The Race for The Golden Ball

France Football announced this morning the list of 50 candidates for the 2007 Golden Ball winner, which will be assigned on the 2nd of December in Paris. The recognition will be handed following the votes of a jury made up 96 newspapers, amongst which 8 Italian ones.

Milan is heading the list of Italian clubs with 6 nominations; these are the Rossoneri present in the list: Ricky Kakà, Rino Gattuso, Filippo Inzaghi, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf.
Ahead of Milan only Barcelona and Real Madrid, with 7 players per head, and behind the Rossoneri there are Chelsea (4), Bayern Munich (3) and Liverpool (2).

Therefore there are multiple and constant in time the recognitions which have gratified the Rossoneri at the start of the season.

Here are some examples:
- The list of 30 candidates for the “Fifa World Player 2007” sees four Rossoneri players, of which Milan is very proud: Gattuso, Nesta, Pirlo amongst the Italians, and Kaka with regards to the Brazilians. The winner will be elected on the 17th of December by the coaches and captains of all the national teams in the world. Amongst the nominations, Barcelona is the team which has the highest number of candidates (7), but Milan is the Italian team with most players in the run for the award.
- During the away game of Milan at Montecarlo for the European Super Cup Final, on the 30th of August, during the ceremony of the draw of the calendars for the Champions League 2007/08, three awards were handed out to three Rossoneri players for the past season in the Champions Leagues:
Paolo Maldini, best defender in the Champions League 2006/07;
Clarence Seedorf, best midfielder in the Champions League 2006/07;
Kaka, best attacker and best overall player in the Champions League 2006/07
- On the 1st of September, on the return from the victory in the European Super Cup at Montecarlo, Filippo Inzaghi received the ‘Gaetano Scirea Award’ to highlight the exemplary career of the Rossoneri’s player.
- On the 22nd of September, before the Milan-Parma game at San Siro, Carlo Ancelotti was elected best coach of the 2006/07 season by ESM which regroups the European Sports Magazines.
- On the 5th of October, at the Sports Centre of Milanello, the winners of the third edition of the FIFPro World XI Player Awards were announced. The awards were handed out thanks to the votes of the players’ syndicates around the world. There were almost 45,000 votes which arrived from 42 syndicates. Amongst the 55 nominates for the ideal 2006/07 formation, there were nine Rossoneri players: Maldini, Nesta, Maldini, Nesta, Gattuso, Pirlo, Inzaghi, Dida, Kakà, Seedorf and Ronaldo. Amongst the Rossoneri, Kaka won the best player award of 2006/07 and Alessandro Nesta, together with Kaka was named in the top 11 of the 2006/07 season.

Galliani Happy To See Dida Ban Cut

The Brazilian had been handed a two-match ban after over-reacting to an altercation with a fan during the Champions League clash with Celtic at Parkhead on October 3.

However after an appeal by Milan, UEFA's Appeals Body today decided to reduce the penalty to just one game.

This news came after Dida had offered a public apology at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium before the Serie A match with Empoli yesterday afternoon. The 34-year-old repeatedly bowed to each section of the Milan crowd in an emotional gesture.

"Nelson was in Nyon with Cantamessa and I think that a one match suspension is right - it's ok like this," said Galliani.

"Two matches seemed too much, but Dida made a mistake so one match is correct. He made a mistake that did not bring any damage to anyone, neither to Celtic nor to any other player.

"Reading the rules, you understand that one match is right, but to have two, violence has to be involved, and that was not the case. At most Dida was a victim of violence.

"As far as his apology to San Siro go, Dida made a nice gesture that I think it helped fix the player's relationship with the fans. It was his own idea and the club did not suggest anything."

Jankulovski and Dida out of Shakhtar match

AC Milan were hit with a blow ahead of their crunch Champions League clash against Ukraine champions Shakhtar Donetsk as left-back Marek Jankulovski was ruled out.

The Czech player injured his knee in the dismal home defeat to Empoli on Saturday and Milan said Monday that he would not be fit for Wednesday.

Milan face a crisis having picked up only three points from four Serie A home games this season, leaving them trailing leaders Inter Milan by 10 points in the title race.

They also lost their last Champions League clash 2-1 at Celtic, after which goalkeeper Dida was hit with a one-match suspension for feigning injury.

Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry for your wedding

By : Ckint Jhonson

Unusual pieces of jewelry can be quite fascinating and many people look for special designs like those of Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry. Such articles are not only beautiful artifacts, but they also give a feel of ancient times, when they were more than decorative objects and had magic and symbolic significance. Such was the case with antique Egyptian jewelry, whose motifs often had mystical connotations. Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings, with beautiful designs and inscriptions are highly popular nowadays. The symbols and common motifs on both Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry still have special significance for certain wearers, who are very familiar with Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning.

Wedding rings are very important items of jewelry, and you must look carefully before you choose the perfect Jewish wedding rings or Egyptian wedding rings. Such pieces of Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry used to play a very important part in the wedding ceremony in days of yore. With most people, wedding rings still have an essential function, symbolizing the couple’s union. This is why they want the design their Jewish jewelry or Egyptian jewelry to include traditional motifs with appropriate symbolic connotations, according to the legendary Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning. Today’s artifacts are inspired by old models of Jewish and antique Egyptian jewelry.

If Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings have their own cultural peculiarities, they also share a few common features. These articles of Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry are usually made of gold, although silver models are also available. According to the traditional Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning, the rings exchanged by the couple symbolize continuity and perfection. Such pieces of Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry are also thought to have protective properties, ensuring that the union is harmonious. A common symbol of life and fertility, often present in the design of antique Egyptian jewelry, including on wedding rings, is the Egyptian Cross, or the ankh.

Apart from their round shape, meant to symbolize continuity and the couple’s hope that their marriage will last forever, Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings can include special motifs or inscriptions in their design, either suggested by the artisan who makes them or chosen by the customers themselves. For those interested in purchasing this type of Jewish jewelry or Egyptian jewelry, there is a variety of products available, similar to traditional Jewish and antique Egyptian jewelry. Special requests can easily be catered for and you can always ask for a particular inscription on your chosen wedding rings, with hieroglyphs or words of high importance within the general Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning.

In the past, both Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings could be simple bands of gold, with no embellishments whatsoever. It is highly common now for those keen on Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry to have design of their rings enriched with certain motifs or inscriptions thought to have particular significance within the general Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning. Both the motifs and inscriptions of holy words or hieroglyphs included in wedding ring designs are meant to bring good fortune, health and prosperity to the couple, as well as harmony and fertility. Some symbols are thought to have protective properties, keeping all evil away, like the scarab, present on many articles of antique Egyptian jewelry.

Apart from traditional motifs and phrases, both Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings can be customized according to your special requirements regarding your chosen Jewish jewelry or Egyptian jewelry. There are couples who prefer to inscribe or raise their own names inside the rings, and this choice dates back to the faraway past, when inscriptions were made on amulets and on other pieces of traditional Jewish or antique Egyptian jewelry out of the common belief that the written word lasts forever. This is why the phrases inscribed were considered particularly important, with a strong positive influence on the wearer, according to the traditional Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning.

If jewelry is generally worn for esthetic purposes, it has to have a deeper meaning when it comes to wedding rings. Both Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings are special among other types of jewelry, because they have high symbolic connotations. According to the old tradition regarding the Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning, these articles of Egyptian jewelry and Jewish jewelry both stand for and protect the couple’s union. Such is the case with most items whose designed is inspired from traditional Jewish and antique Egyptian jewelry. On the one hand, they are both beautiful objets d’art with an esthetic role; on the other hand, they have a symbolic function, much like the amulets worn in ancient times.

Online Commodity Trading - Learning to Trade Futures

by : Amar Mahallati

A futures contract is a commitment to buy a commodity with an inherent value at the date specified. It's used by the people who produce those commodities to regularize their income streams and protect themselves from excessive market volatility.

Examples of futures are oil futures, steel futures, agricultural futures like corn, soybeans, sugar and wheat, or pork bellies. Any kind of product that's produced in large quantities with regular production cycles, lead times of more than a month, seasonable variations in availability and price, and near constant demand for the raw material can be the subject of a futures contract.

Futures can be thought of as agreements to sell or buy commodities at a specified price in the future, regardless of the market conditions. If you need the commodity in question, you may buy futures to hedge against a future rise in price. If you sell the commodity in question, you're buying futures to hedge against a decrease in price.

