lower risk of failure. This is often due to name recognition and the standard that is set by previous businesses. For example, most diners know what to expect when they go to McDonalds. Another pro of starting a franchise business is buying power. The collective buying power of franchise businesses is often enormous, creating an easy way for business owners to save money.

Still, there are cons to buying a franchise. On the on hand, the startup cost for a franchise business is often much greater than starting other businesses. In addition to this, buying into a franchise leaves little room for deviating away from the standard. Subway subs, for example, are to only contain a certain weight of meat and cheese. Everything is standard and there are few ways of making your stand out from the typical.

So what does the law say about the process of buying into the franchise business? When you start searching for the right franchise for you, you need to be sure that the franchise is legitimate. This is especially true if the franchise is a small franchise, a new franchise or one that you have never heard of before. Franchise law varies from state to state so this is going to depend slightly on the state in which you live. One of the best pieces of advice for any new business owner is to locate an attorney that can help you sort through the issues.

About the Author

Sara Chambers is a marketing consultant and an internet content manager for http://www.franchiseopportunitiesblog.com

Read more: Opening a Franchise Business

Operational Risk Management Awareness

The term Operational Risk Management (ORM) is not new. It has been tossed about in businesses across North America for the last several years. ORM and the oft associated term Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) have generally been used as corporate buzzwords, business culture idioms referenced in board meetings and articulated during presentations. Recent developments, such as the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act in 2002 in response to growing financial scandals in the U.S., have brought Operational Risk Management, Enterprise Risk Management and related concepts from the backrooms to the forefront of corporate America.

The inescapable reality is that every single day businesses incur losses and experience operational disruptions due to failures by employees, incorrect implementation of processes and technologies as well as wilful disobedience to internal controls. These losses may be manifest in the form of uncollectible receivables from disappointed clients, lost sales due to call centre failures or unproductive employee downtime when computer systems are unavailable, or a host of other potential problems. While most businesses have developed ad hoc methods of dealing with such losses in the past, legislation (such as SOX and the Basel Accord) has made standardized compliance procedures much more complex. Thankfully, just as these new rules have given rise to increased awareness of ORM/ERM, new tools (including Risk Management software) have been developed to aid compliance efforts.

The new regime of Sarbanes-Oxley, under the direction of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) which is in turn accountable to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), has undoubtedly benefited the business world by providing a foundation from which to decrease corporate fraud. However, the complexity and associated technical, labour and administrative costs posed to business is also considerable. The realities of both individually large and collectively mundane errors resulting in loss, as well as the newly regulated reporting of those losses, affect virtually all areas of every business each and every day. Therefore, it is in each company’s best interest to simultaneously find ways to cut losses while keeping regulatory compliance costs down. Hence the rebirth of Operational Risk Management/Enterprise Risk Management and the new demand for Risk Management software solutions.

Traditionally, few operational losses were measured in any accounting system, and rarely were the loss incidents tracked and analyzed in any way; the time and paperwork required to do so was simply daunting. Because there was no standard legislation in place, any Risk Management software tools were often proprietary and slightly more than electronic log books at best. New technologies and attitudes have allowed loss incidents to be seen as more predictable and able to be grouped into risk categories. Proper analysis of these incidents can result in attribution to root causes which aids in mitigation. Even this beginning leads to dramatically reduced costs while achieving huge gains and strategic advantages from well crafted Operational Risk Management policies and Enterprise Risk Management procedures.

Changes in legislation, technology and attitudes related to ORM/ERM have produced not just economic gains, they have led directly to re-invigorated business innovation and even created improvements in the quality of life. For example, safety, quality and environmental related loss incidents have proven to be not only manageable and avoidable, but sound management of these issues has conferred greater advantage on those who succeeded while driving many who did not adapt out of business. While large scale corruption may have brought about regulatory changes, these changes have spurred a re-visioning of Enterprise Risk Management. Advanced Risk Management software has allowed business to more directly mitigate losses. This has resulted in a cleaner, more efficient and more competitive business environment.

In the post-SOX environment, the same social and political pressures on organizations are present. Improved attitudes and tools have encouraged the proliferation of sound Operational Risk Management to the economic and strategic benefit of those properly prepared for the journey. To find out how Paisley Consulting can help your company on that journey, whether through the provision of powerful Risk Management software or expert consultation on Enterprise Risk Management, visit www.paisleyconsulting.com.

