How to Make Money Online – Step by Step (#2 of 3)

This is a step-by-step method for creating a Content Driven System and making money from advertising and affiliates. This requires very little start up cost, but you do need a lot of elbow grease. This is ideal for people who have more time than money. If you don’t see yourself writing at least thirty articles, don’t bother with this method. If you enjoy writing, this is a risk free way to get your feet wet, and can be built into a solid business model that will last for years.

1. Research a niche you are interested in. Go to WordTracker and see how many people are looking for your topic. Try several variations such as “fried chicken recipes”, “fried chicken gravy recipes,” or “boneless fried chicken recipes.”

Once you’ve decided there are people actually looking for these keywords, search the ClickBank Marketplace for products that you could sell. Attempt to negotiate a trial copy of the products, or just buy them. Try to choose between 3-5 products, and write honest reviews about all of them.

2. Get a domain name and web hosting with BlueHost.

3. Sign up for an auto responder through Aweber.

4. Write five short articles that offer tips about your niche (sample recipes for fried chicken, cooking methods, etc). At the end of each article, give a quick background and recommend one of the products you signed up with from the ClickBank Marketplace. Make sure they are honest reviews.

5. Add those five articles to your website, each on their own page. We use Dreamweaver, but you can also download Nvu for free.

6. Sign up for Google AdSense and place their ads on each of those five pages.

7. Write five “teasers” for those webpages, which will be emailed to your prospects every four days or so. They should offer a brief introduction like: “Hi, I just created a new method of cooking fried chicken. You can check it out at .”

You could include the course directly into the email though I prefer to send prospects to our website, for two reasons. The first is that you can include advertising on your site, which will bring in additional revenue. The second benefit is that your site will appear more valuable to the search engines (more content is always a good thing) and you will eventually start to see some traffic from search results.

8. Create a landing page that offers a five day crash course in your niche. Visitors can access the course by signing up through Aweber. Now you have their email address and can begin following up with them.

9. Register for an account at EzineArticles. At first, you are only allowed to submit ten articles at once, and they can take over a week to approve. Pick ten keywords that fit our search criteria and write one article for each. Make sure to include the keyword in the title, a few times in the article, and once in the conclusion. Also, in your Bio box include a link to your site (preferably with the keyword as the link). A good way to get people to click on the link is to offer them a free report.

10. Submit all ten as soon as you finish them (the faster the better). After those ten are accepted, you will be able to submit 25 or unlimited, depending on how well your articles were written. Only after you’ve written thirty articles should you expect to see some money (not a lot, but some). Here is how the user experience should play out:

a. They search for a keyword and click on your article in the search engine results.

b. They read your article, and click on the link to your site.

c. They sign up for the free course, and start receiving emails, with links to the course.

d. They read the teaser, and click on the link.

e. On the webpage, they either click on an AdSense ad (which pays you a few cents) or they purchase an affiliate product (which pays you dollars). Even if they don’t do either of these activities (which most won’t) they will receive another email a few days later, and the process starts all over again.

11. Once you’ve set this up, use WordTracker and find dozens – if not hundreds- of keywords with at least ten daily searches and less than 1,000 competing sites. Write one 300-500 article that is highly optimized for each keyword and publish it to your website. Add the AdSense code and the occasional affiliate link where applicable. Be sure to include a sign up form on each page offering your free course to capture leads and promote your products.

12. Create a sitemap using the Xml-Sitemap Generator and submit it to Google Webmaster Tools.

13. Start building links to your website. This will help you rise faster in the search engines. Outsource the link building by running an ad on Craigslist or Elance.

The beauty of this system is that there is no financial risk. All you are paying for is the auto responder and domain/host. The pros write hundreds of articles and drive huge amounts of traffic through this funnel, which can make a very nice income.

Profitable Examples of a content driven website:

o www.Travel-smarts.com

o www.Seat61.com

Management and Human Relations

Management is described as the process of ‘getting things done through other people’. This is accomplished in organisations, industries, and business enterprises where large numbers of people are employed to achieve corporate goals. Managers collectively are the bosses, invariably paid very well, and/or rewarded with equity in the firm with a share of the profits. The top management agree on the objectives, and the strategies and tactics, to achieve the goals they set for the enterprise they lead, by employing a large workforce to produce the goods, and provide the services for consumers the world over.

Management theory with concern for how to get the most out of front line workers in industrial and commercial concerns became very much a twentieth century phenomenon. Earlier, following the industrial revolution, large concentrations of workers were needed in mills and factories to mass produce goods which replaced agricultural and craft work hitherto produced in small rural family or communal units. In those days the managers were authoritarian and tyrannical when slave labour or indentured labour including child labour at starvation wages could be deployed at the behest of the ruling, capitalist class.

The world has changed since, and owners of capital can no longer treat labour as a disposable commodity. Trade Unions, Communism, and universal education along with worldwide markets meant that the old methods of almost forced, repetitive back-breaking labour of the ‘dark satanic mills’ could no longer be sustained. New disciplines like economics, psychology and sociology sprang up. These social sciences were called upon to build theories of management and organisational behaviour that would explain and help understand the dynamics of an ever more sophisticated and demanding workforce.