Buying and selling futures contracts allow people to buy and sell the commitments to buy products in respond to market pressures. Unlike stock portfolio or bond investing, you aren't buying a chunk of a corporation or a debt commitment to be paid back with interest, you're taking a gamble on the future price of a commodity.

Futures trading is risky, as is any kind of investment, but some of the risk can be ameliorated by taking on a diversified portfolio.

What Makes For A Good Futures Trader?

The personality type that thrives in futures trading is that of the professional gambler, the person who is certain that their instincts on the way commodities will flow will beat the market trends. (It is possible to take buy-and-hold positions with futures, but that tends to be less lucrative and less volatile. In general, it's also less sound than buy-and-hold strategies for stocks and bonds.).

Backing up that instinct is a lot of technical analysis. Futures traders watch all the news; for example, news about the weather directly impacts growing seasons for commodities such as corn, soybeans and sugar. News about port regulations impacts futures relating to delivery of durable goods and oil from overseas. News about increases in production capability at refineries, or improvements in oil extraction techniques can change the price of oil and often in counterintuitive directions!

There is a lot to learn to become a successful futures trader; you'll want a mentor, and a couple of classes to learn the terminology, the regulations, and how to spot market trends (and how to divorce yourself from your own analysis, so that you don't blind yourself to important trends because you're in love with your own ideas.)

Interestingly, while futures are contracts meant to reduce risk between producers and purchasers of commodities, the trading of futures is a high volatility market.

While there is risk, it can be (somewhat) ameliorated, and there are often trends that are easy to pick out that will help you avoid risk.

The key to being successful as a futures trader is knowing when to NOT gamble, when to take what you've got and call it a day with a reasonable return on your investment.

3 Reasons to Sell Your Business Now for Maximum Profit

by : Harvey Zemmel

Your business that you poured most of your time, energy, and money into it for what may seem like forever is something you've created. You've nurtured it since inception. And, you've watched it grow up into something beautiful.

To many entrepreneurs, selling your business is like selling your kid.

Now someone else has come along and they want to take that little baby from you, and not give it back.

No one said selling your business to another would be easy. It can entail your hardest move. But, it can also be your best move. Here's why…

Why You Should Sit Back, Sell Your Business and Let it Go Now

1. More Financial Independence -- As entrepreneurs, many of us dream of one day trading all of our hard work for a big fat paycheck from an acquiring company so you and your family can be secure for life. It's the stuff headlines are made of or the cover of a magazine showcasing me as a newly minted millionaire beaming with delight at my newfound wealth when I sold my assisted living center for an excess of thirty-five million dollars. Once you sell your business for maximum profit, the money is in the bank. Now, it can be invested wisely whether it's in stock market shares or just safe and secure in the bank earning 5%.

2. More Fun - Most people want to retire or at least semi-retire. They want to move on and fulfill their lives in other ways. And they want to travel and see the world. As business owners who spend most of their time and energy on developing and building their business, it's not very often where you'll be in a position where you can travel abroad for 6 months. Or, go abroad for a year. Or, go travel around the world. When you sell your business for maximum profit, you gain time, independence and freedom. These are critical words to go and enjoy the fruits of your hard earned labor.

3. More Emotional Freedom - As a business owner you will face disappointments in business. There are setbacks. Despite careful planning, things don't always happen when and how you want them to. You will suffer from feelings of frustration, fear and anxiety. I even know of business owners who have to drink Pepto Bismo, Mylanta or Maalox every morning and night to get rid of their nervous cramps and feeling of nausea. They live in constant terror of an uncertain future. They keep thinking although they've made great money in the last year, 3 years, 5 years or even 10 years but there is no guarantee about next month and upcoming years. Selling your business for maximum profit I one of the easiest ways to get rid off fears and anxieties brought on by the onset of owning your own business.

Now, the question is do you want to gain more financial independence, emotional freedom and have more fun?

If your answer is yes, then the time to start thinking about selling your business is NOW! You should not wait until you hit the magic age of 55, 60 or 65. The process starts way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way earlier than that. If you start early, you can get prepared. If your organized, selling your business can be a smooth transition.

Pay Per Click Advertising

from : Wendy Boswell

Pay Per Click Advertising - What Is It?
Pay-per-click advertising (purchasing sponsored links on search engine results pages) is often pitched as a stop-gap measure while waiting for a search engine optimization campaign to take effect. But I would argue that pay-per-click advertising (PPC) can be an integral, ongoing part of any search engine optimization (SEO) campaign.

Benefits of a Pay Per Click Advertising Program

• Speed: PPC listings can be launched very quickly. Unlike organic SEO, there’s no need to wait for the search engines’ spiders to perform a deep crawl of your site.
• Reach: PPC provides additional traffic to your site. It is particularly effective for highly competitive search phrases where it may be extremely difficult to get a top 10 organic listing. You can save your SEO effort for more fruitful targets and use PPC to get on that top results page.
• ROI (return on investment): PPC can be extensively tracked. Statistics like Cost-per-conversion are quite valuable for comparing your campaign ROI against other marketing tactics. Furthermore, this data is reported to you accurately and quickly.
• Experimentation: When researching potential search phrases, you will likely find some that are a good match for your website. But typically there are others that are intriguing but questionable. Do you want to risk optimizing your site for marginal terms, only to find that the conversion rates for these visitors are dismal and the resulting leads are unlikely to be customers? PPC campaigns provide a low-risk test bed for keywords, enabling you to determine if a full site optimization campaign is worthwhile.

What's the catch in a pay per click advertising campaign?
The relative drawbacks of PPC are cost and longevity. Some PPC keywords are highly competitive (and therefore costly). And unlike SEO efforts which can yield free traffic for years, PPC traffic will last only as long as you continue to pay for it.

Tips for a Successful Pay Per Click Advertising Campaign

Have a well-defined keyword strategy. This starts with a rigorous keyword analysis. If you are unsure of how to do this, or lacking access to database tools, you may want to consult a professional. Your keyword strategy is where you’ll decide which keywords to optimize for and which to bid for with PPC.

Launch with one platform first. While you may want your PPC ads to get maximum exposure, I recommend launching with one PPC provider initially. There is some administrative overhead that goes with each PPC system, particularly when disallowed ads are factored in. With some PPC providers, it’s not uncommon to have more than 25% of your ads rejected, requiring multiple revisions.

Test, test, test Once you’ve rolled out a batch of PPC ads, monitor progress for about a month. By then you should have a good idea of which keywords are working and which aren’t. You should also have a good idea of what creative/landing page combinations are earning the best conversion rates. This is your opportunity to test whether those questionable keywords are worthy of an SEO effort.

Extend the campaign. Armed with performance info, you can now roll out your campaign to other PPC providers. The PPC ad creative may not be directly applicable because of different character count limitations, but you’ll have a good idea of what to do with more or less words. You can also stagger implementation of each PPC provider, using campaign insights to further refine your approach.

Pay Per Click Advertising Programs
Here are some good pay per click programs you might want to check into:

• Google Adwords:the most popular one out there because of it's ease of use and high return rate.
• Yahoo Search Marketing: sponsored search, content match, and more.
• Ask Jeeves Sponsored Listings: different plans for different needs, all laid out in an easy to understand format.
• MSN Paid Search Advertising and options for paid listings: at the time of this writing just getting started, but definitely one to watch.
• Pandia's Guide to Pay Per Click Search Engines: Excellent round up of links to PPC programs, management tools, and more.

The minerals your baby needs

By: Kasha Dubinska

Your baby needs a number of minerals to ensure they have a healthy start on solid foods. Importantly, by giving your baby a balanced diet, you will provide him or her with all the minerals they need.

Exactly what do minerals give our babies and ourselves? How can I be sure that I am giving my baby all they need? These issues and many more are addressed in my DVD, Yummy Beginnings. Below is a list of minerals that we all need, and where we can find them.

Calcium is essential for the building healthy, strong bones and teeth. It is found is dairy proucts such as milk and cheese, tinned fish, and in leafy green vegetables.

Iron prevents anemia by building red blood cells which carry oxygen around the body. It is found in commercially prepared rice cereal ( read the labels, and look for“ Iron fortified“ variety), red meat and cereals. Green vegetables such as spinach also contain iron.

