Mistakes Archives - TODAY INDIA

7 Mistakes Men Make On Valentines Day Jewelry

Gifts of jewelry for Valentines Day is an age old standard. I think that jewelry is a special gift for this holiday because jewelry can convey such meaning – love, caring, history. I also think that jewelry is a popular gift from men to women because it allows men to express their feelings without having to speak.

Whatever makes jewelry a popular Valentines Day gift, it is important to choose and give a gift that is perfect. Below are the most common mistakes that men make when choosing and giving Valentines Day jewelry.

1. Thinking in terms of red gemstone jewelry only.

Don’t get me wrong, ruby and garnet gemstone jewelry is a traditional and meaningful gift. But it is also at every jeweler at every store!

Ruby jewelry has a special meaning for Valentines Day. Rubies are a symbol of friendship and love. Garnet, the birthstone for January is also a symbol of love.

However, if your Valentine is like me, I have earrings, rings, bracelets and pendants with ruby and garnet stones. In fact, I have several earrings and pendants with these stones.

So, red stones might be a bit overdone. Instead, think of pink, purple and blue gemstones. There are so many stones with special meanings and in special settings that you really limit yourself to think of just Ruby and Garnet.

2. Thinking of hearts only.

I love hearts. I have them in every style, material and gemstone imaginable. Hearts are absolutely the universal symbol of Valentines Day.

Valentines Day hearts come in flowers, candy boxes, and every conceivable item possible. So, when thinking of your Valentine, do you want to be one of the pack or someone that thinks beyond the rest?

Think of circles jewelry, infinity symbols, and Journey jewelry. All of these styles have special meaning especially to long term Valentine couples.

3. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend?

Well ok, they probably are. But are they the perfect Valentines Day gift? If you are on a budget, diamonds can be pricey – beyond some budgets.

Try to think past inexpensive diamond “accent” pieces. These are really not diamonds that are girl’s best friend. These are a bit of glitter that barely makes the definition of a diamond.

However, look for sterling silver settings with smaller but pretty diamonds. These are really unique and fresh!

4. Not her style!

First, determine her style. Does she work outside the home and if so, what does she wear daily – a nurse’s uniform, business suit, khaki’s and sweater?

What she wears daily will help you decide what jewelry to buy. Larger, substantial, expensive pieces are really for evening wear and if worn during the day, they are for women that dress in high end business suits or have high profile executive jobs.

But most of us don’t dress that way every day. In fact my favorite pieces are those that I can wear with jeans and an evening out. Think of simple but unique pieces, with gemstones that have 2-4 carats of jewels.

For diamonds, it is a bit harder since carat size varies by the type of piece. Stick with 1-2 carat diamond earrings or 1 carat or less of diamonds in a necklace or pendant.

5. I saw that necklace in every ad and every store everywhere!

I don’t know any woman that buys a dress that she has seen on 5 other women. Women don’t want to look just like the women standing next to them.

And women really don’t like to have the same piece of jewelry that everyone else in the office got for Valentines Day!

Look at ads and browse websites for ideas but choose something that you don’t see at the mall. You want your gift to be one of a kind just like your love!

6. Too big/too small – not just right!

This advice is very tailored to your special someone. Is she tall, short, thin, or full figured? The size of pendants, necklaces, and earrings should reflect the women’s stature.

You would not want to choose a petite gift for a woman who is full figured – it would get lost on her. By the same nature, you would not want to choose a large gemstone for a petite woman – it would make her look top heavy.

Here is where gemstone jewelry can really help out. Gemstones come in all sizes and may be clustered with another jewel to allow them to go from petite to a large size – all at prices that fit most budgets. As baby bear would say, this gift is just right!

7. A gift with no meaning.

Valentines Day is all about celebrating your love. Yes, I know it is a greeting card holiday. But you can make it so much more if you find a piece of jewelry that “speaks” to you.

Men can speak to jewelry – you just have to learn the language. Spend a few minutes looking at jewelry websites and you will absolutely learn more about gold, diamonds, and gemstones that you thought possible. Find a piece that says “I Love You”!