Early theories of management exemplified by the work of Frederick Winslow Taylor had been described colloquially as the ‘carrot and stick’ approach. Taylor coined the term ‘scientific management’ for his theory which was later simply referred to as ‘Taylorism’. He sought to break down tasks to their simplest elements so that an assembly line robot could perform them without any need for thinking. All brain work was to be removed from the shop floor and handled by managers alone. Taylorism is explained as the ‘decoupling of the labour process from the skills of the workforce’ and defined as ‘management strategies that are based upon the separation of conception from execution’. This approach worked well with early immigrants to the US with hardly any facility with the English language, and a limited social, or communal life, but proved less effective with future generations.

However, in automated plants using very high tech solutions for 24-hour routine work with little or no human input, the principle still applies. Researchers acknowledge that McDonalds and outsourced call centres (customer service operations) use such strategies and can claim success by ensuring ‘predictability and controllability’. An up to date example of scientific management still in operation is the report by Malcolm Moore headed ‘Bullies in China’s Shops’ (The Daily Telegraph, 6th March 2010). He describes the working conditions as ‘inhumane’ of 38,000 workers living in dormitories who work for one of 102 factories belonging to either Foxconn, Quanta or Pegatron, all Chinese companies who are suppliers of USA’s Apple products (e.g. iPhone) for the world market. Strangely enough it is these supplier companies that increasingly ‘come up with new designs and technology’ and ‘are at the cutting edge’ (op. cit.). The Chinese workers today appear to use their brains even without the ‘human relations’ approach!

Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne plant experiments (1927-32) conducted at the Western Electric plant in Cicero Illinois gave rise to a theory as a departure from Taylorism which came to be known as the Human Relations school by its many followers. Douglas McGregor called Taylorism and similar top down command and control approaches to management of labour, Theory X, and proposed instead Theory Y giving the employees more autonomy and discretion at work following the Human Relations approach of Elton Mayo. Mayo’s experiments involved the changing of illumination, changing the hours of work, and giving more or less breaks, which all resulted in the workers producing more with each intervention. The ‘Hawthorne effect’ has been summarised as employees becoming more productive because they knew they were being sympathetically observed by prestigious people who happened to be social scientists. These experiments proved that ‘an increase in worker productivity was produced by the psychological stimulus of being singled out, involved, and made to feel important’.

The conclusion is that the ‘Hawthorne researchers… identified the importance of the ‘human factor’ in organizations (which) meant that workers were now recognized as having social needs and interests such that they could no longer be regarded as the economically motivated automatons envisaged by Taylorism’. It has to be noted however, that there were 19th century industrialists with Quaker backgrounds, who met their workers’ ‘moral and social needs’ by providing housing, places of worship, and other communal amenities. The Cadbury Chocolate Factory Bournville plant in the UK is a case in point. To be included in the Human Relations school is work of the Tavistock Institute in London which undertook to study the work of coal miners. They too understood that job simplification and specialization did not increase productivity but giving more autonomy to the work group in organising their work shift, did produce better results. Under conditions of uncertainty when engaged on non-routine tasks ‘semi-autonomous’ work groups fared better than isolated individual workers.

Another theory not exclusively applicable to management, but was a general psychological theory which supported the Human Relations school, was Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. McGregor labelled it Theory Z. Put simply, it can be visualized as a pyramid with its broad base starting with Physiological needs (lowest), which had to be satisfied first before requiring attention to Safety needs, followed by Love/affiliation needs, then Esteem needs, and at the highest point, Self-actualization needs.

A firm which had presumably subscribed to classical theories of worker motivation but found it unworkable to its cost was Iceland Frozen Foods (The Sunday Times 8th March 2009). Four years before the turnaround, morale of workers in the firm was ‘at rock bottom after 40% of staff at the Deeside head office was made redundant’. With a change of tactics the CEO, Malcolm Walker was able to get the workforce to have ‘confidence in the leadership skills of the senior management team giving a top score of 73%’. As the basic needs of employees for fair wages, reasonable hours at work, paid holidays, non-discrimination (sex, race, disability etc.) i.e. equal opportunities, are respected (now legally enforced), workers will look for Maslowian higher order needs to be satisfied through their day to day work. This was what Iceland Frozen Foods was able to provide their workforce after a switch to the Human Relations model of treating employees.

Malcolm Walker nicknamed ‘the king of cool’ initiated measures to provide his workers with opportunities to achieve promotions by working hard and using their brains. For example, a shop floor worker who became a home delivery driver achieved the promotion to the position of senior supervisor within just a few years and is quoted in the article speaking approvingly of his boss. It is reported that staff at Iceland Frozen Foods don’t feel under too much pressure… and don’t tend to suffer from work-related stresses. A survey of a representative sample of UK companies revealed that Iceland Frozen Foods was voted by a workforce of over 17,000 men and women as the third most successful company compared with all other companies in motivating them to achieve their best at work. Here is a good example of human relations at work and providing solid support for the movement.