Salt or Sodium is found in vegetables and it is added to many other foods. You do not need to add salt to any of your baby’s foods, as they will get enough from everything else they are eating. Salt is essential for maintaining the water balance in our body, and for good nerve and muscle activity.

Fluoride is essential for healthy teeth formation and for preventing tooth decay. It is added to the water supply in most Australian cities. Later, your child will receive additional fluoride from the toothpaste used to brush their teeth.

Magnesium helps to built healthy bones and body tissue. It is found in cabbage and potatoes.

Iodine is found in small amounts in vegetables. It aids the healthy function of the thyroid gland.

Phosphorus is required for growth and your baby will get all it needs from breast milk and/or formula.

A good source of Potassium is bananas. Potassium is a mineral present in all body cells. It maintains water balance in the body, and helps proper muscle and nerve activity.

This may all sound a bit complicated, but a balanced diet will give your baby all the minerals they need. It will also build a great foundation for healthy development, and teach them to enjoy a healthy diet they will benefit from for the rest of their lives.

Kasha Dubinska, Bachelor of Science major in Chemistry with Honors from The University of Sydney, mother and home chef of healthy baby food.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

For an informative and fun way to learn about what healthy foods to give to your baby look up www.yummybeginnings.com Kasha Dubinska, Bachelor of Science major in Chemistry with Honors from The University of Sydney, mother and home chef of healthy baby food.

Are There Really Ways to Make Money Online?

by : Lloyd Lopes

As soon as I came onto the high speed broadband circuit, I was suddenly exploring the web instead of the usual "get on, get what you need and get off "scenario. I was to stumble upon many sites during "surfing" that claimed to show you how to make money online.

The claims ranged from the oh-so-obvious Nigerian scams, to the not so obvious tricksters and then some opportunities that looked legitimate. Needless to say -- as an extremely skeptical person I ignored all of them. I was interested, but I was one of those people who, if I did something, it would be done my way and nobody else's. I looked objectively at the promise of an "online income" and saw that it was indeed perfectly probable -- look at Google, Amazon, Yahoo! And EBay. These were certainly companies who had made a pretty fortune online.

However, these companies started out with one thing I didn't have: Cash.
They were investors with the ability to get the right people to do the right thing at the right time, and to profit from it. They had huge resources to throw at the internet game, and they were like the Wal-Mart monopolies of this world -- squashing the little guy as they went along.

However, delving a little deeper into this "Internet Money" thing revealed something interesting. Behind all the MLM, Pyramids and other schemes lay a group of people who were making large amounts of money online. And these guys weren't companies -- they were privateers.

And through this group of sparsely spread "Internet Marketers", as they called themselves, I learned how to really make money online. They did not want me in any of their schemes -- they held secrets and led false information to their competitors. Very few wanted to teach me and rightly so -- why should they waste their efforts on a newbie and add to their already existing competition?

But a lot of this "Internet Marketing" thing started to make sense. As I learned off what snippets I could get -- it turns out that a man with an internet connection and a half decent PC can leverage his existing talents in a way that was never before possible. It was also cheap to start. $50 got you 2 websites and some hosting for a year. With a website come endless opportunities. You could sell products, services and advertising with a little savvy and even less money.

Building an "Online business" or even taking your business online is an absolute must in this day and age. With the internet, you can attract thousands of times more customers with a tiny fraction of the cost and effort of regular business. As one of my non-technically minded colleagues put it: "It simply makes sense". An online marketing strategy is something that will be as standard as newspaper advertising in the next 5 years.

As to making money online -- start with what you already have. Take your small toy shop and make an ecommerce store. Optimize the site for the search engines -- and sell to the world. Expose your restaurant on review sites that will be more than happy to do it for free and gain huge exposure and customers.

Then take it from there.

A lot of people put off going online because they are skeptical and do not understand it or what it can do. My advice to these people is this. Test it. Just do it. You'll never know until you actually attempt it.

There could well be a gold mine waiting for you online. From starting your own store -- to creating affiliate sites and information sites designed to sell advertising , the web is a market place and there are very few , given the size of the web , who are taking advantage of it.

Golf Tips - Golf Lessons are a Worthwhile Investment

By Tom Ward, PGA Tour Instructor

Baseball legend Hank Aaron once described the frustration he experienced playing the game of golf. He said, "It took him 17 years to get 3, 000 hits in baseball, but he did it in one afternoon on the golf course. "I'm sure Mr. Aaron was exaggerating his score, but he was on target in identifying golf as a game that can humble even the greatest athletes. I've been fortunate in my career to work with some of the greatest professional athletes in the world from a variety of sports. As good as they were in their particular sport when they took up golf initially they were in for a real dose of reality. Thinking that your good at one sport and transfering those athletic skills as they applied to golf was wishful thinking. However, with the proper understanding of the fundamentals, constant practice, and a commitment to learn, its possible to develop a skill level that will allow you to feel comfortable playing with anyone.

First, learn the game. Notice I didn't say, "Take lessons immediately. "There are many ways to learn golf. Some halfway decent players have never taken lessons. Many start at the driving range hitting balls with their friends or on their own. They read books, watch videos, subscribe to golf publications, internet searches, or watch the pros on television. Use whatever method you like. But be aware that there is a lot of conflicting information out there and it can get pretty confusing to say the least. It can take a lot longer with this trial and error method. Books and videos as good as some can be with information can't give you the one-on-one attention and feedback necessary that you get when you take a lesson from a qualified professional. Learning to feel what is the correct motion in your golf swing is much more important than having pure knowledge of what to do.

Before you decide to take some lessons try to give some thought to the type of golf experience you are looking for, and the level of commitment(money and time)you are willing to make. Let me give you some examples:Group lessons versus Private lessons. If your just starting out and haven't really made a commitment to the game yet you want to learn more, you'll probably want to consider group lessons. Here are some of the advantages, including:

* First, the cost is lower. Sharing time with your instructor with other people in the same boat as you will keep financial investment lower.
* A more relaxed atmosphere. Because your teacher's time is divided among several students, there is a lot less pressure on you to perform. The added benefit is this gives you time to practice on what your learning while the teacher is helping other students.
* Meeting new golfers. Taking group lessons allow you to spend time with people on the same skill level like yourself. A lot of new golfers don't stay with the game because they don't have someone to play with. Unfortunately, many times better golfers don't like to play with beginners.

Group lessons are a great way to test the waters of your interest in the game without making a big commitment. My experience over the years tells me that many people enjoy the camaraderie learning with others in group lessons. As golfers begin to improve they move onto private lessons to get more focused on their own individual needs. Private lessons do cost more, however there are many advantages once you've decided to move forward learning the game. They Include:

* Having individualized attention. Your instructor works one-on-one with you and only you. This scenario alone caters to your needs and helps to eliminate any bad habits you might be creating. There is no substitute for having this type of situation where someone is totally focused on you and your golfing needs.
* Lessons are tailored to your needs and abilities. You can work on a particular skill area that you desire. Many good players I work with take lessons to work on correcting a problem they might be having with a particular shot. A good instructor learns how to deliver information in a way that the person they are working with can best comprehend.
* Private lessons are often videotaped. Watching your swing and having it correctly dissected by a skilled professional can be an extremely valuable experience. Also, you and your instructor create a unique dialouge of trust and respect building your game.

Whatever route you decide to take in your journey to playing good respectable golf just remember to have fun along the way!

Should You Wait for Your Prospects to Call You?

by : Tammy Stanley

Worried about being perceived as "a pushy salesperson," direct sales entrepreneurs often resist making prospecting calls and follow-up calls to their prospects or current customers. They often tell me that they just don't know what to say once they do pick up the phone and call prospects. It seems that they're looking for the perfect script that will serve as a magic cure all.

I find that a good script or properly preparing for your sales call is a very wise technique that can dramatically increase the success of your sales calls. However, it most likely is not the sales process that trips you up. The most difficult part is picking up that 100 pound phone!

One theory about sales calling is that it's dead or obsolete. What is meant by that is there are ways to implement savvy marketing in order to get your prospects calling you instead of you calling them.

Does anything sound better than that? Just think about that for a moment. Wouldn't your job be peach perfect, if all your prospects called you? The truth is, you probably would not have your current job, if it were that easy to get prospects to call; no business would need to hire sales professionals, if the prospects did the work!