About the Author

Joe Armstrong writes about Enterprise & Operational Risk Management for http://www.paisleyconsulting.com

Read more: Operational Risk Management Awareness

Organizational Change: Mission Impossible?

Many factors such as globalization, technological advances, deregulation, privatization, mergers or acquisitions coupled with a movement of labor-intensive projects to less expensive locations and changing customer demands are forcing organizations to constantly review their purpose, vision and future strategy. Most of the organizations have the objective of ‘maximization shareholder’s wealth’ but there are other key indicators that exhibit the need for adaptability to change for the company (Laurie & Frans 2002).

It has been evident recently that customer’s expectation towards organization’s behavior goes beyond compliance with the legislation (Papers4you.com, 2006). The customer has become more vigilant towards employment practices, human rights and emerging issues like standards of ethical conduct, caring for environment and partnership with stakeholders. Thus drawing upon Handy (1994) it can be stated that the pressure for change to survive and gain a competitive advantage in highly turbulent environment has grown in its importance in the management literature.

The literature has shown that organizational change has its implications in some of the non-tangible assets of the organization (Heather, 1994). These include corporate strategy, power distribution, corporate culture and the control systems. The process of change highlights the importance of continuous learning, flexibility, proactive strategy and risk management (Papers4you.com, 2006). Although there are numerous models and steps provided in the literature for successful change management but there are four popular characteristics shared within the literature (Chorn, 2004):

1. Make sure that the organization and people understand the pressure of change – why do we need to change?

2. Develop and share a clear vision about where the organization is headed – where are we going?

3. Put in place the individual, group and organizational capabilities for change – what do we need to make the change?

4. Have a plan of action that outlines what has to be done to get it all started – what do we have to do tomorrow when we come to work?

It can be concluded that ability of an organization to change has become a basic competency of an organization to survive in the increasingly competitive environment. It can further be stated that effective change management within a limited time frame can be one of the sources of competitive advantage for the companies in the long run.

References:
Chorn, N. (2004), “Strategic Alignment”, Richmond

Handy, C. (1994), “The Age of Paradox”, Harvard Press, Boston, 1994

Heather Höpfl (1994), “The Paradoxical Gravity of Planned Organizational Change” Journal of Organizational Change Management; Volume: 7 Issue: 5; 1994 Conceptual Paper

Laurie A. Fitzgerald, Frans M. van Eijnatten, (2002), “Chaos in organizational change“, Journal of Organizational Change Management; Volume: 15 Issue: 4; 2002 Conceptual Paper

Papers For You (2006) “P/M/672. Organisational change from theoretical perspective”, Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtmgt22.htm [22/06/2006]

Papers For You (2006) “P/M/665. Theories of chaos and complexity in the context of organizational change”, Available from Papers4you.com [21/06/2006]

About the Author

Copyright 2006 Verena Veneeva. Professional Writer working for http://www.coursework4you.co.uk

Read more: Organizational Change: Mission Impossible?

Outsourcing – Get Your Work Done At a Lower Cost

The globalization phenomenon of the 90s brought about two significant changes, which were looked quite an unrealistic proportion just few years before the dawn of the 90s. The internet revolution, the ultimate thing that helped globalize the world, caused physical distances to shrink and economies became more and more interrelated, in a way such that an economic change at some part of the world bound to have some sort of an influence in other economies as well. Globalization virtually expanded the contours within which businesses functioned earlier – both in terms of economics and service – and redrew the limits to encompass every corners of the world where businesses can be set up without much hitch and services bought in plenty. This paradigm shift had indeed become the soul of outsourcing. A good 15 years since outsourcing commenced, market researches have shown that outsourcing accounted for services at a low cost – as fewer by 50% – and that without compromising on the quality of work and execution time.

In these early years of the new millennium, where we stand today, the Asian and south-Asian countries ranks themselves as hot beds of outsourcing, a fact substantiated by market experts who put the net worth of outsourcing industry based on these countries to a whooping $100 billion, and the number increasing by the day. The figures itself is clear indication of the amount of work outsourced to this part of the world. But if you are new to this field, how to get yourself started with outsourcing? Also, there are other questions such as how to outsource work and where to find the required services and talent? Furthermore, where to post the proposals so as to receive maximum exposure? Well, these are exactly what we are trying to explain in the following paragraphs.