This process will translate into a thoughtful, unique and meaningful gift for your Valentine.

Common Mistakes Writers Make When Writing

For those writers who plan to have a book published, I can only hope that your manuscript will go through a thorough edit before it is printed. That is especially important for those who self-publish or use publish-on-demand services to bring their book to market. These methods usually do not require or offer editing services to catch mistakes that can cost you credibility as an author.

As an editor for individual authors as well as working as a contracted editor for two publishers, I’ve seen many grammatical or mechanical errors in manuscripts. I’ll share a few of the more common mistakes in hopes that you might avoid these pitfalls.

Please note that Associated Press (AP) style is commonly used for journalistic works such as newspapers and Web text. The examples I am going to use are from Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) published by the University of Chicago Press. It is one of the most respected and trustworthy guidelines for literary works such as books.

1. A very common error in many of the books I edit or proofread occurs in the title, headers, and subheaders. The Chicago Manual of Style 7.127 states: In regular title capitalization, also known as headline style, the first and last words and all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions (if, because, as, that, etc.) are capitalized. Articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor), and prepositions, regardless of length, are lowercase unless they are the first or last word of the title or subtitle.

2. A book is not entitled (meaning deserving, allowed, permitted); it is titled (meaning to have a title, label, or name).

3. The titles of books, record albums, movies, TV shows, and screenplays should be in italic type. Do not use “quotation” marks. Do not underline these titles unless you are formatting them for a bibliography. However, article titles and poem and song titles do go inside quotation marks.

4. Unless a word is an acronym, it should not be in ALL CAPS. Use italics for emphasis.

5. OK should be spelled out: okay.

6. ISBN is the acronym for International Standard Book Number. To write “ISBN number” is the same as stating International Standard Book Number number. It is redundant to use the word “number” or the pound symbol (#) after ISBN.

7. Percent symbols (%) should be spelled out “percent” unless used in a chart or table. Numbers followed by a percent should be in numeric form. Example: 91 percent. However, if a percentage is the first word of a sentence in a literary work, it should be spelled out. Example: Ninety-one percent of the students passed the test.

8. Use one space (not two) after a period, question mark, colon, or semi-colon. This is quite the opposite of what we were taught in typing class way back when! It can be a hard habit to break.

9. CMOS 5.57 states, “In a series listing three or more items, the elements are separated by a comma.” For example: The dog, cat, hippo, and cow jumped over the moon.

10. When writing years, do not use an apostrophe. Example: 1960s, not 1960’s unless you want the possessive form of the word. If abbreviated: ’60s is correct; 60’s is incorrect. Notice that the apostrophe [ ‘ ] is used as a placeholder for missing the numbers, and not a single close quote mark [ ‘ ] which faces the opposite direction.

11. Speaking of years, hyphens and numerals are used when you write “the 16-year-old boy.” No hyphen is needed, and the number is spelled out when you write “the boy is sixteen years old.”

12. Internet is a proper noun and the first letter should be capitalized. The debate on whether or not Web should be capitalized is still ongoing. CMOS says it should be written in proper case. It is another name for World Wide Web, which is a proper noun.

RE: Web site. When a word is used a lot, its spelling becomes commonly accepted even if it is incorrect. The most common spelling and use of this word is website. However, according to CMOS, it is two words: Web site. As long as you are consistent throughout your book or document, I doubt most people will question either spelling.

13. The em dash [-] is defined as one em (letter “m”) in width. The double hyphen will convert to an em dash-if you type two dashes (hyphens) — and do not put a space before or after. Or, you may create an em dash in Windows-based programs by pressing and holding Caps Lock and Alt while typing 0151 on your number key pad. Similar to a parenthetical phrase (like this), the em dash sets apart clauses in a sentence.

14. The en dash [-] is one en (letter “n”) in width: half the width of an em dash. The en dash is used to indicate a closed range, or a connection between two things of almost any kind: numbers, people, places, etc. For example: June-July 2008. Create an en dash in Windows-based programs by pressing and holding Caps Lock and Alt while typing 0150 on your number key pad. There should be no space before or after an en dash.