Don't get me wrong, I believe in savvy marketing. Anything you can do to make the sales process better, more effective, and easier definitely gets my vote. However, reciprocity is part of any healthy relationship. And when it comes to developing a healthy customer/salesman relationship, calling your customers is one of the smartest marketing strategies you can use. So why would you really want to forgo it?

It never ceases to amaze me how often I hear about the frustration sales professionals experience after leaving a message or two and the potential prospect never calling back. When this happens, it is often assumed that the prospect is not interested. After years of being in the sales industry, one thing I have definitely learned is to stop waiting to call my prospects, and to stop hoping and waiting for my prospects to call me back. One of the best ways to explain this is to give you an example of me as a customer.

It just so happens that I love Longaberger products. If you have never heard of it, it is a direct sales company that has beautiful baskets and pottery. A while back I started collecting their pottery. I was so pleased with my first set of dishes that I wanted more almost immediately. In fact, for nine months I wanted to order another set of dinner plates. Now understand that I really did want those dinner plates. When we had guests come over, it bothered me that I only had a 6 place setting (that is probably a woman thing). Every week, I thought, "I really need another set of those plates."

I had the phone number of the sales person, but even though I really wanted those plates, week after week went by without me picking up the phone and ordering them. That may sound illogical. Just understand that I knew I would be parting with $100, once I made that call, so I continually resisted the process. The flip side of this is that I would have been thrilled to order, if the sales person had only called me. I had received several flyers in the mail from her, but never a follow-up phone call.

When I analyzed the situation, I realized that as a customer, I felt that the sales person needed to provide me with service, before I should open up my wallet and grant HER the commissions! Ultimately I did not want to do what I believed was her job to do. So keep in mind that it is your job to stay in touch with your current customers and it is your job to connect with potential customers.

It is not the job of the customer to find you. It is your job to find your customers. That is why you are being paid as a sales professional. Your customers know what your job is, and they know it is not their job! If you remember that, you will not fall into the trap of feeling rejected quite so readily.

One super star seller I know once told me that most people put themselves last on the list. They may want to order more of a product, but they will not take the time to call and order. Time after time, customers will end up saying that they have been meaning to call and order more, but just have not had the time to do it!

Have you ever gone to the store to buy a gallon of milk, but come home with $40 of food? When something is placed before us, we tend to see the desire or need for it. Then, it is a challenge to resist. Our potential customers gain a fuller sense of their desire or need for our product, when we place it before them.

Never expect your customers or prospects to do your job. Place expectations only on yourself. Place the expectation on yourself to follow through and keep trying until you connect!

Tips for Buying a Home After Bankruptcy

by : T.J Madigan

Experienced bankruptcy lately? You may wonder if you will still will be able to get a home loan. You may also be wondering if buying home after bankruptcy is a good idea for you.

While bankruptcy can make your mortgage loan approval difficult, it is still possible to get approved. In fact there have been more and more, bad credit loans coming out all the time.

They are called the Subprime lenders; they are focusing more on helping individuals with poor credit in buying home after bankruptcy.

This is happening mostly because bankruptcies are still on the rise and there is an increasing number of people with bad credit who are looking for home financing.

Just to give you a bit of an overview here are some very good reasons to consider after bankruptcy buying home:

Increase your credit rating. When you make your payments on a regular basis, you will be able to develop your credit rating. Once your pre-payment penalty is done, you should be able to refinance your credit loan for a much lesser interest rate.

After your bankruptcy has been for ended 2-3 years, you ought to have a much easier time qualifying for a lesser interest rate mortgage loan.

You will be able to own an asset. If you are just renting a home then you are absolutely throwing your monthly payments away. Why not just buy a home, over time, its value will increase and you are working you way towards owing an asset.

Once you have bought your house, as soon as 6 months or so later, you might be able to take out an equity loan on your home and consolidate any other debt that you might have since your bankruptcy or debt that could not be included in your bankruptcy.

Taxes and student loans will not be discharged in a bankruptcy. You may also want to use the extra cash to invest in a business venture or for needed home improvement.

It is very tempting to buy an new home, new car, do some renovations, etc., after bankruptcy discharge you have no debt left. You will probably feel like you can afford a larger house payment due to the financial experience that you have.

But it is not that easy so here are some factors to consider before committing yourself to a new house payment.

The Pre-payment penalty. This penalty is usually about 6 months worth of house payments. And usually lasts from 2-3years. Once you sign those mortgage papers you absolutely have to make those payments. If you don't have the amount of the pre-payment penalty in savings, you are locked into making the payments or losing the house.

The Two Year Mark. Keep in mind that after 2-3 years from the date of the bankruptcy discharge, mortgage loans will be much easier to get. With a small down payment, you might even be able to get a mortgage loan without a pre-payment penalty.

So, if you are within 6 months or so from the 2 year mark. It would be smart to wait it out and have more mortgage loan options.

Borrowing Too Much. This is the most common mistake that we usually get into. If you do decide to buy a house, buy one that you know you will be able to afford. Don't max yourself out on credit, living right up to the edge of your income.

If your income suddenly drops, you'll want to make sure that you can still afford your house payment. Be conservative with how much home you need to buy.

Most of us always think that bankruptcy is the end of our credit life. But don not despair because I know some people that have been in to bankruptcy but has been able to get up again and rebuild there credit quickly most of them has even been able to buy a new house.

Bankruptcy will show up on your credit report for 10 years. That means that every mortgage lender will certainly see that fact when evaluating your mortgage application.

Although it may be difficult to find a bank to give you a mortgage it's certainly not impossible. Banks want to make money and you may find one that's willing to take the risk.

How To Start An E-Commerce Business

by : Obinna Heche

The dot.com boom of the 1980s permitted legions of people to cash in on the mushrooming availability and popularity of the Internet but when the bubble burst, there were those who did not cash in but instead ended up owing the bank a small fortune. Those who profited were also those who were able to find a way of starting an ecommerce business without a bank loan. Granted, some might have dipped into their credit cards or homes equity, which is only marginally better but by and large they only invested that which they knew they could afford to lose.

At this point in time potential web entrepreneurs are a lot more hesitant to march to the bank and ask for a loan to fund their ecommerce business. They have learned from the mistakes of others and perhaps they are already so strapped in their personal finances that they know adding another monthly payment will send them over the abyss. Those who are able to not take out the loans in order to invest them in a shiny new ecommerce opportunity will also be those who will live to try another day. The others who may or may not succeed will require years some even decades to financially recover from a failure.

It is important to understand that you do not need to start an ecommerce business with a bank loan. Instead, there are alternative ways of funding your entrepreneurship and those methods might in the long run be safer. For example, you will need a great computer and the latest software to make your presence known on the Net. While it is tempting to buy the latest and greatest machine, find out if you can simply upgrade that which you already have.

Usually you will be able to do so for a fraction of the price that a new system costs. If a new computer system is indicated, wait until special sales events come up and take advantage of them. Refurbished units and used machines which are for sale on many of the major auction sites are also a good idea. Similarly, do not worry about having an office to start out. You spare bedroom will work just fine until the money begins to roll in. It is important that you do not spend money on items which will do little to further your business.

Thus, if you are making and selling e-books, an office is unnecessary. Advertising, packaging and other incidentals can all be tackled at a shoe string budget until your business grows to such an extent that you can get a bit fancier. While it is tempting to ask for money from the bank, remember that you will need to repay this money no matter what. Starting an ecommerce business without a bank loan makes more sense in the long run, since you will be able to finance the next phase of your business with the monies you earn from the current phase.

Punch Shots

by Mark Blakemore, PGA Professional

What is a punch shot?
Punch shots can be referred to by different names. You may have heard things said by pros or TV commentators like, "I just punched a little 9 iron" or "It's a little knockdown 6 iron" or "Look at how he shut off that follow-through." The definition of a punch shot might be a bit subjective (it depends on who you ask). But generally it is a shot with and abbreviated swing, especially an abbreviated follow-through. Depending on who is playing the shot and the situation they may call it a punch shot, a knockdown shot, a squeeze or other names.