Another example which throws up a different aspect of human relations theory comes from the current trend towards globalization. The Euro Disneyland, a ‘transplanted American theme park’ near Paris lost $34 million over the first six months since it opened in April 1992. Even before it opened there was strong local opposition that it threatened French cultural sensitivities. A strict employee dress code and the outlawing of wine in the park (sacred to the French), among other things, angered the Parisians. Eisner, the CEO of the parent company in the USA, who could speak French and had a French wife, and also a recipient of many awards from the French government, still failed to make Euro Disney a going concern.

The turnaround came when ‘Eisner learned to recognize French cultural traditions and quality of life, rather than focus exclusively on American business interests, revenues and earnings at the expense of the underlying French culture’. Relaxing the rigid rules, removing the American-style hot dog carts, appointing local managers, and deciding to use French language at the park, were essential components of its later success. The conclusion is inescapable that both ‘carrot and stick’ approaches still appear to work if the conditions are right for either approach.

REAL Wellness: A Key Element In Strategic Planning During Challenging Economic Times

“The change in the world economy is of a magnitude that comes once every hundred years. We are facing an unprecedented emergency.” Katsuaki Watanabe, author of this remark, is the president of Toyota. This statement was offered on December 22, 2008 while announcing the company’s first operating loss in 70 years – $1.7 billion.

Tina Turner made famous the question, “What’s love got to do with it?” This might be a good time to ask, What’s wellness got to do with it? Is a wellness philosophy as significant in the context of economic ruin as in times that pass for normal?

America and the rest of the world are beset with burst bubbles, bailouts and bankruptcies. Conditions are beyond serious – they’re a fright. There are multiple, interrelated crises – a loss of faith in markets and the economic order, a loss of hope for the future and a diminution in social connectedness. The daily news reflects high levels of worry, fear, insecurity, stress, self-doubt and negativity. This is the context for my question: Is the wellness concept as important now as before? Or, is wellness more of an option than ever, even a luxury of sorts with appeal mostly to privileged elites with the means to get their needs met AND aspire to a good and fulfilling life?

Consider a bit more detail on the extent of the current crisis. The American economy is sinking into a recession just this side of a depression. Frustration bordering on panic is evident throughout the land. Distress marks the national mood. Job losses (533,000 of them disappeared in November), the unavailability of credit from banks (despite massive taxpayer bailout funds later channeled in part for executive bonuses), the presence of pockets of severe unemployment (almost 14 percent in South Carolina), business failures, big losses in household worth due to market declines and the burst housing bubble – this is the context for the question posed about the viability of wellness as 2009 looms. If all this does not get your attention, consider the fact that Russian academic Igor Panarin predicts a US collapse by 2010, followed by a civil war and the breakup of the nation into five different countries. (The only good news is that Alaska will revert to Russia, thereby making Sarah Palin Russia’s problem, not ours – see Andrew Osborn, As if Things Weren’t Bad Enough, Russian Professor Predicts End of U.S., Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2009.) In summary, in case you had not noticed, the world’s coalmine seems littered with dead canaries.

On a bright note, Americans will have new leadership in a few weeks. The president-elect is amazingly popular at the moment (73% approval), but even the most optimistic Democrat knows Obama is no fiscal Superman or supernatural economic turnaround messiah sent from above. Obama’s $775 billion economic recovery plan, announced a month ago, already seems too little, too late. Rebuilding the infrastructure with WPA-like bridges, roads and other projects will be helpful, but some economists predict it won’t be enough to arrest a national slide toward a deeper state of crisis. (I will refrain from expressions like ruin and despair.)

Given this context, let’s pause for a hard, cold look at where wellness fits, if indeed it fits at all. Of course I refer to REAL (reason, exuberance and liberty) wellness, a mindset or philosophy of personal responsibility, optimism and commitment to affirmative, evidence-based principles for making choices small and large. Not the same as prevention, risk reduction or illness management – REAL wellness is a unwavering focus on exceptional health and quality of life.

Little public attention is given, in good times or bad, to positive health and life satisfaction. Instead, the focus always seems to be on the many frightful consequences of NOT doing the right thing. At a time of financial crises unknown since the Great Depression, it is fitting to ask if our philosophy for good living has a place, alongside the struggle millions are experiencing to feed their families, pay their bills and provide for the welfare of their children. Is this an appropriate time to proclaim the applications of a wellness lifestyle and, if you think so, how is this communicated to those struggling at the lower rungs of Maslow’s hierarchy?

I suggest a REAL wellness mindset is always important. In hard times, little else will make a quality difference, for the better. REAL wellness will liberate those who embrace it and enable advances toward the most important kind of prosperity, namely, physical and psychological well-being. Given the stresses of today’s fiscal turmoil, perils await those who seek only comfort and relief. The best ally in the quest for economic recovery is a positive lifestyle that promotes personal health and builds upon positive social connections. Economic perils are best faced with positive attitudes, high resolve of mental discipline and peak physical strengths, not while mired in a struggle against negativity.