There are various websites in which you can submit the project proposals and requirements. Most of the websites charge a fee for signing up so as to post the project details while some others are partly-free. Also, there are free sites which allow people to sign up and advertise projects free of cost, and a nominal commission will be charged if the advertiser finds a freelancer through the site.

Which ever website you choose to post to, it is the visibility one’s advertisement gets that ultimately matters in drawing more talents and hence a better talent pool from which the final selection can be made. Therefore, tactically, it will be prudent to post the project in at least two websites at a time. Ideally this should be a pay-site with the most competent services and maximum viewer ship and a free one. The project posted in the former may provide an enhanced promotion – as per the marketing standards and quality of the site – meanwhile posting in the latter, and if it is a new one like WorkAsFreelancer.com, gives the client a place at the top of the list and hence better chances for finding quality bids with less struggle.

Alongside visibility, there is one more aspect that the advertiser need to stress on – it is the type of the project and a detail of the requirements and demands from your side regarding the freelancer who is bidding for the project. It is in fact a way of telling the freelancer about what you expect from him. Such enunciated way of posting projects eliminates the issue of inappropriate bids and draws more freelancers instead.

About the Author

If you no longer want to pay commissions or fees in terms of posting a project and using the service, visit WorkAsFreelancer. This service is free of any commissions and fees from signing up to signing the contract with freelance workers. Go here to get to know about all the free features you can make use of when you use WorkAsFreelancer.com

Read more: Outsourcing – Get Your Work Done At a Lower Cost

Overview of Accounting and Accountants

Accounting is a very important part of a business. As an entrepreneur, you either do it yourself or get someone else to do it for you. I have included this article for freelancers to have a very broad outline of the accounting profession. With this you can at least appreciate the discipline as well as its role in your business. As your business grows, the distinctions between the different types of accounting will become increasingly important.

When you are first starting, the only form of accounting you’ll ever meet would probably be record-keeping and bookkeeping. This is the part where you record the sales you’ve received and the expenses you have made using receipts, invoices, cheques and other transactions source documents.

Firstly, what is accounting?

For most people, accounting does not concern them because they think of it as a laborious activity performed by people who are ‘good with numbers’. Accounting is often confused with the narrow concepts of record-keeping and bookkeeping.

Accounting of course is much broader than that. “Accounting is the system that measures business activities, processes that information into reports and communicates these findings to decision-makers” . The accounting system produces financial statements that report on an individual’s or an organization’s business in monetary amounts.

Who Uses Accounting Information?

1. Individuals, 2. Businesses, 3. Investors and Creditors, 4. Government Agencies, 5. Taxing Authorities, 6. Non-Profit Organizations and 7. Other Users including employees, consumer groups, labour unions and the general public.

The Types of Accountants and The Specialized Services Performed By Them:

1. Private accountants – These work for single organizations. They may perform cost accounting, budgeting, information systems design, internal auditing, financial accounting and management accounting; 2. Public accountants – These serve the general public. They may perform specialized services such as auditing, tax accounting and management consulting.

For small business owners, the areas that would occupy most of your time is financial and management accounting. Financial accounting provides information to people outside the business including creditors and the government for tax purposes. Management accounting generates information for you, the person who manages the operations of the business. This will produce how much you are spending on manufacturing your products or providing your services in a way that you can see where you are lacking and where your are doing well on.

This article was written for OrangesAndLime.com, to help creative individuals — artists, musicians, designers, illustrators and entertainers — build their own freelance businesses. Please note that this article serves as a guideline only. You should still seek professional advice regarding the matter because laws change and they differ from country to country.

About the Author

Marquez Comelab is the author of the book: The Part-Time Currency Trader . It is a guide for working men and women interested in trading currencies in the forex market. It explains how to create your own trading methodology, market analysis, tools, trading systems, risk management strategies, discipline and psychology. See: http://marquezcomelab.com. His other articles can also be found at http://thefreedomtochoose.com; along with other helpful articles.

Read more: Overview of Accounting and Accountants

The Skinny On Article Directories

Article directories (also known as article archives) are searchable on-line databases of articles contributed by multiple authors. The goal of an article directory is to collect articles on certain topics and offer them to publishers to place on their website, in their e-zine or in print. Each article directory has unique guidelines for both authors and publishers. The benefits of submitting your articles to directories are numerous and include:

1. Most directories give you a separate page for each article and some publish your photograph along with your articles. This allows an author to promote their articles without needing a website of their own.