Why would you want to hit a punch shot?
You see touring pros on TV hit punch shots all the time. There might be many reasons for hitting a punch shot, but the most common reasons are
* To keep the trajectory of the shot down lower than usual (handy in the wind)
* To have better feel for the force applied to the shot, distance control (handy when the specific yardage you need is between clubs)
* To decrease the amount of spin on the ball (assuming decent contact, the harder the ball is hit the more spin the ball will have on it - and good players don't always want the maximum amount of spin on the ball)
* The backswing or follow-through are obstructed in some way (unavoidable at times when you find yourself in tree trouble)

Here's a situation that comes to mind where I would play a punch shot. I'm thinking of a par 3 that I have played a few times that is scary to me. It's only about 165 yards, but it has a real deep and narrow green with a hazard/gully short of the green and wrapping all the way back on the left side, and OB long and all along the right side (you have to cross a bridge to get to the green). As if that's not enough to contend with, the wind is always blowing very hard in your face and a bit to the right, and the tee is elevated about 30 feet. Without wind this situation would call for probably a smooth 8 iron for me. But in that much wind and with that much trouble all around the green I don't have the... nerve smile to take a full swing and throw the ball way up in the air. So I pull out a 5 or 6 iron instead and use a little half swing with a half follow-through, making sure that I keep my hands forward. I like to think of it as just a big chip shot. The result is a shot with a penetrating trajectory that does not climb up into the wind and that carries approximately the right distance.

How do you hit a punch shot?
Punch shots are usually played by somewhat more advanced players, as they are mainly about feel. Because they are about feel techniques probably vary a bit between individuals (just as do the names for the shot). But an easy way to think about it is that it is a partial shot (i.e., not a full swing). So, as an example, a common punch shot might begin with a backswing where the hands only reach shoulder-high and finish with the hands again shoulder high on the follow-through. It is also common to exaggerate the position of the hands forward (toward the target) to decrease the loft of the face a bit and keep the trajectory down.

If this type of shot sounds interesting to you ask a reputable teaching professional about it and start experimenting on the range. If you are a beginner or a high-handicapper it is probably not a necessary part of your repertoire just yet, and may just confuse an already-confused issue. But for middle and lower handicap players a punch shot/knockdown shot (whatever you want to call it) can come in handy. I don't ever play a round of golf without one.

Day Job Killer Dot Com - Making Money Successfully

By: Amanda Aston

Dayjobkiller dot com presents to you the newest informational product called Day Job Killer. It's the kind of ebook that changes your perspective of your online techniques. It is authored by Chris McNeeney, renowned for his first two ebooks called Affiliate Project X and Adword Miracle.

These first products developed by this author were instant hits, both in terms of sales as well as quality. Even today they still sell by the thousands, one year after they've appeared on the market. See, this is the type of author who always delivers top quality products, and Day Job Killer is a remarkable piece of his work.

Surely you know that many overly hyped ebooks existing on the market don't offer anything more than the same old stuff, described in different words. If you have bought products like this before, you will be familiar with the story: affiliate marketing is a very effective way to make a living online, by promoting other people's products. All you need is to achieve traffic on your website, show a lot of commitment and the results will come. This story has took many forms and is flying through the web, and thus people don't want to hear about it.

What people really want is to comprehend the exact mechanism that will transform them into a top seller. This is the goal of Day Job Killer. Even if it doesn't strike at the basics of online cash making, it puts things in a revolutionary new perspective.

It strikes at the most important points, the details that can mean all the difference between success and failure in the tough online battle. The new angle of perspective is what this book is about.

Anyway, it's only fair that you know this: the techniques this product proposes are far from being conventional. As a matter of fact, they are the exact opposite of the standard methods people know only too well.

However, a radical new approach may just be the thing you need in order to be successful online. Browsing this book you will learn about the ways in which you can use the Google machine for profit, how you can study good sellers and then practically steal their market, and the list continues. Once you begin reading the Day Job Killer pdf, you will get a lot of surprises.

During the lecture, you will find out that it is concise, straight to the point and clear. The author tried to put things as simple as he could, so everyone understand the different subjects involved, even if the reader is not an expert in the field. Fact is that your success may just be within your reach. Frankly, dayjobkiller dot com is worthy of at least one little glimpse, believe me.

Work From Home Without Investment

By: Jitesh Venkata

When you search for work from home careers in Google and you will see thousands of Ads. Many Sites promise easy work from home ideas, unlimited opportunities and high pay. Unfortunately they usually promised more than they delivered, and the buyer was disappointed once again.
But there are many successful Work From Home Carrers without Investment. Now we will see some of them.

Google Adsense
Google allows you to begin making money with AdSense through putting text ads on your website, which serves the interest of both Google and the website owner.

Affiliate Programs
An affiliate program is “a revenue sharing program where an affiliate web site receives a portion of income for delivering sales, leads, or traffic to a merchant web site

Data Entry
If you are looking for work from home data entry positions, you need to be sure that you are looking at legitimate positions.
Be sure you do not fall for any work from home data entry job scams. Never pay anyone for data entry jobs. There are plenty of places to look for work from home data entry jobs for free.

Medical Transcription
The average salary for a medical transcriptionist is between $10.87 and $15.63. With experience, medical transcriptionists can advance to supervisory positions, home-based work, editing, consulting, or teaching.
Basically, a medical transcriptionist listens to dictated recordings made by a healthcare professional, and transcribes them into medical reports, correspondence, and other administrative info.

Online Tutors
Deliver your tutoring services over the Internet to remote students communicate with remote students in real-time with Internet voice chat, text chat, file share and interactive whiteboard. Payments are between $12 to $36 per hour for online tutoring and live homework help.

Pay Per Click
"Pay per click" simply means that an affiliate is paid for an Internet hit, or "click", that he or she is responsible for.

Avoiding Work at Home Scams
There are no get rich quick realities in the work at home world. Don't Pay Even single dollar for Ads you can become a millionaire by using their products.What they promise you are all cock & bull stories only.

Regularly visit my site for Genuine home based jobs.The Sites in my website are all without investment sites only
http://www.workfrmhome.org/joomla

Types Of Future Investors

How To Identify The Different Types Of Future Investors
There are different styles and types of future investors that exist in the future market. Future investors use the future market to build their investment portfolio so that they can see a long term profit that takes place over a long period of time.

Someone who is just using the future market to make money quickly for a short period of time is called a “trader”. Members of an investment group fall into the first category: they are in the investment market for the long haul.

There are different types of future investors that use different methods to analyze the market and the market conditions.

The three methods that future investors use for analyzing the market are:

Technical analysis. This method of analysis is used by “momentum” future investors. Technical analysis looks at the price fluctuations that occur in the future market. The future investors base their decisions to buy or sell on what he feels the price will do next.

Fundamental analysis #1. Fundamental analysis is used by “growth” future investors. This type of analysis decides if a certain company is a good investment based on the earnings of the company, growth sales, and margins of profit.

Fundamental analysis #2. “value” future investors use this type of analysis. This method of analysis is similar to the analysis that growth future investors use, but is slightly different. Value future investors takes a close look at those companies in the future market that have a low value. The future investors look at futures that are currently cheap and low but that have the potential to make a good comeback.

Most investment clubs use the fundamental method of analysis to make most of their investing decisions.

They find companies that are listed on the future market that show good growth, profit, and earnings but that are still cheap to buy and haven’t yet reached their potential.

Members of the investment club buy this future and hold on to it for several years so long as the fundamentals, as listed previously, continue to hold strong. This type of investment strategy is called “buy and hold”.

Travelling For Golf

Golf travel can be so rewarding for so many golfers. Most understand that golf and real estate go together. This is why golf has such an allure for so many people. Golf is often located around areas that people want to visit and is one of the drawing reasons why people want to visit that area.

Often when you get into thinking about golf, you think of the weekend courses around you but you have to think about the wider United States and world when you really want to play golf. There is a different set of circumstances and challenges whenever you get a chance to play in a different state or even a different course within town.

Many golfers love the challenge of playing a new course. Your benefits behind golf travel are that you get to play a different course while also taking on different conditions, different terrain and a different architect of the course.

The key behind a great round of golf is to put you in a position to challenge yourself. When you travel to a different location you are combining the benefits of vacation with a unique challenge: a completely different region, different way of looking at golf courses and a different way of playing the game.

The way that you approach the game in the Midwest and play the course versus the way that you approach the game and play in the South or North courses is going to be different at all times. The greens will have varying speeds, the fairway and rough have a different feel, the wind will play a role in some areas more than others. This challenge is why golf travel can be so exciting and exhilarating for so many people.

