Casual Articles - Business

Resume Writing - 3 Do's and Don'ts
Do:1) Include a powerful, concise and persuasive objective or summary.How do you do that? Well there are many different ways to grab an employers attention with an objective or summary - some much better than others - but here's a general rule.State exactly what you want to do for the employer (you could give the position you are seeking) and what you have to offer them. (3 years experience, expertise in skill X)2) Use a bulleted list rather than long, redundant paragraphs.Seeing a long list of paragraphs is intimidating. Employers don't have time to read through so much information - they want the facts and they want them quickly. Break up your paragraphs into a b

mustered the courage to take the plunge again, I did so with the knowledge gained from my first failed business. I knew what I had done wrong and I knew what I'd done right. Lessons learned, put to good use. Knock wood, this time so far, so good.

Performing an autopsy on a failed business is a simple process, but one that can reveal a wealth of information that you can use should you ever decide to step out onto the business high wire again.

To do your business autopsy find a quiet place where you can sit and reflect on the life of your business. With pen and paper in hand (or laptop on lap) write down everything that you can think of that went right with the business and alternatively, everything that went wrong. Your goal is to create a "Success" versus "Failure" spreadsheet that will help you better understand exac

Invoicing in a Successful Computer Consultancy
Invoicing is an administrative task that requires attention to detail. You have to attend carefully to your invoicing on a regular basis. If you don't you will lose money that is easily avoidable. Follow these simple invoicing procedures for maximum efficiency:Invoicing ProceduresIf you are invoicing for a previous week's invoice and a current week's invoice, include a statement of account. This puts their overdue balance right in front of them.When invoicing, if you are sending an overdue notice stamp it “Past Due.” People really don't like seeing those things; it makes them nervous.After a week overdue, make a phone call. They will usually give you an apology and an excuse

Q: After years of dreaming about starting my own business, I finally took the plunge a little over a year ago. To say the least, my dream quickly became a nightmare. The business didn't do nearly as well as I had hoped. I ran out of money within six months and had to take out a second mortgage on my house just to keep things going. I have now closed the business and am left with a pile of bills that will probably put me in personal bankruptcy. I don't mean to take it out on you, but instead of telling people how great having your own business is all the time you should also warn them that starting a business is not easy and can be devastating when things go wrong. -- Gene K.

A: Gene, I hope that I have never given anyone the impression that having your own business is a walk in the park. To the contrary, I'm like the proverbial Chicken Little when it comes to warning readers of the obstacles and pitfalls that await those considering the entrepreneurial plunge.

To quote myself from a column I wrote earlier this year, "If it was easy, my friend, everybody would do it."

Just to make sure we're in agreement, let me reiterate the standard warnings once again. Starting a business is incredibly hard work. It takes long hours and deep pockets. It demands unbridled passion and unquestioned commitment. It requires that you give of yourself until you often feel there is nothing left to give. And sometimes, even after you've done all that you can do and given all that you can give, the business fails.

Period.

Blood, sweat, and tears can only carry you so far in the business world. Good intentions and grand ideas won't pay the office rent. You can not make payroll with Monopoly money.

I certainly don't mean to make light of your situation. In fact, I know exactly how you feel. I failed so miserably my first time in business that I swore I would never think about working for myself again. All I wanted to do was to find a nice, secure 9-to-5 job that provided me with a nice steady paycheck. I yearned for the opportunity to grow fat and happy on someone else's payroll for a change.

I never again wanted to have to think about customers or employees or withholding taxes or accounts receivable or anything else even remotely associated with being in business.

I just wanted to crawl in a hole and die because my business had failed, and in my All-American, macho male, "you are what you do" brain that meant that I was a failure, too.

Getting over the failure of a business can be extremely difficult, especially if you are one of those entrepreneurs (like I was) who wrongly relates the success or failure of a business to the success or failure of you as a person.

The best way that I know of to get over the failure of a business (and the deep feelings of personal failure that go along with it) is to do an autopsy of the business to help find out exactly what went wrong. Only by discovering our weakness can we build on our strengths (Yogi Berra eat your heart out).

It took a long time and an enormous amount of reflection to realize that the business had failed for many reasons, not simply because I was a miserable excuse for an entrepreneur. I wasn't looking to shuck the blame so much as simply trying to understand what really went wrong. A few years later when I mustered the courage to take the plunge again, I did so with the knowledge gained from my first failed business. I knew what I had done wrong and I knew what I'd done right. Lessons learned, put to good use. Knock wood, this time so far, so good.

Performing an autopsy on a failed business is a simple process, but one that can reveal a wealth of information that you can use should you ever decide to step out onto the business high wire again.