Wellness itself does not solve any financial problems. However, it helps in reaching and maintaining first-rate levels of physical and mental functioning. That state can in turn facilitate the pursuit of activities that best advance opportunities and manage crises.

Consider some factors that make REAL wellness a winning philosophy in hard as well as good times. As you know, REAL wellness entails:

* A disciplined focus on the bright side.

* A commitment to personal excellence.

* A regard for social support and the value of communities.

* A willingness to secure and work to maintain high standards of physical fitness.

* A continuing conscious pursuit of added meaning and purpose.

* A desire to comprehend the phenomenon of happiness and realize some measure or degree of it, as circumstances permit.

* A continuing respect for personal honor associated with the art of applied ethics

* A recognition that it’s best to want what you have and to live in the present (versus bemoaning what you had before or could have had save for an errant decision or two). An excellent book on this approach to prospering in the best sense of the word is Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want by Barbara Sher.

* A predisposition to take the time to appreciate the beauty around you, in natural as well as human forms.

* A sense of gratitude for the fact that, while conditions are difficult, there is so much left to celebrate and resolve to appreciate.

* An outlook marked by compassion for others in general, as well as a mindset of forgiveness for those who may have contributed to difficult circumstances. (Yes, include in the latter even George W. Bush. But, not the Devil. Humans need someone or something as a scapegoat, even if they have to invent such characters to make their saviors seem deliriously wonderful by comparison.)

Some still might fret at the contradictions in the affirmative nature of REAL wellness, such as sketched above, and hard times, massive human suffering, scarce resources and widespread worry and fear. Is REAL wellness of a positive nature not a guilty indulgence while Rome (and the rest of the world) burns? Or not?

The proper answer, I say, is Absolutely not! Major not! In fact, au contraire, no way Jose and just the opposite. Now more than ever, we need a REAL wellness philosophy to deal with challenges greater than normal. Much greater than normal, in fact.

A healthy lifestyle that includes physical, mental/emotional and social components will protect and build your immunity while maintaining and boosting your morale. The REAL wellness qualities sketched above (a partial list, I might add) are invaluable for weathering the proverbial storm (s) AND for building a capacity to flourish.

Wellness qualities are always advantageous, but when times are tough, such qualities lend toughness, as well. The weak in body, mind and morale will be first to succumb to unrelenting demands, stresses, setbacks and other misfortunes that accompany prolonged crises. Furthermore, family, friends and perfect strangers need you at your best, providing leadership, guidance, inspiration and hope. Judd Allen, like his father Robert F. Allen before him, often describes the health and other positive benefits that follow when people come together for support, for entertainment or to seek political solutions. All are helpful ways to boost well-being, no doubt even more so when budgets are light and conditions difficult.

There are no guarantees, even with a bright-side outlook, but more than ever, it will pay to adopt and practice REAL wellness. To be physically fit, mentally strong and resolute, adaptable, flexible, resilient and capable is a formula for success in bad times – and good.

If these comments seem plausible and convincing, if you agree that REAL wellness makes sense in normal times and more so in crises, then you will want to support public policies and private initiatives that make such learning and living opportunities widely available. For instance, you will want to support continuing worksite wellness programs, knowing that the common reaction to less business might be to pull back programming to save money. This is an ideal time to not only deal creatively with the current crisis but to prepare as well for the future. Let’s explore innovative new approaches to healthy, productive work forces and work settings. Similar thinking should influence the shape of health system reforms. Likewise, apply REAL wellness values introduced with varied public programs aimed at creating jobs, rebuilding the economy and making individual life and society itself better than before the economy fell apart. Perhaps solutions to the fiscal downturn will only be possible when we more effectively work together for solutions that meet the needs of all classes, not just the most advantaged.

Why People Love Freebies

It has been observed that things labeled as “free” have always captured people’s interest and it acts as a catalyst in attracting many people. Free samples of products or services attract more attention of customer or consumers than the product or services with a specific price. It would be interesting to figure out why people love freebies so much.

Free Stuff and Human Mind

When people find out that there is something they will get for free then their mind and psychology make them believe that they are special and they have earned the thing to get it for free. The free things make them feel they have achieved something with no or less effort for getting it. People feel there is less risk in trying out free stuff and they feel that they have nothing to lose if they try the free stuff. So they reach out to try free stuff with no risk and loss. A similar human psychology works when we get attracted to discounted rates or prices of products and services.

Loads of Non-avoidable Expenses

In our daily lives, everyone knows earning money is not easy and it takes a lot of efforts to make a living. Most of the hard earned money goes away in the necessary non-avoidable expenses like groceries, fuel, and oil, paying bills and other expenses. When we find out we can get something for free, we tend to get attracted to it because we feel that we have saved some amount of money with the best bargain of free stuff for a product or service.