Top Ten Money Tips for Women

Turn Your Financial Life Around

Why do so many women delegate their financial security to a spouse or signficant other and allow divorce or death to plunge them into poverty? Why do so many women spend more than they earn and become mired in debt?

A National Center for Women and Retirement Research (NCWRR) study showed a direct correlation between a woman's personality characteristics and her financial habits. Assertiveness, openness to change, and an optimistic outlook are the qualities that tend to lead to smart money choices.

Financial Planner, author, and TV host Suze Orman believes our problems with money are manifestations of problems in our life and relationships. Work on the money issues and many of the other problems will take care of themselves; or, work on the other problems and the money problems will take care of themselves.

For many people, money is an emotionally charged issue. It may represent power, or love, or control, especially in relationships. Our beliefs about money and our emotional attachments to it strongly influence the way we spend and handle money.

If you aren't where you should be financially, examine what drives you emotionally when it comes to money and try to figure out the psychological stumbling blocks that keep you from becoming financially independent. Here are ten of the most important things women can do for themselves and their financial future:

1. Don't rely on someone else, like a husband or boyfriend, for your financial security. Educate yourself about money management and investing. See Ovecoming the Financial Gender Gap.

2. Set goals - it's key to financial success. See Building a Balanced Financial Plan and Setting Financial Goals.

3. Don't use money to make yourself feel good. That type of high is fleeting. Instead, do things that promote self-respect and creativity so you don't have to seek those feelings through spending money. See The Urge to Splurge and The Psychology of Spending Money.

4. Spend less than you earn - it's the secret to creating wealth. See Budgeting 101.

5. Get an education. People with college degrees make on average significantly more money than those who don't have degrees.

6. Build an emergency fund. Without one, losing your job or incurring a large unexpected bill could force you to take on heavy credit card debt, and could put you into a financial hole that will be difficult if not impossible to dig your way out of. See Emergency Funds: Why You Need One, How Much You Need, and Where to Keep It.

7. Be involved in the day-to-day management of your family's finances, and talk about money with your spouse. See The Family CFO and Couples and Money: How To Talk the Talk.

8. Don't take on your partner's or spouse's debt when you marry. Wait until you're both out of debt before tying the knot, or protect yourself with a pre-nuptial agreement. They're not only for the rich. See Tying the Financial Knot.

9. Don't let the fear of losing money, fear of failure, or fear of the unknown stop you from investing. See Start Investing With Very Small Amounts of Money.

10. Learn from your money mistakes. Don't let them hobble you.

Your financial security is dependent on your attitudes and beliefs about money and your willingness to take your financial future into your own hands.

Source from : http://financialplan.about.com

Fundraising With Food

By: Kimbelry Reynolds

Fundraising with food has been a long time favorite for sports team fundraising. It is effective, provides something most people like and are willing to pay for, and the variety is vast. Whatever type of food fundraiser you choose for your team, there are three things you must do to get the most out of your efforts.

Food Fundraisers: Go For Mass Appeal
First, choose a popular product that will appeal to the greatest number of potential customers. Your choice should be appropriate to your target audience, be priced fairly, include a good profit margin, and be seasonally viable. For example, don’t sell sweets while the Girl Scouts annual cookie fundraiser is in progress!

Once you choose a product or group of products, use publicity to get the word out. Use school publications, posters, and all the usual suspects.

Take it to the next level by issuing a press release on local radio and newspapers. Most local publications offer this as a free service for non-profit organizations. This will spread your reach beyond the team, their families, neighbors, and friends.

Prepare and Execute!
Secondly, design your plan for execution. Everyone, including your team should know your group goal, your stretch goal, and their individual goal. Create a sales script for the team. Rehearse it at practice in a role playing way.

Would you rather make a purchase from an unprepared athlete who mumbles at his shoes, or from one that is prepared with what to say and looks their potential customer in the eye while conveying the appropriate message?

That message should briefly tell what product they are offering, who they are raising money for, and how the money will be used. (New uniforms, equipment, trip to the play-offs, etc.)

Offer Sales Incentives
Offer incentives for top sellers. Rewards should be quality prizes, not junk. Many fundraising suppliers include prize incentives for top sales attainment. If there is an additional charge for incentives, or if the incentives offered are not appropriate for your team, ask local businesses to donate prizes.

Have a recognition party announcing the top sellers. Everyone likes to be recognized for a job well done in the presence of their peers. If you tally your numbers daily, the top selling player has to run five less laps than the rest of the team.

Go Where The Money Is
As part of your execution plan, consider boosting your reach by selling your products from a table at a shopping center. These are customers that you may not reach otherwise, and can more than double your sales.

Approach the management of a shopping center for permission first. Then organize your volunteers in teams to cover the sales tables in shifts.

Advertise clearly at each sales table. In large print on posters, tell who is selling, what they are selling, and how the money will be used. Use not only multiple locations, but multiple tables at each location.

Give Extra Options
Third and finally, provide several ways the community can help your cause. Offering a variety of products helps ensure there is something that will appeal to everyone.

Or offer an overlay fundraising item. Not every customer will want the food products you have chosen to sell.

Offer a fundraising discount card in addition to your primary offering. Whether it is a two for one discount pizza card, or a fast food discount card, these can add substantial profit to your bottom line.

By offering your primary product and an overlay item, you could double the likelihood that a purchase will be made.

Don’t forget the most obvious overlay: a donation.

If a customer does not want to make a purchase, always ask if they would prefer to make a donation to help your cause.

How To Make Tax Time Less Taxing

Tax time is too often a cause of worry and undue stress. Whether or not you prepare your own return, if you fill out an extended form with attached schedules (that is, other than the short form), careful documentation of your records will make filing much easier.
Reasons for Being Organized
Well-organized records are crucial in case you are audited. By systemically collecting and carefully storing expenses and payments, you may find that you can deduct more than you thought possible previously. Most importantly, careful recording gets you thinking about, and therefore puts you more in control of, your entire financial life.
What to Organize
Tax returns cover any major aspect of your financial life during a calendar year. These include non-reimbursed medical and dental expenses, home purchase/sale, child-care and alimony payments. Sales of stocks and bonds need to be noted as well, including date of sale, number of shares, sale price and, what is most difficult for most people, the date and price of the original purchase, the last of which is required to determine profit or loss.
Organizing Back-Up Documentation for Deductions
Tax returns allow for a wide variety of deductions. You will want to itemize deductions if your total itemized deductions are more than the standard deduction to which you are otherwise entitled. Currently, the standard deduction for a single person or married person filing separately is $5,150; for married persons filing jointly, it’s $10,300 and for head of household, it’s $7,550. Consider filling out a Schedule A (Form 1040) for deductions if any of the following apply to you: if you adopted a child, if you paid interest and taxes on your home; if you had large uninsured casualty or theft losses, if you made large contributions to qualified charities, if you have educational expenses that maintain or improve skills required in your present job, if you paid union dues and fees, if you bought professional books and magazines, if you paid fees for having a tax return prepared, and if you paid fees for renting a safe deposit box to store investment-related material.
How to Organize
Everyone has a different way of handling personal financial information. The most basic is to put all receipts and financial documentation in a box or bag and let is accumulate throughout the year. This method, although easy to do for twelve months, results in a jumble of papers that need to be sorted when it comes time for tax preparation. A more efficient way to store documents is to consider first any items that you might want to claim as deductions. You can go online to http://www.irs.gov/publications or http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics to review legitimate deductions. Make a list of what applies to you. For example, did you buy or sell a home? Do you pay mortgage interest on your home? Do you have dependents? Then figure out the best system for you to sort the documents during the year. For example, you might want to purchase an accordion file with each tab corresponding to a deduction or expense category. Then put the receipts or relevant documents into the appropriately-tabbed folders in the file as you accumulate them. When it comes to tax time, pull out the receipts, add them up, clip them together and store them in that year’s tax box. The accordion file is then empty and ready for the new year. Alternatively you can get colored folders and color-code the categories from your master list of expenses and deductions that apply to you personally. Thinking about deductions may well save you money. Getting organized will economize your time and minimize your tax preparation stress. The above information is provided as a courtesy of Omni Financial, a company started by a former Staff Sergeant that has been exclusively serving the borrowing needs of America’s military members for over 55 years, and is intended for educational purposes only. This article, in whole or in part, is not intended to and does not constitute legal or financial counseling.