2. Directories are a magnet for publishers. Most publishers are looking for specific articles on a specific topic and they are more likely to find such articles in a directory rather than in an individual e-zine that offers reprintable articles.

3. Many directories allow you to edit your articles and change your by-line as many times as you want.

4. Some directories offer a news feed that automatically adds your new articles to dozens of websites.

5. Article directories may have a good search engine page rank that that makes them ideal for providing a one-way link to your website.

There are hundreds of article directories on the internet. I am constantly searching the internet for new directories to add to my list but I have found that I receive the most benefits from older directories. Over time I have discovered a few directories that I absolutely love that I visit for submission and for research. A few of these are:

Alumbo! Magazine – This on-line magazine doubles as an articles directory and offers a free membership that allows you to submit articles in some very interesting categories such as ecology & environment, love relationships, paranormal & divination in addition to the normal business and career topics. Alumbo permits you to choose more than one topic for your article and often suggests additional topic pages where your article would be a good fit. http://www.Alumbo.com

Article Alley – Allows you to register as an author for free and submits your articles across a network of sites. Allows for update of author profile, editorial access to your articles and a unique web page listing all your articles. http://www.ArticleAlley.com

BPubs.com – Although this is a business site only it does accept articles in a wide variety of business subcategories. Google(tm) visits often because it knows that BPubs.com adds fresh content from many authors every day. http://www.BPubs.com

Constant Content – This is a unique article directory that allows you to sell or give away your content. You must register prior to submitting your articles in many different formats – all of which are editable at any time. http://www.Constant-Content.com

EzineArticles – Owned and operated by one of my favorite article submission experts, Christopher Knight. This directory offers more submission topics than other directories and much of the enhancements done to the site are based on author and publisher feedback. When I submit an article to this directory I receive more attention and traffic than I do from any other submission site on my list. http://www.EzineArticles.com

IdeaMarketers – You absolutely must register for a free author’s account at Idea Marketers. Topics covered include business, holiday, lifestyles/self-help, technology, Christian, home/family/parenting and marketing. You are provided with a professional looking author’s profile that includes your by-line and your picture after completion of a lengthy form. http://www.IdeaMarketers.com

Establish yourself as an expert in your topic area and take advantage of the many benefits of adding your content to every established and credible article directory. You are guaranteed to be delighted with the response you will receive from publishers who find your articles in the directories they frequent.

(c) 2006, Davis Virtual Assistance. Reprints welcome providing the article and byline are published intact with all links made live. This article may not be sold individually or as a part of a database.

About the Author

Article marketing guru Bonnie Jo Davis offers free and paid article marketing resources on http://www.squidoo.com/articlesthatsell/ and at her membership site at http://www.articlesubmissionsites.com

Read more: The Skinny On Article Directories

The Unhappy Client: How to Fight Back and Keep the Business

Historically, there have been unavoidable situations that test an agency’s client relationships. Today, there are tools that can minimize, or even eliminate these threats.

As an example, one situation that plagues all relationships is the unexpected surge in project cost.

Its an old story. You send your client an invoice that is 30% higher than the estimate. The client goes nuts. Your response is that the copy was changed thirteen times in two days. And THEN there were the layout changes . . .

Nobody is happy. Your client really doesn’t think they made all those changes, and after-all, you’re told, it should have been right the first time.

So now you have to recreate all the time records and find all the copy versions. You discover that because things were happening so fast, vital information never made it into the traffic system or on to a conference report. Plus, you have to go through the emails of multiple agency people to see who said what to whom.

The result? You give-up and figure out exactly how much of your hard-earned revenue you are willing to sacrifice to keep the client happy.

This cycle is repeated everyday in agencies everywhere.

Which leads us to the central proposition:

How an extranet can make you rich, and keep your client happy

Let’s look at this same scenario at an agency that uses an extranet.

You send your client an invoice that is 30% higher than the estimate. Along with the invoice, you send a copy of all the comments, requests, and approvals made by the client.

Time spent creating the report: 90 seconds.

Quality of the evidence: irrefutable.