Some People Hesitate Spending Money on what they think is not necessary

There are many people who hesitate to spend money on what they think is not necessary even though they earn a lot of money to save money. When they find out that the product or service is for free then they are more likely to reach out and try the product or services. Such people would possibly try out free stuff than paying for it and experience how the product or service is.

Some People have Low Monthly Income

Some people don’t earn huge amount of money and they have low monthly income. They can’t spend too much money due to lack of funds so they find free stuff more likable and they look out for free stuff because they can’t spend too much.

Handwriting Analysis – Some Elaboration is Healthy & Perfect Penmanship Isn’t

Elaborate handwriting, including lots of

embellishment such as unnecessary loops,

curves, spirals, underlining, circles, wavy lines,

and other forms is an important, and telling,

handwriting analysis consideration.

Handwriting analysis, or graphology, is so

informative because it reveals subconscious

character, the real personality, not just the

persona and the one seen when a person is

at his or her best.

The U.S. Library of Congress classifies

graphology as a branch of psychology.

All in all, there are over 300 handwriting traits

to consider when doing an analysis. Some of the

more obvious ones include the following:

connectives; connectivity; consistency;

contradictions in script; compression;

contraction/expansiveness; down-strokes;

elaboration; expansion; finals; fluidity; form;

harmony; hooks; jabs; knots; lead-ins; legibility;

loops; margins; movement; organization;

originality; pressure; retracing; rhythm; shading;

signature compared to the rest of script;

simplicity; size; slant; overall arrangement

and picture of space; letter, word and line

spacing; speed; spirals; tension; ties;

zonal balance and much more.

Does any single consideration, such as the

excessive elaboration, override the cumulative

strength of the collective body of other

considerations? No.

The collective body of traits in a handwriting

sample either supports or mitigates the energy of

any one individual aspect.

Also, in order for a specific graphology trait to

accurately reflect personality, it must be

throughout the handwriting sample at least

three to four times to qualify.

Accuracy in graphology demands that the context

of the entire writing sample be considered and that

all individual aspects and parts of the script must

be interpreted independently and then built into a

complete picture describing the personality.

Also, you need at least a half page of cursive

handwriting and not just a signature if you want

to start on the right track.

For the highest level of accuracy in handwriting

analysis, formal graphology training is recommended.

However, we created our Graphology Resource Keys

for anyone to gain a very good understanding of their

own or other’s subconscious character simply by

comparing a handwriting sample to the Keys.

More information about handwriting analysis can

be found on our site.

Copybook form, or “perfect handwriting,” varies

somewhat from country to country and it’s best

to be familiar with the standard copybook form of

the country in which the person learned to write.

It’s good if your handwriting is not perfect, because

you don’t want perfect handwriting. It’s natural to

gradually move away from the basic copybook

form you learned in grade school to develop your

own unique style.

Just as everyone has a unique personality, everyone

has unique handwriting. Aristotle remarked,

“Spoken words are the symbols of mental experience

and written words are the symbols of spoken words.

Just as all men do not have the same speech sounds, so

do all men not have the same writing.”

Adults who write in copybook form (considering

there is corroborating energy from the rest of the

handwriting considerations) strive to follow all rules

exactly and abide by all laws. They are usually

conformists, traditional, and inhibited. They

commonly carry guilt and repression is customary.

Hence, “perfect” handwriting is far from perfect.

If your handwriting has a lot of originality with high

form level (good balance, movement, harmony, etc.)

and other positive traits, it could indicate flexibility,

resourcefulness, confidence, inward motivation, and

possible leadership skills.

On the other hand, if you see originality in an

off-balanced, inharmonious script (low form level),

you could find rebelliousness, defiance, turmoil,

confusion, dishonesty, and even psychosis

or criminal-minded behavior.

Spirals are generally a negative sign relating,

in part, to deception or self-deception.

Normal elaboration includes longer than usual

t-bars and finals at the end of words, for example.

Excessive elaboration, such as artificial flourishes,

many added strokes, long lower zone length (loops

of letters such as lower case g and j), etc. could

indicate an ostentatious personality with a need to

impress others, a need for drama, flirtatiousness,

vanity, exaggeration, bluff, a mind too rooted in

fantasy, insincerity, a need to be told they are

loved, façade of intrigue to mask an inferiority

complex, possible deception, scattered energy,

affectation, defense for self-consciousness,

unstable self image, too much focus on

trivial matters, and difficulty concentrating.

As the level of inharmoniousness increases with

excessive elaboration, the negative traits listed

above will also intensify.

If you see excessive elaboration mainly in the

upper zone (e.g., where the t’s are crossed), which

is the zone of the intellect, you may find someone

whose thinking is ruled by illusion, and even

someone who is a compulsive liar.

But remember, although it’s alluded to above, it’s

important enough to say again: no single graphology

indicator, by itself, absolutely describes any one

personality trait.

Yes, straight-across, blunt ending strokes can

indicate cautiousness, but there could be ten or

more other indicators in a person’s script that

would mitigate the notion.