15. When writing dialogue, all punctuation goes inside the quotation marks. When a word or phrase is used to set apart text in scare quotes, the first example below is correct; the second is incorrect:

Every day we hear that the price of gas has hit an “all time high.” Every day we hear that the price of gas has hit an “all time high”.

16. Numbers less than ten should always be spelled out. Some style guides will disagree about higher numbers. Chicago advocates that all numbers under 101 should be spelled out. If in question, always consult a style guide. Be consistent and use the same style guide throughout the document or manuscript. Correcting these common errors will make your manuscript much easier and enjoyable to read.

If you need assistance with preparing your book manuscript, the editors on our team would be happy to help you. Our rates are more affordable than you might expect. See writersinthesky.com for more information.

7 Resume Mistakes to Avoid If You Desire to Be Invited for a Job Interview

Many job-seekers, with impressive academic and professional qualifications, are not invited for job interviews owing to various errors and inaccuracies in their resumes. A document that encapsulates your suitability for a job should be error-free. A resume is the first significant contact between a prospective employer and a potential employee. Unfortunately, for thousands of job-seekers, this becomes the last interaction because this vital document portrays them as being irresponsible and careless.

The following seven biggest resume mistakes are obnoxious and detrimental to job hunting and should be avoided.

1. Grammatical and Spelling Errors

Job-seekers who present resumes replete with spelling and grammatical errors stand little chance of succeeding. Potential employers detest such blunders considering the owners had time to design and write the documents. Language-based blunders portray a job applicant as being thoughtless and unworthy of responsibility. If you cannot identify and rectify faults in such a vital personal paper, how will you handle organizational responsibilities?

2. Illogical Arrangement

Many job-seekers sequence the items on their resumes in an inconsistent or illogical manner. It is crucial to appreciate that potential employers read through numerous solicited and unsolicited documents. One of the most common resume mistakes is to use functional chronological styles in one document. For example, if you are at the job entry-level, arrange work experience and educational background chronologically to avoid annoying potential employers.

3. Inaccurate Information and Lies

To forge inaccurate or untruthful information, and to insert it in a resume as means to having an edge over competitors, damages a candidate’s credibility. If an employer discovers a lie, the employee may lose a job or even be jailed. Committing such mistakes, deliberately or otherwise, may have lifelong repercussions. These are resume writing errors that may return to haunt you long after you are hired.

4. Unexplained gaps

Inexplicable gaps in a resume contribute to the downfall of numerous job-seekers. It is normal to undergo periods of unemployment. However, when designing and writing your document, you should never assume that the employer will gloss over such omissions. Interviewers might attribute this to crime, misbehavior or ineptitude in a previous job, thus making this one of the biggest resume mistakes.

5. Incomplete information

Closely related to unexplained gaps in resumes is the error of presenting incomplete information. For example, if you were working in a certain firm, state the duration and the responsibility assigned. Moreover, when using a pattern in which you state the duration, title and responsibility in a sequence, ensure that every entry in your resume adheres to this categorization. Similarly, referees’ contact details should be comprehensive and accurate.

6. Clueless Referees

One of the most common resume mistakes is failing to inform your referees that you have assigned them that significant role. Potential employers will call these people to ascertain the information you have given and to understand your suitability for a job from another person’s point of view. What would happen if your referee tells a potential employer that your name is not familiar or he has no current or relevant information about you? To avoid such situations, talk to referees and request them to be your backers before including their names in a resume.

7. Fancy Internet Templates

The internet contains several resume templates you can adopt. However, avoid unnecessary excitement concerning formats as this may cause you to forget the crucial intention of impressing a prospective employer. One of the resume mistakes to avoid is to accentuate a template at the expense of the content. A wise job-seeker would rather have a simple format that communicates effectively than a fancy one devoid of content.

How to Avert Resume Blunders

To ensure a resume is error-free, print a copy and edit it thoroughly. You can also proofread it using a spellchecker or online software. A friend who is well-versed in language and grammar issues can also correct the resume. Unless you don’t desire a job, you cannot forget or ignore the editing of your document.