Source: Militaryloans.com

Celebrity Weddings

What would you do when you have a lot of money and you already found the greatest love of your life? Will you decide to ask her hand for marriage and give her the wedding of her dreams? If that’s the case, why not give it to her and make that wedding day one of the most memorable and happiest moments of her life? This may be one of the reasons why many celebrities have spent a lot on their weddings. And why not, after all, money is never an issue for them. Let’s check out some of the expensive weddings in 20 years.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Wedding

These two Hollywood stars tied the knot in November 2006 at the Odescalchi Castle outside Rome. The estimated cost of the wedding was $2 million. Holmes’ dress was designed by Giorgio Armani.

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston Wedding

Pitt and Aniston got married in July 2000. Two hundred guests attended the celebration. The gown worn by Aniston was designed by Lawrence Steele. The estimated cost was $1 million. (After more than 4 years of being together, the couple divorced in 200.)

Michael Douglas and Catherine-Zeta Jones Wedding

This amazing couple wed in November 2000 at Plaza Hotel in New York. Hologram-embedded invitations were given to guests and which they would present on the wedding day to prevent crashers. The estimated cost was $1.5 million.

David Gest and Liza Minelli Wedding

These celebrities exchanged their “I do’s” in March 2002. The wedding was held at the Marble Collegiate Church in New York. They had around 500 guests including Michael Jackson who was the Best Man and Elizabeth Taylor as Maid of Honor. The estimated cost was $3.5 million.

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren

World-renowned golfer Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren tied the knot in October 2004 in Barbados at the Sandy Lane Resort where Woods rented the entire hotel and the island’s sole helicopter charter company to escape the paparazzi. The estimated cost was $1.5 million.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

By: Marcom Communications

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) has promised much for a few years. But now it is fast becoming a viable option for many UK businesses and home workers. VoIP technology allows telephone calls to be made over the internet at a fraction of the cost compared with traditional telephony. If you operate a multiple site company, VoIP could bring you exceptional benefits.

How does it work?
The technology works by converting the (human) voice to data packets, transmitting it over the internet, indeed any data connection running IP and reconverting the packets into human voice once it has reached the destination.Normal voice is in an analogue format.
This cannot be carried over data connections, so it is converted into digital sound packets so that it can be carried over the internet. This process is similar to internet technology where a modem is used to convert analogue data into digital and vice versa.

Benefits
You can speak to more than one person at a time (teleconference). There is also room for interactive video conferencing
Excellent voice quality.
In built firewall for security. This protects your business from telephone fraud.
Cost effective as calls can be compressed.
Saves money on cabling.
Protects your investment: Excellent disaster recovery
Please check our VOiP FAQs or call us on 0845 055 2070 for more information on how VOiP can benefit your organisation.

Squeezed Broadband?

By: William G. Clewis - CEO

If you could receive a penny for every website on the net that promises to speed up your Internet Service, you would be rich. You will find a massive amount of software programs that promise to speed up your connection for free! Beware of these types of programs because they contain spy ware to make a profit.

http://GoTurboDialup.com provides a software solution that will turn your dialup into near broadband speeds at a very low cost. It can be used anywhere in the world without the need to change your Internet Service Provider.

You cannot physically change the speed of your Internet connection. http://GoTurboDialup.com, powered by Onspeed uses Content Sensitive Compression (CSC) to compress each element you request from a web page or email message.

What is CSC?
When your web browser requests a web page, the Onspeed software redirects that request to the Compression Servers. The web page content is compressed and then sent back to the Onspeed software which decompresses it and sends it to the browser. Tests have shown that using Onspeed with the Opera browser provides even faster results.

At the moment Onspeed has dedicated algorithms for: Photo-realistic images, line art and drawings, animated objects, HTML objects, text, office documents such as word, excel, PowerPoint and PDF documents. Onspeed is constantly working with technology to achieve new algorithms to improve and enhance your Internet experience.

What are algorithms?
Algorithms are a computable set of steps to achieve a desired result. By late 2004, Onspeed will have MP3 files, flash, and Mpeg4 for video available, achieving a 300% - 500% speed increase.

Five Ways to Make Money With ClickBank

By: Steve Shaw

ClickBank not only allows you to accept credit cards on your web site without the need for a merchant account, it also provides other ways in which you can generate income - in this article, I'll highlight five different ways you can start making money with ClickBank by the end of today.

1. Become an affiliate for ClickBank products

You can easily sign up as an affiliate via http://clickbank.com and then take a look through the full range of products in their marketplace for products you'd like to promote, for example by looking in the appropriate category you should find products that match up well with your existing business and that you'll be able to promote to your mailing list.

To promote a product, you simply create a hoplink, which is of the following format:

http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?nickname/merchant

Just replace 'nickname' with your own ClickBank nickname, and 'merchant' with the nickname of the merchant. If you're not sure what the nickname of the merchant is, you can always go to their sales page and extract it from their sales link - it's likely to be in the following format:

clickbank.net/sell.cgi?Merchant/1/ProductName

where 'Merchant' is the merchant's nickname.

Or for an automatic way to generate hoplinks, try the following page:

http://clickbanktoolkit.com/promoteaproduct.html

2. Sell your own product through ClickBank

There's no surer way of making money online than selling your own product, and with ClickBank you can start doing this quickly and easily.

You can sell up to 50 different downloadable products through ClickBank with a single account - and to become a merchant costs less than $50, rather than the hundreds of dollars it often takes to set up your own merchant account.

And you won't be alone - thousands of web masters sell through ClickBank including people like Ben Prater, Joe Vitale and Jim Edwards.

3. Sign up your own ClickBank affiliates

Just by signing up with ClickBank as a vendor, you can start recruiting affiliates to sell YOUR product almost immediately - and if affiliates are receiving commissions from selling your product, that means YOU are making money.

You can define exactly what level of commission you want your affiliates to receive - personally I give my affiliates 50% so we're both on an equal footing.

4. Send ClickBank new clients

You can earn cash just by promoting ClickBank itself, full details are available at clickbank.com/reseller.html - it's not big bucks, but it's useful as an additional income stream with commissions ranging between $0.05 and $10.00.

5. Promote a ClickBank Storefront

ClickBank's own MarketPlace is fairly limited in terms of functionality, but various companies offer a 'storefront' for all (or some) of the products listed in ClickBank's MarketPlace, and each one of which will have your ClickBank affiliate nickname attached.

The idea is that you promote your own storefront, and get commissions from people who visit and go on to purchase products that are listed.

The most powerful one I've seen is at CBGold.com, but there's a couple others you can view for comparison at http://1stPromotion.com and http://ClickbankAffiliates.com.

Special Tips For MLM and Replicated Sites

By: Niki Mcelroy

If you have been promoting Multilevel Marketing or a replicated site, then you have probably noticed that you don't get listed or accepted into many search engines, and especially not the major ones. If your promoting more than one thing at a time, then you've most likely noticed, it is difficult to keep up with all the promotion demands.

Maybe you've tried most of the free methods of advertising and you've noticed that you don't get as much traffic as you hoped for. Not to mention it is very time consuming to promote more than one site at a time. This article is designed to help you achieve success and get your site listed, no matter how many programs you promote!

You can over come the above mentioned obstacles by creating your own web site. Don't think you can afford it? Well there are many web hosts that offer free websites. They even offer free subdomains.
For a great list of sites you can use click the following link:
freeandfrugal.com/freewebsite.html

I do strongly suggest getting your own domain name as it is relatively inexpensive to maintain. I would like to suggest using a domain host that offers 99,9% up time. As part of thier service, they offer free url hidding so no one has to know your using free servers. This will also give you visitors a better chance to remember a shorter url. To see what else they have to offer click the following:
freeandfrugal.com/cgi-bin o.cgi?l=domain

Come up with domain name that is short and has something to do with what you have to offer. As an example: http://youandme.com will be easier to remember than http://youandme.myfreeserver.com.

Going this route will allow you to gather your own leads. This could work in a couple of ways. If you are promoting more than one program you can have one place to offer all of the programs you promote. Start a news letter to let your visitors know about the new programs you have to offer.