If you find elaboration that is excessively

complicated, especially with many complicated

circle letters, such as a and o, it could point toward

someone who is trying to hide something, even if

it’s on an unconscious level and not in an

intentionally deceptive way.

Look to the zone of handwriting for more clues to

what the excessive elaboration with inharmonious

handwriting indicates: in the lower zone (where the

loops of letters such as g and j reside) it’s an

imbalance relating to sexuality, social life, materialism,

and physical energy, among others; in the middle

zone (where letters such as n, m, and o reside) it’s an

imbalance in practicality, daily routine, here-and-

now, ego, consciousness and more; and in the upper

zone (where the t-bar, tops of t’s, and h’s reside) it’s

an imbalance in mental, intellectual, philosophical,

literary interests, the imagination, and more.

When you see a Hollywood star’s signature

that has over-the-top elaboration, if the rest of his

or her script is much more subdued, it’s a sign of

pretentiousness.

Alternatively, elaboration with positive indicators

is favorable. With harmonious handwriting it can

symbolize charm, healthy imagination, and

originality.

Copyright © 2007 Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo

Performing Due Diligence When Buying a Liquor Store

The process of due diligence goes way beyond just an assessment of the presented financials. You need to be able to access all the files and records, review information and research personnel as you review what you’re being told. It is recommended that you allocate at least four weeks for this process and do not be tempted to rush to judgment. Some issues may only come to light over a period of time and thus you should proceed carefully.

There are some decisions that you can make about buying a liquor store business before you immerse yourself fully in the due diligence process. While you may engage in a lot of number crunching and foot work as you go forward, is there anything that you have learned about the industry to this point, or about this specific business, its location or its owners thus far that should give you pause for thought? If for example you already know that financial records are incomplete for reasons given by the seller, or the condition of the store or its assets are not as you had hoped or expected, inventories are incomplete, inspections, certificates or licenses are compromised for one reason or another – all may be reasons for you to turn around and bid good day.

For a process of due diligence to be complete, you will need to concentrate on seven different areas:

1. The Premises.

We’ve already talked about the need to allocate four weeks to this entire process and you should agree with the seller that during this time you allocate an agreed period to observe the operation of the business. Firstly you will need to assess the inside and outside of the facility and work out what you may need to spend to repair, replace or upgrade. Remember that the attitude of the staff is very important in the retail business and you should immediately assess how the existing staff interact with clients. Are they always personable, attentive, prompt? Personal issues or conversations should not be apparent. Ask yourself whether the store looks good, has a good ambience, appears fresh and clean, has well-maintained restrooms and break areas and is generally spick and span.

You must also really make sure that you’re pleased with the specific location of the business, the surrounding competition, the kind of individuals who regularly frequent the area, the accessibility – and don’t forget, always be particularly aware of any possible or pending major road construction in the area, as this could literally “make or break” the business you’re considering buying.

2. The Financials.

As a minimum, you will need to review the profit and loss statements, the balance sheets and tax returns. You would do well to employ the services of an accountant who is experienced in the liquor business to help you here. Look at all the supplier invoices and reconcile them to revenues. This may be a time intensive process but you will be able to determine your margins this way. Be very aware of any transactions that involve cash, especially if it involves your suppliers. You will need to get written confirmation from the suppliers of their ongoing terms.

Remember some of these industry benchmarks:

– gross margin should be between 24 and 28%

– rent should be 7% of revenue maximum

– product mix should be up to 70% liquor or up to 40% wine

– labor should represent 5 to 7% of revenue

– net profit should be 8 to 12% of revenue

– inventory should be turned over between eight and 10 times per year.

3. The Equipment.

All of the equipment and the furnishings should be in good working order, and nothing should require repair or replacement for quite some time. To ensure this, you should carefully review all of the maintenance and service records, take a look for yourself to check and see if each refrigeration case is clean and well-maintained, and inspect all the other equipment to make sure it’s well looked after.

4. Vendor Agreements.

Your wholesalers and suppliers are absolutely essential when you purchase liquor store business assets and you must get to know them well during your due diligence. Can arrangements be transferred to you or will you have to make new ones? You do not have to be prepared to settle with the existing suppliers or vendors and you should really investigate as many options or opportunities as you can. You may, for example, see better terms elsewhere and this knowledge will be great ammunition when you come to negotiations and peace of mind.

5. Lease Contracts.

Always be sure the lease is transferable or that there are no obstacles ahead of you. You must be able to assume or acquire a long-term lease before proceeding.

6. Operations.

It is likely that you will need a number of licenses and this should be a particular area of concern when it comes to a liquor license. Sometimes these may not be assigned or transferred or other onerous terms may be set by jurisdictions.

Go through the daily procedures from opening time to closing time; who has access to keys and alarm settings? Does the business have a procedure for emergencies of any kind? Ask the seller to provide you with an optimal inventory level. Ensure that you review all insurance certificates and be adequately covered for all eventualities. You will need to talk with credit card processors and merchant banks and be prepared to move to access better rates if necessary.