These are the most detestable resume writing mistakes job-seekers commit. The next time you are preparing a resume, create time to edit it. Remember that your chance of being invited for an interview largely depends on having an error-free resume.

Mistakes to Avoid While Hiring a Mobile Application Development Company

You are determined to make an impressive online presence by offering an impressive mobile app. Due to the high penetration of the Internet and handheld devices, it yields great business benefits. Hiring a mobile application development company is essential, but many times entrepreneurs make a mistake by choosing a wrong company. They hire it based on lucrative advertisements and discount offers. As a result, they end up with a frustrating mobile app that is not able to attract and retain customers. When there are millions of apps running on the Internet, your app has to be easy to use and eye-catching. A few common mistakes that may lead to frustration:

Entrepreneurs forget that it is a global business

It is not required to hire a local development company for mobile app development. Even if you hire a company that is located at the other end of the world, it doesn’t matter. Just make a list of requirements and hire the best company that has rich experience in developing similar applications. Experts say that when you limit the search due to inhibiting factors like localized developer, you may not get a great application.

Hiring a developer that starts coding without requirement analysis

When the developer starts coding your app immediately after preliminary requirement gathering, the result will be quite frustrating. A proper mobile app development company goes through preliminary and detailed requirement gathering, analysis, and design phases. It is a systematic way of application development. Many companies do not consider mobile app development an intricate task. However, in reality it is a tough job.

The development company doesn’t have relevant experience

Though mobile app development is a generic activity, it is equally important that the developers have a relevant experience of apps in the same niche. For example, if you are a restaurant owner hiring an app developer that has not developed a single application in the hotel or restaurant industry, then it may happen that you don’t get expected output.

Hiring an application based on price

Cost is an important aspect of hiring an app development company, but it is not a good thing to finalize a developer based on cost only. Low-cost developer may not give the good quality app that makes your presence on the Internet impressive. In fact, the money you spend doesn’t yield the desired business benefit.

Avoid these mistakes while hiring a company for mobile app development and utilize the Internet to the maximum extent.

Online Home Based Business Mistakes – Your Home Based Business Would Fail If You Don’t Avoid This!

Have you compiled all the information that you need to start your new online home based business? However, have you been told that many newbies failed to earn money, and lost all their money, and then they went back to their old job? This fact may sound devastating to most of us, especially those who always wanted to leave their day job and looking for better business opportunities.

In fact, starting your own business at home in order to achieve the life that you always wanted – building a profitable one is indeed achievable if you learn from mistakes. As a newbie, you cannot afford to make mistakes that can put your business at stake. Therefore, you can actually learn other people’s mistakes – although you haven’t started making one big mistake yet.

Mistake #1: Choosing the wrong niche

It basically means that either you’ve no interest at that niche, or you don’t have a single clue about what the niche is all about. This only happens when you haven’t thoroughly done enough research including keyword and topic research, and product research. It could take a few of your quality hours (probably days) to complete this research.

You’ll slowly lose passion on the niche that you don’t really like causing lack of focus and perseverance. If you fail to understand your niche well enough – you’ll be easily out-ranked by your competitors that make it harder for your business to survive.

Mistake #2: Do not have a proper working schedule

Although you’re your own boss of your own online home based business, it doesn’t mean that you can work whenever you want. If you don’t have a strict working schedule – you tend to procrastinate and delaying all the important work. Soon, you’ll have a huge pile of workloads, and you’re unable to get things done productively. Many newbies have been misled by quotes like “Make Money While You’re Sleeping” and “Create Your Own Auto-pilot Income” – giving them an impression that they can work lazily – in fact, building a successful home internet business requires discipline, hard work and perseverance.