Net result: you get paid, the client realizes their mistake, and everybody is happy.

This sounds way too good to be true.

Maybe. But it’s not. A client extranet automatically organizes all the comments, requests and approvals made by your client, your staff and your vendors. Not only that, it also compiles a complete record of who saw what, when the saw it, and what they did with it. All the information is in one place, and can be available to anyone at any time.

Entries into the extranet can be made by any user at any computer, 24 hours a day. And everyone with an interest in the project can be notified and see all the entries immediately.

The bottom-line is that having a complete record of what everyone did and when they did it can be the saving grace. It can save time, save money and save your sanity. Most importantly, it can save your relationship. All it takes is the implementation of a client service extranet.

About the Author

Laura Schweiker writes extensively on the use of technology by businesspeople and is an evangelist for extranet andintranet software.

Read more: The Unhappy Client: How to Fight Back and Keep the Business

Three Steps to Starting Your New Business With a Clean Credit Score

For many people, starting their own business is a personal dream. Before fulfilling your personal dream, it’s necessary to get your personal finances in order. At this early stage you’ll be using your own personal finances to start your business and if you want to succeed you must approach your personal finances with a professional eye.

Avoid funding start-up expenses via credit and running up huge credit card debt. Instead you should apply for a business loan, which has the benefit of being a one-time loan with typically lower interest rates than a credit card. However, in order to get good terms on your loan, you will have to have your credit card debt in order first.

Without an established business credit history, lenders will have to look to your personal credit to negotiate your terms. You don’t want personal credit problems starting your business credit off on a bad foot.

Three Steps to Starting Your New Business With a Clean Credit Score

A clean credit score will help you get the low interest rates you need to start your business on solid financial ground.

Step One. Pay off your credit card debt.

Once you know where your credit weaknesses lie, zero in on them to start improving your standing. Your goal will be to completely eliminate all credit card debt. It may seem like an insurmountable task, but in reality, paying it off as fast as you can is actually easier and less expensive than paying it off over a period of many years.

First, start paying double the monthly minimum on the balance with the highest interest rate, while paying the minimum monthly due on everything else. By paying down that highest-interest balance, you will save yourself from potentially spending thousands extra in interest – and you’ll be done in half the time. Once you have paid off that balance, move on to the one with the next highest interest, and so on down the line. Eventually you will enjoy the freedom of zero credit card debt. In fact, if you find yourself having a hard time staying away from credit card purchases – take them out of your wallet and bury them in your closet until you have improved your financial situation.

Step Two. Check your credit report.

Have you seen your credit report? You can get a copy of yours by visiting http://www.freecreditreport.com. Look over it carefully to make sure there are no mistakes that could have negative effects on your credit and your interest rate.

If you find any mistakes, you may dispute them through the credit-reporting agency. The creditor then has 30 days in which to respond to your dispute. If they fail to respond within 30 days, the disputed information is expunged. If it is a particularly old debt, creditors may not even bother to respond. Disputing credit report mistakes is definitely worth a try since you have nothing to lose but bad credit.

Step Three. Pay bills on time.

Your credit is not based solely on your ability to pay off your credit card debt. You must also demonstrate that you are responsible when paying your bills: utility bills, car payments, and rent for example. Try to pay all of these on time and in full and it will reflect well on your credit report. If you have trouble remembering to pay your bills on time, try to keep them all in a highly visible place so you will have a constant reminder to pay them.

Many utility bills may be paid online these days, so you can simply check with your utility companies to set up automatic payments. Not only do you maintain good credit by paying on time, but you also avoid paying late fees, and saving money is always a wise financial move!

Before you establish your own business, it is imperative that you begin with a clean slate: no debt, healthy credit, and responsible financial habits. When you have a good credit score to begin with, your business will have a stronger start and will be easier to run. Good finances mean success. Best of luck with your new business venture!

© 2005-2006 DebtGuru.com®. This article may be freely distributed as long as the signature file and active link are included.

About the Author

Michael G. Peterson is the Vice President of American Credit Foundation, an IRS 501 (c)(3) non-profit consumer credit counseling organization that has assisted thousands of individuals and families with their financial situations through seminars, education, counseling services, and, debt management plans. For more information, and free consumer resources visit http://www.debtguru.com

Read more: Three Steps to Starting Your New Business With a Clean Credit Score