7. The Employees.

As this can be a significant cost and liability area, be focused here. Check each member’s compensation, especially if there’s any possibility of cash being paid “under the table.” If you see that there is a high turnover of employees, ask yourself why. Is there a procedure in place for training? While the seller will often be wary about letting his employees know that the sale is in process, you nevertheless need to analyze each employee individually, assess their loyalty and competence and adjust your plans accordingly. Understand that certain procedures may be quite traditional to them and you should ask yourself how you feel they will react if you need to make significant changes. If one or more employees are absolutely critical to your success, you will need to meet with them prior to consummating a contract.

When you come across a liquor store for sale, if you perform your due diligence to a very high standard, you’ll acquire the opportunity to see exactly how the business operates – on a daily basis, and you won’t be in for any uncomfortable surprises if you do decide to take over.

Methods on How to Make Money Online Writing Articles

There are many ways to make money online writing articles. Here are some of the proven ways that may help you make money online out of your articles.

Write Articles with good keywords

Since articles can help your website rank high in the search engines, more and more business people write articles or hire writers to write for them online. However, writing articles is not just writing a unique article, but also you need to target the right keywords to be able to get you on top of the search engines. If you target the right keywords, your website has the possibility to get noticed by many people who are searching online related to your niche. So, you get leads that may result to good sale.

Open your own ghostwriting service

Bloggers and webmasters should write good quality content on a daily basis or thrice a week to their blog site or website to be able to rank high in the search engines. If you run your own ghostwriting service, many webmasters are willing to pay you for your articles.

If you really serious about your ghostwriting service, contact website owners related to your expertise and provide samples of your work. Ask them if they are willing to pay you for your service.

One way to promote your ghostwriting service is by creating your own sales page. You need to create your own website and promote it using article marketing. It’s so simple; you only need to create a simple sales page including your writing samples and payment details.

Write articles to promote a website

This method needs you to create your own website and use article marketing to promote it. You can use Google AdSense to make money out of your AdSense revenue. Submitting your articles to different article directories with a link to your site is a must to bring in more traffic to your site. This will give you more revenues from the AdSense ads.

Submit articles to Article publishing sites

The article publishing sites will pay you for your articles submitted to them. This is so easy. You only need to create your own account and submit the articles. In time, you will receive an email on how much they are willing to pay you for the article you’ve submitted.

I hope you’ve learned more how to make money writing articles. These are some of the ways that you can begin with to make money online.

Examples of Personal Ethical Dilemmas

Running red lights

The most common ethical dilemma is involved when you are taking someone to hospital for an emergency treatment by car. The law states that speeding and running red lights is illegal. However, this person might die if not treated quickly and they are in your car.

It is noteworthy to hear the amount of people saying they would ignore all traffic rules and rush them to hospital. You are probably saying that to yourself now. But in reality, few people do this.

Why you probably wont break the laws

You have been conditioned so strongly by society that you will be punished if you break laws and then shunned or publicly shamed for doing so. This is a more powerful deterrent than any fine.

So you will start to rationalise why you wont speed or drive through red lights by telling yourself;

  • I have time and the doctors are really good
  • I may have an accident myself and not get to the hospital
  • I may hit and hurt another person
  • If they die in my car, I did the best I could
  • I don’t want to panic, and speeding will make me panic

The strange thing about this line of thought is that little of it is about doing the right thing and more about your natural resistance to break laws.

You see a person steal food from a store

While shopping you see a person stealing food right in front of you. Theft is against the law and they should be arrested, yet you will start thinking about whether the arrest is the right thing to do. You will rapidly ask yourself questions to determine your action.

  • Does the person look like they are starving or homeless
  • Do the look like a criminal
  • Have they done this before
  • Have they sought help from emergency food kitchens
  • Does it look like they have money to buy the food
  • How old are they. Children and the aged are often excused for stealing food

See how you are trying to rationalise why they are stealing to find out what course of action to take. Yet the ethical choice is always let them take the food. This is because of the simple fact of: If they need to steal, they need the food.

If you report or arrest them, you are not being ethical and doing the right thing. But hang on a second, what about the right thing about all of us. If we accept stealing as acceptable where does it stop?

If I steal 200kg of meat is that need or desire? What limit is acceptable by society and you in regards to being ethical or breaking the law. If your family needs food, do you only take what you need, or do you take more to get by for longer?

The problem with ethical behaviour

The biggest problem with being ethical is that it often means you are willing or needing to break many laws in the pursuit of doing good. Organisation’s will fire you if you make ethical decisions instead of looking after the organisation. Friends will think you lack responsibility because your actions will not follow society rules of order.