Mistake #3: Treating Your Business as a one-man show performance

Being a newbie in your new home based business – you have to do all the work on your own since you’ve limited funds to hire others, so that you can others to complete some tasks on your behalf. In the long-term point of view, you need to leverage your business by outsourcing some of your tasks to others – in this case, you can virtual assistants or freelancers to perform time-consuming tasks. If you’re spending too much time on small tasks – for instance, logo designing or data entry tasks; you’ll not be able to concentrate on other important tasks – for instance, website promotion, content creation or building backlinks.

Learn from these common mistakes and stay persistent in building a profitable online home based business.

Top 10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Choosing a Business Name

In this rapidly growing economy, it is commonplace to see businesses in every nooks and crannies of the world. Sole proprietorship is having the highest number of registration. From the home-based entrepreneur to the shop owner, and then the small office consultant, people are taking advantage of the freedom enjoyed in becoming their own boss.

Billions of corporate monies are invested yearly in starting new businesses. A visit to the Lagos office of the nation’s registrar of business names buttresses this fact.

While it is true that anybody can start up a business of their own, many entrepreneurs have fallen short of the leveraging that accrues from this experience. This, to a large extent, has to do with the disadvantaged names worn by these businesses.

A business does not actually begin by formulating a business plan or opening a bank account. It starts from choosing a name. There’s more to business names than just identity. The right name is an advertising tool. If the name doesn’t describe the nature of your business, potential clients may not realize that you offer something they need.

Let’s take a look at the top 10 mistakes to avoid when choosing a business name:

1. NOT KNOWING WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS YOU ARE IN. It is surprising that some entrepreneurs choose a name with little or no indication of what type of work the organization actually does. Including a descriptive word in your business name can be useful when marketing your products or company. This may be made possible if you have identified what differentiates you from competitors. Take the following examples:

Adenix and Sons

One Love Enterprises

Just You Shop

Can you tell me what any of these companies do? No! They’re relying on customers already knowing who they are (a tricky proposition for new businesses).

2. USING A NAME THAT IS TOO LONG, DIFFICULT TO REMEMBER, SPELL OR PRONOUNCE. A good name is something that can be mentioned on radio or over the phone without explanation. People will make a quick decision based on their first impression of your business name. Put the name through a spelling test and ask others to spell it. So, choosing a name such as “Lolitoesy” is not a good one.

3. NOT SPENDING QUALITY TIME BRAINSTORMING. Business names are not “spur of the moment” creations. It is the result of possibly long days and nights of brainstorming, digging the Thesaurus for synonyms and antonyms, interrelated words and words that have some kind of relationship with the proposed business activity. The big companies even hire expensive consultants to help them choose the right name for their businesses or products.

4. PROMOTING A NAME WITHOUT TESTING AND CHECKING ITS AVAILABILITY. Once you have chosen a few names, test them out on friends and family, potential clients and everyone you know. Ask them what kind of service they feel you provide and feeling they get about the name. You’ll be surprised at how honestly they give you suggestions. Then you can proceed to check availability at the name registry nearest to you after being convinced it’s best. Don’t waste money on letter heads and complimentary cards trying out a business name already chosen by someone else.

5. CHOOSING WORDS WITH NEGATIVE OR NEUTRAL CONNOTATION. A word’s connotation can be positive, negative or neutral, depending on the emotional associations that people generally make. If you are starting a transport business for instance, you don’t want it to have a weak sounding or negative name, such as “Willow Twig Trucking” or “Kitten Transport”. You want a business name that conveys strength and reliability. A choice such as “Stone Creek Transport” would be much better. Remember: Words are powerful.

6. NAMING A BUSINESS AFTER THE FOUNDER OR ANY OTHER PERSON. It is a common tendency for a business to be named after the original founder. This approach can make customers expect the personal attention and care of the owner. Using your name, followed by the type of service works well if you have an already established reputation in your specialty. But, if you are planning to one day sell your company, a company-owner named business is less attractive.

7. NOT CONSIDERING THE FUTURE. Robert Dilenschneider wrote about a public relations person who broadened her services from just writing to media relations and had to change the name of her business from Miller’s Writing Services to Miller’s Communications. Aside brainstorming for ideas, you need foresight in choosing a name. Even if you are operating a highly-niched product, select names that would represent a broader category of your product line.