How To Report A Business Insurance Claim
Before you report a business insurance claim, it will be useful if you keep the required documents in your hands. The very first and most important thing is the details of your insurance such as policy number or claim number. You should also keep details if there is any involvement of the third party. You should also be in a position to give an indication of how much amount you are going to claim. To support it you will have to provide the price of purchase and cost of replacing the item. If it is repairable then the cost of repairing and how much damage has been done or extent in cast of an injury. In addition, it is also advisable to go through the documents thoroughly to understand what risks are cover

rbial Chicken Little when it comes to warning readers of the obstacles and pitfalls that await those considering the entrepreneurial plunge.

To quote myself from a column I wrote earlier this year, "If it was easy, my friend, everybody would do it."

Period.

Blood, sweat, and tears can only carry you so far in the business world. Good intentions and grand ideas won't pay the office rent. You can not make payroll with Monopoly money.

I never again wanted to have to think about customers or employees or withholding taxes or accounts receivable or anything else even remotely associated with being in business.

I just wanted to crawl in a hole and die because my business had failed, and in my All-American, macho male, "you are what you do" brain that meant that I was a failure, too.

Performing an autopsy on a failed business is a simple process, but one that can reveal a wealth of information that you can use should you ever decide to step out onto the business high wire again.

International Background Checks
Many countries have a freedom of information law. These laws give individuals the right to use their records, as well as police, court and prison records. From country to country, the kind of information that is retained and available varies greatly. They refer to the screening of foreign nationalists in order to safeguard and protect the nation's interests. International background checks are conducted for a number of reasons. They may range from international employment opportunities to educational facilities.Reputed background check agencies are able to provide employment and education verifications in practically every country in the world. Since international background checks may require the

nt. You can not make payroll with Monopoly money.

I never again wanted to have to think about customers or employees or withholding taxes or accounts receivable or anything else even remotely associated with being in business.

I just wanted to crawl in a hole and die because my business had failed, and in my All-American, macho male, "you are what you do" brain that meant that I was a failure, too.

Performing an autopsy on a failed business is a simple process, but one that can reveal a wealth of information that you can use should you ever decide to step out onto the business high wire again.

Selling Truth as a Differentiator
The last few years have been a period of heightened scrutiny and scandal for the financial services industry. Most recently, the SEC issued a report on pension consultants regarding conflicts of interest and the objectivity of advice given to retirement plan sponsors. It’s become vital to the success of insurance and financial advisors that they differentiate themselves with their exemplary ethics, that they operate by a higher moral code and that they communicate that higher standard to their clients. Why? Because research proves that ethics builds trust, and trust sells — in the long-term and - in the short-term, as well.Taken from the SEC report and the information provided by the Dept of Labor,

the failure of a business can be extremely difficult, especially if you are one of those entrepreneurs (like I was) who wrongly relates the success or failure of a business to the success or failure of you as a person.

Performing an autopsy on a failed business is a simple process, but one that can reveal a wealth of information that you can use should you ever decide to step out onto the business high wire again.

How to Save Millions Simply by Reducing the Cost of Spending
Despite widespread agreement that effective expense management is critical to business success, there's still one aspect of expense management that tends to be handled badly. And it's costing many businesses millions each year! Ironically, it's a cost that can be drastically reduced (all but eliminated) overnight.I'm talking about the processing costs associated with purchases. They're called "transactional processing costs"; they're not the cost of the purchase itself, but the cost of the transaction.The Dollar-Value of Transactional Processing CostsThe end-to-end cost of processing high volume, low value purchases (such as travel, entertainment, contract labor hire, training,

Performing an autopsy on a failed business is a simple process, but one that can reveal a wealth of information that you can use should you ever decide to step out onto the business high wire again.

For the autopsy to be effective, it is imperative that you are completely honest with yourself. Shove your ego in a drawer and be completely realistic or the autopsy will just become an exercise in futility. You will end up looking for scapegoats instead of reasons.

If your lack of experience was a contributing factor to the failure of the business, write it down. If your brilliant negotiating skills allowed you to close a big deal and beat out a competitor, write it down. If you were undercapitalized or incorrectly estimated your share of the market, write it down. If you had a partner who didn't pull his weight or a product that didn't sell as well as you thought it would or your building was flattened by an earthquake, write it down. Write it all down.

Once you have all the facts in front of you, it's easy to see why the business really failed. You might be surprised to find out that the failure of the business wasn't completely your fault, after all.

Then again, you might discover that the business failure was your fault. If that turns out to be the case, don't beat yourself up for long. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur and that's OK.

The world would be a miserable place if everyone sat around whining about their lack of customers or complaining about their employees.

Next time we'll take a look at the primary reasons businesses fail and discuss how you might avoid them.

Here's to your success.

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It is probably true that after a while a large percentage start dreaming they could work from home or start a home based business, few actually do something about it. They continue dreaming

Ever want to fire your boss? Everybody does sometimes. The good news is that you can, even without quitting your job. All you need to do is change the way you think.

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