Growing up we are not encouraged or trained to be ethical, we are trained to follow laws so that we can all live safely together. Here are some ethical decisions that we have to make often in our daily lives;

  • We know that smoking kills, yet we standby and watch our friends kill themselves by smoking
  • After a night out and some drinks, we let people drive knowing they are intoxicated and likely to kill someone
  • We know that fake products like brand name handbags are made by slave labour, often children forced to work, and yet we buy them because they are cheap
  • Many of us walk past someone on that is sleeping on the streets yet we don’t offer them shelter in our place
  • We walk down the street and mentally, sometimes verbally, insult others we pass by making comments on their size, weight, appearance, sexual preferences, or race
  • We continue to use petrol to drive our cars because we are too lazy to walk more, and consume our natural resources unnecessarily

We all know what the right thing to do in each of these ethical situations, yet we rationalise why we don’t do it. How many times this week have you made unethical choices?

Goals and Objectives for Motivation That Lasts

Zig Ziglar was a masterful motivator. A client once challenged him by stating that his motivational efforts only lasted for a day. Zig replied, “You’re right; and that’s why I suggest motivation on a daily basis.” He also offers his “Day Before Vacation” story. Think about your last day at work before you went on vacation. Did you get as much done in that day as you would normally get done in two, three, or even four days? Have you ever considered how this could be used to motivate employees?

How many people sit down a day or more before a vacation and make a to-do list? It’s quite common. The list is pretty clear. As you complete a task, it’s scratched off and your mind jumps to the next step. You probably even tackle the hardest or most critical ones first. You’re performing like a “clean-up” engineer on steroids, tearing through the list efficiently and by the numbers. You know that you want no distractions to your planned “vacation mind-set”. As the list gets shorter, you feel your energy rise. Everyone had better get out of the way; this race horse wants to run!

Let’s have a look at the principles behind this focus and how it would apply to your employees’ performance and development. Of course, it’s probably not very practical to schedule rapidly-impending vacation days on a regular basis simply to build up ‘organizational steam’. But with some initial positive experiences, the internal sense of satisfaction can ultimately transition into a pattern of motivation every time the slate is cleaned.

Over-arching goals are very useful in keeping the focus on quarterly or annual objectives; or even 5-year plans. But the short term goals are the ones that ultimately close the gap. Helping staff learn to appreciate the value of goal achievement is critical to consistently ending up the year where you want everything and everyone to be; on top of the world!

Every employee should have their own personal set of goals; each one demonstrably connected to the achievement of the organizational goals. These should be mutually identified and agreed to by the individual and by management. It would be imperative that mandatory quality achievements would supersede any rate-of-completion standards. This is really nothing new here, but it is one of those minutiae that can get lost in the fray as organizations become more obsessed with “just working harder”.

The goals are really about making everyone happy. Objectives are a measure of goal achievement. Happiness is discovered by reaching the objective of the goal. Can the boss count the dollar signs of durable success of the organizational efforts at the same time that each participating member realizes the satisfaction of completing a job well done? No one is jumping down anyone’s throat and the smiles can be counted everywhere; happiness abounds. That is motivating!

Keep in mind these three essentials of goals:

1. Objectives must be measurable.

2. Objectives must have a time frame.

3. Objectives must be attainable.

It’s a sign of a struggling workforce when people simply ‘show up’ for their job. That is really more about collecting a paycheck. It does not reflect an engaged workplace. How engaged are the people where you work?

Tips For Writing Driver Resume Objectives

A driver is a professional person who is engaged in the driving activity. He or she drives a motorized vehicle such as a car or a bus for carrying goods or passengers. He or she should have a driving license for driving motorized vehicle.

The typical roles and responsibilities of a driver are listed as under:

1. People at this post are responsible for transporting passengers over some specific routes with provided time table. They also help passengers in carrying their luggage.

2. They have to clean vehicle and participate in routine maintenance. I also ensure that the trucks and equipments are safely and securely stored.

3. They are liable for loading and unloading trailer with the help of equipments, keeping vehicle in good condition and maintaining vehicle by checking oil, air, water level, tire pressures, fluid levels, lights etc.

4. They are responsible for monitoring delivery truck performance, performing routine maintenance, handling accounts, and doing necessary paperwork.

5. They have to inspect the vehicle before and after the trips and report the condition of vehicle to the transport agency or company. They test vehicle for checking oil, fuel, water, air, and radiator fuel.

6. They have to manage yard operations and maintain heavy equipments. They even load and unload merchandise on time, and collect payments from the customers.

7. People at this position are responsible for driving vehicles to various locations to pump and service grease traps. They have to operate vehicles in a safe and effective manner in order to minimize risk of injury.

8. They have to maintain and repair vehicles and prepare reports of passengers and trips. They also check breaks, tires, lights, oil, safety equipments and water for daily trips.

A driver resume objective is the first thing that a potential employer encounters regarding the job applicant. It must demonstrate the technical skills and credentials of the candidate. Writing a good curriculum vitae objective is very important for getting a decent job. In this article, I would like to provide a sample curriculum vitae objective for this post.

I wish to obtain a commercial driving position in the prestigious organization where I can use my excellent driving skills to give better service. I am a detailed and organized worker with clear driving record.

The aim of CV objective is to increase the chance of getting a positive response from the employer. I hope now you will not face any difficulty in writing an objective.

Exit mobile version