8. FAILURE TO GET THE RIGHT DOMAIN NAME FOR YOUR BUSINESS. If your business activity is almost 100% online or will do better having an online presence, you may need to consider starting your search by getting a suitable domain name for your website first. In the modern world of the internet, where people automatically turn to the web for information, it pays to have a domain name that reflects your site or business.

9. NOT AVOIDING LAWSUIT. Be unique. The best you can be trying to be someone else is second best. Avoid being a copycat. Using a name similar or identical to that of another business can get you into problems including legal issues. If you call your line of equestrian apparel “Polo Sporting Designs”, the holder of the trademark “Polo” – the giant Ralph Lauren – may slap you with a lawsuit.

10. NOT CONSULTING A BUSINESS NAMING EXPERT. While the services of lawyers, chartered accountants and chartered secretaries can be invaluable in the registration of a business name and company, these categories of professionals might not understand the selling and marketing principles that copywriters can use to your advantage. A good copywriter is always looking for ways to help you communicate more effectively to more people.

Common Small Business Web Design Mistakes to Avoid

As a small business owner, you probably already know that your website is a very important tool for marketing your brand and reaching your target audience. Ensuring your website design is attractive and functional to your audience is also necessary for success. Unfortunately, there are quite a few small business web design mistakes that are all too common. Sometimes this occurs when small business owners hire a cheap designer and believe they’re getting a value, although sometimes it’s mistakes the website operator makes by excluding certain important information.

To make sure you maximise the potential of your business website, keep these pitfalls in mind and avoid them.

Mistake 1: Not Building Trust

Building trust with your audience is arguably the most important thing any small business web design should do. There are actually some really easy and quick ways to build trust, as well as improve your conversion rate. Start my making sure your full address, company name and phone number is included on every page, preferably the footer. If you have an e-commerce storefront, make sure you are displaying badges like your SSL certificates and sitelock. After all, most people are not going to want to place an order if they doubt the professionalism and security of your website.

If you are a very small business or a freelancer, it also helps to add a picture of yourself to your “About Us” page along with a personal quote. Be prepared to be very transparent about your services and offer as much detail as possible, including any return policy or guarantees you provide. You should also have a privacy policy on your website, which tells your visitors what you will and will not do with their personal information that’s collected.

Finally, consider adding the rel=”publisher” link to your homepage, which points to your business’s Google+ page. This way, the image used on your Google+ profile will be displayed alongside your website on Google search results.

Mistake 2: Website is Too Flashy

It’s not uncommon for business owners to get a little carried away with the content and design of their website, requesting flashy graphics and bold colours that detract, not add value. To effectively market your brand and improve visibility, you want a clean and minimalist interface that impresses customers but makes it easy for them to find what they are looking for.

Content should be straight-forward and relevant, not a long rambling monologue or an excuse to stuff in keywords unnaturally. Users should come away with a good experience and feel like they found exactly what they were looking for.

Mistake 3: No Call to Action Buttons

Call to action buttons are important because they funnel your visitors further into your site. By keeping website users on your website for a longer amount of time, you’ll lower your bounce rate and increase the chance of a conversion. It also improves user experience by directing users exactly where they want to go, assuming it isn’t overdone. If you sell insurance, for example, you would have a call to action button encouraging users to request a quote. If you sell products online, you would have a call to action button for users to “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart.”

Mistake 4: Not Using the Rel=”Nofollow” Tag on Outbound Links

Finally, a really common small business web design mistake is not using the rel=”nofollow” tag on outbound links away from the website. While it may not seem like a big issue, it actually allows you to control the “link juice” of your website, which gets leeched out to all of your “dofollow” outbound links. Only links going to your internal pages should be “dofollow,” which means they pass along this link juice.

It’s also important to avoid linking to a lot of low authority or low quality websites, especially if you do not have a great deal of inbound links to your website.

Unfortunately, these mistakes are all too common, but very easy to fix, for the most part. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so the best option is avoiding these mistakes in the first place by working with an experienced individual who can create a custom web design for your business.