If you're only promoting one program you can use a form to have them sign up before entering your site. Have the form redirect them to the page you are promoting after they have signed up. You can use the following free auto responce programs to achieve this. You can also use this option if you don't want to bother with the headache of doing the installation. To learn more and have control over the contact with your leads, instead of letting the site you are promoting have the power click the following link:
freeandfrugal.com/freeautoresponders.html

Another benifit of having your own site is that you can now list with the search engines. Just optimize your keyword and site description tags to target the visitors you are trying to recive. A great tool for doing this is a free download found at: softnik.com/?gkw

When your done with your research submit your site to the search engines. You now stand a chance at reaching visitors you would not have otherwise had.

You should not need to know complicated HTML code to get started. Most Web hosts offer a free website building software with there services. To have more control over the look and feel of your website I do recommend that you eventually learn it. I have created an ebook to help beginners learn the code easily. As a bonus it comes with two ebooks to help you on your journey to success. It is also free to resale or give away. To learn more visit the following link:
freeandfrugal.com/ebooks.html

Best of luck on your journey to success. If you are interested in learning more about using free servers to host your web site visit the following link:
freeandfrugal.com/freeebooks.html
You can also learn how to make all the forms of free advertising work in your favor.

What is VoIP?

By: Dee Scrip

VoIP is an acronym for voice over internet protocol. A VoIP, in essence, is a computer softphone that allows you to make phone calls from your computer to anyone in the world, e.g., PC to PC, PC to landlines, or PC to cell phones. The voice signal converts to data packets and travels across the internet through a VoIP platform, and then converts back to voice at the receiving end of the communication exchange. Leading telecom experts are projecting that 75% of the world’s communications will be done on VoIP within the next several years.

What Kind of Equipment Do I Need?
You will need a computer with internet access and an inexpensive microphone if your computer does not have one built in. Although most VoIP providers require high speed internet connections, there are a few that can be used on dial-up connections.

How Can I Place a Call or Receive a Call?
Basically, the same way you would a regular phone, except on your PC. When you download a VoIP line on your computer, a phone usually appears on your screen. The computer phone acts like any other phone in that you can dial numbers on it from a pad, or click on a contact’s pre-programmed name, and press the call button. You will then hear the phone ringing to the party you have called and can talk to them when they accept the call, or leave a voicemail if they are not available.

When receiving a call, the phone will ring on your computer and you can click to accept the call and talk, or let it ring (based on the number of rings you have set up) and forward the caller to your voicemail.

What Kind of Features Does a VoIP Have?
Typically a VoIP has voicemail with audio capabilities, three-way calling, text messaging, and contacts list. Some VoIPs even have webcam capabilities. In addition, there is usually a button to click that can indicate to others when you are available, unavailable, away, or off line.

Who Can I Call?
Most reputable VoIP solutions providers limit PC to PC calls among their own subscribers for privacy purposes and so that the quality of sound is not compromised.

Most reputable VoIP solutions providers have secure lines that include their own patented technology.

Some VoIP solutions providers require limiting PC to landlines or cell phones to their own subscribers.

Advantages of VoIP
·With VoIP, you have unlimited talk time to anyone in the world from PC to PC for a flat monthly rate
·Most VoIP’s offer drastically reduced costs for calling PC to landlines
·Most VoIP’s offer reduced costs for calling PC to cell phones, however, prices vary depending on the cell phone carrier.
·Savings of up to 80% off current phone bills.

What are the Costs for VoIPs?
Typically there is an enrollment fee which varies between $20.00 to hundreds of dollars
Monthly fees, after enrollment, varies between $5.00 per month to $75.00 per month
If you do not have a microphone on your computer, you would have to purchase one. Cost is between $5.00 to $40.00.

Things to Watch Out For with VoIP Solution Providers
·Hidden costs
·Unsecure lines - meaning anyone can listen to your conversation because of shared servers or open platforms
·Inability to be used with dial-up connections
·Public listing of your name and/or phone number
·Unsecure lines or Free services may have spyware, no protection against viruses, worms, Trojan horses, etc., which can corrupt your computer and ultimately causes it to crash

Additional Information
To download a complimentary VoIP test line for one week, visit keepintouch4free.com (make sure you tell all your friends and family to download a line also from the same website so you can talk to them too)

If you descire a substantial income with weekly and residual monthly payouts, check out the Business Division by going to http://superiorvoip.com/PTL4ever

Promote your Web Store

By: Nowshade Kabir

After spending substantial time and efforts the big day came when you finally published your website on the Internet. You are now ready to show your website to the world. But, with over a billion pages vying for traffic how do you make people visiting your site?

Web promotion is an on going process. There are many methods of promoting websites, but, the first and foremost step that you have to take to generate traffic for your website is to submit your site to major search engines and directories. For most of the sites search engines are the primary source of first time visitors.

How important are the search engines? Data show that more than 80% of Internet users find the sites they’re looking for through search engines. Over 57% of Internet users search the Internet everyday. Up to 450 Million searches take place in a day and most interestingly, 55% of all Internet purchases originate at a search engine.

Before you start submitting your website to the search engines, you have to understand that you want your prospective audience to find you when they search for a site similar to you using specific keywords. Now, you know that when a person runs a query on a search engine for a website, usually he looks no further then first three pages of relevant results. You have to figure out a way how to get within those three pages. Better even if you can get yourself within top ten search results. Considering that a query usually delivers millions of pages — this is not an easy task!

As the search engines want to deliver most relevant pages at the top, they use highly sophisticated and complex algorithms to rank websites. But the main aspects, that they consider in order to optimize your ranking position, are your targeted keywords, relevancy of the site contents and value of the links that are pointing to your site.

Keywords
Target the wrong keywords and either you don’t get any visitor or you get the visitors that you really don’t need. How can you figure out which are the right keywords for you?

If you are confused about the words that you should target to get the best result, start your search from one of your successful competitors’ website. Check the source codes of the Index page of the website. It should not be difficult for you to figure out what are the keywords that they are targeting. Since a broad keyword like computer, textile etc. generates millions of search results, you have to try to find words as specific and as segmented as possible.

For example: if you are a textile company that sells fabrics and one of the best selling items of yours is jeans fabrics let’s see what should be your targeted keyword. A query on Google shows that the word “fabric” brings 5,640,000 results. Way too much for you to even try get at the top! The next search of “jeans fabric” gets 148,000 results. Still a lot! If stonewashed jeans fabric is one of the items that you sell, let’s see what we get from a query on it. Just 602 results! Well, this is a number you can deal with! Now if you use a few proper optimization mechanisms, chances are there that in no times you may get yourself on the first ten of this search result.

If you know the broad keywords that you should target but don’t have any idea how to make it more specific, use this little tool from Overture to show you what queries people make relevant to this keyword. Click here for the tool.

Place keywords in right locations
For search engines the page title is the most important part of the page. Make sure that you use your targeted keyword over there. For the previous example your title may look like: ‘Supplier of Quality Stonewashed Jeans Fabric’.

Use your keywords in different forms in Meta tags and Description. Use singular and plural variations of the words. Since search engines also look at the content of your page, try using keywords in your headlines and don’t forget to mention them in the first paragraph of the page.

But do not over do it! If the search engines feel that you are over using a word to lift your ranking, they may consider it as spamming, and block your website from their listing.

Content is the king
According to research, the primary reason for people to be on the Internet is information. People want information, quality information, lots of it and in most of the cases for free! This is the reason why the search engine spiders are created to look for good, relevant textual contents. If you are looking for a top position on a specific search, your website must have quality relevant content.

If yours is a website that only sells product or services, you may ask, how can you possibly have enough content? Apart from detail description of the products or services that you provide, you should also emphasize on the benefits of the products. If you have related to your products articles, whitepapers etc. you must post them on your site as well. It’s important to post quality information related to your products or services as this also position your website as a knowledgeable leader in your respective industry and create interest among your audience to revisit the site.

Try renewing information on your site on a regular interval. This, as well, will increase repeat visits from people and the search engine spiders.

Submission to search engines
Once you are ready to submit your site to search engines, all you have to do is to go to the relevant search engine site, fill up the form there and submit. You can do it manually for each search engine separately or you can use programs to do it automatically. If you miss a search engine, you don’t have to worry about it much, as the search engine spiders or “Bots”, as they are also called, constantly look for new websites to index. However, it’s a good idea to submit to the major search engines and directories regularly. You should also resubmit your website to the search engines in order to expedite the process of indexing after each significant change you made to the site.